Recommended Releases for Cisco MDS 9000 Series Switches

Change History

Date Description
June 15, 2020

Added the MSM-18/4 or SSN-16 Module information for Cisco MDS 9506 and 9513.

Removed the following modules because of their end-of-life:

  • 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 Series 4-Port 10-Gbps Fibre Channel Switching Module (DS-X9704)
May 21, 2020 Removed Cisco MDS 9222i and Cisco MDS 9000 Series 18/4-Port Multiservice Module (DS-X9304-18K9) information because of their end-of-support.
May 1, 2020 Updated the recommended release for IOA to Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.4(2).
April 1, 2020 Updated the document with Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 6.2(29) and Release 8.4(1a) as the recommend releases.

This document lists the recommended Cisco MDS NX-OS software release for use with Cisco MDS 9000 Series switches for both new deployments and existing deployments. These are Cisco release recommendations based on important software fixes and hence we recommend that you upgrade to these releases at a minimum, if permitted by your current deployment and SAN design. These recommendations are general and should not replace environment-specific design review efforts. Customers can alternatively deploy more recent software releases to take advantage of newer hardware and software capabilities.

General Recommendation for New Deployments

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

Director Switches

Supported Modules

Recommended Software Release

5.x

6.x

8.x

Cisco MDS 9718

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

—

—

8.4(1a)

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

—

—

8.4(1a)

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

—

—

8.4(1a)

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

—

—

8.4(1a)

Crossbar Fabric Switching Module (DS-X9718-FAB1)

—

—

8.4(1a)

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

—

—

8.4(1a)

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

—

—

8.4(1a)

Cisco MDS 9710

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

—

—

8.4(1a)

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

—

—

8.4(1a)

Crossbar Fabric Switching Module (DS-X9710-FAB3)

—

—

8.4(1a)

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

—

—

8.4(1a)

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

—

—

8.4(1a)

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

—

6.2(29)

8.4(1a)

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

—

6.2(29)

8.4(1a)

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

—

6.2(29)

8.4(1a)

Crossbar Fabric Switching Module (DS-X9710-FAB1)

—

6.2(29)

8.4(1a)

Cisco MDS 9706

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

—

—

8.4(1a)

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

—

—

8.4(1a)

Crossbar Fabric Switching Module (DS-X9706-FAB3)

—

—

8.4(1a)

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

—

—

8.4(1a)

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

—

—

8.4(1a)

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

—

6.2(29)

8.4(1a)

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

—

6.2(29)

8.4(1a)

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

—

6.2(29)

8.4(1a)

Crossbar Fabric Switching Module (DS-X9706-FAB1)

—

6.2(29)

8.4(1a)

Cisco MDS 9506 and 9513

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

5.2(8h)

6.2(29)

—

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

5.2(8h)

6.2(29)

—

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

5.2(8h)

6.2(29)

—

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

5.2(8h)

6.2(29)

—

MSM-18/4 or SSN-16 Module

5.2(8h)

6.2(29)

—


Note

We recommend that you use Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 8.x for Cisco switches and modules instead of Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 7.3(x).

Note

The recommended software release for Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 5.x is Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 5.2(8h). However, we recommend that you upgrade to a Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 6.2(x) which has the latest security updates.

Fabric Switches

Supported Modules

Recommended Software Release

5.x

6.x

8.x

Cisco MDS 9396T 32-Gbps 96-Port Fibre Channel Switch

None (fixed configuration)

—

—

8.4(1a)

Cisco MDS 9396S 16G Multilayer Fabric Switch

—

—

6.2(29)

8.4(1a)

Cisco MDS 9250i Multiservice Fabric Switch

—

—

6.2(29)

8.4(1a)

Cisco MDS 9148T 32-Gbps 48-Port Fibre Channel Switch

—

—

—

8.4(1a)

Cisco MDS 9148 Multilayer Fabric Switch

—

5.2(8h)

6.2(29)

—

Cisco MDS 9148S 16G Multilayer Fabric Switch

—

—

6.2(29)

8.4(1a)

Cisco MDS 9132T 32-Gbps 32-Port Fibre Channel Switch

—

—

—

8.4(1a)

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

—

5.2(8h)

6.2(29)

—

Recommendation for FICON Environments

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

Director Switches

Supported Modules

Recommended Software Release

Cisco MDS 9710 and 9706

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

8.4(1a)

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

8.4(1a)

Cisco MDS 9700 48-Port 16-Gbps Fibre Switching Module (DS-X9448-768K9)

8.4(1a)

Crossbar Fabric Switching Module (DS-X9706-FAB1)

8.4(1a)

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

8.4(1a)

Cisco MDS 9710 Crossbar Fabric-3 Switching Module (DS-X9710-FAB3)

8.4(1a)

Cisco MDS 9706 Crossbar Fabric-3 Switching Module (DS-X9706-FAB3)

8.4(1a)

Cisco MDS 9506 and 9513

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

6.2(11e)

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

6.2(11e)

Fabric Switches

Supported Modules

Recommended Software Release

MDS 9250i

—

8.4(1a)

Recommendation for Cisco DCNM

We recommend that customers choose Cisco DCNM Release 11.3(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)

8.4(2)

Data Mobility Manager (DMM)

6.2(29)

Storage Media Encryption (SME) — Tape

6.2(27)

FICON Tape Acceleration (FTA)

8.4(1a)

XRC Acceleration (XRCA)

6.2(11e)

Release Notes

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

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.

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/c/en/us/td/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.