Cisco's cloud network push will tie licensing change to generational product refreshes

Cisco has quietly introduced changes to the licensing model for its Catalyst range, and will bring it to more products over time. The new licenses bundle payments for hardware, software, and support – not a massive conceptual leap, but one that Cisco customers have asked for to simplify the necessary chore of managing their …

[An_Old_Dog]

Looking Back

Wasn't one of the elements of the Department of Justice's long-running monopoly lawsuit against IBM the company's practice of bundling hardware and software? Now here's Cisco, the leading marketer of network switching equipment, planning to re-introduce that practice. I sense one-or-more impending lawsuits against Cisco. I feel a disturbance in the Force, as if millions of solicitors screamed, "Oh, yeah, baby! Gimme a piece of that action!"

[Yorick Hunt]

Re: Looking Back

Probably not. Given that Huawei was pushed out to secure Cisco's market share, it's highly unlikely that anyone with even a vague hope of successful litigation will go after them (and if someone does, the case will be thrown out on first reading).

The only solution is to move away from their products - and in the process discover bug-free, vulnerability-free solutions with proper support at a fraction of the price.

[The Quiet One]

Subsciption based licenses are a scourge on humanity this just about takes the biscuit.....

So now I need to pay $12k for a switch, plus $12k for a license that allows us to use OSPF, and then pay another $12k every three years for the privilege of using said device....

[Crypto Monad]

"The new licenses bundle payments for hardware, software, and support – not a massive conceptual leap, but one that Cisco customers have asked for"

Did they? REALLY?

[Yorick Hunt]

r/customers/shareholders

[tech101us]

Cisco's licensing model has always been a nightmare to navigate. HP had it right when they sold their Enterprise devices full boat for a fixed cost, lifetime warranty on the hardware, and reasonably priced support contracts. Unfortunately mergers, and trying to compete with industry giants using strong arm tactics, resulted in this industry we have to navigate nowadays where these corporations are squeezing every penny they can out of us. Also hate how Cisco's license model pretty much prices anyone wanting real Cisco gear (or even virtual) for home labs and education pretty much out of the market.