Release Notes for Cisco MDS 9000 Series, Release 8.4(1)

 

This document describes the features, caveats, and limitations for the Cisco MDS NX-OS software for the use on the Cisco MDS 9000 Series Switches. Use this document in combination with documents listed in the Obtaining Documentation and Submitting a Service Request section.

Note:       Release notes are sometimes updated with new information on restrictions and caveats. Refer to the following website for the most recent version of the Cisco MDS 9000 Series Release Notes.

Introduction

The Cisco MDS 9000 Series of Multilayer Directors and Fabric Switches provide best-in-class high availability, scalability, security, and management, that enables to deploy high-performance storage-area networks. Layering a rich set of intelligent features onto a high-performance switch fabric, the Cisco MDS 9000 Series addresses the stringent requirements of large data center storage environments: high availability, security, scalability, ease of management, and seamless integration of new technologies.

About Software Images

The Cisco MDS NX-OS operating system is shipped with the Cisco MDS 9000 Series Switches. The Cisco MDS NX-OS software consists of two images: the kickstart image and the system image.

●     To select the kickstart image, use the KICKSTART variable.

●     To select the system image, use the SYSTEM variable.

The images and variables are important factors in any install procedure. Specify the variable and the respective image to upgrade or downgrade a switch. The kickstart and system images are not always required for installing the operating system.

For more information on the image file supported on a Cisco MDS switch, see the Cisco MDS 9000 NX-OS Software Upgrade and Downgrade Guide, Release 8.x.

To download a new Cisco MDS 9000 Series software, including Cisco MDS NX-OS and Cisco DCNM management software, go to the Storage Networking Software download website at http://www.cisco.com/cisco/software/navigator.html

Choosing Between Cisco MDS NX-OS Open Systems Releases

Cisco uses release numbering to indicate the maturity of a Cisco MDS NX-OS release train. Cisco MDS NX-OS major versions are incremented when significant software features or hardware support are added. Because of the focus on new features and hardware all defects may not yet have been fixed. After an initial release, minor version numbers of the train are incremented, and only security patches and defect fixes are added, providing better stability to the new features and updated security. Details about the new features and hardware supported by Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.4(1) can be found in the New Hardware and Software Features section.For information about other releases, refer to the Release Notes on the Cisco MDS 9000 NX-OS and SAN-OS Software documentation page.

For Cisco recommended MDS NX-OS releases for each type of hardware, see the Recommended Releases for Cisco MDS 9000 Series Switches document.

Components Supported

For information on supported software and hardware components, see the Cisco MDS 9000 Series Compatibility Matrix. Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.4(1) is not supported on Cisco MDS 9148S and 9396S4 switches.

FICON

Fibre Connection (FICON) interface capabilities enhance certain Cisco MDS 9000 Series switches by supporting both open systems and mainframe storage network environments.

FICON Supported Platforms

FICON is supported on the following Cisco MDS 9000 Series switches:

●     CiscoMDS9706

◦     Cisco MDS 9700 48-Port 32-Gbps Fibre Channel Switching Module (DS-X9648-1536K9)

◦     Cisco MDS 24/10-Port SAN Extension Module (DS-X9334-K9)

◦     Cisco MDS 48-Port 16-Gbps Fibre Channel Switching Module (DS-X9448-768K9)

●     Cisco MDS 9710

◦     Cisco MDS 9700-48 Port 32-Gbps Fibre Channel Switching Module (DS-X9648-1536K9)

◦     Cisco MDS 24/10-Port SAN Extension Module (DS-X9334-K9)

◦     Cisco MDS 48-Port 16-Gbps Fibre Channel Switching Module (DS-X9448-768K9)

●     Cisco MDS 9250i

FICON is also supported on the following IBM OEM switches:

●     IBM SAN192C-6

◦     IBM 48 Port 32-Gbps Fibre Channel Switching Module (01FT644)

◦     IBM 24/10 Port SAN Extension Module (01FT645)

●     IBM SAN384C-6

◦     IBM 48 Port 32-Gbps Fibre Channel Switching Module (01FT644)

◦     IBM 24/10 Port SAN Extension Module (01FT645)

●     IBM SAN50C-R

FICON Supported Releases

The Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.1(1a) and Release 8.1(1b) are IBM-qualified FICON releases for Cisco MDS. From Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.1(1b), FICON is supported on the Cisco MDS 9700 48 Port 32-Gbps Fibre Channel Switching Module.

