Release Notes for the Catalyst 2960-C and

2960-Plus Switches, Cisco IOS Release

15.2(5)E and Later

First Published: 28 July, 2016

Last Updated: 03 May, 2017

Cisco IOS Release 15.2(5)E runs on Catalyst 2960-C and 2960-Plus switches and on Cisco EtherSwitch
service modules.
These release notes include important information about Cisco IOS Release 15.2(5)E, any limitations,
restrictions, and caveats that apply to the [Link] that these release notes are correct for your
switch:
• If you are installing a new switch, see the Cisco IOS release label on the rear panel of your switch.
• If your switch is on, use the show version privileged EXEC command. See the “Finding the
Software Version and Feature Set” section on page 4.
• If you are upgrading to a new release, see the software upgrade filename for the software version.
See the “Deciding Which Files to Use” section on page 4.
You can download the switch software from this site (registered [Link] users with a login password):
[Link]

Contents
• System Requirements, page 2
• Upgrading the Switch Software, page 4
• Installation Notes, page 6
• New Features, page 7
• Minimum Cisco IOS Release for Major Features, page 7
• Limitations and Restrictions, page 8

Cisco Systems, Inc.

[Link]
 System Requirements

• Important Notes, page 14

• Caveats, page 17
• Related Documentation, page 18
• Obtaining Documentation and Submitting a Service Request, page 20

System Requirements
• Supported Hardware, page 2
• Device Manager System Requirements, page 3
• Cluster Compatibility, page 3
• CNA Compatibility, page 3

Supported Hardware
Table 1 Catalyst 2960-P Switches Supported Hardware

Supported by Minimum Cisco IOS

Switch Description Release
Catalyst C2960P-48PST-L 48 10/100 ports with PoE, 2 1000BASE-T and 2 SFP Cisco IOS Release 15.0(2)EZ
uplinks, LAN Base image
Catalyst C2960P-24PC-L 24 10/100 ports with PoE, 2 1000BASE-T or SFP Cisco IOS Release 15.0(2)EZ
uplinks, LAN Base image
Catalyst C2960P-24LC-L 24 10/100 ports, 8 ports with PoE, 2 1000BASE-T or Cisco IOS Release 15.0(2)EZ
SFP uplinks, LAN Base image
Catalyst C2960P-48TC-L 48 10/100 ports, 2 1000BASE-T or SFP uplinks, Cisco IOS Release 15.0(2)EZ
LAN Base image
Catalyst C2960P-24TC-L 24 10/100 ports, 2 1000BASE-T or SFP uplinks, Cisco IOS Release 15.0(2)EZ
LAN Base image
Catalyst C2960P-48PST-S 48 10/100 ports with PoE, 2 1000BASE-T and 2 SFP Cisco IOS Release 15.0(2)EZ
uplinks, LAN Lite image
Catalyst C2960P-24PC-S 24 10/100 ports with PoE, 2 1000BASE-T or SFP Cisco IOS Release 15.0(2)EZ
uplinks, LAN Lite image
Catalyst C2960P-24LC-S 24 10/100 ports, 8 ports with PoE, 2 1000BASE-T or Cisco IOS Release 15.0(2)EZ
SFP uplinks, LAN Lite image
Catalyst C2960P-48TC-S 48 10/100 ports, 2 1000BASE-T or SFP uplinks, Cisco IOS Release 15.0(2)EZ
LAN Lite image
Catalyst C2960P-24TC-S 24 10/100 ports, 2 1000BASE-T or SFP uplinks, Cisco IOS Release 15.0(2)EZ
LAN Lite image

Release Notes for the Catalyst 2960-C and 2960-Plus Switches, Cisco IOS Release 15.2(5)E and Later
2
 System Requirements

Device Manager System Requirements

• Hardware Requirements, page 3
• Software Requirements, page 3

Hardware Requirements
Table 2 Minimum Hardware Requirements

Number of
Processor Speed DRAM Colors Resolution Font Size
1 2
233 MHz minimum 512 MB 256 1024 x 768 Small
1. We recommend 1 GHz.
2. We recommend 1 GB DRAM.

Software Requirements
• Windows 2000, XP, Vista, and Windows Server 2003.
• Internet Explorer 6.0 or 7.0, and Firefox up to version 27, with JavaScript enabled.
The device manager verifies the browser version when starting a session and does not require a plug-in.

Cluster Compatibility
You cannot create and manage switch clusters through the device manager. To create and manage switch
clusters, use the command-line interface (CLI) or the Network Assistant application.
When creating a switch cluster or adding a switch to a cluster, follow these guidelines:
• When you create a switch cluster, we recommend configuring the highest-end switch in your cluster
as the command switch.
• If you are managing the cluster through Network Assistant, the switch with the latest software
should be the command switch.
• The standby command switch must be the same type as the command switch. For example, if the
command switch is a Catalyst 2960-C switch, all standby command switches must be Catalyst
2960-C switches.
For additional information about clustering, see Getting Started with Cisco Network Assistant and
Release Notes for Cisco Network Assistant (not orderable but available on [Link]), the software
configuration guide, the command reference, and the Cisco EtherSwitch service module feature guide.

