Introduction
This document describes how to find a stable software release for the Catalyst 9000 series Enterprise switching platforms.
Background Information
The information in this document is not meant to be exhaustive and is intended to serve as a general guide to you especially in cases of mass deployments/upgrades. Beyond these recommendations, if you are required to run a release to utilize newer software features or hardware, the recommendation is to select Extended Maintenance (EM) release trains wherever possible.
- If you use Software-Defined Access (SDA), please refer to the product compatibility matrix which is available here.
- For software recommendations on Cisco Catalyst 1000/2960/3560/CDB/4500 and Catalyst 6500/6800 series switches, please refer to this page.
- For software recommendations on Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers, please refer to this page.
Cisco IOS XE Software Support
Each Cisco IOSĀ® XE software release is classified as either a Standard Maintenance release or an Extended Maintenance release.
Standard Maintenance Release (SMR) - A sustaining support lifetime of 12 months from First Customer Shipment (FCS) with scheduled rebuilds. Examples are Cisco IOS XE Software releases 17.1, 17.2, 17.4, 17.5, 17.7, 17.8, 17.10, and 17.11
Extended Maintenance Release (EMR) - A sustaining support lifetime of 36 months from First Customer Shipment (FCS) with scheduled rebuilds. Examples are Cisco IOS XE Software releases 16.12, 17.3, 17.6, and 17.9
Note: Every subsequent third release (for example, Cisco IOS XE Software release 16.12, 17.3, 17.6, and 17.9) is an Extended Maintenance release.
Given that Standard Maintenance Releases have much shorter support lifetimes whereas Extended Maintenance releases have longer support with more scheduled rebuilds/bug fixes, it is recommended that you stay on Extended Maintenance releases wherever possible.
Recommendations
The recommendations stated here are current as of June 2023, and are periodically updated when appropriate.
Product Family
|
Product Details
|
Recommended Cisco IOS-XE release
|
Catalyst 9200
|
C9200CX(all models)
|
17.9.3
|
C9200L (all models)
|
17.6.5
17.9.3
|
C9200 (all models)
|
17.6.5
17.9.3
|
Catalyst 9300
|
9300L (all models)
|
17.6.5
17.9.3
|
C9300-24H, C9300-48H, C9300X-48HX
|
17.6.4 17.9.3
|
C9300X (C9300X-12Y, C9300X-24Y and C9300X-48TX)
|
17.6.5
17.9.3
|
C9300X (C9300X-24HX)
|
17.9.3
|
C9300 (all other models)
|
17.6.5
17.9.3
|
C9300LM (all models)
|
17.9.3
|
Catalyst 9400
|
C9400-SUP-1, C9400-SUP-1XL and C9400-SUP-1XL-Y
|
17.6.5
17.9.3
|
C9400X-SUP2(XL)
|
17.9.3
|
Catalyst 9500
|
C9500 (all models)
|
17.6.5
17.9.3
|
C9500X (C9500X-28C8D)
|
17.9.3#
|
Catalyst 9600
|
C9600 (C9600-SUP-1)
|
17.6.5
17.9.3
|
C9600X-SUP2
|
17.9.3
|
Catalyst 3650
|
C3650 (all models)
|
16.12.8*
|
Catalyst 3850
|
C3850 (all models)
|
16.12.8*
|
Note: # For newer Hardware such as C9500X-60L4D, please select the compatible software release listed on the Cisco Software Download page. The preference should be to select an Extended Maintenance Release if available.
Software Recommendation FAQ
Question: What if I see a recommended version of code on this page, but it is not available to download for that specific switch model?
Answer:
- When Catalyst switches are launched, they might not support earlier versions of software that were released before the hardware was launched. Always confirm what software is actually available to download for that specific platform.
- Do not download a version of code from some other platform page and attempt to install on your device. The software available on the specific product page takes precedent over this release recommendation page
- In a situation like this, use the feedback feature at the right hand side of the article to let us know! We make every effort to keep this page up to date, but in some cases (such as a new platform release) this page recommendation may be slightly behind.
