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Catalyst 8500 Campus Switch Router Release Notes for Cisco IOS Release 12.0

Catalyst 8500 Campus Switch Router Release Notes for Cisco IOS Release 12.0

June 2, 1999

These release notes describe the features and caveats for the current software release of the Catalyst 8500 Campus Switch Router (CSR) series for Cisco IOS Release 12.0 (1a) W5 (6f).

Note Unless otherwise specified, the term "Catalyst 8500 CSR" refers to both the Catalyst 8540 CSR and the Catalyst 8510 CSR.

These release notes discuss the following topics:

Related Documentation

For documentation that ships with this release of the Catalyst 8500 CSR, refer to the following publications, available as printed manuals or electronic documents:

Cisco documentation and additional literature are available in a CD-ROM package, which ships with your product. The Documentation CD-ROM, a member of the Cisco Connection Family, is updated monthly. Therefore, it might be more up-to-date than printed documentation.

To order additional copies of the Documentation CD-ROM, contact your local sales representative or call customer service. The CD-ROM package is available as a single package or as an annual subscription. You can also access Cisco documentation on the World Wide Web at http://www.cisco.com, http://www-china.cisco.com, or http://www-europe.cisco.com.

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Layer 2 Features for Release 12.0 (1a) W5 (6f)

Table 1 summarizes the features that the Catalyst 8500 CSR supports on the bridging layer (Layer 2).


Table 1: Catalyst 8500 CSR Layer 2 Features
Layer 2 Bridging Features

Layer 2 transparent bridging

Layer 2 MAC learning, aging, and switching by hardware

Spanning Tree Protocol (IEEE 802.1d) support per bridge group

Support for a maximum of 64 active bridge groups, with up to 32 ports per group

Integrated routing and bridging (IRB) mode support

Layer 2 Source MAC filtering

Virtual LAN (VLAN) Features

Inter-Switch Link (ISL)-based VLAN trunking support on Ethernet ports

Layer 3 Features for Release 12.0 (1a) W5 (6f)

Table 2 summarizes the features that the Catalyst 8500 CSR supports at the network layer (Layer 3).

Table 2: Catalyst 8500 CSR Layer 3 Features
Layer 3 Routing, Switching, and Forwarding Features

IP, IPX, and IP multicast switching between Ethernet ports

Constrained Multicast Flooding (CMF)

Support for up to 50 IP multicast groups

QoS-based forwarding based on IP precedence queuing

Load balancing among equal-cost paths based on source and destination IP and IPX addresses

Support for up to 200 IPX networks on interfaces and subinterfaces

Multi-Layer Switching Protocol (MLSP) on Catalyst 8510 CSR only

802.1q-based VLAN routing support

Supported Routing Protocols

Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (IGRP)

Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP)

Open Shortest Path First (OSPF)

Routing Information Protocol (RIP) and RIP II

Static routes

Protocol Independent Multicast (PIM): sparse and dense modes

Internet Packet Exchange (IPX) RIP and EIGRP

Route filtering

Classless interdomain routing (CIDR)

Secondary addressing

Note 16-KB line modules support a maximum of 7,000 entries, which includes IP routes, IPX routes, or bridging MAC addresses, per module.

Fast EtherChannel (FEC) Features

Bundling of up to four Fast Ethernet ports in a maximum of 64 FECs

Load sharing based on source and destination IP addresses of unicast packets

Load sharing for bridge traffic based on MAC address

ISL support on the FEC

802.1q routing support on the FEC

Support for up to 64 active FEC and GEC port channels on one system

Gigabit EtherChannel (GEC) Features

Bundling of up to four Fast Ethernet ports in a maximum of 64 GECs

Load sharing based on source and destination IP addresses of unicast packets

Load sharing for bridge traffic based on MAC address

ISL support on the GEC

802.1q routing support on the GEC

Support for up to 64 active FEC and GEC port channels on one system

Additional Protocols Supported

Bootstrap Protocol (BOOTP)

Cisco Group Management Protocol (CGMP) server support

Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP) support on Ethernet ports

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) relay

Hot Standby Routing Protocol (HSRP) over 10/100 Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, FEC, GEC, and Bridge Group Virtual Interface (BVI).

Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP)

Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP)

Internet Packet Exchange Service Advertisement Protocol (IPX SAP) and SAP filtering

Integrated Routing and Bridging (IRB) routing mode support

Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)

User Datagram Protocol (UDP) turbo flooding

Software Requirements for Catalyst 8500 CSR Processors and Modules

We strongly recommend you use the latest available software release, which is currently Cisco IOS Release 12.0 (1a) W5 (6f), for all Catalyst 8500 CSR hardware.

Caveat Descriptions for the Catalyst 8510 CSR

Table 4 lists the caveats that have been identified for this release of the Catalyst 8510 campus switch router software. Table 5 through Table 10 list previous caveats.


