Cisco SmartNet Alternative
& Network Maintenance

A third-party provider cannot supply Cisco software — but Cisco documents two lawful routes for you. Letting Cisco support lapse for more than 30 days can mean reinstatement fees (plus an inspection after 90 days), and for end-of-sale kit there may be no way back at all. See exactly where your kit stands.

For hardware support, yes. Servnet provides independent third-party maintenance for Cisco network hardware — fault diagnosis, advance replacement parts from UK stock, and on-site engineering — covering the same outcomes as SmartNet/SNTC hardware coverage, priced per device against your SmartNet renewal. The honest distinction is software: operating-system updates and TAC software cases come with a Cisco contract — Smart Net Total Care, rebranded Cisco Support for contracts created from 15 June 2025 — and no third-party provider can supply them. Cisco may still give non-contract customers free fixes for Critical- and High-severity security advisories, case by case, until a product reaches its Last Date of Support. We advise on the right split for your estate.

LDoS is the final milestone in Cisco’s end-of-life policy — typically around five years after End-of-Sale — after which Cisco provides no support, RMAs or fixes for that platform. SmartNet cannot be renewed beyond it. Servnet continues hardware maintenance past LDoS using certified spares, which is the most common reason organisations move Cisco kit to third-party maintenance.

Catalyst campus switches (9200–9600 and legacy 3850/3750/2960), Nexus 9000/7000/3000 data-centre switches, ISR and ASR routers, MDS fibre-channel SAN directors, and UCS C-/B-Series compute with Fabric Interconnects. Legacy platforms already past Cisco LDoS are fully supportable.

Partly — and more than most people assume. Cisco publishes its security advisories to the public, and where an advisory offers a free software update (typically for Critical- and High-severity vulnerabilities) a customer without a service contract can request it from Cisco TAC, quoting the device serial number and the advisory’s URL. Cisco decides free updates case by case, the device must have a valid Cisco software licence, and once a product passes its Last Date of Support Cisco no longer analyses or fixes its vulnerabilities. Feature releases and general software updates come with a Cisco support contract such as Smart Net Total Care (now Cisco Support). Cisco’s Third Party Maintenance FAQ confirms you can also buy a single operating-system software image from Cisco’s Global Price List irrespective of any support contract; it applies only to the device (by serial number) it was bought for. Many organisations run a stable, certified IOS image after LDoS and keep Servnet purely for hardware, adding Cisco software only where security or compliance requires it. We will map the right approach with you.

Yes. Servnet holds Cisco spares in UK stock and ships advance replacements to meet your SLA — NBD, 4-hour or same-day — with on-site engineering available. Whole-unit and line-card replacements are covered, including on platforms Cisco no longer supports.

It depends on the equipment, its age and the SLA, so we price each device against your current SmartNet renewal. As an independent benchmark, Gartner’s 2019 Market Guide for Data Center and Network Third-Party Hardware Maintenance put TPM savings at 50–70% off OEM support net prices. Send your Cisco inventory and current SmartNet contract for a like-for-like comparison within one business day.