Price Changes for Support Contracts for Cisco IDS/IPS

[a.arndt]

Good day,

My boss has asked me if there is any value-added in regards to Cisco's recent move to charge separately for hardware and software support for the IDS/IPS product line.

Other than the obvious (need software support for signature updates, need hardware support in case something breaks), I'm having a hard time providing an answer.

Can anyone suggest what the increased value, other than greater annual reoccurring cost, we'll get as a result of this licensing change?

Also, was there any press release or other customer notification for this change?

I'm at a loss...

Alex Arndt

[scothrel · Accepted solution]

Alex,

Cutting through the spin and hype...the software support is allowing us to fund a dedicated signature development team, which has improved our rate of signature releases and response times. Additionally, it is allowing us to expand our coverage so that IDS 4.1 continues to get signature support. This is in contrast to our previous policy which would have seen 4.1 signature updates cut off soon after 5.0 released.

A side effect of that is that our development team is now free to concentrate on feature development and you'll see more updates, more often.

Can't comment on press releases and such, they make my head spin ;)

Scott

[a.arndt]

Scott,

That's the kind of answer I was looking for.

If the additional cost to me is offset by know that Cisco will have a dedicated team for both IDS/IPS software development [b]and[/b] signature development (with each being a separate entity unto itself), I think I can go on record and say that I think I will see some clear ROI from that expense.

More importantly, I can explain it to my boss and not have to worry about getting only one half of the support equation. Instead, I'll get both sides...

Thanks a lot,

Alex Arndt

[scothrel]

Alex,

I think the proof is in the stats, The new signature team was formed almost exactly a year ago and I believe you will see a pretty marked improvement in quantity and timeliness of signature updates since that time. Additionally, we have put out three service packs since 5.0(1) shipped 6 months ago. (the difference between service pack and "patch" is that service packs are fully QA'd by our independent QA team..."patches" are from the Dev team directly). The 5.1 feature release is in RSN! (Real Soon Now!) status.

It is more correct to say that we *have* seperate, dedicated teams for development and signatures. Additionally, the arrangement is that Dev serves as an escalation path for the signature team in the case of something pressing or extremely complex such as the IPV6 engine we put out in 5.0(4).

Scott

[jeff-krauss]

Scott,

Given that we have many customers who are using IDSM-2 blades on v4.0, I just want to make sure that we're clear on what happens Nov 15th.

My understanding is that if you are on v4.0, you can continue to install signature updates.

If you upgrade to 5.0, you can enable IPS and get all the functionality that comes with it. On the other hand, if you don't have a support contract specifically for IPS by then, you will no longer be able to keep your IPS blade current.

Not all of our customer have funding in their budget for an update to IPS 5.0 support contract at this time, so understandig the impact of staying on v4.0 is important.

Also, when do you expect support for 4.0 to drop dead - i.e. when are they going to be forced to move to v5.x and buy support? And yes, we know all the advantages of 5.0, but our customers need to understand their options now.

Thanks,

Jeff

[scothrel]

Jeff,

your understanding is correct.

Comments about drop dead in another reply

[quang.duong]

scot,

plz help me with the question below.

We have IDS 4250 and 4215 IDS version 4.1(5)s197.

How does the IPS vs 5 announcement (smartnet!) affect me?

Your reply is appreciated.

Quang Duong

quang.duong@centurytel.com

[scothrel]

IDS 4.x customers are not affected by the IPS 5.x licensing.

In reply to the "when will 4.x support 'Drop Dead'?" question...engineering is in a "severe bug" fix only mode, no new development is taking place. Signature updates will probably continue through H1CY06. Migration paths from 4.x will become increasingly arduous as the releases pile up though.