For those saying Cisco is so great, it's still fucked up pretty bad. IOS 12.1 and later doesn't allow an MTU > 1460 on L2TP, while 12.0.7(T) works fine with a 1492 MTU that my PPPoE customers expect. Every rev I've tried from 12.0 and up has problems with CEF when using ISL VLAN sub-interfaces, and without CEF, mac-accounting is screwed up.
If C brand worked properly as shipped how would Cisco support services and other consultancys survive? It's a MUCH bigger market in consulting services and Rent-a-Expert than the initial hardware/firmware sales. If Cisco shipped mostly working product then thousands of high paying jobs would be lost and probably a billion or more support dollars would never make the rounds in the economy. Microsoft and Cisco do the tech industry a HUGE favor by shipping misfunctional equipment/software to which consulting services and professional services can then step in and hawk their wares/bodys/solutions. If Cisco and Microsoft shipped properly working product the tech industry/economy would probably disintegrate! Once you understand the above, the technical industry starts to make a little more sense; its consulting and professional support services that drive the economy and not properly functioning gear! -Rob