First Published: January 24, 2024

Release Notes for Cisco UCS E-Series Servers and the Cisco UCS E-Series Network Compute Engine, BIOS Release UCSEM3_3.08 and UCSEDM3_3.08

This document provides new features, system requirements, compatibility information, and open and resolved caveats for the Cisco UCS E-Series Server and the Cisco UCS E-Series Network Compute Engine (NCE) software, BIOS release UCSEM3_3.08 and UCSEDM3_3.08. Use this document in conjunction with the documents in the Related Documentation.


Note

The UCSEM3_3.08 applies only to the UCS-E160S-M3 module.

The UCSEDM3_3.08 applies only to the UCS-E180D-M3 and UCS-E1120D-M3 modules.


Note
Documentation is sometimes updated after original publication; therefore, for updated content, review the documentation on Cisco.com.

Overview

The Cisco UCS E-Series Servers (E-Series Servers) and the Cisco UCS E-Series Network Compute Engine (NCE) are a family of size-, weight-, and power-efficient blade servers that can be housed within the Cisco ISR 4000 series, or the Cisco Catalyst 8300 Series Edge platforms. These servers provide a general-purpose compute platform for branch-office applications deployed either as bare-metal on operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows or Linux, or as virtual machines on hypervisors, such as VMware vSphere Hypervisor, Microsoft Hyper-V, or Citrix XenServer.

The E-Series Servers are purpose-built with powerful Intel Xeon processors for general-purpose compute. They come in the following form factors: single-wide and double-wide. The single-wide E-Series Server fits into one server module (SM) slot, and the double-wide E-Series Server fits into two SM slots.


Note
M3 servers are supported on the Cisco ISR 4000 series and Cisco Catalyst 8300 Series Edge platforms only.

System Requirements

Hardware Requirements

  • The EHWIC E-Series NCEs are not supported from CIMC release 3.2.x.

  • The NIM E-Series NCE can be installed in the Cisco ISR 4000 series only.

The following M3 E-Series Servers are supported:

  • UCS-E160S-M3—Single-wide E-Series Server, 6-cores CPU, 1.9 -GHz clock speed

  • UCS-E180D-M3—Double-wide E-Series Server, 8-cores CPU, 2.0 -GHz clock speed

  • UCS-E1120D-M3—Double-wide E-Series Server, 12-cores CPU, 1.5 -GHz clock speed


Note
The M2 and M3 E-Series Servers naming terminology indicates different generations of Intel processors within the respective servers.

The following NIM E-Series NCE is supported:

  • UCS-EN140N-M2—NIM E-Series NCE, 4-cores CPU, 1.7-GHz clock speed


Note
For details about the M2 and M3 E-Series Servers and the EHWIC E-Series NCE hardware, see the “Hardware Requirements” section in the Cisco UCS E-Series Servers and the Cisco UCS E-Series Network Compute Engine Hardware Installation Guide .

Software Requirements

E-Series Servers require three major software systems:

CIMC Firmware

Cisco Integrated Management Controller (CIMC) is a management module, which is built into the motherboard. A dedicated ARM-based processor, separate from the main server CPU, runs the CIMC firmware. The system ships with a running version of the CIMC firmware. You can update the CIMC firmware, but no initial installation is needed.

CIMC is the management service for the E-Series Servers. CIMC runs within the server. You can use CIMC to access, configure, administer, and monitor the server.

BIOS Firmware

BIOS initializes the hardware in the system, discovers bootable devices, and boots them in the provided sequence. It boots the operating system and configures the hardware for the operating system to use. BIOS manageability features allow you to interact with the hardware and use it. In addition, BIOS provides options to configure the system, manage firmware, and create BIOS error reports. The system ships with a running version of the BIOS firmware. You can update the BIOS firmware, but no initial installation is needed.


Note

The table below lists the minimum BIOS versions required to use with CIMC 3.2.x and later releases.

Table 1. Minimum BIOS Versions Required

Server Name

BIOS Version

UCS-E160S-M3

2.x

UCS-E180D-M3

UCS-E1120D-M3

2.x

UCS-EN140N-M2

1.5.0.4

Operating System or Hypervisor

The main server CPU runs on an operating system, or a hypervisor. You can purchase an E-Series Server or NCE with a preinstalled operating system or hypervisor, or you can install your own.

The following hypervisors are supported for UCSEM3_3.08 and UCSEDM3_3.08:

  • VMware ESXi 7.0U3M

  • Cisco Enterprise NFV Infrastructure Software (NFVIS)


Note

ESXi 7.0U3M (VMware-ESXi-7.0.3m-21686933-Custom-Cisco-4.3.2-a), certified date: 22nd November, 2023. Please see VMware Compatability Guide for more information.

Minimum System Requirements

The management client must meet or exceed the following minimum system requirements:

  • Sun JRE 1.6.0_14 or later

  • Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher, Mozilla Firefox 3.0 or higher

  • Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Windows XP, Microsoft Windows Vista

  • Apple Mac OS X v10.6, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.0 or higher operating systems

E-Series Server Options

E-Series Servers are available in the following options:

  • Option 1—E-Series Server without preinstalled operating system or hypervisor

  • Option 2—E-Series Server with preinstalled Microsoft Windows Server

At the time of purchase, you can choose the appropriate RAID option that you want enabled on the E-Series Server.


Note
If you purchase this option, the Microsoft Windows Server license is preactivated.

