ASA 5585-X Update the CX SSP Module

KB ID 0001005 

Problem

Every piece of documentation I found on upgrading CX SSP modules was for doing so on models other than the ASA5585-X. The (current) latest CLI guide says;

“For the ASA 5585-X hardware module, you must install or upgrade your image from within the ASA CX module. See the ASA CX module documentation for more information.”

Yeah good luck finding that!

Solution

Before I saw the information above I tried to upgrade the CX module from the ASA and this is the error you get when you try;

[box]PetesASA(config)# hw-module module 1 recover configure url tftp://10.0.41.100/asacx-5500x-boot-9.3.1.1-112.img
ERROR: Module in slot 1 does not support recovery[/box]

Then, I tried the update from within the CX module, and got the following error;

[box] asacx>system upgrade ftp://10.0.41.100/asacx-sys-9.3.1.1-112.pkg
Verifying

111
Upgrade aborted.

[/box]

Note: If you have not already found out, the default username is admin and the default password is Admin123.

Turns out that was an error in 3CDaemon that I use as an FTP server, once I fixed that, I was cooking on gas.

Upgrade the ASA 5585-X CX SSP Module

1. Connect to the CX modules console port, and you can view the version.

[box] Cisco ASA CX 9.1.2
This product contains cryptographic features and is subject to United States
and local country laws governing import, export, transfer and use. Delivery
of Cisco cryptographic products does not imply third-party authority to import,
export, distribute or use encryption. Importers, exporters, distributors and
users are responsible for compliance with U.S. and local country laws. By using
this product you agree to comply with applicable laws and regulations. If you
are unable to comply with U.S. and local laws, return this product immediately.
A summary of U.S. laws governing Cisco cryptographic products may be found at:
http://www.cisco.com/wwl/export/crypto/tool/stqrg
If you require further assistance please contact us by sending email to
export@cisco.com.

You can access the Web UI from your browser using the following URL(s):
https://192.168.8.8/

asacx login:

[/box]

2. Now the CX module has its default IP of 192.168.8.8, I need to change this, I’ll do that from command line on the ASA like so.

[box] PetesASA(config)# session 1 do setup host ip 10.0.41.34/24,10.1.41.1

Syntax

session 1 do setup host ip {IP Address}/{Subnet Mask},{Default Gateway}

[/box]

3. At this point make sure that Management port 1/0 on the CX module is connected to the network.

4. You can simply ping the new IP, or view it in the ASDM. (Note: here you can also view the CX software version).

5. Now the CX module and your FTP server are on the same network, and you have downloaded the CX software from Cisco, you can perform the upgrade, (from the console session on the CX module).

Note: Don’t press any keys (unless asked to), while this is going on, or it has a habit of aborting!

[box] asacx>system upgrade ftp://10.0.41.100/asacx-sys-9.3.1.1-112.pkg
Verifying
Downloading
Extracting
Package Detail
Description: Cisco ASA-CX 9.3.1.1-112 System Upgrade
Requires reboot: Yes

NOTE: If this device is being managed by a PRSM server, you must also apply the same upgrade package to the PRSM server or you will not be able to deploy configurations from the PRSM server to this device.

Do you want to continue with upgrade? [y]:y

Doing so might leave system in unusable state.

Upgrading
Starting upgrade process …[ 459.563380] kjournald starting. Commit interval 5 seconds
[ 459.648202] EXT3 FS on sde3, internal journal
[ 459.700274] EXT3-fs: mounted filesystem with ordered data mode.

Populating new system image
Copying over new application components
Cleaning up old application components

Reboot is required to complete the upgrade. Press ‘Enter’ to reboot the system. {Enter}

Broadcast message from root (console) (Fri Oct 3 08:20:59 2014):

The system is going down for reboot NOW!

[/box]

6. Post reboot you can see the new version from the console connection.

[box] Cisco ASA CX 9.3.1.1
This product contains cryptographic features and is subject to United States
and local country laws governing import, export, transfer and use. Delivery
of Cisco cryptographic products does not imply third-party authority to import,
export, distribute or use encryption. Importers, exporters, distributors and
users are responsible for compliance with U.S. and local country laws. By using
this product you agree to comply with applicable laws and regulations. If you
are unable to comply with U.S. and local laws, return this product immediately.
A summary of U.S. laws governing Cisco cryptographic products may be found at:
http://www.cisco.com/wwl/export/crypto/tool/stqrg
If you require further assistance please contact us by sending email to
export@cisco.com.

You can access the Web UI from your browser using the following URL(s):
https://10.0.41.34/
https://[fe80::5af3:9cff:fe05:d2e4]/

asacx login:

[/box]

You can also check the version has updated from within the ASDM.

 

Related Articles, References, Credits, or External Links

NA

 

ASA Upgrading and Imaging a Hardware CX Module

KB ID 0001025

Problem

Last time I had to do one of these the process was very straight forward, one command and the ASA got its new image from FTP, extracted it, and then installed it.

