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Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch Ethernet Switches vs Cisco Ethernet Switches comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch E...
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
21st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Cisco Ethernet Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
138
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch Ethernet Switches is 1.4%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Ethernet Switches is 9.0%, down from 14.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Ethernet Switches Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Ethernet Switches9.0%
Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch Ethernet Switches1.4%
Other89.6%
Ethernet Switches
 

Q&A Highlights

AJ
Co-Founder at Shellios Technolabs
 

Featured Reviews

MK
Operational Manager at Astrah Technologies
Has enabled reliable access control with good scalability
The primary use case is access control and normal LAN usage, including internet and email. For example, I have deployed the solution in airport scenarios where there are many users The most valuable feature for me is the stability of the switches. They do not hang often and are very reliable,…
Sachin-Yadav - PeerSpot reviewer
Network & Security Engineer at Arrow PC Network Private Limited
Network segmentation has improved security and performance across all departments
Cisco Ethernet Switches offer various features such as L3 capable models which help me with my routing requirements, OSPF, EIGRP, and VRF for segmentation, as well as policy-based routing. Additionally, it provides a high layer of enterprise security via 802.1X port-based authentication, DHCP snooping, ARP inspection, IP Guard, ACLs, and integration with Cisco ISE. I have been using Cisco Ethernet Switches for more than four years, and they have provided me stability, better connectivity, and higher speed. My organization values these switches greatly.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The solution doesn't have many proprietary protocols like Cisco's. It mainly uses standard protocols like VRRP (similar to Cisco's HSRP), Spanning Tree, and Rapid Spanning Tree, which can sometimes cause integration issues."
"All of the features in these switches are good."
"The fibre ports that are 10 Gb capacity helped with the travel of a lot of regular as well as video data. Fibre can handle a lot more virtual data than copper twisted-pair, so we got a lot more data and a lot more traffic signals back through the fibre ports, faster, than with copper."
"The most valuable feature for me is the stability of the switches."
"Enables direct access to clusters."
"Overall, everything worked as they said it would."
"We are able to customize this solution based on the customer's requirements."
"The new web graphical interface is much better than before. We now have easy access to the command lines. They're all functional."
"Remote access is a valuable feature."
"The most valuable features of Cisco Ethernet Switches for our network are speed, latency, and reliability."
"The performance of Cisco Ethernet Switches is better; it is stable and scalable as well, and it is easy to install."
"Cisco knows what they are doing and their support is great."
"In general, we've been quite happy with the solution and I'd recommend the solution to other users."
"Cisco Ethernet Switches have the best stability."
"Cisco is the best for our company."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is the performance of the product."
 

Cons

"The solution could be more user friendly and there are issues with technical support where the response time is sometimes very slow."
"The network connection should be improved."
"The commands for the switches could be easier as I find them more complex compared to those of Cisco."
"In future versions, I would like to see improvements in networking speed."
"We had stability issues with Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch Ethernet Switches 6250. One issue is with licensing. When migrating from TDM to VoIP/ToIP solutions integrated on the same architecture, Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch Ethernet Switches don't have the same skill level or follow the same development path as companies like Cisco. They started integrating these solutions later, which is why there's a noticeable difference in advancement."
"There needs to be better integration with the interface."
"I find the CLI hard to use. I wish we could do more in the GUI interface."
"Sometimes I feel that the Alcatel switches are not working harmoniously with some of the Cisco switches."
"There is room for improvement in terms of cost."
"The NX-API REST is not very good and should be improved."
"The price of the solution has room for improvement."
"The warranty costs are high. This is the reason HP and Juniper are somehow getting their clients."
"One thing we did have to work around is, on the broadcast side, we're reliant on the PTP protocol, precision time protocol, and the Cisco switches in general, don't support that."
"Cisco licensing is a little bit confusing and the cost is also high, but I am satisfied with the cost."
"The chassis can run out of slots as the environment expand further along."
"They need to offer free replacements until the end of life for devices."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Pricing is cheap compared to other vendors. When we benchmark the tool against Meraki, Cisco, and others, it is usually more affordable."
"It is an expensive solution."
"The licensing for OmniSwitch Ethernet Switches is a one-time purchase with no additional costs."
"The pricing is reasonable compared to Aruba and HPE."
"Cisco is an industry leader, but the price is very high."
"We are happy with the pricing from Cisco."
"While Cisco's pricing can be a concern, particularly with support fees, its overall features and support community make it a solid choice."
"Cisco Ethernet Switches are more expensive than Huawei Ethernet Switches."
"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."
"Quality comes at a price. I've been around the block a bit, and I know that good quality comes at a price. However, some of the organizations don't have big budgets, so you have to develop different solutions for them. They don't have the budget to get some of the high-end features. Cisco can consider providing entry-level hardware to suit SMBs."
"Its price is a bit higher than other brands. Indian customers are price-conscious. They should improve its price."
"The cost of the solution is by unit."
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Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Ethernet Switches solutions are best for your needs.
902,456 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Answers from the Community

