Cisco ONE Software Device Tiering Guide-Part 1

We know that Cisco ONE Software suites have been introduced to provide a cost-effective and flexible way for customers to acquire software for their data center, WAN, switching, and wireless needs. Do you know how to choose the Cisco ONE Software License for your Cisco hardware? In the following part it shows you the Cisco ONE Software Device Tiering Guide that tells you more…

As described in the FAQ for Cisco ONE Software License Portability, the hardware product series and/or tier on which you have deployed your licenses determines your portability options. Licenses are portable within a product tier (for example, Cisco 2900 Series Integrated Services Routers (ISR) to 2900 Series ISR).

Devices with greater capabilities are categorized in a higher tier because they gain more benefit from the capabilities in Cisco ONE Software. You can port your licenses to a higher tier, but an upgrade fee may be involved.

Table1 describes the different equipment refresh scenarios. Subsequent tables describe the tiers for each family of hardware.

Table1. License portability use cases

Use Case	Policy	Cost
Refresh a device with a device in the same tier. Example: Cisco 2901 ISR to 2911 ISR	If a Cisco Software Support Services (SWSS) contract is in place, the software can be used on the new device.	None.
Refresh a device with a device in a higher tier. Example: Cisco 2901 ISR to 3925 ISR	You must pay a software upgrade fee to use the software from the original device on the replacement device. You must purchase an upgraded Cisco SWSS contract for the new software. You receive a credit for the old support contract.	The cost is the license cost on the new device minus the license cost on the old device, at current list prices, subject to customer-negotiated discounts. You also need to consider the cost of the upgraded Cisco SWSS contract.
Refresh a device with a device in a lower tier. Example: Cisco 3925 ISR to 2901 ISR	You are entitled to use the software deployed on your original device on a lower tier replacement device. You retain license portability rights associated with the original device family, so you can subsequently refresh the device back to the original device family. You can opt to downgrade the license permanently to the lower tier device family, which would allow you to renew your Cisco SWSS contract at a lower price. In that case, the license entitlement is set permanently to the lower-tier family.	None. The support contract remains with the original device family. If you permanently downgrade, you may renew your Cisco SWSS contract at a lower price.
Refresh a device with a next‑generation device. Example: Cisco 3925 ISR to 4000 Series ISR	In this case, the transfer depends on whether the next-generation Cisco 4000 Series ISR is considered the same tier as the existing device, or a higher or lower tier. Depending on the tier, the policies outlined above apply. In all cases, you must migrate your software licenses to a next-generation device before your older device reaches end of support. At this stage, your Cisco SWSS contact will have expired and you will not meet the portability criteria.	The tier of the next-generation device determines the cost. Depending on the tier, the policies outlined above apply.

Table2. Cisco routers and license portability tiers

Portability Tiers	Current Gen	Next Gen
Cisco Integrated Services Routers
Tier 1	ISR 8xx series
	ISR 819, 860, 880, and 890
Tier 2	Cisco ISR 19xx Series
	ISR 1921	ISR 4221
	ISR 1941	ISR 4321
Tier 3	Cisco ISR 29xx Series
	ISR 2901	ISR 4331
	ISR 2911	ISR4351
	ISR 2921
	ISR 2951
Tier 4	Cisco ISR 39xx Series
	ISR 3925	ISR4431
	ISR 3945	ISR4451
	ISR 3925E
	ISR 3945E
Cisco Aggregation Services Routers
Tier 5	Cisco ASR 10xx Series
	ASR 1001-X/HX
	ASR 1002-X/HX
	ASR 1004
	ASR 1006, ASR 1006X
	ASR 1009X
	ASR 1013

^* ASR 9K will have separate tiers specific to that platform (to be updated very soon)

In the next article we will continue to share the guidance on which Cisco switches, data center switches, wireless products belong to which tiers for the purposes of Cisco ONE license portability.

...To be continued...

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