As part of any system, from time to time you need to install updates, patches, and upgrade code. The joys of IOS XR code is that you can actually installed patches that fix bugs, you can perform in-service upgrades and not take down the router (provided you have a dual-supervisor router), as well as add new services to the code. All the necessary PIE packages can be found in the main image, they are not available separately.

You can get the main image from CCO Support and Downloads. To navigate to the download, select:
Products -> Routers -> Service Provider Edge Routers -> ASR 9000 -> ASR 9006

Then select IOS XR Software for the main images or IOS XR Software Maintenance Upgrades (SMU) for patches for caveats fixes.

Once you select the IOS XR Software, the most recent version of code will be presented on the screen. Select the version that you need and proceed to download it. If you get an error that a contract is required, please open a Cisco TAC case requesting access, they will need the serial number of the chassis in order to prove support.

Once you have the image on your computer, we will now need to transfer it. Since the image is over 400 Megs as of 4.1.2, and 4.2.0 is over 700 Megs, TFTP is probably not going to cut it (most TFTP apps do not support files over 32 megs). What you might need to do is find an FTP server program to use – I recommend FileZilla - but that is ultimately up to you. Once you have your FTP server setup and ready to go, we now need to get the image copied. For this example, I am using a username of Cisco and a password of cisco

RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:ASR01# copy ftp://1.1.1.2/ASR9K-iosxr-k9-4.1.2.tar compactflash:
Tue Apr 10 02:00:23.038 UTC
Source username: [anonymous]?cisco
Source password: cisco
Destination filename [/compactflash:/ASR9K-iosxr-k9-4.1.2.tar]? (just hit enter)

The file copy will now start and will take some time (you will see CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC) – these are large images, so patience is a virtue.

Once the file copy is complete, check the compact flash to make sure the images transferred successfully.
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:ASR01#dir compactflash:
Tue Apr 10 02:01:37.766 UTC

Directory of compactflash:

131104 -rw- 9216 Sun Jan 2 08:01:19 2000 Test
6 drwx 4096 Tue Jan 4 23:33:44 2000 LOST.DIR
131264 -rw- 453611520 Thu Apr 5 22:14:28 2012 ASR9K-iosxr-k9-4.1.2.tar

1022427136 bytes total (568795136 bytes free)

Now that we have the image, we need to extract the tar file. That is done from ADMIN mode. You enter admin mode by typing admin at the command promt.

RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:ASR01#admin
Tue Apr 10 02:03:27.052 UTC
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:R2(admin)#

Once there, we can install the tar image using the install command:
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:ASR01(admin)#install add tar compactflash:ASR9K-iosxr-k9-4.1.2.tar

Once you enter that command, the system will start to process the file and show output:
Mon Apr 9 21:29:41.420 UTC
Install operation 1 ‘(admin) install add tar
/compactflash:ASR9K-iosxr-k9-4.1.2.tar’ started by user ‘admin’ via CLI at
21:29:41 UTC Mon Apr 09 2012.
Info: The following files were extracted from the tar file
Info: ‘/compactflash:ASR9K-iosxr-k9-4.1.2.tar’ and will be added to the
Info: entire router:
Info:
Info: asr9k-mcast-p.pie-4.1.2
Info: asr9k-mpls-p.pie-4.1.2
Info: asr9k-mini-p.pie-4.1.2
Info: asr9k-mini-p.vm-4.1.2 (skipped – not a pie)
Info: asr9k-doc-p.pie-4.1.2
Info: asr9k-video-p.pie-4.1.2
Info: asr9k-mgbl-p.pie-4.1.2
Info: asr9k-optic-p.pie-4.1.2
Info: asr9k-upgrade-p.pie-4.1.2
Info: asr9k-k9sec-p.pie-4.1.2
Info: README-ASR9K-k9-4.1.2.txt (skipped – not a pie)
Info:
The install operation will continue asynchronously.

This operation will happen in the background, you will be returned to the command prompt. Once the process is finished, the similar text will appear on the prompt:
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:ASR01(admin)#
Info: The following packages are now available to be activated:
Info:
Info: disk0:asr9k-mcast-p-4.1.2
Info: disk0:asr9k-mpls-p-4.1.2
Info: disk0:asr9k-mini-p-4.1.2
Info: disk0:asr9k-doc-p-4.1.2
Info: disk0:asr9k-video-p-4.1.2
Info: disk0:asr9k-mgbl-p-4.1.2
Info: disk0:asr9k-optic-4.1.2
Info: disk0:asr9k-upgrade-p-4.1.2
Info: disk0:asr9k-k9sec-p-4.1.2
Info:
Info: The packages can be activated across the entire router.
Info:
Install operation 1 completed successfully at 21:38:52 UTC Mon Apr 09 2012.

Now that we have the image there, we need to see what inactive PIEs we have to install and activate. The command here is show install inactive summary
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:ASR01(admin)#sh install inactive summary
Mon Apr 9 21:59:10.354 UTC
Default Profile:
SDRs:
Owner
Inactive Packages:
disk0:asr9k-upgrade-p-4.1.2
disk0:asr9k-optic-4.1.2
disk0:asr9k-doc-p-4.1.2
disk0:asr9k-k9sec-p-4.1.2
disk0:asr9k-video-p-4.1.2
disk0:asr9k-mpls-p-4.1.2
disk0:asr9k-mgbl-p-4.1.2
disk0:asr9k-mcast-p-4.1.2

Now we should be able to activate and install one of the PIE images, here we will activate the MPLS one.

RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:ASR01(admin)#install activate disk0:asr9k-mpls-p-4.1.2
Mon Apr 9 21:59:43.108 UTC
Install operation 2 ‘(admin) install activate disk0:asr9k-mpls-p-4.1.2′ started
by user ‘admin’ via CLI at 21:59:43 UTC Mon Apr 09 2012.
Error: Cannot proceed with the operation because the upgrade package
Error: disk0:asr9k-upgrade-p-4.1.2 is present on boot disk.
Error: The disk0:asr9k-upgrade-p-4.1.2 package should only be used when
Error: upgrading from software versions prior to 4.0.0. Once the upgrade is
Error: complbe immediately doved. No
Error: further install operations will be allowed until this is completed.
Error:
Error: Remove the package disk0:asr9k-upgrade-p-4.1.2 from the entire router
Error: by executing the ‘install remove disk0:asr9k-upgrade-p-4.1.2′ command
Error: in admin mode.
Error: No further install operations will be allowed until this is
Error: completed.
Install operation 2 failed at 21:59:44 UTC Mon Apr 09 2012.

Ahh, we got an error! The error output tells us that we need to remove the upgrade package from the disk via the install remove command:
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:ASR01(admin)#install remove disk0:asr9k-upgrade-p-4.1.2
Mon Apr 9 22:00:13.538 UTC
Install operation 3 ‘(admin) install remove disk0:asr9k-upgrade-p-4.1.2′
started by user ‘admin’ via CLI at 22:00:13 UTC Mon Apr 09 2012.
Info: This operation will remove the following package:
Info: disk0:asr9k-upgrade-p-4.1.2

Now we need to confirm it by just hitting enter:
Proceed with removing these packages? [confirm] (just hit enter to confirm)
The install operation will continue asynchronoussly.