CNA Compatibility
Cisco IOS Release 15.2(5)E and later is only compatible with Cisco Network Assistant (CNA) 5.0 and
later. You can download Cisco Network Assistant from this URL:
[Link]
For more information about Cisco Network Assistant, see the Release Notes for Cisco Network Assistant
on [Link].

Release Notes for the Catalyst 2960-C and 2960-Plus Switches, Cisco IOS Release 15.2(5)E and Later
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 Upgrading the Switch Software

Upgrading the Switch Software

• Finding the Software Version and Feature Set, page 4
• Deciding Which Files to Use, page 4
• Archiving Software Images, page 5
• Upgrading a Switch by Using the Device Manager or Network Assistant, page 5
• Upgrading a Switch by Using the CLI, page 5
• Recovering from a Software Failure, page 6

Finding the Software Version and Feature Set

The Cisco IOS image is stored as a bin file in a directory that is named with the Cisco IOS release. A
subdirectory contains the files needed for web management. The image is stored on the system board
flash device (flash:).
You can use the show version privileged EXEC command to see the software version that is running on
your switch. The second line of the display shows the version.
You can also use the dir filesystem: privileged EXEC command to see the directory names of other
software images that you might have stored in flash memory.

Deciding Which Files to Use

The upgrade procedures in these release notes describe how to perform the upgrade by using a combined
tar file. This file contains the Cisco IOS image file and the files needed for the embedded device
manager. You must use the combined tar file to upgrade the switch through the device manager. To
upgrade the switch through the command-line interface (CLI), use the tar file and the archive
download-sw privileged EXEC command.

Table 3 Cisco IOS Software Image Files

Filename Description
[Link] Catalyst 2960-C image with all supported LanBase image features and
Web-based device manager.
[Link] Catalyst 2960-C image with all supported LanBase image features and
Web-based device manager.
[Link] Catalyst 2960-C image with all supported LanLite image features and
Web-based device manager.
[Link] Catalyst 2960-C image with all supported LanLite image features and
Web-based device manager.
[Link] Catalyst 2960-C image with all supported universal image features and
Web-based device manager.
[Link] Catalyst 2960-C image with all supported universal image features and
Web-based device manager.

Release Notes for the Catalyst 2960-C and 2960-Plus Switches, Cisco IOS Release 15.2(5)E and Later
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 Upgrading the Switch Software

Archiving Software Images

Before upgrading your switch software, make sure that you have archived copies of the current Cisco
IOS release and the Cisco IOS release to which you are upgrading. You should keep these archived
images until you have upgraded all devices in the network to the new Cisco IOS image and until you
have verified that the new Cisco IOS image works properly in your network.
Cisco routinely removes old Cisco IOS versions from [Link]. See Product Bulletin 2863 for more
information:
[Link]
prod_bulletin0900aecd80281c0e.html
You can copy the bin software image file on the flash memory to the appropriate TFTP directory on a
host by using the copy flash: tftp: privileged EXEC command.

Note Although you can copy any file on the flash memory to the TFTP server, it is time consuming to copy
all of the HTML files in the tar file. We recommend that you download the tar file from [Link] and
archive it on an internal host in your network.

You can also configure the switch as a TFTP server to copy files from one switch to another without
using an external TFTP server by using the tftp-server global configuration command. For more
information about the tftp-server command, see the “Basic File Transfer Services Commands” section
of the Cisco IOS Configuration Fundamentals Command Reference, Release 12.2:
[Link]

Upgrading a Switch by Using the Device Manager or Network Assistant

You can upgrade switch software by using the device manager or Network Assistant. For detailed
instructions, click Help.

Note When using the device manager to upgrade your switch, do not use or close your browser session after
the upgrade process begins. Wait until after the upgrade process completes.

Upgrading a Switch by Using the CLI

This procedure is for copying the combined tar file to the switch. You copy the file to the switch from a
TFTP server and extract the files. You can download an image file and replace or keep the current image.
To download software, follow these steps:

Step 1 Use Table 3 on page 4 to identify the file that you want to download.
Step 2 Download the software image file:
a. If you are a registered customer, go to this URL and log in.
[Link]
b. Navigate to Switches > LAN Switches - Access.
c. Navigate to your switch model.

Release Notes for the Catalyst 2960-C and 2960-Plus Switches, Cisco IOS Release 15.2(5)E and Later
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 Installation Notes

d. Click IOS Software, then select the latest IOS release.

