Used to be a great company - they make hardware for networking. From iFixit:
Cisco Is Making It More Difficult to Use Pre-Owned Hardware
Without telling their customers, networking hardware manufacturer Cisco has drastically changed the way it sells products. Where once you were able to buy and sell used hardware at your leisure, its new Smart Licensing System — which has rolled out to a majority of Cisco’s products—decouple licenses from the hardware in an extremely user-unfriendly way.
And the upshot:
The End of Ownership
Since these devices are tied to the original purchaser’s account, you can’t simply buy a pre-owned switch and use it as you normally would. “This will dramatically change the ability to buy used or refurbished Cisco hardware that run smart licensing because the original end user only owns the hardware, not its usage,” explains Bone. “The buyer will not have entitlement and the units will not function.” Instead, you’ll have to re-purchase and re-certify the license with Cisco, which—according to Curvature—could cost enough to negate whatever savings you get from buying pre-owned hardware. This seems legally problematic for Cisco, since courts tend to rule against companies that block you from selling devices after you’ve purchased them.
The new operating systems "phone home" to Cisco and if the equipment is not at the location of the original purchaser, it reverts back to a limited evaluation mode. Your only option is to purchase a new license. Stupid move Cisco.
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