Table 3: Release Caveats and Caveats Corrected
DDTS Number Software Release 12.0 (1a) W5 (6f)
Caveat Corrected Caveat

CSCdk72837

X

CSCdk73492

X

CSCdk82832

X

CSCdk89275

X

CSCdk93048

X

CSCdm25943

X

CSCdm26948

X

CSCdm28633

X

CSCdm29063

X

CSCdm32706

X

CSCdm35971

X

CSCdm36648

X

CSCdm40533

X


Table 4: Release Caveats and Caveats Corrected
DDTS Number Software Release 12.0 (1a) W5 (6e)
Caveat Corrected Caveat

CSCdk72837

X

CSCdk73492

X

CSCdk77676

X

CSCdk82832

X

CSCdk86404

X

CSCdk88347

X

CSCdk89275

X

CSCdk93048

X

CSCdm25943

X

CSCdm26948

X

CSCdm28633

X

CSCdm29063

X

CSCdm32706

X


Table 5: Release Caveats and Caveats Corrected
DDTS Number Software Release 12.0 (1a) W5 (6b)
Caveat Corrected Caveat

CSCdk72837

X

CSCdk73492

X

CSCdk77676

X

CSCdk82832

X

CSCdk86404

X

CSCdk88347

X

CSCdk91957

X


Table 6: Release Caveats and Caveats Corrected
DDTS Number Software Release 12.0 (1.0) W5 (6a)
Caveat Corrected Caveat

CSCdk64461

X

CSCdk72837

X

CSCdk73492

X

CSCdk77676

X

CSCdk82832

X

CSCdk86404

X

CSCdk88347

X

CSCdk91957

X


Table 7: Release Caveats and Caveats Corrected
DDTS Number Software Release 12.0 (1.0) W5 (6)
Caveat Corrected Caveat

CSCdk31184

X

CSCdk47686

X

CSCdk49645

X

CSCdk49942

X

CSCdk64461

X

CSCdk72837

X

CSCdk77676

X


Table 8: Release Caveats and Caveats Corrected for Release 12.0 (0.16) W5 (3)
DDTS Number Software Release 12.0 (0.16) W5(3)
Caveat Corrected Caveat

CSCdk31184

X

CSCdk47686

X

CSCdk49645

X

CSCdk49942

X


Table 9: Release Caveats and Caveats Corrected for Release 12.0 (0.16) W5 (2)
DDTS Number Software Release 12.0 (0.16) W5(2)
Caveat Corrected Caveat

CSCdk16456

X

CSCdk18420

X

CSCdk25291

X

CSCdk35757

X

CSCdk38183

X

CSCdk39050

X

CSCdk39141

X

CSCdk40372

X

CSCdk40545

X


Table 10: Release Caveats and Caveats Corrected for Release 12.0 (0.6) W5 (1)
DDTS Number Software Release 12.0 (0.6) W5 (1)
Caveat Corrected Caveat

CSCdk02614

X

CSCdk08740

X

CSCdk10261

X

CSCdk17304

X

Caveats for Release 12.0 (1a) W5 (6f)

This section summarizes the symptoms and suggested workarounds for the caveats identified for this release of the Catalyst 8500 CSR software on the Catalyst 8510 CSR, and lists those caveats that have been fixed since the last release.

Symptom: Path costs on Gigabit Ethernet interfaces shown by the show span command do not match the expected default value of 100.
Workaround: Set the path costs manually. One option would be to set the path cost for Gigabit EtherChannel (GEC) ports to 1 and set the path cost for the non-GEC ports to 2.
Symptom: A CPUHOG message appears when OSPF is activated on a port channel interface with more than 30 subinterfaces.
Workaround: The operation succeeds even if this message appears. No action is necessary.
Symptom: Unpredictable results might occur if the CPU scheduler allocation is changed in the configuration file.
Workaround: Remove the scheduler allocate command from the configuration file. Cisco recommends that you do not change the default values for this command.
Symptom: Occasionally, the show controller <interface-name> command can bring down an interface and the line protocol. The condition that leads to this scenario is random and very infrequent. The end result is that routing/bridging stops on this interface.
Workaround: None.
Symptom: When downloading an IOS image to the slot0 Flash memory card on the 8510 CSR device by way of SNMP, the copy operation fails with a "copyUnknownFailure" message, and the formatting information on the Flash memory card is lost.
Workaround: When downloading an IOS image by way of SNMP, such as with the SWIM (Software Image Management) application of CiscoWorks2000, always use slot1 instead of slot0 as the target location of the IOS image.
Symptom: With 16 or more subinterfaces on a port channel, the following configuration may cause CPUHOG messages to appear:
Workaround: No workaround is needed; the CPUHOG messages should not affect the functionality of the device.
Symptom: Adjacencies are removed when a bridge table entry ages out. This causes traffic to be routed to the CPU, which may lead to high CPU utilization.
Workaround: Set the ARP timeout value to be less than the bridge age timer.
Symptom: When a peer switch with UPLINK FAST enabled is connected to a Catalyst 8500 bridge group interface, the virtual MAC address of HSRP for an ACTIVE device in one of the member interfaces of the bridge group is programmed as a REMOTE entry.
Workaround: Use the clear bridge command to update the CAM table.
Symptom: When a port channel is added to an existing bridge group, the IOS does not program the existing MAC addresses already in that bridge group as REMOTE entries in the newly added port channel members. This leads to the port channel members going out of sync with regard to the REMOTE entries, causing flooding in one direction.
Workaround: None.
Symptom: When a large number of bridge groups or bridge group members are configured and IRB is enabled on the devices, reloading one of the devices or configurations may lead to high CPU utilization. The side effect of this is temporary spanning tree loops, leading to AAL5 buffer exhaustion problems.
Workaround: In this case, if IRB is enabled, you may need to increase the number of buffers on the device using the aal5 buffers command.
Symptom: After executing an IPX ping with a timeout value of zero, subsequent IPX pings on the device will fail.
This caveat has been corrected.
Symptom: The device may lose IPX connectivity over a BVI interface, requiring the use of the clear ipx route * command to reestablish connectivity.
This caveat has been corrected.
Symptom: The device may lose its IP OSPF neighbor information and connections over a BVI interface after a few days of running, requiring a system reboot.
This caveat has been corrected.

