Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL] Reviews

We use it in various environments for different customers.

Its throughout and compatibility are the most valuable. 

There should be more port options in this switch. Currently, it has 24 or 48 ports. However, some of our customers require only 8 ports, but I have to put a switch with 24 ports. They should provide smaller solutions and complimentary access point for companies like ours with a low quantity of work.

The main issue with this product is branding. They should improve their branding and promote their brand more in Mexico. Customers are more aware of brands like Cisco as compared to Dell.

I have been using this solution for five or six years.

It has good stability. I am happy with its stability. 

It is expensive to scale. Our clients are medium and large organizations.

Their technical support is good. Sometimes, there is a delay in the replacement of the parts, but they are generally good. Their documentation is also generally fine.

The initial setup depends on the environment. Sometimes, I need the inter-VLAN or layer 3 feature, which can be complex. In some of the modes, it is plug and play.

Its price is okay. Sometimes, it is lower than a Cisco solution.

We evaluated Cisco, HP, Aruba, and Brocade. In most cases, the clients decide based on the brand and the price.

I would rate Dell PowerConnect Switches an eight out of ten.

Dell PowerConnect Switches make up part of our network and they are connected to our Dell servers.

Dell PowerConnect Switches are easy to configure.

These switches fully integrate into our Cisco switches without any problem.

It would be helpful if there were an option to use the device as either a switch or a pass-through for the traffic from inside to outside. This would mean that we would not have to replace hardware in some cases. I think that the IBM switches have this feature.

It would be great to have modules that integrate with SDN solutions such as Cisco ACI, Arista SDN, Huawei Agile, and IBM.

I have been using Dell PowerConnect Switches since 2012.

I have never had a problem with any of our Dell switches. I would say that these switches are stable.

Two modules can be stacked on a single chassis. We have approximately 60 chassis with two modules each, so 120 Dell PowerConnect switches. These are connected to Cisco switches at one end of the network.

My team has not had much contact with Dell technical support because the Dell switches belong to another team. We are only responsible for installing and configuring them.

We also have Cisco switches in our environment. It is probably 80% Cisco and 20% Dell.

I also have experience with Huawei, HP, and Juniper switches. Huawei switches used to use a similar set of commands, but they are different now. HP uses almost the same command set. Juniper switches are more difficult to work with.

In our data center, we have also used Arista switches.

I have not found any problems with the installation or configuration of Dell switches. I used a basic configuration so it is simple. It takes perhaps half an hour to deploy.

We have a team but I deployed this solution myself. There is a guide available to assist with the installation and configuration. The commands are similar to Cisco, which makes it easy to use.

We have decreased our use of Dell PowerConnect Switches in the past year because we are moving to virtualization and using SDN switches. The problem comes about because it is difficult to see the server end-point directly on the SDN. For our Dell servers, we are replacing the switches with pass-through modules because the spanning tree loops are the same. 

My advice for anybody who is considering this solution is to consider issues that might occur when using devices from multiple vendors. We found this difficult because of the integration. We like Dell because it is easy to use and it integrates well with Cisco. However, we are now having a problem where it does not integrate well with SDN. If the environment requires connectivity to SDN then these switches may not be suitable.

Rating this solution as a switch, I would say that it is eight and a half out of ten. However, with respect to integration with new technologies, it is not mature enough and I would rate it a five out of ten.

Overall, I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.

We do not use the product for access but for storage. We use it to connect to the storage. 

The product is cheap. 

The product needs to improve in terms of reports and backups. 

I have been working with the product for four to five years. 

The product is stable. 

The tool is scalable. 

The product's support is good and proactive. There are times when they see the problem beforehand. 

Positive

The tool's setup depends on the features that you need. The documentation is good. I don't see any problem with the solution's configuration. The tool's deployment can get completed in just a few hours. The solution's maintenance is good. 

The solution is worth its money. 

The product is cheaper than Cisco and licensing is yearly. We have to pay additional costs for support. 

I would rate it a nine out of ten. The solution is a good switch but there is a learning curve for it. 

The ease of configuration and ease of use are great.

The solution is stable.

There's no maintenance required.

Dell offers very good support. 

I do not need any features added. I have no notes for improvement.

The pricing could always be a bit lower.

I've been using the solution for ten years. I've used the solution for a while at this point. 

It is stable and reliable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. 

We don't really deal with scaling. We are a small shop. It's likely better for smaller companies as opposed to large enterprises. 

I've used technical support in the past and have found them to be helpful and responsive. 

Positive

We do not require a lot of maintenance when dealing with the solution. This solution is deployed on-premises, not on the cloud. 

They are in a good price range for us. We do not find the solution to be too expensive. That said, we'd always like to see lower pricing. 

We are a customer and end-user. 

We use the solution in our data center.

It's easy to set up. We can put it in production in a couple of minutes. 

It has excellent technical support.

It is very scalable.

