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“Cisco Devices Reaching EOSL in 2018: What Are Your Options?” was contributed by CentricsIT Account Executive Davis Fisher. Davis is a data center solutions expert who specializes in cost reduction and IT lifecycle optimization. He works from the CentricsIT office in Charlotte, NC (USA).
If you have a Cisco device reaching EOSL in your environment in 2018, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s time to decommission a device that is still functioning well. It’s smart to look at keeping those in production and continuing to utilize them. There are several devices you can extend the life on and continue getting the most out of your initial purchase.
When you make the decision to delay a refresh, you’re making a budget-conscious decision, as it relates to the initial CapEx investment. Because most IT leaders are looking at refreshes every three or five years, those are the marks at which they should also be examining and exploring their options, like third-party maintenance (TPM).
Here Are Your Options
When looking at your devices reaching EOSL, you should also consider your environment’s current software upgrades, patches, and firmware update patterns. Once you determine how frequently you apply those to your systems, that will enable you to make clear decisions around which devices to refresh, which to continue to maintain, and which to move over to a TPM model.
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| Davis Fisher Account Executive |
Continuing OEM support for hardware that’s reached the end of its warranty is costly. But it shouldn’t be. What the OEM doesn’t tell you is that it actually costs less to maintain older equipment as spares are in higher quantity and engineering knowledge is more widespread. Paying an outrageous OEM bill is ludicrous if all you need is phone support, parts replacement, and an engineer onsite to troubleshoot break/fix situations. That’s where third-party maintenance (TPM) comes in.
When you’re happy with your current hardware and your devices are still operating smoothly, decommissioning and replacing them because your OEM is pushing you to do so doesn’t make much sense. By switching support on this equipment to a TPM model, you can avoid the price hike your OEM is forcing for support, while still keeping your systems running smoothly. And, with the right partner, you won’t compromise on quality of service.
CentricsIT Has the Solution
CentricsIT has devices under support in 94+ countries, with secure stocking locations situated globally, and provides TPM services to SMB and enterprise level companies globally. In addition, we cover all major OEM brands including Cisco, IBM, Dell, HP, NetApp and many more. With field engineers trained specifically by product line, we understand the importance of sending a Cisco specific engineer onsite to do troubleshoot instead of a generalist or specialist for another OEM line. When we engage with clients to resolve these issues, they can rest assured that they are getting transparent communication, as well as a qualified resource to work with to remediate the problem at hand.
We take a consultative approach very seriously, which is why some of the largest brands in the world trust us with supporting their IT infrastructure.
We won’t try to convince you that your entire environment belongs under third party support. It just isn’t realistic.
What we will do is be transparent in advising you on which devices are prime for TPM, and which ones (according to your business model) should remain under contract with OEM support. Understanding and learning about your IT department’s challenges is one of our true pleasures as an IT services company, and we take great pride in finding the absolute right fit for you.
We’ve included some EOSL dates above that are specific to Cisco devices in 2018, but we all know there are devices across all OEMs that fall in similar buckets. We’re happy to explore this with you and help you to make the smartest IT decisions for your business, no matter the device.
Here’s the List of Cisco Devices Reaching EOSL in 2018
- Cisco AS5350XM Universal Gateway (2/28/2008)
- NAM 2204 Appliance (3/15/2018)
- WebEx Node for ASR 1000 Series (3/22/2018)
- UCS 6120XP (3/30/2018)
- UCS 2104XP (3/31/2018)
- UCS 6140XP (3/31/2018)
- Nexus 9396TX Switch (5/1/2018)
- Cisco Catalyst 3560-12PC-S Compact Switch (6/7/2018)
- Cisco Catalyst2960-8TC-S Compact Switch (7/29/2018)
- Catalyst 6500 Series Network Analysis Module (NAM-1 NAM-2) (7/31/2018)
If you have questions about your EMC maintenance options, you can email Davis directly here to start the conversation.