Caveats for Release 12.0 (1a) W5 (6e)

Symptom: Path costs on Gigabit Ethernet interfaces shown by the show span command do not match the expected default value of 100.
Workaround: Set the path costs manually. One option would be to set the path cost for Gigabit EtherChannel (GEC) ports to 1 and set the path cost for the non-GEC ports to 2.
Symptom: A CPUHOG message appears when OSPF is activated on a port channel interface with more than 30 subinterfaces.
Workaround: The operation succeeds even if this message appears. No action is necessary.
Symptom: When the Catalyst 8510 is configured with subinterfaces to use encapsulation dot1q <vlan-tag> trunking, the native VLAN assigned to the directly connected Catalyst switch (such as the Catalyst 4000 or Catalyst 5000), will not function. The Catalyst 8510 currently does not process untagged packets received on a dot1q trunked interface, so all packets are dropped.
This caveat has been corrected.
Symptom: Unpredictable results might occur if the CPU scheduler allocation is changed in the configuration file.
Workaround: Remove the scheduler allocate command from the configuration file. Cisco recommends that you do not change the default values for this command.
Symptom: When a node is moved to a different interface, the bridge-group virtual interface (BVI) does not forward packets intended for that node.
This caveat has been corrected.
Symptom: The Catalyst 8510 CSR uses adjacency entries internally, so it does not zero out the MAC addresses for the corresponding IP addresses when clear arp is executed. This causes a problem if a MAC address corresponding to an IP address changes and the new host does not initiate an ARP request.
This caveat has been corrected.
Symptom: Occasionally, the show controller <interface-name> command can bring down an interface and the line protocol. The condition that leads to this scenario is random and very infrequent. The end result is that routing/bridging stops on this interface.
Workaround: None.
Symptom: When downloading an IOS image to the slot0 Flash memory card on the 8510 CSR device by way of SNMP, the copy operation fails with a "copyUnknownFailure" message, and the formatting information on the Flash memory card is lost.
Workaround: When downloading an IOS image by way of SNMP, such as with the SWIM (Software Image Management) application of CiscoWorks2000, always use slot1 instead of slot0 as the target location of the IOS image.
Symptom: With 16 or more subinterfaces on a port channel, the following configuration may cause CPUHOG messages to appear:
Workaround: No workaround is needed; the CPUHOG messages should not affect the functionality of the device.
Symptom: Adjacencies are removed when a bridge table entry ages out. This causes traffic to be routed to the CPU, which may lead to high CPU utilization.
Workaround: Set the ARP timeout value to be less than the bridge age timer.
Symptom: When a peer switch with UPLINK FAST enabled is connected to a Catalyst 8500 bridge group interface, the virtual MAC address of HSRP for an ACTIVE device in one of the member interfaces of the bridge group is programmed as a REMOTE entry.
Workaround: Use the clear bridge command to update the CAM table.
Symptom: When a port channel is added to an existing bridge group, the IOS does not program the existing MAC addresses already in that bridge group as REMOTE entries in the newly added port channel members. This leads to the port channel members going out of sync with regard to the REMOTE entries, causing flooding in one direction.
Workaround: None.
Symptom: When a large number of bridge groups or bridge group members are configured and IRB is enabled on the devices, reloading one of the devices or configurations may lead to high CPU utilization. The side effect of this is temporary spanning tree loops, leading to AAL5 buffer exhaustion problems.
Workaround: In this case, if IRB is enabled, you may need to increase the number of buffers on the device using the aal5 buffers command.

Caveats for Release 12.0 (1a) W5 (6b)