I had a CX module fail last week, and Cisco shipped me out a replacement. After installing it and running the setup, I needed to upgrade it (it will be managed by PRSM). It was running version 9.0.2 (probably been on the shelf a while!). And every time I tried to run a system upgrade it told me this, (regardless of what version I tried to install).

[box]This package is not applicable to release 9.0.2.[/box]

If I tried to set a boot image in the ASA, I got the following errors;

[box] Module 1 cannot be recovered.

OR

ERROR: Module in slot 1 does not support recovery

[/box]

Well there is a boot image especially for the 5585-X CX module, so how do you use it?

Solution

Remember the ASA-SSP-CX unit is basically the same hardware as the ASA, you need to boot that card to ROMMON, then install the boot image via TFTP. Once that’s loaded you can run setup and install the new software package.

1. As you can see this one’s running a very old OS.

[box] Petes-CX>show version

Cisco ASA CX Platform 9.0.2 (103)

Cisco Prime Security Manager 9.0.2 (103) for Petes-CX firewall

Petes-CX>

[/box]

2. Reload the module and as it starts to boot, send a ‘break’ keystroke.

[box] Petes-CX>system reload
Are you sure you want to reload the system? [N]: y
Broadcast message from root (console) (Mon Jan 19 14:47:09 2015):
The system is going down for reboot NOW!
INIT: SwitchingStopping OpenBSD Secure Shell server: sshdstopped /usr/sbin/sshd (pid 3862)
.
Stopping Advanced Configuration and Power Interface daemon: no /usr/sbin/acpid found; none killed
stopping Busybox inetd: inetd… stopped inetd (pid 3875)
done.
Stopping Vixie-cron.
Stopping ntpd: stopped process in pidfile ‘/var/run/ntp.pid’ (pid 3880)
done
Stopping syslogd/klogd: done
Deconfiguring network interfaces… done.
Stopping CGroup Rules Engine Daemon…stopped /usr/sbin/cgrulesengd (pid 3865)

Success
CGRE[3865]: Stopped CGroup Rules Engine Daemon at Mon Jan 19 14:47:13 2015
Stopping cgconfig service: Success
Sending all processes the TERM signal…
Sending all processes the KILL signal…
Unmounting remote filesystems…
Deactivating swap…
Unmounting local filesystems…
umount2: Device or resource busy

——————————————
–Output Removed for the Sake of Brevity–
——————————————

The system is restarting…

CISCO SYSTEMS

Embedded BIOS Version 2.0(13)0 20:40:45 10/21/11

USB storage device found … SMART eUSB USB Device

Total memory : 12 GB

Total number of CPU cores : 8

CPLD revision 0008h
Cisco Systems ROMMON Version (2.0(13)0) #0: Fri Oct 21 20:01:34 CDT 2011

Use BREAK or ESC to interrupt boot.Use SPACE to begin boot immediately.Boot in 10 seconds.

Boot interrupted.

Management0/0
Link is UP
MAC Address: 6c20.5658.928c

Use ? for help.
rommon #0>

[/box]

3. Remember in ROMMON mode you need to set up all the network settings to copy in the boot image (where 192.168.1.10 will be the CX,and .101 is the TFTP server).

Note: This is the BOOT image, it will have a .img file extension.

[box] rommon #0> ADDRESS=192.168.1.10
rommon #1> SERVER=192.168.1.101
rommon #2> GATEWAY=192.168.1.1
rommon #3> IMAGE=asacx-boot-9.3.2.1-9.img
rommon #4> [/box]

4. Make sure you can ping the TFTP server.

[box]rommon #4> ping 192.168.1.101
Sending 20, 100-byte ICMP Echoes to 192.168.1.101, timeout is 4 seconds:
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Success rate is 100 percent (20/20)[/box]

5. Issue a sync command, then start the transfer.

[box]

rommon #5> sync

Updating NVRAM Parameters…

rommon #6> tftp
ROMMON Variable Settings:
ADDRESS=192.168.1.10
SERVER=192.168.1.101
GATEWAY=192.168.1.1
PORT=Management0/0
VLAN=untagged
IMAGE=asacx-boot-9.3.2.1-9.img
CONFIG=
LINKTIMEOUT=20
PKTTIMEOUT=4
RETRY=20

tftp asacx-boot-9.3.2.1-9.img@192.168.1.010 via 192.168.1.1
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

——————————————
–Output Removed for the Sake of Brevity–
——————————————

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Received 65605385 bytes

Launching TFTP Image…

Execute image at 0x14000
[STUB]
Boot protocol version 0x209

——————————————
–Output Removed for the Sake of Brevity–
——————————————

Starting syslogd/klogd: done
Cisco ASA CX Boot Image 9.3.2.1

Petes-CX login: admin
Password: ************

Cisco ASA CX Boot 9.3.2.1 (9)
Type ? for list of commands
Petes-CX-boot>

[/box]

WARNING the following procedure will erase all the settings from your CX module

6. Partition the CX module drive. (This takes a long time, good time to put the kettle on!)

[box]

Petes-CX-boot>partition
WARNING: You are about to erase all policy configurations and data.
You cannot undo this action.
Are you sure you want to proceed? [y/n]:y
Logical volume “data” successfully removed
Logical volume “var” successfully removed
Logical volume “packages” successfully removed

