Hello,
Looking for help in finding a few reliable USA based Cisco authorized/certified "refresh" equipment vendors. I'll be needing them with essentials license (perpetual) per switch. Why are licenses so astronomically expensive, almost same price as switch themselves, just to use basic features like BGP? What is this pricing structure? What happens after the license expires, do the features stop working like BGP? I don't understand and Cisco's website is also astronomically confusing and overwhelming. Too much going on.
Some models I'm looking at:
N9K-C93180YC-EX
N3K-C3064PQ-10GX
N9K-C92160YC-X
To summarize my L3 switch needs (for data center / web hosting):
Quantity: 2
40G (QSFP+) or 100G (QSFP28) uplink
48 Ports: 10/25G
Front to back airflow (port side exhaust config)
2 PSUs
4 Fans
I got this response from Cisco directly:
"If you are looking to purchase equipment from Cisco for lower prices you can refer to our Refresh Program. We at Cisco refurbish used units and resell these through the Refresh Team. The partner has that discount, you must ask them for it to input this on the website before a purchase."
"The units that you are looking to buy from Cables & Kits, are unauthorized, since these units were acquired through an unauthorized broker. These units won’t be eligible for support, and we cannot ensure the state of the units. Please keep in mind these before you decide to purchase the unit. If you proceed and purchase from Cables & Kits, please let us know so we can inspect the units so these don’t jeopardize your network."
I have no Cisco partner and have no idea how that works, still haven't gotten clarification reply back from them on that. I'm confused. Cisco makes everything too complicated and so costly. Not a SMB minded company at all in my opinion.
