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DELL POWERCONNECT 34xx v1.0.1.13 FIRMWARE README

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NOTE: This ReadMe provides information for PowerConnect 34xx v1.0.1.13 
firmware.


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CRITICALITY
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Recommended - Dell recommends applying this update during your next 
scheduled update cycle. The update contains feature enhancements or 
changes that will help keep your system software current and compatible 
with other system modules (firmware, BIOS, drivers and software). 


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DESCRIPTION
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* This is the firmware release v1.0.1.13 for the Dell PowerConnect 
3424/3448/3424P/3448P Ethernet switch.

* This firmware is transferable to the switch via a TFTP server. 

* Please read the documents in the zip file for further information.       


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FIXES/ENHANCEMENTS
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Issues Resolved:
- Under certain conditions, when a port is set to autonegotiate and the
link partner is set to half duplex, the port may be disabled.  

Known restrictions and limitations:
- Storm control rates refer to the average number of frames over a period
of time. This period of time decreases as the configured rate increases.
For example, configuring a rate of 70 kbps results in a rate of 70 kbps
over an average of 1 minute. From rate of 100 it becomes steady.

- When using QoS settings every port can be set to either Strict Priority 
or WRR. This applies to stacking ports as well. In order to best handle 
high priority traffic across the stacking links, the stacking ports are 
set to Strict Priority by default. Unicast traffic is assigned to the 
highest priority queue.  Therefore, if Unicast traffic is sent at wire-
speed, it is prioritized over broadcast traffic to the CPU.

- If the IP interface is configured on a physical interface (port, LAG), 
which loses connectivity, the switch continues to poll until the timer 
expires. If the physical interface regains connectivity again, the switch 
will not continue to poll. Consider, for example, a case of a stack in 
which an IP interface is configured on a physical interface of the backup 
switch (or any other switch). If that unit is severed from the stack, the 
master unit continues to poll until the timer expires. After that, it 
ceases polling, even if the backup unit is reconnected to the stack.  
How to avoid the situation: It is recommended to configure SNTP servers 
on the default VLAN. How to rectify the situation: If you have not 
configured SNTP servers as recommended, use the Global Configuration 
command clock source sntp to re-activate the server.

- MAC addresses are not flushed when a port no longer has an active link.
Relearning occurs when a packet is sent from the host.  Therefore, when 
a host migrates from one port to another port on the same switch, it is 
not erased from the database, and therefore not relearned on the new port. 
This issue is apparent when the user tries to ping from the switch to 
the host, as no traffic has been sent yet from the host to the device. 
How to avoid this situation: When a host moves from one port to another, 
check viability by pinging from the host to the switch, and not vice versa.

- When a management station is connected to a stack, which undergoes a
master failover so that the backup switch takes over, connectivity to the
stack may be lost. The backup switch assumes the IP address of the
stack, but the management station cannot communicate with the stack
using the IP address of the stack. This results because the management
station associates the management station’s IP address with the MAC
address of the “old” Master switch. The management station does not
update its ARP table unless the ARP cache of the management station is
deleted. How to rectify the situation: To ensure connectivity to a 
management station following master failover, the ARP cache on the 
management station must be deleted.
 

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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
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NOTE: Perform the upgrade procedure from the console interface via an 
RS232 serial port. When using a telnet session or web interface alone, 
your connection to the switch is not available until the switch has 
entered forwarding mode. This takes approximately three minutes.  


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IMPORTANT INFORMATION
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**Please read the Adobe PDF documents enclosed in the ZIP download.**   


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Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
(C) 2005 Dell Inc. All rights reserved.

Reproduction in any manner whatsoever without the written permission 
of Dell Inc. is strictly forbidden.

Trademarks used in this text: "Dell", "Dell OpenManage",
"PowerConnect", and "PowerEdge" are trademarks of Dell Inc.;
"Windows Server" is a trademark, and "Microsoft", "Windows", and
"Wingdings" are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation
"Novell" and "NetWare" are registered trademarks of Novell Inc.;
"Red Hat" is a registered trademark of Red Hat, Inc.

Other trademarks and trade names may be used in this document to refer 
to either the entities claiming the marks and names or their products.  
Dell Inc. disclaims any proprietary interest in trademarks and trade 
names other than its own.

November 2005