This week I had to upgrade software on an ASR1001. After downloading the 200+mb file from Cisco.com, I figured out that TFTP was not going to work due to the 64mb limit. I didn’t have access to an FTP server. I noticed the USB port on the front of the ASR 1001 so I copied the file to my USB memory stick. I plugged it in and after a few seconds the ASR found the USB drive and mounted the drive. I was then able to copy the large file over to the internal memory with ease.
I am very pleased with Cisco that they added the USB port and made it work on the ASR.
I then proceeded to upgrade the IOS on a Cisco ASA 5540, so I tried the USB port. That failed, the USB didn’t mount and there was no ability to copy a file from it. I then upgraded the ASA via TFTP from 8.2 to a version of 8.3, after the upgrade it still didn’t work. I don’t understand why they added the USB port when it’s not able to be used. Maybe it will work when Cisco releases version 9.
The USB drive also works on the Brocade MLXe platform.
What other devices have you been able to use the USB port on?
you might want to try to format the USB in the ASA before adding the files. It might not be seeing the drive because of the file format. I’ve had that problem with Compact Flash drives in the past