The list of the Cisco MDS NX-OS releases that are qualified for FICON. Refer to the specific release notes for FICON upgrade path information.

●     Release 8.1(1b)

●     Release 8.1(1a)

●     Release 6.2(11e)

●     Release 6.2(11d) for the Cisco MDS 9250i Switch only

●     Release 6.2(11c) for all FICON supported platforms except the Cisco MDS 9250i Switch

Upgrading Cisco MDS NX-OS Software Image

This section lists the guidelines recommended for upgrading Cisco MDS NX-OS software image and includes the following topics:

●     General Upgrading Guidelines

●     Nondisruptive Upgrade Paths

●     FICON Upgrade Paths

For detailed instructions for performing a software upgrade using the switch CLI, see the Cisco MDS 9000 NX-OS Software Upgrade and Downgrade Guide, Release 8.x.

For detailed instructions for performing a software upgrade using Cisco DCNM, see the Cisco DCNM Release Notes.

General Upgrading Guidelines

This section lists the general guidelines for performing a software upgrade:

●     Install and configure dual supervisor modules before the upgrade.

●     Issue the show install all impact upgrade-image command to determine if the upgrade will be nondisruptive.

●     Some features are impacted whether an upgrade is disruptive or nondisruptive:

◦     Fibre Channel Ports: Fibre Channel ports can be nondisruptively upgraded without affecting traffic on the ports. See the Nondisruptive Upgrade Paths section for all MDS NX-OS releases.

◦     Gigabit Ethernet Ports: Traffic on Gigabit Ethernet or IPStorage ports is disrupted during an upgrade or downgrade. This includes IPStorage ports on the MDS 9250i and Cisco MDS 24/10 Port SAN Extension Module. Nodes that are members of VSANs traversing an FCIP ISL are impacted, and a fabric reconfiguration occurs. iSCSI initiators connected to the Gigabit Ethernet ports lose connectivity to iSCSI targets while the upgrade is in progress.

Note:    In addition to these guidelines, review the information in the Limitations and Restrictions section before a software upgrade to determine if a feature may possibly behave differently following the upgrade.

●     To upgrade or downgrade to a Cisco MDS NX-OS release version, the same release version of the kickstart and system images in the install all command must be used.

●     If you are upgrading Cisco MDS 9700 Series Switches from Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.3(1), Release 8.3(2), Release 8.4(1), and Release 8.4(1a) to Release 8.4(2) or later, ensure that you perform a switchover before upgrading. For more information, see CSCvt87216.

Nondisruptive Upgrade Paths

The software upgrade information in this section applies only to Fibre Channel switching traffic. Upgrading system software disrupts IP traffic and intelligent services traffic.

Note:       If the SAN analytics feature is enabled, then disable the SAN analytics feature using the no feature analytics command before upgrading from Cisco MDS NX-OS 8.2(x) or Cisco MDS NX-OS 8.3(x) to Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.4(1).

Table 1.           Nondisruptive Upgrade Paths to Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.4(1)

For FICON upgrade paths, see the FICON Upgrade Paths section.

FICON Upgrade Paths

Use the table to determine the nondisruptive upgrade path for FICON-qualified releases. Find the image release number using the Current Release with FICON Enabled column of the table and follow the recommended path.

