Cisco MDS 9000 Series Release Notes, Release 8.4(2b)
Choosing Between Cisco MDS NX-OS Open Systems Releases
Upgrading Cisco MDS NX-OS Software Image
Open Systems Nondisruptive Upgrade Paths
FICON Systems Nondisruptive Upgrade Paths
Downgrading Cisco MDS NX-OS Software Image
General Downgrading Guidelines
ISSD Guidelines for Cisco MDS 9396S Switch
ISSD Guidelines for Cisco MDS 9250i Switch
Open Systems Nondisruptive Downgrade Paths
Nondisruptive Downgrade Paths from Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.4(2b)
FICON Systems Nondisruptive Downgrade Paths
New Hardware and Software Features
New Hardware Features in Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.4(2b)
New Software Features in Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.4(2b)
Slow Drain Detection and Congestion Isolation Enhancements
Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP)
Fibre Channel Read Diagnostic Parameters
40GE IP Storage (IPS) Interfaces Support on Cisco MDS 24/10-Port SAN Extension Module
Cisco TrustSec FC Link Encryption
Subscribing for Important Product Update Notifications
Resolved Caveats in Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.4(2b)
Open Caveats in Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.4(2b)
Regulatory Compliance and Safety Information
Obtaining Documentation and Submitting a Service Request
First Published: October 30, 2020
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 The documentation set for this product strives to use bias-free language. For the purposes of this documentation set, bias-free is defined as language that does not imply discrimination based on age, disability, gender, racial identity, ethnic identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and intersectionality. Exceptions may be present in the documentation due to language that is hardcoded in the user interfaces of the product software, language used based on RFP documentation, or language that is used by a referenced third-party product.
Note Release notes are updated on an as needed basis 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.
Table 1 shows the online change history for this document.
Added CSCvw32460 caveat in the open Caveats section. |
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Added the CSCwb14523 caveat in the Open Caveats section. |
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Added the CSCvz61883 caveat in the Open Caveats section. |
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Added the CSCuv76123 caveat in the Open Caveats section. |
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Added the CSCvz09012 caveat in the Open Caveats section. |
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Added the CSCvu52058 caveat in the Open Caveats section. |
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Added Smart Licensing caveat in the General Downgrading Guidelines section. |
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Added the CSCvt15096 caveat in the Open Caveats section. |
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Added the CSCvs87512 caveat in the Resolved Caveats section. |
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Added the CSCvw03816 caveat in the Open Caveats section. |
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This document includes the following:
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.
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 Cisco MDS switch has unique kickstart and system images. For more information on the image names for each Cisco MDS switch, see the Cisco MDS 9000 NX-OS Software Upgrade and Downgrade Guide, Release 8.x.
To download 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 https://software.cisco.com/download/home.
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(2b) 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.
For information on supported software and hardware components, see the Cisco MDS 9000 Series Compatibility Matrix.
Fibre Connection (FICON) interface capabilities enhance certain Cisco MDS 9000 Series switches by supporting both open systems and mainframe storage network environments.
FICON is supported on the following Cisco MDS 9000 Series switches and modules:
– 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 9706 Crossbar Fabric-1 Switching Module (DS-X9706-FAB1)
– Cisco MDS 9706 Crossbar Fabric-3 Switching Module (DS-X9706-FAB3)
– Cisco MDS 9700 Series Supervisor-1 Module (DS-X97-SF1-K9)
– Cisco MDS 9700 Series Supervisor-4 Module (DS-X97-SF4-K9)
– 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 Crossbar Fabric-1 Switching Module (DS-X9710-FAB1)
– Cisco MDS 9710 Crossbar Fabric-3 Switching Module (DS-X9710-FAB3)
– Cisco MDS 9700 Series Supervisor-1 Module (DS-X97-SF1-K9)
– Cisco MDS 9700 Series Supervisor-4 Module (DS-X97-SF4-K9)
FICON is also supported on the following IBM OEM switches and modules:
– IBM 48-Port 32-Gbps Fibre Channel Switching Module (01FT644)
– IBM SAN Director Supervisor Module 4 (02JD753)
– IBM SAN Director Supervisor Module 1 (01FT600)
– IBM 24/10 Port SAN Extension Module (01FT645)
– IBM 48-Port 32-Gbps Fibre Channel Switching Module (01FT644)
– IBM SAN Director Supervisor Module 4 (02JD753)
The Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.1(1a), Release 8.1(1b), Release 8.4(1a), and Release 8.4(2b) are IBM-qualified FICON releases for Cisco MDS. From Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.4(1a), FICON is supported on the Cisco MDS 9706 Crossbar Fabric-3 Switching Module (DS-X9706-FAB3), Cisco MDS 9710 Crossbar Fabric-3 Switching Module (DS-X9710-FAB3), and Cisco MDS 9700 Series Supervisor-4 Module (DS-X97-SF4-K9).