Download the image you identified in Step 1.
Step 3 Copy the image to the appropriate TFTP directory on the workstation, and make sure that the TFTP
server is properly configured.
For more information, see Appendix B in the software configuration guide for this release.
Step 4 Log into the switch through the console port or a Telnet session.
Step 5 (Optional) Ensure that you have IP connectivity to the TFTP server by entering this privileged EXEC
command:
Switch# ping tftp-server-address

For more information about assigning an IP address and default gateway to the switch, see the software
configuration guide for this release.
Step 6 Download the image file from the TFTP server to the switch. If you are installing the same version of
software that is currently on the switch, overwrite the current image by entering this privileged EXEC
command:
Switch# archive download-sw /overwrite /reload
tftp:[[//location]/directory]/[Link]

The /overwrite option overwrites the software image in flash memory with the downloaded one.
The /reload option reloads the system after downloading the image unless the configuration has been
changed and not saved.
The /allow-feature-upgrade option allows installation of an image with a different feature set (for
example, upgrade from the IP base image to the IP services image).
For //location, specify the IP address of the TFTP server.
For /directory/[Link], specify the directory (optional) and the image to download. Directory
and image names are case sensitive.
This example shows how to download an image from a TFTP server at [Link] and to overwrite
the image on the switch:
Switch# archive download-sw /overwrite t[Link]

You can also download the image file from the TFTP server to the switch and keep the current image by
replacing the /overwrite option with the /leave-old-sw option.

Recovering from a Software Failure

For recovery procedures, see the “Troubleshooting” chapter in the software configuration guide for
this release.

Installation Notes
Use these methods to assign IP information to your switch:
• The Express Setup program, as described in the switch getting started guide.
• The CLI-based setup program, as described in the switch hardware installation guide.

Release Notes for the Catalyst 2960-C and 2960-Plus Switches, Cisco IOS Release 15.2(5)E and Later
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 New Features

• The DHCP-based autoconfiguration, as described in the switch software configuration guide.

• Manually assigning an IP address, as described in the switch software configuration guide.

New Features
• Features Introduced in Cisco IOS Release 15.2(5)E2, page 7
• Features Introduced in Cisco IOS Release 15.2(5)E1, page 7
• Features Introduced in Cisco IOS Release 15.2(5)E, page 7

Features Introduced in Cisco IOS Release 15.2(5)E2

• There are no new features in this release.

Features Introduced in Cisco IOS Release 15.2(5)E1

• There are no new features in this release.

Features Introduced in Cisco IOS Release 15.2(5)E

• There are no new features in this release.

Minimum Cisco IOS Release for Major Features

Table 4 lists the minimum software release required to support the major features of the Catalyst 2960-C and
2960-Plus switches and the Cisco EtherSwitch service modules.

Table 4 Catalyst 2960-C and 2960-Plus Switches, and the Minimum Cisco IOS Release Required

Minimum Cisco
IOS Release
Feature Required Catalyst Switch Support
Cisco TrustSec SXP version 2, syslog messages, and SNMP support 15.0(2)SE 3560-C, 2960-S, 2960-C
Critical voice VLAN 15.0(1)SE 2960-S
NEAT enhancement to control access to the supplicant port 15.0(1)SE 2960-S
Auto Smartports improved device classification 15.0(1)SE 2960-S
EnergyWise Phase 2.5 12.2(58)SE1 2960-S
Protocol storm protection 12.2(58)SE1 2960-S
Smart Install 3.0 12.2(58)SE1 2960-S
Auto Smartports enhancements to enable auto-QoS on a digital media 12.2(58)SE1 2960-S
player.
Memory consistency check routines 12.2(58)SE1 2960-S

Release Notes for the Catalyst 2960-C and 2960-Plus Switches, Cisco IOS Release 15.2(5)E and Later
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 Limitations and Restrictions

Table 4 Catalyst 2960-C and 2960-Plus Switches, and the Minimum Cisco IOS Release Required (continued)

Minimum Cisco
IOS Release
Feature Required Catalyst Switch Support
Call Home support 12.2(58)SE1 2960-S
NTP version 4 12.2(58)SE1 2960-S
RADIUS, TACACS+, and SSH/SCP over IPv6 12.2(58)SE1 2960-S
IETF IP-MIB and IP-FORWARD-MIB(RFC4292 and RFC4293) 12.2(58)SE1 2960-S
updates
Auto-QoS enhancements 12.2(55)SE 2960-S
Auto Smartport enhancements including global macros 12.2(55)SE 2960-S
Smart Install enhancements and new features 12.2(55)SE 2960-S
Port ACL improvements 12.2(55)SE 2960-S
CDP and LLDP location enhancements 12.2(55)SE 2960-S
Multi-authentication with VLAN assignment 12.2(55)SE 2960-S
Static routing support on SVIs 12.2(55)SE 2960-S
MAC replace to end a session when a host disconnects from a port. 12.2(55)SE 2960-S
DHCP snooping and Option 82 and LLPD-MED in LAN lite image 12.2(55)SE 2960-S

Limitations and Restrictions

You should review this section before you begin working with the switch. These are known limitations
that will not be fixed, and there is not always a workaround. Some features might not work as
documented, and some features could be affected by recent changes to the switch hardware or software.
• Cisco IOS Limitations, page 8
• Device Manager Limitations, page 14

