Cisco Catalyst Switches Reviews

We have different use cases for different verticals. Our network is built mainly on Cisco equipment, including switches, firewalls, and routers. Most of the devices are Cisco products.

The product is stable, and it performs well. We get support and patches from Cisco. It is going well. We have different companies and different verticals. Cisco is our backbone.

The support team’s response and resolution time must be faster.

I have been using this solution for eight to ten years. We are using the industry-standard version.

When we have more than 1000 Cisco Catalyst Switches, we have a failure rate, too. We would hardly notice failure if we had a smaller company with one to ten switches. A couple of times, it has happened that the switches have failed while upgrading.

We design the network according to the environment's requirements. We also keep the network ready for the business requirements. When a request comes in, we help customers get their devices into a specific network zone. We have a huge number of users. My company caters to its internal customers, including JioMart, Jio Payments Bank, and JioChat.

The support is good so far.

We configure and deploy the solution according to our needs. If a product or feature is not available, we discuss and open a ticket with Cisco. Cisco then helps with some patches or other features that we require.

The procurement process for Cisco Catalyst Switches is different. Once we receive the switches in bulk, we divide them among the different verticals. Depending on the needs, we allocate 100 or 1000 switches to each vertical and then start deploying.

I help the team to deploy the solution. We have a different deployment process. When a user requests a deployment, we first discuss their network and how they want it distributed. We then discuss the feasibility of the request and suggest the best possible option available to meet their requirements.

We have an on-premises team who helps us if there is an issue with the device. If the team cannot resolve the issue, we either get a replacement device or ask an expert for help with deployment. If there is a requirement to use multicast streaming, we need to check if our current network supports it. We also need to consider the bandwidth, network resources, and uplink and downlink ports.

The pricing should be improved. We have purchased a one-time license. When we place an order for Cisco Catalyst Switches, the quantity is huge.

I am an implementer. I would recommend the solution to others. People must use the solution based on their requirements. Overall, I rate the solution an eight or nine out of ten.

I use Cisco Catalyst Switches mostly in apartment complexes. They are apartment buildings, where one apartment has three or four bathroom/bedroom combinations and each resident who lives in those has their own connection to the switch. Additionally, the common areas of the building have a connection to the switch.

I've used Cisco Catalyst Switches in that environment, providing internet to a complex, both fiber and copper. We have taken and put cable TV, converted the satellite signals off of DIRECT TV satellites, and broadcasted all their channels, including local channels in the complex. There are approximately 250 channels through the same switches by converting the output to a network environment by turning them around and sending it back out on the other end for coaxial cable distribution. I've been working a lot in the MDFs and the IDFs of the individual complexes.

We use the VLANs to separate library, office, and individual apartments. With some of the reporting that receive, we're able to take and track down where people like to put in their own wireless routers. Sometimes they will take a DSL modem from AT&T that they brought from home, hook it in backward, and it will give rogue addresses causing issues.

It's been pretty easy for us to track down where those rogue addresses are coming from and shut the port down until we can have a technician go out and fix it properly.

There are a lot of features that Cisco Catalyst Switches have. However, they're not always needed.

The security of Cisco Catalyst Switches seems to be sound. It's very good with security. I've had no issues, security-wise. The important this is to know what to do to fix problems if you have a security issue, and it seems to work, whether you're using Cisco Catalyst Switches, Opensense, pfSense firewalls, or any normal firewall issues. Cisco Catalyst Switches are able to communicate to all the other hardware very well.

I use the Cisco Catalyst Switches command-line interface(CLI) a lot out in the field, but there are some web interfaces features that are available that I haven't used very much. I'm more comfortable with the CLI, but the web interfaces are very lacking. 

The application controls that you have when you go through the Cisco Catalyst Switches for configuration and to see your whole network could improve. If the interface could display and recognize devices other than the Catalyst that you might have in the network to allow you to build your network. It does not necessarily need to control them, but to see they're there and how they're hooked up would make a big difference when it comes to trying to map and monitor the network activity in the system.

Those are two areas I find in the Cisco Catalyst Switches that are not as robust as some of the newer solutions, such as Aruba. You could see everything's controlled by the web interfaces, but not as much by the CLI. I don't like that Arubas CLIs, but I do like the web interface where you can see everything and control everything without having to load a special application on a computer and/or use the CLI. You can visually see all the information, and I find that's an easier learning curve for people monitoring. I haven't used it very much with the Cisco Meraki's, but a lot of the places we have worked have been with governments, and they use a lot of the Cisco Catalyst line of solutions.

If someone was trying to manage their own office, I would rate the usability of Cisco Catalyst Switches a five out of ten. Unless you know the CLI well then you will use the interface that is a little bit tricky to work with.

I have been using Cisco Catalyst Switches for approximately 10 years.