Symptom: Path costs on Gigabit Ethernet interfaces shown by the show span command do not match the expected default value of 100.
Workaround: Set the path costs manually. One option would be to set the path cost for Gigabit EtherChannel (GEC) ports to 1 and set the path cost for the non-GEC ports to 2.
Symptom: A CPUHOG message appears when OSPF is activated on a port channel interface with more than 30 subinterfaces.
Workaround: The operation will succeed even if this message appears. No action is necessary.
Symptom: When the Catalyst 8510 is configured with subinterfaces to use encapsulation dot1q <vlan-tag> trunking, the native VLAN assigned to the directly connected Catalyst switch (such as the Catalyst 4000 or Catalyst 5000), will not function. The Catalyst 8510 currently does not process untagged packets received on a dot1q trunked interface, so all packets are dropped.
Workaround: Assign the native VLAN on the switch to a nonexistent VLAN number. Make sure that the sc0 interface is not part of this VLAN. For example, if VLAN 999 does not exist anywhere in the network, then create VLAN 999, and assign it as the native VLAN for the trunked port. (A native VLAN is the VLAN the port would be in when it is not trunking.) This can be verified by using the show port trunk <mod/num> command. Note that if the port is already trunking, the trunk must be brought down to change the native VLAN.
Symptom: Unpredictable results might occur if the CPU scheduler allocation is changed in the configuration file.
Workaround: Remove the scheduler allocate command from the configuration file. Cisco recommends that you do not change the default values for this command.
Symptom: When a node is moved to a different interface, the bridge-group virtual interface (BVI) does not forward packets intended for that node.
Workaround: Execute a shutdown and no shutdown command sequence on the affected BVI interface.
Symptom: The Catalyst 8510 CSR uses adjacency entries internally, so it does not zero out the MAC addresses for the corresponding IP addresses when clear arp is executed. This causes a problem if a MAC address corresponding to an IP address changes and the new host does not initiate an ARP request.
Workaround: Execute the clear adjacencies command following clear arp to clear aged ARP entries in the adjacency table.
Symptom: If you are using the cat8510c-in-mz.120-1a.W5.6a.bin software image and you have any Gigabit Ethernet line modules installed, you may see the following error message:
GigabitEthernet0/0/0Line 550 enable_gigabit_mac : Write MII failed for GigabitEthernet0/0/0
If you issue the show controller command, you may see the following error messages and 100% CPU utilization:
queue cell fail output port GigabitEthernet0/0/0 input vpi 0 input vci384
This caveat has been corrected.

Caveats for Release 12.0 (1.0) W5 (6a)

Symptom: These alignment errors show up when a Telnet session is opened that uses TCP. The errors are harmless.
This caveat has been corrected.
Symptom: Path costs on Gigabit Ethernet interfaces shown by the show span command do not match the expected default value of 100.
Workaround: Set the path costs manually. One option would be to set the path cost for Gigabit EtherChannel (GEC) ports to 1 and set the path cost for the non-GEC ports to 2.
Symptom: A CPUHOG message appears when OSPF is activated on a port channel interface with more than 30 subinterfaces.
Workaround: The operation will succeed even if this message appears. No action is necessary.
Symptom: When the Catalyst 8510 is configured with subinterfaces to use encapsulation dot1q <vlan-tag> trunking, the native VLAN assigned to the directly connected Catalyst switch (such as the Catalyst 4000 or Catalyst 5000), will not function. The Catalyst 8510 currently does not process untagged packets received on a dot1q trunked interface, so all packets are dropped.
Workaround: Assign the native VLAN on the switch to a nonexistent VLAN number. Make sure that the sc0 interface is not part of this VLAN. For example, if VLAN 999 does not exist anywhere in the network, then create VLAN 999, and assign it as the native VLAN for the trunked port. (A native VLAN is the VLAN the port would be in when it is not trunking.) This can be verified by using the show port trunk <mod/num> command. Note that if the port is already trunking, the trunk must be brought down to change the native VLAN.
Symptom: Unpredictable results might occur if the CPU scheduler allocation is changed in the configuration file.
Workaround: Remove the scheduler allocate command from the configuration file. Cisco recommends that you do not change the default values for this command.
Symptom: When a node is moved to a different interface, the bridge-group virtual interface (BVI) does not forward packets intended for that node.
Workaround: Execute a shutdown and no shutdown command sequence on the affected BVI interface.
Symptom: The Catalyst 8510 CSR uses adjacency entries internally, so it does not zero out the MAC addresses for the corresponding IP addresses when clear arp is executed. This causes a problem if a MAC address corresponding to an IP address changes and the new host does not initiate an ARP request.
Workaround: Execute the clear adjacencies command following clear arp to clear aged ARP entries in the adjacency table.
Symptom: If you are using the cat8510c-in-mz.120-1a.W5.6a.bin software image and you have any Gigabit Ethernet line modules installed, you may see the following error message:
GigabitEthernet0/0/0Line 550 enable_gigabit_mac : Write MII failed for GigabitEthernet0/0/0
If you issue the show controller command, you may see the following error messages and 100% CPU utilization:
queue cell fail output port GigabitEthernet0/0/0 input vpi 0 input vci384
Workaround: Remove the Gigabit Ethernet line module or upgrade to an image that contains the fix (cat8510c-in-mz.120-1a.W5.6b.bin).

Caveats for Release 12.0 (1.0) W5 (6)

Symptom: If more than 1,024 routes are tied to one interface, shutting down the interface might cause a CPU HOG message to appear. This means that the CPU is occupied by the IPX process longer than the normal time because of the large number of routes.
This caveat has been corrected.
Symptom: If Smartbits is used to run bridging, and the VFD2 Setup is set to infinitely increment source MAC addresses, this fills the bridging table (in CAM). This can cause numerous problems, including ports getting stuck.
This caveat has been corrected.
Symptom: These messages are produced by the Version 12.0(0.6)W5(1) boot loader.
This caveat has been corrected.
Symptom: Certain types of traffic, including routing protocol updates and traffic terminating at the switch route processor, can generate extremely high CPU traffic.
This caveat has been corrected.
Symptom: These alignment errors show up when a Telnet session is opened that uses TCP. The errors are harmless.
Workaround: No action is necessary.
Symptom: Path costs on Gigabit Ethernet interfaces shown by the show span command do not match the expected default value of 100.
Workaround: Set the path costs manually. One option would be to set the path cost for Gigabit EtherChannel (GEC) ports to 1 and set the path cost for the non-GEC ports to 2.
Symptom: When the Catalyst 8510 is configured with subinterfaces to use encapsulation dot1q <vlan-tag> trunking, the native VLAN assigned to the directly connected Catalyst switch (such as the Catalyst 4000 or Catalyst 5000), will not function. The Catalyst 8510 currently does not process untagged packets received on a dot1q trunked interface, so all packets are dropped.
Workaround: Assign the native VLAN on the switch to a nonexistent VLAN number. Make sure that the sc0 interface is not part of this VLAN. For example, if VLAN 999 does not exist anywhere in the network, then create VLAN 999, and assign it as the native VLAN for the trunked port. (A native VLAN is the VLAN the port would be in when it is not trunking.) This can be verified by using the show port trunk <mod/num> command. Note that if the port is already trunking, the trunk must be brought down to change the native VLAN.

