We use Cisco Catalyst Switches for network connectivity.
Region Head - S1@Dimension Data India at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
Excellent technical support, stable, simple to install, and scales well
Pros and Cons
- "The performance of Cisco Catalyst Switches is good."
- "The only improvement I would like to see with Cisco Catalyst Switches is the pricing."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
The performance of Cisco Catalyst Switches is good.
What needs improvement?
The only improvement I would like to see with Cisco Catalyst Switches is the pricing.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Cisco Catalyst Switches for five years.
We use Cisco Catalyst, 9000 series.
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Cisco Catalyst Switches
June 2025

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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability of Cisco Catalyst Switches is good.
In our organization, we have more than 7,000 users.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Cisco Catalyst Switches are quite scalable.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support is excellent.
If there is one area where Cisco excels, it is in technical support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We use Dropbox occasionally. OneDrive is mainly what we use. We also, use Teams.
How was the initial setup?
The installation is straightforward. It's plug-and-play.
To deploy and maintain Cisco Catalyst Switches, we have a team of four people, which includes one manager and three administrators.
What about the implementation team?
You can install Cisco Catalyst Switches yourself.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We pay the licensing fees annually because we have an enterprise license agreement.
What other advice do I have?
There are other products that I personally prefer, but from an organization's perspective, I would recommend this solution.
I would rate Cisco Catalyst Switches a nine out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.

IT Manager at a construction company with 1-10 employees
High performance, scalable, and reliable
Pros and Cons
- "The solution has high performance and we do not have to troubleshoot the network."
What is our primary use case?
We are using Cisco Catalyst Switches as a network switch in our organization.
What is most valuable?
The solution has high performance and we do not have to troubleshoot the network.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Cisco Catalyst Switches for approximately 20 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I have found Cisco Catalyst Switches to be stable, we do not have any packet loss issues.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Cisco Catalyst Switches is scalable, we can expand the network regularly.
We have approximately 150 people using the solution in our organization.
How are customer service and support?
We used technical support during the installation but after we did not use them often.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We have used other smaller solutions in the past but we have moved back to Cisco solutions.
How was the initial setup?
It takes a few hours to have the hardware installed.
What about the implementation team?
We have a team of two engineers that do the implementation of the solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We are on an annual license to use this solution and the price of the solution could be reduced. We have spent hundreds of thousands on our Wi-Fi network.
What other advice do I have?
I highly recommend this solution to others.
I rate Cisco Catalyst Switches a ten out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Buyer's Guide
Cisco Catalyst Switches
June 2025

