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Cisco Ethernet Switches vs HPE 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

Cisco Ethernet Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
135
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
HPE Ethernet Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
9th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
103
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of Cisco Ethernet Switches is 14.0%, down from 19.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of HPE Ethernet Switches is 2.6%, up from 2.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Ethernet Switches
 

Q&A Highlights

AS
Jul 26, 2014
 

Featured Reviews

Myint Aung - PeerSpot reviewer
Exceptional network support and AI integration drive performance while suggesting enhancements for future use cases
I work with both HyperFlex and other Cisco products. I prefer to make online support available because I can utilize my CCIE architect, solution consultant, and engineer team along with our account manager and product sales team. We can clarify requirements and decide how to support you. We should arrange a conference call about Cisco Ethernet Switches where I can invite my architect and consultant to clarify more about the features that are most beneficial for improving network efficiency. Today is AI day, and all the new firmware includes AI to optimize the performance, traffic, and security of Cisco Ethernet Switches. It's performing very well. With many solutions and vendors available, you have to decide on one. I am extremely satisfied with the licensing cost for Cisco Ethernet Switches. For the price of Cisco Ethernet Switches, I would rate it a 7. My overall rating for Cisco Ethernet Switches is 10 out of 10.
Ashley Magee - PeerSpot reviewer
Reliable and long-lasting network equipment with good customer support
Our primary use case for the switches is for a small business we run. It's mostly in the office, but we also have a plant where we run a lot of monitoring equipment There have been no significant improvements to our network performance as the switches we are using are quite old and we have not…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The features that I have found most valuable are that it is easy to use and it has good technical support."
"These switches are both stable and scalable."
"The stability is 100%."
"As I am Cisco certified, I like the way that I can program them."
"Cisco Ethernet Switches are rugged, secure, and scalable. It provides smart devices and reliable switches."
"The features that I have found most valuable with Cisco switches are that once you get your configuration you can rest assured that it will work. The OS is not going to be failing intermittently or anything like that. Once you get your configuration end-goal right, the firmware and the OS are usually very stable enough to work a long time without support. Support is needed once in a while. My experience is that the Cisco switches are usually rocket."
"Tech support has always been good."
"You can tap into all of the features for your virtual workload environment."
"We get a lifetime warranty for the solution so whenever the switches get faulty, you can get a replacement."
"Switching to HPE Ethernet Switches greatly improved our network. We used to have both Cisco and HPE Ethernet Switches. Our network performance has increased by 300 percent."
"The graphical userface is very good and quite easy to run with."
"The solution is highly stable."
"The solution offers lifetime warranties."
"We found the installation process to be simple."
"HPE is very reliable because it has a lifetime warranty, so the switches didn't give us any problems."
"It's stable and performing well."
 

Cons

"The NX-API REST is not very good and should be improved."
"Technical support in India needs to be improved."
"Switches should be made stackable, even if they are not of the same model."
"There are some GUI configuration improvements that they can implement in the future for the product models."
"It'll also help if it can support more network utilization."
"Cisco could also open the API up to work closely with other systems."
"The initial setup can be simplified."
"You do have to buy into the Cisco architecture to be able to use them."
"This solution needs to support software-defined networking."
"The management of the tool must be improved."
"We'd like better support for situations where we need troubleshooting."
"The cost could be better. HPE has to study it carefully with other vendors in the market, like Cisco or Juniper."
"Sometimes, we encounter the need for new technologies, especially when we require higher bandwidth. If we can't find what we need with HPE Ethernet Switches, we explore options from other vendors like Cisco."
"In the next release, I would like to see them include more features like the Aruba solution, to have more possibilities concerning the software design."
"The ability to stack, as well as a unified operating system, would be extremely beneficial."
"They could provide platform integration with other management tools for better reporting."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Cisco Ethernet Switches are more expensive than Huawei Ethernet Switches."
"The solution does not require a license. However, it is expensive and the price could improve."
"The solution can be comparatively cheaper."
"The price is very high though it is priced right for the level of quality."
"It is very expensive."
"It is an expensive product since it is used in a large network where you cannot rely on some cheaply priced solution."
"The pricing is reasonable, and for small business it is acceptable."
"We are happy with the pricing from Cisco."
"The price is fair."
"HP switches are priced well."
"The license cost is yearly."
"It would be great if certain features, like licensing, were included in the base price of the switches."
"The price could be more competitive."
"The price of the solution is expensive."
"I believe HPE is less expensive than Aruba's and UniFi and that is why certain clients have chosen them as their solution."
"The cost is a bit high."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Ethernet Switches solutions are best for your needs.
857,162 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Comparison Review

