We use the solution as a switch for campus locations.
Founder at SDWAN Clan
High level technical support, scalable, and secure
Pros and Cons
- "One main feature with Cisco is you know you are going to get a very good switching infrastructure that is secure."
- "In a future upgrade, I would like to see integrated wireless in the solution."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
One main feature with Cisco is you know you are going to get a very good switching infrastructure that is secure.
What needs improvement?
In a future upgrade, I would like to see integrated wireless in the solution.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for approximately 20 years.
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Cisco Catalyst Switches
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability of this solution is really good because you can attach switches together. We currently have 5,000 users using the solution and we plan on having approximately 30,000 in the near future.
How are customer service and support?
Cisco provides great customer support.
How was the initial setup?
The solution installation is straightforward to a degree. It is not as smooth as it could be. You cannot do zero-touch provisioning.
What about the implementation team?
It is best to use a technician that understands the configuration file needed for the deployment and then there is some testing that is needed.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There needs to be some improvement with the Cisco DNA licensing activation process, it is difficult at the moment.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others. When my customers want security infrastructure on their campus locations this solution is the one I will continue to suggest.
I 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.

Converged Network Administrator at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Helpful support, very reliable, but has an outdated operating system and a weird pricing model
Pros and Cons
- "It is an infrastructure tool, so it is just providing a backend service. Its most useful feature is that it operates on a regular basis. It is reliable."
- "Cisco is weird about their pricing models, so that's one problem. Their operating system is also a little outdated."
What is most valuable?
It is an infrastructure tool, so it is just providing a backend service. Its most useful feature is that it operates on a regular basis. It is reliable.
What needs improvement?
Cisco is weird about their pricing models, so that's one problem. Their operating system is also a little outdated.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with this solution on and off for about ten years. We are using the Cisco Catalyst 9000 series.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is generally a very stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is weird in terms of scalability. By the time you get to the point of scaling up any equipment, which it is capable of doing relatively easily, it is usually out of date. You end up having to rip and replace everything anyway. So, technically, it is scalable, but in practicality, it is not.
We're sticking with this one for a while. I am not aware of any plans to increase its usage.
How are customer service and technical support?
Their tech support has always been very helpful to me. I have no issues there.
How was the initial setup?
If you are trained, it is very straightforward. You have to be skilled in order to get it going. They do provide support for those who don't have these skills.
What about the implementation team?
In terms of maintenance, one person could support a thousand people, but that would be a very busy job. It is better with a team.
What other advice do I have?
The best advice would be to get your training done so that you get a good overview of all the solutions.
I would rate Cisco Catalyst Switches a seven 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.
facility manager
Easy to configure, stable, and scalable
Pros and Cons
- "Configuring the solution is very easy. It's quite a straightforward process, and it's not difficult at all."
- "Compared to other switches, the Cisco products are expensive."
What is our primary use case?
We primarily use the solution for the LAN and WAN.
What is most valuable?
Configuring the solution is very easy. It's quite a straightforward process, and it's not difficult at all.
The solution has proven itself to be very stable.
We've found the solution to be quite scalable.
The initial setup is quick and simple. Technical support is very good.
What needs improvement?
You need to have dual powers, dual power points for each to take into account the redundancy.
Compared to other switches, the Cisco products are expensive.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for a long time now. It's been ten years. It's been at least a decade.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is quite stable. There are no bugs and glitches. It doesn't crash and freeze. It's reliable and the performance is good.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution scales well. If a company needs to expand it out, it can do so with relative ease.
Everyone in our company uses the solution. We have about 4,000 employees currently.
We do plan to continue to use the solution going forward.
How are customer service and technical support?
Cisco is available for support. We've been satisfied with them overall. I have no complaints.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
When I started with this company, they were using Cisco, and they've used Cisco since then. I do not know if any other solution has ever been used.
How was the initial setup?
The solution was not complex to set up. It was very straightforward and simple. It's a hot spot, and therefore everything happened very quickly. The experience was very good.
It took our IT department about three hours to set everything up for us.
We have 11 IT personnel in our organization that are capable of handling maintenance and deplyment.
What about the implementation team?
I'm just an end-user. Our IT department handled the installation and it was very simple. They didn't need the assistance of consultants or integrators. They handled it in-house themselves.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price is higher, however, I would argue that with the price you are getting a lot of value for money. That said, compared to other switches, the Cisco switches are expensive.
We pay a yearly licensing fee to Cisco.
What other advice do I have?
We keep changing the version as it comes in. Every time we are going a new installation, we do the new modem.
Cisco switches are superior. They're a robust product. Therefore, I would rate them at a nine out of ten overall. We are very satisfied with the technology.
I'd recommend the solution to other organizations.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Managing Director at Aster Networks
Stable, very reliable, and easily scalable
Pros and Cons
- "The configuration is easy."
- "The solution is quite expensive for our clients. It's a pain point for some companies. They should work to reduce the price."
What is our primary use case?
We primarily use the solution for networking and the UCS.
What is most valuable?
The solution is extremely reliable as a product. The clients very much appreciate that.
The configuration is easy.
The solution is customizable.
We've found the solution to be stable.