Cisco IOS Limitations

Unless otherwise noted, these limitations apply to the Catalyst 2960-C and 2960-Plus switches:
• Configuration, page 9
• Ethernet, page 10
• HSRP, page 10
• HSRP, page 10
• IP, page 10
• IP Telephony, page 10
• Power, page 12
• QoS, page 12
• Smart Install, page 12

Release Notes for the Catalyst 2960-C and 2960-Plus Switches, Cisco IOS Release 15.2(5)E and Later
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 Limitations and Restrictions

• SPAN and RSPAN, page 13

• Spanning Tree Protocol, page 13
• Trunking, page 14
• VLAN, page 14

Configuration
• When connected to some third-party devices that send early preambles, a switch port operating at
100 Mb/s full duplex or 100 Mb/s half duplex might bounce the line protocol up and down. The
problem is observed only when the switch is receiving frames.
The workaround is to configure the port for 10 Mb/s and half duplex or to connect a hub or a
nonaffected device to the switch. (CSCed39091)
• When port security is enabled on an interface in restricted mode and the switchport block unicast
interface command has been entered on that interface, MAC addresses are incorrectly forwarded
when they should be blocked
The workaround is to enter the no switchport block unicast interface configuration command on
that specific interface. (CSCee93822)
• A traceback error occurs if a crypto key is generated after an SSL client session.
There is no workaround. This is a cosmetic error and does not affect the functionality of the switch.
(CSCef59331)
• The far-end fault optional facility is not supported on the GLC-GE-100FX SFP module.
The workaround is to configure aggressive UDLD. (CSCsh70244).
• A ciscoFlashMIBTrap message appears during switch startup. This does not affect switch
functionality. (CSCsj46992)
• When you enter the boot host retry timeout global configuration command to specify the amount
of time that the client should keep trying to download the configuration and you do not enter a
timeout value, the default value is zero, which should mean that the client keeps trying indefinitely.
However, the client does not keep trying to download the configuration.
The workaround is to always enter a non zero value for the timeout value when you enter the boot
host retry timeout timeout-value command. (CSCsk65142)
• When authorization and accounting are enabled on the switch and you use the interface range
command to change the configuration on a range of interfaces, the change might cause high CPU
utilization and authentication failures.
The workaround is to disable authorization and accounting or to enter the configuration change for
one interface at a time. (CSCsg80238, CSCti76748)
• When a logging discriminator is configured and applied to a device, memory leak is seen under
heavy syslog or debug output. The rate of the leak is dependent on the quantity of logs produced. In
extreme cases, the device may crash. As a workaround, disable the logging discriminator on the
device. (CSCur45606, CSCur28336)

Release Notes for the Catalyst 2960-C and 2960-Plus Switches, Cisco IOS Release 15.2(5)E and Later
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 Limitations and Restrictions

Ethernet
• Traffic on EtherChannel ports is not perfectly load-balanced. Egress traffic on EtherChannel ports
are distributed to member ports on load balance configuration and traffic characteristics like MAC
or IP address. More than one traffic stream may map to same member ports based on hashing results
calculated by the ASIC.
If this happens, uneven traffic distribution will happen on EtherChannel ports.
Changing the load balance distribution method or changing the number of ports in the EtherChannel
can resolve this problem. Use any of these workarounds to improve EtherChannel load balancing:
– for random source-ip and dest-ip traffic, configure load balance method as src-dst-ip
– for incrementing source-ip traffic, configure load balance method as src-ip
– for incrementing dest-ip traffic, configure load balance method as dst-ip
– Configure the number of ports in the EtherChannel so that the number is equal to a power of 2
(i.e. 2, 4, or 8)
For example, with load balance configured as dst-ip with 150 distinct incrementing destination IP
addresses, and the number of ports in the EtherChannel set to either 2, 4, or 8, load distribution is
optimal.(CSCeh81991)

HSRP
• When the active switch fails in a switch cluster that uses HSRP redundancy, the new active switch
might not contain a full cluster member list.
The workaround is to ensure that the ports on the standby cluster members are not in the
spanning-tree blocking state. To verify that these ports are not in the blocking state, see the
“Configuring STP” chapter in the software configuration guide. (CSCec76893)

IP
• When the rate of received DHCP requests exceeds 2,000 packets per minute for a long time, the
response time might be slow when you are using the console.
The workaround is to use rate limiting on DHCP traffic to prevent a denial of service attack from
occurring. (CSCeb59166)

IP Telephony
• After you change the access VLAN on a port that has IEEE 802.1x enabled, the IP phone address is
removed. Because learning is restricted on IEEE 802.1x-capable ports, it takes approximately 30
seconds before the address is relearned.
No workaround is necessary. (CSCea85312)
• Some access point devices are incorrectly discovered as IEEE 802.3af Class 1 devices. These access
points should be discovered as Cisco pre-standard devices. The show power inline user EXEC
command shows the access point as an IEEE Class 1 device.
The workaround is to power the access point by using an AC wall adaptor. (CSCin69533)
• The Cisco 7905 IP Phone is error-disabled when the phone is connected to wall power.

