[Asterisk-Users] Upgrade Cisco 7910 with Asterisk ?

[Rich Adamson]

> > I guess that should depend as to whether it is hardware or software only.
> > 
> AFAIK all smartnet are software only... I've never heard of a hardware 
> contract.

Smartnet comes in serveral different flavors (eg, 24x7, 8x5) and
all of the flavors cover the hardware in addition to the software (at 
least in the US). Been using smartnet since around 1985.

Cisco actually stockpiles replacement hardware in key locations around
the US based on what customers have signed up for, and those key locations
are _not_ necessarily cisco sites. Most are contractual agreements with
selected carriers, and the carrier actually dispactches the replacement
hardware based on TAC orders. That's why they can sell 24x7 smartnet
contracts with 4 hour response times. The local cisco sales office is
not allowed to stockpile anything and, for the most part, will refer you
to the TAC folks for failures, assistance, etc. Resellers frequently
operate a little differently.

The smartnet contracts for the 79x0 phones includes replacement hardware
should the phone fail for any reason.

> (actually they're just an account on TAC which has access to certain 
> parts of the website - there's no physical part to them at all).

If you read the legal stuff that must be acknowledged when downloading
software (under any cisco contract), you can only legally download the
software for the stuff that you have under contract. But, I've never
heard them enforce the web acknowledgement with any company to date.