Have questions about wireless bridging and getting your signals to reach Point A to Point B? Wondering what the allowable limit of obstruction is between your antennae? Well, here’s some good news.

In this short video, Nathan, CXtec’s Wireless Product Engineer, explains some factors involved with wireless bridging, including a quick analysis of the Fresnel Zone.

Find a helpful diagram to help with your Fresnel Zone calculations here: www.afar.net/fresnel-zone-calculator/

Are you someone who has ruled out using Cisco in your network because you think the costs are too high?

Hey, we can sympathize. You’ll find no judgment here. Cisco technology has numerous merits and it’s the most popular choice around the world. But as a manufacturer, they’re always pushing the latest and greatest products, and the costs involved with that can really add up on you.

However, there are so many people out there who can afford Cisco and they just don’t know it.

So what are you to do?

Well, have you thought about top quality used Cisco? Wait. Before you fall back on the tired old knee-jerk reactions and myths about pre-owned network hardware, just read on.

What if you could get used Cisco products that are as good as new and have a reliability rating better than new hardware?

Sounds a little better, doesn’t it?

Here are a few reasons why we recommend using high quality pre-owned Cisco hardware  and how it makes Cisco  affordable for you.

Don’t think used Cisco, think as good as new

Answer this question.

What do you really get when you buy brand new Cisco hardware?

Now imagine that all of those positive things you get from new product can also come from buying used Cisco.

Yes, it’s possible.

If you thought about high reliability, a great warranty, and the peace of mind of SMARTnet maintenance coverage, then we have good news. High quality used Cisco can rival those, with a few little bonuses thrown in.

High Quality Used Cisco vs New Cisco

Better than new reliability

For instance, the reliability rating CXtec backs its equal2new hardware with is a robust 99.51%. You might not realize it, but that rating is actually just as good as new products. Now you won’t find manufacturers, Cisco included, routinely telling you what their failure rate is, but most new product failures happen with DOA items or devices that fail within the first 30 days.

The nice thing about high quality pre-owned equipment is that most devices will work nearly flawlessly once burned in. And unlike manufacturers, CXtec tests absolutely every piece of equal2new hardware that goes out our doors. Manufacturers tend to just do spot-checks on every 50^th or 100^th device leaving their doors.

Warranty for a lifetime

It’s hard to see an advantage for new Cisco products in this regard when most come with the standard 90-day warranty. In contrast, you don’t have to look very hard to find top quality pre-owned Cisco hardware with a lifetime warranty and first year advance replacement.

Affordable peace of mind

People often point to SMARTnet as being one of their prime reasons for preferring new Cisco hardware. There’s no arguing that SMARTnet is a quality program.

However, what if you could get next business day advance replacement for your Cisco gear, but it would cost as much as 60% less than SMARTnet?

There are some great amazing Cisco SMARTnet alternatives that allow people to save a bunch of money. You will get a quick, simple, reliable option to guarantee your hardware is up and running in a flash, at a fraction of the cost.

And the best part…

Save from 50% to 90% List! Can You Afford That?

Now that you know you can find top quality used Cisco equipment, what would be the icing on the cake? Well, consider the fact that equal2new certified pre-owned Cisco equipment routinely costs upwards of 70% or more off list price, then you really have something to take note of.

Get all of the benefits you are looking for from new Cisco and a ton of savings? Why not give it shot? With a lifetime warranty backing up the product and NBD hardware replacement, you have nothing to lose.

How Dependable is that State-of-the-art Network Hardware You Just Bought?

You start out with this premise:

My business cannot afford a single minute of network downtime.

From that point on, you make a number of decisions with the end goal of zero downtime in mind.

Now there’s nothing wrong with that premise. It’s very sound from a business point of view. You should have the goal of achieving zero downtime in your network. But sometimes we use flawed logic, or we overlook crucial components, when we enact our plan to achieve that zero downtime goal.

Is the safe bet really that safe?