Table 2.           FICON Nondisruptive Upgrade Paths

Downgrading Cisco MDS NX-OS Software Image

This section lists the guidelines recommended for downgrading Cisco MDS NX-OS software image and includes the following topics:

●     General Downgrading Guidelines

●     Open Systems Nondisruptive Downgrade Paths

●     Nondisruptive Downgrade Paths

●     FICON Downgrade Paths

For detailed instructions for performing a software downgrade using the switch CLI, see the Cisco MDS 9000 NX-OS Software Upgrade and Downgrade Guide, Release 8.x.

General Downgrading Guidelines

Follow these general guidelines before performing a software downgrade:

●     Disable all features that are not supported by the downgrade release. Use the show incompatibility system downgrade- image command to determine the features that needs to be disabled.

●     Use the show install all impact downgrade-image command to determine if the downgrade is nondisruptive.

●     The following features are impacted during a downgrade, whether it is a nondisruptive downgrade or a disruptive downgrade:

◦     Fibre Channel Ports: Fibre Channel ports can be nondisruptively downgraded without affecting traffic on the ports.

◦     Gigabit Ethernet Ports: Traffic on IPStorage ports is disrupted during a downgrade. This includes IPStorage ports in MDS 9250i and 24/10 Port SAN Extension Module. Nodes that are members of VSANs traversing an FCIP ISL are impacted, and a fabric reconfiguration occurs. iSCSI initiators connected to the Gigabit Ethernet ports lose connectivity to iSCSI targets while the downgrade is in progress.

Find the MDS NX-OS image that you want to downgrade to in the To MDS NX-OS Release column of the table and follow the steps in the order specified to perform the downgrade.

Note:       The software downgrade information in the below tables applies only to Fibre Channel switching traffic. Downgrading system software disrupts IP and intelligent services traffic.

●     Any hardware that is not supported by the downgrade release version will be powered down when the downgrade release starts running. Power off and or remove any unsupported components before downgrading. For more information about supported hardware see the Cisco MDS 9000 Series Compatibility Matrix.

Note:       If you are downgrading from Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 9.2(1) or later releases to a release prior to Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 9.2(1), ensure that you use the clear logging onboard txwait command after downgrading. Otherwise, logging to the OBFL TxWait file may cease with an error. For more information, see the Cisco MDS 9000 Series Interfaces Configuration Guide, Release 9.x.

ISSD Guidelines for Cisco MDS 9396S Switch

●     Downgrading from Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.x to Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 7.3(0)D1(1) or Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 6.2(13a) is not supported on a Cisco MDS 9396S Switch which has DS-CAC-1200W as a power supply unit (PSU) and DS-C96S-FAN-I as port side intake fan tray.

●     Downgrading from Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.x to Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 6.2(13) is not supported on the Cisco MDS 9396S Multilayer Fabric Switch. The minimum recommended image for Cisco MDS 9396S Multilayer Fabric Switch is 6.2(13a).

ISSD Guidelines for Cisco MDS 9250i Switch

●     Downgrading from Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.x to Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 7.3(0)D1(1), or 6.2(13a) and lower is not supported on a Cisco MDS 9250i Switch which has only one online PSU.

●     Downgrading from Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.x to Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 7.3(0)D1(1), or 6.2(13a) and lower on a Cisco MDS 9250i Switch with two online PSUs results in loss of N:N grid redundancy. The switch will run in non- redundant mode.

●     Downgrading from Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.x to Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 7.3(0)D1(1), or 6.2(13a) and lower on a Cisco MDS 9250i Switch with three online PSUs results in loss of N:N grid redundancy. The switch will run in N+1 power redundant mode.

Open Systems Nondisruptive Downgrade Paths

●     Downgrading directly from Cisco MDS NX-OS Releases 8.1(1) and Release 8.1(1b) to releases before Cisco MDS NX- OS Release 6.2(9) is not supported. In such a scenario, we recommend that you first downgrade to Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 6.2(13a) or higher and then downgrade to the required release.

●     Downgrading directly from Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.1(1) to Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 7.3(0)DY(1) is not supported. In such a scenario, we recommend that you first downgrade to Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 7.3(0)D1(1) and then upgrade to 7.3(0)DY(1).

