Field Notice: FN70506 - Authentication Failure Observed on C9200/C9200L Switches When a Stacking Cable, Stack Adapter, or Network Module Is Inserted in the Switch - Hardware Upgrade Available

Notice

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

Products Affected

Defect Information

Problem Description

A set of stacking cables, stack adapters, and network modules, as mentioned in the Products Affected section, will fail to authenticate when inserted into a stack port or the network module slot of C9200/C9200L switches.

Background

A specific set of stacking cables, stack adapters, and network modules manufactured during a short period of time between September 2019 and January 2020 (identified by the serial number) have incorrect/missing Cisco Manufacturing authentication data. This will leads to failure during bootup/installation of the switch. The issue was caused by a very specific manufacturing process deviation that has been corrected with the introduction of additional verification steps into the process.

As of January 2020, the set of improperly manufactured units represents less than 1% of the entire install base.

Problem Symptom

The affected product will fail to authenticate when inserted into the stack port or network module slot. This failure will be noticed during system bootup. Any product that did not encounter an authentication failure and is already in use/functional/service was manufactured correctly and will not run into this issue/failure.

On authentication failure, the affected product should show one of these problem symptoms.

Stacking Cable Authentication Failure

The stack switch will reload and might show any of these error messages:

*** Stack cable authentication failed for cable inserted on stack port 1 on switch 2 ***
*** Stack cable authentication failed for cable inserted on stack port 2 on switch 2 ***
*** Stack cable authentication failed for cable inserted on stack port 1 on switch 1 ***
*** Stack cable authentication failed for cable inserted on stack port 2 on switch 1 ***

Stack Adapter Authentication Failure

The stack switch will reload and might show any of these error messages:

Stack Adapter Auth Fail : SIF_SERDES_CABLE_EASTBOUND
*** Stack adapter authentication failed on stack port 1 on switch 1

*** Stack adapter authentication failed on stack port 2 on switch 1
Stack Adapter Auth Fail : SIF_SERDES_CABLE_WESTBOUND

Network Module Authentication Failure

The network module and corresponding ports on it will not work, but the rest of the switch will continue to operate correctly. It might show the error message as:

***Uplink FRU module hardware authentication failed***

Workaround/Solution

There is no workaround for this issue. Cisco is proactively notifying its customers of the potential field issue via this notice. This issue will be seen across a small set of units manufactured between September 2019 and January 2020.

If the issue is observed as mentioned in Problem Symptom section, refer to the Serial Number Validation section to determine if the unit is affected. If the unit is affected, refer to the Upgrade Program Information section for instructions on how to submit a replacement request.

Cisco customers can return the impacted stacking cable, stack adapter, or network module to Cisco or choose to dispose of the unit at the customer site.

If the switch does not show affected in the Serial Number Validation, the customer should create a Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC) case to get further assistance before attempting to replace the product.

Cisco is committed to the delivery of high quality units and regrets any inconvenience that this might cause. Contact TAC or your account team for further support.

Serial Number Validation

Cisco provides a tool to verify whether a device is impacted by this issue. In order to check the device, enter the device's serial number in the Serial Number Validation Tool.

Note: For security reasons, you must click on the Serial Number Validation Tool link provided in this section to check the serial number for the device. Use of the Serial Number Validation Tool URL external to this field notice will fail.

Upgrade Program Information

Click on the following link to open Support Case Manager in a new tab:
https://mycase.cloudapps.cisco.com/fieldnotice?fn=FN70506

1. Serial Numbers (SNs) must be provided and be affected.
   • SN Entitlement Check will be performed.
   • Order entry supports up to 50 SNs per request. If you have more than 50, you will need to submit more than 1 request.
2. One ship to address per request.
3. Service Request number (SR#) is not required, but if you have an Existing SR# please enter it for better tracking purposes.

Revision History

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 or telephone

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