Release Notes for Cisco MDS 9000 Series, Release 9.4(5a)
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IBM FICON Qualification Status
New/Enhanced software features
This document describes the features, issues, and deployment guidelines for the Cisco MDS NX-OS software for use on the Cisco MDS 9000 Series Switches.
The Cisco MDS 9000 Series of Fibre Channel switches and directors provide best-in-class high availability, scalability, security, and management that enables you 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 has the flexibility to fit small deployments and to address the stringent requirements of large data center storage environments: high availability, security, scalability, sustainability, ease of management, and seamless integration of new technologies.
Note: Release notes are updated on an as needed basis with new information on restrictions and issues.
See the following website for the most recent version of the Cisco MDS 9000 Series Release Notes: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/storage-networking/mds-9000-nx-os-san-os-software/products-release-notes-list.html
| Date |
Description |
| September 01, 2026 |
Initial Release |
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. These images can be upgraded or downgraded to different versions. The versions of both images must match for the system to boot.
Each model of the Cisco MDS switch has unique kickstart and system images. To download the new Cisco MDS 9000 Series Switches NX-OS software, go to the Storage Networking Software download website at https://software.cisco.com/download/find/MDS.
About BIOS updates
The BIOS updates are contained within the system image, and the BIOS is updated, if needed, automatically as part of the ISSU process. The following table lists the BIOS versions in Cisco MDS NX-OS 9.4(5a).
MDS platform BIOS version
| MDS Platform |
BIOS Version
|
Caveats |
| DS-X97-SF4-K9 D1548 (non-network support) D1564N (network support) |
2.22.0 4.14.0 |
CVE-2024-38796 |
| DS-X9748-3072K9 |
1.12.0 |
CVE-2024-38796 |
| DS-X9334-K9 |
4.2.2.0 |
CVE-2024-57258 |
| DS-X9648-1536K9 |
04.01.05.7 |
CVE-2024-57258 |
| DS-C9250I-K9-SUP |
02.01.20 |
CVE-2024-57258 |
| DS-C9148S-K9-SUP |
02.01.20 |
CVE-2024-57258 |
| DS-C9396S-K9-SUP |
05.02.02(8) |
CVE-2024-57258 |
| DS-C9132T-K9-SUP |
1.52.0 |
CVE-2024-38796 |
| DS-C9148T-K9-SUP |
1.14.0 |
CVE-2024-38796 |
| DS-C9396T-K9-SUP |
1.14.0 |
CVE-2024-57258 |
| DS-C9220i-K9-SUP |
1.18.0 |
CVE-2024-38796 |
| DS-C9124V-K9-SUP |
1.12.0 |
CVE-2024-38796 |
| DS-C9148V-K9-SUP |
1.12.0 |
CVE-2024-38796 |
| DS-C9396V-K9-SUP |
1.14.0 |
CVE-2024-38796 |
Upgrade and downgrade paths
Cisco MDS NX-OS 9.4(5a) supports non-disruptive upgrade and downgrade to other Cisco MDS NX-OS Releases. For upgrade and downgrade paths, and guidelines that are recommended for upgrading or downgrading Cisco MDS NX-OS software images, see Cisco MDS 9000 NX-OS Software Upgrade and Downgrade Guide, Release 9.x.
About firmware images
Cisco MDS 9000 Series Switches contain a few hardware components with updatable firmware. The Transceiver Firmware bundle contains updates for various port transceivers. The EPLD Firmware bundle contains updates for programmable logic devices in the system.
These updates can be disruptive and so are not part of the Cisco NX-OS software image. They are released with every Cisco NX-OS release but do not frequently contain changes. Refer to the specific Release Notes for any recommended versions.
For more information on Transceiver Firmware, see the Cisco MDS 9000 Series Transceiver Firmware Release Notes, 9.4(5a).
For more information on EPLD bundles, see the Cisco MDS 9000 Series EPLD Release Notes, 9.4(5a).
