Cisco Linksys Ethernet Switches Reviews

We primarily use the solution because of it's relatively cheaper price (as compared to other options).

The pricing of the solution is very good. It works well within our network.

There isn't anything negative to point out about the solution. Like all Cisco products, it's very good.

If possible, we'd like to see support in our country, but it will be difficult as we are located in Iran.

The solution doesn't have rich features and only offers a small support for expander products and protocols.

I've been using Cisco products for about ten years and Cisco Linksys ethernet switches for about four or five years.

The stability of the solution is very good. We've never had any issues. There are issues, however, with the Cisco firewall in the network. It may cause crashes, but the Lynksys solution has worked very well.

The solution is not scalable in a larger organization network; we prefer to use Cisco Catalyst Ethernet Switches for enterprise-level organizations. For smaller organizations, because of the price, Cisco Lynksys is a better choice.

We're located in Iran, and therefore don't have access to technical support for this or any other enterprise solution provider.

The initial setup is very easy.

Deployment times vary and are dependant on design options. However,  when I want to implement a basic installation and configuration, it does not take long. I can set up and run Cisco Ethernet solution in less than 10 minutes.

We handle the implementation ourselves.

All of our Cisco products are on-premises deployment models.

I'd recommend the solution for those who are price-conscious and those who are looking for good performance.

I'd rate the solution seven out of ten.

A lot of things can be better with these types of devices, however, it depends on Cisco's policies. These types of products could support more features and protocols in the future. Cisco could work to improve these types of products, by enhancing performance and other related items.

We are a tech services company and this is one of the solutions that we provide to our customers.

The primary use case for Cisco Linksys Ethernet Switches is for networking in a data center, or campus networking.

The most valuable feature of Cisco routers is that they are robust. One of our customers has a switch that has been running for more than ten years without any issues.

Having the option for a web-based interface would be an improvement over being forced to use the CLI. This is especially true for the high-end switches.

I have been dealing with these switches for quite some time.

Stability-wise, I think that they are good. I haven't had any issues with them.

The switches are all easy to scale. No problem there.

I have contacted technical support before and they are not so bad. The response time is quite good. Overall, I would say that they are average.

I have used switches by Cisco, D-Link, and Dell. The D-Link switches are not as robust and sometimes lose their configuration. The Dell switches are similar but cheaper than Cisco.

Overall, Cisco is the best switch.

The initial setup is straightforward. It's not so difficult.

The length of time for deployment depends on what you are doing and how much configuration is required. If it is plug and play then it won't take long, but if you have to configure the switch and use the CLI then it will take longer.

Cisco switches are a little expensive when it comes to the price. We are starting to phase out of the sale of these because of the higher price.

Cisco licenses are renewed every year.

My advice for anyone who is considering this type of solution is to first consider the budget. Dell switches are cheaper and they do almost the same thing as Cisco.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

On-premises

We use Cisco Linksys Switches to provide Wi-Fi access to the internet in open areas.

The most valuable feature of this solution is the support.

The pricing for this solution needs to be improved.

I would like to see built-in registration features for the users to help with accessing Google and other platforms.

I have been using this solution for about five years.

This is a stable solution.

This is a scalable product. We can expand our coverage or add users easily.

Thousands of people use our wireless service every day, including staff and visitors.

Technical support from Cisco is the best.

The switches were installed when I came to the company, so I was not part of the process.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

On-premises

We don't do the deployment in our environment, we are consulting.

Our clients use this solution for the logical segmentation of the network to the access layer, and remote log switches. 

They can also deploy the switches.

I like the ability to do the segmentation on the access layer. It allows you to segment the network into a zone or workgroups. By defining the VLAN you can logically separate the traffic. It helps minimize the risk with lateral movement and reduces the attack of Malware within your network.

I think that most everyone prefers a GUI rather than working through the command line. They have a GUI but it's not that interesting when you compare it to other vendors such as Check Point.

They should reduce the price to stay competitive. While the Cisco product is good, the pricing is not competitive. People will end up going with other cheaper solutions such as Arista.

The drawbacks come from support. The tools are rare, but to find someone knowledgeable with Cisco, is a problem.

There are issues with the C-Level required to maintain them and then to configure them.

I have been working with Ethernet Switches and doing technical work since 2010. Now I am doing architectural design work.

It's a stable solution. We have not experienced any bugs or issues.

Many data centers and enterprise data centers prefer Cisco to any other product because they are very stable.

This solution is scalable, it's easy to expand this platform.

I have not contacted technical support. I haven't done any configurations since 2010, and at that time I felt that it was difficult to find someone who was knowledgeable in Cisco.

I have not deployed this before, but from my research and my experience with Linksys, I think that it would be easy and straightforward.

I think that pricing should be more competitive.

If you want to be a Cisco master you need to have a good understanding of the command line and how to use it, which is difficult for some administrators. Many people would prefer solutions that you can configure through a GUI.

It is easier to configure an SPC as opposed to a Cisco switch.

People are finding alternative solutions because of the price. The same happened with Firewall landscapes, people are moving away from checkpoint and Cisco and going with Juniper or FortiGate, because of the pricing and licensing model.

I would suggest that people continuously upskill themselves to remain relevant in the industry.

I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.

On-premises

Cisco has many advanced features. These days they come in as advanced slavers from a feature perspective and we always try to lead with advanced features. Back in the day, it used to be LAN-based and IP-based. Now we need to focus on the new technologies that are out there. We will always try to lead with advance.

The only thing that needs to improve, the only stumbling block, especially in our region, is the cost of the solution. But from a hardware and software perspective, the feedback we get is essentially positive. Our users are very impressed with the product. 

I have been working on Cisco for more than 15 years now.

The stability of the program is excellent. 

