Juniper Networks J-Series manual Recovering Primary Boot Devices

Chapter 10: Performing Software Upgrades and Reboots

Table 99: CLI set system dump-device Command Options

Option	Description
boot-device	Uses whatever device was booted from as the system software failure memory snapshot
	device.
compact-flash	Uses the internal compact flash as the system software failure memory snapshot device.
removable-compact-flash	Uses the compact flash on the front of the router (J4300 and J6300 only) as the system
	software failure memory snapshot device.
usb	Uses the device attached to the USB port as the system software failure memory
	snapshot device.

Recovering Primary Boot Devices

All Services Routers use a compact flash to store the JUNOS software, router configuration files, and log files. The internal compact flash is not hot-swappable and is accessible only after you remove the cover on the back panel of the router chassis. In addition to the internal compact flash, J4300 and J6300 Services Routers have a slot in the front of the chassis for external flash media. All Services Routers also support externally pluggable USB storage devices. If the primary storage medium becomes corrupted and no secondary medium is in place, you can reload the JUNOS recovery software package onto the corrupted compact flash card with a desktop or laptop computer running either a UNIX, Microsoft Windows 2000, or Windows XP operating system.

This section contains the following topics:

■Why Compact Flash Recovery Might Be Necessary on page 191

■Recommended Recovery Hardware and Software on page 192

■Configuring Internal Compact Flash Recovery on page 192

Why Compact Flash Recovery Might Be Necessary

For media redundancy, we recommend that you keep a secondary storage medium attached and updated at all times. Use the request system snapshot command to perform the update. (For instructions, see “Configuring Boot Devices” on page 186.)

If the internal compact flash fails at startup, the Services Router automatically boots itself from the external compact flash or USB storage device. When a redundant storage medium is not available, the router is unable to boot and does not come back online. This situation can occur if the power fails during a JUNOS software upgrade and the physical or logical storage media on the router are corrupted.

If the primary storage medium becomes corrupted and no secondary medium is in place, you can reload the JUNOS software image onto the corrupted compact flash with a desktop or laptop computer running either a UNIX, Microsoft Windows 2000, or Windows XP operating system.

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