IDS 4230 - End of Software Support = No Signature Update?

[mpfa_it_officer]

I have one question regarding to Product Bulletin, No. 1772 - "End-of-Sale Announcement for Cisco Intrusion Detection System 4230 Platform"

According to the bulletin, the date of End of software support is July 31, 2005. Does it mean the signate update for this platfrom will not be available after July 31, 2005 or it just mean that the new version of the IDS sensor software will no longer support this platform.

[mchin345]

The recommended replacement product for the Cisco IDS 4230 is the Cisco IDS 4235. This platform offers enhanced performance, a smaller form factor, and a 10/100/1000 network interface card (NIC).

[scothrel]

Actually, the recommended replacement is now the 4240 appliance, the 4235 is no longer available for sale. The 4230 will no longer be officially supported for future enhancements. The 4230 runs the 4.1 software series...it is already not supported in the 5.x series. The practical impact is that we are not going to focus on putting new features into the 4.1 series. We are, however, continuing signature updates for the 4.1 series for some time (exact timeframe is still TBD but probably at least through the end of the year).

[a.arndt]

Does this mean that Cisco will now replace failing IDS-4230 sensors, if they fail as per FN-23854, with an IPS-4240?

The field notice still states that an IDS-4235 will be substituted for the failed IDS-4230, despite being revised on 2 Jun 05.

FN-23854 can be found here:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/vpndevc/ps4077/products_field_notice09186a00801850de.shtml

In a nutshell, for the non-employees, this field notice details a recall program for IDS-4230 sensors that suffered main board failures due to a faulty inductor.

Could you please clarify for us if Cisco will replace a failed IDS-4230 with an IDS-4235 or an IPS-4240?

Thanks,

Alex Arndt

[rwassom]

Failed IDS-4230s will be replaced with an IDS-4235 through both the recall program and the RMA process. There are no plans to start replacing these sensors with IPS-4240s any time soon.

For new purchases, the IPS-4240 is the recommended replacement for both the IDS-4230 and IDS-4235. Benefits of this platform include:

- very small form factor (1U, half depth of 4235)

- high port density (4x GE sensing ports, 1x FE C&C port)

- designed specifically to support inline

- support for future release of an optional 4x GE Copper/Fiber interface card for additional sensing ports

-Rusty

[jelefevr]

It does not make sense to replace an EOL equipment with another EOL equipment ! Can you please clarify your statement ?

By the way, original topic of this post is about signature : Until when will the signature for IDS 4230 be updated ? Important question to be answered.

Best regards,

Jerome

[marcabal]

As for your first question about replacing EOL equipment with another EOL equipment.

Ordinarily this would not be done, except that the IDS-4230 has hardware issues and were eligible for a no cost replacement program.

Under ordinary circumstances a failed IDS-4230 would only have been replaced with a refurbished IDS-4230.

But because of the hardware issues a failed IDS-4230 will be replaced with a IDS-4235.

RMA processes are not meant to be used for free upgrades to the newest products. The RMA process is only for replacing of failed products with either the original product or a suitable replacement. The IDS-4235 is a suitable replacement for the IDS-4230 because it has higher performance and a longer period of support.

Customers wanting to purchase a new IDS-4230 or IDS-4235 are directed to purcahse an IPS-4240 instead.

As for signature support on the IDS-4230.

The IDS-4230 signature support is tied to the End of Signature support for the version 4.1 software.

I have yet to see an official notification on CCO for the end of signature support for the IDS 4.1 software.

What this tells you is that the end of support is still more than six months away.

The posting of the notification will give you a minimum 6 months notice.

So as of the end of November you can feel comfortable that signature support for 4.1 will extend beyond end of May 2006.

Unofficially I have heard end of signature support for 4.1 being around August/September 2006, but that is still subject to change until a formal notice is posted on CCO.

[jelefevr]

Thank you very much Marcoa. Your answer is crystal clear.

Best regards,

Jerome

[balsheikh]

Dear Sir,

I have a problem with one IDS 4230 series on my customer side, after updating the latest signature from CISCO it crashed, I tried to restore it with the recovery CD but it is hanging. Below the IDS information:

IDS Model : Cisco IDS 4230

Version 4.1(5)

While updating Signature S231 Problem happened.

What I can do in such case!!

Appreciate your advice..

Regards,

Belal

[scothrel]

I would suggest you call the Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC) and have a case opened. They can provide customized diagnosis. This forum is probably not the place to do a basic diagnosis.