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Upgrading a QFX5100 Switch with a USB Device to Join a QFX5110 Virtual Chassis or Virtual Chassis Fabric

Use this procedure to upgrade a standalone QFX5100 switch running “QFX 5 Series” Junos OS software to a “QFX 5e Series” software image so the QFX5100 switch can join a QFX5110 Virtual Chassis or Virtual Chassis Fabric (VCF).

A QFX5110 Virtual Chassis or VCF can have a combination of QFX5110 and QFX5100 switches all running compatible Junos OS “QFX 5e Series” software. This procedure explains how you identify the compatible “QFX 5e Series” install package for QFX5100 switches, create a USB boot device as the installation media, and use the boot device to upgrade the software on a QFX5100 switch to the “QFX 5e Series” image. After installing the new software image, when you reboot the QFX5100, the switch is running a compatible software image and you can successfully add it into a QFX5110 Virtual Chassis or VCF.

Note:

With releases prior to Junos OS Release 17.3R2 or 17.4R1, you must use this USB install method due to the differences in the boot structure and host OS software of the two types of devices.

Starting in Junos OS Releases 17.3R2 and 17.4R1, you are not required to use the USB install method to upgrade a QFX5100 switch from a “QFX 5 Series” to a “QFX 5e Series” image. Instead, you can install the “QFX 5e Series” package directly using the CLI command request system software add. See Installing a Standard Software Package on QFX5000 and EX4600 Switches for details on using the CLI install method.

If a QFX5100 switch is already running a “QFX 5e Series” image (software package filename contains the string “-qfx-5e-”), a QFX5110 Virtual Chassis or VCF can automatically update it to the right release when you add it to the Virtual Chassis or VCF. See Understanding Software Upgrades in a Virtual Chassis and Understanding Software Upgrades in a Virtual Chassis Fabric.

Identifying Compatible Software for QFX5100 Switches to Run in a QFX5110 Virtual Chassis or VCF

Standalone QFX5100 switches traditionally run Junos OS “QFX 5 Series” software, and the corresponding install media and installation software package file names include the string “-qfx-5-”. For example:

QFX5110 switches run Junos OS “QFX 5e Series” software and use a secure-boot method at startup, so the install media and software package filenames for QFX5110 switches include “-qfx-5e-” and “secure”. For example:

QFX5100 switches can also run “5e Series” software, but in releases prior to Junos OS Release 17.3R2 or 17.4R1 they do not use the same secure boot method as QFX5110 switches, so the “QFX 5e Series” install media and software package filenames for QFX5100 switches include “-qfx-5e-” without the “secure” keyword. For example:

To add a QFX5100 switch to a QFX5110 Virtual Chassis or VCF, the QFX5100 must be running the same “QFX 5e Series” software version as the other switches in the Virtual Chassis or VCF. If the QFX5100 switch has a "QFX 5 Series” image, you must first upgrade it manually to a “QFX 5e Series” image using a USB boot device that does not employ the secure-boot method.

To create the USB boot device (see Creating a USB Boot Device for a QFX5100 Switch), use the same install media filename without the “secure” keyword that matches what’s running on the other QFX5110 Virtual Chassis or VCF members. For example:

If the Virtual Chassis or VCF is running the software from this install media package for QFX5110 switches (with the secure-boot method):

Then the matching install media package for QFX5100 switches (without the secure-boot method) is:

After any QFX5100 switches are running a “QFX 5e Series” image, you can just use the same “jinstall-host-qfx-5e-” package file with the “secure” keyword to update the “QFX 5e Series” software running on all members of the Virtual Chassis or VCF, because when it starts up, the secure-boot install software determines whether or not to use the secure-boot method based on the type of switch on which it’s running. The Virtual Chassis or VCF can also successfully update any “QFX 5e Series” member switches as needed in the same way with the automatic software update feature for adding or replacing members, or even during initial Virtual Chassis or VCF configuration.

Note:

If you remove a QFX5100 switch from a QFX5110 Virtual Chassis or VCF and want to revert the QFX5100 switch to a “QFX 5 Series” software image to run as a standalone switch, you need to reinstall the image on the switch using a USB boot device with a “qfx-5-” install media file that does not use the secure-boot method.

Creating a USB Boot Device for a QFX5100 Switch

Use the following procedure to create a USB boot device with a Junos OS “QFX 5e Series” install media package (contains “-qfx-5e-” in the package filename) for a QFX5100 switch. You can then use the USB boot device to upgrade a QFX5100 switch to run that image.

Note:

You can create the USB boot device on the switch you want to upgrade, on another Juniper Networks switch or router, or on any PC or laptop that supports Linux. The following steps describe creating the boot device from a Junos OS device, and might differ based on the device you use to create the boot device.

Before you begin, download the installation media file from https://www.juniper.net/customers/support/ to the device where you are creating the boot device. The install media filename should include the string “-qfx-5e-” for the same Junos OS release as the QFX5110 Virtual Chassis or VCF, but without a “secure” keyword in the filename, because you must initially upgrade QFX5100 switches without using the same secure-boot method employed by QFX5110 switches. (See Identifying Compatible Software for QFX5100 Switches to Run in a QFX5110 Virtual Chassis or VCF for details.)

Note:

The Junos OS software running on the QFX5110 members must be the “QFX 5e Series” image that uses the secure-boot method, so the install media and package filenames used on QFX5110 switches include the “secure” keyword. After initial USB installation of a “QFX 5e Series” software image on a QFX5100 switch, the same software image that supports secure boot runs on either switch model, and determines the appropriate boot method to use based on the switch on which it is running. As a result, for future updates, you can directly install the same image with the “secure” keyword on both QFX5110 and QFX5100 switches in your Virtual Chassis or VCF.

On a Junos OS device where you are creating the USB boot device:

  1. Use FTP to copy the installation media file into the /var/tmp directory.
  2. Insert the USB storage device into the USB port.
  3. From the Junos OS command-line interface (CLI), start the shell:
  4. Switch to the root account using the su command:
    Note:

    The password is the root password for the device on which you are creating the boot media. If you logged in to the device as root, you do not need to perform this step.

  5. (Optional) Before copying the installation media file to the USB device, erase the boot sector of the USB device. In some cases, depending on how the USB device was formatted previously, this step can help avoid unexpected behavior during the USB boot process. For example, enter the following command:
  6. Enter the following command to copy the installation media file (see Identifying Compatible Software for QFX5100 Switches to Run in a QFX5110 Virtual Chassis or VCF) to the USB device:

    The device writes the installation media image to the USB device. For example:

  7. Log out of the shell:
  8. Remove the USB storage device from the USB port.

You can now use the USB storage device to install the “QFX 5e Series” Junos OS software image on a QFX5100 switch.

Upgrading a QFX5100 Switch from Junos OS “QFX 5 Series” to “QFX 5e Series” Software Using a USB Boot Device

You must upgrade a standalone QFX5100 switch running “QFX 5 Series” software to “QFX 5e Series” software before the switch can join a QFX5110 Virtual Chassis or VCF. For this upgrade, you need to boot and install the software using a USB boot device.

Before you begin, have a USB boot device ready with the required Junos OS software install package as described in Creating a USB Boot Device for a QFX5100 Switch. The upgrade process overwrites the contents of the internal flash storage on the QFX5100 switch, so if desired, before proceeding with the upgrade, save existing configuration, backup configurations, and other stored files to a remote system, server, or other storage device. Then:

  1. Insert the USB boot device into a USB port on the QFX5100 switch you need to upgrade, and power-cycle the QFX5100 switch.
  2. The switch comes up, booting from the USB device and running the Juniper Linux Installer.
    Note:

    If the switch doesn’t automatically boot from the USB device, press the ESC key while the switch reboots to bring up the BIOS boot manager so you can manually select to boot from the USB device.

    The installer menu prompts you to with the following options:

    Tab through the options to select Install Juniper Linux Platform, and press Enter.

  3. The installer displays status messages during the install process, creates and formats the local storage partitions, and installs the host OS and Junos OS software on the switch.

    After completing installation, the installer displays a list of boot options and after a few seconds automatically selects the default option to boot Juniper Linux. The switch boots the host OS and automatically selects and brings up Junos OS. Upon completion of the install and reboot process, the switch displays the Junos OS login prompt.

  4. Log in to Junos OS on the switch, enter operational mode, and verify that the new version of software has been properly installed by running the show version command.

    After the QFX5100 switch is running the “QFX 5e Series” software image, you can continue with any other configuration and setup to add the QFX5100 to a QFX5110 Virtual Chassis or VCF, such as configuring the Virtual Chassis ports (VCPs).

Related Documentation

Change History Table

Feature support is determined by the platform and release you are using. Use Feature Explorer to determine if a feature is supported on your platform.

Release
Description
17.4R1
Starting in Junos OS Releases 17.3R2 and 17.4R1, you are not required to use the USB install method to upgrade a QFX5100 switch from a “QFX 5 Series” to a “QFX 5e Series” image. Instead, you can install the “QFX 5e Series” package directly using the CLI command request system software add