5 ms·
The reason for this is counterfeit hardware. All nexus switches, APIC controllers, and UCS hw use TPM to validate software licensing. Invalid license, hardware
by o-__-o 7y ago
The reason for this is counterfeit hardware. All nexus switches, APIC controllers, and UCS hw use TPM to validate software licensing. Invalid license, hardware is locked down. Witnessed this first hand on a bad APIC (ps call your favorite Cisco rep, they will hand out old ACI hardware like candy to a 3 year old)
Back in the IOS days there were many stories of calling into smartnet and finding the hardware you bought new from CDW had a serial different from Cisco’s master list. Cisco would cut you off for fear of liability, the owner would dump the hw onto the used market and lather-rinse-repeat with another unsuspecting fowl.
- DangitBobby 7y agoWhy should it be possible for a third party to deactivate my hardware for any reason after I bought it?
- dalksfjid 7y agoBecause if a product comes new, and is used in an attack against a customer, Cisco could be found liable. Considering the high stakes implementations high end Cisco gear can be found in, this is not a small concern. Anyways, when you're buying hardware at this price point, you're not just paying for a box that moves packets.
- viraptor 7y agoI don't believe Cisco would be liable. Just like not a single manufacturer was liable for Mirai.
- bnjms 7y agoI don’t think we’re buying hardware anymore at this level. I think we’re buying software and support with hardware included. Not sure how I feel about this on all situations but I’d say that’s the only perspective the vendors can defend. It’s too bad for them too since eventually someone will build free software too.
- Silhouette 7y agoIt’s too bad for them too since eventually someone will build free software too. In many cases, they already are, though it's debatable whether it's ready to compete head-on with the major commercial offerings. You can buy white box switches and open software platforms to control them for SDN purposes right now, for example. But I'd say so far the main SDN suites haven't built up a great reputation and a lot of IT groups still prefer to source everything from one supplier with an expensive but all-encompassing support contract.
- topranks 7y agoYou can run commodity / white box switches in regular old mode, with routing protocols etc. Just because you have a Broadcom chip doesn’t mean you need to use some new-fangled centralized / crontroller based control plane.
- Silhouette 7y agoSure. My point was just that the more free/open alternatives to newer technologies in the industry aren't necessarily advanced enough yet to displace coughing up whatever it takes to buy big name brands and their big budget support contracts so everything comes from one place.
- dehrmann 7y agoA lot of this bad serial number hardware was built by the "night shift" at the same factory making the official hardware. These things just happen when you outsource.