Most of the stability issues I have found have been hardware-related and not software. I have found that sometimes a port will go dead, and when a port goes dead on the even side, the odd side equivalent goes dead as well. This is where things get a little hot and it caused the solder joint to go loose or something similar happened. That's what my guess would be on the issue, a lot of times they only mark the port as dead and shut it off. When they have many ports that are dead that they don't have any spares they typically switch out the switch altogether.

People do not want to pay for you to resolder a circuit board and check for cold solder joints, I try and speed things up. If I have not had to use many spares on the ports for repair, to keep the repair at a quick pace. I can change a power supply or I can change a board in them quickly. I haven't actually bothered to go through and see if it's a cold solder joint or if it's actually a dead port. I'm having to use my experience with other equipment and knowing that it more times than not, kills both ports on the same connector, it's probably a cold solder joint or something to do with where it's connecting to the motherboard. This would be the first place I would look.

I would rate Cisco Catalyst Switches stability a nine out of ten.

They are highly stable, they have never given me a problem.

I've never had to talk with the Cisco technical support. Usually, if there is a problem I know how the switches are built, I can take them apart and put them together to fix them. For example, in the last Cisco solution I did fix, the power supply was overheating, and it would eventually shut the unit down or it would freeze. I let it cool off and came back when it was cool and took a power supply from one that the mainboard that was frozen, and put it in. It came right back up and it was working at the right temperature.

When it comes to technical support, I've never had to use them. What typically happens is the client calls technical support, technical support turns around dispatches a company that dispatches me and I go out there, fix the issue. I notify that company of their technical support, which may be Cisco's, or not, and inform them of the problem. The technical support double-checks the program and makes sure everything's up and operating.

I have used other networking solutions previously, such as Aruba.

I have found that the problems with Cisco Catalyst Switches are caused by the end-user putting equipment on it backward and various other similar user errors.  Cisco Catalyst Switches does not have all the features in the web interface. I didn't see the web interface able to be controlled the solution well. You can bring up some information controls, you click a link, and everything's in it is confusing to me, they could improve it. The web application gives you the ability to change some settings, but not necessarily critical ones. There're some things that you have to do at the CLI that their application does not give you the ability to do.

I have VLANs that are set up in my office under a pfSense firewall. The VLANs are set up in the firewall, and it acts as a switch as well. The actual switches turn around and act as a router and then the Cisco Catalyst Switches recognize the VLANs, and process everything accordingly as if it was a Cisco solution. They integrate well will all other hardware.

I rate Cisco Catalyst Switches an eight out of ten.

It's easy to configure. The forum is good. We can also get help from the forum and Cisco support. Many people use it, so we can get help from anyone if you have any issues.

There is no GUI. Nowadays, many other switches provide GUI features and options that can be configured through the GUI. The Cisco Catalyst series doesn't offer that. It should be configured only through CLI mode. If another GUI option or feature allows configuration through the GUI, that would be beneficial.

I have been using Cisco Catalyst Switches for 15 years.

I rate the solution’s stability a nine out of ten.

It is scalable and provides good performance. It is suitable for enterprise customers.

Support is also good.

Positive

The initial setup is easy. It depends on the larger network. Due to the backbone infrastructure and other passive components we need to complete, such as cabling and structured cabling, it may take time. If the cabling and architecture are already in place, it will take only a few hours.

It provides efficiency followed by cost setting.

The solution is cheap.

Cisco Catalyst Switches handle the network traffic very swiftly during peak loads.

Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

Our clients use it to build a network based on level two and level three Cisco switches, and that's all.

Sometimes, people choose Cisco because it's Cisco. And that's all.

We are a vendor for the healthcare sector, especially hospitals, and normally, we use a full Cisco solution for stability, especially for the stability of the Access Points and the security of switches.

This gives the client more comfort when choosing, for example, Huawei or other brands. They feel more comfortable with Cisco.

The biggest barrier to buying Cisco or using Cisco is the price and also the competition with competitors and with Cisco partners.  

We don't find any problems with Cisco switches except the competition pricing with other Cisco partners, especially because we are a seller and implementer. Sometimes, we find ourselves in front of partners who have better prices than us.

The biggest challenge in using the Cisco solution is the relationship with partners or Cisco partners.

Even sometimes we have clients who need to work with us. And even the needs and the bill of materials are established by us, but unfortunately, at the end, they don't buy from us because of pricing from other partners.

Competitors' prices are cheaper. 

I have been familiar with this product for more than ten years. 

Cisco Catalyst Switches are reliable. I would rate the stability a ten out of ten. 

It is a very stable product. 

The scalability is good. Sometimes, it has about 500 network points. 

Our clients are hospitals, for example, ranging from 50 to 200 beds.

Not big hospitals, but medium-sized hospitals. The most recent one was between 300 to 500 users.

