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Cisco Catalyst Switches vs Enterasys Campus LAN Switches comparison

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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
6.5
Number of Reviews
213
Ranking in other categories
Ethernet Switches (2nd), 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 November 2026, in the LAN Switching category, the mindshare of Cisco Catalyst Switches is 17.5%, down from 26.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Enterasys Campus LAN Switches is 4.9%, up from 1.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
LAN Switching Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Catalyst Switches17.5%
Enterasys Campus LAN Switches4.9%
Other77.6%
LAN Switching
 

Featured Reviews

Md Rafique - PeerSpot reviewer
Desktop support Engineer at a outsourcing company with 51-200 employees
Reliable switching has improved segmentation and reduces downtime with faster troubleshooting
One area I would like to see improvement is making configuration and troubleshooting more straightforward, especially for engineers managing a large number of switches. Some tasks can require multiple CLI commands and checking different outputs to identify an issue. Better centralized visibility, more intuitive automation tools, and clearer troubleshooting information would make day-to-day operations more efficient. That said, the CLI gives experienced network engineers a lot of control, so I would see these improvements as making the existing capabilities easier and faster to use rather than replacing them. For on-premises deployment, I would like to see easier centralized management and more automation for larger switch environments. Firmware upgrades, configuration changes, and troubleshooting can take significant time when they have to be handled across many physical devices. Better zero-touch provisioning, simplifying firmware management solutions, stronger integration with monitoring and IT management platforms, and more proactive hardware health alerts would make operations easier. I would also like better visibility into hardware capabilities and lifecycle status from a single dashboard so we can identify potential issues before they affect users.
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

"The product is easy to use, very user friendly and simple to navigate, offers very good stability, is quite flexible, integrates well with other solutions, and we've found the technical support to be quite helpful."
"Cisco Catalyst Switches have positively impacted my organization with their affordability compared to other competitors in the market offering a similar product, which is impressive."
"In general, this is a good product with a long lifespan and easily managed."
"Cisco Catalyst Switches are able to communicate to all the other hardware very well."
"VLAN gives us segregation."
"Cisco provides the best technical support when I evaluate it."
"It's stable; the Catalyst Switches are reliable."
"Easy to manage, with a long lifespan."
"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."
"The performance is good; I am satisfied with this product."
"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

"Cisco switches are expensive."
"Cisco Catalyst Switches do not have an open architecture and you have to buy into the Cisco architecture to be able to use them."
"The stability must be improved."
"Cisco Catalyst Switches can be improved by keeping up with the trend of making it easier to work with. Although reliability is key, it would be beneficial to make firmware upgrades easier in critical infrastructure environments to minimize downtime."
"The dashboard was difficult to manage."
"In terms of performance, Juniper switches have a more user-friendly interface and more features than Cisco switches."
"The security of the solution could be improved, it is really important to us."
"The price could be better. For Cisco, there is no need for improvement except for the price. It's expensive."
"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."
"The tool's price is high. We need a cost-effective service. It also needs to add wireless controller features like Huawei."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is probably the most expensive, but users who want the best need to pay the premium."
"These switches are expensive."
"Could always be cheaper."
"The price is on the higher side."
"The cost of a license before COVID and before the lockdown was approximately three lakh 70,000 in Indian Rupees. After this COVID situation, the cost has gone down to two lakh 46,000 rupees."
"We are a large company and the price is reasonable because we have received a discount. However, the full price is expensive."
"I don't know a lot about the price, but they are affordable compared with other solutions."
"Cisco Catalyst Switches are very expensive."
"The price itself is good, but the economic crisis is causing them to raise prices occasionally."
"In general, the price could be improved."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Construction Company
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business87
Midsize Enterprise34
Large Enterprise104
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?
My experience is that Cisco Catalyst Switches can involve a relatively significant upfront investment, especially when you consider the hardware, support, and licensing requirements. The total cost...
What needs improvement with Cisco Catalyst Switches?
One area I would like to see improvement is making configuration and troubleshooting more straightforward, especially for engineers managing a large number of switches. Some tasks can require multi...
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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: November 2026.
921,148 professionals have used our research since 2012.