CLI Book 1: Cisco ASA Series General Operations CLI Configuration Guide, 9.2

Upgrade Path

See the following table for the upgrade path for your version. Some versions require an interim upgrade before you can upgrade to the latest version.

Note There are no special requirements for Zero Downtime Upgrades for failover and ASA clustering with the following exceptions:

• Upgrading ASA clustering from 9.0(1) or 9.1(1): due to CSCue72961, hitless upgrading is not supported.
• Upgrade issues with 8.4(6), 9.0(2), and 9.1(2) for failover—Due to CSCug88962, you cannot perform a Zero Downtime Upgrade to 8.4(6), 9.0(2), or 9.1(3). You should instead upgrade to 8.4(5) or 9.0(3) or later. To upgrade 9.1(1), you cannot upgrade directly to the 9.1(3) release due to CSCuh25271, so there is no workaround for a Zero Downtime Upgrade; you must upgrade to 9.1(2) before you upgrade to 9.1(3) or later.

Configuration Migration

Depending on your current version, you might experience one or more configuration migrations when you upgrade. For example, when upgrading from 8.0 to 9.2, you will experience all of these migrations:

• 8.2—See the 8.2 release notes.
• 8.3—See the Cisco ASA 5500 Migration Guide to Version 8.3.
• 8.4—See the 8.4 upgrade guide.
• 9.0—See the 9.0 upgrade guide.
• 9.1—See the 9.1 upgrade guide.
• 9.2—See Configuration Migration in 9.2.

Configuration Migration in 9.2

• 9.2(1) Auto Update Server certificate verification enabled by default—The Auto Update Server certificate verification is now enabled by default; for new configurations, you must explicitly disable certificate verification. If you are upgrading from an earlier release, and you did not enable certificate verification, then certificate verification is not enabled, and you see the following warning:

The configuration will be migrated to explicitly configure no verification:

auto-update server no-verification

View Your Current Version

Use the show version command to verify the software version of your ASA.

Download the Software from Cisco.com

If you have a Cisco.com login, you can obtain the OS and ASDM images from the following website:

http://www.cisco.com/go/asa-software

This procedure assumes you put the images on a TFTP server, although other server types are supported.

Upgrade a Standalone Unit

This section describes how to install the ASDM and operating system (OS) images.

Procedure

This procedure uses TFTP. For FTP or HTTP, see the copy command.

Step 1 (If there is a configuration migration) Show the configuration on the terminal so that you can back up your configuration:

Copy the output from this command, then paste the configuration in to a text file. For other methods of backing up, see the configuration guide.

Step 2 Copy the ASA software to the active unit flash memory:

Example:

For other methods than TFTP, see the copy command.

Step 3 Copy the ASDM image to the active unit flash memory:

Example:

Step 4 If you are not already in global configuration mode, access global configuration mode:

Step 5 Show the current boot images configured (up to 4):

Example:

The ASA uses the images in the order listed; if the first image is unavailable, the next image is used, and so on. You cannot insert a new image URL at the top of the list; to specify the new image to be first, you must remove any existing entries, and enter the image URLs in the order desired, according to Step 6 and Step 7.

Step 6 Remove any existing boot image configurations so that you can enter the new boot image as your first choice:

Example:

Step 7 Set the ASA image to boot (the one you just uploaded):

Example:

Repeat this command for any backup images that you want to use in case this image is unavailable. For example, you can re-enter the images that you previously removed in Step 6.

Step 8 Set the ASDM image to use (the one you just uploaded):

Example:

You can only configure one ASDM image to use, so you do not need to first remove the existing configuration.

Step 9 Save the new settings to the startup configuration:

Step 10 Reload the ASA:

Upgrade a Failover Pair or ASA Cluster

To perform a zero downtime upgrade, you need to upgrade each unit in a particular order.

• Upgrade an Active/Standby Failover Pair
• Upgrade an Active/Active Failover Pair
• Upgrade an ASA Cluster

Upgrade an Active/Standby Failover Pair

To upgrade the Active/Standby failover pair, perform the following steps.

Before You Begin

Perform these steps on the active unit.

Procedure

Step 1 (If there is a configuration migration) Show the configuration on the terminal so that you can back up your configuration:

Example:

Copy the output from this command, then paste the configuration in to a text file. For other methods of backing up, see the configuration guide.