The support is good. Even if we don't need a lot of support, what we got is stable enough. But when we need support, the support team is there.

Positive

It was a little bit difficult the first time, but now, because we have the model, it's very simple for us.

Because we work especially for one sector of the industry, which is hospitals, we have a fixed model to set up the network. So, it's very easy for us to set up a Cisco network in those hospitals.

A few years ago, we established a model for installation in those hospitals, and now it's okay. Our technicians know how to do it. So they can set up the entire network within one week.

The deployment takes one-week maximum. 

I would rate the pricing a ten out of ten, with ten being expensive. 

I would recommend using it because of its stability and high quality.

Overall, the whole solution is good. I would rate it a seven out of ten. The pricing and competition from partners are the main two issues. It's not fair competition.

I accept competition with another seller or integrator like me. But if I find someone in the market who is an integrator, reseller, and distributor all at the same time, it's not fair competition.

In the market, if you are deploying any kind of network in an environment, there is a need for switches to distribute the network. You can use a switch to distribute the entire connection to other users in the company if you have a small company.

I can't think of an area where improvements are required in the product since Cisco seems to be regularly involved in patching the software part. Cisco Catalyst Switches releases regular software updates, so there shouldn't be any issue with the solution.

It is not easy for everyone to configure the product's initial setup part, making it an area where improvements are required.

I have been using Cisco Catalyst Switches for three years. I am a customer of Cisco.

Stability-wise, I rate the solution an eight or nine out of ten.

The product is not easy for everyone to configure the initial setup. Sometimes, it becomes a pain point when people are not able to understand everything related to the product, and they run into certain issues, making it a reason why I would say that the tool is not that stable.

Cisco's support team is good and can provide you with solutions quickly since Cisco has not given its support area to vendors. All of Cisco's support teams are handled by Cisco's employees. Cisco has support centers all around the globe, including countries like India, Singapore, Australia, and Europe. As a customer of the switches and routers from Cisco, my company gets twenty-four hours and seven days a week of access throughout the year to contact the support team and its engineers, who are well-trained before they get deployed on the queue to pick up the customer cases.

I rate the technical support a nine and a half out of ten.

Positive

I have experience with switches from NETGEAR and Sophos, but both products can provide detailed functionalities or features like Cisco Catalyst Switches. The functionality and features you get with Cisco Catalyst Switches are incomparable to other tools.

The product's initial setup phase was a bit difficult. A subject matter expert might be required to help with the initial setup phase.

The solution is deployed on an on-premises model. The product works fine if you have experience with Cisco Catalyst Switches.

The solution can be deployed in a few hours. For the basic deployment, it takes a couple of hours.

The solutions are costly, considering that Cisco provides top-notch support and devices.

Cisco Catalyst Switches have impacted our company's network flexibility since it is a very flexible product. The solution is robust in terms of the equipment provided. As per my knowledge, no other switch provides the same functionalities that Cisco Catalyst Switches provide in the current market.

In terms of network security in our company, I would speak about the number of VLANs that users can probably have on Cisco Catalyst Switches and how we can manage the traffic going from one VLAN to another VLAN, which is a very smooth process with no issues. When you look at network security, the way Cisco implements SCP is tremendous since it has many features that one can use that are not available in other legacy products.

The performance and reliability of Cisco to support our company's critical applications are areas of the tool that can be described as top-notch.

In terms of the tool's management and configuration, if a person is into the networking field and works as a network engineer who has probably dealt with CCNA or CCNP certifications with experience for a couple of years, it will be very easy to use. Cisco Catalyst Switches might be a little difficult for a newbie to learn. Once a person learns about the product in a month or so, everything related to the solution becomes easy.

I recommend the product to those who plan to use it, especially the ones who don't have budget constraints and have people or teams who are well-versed in handling devices from Cisco.

I rate the tool an eight out of ten.

We use a lot of security features available with Cisco Catalyst Switches. Cisco Catalyst Switches' output is not bad, and it has a lot of ports.

Cisco Catalyst Switches is an expensive solution and its price could be improved. The lifetime of the equipment is not enough because our customers face problems when they need to change the equipment. As applications and software demand more output, vendors focus on increasing the throughput of newer equipment. However, this often leads to the discontinuation of support and warranty for older equipment.

I have been working with Cisco Catalyst Switches for more than 15 years.

I rate Cisco Catalyst Switches a seven out of ten for stability because sometimes we have problems with the software.

I rate Cisco Catalyst Switches an eight out of ten for scalability. Cisco Catalyst Switches support the clustering of several switches. Our clients are mostly small enterprises with nearly five thousand employees.

With each passing year, the knowledge of support engineers for Cisco Catalyst Switches is getting worse. Cisco TAC was in Europe and North America but moved to Mexico, China, India, and the Middle East last year. Although work is cheaper in these locations, they don't have knowledgeable customer support staff.