The program is very scalable and I do recommend it to others.

The technical support is very good. I'm switching lead these days. Cisco has become so big and acquiring companies incidentally had some issues regarding malarkey. From a Cisco perspective, the support is absolutely great, but as I mentioned, some of the third party integrations that Cisco underwent, do not understand it yet.

The setup is very straightforward and the deployment doesn't take longer than an hour.

If you look at the product portfolio from Cisco, it's quite expensive. So you need to be up to date with the most specific model. You need to tailor every opportunity and look at what's best for the customer.

Cisco is absolutely the very best in its class. It's a no-nonsense type of solution. It's really a matter of taking it out of the box, setting it up and be up and running in no time. And you know you can walk away with confidence, knowing that the solution will work. There will be no hiccups, bugs, bug fixes, nothing. It's a simple solution that works every time.

On a scale from one to 10, I would rate it a 10. I really love this solution. In the next release, I would really love to see a list option. Cisco currently has various feature seats that the customer can choose from. I would really like to see the use of that. And I would like to see that included in the standard features. So once the customer buys the hardware, they get all the features and everything's enabled. So that's what I would recommend from my side and what'd I'd really love to see.

On-premises

We have used this solution mostly for small businesses. 

The primary use case of this solution is for connecting computers to a network.

Our clients have not provided any feedback. What they are interested in is that it is working and runs their network with no interruptions. This is why we purchase these switches for our customers.

It is not as good as the original switches Cisco previously had but it is better than other solutions.

Some of these switches are still using a GUI interface, but I would prefer using the command line interface like the original system. 

Lynksys are only switches using the GUI interface.

Scalability-wise, this solution is not designed for small businesses.

I have been using this solution for nine years.

This solution is stable and it runs without any interruptions.

This solution is scalable, but it depends on the business and the market. Some devices are oriented for the SMB market and not scalable.

There are other devices installed in companies where scalability is possible but it is not something that happens often. 

We use the old Cisco devices for clients who have more users and want to expand because they have more scalability features.

Our clients have between five and twenty users.

I have not used and technical support services. I have not needed to.

The initial setup was straightforward.

I know the technology and how it works so it was very easy to setup. Even the online setup is easy and straightforward.

I completed the implementation for our customers. I am the system engineer and provide this service for all of my clients.

Most of the clients don't understand what is going on with the devices. They would need help if they were to do implement it on their own.

It's an affordable price for small companies using on-premises networks where cloud services are too expensive for them.

Linksys is still on the market, but it's more Cisco now. It all depends on the customer's needs and budget.

The problem is the Java installation because most of them rely on Java, and that is the problem with all devices.

If you want a new modern dashboard or management utility, you have to replace the devices.

It's not easy to improve all of the functionalities, and there are new devices on the market.

It cannot be changed and we understand that.

Some devices have more features than what the customer needs or can use.

The computers are more powerful than the capabilities of the ordinary user.

They have already improved. I recently installed a Cisco device, the Cisco FirePower, and it's completely different they are not reliant on Java as they were before.

New devices have a new approach in the next generation in the firewall devices. It is changing.

It's not perfect but I am satisfied.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

On-premises

Manufacturing, server room, and office areas of former employer. Switches were great, except in the factory area, because the product is warmer. This was a machine shop with a lot of water-based coolant vapor in the air. This coalesced on cables, etc., and it made things sticky way up toward the ceiling where the switches and Cat 5 cables ran. I suspect that the coolant got into the switch and killed it. We replaced, then did it again.

They did not because in the factory area they kept failing, otherwise they were fine. That was not good enough after three Cisco and three Netgears all failed.

Manageable features, which we heavily used like web GUI and SNMP, except they failed in our environment. Unfortunately, this made them a wash for us. ProCurve switches were what replaced them eventually.

Make them tougher and more ruggedized for warmer and Industrial types of environments, and HumiSeal the main boards and internal components.

One to three years.

Eventually, we gave up using this product. We switched to Netgear ProSafe switches in the factory. We received the same result. What was weird was the web GUIs of both models failed as did SNMP and other features. Only basic plug and play features of switching seemed to work, but you could not ping the switches (managed models were all we used) and all of the management was dead.

What is interesting with Netgear: They allowed me to open our switch after three of theirs failed in the same way. I went through six switches in less than two years in this factory environment. Netgear allowed me to spray HumiSeal into their switch. I disassembled it, sealed the ports off, sprayed and dried the entire main board, then reassembled it. It still failed in the same fashion months later.

Eventually, we replaced it entirely with HPE ProCurve switches. They have never failed and still run to this day. 

What I find truly remarkable about Linksys Ethernet switches is that it offers great value at an unbeatable price point. We have been using Linksys ethernet switches for the past four years and it just gets the job done at a very low price.With Cisco acquiring Linksys and repackaging it as Cisco Small Business, that just attests to how good this product line is and the value that it brings to your business. This also validated our decision to go for Linksys switches for our mainstream work group switches before we decided to go for Cisco Catalyst. We are still using the old Linksys-branded SLM224G4 as well as the Cisco-branded SFE2000 24-port ethernet switches. Aesthetically, the old Linksys switches look better than the new ones.

It's hard to write something negative about a product that just works at a low price point. However, the only thing that probably set us aback with the Linksys switches is that there were some in the same purchase batch that did not last long. Sad to say, the shops that we purchased it from only gave us one year warranty and we had to replace it by buying a new one. If there one thing I find negative about this product, it's got to be the warranty. I say this as we also have HP ProCurve switches and it has lifetime warranty albeit at double the price of Linksys switches.

Overall, I would highly recommend this product. At the price point that it is at, if offers excellent value and performance for your business. What's more compelling is that it is not backed by Cisco.