IP: re: WinXP falls over old Cisco bug (fwd)

[David Farber <dave@farber.net>]

>Date: Sat, 5 May 2001 13:51:35 -0700
>From: "Ed Lazowska" <lazowska@cs.washington.edu>
>To: "Dave Farber (E-mail)" <farber@cis.upenn.edu>
>
>
>Dave --
>
>Can't really blame Microsoft for this one ... it's a flaming Cisco bug.
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Terry Gray [mailto:gray@washington.edu]
>Sent: Saturday, May 05, 2001 1:47 PM
>To: Ed Lazowska
>Cc: Jan Sanslo; David Richardson
>Subject: WinXP falls over old Cisco bug (fwd)
>
>
>Here's a bit more detail.
>
>-teg
>
>---------------
>
>http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/4/18239.html
>
>WinXP falls over old Cisco bug
>By: John Leyden
>Posted: 11/04/2001 at 11:45 GMT
>
>
>Major network outages at Xerox, after staff installed beta versions of
>Microsoft XP, have been linked to a well-known bug in Cisco's most
>widely
>deployed Lan switch.
>
>As previously reported, Xerox has warned all its 50,000 US employees not
>to install Windows XP beta on company computers after the firm's
>networks
>suffered three network outages which were directly linked to use of the
>operating system. Any installed versions of XP was to be removed
>immediately, staff were advised in a company wide email.
>
>Xerox said the problem was hardware-related but wouldn't say which of
>its
>suppliers was involved.
>
>However emails from Register readers and sources in Redmond have
>revealed
>that Xerox's Windows XP installation almost certainly fell foul of a bug
>involving Cisco's Catalyst 5000 family of Lan switches.
>
>Windows XP, unlike Windows 2000, leaves 802.1p/802.1q tagging enabled by
>default. This is an issue because CatOS software prior to 6.2.1 for the
>Catalyst 5000/5500 will forward 802.1x frames on all ports including
>spanning tree blocking ports, resulting in a layer 2 multicast storm.
>
>The upshot of this is that a user can bring down an entire switch
>network
>by just connecting a Windows XP (Whistler) workstation to their network,
>if a 5000 series Lan switch is in place.
>
>The issue does not arise in any other Cisco Lan switches (including
>Catalyst 2900XL, 3500XL, 2948G, 4000 or 6000 switches) because theses
>devices will drop the frame when it arrives at a blocked port.
>
>There are technical workarounds to the issue (including updating
>software
>on the Cisco switch), which are discussed in greater detail here.
>However
>this misses the wider point that Xerox experienced its network failure
>because of a rather obvious problem involving the next version of the
>world's most widely used operating system and the planet's most deployed
>Lan switch.
>
>Is there any wonder why people get cynical about IT? ®
>
>Related stories
>Xerox bans Windows XP beta after 'major network outages'
>MS hobbling WinXP Server, pushing users to Advanced version?
>New WinXP file system breaks disk utilities. Again. Oops.
>WinXP - the screenshots



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