If you are looking for a router that runs a relatively modern version of Cisco IOS, either for learning purposes or because you just like Cisco routers, eBay is flooded with used 3945s because the whole product family (19xx / 29xx / 39xx) just started going EoL - you can't add them to a support contract as of December of last year, but software updates will be available through at least the end of 2020. [Note - if you don't have one already on contract, you can't get the updates from Cisco. But a number of 'unofficial' sites have them.]
3945s come with a wide variety of software licenses (enforced by the hardware). A large number of the ones on eBay have come from a brick-and-mortar clothing store chain with a 3-letter name starting with G. Those units have a single PoE-capable power supply, 1GB of RAM, 1 64-channel voice DSP card, a 2-port T1 card, and 2 24-port 10/100 PoE Ethernet switching modules. The included software licenses are ipbase (needed to do anything), security (needed for VPN, etc.), uc (needed for VoIP stuff) and data (lots of obscure protocols like DECnet, Netware, etc. as well as support for things like network analysis modules). One eBay seller (username surfday, labels his listing pictures as WaveCom) has been selling these since the beginning of the year for $149 with free shipping, and has sold several dozen. He has 4 of them listed right now as item 372613076106. I've purchased several from him and they have all been fine, though they vary from slightly dusty to positively caked with dust - I suggest a good blowing-out with canned air before powering them up. Other than that, I have no connection with him (or any other eBay seller of similar equipment).
If you don't know Cisco IOS and don't need to learn it, these aren't for you. But if you want to learn, these can run the latest "classic" IOS - 15.7(3)M4. There are a lot of online resources for learning IOS, and I can try to help people when I have time. Note that these are neither quiet nor particularly low power consumption - you can visit the Cisco web site and search for "3945" to read all of the documentation / specs / etc. (you don't need to register to do any of that).
[Note - any hotlinks in this post are auto-generated advertising links and were not added by me.]
3945s come with a wide variety of software licenses (enforced by the hardware). A large number of the ones on eBay have come from a brick-and-mortar clothing store chain with a 3-letter name starting with G. Those units have a single PoE-capable power supply, 1GB of RAM, 1 64-channel voice DSP card, a 2-port T1 card, and 2 24-port 10/100 PoE Ethernet switching modules. The included software licenses are ipbase (needed to do anything), security (needed for VPN, etc.), uc (needed for VoIP stuff) and data (lots of obscure protocols like DECnet, Netware, etc. as well as support for things like network analysis modules). One eBay seller (username surfday, labels his listing pictures as WaveCom) has been selling these since the beginning of the year for $149 with free shipping, and has sold several dozen. He has 4 of them listed right now as item 372613076106. I've purchased several from him and they have all been fine, though they vary from slightly dusty to positively caked with dust - I suggest a good blowing-out with canned air before powering them up. Other than that, I have no connection with him (or any other eBay seller of similar equipment).
If you don't know Cisco IOS and don't need to learn it, these aren't for you. But if you want to learn, these can run the latest "classic" IOS - 15.7(3)M4. There are a lot of online resources for learning IOS, and I can try to help people when I have time. Note that these are neither quiet nor particularly low power consumption - you can visit the Cisco web site and search for "3945" to read all of the documentation / specs / etc. (you don't need to register to do any of that).
[Note - any hotlinks in this post are auto-generated advertising links and were not added by me.]
Last edited: