Native IOS

[djbradley]

I am in the beginning stages of an infrastructure upgrade. We're replacing our core 7507s and BDF LS1010/5505s with 6509s. I'm wondering if anyone out there is running native IOS on the 6509 and if you have any "been there done that" issues they would care to share. Do you find the Native IOS to be more complex than the CatIOS? My SE tells me that the future is the Native IOS. Any comments are apprietiated.

[khmcmahon]

I like it. I've been running two 6500s in Native IOS mode for almost a year and a half. I never ran them with CatOS but I do have a collection of other Catalysts and I prefer the IOS interface to the CatOS. IOS is more complex but if you run routers you will find it very similar. VLAN database and how you assign VLANs and trunks takes some getting use to. Make sure you explicitly define a trunk as off or on (don't let auto or negotiate setting setting to remain on ports connected to other switches - they will trunk and you will be unhappy about that). Be careful if you are converting the switches from CatOS to Native IOS - it needs to be done right. Kevin

[lcooke]

If you have used CatOS, Native IOS will take some getting used to. For example, get used to "interface range", and "show port status", "switchport", etc. More complex? Well it is the same as the IOS routers, so the utopian dream is for everything to configure the same (switches and routers). True the future direction is Native IOS, and once you get used to it - it is not as complex anymore.

This is a helpful URL comparing commands and task on CatOS to Native IOS:

http://www.cisco.com/warp/customer/473/101.html

-Larry