Learn what your peers think about Cisco Catalyst Switches. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: June 2025.
857,028 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Network Engineer at a security firm with 11-50 employees
A stable and scalable solution with expert technical support and good performance
Pros and Cons
- "The technical support is at an expert level."
- "The GUI should be addressed."
What is our primary use case?
We use the solution both in my company and in those of my customers.
What needs improvement?
The GUI should be addressed. I am not certain if they have this.
The solution is kind of expensive when compared with other products.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Cisco Catalyst Switches for two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is definitely stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is certainly scalable.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support is at an expert level.
How was the initial setup?
One only need have a feel for the setup to do this. Technically speaking, this is quite fine.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
When compared with other products, the solution is kind of on the expensive side.
What other advice do I have?
We are satisfied with the solution. It demonstrates good performance.
We rate Cisco Catalyst Switches as a nine-point-five out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:
Director, IT Infrastructure Department at Zemen Bank S.C.
Good for computation and backup; lacks some features and not user-friendly
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is good for computation and backup."
- "We need to rely on other devices to provide management features."
What is our primary use case?
Our company is in the financial sector and we are customers of Cisco.
What is most valuable?
The solution is good for computation and backup.
What needs improvement?
We need to rely on other devices to provide management features. Other solutions provide more features and Catalyst Switches is not user-friendly. Even the configuration is difficult for our new engineers. Cisco has some weaknesses.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using this solution for 13 years.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support is very good, but anything support-related is based on payment. Without paying you won't see any service from Cisco. The same goes for training which requires payment. Other solutions provide training without payment but not Cisco.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The technical support license is very difficult because you can only get support if you've purchased the hardware. After you own the devices you still have to pay for support and pay for the license. Everything is an added cost.
What other advice do I have?
There are alternative solutions now penetrating the market and because of difficulties with configuration in this product, there are now more appealing options.
I rate the solution seven out of 10.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Head of Production Information Systems/MES at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Stable and scalable but could be more secure
Pros and Cons
- "Catalyst Switches are easy to install."
- "Catalyst Switches could be more secure."
What is our primary use case?
Cisco Catalysts Switches can be useful for the future.
What needs improvement?
Catalyst Switches could be more secure.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using Catalyst Switches for about four or five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Cisco Catalyst Switches are stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have room to expand.
How are customer service and support?
We haven't used Cisco support for this. For the technical aspect of Cisco products, we have some in-house support in this aspect.
How was the initial setup?
Catalyst Switches are easy to install.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
My company gets the quote from the provider.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Cisco Catalyst Switches seven out of 10. I would recommend the solution to others.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Founder, Director at Tres Infosol Pvt. Ltd.
Stable and one of the easiest solutions to run and manage
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is stable."
- "The solution offers a bit of complexity and you need a specialized workforce."
What is our primary use case?
Office network
How has it helped my organization?
Stable solution
What is most valuable?
Everyone knows Cisco as a product. It is definitely one of the easiest solutions to run and manage.
It's a product that has dominated the marketplace for many years.
You have many professionals out there who are Cisco-certified, which makes them comfortable working with Cisco. Therefore, getting a trained workforce is easy when you look at Cisco from a deployment perspective.
The solution is stable.
What needs improvement?
The solution offers a bit of complexity and you need a specialized workforce.
The scalability can be a bit limited due to the stacking topology which limits the number of switches that can be added in a given stack
It's always a while before you can get through to technical support.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been dealing with the solution for a few weeks to a few months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is very stable. It's reliable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
When it comes to scalability, Cisco is the one who has been pretty heavy on the switch-stacking deployment topology, which hinders your capacity to scale, especially when you compare it against their arch-rival, Arista.
We have about ten clients who have been working with Cisco forever.
I'd recommend the solution to other organizations. When it comes to the budget, everything boils down to that and that's where Cisco would take the cake compared to Arista.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support could be better. When you call, the wait times are quite long. They need to hire more support or to work to make the wait times lower in some way.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I also have some experience and knowledge of Arista products.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is something like Arista, as they do have a central deployment model. The only complaint about Cisco is that too many units have to be deployed to have things done in a much better way, which makes it costly. They could improve on that and make it easier for the administrators to implement Cisco.
The size of the technical team you need for deployment and maintenance depends
completely on the size of the network and the kind of operations that you carry out as a company. With Cisco, you likely would need at least one person for every 50 or 60 switches.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution is less expensive than, for example, Arista.
What other advice do I have?
I'd rate the solution at a nine out of ten. The only complaint I have about Cisco is the wait time when you call tech support.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Integrator
Network Engineer at Saudi Customs
Stable, scalable, and it is easy to install
Pros and Cons
- "It is easy to install."
- "The price could be improved."
What needs improvement?
The price could be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Cisco Catalyst Switches for 25 or 30 years,
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We don't have any issues with the stability of Cisco Catalyst Switches.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Cisco Catalyst Switches are scalable.
We have approximately 20,000 people who use this solution.
How are customer service and technical support?
I have not contacted technical support.
How was the initial setup?
It is easy to install. Most of the engineers already know about it.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing could be cheaper.
There is a one-time license, but we pay for the smart net license every three years for support.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others.
I would rate Cisco Catalyst Switches a ten out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
IT Production Engineer at a consultancy with 201-500 employees
Highly scalable, helpful technical support, and installation reasonable
Pros and Cons
- "The solution highly scalable."
- "The solution was stable 10 years ago, there is room for improvement in this area."
What is our primary use case?
We use Cisco Catalyst Switches to connect devices to a network.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Cisco Catalyst Switches for approximately 10 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution was stable 10 years ago, there is room for improvement in this area.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution highly scalable.
We have approximately 650 users using this solution in my organization.
How are customer service and technical support?
The technical support experience has been mixed, it depends on the subject. There are occasions when we have a quick resolution and for others, there can be long discussions to receive a resolution.
How was the initial setup?
The installation was not difficult for me but I have been working with these types of solutions for a long time. It could be difficult for those with limited experience.
What about the implementation team?
We have a team of 10 engineers that do the implementation and maintenance of the solutions.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The cost of this solution could be less expensive, and we are on an annual license.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others.
I rate Cisco Catalyst Switches an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.

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Updated: June 2025
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