Unit 3: Getting Started with Cumulus Linux

Per-unit concept, checklist, and command drill page

Unit 3 of 14

Objective

Execute install, upgrade, access, reset, and ZTP workflows safely in production-like operations.

Concept Notes

Bring-up quality is a reliability multiplier. Most day-2 incidents come from day-0 inconsistencies in image versioning, baseline config, or unattended provisioning scripts.

Treat install and reset workflows as controlled procedures with explicit pre-checks and rollback intent. In clustered AI environments, one incorrectly prepared switch can propagate instability across many GPU nodes.

Coverage Checklist

ONIE-based install and image handling model.
APT/ISSU upgrade boundaries and version constraints.
Switch access paths: console, management Ethernet, SSH.
Management defaults and timezone management with NVUE.
Factory reset modes and recovery use cases.
Zero Touch Provisioning discovery and script behavior.

Practice Outcomes

Verify disk and version readiness before package operations.
Run ZTP with controlled scripts and predictable exit behavior.
Use reset modes intentionally to avoid losing required baseline data.

Command Drills

nv show system disk usage

Check upgrade preconditions and capacity risk.

nv action reset system factory-default

Perform full reset when recovering from unrecoverable config drift.

nv set system timezone <zone> && nv config apply

Standardize time settings for logs and telemetry correlation.

Navigation

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