Replacing CSS Load Balancers - different models

[dwolkenfeld1]

Dear Cisco,

If one pair of CSS load balancers fails, can they be replaced by another pair of a different model? 

Thank you so much,

Dave

[lpassmore]

Hi Dave, with questions phrased like that I think you have been involved in writing Cisco exams. There is no context and we don't really know what the reason is behind your question.  But anyway:

If you are asking if two CSS units can be replaced by two new units which are the same model but not the same as the original CSS then yes, you can.  Otherwise we would all be running end-of-life equipment.  You can replace them with any make or model load balancer that you would like. Assuming company policy permits and that you can configure them, there are plenty of options to choose from.  

If you are asking if one of the pair breaks can you put a different model in with one of the original CSS units, this will probably depend on the model and how (and if) redundancy is configured.

If this is not answering the question, please supply more background.

[dwolkenfeld1]

lpassmore, thank you for that. Model-wise: can we replace a model CSS11506-2AC with model CSS11503-AC?

Thank you again, for everything.

Dave

[lpassmore · Accepted solution]

Technically no reason that I can think of, but the CSS11500 series models have gone end-of-life so I wouldn't be putting one in now.

The Cisco replacement is the ACE-4710 but EOL has also been announced for these.  I think Cisco are exiting the load-balancer market so, without trying to ruffle feathers in this forum, I would investigate another product like F5 or Citrix Netscaler perhaps. I'm sure there are others that a good Google search would find you.

LP