●     Downgrading directly from Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.1(1) to Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 7.3(1)DY(1) is not supported. In such a scenario, we recommend that you first downgrade to Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 7.3(0)D1(1) and then upgrade to 7.3(1)DY(1).

●     Downgrading from Cisco MDS NX-OS Releases 8.1(1) and 8.1(1b) is not supported if the FLOGI Scale Optimization feature is enabled on the Cisco MDS 9718 Switches.

Nondisruptive Downgrade Paths

Table 3.           Nondisruptive Downgrade Paths to Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.4(1)

FICON Downgrade Paths

The table lists the downgrade paths for FICON releases. Find the image release number that you want to downgrade to in the To Release with FICON Enabled column of the table and follow the recommended downgrade path.

Table 4.           FICON Nondisruptive Downgrade Paths from MDS NX-OS Release 8.1(1b)

New Hardware and Software Features

New Hardware Features

This section lists the new hardware chassis and features introduced in Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.4(1).

Cisco MDS 9700 Series Supervisor-4 Module

The Cisco MDS 9700 Series Supervisor-4 Module (DS-X97-SF4-K9) is introduced for the Cisco MDS 9706 and 9710 Multilayer Directors.

Note:       Supervisor-4 Module is not supported for the Cisco MDS 9718 Multilayer Director in this release.

For more information, see the Cisco MDS 9700 Series Supervisor-4 Module section in the Cisco MDS 9700 Series Hardware Installation Guide.

Cisco MDS 9710 Crossbar Fabric-3 Switching Module

Cisco MDS 9710 Crossbar Fabric-3 Switching Module (DS-X9710-FAB3) is introduced for the Cisco MDS 9710 Multilayer Director.

For more information, see the Cisco MDS 9710 Director Crossbar Fabric Switching Modules section in the Cisco MDS 9700 Series Hardware Installation Guide.

Cisco MDS 9706 Crossbar Fabric-3 Switching Module

Cisco MDS 9706 Crossbar Fabric-3 Switching Module (DS-X9706-FAB3) is introduced for the Cisco MDS 9706 Multilayer Director.

For more information, see the Cisco MDS 9706 Director Crossbar Fabric Switching Modules section in the Cisco MDS 9700 Series Hardware Installation Guide.

New Software Features

The following software features were introduced in Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.4(1):

Ansible

Support for Ansible was introduced on Cisco MDS devices. Ansible is an open-source IT automation engine that automates cloud provisioning, configuration management, application deployment, intraservice orchestration, and other IT needs. Similar to Puppet, and Chef, Ansible enables administrators to manage, automate, and orchestrate various types of server environments. Ansible is agentless, and does not require a software agent to be installed on the target node (server or switch) in order to automate the device.

For more information, see the Ansible section in the Cisco MDS 9000 Series Programmability Guide, Release 8.x Guide.

Support for Migrating a Cisco MDS 9700 Series Supervisor-1 Module to a Supervisor-4 Module

Nondisruptive migration support was introduced to seamlessly migrate the Cisco MDS 9700 Supervisor-1 Modules to the new Supervisor-4 Modules in the Cisco MDS 9706 and Cisco MDS 9710 Multilayer Directors.

For more information, see the Nondisruptive Migration from a Supervisor-1 Module to a Supervisor-4 Module section in the Cisco MDS 9700 Series Hardware Installation Guide.

Support for Migrating Cisco MDS Crossbar Fabric-1 Switching Modules to Fabric-3 Modules

Nondisruptive migration support was introduced to seamlessly migrate the Cisco MDS Crossbar Fabric-1 Switching Modules (DS-X9706-FAB1 and DS-X9710-FAB1) to the new Cisco MDS Crossbar Fabric-3 Switching Modules (DS-X9706-FAB3 and DS-X9710-FAB3) on the Cisco MDS 9706 and Cisco MDS 9710 Multilayer Directors.

For more information, see the Nondisruptive Migration from Crossbar Fabric-1 Switching Modules to Crossbar Fabric-3 Switching Modules section in the Cisco MDS 9700 Series Hardware Installation Guide.

