what is the impact and risk of having EOL/EOS switches in Infra ?

[Network_Sarovani]

Hi Experts , 

We have around 500+ 3750 cisco switches which are currently EOL. What is the risk and impact we will have if we have EOL switches in the infra ? 

WS-C3750X-48P-S

WS-C3750X-24P-S

WS-C3750G-48PS-S

WS-C3750G-24PS-S

WS-C3750X-48PF-S

WS-C3750X-48PF-E

WS-C3750-48PS-S

WS-C3750X-48P-E

[balaji.bandi]

Risk - unknown, but Cisco as no more support after that date mentioned, there is no patches or development on that models.

any open security not be able to fix. if that Fails, there is no replacement (until you keep the stock in house and replace)

if this business do not have compliance in place, it will not be any problem, if you are in organisation where like bank or any other public organisation they need to meet compliance of standards, if not they get fined from Govt which is costly than replacing EOL devices.

hard to manage them due to many problems. (by saying that as long as risk addressed, working, you can keep it in the network, if you undertand the risk)

I see people still use those models and they work as expected. (this is not one call, this is business to make decision)

[Network_Sarovani]

how the organization takes action in such situation ?

what is best approach ?

how to inform client about this and what will be the action plan ...

Please share your suggestions and experience ...

[balaji.bandi]

Any organisation have already this information part of IT spending, they do know this device will go end of life 1 days, every item has one day it expires or malfunction.

So organisation need to plan network refresh to replace this device. as a engineer you need to put information send to top Management about the situation.

what is best approach ?  - replace with supported hardware, where the company network can run as expected with support maintenance.

how to inform client about this and what will be the action plan ...  What clients ?

[Network_Sarovani]

If we have renewed a maintenance contract but switch is already EOL ...Last date of support will be till 2025 ..

In this case ,

1.If the device 6500 is out of order  ...Will cisco replace the entire device ? 

2.If there are any hardware failure ,Failure of sfp or Module / Line card : Will Cisco replace the part ?

[Leo Laohoo]

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@Network_Sarovani wrote:

1.If the device 6500 is out of order  ...Will cisco replace the entire device ? 

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If the platform is already past the end-of-support date by Cisco, the vendor will takeover the RMA.  

If the vendor or 3rd party will take over the RMA support, this could mean the vendor has ample stock of platform or the vendor will reach into gray market to buy someone else's used products.  

[Leo Laohoo]

The risks are: 

1. Software vulnerability
2. Hardware support (for RMA)

The final software release for the 3750G/3750G/3750X is 15.2(4)E10.  If the switches have not yet been updated to this version, I suggest someone needs to take a serious look at doing this activity sooner than waiting for the 10 o'clock news.  

For the "plain" 3750, the final stable software release is 12.2(55)SE12.  Same as above.  Update those switches "or else".

Hardware support will be an issue.  However, this is where everything matters because the 3750-family of switches (built after a certain period) are built like tanks. 

For example, I have a pile of about 80 x 3750X-48PF in my storeroom.  I have been hoarding them for the last 2 years.  So far, I am losing about 2/year.  

[Richard Burts]

The original post sort of asks 2 questions: what is the impact and what is the risk of having switches in the network that are EOL. The impact question is probably easier to answer. Assuming that the switches have been running pretty well the impact is probably very low. The network will continue to work as it has been working. As Leo mentions there are likely to be some hardware failures and some switches will need to be replaced. With EOL devices there is no RMA possibility. But I think that is more a risk issue than an impact issue.

The question about risk is more difficult to answer. One possible risk is no more RMA. But we do not know if these switches have been under maintenance contract or not. If they have not been under maintenance contract then there is no increase in risk. If they have been under maintenance contract then there is some increase in risk due to EOL. Another aspect of risk is that there will be no more software releases for these switches. So no new features and no bug fixes. But again we do not know if these switches have been under maintenance contract. So it is quite possible that they have not been getting new features and bug fixes for some time. BB makes an interesting point about possible compliance issues. Some industries do have some regulation requirements which could include aspects of operating the network. But we do not know what industry this is in or whether they have compliance requirements.

[Network_Sarovani]

This client is running a brand clothings and etc ..having many stores across the country ...

I did not understand this point:

If they have been under maintenance contract then there is some increase in risk due to EOL.

If the devices are under maintenance contract the risk should be less right ? As cisco is going to support if there are any issue !

[Richard Burts]

My point was that EOL Cisco no longer offers maintenance contracts. If the customer has been having maintenance contracts on the switches now that will no longer be possible. And so the risk will increase for them.

[Leo Laohoo]

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@Network_Sarovani wrote:

If they have been under maintenance contract then there is some increase in risk due to EOL.

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What kind of "maintenance contract" are we talking about? 

Cisco no longer entertains maintenance contract of any kind for the 3560X/3750X family of switches.   No more TAC support, no more RMA support, nothing. 

If a vendor is still selling maintenance contract then it is either they are not aware of the end-of-life date or they want to do the support (RMA, troubleshooting, etc.) themselves.  

And here is the rub:  This forum has A LOT OF vendors asking TAC-related questions.