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Used Cisco equipment may be your best option if you don't want to pay full retail price for Cisco equipment, as long as you can purchase from a reliable source. Online auctions are the most obvious source for used equipment, but there are a few companies that specialize in refurbished networking equipment (routers, telephones, PCs, PBXs, etc). So what is refurbished, really? In 95% of cases, refurbished is nothing more than a used unit that still works, and hopefully the shipper will verify this before shipping it to you. (Ask for a 30-day warranty) In the other 5% of cases, a button, knob, power cord, or something else in this category may have been replaced. Refurbished is still "used" and should be considered to be so. Refurbished Cisco product can also mean that you might find, say, a Cisco 2800 series router for $400 that works perfectly well, which is a substantial discount. There is a bit of luck required in getting really good deals in the refurbished marketplace. Items to Consider. In general, when you purchase refurbished equipment, you're buying a device that is used. What that means to you, the consumer, is that you'll likely not have the benefit of any warranty leftover, you may or may not get the documentation manual or any accessories that originally came with the unit. For instance, for commercial-grade routers, you may not get the console cable. 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 refurbished (used) equipment, someone else has already decided that it is either too slow, lacks newer capabilities, lacks sufficient capacity, or the like. You must decide how long it will serve your needs for the discount you'll end up paying. For example: If you are buying a refurbished (used) wireless router, great deals can be found on the 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. Plan Ahead! Most Cisco refurbished buyers make their purchase decision on price, not a balanced approach to price and functionality. Back to the wireless router example: users end up starting with one device and figure out that adding a second, third, or more, then possibly Network Attached Storage (NAS), a server, etc. is easy, and it is. Remember the 802.11b (11Mb) decision? Now you're stuck with an 11Mb connection on your in-house backups, or NAS access, where an extra 50 bucks today would have given you 54Mb for that home backup. The bottom line is plan now for at least the next 18 months of use, so whether it is the latest technology on the market, last year's newest (now refurbished), or closeout specials, make sure your investment will be in place for at least 18 months without having to replace it with a newer model. Consider the following online resellers for Cisco refurbished products:
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Used Cisco
