Cisco Ethernet Switches Reviews, Competitors and Pricing

reviewer1384011

IT Manager at a educational organization with 51-200 employees

Feb 5, 2021

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Ethernet switches that are highly user-friendly

Pros and Cons

"I like that it's easy to use."

"The price could be better."

What is our primary use case?

We use it for VLAN tagging and VLAN port enabling.

What is most valuable?

I like that it's easy to use.

What needs improvement?

The price could be better. It should be affordable for any organization.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Cisco Ethernet Switches for more than eight years.

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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I have never faced any issues with stability.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup isn't straightforward. It depends on how knowledgeable you are. But Cisco will support us whenever we buy products. There's product documentation that needs to be followed. It took hardly 15 minutes to set up and deploy.

However, the time can be extended if you want to configure different things. If you want to add VLANs, then it will take time. We have to decide on what we have to do before doing it. Based on that, the timeline will really differ. We have a tiny team at my organization, just two others working with me.

What about the implementation team?

I've always reached out to my consultant to support me whenever we buy a new switch. If they share some knowledge documents, I can look into that, and I can do it myself.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Cisco is an industry leader, but the price is very high.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend this product to potential users, but it depends on their requirements.

On a scale from one to ten, I would give Cisco Ethernet Switches an eight.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

reviewer780981

Solution Engineer at a tech services company

Oct 23, 2019

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Easy to deploy but they should maximize the number of ports

Pros and Cons

"The hardware is rugged. We use it for the basic configuration."

"We've had hardware problems like SSDs, ports, networking, things like that."

What is most valuable?

The hardware is rugged. We use it for the basic configuration.

What needs improvement?

Cisco has a layer three rugged switch. I don't know if they have it. The one I use is layer 2 only. Cisco should provide field switches, outdoor switches that have the capability for layer 3.

We've had hardware problems like SSDS, ports, networking, things like that.

They should maximize the number of ports. For me, that's important because we have some sites that the industrial switches lack ports so we have to install two industrial switches.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Stability is okay.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have around 500 switches deployed in one network.

How are customer service and technical support?

We haven't needed to contact their technical support.

How was the initial setup?

It's easy to deploy, just copy and paste. Installing the switches and configuring it, it takes only less than an hour. Installing the fibers takes time.

What other advice do I have?

My advice to someone considering this solution would be to have a good plan and a good design. It will go smoothly if you have a good design and a good plan. It's important.

I would rate it a seven out of ten. Not a ten because Mellanox is better compared to Ethernet switches.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Ethernet Switches

April 2024

Free Report: Cisco Ethernet Switches Reviews and More

Learn what your peers think about Cisco Ethernet Switches. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2024.

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768,857 professionals have used our research since 2012.

reviewer1083660

Technical Manager at a tech vendor with 11-50 employees

Jun 27, 2020

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Good monitoring and management features, but needs better integration with third-party products

Pros and Cons

"The most valuable features are network monitoring and management."

"Integration with third-party products could be improved."

What is our primary use case?

We are a solution provider and Cisco Ethernet Switches are one of the products that we implement for our customers. We also use them internally, and they make up the backbone of our network.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features are network monitoring and management.

Depending on the model, the switch might have its own firewall or router.

What needs improvement?

Integration with third-party products could be improved.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with Cisco Ethernet Switches for fifteen years, and have been reselling them for about six.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We have had no complaints about the stability of Cisco products. Once you install the switch, it just keeps running with little maintenance. Occasionally, we see a firmware update.

How are customer service and technical support?

For some of the higher-end switches, starting at the 6500 series, we need assistance from Cisco. For the 4000 series and below, we can manage them ourselves.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is very straightforward. We have not had any complications.

They are essentially plug-and-play, where you turn the power on and it will be working in a few seconds. Beyond this, if different configurations are needed to satisfy the user's requirements then it takes a lot of time. That said, the entire deployment will only take a few hours or a day at the most.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

We are happy with the pricing from Cisco.

What other advice do I have?

This is a very good product and definitely one that I recommend.

I would rate this solution a seven 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

it_user111150

System Engineer Monitoring and Response at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees

May 23, 2017

Pro's and Con's - Cisco vs. Juniper

Competitive strength – Cisco and Juniper are a good fit in any data centre.

Competitive weaknesses –

Cisco takes a proprietary spin on standards, increasing fear of vendor lock-in and cost to replace. Juniper has to spend time explaining the technology.
Cisco’s Nexus portfolio is broad and complex, requiring advanced skills to design, deploy and manage which increases costs. Juniper’s market share remains small compared to equally well-known competitors and calls into question the company’s ability to execute and attract channel and other partners.

