switch warranty

[ohassairi]

in the getting started guide of some cisco switches we can read at the end :

Duration of hardware warranty:

a cisco product hardware is supported for as long as the original end user continues to own or use the product...

does this mean we have life time warranty?

so why we need to buy shared support form the cisco partner?

[Mark Yeates]

That does not mean you have a lifetime warranty. What I think they are trying to say is that it is under warranty as long as you have a smartnet contract covered for the device.

HTH,

Mark

[ds5879.cisco]

I know that the hardware (not IOS) is covered through the life of the product. So say a port stops working (permanent orange light) or you are getting some bad hardware report during boot then they will RMA you a new device. But they will not give you IOS support if you don't have a SmartNet contract... This happened to me a few times at my last job...

[ohassairi]

i am really getting confused: some people say

hardware is lifetime garanted, some others say i need a smartnet contract, some others: i need to buy shared support !!!

[ds5879.cisco]

Best thing to do for clarification is to ask the vendor you bought the equipment off of. They most likely will have a CSE on staff to clarify. You could also call Cisco sales support for a query.