Recommended Releases for Cisco MDS 9000 Series Switches

Obtaining Documentation and Submitting a Service Request

This document lists the minimum recommended Cisco MDS NX-OS software release and the recommended software releases for use with Cisco MDS 9000 Series switches for both new deployments and existing deployments. Because these are minimum release recommendations, more recent software releases can be used to take advantage of newer hardware and software capabilities. These recommendations are general and should not replace environment-specific design review efforts.

Minimum recommended MDS NX-OS Releases for a platform have important software fixes in them. We recommend that you upgrade to these releases at a minimum, if permitted by your current deployment and SAN design.

Recommended Software MDS NX-OS Releases for a platform are the most recently qualified releases by all storage partners. These releases have enhanced functionality and features. We recommend that you upgrade to these releases if you wish to benefit from these enhancements.

General Recommendation for New Deployments

We recommend that customers with new Cisco MDS 9000 Series deployments choose from the following releases:

Chassis or Fabric Switch

Supervisor Module

Supported Modules

Minimum Recommended Software Release

Recommended Software Release

5.x

6.x

8.x

MDS 9718

Cisco MDS 9700 Series Supervisor-1E (DS-X97-SF1E-K9)

8.1(1a)

—

—

8.1(1a)

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

8.1(1a)

—

—

8.1(1a)

Cisco MDS 48-Port 10-Gbps Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) Module (DS-X9848-480K9)

Cisco MDS 9000 48-port 16-Gbps Fibre Switching Module (DS-X9448-768K9)

7.3(0)D1(1)

—

—

8.1(1a)

Cisco MDS 40-Gbps 24-Port FCoE Module (DS-X9824-960K9)

7.3(1)D1(1)

—

—

8.1(1a)

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

7.3(1)DY(1)

—

—

8.1(1a)

MDS 9710

Cisco MDS 9700 Series Supervisor-4 Module (DS-X97-SF4-K9)

8.4(1)

—

—

8.4(1)

Cisco MDS 9700 Series Supervisor-1 Module (DS-X97-SF1-K9)

8.1(1a)

—

—

8.1(1a)

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

8.1(1a)

—

—

8.1(1a)

Cisco MDS 40-Gbps 24-Port FCoE Module (DS-X9824-960K9 )

7.3(1)D1(1)

—

—

8.1(1a)

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

7.3(1)DY(1)

—

—

8.1(1a)

Cisco MDS 9000 48-port 16-Gbps Fibre Switching Module (DS-X9448-768K9)

Cisco MDS 9000 48-Port 10-Gbps FCoE Module (DS-X9848-480K9)

6.2(17)

—

6.2(23)

8.1(1a)

MDS 9706

Cisco MDS 9700 Series Supervisor-4 Module (DS-X97-SF4-K9)

8.4(1)

—

—

8.4(1)

Cisco MDS 9700 Series Supervisor-1 Module (DS-X97-SF1-K9)

8.1(1a)

—

—

8.1(1a)

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

8.1(1a)

—

—

8.1(1a)

Cisco MDS 40-Gbps 24-Port FCoE Module (DS-X9824-960K9)

7.3(1)D1(1)

—

—

8.1(1a)

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

7.3(1)DY(1)

—

—

8.1(1a)

Cisco MDS 9000 48-port 16-Gbps Fibre Switching Module (DS-X9448-768K9)

Cisco MDS 9000 48-Port 10-Gbps FCoE Module (DS-X9848-480K9)

6.2(17)

—

6.2(23)

8.1(1a)

MDS 9506, 9509, and 9513

Cisco MDS 9500 Series Supervisor-2A Module (DS-X9530-SF2AK9)

Cisco MDS 9000 8-port 10-Gbps Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) Module (DS-X9708-K9)

6.2(17)

5.2(8h)1

6.2(23)

—

Cisco MDS 9000 32-port 8-Gbps Advanced Fibre Channel Switching Module (DS-X9232-256K9)

Cisco MDS 9000 48-port 8-Gbps Advanced Fibre Channel Switching Module (DS-X9248-256K9)

Cisco MDS 9000 24-Port 8-Gbps Fibre Channel Switching Module (DS-X9224-96K9)

Cisco MDS 9000 48-Port 8-Gbps Fibre Channel Switching Module (DS-X9248-96K9)

Cisco MDS 9000 4/44-Port Host-Optimized 8-Gbps Fibre Channel Switching Module (DS-X9248-48K9)

Cisco MDS 9000 Family 4-Port 10-Gbps Fibre Channel Switching Module (DS-X9704)

Cisco MDS 9000 Family 18/4-Port Multiservice Module (DS-X9304-18K9)

MDS 9396T

—

—

8.3(1)

—

—

8.3(1)

MDS 9396S

—

—

6.2(17)

—

6.2(23)

8.1(1a)

MDS 9250i switch

—

—

6.2(17)

—

6.2(23)

8.1(1a)

MDS 9222i

—

Cisco MDS 9000 Family 4-Port 10-Gbps Fibre Channel Switching Module (DS-X9704)