Caveats for Release 12.0 (0.16) W5 (3)

Symptom: If more than 1,024 routes are tied to one interface, shutting down the interface might cause a CPU HOG message to appear. This means that the CPU is occupied by the IPX process longer than the normal time because of the large number of routes.
Workaround: No action is necessary.
Symptom: If Smartbits is used to run bridging, and the VFD2 Setup is set to infinitely increment source MAC addresses, this fills the bridging table (in CAM). This can cause numerous problems, including ports getting stuck.
Workaround: Do not configure VFD2 Setup to infinitely increment source MAC addresses.
Symptom: These messages are produced by the Version 12.0(0.6)W5(1) boot loader.
Workaround: Use the current image (Version 12.0(0.6)W5(3)).
Symptom: Certain types of traffic, including routing protocol updates and traffic terminating at the switch route processor, can generate extremely high CPU traffic.
Workaround: None.

Caveats for Release 12.0 (0.16) W5 (2)

Workaround: None.
Workaround: To recover the link, issue the shutdown/no shutdown command
sequence again.
Symptom: The number displayed indicates the number of times the input buffer has exceeded its threshold rather than the number of packets lost.
Workaround: None
Symptom: ICMP redirects are generated when a received IP packet is routed on to the same interface or subinterface on which the packet was received and the destination IP address belongs to the same subnet as its next-hop gateway.
Workaround: None.
This caveat has been corrected.
Symptom: When you have a configuration file that is larger than 128 KB, attempting to save the file into NVRAM may cause the system to fail. This is an intermittent and nonreproducible bug.
Workaround: As a precautionary measure, do not copy configuration files that are larger than 128 KB into NVRAM. Instead, copy these files into Bootflash memory or a Flash memory card (slot0: or slot1:).
Symptom: If you have HSRP configured and you issue a clear IP route * command on an active router with approximately 5,000 routes in its routing tables, you might receive HSRP state transition messages that the process is taking too much CPU processing power.
This caveat has been corrected.
Workaround: From interface configuration mode, issue a no shut command on the indicated directly connected interface. When you then issue a show ip route command, you can see that the route to the directly connected network is restored.
This caveat has been corrected.
Symptom: If you have CDP configured on a FEC interface that has ISL configured on it, you cannot see the neighbor information when you issue a show cdp neighbor command.
This caveat has been corrected.

Caveats for Release 12.0 (0.6) W5 (1)

Symptom: When hot swapping an Ethernet line module without waiting for a 10-second interval, the line module does not initialize properly.
This caveat has been corrected.
Symptom: If the Catalyst 8510 system has more than 1,024 routes in its routing tables when you issue a clear ip route command, you receive a warning message that the process is taking too much CPU (switch route processor [SRP]) processing power.
This caveat has been corrected.
Symptom: If you have the OSPF (Open Shortest Path First) protocol enabled and issue
an ospf disable command, you receive a warning message that the OSPF process is taking too much CPU (SRP) processing power.
This caveat has been corrected.
Symptom: In some cases, the interface packet counter counts each terminating IP packet (a packet sent to the SRP) twice. When you issue a show interface command, the reported number of total packets received is double the actual packet count.
This caveat has been corrected.

Caveat Descriptions for the Catalyst 8540 CSR

Table 11 lists the caveats that have been identified on the Catalyst 8540 CSR for this release of the Catalyst 8500 CSR software. Table 12 through Table 16 list caveats for previous releases.


Table 11: Release Caveats and Caveats Corrected
DDTS Number Software Release 12.0 (1a) W5 (6f)
Caveat Corrected Caveat

CSCdm20899

X

CSCdm31218

X

CSCdm33313

X

CSCdm34838

X

CSCdm39686

X

CSCdm43436

X


Table 12: Release Caveats and Caveats Corrected
DDTS Number Software Release 12.0 (1a) W5 (6e)
Caveat Corrected Caveat

CSCdm20899

X

CSCdm31218

X

CSCdm33313

X

CSCdm34838

X


Table 13: Release Caveats and Caveats Corrected
DDTS Number Software Release 12.0 (1a) W5 (6b)
Caveat Corrected Caveat

CSCdk91957

X


Table 14: Release Caveats and Caveats Corrected
DDTS Number Software Release 12.0 (1.0) W5 (6a)
Caveat Corrected Caveat

CSCdk74612

X

CSCdk74764

X

CSCdk75694

X

CSCdk76674

X

CSCdk91957

X


Table 15: Release Caveats and Caveats Corrected
DDTS Number Software Release 12.0 (1.0) W5 (6)
Caveat Corrected Caveat