Step 2 Copy the ASA software to the active unit flash memory:

Example:

For other methods than TFTP, see the copy command.

Step 3 Copy the software to the standby unit; be sure to specify the same path as for the active unit:

Example:

Step 4 Copy the ASDM image to the active unit flash memory:

Example:

Step 5 Copy the ASDM image to the standby unit; be sure to specify the same path as for the active unit:

Example:

Step 6 If you are not already in global configuration mode, access global configuration mode:

Step 7 Show the current boot images configured (up to 4):

Example:

The ASA uses the images in the order listed; if the first image is unavailable, the next image is used, and so on. You cannot insert a new image URL at the top of the list; to specify the new image to be first, you must remove any existing entries, and enter the image URLs in the order desired, according to Step 8 and Step 9.

Step 8 Remove any existing boot image configurations so that you can enter the new boot image as your first choice:

Example:

Step 9 Set the ASA image to boot (the one you just uploaded):

Example:

Repeat this command for any backup images that you want to use in case this image is unavailable. For example, you can re-enter the images that you previously removed in Step 8.

Step 10 Set the ASDM image to use (the one you just uploaded):

Example:

You can only configure one ASDM image to use, so you do not need to first remove the existing configuration.

Step 11 Save the new settings to the startup configuration:

Step 12 Reload the standby unit to boot the new image:

Wait for the standby unit to finish loading. Use the show failover command to verify that the standby unit is in the Standby Ready state.

Step 13 Force the active unit to fail over to the standby unit:

Step 14 Reload the former active unit (now the new standby unit):

reload

If you want to restore this unit to be active after it reloads, enter the failover active command.

Upgrade an Active/Active Failover Pair

To upgrade two units in an Active/Active failover configuration, perform the following steps.

Before You Begin

Perform these steps in the system execution space. Also perform these steps on the primary unit.

Procedure

Step 1 (If there is a configuration migration) Show the configuration on the terminal so that you can back up your configuration:

Copy the output from this command, then paste the configuration in to a text file. For other methods of backing up, see the configuration guide.

Step 2 Copy the ASA software to the primary unit flash memory:

Example:

For other methods than TFTP, see the copy command.

Step 3 Copy the software to the secondary unit; be sure to specify the same path as for the primary unit:

Example:

Step 4 Copy the ASDM image to the primary unit flash memory:

Example:

Step 5 Copy the ASDM image to the secondary unit; be sure to specify the same path as for the active unit:

Example:

Step 6 Make both failover groups active on the primary unit:

Step 7 If you are not already in global configuration mode, access global configuration mode:

Example:

Step 8 Show the current boot images configured (up to 4):

Example:

The ASA uses the images in the order listed; if the first image is unavailable, the next image is used, and so on. You cannot insert a new image URL at the top of the list; to specify the new image to be first, you must remove any existing entries, and enter the image URLs in the order desired, according to Step 9 and Step 10.

Step 9 Remove any existing boot image configurations so that you can enter the new boot image as your first choice:

Example:

Step 10 Set the ASA image to boot (the one you just uploaded):

Example:

Repeat this command for any backup images that you want to use in case this image is unavailable. For example, you can re-enter the images that you previously removed in Step 9.

Step 11 Set the ASDM image to use (the one you just uploaded):

Example:

You can only configure one ASDM image to use, so you do not need to first remove the existing configuration.

Step 12 Save the new settings to the startup configuration:

Step 13 Reload the secondary unit to boot the new image:

Wait for the secondary unit to finish loading. Use the show failover command to verify that both failover groups are in the Standby Ready state.

Step 14 Force both failover groups to become active on the secondary unit:

Step 15 Reload the primary unit:

If the failover groups are configured with the preempt command, they automatically become active on their designated unit after the preempt delay has passed. If the failover groups are not configured with the preempt command, you can return them to active status on their designated units using the failover active group command.

Upgrade an ASA Cluster

To upgrade all units in an ASA cluster, perform the following steps on the master unit. For multiple context mode, perform these steps in the system execution space.

Procedure

Step 1 (If there is a configuration migration) Back up your configuration file:

Copy the output from this command, then paste the configuration in to a text file. For other methods of backing up, see the general operations configuration guide.