Now if we do a show install summary, it will tell us that we are in the process of doing something as it shows under the default profile:
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:ASR01(admin)#sh install summary
Mon Apr 9 22:00:22.060 UTC
Default Profile: Currently affected by install operation 3
SDRs:
Owner
Active Packages:
No packages.

Once completed, we will be notified on the cli
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:ASR01(admin)#
Install operation 3 completed successfully at 22:00:39 UTC Mon Apr 09 2012.

Now, we should be able to install the MPLS PIE
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:ASR01(admin)#install activate disk0:asr9k-mpls-p-4.1.2
Mon Apr 9 22:03:38.202 UTC
Install operation 4 ‘(admin) install activate disk0:asr9k-mpls-p-4.1.2′ started
by user ‘admin’ via CLI at 22:03:38 UTC Mon Apr 09 2012.
Info: Install Method: Parallel Process Restart
The install operation will continue asynchronously.
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:ios(admin)#RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:Apr 9 22:04:32.428 : insthelper[65]: ISSU: Starting sysdb bulk start session
Info: The changes made to software configurations will not be persistent
Info: across system reloads. Use the command ‘(admin) install commit’ to
Info: make changes persistent.
Info: Please verify that the system is consistent following the software
Info: change using the following commands:
Info: show system verify
Info: install verify packages
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:Apr 9 22:04:45.933 : instdir[229]: %INSTALL-INSTMGR-4-ACTIVE_SOFTWARE_COMMITTED_INFO : The currently active software is not committed. If the system reboots then the committed software will be used. Use ‘install commit’ to commit the active software.
Install operation 4 completed successfully at 22:04:45 UTC Mon Apr 09 2012.

If you want to see the status of the install, you can use the show install request command and it will show you the percentage complete.
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:ASR01(admin)#sh install request
Sat May 12 00:43:54.386 UTC
Install operation 4 ‘(admin) install activate disk0:asr9k-mpls-p-4.1.2′ started
by user ‘admin’ via CLI at 22:04:45 UTC Mon Apr 09 2012.
The operation is 85% complete
The operation can still be aborted.
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:ASR01(admin)#

Once the installation is complete, we need to COMMIT the installation using the install commit command
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:ASR01(admin)#install commit
Mon Apr 9 22:07:17.014 UTC
Install operation 5 ‘(admin) install commit’ started by user ‘admin’ via CLI at
22:07:17 UTC Mon Apr 09 2012.
\ 100% complete: The operation can no longer be aborted (ctrl-c for options)RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:Apr 9 22:07:20.238 : instdir[229]:
%INSTALL-INSTMGR-4-ACTIVE_SOFTWARE_COMMITTED_INFO : The currently active software is now the same as the committed software.
Install operation 5 completed successfully at 22:07:20 UTC Mon Apr 09 2012.

Now if we look at our show install active summary command, we now have the MPLS PIE
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:ASR01(admin)#sh install active summary
Tue Apr 10 02:12:38.009 UTC
Default Profile:
SDRs:
Owner
Active Packages:
disk0:asr9k-mini-p-4.1.2
disk0:asr9k-k9sec-p-4.1.2
disk0:asr9k-mpls-p-4.1.2

RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:ASR01(admin)#

When it comes to patches, they are rather easy as well. They pretty much follow the same process as packages. Copy the file to flash, install the tar, then activate the patch.
For this example, we will copy the CSCtu30994 – rn_preorder_key_successor_int function is constantly looping per the readme file.

First up, lets copy it from the TFTP server to our CompactFlash card:
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:ASR01#copy tftp: compactflash:
Tue May 15 06:12:19.645 UTC
Address or name of remote host [192.168.1.1]? 192.168.1.1
Source filename [/tftp:]?asr9k-p-4.1.2.CSCtu30994.tar
Destination filename [/compactflash:/asr9k-p-4.1.2.CSCtu30994.tar]? (just hit enter for defaults)
Accessing tftp://10.100.100.17/asr9k-p-4.1.2.CSCtu30994.tar
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
911360 bytes copied in 6 sec ( 134936)bytes/sec

Once copied, lets switch to ADMIN mode.
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:ASR01#admin
Tue May 15 06:15:01.739 UTC

Now we can add the TAR files
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:ASR01(admin)#install add tar compactflash:asr9k-p-4.1.2.CSCtu30994.tar
Tue May 15 06:15:03.744 UTC
/compactflash:asr9k-p-4.1.2.CSCtu30994.tar’ started by user ‘admin’ via CLI at
06:15:04 UTC Tue May 15 2012.
Info: The following files were extracted from the tar file
Info: ‘/compactflash:asr9k-p-4.1.2.CSCtu30994.tar’ and will be added to the
Info: entire router:
Info:
Info: asr9k-p-4.1.2.CSCtu30994.pie
Info: asr9k-p-4.1.2.CSCtu30994.txt (skipped – not a pie)
Info:
The install operation will continue asynchronously.

And once the TAR has been added, the following message will appear:
Info: The following package is now available to be activated:
Info:
Info: disk0:asr9k-p-4.1.2.CSCtu30994-1.0.0
Info:
Info: The package can be activated across the entire router.
Info:
Install operation 27 completed successfully at 06:15:39 UTC Tue May 15 2012.

Now we can activate this patch:
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:ASR01(admin)#install activate disk0:asr9k-p-4.1.2.CSCtu30994-1.0.0
Tue May 15 06:15:45.276 UTC
Install operation 28 ‘(admin) install activate
disk0:asr9k-p-4.1.2.CSCtu30994-1.0.0′ started by user ‘admin’ via CLI at
06:15:45 UTC Tue May 15 2012.
Info: Install Method: Parallel Process Restart
The install operation will continue asynchronously.

Info: The changes made to software configurations will not be persistent
Info: across system reloads. Use the command ‘(admin) install commit’ to
Info: make changes persistent.
Info: Please verify that the system is consistent following the software
Info: change using the following commands:
Info: show system verify
Info: install verify packages

Once the install is done we need to commit it:
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:ASR01(admin)#install commit
Tue May 15 06:17:06.359 UTC
Install operation 29 ‘(admin) install commit’ started by user ‘admin’ via CLI
at 06:17:06 UTC Tue May 15 2012.
\ 100% complete: The operation can no longer be aborted (ctrl-c for options)RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:May 15 06:17:09.967 : instdir[233]:
%INSTALL-INSTMGR-4-ACTIVE_SOFTWARE_COMMITTED_INFO : The currently active software is now the same as the committed software.
Install operation 29 completed successfully at 06:17:09 UTC Tue May 15 2012.
And like that we are patched.

Now, that was not one that required a reload, if you have one of them like CSCtw84381, here you will be prompted that you need to reload.
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:ASR01(admin)#install activate disk0:asr9k-p-4.1.2.CSCtw84381-1.0.0
Tue May 15 06:30:37.867 UTC
Install operation 35 ‘(admin) install activate
disk0:asr9k-p-4.1.2.CSCtw84381-1.0.0′ started by user ‘admin’ via CLI at
06:30:38 UTC Tue May 15 2012.
Info: This operation will reload the following nodes in parallel:
Info: 0/RSP0/CPU0 (RP) (SDR: Owner)
Info: 0/0/CPU0 (LC) (SDR: Owner)
Info: 0/1/CPU0 (LC) (SDR: Owner)

See, it is asking you to proceed – hit enter for Y
Proceed with this install operation (y/n)? [y] (enter)
Info: Install Method: Parallel Reload
The install operation will continue asynchronously.

Once the install is complete, the router will reload and you will need to relogin. Do not forget to do INSTALL COMMIT!!!

Note from the Cisco website (Link Here)
Install operations are activated according to the method encoded in the package being activated. Generally, this method has the least impact for routing and forwarding purposes, but it may not
be the fastest method from start to finish and can require user interaction by default. To perform the installation procedure as quickly as possible, you can specify the parallel-reload
keyword. This action forces the installation to perform a parallel reload, so that all cards on the router reload simultaneously and then come up with the new software. This impacts routing
and forwarding, but it ensures that the installation is performed without other issues.

Well, time for another IOS XR post, this time on Interface Bundles, particularly Ethernet. With IOS XR a bundle can be considered a group of one or more ports that are aggregated together and treated as one link. The different links within a single bundle can have different speeds, where the fastest link can be up to four times faster than the slowest link. Each bundle has a single MAC, and a single IP address.

As with some other devices, you can have interfaces in a bundle across multiple line cards, thus protecting yourself from a single point of failure. If a line card fails,  the bundle interface will stay up as you configured it to span more then 1 card. A bundle also provides you with more bandwidth then might normally be available if using a single interface. Cisco IOS XR supports 802.3ad (LACP) as well as Cisco proprietary EtherChannel. In all honesty, if you use anything other then LACP you are asking for trouble – LACP has prevent many problems when GBICs have gone bad, but the interfaces are still UP/UP.

Ok, time for the meat and potatoes:

Etherchannels are also different between IOS and IOS XR. In typical IOS, they would be configured as such:

interface port-channel 1
IP add 10.1.1.1 255.255.255.0
interface FastEthernet0/0
channel-group 1
no shut
interface FastEthernet0/1
channel-group 1
no shut

IOS XE is a little different then IOS as you can choose LACP:

interface GigabitEthernet0/0/2
channel-group 12 mode active
no shut
interface GigabitEthernet0/0/3
channel-group 12 mode active
no shut
interface Port-channel12
ip address 10.1.1.1 255.255.255.252

And with IOS XR, it is a bit different again. So, for this example we will configure Ethernet Bundle 200 using two routers called PE1 and PE2. Our interfaces are G0/0/0/11 and G0/1/0/11 on both routers.

First on PE2:
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:PE2#conf t

First up though, let’s reset the interfaces back to factory by using the no interface command:
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:PE2(config)#no int g0/0/0/11
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:PE2(config)#commit

Instead of a port-channel interface, we do a bundle-ether interface
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:PE2(config)#int bundle-ether 200
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:PE2(config-if)#ip add 150.1.12.2 255.255.255.0

Now let’s look at our bundle options:
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:PE2(config-if)#bundle ?
load-balancing Load balancing commands on a bundle
maximum-active Set a limit on the number of links that can be active
minimum-active Set the minimum criteria for the bundle to be active
shutdown Bring all links in the bundle down to Standby state
wait-while Set the wait-while timeout for members of this bundle

Ok, since this is a bundle, we should put restrictions around the max and min links. Normally this is not a problem, but if you had to guarantee bandwidth (say 4G, then you might consider having the min links set to 4, and if you dropped below 4 the interface would go down).
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:PE2(config-if)#bundle maximum-active links 2
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:PE2(config-if)#bundle minimum-active links 1

Now let’s take a quick look at our load balancing hash options:
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:PE2(config-if)#bundle load-balancing hash ?
dst-ip Use the destination IP as the hash function
src-ip Use the source IP as the hash function

So, for this example we will use the src-ip
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:PE2(config-if)#bundle load-balancing hash src-ip

Now, let’s assign the interfaces to the bundle
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:PE2(config-if)#int g0/1/0/11

Just like port-channels, the bundle ID should match the interface number you created. But here we will also look at what bundle options we have:
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:PE2(config-if)#bundle id 200 mode ?
active Run LACP in active mode over the port.
on Do not run LACP over the port.
passive Run LACP in passive mode over the port.

We will use LACP in ACTIVE mode as that is what is recommended by Cisco:
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:PE2(config-if)#bundle id 200 mode active
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:PE2(config-if)#no shut

And do the same for G0/0/0/11:
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:PE2(config-if)#int g0/0/0/11
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:PE2(config-if)#bundle id 200 mode ac
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:PE2(config-if)#no shut

Now let’s check our config before we commit:
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:PE2(config-if)#show config
Fri Apr 27 01:46:28.451 UTC
Building configuration…
!! IOS XR Configuration 4.1.2
interface Bundle-Ether200
ipv4 address 150.1.12.2 255.255.255.0
bundle load-balancing hash src-ip
bundle maximum-active links 2
bundle minimum-active links 1
!
interface GigabitEthernet0/0/0/11
bundle id 200 mode active
no shutdown
!
interface GigabitEthernet0/1/0/11
bundle id 200 mode active
no shutdown
!
end

Looks good, now we can commit the changes

RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:PE2(config)#commit
Fri Apr 27 01:46:44.692 UTC

Now we can do the other Router, PE1
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:PE1(config)#no int g0/0/0/11
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:PE1(config)#commit
Fri Apr 27 01:49:05.892 UTC
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:PE1(config)#int bundle-ether 200
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:PE1(config-if)#ip add 150.1.12.1/24
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:PE1(config-if)#bundle maximum-active links 2
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:PE1(config-if)#bundle minimum-active links 1
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:PE1(config-if)#bundle load-balancing hash src-ip
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:PE1(config-if)#int g0/1/0/11
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:PE1(config-if)#bundle id 200 mode act
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:PE1(config-if)#no shut
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:PE1(config-if)#int g0/0/0/11
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:PE1(config-if)#bundle id 200 mode act
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:PE1(config-if)#no shut
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:PE1(config-if)#exit
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:PE1(config)#show config
Fri Apr 27 01:50:34.351 UTC
Building configuration…
!! IOS XR Configuration 4.1.2
interface Bundle-Ether200
ipv4 address 150.1.12.1 255.255.255.0
bundle load-balancing hash src-ip
bundle maximum-active links 2
bundle minimum-active links 1
!
interface GigabitEthernet0/0/0/11
bundle id 200 mode active
no shutdown
!
interface GigabitEthernet0/1/0/11
bundle id 200 mode active
no shutdown
!
end

RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:PE1(config)#commit
Fri Apr 27 01:50:37.705 UTC
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:PE1(config)#