——————————————
–Output Removed for the Sake of Brevity–
——————————————

Persistent partition is there so create symbolic link /etc/ntp.conf
Persistent partition is there so create symbolic link /etc/hosts
Petes-CX-boot>

[/box]

7. Run the basic setup.

[box]

Petes-CX-boot>setup

Welcome to Cisco Prime Security Manager Setup
[hit Ctrl-C to abort]
Default values are inside []

Enter a hostname [asacx]: Petes-CX
Do you want to configure IPv4 address on management interface?(y/n) [Y]: Y
Do you want to enable DHCP for IPv4 address assignment on management interface?(y/n) [N]: N
Enter an IPv4 address [192.168.8.8]: 192.168.1.10
Enter the netmask [255.255.255.0]: 255.255.255.0
Enter the gateway [192.168.8.1]: 192.168.1.1
Do you want to configure static IPv6 address on management interface?(y/n) [N]: N
Stateless autoconfiguration will be enabled for IPv6 addresses.
Enter the primary DNS server IP address: 192.168.1.20
Do you want to configure Secondary DNS Server? (y/n) [n]: Y
Enter the secondary DNS server IP address: 192.168.1.21
Do you want to configure Local Domain Name? (y/n) [n]: Y
Enter the local domain name: petenetlive.com
Do you want to configure Search domains? (y/n) [n]: Y
Enter the comma separated list for search domains: petenetlive.com
Do you want to enable the NTP service? [Y]: Y
Enter the NTP servers separated by commas: 192.168.1.31,192.168.1.32
Do you want to enable the NTP symmetric key authentication? [N]: N
Please review the final configuration:
Hostname:Petes-CX
Management Interface Configuration

IPv4 Configuration:static
IP Address:192.168.1.10
Netmask:255.255.255.0
Gateway:192.168.1.1

IPv6 Configuration:Stateless autoconfiguration

DNS Configuration:
Domain:petenetlive.com
Search:
petenetlive.com
DNS Server:
192.168.1.20
192.168.1.21

NTP configuration:
192.168.1.31,192.168.1.32
CAUTION:
You have selected IPv6 stateless autoconfiguration, which assigns a global address based on network prefix and a device identifier. Although this address is unlikely to change, if it does change, the system will stop functioning correctly.
We suggest you use static addressing instead.

Apply the changes?(y,n) [Y]: Y
Configuration saved successfully!
Applying…
Restarting network services…
Restarting NTP service…
Done.
Press ENTER to continue…
Petes-CX-boot>

[/box]

8. You can now upgrade the CX module from FTP.

Note: This is the SYSTEM image, it will have a .pkg extension.

[box]

Petes-CX-boot>system install ftp://192.168.1.101/asacx-sys-9.3.2.1-9.pkg
Verifying..
Downloading..
Extracting..
Package Detail
Description:Cisco ASA-CX 9.3.2.1-9 System Upgrade
Requires reboot:Yes

Do you want to continue with upgrade? [y]: y

Warning: Please do not interrupt the process or turn off the system.
Doing so might leave system in unusable state.

Upgrading..
Starting upgrade process ..
Populating new system image..
Copying over new application components..
Cleaning up old application components..
Reboot is required to complete the upgrade. Press ‘Enter’ to reboot the system.

PRESS ENTER

Broadcast message from root (consoStopping OpenBSD Secure Shell server: sshdstopped /usr/sbin/sshd (pid 2883)

[/box]

9. After the module has reloaded, log in and make sure every thing is working.

[box]

Petes-CX login: admin
Password:***********


    Cisco Prime Security Manager 9.3.2.1 (9) for Petes-CX firewall
  Type ? for list of commands

Petes-CX>show services status
============================================================
Process           | PID   | Up    | Up Time
============================================================
HTTP Server       | 6139  | True  | 00:02:00
Data Plane        | 6665  | True  | 00:01:35
Opdata Helper     | 6299  | True  | 00:01:59
AD Interface      | 6674  | True  | 00:01:35
HW Regex Server   | 6572  | True  | 00:01:43
Message Nameserver| 6279  | True  | 00:01:59
HTTP Auth Daemon  | 6469  | True  | 00:01:57
Management Plane  | 6481  | True  | 00:01:57
signup            | 6347  | True  | 00:01:59
PDTS              | 6442  | True  | 00:01:59
Predictive Defense| 6679  | True  | 00:01:35
HTTP Inspector    | 6689  | True  | 00:01:35
HPM Monitor       | 6684  | True  | 00:01:35
Updater           | 7772  | True  | 00:00:19
Card Manager      | 6071  | True  | 00:02:00
ARP Daemon        | 6458  | True  | 00:01:58
Event Server      | 6512  | True  | 00:01:52
TLS Proxy         | 6719  | True  | 00:01:35
============================================================
Petes-CX>

[/box]

 

Related Articles, References, Credits, or External Links

Special thanks to Veronika Klauzova from Cisco TAC