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Imtiyaj Jamadar - PeerSpot reviewer
Information Technology Executive at Akums Drugs & Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
Real User
Top 5
Responsive support, stable, and scalable
Pros and Cons
  • "Cisco Ethernet Switches are stable."
  • "The management of the solution could improve."

What is our primary use case?

We have a local network and we have four Cisco Ethernet Switches that have 48 ports.

What needs improvement?

The management of the solution could improve.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Cisco Ethernet Switches are stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable.

Buyer's Guide
Cisco Ethernet Switches
June 2025
Learn what your peers think about Cisco Ethernet Switches. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: June 2025.
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How are customer service and support?

Cisco technical support is good. We have a better experience because we have local support when we have some technical problems. The team support is very good.

How was the initial setup?

The setup of the solution is easy.

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

The price of Cisco Ethernet Switches here in India is too high. There are other cheaper solutions available.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Our management has decided we should look into other solutions, and we are currently evaluating Juniper switches. We are checking the performance of the solution.

What other advice do I have?

Cisco products are good, but nowadays technology is changing, some other products are available in the market. We are checking some different products available. I'll see how the performance is and how it works on the network.

I rate Cisco Ethernet Switches a nine 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.
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
Account Manager at a computer software company with 11-50 employees
Reseller
Very stable, scales well, and has excellent technical support
Pros and Cons
  • "It's all-encompassing and can help you in all these different areas. If people realize that they want something that's going to work, that's pretty foolproof, then Cisco's always worth the investment."
  • "You do have to buy into the Cisco architecture to be able to use them."

What is our primary use case?

We have them set up for customers, including SMB, Kindergarten through grade 12 schools, higher education organizations, and some enterprises. It's pretty much been used for everything except the federal government.

What is most valuable?

The Cisco software does everything under one umbrella better than the competition. HP kind of has the capability. I'm not sure if they still have it, however, they used to license Cisco's iOS software for their own switches, which were decent switches as well. Now, there's Aruba, however, they've been through a bunch of different changes over the years. ThreeCom was part of HP for a while. In any case, Cisco offers sort of a one-stop-shop of options.

It's all-encompassing and can help you in all these different areas. If people realize that they want something that's going to work, that's pretty foolproof, then Cisco's always worth the investment.

The initial setup has gotten easier over the years.

The stability is excellent.

The solution is very scalable.

Technical support is quite helpful and responsive. 

What needs improvement?

The thing that people usually complain about is that they're a little bit more expensive than other options. That said, you get what you pay for and it's such a good solution.

You do have to buy into the Cisco architecture to be able to use them.

You have to make sure you size appropriately at the outset. They're for the smaller markets usually, and you just want to make sure you don't purchase something under what you might grow to. Users should try to think a little bit bigger than what they want just so that they can have extra ports if they need them, instead of having to buy another one quicker than expected.

For how long have I used the solution?

Our company has worked with Cisco probably for more than 20 years. The company is 31 years old, and we've actually always worked with Cisco Switches since the beginning. We have the same master engineer that has been with us for probably 28 of the 30 years. He's always been working with that.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is very stable. That's one of the main benefits of it. It's super stable, and it's been proven for years.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

They've got many solutions for small companies, which we work with, and some of our biggest customers, and even multinationals can use Cisco probably better than anybody else. That's why the fact that international community likes it so much. They can use it anywhere in the world in companies of any size. It scales very well.

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support is usually very good. You're paying for the best, so the tech support is really good as well. We are quite satisfied with the level of service provided. 

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

We also have experience with solutions such as Juniper, Aruba, and Ruckus. 

If the people want to save some money, they'll go with a Ruckus switch or something else as it's less expensive. With Cisco, it has you covered, however, it's a little bit more expensive, and if you don't like the fact that it's got the closed infrastructure, it's a closed architecture, you're not going to mix and match it with switches from other companies.

How was the initial setup?

In terms of the initial setup, I'm never really involved in it. It's our engineers that do that. It's a definite effort to get everything set up and working correctly. It's not just out of the box, however, these days they've all gotten so much better. The Cisco products of today would be much easier to put together than the ones in the past.

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

The pricing is high. It's expensive, however, you get what you pay for and it is an excellent solution.

What other advice do I have?

I would advise new users to work with a reseller that has a good history of working with Cisco and that can do a good game plan upfront with what your actual long-term goals and needs will be.

I'd rate the solution at an eight out of ten. The product is excellent, however, nothing is perfect, which is why I haven't rated it at a perfect ten. There are always ways to improve.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Reseller
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Cisco Ethernet Switches
June 2025
Learn what your peers think about Cisco Ethernet Switches. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: June 2025.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.
reviewer1638543 - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Engineer at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
Real User
Very scalable and easy to deploy, but has bugs that caused the switch to reboot
Pros and Cons
  • "It is very scalable."
  • "If we can have fewer bugs on our switches, that would be great. We had bugs that caused the switch to reboot. There is probably a problem with the software."