Now, let’s look at our bundle interface:
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:PE1#sh int bundle-eth 200
Fri Apr 27 01:51:04.668 UTC
Bundle-Ether200 is up, line protocol is up
Interface state transitions: 1
Hardware is Aggregated Ethernet interface(s), address is 6c9c.ed2d.0bab
Internet address is 150.1.12.1/24
MTU 1514 bytes, BW 2000000 Kbit (Max: 2000000 Kbit)
reliability 255/255, txload 0/255, rxload 0/255
Encapsulation ARPA,
Full-duplex, 2000Mb/s
loopback not set,
ARP type ARPA, ARP timeout 04:00:00
No. of members in this bundle: 2
GigabitEthernet0/0/0/11 Full-duplex 1000Mb/s Active
GigabitEthernet0/1/0/11 Full-duplex 1000Mb/s Active
Last input 00:00:18, output 00:00:18
Last clearing of “show interface” counters never
5 minute input rate 0 bits/sec, 0 packets/sec
5 minute output rate 0 bits/sec, 0 packets/sec
15 packets input, 1792 bytes, 50 total input drops
0 drops for unrecognized upper-level protocol
Received 2 broadcast packets, 13 multicast packets
0 runts, 0 giants, 0 throttles, 0 parity
0 input errors, 0 CRC, 0 frame, 0 overrun, 0 ignored, 0 abort
12 packets output, 1408 bytes, 0 total output drops

As we can see, we are UP and have a full-duplex bandwidth of 2Gs.

So, let’s PING!
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:PE1#ping 150.1.12.2
Fri Apr 27 01:51:12.692 UTC
Type escape sequence to abort.
Sending 5, 100-byte ICMP Echos to 150.1.12.2, timeout is 2 seconds:
!!!!!
Success rate is 100 percent (5/5), round-trip min/avg/max = 1/4/16 ms
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:PE1#

Cool! The bundle is working.

Now we can check out some of the details:
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:PE1#sh bundle bundle-ether 200
Fri Apr 27 02:13:16.767 UTC

Bundle-Ether200
Status: Up
Local links <active/standby/configured>: 2 / 0 / 2
Local bandwidth <effective/available>: 2000000 (2000000) kbps
MAC address (source): 6c9c.ed2d.0bab (Chassis pool)
Minimum active links / bandwidth: 1 / 1 kbps
Maximum active links: 2
Wait while timer: 2000 ms
Load balancing:
Link order signaling: Not configured
Hash type: Src-IP
LACP: Operational
Flap suppression timer: Off
Cisco extensions: Disabled
mLACP: Not configured
IPv4 BFD: Not configured

Port Device State Port ID B/W, kbps
——————– ————— ———– ————– ———-
Gi0/0/0/11 Local Active 0×8000, 0×0002 1000000
Link is Active
Gi0/1/0/11 Local Active 0×8000, 0×0001 1000000
Link is Active
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:PE1#

Now we can look at LACP:
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:PE1#show lacp
Fri Apr 27 01:52:35.115 UTC
State: a – Port is marked as Aggregatable.
s – Port is Synchronized with peer.
c – Port is marked as Collecting.
d – Port is marked as Distributing.
A – Device is in Active mode.
F – Device requests PDUs from the peer at fast rate.
D – Port is using default values for partner information.
E – Information about partner has expired.

Bundle-Ether200

Port (rate) State Port ID Key System ID
——————– ——– ————- —— ————————
Local
Gi0/0/0/11 30s ascdA— 0×8000,0×0002 0x00c8 0×8000,6c-9c-ed-2d-0b-ac
Partner 30s ascdA— 0×8000,0×0003 0x00c8 0×8000,6c-9c-ed-2d-1f-cc
Gi0/1/0/11 30s ascdA— 0×8000,0×0001 0x00c8 0×8000,6c-9c-ed-2d-0b-ac
Partner 30s ascdA— 0×8000,0×0004 0x00c8 0×8000,6c-9c-ed-2d-1f-cc

Port Receive Period Selection Mux A Churn P Churn
——————– ———- —— ———- ——— ——- ——-
Local
Gi0/0/0/11 Current Slow Selected Distrib None None
Gi0/1/0/11 Current Slow Selected Distrib None None
RP/0/RSP0/CPU0:PE1#

Well, it is getting closed to Cisco Live and my schedule is all set – and here it is!  Looks like I have some fun times ahead for my, cannot wait to attend some new session.

Sunday
3:00 PM		GENPS-1628	Public Sector Open Session
Monday
8:00 AM		BRKDCT-2011	Design and Deployment of Data Center Interconnects using Advanced VPLS (A-VPLS)
10:00 AM		BRKSEC-3005	Advanced IEEE 802.1X
1:00 PM		BRKRST-2335	IS-IS Network Design and Deployment
3:30 PM		GENSK-4352	Solutions Keynote: Technologies Transforming the Data Center: The Evolution…
5:30 PM		LABWISP-1000	Walk-in Self Paced Labs
Tuesday
8:00 AM		BRKARC-2003	Cisco ASR 9000 Architecture
10:00 AM		GENKEY-4346	Keynote and Welcome Address
12:30 PM		BRKDCT-2223	Evolution of the Data Center Edge
3:00 PM		PSRCCIE-9302	Cornerstones of CCIE Success
4:00 PM		PNLRST-4001	Panel: LISP Executive Panel
Wednesday
8:00 AM		BRKRST-2051	Software Defined Networks and OpenFlow
10:00 AM		GENKEY-4347	Cisco Technology Keynote
12:30 PM		BRKAPP-2020	ACE Deployment in an Application Environment
4:00 PM		BRKDCT-3060	Deployment challenges with Interconnecting Data Centers
Thursday
8:00 AM		BRKCRT-8862	Cisco Certified Architect: How to complete the journey from CCIE to CCDE to …
10:00 AM		BRKCCIE-9163	CCIE Service Provider
12:00 PM		BRKCCIE-1001	Cisco Data Center Training and Certification portfolio evolution
2:00 PM		GENKEY-4358	Closing Keynote: An Afternoon with Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman
3:30 PM		BRKDCT-3103	Advanced OTV – Configure, Verify and Troubleshoot OTV in Your Network

= Conference Event

Ok, so what does Windows 95 have to do with Cisco Live?  Well, if you remember the one Easter Egg that came with Windows 95, you might remember this video:

Yup, the CAE band will be Weezer! As CiscoLive has said “You voted…. We Listened….. Weezer will be our headliner”.  Taking from the Weezer website at Weezer.Com

Weezer has been around since 1992, and in its present form since September 2001. Weezer consists of Rivers Cuomo, primary songwriter, lead vocals and guitar, Patrick Wilson, drums, guitar, vocals, and production whiz, Brian Bell, guitar and keyboards and vocals, and Scott Shriner, bass, vocals, and keyboards. Whether on the stage or in the studio its not uncommon to see just about anyone in the band playing just about anything they can get their hands on. Its also not uncommon to see some pretty wacky stuff go down both on stage and on the web. Weezer has sold over 10 million albums and has played thousands of shows to date. Weezer is also known for its pioneering (1994-2000) use of the internet to reach its fanbase, innovative videos and funny and/or quite strange behind the scenes footage, as well as its extremely passionate and devoted fans. They also make a mean cheese sandwich.

