Total cost of ownership over the equipment life: capex, support, power, staff and circuits, with annual and per-port cost.
Capex is a one-off but every other line repeats annually, so over a five-year life the operating costs usually exceed the purchase price. Expressing support as a percentage of capex reflects how vendors actually price maintenance. Purchase-price comparisons routinely pick the more expensive option, because a cheaper box with a 22% support contract and higher power draw costs more before the warranty expires.
Network TCO
TCO = capex + (support + power + staff + circuits) × life in years.
TCO = capex + (support + power + staff + circuits) × life in years. Capex is a one-off but every other line repeats annually, so over a five-year life the operating costs usually exceed the purchase price. Expressing support as a percentage of capex reflects how vendors actually price maintenance.
Purchase-price comparisons routinely pick the more expensive option, because a cheaper box with a 22% support contract and higher power draw costs more before the warranty expires.
This calculator takes 7 inputs: Upfront capital cost, Equipment life, Annual support and maintenance, Annual power and cooling cost, Annual operations staff cost, Annual circuit and transit cost, Ports delivered. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.