Software Maintenance Upgrade (SMU) and Engineering Special (ES)
In certain cases, fix for critical bugs can be made available via Software Maintenance Upgrade (SMU) or Engineering Special (ES) builds.
- Software Maintenance Upgrade (SMU) is a package that can be installed on a system to provide a patch fix or a security resolution to a released image. A SMU package is provided on a per release and per component basis, and is specific to the platform. SMUs are supported only on Extended Maintenance Releases and for the full lifecycle of the parent software release.
- Engineering Special (ES) builds are meant to be deployed for a limited time frame and are not available on CCO (cisco.com). You are advised to move to the next maintenance rebuild as soon as it is available on Cisco.com. Engineering special builds are fully supported by the Cisco Customer Experience (CX) and the Business Unit (BU).
If you encounter any issues specific to your environment which is not already fixed in existing cisco.com releases, please contact Cisco Customer Experience (CX) to explore the possibility of a SMU or ES.
Caveats
Identifier
|
Headline
|
Affected Versions (EMR)
|
Workaround Available
|
Fixed Version
|
Cisco bug ID
CSCwe54104/CSCwd78924
|
C9300-24H/C9300-48H switches running 17.6.5 will not provide PoE
|
17.6.5
|
No (17.6.5 ES available)
|
17.6.6(upcoming)
|
Cisco bug ID CSCwe36743
|
Segmentation Fault - Crash - SSH - When Changing AAA Group Configs
|
17.6.3, 17.6.4, 17.6.5
|
Yes
(SMU available)
|
17.6.6(upcoming)
|
Cisco bug ID CSCwe54047
|
9300X-24Y booted as Standalone will Observe packet loss between Inter-ASIC Traffic Flows
|
17.6.1, 17.6.2, 17.6.3, 17.6.4, 17.9.1, 17.9.2. 17.9.3
|
Yes
|
17.6.6 (upcoming)
|
Cisco bug ID CSCwd17488
|
C9300 Switches May Encounter Traffic Forwarding Issues With Stack Ports Down on 17.6.4
|
17.6.4
|
No
(SMU available)
|
17.6.5
|
Cisco bug ID CSCwa85525
|
Memory leak in MallocLite due to growing Smart Agent Memory Utilization
|
17.6.1a,17.6.2,17.6.3,17.6.4,
17.3.3,17.3.4,17.3.5,17.3.6
|
No
|
17.6.5
17.3.7
|
Cisco bug ID CSCwc54402
|
Catalyst 9600 ISSU May Fail if FPGA Upgrade Required
|
17.3.1, 17.3.2a, 17.3.3, 17.3.4 17.6.1, 17.6.2, 17.6.3, 17.6.4, 17.9.1
|
Yes
|
17.6.5
17.9.2
|
Cisco bug ID CSCwa76242
|
Cat 9200L - 10G Link Flaps at intermittent times when peer is maintained as Nexus 9K
|
17.3.3, 17.3.4, 17.3.5, 17.6.3
|
No
|
17.3.6
17.6.4
17.9.1
|
Cisco bug ID CSCwa85199
|
High CPU Utilization and Malloclite memory leak caused by Smart Licensing Agent
|
17.3.3, 17.3.4, 17.3.5, 17.6.1, 17.6.2, 17.6.3
|
Yes
|
17.3.6
17.6.4
|
Related Information
Cisco Support and Downloads
Cisco IOS XE 16 - Release Notes - Cisco
Cisco IOS XE 17 - Release Notes - Cisco
End-of-Sale and End-of-Life Announcement for the Cisco IOS XE 16.6.x
End-of-Sale and End-of-Life Announcement for the Cisco IOS XE 16.9.x
End-of-Sale and End-of-Life Announcement for the Cisco IOS XE 16.12.x
End-of-Sale and End-of-Life Announcement for the Cisco IOS XE 17.3.x