Cisco Smart Net Details and Benefits

A SMARTnet contract gives you 24x7 access to the Cisco Experts at the TAC (Technical Assistance Centre), these are highly skilled engineers, including certified and CCIE professionals. Your SMARTnet contract entitles you to more than just assistance with hardware failures, the TAC will help you with other issues including the configuration of your product and connectivity and upgrading.

A SMARTnet contract gives you the right to upgrade the software on your Cisco appliance. Cisco constantly improve the features and capabilities of their equipment, these features and enhancements are only available by installing the latest software version. Additionally, by not installing the latest software on your device, you are potentially exposed to bugs and software vulnerabilities.

Within 60 minutes of your problem being reported to the TAC, you will be talking to an Engineer, he will understand your issues and offer you solutions. If it is concluded that the hardware is faulty, a replacement unit, of exactly the same configuration, will be shipped to arrive at your site within the agreed maintenance period.

Provided as a web based maintenance contract, it provides:

• A range of hardware replacement options, within a defined time period, with or without a field engineer.
• Software (IOS) updates and upgrades.
• Online and telephone access to Cisco technology experts.

We believe that the supply and purchase of Cisco SMARTnet requires simplification, so please feel free to use our Support Calculator online tool to select the SMARTnet product you require, or even to verify your existing level of cover.

You may purchase different levels of SMARTnet depending on your needs...

With the Cisco Base support program Cisco will provide access to its Technical Assistance Centre (TAC), twenty-four (24) hours a day, to assist you with product use, configuration and troubleshooting. Cisco will respond to you within one (1) hour for all calls received from 8: 00 a.m. to 5: 00 p.m. of the local TAC Time Zone for your region), Monday through Friday excluding scheduled local holidays ("Normal Business Hours") and for Priority 1 and 2 calls received outside the Normal Business Hours. For lower priority calls received outside the Normal Business Hours, Cisco will respond no later than its next business day. Cisco will use reasonable commercial efforts to generate solutions to software problems. Cisco will support each software release for thirty-six (36) months from the date of first commercial shipment of that release. Cisco will provide access to its web page, CCO, which will also provide you with new releases of software and/or documentation online.

Once a fault has been identified with your covered device Cisco will ship a replacement before your faulty device is returned - this is called Advance Replacement and does not require the defective part to be returned first. Cisco Advance Replacement provides a full year of advance replacement coverage, access to the public portion of Cisco Connection Online and technical support. Replacement hardware will be delivered by the Next Business Day (NBD), but no Software upgrades or updates are provided.

Provides customers with software maintenance, registered access to CCO, advance replacement of hardware, and technical support required for self-maintenance. SMARTnet maintenance has three delivery options:

• SMARTnet Next Business Day (NBD)--8 hours/day, 5 days/week, next-business-day hardware replacement
• SMARTnet 8 x 5 x 4--8 hours/day, 5 days/week, 4-hour hardware replacement
• SMARTnet 24 x 7 x 4--24 hours/day, 7 days/week, 4-hour hardware replacement

Provides all the benefits of SMARTnet maintenance, plus the presence of a Cisco trained Field Engineer to install your replacement hardware. SMARTnet Onsite has three delivery options:

• SMARTnet Onsite--8 hours/day, 5 days/week, next-business-day response
• SMARTnet Onsite 8 x 5 x 4--8 hours/day, 5 days/week, 4-hour response
• SMARTnet Onsite 24 x 7 x 4--24 hours/day, 7 days/week, 4-hour response