Table Of Contents
Product Bulletin No. 2321
Cisco IOS Software Releases 12.2(17a)SX and 12.2(17a)SX1 for Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series Switches and Cisco 7600 Series Routers Equipped with the Cisco Supervisor Engine 720
Cisco IOS® Software Release 12.2(17a)SX is supported only on the Cisco® Catalyst® 6500 Series Supervisor Engine 720. Cisco IOS Software Release 12.2(17a)SX1 is supported on the Supervisor Engine 720 and the Cisco Multilayer Switch Feature Card 3 (MSFC3).
Hardware Features
Cisco IOS Software Release 12.2(17a)SX supports all modules that Cisco IOS Software Release 12.2(14)SX1 supported, and adds support for the new hardware listed in Table 1.
There is no new hardware support in Cisco IOS Software Release 12.2(17a)SX1.
Software Features
Table 2 lists the new software features in Cisco IOS Software releases 12.2(17a)SX and 12.2(17a)SX1.
Table 2 New Software Features Now Supported with the Supervisor Engine 720 in Cisco IOS Software Releases 12.2(17a)SX and 12.2(17a)SX1
SSHv2 allows automated, remote, secure Telnet access for configuration and administration of switch and router resources. SSHv2 addresses the weaknesses and vulnerabilities that exist in SSHv1, including man-in-the-middle attacks and integrity violations.
PIM snooping is a method employed by a Layer 2 switch to constrain multicast traffic among VLAN ports that are connected to multicast routers. Although Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) snooping constrains traffic on host ports, it typically floods traffic on these multicast router ports. With PIM snooping, the switch snoops on PIM control messages such as "Join/Prune" to learn which routers are interested in specific traffic. PIM snooping is effective in environments where many routers are connected using a Layer 2 switch, such as in network core, Internet exchange point, and Metro Ethernet environments.
L2TP enables Layer 2 transparency between customer sites connected across a service provider network, allowing customers to tunnel protocol data units (PDUs) such as Cisco Discovery Protocol, Spanning Tree Protocol, and VLAN Trunking Protocol (VTP). Previous software versions supported rate limiting on a per-protocol and per-port basis for the tunneled PDUs, using mechanisms implemented in software. New enhancements include supporting per-protocol rate limiting at switch level based on the current software implementation and rate limiting in hardware on a Cisco Catalyst 6500 with the Supervisor Engine 720.
PRBS is a cable diagnostic test for 10-Gigabit Ethernet ports on the Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series switches.
This feature allows users to selectively limit auto-negotiation to 10/100 or 10/100/1000 Ethernet ports.
IPv6 meets the demand for increased address space as a new generation of devices connect to the Internet, encouraged by the official IPv6 support from major operating systems vendors. Today, market segments such as National Research Networks (NRNs) and connected university campuses, federal and government organizations, engineering organizations working on IPv6 applications or appliances, and service providers require IPv6 capabilities in new product acquisitions.
As part of the Cisco IPv6 strategy, the Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series now integrates IPv6 protocol support, delivering the best-in-class performances of the industry and enabling the overall Cisco Catalyst 6500 installed base to benefit from the technology when upgrading to Supervisor Engine 720.
The following IPv6 features—in alignment with other Cisco platforms—are supported in this release:
•
Base IPv6 protocol, including Internet Control Message Protocol Version 6 (ICMPv6), neighbor discovery, and stateless auto-configuration
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
For more details about IPv6 deployment strategies, refer to: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/tech/tk872/technologies_white_paper09186a00800c9907.shtml
Orderable Software Images
Table 3 lists the software versions and applicable ordering information for the Cisco Supervisor Engine 720 for Cisco Catalyst 6500 Series switches and Cisco 7600 Series routers. Cisco IOS Software runs on the DFC to provide distributed Cisco Express Forwarding support. This image is bundled as part of the Supervisor Engine 720 image and is not released separately.
These are the only product IDs that will be orderable. When subsequent releases of Cisco IOS Software Release 12.2(17a)SX are available, ordering these product IDs will automatically result in shipment of the latest release. Some of the descriptions refer to MPLS and IPv6, which will be available in subsequent releases only and are not available in Cisco IOS Software Release 12.2(17a)SX1.
Caution: Always back up the switch configuration file to a TFTP server or Flash device before upgrading or downgrading the switch software, to avoid losing all or part of the configuration stored in nonvolatile RAM (NVRAM). When downgrading switch software, the configuration will be lost.