Hardware Rookie Q: Purchasing New from 3rd Party...

[KCL]

If I purchase a new, in-the-box Cisco NGFW (this one), how does the Service Contract with Cisco work? Is it part of the purchase and I sign up once we get the unit? I called the website but the operator couldn't answer my question and couldn't put me in touch with anyone who COULD answer the question (she said it was a "technical" question and outside of phone support)

Anyway, if anyone could help clarify this for me, it would be greatly appreciated. I'm trying to make sure I allocate enough to cover the purchase accurately.

Thanks in advance!


Scott.

 

[L&LD]

Which 'website' did you call?

Call Cisco and hear it from the horse's mouth.

 

[KCL]

The website I contacted was "serversupply.com" (as articulated in the link in my post.) I would prefer to get an understanding of how the relationships work first from folks who have experience, rather than someone who wants to sell me something. I'm sure I'll be contacting Cisco once I get further into the process but I want to have as much info as I can ahead of time. Any help along those lines is very appreciated.

So far, I've had little luck getting the information I want through the internet. Either Cisco wants to play things close to the vest or I just don't know the right things to ask (probably the latter.)

Scott.

 

[L&LD]

I don't trust companies that 'play things close to their chests'. And it seems like both Server Supply and Cisco do.

What a quick search that I did turn up is that these went EOL on Sep 4, 2020.

I wouldn't touch these with a 20-foot pole (unless I was replacing ones already in service and with no other options available to me).

 

[Tech9]

@KCL, you probably need professional help from a local IT company. There no way to recommend proper hardware to you without knowing what requirements do you have. There is no way to give you advice in a public forum what licenses you may need. With Cisco the more you want, the more you pay. You may end up in thousands per year, if you overestimate your real needs. What's the idea?

 

[KCL]

@KCL, you probably need professional help from a local IT company. There no way to recommend proper hardware to you without knowing what requirements do you have. There is no way to give you advice in a public forum what licenses you may need. With Cisco the more you want, the more you pay. You may end up in thousands per year, if you overestimate your real needs. What's the idea?

Thanks for the reply, @Tech9!

I really wasn't asking about which licenses I need -- just the process of getting them. You're point about the ability of Cisco costs getting out of hand is spot on, from my reading. Was I mistaken that there is a level of support that comes free (initially) when you purchase a unit?

If I do approach a local IT firm, I want to make sure I have done my homework and have more than a modicum of knowledge about the topic. I have been doing a great deal of research on networking hardware and function (as I am basically the company's "IT Guy") and am trying to isolate and clarify the pieces that are still gray to me.

As far as approaching a local IT firm without having some info beforehand, see my previous reply regarding approaching folks who want to sell me something. I know, from experience doing a lot of freelancing that I very much appreciate a client who comes to me informed--so I will always try to do the legwork as far as I can.

 

[KCL]

I don't trust companies that 'play things close to their chests'. And it seems like both Server Supply and Cisco do.

What a quick search that I did turn up is that these went EOL on Sep 4, 2020.

I wouldn't touch these with a 20-foot pole (unless I was replacing ones already in service and with no other options available to me).

@L&LD,

That's good input! I've seen units on eBay that actually have time left on their service contract for pennies on the dollar and of course was suspicious. I've gotten some feedback that used units weren't that bad -- especially if you hire a reputable 3rd party for support.

If a unit reaches EoL, does Cisco completely divest themselves of any updates? Even if a significant vulnerability is found? If we go with 3rd party support, what can they do for support if Cisco stops updating firmware?

 

[Tech9]

What network we are talking about, how many users and what expected traffic, what security features you would like to have? We are talking about equipment before we know what this equipment is going to do.

 

[KCL]

@Tech9,

My question isn't really about what hardware I should get or how I should lay out the topology. I'm really not clear on exactly how a Service Contract is initiated when you purchase new hardware. Is a Service Contract included in the price? If that's not the case, do I have to buy from Cisco?

The Use Case:
5-10 person office with PoE phones and maybe 6 PoE cameras. Also, an on-prem NAS and a conference room with a large smart-board and video-conferencing capabilities. Will also add an access point for workstation/laptop connectivity. Phones will get heavy use throughout the day.

The group will primarily use the Microsoft Teams suite for comms, backing up to both the cloud and the NAS. The NAS, in turn, will replicate with another NAS across the country at a similarly equipped office. The apps they use for business are all cloud-based. The owner wants the NAS as a live backup in the case of an outage or potential ransomware attack -- also wants to keep the footage from the security cameras stored on it and replicated.

Now, I've done a first-pass spec for most of the hardware but am still figuring out the ins-and-outs of support so I can include it in my first-pass. If I do engage an IT firm, I'll go with a good idea of what I need.

But for this question, I'm not looking for hardware advice.

 

[Tech9]

Is a Service Contract included in the price?

No, you purchase the hardware and according to your needs add licenses for services. I use Cisco equipment in my business, but I don't pay any extra services. I like the hardware, but not the business model. I'm not sure how it works with newer firewalls, but the hardware used to come with 90-days evaluation and then Cisco Smart Account is needed plus Licenses for whatever you need - security software, VPN connections... depending on what features the firewall offers and what Cisco decided to charge customers for. The business model is milking customers as long as they use the product, naming common services differently and promising the best you can get. This is not always the case.

 

[KCL]

@Tech9,
Thank you! That helps immensely.