CSCdk57012

X

CSCdk57596

X

CSCdk57611

X

CSCdk58018

X

CSCdk59851

X

CSCdk59996

X

CSCdk60346

X

CSCdk61127

X

CSCdk61567

X

CSCdk62035

X

CSCdk74612

X

CSCdk74764

X

CSCdk75694

X

CSCdk76674

X


Table 16: Release Caveats and Caveats Corrected
DDTS Number Software Release 12.0 (0.16) W5(4)
Caveat Corrected Caveat

CSCdk57012

X

CSCdk57596

X

CSCdk57611

X

CSCdk58018

X

CSCdk59851

X

CSCdk59996

X

CSCdk60346

X

CSCdk61127

X

CSCdk61567

X

CSCdk62035

X

Caveats for Release 12.0 (1a) W5 (6f)

This section summarizes the symptoms and suggested workarounds for the caveats identified for this release of the Catalyst 8500 CSR software on the Catalyst 8540 CSR, and lists those caveats that have been fixed since the last release.

Symptom: Under certain conditions, some Gigabit Ethernet line module ports will not come up.
Workaround: If you observe this problem, you may need to upgrade your 10/100BaseT line module firmware. Contact your Cisco service representative for more information.
Symptom: Changing the MAC address for a bridge group member causes CPU-bound packets on that interface to be discarded. For a port channel, the problem occurs when the first member is removed from the port channel.
Workaround: When an interface's MAC address is changed, remove the interface from its bridge group and then add it back into the bridge group.
Symptom: If you configure BVI, but do not want to do IP routing at the BVI level, and you have IP addresses for the interfaces in the bridge group, then routing protocols may not work.
Workaround: Remove the interfaces from the bridge group and then add them back into the bridge group.
Symptom: When a FEC is configured as a part of a bridge group and a topology change occurs, the bridge table may get out of sync with the Layer 2 CAM information.
Workaround: Use the clear bridge command to keep the IOS bridge table and the Layer 2 CAM in sync.
Symptom: IP prefix entries in the CAM table may point to incorrect adjacency information, causing routing failure.
This caveat has been corrected.
Symptom: Incorrect MAC address entries in the CAM table may cause HSRP to fail over a BVI interface.
This caveat has been corrected.

Caveats for Release 12.0 (1a) W5 (6e)

Symptom: Under certain conditions, some Gigabit Ethernet line module ports will not come up.
Workaround: If you observe this problem, you may need to upgrade your 10/100BaseT line module firmware. Contact your Cisco service representative for more information.
Symptom: Changing the MAC address for a bridge group member causes CPU-bound packets on that interface to be discarded. For a port channel, the problem occurs when the first member is removed from the port channel.
Workaround: When an interface's MAC address is changed, remove the interface from its bridge group and then add it back into the bridge group.
Symptom: If you configure BVI, but do not want to do IP routing at the BVI level, and you have IP addresses for the interfaces in the bridge group, then routing protocols may not work.
Workaround: Remove the interfaces from the bridge group and then add them back into the bridge group.
Symptom: When a FEC is configured as a part of a bridge group and a topology change occurs, the bridge table may get out of sync with the Layer 2 CAM information.
Workaround: Use the clear bridge command to keep the IOS bridge table and the Layer 2 CAM in sync.

Caveats for Release 12.0 (1a) W5 (6b)

Symptom: If you are using the cat8540c-in-mz.120-1a.W5.6a.bin software image and you have any Gigabit Ethernet line modules installed, you may see the following error message:
GigabitEthernet9/0/0Line 550 enable_gigabit_mac : Write MII failed for GigabitEthernet9/0/0
If you issue the show controller command, you may see the following error messages and 100% CPU utilization:
queue cell fail output port GigabitEthernet9/0/0 input vpi 0 input vci384
This caveat has been corrected.

Caveats for Release 12.0 (1.0) W5 (6a)

Symptom: When a system has 2,000 static routes redistributing via EIGRP from either a router or another Catalyst 8540, then starts adding neighbors (on either a physical interface or a subinterface), EIGRP does not stabilize after six neighbors are added. The CPU utilization remains at 99%.
This caveat has been corrected.
Symptom: Following a reload on the Gigabit Ethernet module, the routing table address of the next hop gateway changes to zero, causing load balancing to fail on that port channel.
This caveat has been corrected.
Symptom: A system configured with 32 IPX/RIP neighbors shows over 90% CPU utilization.
This caveat has been corrected.
Symptom: IPX packets coming in from a BVI interface and going out of a BVI interface on the Catalyst 8540 are routed to the CPU, causing high CPU utilization.
This caveat has been corrected.
Symptom: If you are using the cat8540c-in-mz.120-1a.W5.6a.bin software image and you have any Gigabit Ethernet line modules installed, you may see the following error message:
GigabitEthernet9/0/0Line 550 enable_gigabit_mac : Write MII failed for GigabitEthernet9/0/0
If you issue the show controller command, you may see the following error messages and 100% CPU utilization:
queue cell fail output port GigabitEthernet9/0/0 input vpi 0 input vci384
Workaround: Remove the Gigabit Ethernet line module or upgrade to an image that contains the fix (cat8540c-in-mz.120-1a.W5.6b.bin).

