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Network TCO Calculator

Total cost of ownership over the equipment life: capex, support, power, staff and circuits, with annual and per-port cost.

About Network TCO Calculator

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.

Formula

Network TCO

TCO = capex + (support + power + staff + circuits) × life in years.

support
Annual maintenance contract, expressed as a percentage of capex
life
Years the equipment stays in service before refresh

Worked example

With the default values below, Network TCO Calculator returns Total Cost of Ownership of $1,240,000. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Upfront capital costaccepts 0–1,000,000,000 currency
300,000 currency
Equipment lifeaccepts 1–20 years
5 years
Annual support and maintenanceaccepts 0–60 % of capex
18 % of capex
Annual power and cooling costaccepts 0–100,000,000 currency
26,000 currency
Annual operations staff costaccepts 0–100,000,000 currency
60,000 currency
Annual circuit and transit costaccepts 0–100,000,000 currency
48,000 currency
Ports deliveredaccepts 1–1,000,000 ports
960 ports

Results

Total Cost of Ownership
$1,240,000
Average Annual Cost
$248,000
Total Operating Cost Over the Life
$940,000
Operating Cost Share of TCO
75.8%
Cost per Port per Year
$258.33

Step by step

  1. 1Values used
  2. 2Network TCO
  3. 3Total Cost of Ownership= 1,240,000
  4. 4Average Annual Cost= 248,000
  5. 5Total Operating Cost Over the Life= 940,000
  6. 6Operating Cost Share of TCO= 75.8
  7. 7Cost per Port per Year= 258.33

Assumptions and limits

  • The result is derived only from the 7 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
  • In particular, this calculator does not take inflation or tax into account.
  • Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is Network TCO calculated?

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.

Why does Network TCO matter?

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.

What values do I need to enter?

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.

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Network TCO Calculator – Calculate Total Cost of Ownership