Combining Generation 1, Generation 2, Generation 3, and Generation 4 Modules

Cisco MDS NX-OS Release 6.x and later supports combining Generation 1, Generation 2, Generation 3, and Generation 4 modules and switches with the following considerations:

MDS NX-OS Release 4.1(1) and later features are not supported on the following Generation 1 switches and modules:

Supervisor 1 module

4-Port IP Storage Services module

8-Port IP Storage Services module

MDS 9216 switch

MDS 9216A switch

MDS 9020 switch

MDS 9120 switch

MDS 9140 switch

Supervisor-1 modules must be upgraded to Supervisor-2 modules on the MDS 9506 and MDS 9509 Directors.

IPS-4 and IPS-8 modules must be upgraded to the MSM-18/4 Multiservice modules.

Fabric 1 modules must be upgraded to Fabric 2 modules on the MDS 9513 Director to use the 48-port or the 24-port 8-Gbps module.

Fabric 2 modules must be upgraded to Fabric 3 modules on the MDS 9513 Director to get the maximum backplane bandwidth of 256 Gbps.

Cisco Fabric Manager Release 4.x supports MDS SAN-OS Release 3.x and NX-OS 4.x in mixed mode through Interswitch Link (ISL) connectivity.

Note When a Cisco or another vendor switch port is connected to a Generation 1 module port (ISL connection), the receive buffer-to-buffer credits of the port connected to the Generation 1 module port must not exceed 255.