Deciding Which Release to Load

Use this document to determine which of the Cisco IOS software releases in this Feature Pack will be most effective in your environment.

Choosing a Release

The CD-ROM shipped in this Feature Pack contains the following releases:


	Cisco IOS Release 12.0(6)	Cisco IOS Release 12.0(5)T	Cisco IOS Release 11.3(9)	Cisco IOS Release 11.3(9)T¹ (See note below)	Cisco IOS Release 11.2(18)
Based on Cisco IOS release number	Based on Release 12.0	Based on Release 12.0, which is based on Release 11.3	Based on Release 11.3	Based on Release 11.3, which is based on Release 11.2	Based on Release 11.2
Stability	Provides highest stability factor, compared with "T" releases	Early Deployment software should always be tried in a test network before being deployed in a production network	Provides a high stability factor in an older release, compared with "F" and "P" releases	Early Deployment software should always be tried in a test network before being deployed in a production network	Provides a high stability factor in an older release, when compared with "F" and "P" releases
Platform and feature support	Significant set of platform and feature support	(See below)	Delivers a smaller set of platform and feature support than Cisco IOS Release 12.0(6)	(See below)	Delivers a smaller set of platform and feature support than later releases
New features	None	Provides new Cisco IOS features as described in the release notes	Contains no new features after its initial release to customers	Provides added Cisco IOS features	Contains no new features after its initial release to customers
New platforms or interfaces	None	Provides new Cisco hardware platforms as described in the release notes	Provides no new platform or interface support after its initial release to customers	Provides support for additional Cisco hardware platforms	Provides no new platform or interface support after initial release to customers
Deployment Status	Limited Deployment	Early Deployment	Limited Deployment	Early Deployment	General Deployment

¹Has no more regularly scheduled maintenance releases because it reached End of Engineering with maintenance Releases 11.3(11) and 11.3(11)T on August 2, 1999.

Note The last Cisco IOS maintenance releases, 11.3(11) and 11.3(11)T, are available through Cisco Connection Online (CCO) and Field Service Operations (FSO) only, not through Manufacturing. Although Releases 11.3.9 and 11.3.9T are included in this Feature Pack for customer convenience (as customers who downloaded one of these releases from the previous Feature Pack might want to continue using it), Cisco recommends upgrading to Release 12.0 because there are no additional maintenance releases after Release 11.3.11—if a Release 11.3(11) problem is discovered that requires a resolution, customers must upgrade to 12.0(6) or later. Cisco also recommends that customers with new deployments select a release later than Releases 11.3(11) or 11.3(11)T.

Software Lifecycle Definitions

Major Release—A Major Release of Cisco IOS software delivers a significant set of platform and feature support. To protect the stability of the release, no new features and no new platform or interface support are added to a Major Release after its initial release to customers.
Early Deployment (ED) Release—A Cisco IOS software release that offers new features and support for new platforms or interfaces.
General Deployment (GD)—A milestone that is reached when a Major Release of Cisco IOS software is suitable for deployment anywhere in customer networks where the features and functionality of the release are required. Criteria for the GD milestone include customer feedback surveys from production and test networks using the releases, engineering bug reports, and field experience reports.
GD Release—The maintenance release at which a major release reached the GD milestone in its lifecycle.
Limited Deployment (LD)—A Cisco IOS software lifecycle that occurs during the period between the initial release to customers and the GD milestone.
End of Sales (EOS)—A date after which a Cisco IOS software release can no longer be ordered. Releases that reach this milestone are only available to customers with maintenance contracts through FSO and CCO or through Customer Service Engineering (CSE) support until the releases reach the End of Life (EOL) milestone.
End of Engineering (EOE)—A date after which no scheduled maintenance releases are produced for a major release. Releases that reach this milestone are only available to customers with maintenance contracts through FSO and CCO or through Customer Service Engineering (CSE) support until the releases reach the EOL milestone.
End of Life (EOL)—A date after which a Cisco IOS software release is no longer officially supported by Customer Service Engineering (CSE) and is removed from CCO.

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