Cisco MDS 9396S Series Replacement — What Cisco Recommends
Cisco support for the Cisco MDS 9396S Series runs to Jun 2027 — time to fold the successor into refresh planning. Cisco's own end-of-life bulletin names the successor below — quoted from the source, with the successor's live support status where EOSL.ai tracks it.
The Cisco-named replacement
per-part mapping in the bulletin (10 replacement parts listed) — named in the Cisco EOL bulletin ↗ as the migration path.
DS-C9396T-48ETK9 is not yet tracked on EOSL.ai — no vendor end-of-life notice has been captured for it, which is typical of current products.
Cisco MDS 9396S Series lifecycle dates
| SKU group | End of sale | EOSL / last support | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Switch hardware | Jun 2022 | Jun 2027 | bulletin ↗ |
Per-part-number replacement mapping (14)
As listed in the Cisco bulletin's migration table for each part number.
| End-of-life part | Description | Bulletin-listed replacement |
|---|---|---|
| DS-C9396S-48E8K9 | DS-C9396T-48ETK9 | |
| DS-C9396S-48EK9 | DS-C9396T-48EK9 | |
| DS-C9396S-48ESK9 | DS-C9396T-48ETK9 | |
| DS-C9396S-48I8K9 | DS-C9396T-48ITK9 | |
| DS-C9396S-48IK9 | DS-C9396T-48IK9 | |
| DS-C9396S-48ISK9 | DS-C9396T-48ITK9 | |
| DS-C9396S-96E8K9 | DS-C9396T-96ETK9 | |
| DS-C9396S-96ESK9 | DS-C9396T-96ETK9 | |
| DS-C9396S-96I8K9 | DS-C9396T-96ITK9 | |
| DS-C9396S-K9 | DS-C9396T-K9 | |
| UCS-EP-MDS9396S-16 | UCS-EP-MDS9148S-16 | |
| UCS-EP-MDS9396SL2 | UCS-EP-MDS9148SL2 | |
| M9396S-PL12 | M9396T-PL16TE | |
| M9396S-PL12-S | M9396T-PL16TE |
Migration questions
What is the replacement for the Cisco MDS 9396S Series?
Cisco's end-of-life bulletin names DS-C9396T-48ETK9 as the recommended migration path for the Cisco MDS 9396S Series. The exact wording and any per-part-number mapping are in the linked bulletin.
Is the Cisco MDS 9396S Series end of life?
Cisco support for the Cisco MDS 9396S Series runs to Jun 2027 — time to fold the successor into refresh planning. Full lifecycle dates by part number: https://eosl.ai/system/cisco-mds-9396s/.
Is there a per-part-number replacement mapping for the 9396S Series?
Yes — the bulletin maps replacements at the part-number level for 14 SKUs (for example DS-C9396S-48E8K9 → DS-C9396T-48ETK9). The full table is on this page.
Do I have to buy the Cisco-recommended replacement?
No. The bulletin's named successor is Cisco's suggested path, not an obligation. Teams also keep 9396S Series units running under third-party maintenance after the support cutoff, migrate to a different vendor, or run low-criticality units to failure with the risk documented. See the support-options guide for the trade-offs.