Since Cisco Catalyst Switches don't go online, they are secured. The solution is not on the same network as the users.
Easy to configure, but its pricing and stability could be improved
Pros and Cons
- "Since Cisco Catalyst Switches don't go online, they are secured."
- "The solution’s pricing and stability could be improved."
What is most valuable?
What needs improvement?
The solution’s pricing and stability could be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Cisco Catalyst Switches for a couple of years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We haven’t received any complaints from our customers regarding the solution’s stability.
I rate the solution a seven or eight out of ten for stability.
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Cisco Catalyst Switches
February 2025
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What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Cisco Catalyst Switches is a scalable solution, and two customers are working with the solution.
What about the implementation team?
We configure the solution for our customers within 30 minutes. You can open the switch console on the device and configure it.
What was our ROI?
The solution is too expensive for me, and I will never have a return on investment with it.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Cisco Catalyst Switches is a very expensive solution. I do not pay for a license for the solution.
What other advice do I have?
We don't manage Cisco Catalyst Switches once it's configured. Two people from the tech support team are involved in the solution’s deployment and maintenance. I wouldn’t recommend Cisco Catalyst Switches to other users because it’s expensive.
Overall, I rate the solution a six out of ten.
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.
Founder & CEO at Malam-Team
Great features, good support, and easy to set up
Pros and Cons
- "The solution offers great scalability."
- "The product could always be more secure."
What is our primary use case?
The solution is primarily used for the access layer, distribution layer, core layer - the three layers as well as a signal fabric that is managed through the DNA center.
What is most valuable?
The performance is great.
The solution offers great scalability.
We have found the pricing to be okay. It's not overly expensive.
It has all of the features we need.
I've been pleased with the level of security.
The setup process is simple.
We've been happy with technical support.
What needs improvement?
We would like to see more automation integrated into the solution in future releases.
The product could always be more secure.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used the solution for many years. It's been a while.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability of the product is pretty good. There are no bugs or glitches. The performance is reliable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution scales well. If a company needs to expand it, it can.
We have customers on the solution that have 5- to 100 users and others that have thousands.
How are customer service and support?
We've been very satisfied with technical support. Overall, it has been good.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is not overly complex or difficult. It is simple and straightforward.
The number of people you need to maintain the product depends on how large it gets. Naturally, the bigger it is the more people you need. The size of the network will determine the maintenance requirements.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price of the solution is good. It's reasonably priced. The licensing fee depends on the setup.
What other advice do I have?
I'm an integrator for Catalyst.
I would rate the solution an eight out of ten. I'd recommend it as a product to others.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Integrator
Buyer's Guide
Cisco Catalyst Switches
February 2025
Learn what your peers think about Cisco Catalyst Switches. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: February 2025.
832,138 professionals have used our research since 2012.
System Administrator at Finlays
A reliable solution with good stability and scalability
Pros and Cons
- "It is very reliable."
- "Its price should be improved. It is very pricey."
What is our primary use case?
We are using 29 series. We have three switches that we use for common switches and routing. We also have a number of access switches that we interconnect to the devices in the network, such as telephone, CCTV. We have defined a number of VLANs that are running traffic between the switches, and we have done interconnections within the switches, cable, and fiber.
What is most valuable?
It is very reliable.
What needs improvement?
Its price should be improved. It is very pricey.
Its installation can be simplified. Its installation is a bit complex.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for four or five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is very stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is very scalable. You can almost do any new thing that is coming.
Our users will always be around 80 to 90 because the interconnections occur within the switches.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I've just been working on Cisco switches.
How was the initial setup?
Cisco solutions are a bit complex to install. They are not easy, and they require training and knowledge. When we changed our switch, it took 30 minutes to one hour.
What about the implementation team?
I installed it on my own, but most people prefer to hire a consultant.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It is very pricey. You have to pay for support.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution. It is good.
I would rate Cisco Catalyst Switches a nine out of 10.
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.
Founder at Torres & Torres Tech
Easy to configure and has good features like BGP, VPN, and spine-leaf architecture
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable features of the solution are BGP, VPN, and spine-leaf architecture."
- "The solution’s licensing could be improved."
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features of the solution are BGP, VPN, and spine-leaf architecture. The solution has good scalability. The solution’s configuration is easy.
What needs improvement?
The solution’s licensing could be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Cisco Catalyst Switches for 13 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I rate the solution ten out of ten for stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution has good scalability. Around 8,000 users use Cisco Catalyst Switches in our organization.
I rate the solution a nine out of ten for scalability.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I previously used Juniper.
How was the initial setup?
The solution’s initial setup is easy.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Cisco Catalyst Switches is a very expensive solution.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend the solution to other users.
Overall, I rate the solution ten out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Senior Network Engineer, IT Manager at a educational organization with 51-200 employees
Feature-rich, secure, and supports virtual stacking
Pros and Cons
- "This is a feature-rich product and the newer models have improved features that allow for many new possibilities."
- "My company would prefer that the price was more cost-effective."
What is most valuable?
The security is very nice.
This is a feature-rich product and the newer models have improved features that allow for many new possibilities.
The virtual stacking feature is helpful.
What needs improvement?
My company would prefer that the price was more cost-effective.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Cisco Switches for approximately 25 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
With respect to stability, Cisco is a vendor that we can rely on.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I work with a variety of Cisco network products, including Cisco Wireless.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Pricing from Cisco is expensive but we pay for the reliability.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I am in the process of changing my core networking infrastructure, and I am moving into the new portfolio that is offered by Cisco. My boss regularly asks whether we can change from Cisco to another vendor to get better pricing, but I always reject this. We rely on Cisco.
When you have a homogenous network, as I do with only Cisco networking products, with no other components, then all of the features from the old platforms are available. I can use the same access procedures, regardless of whether the device is wireless, wired, or remotely accessed.
