The Leap Second Impact On Cisco Products

Some people are starting to freak out about Leap Second like it is the next Y2K, which is strange. Just like Y2K, there is a fear that systems will crash due to time adjustments. The reality of it is yes, some systems will need to be patched or adjusted, but there is no reason to stock up on water and prepare for dooms day. Manufactures just dealt with this in June 2012 and will be prepared again this June. For those not familiar with Leap Second, this will be the 26th adjustment since 1972. For more information, check out an article on wired.com HERE.

Cisco published a Leap Second page HERE showing which products could be impacted by Leap Second and what is being offered to prepare prior to June 30th. This page will continue to update as we approach June so check out which products you own and how they may be impacted. 

The only product found on that page that is of interest is the NX-OS version 6.2(11b)S4. The following note is suggested for administrators of this product.

MDS code NX-OS 6.2(11b)S4 is the only version impacted by the introduction of an NTP leap second.  If you are currently running this code on any MDS switch, it will need to be upgraded prior to June 30th.  More information on this specific bug can be found here:

Regarding the rest of the products, Cisco states “Following a comprehensive review by the Cisco leap second team, we are pleased to offer the following information. Our experience of the 2008 and 2012 leap second introductions, combined with our recent assessment of potential impacts for our current solutions, suggest that the leap second introduction is unlikely to represent a material event for Cisco products in our customers’ networks.”.

So in summary, this isn’t the first time this Cisco has dealt with Leap Second and they don’t expect any major issues this time around. Feel free to verify your products and sleep well June 30th.

One thought on “The Leap Second Impact On Cisco Products”

  1. I would add N7Ks on 6.0(4) also show a crash, I recently had a chat with one of the TAC engineers to confirm it.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Time limit is exhausted. Please reload CAPTCHA.