Cisco announces recall of Network Processing Engines (NPE-175 and NPE-225)--Due To Anomalous Packet Handling Behavior

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Cisco announces recall of Network Processing Engines (NPE-175 and NPE-225)--Due To Anomalous Packet Handling Behavior

1-11-2000

This is a portion of the Field Notice that appears at the Cisco site:

Initially, a problem was observed with an output stuck condition on the PA-POS-OC3 with an NPE-225. The problem was observed with a private Cisco IOS 12.0S image; however, the same problem was found to occur with other Cisco IOS images during testing.

Further investigation found that a system with either an NPE-175 or NPE-225 and a PA-POS-OC3 port adapter under extreme high traffic conditions may exhibit anomalous and unpredictable behaviour ranging from a port adapter interface no longer able to transmit, system crash, or system hang (catastrophic failures).

However, investigation of this anomaly also found that it is not a common occurrence and has not been detected in the field. This problem was detected in extreme manufacturing quality test conditions. Hence, upgrading is not believed to be an immediate need and can be scheduled at the customer's convenience.

This problem is tracked in CSCdp57908. (See the DDTS Section below for details.)

Background

The problem has been traced to an errata with a specific third-arty chip and cannot solely be fixed in software. The fix for this specific problem requires a re-spin of the chip, as well a software upgrade. This issue is specific to NPE-175s and NPE-225s.

Because proper operation is not guaranteed, the anomalous packet handling behavior may affect any port adapter in the router, leading to unpredictable and catastrophic results.

The only solution to this problem is to replace the NPE-175 and NPE-225 boards with new revision boards that have the correct component. In addition, Cisco recommends a software upgrade to the repaired Cisco IOS version listed in the Solution Table below.

Sales orders shipped after January 2000 have the corrected hardware version. Lead time for replacement product is anticipated to be two to four weeks.

For complete information go to this link:

http://www.cisco.com/warp/public/770/fn8611.shtml

-- Carl Jenkins (Somewherepress@aol.com), January 15, 2000


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