it_user82779 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 29, 2014
Benefits of Juniper vs Cisco
Both are decent products. I prefer Juniper for the following reasons: 1) Cleaner separation of data plane from control plane. Higher end Cisco devices are better at this but most of the lower end products still seem to be more integrated than I like. 2) The Hierarchical config design means I can…
 

Answers from the Community

AS
Jul 26, 2014
Jul 26, 2014
We have used Zyxel and Netgear, Frankly the stability of Cisco, the scalability and ease of integration with other Vendors e.g VMware along with the training available make them far superior.
2 out of 9 answers
it_user110388 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jul 15, 2014
Hi When you buy something for Yourself using your Own money then you buy the product your utility plus approx 20% extra features and some extra money for brand. Now change the scenario when you are a I T manager in an organization then you buy as per your understanding Best whether exploring those best feature will take 10,years before the technology reaches to your device and moreover you are not paying from your pocket per se then what is the harm if some one says and appreciate that hey buddy you belong to High brand category. ROI & TCO is not their concern.
it_user98859 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jul 15, 2014
I have tried a few other vendors on the Ethernet switch market, especially HP, Huawei and SMC switches. Haven’t used Alcatel personally, but have had interesting feedback for them from colleagues. Regarding Cisco however, I believe there are three main reasons for it: 1) Integration on the “cisco environment”, with a structured offer from basic switches, up to multi-layer equipment, allowing a consistent platform all through the enterprise. 2) Management interface – ranging from graphic management (through local web interface, CiscoWorks modules, etc.), to CLI, with the Cisco IOS, provides great flexibility for remote management, configuration backup, and monitoring. 3) Expertise of in-house personnel – Both the training provided by Cisco itself, and the fact that Cisco has a strong base for the remaining network infrastructure (routers, and other network devices). There is also the issue that, sometimes, some mixed vendor environment can bring issues with 802.1q trunking (I’ve seen issues with HP Switches while having problems with a VLAN 1 on the HP mixing with a native VLAN on Cisco for instance…), and other proprietary protocols (CDP for instance) that can have implications with the way management or configuration is done… Also, in some cases, the use of other technologies that cisco has brought along over the years – Network access control, that interfaces with Cisco switches for instance, and the buildup of different interactions with other technologies, ends up creating a technical barrier on top of the barrier for change on things like: “our other 30 switches are Cisco, and now I’ll place another vendor one?”. And on that question, price is not likely to be the most important factor, but TCO, existing expertise, and applications running on the network (that need QoS for instance), and integration with existing monitoring, configuration management, and infrastructure, may be the most important factor on the decision…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
14%
Educational Organization
9%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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 ...
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...
What do you like most about HPE Ethernet Switches?
The solution is very stable and easy to use.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for HPE Ethernet Switches?
When compared to Cisco, Aruba is about 40% cheaper. However, Huawei would be even cheaper than Aruba. We can't compare HPE Ethernet Switches with Huawei directly because of different price ranges.
What needs improvement with HPE Ethernet Switches?
HPE Ethernet Switches have room for improvement in the initial setup and integration process, especially when incorporating them into an existing infrastructure with competitor products. It's a cha...
 

Also Known As

Cisco Industrial Ethernet Switches
HP Ethernet Switches
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Linz AG
Emirates Palace Hotel
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Ethernet Switches vs. HPE Ethernet Switches and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
857,162 professionals have used our research since 2012.