Caveats for Release 12.0 (1.0) W5 (6)

Fast EtherChannel and Gigabit EtherChannel Caveats

Symptom: After configuring about 10 subinterfaces on a port channel, it takes about 50 seconds to configure each subinterface. This time increases with the addition of more subinterfaces.
This caveat has been corrected.
Symptom: Following a reload on the Gigabit Ethernet module, the routing table address of the next hop gateway changes to zero, causing load balancing to fail on that port channel.
Workaround: Execute a shutdown and no shutdown command sequence on the affected port channel.

Routing Caveats

Symptom: Route tables and ARP entries are programmed into each module port on the Catalyst 8540 CSR by means of LSIPC. When thousands of route or ARP entries are present, it temporarily causes 100% CPU utilization during route updates, ARP updates, or when commands like clear ip route, clear adjacency, or clear arp are issued.
This caveat has been corrected.
Symptom: It can take 45 minutes for all interfaces to come up on a fully populated Catalyst 8540 CSR, and CPU utilization can remain close to 100% for up to 90 minutes. In some cases, the system may never stabilize at all.
This caveat has been corrected.
Symptom: This error is generated when the EIGRP process is disabled while the system is learning more than 4000 routes.
This caveat has been corrected.
Symptom: When a system has 2,000 static routes redistributing via EIGRP from either a router or another Catalyst 8540, then starts adding neighbors (on either a physical interface or a subinterface), EIGRP does not stabilize after six neighbors are added. The CPU utilization remains at 99%.
Workaround: Limit the number of IP-EIGRP neighbors to six or fewer.
Symptom: A system configured with 32 IPX/RIP neighbors shows over 90% CPU utilization.
Workaround: Limit the number of IPX/RIP neighbors to 20 or fewer.
Symptom: IPX packets coming in from a BVI interface and going out of a BVI interface on the Catalyst 8540 are routed to the CPU, causing high CPU utilization.
Workaround: Enter the clear ipx route * command.

Multicast Caveats

Symptom: This error is generated when the number of entries added to the multicast groups and ports exceeds the limit of the memory on the line modules.
This caveat has been corrected.
Symptom: When you run show commands, the system may crash with this message:
*** System received a Software forced crash ***
This caveat has been corrected.

Bridging Caveats

Symptom: If ISL encapsulation is configured, and the network administrator tries to change the encapsulation on one end of the link, bridging over the ISL stops working.
This caveat has been corrected.

IOS Caveats

Symptom: After you execute a copy run tftp command and reload the system software, the copy tftp run command may abort with this message:
%Error reading tftp://172.20.46.50/vparames/sbr1_c84_01.config (Transfer aborted)
This timeout happens when a system with a large number of ports tries to configure itself, and the tftp process times out before the end of the configuration is reached.
This caveat has been corrected.
Symptom: If a port receives wirespeed traffic while configuration is in progress, the port may time out. This is due to lack of bandwidth on the outgoing side. The configuration commands work properly if up to 90% traffic is going through the port. Also, this in no way hampers your ability to configure the port first and then process wirespeed traffic through it.
This caveat has been corrected.
Symptom: PIM interfaces do not successfully join multicast groups if the ip igmp query-interval value is greater than 180 seconds.
This caveat has been corrected.
Symptom: After configuring about 10 subinterfaces on a port channel, it takes about 50 seconds to configure each subinterface. This time increases with the addition of more subinterfaces.
This caveat has been corrected.

Caveats for Release 12.0 (0.16) W5 (4)

FEC Caveats

Symptom: After configuring about 10 subinterfaces on a port channel, it takes about 50 seconds to configure each subinterface. This time increases with the addition of more subinterfaces.
Workaround: Add all the VLANs to the configuration before putting the physical Fast Ethernet ports into a FEC. For example, first add the VLANs:
8540(config)# int port-channel 1
8540(config-if)# int port-channel 1.1
8540(config-if)# encapsulation isl 1
8540(config-if)# int port-channel 1.2
8540(config-if)# encapsulation isl 2
...
8540(config-if)# int port-channel 1.12
8540(config-if)# encapsulation isl 12
Then put the physical interfaces into the FEC:
8540(config)# int fa0/0/0
8540(config-if)# channel-group 1
8540(config)# int fa0/0/1
8540(config-if)# channel-group 1
You should not see any slowness if you add ISL VLANs before adding physical Fast Ethernet interfaces into a FEC.

Routing Caveats

Symptom: Route tables and ARP entries are programmed into each module port on the Catalyst 8540 CSR by means of LSIPC. When thousands of route or ARP entries are present, it temporarily causes 100% CPU utilization during route updates, ARP updates, or when commands like clear ip route, clear adjacency, or clear arp are issued.
Workaround: No workaround is necessary. CPU utilization returns to normal (1%) after a couple of minutes.
Symptom: It can take 45 minutes for all interfaces to come up on a fully populated Catalyst 8540 CSR, and CPU utilization can remain close to 100% for up to 90 minutes. In some cases, the system may never stabilize at all.
Workaround: Decrease the traffic to 80% (80 Mbps) to all ports, and the system will come up. It takes about 20 minutes to populate all tables on a fully loaded system with 80% wire-rate traffic on all ports. The time to populate the tables decreases when the system has fewer line modules installed. The equivalent time for a system with two line modules is about four minutes.
Symptom: This error is generated when the EIGRP process is disabled while the system is learning more than 4000 routes.
Workaround: No workaround is necessary---it just takes longer for the system to learn the routes.

