Upgrading IDS 4210 from 4.1 to 5.2

Question

I received the S253 sig update notification yesterday and for the first time it appears the text indicates that I can upgrade my IDS 4210 to the 5.2 version needed to have continued sig support. What is the upgrade path? What do I need to order? Everytime I use the PUT it only shows me the upgrade package for my current 4.1 version. I think I would much rather upgrade my current sensor than spend $$$ on purchasing a whole new one. Thanks.

Answer 1

Just to add a little more information.
The IDS-4210 has been End of Saled, but not yet End Of life.
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/vpndevc/ps4077/prod_eol_notice09186a008032d508.html
The IDS-4210 IS capable of running IPS version 5.1 software and will continue to receive signature updates as long as IPS 5.1 signature updates continue to be created.
No date has yet been announced for when IPS 5.1 signature updates will stop, but I would expect no less that 18 months from now.
An IPS Service Contract and associated Signature Update License is required for installing signature updates in IPS 5.1.
If you already have an IPS Service Contract then you can upgrade to 5.1 and request the associated License for your sensor.
(NOTE: A Service Contract has always been required for the installation of signature updates, but was previously not enforced by software. It is now being enforced by the IPS 5.1 software through the use of the License received through the Service Contract)
As for memory requirements. The following is stated in the 5.0(1e) Readme file:
- 512 MB of RAM memory on the IDS-4210, IDS-4210-K9, and IDS-4210-NFR (NOTE: this upgrade is no longer available as the IDS-4210-MEM-U= part has been end-of-saled).
If you previously upgraded to 512MB then you are fine.
If not, you would need to open the IDS-4210 and determine what the memory part number is and attempt to purchase additional memory matching that part number from any vendor that you can find (does not have to have been specifically sold by Cisco, but should match the part number of the memory already in the system). The memory is longer being manufactured so Cisco was no longer able to sell that part.
You should NOT attempt to install 5.0 or 5.1 on a sensor running only 256MB of memory. The sensor will never run properly.
Specific upgrade files to use:
http://www.cisco.com/cgi-bin/tablebuild.pl/ips5
IPS-K9-maj-5.0-1e-S149.rpm.pkg
IPS-K9-min-5.1-1g.pkg
IPS-K9-sp-5.1-3.pkg
If you do not already have an IPS Service Contract for your sensor, then you need to contact your Cisco Sales Representative. The last day you could have purchased a new service contract for the IDS-4210 was back on December 6, 2004.
Yoru Cisco Sales Representative may be able to give you a discount on upgrading your IDS-4210 to a newer IDS-4215.