Components supported
For information on supported software and hardware components, see Cisco MDS 9000 Series Compatibility Matrix.
Cisco TrustSec FC Link encryption
For more information about which set of interfaces on each module support Trustsec FC link encryption, see the Configuring Cisco TrustSec Fibre Channel Link Encryption chapter of the Cisco MDS 9000 Series Security Configuration Guide, Release 9.x.
IBM FICON Qualification Status
Cisco MDS NX-OS 9.4(5a) is not IBM FICON qualified.
New/Enhanced software features
| Product Impact |
Feature |
Description |
| Feature Set |
Hardware Fabric CRC Monitoring
|
The 'log-only' action was removed as the default action. The default is now 'hardware fabric crc' which is enabled with a threshold of 3. This proactively disables faulty modules (xbars, linecards, supervisors) to minimize impact of internal faults on traffic. For more information, see Cisco MDS 9000 High Availability Configuration Guide, Release 9.x. |
| Fabric Error Monitoring |
Monitoring of fabric errors on linecards was added and the set of monitored counters was increased. This improves identification of the source of fabric errors for more precise actions. The default action was changed from 'log-only' to 'log-and-out-of-service'. This proactively disables faulty modules to minimize impact of internal faults on traffic. For more information, see Cisco MDS 9000 High Availability Configuration Guide, Release 9.x. |
|
| showintstats command |
The following fields were added to the output: receive/transmit average frame size in general-stats, SFP firmware version in transceiver-detail-stats and Transmit FC Aborts in link-stats. For more information, see Cisco MDS 9000 Interfaces Configuration Guide, Release 9.x. |
|
| DWDM at 32 Gbps |
A new configuration command to control TTS at 32 Gbps link speed on 64 Gbps interfaces was added. This allows interoperability with specific DWDM devices at 32 Gbps link speed. For more information, see Cisco MDS 9000 Interfaces Configuration Guide, Release 9.x. |
|
| RxWait SNMP OID |
A new SNMP OID for the Fibre Channel RxWait counter was added to allow management applications to collect this metric: For more information, see Cisco MDS 9000 System Management Configuration Guide, Release 9.x. |
|
| File Name Restriction |
Starting with MDS NX-OS 9.4(5a), the allowable characters comprising MDS file names on bootflash have been updated to include only alphanumeric and the five special characters '._-+:'. For more information, see Cisco MDS 9000 Series Fundamentals Configuration Guide, Release 9.x. |
There are no new hardware features in Cisco MDS NX-OS 9.4(5a).
The mechanism of upgrading Fabric Switches has been changed. This makes Cisco NX-OS software updates more reliable. When a Cisco NX-OS update includes a Supervisor BIOS update then the Supervisor CPU now will need to be reset for the new BIOS version to be used by the CPU. To see the BIOS version contained in this release reference the BIOS version table in this document.
For 32 Gbps Fabric Switches the reset is disruptive and the option exists to do so at the time of the Cisco NX-OS update or later.
For deployed 64 Gbps Fabric Switches, a one-time disruptive EPLD update is required to make future CPU resets resulting from BIOS updates, nondisruptive. For 64 Gbps Fabric Switches shipped with MDS Release 9.4(5) or later preinstalled, the EPLD update will already be installed, and no user action is required.
To determine the current BIOS version running in the switch issue the 'show version' command. To determine the current BIOS version on any module issue 'show version module <slot number>'.
For more information, refer to Cisco MDS 9000 NX-OS Software and Firmware Upgrade and Downgrade Guide, Release 9.x.
