Product Bulletin, No. 1136

Cisco IOS Software Release 12.1EC Introduction

This product bulletin describes the process used to deliver Cisco IOS Software version 12.1EC for the Cisco ubr7200 Series Router. This bulletin should be used in conjunction with Product Bulletin #537 , Cisco IOS Software Release Process.

Summary

Cisco IOS software release 12.1EC is an Early Deployment (ED) release, which delivers support for the Cisco ubr7200 Series Router. 12.1EC is being offered to allow early support of new features on the ubr7200 platform, as well as future support for new Universal Broadband Router headend platforms.

The process to deliver 12.1EC is based on the Cisco IOS ED release process. Unique distinctions for 12.1EC are:

• 12.1EC is based on the 12.1 Major Release, and is directly parented from 12.1E.
  
  
• There is a one-to-one correspondence of maintenance releases 12.1E and 12.1EC.
  
  

Release Process

Release 12.1EC is based on the 12.1 Major Release, and is directly parented from the 12.1E ED release. As maintenance is performed on release 12.1, the 12.1E train is synced to it. The 12.1EC train in turn is then synced to the 12.1E train. For every maintenance release of 12.1, there is a maintenance release of 12.1E, which then leads to a corresponding maintenance release of 12.1EC. Each 12.1EC release contains all defect corrections on 12.1 and 12.1E, in addition to maintenance or new functionality unique to 12.1EC. Figure 1 shows this maintenance release relationship between 12.1, 12.1E & 12.1EC.

Figure 1

As described in Product Bulletin #537, the numbering scheme explicitly describes the level of maintenance on 12.1, 12.1E and 12.1EC. For example, 12.1(2)EC includes all maintenance that has been performed on 12.1(2) and 12.1(2)E. It may also include additional maintenance or new functionality specific to 12.1(2)EC.

Based on the unique needs of the different platforms on this release, there may be times when 12.1EC specific functionality or maintenance is required, but no additional maintenance is required from the 12.1 parent release. In these situations, a new maintenance release of 12.1EC will be created, but it will remain at the current maintenance level of 12.1. These maintenance releases are clearly numbered to identify:

• the maintenance level of 12.1 to which they are synced
  
  
• revision level of 12.1EC since that last sync to 12.1
  
  

Figure 2

Figure 2 shows an example in which the maintenance is required on 12.1(7)EC and is called 12.1(7)EC1. In this example, the number "1" is added to the release number to identify that this maintenance release is synced from 12.1(7)E, and that there are differences between this release and the previous maintenance release, 12.1(7)E. Readme files are created to clearly identify what was integrated into each maintenance release of 12.1(7)EC.

Life span

The expectation is that Cisco IOS Software 12.1EC will be sold until January 2001. Future Product Bulletins will be issued containing further information.

Support

Cisco IOS Software 12.1EC is supported by the Cisco Systems Product Support Policy. Release Notes will exist on CCO for every maintenance release.

Features

• The initial release, 12.1(2)EC, contains no new features
  
  
• Future releases may contain new features. Please see the release notes for specific information
  
  

Feature detail can be found at:

• Cisco IOS software Release 12.1 New Features product bulletin #1078
  
  
• Cisco uBR7200 - Release Notes for Release 12.1
  
  
• Cisco uBR7200 - Release Notes for Release 12.1EC
  
  

Feature Migration Path

New features introduced in 12.1EC will be regularly ported into an available 12.1T, 12.2T or 12.3T release. This product bulletin will be updated regarding migration plans when further information is available.

Supported Hardware Platforms

Cisco IOS Software release 12.1EC supports the following platforms:

• Cisco ubr7246 Universal Broadband Router
  
  
• Cisco ubr7223 Universal Broadband Router
  
  
• Cisco ubr7246VXR Universal Broadband Router
  
  
• Future ubr headend platforms will be supported in 12.1EC. This product bulletin will be updated as these platforms become available.
  
  

12.1EC Product Summary

Memory Size

Product Number and File Name

Cisco IOS Software can be ordered using the following product numbers:

The image filenames are: