Cisco MDS 9396S Series Replacement: What Cisco Recommends
Cisco support for the Cisco MDS 9396S Series ends Jun 2027. The migration window is now. 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 ends Jun 2027. The migration window is now. 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.