Severity 2 (Severe) issues
| Bug ID |
Headline |
Known Impacted Releases |
| MDS 9250i runs out of memory (OOM) and may reboot |
9.4(5a), 9.4(5), 9.4(4), 9.4(3b), 9.4(3a), 9.4(3), 9.4(2a), 9.4(2), 9.4(1a), 9.4(1), 9.3(2a), 9.3(2), 9.3(1), 9.2(2), 9.2(1a), 9.2(1), 8.5(1), 8.4(2f), 8.4(2e), 8.4(2d), 8.4(2c), 8.4(2b), 8.4(2a), 8.4(2), 8.4(1a), 8.4(1), 8.3(2), 8.3(1), 8.2(2), 8.2(1), 8.1(1b), 8.1(1a), 8.1(1) |
Severity 3 (Moderate) issues
| Bug ID |
Headline |
Known Impacted Releases |
| CSR generation fails with error: 'could not perform certificate request creation' |
9.4(5), 9.4(4), 9.4(3b), 9.4(3a), 9.4(3), 9.4(2a), 9.4(2), 9.4(1a), 9.4(1), 9.3(2a), 9.3(2), 9.3(1), 9.2(2), 9.2(1a), 9.2(1), 8.5(1), 8.4(2f), 8.4(2e), 8.4(2d), 8.4(2c), 8.4(2b), 8.4(2a), 8.4(2), 8.4(1a), 8.4(1), 8.3(2), 8.3(1), 8.2(2), 8.2(1), 8.1(1b), 8.1(1a), 8.1(1) |
|
| Include ‘show system internal xbar event-history info’ command to 'show tech-support details’ |
9.4(5a), 8.2(2) |
|
| Few FC drop counters are not getting logged to onboard logging |
9.4(5), 9.4(4), 9.4(3b), 9.4(3a). 9.4(3), 9.4(2a), 9.4(2), 9.4(1a), 9.4(1), 9.3(2a), 9.3(2), 9.3(1), 9.2(2), 9.2(1a), 9.2(1), 8.5(1), 8.4(2f), 8.4(2e), 8.4(2d), 8.4(2c), 8.4(2b), 8.4(2a), 8.4(2), 8.4(1a), 8.4(1), 8.3(2), 8.3(1), 8.2(2), 8.2(1), 8.1(1b), 8.1(1a), 8.1(1) |
|
| show port-license output missing on MDS 9396S/9396T/9396V after the upgrade |
9.4(5), 9.4(4), 9.4(3b), 9.4(3a). 9.4(3), 9.4(2a), 9.4(2), 9.4(1a), 9.4(1), 9.3(2a), 9.3(2), 9.3(1), 9.2(2), 9.2(1a), 9.2(1), 8.5(1), 8.4(2f), 8.4(2e), 8.4(2d), 8.4(2c), 8.4(2b), 8.4(2a), 8.4(2), 8.4(1a), 8.4(1), 8.3(2), 8.3(1), 8.2(2), 8.2(1), 8.1(1b), 8.1(1a), 8.1(1) |
|
| Service "snmpd" crashes with SIGABRT |
9.4(5), 9.4(4), 9.4(3b), 9.4(3a), 9.4(3), 9.4(2a), 9.4(2), 9.4(1a), 9.4(1), 9.3(2a), 9.3(2), 9.3(1), 9.2(2), 9.2(1a), 9.2(1), 8.5(1), 8.4(2f), 8.4(2e), 8.4(2d), 8.4(2c), 8.4(2b), 8.4(2a), 8.4(2), 8.4(1a), 8.4(1), 8.3(2), 8.3(1), 8.2(2), 8.2(1), 8.1(1b), 8.1(1a), 8.1(1) |
|
| Zone modifications performed via snmp fail |
8.1(1), 8.1(1a), 8.1(1b), 8.2(1), 8.2(2), 8.3(1), 8.3(2), 8.4(1), 8.4(1a), 8.4(2), 8.4(2a), 8.4(2b), 8.4(2c), 8.4(2d), 8.4(2e), 8.4(2f), 8.5(1), 9.2(1), 9.2(1a), 9.2(2), 9.3(1), 9.3(2), 9.3(2a), 9.4(1), 9.4(1a), 9.4(2), 9.4(2a), 9.4(3), 9.4(3a), 9.4(3b), 9.4(4), 9.4(5) |
|