The first decision we make is to go out and get the manufacturer’s brand new, latest and greatest, state-of-the-art network hardware. The thinking behind this decision is that it must be the right move. It’s new, it has really high throughput capabilities, it can definitely handle all of our needs.

Well know all those things are probably true. But let’s back up for just a second.

There are a few factors to consider in this decision, and a few reasons to maybe consider implementing refurbished hardware as well.

1. The price factor

That new equipment is going to cost more than refurbished hardware. Your budget will take a hit on all of that fancy new gear.

2. The reliability factor

 We assume that new hardware is the most reliable, but are we sure of that. Most reputable refurbished hardware vendors will come right out and tell you what the reliability rating is on their gear. They test every piece, they track every piece, they know. But OEMs run spot checks on their hardware. So 1 out of every what… 50?…100?… units actually gets checked. And they don’t tell us what their failure rate is. So are we really sure that new is more reliable than pre-owned?

3. The too much factor

Many times we get new equipment because of that massive throughput promise, but all we wind up doing is getting too much technology for our needs. Wouldn’t it make sense to gauge our business needs and get the right pieces of technology to meet them? Especially when the alternative is paying too much money for technology we don’t really need or could even utilize?

And let’s not forget…

So, the above are all factors to consider. Even if you ask yourself those questions and still think you require that new, state-of-the-art OEM solution, there’s still one more critical factor to consider:

What about cabling?

It’s almost a dirty little secret that no one seems to want to address. Even if you invest in the big-time new equipment, you will still need high-quality cabling solutions to make that hardware worth its cost.

In closing

So before you start crunching those big numbers and figuring out how much it’s going to cost you to go bleeding-edge, take a quick step back and consider the above factors. It’s possible you won’t necessarily need brand new hardware. The refurbished option could save you a bundle. And if you do go with new, get a solid cabling partner to help you along the way. Because at the end of the day, it’s about making the wisest investment you can, and then getting the best performance out of that investment for as long as you can.

IT professionals who work in and manage networks always stress the importance of performance and uptime. Downtime is a very bad word in the IT world.

Yet, IT pros do a very curious thing. They gamble with their network every day. Some do it knowingly and others are unaware.

People gamble with network downtime needlessly. They make this terrible mistake, experience downtime, and it is all avoidable.

IT professionals are concerned with obtaining and implementing the right, high-performance network hardware. They are more than willing to spend substantial amounts of money on these purchases. After all, these purchases can be kind of cool and feel really important.

On the other hand, many of these same IT professionals who claim to be dedicated to high-performance and uptime completely ignore an essential piece of the network pie. They disrespect layer one and fail to use highest quality cables and cabling products.

All Cables Are Not Created Equal.

You see it all over IT forums and online communities. Concerned IT pros will post questions about cables and you see a bunch of replies like this…

“Ahh… cables are all the same. Just get the cheapest you can find online.”

“I don’t think much about it. They are just cables.”

“We just get the first cables we find. I’m not all that concerned about it.”

“We shop for the lowest price we can find. We haven’t had a problem so far.”

Since lots of IT pros are saying this kind of thing, what is about to be said may not be popular.

Do not listen to these people. A cable is not just a cable.  Sure, maybe it can seem that way on the surface. But that really is a superficial analysis of something that can either…

(A) greatly improve your network’s performance

OR

(B) slow down or take your network down in a hurry

Embracing the attitude that a cable is just a cable is taking on unnecessary risk. If anything, an IT pro should be the one who is concerned with managing risk.

It’s strange that a person who states that they are highly concerned with performance and uptime could take for granted the medium by which much of the information is transported. This is not something to take lightly for the sake of saving a a few cents here and there.

When one really takes the time to look at the difference in quality and performance in cables, it’s a real eye-opener.

Sure you can take the needless risk of buying the cheapest cables you can find. You can take the attitude of the the comments above. You can say, “Cables are all the same. Just get the cheapest you can find.” But you are doing so at your own peril.