Now, if that does not get you excited I know what might. The cover band is going to be Zepperalla! Some of you might have never heard of Zepparella, but I can assure you are in for a wonderful evening with them! A quick Zepparella Biography follows this video:

How to honor the legacy of a band deemed sacred? To tread on holy ground is perilous, and must be done with the intent and spirit of a disciple—Pay attention to the intricacies of the magic, explore the far ends of the innovation, strive for ever-growing ability, and let the purity of the love for the music drive it all.

Drummer Clementine is the founding member of ZEPPARELLA. From the beginning of her musical career, her goal has been to be onstage every night. The pursuit of that goal has led Clementine to constantly tour the US and Europe in projects as diverse as Bottom, AC/DShe, The House Of More, The Solid, Francis Bakin, and Stars Turn Me On. She tackles the best rock drumming ever written with her own emotionally powerful style, bringing the Motown influence of the Bonham groove to the forefront. The profound musical connection established with Gretchen Menn (guitar), Angeline Saris (bass), and Noelle Doughty (vocals) creates the bond required to do this great music justice.

It was under the tutelage of classical guitarist Phillip DeFremery, a student of Andrés Segovia, that guitarist Gretchen Menn began her path on the instrument. Playing with tireless passion and constantly seeking out new challenges, her projects are often unconventional, genre-bending expressions combining elements of classical, rock, progressive, jazz, and metal. On influences, Gretchen has never tired of her initial inspirations—Eric Johnson, Steve Morse, Frank Zappa, and Jeff Beck. But she has loved Jimmy Page’s guitar playing longer than she has played the guitar. It was through the music of Led Zeppelin that she found a gateway into music that resonated deeply with her, creating a love for guitar-oriented music, and, ultimately, the guitar.

Bassist Angeline Saris has musical passions that span jazz to speed metal, R&B to rock, Cuban to hip-hop, and flamenco to rockabilly. Angeline has done it all – and does it extremely well. It is this versatility, her rock-solid time, tastefully crafted bass lines, and unequivocal skills that give her the ability to bring cohesion to the eclectic Zeppelin catalog. Angeline credits John Paul Jones as a main influence, so it is no surprise that she shines as she interprets his thunder.

Finally, singer Noelle Doughty has found her way back to where she started, with a passion for Led Zeppelin’s music that was developed from as far back as she can remember, as the little sister in the room with the rocking older brothers. The kid who knew every word to every song has worked in classic rock cover bands, jazz bands, funk bands, and yet never lost her true love for Zeppelin. After moving to the West Coast from New York State, her fortuitous meeting with Gretchen Menn backstage at a Robert Plant concert brought the final puzzle piece to the Zepparella family. Noelle’s clear and powerful style and deep understanding of the emotional content of these great songs make the picture complete.

Now more than ever, Zepparella explores their own improvised magic within the framework of Zeppelin’s mighty songs!

..and one last thing to add to this. The bag – here it is, A BACKPACK!!!

To view the official announcements, you can visit the Cisco Live site here: http://bit.ly/CAE012

Oh, and to give credit where credit is due – Mr Tugs broke it here first – LINK

I have more information to post, but I wanted to get this out to everyone as soon as possible!

See you at Cisco Live San Diego!!!

The inevitable TAC call and the request for a Show Tech to help with the support. Normally this is not a big problem on most systems, but if you ever try this on somehting like a Nexus 7000 – it takes a loooooong time and pulls well over 100 megs of information in that file. Capturing this output to a terminal is a test of patience (lets not mention console), or even if you redirect it to the bootflash it can still take some time. Then, there is getting a 100+ meg file copied from the bootflash to your computer, etc etc etc. I did do a quick post some time ago about using GZip to compress the file – you can find that post here.

But that is not what this post is about, this post is about a command called TAC-PAC. TAC-PAC seems to be a little known command to most people who have never run into a problem and had to pull a show tech of a N7K, of for that matter any NX-OS platform. I was able to confirm this command on Nexus 7000, 5000, and 1000 as well as the SAN MDS.

So, what is TAC-PAC? It is a single command that redirects the output of show tech-support details to a file, and then automatically compresses it for you. One command – nice and simple. The only thing that you will still have to do is pull the file via FTP or so.

So, how does one use TAC-PAC? Well, here are the commands and such:

Lets first see what the systems tells us about TAC-PAC:
NXOS# tac-pac?
tac-pac Save tac info in a compressed .gz file at specific location

Now lets find out what options we have for the TAC-PAC
NXOS# tac-pac ?
<CR>
bootflash: Select destination filesystem
ftp: Select destination filesystem
logflash: Select destination filesystem
scp: Select destination filesystem
sftp: Select destination filesystem
slot0: Select destination filesystem
tftp: Select destination filesystem
volatile: Select destination filesystem

Ok, I see we can save it multiple locations – but for me I prefer to save it locally and then pull it back from there. Why? Well, if you rely on any of the remote copy commands and you lose your connection, you might be running this command again. Easier to save it locally then pull it from there in my opinion.

So, lets save it to the bootflash. When we ran it, we did have some notices come back – they are listed as they appeared.
NXOS# tac-pac bootflash:
No kernel traces found
No kernel traces found

NXOS#

Ok, now that it is done lets take a look at the bootflash:
NXOS# dir bootflash:
14029324 Apr 18 01:26:53 2012 show_tech_out.gz
Usage for bootflash://sup-local
818855936 bytes used
991043584 bytes free
1809899520 bytes total
NXOS#

There we go, we have a show_tech_out.gz file ready to copy to your computer and send to TAC. Oh btw, it did not take that long to run – I did not time it, but it was quicker then I expected. When we look at that compressed 14 meg GZ file, there is a 200 meg file there waiting to be viewed!

Last thing, what does this run? Over 3000 show commands, way too many for me to list here!

Last year I did a post on Why you should go ( you can read it read here ), but since that was for 2011 – I figured I would update it for 2012 as well. I won’t go into as much detail as I did last year, just figure I would refresh some points, provided some 2012 San Diego information, and bullet point some reasons to attend.

So, What’s New for 2012

Well, first off the location – this year it is in San Diego, CA. The event tends to move around the country, primarily between a location on the east coast and west coast. For example, next year the event will be in Orlando, FL from June 24-27 (if I recall correctly) – and the year after that I think we are then back to San Francisco in May. By having the event move around it helps to keep things exciting and different, granted Vegas is nice but it does tend to get old quick.

Another thing that will be new for 2012 is the guest speakers. Last year William Shatner showed us his Vulcan hand symbol as part of the closing keynote, this year we will have Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage as our closing speakers (you can read more here). I am really looking forward to see what they present and say – to be honest, I have no idea what to expect other then a great time during the closing keynote.

And of course there are some new sessions this year, most notably is a session on the CCIE Data Center. That is the latest CCIE Certification to be announced, so I am sure there will be quite a bit of buzz around that there this year.

So, What’s the same for 2012

Of course there are some things that are still the same, and consistency is nice. Once again our host is Carlos Dominguez, Senior VP and he has hosted the event for many years now – and he does a great job at it. While researching some of the event, I came across an interesting thing about Carlos – he is a board member of the CDC Foundation, a foundation that helps the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention do more, faster by forging effective partnerships between CDC and others to fight threats to health and safety. It is nice to see others give back to society and try to make things better.