| Duplicate warnings and alarms for tx-overutilization and txwait SMA counters |
9.4(5), 9.4(4), 9.4(3b), 9.4(3a), 9.4(3), 9.4(2a), 9.4(2), 9.4(1a), 9.4(1) |
|
| Some SMA counters are assigned incorrect action groups when configured with action group ag-default |
9.4(5), 9.4(4), 9.4(3b), 9.4(3a), 9.4(3), 9.4(2a), 9.4(2), 9.4(1a), 9.4(1) |
|
| 'show fcs ie' + 'show topology' commands show wrong IP address of remote switch, NDFC unable to discover/manage switch |
8.1(1), 8.1(1a), 8.1(1b), 8.2(1), 8.2(2), 8.3(1), 8.3(2), 8.4(1), 8.4(1a), 8.4(2), 8.4(2a), 8.4(2b), 8.4(2c), 8.4(2d), 8.4(2e), 8.4(2f), 8.5(1), 9.2(1), 9.2(1a), 9.2(2), 9.3(1), 9.3(2), 9.3(2a), 9.4(1), 9.4(1a), 9.4(2), 9.4(2a), 9.4(3), 9.4(3a), 9.4(3b), 9.4(4), 9.4(5) |
|
| IVR zone configurations failing after ISSU |
9.4(5), 9.4(4), 9.4(3b), 9.4(3a), 9.4(3), 9.4(2a), 9.4(2), 9.4(1a), 9.4(1), 9.3(2a), 9.3(2), 9.3(1), 9.2(2), 9.2(1a), 9.2(1), 8.5(1), 8.4(2f), 8.4(2e), 8.4(2d), 8.4(2c), 8.4(2b), 8.4(2a), 8.4(2), 8.4(1a), 8.4(1), 8.3(2), 8.3(1), 8.2(2), 8.2(1), 8.1(1b), 8.1(1a), 8.1(1) |
|
| False SMA alarm or warning syslogs triggered for counters after policy activation |
9.4(5), 9.4(4), 9.4(3b), 9.4(3a), 9.4(3), 9.4(2a), 9.4(2), 9.4(1a), 9.4(1) |
Severity 4 (Minor) issues
| Bug ID |
Headline |
Known Impacted Releases |
| Control characters in JSON output when 'terminal color' configured |
9.4(5), 9.4(4), 9.4(3b), 9.4(3a), 9.4(3), 9.4(2a), 9.4(2), 9.4(1a), 9.4(1), 9.3(2a), 9.3(2), 9.3(1), 9.2(2), 9.2(1a), 9.2(1), 8.5(1), 8.4(2f), 8.4(2e), 8.4(2d), 8.4(2c), 8.4(2b), 8.4(2a), 8.4(2), 8.4(1a), 8.4(1), 8.3(2), 8.3(1), 8.2(2), 8.2(1), 8.1(1b), 8.1(1a), 8.1(1) |
|
| IOSlice temperature sensor shows as failed in MDS 9148T/9132T/9396T/9220i switch/MDS 9700 32 Gbps line card after second retry failure |
8.1(1), 8.1(1a), 8.1(1b), 8.2(1), 8.2(2), 8.3(1), 8.3(2), 8.4(1), 8.4(1a), 8.4(2), 8.4(2a), 8.4(2b), 8.4(2c), 8.4(2d), 8.4(2e), 8.4(2f), 8.5(1), 9.2(1), 9.2(1a), 9.2(2), 9.3(1), 9.3(2), 9.3(2a), 9.4(1), 9.4(1a), 9.4(2), 9.4(2a), 9.4(3), 9.4(3a), 9.4(3b), 9.4(4), 9.4(5) |
Severity 6 (Enhancement) issues
| Bug ID |
Headline |
Known Impacted Releases |
| Enhancement to prevent statsclient, xbar and xbar_client crashes during sync loss b/w xbar and other modules |
