Upgrading The Rom Monitor Software; Initial Power-On And Provisioning - Cisco CVA122 Hardware Installation Manual

Cisco CVA122/CVA122E Cable Voice Adapter Description
Service providers can use the cable voice adapter's Media Access Controller (MAC) address to uniquely
identify each particular unit in the field. The CMTS uses this value to download the proper DOCSIS
configuration file to the cable voice adapter before it begins operation.
The DOCSIS configuration file can also contain the name of the software image that the cable voice
adapter should be running. If necessary, the CMTS can download the proper software image to the cable
voice adapter and force it to reboot using the new image.
The download of the DOCSIS configuration file usually takes only a few seconds and is done every time
the Cisco CVA122/CVA122E Cable Voice Adapter reboots. The download of the software image can
take several minutes to complete, during which time network connectivity is not available. However,
the software image must be downloaded only once, until the subscriber needs to be updated with a new
image.
The section "Initial Power-On and Provisioning" explains this process. See the Cisco CVA122 Cable
Voice Adapter Features guide for a description on how to download a software image and configuration
file to a Cisco CVA122/CVA122E Cable Voice Adapter installed in the field.

Upgrading the ROM Monitor Software

The Cisco CVA122/CVA122E Cable Voice Adapter supports both a primary and secondary ROM
Monitor (ROMMON). The primary ROMMON is permanently installed, while the secondary
ROMMON is upgradable.
After power-on or a hard system reset, the primary ROMMON initially takes control. It then checks for
the presence of a secondary ROMMON and if present, verifies that the secondary ROMMON has the
correct checksum. If the secondary ROMMON passes these validation tests, the primary ROMMON
passes control to the secondary ROMMON, which first performs a power-on self-test and hardware
initialization, and then loads and executes the Cisco IOS software image. Otherwise, the primary
ROMMON remains in control and continues the boot process.
This approach allows the secondary ROMMON to be safely upgraded when new software is available.
If the file transfer is interrupted, or if the new ROMMON software becomes corrupted, the primary
ROMMON is still available to boot the Cisco CVA122/CVA122E Cable Voice Adapter and load the
Cisco IOS software image. The upgrade of the secondary ROMMON can then be attempted again.

Initial Power-On and Provisioning

The cable voice adapter ships from the Cisco factory ready to work in a DOCSIS-compliant bridging
data-only mode. However, before the cable voice adapter can transmit traffic, the CMTS at the headend
must properly provision the unit as follows:
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Cisco CVA122/CVA122E Hardware Installation Guide
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The appropriate service must be purchased from the cable system. If certain features, such as VoIP
support, are desired, a license for the appropriate Cisco IOS software image must also be
purchased.
When the cable voice adapter is first brought online, the CMTS at the headend downloads a
DOCSIS configuration file to the cable voice adapter. This file—which is a binary file that must be
in the format required by the DOCSIS specification—configures the cable voice adapter for the
appropriate level of services and sets other parameters as needed.
At this point the cable voice adapter is completely configured for basic DOCSIS operations, but if
necessary, the DOCSIS configuration file can also specify that the cable voice adapter should
download another Cisco IOS image from the CMTS.
Chapter 1 Product Overview
OL-0799-02 (05/2001)