Once again, our Keynote and Welcome address will be given by John Chambers, Chairman and CEO of Cisco. John has an engaging speaking style – he makes you feel that he is speaking to you, not at you. What I like most about his keynotes are that he shows you where he sees not just the company, but he industry as well is going. If you are new to networking, you can easily see where you want to focus your career on when he speaks and presents.

Just like last year, Padmasree Warrior, SVP Engineering and CTO of Cisco, is giving the Cisco Technology Keynote. What is really nice about here is that she is very active on Twitter (@padmasree)

And again, there will be CCIE Labs available to take during the event. The CCIE labs that will be available are R&S, Security, Voice, Service Provider, Wireless, Service Provider Operations, and SAN. I am surprised to see some of these available, but very pleased. Here is a copy of the e-mail that I received about the labs:

Reason to attend

Ok, now for a few quick bullet points that have reasons.

• Learning Opportunities – the opportunities to learn via the Break out Session, Labs, Techtorials, or Birds of a Feather are just amazing. Rarely do you have this much information in one place, and if there is something that you think you are interested in, sitting in a breakout session for a little over an hour or two should provide you enough of a taste for you to get a better feeling. Plus, most of those session are giving by engineers, not marketing people. These are people who use or have used this product, not just market it.
• World of Solutions – At WoS you have the chance to meet and greet vendors. You can see what their products look like, what they feel like, as well maybe even get some free swag from them ( drawings for iPads, iPods, shirts, blinky things, etc) . I will be honest here, I have actually called on some of these vendors after the show to discuss products seen there. You can see some good products you might have not been aware of that might solve a problem you have today.
• Networking – This is one of the biggest reasons I attend. I love the opportunity to meet people, engage in conversations that I would not normally have the chance to have, as well as to reaffirm some friendships. Many of us are on da twitter and talk every day, but don’t always get a chance to see each other. Cisco Live affords us this opportunity, and that is what Networking is about. As you can see from the photo below, there are quite a few of us who tend to get together and have a good time. Not everyone was available for the picture last year, so maybe we can do better with that this year.

• Traveling – Ah, just getting away. Some of us in the field travel all the time, others not so much. Attending Cisco Live affords some of us out there to travel away from home, without the family, and get away. Some people take their family with them to this event and use it as a vacation, others use it as a vacation from family. To be honest, I like the chance to see places I might not normally have a reason to visit. I have actually used this event to scout out future vacation spots with family
• Parties – Plain and simple, Cisco knows how to throw a party – specifically the Customer Appreciation Event (CAE) and the CCIE Party. The CAE is always a blast, good music and a great time. I am just wondering if they can top last years event, that party was AMAZING and probably the most fun I have ever had at a Cisco Live event.
• Cisco Store and Cisco Press – There is also a Cisco store at the event where you can get some Cisco labeled shirts, pens, bags, etc. It is nice to be able to have some vendor logo stuff either for yourself or to take back to your associates. There is also a nice area dedicated to Cisco Press where you can look at the books available, browse through many of them before you decide to purchase, as well as a chance to meet some of the Cisco Press authors from time to time.

Oh, one last thing. You also have the opportunity to embarrass yourself if you so choose to. I will not mention a certain networking nerd’s name, but you can see how one can have the opportunity to do crazy things.  Then again, when I look at that image – it just cracks me up!  It was all in fun!

Hope to see you in San Diego!

Links to other sites talking about this topic:

Mes 2 Cents – My 10 Reasons to Attend CiscoLive

If you have a link and would like it added, just drop me a line and I will add it.

Time to continue the IOS XR information, now configuring interfaces. Yes, this is somewhat basic stuff – but I think that it is good just to see it. If you are afraid of it, seeing stuff that is easy can help someone become comfortable with new things.

First, let’s take a look at what interfaces we have and review them quickly. We can use the same command we are already familiar with – show ip interface brief

RP/0/7/CPU0:R1#
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1#sh ip int br
Thu Mar 29 18:12:04.883 UTC

Interface IP-Address Status Protocol
MgmtEth0/7/CPU0/0 unassigned Shutdown Down
MgmtEth0/7/CPU0/1 unassigned Shutdown Down
MgmtEth0/7/CPU0/2 unassigned Shutdown Down
GigabitEthernet0/3/0/0 unassigned Down Down
GigabitEthernet0/3/0/1 unassigned Down Down
GigabitEthernet0/3/0/2 unassigned Up Up
GigabitEthernet0/3/0/3 unassigned Up Up
MgmtEth0/6/CPU0/0 unassigned Shutdown Down
MgmtEth0/6/CPU0/1 unassigned Shutdown Down
MgmtEth0/6/CPU0/2 unassigned Shutdown Down
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1#

Here you can see that we have an RP in Slot 6 and 7 (Mgmt) and a 4-port Gig card in Slot 3. For this lab, interfaces G0/3/0/2 and G0/3/0/3 are pre-cabled to another router and are currently UP/UP right now.

Let configure an IP address on G0/3/0/2 of 150.1.12.1 with a mask of 255.255.255.0

First, let’s look at the running config on the interface now:
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1#
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1#sh run int g0/3/0/2
Thu Mar 29 18:38:29.942 UTC
% No such configuration item(s)

RP/0/7/CPU0:R1#
As you can see, it says No such config, it is telling you that it is unconfigured.

RP/0/7/CPU0:R1#conf t
Thu Mar 29 18:38:31.891 UTC
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config)#int g0/3/0/2
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config-if)#ip add 150.1.12.1/24
! Notice, on IOS XR you can use / for the subnet, no more entering 255.255.255.0 :
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config-if)#show config
Thu Mar 29 18:38:44.248 UTC
Building configuration…
!! IOS XR Configuration 4.1.1
interface GigabitEthernet0/3/0/2
ipv4 address 150.1.12.1 255.255.255.0
!
end
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config-if)#
! Another cool thing with IOS-XR is you can find out where you are any time you want just by entering PWD
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config-if)#pwd

Thu Mar 29 19:31:24.666 UTC
interface GigabitEthernet0/3/0/2
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config-if)#
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config-if)#comm
Thu Mar 29 18:38:46.216 UTC
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config-if)#

Now, let’s check the running config on that interface again:
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1#sh run int g0/3/0/2
Thu Mar 29 18:42:43.763 UTC
interface GigabitEthernet0/3/0/2
ipv4 address 150.1.12.1 255.255.255.0
!

RP/0/7/CPU0:R1#

Lets PING our neighbor now – 150.1.12.2
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1#ping 150.1.12.2
Thu Mar 29 18:44:39.570 UTC
Type escape sequence to abort.
Sending 5, 100-byte ICMP Echos to 150.1.12.2, timeout is 2 seconds:
!!!!!
Success rate is 100 percent (5/5), round-trip min/avg/max = 3/8/12 ms
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1#

Lets configure a loopback for R1 of 1.1.1.1/32

RP/0/7/CPU0:R1#conf t
Thu Mar 29 19:25:19.486 UTC
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config)#int l0
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config-if)#ip add 1.1.1.1/32
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config-if)#exit
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config)#exit
Uncommitted changes found, commit them before exiting(yes/no/cancel)? [cancel]:yes
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1#

Notice this time I did not commit the change, but the system knew I was making changes and asked me if I wanted to commit them. I simply responded with YES and it saved them for me.

