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Cisco Optical Networking vs ExtremeSwitching 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 Optical Networking
Ranking in Data Center Networking
12th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
5.9
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
ExtremeSwitching
Ranking in Data Center Networking
11th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
26
Ranking in other categories
LAN Switching (6th), AV Over IP Switching (4th)
 

Featured Reviews

Abdul Samad Irfan Shaik - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Technical Lead at Numeric Technologies
High-speed fiber links have protected critical data and keep our multi-city cloud services running
In terms of improvements, one thing is about how data is transferred. Predictive monitoring would help by using artificial intelligence to identify optical signal degradation, performance issues, downtimes, glitches, increasing error rates, or potential fiber issues such as cuts. Predictive monitoring will definitely assist in this area. Faster troubleshooting could be enhanced by providing a knowledge base related to regular activities. A simpler dashboard is preferred rather than a complex one, as clubbing everything into a single user interface is not helpful for grasping everything easily. Supporting integration with third-party optical equipment and existing network monitoring platforms will play a major role, and the connectivity should be easier with improvements in third-party integration being essential. Regarding support documentation, I would prefer to speak about support rather than documentation. One enhancement needed is better automation capabilities. We aim to reduce manual intervention during network failures by enabling faster automated alarm triggers that should automatically fix issues and control recovery workflows. We have covered all of the necessary improvements.
Meric-Dinc - PeerSpot reviewer
Director, Solutions at TopTel
Automated fabric networking has simplified large deployments and now streamlines complex operations
The best features in ExtremeSwitching that I appreciate include the technology known as Extreme Fabric, which our customers find miraculous because it enables automated networks. With fabric technology, customers are very happy since they don't need to perform new configurations in the core, distribution, or access site, but only some configuration in access switch ports, as the network automatically knows where services start and end. It is definitely secure and very easy to install. We are utilizing ExtremeSwitching's automated network management feature, and when we sell our products to clients, we always offer Extreme Site Engine or now Platform One for cloud. Having this automated network management helps streamline operations by requiring less manpower, as infrastructure is hard to manage, but with the visualization provided by network management systems, clients only need to use a few clicks to deploy new services. There is no need to create multiple ports or VLANs, allowing even one or two individuals to operate very large networks. ExtremeSwitching's intuitive management interface has improved network performance significantly. For instance, Extreme Networks currently utilizes a very good AI system. When users need to perform configurations like MLAG, they can simply log in, ask for the configuration, and receive recommendations. This capability makes clients very happy because the management software inspects the entire network and provides valuable recommendations that lead to significant improvements.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Cisco Optical Networking has positively impacted my organization by helping add resilience and redundancy."
"After implementing Cisco Optical Networking, I could transport terabits of traffic over long distances, which has amazed us while also reducing the effort and thought involved in network management."
"Cisco Optical Networking has positively impacted my organization by providing cost reduction, better network performance, high reliability, and most importantly, business growth."
"Cisco View allows me to see when circuits are up or down very quickly, and I can connect circuits very quickly by a virtual picture."
"Cisco Optical Networking provides high-capacity bandwidth and fiber connectivity between the data centers, supporting data replication, backups, disaster recovery, and managing how data is transferred across great workloads."
"For the provisioning of the services, once we have installed it, everything works smoothly; there is no hurdle after the configuration, and power failures do not affect the switches."
"Setup was easy. It only took a couple of hours to set up."
"The switches are fast."
"ExtremeSwitches is the best solution for small or medium businesses in terms of cost-effectiveness and scalability."
"First of all, the product is robust and they are also coming up with new features; the second part is the support is excellent from ExtremeSwitching, they maintain delivery time and follow through on their commitments properly, and the performance we expected, we are getting from ExtremeSwitching."
"Stability-wise, so far we have had no issue and we have been quite satisfied with it."
"Performance is good."
"The return on investment is high."
 

Cons

"Cisco Optical Networking could be improved by having more documentation and more training."
"In terms of improvements for Cisco Optical Networking, I believe we can enhance monitoring by improving real-time optical power, signal quality, link error, and bandwidth utilization, which leads to better network monitoring."
"There is much work that needs to be done, and providing more proactive artificial intelligence-driven monitoring will definitely help mitigate failures."
"When it comes to features or tools that stood out to me in Cisco Optical Networking, I faced issues such as wavelength allocations due to fixed grid limitations, which led to spectral inefficiencies when mixing different wavelengths."
"Customer support is good only if you pay for it; if you forget to renew a license and you need support, it is not always so great."
"Their pricing could be a bit cheaper, as Huawei switches offer better pricing."
"Their support could definitely be better."
"The solution as a whole has hardware quality issues."
"While it is true of all vendors, there may be a slightly lower reliability standard."
"There are latency issues that need to be addressed."
"The pricing of the universal switches is an area of concern that needs to be improved."
"ExtremeSwitching switches are not prevalent in the industry, so it's harder to go online and research how to deploy their APs or switches. There is a broader user community for Cisco and Juniper because they've been around for a while and everybody has a bit of knowledge they can publish online."
"ExtremeSwitching's software stability could be improved, as it sometimes crashes."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"ExtremeSwitching offers very good pricing plans for their licenses. Compared to their rivals, ExtremeSwitching's prices are very affordable and reasonable. This is why our customers are happy to pay for their service critical support. ExtremeSwitching also offers a great portal to track clients, further satisfying our customers. They are always happy to pay for the service every month. The pricing is very reasonable."
"It is not a subscription-based model, and there is no licensing concept. We have to pay for hardware AMC. We have hardware on our premises and for the hardware support, we have to go for the annual maintenance contract with the partner."
"The product is expensive."
"The price is expensive. We pay for a license, but you have to pay more if you want to increase the number."
"There is no license required to use the solution. The hardware controller is expensive, and this is why I prefer controlling ExtremeSwitching on the cloud."
"The pricing and licensing are good with the cloud."
"There is a cost for ExtremeSwitching and if you want the support and maintenance, there are additional costs. My clients typically pay for the support and maintenance annually."
"We paid 25,000 to 30,000 INR."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Construction Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Outsourcing Company
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise6
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise8
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Optical Networking?
The pricing is a bit high, but considering the features, it is reasonable. If Cisco adds more AI assistance, I do not believe the pricing is excessive, so I am satisfied with it.
What needs improvement with Cisco Optical Networking?
In terms of improvements for Cisco Optical Networking, I believe we can enhance monitoring by improving real-time optical power, signal quality, link error, and bandwidth utilization, which leads t...
What is your primary use case for Cisco Optical Networking?
Cisco Optical Networking's main use case is to convert data center connectivity by connecting data centers over high-speed optical links for large-scale data transfer and disaster recovery. It ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ExtremeSwitching?
Regarding pricing, I find it very competitive, especially in Turkey, where markets in the Middle East and Africa tend to be price-sensitive. Our prices are very competitive when compared to Cisco a...
What needs improvement with ExtremeSwitching?
From a marketing perspective, I would like to see Extreme Networks expand its product line to include small and medium business (SMB) solutions, as many customers do not have large budgets. Unlike ...
What is your primary use case for ExtremeSwitching?
We are utilizing Extreme products in many cases, including a significant project in Antalya, Turkey, involving five five-star hotels, as well as several municipality projects around a million. Most...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Blue Waters
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Optical Networking vs. ExtremeSwitching and other solutions. Updated: November 2026.
921,523 professionals have used our research since 2012.