Did anyone else know this?

[Jay]

I was thinking about buying a secondhand Cisco 48 port switch as a backup to our current 48 port switch.

The problem is that Cisco do not allow their IOS to be transfered with the sale so if you buy a secondhand switch from eBay you have to re-license the switch and have the hardware inspected!

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/hw_s...g_program.html

That is stupid!! I mean, you can sell a PC with OEM software and that is trasferable why not IOS?

[Platinum]

Thats Cisco for ya

[peterb]

Hmm - well, if I was Cisco, I would say that the licence covers support, and that by re-licensing you are ensuring that the switch is registered to the current owner and that you get security updates etc. The hardware inspection might be harder to justify, but given that Cisco clones were being sold from Chinese markets (complete with a backdoor trojan), by physically inspecting it, they can ensure that it is a genuine Cisco item, and that they are not burdened by service calls from people that have bought a clone, thinking it is genuine Cisco - so protecting the end user and their reputation.

But I'm not Cisco...

[latrosicarius]

how much does it cost to re-license and inspect?

[Jay]

I haven't looked into it but I bet its very expensive. What about EOL products?

[burble]

Cisco will often buy back EOL stuff if you're replacing it with new Cisco kit. I need to contact them and see how much they'll give me for my 1760's.

[Jay]

yes but our 48 port switches are VERY expensive. There is no way I can budget for a backup. I may have to look at a procurve.

[badass]

yes but our 48 port switches are VERY expensive. There is no way I can budget for a backup. I may have to look at a procurve.

Ours were over £5000 a pop. (Cisco 3750G with PoE and enhanced images)
That said, you get what you pay for!

[Jay]

There is no doubt that they are truly amazing quality switches

[gss03]

In what sort of environment would you want to spend £5000 for a 48 port cisco switch/ router or other network component?!

[badass]

In what sort of environment would you want to spend £5000 for a 48 port cisco switch/ router or other network component?!

These switches are stackable. You can connect any number of them together with a 32 GBit backbone. They can also act as routers and they can also wash the dishes.
Switches that cost this much are used in an evironment where the cost of downtime makes that kind of investment worthwhile.
My company has a turnover of over £200 million and only around 250 employees of which around 120 actually use the IT kit directly.

[peterb]

I think I'd be tempted to look at an authorised Cisco reseller for second user (second hand!) kit like that. It may be a bit more expensive than E bay, but it will have some assurance that it really IS Cisco, and you may find that the inspection and licensing is included.

[Moby-Dick]

In what sort of environment would you want to spend £5000 for a 48 port cisco switch/ router or other network component?!

one where you are a cheapskate and dont buy blade / chassis core switches

I suppose we use those ones as our edge switches (one at each end of a row of 9 racks ) with fibre back to the core.

[burble]

In what sort of environment would you want to spend £5000 for a 48 port cisco switch/ router or other network component?!

Any sort of environment where performance and reliability are key. In the grand scheme of things £5k on a switch is peanuts.

[Moby-Dick]

exactly - I think we just paid around 50k for some new load balencers ( with licence's / support )

[gss03]

Blimey!
And I have trouble sometimes persuading some small business clients that spending £200 on a draytek router is a good investment!