IOS system files basic

To better meet the requirements of the different market segments, the software is organized into software release families and software trains.

A software release family is comprised of multiple IOS software release versions that:

• Share a code base

• Apply to related hardware platforms

• Overlap in support coverage (as one OS comes to end-of-life, another OS is introduced and supported)

Examples of IOS software releases, within a software release family, include 12.3, 12.4, 15.0, and 15.1, note that there is no 13 and 14.

 

Along with each software release, there are new versions of the software created to implement bug fixes and new features. IOS refers to these versions as trains.

• Mainline Train:The Cisco IOS Software 12.4 train is considered the mainline train. The mainline train receives mostly software (bug) fixes with the goal of increasing software quality.
• MD: The mainline train releases are also designated as Maintenance Deployment releases (MD).
• T train: A mainline train is always associated with a technology train (T train). A T train, such as 12.4T, receives the same software bug fixes as the mainline train. The T train also receives new software and hardware support features. Releases in the Cisco IOS Software 12.4T train are considered Early Deployment (ED) releases.
• S train: An S train will contain specific features designed to meet service provider requirements.

 

An example of the numbering scheme is shown in the figure for both the mainline and T trains:

• The software release numbering scheme for a mainline train is composed of a train number, a maintenance identifier, and a rebuild identifier.
  For example, the Cisco IOS Software Release 12.4(21a) is a mainline train.
• The release for a T train is composed of a train number, a maintenance identifier, a train identifier, and a rebuild identifier.
  For example, Cisco IOS Software Release 12.4(20)T1 belongs to the Cisco IOS Software 12.4T train.

• Each maintenance identifier of Cisco IOS Software 12.4 mainline, such as 12.4(7), includes additional software and maintenance fixes. This change is indicated with the number within the parentheses. Each maintenance release of Cisco IOS Software 12.4T, such as 12.4(20)T, includes these same software fixes, along with additional software features, and hardware support.

• Cisco uses rebuilds of an individual release to integrate fixes for significant issues. This reduces the possible impact on customers who have already deployed and certified an individual release. A rebuild typically includes fixes to a limited number of software defects, which are known as caveats. It is indicated by a lowercase letter inside the parenthesis of mainline trains, or by a final number in other trains.
  For example, Cisco IOS Software Release 12.4(21) received a few caveat fixes and the resulting rebuild was named 12.4(21a). Similarly, 12.4(15)T8 is the eighth rebuild of 12.4(15)T. Each new rebuild increments the rebuild identifier and delivers additional software fixes on an accelerated schedule, prior to the next planned individual release. The criteria for making changes in a rebuild are strict.

A single set of individual release numbers are used for all Cisco IOS Software 12.4 trains. Cisco IOS Software Maintenance Release 12.4 and Cisco IOS Software Release 12.4T use a pool of individual release numbers that are shared across the entire Cisco IOS Software 12.4 release family. Cisco IOS Software Release 12.4(6)T was followed by 12.4(7)T and 12.4(8)T. This permits the administrator to track changes introduced in the code.

Note: Any caveat that is fixed in a T train release should be implemented in the next mainline release.

Image filename

 

 Manage IOS images

Licencing

Beginning with Cisco IOS Software release 15.0, Cisco modified the process to enable new technologies within the IOS feature sets. Cisco IOS Software release 15.0 incorporates cross-platform feature sets to simplify the image selection process. It does this by providing similar functions across platform boundaries. Each device ships with the same universal image. Technology packages are enabled in the universal image via Cisco Software Activation licensing keys.

Technology packages that are available:

• IP Base: Offers features found in IP Base IOS image on ISR 1900, 2900, and 3900 + Flexible Netflow + IPv6 parity for IPv4 features present in IP Base. Some of the key features are AAA, BGP, OSPF, EIGRP, IS-IS, RIP, PBR, IGMP, Multicast, DHCP, HSRP, GLBP, NHRP, HTTP, HQF, QoS, ACL, NBAR, GRE, CDP, ARP, NTP, PPP, PPPoA, PPPoE, RADIUS, TACACS, SCTP, SMDS, SNMP, STP, VLAN, DTP, IGMP, Snooping, SPAN, WCCP, ISDN, ADSL over ISDN, NAT-Basic X.25, RSVP, NTP, Flexible Netflow, etc.

