CVS 350 constantly freezing completely - requires hard power cycle

[auserwithquestions]

Greetings,

i purchased four CBS 350 switches new, in-box and one of them has some rather serious problem that causes full lockups. As in, no serial console at all, no https interface at all, and all traffic stops moving. One has to visit the network cabinet, reach way behind the device, fiddle with the with not-great connector (external power supply on this model), and then power it back on. Often.

Is there a way to diagnose and RMA without a full contract? Who/how to contact? support@cisco.com naturally returns failure. These are home machines and this is not some business with contracts and contacts - just looking to see where to start with a vendor replacing their (potentially) faulty hardware.

And yes, the device is fully patched to latest branch and version. This has been a problem with all branches and versions used on the device so far. Other switches here do not have this problem.

Thanks!

[marce1000]

                                                             >...Who/how to contact?
               https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/web/tsd-cisco-small-business-support-center-contacts.html

   - You could for instance also configure a syslog server on the device and then followup on logs send to it on the server, sometimes last gasp info's or other logs can point out why the device gets into trouble such as external causes like broadcast storms or other events , (e.g.)

 M.

[auserwithquestions]

There is syslog sent to a logging server, so i will check that to see if the very last items can help me out. I'll report back and thank you for the suggestion.

[Joseph W. Doherty]

From datasheet:

Complementary one-year access to our Small Business Support Center for ongoing support.

From FAQ:

Q. What is the warranty?

A. Cisco Business switches come with a Limited Lifetime (CBS350, CBS250 and CBS110 series) or 3-year warranty (CBS220 series). If there are any hardware defects, Cisco will replace the product upon receipt of the defective device. In addition, the warranty includes free access to technical support during local business hours, 8 hours per day, 5 days per week, for a period of 1 year from the original date of purchase. Software bug fixes are available for the life of the products.

Cisco Business 350 Series Managed Switches come with an Enhanced Limited Lifetime Warranty (ELLW), which provides next-business-day advance replacement where available in addition to the standard coverage in LLW.

Product warranty terms and other information applicable to Cisco Business products are available at https://www.cisco.com/go/warranty.

Q.  Do I need a support contract with these products?

A.  No, a support contract is not required but will be available for purchase for added peace of mind. Support contracts will extend the phone support for up to 3 years, and enable hardware devices to be eligible for advance replacement in the event of product returns and replacements (RMA).

BTW, are you using this switch purely in L2 role or L3 role?  Reason I ask, the latter might cause your described issues if, for example, some L3 feature runs out of RAM.

[auserwithquestions]

ah, i overlooked the warranty page! And i will check the logging server for clues first and will then get on the phone. i'd assumed without support contract, there'd be no phone calls. Will report back on findings. Thank you.

And the switch is in L2 type role with just some vlans and some trunk ports. Traffic from one vlan has to visit the router before getting on another vlan, so no routing functions and such. Again, thanks for some ideas and i'll report back.