CISCO Easter Egg

Thu Oct 29 13:18:13 UTC 1998

I have used this command to test HSA(High System Availability) with 2 RSPs
in  7500s. You can specify the type of crash you want to simulate and the
box reboots and comes back up on the second rsp (that was the original
slave).

-----Original Message-----
From: Martin, Christian <CMartin at mercury.balink.com>
To: 'Roeland M.J. Meyer' <rmeyer at mhsc.com>
Cc: 'Sean M. Doran' <smd at clock.org>; 'horke at regio.net' <horke at regio.net>;
'nanog at merit.edu' <nanog at merit.edu>
Date: Thursday, October 29, 1998 7:37 AM
Subject: RE: CISCO Easter Egg

>
>
>I don't condone this, however I fail to see how this is dishonest on
>Cisco's part.  I fail to even see the use of this command; hence the
>inquiry.  You have to reload the router either way to upgrade software,
>right?  So, you can issue the command via a reload, or you can "test
>crash."  The only difference is that the router displays "System
>restarted via reload" or "System restarted via memory parity error at
>0x67393028", or something.  So, what do  you use this for?  To 'prove'
>to your boss that you didn't f*&k up?  "It wasn't my fault, the router
>crashed.  See?"  I could see this being used on a production box, where
>an operator foolishly does a 'debug ip packet detail' on an edge box
>with a rapidly aging cache, the messages kill the console, and he needs
>to save his arse.  So, he reloads the box via power on, the runs a "test
>crash", so when the boss asked why they lost Orlando for 30 minutes, he
>can say, "I dunno, router crashed.  Look."
>
>Chris
>
>
>>
>> Not only interesting, but dishonest. Forcing a company to
>> spend money on
>> false premise is tantamount to theft or conversion. That
>> cisco gives them
>> the opportunity for doing so is aiding an abetting.
>> Particularly so when
>> the upgrade cost adds to cisco's revenue. In other words, I
>> sincerely hope
>> that you are joking. Yes, I'm a "suit" and only a part-time
>> operator/developer these days.
>>
>> At 05:52 AM 10/29/98 -0500, Martin, Christian wrote:
>> >Sean,
>> >
>> >Why would they use this feature for that purpose?  To fake a router
>> >crash in order to load new software?  Interesting way of
>> "breaking the
>> >rules."
>> >
>> >Chris
>> >
>> >>
>> >> This was put in to allow a small handful of engineers in
>> >> various companies
>> >> to load new software into boxes outside the maintenance windows
>> >> imposed upon them by misguided but fanatical operations management.
>> >>
>> >> This particular feature saved the Internet on several occasions.
>> >>
>> >>    Sean.
>> >>
>> >
>>
>> ___________________________________________________
>> Roeland M.J. Meyer, ISOC (InterNIC RM993)
>> e-mail: <mailto:rmeyer at mhsc.com>rmeyer at mhsc.com
>> Internet phone: hawk.mhsc.com
>> Personal web pages: <http://www.mhsc.com/~rmeyer>www.mhsc.com/~rmeyer
>> Company web-site: <http://www.mhsc.com/>www.mhsc.com/
>> ___________________________________________
>> I bet the human brain is a kludge.
>>                 -- Marvin Minsky
>>
>>