Neutral

We have previously worked with HP, Juniper, and Dell.

I rate Cisco Catalyst Switches a nine out of ten for its initial setup. The solution has no IP address, and you need a special cable to connect to them. This special cable is not free, and without the cable, you cannot configure the solution. The deployment of Cisco Catalyst Switches takes around 60 minutes.

Cisco Catalyst Switches' deployment is very easy. You can use it from the box if you don't need any specific configuration. If we have any deployment-related questions, we open a ticket in Cisco TAC, and their engineers resolve our problems.

Cisco Catalyst Switches is an expensive solution. I rate Cisco Catalyst Switches a four out of ten for pricing.

Cisco Catalyst Switches have a lot of features that we don't use, but we pay for them. Most Cisco equipment comes with a subscription, which is not free. However, our customers do not use this subscription. If you have enough money, better use Cisco because the technical support of other vendors is worse than Cisco.

Overall, I rate Cisco Catalyst Switches a seven out of ten.

We are using the Catalyst 9200 series as a network switch and the 9500 as a core switch. We sometimes use a 9300 for the distribution switch.

Catalyst switches are highly stable and easy to use. It's a technology well known by most engineers.

We are an enterprise end-user. We also consult for other government entities and recommend using certain technologies to them. I've been working at this business and using Catalyst Switches for a year now. 

Catalyst switches are highly scalable.

I'm satisfied with support from Cisco and the vendor as well as their partners here in Egypt.

It is a straightforward installation. You don't need anyone to install Catalyst Switches for you. You just add it to your network and then do the installation and configuration as well as the pre-setup preparations. It doesn't take a lot of time. You take the switch from the box and put it in the network, then configure it directly. The switch will only take about 30 minutes to configure.

Cisco licenses are yearly. A single 9000 series Catalyst switch is about 75,000 Egyptian pounds. It is kind of expensive. But compared to other switches, it will save you in the long run. You need to hire specialized engineers who know how to operate those devices, and some of them are rarer in Egypt, like FortiSwitch or HPE Switch. Most engineers know how to use Cisco Catalyst. You would need to hire a specialist engineer and train them, and that will cost money. There are other cheaper technologies, but for Cisco, the price is expected. 

I rate Cisco Catalyst Switches 10 out of 10. I would recommend it. This is a leading technology, and the price is reasonable, especially the Catalyst switches I mentioned. Other types of Catalyst switches are more expensive, but the ones we use are more affordable. 

I use the solution in my company as a data switch. The product is mostly used in the entertainment systems of luxury yachts and not in some banks.

The most valuable feature of the solution is reliability. I have seen Cisco Catalyst Switches working for more than six years without any kind of outage.

Products from Cisco that deal in areas like VLAN management, internal routing, and inter-VLAN routing don't seem to be compatible with other products. When users put Cisco Catalyst Switches in the same environment or infrastructure where other devices or products exist, like HPE, Aruba, and Ubiquiti, it doesn't work properly. The aforementioned area can be considered for improvement.

I have been using Cisco Catalyst Switches for more than twenty years.

It is a stable solution.

It is a scalable solution. Cisco solutions are always scalable.

My organization has around 200 users of the product.

There is a need to increase the number of devices or switches, or it can be done by implementing a change in relation to the old devices in an environment by moving from a 10 GB switch to 40 GB uplinks. A 10 GB switch is enough for now in my business.

Cisco's support team is friendly if you have a maintenance contract active with the technical support team of the tool. You will end up breaking your head on the wall if you do not have an active maintenance contract with Cisco's technical team since they are not responsive or supportive at all until you subscribe to the service contract Cisco offers.

After dealing with the product for more than twenty years, it has become easy to deploy the solution.

I have been installing the tool inside a luxury yacht to manage some internal data switches and for some of the entertainment systems where streaming services are required. VLAN is mandatory for managing the kind of networks in the aforementioned environment.

The solution is deployed on an on-premises model.

The time required to deploy the product depends on the dimension of the project undertaken by someone. If you install the system in a 30-meter yard, deploying it takes around four days. If you install the product on a yacht where around 100 meters need to be covered, the deployment process may take over a month.

The number of people required to deploy and maintain the product depends on the project size. One person is enough to take care of the deployment in a 50-meter yard area. Three people are enough to take care of the deployment in a 100-meter yard area. In an infrastructure with around 200 people, only one person can maintain the warehouse system.

I rate the overall product a six out of ten from a price perspective since it is an expensive tool.

There is a need to make yearly payments towards the licensing charges of the product.

From a technical perspective, I rate the overall product a nine out of ten.

There is a need to use professional devices like the ones offered by Cisco if someone needs a reliable infrastructure that is flexible and scalable.

Overall, I rate the product a nine out of ten.