Step 2 Copy the ASA software to all units in the cluster:

Example:

For other methods than TFTP, see the copy command.

Step 3 Copy the ASDM image to all units in the cluster:

Example:

Step 4 If you are not already in global configuration mode, access global configuration mode:

Step 5 Show the current boot images configured (up to 4):

Example:

The ASA uses the images in the order listed; if the first image is unavailable, the next image is used, and so on. You cannot insert a new image URL at the top of the list; to specify the new image to be first, you must remove any existing entries, and enter the image URLs in the order desired, according to Step 6 and Step 7.

Step 6 Remove any existing boot image configurations so that you can enter the new boot image as your first choice:

Example:

Step 7 Set the ASA image to boot (the one you just uploaded):

Example:

Repeat this command for any backup images that you want to use in case this image is unavailable. For example, you can re-enter the images that you previously removed in Step 6.

Step 8 Set the ASDM image to use (the one you just uploaded):

Example:

You can only configure one ASDM image to use, so you do not need to first remove the existing configuration.

Step 9 Save the new settings to the startup configuration:

Step 10 Reload each slave unit when you repeat this command for each unit name:

Example:

To avoid connection loss and allow traffic to stabilize, wait for each unit to come back up (approximately 5 minutes) before reloading the next unit. To view member names, enter cluster exec unit ?, or enter the show cluster info command.

Step 11 Disable clustering on the master unit:

Wait for 5 minutes for a new master to be selected and traffic to stabilize. Do not enter write memory ; when the master unit reloads, you want clustering to be enabled on it.

Step 12 Reload the master unit:

A new election takes place for a new master unit. When the former master unit rejoins the cluster, it will be a slave.

Viewing Files in Flash Memory

You can view files in flash memory and see information about files as follows:

• To view files in flash memory, enter the following command:

Enter disk0: for the internal flash memory. The disk1: keyword represents the external flash memory. The internal flash memory is the default.

For example:

• To view extended information about a specific file, enter the following command:

The default path is the root directory of the internal flash memory (disk0:/).

For example:

The file size listed is for example only.

Deleting Files from Flash Memory

You can remove files from flash memory that you no longer need. To delete a file from flash memory, enter the following command:

By default, the file is deleted from the current working directory if you do not specify a path. You may use wildcards when deleting files. You are prompted with the filename to delete, and then you must confirm the deletion.

Erasing the Flash File System

To erase the flash file system, perform the following steps:

Step 1 Connect to the ASA console port according to the instructions in the Accessing the ASA Services Module Console or the Accessing the Appliance Console.

Step 2 Power off the ASA, then power it on.

Step 3 During startup, press the Escape key when you are prompted to enter ROMMON mode.

Step 4 Enter the erase command, which overwrites all files and erases the file system, including hidden system files.

rommon #1> erase [disk0: | disk1: | flash:]

Configuring File Access

• Configuring the FTP Client Mode
• Configuring the ASA as a Secure Copy Server
• Customizing the ASA Secure Copy Client
• Configuring the ASA TFTP Client Path

Configuring the FTP Client Mode

The ASA can use FTP to upload or download image files or configuration files to or from an FTP server. In passive FTP, the client initiates both the control connection and the data connection. The server, which is the recipient of the data connection in passive mode, responds with the port number to which it is listening for the specific connection.

Detailed Steps

Configuring the ASA as a Secure Copy Server

You can enable the secure copy (SCP) server on the ASA. Only clients that are allowed to access the ASA using SSH can establish a secure copy connection.

Restrictions

• The server does not have directory support. The lack of directory support limits remote client access to the ASA internal files.
• The server does not support banners.
• The server does not support wildcards.

Prerequisites

• Enable SSH on the ASA according to the Configuring SSH Access.
• The ASA license must have the strong encryption (3DES/AES) license to support SSH Version 2 connections.

Detailed Steps

Example

From a client on the external host, perform an SCP file transfer. For example, in Linux enter the following command:

The -v is for verbose, and if -pw is not specified, you will be prompted for a password.

Customizing the ASA Secure Copy Client

You can copy files to and from the ASA using the on-board SCP client (see Copying a File to the ASA). This section lets you customize the SCP client operation.

