Cisco Catalyst 5000 Series Switches

Revised December 17, 2007

February 25, 2002

NOTICE:

THIS FIELD NOTICE HAS BEEN EXPIRED AND IS NO LONGER MAINTAINED OR UPDATED BY CISCO.

THIS FIELD NOTICE IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS AND DOES NOT IMPLY ANY KIND OF GUARANTEE, WARRANTY OR SUPPORT. USE OF THE INFORMATION ON THIS FIELD NOTICE OR MATERIALS LINKED FROM THIS FIELD NOTICE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. CISCO RESERVES THE RIGHT TO CHANGE OR UPDATE THIS FIELD NOTICE AT ANY TIME.

Products Affected

Serial Numbers

Problem Description

This is a reissue of the original field notice.

Some WS-X5012 cards have failed in the field due to internal shorting of the printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) fab after some months of operation. When a failure occurs, the card will cease to function and will likely disrupt the operation of the switch in which it is installed. The failure may also cause damage to the backplane, rendering the switch inoperable.

In December 1999, Cisco Systems issued a recall for specific WS-X5012 modules in the Catalyst 5000 Family. Although we have been successful in recovering the majority of these units, we still have not achieved a complete return of all suspect modules.

Note: Only WS-X5012 modules that are contained within the specified serial number ranges and at hardware version 2.4 or lower are susceptible to this failure. Modules other than WS-X5012 that are contained in these serial number ranges are not impacted, specifically the WS-X5012A.

Background

Failure analysis has shown the shorting is caused by dendritic copper growth internal to the PCBA fab and is specific to a range of fab production date codes that were produced in mid 1998. These date codes have been correlated to serial numbers that are used to identify suspect products.

To date we have experienced 22 failures out of a population of 75,000 boards. We have identified 16,012 suspect boards and have recalled these units.

Problem Symptoms

There is no advance warning to the failure. This defect may result in shorting of the board and subsequent system shutdown. There are two symptoms that may occur:

1. The short will cause the power supplies to go into over-current shut-down, cutting off power to the system.

2. In a very small number of cases shorting has occurred causing smoke, but no fire or sparks. In the event of a failure, the switch backplane may also suffer damage rendering the system inoperable.

As with all Cisco products, WS-X5012 is designed according to national and international safety standards, and is constructed with self-extinguishing material. These products were manufactured in accordance with and comply with the requirements of Underwriters Laboratories Inc. Standard for Safety, UL 94 and Bellcore GR-3, which provide for protection in the event of shorting.

Workaround/Solution

The above corresponding serial numbers define boards that may contain this defect. Upon discovery of a potentially defective board, please order a replacement by submitting a return materials authorization (RMA) from the Technical Assistance Center (TAC).

Note: All units received from RMA will have a hardware revision of 2.5 or greater with a PCA sticker on the unit with PCA number 73-2169-09 or new PCA 73-5285-01, which is not affected by this defect. This will indicate the units are not affected even if they fall within the serial number range in this field notice.

Should the power supply go into over current shut down resulting in a failed switch it is recommended to replace the entire system.

Please order a replacement using one of the following options:

1. Replace with a WS-X5012A.

   Note: The minimum required software version on this module is 4.1(2). However, the current recommended version is 4.5(4).

2. Replace with a WS-X5012.

   Note: Direct replacement with minimium required software of 2.1(5). However, the current recommended version is 4.5(4).

Software for the WS-X5012 and WS-X5012A can be found at the Software Upgrade Center (registered customers only)

How to Identify Hardware Levels

Below is an example of how to identify the serial number and software level of a WS-X5012 card using the show version command. The WS-X5012 with hardware revision 2.4 and below may be affected. Any WS-X5012 with hardware version 2.5 and above are not affected with this issue.

Cisco> show version 
WS-C5500 Software, Version McpSW: 3.2(5) NmpSW: 3.2(5) 
Copyright (c) 1995-1999 by Cisco Systems 
NMP S/W compiled on Feb  3 1999, 19:01:27
MCP S/W compiled on Feb 03 1999, 19:04:14

System Bootstrap Version: 2.4(1) 

Hardware Version: 1.3  Model: WS-C5500  Serial #: 069051374 

Module Ports Model      Serial #  Hw     Fw      Fw1     Sw 
------ ----- ---------- --------- ------ ------- ------- -------------------- 
1      2     WS-X5506   006816212 2.1    2.4(1)  2.4(1)  3.2(5) 
2      12    WS-X5213A  005387814 1.0    1.4             3.2(5) 
3      12    WS-X5111   006345756 2.0    3.1(1)          3.2(5) 
4      12    WS-X5111   004622986 1.3    1.3             3.2(5) 
6      48    WS-X5012   007892405 2.2    2.3(2)          3.2(5) 
                         ^^^^^^^^                        ^^^^^^ 
                    SERIAL NUMBER                    SOFTWARE VERSION 

7      48    WS-X5012   006892920 2.2    2.3(2)          3.2(5) 
8      24    WS-X5010   002272699 2.4    1.1             3.2(5) 
10     24    WS-X5010   001939541 1.0    1.1             3.2(5) 
11     24    WS-X5010   006660548 3.1    1.1             3.2(5) 
12     24    WS-X5010   003621195 2.4    1.1             3.2(5) 

How to View Serial Numbers

Below is an example of how to identify the serial number, software level and hardware version of a WS-X5012 card using the show version command.

Cisco> show version 
WS-C5500 Software, Version McpSW: 3.2(5) NmpSW: 3.2(5) 
Copyright (c) 1995-1999 by Cisco Systems 
NMP S/W compiled on Feb  3 1999, 19:01:27 
MCP S/W compiled on Feb 03 1999, 19:04:14 

System Bootstrap Version: 2.4(1) 

Hardware Version: 1.3  Model: WS-C5500  Serial #: 069051374 

Module Ports Model      Serial #  Hw     Fw      Fw1     Sw 
------ ----- ---------- --------- ------ ------- ------- -------------------- 
1      2     WS-X5506   006816212 2.1    2.4(1)  2.4(1)  3.2(5) 
2      12    WS-X5213A  005387814 1.0    1.4             3.2(5) 
3      12    WS-X5111   006345756 2.0    3.1(1)          3.2(5) 
4      12    WS-X5111   004622986 1.3    1.3             3.2(5) 
6      48    WS-X5012   007892405 2.2    2.3(2)          3.2(5) 
                         ^^^^^^^^   ^^                    ^^^^^^ 
                    Serial Number   HW Ver            SOFTWARE VERSION 

7      48    WS-X5012   006892920 2.2    2.3(2)          3.2(5) 
8      24    WS-X5010   002272699 2.4    1.1             3.2(5) 
10     24    WS-X5010   001939541 1.0    1.1             3.2(5) 
11     24    WS-X5010   006660548 3.1    1.1             3.2(5) 
12     24    WS-X5010   003621195 2.4    1.1             3.2(5)                                          

      
     

For More Information

If you require further assistance, or if you have any further questions regarding this field notice, please contact the Cisco Systems Technical Assistance Center (TAC) by one of the following methods:

• Open a service request on Cisco.com
• By email
• By telephone

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