Hi,
Avaya has released SW 5.6 for the ERS4000 series switches.
From now on the old ERS4500 and the new ERS4800 are all called ERS4000 Series switches and use
the equal software releases, supported with 5.6 are the following hardware platforms:
Avaya Ethernet Routing Switch 4524GT
Avaya Ethernet Routing Switch 4524GT-PWR
Avaya Ethernet Routing Switch 4526FX
Avaya Ethernet Routing Switch 4526GTX
Avaya Ethernet Routing Switch 4526GTX -PWR
Avaya Ethernet Routing Switch 4526T
Avaya Ethernet Routing Switch 4526T-PWR
Avaya Ethernet Routing Switch 4548GT
Avaya Ethernet Routing Switch 4548GT-PWR
Avaya Ethernet Routing Switch 4550T
Avaya Ethernet Routing Switch 4550T-PWR
Avaya Ethernet Routing Switch 4550T-PWR+
Avaya Ethernet Routing Switch 4526T-PWR+
Avaya Ethernet Routing Switch 4850GTS
Avaya Ethernet Routing Switch 4850GTS-PWR+
Avaya Ethernet Routing Switch 4826GTS
Avaya Ethernet Routing Switch 4826GTS-PWR+
New features in SW 5.6:
Cisco CLI Phase 1
In Release 5.6 selected ACLI commands for ARP, Spanning Tree, and VLAN have been
modified to use Cisco CLI syntax. While the interface software remains backwards compatible,
and ASCII configuration files you created prior to Release 5.6 will function normally, from
Release 5.6 and up the new command syntax displays for commands modified by the Cisco
CLI feature.
Disable MAC Learning
You can use Disable MAC Learning on a port when you want to control the Layer 2 Forwarding
Database (FDB) entries to prevent MAC tables from filling unnecessarily. You use Disable MAC
Learning in combination with Static MAC FDB Entry.
Equal Cost MultiPath (ECMP)
Routers use Equal Cost MultiPath to determine equal cost paths to the same destination prefix
to enable traffic load sharing and faster convergence to other active paths in case of network
failure.
Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) Querier
When you configure IGMP Querier the system sends IGMP general queries to designated
sources when the switch or VLANs operate in Layer 2 mode. IGMP Querier sends IGMP
general queries to all ports, Multi-Link Trunks (MLT), Distributed Multi-Link Trunks (DMLT), and
Link Aggregation Groups (LAG) on the configured VLAN
Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) version 3 Snooping and Proxy
From Release 5.6 and up the switch supports full IGMPv3 Snooping and Proxy. IGMPv3
Snooping provides the ability to pack multiple group members in a single report message to
reduce the amount ot network traffic. When you enable IGMPv3 Snooping, you can use IGMP
proxy to receive and consolidate multiple reports for the same multicast group.
IP Phone automatic PoE changes
PoE settings and IP Phone discovery have been enhanced to allow the provision of PoE priority
levels and power limits when the system discovers an IP Phone.
Layer 3 Brouter Port
From Release 5.6 and up, the switch supports the configuration of brouter ports. A brouter port
is a single-port VLAN that can route IP packets as well as bridge all non-routable traffic. An
advantage of this feature is that it eliminates interruptions caused by Spanning Tree Protocol
recalculations in routed traffic.
Many to Many Port Mirroring
You can use Many to Many Port Mirroring to monitor more than one traffic pattern because
you can use multiple instances of port mirroring simultaneously. In a network that supports a
variety of complex scenarious, when you can monitor multiple traffic patterns you can, for
example, set up one port mirror to allow duplication of VoIP traffic for call recording processes
and use another instance for intrusion detection while additional instances remain available
for other activities or network troubleshooting.
MLT/DMLT/LAG Dynamic VLAN changes
Enhancements have been to made to Link Aggregation Groups (LAG) that provide consistent
operation of Multi-Link Trunk (MLT), Distributed Multi-Link Trunk (DMLT), and LAGs so that
you can make VLAN changes on trunks without disabling the trunk first.
Network Time Protocol (NTP)
The switch supports both Simple Network Time Protocol (SNTP) and Network Time Protocol
(NTP) for time synchronization. You can configure SNTP and/or NTP with both primary and
secondary server for SNTP and up to 10 servers for NTP, IPv4 and IPv6 for SNTP and only
IPv4 for NTP.
Ping Source Address
For more flexible testing and network setup diagnostics, Ping has been enhanced so that you
can specify the IPv4 source address of the outgoing ICMP request. The source address must
be one of the active Layer 3 interfaces and you cannot specify the VRRP virtual address as
the source address for Ping.
Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP)
For secure (SSH) software images, Secure File Transfer supports the downloading of agent
and diagnostic image files and configuration files (binary or ASCII) transfer to and from a SFTP
server supporting SSH version 2.
SFP Plus
Release 5.6 introduces four Avaya ERS 4800 Series models that support Small Form factor
Pluggable Plus (SFP+) devices. SFP+ supports 10 Gbps connectivity.
Show Flash command
You can use the show flash command to display FLASH memory capacity and current usage
information.
SSH Client
Present only on switches with SSH images, and available only through ACLI, SSH Client uses
SSH version 2. It is a secure shell protocol you can use to connect to an SSH Server device
in the network that accepts remote connections.
SSH RSA Authentication
SSH RSA Authentication provides increased security for Secure Shell (SSH) login. With this
feature, the switch supports RSA public-private key encryption that uses a digital certificate.
SSH RSA Authentication is supported when you select the RSA certificate option for a Secure
Shell connection from a client PC to the switch.
Stack Health Monitoring and Recovery
You can use Stack Health Monitoring and Recovery for more robust switch discovery and to
obtain additional reports about stack communication failure. You can also use the recovery
function to detect logical or software problems in a switch or stack.
Static FDB MAC Entry
You can use Static FDB MAC Entry to configure a static MAC address entry in the Layer 2
Forwarding Database (FDB). A static address does not age out and is saved in the
configuration file. You use Static FDB MAC Entry in conjunction with Disable MAC Learning.
Terminal Mode Permanent Setting
With Terminal Mode Permanent Setting, the system saves terminal settings across login
sessions. Retaining the terminal settings makes it easier to use scripts to configure or poll the
switch.
VLAN Scaling
The switch supports up to 1,024 concurrent VLANs (from 256 in previous releases) with VIDs
in a range from 1 to 4094. VLAN scaling is an enhancement that enables actions on multiple
VLANs simultaneously for faster configuration of a high number of VLANs. If you add a single
port to multiple VLANs, you need to set the VLAN configuration control to flexible, unless the
port is 'tagged (tagging is tagAll or untagPvidOnly).
Voice VLAN Integration
Voice VLAN Integration provides centralized creation and management of Voice VLANs using
VLAN-specific commands. With Voice VlLAN Integration, you do not need to implement Voice
VLANs for individual applications. In particular, ADAC now uses a static Voice VLAN with the
benefit that port membership to this VLAN is retained on reboot.
One of my favorite new capablities is the SSH Client, I heard from Avaya that they will port that to all
models
Here is the link to the release notes:
http://support.avaya.com/css/P8/documents/100153547Cheers