Uniform Timestamps

The Uniform Timestamps feature introduces support for RFC 5424 format timestamps for logs produced by multiple software components. This allows easier log merging and searching, reducing time to resolution of issues.

The following commands were introduced:

●     system timestamp format

●     show system timestamp format

For more information, see the Cisco MDS 9000 Series System Management Configuration Guide, Release 8.x and the Cisco MDS 9000 Series Command Reference, Release 8.x.

Enhanced Software Features

The following software features were enhanced in Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.4(1):

Autozone

The Autozone feature has been enhanced. Autozone provides options to enable or disable automatically saving of the running- configuration to the startup-configuration after making a zoning change, using the enableautosave and disableautosave options respectively.

The autozone command was modified to the autozone-enable command.

For more information, see the Cisco MDS 9000 Series Command Reference, Release 8.x.

Buffer-to-Buffer Credit Recovery

The Buffer-to-Buffer Credit feature has been enhanced. NP ports support buffer-to-buffer credit recovery for Cisco NPV switch logins. Added Buffer-to-Buffer State Change SOF (BB_SCs) and Buffer-to-Buffer State Change R_RDY (BB_SCr) counter information in the show interface counters detailed command.

For more information, see the “Configuring Interface Buffers” chapter in the Cisco MDS 9000 Series Interfaces Configuration Guide, Release 8.x and the Cisco MDS 9000 Series Command Reference, Release 8.x.

Consistency Checker

The Consistency Checker feature has been enhanced. Added support to display the access control list (ACL), forwarding information base (FIB), and persistent storage service (PSS) consistency information, using the show consistency-checker command.

For more information, see the Cisco MDS 9000 Series Fundamentals Configuration Guide, Release 8.x and the Cisco MDS 9000 Series Command Reference, Release 8.x.

Congestion Detection

The Congestion Detection feature has been enhanced. The show hardware internal rxwait-history, show hardware internal txwait-history and show process creditmon txwait-history commands were replaced by the show interface interface-range rxwait-history and show interface interface-range txwait-history commands respectively.

For more information, see the “Congestion Detection, Avoidance, and Isolation” chapter in the Cisco MDS 9000 Series Interfaces Configuration Guide, Release 8.x and the Cisco MDS 9000 Series Command Reference, Release 8.x.

Congestion Isolation

The Congestion Isolation feature has been enhanced. Added virtual link (VL) information in the show interface interface- range counters, show interface interface-range counters detailed, show logging onboard txwait and show interface interface-range aggregate-counters command outputs.

For more information, see the Cisco MDS 9000 Series Interfaces Configuration Guide, Release 8.x and the Cisco MDS 9000 Series Command Reference, Release 8.x.

Configuration Limits

The Fabric Logins (FLOGIs) or Fabric Discovery (FDISC) limits has been enhanced. The FLOGIs or FDISC limit per switch for the Cisco MDS 9132T, Cisco MDS 9396T, and Cisco MDS 9148T Fabric switches was increased from 1000 to 2000.

For more information, see the Cisco MDS NX-OS Configuration Limits, Release 8.x.

Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE)

The FCoE feature has been enhanced. The following show command outputs were modified:

●     show interface priority-flow-control

●     show interface vfc interface-range counters detailed

For more information, see the “Congestion Detection, Avoidance, and Isolation” chapter in the Cisco MDS 9000 Series Interfaces Configuration Guide, Release 8.x and the Cisco MDS 9000 Series Command Reference, Release 8.x.

Port Beaconing

The Port Beaconing feature was enhanced. This feature is supported on the Cisco MDS switches that are operating in Cisco NPV mode.

For more information, see the “Configuring Interfaces” chapter in the Cisco MDS 9000 Series Interfaces Configuration Guide, Release 8.x.

Port Channel

The Port Channel feature was enhanced. The default port channel mode is changed from On to Active for newly created port channels.

