[c-nsp] downloads broken?

[Justin Shore]

Justin M. Streiner wrote:
> On Tue, 18 Nov 2008, Jared Mauch wrote:
> 
>> I'm personally fed up with this crap from Cisco.
>>
>> They've broken so many things with software downloads over the years, 
>> including coded image access via FTP, crypto access via FTP, website 
>> requires cookies now to fetch the images, etc..
> 
> I feel your pain.  The main thing that really annoys me is Cisco's 
> tendency to re-design their website every 6-12 months, which is usually 
> just long enough to get used to navigating the changes from the previous 
> re-design.  Often, the redesigns seem to include a complete overhaul of 
> the guts of the site, so links to documents suddenly become broken.

The redesigns are murder on technical folks or anyone who uses their 
site constantly like pretty much everyone on this list.  I can 
understand the need to make the sales/marketing side of the website 
fluffy with all the requisite eye-candy of a geek's porn store.  Why do 
they have to hose up the technical support site at the same time?  We 
already bought the product so we really don't need or want to see the 
marketing crap.  They are constantly moving documents around or 
abandoning documents that contain tables of important, ever-changing 
data such as the routerperformance.pdf doc that hasn't been updated in 2 
damn years.

I ran across one yesterday while on the phone with TAC.  I was searching 
for info on IPSec L2L to MPLS VPN configuration and IPSec HA.  I knew 
that the doc "Cisco 7600 Series Router SIP, SSC, and SPA Software 
Configuration Guide" had most of what I was needing and dozens upon 
dozens of search results pointed me to it.  Unfortunately it was no 
where to be found.  Clicking any of the links pointing me to that doc 
dumped me back to the main page.  I didn't get a 404 or a 'sorry this 
page has moved, redirecting you now'.  All I got was dumped back to 
cisco.com and a big FU for my efforts.

> I've voiced those concerns to my account team.  You should too, if you 
> haven't already.

I've got bigger fish to fry with my account team like trying to get them 
to process an order that I submitted to them 2.5 months prior before it 
finally got processed and put into the system (does Cisco not want my 
money?).  Or trying to get our AM to process the return of hardware that 
doesn't work as advertised (IDSM2 on 7600s for example) that was 
purchased nearly 2 years ago and has been agreed to by the AM 
repeatedly.  Or trying to get callbacks on major design questions that 
will ultimately result in more Cisco hardware being purchased.  Or 
trying to get our AM to help fix a screwup in Cisco Returns with a RMAed 
router being lost in a warehouse somewhere even though I have 1) the 
signature of the Cisco person that signed for it (thanks UPS) and 2) a 
Telepan person acknowledging that the package had actually been received 
even through Cisco Returns doesn't agree, all before it gets sent to a 
collection agency AGAIN (long story).

I don't get to complain to them about the state of the website.  We 
don't get to talk about features we need like BFD support for SVIs.  We 
have to focus all our efforts on the major problems that have monetary 
costs with Cisco or we'll never get anything done.

Don't get me wrong.  I like our Cisco guys.  When they're here and 
standing in front of us they're great.  However when they leave we're 
out of sight out of mind.  I think they cover way to large of an area to 
really be an effective asset to us (possibly any of the customers in the 
area they serve).  They spend hours on the road daily going between 
customer sites.  They come through our neck of the woods once a month or 
so.  I see them a couple times a year on average.  I'm sure we're not a 
big fish in their area of the SP market, so put us in another smaller 
pond with other like-sized fish so we can get better service.  I can't 
tell you how many hours have been consumed by the wide assortment of 
non-technical Cisco problems we've been plagued with over the course of 
the last 6 months.  It would easily be an hour a day on average. 
Easily.  I find it increasingly difficult defending Cisco against people 
that want Cisco out.  No matter what the technical merit/value is of 
their products, the non-technical horseshit is getting really old.  What 
can we do to help?

Justin