9.4(5), 9.4(4), 9.4(3b), 9.4(3a), 9.4(3), 9.4(2a), 9.4(2), 9.4(1a), 9.4(1), 9.3(2a), 9.3(2), 9.3(1), 9.2(2), 9.2(1a), 9.2(1), 8.5(1), 8.4(2f), 8.4(2e), 8.4(2d), 8.4(2c), 8.4(2b), 8.4(2a), 8.4(2), 8.4(1a), 8.4(1), 8.3(2), 8.3(1), 8.2(2), 8.2(1), 8.1(1b), 8.1(1a), 8.1(1)
|
|
|
|
PhysicalStatus is missing for SFPs and therefore not reflected in the SNMP Entity MIB. |
9.4(2) |
Severity 3 (Moderate) issues
| Bug ID |
Headline |
Known Impacted Releases |
| An overutilized device is not isolated after ISSU from MDS NX-OS 9.4(4) to 9.4(5) |
9.4(5a), 9.4(5), 9.4(3b), 9.4(3a), 9.4(2a), 9.4(1a) |
|
| Receiving timeout error during BIOS upgrade |
9.4(5a), 9.4(5) |
Severity 4 (Minor) issues
| Bug ID |
Headline |
Known Impacted Releases |
| Remove misleading ficon stat 'merge failed' message in non- FICON VSAN |
9.4(5a), 9.4(5), 9.4(4) 9.4(3b), 9.4(3a), 9.4(3), 9.4(2a), 9.4(2), 9.4(1a), 8.5(1), 8.4(2b), 8.4(2c), 8.4(2d), 8.4(2e) |
|
| Linecard fails to boot up with '%PORT-5- MODULE_BRINGUP_NOT_ALLOWED' error |
8.4(2c), 8.1(1) |
|
| Power Supply status of "Powered-dn" causes Amber System Status LED |
9.4(5a), 9.4(5), 9.4(4), 9.4(3b), 9.4(3a), 9.4(3), 9.4(2a), 9.4(2), 9.4(1a), 9.4(1), 9.4(1a) |
Severity 6 (Enhancement) issues
| Bug ID |
Headline |
Known Impacted Releases |
| Need to automatically sync bootflash:/scripts directory between active and standby sups |
9.4(5a), 9.4(5), 9.4(4), 9.4(3b), 9.4(3a), 9.4(3), 9.4(2a), 9.4(2), 9.4(1a), 9.4(1), 8.1(1a) |
|
| Need to save nonvolatile logs about BIOS programming errors |
9.4(5a), 9.4(5), 9.4(4), 9.4(3b), 9.4(3a), 9.4(3), 9.4(2a), 9.4(2), 9.4(1a), 8.5(1), 8.4(2c), 8.4(2d), 8.4(2e), 8.3(2) |
|
| A fabric module with a faulty link to a linecard is not powered down |
9.4(5a), 9.4(5), 9.4(4), 9.4(3b), 9.4(3a), 9.4(3), 9.4(2a), 9.4(2), 9.4(1a), 8.4(1) |
|
| Add option to 'show tech-support' to exclude and include subcommands |
9.4(5a), 9.4(5), 9.4(4), 9.4(3b), 9.4(3a), 9.4(3), 9.4(2a), 9.4(2), 9.4(1a), 9.4(1), |
|
| Need a syslog warning when number of zone members exceeds maximum supported |
9.4(5a), 9.4(5), 9.4(4), 9.4(3b), 9.4(3a), 9.4(3), 9.4(2a), 9.4(2), 9.4(1a), |
MD5 hash in FCSP
Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 9.4(2) and later releases do not support the MD5 hash algorithm in Fibre Channel Security Protocol (FC-SP) as it is no longer considered secure. The default hash algorithm has been changed to SHA1.
