Certain Supported GBICs/SFPs Optical Transceiver Modules on Catalyst 3850 Switch

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Unsupported GBIC (SFP) in sub-module of Catalyst 3850 Switch–Mitigation Techniques

There is a common problem and mitigation techniques with certain supported GBICs (or SFPs) optical transceiver modules on a Catalyst 3850 switch:

When you insert specific GBICs on a Catalyst 3850 switch you may get following error logs:

%PLATFORM_PM-6-MODULE_ERRDISABLE: The inserted SFP module with interface name Gix/y/z is not supported
 %PM-4-ERR_DISABLE: gbic-invalid error detected on Gix/y/z, putting Gix/y/z in err-disable state
Issue has commonly been seen with GLC-SX-MMD and third party SFPs.
Solution

Please keep in mind the following points before considering this as a hardware issue with the SFP, sub-module (C3850-NM) or 3850 backplane.

  1. Verify compatibility between the SFP and the switch, sub-module and software version. You can refer these compatibility matrix documents.

GBIC and SFP Transceiver Modules for Catalyst 3850 Series

  • GBIC: Gigabit Interface Converter
  • SFP: Gigabit Ethernet Small Form-Factor Pluggable
Catalyst 3850 series
Network Device
Transceiver Module
Minimum Software Release Required
DOM Support
Cisco IOS Release
C3850-NM-4-1G
Uplink Module
GLC-T (10/100/1000)
GLC-LH-SM
GLC-LH-SMD
GLC-SX-MM
GLC-SX-MMD
GLC-EX-SMD1
GLC-ZX-SM
GLC-ZX-SMD
GLC-BX-D
GLC-BX-U
CWDM SFP
SFP-GE-S
SFP-GE-L
SFP-GE-T
SFP-GE-Z
DWDM SFP
DWDM SFP (add.)
XE 3.2.0SE, 16.1.1 XE 3.2.0SE, 16.1.1
WS-C3850-12S
WS-C3850-24S
XE 3.3.3SE, 16.1.1 XE 3.3.3SE, 16.1.1
GLC-BX40-D-I
GLC-BX40-DA-I
GLC-BX40-U-I
GLC-BX80-D-I
GLC-BX80-U-I
XE 3.7.1E, 16.1.1 XE 3.7.1E, 16.1.1
GLC-TE XE 3.6.7E, XE 3.7.5E, 16.5.1a, 16.3.5
Catalyst 3850 series
Network Device
Transceiver Model
Minimum Software Release Required
DOM Support
Software Release
WS-C3850-12XS
WS-C3850-16XS
WS-C3850-24XS
WS-C3850-32XS
(with C3850-NM-8-10G NM)
GLC-T (10/100/1000)
GLC-LH-SM
GLC-LH-SMD
GLC-SX-MM
GLC-SX-MMD
GLC-EX-SMD1
GLC-ZX-SM
GLC-ZX-SMD
GLC-BX-D
GLC-BX-U
CWDM SFP
SFP-GE-S
SFP-GE-L
SFP-GE-T
SFP-GE-Z
DWDM SFP
DWDM SFP (add.)
GLC-BX40-D-I
GLC-BX40-DA-I
GLC-BX40-U-I
GLC-BX80-D-I
GLC-BX80-U-I
XE 3.7.1E, 16.1.1 XE 3.7.1E, 16.1.1
GLC-TE XE 3.7.5E
WS-C3850-12XS
WS-C3850-16XS
WS-C3850-24XS
WS-C3850-32XS
(with C3850-NM-8-10G NM)
GLC-TE 16.5.1a, 16.3.5
WS-C3850-48XS-S
WS-C3850-48XS-E
WS-C3850-48XS-F-S
WS-C3850-48XS-F-E
WS-C3850-48XS
GLC-T (10/100/1000)
GLC-LH-SM
GLC-LH-SMD
GLC-SX-MM
GLC-SX-MMD
GLC-EX-SMD1
GLC-ZX-SM
GLC-ZX-SMD
GLC-BX-D
GLC-BX-U
CWDM SFP
SFP-GE-S
SFP-GE-L
SFP-GE-T
SFP-GE-Z
DWDM SFP
DWDM SFP (add.)
GLC-BX40-D-I
GLC-BX40-DA-I
GLC-BX40-U-I
GLC-BX80-D-I
GLC-BX80-U-I
XE 3.7.2E, 16.2.1 XE 3.7.2E, 16.2.1
GLC-TE XE 3.7.5E, 16.5.1a, 16.3.5
10-Gigabit Ethernet Transceiver Modules for Catalyst 3850 Series
Catalyst 3850 Series
Network Device
Transceiver Model
Minimum Software Release Required
DOM Support
Software Release
WS-C3850-24T
WS-C3850-24P
WS-C3850-48T
WS-C3850-48P
WS-C3850-48F
(With C3850-NM-2-10G or 
C3850-NM-4-10G uplink modules)
SFP-H10GB-CU1M
SFP-H10GB-CU3M
SFP-H10GB-CU5M
XE 3.2.0SE
SFP-10G-SR
SFP-10G-LRM
SFP-10G-LR
SFP-10G-ER
SFP-10G-SR-S
SFP-10G-LR-S
SFP-10G-ER-S
XE 3.2.0SE XE 3.2.0SE
SFP-10G-ZR
