Cisco MDS 9506 Series Replacement — What Cisco Recommends
Cisco support for the Cisco MDS 9506 Series ended Apr 2022 — unsupported units need a plan. 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-C9706-FAN 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 9506 Series lifecycle dates
| SKU group | End of sale | EOSL / last support | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Switch hardware | Oct 2016 | Apr 2022 | bulletin ↗ |
Per-part-number replacement mapping (12)
As listed in the Cisco bulletin's migration table for each part number.
| End-of-life part | Description | Bulletin-listed replacement |
|---|---|---|
| DS-6SLOT-FAN | DS-C9706-FAN | |
| DS-9506-KIT-CCO | DS-9706-KIT-CCO | |
| DS-9506-KIT-EMC | DS-9706-KIT-EMC | |
| DS-9506-KIT-HDS | DS-9706-KIT-HDS | |
| DS-9506-KIT-HP | DS-9706-KIT-HP | |
| DS-9506-KIT-IBM | DS-9706-KIT-IBM | |
| DS-C9506 | DS-C9706 | |
| DS-C9506-2AHK9 | DS-C9706H-1K9 | |
| DS-C9506-2AK9 | DS-C9706-1K9 | |
| DS-C9506-K9 | DS-C9706 | |
| DS-CAC-1900W | DS-CAC97-3KW | |
| DS-PEM-20A-AC | DS-CAC97-3KW |
Migration questions
What is the replacement for the Cisco MDS 9506 Series?
Cisco's end-of-life bulletin names DS-C9706-FAN as the recommended migration path for the Cisco MDS 9506 Series. The exact wording and any per-part-number mapping are in the linked bulletin.
Is the Cisco MDS 9506 Series end of life?
Cisco support for the Cisco MDS 9506 Series ended Apr 2022 — unsupported units need a plan. Full lifecycle dates by part number: https://eosl.ai/system/cisco-mds-9506/.
Is there a per-part-number replacement mapping for the 9506 Series?
Yes — the bulletin maps replacements at the part-number level for 12 SKUs (for example DS-6SLOT-FAN → DS-C9706-FAN). 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 9506 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.