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IOS-XE

One example is an 3650 switch. The 3650 has a dual-core CPU and IOS-XE is required to run on those CPUs. In terms of actually using the switch, you'll notice no difference between IOS and IOS-XE - they're functionally the same. You don't even know that Linux is running in the background. Following is a quote from Cisco website.

"It should go without saying that IOS-XE was designed for routers, switches, and appliances, and as such, it embraces all the field-tested capabilities and features of IOS, while adding new functionality and benefits traditionally found in a portable operating system interface (POSIX) environment. This was the most logical approach available to integrate network-aware applications into modern routing devices. As a result, IOS-XE seamlessly integrates a generic approach to network management into every function, borrowing heavily from the equally reliable POSIX operating system.

Furthermore, through the incorporation of a series of well-defined application programming interfaces (API), Cisco has improved IOS portability. Specifically, we are making reference to the operation of IOS across platforms as well as extending capabilities outside of IOS. This final component to IOS-XE creates a future where application integration will be simplified, integral, and commonplace.

IOS has been the center point for network expansion, configuration, and operation for decades, and this same functionality is now integrated into IOS-XE, thus preserving all the advantages of traditional IOS and its unparalleled history for delivering functionality for business-critical applications. All of this is done while retaining the same look and feel of IOS, but doing it while ensuring enhanced functionality. How is all this possible? IOS-XE runs a modern Linux operating system that employs a single daemon; the additional functionality we have been discussing will be run as isolated processes within the OS of the host. This means that we have all the capabilities we had in IOS with enhanced operations and functionality that will not require retraining.

At first glance, this might not seem to be that big of an improvement, but if we keep in mind that running IOS and these other applications as separate processes, it becomes apparent that we can now leverage symmetrical multiprocessing. This in itself means that we can garner the benefits of load balancing across multiple-core CPUs by binding processes to different cores. Thus, we create an operational environment where it is possible to support multithreading and multicore CPUs. This capability, coupled with how IOS-XE separates the control plane from the forwarding plane, ensures a level of management and control that could not possibly exist in the context of the traditional monolithic IOS."

Discussion
»[HELP] Catalyst-3650#request system shell
»[Info] NXOS and linux
»[HELP] Cisco Nexus Titanium Image


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by aryoba See Profile
last modified: 2018-05-15 17:44:41