SFP-10G-ZR-S
DWDM SFP+
XE 3.3.3SE XE 3.3.3SE
CWDM SFP+ XE 3.7.0 XE 3.7.0
SFP-H10GB-CU1-5M
SFP-H10GB-CU2M
SFP-H10GB-CU2-5M
SFP-H10GB-ACU7M
SFP-H10GB-ACU10M
SFP-10G-AOC1M
SFP-10G-AOC2M
SFP-10G-AOC3M
SFP-10G-AOC5M
SFP-10G-AOC7M
SFP-10G-AOC10M
XE 3.6.0E
SFP-10G-BXD-I
SFP-10G-BXU-I
SFP-10G-BX40D-I
SFP-10G-BX40U-I
XE 3.7.1E XE 3.7.1E
WS-C3850-12XS
WS-C3850-16XS
WS-C3850-24XS
WS-C3850-32XS
(C3850-NM-8-10G uplink modules)
SFP-10G-SR
SFP-10G-LRM
SFP-10G-LR
SFP-10G-ER
SFP-10G-ZR
SFP-10G-SR-S
SFP-10G-LR-S
SFP-10G-ER-S
SFP-10G-ZR-S
DWDM SFP+
CWDM SFP+
SFP-H10GB-CU1M
SFP-H10GB-CU1-5M
SFP-H10GB-CU2M
SFP-H10GB-CU2-5M
SFP-H10GB-CU3M
SFP-H10GB-CU5M
SFP-H10GB-ACU7M
SFP-H10GB-ACU10M
SFP-10G-AOC1M
SFP-10G-AOC2M
SFP-10G-AOC3M
SFP-10G-AOC5M
SFP-10G-AOC7M
SFP-10G-AOC10M
SFP-10G-BXD-I
SFP-10G-BXU-I
SFP-10G-BX40D-I
SFP-10G-BX40U-I
XE 3.7.1E XE 3.7.1E
WS-C3850-48XS-S
WS-C3850-48XS-E
WS-C3850-48XS-F-S
WS-C3850-48XS-F-E
WS-C3850-48XS 
SFP-10G-SR
SFP-10G-LRM
SFP-10G-LR
SFP-10G-ER
SFP-10G-ZR
SFP-10G-SR-S
SFP-10G-LR-S
SFP-10G-ER-S
SFP-10G-ZR-S
DWDM SFP+
CWDM SFP+
SFP-H10GB-CU1M
SFP-H10GB-CU1-5M
SFP-H10GB-CU2M
SFP-H10GB-CU2-5M
SFP-H10GB-CU3M
SFP-H10GB-CU5M
SFP-H10GB-ACU7M
SFP-H10GB-ACU10M
SFP-10G-AOC1M
SFP-10G-AOC2M
SFP-10G-AOC3M
SFP-10G-AOC5M
SFP-10G-AOC7M
SFP-10G-AOC10M
SFP-10G-BXD-I
SFP-10G-BXU-I
SFP-10G-BX40D-I
SFP-10G-BX40U-I
XE 3.7.2 XE 3.7.2
WS-C3850-12S 
WS-C3850-24S
(With C3850-NM-2-10G or 
C3850-NM-4-10G or 
C3850-NM-8-10G uplink modules)
SFP-H10GB-CU1M
SFP-H10GB-CU3M
SFP-H10GB-CU5M
XE 3.3.3SE
SFP-10G-SR
SFP-10G-LRM
SFP-10G-LR
SFP-10G-ER
SFP-10G-ZR
SFP-10G-SR-S
SFP-10G-LR-S
SFP-10G-ER-S
SFP-10G-ZR-S
DWDM SFP+
XE 3.3.3SE XE 3.3.3SE
CWDM SFP+ XE 3.7.0 XE 3.7.0
SFP-H10GB-CU1-5M
SFP-H10GB-CU2M
SFP-H10GB-CU2-5M
SFP-H10GB-ACU7M
SFP-H10GB-ACU10M
SFP-10G-AOC1M
SFP-10G-AOC2M
SFP-10G-AOC3M
SFP-10G-AOC5M
SFP-10G-AOC7M
SFP-10G-AOC10M
XE 3.6.0E
SFP-10G-BXD-I
SFP-10G-BXU-I
SFP-10G-BX40D-I
SFP-10G-BX40U-I
XE 3.7.1E XE 3.7.1E

More info

Gigabit Ethernet Transceiver Modules Compatibility Matrix 
10-Gigabit Ethernet Transceiver Modules Compatibility Matrix 

  1. Some SPFs need configuration and actions to be able to work in a Catalyst 3850 switch (mostly when they are manufactured by third-party). Try following actions:
3850(config)# no errdisable detect cause gbic-invalid 
 3850(config)# service unsupported-transceiver

Remove SFP module, shutdown/no shutdown the port, insert back the SFP module.

  1. Take into consideration the following software defects:

CSCut94443 – GLC-SX-MMD is not recognized after OIR
CSCuj31712 – certain Vendor Sfp force ports to err-disable upon OIR

It is recommended to go to stable version of code whether if you are hitting those bugs or not. The recommended version on cisco.com has helped to fix this kind of incidents. Following documents can be referred for this.

Upgrade guide 

Software Download page

Get the Best Prices on Catalyst 3850 Series

More Topics about Cisco Optics Modules you can read here:

https://blog.router-switch.com/category/reviews/cisco-optics-modules/

More info from https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/docs/interfaces-modules/gbics/200296-Unsupported-GBIC-SFP-in-sub-module-of.html

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