Are you going to roll the dice on cheap cables?

Cables Are Important. Treat Them With Respect.

Just ask anyone who has experienced network problems that were caused by not respecting layer one and not managing their cable infrastructure properly. It’s not pretty.

Being unconcerned with your cables, buying the cheapest you can find and falling back on “We’ve never had a problem yet” is kind of like eating poorly, not exercising and not buying life insurance because there hasn’t been a major problem yet. Sure, it’s a bit of a strong analogy, but the point is that this attitude is a dangerous one to have. You are inviting unnecessary risk into your life without proper protection.

Spending lots of money on hardware and then buying the cheapest cables you can find can be a lot like driving a Ferrari on a road full of potholes.

If you haven’t yet, you should think about doing some homework on cables. For instance, go learn how fiber cables work, what makes a high-performance cable, what causes dB loss, how do failures happen, what is the best way to implement cables and maximize performance, etc.

If you truly are concerned with performance and minimizing downtime in your network it is highly recommended that you take some time to do some research.

CXtec and CABLExpress have a wide variety of ways you can learn all about cables. There is a series of fun informational cable videos, a blog, and webinars from experienced experts that specialize in cabling solutions.

What do you do with old network hardware when you get new hardware?

I recently asked IT professionals on Spiceworks this question.

I got lots of replies with a variety of answers. It was good that I asked because it was a learning experience.

Here is a sampling of the kinds of responses I received:

• Thrown out
• Sold
• We look for a vendor with a trade-up or trade-in program
• Donated to churches, schools, charities
• New hardware? What’s that?
• We run it into the ground.
• We put our e-waste into a green IT box , fill it up, and have it taken away to environmentally dispose of the contents.

So, what do you do? Ask yourself if you abide by these 3 principles.

(1) Do you get value for your used hardware?

As an organization with financial responsibilities it’s a good idea to get value in return for your hardware. What does that mean? How do you get the most value? Well, if you take your hardware and simply chuck it you may be throwing away money (and inviting problems into your life). As the saying goes, one man’s trash is another’s treasure. So, check if your hardware still has market value. You could get more money than you think for it.

"A penny saved is a penny earned." - Ben Franklin

Companies like CXtec will buy a wide variety of network hardware, business phones and other devices. Plus, they have a cool option of getting cash for your equipment or you can get credit toward new hardware you want. People who get into this practice understand how much money adds up to over time.

(2) Are you thinking about security?

Far too many people are not thinking about security nearly enough when dealing with their used IT hardware. It’s so important. A company’s data is so valuable. Do not compromise it or leave it vulnerable in the process of disposing of it. Whatever you do or whomever you are working with, please make sure proper data destruction is being done.

(3) Are you thinking about environmental and other regulations?

Regardless of your situation, considering the environment and regulations is no joke. Sure, there are a lot of people trying to do the most resourceful and environmentally wise thing when it comes to old hardware. No matter what you do, you have to be thinking about environmental and other regulations. There are plenty of them and they are no joke. Unless you enjoy huge fines and really bad press, you had better handle your hardware correctly. That’s just how it is.

How does one do this?  Well, you can learn all the rules and regulations and take care all of that yourself. That’s commendable.

If you don’t have the time or resources for this, you have other options. You can partner up with a company who offers services that handle this process in a way that is fully compliant with regulations and is environmentally friendly.

Again, you can get money for your used hardware from companies who properly handle the hardware. This not only offers a way to be compliant with laws and regulations, but it is the most green option. Re-using something is way more green than recycling or disposing of it.

If you can’t get money for your hardware, you can choose services for recycling and disposing of your hardware appropriately. A good company can provide documentation that your hardware has been handled correctly. Look for companies that are well established, financially sound, have industry association and certifications. It’s best if you work with an R2/RIOS certified electronics recycler.

The lesson

When you are deciding where your old hardware goes keep these 3 things in mind. Abiding by these 3 principles can make your organization more profitable, resourceful and secure.