Multicast Caveats

Symptom: This error is generated when the number of entries added to the multicast groups and ports exceeds the limit of the memory on the line modules.
Workaround: Limit multicast groups to no more than 50. All 128 ports can participate in the multicast groups.
Symptom: When you run show commands, the system may crash with this message:
*** System received a Software forced crash ***
Workaround: Use IOS commands like show ip mroute to debug multicast operation.

Bridging Caveats

Symptom: If an ISL encapsulation has been configured, and the network administrator tries to change the encapsulation on one end of the link, bridging over the ISL stops working.
Workaround: First remove the subinterface, then add a new one with the required encapsulation.

IOS Caveats

Symptom: After you execute copy run tftp and reload the system software, the copy tftp run command may abort with this message:
%Error reading tftp://172.20.46.50/vparames/sbr1_c84_01.config (Transfer aborted)
This timeout happens when a system with a large number of ports tries to configure itself, and the tftp process times out before the end of the configuration is reached.
Workaround: After reloading software, copy the configuration file from the tftp server to Flash memory (using, for example, the copy tftp slot0: command), then copy the configuration file from Flash memory to NVRAM with the copy slot0:filename run command.
Symptom: If a port receives wirespeed traffic while configuration is in progress, the port may time out. This is due to lack of bandwidth on the outgoing side. The configuration commands work properly if up to 90% traffic is going through the port. Also, this in no way hampers your ability to configure the port first and then process wirespeed traffic through it.
Workaround: Enter port configuration commands when traffic is below 90% of wirespeed.
Symptom: PIM interfaces do not successfully join multicast groups if the ip igmp query-interval value is greater than 180 seconds.
Workaround: For multicast groups, set the query interval to be less than 180 seconds. (The default value is 60 seconds.)

Other Notes

This section describes other important items not covered in the Catalyst 8500 CSR documentation.

Line Module Interoperability with Catalyst 8540 MSR

The Catalyst 8540 CSR line modules can be used in a Catalyst 8540 MSR chassis, with an MSR route processor and switch modules. If you do this, you must use only CSR (Ethernet) line modules, and you must load the CSR software image on the MSR.

Y2K Compliance

The Catalyst 8510 CSR and 8540 CSR systems running Cisco IOS version 12.0(0.6)W5(1) and later have been certified as Y2K Compliant. For more information, see this URL: http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/752/2000/.

Processor Redundancy Not Supported on Catalyst 8540 CSR

The Catalyst 8540 CSR does not currently support the use of redundant route processors or switch modules. The route processor must be installed in slot 4, and two switch modules must be installed in slots 5 and 7. Additional route processors and/or switch modules installed in the chassis will not function.

Online Insertion and Removal (OIR) of Modules

The following cautions apply to the online insertion and removal of line modules on the Catalyst 8500 CSR, also known as hot swapping:

Cisco Connection Online

Cisco Connection Online (CCO) is Cisco Systems' primary, real-time support channel. Maintenance customers and partners can self-register on CCO to obtain additional information and services.

Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, CCO provides a wealth of standard and value-added services to Cisco's customers and business partners. CCO services include product information, product documentation, software updates, release notes, technical tips, the Bug Navigator, configuration notes, brochures, descriptions of service offerings, and download access to public and authorized files.

CCO serves a wide variety of users through two interfaces that are updated and enhanced simultaneously: a character-based version and a multimedia version that resides on the World Wide Web (WWW).

The character-based CCO supports Zmodem, Kermit, Xmodem, FTP, and Internet e-mail, and it is excellent for quick access to information over lower bandwidths. The WWW version of CCO provides richly formatted documents with photographs, figures, graphics, and video, as well as hyperlinks to related information.

You can access CCO in the following ways:

Use the following terminal settings: VT100 emulation; databits: 8; parity: none; stop bits: 1; and connection rates up to 28.8 Kbps.

For additional information, contact cco-team@cisco.com.

Contacting the Technical Assistance Center

If you are a network administrator and need personal technical assistance with a Cisco product that is under warranty or covered by a maintenance contract, contact Cisco's Technical Assistance Center (TAC) at 800 553-2447, 408 526-7209, or tac@cisco.com. To obtain general information about Cisco Systems, Cisco products, or upgrades, contact 800 553-6387, 408 526-7208, or cs-rep@cisco.com.

For useful configuration tips from Cisco's Technical Assistance Center, go to the Hot Tips home page at the URL listed below. (This URL is subject to change without notice.) The Hot Tips page contains an internetworking primer, information on network protocols, the Cisco IOS, network management, troubleshooting questionnaires, and more:

http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/701/

Contacting TAC by Phone

If you choose to telephone TAC for help, have the following information ready:

Enter the show version command to display this information.

To display this information for Cisco IOS Release 11.0 or later, enter the show running-config command. For IOS releases prior to 11.0, enter the write terminal command.

Contacting the European Technical Assistance Center

Cisco and its European Service Partners coordinate all customer service in Europe, including hardware and software telephone technical support, onsite service, and module exchange and repair. For more information, contact the European TAC at the following numbers and e-mail address:


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Posted: Fri Jun 4 10:46:38 PDT 1999
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