CatOS

[manoj.jain]

Hii

Can any one tell me what is the difference between CatOS & Cisco IOS.

Or can both OS works together in single switch.

Thanx

[smothuku]

Hi ,

CatOS system software—Catalyst 6500/6000 CatOS software is the image that runs on the Supervisor Engine and handles all of the Layer 2 (L2) switch functions. The image that runs on the Supervisor Engine is referred to as CatOS.

Cisco IOS system software—Cisco IOS Software on the Catalyst 6500/6000 series switch is the single Cisco IOS image that runs the Catalyst 6500/6000 series switch. The Supervisor Engine and the MSFC both run a single bundled Cisco IOS image.

Naming Convention That CatOS and Cisco IOS Images Use

CatOS system software:

In the case of CatOS, the CatOS image on the Supervisor Engine starts with cat6000*, and the Cisco IOS image on the MSFC starts with c6msfc*. Examples of the images that are used on the Supervisor Engine and the MSFC are:

cat6000-sup.6-1-1b.bin is the Catalyst 6500/6000 Supervisor Engine CatOS image, version 6.1(1b).

c6msfc-boot-mz.121-4.E1 is the Catalyst 6500/6000 MSFC boot image, Cisco IOS Software Release 12.1(4)E1.

c6msfc-ds-mz.121-4.E1 is the Catalyst 6500/6000 MSFC image, Cisco IOS Software Release 12.1(4)E1.

c6msfc2-jsv-mz.121-4.E1 is the Catalyst 6500/6000 MSFC2 image, Cisco IOS Software Release 12.1(4)E1.

Cisco IOS system software:

In the case of Cisco IOS Software, four types of images are listed on the Software Center. With the release of the MSFC2 and Supervisor Engine 2, a change in the naming was necessary in order to indicate the code that will be supported.

c6supxy indicates the Supervisor Engine/MSFC combination upon which it will run, where x is the Supervisor Engine and y indicates MSFC.

c6sup—This is the original name for the Cisco IOS image. It runs on the Supervisor Engine 1, MSFC1.

c6sup11—Supervisor Engine 1, MSFC1

c6sup12—Supervisor Engine 1, MSFC2

c6sup22—Supervisor Engine 2, MSFC2

Here are examples:

c6sup-is-mz.120-7.XE1 is the Catalyst 6500/6000 Supervisor Engine Cisco IOS image (with Supervisor Engine 1/MSFC1), Cisco IOS Software Release 12.0(7)XE1.

c6sup11-is-mz.121-4.E1 is the Catalyst 6500/6000 Supervisor Engine Cisco IOS image (with Supervisor Engine 1/MSFC1), Cisco IOS Software Release 12.1(4)E1.

c6sup12-is-mz.121-4.E1 is the Catalyst 6500/6000 Supervisor Engine Cisco IOS image (with Supervisor Engine 1/MSFC2), Cisco IOS Software Release 12.1(4)E1.

c6sup22-psv-mz.121-5c.EX is the Catalyst 6500/6000 Supervisor Engine Cisco IOS image (with Supervisor Engine 2/MSFC2), Cisco IOS Software Release 12.1(5c)EX.

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/switches/ps700/products_tech_note09186a008015bfa1.shtml#catos_ios

HTH & THX

satish

[Amit Singh]

Hi Manoj,

CatOS is used for the Layer2 sup engines.While IOS is primarily used for the routers. On Cisco6500 CatOS is used for Sup engine and IOS is used for MSFC, which is called hybrid OS. You can have both Sup and MSFC running the IOS only which is called as Native IOS. Please see the link below for the comparison of both:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/switches/ps708/products_white_paper09186a00800c8441.shtml

HTH,Please rate if it does.

-amit singh