Table 2 lists the Cisco MDS NX-OS releases that are qualified for FICON. Refer to the specific release notes for FICON upgrade path information.
This section lists the guidelines recommended for upgrading Cisco MDS NX-OS software image and includes the following topics:
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.
This section lists the general guidelines for performing a software upgrade:
– Fibre Channel Ports : Fibre Channel ports can be nondisruptively upgraded without affecting traffic on the ports. See the “Open Systems Nondisruptive Upgrade Paths” section for all MDS NX-OS releases.
– Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) Ports : FCoE ports can be nondisruptively upgraded without affecting traffic on the ports. See the “Open Systems Nondisruptive Upgrade Paths” section for all MDS NX-OS releases.
– IP Storage (IPS) Ports : Traffic on IPS ports on Cisco MDS 9250i and Cisco MDS 24/10-Port SAN Extension Modules is disrupted during an upgrade or downgrade. Nodes that are members of VSANs traversing an FCIP ISL are impacted, and a fabric reconfiguration may occur. iSCSI initiators connected to the IPS 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.
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(2b). However, you can upgrade from Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.4(1) and above releases to Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.4(2b) without disabling the feature.
Use Table 4 to determine the nondisruptive upgrade path for FICON-qualified releases. Find the image release number using the Current Release with the FICON Enabled column of the table and follow the recommended path.
This section lists the guidelines recommended for ISSD of Cisco MDS NX-OS software image and includes the following topics:
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.
Follow these general guidelines before performing a software downgrade:
– Fibre Channel Ports : Fibre Channel ports can be nondisruptively downgraded without affecting traffic on the ports.
– FCoE Port : FCoE ports can be nondisruptively downgraded without affecting traffic on the ports.
– IPS Ports : Traffic on IPS ports on Cisco MDS 9250i and Cisco MDS 24/10-Port SAN Extension Modules is disrupted during an upgrade or downgrade. Nodes that are members of VSANs traversing an FCIP ISL are impacted, and a fabric reconfiguration may occur. iSCSI initiators connected to the IPS ports lose connectivity to iSCSI targets while the upgrade 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 5 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.
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.
Table 6 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.
There are no new hardware features in Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.4(2b).
The following software feature was introduced in Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.4(2b):
The ficon distribute command enables Cisco Fabric Services (CFS) distribution on a FICON switch so that the switch can communicate with various FICON switches in a VSAN or fabric which in turn can be learned by an appropriate version of z/OS.
For more information, see the Cisco MDS 9000 Series Command Reference, Release 8.x.
The following commands were introduced:
For more information, see the Cisco MDS 9000 Series Command Reference, Release 8.x.
With the creation of the FICON Diagnostics capabilities, the Cisco MDS 9706, MDS 9710, and MDS 9250i now support the following IBM z/OS commands on IBM System z:
For the full data interoperability of these z/OS commands with the MDS CUP diagnostics capabilities, you will need to apply IBM APAR OA60381.
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.
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 bring up these modules. In addition, you cannot configure these features after you bring up these modules.
ER_RDY is not supported on FC interfaces running at 10 Gbps.
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 (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), Release 8.4(1a), and Release 8.4(2b).
From Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.3(1) and later, the VRRP feature is not supported on Cisco MDS 9000 Series Switches.
Starting from Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.1(1), the following hardware models are not supported:
Fibre Channel RDP querying is not supported on NPV, Port Channel, or FCoE links.
iSCSI is not supported on Cisco MDS 9700 Directors with Cisco MDS 24/10 port SAN Extension Modules.
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 support for the following modules is available only on certain ports as mentioned below:
Cisco provides a subscription service to notify of important events related to the Cisco MDS software and hardware for the following categories:
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.
3. Follow the onscreen instructions.
Note You must renew your notification subscriptions annually.
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
http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/storage-networking/mds-9000-nx-os-san-os-software/products-release-notes-list.html
https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/switches/datacenter/mds9000/sw/8_x/config/licensing/cisco_mds9000_licensing_guide_8x.html
http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/switches/datacenter/mds9000/hw/regulatory/compliance/RCSI.html
http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/storage-networking/mds-9000-nx-os-san-os-software/products-device-support-tables-list.html
http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/storage-networking/mds-9000-nx-os-san-os-software/products-installation-guides-list.html
http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/storage-networking/mds-9000-nx-os-san-os-software/products-installation-and-configuration-guides-list.html
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
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