cisco licensing

You don't.

End-of-Sale means that Cisco doesn't sell it anymore, and End-of-Life means that they don't support it anymore. It's just like trying to buy a license for Windows95 from Microsoft, not gonna happen.

ok so as far as legalities go, I'm just trying to work out if one can legally use cisco gear without a license if they have refused to provide a license for it. I have eol cisco gear and I want to use it both peronally and professionally and I don't know where I stand with cisco on that.

Legally, the original purchaser of the box still has the license that they originally purchased and can continue to use it until it dies.

When they sell a box that has been EOS'd, then they are selling a box of rocks. Legally, they can't transfer their license away, and legally, the receipient can't buy a license to run the box.

Now, is Cisco going to come after you for using a used box that you bought and didn't buy the proper re-license thing before they stopped selling it? Most likely not. Will they go after resellers selling used things without any indication of relicense? Maybe.

I'd say use it as you like, but with the expectation that you can't get support on it or update it. Being Cisco, it'll probably run just fine for quite some time.

I had asked that question before. The unofficial consensus seemed to have been the following:

The software that comes with the box follows the box. Software which you buy separately is not transferable.

So if a switch comes with software specific to that switch and you can't buy the switch without the software, then that software stays with the switch. But any optional components would not.

thanks for the reply but I would be supplying and selling him the eol gear he needs for the job at hand. This is not because of profit but because I would have confidence in gear I've tested and used. You're right in what you say but getting the client to buy eol gear from someone else dumps the licensing problem onto him and I feel obliged to take care of the licensing as part of an ethical service.

AFAIK, what it boils down to is that Cisco would not "officially" support it. Of course, if you wave money to buy a contract or something like that it would not hurt their feelings either. Also, what really matters IMHO is that unless you have a cert you cannot get the IOS upgrades for that device. Otherwise, I personally believe Cisco would not mind if you use old/EOL'd hardware. Most people who study for the exams do that, and I believe Cisco even mentioned before to look for used hardware when studying. Point is the more people buy used hardware, the more people knowledgeable in their products will be out there. So, when they have to recommend network stuff, which brand would they prefer?