  • Option 3—E-Series Server with preinstalled VMware vSphere Hypervisor TM

At the time of purchase, you can choose the appropriate RAID option that you want enabled on the E-Series Server.

Cisco SD-WAN and SD-WAN IOS XE Support on UCS-E Series

Table 2. Cisco SD-WAN and SD-WAN IOS XE Release Compatibility

Cisco SD-WAN

SD-WAN IOS XE | ISR4000

UCS-E Series using External Interfaces in SD-WAN mode

UCS-E Series using Internal Backplane Interfaces** in SD-WAN mode

19.2.x

16.12.1b and later releases

Supported

Not supported

20.1.1

17.2.1r

Supported

Limited feature support configurable using only Cisco vManage CLI templates

Note

** Interfaces - ucse x/y/0 and ucse x/y/1

For related information on Cisco SD-WAN and SD-WAN IOS XE support, refer to the Compatibility Matrix section in the Release Notes for Cisco IOS XE SD-WAN Devices, Cisco IOS XE Release Amsterdam 17.2.x

Cisco ISR G2, E-Series Server, NCE, and Cisco IOS Software Release Compatibility

Table 3. Cisco ISR G2, E-Series Server, NCE, and Cisco IOS Release Compatibility

Cisco ISR G2

Cisco IOS Software Release for Single-Wide E-Series Servers and the SM E-Series NCE

Cisco IOS Software Release for Double-Wide E-Series Servers

Cisco IOS Software Release for the EHWIC E-Series NCE

1921

—

—

15.4(3)M and later releases

1941

—

—

15.4(3)M and later releases

2911

15.2(4)M and later releases

15.4(3)M and later releases

2921

15.2(4)M and later releases

15.2(4)M and later releases

15.4(3)M and later releases

2951

15.2(4)M and later releases

15.2(4)M and later releases

15.4(3)M and later releases

3925

15.2(4)M and later releases

15.2(4)M and later releases

15.4(3)M and later releases

3925e

15.2(4)M and later releases

15.2(4)M and later releases

15.4(3)M and later releases

3945

15.2(4)M and later releases

15.2(4)M and later releases

15.4(3)M and later releases

3945e

15.2(4)M and later releases

15.2(4)M and later releases

15.4(3)M and later releases

Cisco ISR 4000 Series, E-Series Server, NCE, CIMC, and Cisco IOS XE Software Release Compatibility

Table 4. Cisco ISR 4000 Series, E-Series Server, NCE, CIMC, and Cisco IOS XE Release Compatibility

Cisco ISR

Cisco IOS XE Software Release for Single-Wide E-Series Servers and the SM E-Series NCE

Cisco IOS XE Software Release for Double-Wide E-Series Servers

Cisco IOS XE Software Release for the NIM E-Series NCE

CIMC

4400 Series

Cisco IOS XE 3.12S

Cisco IOS XE 3.12S

—

2.2.2 and later releases

Cisco IOS XE 3.13S and later releases

Cisco IOS XE 3.13S and later releases

—

2.3.1 and later releases

—

—

Cisco IOS XE 3.15S and later releases

3.0.1 and later releases

Cisco IOS XE 16.2.1

Cisco IOS XE 16.2.1

Cisco IOS XE 16.2.1

3.0.1 and later releases

4300 Series

Cisco IOS XE 3.13S and later releases

Cisco IOS XE 3.13S and later releases

—

2.3.1 and later releases

—

—

Cisco IOS XE 3.15S and later releases

3.0.1 and later releases

Cisco IOS XE 16.2.1

Cisco IOS XE 16.2.1

Cisco IOS XE 16.2.1

3.0.1 and later releases

Important Information About the VMware FL-SRE-V-HOST License

If you are using a VMware FL-SRE-V-HOST license (equivalent to VMware vSphere Hypervisor™ 5.X), make sure that you are using 32 GB or less of RAM. If more than 32 GB of RAM is used, you will get an error message, and you will not be able to apply the license. If you want to use 48 GB RAM, upgrade your license to FL-SRE-V-HOSTVC.

New Features for BIOS Release UCSEM3_3.08 and UCSEDM3_3.08

This document provides new features, system requirements, compatibility information, and open and resolved caveats for the Cisco UCS E-Series Server and the Cisco UCS E-Series Network Compute Engine (NCE) software release 3.08. Use this document in conjunction with the documents in the Related Documentation.


Note
Documentation is sometimes updated after original publication; therefore, for updated content, review the documentation on Cisco.com.

There are no new features in this release.

Resolved and Closed Bugs in BIOS Release UCSEDM3_3.08

Table 5. Resolved Bugs

Bug ID

Summary

CSCwf98313

Evaluation of UCSE-M3 & ENCS5400 for Intel 2023.3 IPU.

Open Bugs in BIOS Release UCSEDM3_3.08

There are no open bugs in this release.

Resolved and Closed Bugs in BIOS Release UCSEM3_3.08

Table 6. Resolved Bugs

Bug ID

Summary

CSCwf98313

Evaluation of UCSE-M3 & ENCS5400 for Intel 2023.3 IPU.

Open Bugs in BIOS Release UCSEM3_3.08

There are no open bugs in this release.

Related Documentation

For links to the following Cisco UCS E-Series Servers and the NCE documents, see Documentation Guide for Cisco UCS E-Series Servers and the Cisco UCS E-Series Network Compute Engine :