Cisco Energy Tax is Real- Just Ask The Customer

"Another factor (in our decision to go with Nortel data) included costs savings on electrical consumption alone. This, combined with ease of configuration, time tested resiliency capabilities, and absence of code security issues commonly found in other vendor products provided a compelling case for making a switch from the University's incumbent vendor." That comes from Michael Firsdon, Network Engineering team lead at the University of Toledo (Ohio).

In fact the savings are no small change: $1.5M over 5 years, a number referenced by Joel Hackney at his keynote at Nortel user conference.

Customers are getting the facts on Nortel vs Cisco solutions, a key tool being the Nortel Energy Efficiency Calculator.

While Cisco may tell you that the Cisco Energy Tax is temporary (governments say this all the time to get a vote), don’t expect it to go away anytime soon.

I wrote about the Cisco Energy Tax being architecturally rooted and requiring significant product redesign.

But get the total scoop from JT Turgeon of our Ethernet Switching group, and draw your own conclusions.