The solution is stable and reliable. 

The product is very affordable.

It has everything we need. I can't think of what we would want in the next release.

I've been using the solution for more than ten years.

The product is stable. It's reliable. There are no bugs or glitches and it doesn't crash or freeze.

The solution is easily scalable. We can configure a lot of features to stack and virtual links.

Technical support is great. they are helpful and responsive. 

It's very easy to set up. It's not complicated at all. 

It's a simple product and easy and low-cost to buy.

We have a lot of products here in many versions, in different versions. We use OS 10 or OS 9. It's many different products here. 

I'd rate the solution ten out of ten. I'd advise potential users to try it as it is easy to use.

Data center and distribution

The network is very stable, except for the detail that occurred in the update where we had problems due to a command to perform mirroring

The features I've found most valuable are that the product is very easy to configure and inexpensive.

A big issue with this product is that when our customer migrated the data center, one cluster blocked the whole network and because we had a new approach, some commands were not compatible with the new version.

Around 8 years 

I would rate this solution as eight out of ten.

We are a small operation and don't have a so-called data center. Our requirements are not complex and we really just need a firewall for downloading material. We use 48 port units. The switches have that capability and give us enough flexibility for when the time comes to really start segregating things. The product is used extensively but it doesn't require much maintenance. I'm an IT manager and we're Dell customers. 

The most valuable feature of this product is its reliability. Dell products are generally quite reliable in terms of all the servers and the desktop. 

I think accessibility and management could be improved. It would be helpful if it could be configured on a tablet or mobile. 

It would be great if at some point they came up with some web-based GUI app that allows you to easily manage and configure your switches.  

I've been using this product for six years. 

Over the many years we've been using this solution, we've had maybe one of two issues, usually related to crashes in our network rather than problems with the solution. There haven't been any connectivity issues. 

Scalability is not an issue in this product. 

I don't think the initial setup is complex, we managed to do it ourselves without any problem. As long as all your cabling is properly numbered and you know where they lead on your patch panel, then you're okay.

There are no additional costs other than purchasing the solution which is quite reasonably priced. 

In terms of costs and reliability, they are okay. It might not be able to do more complex things so anyone looking to use the solution would need to figure out their requirements. 

I would rate this solution a nine out of 10. 

We are a solution provider and Dell PowerConnect Switches are one of the products that we implement for our customers. Many of the models are used to manage East-West traffic in the network. The are other models that handle traffic at the application layer.

In data centers, we generally deploy the S Series.

The most valuable feature of this solution is simplicity. They try to make everything as simple as possible. Even if you are coming into networking for the first time, it is very easy.

The GUI, web interface is very nice if you are unfamiliar with the CLI.

When it comes to the configuration, there should be documentation and interactive help available to assist people who have experience with products from other vendors. For example, if I type in a Cisco keyword then it should highlight the differences and display what steps or similar commands are required.

I have been working with Dell PowerConnect Switches for more than seven years.

These switches are reliable and we have not had problems with them. Since 2013, none of the sites that I have implemented have gone down due to issues with instability.

Dell PowerConnect Switches are very easy to scale and it can be done on the fly. It is essentially plug-and-plug, once you have the configuration replicated.

We have customers that vary in size from SME to enterprises. There are different models available depending on the size of the organization.

We handle the first level of support for our customers. However, if it is something that is beyond our capacity then we contact Dell. The support from Dell is fantastic. It is available 24 hours a day and in all regions.

I have dealt with switches from other manufacturers such as Cisco, and the Dell PowerConnect switches are easier to work with and scale. Physically, there are not so different, but the proprietary commands differentiate them. The cost of Dell is also cheaper than that of Cisco.

The initial setup is very straightforward and easy to do. If I understand the requirements and what has to go into the configuration then it will take me a maximum of 15 minutes to deploy. This is for a single switch. In a large environment, there can be many switches. If we are deploying 50 switches, for example, then we might have three engineers to do the job.

Depending on the customer's environment, it is sometimes deployed on-premises but as part of a private cloud.

We deploy these switches and other services for our customers. Our team will design the system, deploy it, and then offer support. Normally, the deployment is seamless because we plan everything in advance and know what is expected.

This solution is much cheaper than comparable products by Cisco.

Dell seems to accommodate everyone when it comes to managing these switches. The ease of use is an important selling point that has allowed them to push into the market.

My advice for anybody who is considering these switches is that they are a good product and I recommend them. There is some training available to help understand the architecture, which you should take. If you are coming from a Cisco background then you will find it very easy to integrate.

One of the things that I have learned about using this product is that there is steady development going on at all times. There are other products and technologies that are fading away, whereas this product is improving.

Another thing that I have learned about working with Dell is that they will never sell you something that is not redundant. Rather, their solutions are highly available. They don't want to have anything with a single point of failure. Essentially, the level of resiliency and redundancy is very high.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.