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Cisco Catalyst Switches vs Enterasys Campus LAN Switches 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

Cisco Catalyst Switches
Ranking in LAN Switching
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
187
Ranking in other categories
Ethernet Switches (3rd), Data Center Networking (1st), AV Over IP Switching (1st)
Enterasys Campus LAN Switches
Ranking in LAN Switching
12th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
8.0
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the LAN Switching category, the mindshare of Cisco Catalyst Switches is 18.3%, down from 28.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Enterasys Campus LAN Switches is 4.3%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
LAN Switching Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Catalyst Switches18.3%
Enterasys Campus LAN Switches4.3%
Other77.4%
LAN Switching
 

Featured Reviews

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.
reviewer1319712 - PeerSpot reviewer
Systems Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Uniquely unified the hardware in a very smart way and led to improved performance
Security features do exist, and they're mostly common with other switches. What makes these switches unique is the ability to see application layers on the switch, but not directly through the switch. There are tools from Extreme Networks that allow visibility of such traffic, which other switches lack. Extreme CloudIQ analytics can analyze all the traffic on Extreme Switches up to layer seven, offering full visibility. However, this tool is necessary for such detailed analytics and might not be compatible with some third-party products. Improvements are always possible. One suggestion from a customer about Universal switches was to merge the two operating systems into one to create a new, unified OS, but that would take a lot of time and might affect stability. Juniper did that with their firmware and faced customer issues. So, creating a new OS is a tough call. From Enterasys Campus Compass, they're doing well, but the Data Center Switches aren't. Data Center switches, like Extreme Switching for data center networks. Those are separate categories from the Campus Switches.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I think it is a reliable and scalable solution."
"It supports our entire line infrastructure; it runs from the line under the entire campus and is the backbone of the network, and the entire business runs from this product."
"The most valuable feature is the interface, it's easy to configure. The command line uses a switch that gives us security."
"In terms of the switches, the uptime and the robustness of the hardware are the most valuable aspects."
"The PoE capability of Catalyst Switches is great for using WAPs and other PoE equipment, such as security cameras."
"The ability to configure throughput is very flexible and improved the performance of our systems."
"Catalyst switches are highly reliable; they have a good product life, and they are balanced overall compared to others."
"It's got one feature, and that's handling extreme temperatures."
"Enterasys Campus LAN Switches is a trustable and powerful solution. The solution has good web management features. You can do whatever you want, like a CLI. The solution is easy to diagnose and manage. I like the Linux-based operating system. If any service crashes, you need to restart the system."
"The performance is good; I am satisfied with this product."
"The performance is good."
"Extreme Networks is the only one that has this kind of universal switch. It simplifies things greatly. Customers no longer have to worry about the price differences between traditional and fabric technology switches, which used to have their own pricing. This has made it easier for us as solution providers to tailor options for our customers with fewer but more suitable choices."
 

Cons

"It would be good if Cisco Catalyst Switches could align maintenance with one version. Also, the protocols for management should be better."
"There is a lot of overhead, and I have to have so many technology people to manage so many Catalyst switches."
"When you compare it with HPE and Aruba, it should be fancier."
"In a future upgrade, I would like to see integrated wireless in the solution."
"The only drawback I saw with Cisco Catalyst Switches is that it's not cloud-managed."
"Their price should be cheaper. We lose a lot of work because of the price that they have."
"Personal automatization is a feature that should be addressed."
"If we have a major problem, fixing it takes two or three days and six to eight engineers from Cisco."
"The tool's price is high. We need a cost-effective service. It also needs to add wireless controller features like Huawei."
"While the support is good, it could be better, and the price could be reduced."
"Security features do exist, and they're mostly common with other switches. What makes these switches unique is the ability to see application layers on the switch, but not directly through the switch. There are tools from Extreme Networks that allow visibility of such traffic, which other switches lack. Extreme CloudIQ analytics can analyze all the traffic on Extreme Switches up to layer seven, offering full visibility. However, this tool is necessary for such detailed analytics and might not be compatible with some third-party products."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We must pay a high price for the product."
"Compared to the price of other solutions such as Huawei and HP, Cisco Catalyst Switches is a cheaper solution."
"If you compare Cisco to other products, Cisco is more expensive. If you choose a 7000 series switch it will be a very pricy system. The support from Cisco is an additional service."
"This is an expensive product."
"The price for Cisco Catalyst Switches is not cheaper than other solutions."
"I rate the overall product a six out of ten from a price perspective since it is an expensive tool."
"Cisco Catalyst Switches are very expensive."
"It is reasonably priced because we have already conducted a tender, allowing Cisco and other vendors to compete for the best price."
"In general, the price could be improved."
"The price itself is good, but the economic crisis is causing them to raise prices occasionally."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Construction Company
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

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

Questions from the Community

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?
Those aspects regarding pricing, setup, cost, and licensing are managed by management, so I am not directly involved.
What needs improvement with Cisco Catalyst Switches?
I believe that Cisco Catalyst Switches could be improved by being given AI capability and advanced licensing, which would be beneficial.
Ask a question
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Also Known As

Cisco Catalyst, Catalyst
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

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
Americatel Peru
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Catalyst Switches vs. Enterasys Campus LAN Switches and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
902,417 professionals have used our research since 2012.