Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
The boot loader image must reside in the MSFC boot Flash. The IOS image can reside in
either the supervisor boot Flash, a Flash card, or a TFTP server.
Note
If the boot loader image either is corrupted or has been deleted from the MSFC boot Flash, the next
reload causes the switch to go into ROMMON, and you will be unable to boot the switch to run IOS
software on it.
Things to Be Aware of Before You Use the Recovery Procedure
To save time, it's important to understand the terminology, as well as constraints you may encounter
when using the procedure.
The IOS on the Catalyst 6000 family switch is the single IOS image that runs the Catalyst 6000
family switch, also known as native IOS on the Catalyst 6000. We refer to it as Catalyst 6000 IOS,
or Cat IOS. Catalyst 6000 OS software is the image that runs the supervisor and all the L2 switch
functions, also known as the hybrid image when used in conjunction with IOS software on the
MSFC. We refer to it as Catalyst 6000 OS, or Cat OS.
1.
Two CPUs are involved, the supervisor CPU or switch processor (SP), and the MSFC CPU or route
processor (RP).
2.
When the boot loader image is missing or corrupted, the very next reload or power cycle brings the
switch to SP ROMMON mode.
3.
Each CPU has its own ROMMON Command Language Interpreter (CLI).
4.
From the SP ROMMON, you can load either the Catalyst 6000 IOS or the Catalyst 6000 OS from
either slot 0 or boot Flash. Loading the Cat OS version on a system previously running Cat IOS
causes the switch configuration to be reset.
5.
After you load the Cat IOS image, you get the RP ROMMON prompt. On the other hand, if you load
the Cat OS image, you can switch to the RP ROMMON console using the
switch console
command.
6.
From the RP ROMMON CLI, you can't access the supervisor boot Flash or slot 0.
7.
There are two ways of loading the boot loader image into the MSFC boot Flash: using a Cisco 4500
or 4700 router, or using xmodem. We'll explain both methods in detail in this tech note.
8.
When you're running the boot loader image in the MSFC, you get the MSFC
Router(boot)
prompt
in boot mode.
9.
You must format the MSFC boot Flash from the MSFC
Router(boot)
prompt.
10.
After you format the MSFC boot Flash, you must copy the boot loader into it. Be aware of the
caveats discussed in the following section when attempting to copy the boot loader image.
11.
Recovery Procedures
You can recover from this situation in two ways:
Method 1
—Use a Cisco 4500 or 4700 router to copy the proper boot loader image into the MSFC
boot Flash SIMM.
•