Now lets configure some IPv6 addresses.

RP/0/7/CPU0:R1#conf t
Thu Mar 29 19:26:21.184 UTC
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config)#int g0/3/0/2
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config-if)#ipv6 address 2001:1:1:12::1/64
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config-if)#exit
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config)#commit
Thu Mar 29 19:26:39.769 UTC
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config)#exit

Ok, interface configured, lets ping our neighbor at 2001:1:1:12::2
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1#ping 2001:1:1:12::2
Thu Mar 29 19:29:11.893 UTC
Type escape sequence to abort.
Sending 5, 100-byte ICMP Echos to 2001:1:1:12::2, timeout is 2 seconds:
!!!!!
Success rate is 100 percent (5/5), round-trip min/avg/max = 2/16/68 ms
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1#

Lets add one under our loopback interface as well – well use 2001::1/128
Thu Mar 29 19:29:35.420 UTC
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config)#int l0
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config-if)#ipv6 add 2001::1/128
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config-if)#commit
Thu Mar 29 19:30:49.920 UTC
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config-if)#

See, wasn’t that easy! No real difference compared to “old IOS”. But the usage of / subnets is a very welcomed change!

Ok, we have seen the basic COMMIT option – but what other options do we have for configuration mode? Well, we have a few to choose from.
First, what if I am making changes and decide I don’t want them? You have a few options. First you could just exit all the way out.

RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config)#exit
Uncommitted changes found, commit them before exiting(yes/no/cancel)? [cancel]: no

And once you exit out, all your changes are lost.

Ok, that is one option. Another is clear. To demonstrate, lets create loopback 666
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1#conf t
Sun Apr 1 22:18:52.956 UTC
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config)#int loop 666
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config-if)#ip add 6.6.6.6/32

Ok, let’s check the candidate configuration:
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config-if)#show config
Sun Apr 1 22:19:03.438 UTC
Building configuration…
!! IOS XR Configuration 4.1.1
interface Loopback666
ipv4 address 6.6.6.6 255.255.255.255
!
end

RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config-if)#

OK, we have it in the candidate configuration now. We changed our mind about that – so lets clear it.
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config-if)#clear

Now check the candidate configuration again.
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config)#show config
Sun Apr 1 22:19:34.733 UTC
Building configuration…
!! IOS XR Configuration 4.1.1
end

RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config)#

There, all gone!
Now, what if we want to make a change but we want to be sure we don’t lose connection to the router? Well, we can do a commit confirm, this way if we do lose connection our change will be rolled back!
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1#conf t
Sun Apr 1 22:23:01.154 UTC
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config)#int loop 666
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config-if)#ip add 6.6.6.6/32

Now, lets look at our commit confirmed options:
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config-if)#commit confirmed ?
<30-65535> Seconds until rollback unless there is a confirming commit
minutes Specify the rollback timer in the minutes
<cr> Commit the configuration changes to running

See, we can have a few seconds or a few minutes. Pretty cool!
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config-if)#commit confirmed 30
Sun Apr 1 22:23:19.344 UTC

Now, lets see if we have loop666:
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config-if)#do show int loop666
Sun Apr 1 22:23:34.353 UTC
Loopback666 is up, line protocol is up
Interface state transitions: 1
Hardware is Loopback interface(s)
Internet address is 6.6.6.6/32
MTU 1500 bytes, BW 0 Kbit
reliability Unknown, txload Unknown, rxload Unknown
Encapsulation Loopback, loopback not set,
Last input Unknown, output Unknown
Last clearing of “show interface” counters Unknown

RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config-if)#

Yup, its there. Now we can wait a few seconds (30 or so) and do the show interface command again.
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config-if)#do show int loop666
Sun Apr 1 22:25:09.361 UTC
Interface not found (Loopback666)
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config-if)#

All gone!

Ok, now lets commit it this time.
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1#conf t
Sun Apr 1 22:26:20.749 UTC
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config)#int loop 666
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config-if)#ip add 6.6.6.6/32
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config-if)#commit confirmed 30
Sun Apr 1 22:26:32.913 UTC
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config-if)#

Lets see if the interface is there:
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config-if)#do show int loop666
Sun Apr 1 22:26:38.421 UTC
Loopback666 is up, line protocol is up
Interface state transitions: 1
Hardware is Loopback interface(s)
Internet address is 6.6.6.6/32
MTU 1500 bytes, BW 0 Kbit
reliability Unknown, txload Unknown, rxload Unknown
Encapsulation Loopback, loopback not set,
Last input Unknown, output Unknown
Last clearing of “show interface” counters Unknown

Yup, now we can commit it again to make it stay.
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config-if)#commit
Sun Apr 1 22:26:40.299 UTC
% Confirming commit for trial session.
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config-if)#

And lets make sure it is still there.
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1#sh int loop 666
Sun Apr 1 22:27:09.232 UTC
Loopback666 is up, line protocol is up
Interface state transitions: 1
Hardware is Loopback interface(s)
Internet address is 6.6.6.6/32
MTU 1500 bytes, BW 0 Kbit
reliability Unknown, txload Unknown, rxload Unknown
Encapsulation Loopback, loopback not set,
Last input Unknown, output Unknown
Last clearing of “show interface” counters Unknown
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1#

Look at that, IOS XR has a commit confirmed – just like someone else does as well.

Few other things that are nice to know.

You can configure the system in exclusive mode, this way only you can be making changes and nobody else. To do this, just enter configure exclusive
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1#configure exclusive

You can add comments and notations to your commit that will show up in the rollback.
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1#conf t
Sun Apr 1 22:32:23.941 UTC
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config)#int loop 667
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config-if)#ip add 6.6.6.7/32
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config-if)#exit
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config)#commit comment Created Loopback 667 For Testing
Sun Apr 1 22:33:34.589 UTC
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config)#

Now, if a comment has been added, you can see it via the show configuration history last x detail command

RP/0/7/CPU0:R1#sh configuration history last 1 detail
Sun Apr 1 22:36:04.053 UTC
1) Event: commit Time: Sun Apr 1 22:33:36 2012
Commit ID: 1000000230 Label:
User: user Line: con0_7_CPU0
Client: CLI Comment: Created Loopback 667 For Testing
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1#

Yeah, I am deviating again from the technology norm for a post. Every now and then I just feel that I need to share some of the tools that I have found that might be able to help others. In this post, I will be sharing some of the debt reduction and budget planning information I have found over time, as well as some other financial forms that come in handy.

First of all – I will admit I am a fan of Dave Ramsey, Gail Vaz-Oxlade, Suze Orman, and other financial gurus. Most of what each of them speak of come down to a single thing – common sense. Not much of what they say is new or amazing, it is just want Grandma and Grandpa (or great Grandma and Grandpa for some of you) use to do and say. Perhaps that is the problem, we have a generation growing up that only really knows plastic – they don’t know the value of cash and savings.

