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Cisco MDS Series pros and cons

Vendor: Cisco
4.6 out of 5

Pros & Cons summary

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Prominent pros & cons

PROS

Ease of deployment and upgrade is considered highly valuable.
Issues with Cisco MDS Series are extremely rare, ensuring reliability.
Cisco MDS Series is recognized for exceptional security features.
Reliability, support, and scalability are crucial aspects.
SAN switches in Cisco MDS Series are valuable for company use.

CONS

Cisco MDS Series should be shipped with the latest firmware to avoid the initial download and upload process.
A possibility of downgrading the firmware when required is needed.
The licensing model is complicated and could be simplified.
API functionality for automation and programming needs improvement.
Cisco MDS Series is very expensive, and the licensing cost is high, making central management software inaccessible.
 

Cisco MDS Series Pros review quotes

SH
Solution Architect at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Nov 12, 2020
The features I found most valuable are the ease of deployment, it's easy to upgrade, easy to configure and easy to administer. There is no need for vendor professional services which saves project cost. The usage of WebUI for all primary features like hostname, IP address, SNMP traps, zone sets, addition and deletion of zone members or zone sets, backup of switch DB is very simple.
PP
Solution Architect at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Nov 26, 2020
The issues with these switches are extremely rare, and the whole product line is very predictable and stable.
reviewer1497402 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. Cloud Systems Engineer at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Nov 21, 2022
The most valuable features of this solution are the devices, databases, and zoning.
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Dell Technologies, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and others in Enterprise SAN. Updated: November 2025.
879,259 professionals have used our research since 2012.
AANKITGUPTAA - PeerSpot reviewer
Consultant at Pi DATACENTERS
Oct 13, 2022
The most valuable feature of the Cisco MDS Series is security.
Adalberto Giaretta - PeerSpot reviewer
Technology director at Infodive Representações e Serviços ltda
Apr 11, 2023
The most valuable feature of the Cisco MDS Series is its reliability, support, and scalability.
reviewer1497402 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. Cloud Systems Engineer at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Apr 12, 2023
SAN switches in Cisco MDS Series are a valuable feature of the solution for our company.
OğuzKalaycı - PeerSpot reviewer
system engineer at Yaşar Holding
Jan 3, 2024
The product is easy to use.
OğuzKalaycı - PeerSpot reviewer
system engineer at Yaşar Holding
Feb 11, 2025
The product is very stable and performs well.
 

Cisco MDS Series Cons review quotes

SH
Solution Architect at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Nov 12, 2020
It is quite a stable product. It should be shipped with the latest firmware to avoid download and upload schema at the beginning of the initial setup. There should also be the possibility of downgrading the firmware when required. WebUI needs DCNM instead a web-based GUI should be made available like Brocade san switch.
PP
Solution Architect at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Nov 26, 2020
The licensing model could be less complicated.
reviewer1497402 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. Cloud Systems Engineer at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Nov 21, 2022
The GUI client is Java-based and we know that Java is not secure, so everyone disables it.
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Dell Technologies, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and others in Enterprise SAN. Updated: November 2025.
879,259 professionals have used our research since 2012.
AANKITGUPTAA - PeerSpot reviewer
Consultant at Pi DATACENTERS
Oct 13, 2022
Cisco MDS Series can improve by having API functionality for automation and programming.
Adalberto Giaretta - PeerSpot reviewer
Technology director at Infodive Representações e Serviços ltda
Apr 11, 2023
Cisco MDS Series could improve by adding more gigahertz. However, they are doing this over time.
reviewer1497402 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. Cloud Systems Engineer at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Apr 12, 2023
The solution's management interface and GUI need improvement.
OğuzKalaycı - PeerSpot reviewer
system engineer at Yaşar Holding
Jan 3, 2024
The product is very expensive.
OğuzKalaycı - PeerSpot reviewer
system engineer at Yaşar Holding
Feb 11, 2025
I do not have a central management software to manage these products due to the licensing cost. It would be beneficial to have central management software for easier handling.