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Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch LAN Switches vs Cisco FabricPath comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 6, 2025

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 L...
Ranking in LAN Switching
8th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Cisco FabricPath
Ranking in LAN Switching
6th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
29
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the LAN Switching category, the mindshare of Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch LAN Switches is 4.0%, up from 2.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco FabricPath is 2.1%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
LAN Switching
 

Featured Reviews

Attila Gyalus - PeerSpot reviewer
Highly Recommended Switches with User-Friendly Configuration Capabilities
A customer expressed dissatisfaction with the color of the switches, preferring black over the current color, which is close to white. While the color is not a personal concern, my earlier preference was for all products to be extendable in one large stack since some equipment limits stacking to four elements instead of eight.
OusaidAbaz - PeerSpot reviewer
Extendable and has beneficial spin and leaf architecture
Cisco FabricPath is very fast, stable, extendable, and scalable. It doesn't have issues with patches or problems because it's built on the stable NXOS operating system. In a scenario using FabricPath, the spin and leaf architecture is beneficial. For example, we can use two separate spine switches like 9980s and multiple leaf switches as access switches. These leaf switches are connected using VPC between them, with each switch separated and not directly connected to the spine. This setup improves data center architecture by allowing two ways to arrange destinations, connecting the first connection to the first spine and the second to the second spine. The spines are configured as a virtual chassis. In FabricPath, we can enhance VXLANs, VPNs, and integrate with Cisco ISE for user authentication. It can also be configured with WLC to manage wireless technology, depending on the client's architecture.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"These OmniSwitches are very manageable and easy to configure."
"I rate the technical support an eight or a nine out of ten. So far, they've been very professional and helpful, especially when we need to raise a case for any issue."
"With Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch LAN Switches everything comes from one vendor. It operates very smoothly."
"One of the main advantages of the solution is that the configuration is straightforward, offering various configuration options through CLI or web interfaces. I'm satisfied with the customer service and support. The solution is good and people should know about it."
"OmniSwitch LAN Switches' performance is very good."
"The most valuable feature is the ease of configuration."
"The most valuable features are the lead time and the high quality of the product."
"FabricPath's best features are routing, OSPS, ethernet, and performance."
"The technical assistance is good."
"The solution has excellent stability."
"The tool makes it easy to manage multi-layer networking and increases network efficiency. I haven't faced any challenges in integrating it into our existing infrastructure."
"The product's most valuable feature is its ports."
"One of the most valuable features of Cisco FabricPath is its protocol freedom, which allows me to use multiple protocols at a time, such as Spanning Tree to prevent loops in the network."
"It's very stable."
 

Cons

"n general, the way the product is put together is not well done."
"There are some issues with the network firmware being deleted from the switches."
"A customer expressed dissatisfaction with the color of the switches, preferring black over the current color, which is close to white. While the color is not a personal concern, my earlier preference was for all products to be extendable in one large stack since some equipment limits stacking to four elements instead of eight."
"I would like to see better third-party integration with third-party systems."
"There is no OEM support in India so RMAs need to be sent to France, which takes a long time if the hardware is faulty."
"The solution should offer better reporting."
"Cisco FabricPath's pricing is expensive."
"The solution is costly."
"The documents could improve for Cisco FabricPath. There are times when the relevant information is not present in the different sections of the documents, such as deployment. The documents should be more detailed and enhanced."
"If Cisco can include management for this protocol in Layer 3, that would be ideal."
"I would like to see better interoperability with other IT solutions."
"They should consider upgrading the memory feature of the product."
"Lacks sufficient integration with SIEM."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The license is purchased one time only, it is a perpetual license with no renewal."
"OmniSwitch LAN Switches are cheaper than Cisco's switches."
"The solution’s price is at a moderate level."
"The price is okay. It's comparable to similar switches."
"The pricing of Cisco FabricPath can be quite high depending on the architecture, but it's justified by the stability it offers."
"The solution falls under the pricier category, but it provides value for the price charged."
"Cisco is expensive but offers good-quality features, so I would rate it high on the pricing scale."
"The price of Cisco FabricPath could be reduced, it is expensive in the market here in Sri Lanka. The solution is subscriptions based, if the customer wants any future integrations, or if there are any future enhancements they will have to pay. There are different license options available, such as one or three years purchases."
"I rate it seven out of ten on pricing as it's a bit expensive. It would be better if the price were lower, but we prioritize quality over cost."
"FabricPath is very reasonably priced."
"The pricing for this product is good."
"I rate the product's pricing a ten out of ten. Cisco switches cost around 15,000 dollars, and DNS licenses cost around 25,000 dollars. The total amount is 45,000 dollars, which is too expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
17%
Retailer
13%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Computer Software Company
11%
Computer Software Company
28%
Government
18%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch LAN Switches?
One of the main advantages of the solution is that the configuration is straightforward, offering various configuration options through CLI or web interfaces. I'm satisfied with the customer serv...
What needs improvement with Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch LAN Switches?
A customer expressed dissatisfaction with the color of the switches, preferring black over the current color, which is close to white. While the color is not a personal concern, my earlier preferen...
What do you like most about Cisco FabricPath?
The tool makes it easy to manage multi-layer networking and increases network efficiency. I haven't faced any challenges in integrating it into our existing infrastructure.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco FabricPath?
Cisco solutions are expensive, and because of that, moving to new upgrades is challenging due to cost considerations. For licensing, I budget approximately $100 per user annually and project future...
What needs improvement with Cisco FabricPath?
We are phasing off Cisco FabricPath due to outdated protocols. The fault isolation mechanism in FabricPath is not as effective as the newer technology, Cisco ACI ( /products/cisco-aci-reviews ). He...
 

Also Known As

Alcatel Lucent OmniSwitch LAN Switches, OmniSwitch, OmniSwitch LAN Switches
FabricPath
 

Overview

Information not available
 

Sample Customers

Advocate Health Care, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Azienda Ospedaliera della Provincia di Lodi, Centre Hospitalier Carcassonne, Certis Cisco Security, China Tianchen Engineering Corporation Co. LTD, City of Frankfurt, Dongseo University
Bellevue, Calligaris, Electricity Authority of Cyprus, Management Science Associates, Multi-Customer, Oediv, Roper St. Francis, SNAM
Find out what your peers are saying about Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch LAN Switches vs. Cisco FabricPath and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
849,686 professionals have used our research since 2012.