Prerequisites

For multiple context mode, complete this procedure in the system execution space. To change from the context to the system execution space, enter the changeto system command.

Detailed Steps

Examples

The following example adds an already hashed host key for the server at 10.86.94.170:

The following example adds a host string key for the server at 10.7.8.9:

ciscoasa(config)# ssh pubkey-chain

ciscoasa(config-ssh-pubkey-chain)# server 10.7.8.9

ciscoasa(config-ssh-pubkey-server)# key-string

Enter the base 64 encoded RSA public key.

End with the word "exit" on a line by itself

ciscoasa(config-ssh-pubkey-server-string)# c1:b1:30:29:d7:b8:de:6c:97:77:10:d7:46:41:63:87

ciscoasa(config-ssh-pubkey-server-string)# exit

Configuring the ASA TFTP Client Path

TFTP is a simple client/server file transfer protocol, which is described in RFC 783 and RFC 1350 Rev. 2. You can configure the ASA as a TFTP client so that it can copy files to or from a TFTP server (see Copying a File to the ASA and Backing Up Configurations or Other Files. In this way, you can back up and propagate configuration files to multiple ASAs.

This section lets you pre-define the path to a TFTP server so you do not need to enter it in commands such as copy and configure net.

Detailed Steps

Copying a File to the ASA

This section describes how to copy the application image, ASDM software, a configuration file, or any other file that needs to be downloaded to internal or external flash memory from a TFTP, FTP, SMB, HTTP, HTTPS, or SCP server.

Guidelines

• For the IPS SSP software module, before you download the IPS software to disk0, make sure at least 50% of the flash memory is free. When you install IPS, IPS reserves 50% of the internal flash memory for its file system.
• You cannot have two files with the same name but with different letter case in the same directory in flash memory. For example, if you attempt to download the file, Config.cfg, to a location that contains the file, config.cfg, you receive the following error message:
  
%Error opening disk0:/Config.cfg (File exists).
• For information about installing the Cisco SSL VPN client, see the Cisco AnyConnect VPN Client Administrator Guide. For information about installing Cisco Secure Desktop on the ASA, see the Cisco Secure Desktop Configuration Guide for Cisco ASA 5500 Series Administrators.
• To configure the ASA to use a specific application image or ASDM image if you have more than one installed, or have installed them in external flash memory, see Configuring the Images and Startup Configuration to Use.
• For multiple context mode, you must be in the system execution space.

Detailed Steps

Copying a File to the Startup or Running Configuration

You can download a text file to the running or startup configuration from a TFTP, FTP, SMB, HTTP(S), or SCP server, or from the flash memory.

To configure the ASA to use a specific configuration as the startup configuration, see Configuring the Images and Startup Configuration to Use.

Guidelines

When you copy a configuration to the running configuration, you merge the two configurations. A merge adds any new commands from the new configuration to the running configuration. If the configurations are the same, no changes occur. If commands conflict or if commands affect the running of the context, then the effect of the merge depends on the command. You might get errors, or you might have unexpected results.

Detailed Steps

To copy a file to the startup configuration or running configuration, enter one of the following commands for the appropriate download server:

Examples

For example, to copy the configuration from a TFTP server, enter the following command:

To copy the configuration from an FTP server, enter the following command:

To copy the configuration from an HTTP server, enter the following command:

Default Settings

ASA Image

• Physical ASA—Boots the first application image that it finds in internal flash memory.
• ASAv—Boots the image in the read-only boot:/ partition that was created when you first deployed. You can upgrade the image in flash memory and configure the ASAv to boot from that image. Note that if you later clear your configuration (clear configure all), then the ASAv will revert to loading the original deployment image.

ASDM Image

All ASAs—Boots the first ASDM image that it finds in internal flash memory, or if one does not exist in this location, then in external flash memory.

Startup Configuration

By default, the ASA boots from a startup configuration that is a hidden file.

Detailed Steps

Using ROM Monitor for the ASA 5500-X Series

To load a software image to an ASA from the ROM monitor mode using TFTP, perform the following steps:

Step 1 Connect to the ASA console port according to the instructions in the Accessing the Appliance Console.

Step 2 Power off the ASA, then power it on.

