Official way is to buy a SmartNet contract for the device, which is a bundle of 
support, hardware replacement and software upgrades for the duration, usually 1 
year.  To my knowledge, Cisco will not sell you just the software contract.  
Figure on the whole process taking a few days to over a week, depending on 
where you buy the SmartNet entitlement.  If you need it solely to fix a 
security issue, sometimes you can get Cisco to send you the patched version.

I do not feel guilty about buying a SmartNet contract for one device and then 
updating all my devices of that same or similar model.  Not when I buy a brand 
new router and a new module, and immediately have to buy a maintenance contract 
to update the firmware for that module to even be recognized.  Or when there is 
a major bug and again I have to buy a maintenance contract to fix the bug.


From: Glen Waldrop 
Sent: Tuesday, June 16, 2015 11:45 AM
To: [email protected] 
Subject: [AFMUG] Cisco IOS

My cable consult job is asking me for Cisco IOS since his cable support company 
can't/won't provide it.

Is it like UBNT/MT firmware where you can just upgrade or does it require a 
purchase?

Not a Cisco guy, though I think that goes without saying...

Reply via email to