A company can scale a solution easily.
Technical support has been very helpful.
What needs improvement?
The solution is quite expensive for our clients. It's a pain point for some companies. They should work to reduce the price.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for a long while. I've used the solution basically since its inception.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We haven't had any issues with the stability of the solution. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's reliable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We typically deploy the solution to medium to large-scale enterprises.
The solution scales well. It's not hard for a company to expand it as they need to.
How are customer service and technical support?
We've been in touch with technical support in the past. We've found them to be helpful and responsive. They are quite helpful and very polite. We're very satisfied with the level of support we receive.
How was the initial setup?
I'm not a technical person. I didn't actually handle the initial installation for our organization.
There is little to no ongoing maintenance required once it is implemented. I'd say you have 1% to 2% of effort going into maintenance.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We've found the solution to be quite expensive.
What other advice do I have?
We are a premium partner with Cisco.
We use various versions of the solution. It depends on the client. We have multiple clients and each instance is unique.
It's deployed both on-premises and on the cloud.
I'd recommend the solution to other organizations. We've mostly been quite happy with the product.
I'd rate the solution at an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
Owner & General Manager at a media company with 1-10 employees
Advanced customization and manageability
Pros and Cons
- "The operating system is great."
- "They need to implement sFlow."
What is our primary use case?
We use this solution for a full range of layer two and only limited set of layer three services.
We are a backbone company and we provide a public service. The traffic of millions of users traverse Cisco switches, but they are not within our company. It's a public service.
We plan to increase our usage of this solution.
What is most valuable?
The operating system is great.
What needs improvement?
They need to implement sFlow, other than that, I can't think of anything else that needs to be improved — I am happy.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Cisco Catalyst Switches for roughly 10 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Cisco Catalyst Switches are very stable. We've been using them for 10 years without any issues.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We use an old model, they're not designed to be scalable. But in general, the Catalyst networking suite is scalable.
How are customer service and technical support?
For our application which is rather simple, we are using only 5% of the features that Cisco Catalyst switches offer. We haven't encountered any problems and therefore, we have not had to call technical support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We used to use other products, but our CTO loves Cisco.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward and very fast. In total, the whole installation process took two days.
What about the implementation team?
We deployed this solution by ourselves.
What was our ROI?
3-years
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price could always be lower.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Arista, Fiber Store, Dell, Extreme Networks
What other advice do I have?
I would absolutely recommend this solution to others. Overall, on a scale from one to ten, I would give Cisco Catalyst Switches a rating of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Other
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Group Head of IT at a maritime company with 501-1,000 employees
Very easy to manage with a long lifespan
Pros and Cons
- "Easy to manage, with a long lifespan."
- "Reporting could be improved as well as integration possibilities with other platforms."
What is our primary use case?
I'm the group head of IT and we are customers of Cisco.
What is most valuable?
In general, this is a good product with a long lifespan and easily managed. There is good local support available as well as principal support.
What needs improvement?
I'd like to see better reporting and also integration possibilities with other platforms. It's quite an expensive product and it would be helpful if they reduced the cost.
For how long have I used the solution?
We've been using this product for five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This product is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It's a scalable product.
How are customer service and technical support?
Support can be improved, it's usually a matter of your location. That aside, if you can reach them, the support is fine.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is quite straightforward although deployment takes some time because you need to carry out the configuration and attach some additional equipment. It can take a few hours. Our implementation partner helps with the base configuration, and then they draw on our internet team to work with them. Once completed, it's handed over to our team management. We've deployed the product on five sites and we usually have one or two people dealing with any issues that arise.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There is an annual license fee.
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.
Head of Corporate Security at a financial services firm with 201-500 employees
Good communication features, scalable, stable, and has good support
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature of this solution is communication."
- "When you compare it with HPE and Aruba, it should be fancier."
What is our primary use case?
We use Cisco Catalyst Switches for the LAN connection.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature of this solution is communication.
What needs improvement?
When you compare it with HPE and Aruba, it should be fancier.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Cisco Catalyst Switches for three years.
We are using version 2950.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability is great! We have not had any issues with stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It's a scalable product. It's very good.
We have approximately 200 users in our company.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support is very good. I would rate them a nine to ten out of ten.
We did not have any issues with technical support.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward. It's easy.
It can take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour to deploy.
What other advice do I have?
Plan well before implementing this solution.
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 PM at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Suitable for handling extreme temperatures, but the price could be better
Pros and Cons
- "It's got one feature, and that's handling extreme temperatures."
- "They should be cheaper."
What is our primary use case?
We use these switches outdoors.
What is most valuable?
It's got one feature, and that's handling extreme temperatures. Everything else is alright, and we buy them because they're suitable for extreme temperatures.
What needs improvement?
They should be cheaper.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Cisco Catalyst Rugged Series Switches for 15 years.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support is good.
How was the initial setup?
It's easy to install these switches. It takes about half an hour to implement one switch.
What about the implementation team?
We do it ourselves, and we use consultants and integrators.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It's overpriced and should be cheaper.
What other advice do I have?
I wouldn't recommend this product because it's overpriced.
On a scale from one to ten, I would give Cisco Catalyst Switches a four.
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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