Release Notes for the Catalyst 2960-C and 2960-Plus Switches, Cisco IOS Release 15.2(5)E and Later
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 Limitations and Restrictions

The workaround is to enable PoE and to configure the switch to recover from the PoE error-disabled
state. (CSCsf32300)
• If the number of multicast routes and Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) groups are more
than the maximum number specified by the show sdm prefer global configuration command, the
traffic received on unknown groups is flooded in the received VLAN even though the show ip igmp
snooping multicast-table privileged EXEC command output shows otherwise.
The workaround is to reduce the number of multicast routes and IGMP snooping groups to less than
the maximum supported value. (CSCdy09008)
• IGMP filtering is applied to packets that are forwarded through hardware. It is not applied to packets
that are forwarded through software. Hence, with multicast routing enabled, the first few packets are
sent from a port even when IGMP filtering is set to deny those groups on that port.
There is no workaround. (CSCdy82818)
• If an IGMP report packet has two multicast group records, the switch removes or adds interfaces
depending on the order of the records in the packet:
– If the ALLOW_NEW_SOURCE record is before the BLOCK_OLD_SOURCE record, the
switch removes the port from the group.
– If the BLOCK_OLD_SOURCE record is before the ALLOW_NEW_SOURCE record, the
switch adds the port to the group.
There is no workaround. (CSCec20128)
• When IGMP snooping is disabled and you enter the switchport block multicast interface
configuration command, IP multicast traffic is not blocked.
The switchport block multicast interface configuration command is only applicable to non-IP
multicast traffic.
There is no workaround. (CSCee16865)
• Incomplete multicast traffic can be seen under either of these conditions:
– You disable IP multicast routing or re-enable it globally on an interface.
– A switch mroute table temporarily runs out of resources and recovers later.
The workaround is to enter the clear ip mroute privileged EXEC command on the interface.
(CSCef42436)
After you configure a switch to join a multicast group by entering the ip igmp join-group
group-address interface configuration command, the switch does not receive join packets from the
client, and the switch port connected to the client is removed from the IGMP snooping forwarding
table.
Use one of these workarounds:
– Cancel membership in the multicast group by using the no ip igmp join-group group-address
interface configuration command on an SVI.
– Disable IGMP snooping on the VLAN interface by using the no ip igmp snooping vlan vlan-id
global configuration command. (CSCeh90425)

Release Notes for the Catalyst 2960-C and 2960-Plus Switches, Cisco IOS Release 15.2(5)E and Later
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 Limitations and Restrictions

Power
• Entering the shutdown and the no shutdown interface configuration commands on the internal link
can disrupt the PoE operation. If a new IP phone is added while the internal link is in shutdown state,
the IP phone does not get inline power if the internal link is brought up within 5 minutes.
The workaround is to enter the shutdown and the no shutdown interface configuration commands
on the Fast Ethernet interface of a new IP phone that is attached to the service module port after the
internal link is brought up. (CSCeh45465)

QoS
• Some switch queues are disabled if the buffer size or threshold level is set too low with the mls qos
queue-set output global configuration command. The ratio of buffer size to threshold level should
be greater than 10 to avoid disabling the queue.
The workaround is to choose compatible buffer sizes and threshold levels. (CSCea76893)
• When auto-QoS is enabled on the switch, priority queuing is not enabled. Instead, the switch uses
shaped round robin (SRR) as the queuing mechanism. The auto-QoS feature is designed on each
platform based on the feature set and hardware limitations, and the queuing mechanism supported
on each platform might be different. There is no workaround. (CSCee22591)
• If you configure a large number of input interface VLANs in a class map, a traceback message
similar to this might appear:
01:01:32: %BIT-4-OUTOFRANGE: bit 1321 is not in the expected range of 0 to 1024

There is no impact to switch functionality.

There is no workaround. (CSCtg32101)

RADIUS
• RADIUS change of authorization (COA) reauthorization is not supported on the critical auth VLAN.
There is no workaround. (CSCta05071)

Smart Install
• When upgrading switches in a stack, the director cannot send the correct image and configuration
to the stack if all switches in the stack do not start at the same time. A switch in the stack could then
receive an incorrect image or configuration.
The workaround is to use an on-demand upgrade to upgrade switches in a stack by entering the
vstack download config and vstack download image commands. (CSCta64962)
• When you upgrade a Smart Install director to Cisco IOS Release 12.2(55)SE but do not upgrade the
director configuration, the director cannot upgrade client switches.
When you upgrade the director to Cisco IOS Release 12.2(55)SE, the workaround is to also modify
the configuration to include all built-in, custom, and default groups. You should also configure the
tar image name instead of the image-list file name in the stored images. (CSCte07949)
• Backing up a Smart Install configuration could fail if the backup repository is a Windows server and
the backup file already exists in the server.
The workaround is to use the TFTP utility of another server instead of a Windows server or to
manually delete the existing backup file before backing up again. (CSCte53737)

