Cisco IOS Software Releases 12.4 Mainline

Description of the Release

Cisco IOS® Software Release 12.4 is a consolidation of the leading-edge technology and features released in Cisco IOS Software Release 12.3T and prior releases, and ongoing software maintenance.

The main goal of Cisco IOS Software Release 12.4 is to consolidate previously released Cisco IOS features and platforms into a highly stable software branch.

Product and Feature Support

• 12.4 Product Bulletin - Cisco IOS Software Release 12.4 Features
• Hardware/Software Compatability Matrix (registered customers only)
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Support Pages

Release Documentation

• 12.4 Product Bulletin
• Cross-Platform Release Notes

Other Links

• Cisco IOS General Information
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• Cisco IOS Software Release Field Notices
• Cisco IOS Software Release Reference Guide
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Target Market

Lifecycle of Release

Maintenance Releases

Description:

Maintanance build images are the Cisco officially released software images. They endure full regression test and must achieve a set of release criteria.

Identify a Maintenance Release:

Online:

The show version command in the running software shows "Software Release" in the banner.

Off-line:

The version label displays the major release with a maintenance release in parenthesis.

Example:

• 12.4(#x)
  • 12.4 = major release
  • # = version number of maintenance release (whole numbers only)
  • x = Rebuild character from a-z, lower case. Use to designate a rebuild of the maintenance release version #. A rebuild is when Cisco adds more bug fixes to the existing maintenance release.

Maintenance Cycle

Cisco IOS Software Release 12.4 provides maintenance releases on a 13 week forecast schedule.

Naming Convention:

This list details the image name and version numbering which make up a Cisco IOS image.

• Image Name:

  Software Image Naming Conventions for Cisco IOS

• Version Numbering:

  Cisco IOS Reference Guide

Interim Builds

Weekly interim builds will be made available to development and TAC for critical customers.

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Recommended Customer Migration Path

Cisco recommends that customers running Cisco IOS Software Release 12.3T or 12.3 (or earlier) releases upgrade to the latest version of Cisco IOS Software Release 12.4, or Cisco IOS Software Release 12.4T for the latest features. Cisco IOS Software Releases 12.4 and 12.4T both undergo rigorous ongoing testing and review cycles to continuously improve and increase reliability and quality.

Note: Cisco IOS Software Release 12.3T reached End of Software Maintenance on June 7, 2007. Cisco IOS Software Release 12.3 reached End of Sale on March 15, 2007, and will reach End of Software Maintenance on March 15, 2008. For additional information about milestones, please visit Product Bulletin No. 2214, Cisco IOS Software Product Lifecycle Dates & Milestone.

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Related Cisco IOS Releases

• Cisco IOS Software Release 12.4 is based on Cisco IOS Software Release 12.3T. Cisco IOS Software Release 12.4 contains all the features and functionality of Cisco IOS Software Release 12.3T.
• Cisco IOS Software Release 12.4 last synched from Cisco IOS Software Release 12.3(12)T.
• Cisco IOS Software Release 12.4 mainline will only integrate bug fixes to provide a stable release from Cisco IOS Software Release 12.3T.