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In general, the least expensive option to purchasing Cisco equipment is from an online Cisco reseller. The Internet is a great source of information, both in terms of equipment specifications, and the ability for a buyer to quickly search the best available price among several resellers. Cisco is a leading provider of routing and switching equipment in the US marketplace and provides high quality equipment, software, and training in support of its applications. Cisco's switch equipment line complements its market-leading router line. Cisco markets its equipment line through a series of VARs (Value Added Resellers) as well as online merchants. Buying from Cisco resellers is simply purchasing the equipment. In the enterprise grade of networking equipment, you'll need appropriately trained staff to integrate your purchase into your network environment properly. Simply getting the lowest cost for purchasing doesn't necessarily mean your TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) will be lower. For instance, if a local VAR sells the 2600 model $100 higher, but will install the unit (and be available for ongoing support) for you at no extra cost, this might be your best option if you don't have trained IT support personnel on staff. If you do have trained people on staff, consider the following online resellers of Cisco product:
What about Refurbished? In general, when you purchase a refurbished Cisco router, or for that matter, any piece of equipment, you're buying a device that a portion of it expected design life is gone. What that means to you, the consumer, is that if it was designed to work for 10 years, and its 3 years old, you can only hope it has 7 years left. (Not a big deal in the IT Hardware market, since technology advances much faster than boxes die of old age) You'll also likely not have the benefit of any warranty leftover, you may or may not get the documentation and manual that originally came with the unit, and for commercial-grade routers, you may not get the console cable either. For SOHO (Small Office Home Office) installations, router configuration is all web browser-based, using Internet Explorer, Mozilla's Firefox, or equivalent, no special cabling is needed. For enterprise-grade equipment, like the Cisco line, a console cable is required to make at least initial configuration settings so that it can be accessed remotely. (Cisco routers don't come out of the box with initial IP settings) Another area to ponder carefully is that since you're buying a refurbished router, and someone else has already decided that it is either too slow, lacks enhanced security, lacks enhanced routing capabilities, or the like, how long will it serve your needs for the discount you'll end up paying? If it is a wireless router in Cisco's Linksys lineup, great deals can be found on new and used 802.11b models, since their 11Mb wireless capacity has been outdone by the likes of 802.11g, Super G, 802.11a, and shortly to be introduced, WIMAX formats. If your application is simply to take a single laptop at home, and enjoy the portability of wireless access to your DSL or Cable connection, then go ahead and get a $5 router on closeout. Since 802.11b is still 10x faster than your Internet connection speed, it will pose no reduction on your connection. About online purchases: Most people realize by now that there are several ways to get scammed by online retailers. Besides all that has been written, we'll offer one additional suggestion: Get a credit card for internet-only purchases with a spending limit that will allow you to make monthly purchases without giving you too much "headroom". If your number gets hijacked along the way, you simply cancel that card and use an alternate until the fraud is solved. |
Cisco Reseller
