Not just Cisco warns buyers to beware cheap, uncertified switches
Other vendors may not face the counterfeiting issues Cisco does, but most nonetheless have programs for certifying used equipment. Here’s a rundown.
Other vendors may not face the counterfeiting issues Cisco does (read about Cisco’s elaborate remarketing program), but most nonetheless have programs for certifying used equipment. Here’s a rundown.
Nortel
Nortel, for example, has a secondary-market assurance program to verify that secondary-market equipment meets the company’s technical requirements for safety, reliability and integrity. Nortel offers software relicensing, product inspection and auditing, hardware baselining, compatibility testing, and so forth.
“Most of our customers … understand what they’re getting direct [from the manufacturer],” says Len Anderson, secondary market business manager at Nortel. “There’s no misinterpretation of what they’re getting.”
Nortel performs a remote Network Integrity Assessment and delivers results to the buyer in a Certification Report, which identifies the equipment and highlights any issues that inhibit certification. All enterprise equipment must be installed, tested and commissioned according to Nortel procedures to be eligible for recertification, upon which the equipment and network are eligible for contract-level technical support service and warranty.
Extreme Networks
Extreme Networks stresses that its hardware should always be purchased directly from a company sales representative or through a recognized reseller.
“When hardware is obtained through other channels, such as an e-commerce site or a third party, there is no guarantee of product quality or service protection,” the company states in its ExtremeWorks Hardware Inspection program brochure.
Extreme offers two types of inspections: an ExtremeWare Operational System Report and a Physical Hardware Inspection. The ExtremeWare Operational System Report is a software inspection that is compiled from command line interface output and is reviewed by an Extreme technical support engineer (TSE). This report should provide enough detail for the TSE to determine if the equipment is functioning correctly under normal conditions.
The Physical Hardware Inspection will be conducted by a field systems engineer. This inspection involves an analysis of the hardware condition at the location where the equipment resides at the time of service contract execution. Upon completion of the Physical Hardware Inspection, a hardware inspection form is completed for service contracts records.
If any defects are found in either inspection, customers will be responsible for the cost of repairing the product prior to a service contract release. Once the equipment passes either or both inspections, customers can purchase a service contract for the hardware.
Foundry Networks
Foundry’s recertification program includes an inspection and testing of all of the equipment’s vital components. With the recertification inspection, customers receive basic upgrades and repairs, along with the latest version of software applied to the specific equipment.
Following the inspection, the customer will be given a comprehensive report detailing the results of the inspection and any possible restoration that may be necessary.
Enterasys Networks
Enterasys does not extend warranties or firmware licenses to new or used equipment purchased from or maintained by unauthorized third parties. The company offers inventory and auditing services to help bring a user’s Enterasys network into compliance.
HP ProCurve
HP ProCurve says it does not have a refurbished hardware program in place but is in the process of doing so.
3Com
3Com, which is in the process of being acquired by Bain Capital and Huawei Technologies, did not respond by press time.