Release Notes for the Catalyst 2960-C and 2960-Plus Switches, Cisco IOS Release 15.2(5)E and Later
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 Limitations and Restrictions

• In a Smart Install network, when the director is connected between the client and the DHCP server
and the server has options configured for image and configuration, then the client does not receive
the image and configuration files sent by the DHCP server during an automatic upgrade. Instead the
files are overwritten by the director and the client receives the image and configuration that the
director sends.
Use one of these workarounds:
– If client needs to upgrade using an image and configuration file configured in the DHCP server
options, you should remove the client from the Smart Install network during the upgrade.
– In a network using Smart Install, you should not configure options for image and configuration
in the DHCP server. For clients to upgrade using Smart Install, you should configure product-id
specific image and configuration files in the director. (CSCte99366)
• If the director in the Smart Install network is located between an access point and the DHCP server,
the access point tries to use the Smart Install feature to upgrade even though access points are not
supported devices. The upgrade fails because the director does not have an image and configuration
file for the access point.
There is no workaround. (CSCtg98656)
• When a Smart Install director is upgrading a client switch that is not Smart Install-capable (that is,
not running Cisco IOS Release 12.2(52)SE or later), the director must enter the password configured
on the client switch. If the client switch does not have a configured password, there are unexpected
results depending on the software release running on the client:
– When you select the NONE option in the director CLI, the upgrade should be allowed and is
successful on client switches running Cisco IOS Release 12.2(25)SE through 12.2(46)SE, but
fails on clients running Cisco IOS Release 12.2(50)SE through 12.2(50)SEx.
– When you enter any password in the director CLI, the upgrade should not be allowed, but it is
successful on client switches running Cisco IOS Release 12.2(25)SE through 12.2(46)SE, but
fails on clients running Cisco IOS Release 12.2(50)SE through 12.2(50)SEx.
There is no workaround. (CSCth35152)

SPAN and RSPAN

• When the RSPAN feature is configured on a switch, Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP) packets
received from the RSPAN source ports are tagged with the RSPAN VLAN ID and forwarded to trunk
ports carrying the RSPAN VLAN. When this happens a switch that is more than one hop away
incorrectly lists the switch that is connected to the RSPAN source port as a CDP neighbor.
This is a hardware limitation. The workaround is to disable CDP on all interfaces carrying the
RSPAN VLAN on the device connected to the switch. (CSCeb32326)
• CDP, VLAN Trunking Protocol (VTP), and Port Aggregation Protocol (PAgP) packets received
from a SPAN source are not sent to the destination interfaces of a local SPAN session. The
workaround is to use the monitor session session_number destination {interface interface-id
encapsulation replicate} global configuration command for local SPAN. (CSCed24036)

Spanning Tree Protocol

• CSCtl60247
When a switch or switch stack running Multiple Spanning Tree (MST) is connected to a switch
running Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol (RSTP), the MST switch acts as the root bridge and runs
per-VLAN spanning tree (PVST) simulation mode on boundary ports connected to the RST switch.

Release Notes for the Catalyst 2960-C and 2960-Plus Switches, Cisco IOS Release 15.2(5)E and Later
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 Important Notes

If the allowed VLAN on all trunk ports connecting these switches is changed to a VLAN other than
VLAN 1 and the root port of the RSTP switch is shut down and then enabled, the boundary ports
connected to the root port move immediately to the forward state without going through the PVST+
slow transition.
There is no workaround.

Trunking
• IP traffic with IP options set is sometimes leaked on a trunk port. For example, a trunk port is a
member of an IP multicast group in VLAN X but is not a member in VLAN Y. If VLAN Y is the
output interface for the multicast route entry assigned to the multicast group and an interface in
VLAN Y belongs to the same multicast group, the IP-option traffic received on an input VLAN
interface other than one in VLAN Y is sent on the trunk port in VLAN Y because the trunk port is
forwarding in VLAN Y, even though the port has no group membership in VLAN Y.
There is no workaround. (CSCdz42909).
• For trunk ports or access ports configured with IEEE 802.1Q tagging, inconsistent statistics might
appear in the show interfaces counters privileged EXEC command output. Valid IEEE 802.1Q
frames of 64 to 66 bytes are correctly forwarded even though the port LED blinks amber, and the
frames are not counted on the interface statistics.
There is no workaround. (CSCec35100).

