Cisco IOS

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The Internetworking Operating System^[2] (IOS) is a family of proprietary network operating systems used on several router and network switch models manufactured by Cisco Systems. The system is a package of routing, switching, internetworking, and telecommunications functions integrated into a multitasking operating system. Although the IOS code base includes a cooperative multitasking kernel, most IOS features have been ported to other kernels, such as Linux and QNX, for use in Cisco products.

Not all Cisco networking products run IOS. Exceptions include some Cisco Catalyst switches, which run IOS XE, and Cisco ASR routers, which run either IOS XE or IOS XR; both are Linux-based operating systems. For data center environments, Cisco Nexus switches (Ethernet) and Cisco MDS switches (Fibre Channel) both run Cisco NX-OS, also a Linux-based operating system.