Obsolescence time period of Cisco Switches ??

[geckojohn]

I am considering purchasing multiple Cisco switches for a large network... and was wondering how long until they become obsolete and outdated, and need to be replaced. What is the general turnover time? I was thinking about 4-5 years.. Does anyone have any ideas? Any input would help. Thank you.

 

[Buddha Bart]

ahhh... depends

cisco 3000 series switches are however about as future-proof a switch as you can get. With the expansion modules you could give it a gigabit uplink to a beefier backbone, so they'll be usefull untill the day when end users need gigabit-to-the-desktop.

look into the switches with built in PoE (power over ethernet). If you're doing a new instalation/redesign now you'll wanna strongly look at VoIP.

bart

 

[Synoptic]

I haven't been in the business long enough to see a brand new series of switches become obsolete and outdated, but I agree with Buddha, the 3500 with PoE is a very good switch and should last well into the future. The 6509 is also good as far as a distribution point because it can support multiple types of blades, so a new blade may come out, but all you would have to do is buy the single blade instead of a whole new switch.

 

[spidey07]

really depends. Some times 2 years (i've seen first cisco products go End Of Sale 18 months after first customer ship). Sometimes 5. Look at the life of the 5000/5500 switches. The 6000/6500 will be the same with continued development for different technologies

 

[Garion]

From a functional perspective, network geat really doesn't get obsolete. It either meets your needs or it doesn't. 100BaseT hasn't changed (and won't). If it's enough speed for your users (and for most, even 10BaseT is FINE), there's no reason to throw out a switch, with two exceptions:

1: It's missing features you need - VOIP, powered ethernet, layer 3 switching, etch.

2: The manufacturer stops supporting it.

At my company, we have some network gear that's at least eight years old and it's still going strong. No problems whatsoever. If it dies, however, we're SOL, but we have spares to get it working.

If you're buying, however, always get in front of the curve, not behind it, for the two reasons I mentioned. Just best practice.

- G

 

[Garion]

Originally posted by: Synoptic
I haven't been in the business long enough to see a brand new series of switches become obsolete and outdated, but I agree with Buddha, the 3500 with PoE is a very good switch and should last well into the future. The 6509 is also good as far as a distribution point because it can support multiple types of blades, so a new blade may come out, but all you would have to do is buy the single blade instead of a whole new switch.

I hate to say it, but the only 3500 with POE is the 3524XP-PWR. It's only a few years old, but is getting replaced with the 3550 series. They don't have POE right now, but it's on the roadmap and, theoretically, will be upgradeable.

- G

 

[Synoptic]

For some reason I thought they had a 3548 with power, and I had no clue they were coming out with the 3550, I guess I should follow cisco a little better. Thanks for setting me straight

 

[spidey07]

maybe check out the end-of-sale announcements for the 2900xl and 3500xl switches.

all 2950 and 3550 series now.

 

[geckojohn]

Thank you for your help with this question. We are really considering the Cisco 3500 switches because of their many benefits and longetivity. The VOIP is a huge benefit and one of the major driving forces behind this decision.