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reviewer1541169 - PeerSpot reviewer
Converged Network Administrator at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Helpful support, very reliable, but has an outdated operating system and a weird pricing model
Pros and Cons
  • "It is an infrastructure tool, so it is just providing a backend service. Its most useful feature is that it operates on a regular basis. It is reliable."
  • "Cisco is weird about their pricing models, so that's one problem. Their operating system is also a little outdated."

What is most valuable?

It is an infrastructure tool, so it is just providing a backend service. Its most useful feature is that it operates on a regular basis. It is reliable. 

What needs improvement?

Cisco is weird about their pricing models, so that's one problem. Their operating system is also a little outdated.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with this solution on and off for about ten years. We are using the Cisco Catalyst 9000 series.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is generally a very stable solution.

Buyer's Guide
Cisco Catalyst Switches
January 2025
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What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is weird in terms of scalability. By the time you get to the point of scaling up any equipment, which it is capable of doing relatively easily, it is usually out of date. You end up having to rip and replace everything anyway. So, technically, it is scalable, but in practicality, it is not.

We're sticking with this one for a while. I am not aware of any plans to increase its usage.

How are customer service and support?

Their tech support has always been very helpful to me. I have no issues there.

How was the initial setup?

If you are trained, it is very straightforward. You have to be skilled in order to get it going. They do provide support for those who don't have these skills.

What about the implementation team?

In terms of maintenance, one person could support a thousand people, but that would be a very busy job. It is better with a team.

What other advice do I have?

The best advice would be to get your training done so that you get a good overview of all the solutions.

I would rate Cisco Catalyst Switches a seven out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Information Security Officer at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Useful for core switching, very stable, and quick to deploy
Pros and Cons
  • "These switches are very stable. We haven't had any problems. We also have some old switches that are working for almost ten years."
  • "Their price should be cheaper. We lose a lot of work because of the price that they have."

What is our primary use case?

Cisco Catalyst Switches are more for core switching because they are enterprise solutions. We mostly use Cisco for all of our infrastructure, so these switches are used everywhere as core switches. 

What is most valuable?

These switches are very stable. We haven't had any problems. We also have some old switches that are working for almost ten years.

What needs improvement?

Their price should be cheaper. We lose a lot of work because of the price that they have.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for more than 10 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

They are very stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have a hundred users and maybe a hundred other ports for connecting servers with each other.

How are customer service and technical support?

I have opened a case with them for the FirePOWER Services, not Cisco Catalyst Switches, and it is the first time that I haven't got a response. It has been a week since I've sent the request, which was just a question, but I don't have any response so far. For the previous cases that I had with tech support, they were very quick.

How was the initial setup?

If you have experience in working with Cisco solutions, the initial setup is easy. Otherwise, it may be complicated. 

The deployment doesn't take a long time. We already have the guidelines, and we have been doing it and using Cisco for a long time. It usually takes a maximum of one hour to configure the switches. Two people will be enough for deploying these switches.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

These switches are expensive. 

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend these switches to others. We plan to keep using them. 

I would rate Cisco Catalyst Switches a ten out of ten. We are happy with them.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Cisco Catalyst Switches
January 2025
Learn what your peers think about Cisco Catalyst Switches. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2025.
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Network Engineer at NHN Techorus Corp.
Real User
Makes QoS CBWFQ easy to use
Pros and Cons
  • "We have to use the QoS (CBWFQ) function... and it is easy to use."

    What is our primary use case?

    AWS Direct Connect.

    What is most valuable?

    • BGP
    • Familiar CLI

    We have used BGP over IPSec to AWS but there were problems with bandwidth. I migrated to the Catalyst C3850 because AWS Direct Connect doesn't need IPSec. We have to use the QoS (CBWFQ) function. I understand the function of QoS and it is easy to use.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    One to three years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    It's a stable product.

    How is customer service and technical support?

    Technical support is average.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup was easy.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    The pricing could be better.

    What other advice do I have?

    I would suggest looking into the Cisco Nexus 92160YC-X. It has a lower price than the C3850 and high performance, but the CLI is different.