Step 3 During startup, press the Escape key when you are prompted to enter ROMMON mode.

Step 4 In ROMMOM mode, define the interface settings to the ASA, including the IP address, TFTP server address, gateway address, software image file, and port, as follows:

Note Be sure that the connection to the network already exists.

Step 5 To validate your settings, enter the set command.

Step 6 Ping the TFTP server by entering the ping server command.

Step 7 Load the software image by entering the tftp command.

After the software image is successfully loaded, the ASA automatically exits ROMMON mode.

Step 8 To verify that the correct software image has been loaded into the ASA, check the version in the ASA by entering the following command:

Using the ROM Monitor for the ASASM

To load a software image to an ASASM from the ROM monitor mode using TFTP, perform the following steps:

Step 1 Connect to the ASA console port according to the instructions in the Accessing the ASA Services Module Console.

Step 2 Make sure that you reload the ASASM image.

Step 3 During startup, press the Escape key when you are prompted to enter ROMMON mode.

Step 4 In ROMMOM mode, define the interface settings to the ASASM, including the IP address, TFTP server address, gateway address, software image file, port, and VLAN, as follows:

Note Be sure that the connection to the network already exists.

Step 5 To validate your settings, enter the set command.

Step 6 Ping the TFTP server by entering the ping server command.

Step 7 Load the software image by entering the tftp command.

After the software image is successfully loaded, the ASASM automatically exits ROMMON mode.

Note You must download the image to the system flash separately after ROMMON boot is complete; booting the module into ROMMON mode does not preserve the system image across reloads.

Step 8 To verify that the correct software image has been loaded into the ASASM, check the version by entering the following command:

Backing up the Single Mode Configuration or Multiple Mode System Configuration

In single context mode or from the system configuration in multiple mode, you can copy the startup configuration or running configuration to an external server or to the local flash memory.

Detailed Steps

Backing Up a Context Configuration or Other File in Flash Memory

Copy context configurations or other files that are on the local flash memory by entering one of the following commands in the system execution space.

Detailed Steps

Backing Up a Context Configuration within a Context

In multiple context mode, from within a context, you can perform the following backups:

• To copy the running configuration to the startup configuration server (connected to the admin context), enter the following command:

• To copy the running configuration to a TFTP server connected to the context network, enter the following command:

Copying the Configuration from the Terminal Display

To print the configuration to the terminal, enter the following command:

Copy the output from this command, and then paste the configuration into a text file.

Backing Up Additional Files Using the Export and Import Commands

Additional files essential to your configuration might include the following:

• Files that you import using the import webvpn command. Currently, these files include customizations, URL lists, web content, plug-ins, and language translations.
• DAP policies (dap.xml).
• CSD configurations (data.xml).
• Digital keys and certificates.
• Local CA user database and certificate status files.

The CLI lets you back up and restore individual elements of your configuration using the export and import commands.

To back up these files, for example, those files that you imported with the import webvpn command or certificates, perform the following steps:

Step 1 Run the applicable show command(s) as follows:

Step 2 Run the export command for the file that you want to back up (in this example, the rdp file):

Using a Script to Back Up and Restore Files

You can use a script to back up and restore the configuration files on your ASA, including all extensions that you import via the import webvpn CLI, the CSD configuration XML files, and the DAP configuration XML file. For security reasons, we do not recommend that you perform automated backups of digital keys and certificates or the local CA key.

This section provides instructions for doing so and includes a sample script that you can use as is or modify as your environment requires. The sample script is specific to a Linux system. To use it for a Microsoft Windows system, you need to modify it using the logic of the sample.

Note The existing CLI lets you back up and restore individual files using the copy, export, and import commands. It does not, however, have a facility that lets you back up all ASA configuration files in one operation. Running the script facilitates the use of multiple CLIs.

This section includes the following topics:

• Prerequisites
• Running the Script
• Sample Script

Prerequisites

To use a script to back up and restore an ASA configuration, first perform the following tasks:

• Install Perl with an Expect module.
• Install an SSH client that can reach the ASA.
• Install a TFTP server to send files from the ASA to the backup site.

Another option is to use a commercially available tool. You can put the logic of this script into such a tool.

