How does CXtec provide the best value with our equal2new equipment? The equation is simple. We buy quality hardware from end-users; certify it as equal2new using the industry’s finest refurbishing process, then sell it at fantastic discounts off list to our customers.

Simple right? It is, but it mandates that the first step in the process is really the most important. It’s imperative we get our hands on quality used networking equipment and phones, so that we can relay that value on to our customers. That’s why we pay top dollar for all the used networking hardware we buy.

We need phones

As you can tell by the title of this blog, right now we’re looking especially for Nortel 1140E phones. But this certainly isn’t all we’re looking for. Here are few other models we’re out searching for right now:

• 3Com 102PE
• Avaya 1603SW
• Cisco 7941G
• Mitel Superset 4025

These are just a few. To see a more complete list of our most wanted phones, just click here.

We need networking equipment

We’re also always looking for used networking hardware to buy. Here are some of the models we’re looking for now:

• 3Com 3300 8P FX
• Cisco Catalyst 3750X 48 Port Full PoE IP Base
• HP ProCurve 2848
• Nortel Baystack 5520
• Aruba AP-105 Dual Access Wireless Access Point

We’re looking for lots more. Check out a complete list of our most wanted networking equipment by going here.

Don’t see the equipment on our lists that you’re looking to sell? Hey, that doesn’t mean we don’t want it. Give us a call anytime at 800.767.3282 and we’ll offer you cash, credit or trade for your used networking hardware and phones!

Here’s a message for all those IT professionals working in the education sector. How many times has this happened to you? You spend the spring and summer gearing up for those huge projects you had planned while the students are out. You do your research, you do your buying, you carry out your plan and everything goes off smoothly.

But then the students arrive back and you realize you’re a bit short on the technology you implemented. You need an extra couple switches, a few more wireless access points here and there, some more phones, the cabling to hook it all up…

It’s not a pleasant scenario. You did your research and spending based on the assumption that you had your bases covered. Now you have to come up with a little more budget money to get your technology platform where it needs to be. What do you do?

No Need to Panic

Take a bit of advice from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and don’t panic! Now is the time to put into action the best trump card you have in your hand – pre-owned networking and voice hardware!

At CXtec, we’re helping customers in this predicament all the time. And it’s usually right around late September/early October when they realize they have a problem. Education IT professionals this time of year are always looking for quality used networking hardware at a great price to help them get the capacity they need.

The good news is if you choose the right vendor, you can get stellar quality refurbished networking equipment you can rely on, at a price that will make you breathe a sigh of relief.

A Life Vest for Less

CXtec’s own equal2new certified pre-owned hardware is backed by a lifetime warranty with first year advance replacement and a 99.51% reliability rating, but it’s still up to 90% off list price. So you get quality you can trust, at the price you can fit into your budget.

In fact, we’re running great deals on our already low prices for equipment such as:

• equal2new® HP 2910AL-24G SWITCH 24PT 10/100/1000 (J9145A#ABA)
• equal2new® NORTEL 5520 48 PORT 10/100/1000 ETHERNET ROUTING SWITCH (AL1001E05-E5)
• equal2new® CISCO 7911G IP PHONES (CP-7911G)
• equal2new® LUCENT/AVAYA 4610SW CORDED IP PHONES (700259673)
• equal2new® 3Com 3101 IP PHONES (3C10401SPKRA)

And this just scratches the surface of the great deals we’re offering right now.

The Solution is Out There

Don’t worry if you happened to forget a little bit of technology for those projects you completed recently. Quality used network hardware is really just a phone call away, and it can be just the solution you’re seeking. Get a great product, with a great warranty, at a great price and get your network back on track.

Today we are going to talk about compatible SFPs. To most, buying SFPs is an afterthought.

This is a mistake.

Wasting money is foolish. This is all the more true when you are talking about IT. IT is all about practical solutions. Like it or not, money is a key to obtaining the resources to implement these solutions.

Compatible SFPs – A Little Something to Consider

Next time you find yourself firing off an email or making a call to pick up a couple [insert manufacturer name here] SFPs for your switch, think twice. Consider manufacturer compatible SFP modules.

