Why are there so many IOS versions and who makes them?

[galonga]

Only for my 2514 I have over 30 IOS versions I downloaded off the internet.

They seem to be made by different people, as they claim "compiled by such and such"

Who are those people? Folks like you and me? If that´s the case, what are the tools they use to compile IOS? And how do I know which one to use?

[Nael Mohammad]

Different IOS'es comes with different features:

http://tools.cisco.com/ITDIT/CFN/jsp/index.jsp

If the IOS you are downloading does not come from cisco.com or Cisco provided material, I would not install it on any device. Also here is a good doc for IOS Software product lifecycle :

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collateral/iosswrel/ps8802/ps6969/ps1835/prod_bulletin0900aecd801eda8a_ps6350_Products_Bulletin.html

As for who compiles the IOS, that is irrelvant because the product should come directly from  Cisco.com and no other source or location has the rights to post IOS images for download.

-nael

[galonga]

Thank you, but you basically just said I should only download approved Cisco products

That´s rather understandable, since apparently you are a Cisco employee.:)

But still that did not answer my questions.

Also, it doesn´t matter where the IOS came from: Cisco apparently doesn´t even sell any for the 2500 family anymore: whenever I try to choose an "orderable" IOS at http://tools.cisco.com/ITDIT/CFN/Dispatch?showAllSoftware=true for it I get:

The selected Platform is not supported by any currently orderable software. Please select the criteria again. Thank you.

[Nael Mohammad]

That is correct 2514 is end of sale and end of support so most likely there will not be any software updates for that platform.

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/routers/ps233/prod_eol_notice09186a008032d40c.html .

If you want to find out more about software itself, Cisco has a developers program you can become a member of to get access to that information.

http://developer.cisco.com/web/partner

-nael