We performed a comparison between Brocade Ethernet Switches and HPE Ethernet Switches based on real PeerSpot user reviews.
Find out in this report how the two Ethernet Switches solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI."The initial setup was really straightforward and easy."
"It has good integration with HPE Primera. They have smart zoning in which the administration is very easy. You don't have to do anything. Zoning and other things are done automatically if you just enable the smart zoning. That's one very good thing in HP."
"The reliability of Brocade is the most valuable feature. The solution has been up and running for over ten years without any fail, fixes required, or breakdowns. It is a very strong piece of equipment."
"There's a zone for each server and services in the storage."
"I have not had any issues with our Brocade switches."
"The switches last for a very long time."
"The most valuable feature of Brocade Ethernet Switches is the good range of access it provides."
"The technical support is good."
"I'm a power user, so reliability is crucial. The HPE equipment hasn't failed on me, unlike some other brands like Huawei, which I find more sensitive."
"HPE Ethernet Switches are scalable, and their software is also quite sturdy."
"You can scale the product as needed."
"The most valuable feature is that they all have PoE. It's one of the most important things that we need in the EdgeSwitch."
"The simplicity of the commands is most valuable. The commands are the same for several devices."
"I have found the most valuable feature is stability."
"The solution is very stable and easy to use."
"HPE is very reliable because it has a lifetime warranty, so the switches didn't give us any problems."
"Brocade Ethernet Switches could improve by having better compatibility with web management of older versions."
"It should be simpler. There are still some things that can be simpler in the Brocade switches."
"No graphical interface."
"The solution could be more secure."
"Brocade Ethernet Switches need a better interface and centralized management."
"These switches are no longer supported."
"There are some performance issues."
"It would be ideal if the product offered more security."
"The solution could be more stable."
"We have had some rare occasions with glitches, so the stability can be improved."
"The solution's throughput should be increased because we often get stuck when it comes to IPTV streaming."
"The next release would benefit from adding a central management that could be deployable on premise and allow you to see the layout of topology."
"The installation can be quite complex. However, that may not be the fault of HP and is rather more related to the way our infrastructure is arranged."
"I would like to see more updates for the solution."
"In the next release, I would like to see them include more features like the Aruba solution, to have more possibilities concerning the software design."
Brocade Ethernet Switches is ranked 20th in Ethernet Switches with 10 reviews while HPE Ethernet Switches is ranked 10th in Ethernet Switches with 96 reviews. Brocade Ethernet Switches is rated 8.2, while HPE Ethernet Switches is rated 8.2. The top reviewer of Brocade Ethernet Switches writes "This solution has been up and running for over ten years without any fail". On the other hand, the top reviewer of HPE Ethernet Switches writes "Allows to monitor all the switches online so we can see what is happening and offers good security features ". Brocade Ethernet Switches is most compared with Cisco Ethernet Switches, Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches, Aruba Switches, Arista Networks Platform and Huawei Ethernet Switches, whereas HPE Ethernet Switches is most compared with Cisco Ethernet Switches, Ubiquiti UniFi Switches, H3C Ethernet Switches, Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches and Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center. See our Brocade Ethernet Switches vs. HPE Ethernet Switches report.
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Have to agree with Durrell on the Cisco offerings and certifications. I would say Avaya is more on VoIP capability and have not heard about their switch portfolio. For HP networking, they are on par with Cisco. In terms of capability and support, I would say Cisco is there.
Have you used any other vendors in the Ethernet Switch market?
Answer: Yes, I have used Arista Networks as well.
Have to agree with Durrell, while the equipment and support performs better than the competitors in my opinion, the shear volume of training that has been put out by Cisco has made it the leader. Other providers offer training of course, but none are as comprehensive and well known as the Cisco offerings..they have become THE standard for networking.
Hi,
Cisco simply has very well working equipment and it's a huge company which has gold reserves bigger than fort knox :)
I've used enterasys, juniper, noname and 3com switches, everyone has its advantages but cisco was what I liked most. Simply does its work and there is no place for failure. Only thing you need is vacuum machine from time to time.
The emphasis that has been put on certifications is the biggest reason these vendors are not taking up a bigger share of the market. The industry standards for networking certs are the Cisco ones. Since the certs are catered to their equipment, it just makes sense that they have such a huge market share.
For price/performance, I think HP and Juniper offer more than Cisco. HP typically comes in at a much lower cost for comparable features and throughput, and their switches have been very reliable for me. Juniper switches are similarly priced to Cisco gear, but they usually offer a much wider range of functions, along with equal or better performance.
All of the reasons Nuno listed, above, are valid. In addition:
4. High Performance - On balance, for most classes of switch, Cisco gear performs better. I've had great experience with HP Procurve switches, and their price/performance has been very good. But once in a while, they couldn't keep up with demanding traffic, like iSCSI, and we had to go back to Cisco gear.
5. OEM Testing and Validation - If you're introducing new network gear - firewalls, storage, servers, etc. - you will make sure it works with Cisco switches because the installed base is huge. This is a vicious cycle - more Cisco interoperability and validation means fewer issues with Cisco gear.
I have used Netgear and 3com switches.
I have tried a few other vendors on the Ethernet switch market, especially HP, Huawei and SMC switches. Haven’t used Alcatel personally, but have had interesting feedback for them from colleagues.
Regarding Cisco however, I believe there are three main reasons for it:
1) Integration on the “cisco environment”, with a structured offer from basic switches, up to multi-layer equipment, allowing a consistent platform all through the enterprise.
2) Management interface – ranging from graphic management (through local web interface, CiscoWorks modules, etc.), to CLI, with the Cisco IOS, provides great flexibility for remote management, configuration backup, and monitoring.
3) Expertise of in-house personnel – Both the training provided by Cisco itself, and the fact that Cisco has a strong base for the remaining network infrastructure (routers, and other network devices).
There is also the issue that, sometimes, some mixed vendor environment can bring issues with 802.1q trunking (I’ve seen issues with HP Switches while having problems with a VLAN 1 on the HP mixing with a native VLAN on Cisco for instance…), and other proprietary protocols (CDP for instance) that can have implications with the way management or configuration is done…
Also, in some cases, the use of other technologies that cisco has brought along over the years – Network access control, that interfaces with Cisco switches for instance, and the buildup of different interactions with other technologies, ends up creating a technical barrier on top of the barrier for change on things like:
“our other 30 switches are Cisco, and now I’ll place another vendor one?”.
And on that question, price is not likely to be the most important factor, but TCO, existing expertise, and applications running on the network (that need QoS for instance), and integration with existing monitoring, configuration management, and infrastructure, may be the most important factor on the decision…