Alternative to Cisco Support

Yes, according to Cisco, all customers are eligible to receive support from Cisco TAC for certain security vulnerabilities, regardless of contract status. Free software updates may also be offered on a case-by-case basis for critical and high-severity security advisories.

Cisco states the following in its security vulnerability policy:  

Incident Response Eligibility 

All customers, regardless of contract status, are eligible to receive support from the Cisco TAC for a known or reasonably suspected security vulnerability in Cisco products and services. For more information about how to contact the Cisco TAC, see the General Security Related section of this document. Customers who contact the Cisco TAC should reference the URL of the Cisco security publication to assist in connecting with the proper support team. 

Cisco may enforce relicensing and/or inspection of equipment before reinstating support.  

In our experience, once coverage has been transferred to our TPM solution, customers rarely return to Cisco support. The decision to use our maintenance occurs only after careful analysis and evaluation of the Cisco equipment and its support needs.  

 We will work to extend the life of your Cisco equipment as long as we can:  

a. Access quality spare parts

b. Meet your business needs 

When we are no longer able to meet parts or business needs, we will recommend refresh or upgrade options.

For our customers requiring continued access to updates that are not freely available or have reached the End of Software Maintenance, we recommend continued support with Cisco until access to the entitled updates is no longer required or available. 

Find the EOSL dates for the Cisco equipment in your environment by using our EOL & EOSL Database.   

The end of service life (EOSL) date marks the end of the standard limited hardware warranty and the end of the extended warranty if applicable. After the EOSL date, Cisco will no longer provide software updates or technical support for the affected product or family of products. At that point, third-party maintenance can offer you the option to extend the equipment’s life cycle and reduce support costs.

Yes, we have engineers with Cisco Certification levels ranging from CCENT to CCIE. 

A major advantage of third-party maintenance is that it provides a cost-effective option for organizations using equipment that no longer requires Cisco Smart Net or support due to freely available updates, no updates being developed or Cisco’s last day of support has been reached.

TPM providers are great alternatives for traditional HCI maintenance due to their cost-effectiveness, flexibility and expertise. Service Express provides reliable and efficient maintenance services, utilizing in-depth knowledge and experience to navigate the complexities of HCI environments.

UCS Series

Catalyst

MCS Series

MDS Series

Nexus

Hyperflex