10G and 40G FCoE linecards
Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 9.4(2) and later releases do not support the following FCoE linecards:
● DS-X9848-480K9 – MDS 9700 48-port 10-Gbps FCoE Switching Module
● DS-X9824-960K9 – MDS 9700 24-port 40-Gbps FCoE Switching Module
For more information, see the Cisco MDS 9700 Series Multilayer Directors Hardware Installation Guide.
SDV feature
Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 9.3(2) and later releases do not support Cisco SAN device virtualization (SDV).
Traditional and smart licensing version 1.0 licenses
Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 9.2(2) and later releases does not support installation of Product Authorization Key (PAK) or Smart Licensing version 1.0 licenses. Licenses are now managed through Smart License using Policy (SLP).
For more information such as how to migrate licenses, see Smart Licensing Using Policy chapter in Cisco MDS 9000 Series Licensing Guide, Release 9.x.
Python 2
Support for Python 2 is deprecated from Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 9.2(2). Python 3 remains supported instead. Python 2 scripts should be checked for compatibility with Python 3 to ensure they continue to function as expected.
For more information, see the Python API chapter in the Cisco MDS 9000 Series Programmability Guide, Release 9.x.
Zoning features
LUN zoning, read-only zones, and broadcast zones are no longer supported.
If these features are already configured, completely remove all the configurations that include these features before attempting to boot any module. In addition, you cannot configure these features after you bring up any module.
XRC acceleration license
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.
Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP)
Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.3(1) and later releases do not support the VRRP feature on Cisco MDS 9000 Series Switches.
Data Encryption Standard (DES) for SNMP
From Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.5(1), AES-128 is the default encryption mechanism for SNMPv3. Although DES encryption for SNMP is supported for existing users upgrading to Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.5(1), this method is deprecated. As a best practice, you should delete all SNMPv3 users configured with DES encryption before upgrading to Release 8.5(1) or later. Any downgrades from Cisco MDS NX- OS Release 8.5(1) will be restricted if any of the SNMPv3 users have DES encryption configured as the privacy protocol. All such users will either need to be deleted or reconfigured to use no privacy protocol or AES128 encryption before downgrading.
For more information, see Cisco MDS 9000 Series System Management Configuration Guide, Release 9.x.
FCWA, XRC, DMM, SME
Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.1(1) and later releases do not support FCWA, XRC, DMM and SME features.
SAN extension tuner
SAN Extension Tuner (SET) is not supported on Cisco MDS 9220i switches in Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.5(1) or later.
FCIP support
In Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 9.2(2) and later releases, simultaneous use of IVR and FCIP Write Acceleration features is not supported on FCIP tunnels configured on Cisco MDS 9700 Director switches.
On Cisco MDS 24/10 Port SAN Extension Module, configuring multiple FSPF equal cost paths (ECMP) via port channels or non-port channel interfaces with FCIP members in the same VSAN is not a valid configuration. If this is configured, then the traffic flows through only one of the port channels or non-port channel interfaces.
iSCSI support
iSCSI is not supported on Cisco MDS 9700 Directors with Cisco MDS 24/10 port SAN Extension Modules and Cisco MDS 9220i multiservice fabric switch.
The documentation set for the Cisco MDS 9000 Series includes the documents that are listed in this section. To find a document online, access the following URL:
https://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps5989/tsd_products_support_series_home.html
Release Notes
Documentation Suite
https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/storage/san_switches/mds9000/roadmaps/rel90.html
Statement of Volatility
Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM)
https://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps9369/tsd_products_support_series_home.html
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Any Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and phone numbers used in this document are not intended to be actual addresses and phone numbers. Any examples, command display output, network topology diagrams, and other figures in the document are shown for illustrative purposes only. Any use of actual IP addresses or phone numbers in illustrative content is unintentional and coincidental.
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