Extreme goes for lifetime warranty

To help it compete against Cisco and HP, Extreme Networks this week said it has started offering customers a limited lifetime warranty on its Summit fixed edge switches.

When shopping for network switches, it’s not always about speeds and feeds. Often, price plays into the buying decision – not just the price of the switch, but also the ongoing maintenance. HP ProCurve and Cisco already offer lifetime warranties on some of their network equipment, and Extreme had to compete. Cisco has even used its warranty as an advertising hook lately, in ads on Network World and elsewhere.

The lifetime warranty extends to the Summit X150 Series, X250e Series, X350 Series and X450e Series. These are Ethernet edge switches, ranging in speed from 10/100M bit/sec to 10/100/1000M bit/sec. An eight-port Fast Ethernet port extender is also covered.

The warranty covers hardware, software, technical support and Extreme’s express Advanced Hardware Replacement – which means the company will ship replacement hardware to a customer within one business day of approving the request. Technical support during regular business hours is part of the plan. Extreme also offers Advanced Hardware Replacement within four hours, for an additional fee in certain geographical areas, and round-the-clock technical support, also for a fee.

The warranty is in effect on any of these switches purchased since June 29. Note that a one-year warranty still applies to the rest of Extreme’s product lineup, including other Summit switches and the high-end BlackDiamond chassis.

How important is a warranty to you? Let me know in the comments.

Jeff Caruso is site editor at Network World.