    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    PeerSpot user
    Lead Software QA / DevOps Engineer at a comms service provider
    Real User
    Configuration is straightforward and all our switches are working without any downtime
    Pros and Cons
    • "Stability. We have many Catalyst switches now, and they work without any downtime."
    • "It would be good if they added some machine learning which would allow us to abandon the rigid rules for processing traffic priorities and, at the same time, save money, because equipment with similar logic (like DPI) is much more expensive."
    • "Soon, we plan to migrate to the cloud infrastructure. It would be good if the Cisco switches worked quickly in the cloud, like their hardware devices. Ideally, they would be like OVS-DPDK, but they would work out-of-the-box."

    What is our primary use case?

    LAN and WAN links in our offices and data centers.

    How has it helped my organization?

    When we started deploying Cisco switches in our new office, we were able to deploy them very quickly. There were no problems at the configuration stage and this allowed us to start work as quickly as possible.

    What is most valuable?

    Stability. We have many Catalyst switches now, and they work without any downtime. We work with government companies and we can't allow the business to stand idle.

    What needs improvement?

    It would be good if they added some machine learning which would allow us to abandon the rigid rules for processing traffic priorities and, at the same time, save money, because equipment with similar logic (like DPI) is much more expensive.

    Soon, we plan to migrate to the cloud infrastructure. It would be good if the Cisco switches worked quickly in the cloud, like their hardware devices. Ideally, they would be like OVS-DPDK, but they would work out-of-the-box.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    Three to five years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    No issues with stability.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    No issues with scalability.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    We don't use Cisco support. In our company, we have our own support team with various CCNA and CCNP engineers.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    Previously, we tried many different solutions but we had some trouble with stability and scalability.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup was pretty easy. The first setup was not that big and it was deployed in one day with only two engineers, one CCNA and one CCNP.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    Cisco's prices are not cheap, but the stability is worth it.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    We tried many vendors including D-Link, HPE, and some cheaper vendors.

    What other advice do I have?

    It's a very good product but the price is high, so I would rate it at eight out of 10. Overall, it's worth it. Cisco switches have rich functionality.

    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Ryan Dave Brigino - PeerSpot reviewer
    Software Engineer at Es'hailSat
    Real User
    Top 5Leaderboard
    Easy to install, simple to configure, and user-friendly
    Pros and Cons
    • "We find the product very easy to use."
    • "The product is expensive."

    What is our primary use case?

    We primarily use the solution for both corporate and data centers.

    What is most valuable?

    The solution is very stable and the performance is good.

    It's easy to configure.

    We find the product very easy to use. 

    The solution can scale.

    The installation process is easy.

    What needs improvement?

    You need to predict your scaling considerations at the outset. 

    The product is expensive. 

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I've been using the solution for five years. 

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

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

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    The solution is scalable, however, you need to plan for future scaling at the outset, otherwise, you will be limited. 

    How are customer service and technical support?

    We are quite satisfied with technical support. They are helpful and responsive. 

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup is very straightforward and simple. It's not overly complex or difficult at all. 

    What about the implementation team?

    We handled the implementation ourselves in-house. 

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    The solution could be cheaper. It's a bit expensive.

    There aren't any extra costs for licensing or customization.

    What other advice do I have?

    I'd rate the solution at a nine out of ten. We're quite happy with its capabilities. 

    I would recommend the solution to other users and companies. 

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Senior Manager at a tech vendor with 11-50 employees
    MSP
    Catalysts are very good in the LAN infrastructure, especially for a campus network

    What is our primary use case?

    Generally, we are using Cisco Catalyst switches for the campus network. We are currently using the Cisco Catalyst 3800 Series switches with IOS XE, and we also recently onboarded the Catalyst 9300 Series and 9400 Series, mostly for the campus network. We also use the 3800 Series switch for wireless connectivity, which provides UPOE, supporting up to 60 watts for the PoE devices.

    Performance-wise, Catalysts are so good in the LAN infrastructure, especially for a campus network. But for a data center environment, we mostly prefer the Cisco Nexus series.

    How has it helped my organization?

    Cisco Catalyst is one of the most famous and popular devices for campus networks, widely used in most of the country. They are the preferred networking switches with many features that help eliminate the need for a more complex OSPF. They are also easy to configure and manage. With the vulnerability assessment report, we can see there are more improvements coming from Cisco for campus area network switches.

    What is most valuable?