Running the Script

To run a backup-and-restore script, perform the following steps:

Step 1 Download or cut-and-paste the script file to any location on your system.

Step 2 At the command line, enter Perl scriptname, where scriptname is the name of the script file.

Step 3 Press Enter.

Step 4 The system prompts you for values for each option. Alternatively, you can enter values for the options when you enter the Perl scriptname command before you press Enter. Either way, the script requires that you enter a value for each option.

Step 5 The script starts running, printing out the commands that it issues, which provides you with a record of the CLIs. You can use these CLIs for a later restore, which is particularly useful if you want to restore only one or two files.

Sample Script

Information About Activation Key Compatibility

Your activation key remains compatible if you upgrade to the latest version from any previous version. However, you might have issues if you want to maintain downgrade capability:

• Downgrading to Version 8.1 or earlier versions—After you upgrade, if you activate additional feature licenses that were introduced before 8.2, the activation key continues to be compatible with earlier versions if you downgrade. However if you activate feature licenses that were introduced in Version 8.2 or later versions, the activation key is not backwards compatible. If you have an incompatible license key, see the following guidelines:

– If you previously entered an activation key in an earlier version, the ASA uses that key (without any of the new licenses you activated in Version 8.2 or later versions).

– If you have a new system and do not have an earlier activation key, you need to request a new activation key compatible with the earlier version.

• Downgrading to Version 8.2 or earlier versions—Version 8.3 introduced more robust time-based key usage as well as failover license changes:

– If you have more than one time-based activation key active, when you downgrade, only the most recently activated time-based key can be active. Any other keys are made inactive.

– If you have mismatched licenses on a failover pair, downgrading will disable failover. Even if the keys are matching, the license used will no longer be a combined license.

Performing the Downgrade

To downgrade from Version 8.3, perform the following steps:

Detailed Steps

Step 1 Enter the following command:

Where the /noconfirm option downgrades without prompting. The image_url is the path to the old image on disk0, disk1, tftp, ftp, or smb. The old_config_url is the path to the saved, premigration configuration (by default, t;his configuration was saved on disk0). If you need to revert to a pre-8.3 activation key, you can enter the old activation key.

This command is a shortcut for completing the following functions:

1. Clearing the boot image configuration (clear configure boot).

2. Setting the boot image to be the old image (boot system).

3. (Optional) Entering a new activation key (activation-key).

4. Saving the running configuration to startup (write memory). This action sets the BOOT environment variable to the old image, so when you reload, the old image is loaded.

5. Copying the old configuration to the startup configuration (copy old_config_url startup-config).

6. Reloading (reload).

For example:

Information About Auto Update

Auto Update is a protocol specification that allows an Auto Update Server to download configurations and software images to many ASAs and can provide basic monitoring of the ASAs from a central location.

• Auto Update Client or Server
• Auto Update Benefits
• Auto Update Server Support in Failover Configurations

Auto Update Client or Server

The ASA can be configured as either a client or a server. As an Auto Update client, it periodically polls the Auto Update Server for updates to software images and configuration files. As an Auto Update Server, it issues updates for ASAs configured as Auto Update clients.

Auto Update Benefits

Auto Update is useful in solving many issues facing administrators for ASA management, such as:

• Overcoming dynamic addressing and NAT challenges.
• Committing configuration changes in one action.
• Providing a reliable method for updating software.
• Leveraging well-understood methods for high availability (failover).
• Providing flexibility with an open interface.
• Simplifying security solutions for Service Provider environments.

The Auto Update specification provides the infrastructure necessary for remote management applications to download ASA configurations, software images, and to perform basic monitoring from a centralized location or multiple locations.

The Auto Update specification allows the Auto Update server to either push configuration information and send requests for information to the ASA, or to pull configuration information by having the ASA periodically poll the Auto Update server. The Auto Update server can also send a command to the ASA to send an immediate polling request at any time. Communication between the Auto Update server and the ASA requires a communications path and local CLI configuration on each ASA.

Auto Update Server Support in Failover Configurations

You can use the Auto Update Server to deploy software images and configuration files to ASAs in an Active/Standby failover configuration. To enable Auto Update on an Active/Standby failover configuration, enter the Auto Update Server configuration on the primary unit in the failover pair.