I am not here to talk on cause and effect, but to share information I have been able to gather over time.

Debt Reduction

Debt reduction is a simple thing to think of, but a hard thing to do. It take some serious determination to pay off your debt, and even more determination to not incur more. Living within your means is not easy in todays “me too” society, but you can do it. Once you have set your site and goal on becoming debt free, here are some great tools to help you. Also, these tools can also help you to understand your debt and how long it will take you to pay it off, not to mention how much it would cost! To illustrate, a $5,000 credit card at 13.99% with a monthly payment of $110 would take you 5.5 years to pay off and a cost of $2,163.86 in interest. Over $2k in interest, OUCH!

One of the best spreadsheets I have found can be found here – at Vertex 42
I also found a video on how to use the tool!

With a debt snowball there are two ways to approach it – highest interest first or lowest balance first. For me, I would suggest lowest balance first – that might sound odd, but it has a simple psychological reason. A person needs rewards, and being able to pay off the lowest balance first helps you feel that you are making progress. Seeing a bill come in with $0 due – is a feeling that can be amazing.

Own Up to Your Debt Worksheet (Online)

This is one I just recently found and I think it is kinda interesting. It is a worksheet from Gail Vaz-Oxlade (Til Debt Do Us Part TV Show) where you enter your debt and interest rate. The worksheet then calculates what you need to pay per-month in order to pay off your debt in 12/24/36 months. Might be useful if you combine it with the Debt Snowball worksheet above to see what you might want to be paying for debt on a monthly basis. Granted, getting out of debt in 36 months might not be 100% possible, but it is something that you should aim for.

Worksheet is online here

Budgets

Ah, making a budget. Nobody likes to do this in their personal life, but we really have not problem doing this in our professional life. In work, we cannot buy something or do a project if we don’t have the money available, no difference here. Just like a business, you should be tracking every dollar that comes in and goes out. With Gail, she uses Jars for your weekly/monthly spending – so once the jar is Empty, no more spending on that category. Dave uses Envelopes, but the same principle. It is a very effective system, takes time to get used to but it is one that will prevent you from overspending. Gail provides this budget worksheet in two formats, one online and one in Excel.

Build a Budget that works (Online)
Build a Budget that works (Excel)

Those are probably some of the best (and easiest) tools out there that can get you started down the path do debt free and living within your mean.

Good luck!

Links to great resources on the web:

Vertex 42
This website has some AWESOME templates – not only for budgeting, but for many other things. I strongly urge you to take a look at what they have.
Small sampling:

Money Management Template
401K Calculator
Home Mortgage Calculator
Auto Loan Calculator
Loan Amortization Schedule
Simple Loan Calculator
Credit Card Payoff Calculator
Money Manager for Kids
Expense Tracking
College Budget Template
List of all their Excel Templates
List of all their Word Templates
All their financial calculators

Dave Ramsey
Dave has some wonderful resources, most famously his Seven Baby Steps and a program called Financial Peace University.
The seven baby steps are:
1) Start an Emergency Fund of $1,000
2) Pay of all debt using the Debt Snowball
3) 3-6 Months of expenses in Savings
4) Invest 15% of household income into Roth IRA and pre-tax retirement
5) College Funding for Kids
6) Pay off home early
7) Build wealth and give

Notice in his baby steps retirement savings comes before kids college? That is because you will need to take care of yourself when you are old, not your kids. Sounds self-fish, but actually not having to rely on your children when you are older is less self-fish then having to and taking away their freedoms.

You can listen to Dave’s radio show online here from 2pm to 5pm est as well as on the TV (check listings). He also has a podcast recording of his show and you can follow him on twitter @daveramsey

List of all his books on Amazon – HERE

Gail Vaz-Oxley
Gail has a few TV shows on, one called Til Debt Due Us Part and another called Prince$$, both on CNBC. They are some good shows with some real life situations – and you can see the struggles of people just like us. With Prince$$, those are most entertaining as they usually deal with a young lady who is trying to live like her parents to, but on 1/4 the income. The pace that they rack up debt is sometimes amazing and scary. But I am not here to sell her shows – just share the good information.

Similar to Dave, she has a 12-step program to getting organized financially. You can see it here, but in short it is:
1 ) Gather all your financial paperwork
2 ) Use Internet banking
3 ) Reduce fees by setting up a buffer ($1,000)
4 ) Save automatically
5 ) Create Monthly Bill Summary
6 ) Setup your in-baskets (one 1-15 and another 16-31)
7 ) Weekly make a date with your money
8 ) Monthly reconcile your bank statements
9 ) Quarterly file your paperwork
10) Quarterly talk with your partner and talk about bumps, goals, and how you are doing
11) Annually revamp your budget
12) Clean up and the end of each year

Her most recent book, Debt-free Forever – can be found HERE

This is going to be the first post in a series of blog posts on IOS XR code. This post might be simple, but it is a good to start with the basics so that poeple can get familiar with how XR works.

Lets cover the prompt real quick as that is a bit different then what people are used to.

Lets look at the standard IOS prompt vs the IOS XR prompt.

IOS: Router#
IOS-XR: RP/0/7/CPU0:ios#

As you can see the prompt is a bit different. In standard IOS you have the hostname, but in IOS XR you get a bit more information. It breaks down as follows:

Prompt Syntax:
Type – type of interface card (Usually RP for Route Processor)
Rack – What Rack number this is installed in in a multi-shelf system, typically 0 if standalone
Slot – Slot the RP is installed in (7)
Module – What execute the user commands or port interface. Usually CPU0 or CPU1
Name – Hostname of the router, default here is IOS
->  RP/0/7/CPU0:ios#

Ok, now lets change the hostname from IOS to R1.

First though, let’s change the hostname on typical IOS so you can see the difference.
Router#
Router#conf t
*Mar 29 16:32:51.507: %SYS-5-CONFIG_I: Configured from console by console
Enter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.
Router(config)#hostname R1
R1(config)#

As you can see, in IOS the hostname changed immediately after hitting Enter.

So, let’s change the hostname to R1 on IOS XR code:
RP/0/7/CPU0:ios#
RP/0/7/CPU0:ios#conf t
Thu Mar 29 16:00:43.844 UTC
RP/0/7/CPU0:ios(config)#hostname R1
RP/0/7/CPU0:ios(config)#

Notice that the hostname did not change? In IOS XR you need to COMMIT your changes in order for them to take effect. But before we commit them, let’s do a show config quick.

RP/0/7/CPU0:ios(config)#
RP/0/7/CPU0:ios(config)#sh config
Thu Mar 29 16:03:53.060 UTC
Building configuration…
!! IOS XR Configuration 4.1.1
hostname R1
end

RP/0/7/CPU0:ios(config)#

Pretty cool, the router will show you the changes you are about to make.
Now we can COMMIT the changes

RP/0/7/CPU0:ios(config)#commit
Thu Mar 29 16:03:04.182 UTC
RP/0/7/CPU0:R1(config)#

See, once you entered COMMIT, the hostname change from IOS to R1.