    HSRP (Hot Standby Router Protocol) is one valuable feature. In the 3800 Series, we have the Stacking feature which enables combining switches to get more bandwidth and produce high-availability. The Stacking feature can also actually eliminate the need for HSRP.

    What needs improvement?

    I would like to see hosting multiple applications on the existing IOS.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Stability-wise it is good. We have had multiple Catalyst switches running for quite a long period of time without even a single reboot. Performance-wise that is quite okay.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    The way it is being deployed it is expandable. We can add additional devices, so it is good.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    I have used support for Catalyst and it was good.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    In most places, we were already using it, and we are continuing to use it. We could see the stability was better and it's quite easy to manage. We are also used to it. In addition, we're able to get technical support as well as vendor support.

    How was the initial setup?

    Setup is quite straightforward. You need to understand some of the basic components, how to set up the basic requirements. Apart from that, it is quite easy. You won't struggle much if you have a basic understanding of it.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    Another candidate would be Juniper switches.

    What other advice do I have?

    The main thing is that Catalyst has been around for quite a long period. Cisco is one of the leaders in campus area networks, so investing in Catalysts, given that they are reliable, is safe.

    My most important criteria when selecting a vendor are the

    • product knowledge
    • support from the vendor and the availability of the technical staff to support it.

    I would give a Cisco Catalyst a nine out of 10 because most campus networks use Cisco and it is one of the best campus network switches. Its performance is quite good, it’s seamless, and stability-wise it is good.

    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    it_user5274 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Network Manager at a insurance company with 1,001-5,000 employees
    Vendor
    Small switch with a lot of features - good for enterprises and small businesses

    Valuable Features:

    1. Cisco 2960 catalysts switch has lots of security features (Port Security, block DHCP snooping, VLAN).
    2. I can create a stack with multiple Cisco 2960 switch which improve availability
    3. I can create a port channel by merging multiple port of multiple switches which help me transfer large amounts of data traffic between serveres and it also increases reliability if one switch port becomes damaged.
    4. It provides PoE (Power over Ethernet) which helps me easily setup Cisco wireless AP and IP phones at any office location.
    5. RSPAN (Remote Switch Port Analyzer) enables me to monitor network traffic flow with of NMS software.
    6. VTP (VLAN Trunking Protocol) helps me to transfer VLAN configuration from one switch to multiple switches.

    Room for Improvement:

    1. It does not provide any expansion slots so I cannot increase the number of ports.
    2. If most of the switch ports get damaged than you have to replace the whole switch.

    Other Advice:

    It is a nice product for enterprises and small businesses. It is a small switch with a lot of features.

    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    it_user1068 - PeerSpot reviewer
    it_user1068Tech Support Staff at a tech company with 51-200 employees
    Real User

    We make use of Brocade's BigIron and IBM's Rackswitch in our data center. I would say they are the best; maybe because they are the ones I have experience using. How would you rate Catalyst in comparison two these two products: Rackswitch and BigIron?

    reviewer1108698 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Senior Network Administrator at a media company with 1,001-5,000 employees
    Real User
    Helpful technical support and highly reliable
    Pros and Cons
    • "Cisco Catalyst Switches are highly reliable and stable."
    • "The solution could improve by having a video IP feature."

    What is our primary use case?

    We are using Cisco Catalyst Switches for corporate and production, such as offices. We have two networks running and the second one is an Everts network and it is more specialized in TV video broadcasting.

    How has it helped my organization?

    Cisco Catalyst Switches has been very useful in my organization because we do a lot of videos. My company is a TV station. 

    What needs improvement?

    The solution could improve by having a video IP feature.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using Cisco Catalyst Switches for approximately 30 years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Cisco Catalyst Switches are highly reliable and stable.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    We have approximately 500 Cisco Catalyst Switches installed.

    How are customer service and support?

    The support of Cisco Catalyst Switches is very good.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    We are a large company and the price is reasonable because we have received a discount. However, the full price is expensive.

    What other advice do I have?

    I rate Cisco Catalyst Switches an eight out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
    PeerSpot user
    Buyer's Guide
    Download our free Cisco Catalyst Switches Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
    Updated: January 2025
    Buyer's Guide
    Download our free Cisco Catalyst Switches Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.