• Data: Data features found in SP Services and Enterprise Services IOS image on ISR 1900, 2900, and 3900 e.g. MPLS, BFD, RSVP, L2VPN, L2TPv3, Layer 2 Local Switching, Mobile IP, Multicast Authentication, FHRP-GLBP, IP SLAs, PfR, DECnet, ALPS, RSRB, BIP, DLSw+, FRAS, Token Ring, ISL, IPX, STUN, SNTP, SDLC, QLLC, etc.

• Unified Communications (UC): Offers the UC Features found in IPVoice IOS image on ISR 1900, 2900, and 3900 e.g. TDM/PSTN Gateway, Video Gateway [H320/324], Voice Conferencing, Codec Transcoding, RSVP Agent (voice), FAX T.37/38, CAC/QOS, Hoot-n-Holler, etc.

• Security (SEC): Offers the security features found in Advanced Security IOS image on ISR 1900, 2900, and 3900 e.g. IKE v1 / IPsec / PKI, IPsec/GRE, Easy VPN w/ DVTI, DMVPN, Static VTI, Firewall, Network Foundation Protection, GETVPN, etc.

Note: The IP Base license is a prerequisite for installing the Data, Security, and Unified Communications licenses. For earlier router platforms that can support Cisco IOS Software release 15.0, a universal image is not available. It is necessary to download a separate image that contains the desired features.

Technology Package Licenses

Technology package licenses are supported on Cisco ISR G2 platforms (Cisco 1900, 2900, and 3900 Series routers). The Cisco IOS universal image contains all packages and features in one image. Each package is a grouping of technology-specific features. Multiple technology package licenses can be activated on the Cisco 1900, 2900, and 3900 series ISR platforms.

Note: Use the show license feature command to view the technology package licenses and feature licenses supported on the router.

Licencing process

When a new router is shipped, it comes preinstalled with the software image and the corresponding permanent licenses for the customer-specified packages and features.

The router also comes with the evaluation license, known as a temporary license, for most packages and features supported on the specified router. This allows customers to try a new software package or feature by activating a specific evaluation license. If customers want to permanently activate a software package or feature on the router, they must get a new software license.

Step 1. Purchase the software package or feature to install.

 This may be adding a package to IP Base, such as Security. Software Claim Certificates are used for licenses that require software activation. The claim certificate provides the Product Activation Key (PAK) for the license and important information regarding the Cisco End User License Agreement (EULA). In most instances, Cisco or the Cisco channel partner will have already activated the licenses ordered at the time of purchase and no Software Claim Certificate is provided.

Step 2. Obtain a license.

The next step is to obtain the license, which is actually a license file. A license file, also known as a Software Activation License, is obtained using one of the following options:

• Cisco License Manager (CLM) – This is a free software application available at http://www.cisco.com/go/clm. Cisco License Manager is a standalone application from Cisco that helps network administrators rapidly deploy multiple Cisco software licenses across their networks. Cisco License Manager can discover network devices, view their license information, and acquire and deploy licenses from Cisco. The application provides a GUI that simplifies installation and helps automate license acquisition, as well as perform multiple licensing tasks from a central location. CLM is free of charge and can be downloaded from CCO.

• Cisco License Registration Portal – This is the web-based portal for getting and registering individual software licenses, available at http://www.cisco.com/go/license.

Both of these processes require a PAK number and a Unique Device Identifier (UDI).The PAK is received during purchase.The UDI is a combination of the Product ID (PID), the Serial Number (SN), and the hardware version. The SN is an 11 digit number which uniquely identifies a device. The PID identifies the type of device. Only the PID and SN are used for license creation. This UDI can be displayed using the show license udi command

This information is also available on a pull-out label tray found on the device. Figure below shows an example of the pull-out label on a Cisco 1941 router.

After entering the appropriate information, the customer receives an email containing the license information to install the license file. The license file is an XML text file with a .lic extension.

Step 3. Install the License

After the license has been purchased, the customer receives a license file. Installing a permanent license requires two steps:

Step 1. Use the license install stored-location-url    privileged exec mode command to install a license file.

Step 2. Reload the router using the privileged exec command reload. A reload is not required if an evaluation license is active.

Note: Unified Communications is not supported on 1941 routers.

A permanent license is a license that never expires. After a permanent license is installed on a router, it is good for that particular feature set for the life of the router, even across IOS versions. For example, when a UC, SEC, or Data license is installed on a router, the subsequent features for that license are activated even if the router is upgraded to a new IOS release. A permanent license is the most common license type used when a feature set is purchased for a device.

