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Facing Upcoming 2020 Cisco EOSL Deadlines

Many organizations have had to tighten their budgets to make it through the current recession and unexpected shutdowns. The OEMs like Cisco, however, haven’t changed their forced refresh cycle in light of companies’ inability to spend freely on their already expensive data centers. Whether you’re ready to invest again in new equipment for your infrastructure or not, 2020 Cisco EOSL deadlines are still fast approaching. Businesses don’t have to choose between a costly technology refresh or losing support for their EOSL devices. Cisco’s refresh schedule doesn’t have to be yours. Take back control of your data center. Option One for 2020 Cisco EOSL Hardware: Third-Party Maintenance Cisco dropping support for its EOSL hardware doesn’t mean you have to refresh your equipment or continue running critical workloads on unsupported hardware. The [...]

Knowing Your Options for Cisco Nexus 7000 End of Life

It seems like just yesterday that your Cisco Nexus 7000 was a brand-new product, but EOL for the Nexus 7000 was announced back in August of 2013, and EOSL was called the following year. More recently, it was announced that the last day to renew your support contracts was mid-November of this year, and the last day that you will receive “applicable service and support” from Cisco will be August 31, 2019. In short, the 7000s are well on their way to complete OEM retirement. But those 7000s could still be going strong in your environments. If you don’t have any complaints about performance or production, why fix what isn’t broken? Choosing to Take the Replacement Route In short, the Cisco Nexus 7700s are the most straightforward drop-in replacement solution [...]

FixIT: How to Upgrade Cisco 3850 IOS

At CentricsIT, we are your IT experts. When any IT maintenance issue arises in your data center we are here to help. If there is an error code you can’t fix, let us assist you in our monthly FixIT column. This month, we're focusing on how to upgrade Cisco 3850 IOS using TFTP and USB. The procedure to upgrade Cisco 3850 IOS is very easy but it is a bit different than the usual software image of previous switches i.e 3750 etc. The main difference is that the Cisco 3850 switch runs IOS-XE so you have to copy the .bin file to the flash on the switch, and then install the software on the switch. Download the required image from the Cisco website Begin the install Reboot the switch Step 1 - Copy the [...]

Cisco Devices Reaching EOSL in 2018: What Are Your Options?

"Cisco Devices Reaching EOSL in 2018: What Are Your Options?" was contributed by CentricsIT Account Executive Davis Fisher. Davis is a data center solutions expert who specializes in cost reduction and IT lifecycle optimization. He works from the CentricsIT office in Charlotte, NC (USA). If you have a Cisco device reaching EOSL in your environment in 2018, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s time to decommission a device that is still functioning well. It’s smart to look at keeping those in production and continuing to utilize them. There are several devices you can extend the life on and continue getting the most out of your initial purchase. When you make the decision to delay a refresh, you’re making a budget-conscious decision, as it relates to the initial CapEx investment. Because most IT [...]

Striving for Gold: The Technology Running the 2016 Summer Olympics

The 2016 Summer Olympics are fast approaching. Due to take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from August 5-21, the games will host athletes from around the world ready to compete for a chance at a gold medal. And, just as the athletes have been preparing for the Games, so have the countless vendors, employees and volunteers who are handling the technology requirements. The event promises to bring hundreds of thousands of visitors to the area, in addition to the more than 3.6 billion viewers expected to watch the Games. The data and technology needs for accommodating them is tremendous. To meet these demands, the International Olympic Committee recently opened the Technology Operations Centre (TOC) for the 2016 Games. The TOC supervises all 144 Olympic competition and non-competition venues. During [...]

How We See IT: Cisco UCS C220 M3

How We See IT: For this month's How We See IT feature, we are focusing on the Cisco UCS C220 M3 rack server. The Cisco UCS model is known for its ability to combine virtualization, computing, storage access, and networking into one unified system. This model is great for optimized performance speeds and flexibility within a data center. The UCS M3 can handle a wide range of workloads demanded by any business, from small web-based application hosting to extensive database distribution. The M3 server is ideal for customers in need of a cohesive solution designed to simplify their data centers. Features and Capabilities The UCS C220 M3 is optimal for general purpose, compatible with nearly all 2-socket applications, and is easily adaptable. Complete with a Cisco UCS Virtual Interface Card, [...]

FIXIT: CISCO ERROR CODE X2PLUGGABLESEEPROMREADFAILED

Here at CentricsIT, we are your IT experts. When any IT maintenance issue arises in your data center, we are here to help. If there is an error code you can't fix, let us assist you in our monthly FixIT column. This month, we're focusing on the Cisco error: X2PLUGGABLESEEPROMREADFAILED This is an error code that occurs if you have a Cisco module with TenGigabitEthernet X2 ports and are in need of 1 GigabitEthernet SFP ports instead. This happens when you install the TwinGig Converter Module into the X2 port, and configuration issue arises. When installing the converter module, the configuration is not entirely intuitive, and further action is required to address the issue. Once the TwinGig Converter has been installed, the console will display the following message: *Sep 3 [...]

How We See IT: Cisco N5K C5548UP-FA

At CentricsIT, we are your IT experts, and here is what we have to say about Cisco N5K C5548UP-FA. Your Needs: Innovative Architectural Flexibility Infrastructure Simplicity Business Agility How We See IT: The Cisco Nexus 5548UP switch is the first of the Cisco Nexus 5500 Series portfolio. Using cut-through architecture, the Cisco Nexus N5K 5548UP-FA is one-rack-unit (1RU) that supports 10 Gigabit Ethernet on all ports, while maintaining consistently low latency independent of packet size and services enabled. It also supports a set of network technologies collectively known as Data Center Bridging (DCB). DCB increases the reliability, efficiency, and scalability of Ethernet networks. As a result, the switches are able to support multiple traffic classes over a lossless Ethernet fabric, while enabling consolidation of LAN, SAN, and cluster environments. The [...]