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Cisco Ethernet Switches pros and cons

Vendor: Cisco
4.3 out of 5
Badge Ranked 1
3,048 followers
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Pros & Cons summary

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Prominent pros & cons

PROS

Cisco Ethernet Switches provide reliable and stable connectivity with a low failure rate, facilitating robust network infrastructure that users can depend on.
Technical support from Cisco is highly regarded, offering quick responses and effective solutions, which enhances the user experience and ensures operational continuity.
The hardware of Cisco Ethernet Switches is noted for its robustness and durability, capable of handling extensive operational demands and lasting for many years without the need for frequent replacements.
Cisco Ethernet Switches are highly scalable, supporting the expansion of network operations seamlessly, which is crucial for growing businesses and large enterprises.
The switches offer advanced features such as VLAN mapping and multicast support, which improve network efficiency and are beneficial for complex network setups.

CONS

Pricing is a major concern, with Cisco Ethernet Switches being more expensive compared to competitors like Juniper or Aruba.
Technical support is often criticized for having an inefficient process, starting with beginner-level assistance before reaching experts.
Licensing and pricing models are overly complicated and are a frequent point of criticism, adding to the high costs associated with Cisco Ethernet Switches.
Stability issues, including frequent bugs and software problems, especially with BGP protocol recalculation, are noted by users as areas needing improvement.
Hardware reliability, such as problems with SSDs and other components and a lack of free device replacements until end-of-life, is a recurring issue.
 

Cisco Ethernet Switches Pros review quotes

reviewer1193922 - PeerSpot reviewer
Oct 22, 2019
One valuable feature is that you can string a number of switches together, and the fact that there are various methods to connect them, such as by stacking.
it_user1180785 - PeerSpot reviewer
Oct 13, 2019
This is a great solution for network switching and security.
IM
Dec 23, 2020
Cisco Ethernet Switches are great devices.
Learn what your peers think about Cisco Ethernet Switches. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: November 2024.
816,192 professionals have used our research since 2012.
KS
Jan 4, 2022
Being able to deal with multiple VLANs to segment the network logically is the biggest feature for us. The management of these switches is okay for us. These switches work very well, and they meet our needs.
reviewer1363563 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jun 15, 2020
The quality of service is one of the main reasons we use Cisco in our organization. It's quite high and very reliable. The switches also end up working for a long time, so there's less need to replace them as often as others. We have some switches in our company that has been running since 2006, for example. They are quite old, but they still work.
MP
Nov 26, 2020
What we love about the Cisco switches is that they are very reliable. You can deploy them and go to sleep, and you can be sure that nothing is going to go wrong. Our initial equipment was installed by a Chinese manufacturer named Fiberhome a couple of years ago. Their switches were called S engines. They worked, but some days, you just wake up, and the switch has popped up. It was a lot of crisis. Therefore, we are in the process of trying to take out all their switches and replace them with Cisco switches. We are getting good results in terms of reliability and even technical support.
supervis809292 - PeerSpot reviewer
Nov 13, 2023
Cisco Ethernet Switches have great enterprise features like Cisco DNA Assurance. Cisco DNA Assurance features advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning. Cisco AI Network Analytics, a capability within Cisco DNA Assurance, allows easy management of all devices and services, prioritizes and resolves network issues, and ensures a better user experience across the network.
PinchasAlbalya - PeerSpot reviewer
Oct 22, 2019
The layer-2 switching is very fast.
accountm237963 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sep 10, 2021
It's all-encompassing and can help you in all these different areas. If people realize that they want something that's going to work, that's pretty foolproof, then Cisco's always worth the investment.
reviewer1619394 - PeerSpot reviewer
Nov 30, 2023
The most valuable feature of the solution is the performance of the product.
 

Cisco Ethernet Switches Cons review quotes

reviewer1193922 - PeerSpot reviewer
Oct 22, 2019
Switches should be made stackable, even if they are not of the same model.
it_user1180785 - PeerSpot reviewer
Oct 13, 2019
Technical support for integrations with other network products is insufficient and should be improved.
IM
Dec 23, 2020
We are less in the Cloud because the Cloud technologies didn't work so well. That happened in all of the companies where I've been engaged.
Learn what your peers think about Cisco Ethernet Switches. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: November 2024.
816,192 professionals have used our research since 2012.
KS
Jan 4, 2022
In terms of features, they tick all the boxes as of now. That could be because we tailor the solution around the product. I have not seen anything that pulls me back or is not working well for me. However, there could be better integration with the network monitoring systems. It doesn't mean it is currently not there, but there could be better discoverability with some of the network monitoring systems to be able to have more visibility. When you're setting up a control room, you can have more visibility into what is going on in the network. It has been doing that, but it can do that more.
reviewer1363563 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jun 15, 2020
The cost is very prohibitive both for us as well as other organizations. It's very expensive to buy Cisco switches. Among our colleagues, we find that we're not alone in thinking it's too high. Everyone's complaining about this.
MP
Nov 26, 2020
Cisco switches are good as they are, but it would be a major feature if they have built-in routers. Some of the Microchip switches have routers built in the same device. They have a router switch. For some of the sites, we deploy such switches because the client does not want a separate router and a separate switch. So, we go for a router switch with maybe 24 ports. Some of them are fiber, and some of them are ethernet. It would be a major improvement to what Cisco is already doing. Behind the scenes, a lot of scripting and stuff like this is happening. A lot of workload can be lifted if Cisco had a good GUI. If you look at Microchip switches, they have a good GUI in addition to the CLI.
supervis809292 - PeerSpot reviewer
Nov 13, 2023
The typical areas of concern for Cisco Ethernet Switches are not technical but cost including support costs. I’ve never liked the fact that end users cannot download security patches without a support contract. I’ve had trouble getting approval to renew Cisco support contracts due to the cost.
PinchasAlbalya - PeerSpot reviewer
Oct 22, 2019
I would like to see this solution automatically store multiple versions of the configuration file.
accountm237963 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sep 10, 2021
You do have to buy into the Cisco architecture to be able to use them.
reviewer1619394 - PeerSpot reviewer
Nov 30, 2023
I don't like the fact that the product is very expensive.