The following restrictions and behaviors apply to Auto Update Server support in failover configurations:

• Only single mode, Active/Standby configurations are supported.
• When loading a new platform software image, the failover pair stops passing traffic.
• When using LAN-based failover, new configurations must not change the failover link configuration. If they do, communication between the units will fail.
• Only the primary unit will perform the call home to the Auto Update Server. The primary unit must be in the active state to call home. If it is not, the ASA automatically fails over to the primary unit.
• Only the primary unit downloads the software image or configuration file. The software image or configuration is then copied to the secondary unit.
• The interface MAC address and hardware-serial ID is from the primary unit.
• The configuration file stored on the Auto Update Server or HTTP server is for the primary unit only.

Auto Update Process Overview

The following is an overview of the Auto Update process in failover configurations. This process assumes that failover is enabled and operational. The Auto Update process cannot occur if the units are synchronizing configurations, if the standby unit is in the failed state for any reason other than SSM card failure, or if the failover link is down.

1. Both units exchange the platform and ASDM software checksum and version information.

2. The primary unit contacts the Auto Update Server. If the primary unit is not in the active state, the ASA first fails over to the primary unit and then contacts the Auto Update Server.

3. The Auto Update Server replies with software checksum and URL information.

4. If the primary unit determines that the platform image file needs to be updated for either the active or standby unit, the following occurs:

a. The primary unit retrieves the appropriate files from the HTTP server using the URL from the Auto Update Server.

b. The primary unit copies the image to the standby unit and then updates the image on itself.

c. If both units have new image, the secondary (standby) unit is reloaded first.

– If hitless upgrade can be performed when secondary unit boots, then the secondary unit becomes the active unit and the primary unit reloads. The primary unit becomes the active unit when it has finished loading.

– If hitless upgrade cannot be performed when the standby unit boots, then both units reload at the same time.

d. If only the secondary (standby) unit has new image, then only the secondary unit reloads. The primary unit waits until the secondary unit finishes reloading.

e. If only the primary (active) unit has new image, the secondary unit becomes the active unit, and the primary unit reloads.

f. The update process starts again at Step 1.

5. If the ASA determines that the ASDM file needs to be updated for either the primary or secondary unit, the following occurs:

a. The primary unit retrieves the ASDM image file from the HTTP server using the URL provided by the Auto Update Server.

b. The primary unit copies the ASDM image to the standby unit, if needed.

c. The primary unit updates the ASDM image on itself.

d. The update process starts again at Step 1.

6. If the primary unit determines that the configuration needs to be updated, the following occurs:

a. The primary unit retrieves the configuration file from the using the specified URL.

b. The new configuration replaces the old configuration on both units simultaneously.

c. The update process begins again at Step 1.

7. If the checksums match for all image and configuration files, no updates are required. The process ends until the next poll time.

Monitoring the Auto Update Process

You can use the debug auto-update client or debug fover cmd-exe commands to display the actions performed during the Auto Update process. The following is sample output from the debug auto-update client command.

The following syslog message is generated if the Auto Update process fails:

The file is “image”, “asdm”, or “configuration”, depending on which update failed. The version is the version number of the update. And the reason is the reason that the update failed.

Guidelines and Limitations

• If HTTPS is chosen as the protocol to communicate with the Auto Update server, the ASA uses SSL, which requires the ASA to have a DES or 3DES license.
• Auto Update is supported in single context mode only.

Configuring Communication with an Auto Update Server

Detailed Steps

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To configure the ASA as an Auto Update client, perform the following steps:

Step 1 To specify the URL of the Auto Update Server, enter the following command:

where url has the following syntax:

The source interface keyword and argument specify which interface to use when sending requests to the Auto Update Server. If you specify the same interface specified by the management-access command, the Auto Update requests travel over the same IPsec VPN tunnel used for management access.

For HTTPS, the verify-certificate keyword (the default) verifies the certificate returned by the Auto Update Server. To disable verification (not recommended), specify the no-verification keyword.

