if customers are required to run a release to utilize newer software features or hardware, the recommendation is to select Extended Maintenance (EM) release trains wherever possible.
Standard Maintenance Release - A sustaining support lifetime of 12 months from First Customer Shipment (FCS) with scheduled rebuilds. Examples are Cisco IOS XE Software releases 16.10, 16.11, 17.1 and 17.2
Extended Maintenance Release - A sustaining support lifetime of 36 months from First Customer Shipment (FCS) with scheduled rebuilds. Examples are Cisco IOS XE Software releases 16.9, 16.12 and 17.3
Note: Every subsequent third release (for example, Cisco IOS XE Software release 16.9, 16.12 and 17.3) will be an Extended Maintenance release.
Given that Standard Maintenance releases have much shorter support lifetimes whereas Extended Maintenance releases have longer support with more scheduled rebuilds / bug fixes, it is recommended that customers stay on Extended Maintenance releases wherever possible.
- #For Quad Supervisor Stackwise Virtual design on Catalyst 9600 IOS-XE version 17.3.1 is recommended
- *StackWise Virtual requires Network Advantage License on Catalyst 9000 Switches
- If you are not prepared for SMART LICENSING, then 16.6.8 is the recommended version for Catalyst 3850 and 3650 Switches. Otherwise SMART LICENSING will enable by default and Evaluation period will start , to avoid this you may register your device on CISCO SMART LICENSING PORTAL.
Note: If TACACS+ is being used for AAA, please take note of configuration CLI syntax change in IOS XE version 16.12.X in Security Configuration Guide. The legacy CLI tacacs-server host needs to be migrated to the new CLI tacacs server before upgrade to IOS XE version 16.12.X from an older release. This will ensure seamless tacacs operation post upgrade.
Note: The recommendation below does not necessitate that customers with stable deployments on IOS XE Software release 16.6 and 16.9 are required to upgrade to the recommended IOS XE Software release in the table below. However as the IOS XE 16.6 & 16.9 software trains approach their end of life milestones, customers are encouraged to migrate to the 16.12 software train
Note: If TACACS+ is being used for AAA, please take note of configuration CLI syntax change in IOS XE version 16.12.X in Security Configuration Guide. The legacy CLI tacacs-server host needs to be migrated to the new CLI tacacs server before upgrade to IOS XE version 16.12.X from an older release. This will ensure seamless tacacs operation post upgrade.
REFERENCE DOCUMENT - UPDATED - Updated:January 23, 2023
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