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Dell PowerSwitch N-Series vs ExtremeSwitching comparison

 

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

Dell PowerSwitch N-Series
Ranking in LAN Switching
12th
Average Rating
7.0
Reviews Sentiment
5.3
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
ExtremeSwitching
Ranking in LAN Switching
7th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
Data Center Networking (7th), AV Over IP Switching (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the LAN Switching category, the mindshare of Dell PowerSwitch N-Series is 3.5%, up from 1.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ExtremeSwitching is 7.2%, up from 5.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
LAN Switching
 

Featured Reviews

Al Vasek - PeerSpot reviewer
Performs well, but the support and stability could be improved
There is a lack of support because there is a lack of adoption. Because Cisco switches are so widely used, anyone in the world can support them. It was two Cisco engineers who released Arista's code. In terms of programming functionality, they essentially duplicated the Cisco iOS, so all Cisco commands work on the Arista commands. You can do an Arista if you can do a Cisco. Aruba isn't all that different. It's a little different, but they have all of HPE's money and stuff behind it and things like that. I would say the same thing about Extreme or some of the other switches where it's penny-wise, pound-foolish. You save some money if you are a small shop with only one or two guys, it's understandable. Fortinet is now in the switch business, and they have their FortiSwitch devices, which are controlled by the FortiGate firewalls to do all of the programs. There is a lot to choose from. But, in my opinion, a lot of it is dependent on the use case and the customer type. Meraki is a nice little Cisco product for the right kind of business, but I wouldn't use it in an enterprise setting.
Shrikant Teggi - PeerSpot reviewer
Excellent support and reliable performance drive positive experiences
We have been working with wireless for the last seven to eight years. At the moment, the customer has decided to go with a different brand. We are only dealing with the wired switches, not the wireless ones. We use ExtremeSwitching only, not Enterasys. Enterasys was the old one. I am not a networking person, so at this point in time I do not have much working experience on the switches. We have a separate team here who are working on these products. We have not reached that stage yet, but definitely in the near future we may use this kind of feature. Recently they have introduced platform one, which is an AI-based automation tool. That is definitely on the cards. Maybe in one year, we may start using that option as well. 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. The performance we expected, we are getting from ExtremeSwitching. All these requirements we have are being met with the product, features, and support. It is cost effective. I rate ExtremeSwitching a nine out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"For a customer, it is easy to configure and to add ports through the LAN the GUI."
"Port density and port speed performance are both suitable. It has some appealing intangibles."
"The automated configuration management tools of Dell PowerSwitch N-Series help improve network traffic management."
"ExtremeSwitching fabric technology is a unique technology used to protect against viruses. ExtremeCloud IQ is a very good and feature-rich solution compared to Cisco, Ruxi Networks, or Huawei."
"Setup was easy. It only took a couple of hours to set up."
"It is meeting our expectations in terms of performance as well as cost-effectiveness."
"ExtremeSwitching is a good, stable platform."
"It is very reliable because one of the reasons is the non-blocking architecture of Extreme Networks."
"The switches are fast."
"The solution has inspection firewalls that can do a deep packet inspection on a port basis."
"The return on investment is high."
 

Cons

"Instead of competing at the enterprise level with that product, they should probably scale it. With all of the ports, they should develop a good mid-level business to truly scale it and gain adoption before attempting to go after the enterprise."
"Customers do not prefer this to connect to multiple cities."
"Their support could definitely be better."
"The training and resources for learning are lacking."
"The interface could be improved."
"ExtremeSwitching's software stability could be improved, as it sometimes crashes."
"ExtremeSwitching should provide command lines more readily without needing in-depth searching on their support portal, especially for unique configurations."
"Improving product awareness and possibly enhancing technical documentation or training resources could be beneficial."
"While it is true of all vendors, there may be a slightly lower reliability standard."
"The pricing of the universal switches is an area of concern that needs to be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"You are selling it to larger customers and in larger environments, where it's a less expensive model than Cisco, which is attempting to use the same approach Arista did, but with a completely different programming language."
"On pricing, ExtremeSwitches are going to beat most of the major competition."
"The product is expensive."
"We paid 25,000 to 30,000 INR."
"The price is expensive. We pay for a license, but you have to pay more if you want to increase the number."
"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."
"The pricing and licensing are good with the cloud."
"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."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
19%
Comms Service Provider
13%
Educational Organization
9%
University
9%
Manufacturing Company
21%
Computer Software Company
12%
Construction Company
7%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Dell-Force10 Campus LAN Switches?
We don't leverage the open networking standards of this Dell PowerSwitch N-Series capability. In the high availability direction, better clustering or stack functionality to connect all Dell switch...
What is your primary use case for Dell-Force10 Campus LAN Switches?
The main use case for this product is network switch for all network, including management network, network for the user, and network for the SAN.
What advice do you have for others considering Dell-Force10 Campus LAN Switches?
We don't work with solutions such as Aruba or Cisco. There are routers in our infrastructure, but they are not our responsibility or accountability. We work with servers and storage, specifically s...
What do you like most about ExtremeSwitching?
The product offers a single management platform for multiple models of switches. The tool also allows users to manage multiple sites from a single dashboard.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ExtremeSwitching?
I would rate the pricing for ExtremeSwitching six to seven out of ten.
What needs improvement with ExtremeSwitching?
Regarding what could be better with the product, I am not aware of how much AI functionality is provided in ExtremeSwitching. Everyone is talking about AI, so there should be AI facilities provided...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Norwich University of the Arts, Shelby American, City and Islington College
Blue Waters
Find out what your peers are saying about Dell PowerSwitch N-Series vs. ExtremeSwitching and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.