For more information, see the “Configuring Port Channels” chapter in the Cisco MDS 9000 Series Interfaces Configuration Guide, Release 8.x.

Port Monitor

The Port Monitor feature was enhanced. Added support to configure a severity level for port monitor syslog messages.

For more information, see the “Configuring Interfaces” chapter in the Cisco MDS 9000 Series Interfaces Configuration Guide, Release 8.x.

SAN Analytics and SAN Telemetry Streaming

The SAN Analytics and SAN Telemetry Streaming feature was enhanced. This feature supports Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) analytics type. New NVMe view instances and flow metrics were added.

This feature is supported on the Cisco MDS 9396T 32-Gbps 96-Port Fibre Channel Fabric Switch and Cisco MDS 9148T 32- Gbps 48-Port Fibre Channel Fabric Switch.

The fabric_telemetry.proto file is updated with the NVMe flow metrics.

The show analytics schema command is introduced to display schema for the SCSI and NVMe analytics types. The following commands were modified:

●     no analytics type {fc-all | fc-nvme | fc-scsi}

●     show analytics flow congestion‐drops [vsan number] [module number port number]

The following command outputs were modified:

●     show analytics port-sampling module number

●     show analytics system-load

●     ShowAnalytics (--minmax, --errorsonly, --evaluate-npuload, --vsan-thput, --outstanding-io, --top,--alias, --key, -- module, --progress, --refresh, and --limit options were added in the show output)

For more information, see the Cisco MDS 9000 Series SAN Analytics and Telemetry Configuration Guide, Release 8.x and the Cisco MDS 9000 Series Command Reference, Release 8.x.

Licensed Cisco NX-OS Software Packages

Most Cisco MDS 9000 Series software features are included in the standard package. However, some features are logically grouped into add-on packages that must be licensed separately, such as the Cisco MDS 9000 Enterprise package, SAN Analytics Solution Package, SAN Extension over IP package, On-Demand Port Activation, and the Mainframe package.

Note:       Cisco MDS 24-Port 40-Gigabit Fibre Channel over Ethernet Module (DS-X9824-960K9), and the Cisco MDS 48-Port 10-Gigabit Fibre Channel over Ethernet Module (DS-X9848-480K9) does not require a license.

For more information about licensed Cisco NX-OS software packages, see Cisco MDS Licensing Datasheets.

Enterprise Package

The standard software package that is bundled at no charge with the Cisco MDS 9000 Series switches includes the base set of features that we believe are required by most customers for building a SAN. The Cisco MDS 9000 Series also has a set of advanced features that are recommended for all enterprise SANs. These features are bundled together in the Cisco MDS 9000 Enterprise package. Refer to the Cisco MDS 9000 Enterprise Package Data Sheet for more information.

Note:       The IVR feature on Cisco MDS 9700 Series Directors with the Cisco MDS 24/10 port SAN Extension Module (DS- X9334-K9) requires an Enterprise package.

SAN Analytics Solution Package

To use the SAN Analytics and SAN Telemetry Streaming features, install appropriate license packages using the install license command. For more information, see the Cisco MDS 9000 Series Licensing Guide.

SAN Extension Over IP Package

The Cisco MDS 9000 SAN Extension over IP package allows the customer to use FCIP to extend SANs over wide distances on IP networks using the Cisco MDS 9000 Series IP storage services. Refer to the Cisco MDS 9000 SAN Extension over IP Package fact sheet for more information.

Note:       The FCIP feature on Cisco MDS 9700 Series Directors with the Cisco MDS 24/10 port SAN Extension Module (DS- X9334-K9) does not require a license.

On-Demand Port Activation License

On-Demand Port Activation license allows customers to benefit from Cisco NX-OS Software features while initially purchasing only a few activated ports on the Cisco MDS 9250i Multiservice Fabric Switch, Cisco MDS 9148S 48-Port Multilayer Fabric Switch, Cisco MDS 9396S Multilayer Fabric Switch, Cisco MDS 9148T Fibre Channel Switch, the Cisco MDS 9132T Fiber Channel Switch, and the Cisco MDS 9396T Fibre Channel Switch. As needed, customers can expand switch connectivity by licensing additional ports.