VLAN
• If the number of VLANs times the number of trunk ports exceeds the recommended limit of 13,000,
the switch can fail.
The workaround is to reduce the number of VLANs or trunks. (CSCeb31087)
• When line rate traffic is passing through a dynamic port, and you enter the switchport access vlan
dynamic interface configuration command for a range of ports, the VLANs might not be assigned
correctly. One or more VLANs with a null ID appears in the MAC address table instead.
The workaround is to enter the switchport access vlan dynamic interface configuration command
separately on each port. (CSCsi26392)
• When many VLANs are configured on the switch, high CPU utilization occurs when many links are
flapping at the same time.
The workaround is to remove unnecessary VLANs to reduce CPU utilization when many links are
flapping. (CSCtl04815)

Device Manager Limitations

• When you are prompted to accept the security certificate and you click No, you only see a blank
screen, and the device manager does not launch.
The workaround is to click Yes when you are prompted to accept the certificate. (CSCef45718)

Important Notes
• Switch Stack Notes, page 15

Release Notes for the Catalyst 2960-C and 2960-Plus Switches, Cisco IOS Release 15.2(5)E and Later
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 Important Notes

• Cisco IOS Notes, page 15

• Device Manager Notes, page 15

Switch Stack Notes

• Always power off a switch before adding or removing it from a switch stack.

Cisco IOS Notes

• If the switch requests information from the Cisco Secure Access Control Server (ACS) and the
message exchange times out because the server does not respond, a message similar to this appears:
00:02:57: %RADIUS-4-RADIUS_DEAD: RADIUS server [Link]:1645,1646 is not
responding.

If this message appears, check that there is network connectivity between the switch and the ACS.
You should also check that the switch has been properly configured as an AAA client on the ACS
• If the switch has interfaces with automatic QoS for voice over IP (VoIP) configured and you upgrade
the switch software to Cisco IOS Release 12.2(40)SE (or later), when you enter the auto qos voip
cisco-phone interface configuration command on another interface, you might see this message:
AutoQoS Error: ciscophone input service policy was not properly applied
policy map AutoQoS-Police-CiscoPhone not configured

If this happens, enter the no auto qos voip cisco-phone interface command on all interface with this
configuration to delete it. Then enter the auto qos voip cisco-phone command on each of these
interfaces to reapply the configuration.

Device Manager Notes

• You cannot create and manage switch clusters through the device manager. To create and manage
switch clusters, use the CLI or Cisco Network Assistant.
• When the switch is running a localized version of the device manager, the switch displays settings
and status only in English letters. Input entries on the switch can only be in English letters.
• For device manager session on Internet Explorer, popup messages in Japanese or in simplified
Chinese can appear as garbled text. These messages appear properly if your operating system is in
Japanese or Chinese
• The Legend on the device manager incorrectly includes the 1000BASE-BX SFP module.
• We recommend this browser setting to speed up the time needed to display the device manager from
Microsoft Internet Explorer.
From Microsoft Internet Explorer:
1. Choose Tools > Internet Options.
2. Click Settings in the “Temporary Internet files” area.
3. From the Settings window, choose Automatically.
4. Click OK.
5. Click OK to exit the Internet Options window.

Release Notes for the Catalyst 2960-C and 2960-Plus Switches, Cisco IOS Release 15.2(5)E and Later
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 Important Notes

• The HTTP server interface must be enabled to display the device manager. By default, the HTTP
server is enabled on the switch. Use the show running-config privileged EXEC command to see if
the HTTP server is enabled or disabled.
If you are not using the default method of authentication (the enable password), you need to
configure the HTTP server interface with the method of authentication used on the switch
Beginning in privileged EXEC mode, follow these steps to configure the HTTP server interface:

Command Purpose
Step 1 configure terminal Enter global configuration mode.
Step 2 ip http authentication {aaa | enable | Configure the HTTP server interface for the type of authentication that
local} you want to use.
• aaa—Enable the authentication, authorization, and accounting feature.
You must enter the aaa new-model interface configuration command
for the aaa keyword to appear.
• enable—Enable password, which is the default method of HTTP
server user authentication, is used.
• local—Local user database, as defined on the Cisco router or access
server, is used.
Step 3 end Return to privileged EXEC mode.
Step 4 show running-config Verify your entries.

The device manager uses the HTTP protocol (the default is port 80) and the default method of
authentication (the enable password) to communicate with the switch through any of its Ethernet
ports and to allow switch management from a standard web browser.
If you change the HTTP port, you must include the new port number when you enter the IP address
in the browser Location or Address field (for example, [Link] where 184 is the new
HTTP port number). You should write down the port number through which you are connected. Use
care when changing the switch IP information.
• If you use Internet Explorer Version 5.5 and select a URL with a nonstandard port at the end of the
address (for example, [Link]), you must enter http:// as the URL prefix. Otherwise, you
cannot launch the device manager.

Release Notes for the Catalyst 2960-C and 2960-Plus Switches, Cisco IOS Release 15.2(5)E and Later
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 Caveats

Caveats
• Cisco Bug Search Tool, page 17
• Open Caveats, page 17
• Features Introduced in Cisco IOS Release 15.2(5)E2, page 7
• Features Introduced in Cisco IOS Release 15.2(5)E1, page 7
• Features Introduced in Cisco IOS Release 15.2(5)E, page 7

Cisco Bug Search Tool

The Bug Search Tool (BST), which is the online successor to Bug Toolkit, is designed to improve the
effectiveness in network risk management and device troubleshooting. The BST allows partners and
customers to search for software bugs based on product, release, and keyword, and aggregates key data
such as bug details, product, and version. The tool has a provision to filter bugs based on credentials to
provide external and internal bug views for the search input.
To view the details of a caveat listed in this document:
1. Access the BST (use your Cisco user ID and password) at [Link]
2. Enter the bug ID in the Search For: field.

