4506-E & Supervisor compatibility

e.ternant · ‎12-16-2010

I have been experiencing recurrent problems on a 4506-E switch lately : sometimes a self-reboot, sometimes a complete freeze. The frequency is about one every other day.

According to the data I have managed to gather after those crashes, the problem seems to be linked to the Supervisor IV engine. So I have opened a case at Cisco and have it replaced today. But no luck apparently : I have got a crash this evening.

I use four 4506-E with the same Supervisor IV, and this one is the only one which is concerned by this problem. And the only specificity I can see is the Rom Monitor version : 12.2(20r)EW1 for this switch, 12.2(31r)SGA1 for the 3 others.

So here is what I am wondering : could it be some incompatibility between the old Rom Monitor version and the 4506-E chassis ? I have looked into the specs for the 4506-E and the Supervisor IV but found no significant information...

Thanks in advance.

glen.grant · ‎12-16-2010

The rommon version is generally tied the IOS software version .Check the release notes for whatever version you are running , as long as your rommon version is at or above what they reccomend it should be ok . If you are running a real old version then you might want to consider upgrading the IOS version .

e.ternant · ‎12-17-2010

Thanks for your help, Glen.

In the "Release Note for the Catalyst 4500 Series Switch, Cisco IOS Releases 12.2(54)SG to 12.2(25)SG" document, I found a chart "Chassis and Supervisor Compatiblity" (attached below) that indicates : WS-C4506-E + SUP IV --> Minimum : 12.2(31)SGA6 / Recommended: 12.2(31)SGA8.

My version of IOS is OK (12.2.53-SG3) but I could not find any explicit requirement about the RomMon version... but since the download center offers only the 12.2(31r) branch for 4506-E switches, I guess that I have to do this RomMon upgrade.

If this solves the problem, there will remain one question : if this is a software compability issue, why in hell has this switch run without a hitch for 3 whole months and then started to crash so often ? Devices can be so strange, sometimes...