Thus spake "Steve Francis" <sfrancis@expertcity.com>
> So how does a person select the most stable IOS image at any
> given time?
>
> I typically deploy the latest release in the most conservative code >
train that supports the hardware/features.
>
> However, that has me running the now deferred
> 12.1(11b)E2 on my MSFC2's that I recently deployed.
>
> You recommend 12.1(8b)E9. Another cisco employee
> recommended that I use "12.1(8b)E10. Optionally,
> 12.1(11b)E3 which was just released." as the most stable
> code possible.
12.1(11)E added a number of new features over 12.1(8)E, and therefore its
stability is unknown. I don't have any customers running (8b)E10 yet, so I
can't speak to it from experience.
> Does cisco collect stats as to the number of deployments of
> different code levels, and problems found therein, and the
> length of uptime?
There is a formal effort to do this with the ED/LD/GD status mechanism.
Code cannot be called GD unless it has reached X penetration, has fewer than
X outstanding bugs, has fewer than X new bugs per week, and passes
subjective qualification of certain customers. Unfortunately, there is not
yet any GD code for MSFC's.
Cisco's Advanced Services works closely with customers on testing and
deployment of new versions/features and therefore gets a strong feedback of
who's using what and how well various versions work, in additional to
feedback from TAC on call volume. We prepare reports and such on IOS as
part of the (much larger) service.
> How is one to make an informed guess?
>
> How does everyone else do it?
from what I've seen:
a. pick the latest version on CCO as you described
b. ask TAC or their SE for a guess
c. run whatever came on the box
d. have a written version strategy and testing methodology
I'll decline to give my guess on percentages :)
S
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