What is our primary use case?

We are using it for user connectivity. We are using its latest version. 

It is deployed on a public cloud and on-premises.

What is most valuable?

It is very scalable.

What needs improvement?

If we can have fewer bugs on our switches, that would be great. We had bugs that caused the switch to reboot. There is probably a problem with the software. 

Their technical support can be improved in terms of response time and overall efficiency.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for about 20 years.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is very scalable. We have about 8,000 users.

How are customer service and technical support?

We use their technical support a lot. They are okay. There is definitely room for improvement in terms of response time and overall efficiency.

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

We didn't use any other solution.

How was the initial setup?

For our setup here, it was pretty straightforward.

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

I pay a fixed price on it. I'm not the person on the pursing, so I don't really compare.

What other advice do I have?

I would advise others to shop around and maybe compare it with some of the other vendors such as Juniper or Arista.

I would rate Cisco Ethernet Switches a seven out of 10.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1026921 - PeerSpot reviewer
ICT Manager/Systems Administrator at a university with 201-500 employees
Real User
Easy to setup and easy to use with good stability
Pros and Cons
  • "The installation is very straightforward."
  • "Cisco could definitely work on delivering improved pricing to its customers."

What is most valuable?

We find that, mainly, stability is the solution's most valuable aspect. We normally don't have problems with the Cisco Switches. 

The ease of use is also great. It's very easy to work with and navigate.

The installation is very straightforward. You can likely handle it in-house.

The scalability is very good.

We've used technical support in the past and they've been very helpful.

What needs improvement?

Pricing is always an issue when you compare Cisco to other vendors. Cisco could definitely work on delivering improved pricing to its customers.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for about ten years now. It's been about a decade. We've used it for a while.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is great. Cisco is very reliable and the performance is good. There are no bugs or glitches and it doesn't crash or freeze.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution scales well. If a company needs to expand it, it can do so with ease.

We have about 1,300 users on the product currently.

How are customer service and technical support?

You can raise a ticket via the solution's technical support. I have done that before. I've found them to be very good. They are helpful and responsive in general.

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

I've worked with other networking equipment such as Aruba, Ruckus, Huawei, and even MikroTik.

How was the initial setup?

We have found the initial setup to be very easy and very straightforward. It's not too complex or overly difficult. A company shouldn't have any issues handling the process. Its implementation is quick as well. It is just a couple of minutes for the initial configuration of the circuit.

We have a team of four that can handle any deployment or maintenance tasks. They are mainly systems admins and engineers.

What about the implementation team?

I handled the implementation myself. I didn't need the assistance of an integrator or consultant at all.

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

The product is not cheap. It's quite expensive when you look at it as compared to other options on the market.

You have to pay for smart account licensing when you use this product.

What other advice do I have?

We're customers and end-users. I personally do not have a business relationship with Cisco.

Currently, I'm running an iteration of Cisco IOS 15.0 on 2960 Switches.

In general, we've been quite happy with the solution and I'd rate it at a nine out of ten overall.

I'd recommend the solution to other users. It's a very good product, however, sometimes, it can be expensive.

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.
PeerSpot user
IT Technical Support Manager at kiriazi
Real User
Stable ethernet switches
Pros and Cons
  • "I'm satisfied with Cisco switches. It's stable and beautiful."
  • "Technical support could be better. Firmware upgrades should be better. We have an issue with upgrading the firmware. It's not upgradable. I think it should be easy to improve and upgrade the firmware."

What is our primary use case?

We use Cisco Ethernet Switches for our data center, management center, and at our headquarters.

What is most valuable?

I'm satisfied with Cisco switches. It's stable and beautiful. 

What needs improvement?

Technical support could be better. Firmware upgrades should be better. We have an issue with upgrading the firmware. It's not upgradable. I think it should be easy to improve and upgrade the firmware.

Some of the powerboards could be better. I have about six models or six spots with Model 3550, and all of them have a defect in the powerboards.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Cisco Ethernet Switches for many years. I have many models, and some models are older than 20 years. They have worked up to now, and we have used the newest versions for about five years.

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support could be better. I think they take some long time to exchange a switch or replace it.

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

It's a little expensive.

What other advice do I have?

I would tell potential users that they should use it if it's within their budget.

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

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.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1578237 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Director of IT and Data Analytics at a performing arts with 201-500 employees
Real User
Scalable, good POE functionality, and responsive technical support
Pros and Cons
  • "One main feature of this solution is the POE switches."
  • "The interface and dashboard could look better."

What is our primary use case?

We are using the solution as switches for our organization's network.

What is most valuable?

