Upgrade of ASA 5540-SSM-40 from version 8.0(4) to 8.2.5

[Farooq Razzaque]

Dear Team

I have ASA 5540-SSM-40 running 8.0(4) and I need to upgrade the IOS to 8.2.5. I want to know that can we upgrade directly from 8.0.4 to 8.2.5 without any configuration loss or command syntax changes. 

Is there any command syntax changes is noticed while upgrading  from 8.0.4 to 8.2.5

Total Memory=1024MB and Total Flash =256MB

[Marvin Rhoads]

Yes, this upgrade can be done directly. The existing configuration and command syntax it uses will not be changed (except of course for the line specifying the boot image).

Of course there are some new features and associated commands that will be available on the new image but they don't affect your current configuration.

[Farooq Razzaque]

Dear Marvin 

Thanks for your reply.

Have you ever done upgrade from 8.0(4) to 8.2.5.

I think upgrade to 8.3.x or 8.4.x is a major upgrade which has command syntax changes as well.

[Marvin Rhoads]

It's been a couple of years since doing an upgrade from 8.0(x) - the systems I usually work on tend to be of more recent vintage. I know I've done 8.0(x) to 8.2(x) - though I don't recall the specific third ordinal.

You're correct - anything >8.3 introduces some significant changes in NAT and access-list syntax that require some careful planning.

8.3+ also has increased system memory requirements (2 GB for a 5540) which can often mean having to add RAM prior to the upgrade. Adding RAM is easy but getting the unit out of the rack and undoing the 17 screws to open the cover is usually the hardest part of that. :)

[Farooq Razzaque]

Dear Marvin/Potha

Thanks for your reply.

Can we upgrade directly from 8.0.4 to 8.2.5 with zero downtime.

How much RAM is required for 8.2.x. Is it 1GB (RAM) or 2GB (RAM) and what about flash ?

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/security/asa/asa82/release/notes/asarn82.html#wp321918

[Marvin Rhoads]

Farooq,

You're welcome.

Zero-downtime upgrades are possible if you have an HA pair. (link to the procedure) If you have only a single ASA, then there is downtime necessary while the device reloads.

8.2(x) did not increase the RAM requirements. So your 5540 with 1 GB of RAM is fine.

Flash only needs to have enough free space accommodate the new image. Just do a "dir" command to see how much space you have available on flash (disk0).

Please rate helpful posts and mark your question as answered when i has been.

[Farooq Razzaque]

Dear Marvin

I do have ASA in HA. As per below link can we upgrade directly from 8.0.4 to 8.2.5 with zero downtime,

https://supportforums.cisco.com/discussion/12227731/upgrade-asa-5540-ssm-40-version-804-825

As per below link and table, default DRAM after Feb 2010 of 5540 model is  2GB.  so i think 2 GB of RAM is required to support 8.2.x

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/security/asa/asa82/release/notes/asarn82.html#wp321918

Table 1 Standard Memory 

ASA Model	Default DRAM Before Feb. 2010	Default DRAM After Feb. 2010
5505	256	512
5510	2561	1 GB
5520	512	2 GB
5540	1024	2 GB
5550	4096	4 GB
5580	4096	8 GB

[Marvin Rhoads]

The table above reflects how much RAM was included with the 5500 series.

Cisco increased the included amount of RAM prior to the ASA software requiring it.

ASA software 8.2x will run fine with 1 Gb of RAM on an ASA 5540 appliance. 8.3 or higher requires the additional RAM.

[Farooq Razzaque]

Dear Kanwal/Marvin

Thanks for the response.

RAM requirement for ASA 8.2.x is not mentioned in the release notes of 8.2.x

Since above table is mentioned in the release of 8.2.x and showing RAM capacity of different models of ASA so someone can assumed that the column (Default DRAM After Feb. 2010)  is mentioning the RAM requirement of 8.2.x

[Kanwaljeet Singh]

Hi,

In release notes it is not mentioned anywhere that you need to have 2GB memory for 8.2.5 to run. It just indicates that products manufactured before and after Feb.2010 come with different default DRAM. There should be no problem in running the 8.2.5 with 1024 of memory.

Regards,

Kanwal

[Farooq Razzaque]

Dear Kanwal/Marvin

Thanks for the response.

RAM requirement for ASA 8.2.x is not mentioned in the release notes of 8.2.x

Since above table is mentioned in the release of 8.2.x and showing RAM capacity of different models of ASA so someone can assumed that the column (Default DRAM After Feb. 2010)  is mentioning the RAM requirement of 8.2.x

[Marvin Rhoads]

If you want a more definitive source that doesn't lead you to an incorrect assumption, please refer to Table 6 of the Cisco ASA Compatibility document.

There it explicitly states:

"Total DRAM (Default Shipping) After Feb. 2010 (Required for 8.3 and Higher)"

[shine pothen]

if you are planning to upgrade to 8.3 and above then you will have to change  NAT statmenets.

you can also use the below url to verfiy your configuration.

http://www.tunnelsup.com/nat-converter

Potha