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Broadcom StrataDNX vs Cisco Catalyst 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

Broadcom StrataDNX
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
25th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
3.3
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Cisco Catalyst Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
3rd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
187
Ranking in other categories
LAN Switching (1st), Data Center Networking (1st), AV Over IP Switching (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of Broadcom StrataDNX is 1.2%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Catalyst Switches is 4.6%, up from 2.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Ethernet Switches Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Catalyst Switches4.6%
Broadcom StrataDNX1.2%
Other94.2%
Ethernet Switches
 

Featured Reviews

Wisely Ng - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior rPLM and Consulting Engineering, IP and Optical Networks, APAC at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Cost-effective chipset saves resources and offers rich features
The Broadcom StrataDNX chipset, such as the DNX, is quite a generic chipset and from the cost perspective, it is quite cost-effective hardware. When we decide to use such an Ethernet switch, our R&D and headquarters consider using the Broadcom chipset as one of the merchandised chipsets in our system, providing a cost-effective solution to our customers. The cost-saving with Broadcom StrataDNX is one of the critical criteria for using the DNX as one of our hardware chipsets. From the features perspective, it is quite feature-rich, so we can leverage those existing functions on the SDK to develop our own features in our equipment.
MS
Electrical control system engineer at Dangote petroleum refinery and petrol chemicals
Reliable switching has delivered long‑term uptime, strong PoE support, and predictable performance
Cisco Systems Catalyst Switches are highly regarded for their performance, reliability, and enterprise-grade capabilities. My main reservation, however, is the pricing. The cost of Cisco Catalyst Switches—and Cisco products in general—is relatively high, especially in many African markets where organizations often need to balance budget constraints with required functionality. There are alternative vendors that offer comparable features at a lower price point. While they may not always match Cisco’s ecosystem, stability, or full feature depth, many businesses still choose them because of the significant cost savings. Another consideration is licensing, which can add to the overall total cost of ownership depending on the deployment model and required features. Overall, Cisco Catalyst Switches remain premium enterprise solutions, but when compared with other OEMs, their higher acquisition and licensing costs can be a major deciding factor for cost-conscious organizations.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The cost-saving with Broadcom StrataDNX is one of the critical criteria for using the DNX as one of our hardware chipsets, and from the features perspective, it is quite feature-rich, so we can leverage those existing functions on the SDK to develop our own features in our equipment."
"For the mobile backhaul or up to the PE, however, StrataDNX is a proven solution."
"Easy to integrate with any of the other hardware platforms."
"The Broadcom StrataDNX chipset, such as the DNX, is quite a generic chipset and from the cost perspective, it is quite cost-effective hardware."
"The good thing about the StrataDNX is that the Broadcom family is very interchangeable, so they work well with different optical transceivers."
"Cisco comes with built-in software access for network devices."
"The most valuable feature of Cisco equipment is reliability."
"We have used Cisco Catalyst Switches to achieve our goals with stability and blanket level of performance."
"The Cisco Catalyst is very stable and it can last for many years."
"Catalyst switches are highly reliable; they have a good product life, and they are balanced overall compared to others."
"The solution is easy to implement and quick to deploy."
"In terms of the switches, the uptime and the robustness of the hardware are the most valuable aspects."
"We have dealt with Cisco's technical support in the past. They were especially helpful and very polite. They are always there if we need them and their insights are always excellent. I would say that we have been satisfied with the level of support we've gotten so far."
 

Cons

"The scaling number of IPv4/IPv6 RIB/FIB, OSPF/IS-IS/BGP routing table and MAC table size could be increased."
"There is room for improvement in the pricing model."
"The standard features do not provide a full feature set, so we need to create our own features to compensate for those limitations."
"The number of surfaces that can be handled by the chipset could be increased."
"It should have better security and the prices can always be lower. The cheaper the price, the better but if the quality is good, it's worth it. They also have to improve the firewalling."
"The price could be improved."
"Prices could always be lower."
"I would like for Cisco to come up with an affordable dynamic VLAN solution."
"In the next release, they should lower the price. It's too expensive."
"The price is something we would definitely like improved. It would be nice if it was more economical."
"My company would prefer that the price was more cost-effective."
"Catalyst is very expensive."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"Cisco Catalyst Switches is a very expensive solution."
"I don't see any price issue with Cisco. Whenever you buy a quality product, you always have a mindset of paying the premium amount. For any good product, you pay a premium amount, but that also means you are going to recover that premium over a period of time in terms of performance."
"There is a license required for the use of this solution and we pay annually."
"I don't know a lot about the price, but they are affordable compared with other solutions."
"The product is quite expensive."
"Cisco products are not that cheap."
"Pricing from Cisco is expensive but we pay for the reliability."
"The price of this solution is reasonable."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Ethernet Switches solutions are best for your needs.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
21%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Outsourcing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Construction Company
9%
Outsourcing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business83
Midsize Enterprise29
Large Enterprise85
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Broadcom StrataDNX?
From my impression regarding Broadcom StrataDNX, I can explain that while Broadcom is quite good, it is not perfect in some cases. The standard features do not provide a full feature set, so we nee...
What is your primary use case for Broadcom StrataDNX?
We use the SDK from Broadcom StrataDNX from the software features point of view. We have our own network operating system to perform adaptive configurations around different chipsets, creating an a...
What advice do you have for others considering Broadcom StrataDNX?
The Broadcom StrataDNX chipset from the product portfolio is quite generic and not difficult to deploy. For network monitoring, we do not rely on the Broadcom StrataDNX chipset capability. Instead,...
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 ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Catalyst Switches?
My experience with pricing, setup costs, and licensing was not all good. Licensing is quite a nightmare in the Cisco world, and I wish we had simplified licensing.
What needs improvement with Cisco Catalyst Switches?
Regarding the impression of end-to-end visibility offered by Cisco, I would love to have more visibility. What I want to see in the future regarding Cisco Catalyst Switches is more integrations bet...
 

Also Known As

StrataDNX
Cisco Catalyst, Catalyst
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Hill International, Coty, Banese, Algar Tech
Afni, Anilana Hotels and Resorts, Baylor Scott & White Health, Beachbody, Bellevue, Del Papa Distributing, Explorer Pipeline, Mindtree, Omaha World Herald, Radio 538, Sony Corporation, Telecom Italia, Telenor Arena
Find out what your peers are saying about Broadcom StrataDNX vs. Cisco Catalyst Switches and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.