For more information on the On-Demand Port Activation License, see the Cisco MDS 9000 Series Licensing Guide, Release 8.x.

I/O Accelerator Package

Starting from Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.2(1), the Cisco I/O Accelerator (IOA) package activates IOA on the Cisco MDS 24/10 Port SAN Extension module. A single license is applicable for both the engines in Cisco MDS 24/10 port SAN Extension Module. The IOA package is licensed per module and is tied to the chassis. Each Cisco MDS 24/10 Port SAN Extension module engine that you configure for IOA checks out a license from the pool managed at the chassis level. Cisco MDS 24/10 Port SAN Extension module IOA licenses are available as single licenses.

Unsupported Features

Data Mobility Manager

Starting from Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.1(1), the Cisco MDS Data Mobility Manager is not supported on Cisco MDS 9000 Series Switches.

Zoning Features

LUN zoning, read-only zones, and broadcast zones are no longer supported. These features affect the following hardware:

●     Cisco MDS 9250i Multiservice Fabric Switch

●     Cisco MDS 9396S Multilayer Fabric Switch

●     Cisco MDS 9700 48-port 16-Gbps Fibre Channel Module

If these features are already configured, completely remove all the configurations that include these features before attempting to bring up these modules. In addition, you cannot configure these features after you bring up these modules.

Slow Drain Detection and Congestion Isolation Enhancements

ER_RDY is not supported on FC interfaces running at 10 Gbps.

XRC Acceleration License

Starting from Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.1(1a), the Cisco Extended Remote Copy (XRC) acceleration license is obsoleted on Cisco MDS 9000 Series Switches due to improvements in the mainframe XRC feature.

FICON Tape Acceleration

FICON Tape Acceleration (FTA) is not supported on Cisco MDS 24/10 SAN Extension Module in Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.1(1a) but it is supported in Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.1(1b).

FICON on Cisco MDS 48-Port 32-Gbps Fibre Channel Switching Module

FICON is not supported on Cisco MDS 48-Port 32-Gbps Fibre Channel Switching Module in Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.1(1a) but it is supported in Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.1(1b).

Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP)

From Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.3(1) and later, the VRRP feature is not supported on Cisco MDS 9000 Series Switches.

Deprecated Hardware

Starting from Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.1(1), the following hardware models are not supported:

●     Cisco MDS 9513

●     Cisco MDS 9509

●     Cisco MDS 9506

●     Cisco MDS 9500 Series Supervisor-2A Module

●     Cisco MDS 24-Port 8-Gbps Fibre Channel Switching Module

●     Cisco MDS 48-Port 8-Gbps Fibre Channel Switching Module

●     Cisco MDS 32-Port 8-Gbps Advanced Fibre Channel Switching Module

●     Cisco MDS 48-Port 8-Gbps Advanced Fibre Channel Switching Module

●     Cisco MDS 10-Gbps 8-Port FCoE Module

●     Cisco MDS 16-Port Storage Services Node (SSN-16)

●     Cisco MDS 18/4-Port Multiservice Module (MSM)

Limitations and Restrictions

Fibre Channel Read Diagnostic Parameters

Fibre Channel RDP querying is not supported on NPV, Port Channel or FCoE links.

FCIP Support

●     In Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.x, FCIP Write Acceleration is not supported between 24/10 San Extension Module and Cisco 18+4 MSM and Cisco SSN16 Modules.

●     In Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.x, FCIP Write Acceleration along with IVR is not supported on FCIP tunnels configured on Cisco MDS 9700 Series switches.

●     FCIP tunnels using Cisco MDS 24/10 Port SAN Extension Module cannot be used across FSPF equal cost paths.

40GE IP Storage Interfaces Support

40GE IP Storage Interfaces are not supported.

iSCSI Support

iSCSI is not supported on Cisco MDS 9700 Directors with Cisco MDS 24/10 port SAN Extension Modules.

