Cisco MDS 9000 Family Release Notes for Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 4.2(1a) (OL-19964-02, September 2009)

Send documentation comments to [e-mail]
27
Cisco MDS 9000 Family Release Notes for Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 4.2(1a)
OL-19964-02
Downgrading Your Cisco MDS SAN-OS Software Image
Downgrading the SSI Image on Your SSM
Use the following guidelines when downgrading your SSI image on your SSM:
• On a system with at least one SSM installed, the install all command might fail on an SSM when
you downgrade from Cisco NX-OS Release 4.1(x) to any SAN-OS 2.x release earlier than SAN-OS
Release 2.1(2e). Power down the SSM and perform the downgrade. Bring up the SSM with the new
bootvar set to the 2.x SSI image.
• Downgrade the SSI boot images on the SSMs on the switch to a release version supported by your
Cisco SAN-OS release. Refer to the Cisco MDS SAN-OS Release Compatibility Matrix for Storage
Service Interface Images.
• SSM intelligent services traffic switching on SSM ports is disrupted on upgrades or downgrades.
• Fibre Channel switching traffic on SSM ports is not disrupted under the following conditions:
– All SSM applications are disabled. Use the show ssm provisioning command to determine if
any applications are provisioned on the SSM. Use the no ssm enable feature configuration
mode command to disable these features.
– The EPLD version on the SSM is at 0x07 or higher. Use the show version module slot epld
command to determine your EPLD version. Refer to the Cisco MDS 9000 Family Release Notes
for Cisco MDS 9000 EPLD Images to upgrade your EPLD image.
– Refer to the Cisco Data Center Interoperability Support Matrix and the “Managing Modules”
chapter in the Cisco MDS 9000 Family CLI Configuration Guide, Release 3.x, for information
on downgrading your SSM.
Downgrading an MDS 9500 Series Switch with an 8-Gbps Module Installed
If you attempt to perform a nondisruptive software downgrade from NX-OS Release 4.x to SAN-OS
Release 3.x on an MDS 9500 Series switch that has an 8-Gbps module installed, the switch should
display a message that the module is unsupported and stop the downgrade. Instead, the switch displays
a message that the module is unsupported and proceeds with a disruptive downgrade. The following table
shows the actual and expected behavior of the switch for a software downgrade.
Table 13 Downgrade Behavior on an MDS 9500 Series Switch with 8-Gbps Module Installed
Crossbar Fabric
Mode Switch Type Software Version
Downgrade
Software Version
Actual Install
Behavior
Expected Install
Behavior
DB mode
1
MDS 9513 with
8-Gbps module
4.2(1a) 3.3(x) Disruptive Abort. Disruptive
after powerdown of
8-Gbps module
DB mode MDS 9513 without
8-Gbps module
4.2(1a) 3.3(x) Disruptive Disruptive
BM mode
2
MDS 9513 with
8-Gbps module
4.2(1a) 3.3(x) Abort Abort.
Nondisruptive after
powerdown of
8-Gbps module.
BM mode MDS 9513 without
8-Gbps module
4.2(1a) 3.3(x) Nondisruptive Nondisruptive