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Cisco MDS Series vs IBM SAN24B-4 Express comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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 MDS Series
Ranking in Enterprise SAN
4th
Average Rating
9.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
IBM SAN24B-4 Express
Ranking in Enterprise SAN
9th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.8
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Enterprise SAN category, the mindshare of Cisco MDS Series is 10.6%, up from 5.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM SAN24B-4 Express is 5.5%, up from 2.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise SAN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco MDS Series10.6%
IBM SAN24B-4 Express5.5%
Other83.9%
Enterprise SAN
 

Featured Reviews

VK
Product Manager at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Reliable storage networking has ensured seamless multi-protocol access and continuous redundancy
Currently, I do not have any major suggestions for improvement as everything is working well without issues. If additional functions could be introduced to simplify usage, I would suggest that AI functionality or better integration capabilities would be advantageous for Cisco MDS Series. Any new AI-related features or functionality added to Cisco MDS Series would represent a positive advancement.
Alejandro Rivas Detomasi - PeerSpot reviewer
Project Manager | Service Delivery Coordinator at kyndryl
It has short-wave and long-wave capabilities.
In my experience, it is one of the most reliable options in SAN switches. Let´s say that the SAN24 is the perfect combination between two great brands (IBM hardware and Brocade´s software). In my experience, Brocade´s software is the best for SAN implementation; easy to use and intuitive in every aspect. Brocade is always updating its IOS (operating system), adding new functionalities to its switches and correcting minor errors. If you add all these things to IBM hardware and support, you can trust that your SAN is going to have near-zero downtime.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Cisco MDS 9148 SAN switch model is the best product, highly reliable and low cost, easy to deploy, easy to upgrade, easy to configure, easy to administer, and it gives effective performance when used for SAN switch connectivity between hosts and storage boxes."
"The features I found most valuable are the ease of deployment, it's easy to upgrade, easy to configure and easy to administer. There is no need for vendor professional services which saves project cost. The usage of WebUI for all primary features like hostname, IP address, SNMP traps, zone sets, addition and deletion of zone members or zone sets, backup of switch DB is very simple."
"The most valuable feature of the Cisco MDS Series is its reliability, support, and scalability."
"The product is very stable and performs well."
"MDS's reliability is at a high level, the issues with these switches are extremely rare, and the whole product line is very predictable and stable."
"This solution is required for any type of IT infrastructure for Storage Networking and provides high availability for storage service."
"The most valuable features of this solution are the devices, databases, and zoning."
"The product is easy to use."
"In my experience, it is one of the most reliable options in SAN switches."
 

Cons

"It is quite a stable product. It should be shipped with the latest firmware to avoid download and upload schema at the beginning of the initial setup. There should also be the possibility of downgrading the firmware when required. WebUI needs DCNM instead a web-based GUI should be made available like Brocade san switch."
"I do not have a central management software to manage these products due to the licensing cost. It would be beneficial to have central management software for easier handling."
"The licensing model could be less complicated."
"Data Center Network Manager is good but it is not free and requires purchasing a separate license."
"The product is very expensive."
"The solution's management interface and GUI need improvement."
"I find it difficult to operate and troubleshoot."
"The GUI client is Java-based and we know that Java is not secure, so everyone disables it."
"This product can improve in the out-of-the-box features; for example, licensing 16 ports instead of 8."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of the Cisco MDS Series is high."
"It's perpetual licensing and maintenance is a recurrent cost."
"Pricing cannot be considered an advantageous trait of the solution since it is expensive. I rate the solution's pricing a three out of ten."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Large Enterprise8
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco MDS Series?
The pricing could be improved as the solution is very expensive. I am on a yearly payment basis.
What needs improvement with Cisco MDS Series?
Currently, I do not have any major suggestions for improvement as everything is working well without issues. If additional functions could be introduced to simplify usage, I would suggest that AI f...
What is your primary use case for Cisco MDS Series?
Cisco MDS Series is primarily used for connecting storage arrays. The multi-protocol feature supports all protocols and functionality working seamlessly. Virtual SANs operate without any issues. Pe...
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Also Known As

Cisco MDS 9100, Cisco MDS 9222i, Cisco MDS 9700
SAN24B-4 Express
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

National Rugby League
ADP, McKesson Technology Solutions, Migros Zurich, Mars Incorporated, Grupo Hefame, Williams-Sonoma
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell Technologies, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Cisco and others in Enterprise SAN. Updated: October 2026.
920,939 professionals have used our research since 2012.