[c-nsp] IOS Terminology

[Łukasz Bromirski]

Gangasagar Amula wrote:

> Can anyone tell me diff. betn GD / LD / ED versions of IOS....

It's been on this list at least thousand times. From
  http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/130/choosing_ios.pdf

"The Cisco IOS Software image is either ED, LD, GD, or DF:
  * ED stands for "Early Deployment." Early Deployment releases offer
    new feature, platform, or interface support. Most non-major
    releases contain ED releases.
  * GD stands for "General Deployment." A major release of Cisco IOS
    Software reaches the "General Deployment" milestone when Cisco
    feels it is suitable for deployment anywhere in customer networks
    where the features and functionality of the release are required.
    Criteria for reaching the "General Deployment" milestone are based
    on, but not limited to, customer feedback surveys from production
    and test networks using the releases, Customer Engineer bug reports,
    and reported field experience. Only major releases are candidates
    for the General Deployment milestone.
  * LD stands for "Limited Deployment." A major release of Cisco IOS
    Software is said to be in the "Limited Deployment" phase of its life
    cycle during the period between its first shipment and the GD
    milestone.
  * DF stands for "Deferred." DF releases are not available for
    downloading because of known defects. These should not be installed
    on your router.

When choosing a release, Cisco recommends a GD release when possible. 
Only choose an ED release if your hardware and software features leave 
you no other choice."

-- 
this space was intentionally left blank    |            Łukasz Bromirski
you can insert your favourite quote here   |        lukasz:bromirski,net