No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

Cisco N9300 Series Smart Switches vs D-Link Ethernet Switches comparison

Why PeerSpot?
 

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 N9300 Series Smart Sw...
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
26th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
8.1
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
D-Link Ethernet Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
16th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
31
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Featured Reviews

Thu Al-Faqar Salah - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Engineer at V2X
Modern data center fabric has delivered zero packet drops and simplified traffic control
Regarding improvements for Cisco N9300 Series Smart Switches, I think the only issue that could prevent users from using these devices is the smart licensing, as the license model could be much simpler and more cost-effective. Managing Cisco licensing and tiered subscriptions involves unnecessary operational overhead for deployment and renewal. Also, if you are planning to use ACI mode, most of the concepts such as VRF, EPG, and tenant will change. When deploying in ACI mode, the architecture has a steep learning curve, as the policy-driven model requires expensive and specialized training, and many concepts will change for traditional network engineers, requiring them to adapt and learn. Additionally, most of the issues I faced are related to hardware cost specifically, so if we could get a model that is less costly and more cost-effective with simpler licensing, it would be much better. Regarding further improvements, I remember something about the upgrade process. When we did the upgrade for the N9300, changing the image took us around 12 to 15 minutes, which was really a long time. This happened for more than one switch, so I do not know if it is a bug or if this is something normal, but I think they need to address it.
SyedTaha - PeerSpot reviewer
Head of IT and Information Security at GLEEDS USA INC
Cost has remained low while implementation proceeds without complications
To capture the critical traffic to prioritize is not something I work with in advanced QoS features. Regarding VLAN support in bandwidth management, we are not utilizing VLAN for the infrastructure as we have a minimal requirement for VLAN, so we have not yet implemented any of the features relevant to the virtual LANs. It's very hard to answer the question about minor improvements D-Link Ethernet Switches could do with their products because the products I'm dealing with are just plug-and-play, unmanaged switches. It would be more appropriate to comment on features if I had been using Layer 2 or Layer 3 switches for at least a couple of months. I don't think there are any disadvantages I can point out for the product.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Cisco products are very strong and stable."
"Performance-wise, Cisco N9300 Series Smart Switches is a great machine to work with."
"The integration is very good, and there is very low CPU utilization, so multiple users can work without any problem."
"When you buy a Cisco device, you are going to forget about it after plugging it in because the device is powerful."
"It is a stable solution."
"These switches are simple and easy to configure."
"The product is simple to manage."
"The biggest advantage of D-Link Ethernet Switches for me is the cost; on the technical side, since the majority of switches that I am using are unmanaged switches, I haven't found any problem implementing those in a live environment; it's just a plug-and-play device, so I never felt the need to go for technical support for D-Link Ethernet Switches."
"There are no stability issues with D-Link Ethernet switches."
"The switches have a graphical user interface that makes configuration good, easy, and straightforward."
"The initial setup is straightforward."
"The solution is user-friendly."
 

Cons

"Regarding improvements for Cisco N9300 Series Smart Switches, I think the only issue that could prevent users from using these devices is the smart licensing, as the license model could be much simpler and more cost-effective."
"The price is something negative for Cisco that I see."
"It is expensive. Compared to Aruba and Dell, it is a little bit costly."
"D-Link switches are not as robust as Cisco."
"There is room for improvement in terms of stability."
"In a future release, the solution could improve by being more secure and allowing the configuration of each port."
"Areas of the solution that have room for improvement include scalability, as it should improve both scaling and security."
"The availability could be improved."
"In future releases, I would like to see improved security and an improved CLI (Command-Line Interface)."
"The technical support needs a lot of improvement."
"This solution is not good for distribution at the core."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"It is an affordable solution."
"D-Link Ethernet Switches' price is good."
"The solution's pricing is reasonable."
"These units vary in price from $200 to one thousand dollars. They're available for a one-time purchase."
"This product is very affordable, especially compared to Cisco."
"The D-Link Switches are cheaper than Cisco."
"The price of D-Link Ethernet Switches is in the 4,000 to 5,000 rupees or 65 to 100 USD range. The price of the solution is not expensive."
"It has a good return on investment. It has indeed saved us resources significantly."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Ethernet Switches solutions are best for your needs.
915,341 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Comms Service Provider
12%
Construction Company
9%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business18
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise8
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco N9300 Series Smart Switches?
Cisco N9300 Series Smart Switches is expensive. Compared with Aruba and Dell, it is a little bit costly.
What needs improvement with Cisco N9300 Series Smart Switches?
As for any negative points, I think there is nothing significant. The only thing that Cisco may focus on commercially is the SmartNet. From my experience, I have worked with many MNCs where SmartNe...
What is your primary use case for Cisco N9300 Series Smart Switches?
The major use case that we have with Cisco N9300 Series Smart Switches is that our current switches are old and getting into end of life from Cisco. This is the reason we started looking for the ri...
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 D-Link Ethernet Switches?
D-Link Ethernet Switches are 30% cheaper than Cisco switches. Pricing has not been a concern since it is already included in the capex.
What needs improvement with D-Link Ethernet Switches?
To capture the critical traffic to prioritize is not something I work with in advanced QoS features. Regarding VLAN support in bandwidth management, we are not utilizing VLAN for the infrastructure...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
George Mason University, Somerville House, Hiperwall, New Brunswick School District 16, The Fulcrum Group, Bremond Independent School District, University of Texas Health Science Center, Grand Canyon Skywalk, SUN Area Career & Technology Center, Abington Senior High School
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco N9300 Series Smart Switches vs. D-Link Ethernet Switches and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
915,341 professionals have used our research since 2012.