Open Caveats
None

Caveats Resolved in Cisco IOS Release 15.2(5)E2

No resolved caveats.

Caveats Resolved in Cisco IOS Release 15.2(5)E1

Table 5 Resolved Caveats for Cisco IOS Release 15.2(5)E1
Bug ID Headline
CSCvb05793 Traffic drop observed up to 2 minutes on the active Supervisor pull
with ECMP.
CSCva35194 PTF card crashes while provisioning, when all VTY sessions are ex-
hausted.
CSCux05246 smnpwalk and snmpget have incorrect behavior on IP SLA.
CSCuu13476 Cisco IOS and IOS XE Software OpenSSH TCP Denial-of-Service
vulnerability.
CSCva37519 Stale Flow Manager entry during IPv6 TACACS transaction leads to
crash.
CSCuz72344 IP SSH Version 2 missing after the reload.

Release Notes for the Catalyst 2960-C and 2960-Plus Switches, Cisco IOS Release 15.2(5)E and Later
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 Related Documentation

Bug ID Headline
CSCvb16274 PPTP Start-Control-Connection-Reply packet leaks router memory
contents.
CSCup22738 SNMP trap sent when administrator shut the fiber port after booting.

Caveats Resolved in Cisco IOS Release 15.2(5)E

No resolved caveats.

Related Documentation
User documentation in HTML format includes the latest documentation updates and might be more
current than the complete book PDF available on [Link].
These documents provide more information about the 2960-C and 2960-Plus switches and are available
at [Link]:

[Link]

[Link]

[Link]

[Link]
These documents provide complete information about the Catalyst 2960 and 2960-S switches and are
available on [Link]:
• Catalyst 2960 and 2960-S Switch Software Configuration Guide
• Catalyst 2960 and 2960-S Switch Command Reference
• Catalyst 3750, 3560, 3550, 2975, 2970, 2960, and 2960-S Switch System Message Guide
• Catalyst 2960-S Switch Hardware Installation Guide
• Catalyst 2960-S Switch Getting Started Guide
• Catalyst 2960 Switch Hardware Installation Guide
• Catalyst 2960 Switch Getting Started Guide
• Catalyst 2960 Switch Getting Started Guide—available in English, simplified Chinese, French,
German, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish
• Regulatory Compliance and Safety Information for the Catalyst 2960 and 2960-S Switch
For other information about related products, see these documents:
• Smart Install Configuration Guide
• Auto Smartports Configuration Guide
• Cisco EnergyWise Configuration Guide
• Getting Started with Cisco Network Assistant
• Release Notes for Cisco Network Assistant
• Cisco RPS 300 Redundant Power System Hardware Installation Guide

Release Notes for the Catalyst 2960-C and 2960-Plus Switches, Cisco IOS Release 15.2(5)E and Later
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 Related Documentation

• Cisco RPS 675 Redundant Power System Hardware Installation Guide

• For more information about the Network Admission Control (NAC) features, see the Network
Admission Control Software Configuration Guide
• Information about Cisco SFP, SFP+, and GBIC modules is available from this [Link] site:
[Link]
SFP compatibility matrix documents are available from this [Link] site:
[Link]
.html

Release Notes for the Catalyst 2960-C and 2960-Plus Switches, Cisco IOS Release 15.2(5)E and Later
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 Obtaining Documentation and Submitting a Service Request

Obtaining Documentation and Submitting a Service Request

For information on obtaining documentation, submitting a service request, and gathering additional
information, see the monthly What’s New in Cisco Product Documentation, which also lists all new and
revised Cisco technical documentation:
[Link]
Subscribe to the What’s New in Cisco Product Documentation as a Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feed
and set content to be delivered directly to your desktop using a reader application. The RSS feeds are a free
service and Cisco currently supports RSS version 2.0.

This document is to be used in conjunction with the documents listed in the “Obtaining Documentation and Submitting a Service Request” section.

Cisco and the Cisco logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Cisco and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. To view a list of
Cisco trademarks, go to this URL: [Link]/go/trademarks. Third-party trademarks mentioned are the property of their respective owners. The
use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company. (1721R)

Any Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and phone numbers used in this document are not intended to be actual addresses and phone numbers. Any
examples, command display output, network topology diagrams, and other figures included in the document are shown for illustrative purposes only.
Any use of actual IP addresses or phone numbers in illustrative content is unintentional and coincidental.
© 2016-2017 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved

Release Notes for the Catalyst 2960-C and 2960-Plus Switches, Cisco IOS Release 15.2(5)E and Later
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