It’s a pretty safe bet that if you saw a manufacturer SFP module side-by-side with a first-party OEM SFP module without the label, you probably wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. It’s a safe bet because they are essentially the same – the only difference is the label.

The first-party compatible SFP module contains the same opto-electronics and is supplied by the same distributors as the higher-priced manufacturer SFPs you would buy from a company like Cisco. They are the same hardware.

How much are you willing to spend on a label?

The extra money you spend is going to a label. Who knows? Maybe you really like the label. Maybe it is a really well-designed label. It is visually striking. That would be swell if you were an art buyer. You’re not. You are an IT professional.

I want you to think about every SFP (or GBIC) your company ever bought or will have to buy. Now imagine that you paid roughly half on each SFP. Now add that number up. Not a tiny sum.

Now, take the money you could be saving on essentially the same hardware and add to that the fact that if you work with the right company, you can get a lifetime warranty on compatible SFPs.

So, now you have been informed. Now you can get everything you need from your SFP modules and save a bundle. Or you can continue to buy the manufacturer SFP modules. If that’s the case, I hope you like the labels.

Hopefully, this bit of information will help.

Here are some examples of top quality compatible SFPs:

GLC-SX-MM Cisco Compatible SFP module

JX- SFP-1GE-SX  Juniper Compatible SFP module

AA1419074 Nortel Compatible SFP Module

J9151A HP Compatible SFP Module

We do a lot of reading about IT and networking news and trends around here. January was a pretty darn good month for IT news. January is always a fun month, as predictions for the new year come out and folks are genuinely excited and optimistic about what the year will bring.

We’ve assembled some of our favorite articles here. Check them out!

CRN

• HP Networking Boss: Watch Out Cisco, We’re Coming On Strong – HP’s networking business grew 12% in 2011, and they’re feeling emboldened. They’ve put Cisco on notice, creating some must-read material for Cisco and HP users alike.

• Avaya IP Office 8.0 Puts Mobility On Speed Dial – Avaya has expanded its UC suite with an app called One-X Mobile Preferred, extending customers’ functions to Google Android devices. They plan to add Apple devices to the app later in the first quarter.

InformationWeek

• 5 Areas That Will Drive IT Spending – How will IT professionals be spending budget money in 2012? InformationWeek did the unthinkable – asked them!

• Cisco Leads Tight Pack In Data Center Networking – This is a commentary, not really hard news, but it’s pretty eye-opening. InformationWeek surveyed 500 IT pros and found that Cisco holds only a razor-thin edge on its competition. Interesting stuff.

• 2012 State Of Databases: Pricey And In Flux – “Children, the times they are a-becoming quite different.” This quote from Principal Seymour Skinner jumped immediately to mind when we read this article. IT pros are saying vendors need to step their games up. Data rates and prices are rising, as is discontent.

Network World

• End-of-Life Cisco Hardware – What Are Your Options? – Frank Kobuszewski, the VP of CXtec’s Technology Solutions Group, wrote a blog post outlining options for end-of-life Cisco hardware. And the same day, Cisco announced some of their bread and butter switches are going end-of-life. We then wrote a blog post of our own to help customers understand the process and their options. Compelling material for everyone with Cisco hardware in their infrastructures.

• More Android users take phones into bathroom than do iPhone, BlackBerry users – Ok, this one is more just for fun (or gross-out), but we found this research fascinating for some reason. Just for fun, read this one in the bathroom! Just kidding, please don’t.

That covers January. We have a feeling February will bring more interesting IT news, so we’ll keep an eye out for that.

CXtec can help you get extra cash for your IT budget. We know what you’re thinking: “Yeah, right.”

Here’s the thing: we’re not kidding. We can bolster your budget, and help you get rid of those old switches, routers and phones you have lying around.

CXtec is currently looking to buy your used:

• 3Com switches
• Avaya digital and IP phones
• Cisco Catalyst switches
• Cisco phones
• Cisco wireless access points
• HP ProCurve switches
• HP wireless access points
• Mitel phones
• Nortel phones

Don’t see what you have here? Give us a call at 1.800.767.3282.