Note: Cisco manufacturing preinstalls the appropriate permanent license on the ordered device for the purchased feature set. No customer interaction with the Cisco IOS Software Activation processes is required to enable that license on new hardware.

Licensing verification

The show version command is used after the router is reloaded to verify that license has been installed.

The show license command is used to display additional information about Cisco IOS software licenses. This command displays license information used to help with troubleshooting issues related to Cisco IOS software licenses. This command displays all the licenses installed in the system. In this example, both the IP Base and Security licenses have been installed. This command also displays the features that are available, but not licensed to execute, such as the Data feature set. Output is grouped according to how the features are stored in license storage.

The following is a brief description of the output:

• Feature – Name of the feature

• License Type – Type of license; such as Permanent or Evaluation

• License State – Status of the license; such as Active or In Use

• License Count – Number of licenses available and in use, if counted. If non-counted is indicated, the license is unrestricted.

• License Priority – Priority of the license; such as high or low

Note: Refer to the Cisco IOS 15 command reference guide for complete details on the information displayed in the show license command.

Active Evaluation License

The Evaluation license process has gone through three revisions on the ISR G2 devices. The latest revision, starting with Cisco IOS Releases 15.0(1)M6, 15.1(1)T4, 15.1(2)T4, 15.1(3)T2, and 15.1(4)M Evaluation licenses are replaced with Evaluation Right-To-Use licenses (RTU) after 60 days. An Evaluation license is good for a 60 day evaluation period. After the 60 days, this license automatically transitions into an RTU license. These licenses are available on the honor system and require the customer’s acceptance of the EULA. The EULA is automatically applied to all Cisco IOS software licenses.

The license accept end user agreement global configuration mode command is used to configure a one-time acceptance of the EULA for all Cisco IOS software packages and features. After the command is issued and the EULA accepted, the EULA is automatically applied to all Cisco IOS software licenses and the user is not prompted to accept the EULA during license installation.

Router(config)#   license accept end user agreement 

The command to activate an Evaluation RTU license:

Router#   license boot module    module-name    technology-package    package-name 

Use the ? in place of the arguments to determine which module names and supported software packages are available on the router. Technology package names for Cisco ISR G2 platforms are:

• ipbasek9 – IP Base technology package

• securityk9 – Security technology package

• datak9 – Data technology package

• uck9 – Unified Communications package (not available on 1900 series)

Note: A reload using the reload command is required to activate the software package.

Evaluation licenses are temporary, and are used to evaluate a feature set on new hardware. Temporary licenses are limited to a specific usage period (for example, 60 days).

Backup license

Saved licenses are restored by using the license install command.

The command to back up a copy of the licenses on a device is:

Router#   license save    file-sys://lic-location 

Use the show flash0: command to verify that the licenses have been saved.

The license storage location can be a directory or a URL that points to a file system. Use the ? command to see the storage locations supported by a device.

uninstall the license

To clear an active permanent license from the Cisco 1900 series, 2900 series, and 3900 series routers, perform the following steps:

Step 1. Disable the technology package.

• Disable the active license with the command:

Router(config)# license boot module module-name technology-package package-name disable

• Reload the router using the reload command. A reload is required to make the software package inactive.

Step 2. Clear the license.

• Clear the technology package license from license storage.

Router# license clear feature-name

• Clear the license boot module module-name technology-package package-name disable command used for disabling the active license:

Router(config)# no license boot module module-name technology-package package-name disable

Note: Some licenses, such as built-in licenses, cannot be cleared. Only licenses that have been added by using the license install command are removed. Evaluation licenses are not removed.

 

ISR4331

 

1. config t
2. license accept end user agreement
3. yes
4. exit
5. license right-to-use move appxk9
6. license right-to-use move uck9
7. license right-to-use move securityk9
8. license right-to-use move FoundationSuiteK9
9. license right-to-use move AdvUCSuiteK9
10. license right-to-use move cme-srst
11. license right-to-use move throughput
12. config t
13. license boot level appxk9
14. license boot level uck9
15. license boot level securityk9
16. end
17. wr mem

Show the installed hardware:

show inventory

Throughput VS bandwith

 

You may find the WAN interface you configured on a Cisco router is limited to 100Mbps or 300Mbps on a Gigabits interface. No matter you check with show interface, you could not find the issue, then you should check the throughput of the platform.

 

Use below command:

show platform hardware throughput level

Then you can configure it by:

Router(config)#platform hardware throughput level

then hit tab, it will list the available throughput on your device, then type of of those number.