One main feature of this solution is the POE switches.

What needs improvement?

The interface and dashboard could look better.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for approximately two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I have been using a lot of hardware that is probably close to 10 years old. We did have an issue once with one of our switches that would just auto-reset and wipe out and randomly restart. I do not know the full details, but we ended up just replacing it.

In the future, there should be readily available instructional videos.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability is pretty good, all you need to do is add more racks. We have approximately 70 people that rely on this solution from my organization.

How are customer service and technical support?

We paid for the technical support and they were good.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I have been evaluating Fortinet solutions.

What other advice do I have?

I rate Cisco Ethernet 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.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1531497 - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Admin at a transportation company with 201-500 employees
Real User
Deliver performance and security
Pros and Cons
  • "These switches are both stable and scalable."
  • "It would be nice if they had higher wattage for PoE+."

What is our primary use case?

We use these switches to improve client connections.

We're a manufacturing facility — we have POCs and terminals. We have maybe 90 to 100 users with desk phones, and roughly 20 printers.

We don't perform maintenance ourselves. A third-party company handles the maintenance. We also outsource other vendors to help us with some complex configurations that we've had implemented.  

What is most valuable?

I would like to have a way to access a graphical web interface, but they either have an outdated iOS or they don't work well with Flash. They don't work well or show us enough details. They don't show errors or bandwidth on particular reports. 

What needs improvement?

I don't know if there were optional models, but the models that we bought don't have a redundant power supply. It would be nice if they had higher wattage for PoE+.

It would also be nice if they didn't have plastic faceplates that break easily.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with Cisco Ethernet Switches for over 13 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

These switches are both stable and scalable. 

How are customer service and technical support?

Cisco's technical support is usually quite helpful.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is not complex, but it's not easy either. I know what to do with Cisco switches, but we had one FortiGate switch that we used to connect our firewalls which I liked because it was easy to set up and had a nice interface. 

What about the implementation team?

Deployment was easy. I just took it out of the box and configured it. Deployment only took a few hours. I deployed them myself. 

What was our ROI?

We haven't seen any gains as of yet.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I am interested in switching over to Fortinet FortiSwitches. I've been checking them out, comparing the price, features, and compatibility compared to Cisco Ethernet Switches. It may be a mixed environment for a while.

We're looking for a better graphical interface and price. 

What other advice do I have?

My advice would be to look at Fortinet. Overall, on a scale from one to ten, I would give Cisco Ethernet Switches a rating of eight. 

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.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1515924 - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Engineer at a educational organization with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Stable with good technical support and the capability to scale
Pros and Cons
  • "Tech support has always been good."
  • "They can make the licensing model a little easier."

What is our primary use case?

Generally, we use the product just to switch traffic.

How has it helped my organization?

They just work. Their reliability has been great for our organization.

What is most valuable?

We just need them to run. There's not any feature that we sought out and we bought them. We bought them due to the fact that we needed switching capabilities and Cisco is pretty reliable.

The solution can scale.

Technical support is helpful and responsive.

What needs improvement?

They can make the licensing model a little easier. I know they've made some recent changes, it's a little confusing. It's more complicated than it once was.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using Cisco switches for 20 years. It's been a very long time.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is quite stable. It's reliable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

They're doing the job fine. We have upgraded them when we needed to. We can scale as necessary.

I can't speak to how many users are currently on our switches.

How are customer service and technical support?

Tech support has always been good. They are helpful and responsive. I'm quite satisfied with their level of service.

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

We also use Aruba switches and Dell PowerConnect.

How was the initial setup?

The implementation process has a moderate level of difficulty. It's not straightforward or complex; it's somewhere in the middle. Sometimes they change the iOS around, and that lends itself to a bit of complexity. You have to work on updating items.

There were a couple of versions early on where we buy a different model switch and the operating system was different, with different commands and stuff.

We didn't really have a specific implementation strategy.

Initially, some of the switches took about an hour to implement.

I take care of the maintenance aspects of the product. You don't need a lot of people to do it.

What about the implementation team?

Occasionally, we've gotten outside help when we've needed it, however, most of the time I take care of that myself.

When we have gotten outside help, the experience has always been positive.

What was our ROI?

I haven't specifically witnessed any ROI while using this solution.

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

The licensing model is difficult to understand.

We get the SMARTnet and one of the switches has that Cisco ONE licensing. It's probably running about $12,000 a year right now. There aren't any add-on costs on top of that that I am aware of.

What other advice do I have?

We're just customers and end-users.

We've had several versions over the years, mostly Catalyst switches.

It's just a really solid product. I'd give the product a rating of eight out of ten as they are really good switches.

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.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Cisco Ethernet Switches Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: June 2025
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Buyer's Guide
Download our free Cisco Ethernet Switches Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.