What other advice do I have?
Overall, I am satisfied with Cisco Catalyst switches. The only complaint that my company has is about the pricing.
I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
eTrading Manager at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Does not account for personal automization and is not geared towards leading enterprises, but is a reliable solution with extensive support
Pros and Cons
- "As there are many who are knowledgeable of this technology, this translates into extensive support for it."
- "Personal automatization is a feature that should be addressed."
What is our primary use case?
I work in a big Colombian bank and we use the solution for the campus connectivity involving, perhaps, 23 buildings.
What is most valuable?
Cisco boasts very reliable technology.
As there are many who are knowledgeable of this technology, this translates into much support for it. The main feature we like is its easy support.
What needs improvement?
The managing of the changes and automatization should be addressed. We don't have control of the changes involving automation. In terms of what is new, network technologies and those on the cloud, the solution is outdated. Personal automatization is a feature that should be addressed.
As we are experienced with the solution, we found the initial setup to be easy, but an enterprise which is more new to this technology may find the implementation and deployment to be somewhat challenging.
While the solution was very good for its time, this may not be so, at present, for big, leading enterprises, such as a bank consisting of 10,000 people.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Cisco Catalyst Switches for, perhaps, five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The technology underpinning the solution is very stable and reliable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability is good.
We do not have plans, at present, to increase the usage, as we wish to change the technology several months down the line, the solution being included in these future plans.
How are customer service and support?
As there are many who are knowledgeable of this technology, this translates into much support for it. The main feature we like is its easy support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We use both Cisco Catalyst Switches and HP solutions.
How was the initial setup?
As we are experienced with the solution, we found the initial setup to be easy, but an enterprise which is more new to this technology may find the implementation and deployment to be somewhat challenging.
What about the implementation team?
We have a team of, perhaps, 20 people who are responsible for the deployment.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I am not knowledgeable of the licensing costs, since we have a contract for service with this partner, meaning we don't purchase the license or equipment directly.
What other advice do I have?
Five years ago, I was involved in a project in which the solution was deployed on-premises. Yet, Colombia or the bank have made recent changes to the switches and routes, since the enterprise wishes to optimize the traffic to the cloud. This is because many of our applications involve AWS.
I would estimate that we have 10,000 users making use of the solution.
The solution takes advantage of very stable and reliable technology.
The main features of the solution are its reliability and security. With the current technology, there are many enterprises that can design secure solutions. Other solutions do not provide for the same measure of security. I feel this to be a good feature.
I rate Cisco Catalyst Switches as a five out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Reliable, stable, and provides good performance for its price
Pros and Cons
- "The product is reliable."
- "The product could be more user-friendly."
What is most valuable?
The product is reliable. The performance is good.
What needs improvement?
The product could be more user-friendly. The tool is not easy to manage or integrate.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The tool is stable. I rate the stability a nine out of ten. We need to dive into it and know what we're doing. It's not straightforward. We can’t just go to the web GUI and check.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I rate the tool’s scalability an eight out of ten. We need to know the command lines to expand them. It is not GUI-based. The number of users varies from 100 to 5000. The usage depends on the requirements.
How are customer service and support?
We have to go through a long process. It is not quite straightforward.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We used other solutions before. We chose Cisco because of its reliability. The choice also depends on the cost versus the performance of the solution.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was complex. The deployment takes an hour.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price could be improved. We must have a relevant partnership with Cisco.
What other advice do I have?
Overall, I rate the product an eight or nine out of ten.
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.
Fraud Risk Analyst at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Easy to use, reliable, and reasonably priced
Pros and Cons
- "Cisco Switches are more stable in terms of hardware and firmware, rather than Juniper Switches."
- "In terms of performance, Juniper switches have a more user-friendly interface and more features than Cisco switches."
What is our primary use case?
Cisco Catalyst Switches is our core switch.
What is most valuable?
Cisco Catalyst Switches are easy to use.
They are user-friendly.
It's a common product to use.
Cisco Catalyst Switches is the best product that we use.
We have a lot of security modules, but we don't have any problems with switches.
Cisco Switches are more stable in terms of hardware and firmware, rather than Juniper Switches.
We think it's popular. We prefer to use Cisco CLI commands rather than Juniper CLI commands.
What needs improvement?
Cisco Catalyst Switches could be more secure.
In terms of performance, Juniper switches have a more user-friendly interface and more features than Cisco switches.
For how long have I used the solution?
The core Cisco Catalyst Switch is 4507.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Cisco Catalyst Switches are stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Cisco Catalyst Switches are scalable, and we use them for the entire team.
We don't need an upgrade right now because we're transitioning to another product that's already in place and ready in our infrastructure.
We have 500 users in our company.
We don't have any plans to increase our usage.
How are customer service and support?
We don't have any issues with the technical support.
I believe we contacted support for the core switch once, and they helped us with the firmware, which we upgraded. It was, however, about five years ago.
Years ago, we didn't use any kind of support. But I believe it is working, and they are working threefold with no problems.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We use several products such as Cisco Switches, Access Points, Linksys, and Fortinet FortiGate.
We use an older version of Cisco Access Points, 4400, I believe.
Before Catalyst, we used Extreme Switches. We worked with Extreme Switches for five years.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward. We have previous experience with Cisco switches. We can easily assist with any upgrades or support. It is very simple for us.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price is fine.
It is reasonably priced because we have already conducted a tender, allowing Cisco and other vendors to compete for the best price.
We did not renew the support.
It was a good price because, as I previously stated, we held a tender for purchasing and received the best offer.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to my colleagues.
I would rate Cisco Catalyst Switches a nine out of ten.
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.
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Updated: February 2025
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