Current Perspective –

Cisco switches remains a leader in the data centre due to both market presence and portfolio breadth.
Cisco switches continues to win new customers based on both its portfolio and its technology partner network

Strength and weaknesses

Cisco’s portfolio of switches, servers, software and services makes it one of the preeminent data centre technology partners for enterprises today.
Cisco constantly strives to develop and deliver cutting edge solutions through innovations that meet the needs customers face today.
By simplifying operations, Juniper’s networks increase business agility and at the same reduce operating expenses
Cisco is a company driven by the market and by customers, and the resulting solutions produced and offered are a direct result of that demand
Junipers inter operate with any vendor’s switch devices very well.

Convergence

Cisco is the only vendor that delivers an all Unified Ports form factor of switches that can support any Ethernet or storage protocol (FC, FCoE, iSCSI, and NAS).

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

it_user3396Team Lead at Tata Consultancy Services

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May 30, 2017

Cool report

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it_user116220

Works at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees

Jul 14, 2014

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Best in its class but warranty costs are high. This is the reason HP and Juniper are getting their clients

What is most valuable?

High Availability, Toughness under temperature rise situations.

How has it helped my organization?

Integration of Voice and Data over a single wire without any loss in voice quality. Security throughout LAN and WAN devices. Redundancy and extremely high availability of devices.

What needs improvement?

The Warranty costs are high. This is the reason HP and Juniper are somehow getting their clients.

For how long have I used the solution?

9 Years.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

Sometimes it is quite complex as there is still the need for qualified technicians. For example: in the case of Cisco Nexus series.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

How are customer service and technical support?

Customer Service: GoodTechnical Support: Good

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have used, 3com, Dell, Dlink but didn’t find the ease of use and features rich device!

How was the initial setup?

Initial Setup with Cisco device configuration is always quite easy. They have a setup wizard that asks you the parameters that are needed to make the switch up and running.

What about the implementation team?

Yes, our Client used a vendor team. Their work was fine; they were experts in settings up the small data center.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

HP, Dlink.

What other advice do I have?

Go for the Cisco Solution if Your Company can afford support Service and Warranty cost in future.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

it_user117876Network Engineer at a tech company with 51-200 employees

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Jul 16, 2014

In my experience, the cisco devices do handle extremes quite well, I've worked with millitary deployable kit thats dropped off trucks or out of aircraft, or in mine sites with unstable power and numerous other nasties. The biggest issue with these kinds of environments is dust and extreme temperatures, or in the outback the bull dust, being sucked through the machines, not an issue until moisture is also incurred. All vendor network devices will suffer under those forms of conditions, but the Cisco kit still seems to keep ticking even with that sort of harsh treatment. Can't say what the Cisco RMA returns engineers would think on opening up a returned device thats full of bulldust though, I'd assume that might void the warranty :-).

it_user92235

Security System Engineer at a wholesaler/distributor

Mar 4, 2014

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The interface needs improvement to make it more friendly but overall the products are reliable

What is most valuable?

Reliability and availability

How has it helped my organization?

Eliminates weak points, it simply does its job.

What needs improvement?

More friendly interface, less Cisco centric approach

For how long have I used the solution?

8 years

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

How are customer service and technical support?

Customer Service: Rather good, I've only needed to contact them on really rare occasions.Technical Support: There was no need for technical support. T only thing I did was a memory upgrade which was quick and not problematic.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Yes, linux based routers such as pfsense, zentyal. Those solutions were much more unstable. I also used some less known switches. First power supply issues eliminates them fast.

How was the initial setup?

If you have the proper knowledge level there is no problems with initial setup. You simply need to know what are you doing.

What about the implementation team?

In-house

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Initial costs were reasonable and the day-to-day cost is the cost of keeping a Cisco engineer on staff

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Yes- 3com, Mikrotik

What other advice do I have?

Hire/educate a Cisco engineer or a fast learning IT manager.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

it_user92235

Security System Engineer at a wholesaler/distributor

Mar 2, 2014

Pro's and Con's of transitioning from Juniper to Cisco

I recently spoke with a colleague who transitioned from Juniper to Cisco. We agreed that each solutions is completely different and each one has its strong and weak points.

The transition process was rather hard. It was hard to change approach and rare similarities were sometimes misleading for my colleague. Although Cisco is moving away from the standard monolithic IOS straight to modular architecture there are many disadvantages for somebody who 'thinks modular'.

Personally I have experience with Cisco and although I have some difficulties and a Cisco-centric way of thinking, I prefer it over the others. But if I would possibility need to be involved in a Juniper environment, I think it would be worth to walk through the transition process.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.