Step 2 (Optional) To identify the device ID to send when communicating with the Auto Update Server, enter the following command:

The identifier used is determined by specifying one of the following parameters:

• The hardware-serial argument specifies the ASA serial number.
• The hostname argument specifies the ASA hostname.
• The ipaddress keyword specifies the IP address of the specified interface. If the interface name is not specified, it uses the IP address of the interface used to communicate with the Auto Update Server.
• The mac-address keyword specifies the MAC address of the specified interface. If the interface name is not specified, it uses the MAC address of the interface used to communicate with the Auto Update Server.
• The string keyword specifies the specified text identifier, which cannot include white space or the characters ‘, “,, >, & and ?.

Step 3 (Optional) To specify how often to poll the Auto Update Server for configuration or image updates, enter the following command:

The poll-period argument specifies how often (in minutes) to check for an update. The default is 720 minutes (12 hours).

The retry-count argument specifies how many times to try reconnecting to the server if the first attempt fails. The default is zero.

The retry-period argument specifies how long to wait (in minutes) between retries. The default is five minutes.

Step 4 (Optional) To schedule a specific time for the ASA to poll the Auto Update Server, enter the following command:

The days-of-the-week argument is any single day or combination of days: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Other possible values are daily (Monday through Sunday), weekdays (Monday through Friday), and weekends (Saturday and Sunday).

The time argument specifies the time in the format HH:MM at which to start the poll. For example, 8:00 is 8:00 a.m. and 20:00 is 8:00 p.m.

The randomize minutes keyword and argument specify the period to randomize the poll time following the specified start time. The range is from 1 to 1439 minutes.

The retry_count argument specifies how many times to try reconnecting to the Auto Update Server if the first attempt fails. The default is zero.

The retry_period argument specifies how long to wait between connection attempts. The default is five minutes. The range is from 1 to 35791 minutes.

Step 5 (Optional) If the Auto Update Server has not been contacted for a certain period of time, entering the following command causes it to stop passing traffic:

The period argument specifies the timeout period in minutes between 1 and 35791. The default is to never time out (zero minutes). To restore the default, enter the no form of this command.

Use the auto-update timeout command to be sure that the ASA has the most recent image and configuration. This condition is reported with system log message 201008.

In the following example, an ASA is configured to poll an Auto Update Server with the IP address 209.165.200.224, at port number 1742, from the outside interface, with certificate verification.

The ASA is also configured to use the hostname as the device ID and to poll an Auto Update Server every Friday and Saturday night at a random time between 10:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. On a failed polling attempt, the ASA will try to reconnect to the Auto Update Server ten times, and will wait three minutes between attempts at reconnecting, as shown in the following example:

Configuring Client Updates as an Auto Update Server

Entering the client-update command enables updates for ASAs configured as Auto Update clients and lets you specify the type of software component (ASDM or boot image), the type or family of ASA, revision numbers to which the update applies, and a URL or IP address from which to obtain the update.

To configure the ASA as an Auto Update Server, perform the following steps:

Step 1 To enable client update, enter the following command:

Step 2 Configure the following parameters for the client-update command that you want to apply to the ASAs:

client-update { component { asdm | image } | device-id dev_string |
family family_name | type type } url url-string rev-nums rev-nums }

The component { asdm | image } parameter specifies the software component, either ASDM or the boot image of the ASA.

The device-id dev_string parameter specifies a unique string that the Auto Update client uses to identify itself. The maximum length is 63 characters.

The family family_name parameter specifies the family name that the Auto Update client uses to identify itself. It can be asa, pix, or a text string with a maximum length of seven characters.

The rev-nums rev-nums parameter specifies the software or firmware images for this client. Enter up to four, in any order, separated by commas.

The type type parameter specifies the type of clients to notify of a client update. Because this command is also used to update Windows clients, the list of clients includes several Windows operating systems.

The url url-string parameter specifies the URL for the software/firmware image. This URL must point to a file appropriate for this client. For all Auto Update clients, you must use the protocol “http://” or “https://” as the prefix for the URL.

Configure the parameters for the client update that you want to apply to all ASAs of a particular type. That is, specify the type of ASA and the URL or IP address from which to get the updated image. In addition, you must specify a revision number. If the revision number of the remote ASA matches one of the specified revision numbers, there is no need to update the client, and the update is ignored.

To configure a client update for Cisco 5525-X ASAs, enter the following command:

Viewing Auto Update Status

To view the Auto Update status, enter the following command:

The following is sample output from the show auto-update command: