Introduction
One of the most commom incidents that can happen to a newly bought OLT or service board is the Failed state. Sometimes it can be really frustrating, given the fact that all of the other boards on the OLT are completely functional but the service board does not work whatsoever. But what could be the responsible for this inconvenience?
Package Files
Just like a computer needs firmware/software to correctly operate all of its peripherals, the OLT needs softwares to properly run its boards and services. This firmware is the Board Software, which is saved in the OLT memory and can be queried through the CLI.
You can verify what are the current board firmwares on the OLT by running the command display io-packetfile information. Take this MA5608T packetfile for instance:
Figure 1: MA5608T io-packetfile information
By running this command you can query all the board files that are currently installed on the OLT.
What If My Board Name Is Not On the io-packetfile?
As shown in Figure 1, those are all the boards that have their software installed on the OLT. If the recently inserted board is not showing up on the io-packetfile list, then the board will be on the Failed state due to software inconsistency. There is no firmware for the board, so it fails to confirm.
How Do I Add My Board Firmware to the OLT?
Prerequisites
The procedure is simple, there are only a few things that need to be setup.
A PC running Windows XP, Windows 7 OS or higher;
A file transfer tool installed on a laptop;
Unpacking & packing tool (optional);
The Packetfile file to be added on the FTP server (downloadable on the Huawei Support website);
IP address, user name, and password of the device to be upgraded;
Telnet/SSH tool;
Network cable and serial cable;
FTP/SFTP Configuration
After setting up the SFTP//FTP server, setup the credentials on the OLT using the command sftp set or ftp set and input the user and password fot the SFTP/FTP server authentication:
Figure 2: FTP set command
Saving and Backing Up the System Configuration Data
First, save and back up the system configuration data before loading package files, so that data can be restored if a software downgrade is required or needed. Run the save command.
After that, run the backup data and backup configuration commands to backup the database and configurations respectively to the File Transfer server. The example below shows the process:
huawei(config)#save huawei(config)#backup data sftp x.x.x.x db_mpl_old.dat Please save database file before backup, or the database file that is backed up may not be the latest one. Are you sure to continue? (y/n)[n]: y huawei(config)#backup configuration Sftp x.x.x.x config_old.txt Please save configuration file before backup, or the configuration file that is backed up may not be the latest. Are you sure to continue? (y/n)[n]:y
Where x.x.x.x is the IP address of the file transfer server and db_mpl_old.dat and config_old.txt are the respective backed up data and configuration files.
Stopping the Automatic Saving Function
The autosave function has to be disabled to proceed with the packetfile upgrade just to make sure that there will be no conflict between both operations. Autosave can be enable after the process is finished. Run the autosave interval off and autosave time off to disable the periodic autosaving and its schedule.
Loading Package Files
Now to the loading itself, run the command load packetfile.
huawei(config)#load packetfile sftp x.x.x.x V100RxxxCxxSPxxxx_wholepackage(SPCxxx)_zzzz_new.bin The new packet file will overwrite the old one Rollback function will be disabled Be sure that the system needn't this function Are you sure to load new packet file? (y/n)[n]:y
You can run the display progress load command to query the loading progress. It is normal that progress stops at 98% and stays still for several minutes. Expect the process to take more than 90min.
NOTE: V100RxxxCxxSPxxxx_wholepackage(SPCxxx)_zzzz_new.bin is the name of the file of the target version.
Activating Package File
The combined package files need to be activated after being loaded so that the package files can take effect. There are two options for this procedure:
Upgrade with service interruption
Run the upgrade command to reset the system and activate the combined package file.
Upgrade without service interruption (ISSU)
Run the upgrade issu command to upgrade the device software and activate the combined package file.
NOTE: The upgrade with service interruption is recommended.
Starting the Automatic Saving Function
After the upgrade is done, the autosave function can be re-established. Run the autosave interval on and autosave time on commands to re-enable the periodic autosaving.
Conclusion
Most of the commom problems that occur during OLTs provisioning can be solved through basic troubleshooting. Loading a newer packetfile to the OLT can solve many minute issues such as the one described above. This happens specially because there are new boards that come out, which support more features than their older counterparts and sometimes getting their firmware in all OLTs is a harder job than to leave it to the one that opens the box. That is why firmware upgrades and packages can be easily obtained through Huawei Support website and it is the first step for the network troubleshooter.
