Cisco – Why does the Cisco show run command not show the full version, while the show version command does

ciscocisco-commandscisco-ios

Is there any reason why Cisco show run does not show the full version which is 16.3.7 in this example?

IOSSW#show running-config | include ersion
version 16.3

while show version does?

IOSSW#show version
...
Switch Ports Model              SW Version        SW Image              Mode
------ ----- -----              ----------        ----------            ----
*    1 56    WS-C3850-48T       16.3.7            CAT3K_CAA-UNIVERSALK9 BUNDLE
...
IOSSW#

Best Answer

Is there any reason why Cisco show run does not show the full version which is 16.3.7 in this example?

For the simple reason that the only the major and minor versions are necessary for a complete understanding of the configuration. While there may be feature changes and/or enhancements between 16.2 and 16.3, changes in the build/revision should not impact the configuration in any way.

Stated another way, the difference from 16.3.6 to 16.3.7 may include fixes to caveats (bugs, flaws, and vulnerabilities), but this should not in any way impact what the configuration actually means to the device.

So when you do a show running-config it is helpful to know the major and minor versions to understand the configuration. However if you need the full version, you should use the show version command.

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