AJ
Co-Founder at Shellios Technolabs
Feb 15, 2022
Feb 15, 2022
My last experience with Netgear wasn't good but it was a long time ago. It may be better now. As for me, it would be Cisco because it is easier to find network engineer with knowledge of Cisco products and many supervision or orchestration tools will support them well. Regarding my experience, they are reliable assets but the cost might be sometime a good reason to go for something else.
2 out of 4 answers
EK
Partner / Owner at Bimel Elektronik Mamuller Paz. Ltd.
Nov 29, 2021
For an Enterprise? I would definitely go with Cisco. Cisco has a wide range of products to accommodate all present and future needs of an enterprise organization.  Cisco support is very professional in case something goes wrong.  Cisco products are very stable, have lots of features to satisfy every need of an enterprise and in my experience, they don't easily fail. 
RI
Technical Support Engineer at provident technology
Nov 29, 2021
cisco ethernet switches
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Construction Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise3
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business60
Midsize Enterprise35
Large Enterprise55
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch Ethernet Switches?
In terms of pricing, Alcatel is cheaper than Cisco, however, MikroTik is the cheapest. I cannot comment on the pricing reasonability as I am a technical person, and decisions are made by those who ...
What needs improvement with Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch Ethernet Switches?
The commands for the switches could be easier as I find them more complex compared to those of Cisco.
What is your primary use case for Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch Ethernet Switches?
The primary use case is access control and normal LAN usage, including internet and email. For example, I have deployed the solution in airport scenarios where there are many users.
Would you recommend replacing a Cisco Catalyst Switch by a D-link one?
Hello Mesfin It depends on the real scenario, the cisco 2960 is a very good device and they usually have routing functions but there are many different models within the same 2960 line, and on the ...
Which would you choose - Fortinet Fortiswitch secure access or Cisco Ethernet Switches?
We researched Cisco but ultimately chose Fortinet FortiSwitch Secure Access, mostly because of the price. Fortinet FortiSwitch is an ethernet switch solution that provides security and performance...
In terms of ethernet switches, would you go with Cisco or Juniper?
Our organization ran comparison tests to determine whether Cisco or Juniper Ethernet switches were the better fit for us. We decided to go with Juniper. Juniper ethernet switches are a lesser-known...
 

Also Known As

Alcatel-Lucent Ethernet Switches, OmniSwitch Ethernet Switches
Cisco Industrial Ethernet Switches
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Bayonette, California State University (CSU), Centre Hospitalier Carcassonne, Centro Universitšrio de Brasilia (UniCEUB), China Tianchen Engineering Corporation Co. LTD, Citta Della Speranza, City of Frankfurt, City of Ogden, City of Vila Franca de Xira
Linz AG
Find out what your peers are saying about Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch Ethernet Switches vs. Cisco Ethernet Switches and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
902,456 professionals have used our research since 2012.