HVDC PSU Support

The Cisco MDS 9700 HVDC PSU (DS-CHV-3.5KW) is not supported in Cisco MDS NX-OS Releases 8.1(1) and 8.1(1a). Do not attempt to load these releases on devices equipped with these PSUs or the systems will fail to power up.

Cisco TrustSec FC Link Encryption

Cisco TrustSec FC Link Encryption support for the following modules is available only on certain ports as mentioned below:

●     48 port 32 Gbps Fibre Channel Switching Module (DS-X9648-1536K9)—support for Cisco TrustSec FC Link Encryption is available only on ports 9-12, 25-28 and 41-44.

●     Cisco MDS 9132T Fibre Channel Switch—support for Cisco TrustSec FC Link Encryption is available only on ports 9-12, 25-28.

●     Cisco MDS 9148T Fibre Channel Switch—support for Cisco TrustSec FC Link Encryption is available only on ports 9-12, 25-28 and 41-44.

●     Cisco MDS 9396T Fibre Channel Switch—support for Cisco TrustSec FC Link Encryption is available only on 9-12, 25- 28, 41-44 base ports, and 57-60, 73-76 and 89-92 LEM ports as applicable.

Caveats

Subscribing for Important Product Update Notifications

Cisco provides a subscription service to notify of important events related to the Cisco MDS software and hardware for the following categories:

●     Cisco Security Advisories

●     Field Notices

●     End-of-Sale, End-of-Life, and End-of-Support Announcements

●     Software Updates [New, Certified, Software Advisories, Deferred, Obsoleted

●     Updates to Known Bugs

We recommend that you at least subscribe to the Field Notices, Security Advisories, and Software Updates [New, Certified, Software Advisories, Deferred, Obsoleted] categories, if not all categories, so that you can receive notifications about any critical product issues.

To subscribe to a category for receiving notifications of important updates:

1.   Go to https://cway.cisco.com/mynotifications, and log in to your account.

2.   Click Create Subscription.

3.   Follow the onscreen instructions.

Note:       You must renew your notification subscriptions annually.

Resolved Caveats

Table 5.           Resolved Caveats in the Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.4(1)

Open Caveats

Table 6.           Open Caveats in the Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.4(1)

Related Documentation

The documentation set for the Cisco MDS 9000 Series includes the documents listed in this section. To find a document online, access the following URL:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps5989/tsd_products_support_series_home.html

The documentation set for Cisco Prime Data Center Network Manager is available from the following URL: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps9369/tsd_products_support_series_home.html

Release Notes

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/storage-networking/mds-9000-nx-os-san-os-software/products-release-notes-list.html

Regulatory Compliance and Safety Information

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/switches/datacenter/mds9000/hw/regulatory/compliance/RCSI.html

Compatibility Information

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/storage-networking/mds-9000-nx-os-san-os-software/products-device-support-tables-   list.html

Installation and Upgrade

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/storage-networking/mds-9000-nx-os-san-os-software/products-installation-guides-   list.html

Configuration Guides

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/storage-networking/mds-9000-nx-os-san-os-software/products-installation-and-   configuration-guides-list.html

Command-Line Interface

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/storage-networking/mds-9000-nx-os-san-os-software/products-command-reference-   list.html

Troubleshooting and Reference

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/storage-networking/mds-9000-nx-os-san-os-software/tsd-products-support-   troubleshoot-and-alerts.html

Obtaining Documentation and Submitting a Service Request

For information on obtaining documentation, submitting a service request, and gathering additional information, see the monthly What’s New in Cisco Product Documentation, which also lists all new and revised Cisco technical documentation, at:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/general/whatsnew/whatsnew.html

Subscribe to the What’s New in Cisco Product Documentation as a Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feed and set content to be delivered directly to your desktop using a reader application. The RSS feeds are a free service and Cisco currently supports RSS version 2.0.