Overview

Release 15.4(1)SY is a long-term maintenance release for the Catalyst 6500 platform, focused on software stability, defect resolutions, and continued hardware support, without introducing new hardware or major software features in the later revisions.


Important Operational Note

Redundant configurations require identical supervisor engines. If two different supervisor engines are installed, one becomes active while the other remains in a reset state.


Chronological List of Releases

  • Release 15.4(1)SY4 — February 26, 2018

  • Release 15.4(1)SY3 — November 2, 2017

  • Release 15.4(1)SY2 — June 2, 2017

  • Release 15.4(1)SY1 — December 13, 2016

  • Release 15.4(1)SY — September 9, 2016


Supported Hardware

This section describes hardware supported by the 15.4(1)SY software train. Supported components include supervisor engines, policy feature cards, forwarding cards, switching modules, line cards, transceivers, service modules, power supplies, and chassis.

Supervisor Engines

Product ID Description Minimum Software
C6800-SUP6T Supervisor Engine 6T with PFC4 15.3(1)SY
C6800-SUP6T-XL Supervisor Engine 6T with PFC4XL 15.3(1)SY
VS-S2T-10G-XL Supervisor Engine 2T-10GE with PFC4XL 15.0(1)SY
VS-S2T-10G Supervisor Engine 2T-10GE with PFC4 15.0(1)SY

(Tables for Policy Feature Cards, Distributed Forwarding Cards, Centralized Forwarding Cards, 40G & 10G Switching Modules, SFP/GBIC Transceivers, Service Modules, Power Supplies, and Chassis follow the same format as original.)


Unsupported Hardware

Any hardware component not listed in the supported hardware section is not supported by the 15.4(1)SY software train. Unsupported modules remain powered down if detected and do not affect overall system operation.


Images and Feature Sets

Multiple images and feature sets are available for the 15.4SY train. Feature availability depends on the selected image type. Some images include strong encryption functionality, which may be subject to U.S. and local regulatory requirements.


EFSU Compatibility

Enhanced Fast Software Upgrade (EFSU) compatibility depends on the starting and target software versions. Only version combinations listed as compatible support non-disruptive or reduced-disruption upgrades.


Software Behavior Changes

Behavior changes describe operational modifications or documentation updates introduced in this software train. These may affect existing configurations and should be reviewed prior to deployment or upgrade.


New Features by Release

Release 15.4(1)SY4

  • Hardware Features: None

  • Software Features: None

Release 15.4(1)SY3

  • Hardware Features: None

  • Software Features: None

Release 15.4(1)SY2

  • Hardware Features: None

  • Software Features: None

Release 15.4(1)SY1

  • Hardware Features: None

  • Software Features: None

Release 15.4(1)SY

  • Added software enhancements including Campus Fabric support on select supervisors and feature-level changes such as Korea homologation (e.g., support for SHA-256 authentication methods, updated buffering/logging mechanisms, HTTPS support).

  • Bidirectional Forwarding Detection (BFD) hardware offload support was introduced, allowing offloading BFD sessions to hardware to reduce CPU load and improve convergence performance.


Restrictions

Specific restrictions and configuration limitations for this software train are documented per release level. These may include rule changes in PFC/DFC compatibility, operational limits, route partition behaviors, or specific hardware dependencies.


Caveats

This section documents open and resolved issues for each release in the 15.4SY train. Caveats are organized by release and include detailed conditions and impact descriptions.


Troubleshooting

General troubleshooting guidance for the platform is provided, covering common failure scenarios and recommended recovery steps.


System Software Upgrade Instructions

Recommended upgrade procedures include image staging, redundancy preparation, and post-upgrade verification steps.


Additional Note

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