6.2(17)

5.2(8h)1

6.2(23)

—

Cisco MDS 9000 Family 18/4-Port Multiservice Module (DS-X9304-18K9)

Cisco MDS 9000 4/44-Port Host-Optimized 8-Gbps Fibre Channel Switching Module (DS-X9248-48K9)

MDS 9148T switch

—

—

8.3(1)

—

—

8.3(1)

MDS 9148 switch

—

—

6.2(17)

5.2(8h) 1

6.2(23)

—

MDS 9148S switch

—

—

6.2(17)

—

6.2(23)

8.1(1a)

MDS 9132T switch

—

—

8.2(1)

—

—

8.2(1)

MDS 8-Gb Fabric Switch for HP c-Class Blade System

—

—

6.2(17)

5.2(8h)1

6.2(23)

—

MDS 9124 switch

MDS 9134 switch

Cisco MDS 4-Gbps Fabric Switch for HP c-Class BladeSystem

Cisco MDS 4-Gbps Fabric Switch for IBM BladeCenter

—

—

5.0(8a)

5.2(8i)

—

—

1 We recommend that you update to a Cisco MDS NX-OS 6.2(x) Release which has the latest security updates.

Recommendation for FICON environments

We recommend that customers choose from the following releases certified by IBM for use in FICON environments:

Chassis or Fabric Switch

Supervisor or Switch

Supported Modules

Minimum Recommended Software Release

MDS 9710, 9706

Cisco MDS 9700 Series Supervisor-1 Module (DS-X97-SF1-K9)

Cisco MDS 9000 48-port 16-Gbps Fibre Switching Module (DS-X9448-768K9)

8.1(1a)

MDS 9506, 9509, 9513

Cisco MDS 9500 Series Supervisor-2A Module (DS-X9530-SF2AK9)

  • Cisco MDS 9000 32-port 8-Gbps Advanced Fibre Channel Switching Module (DS-X9232-256K9)

  • Cisco MDS 9000 48-port 8-Gbps Advanced Fibre Channel Switching Module (DS-X9248-256K9)

6.2(11e)

MDS 9506, 9509, 9513

Cisco MDS 9500 Series Supervisor-2A Module (DS-X9530-SF2AK9)

  • Cisco MDS 9000 24-Port 8-Gbps Fibre Channel Switching Module (DS-X9224-96K9)

  • Cisco MDS 9000 48-Port 8-Gbps Fibre Channel Switching Module (DS-X9248-96K9)

  • Cisco MDS 9000 4/44-Port Host-Optimized 8-Gbps Fibre Channel Switching Module (DS-X9248-48K9)

6.2(11e)

MDS 9506, 9509, 9513

Cisco MDS 9500 Series Supervisor-2A Module (DS-X9530-SF2AK9)

  • Cisco MDS 9000 Family 4-Port 10-Gbps Fibre Channel Switching Module (DS-X9704)

  • Cisco MDS 9000 Family 18/4-Port Multiservice Module (DS-X9304-18K9)

5.2(2)

MDS 9250i

-

-

8.1(1a)

MDS 9222i

-

  • Cisco MDS 9000 12-port 4-Gbps Fibre Channel Switching Module (DS-X9112)

  • Cisco 24-port 4-Gbps Fibre Channel Switching Module (DS-X9124)

  • Cisco MDS 9000 48-port 4-Gbps Fibre Channel Switching Module (DS-X9148)

  • Cisco MDS 9000 Family 4-Port 10-Gbps Fibre Channel Switching Module (DS-X9704)

  • Cisco MDS 9000 Family 18/4-Port Multiservice Module (DS-X9304-18K9)

  • Cisco MDS 9000 4/44-Port Host-Optimized 8-Gbps Fibre Channel Switching Module (DS-X9248-48K9)

6.2(11e)

Recommendation for Cisco DCNM

We recommend that customers choose Cisco DCNM Release 11.0(1) for Cisco DCNM software.

Recommendation for Cisco MDS 9000 Series Intelligent Applications

We recommend that customers choose from the following Cisco MDS 9000 Series Intelligent Applications recommended releases:

Intelligent Application

Recommended Software Release

I/O Accelerator (IOA)

6.2(23)

Data Mobility Manager (DMM)

6.2(23)

Storage Media Encryption (SME) - Tape

6.2(23)

FICON Tape Acceleration (FTA)

6.2(11e)

XRC Acceleration (XRCA)

6.2(11e)

Existing Deployments That Use Software Earlier Than One of the Recommended Releases

To the extent possible, we recommend upgrading to one of the NX-OS releases listed previously. If that is not possible, we recommend that you review the Cisco MDS NX-OS Release Notes for the earlier release and the Bug Tool Kit to determine the impact of any open caveats.

Documentation and Software

For additional information, see the Cisco MDS 9000 Series Switches product documentation page.

For software, see the Download Software page.

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/c/en/us/td/docs/general/whatsnew/whatsnew.html

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