Cisco Ethernet Switches Reviews

I used Cisco Ethernet Switches primarily for campus networks, specifically in hospitals, to provide endpoint connectivity for users, including doctors, and to support wireless access points for devices like iPads.

The most valuable features of Cisco Ethernet Switches for our network are speed, latency, and reliability. We rely on fast data transfer and minimal downtime, especially for handling large image files. Additionally, the MTBF and unit-level failover capabilities have been crucial for maintaining uptime. The switches seamlessly integrate with our dual-band wireless network, providing efficient connectivity for both public and partner users across the hospital campus.

While Cisco Ethernet Switches are already quite advanced, one area for improvement could be integrating a single dashboard for both wired and wireless networks. Additionally, enhancing cyber protection features directly within the switches could be beneficial to prevent network vulnerabilities and downtime caused by malicious activity.

I have been working with Cisco Ethernet Switches for almost 15 years.

I would rate the stability of the product as a nine out of ten.

I would rate the scalability of the product as an eight out of ten. About 3,000 users are currently using Cisco Ethernet Switches, and there are plans to increase usage as the hospital expands.

Technical support from Cisco is generally good, with knowledgeable core technical staff. However, there can be issues with overpromising in marketing, leading to discrepancies between promises and the capabilities of the actual support team. I would rate the support as a nine out of ten.

Positive

I would rate the easiness of the initial setup of Cisco Ethernet Switches as a nine out of ten. The setup process itself was fantastic, but it heavily relies on capable partners for proper installation. If the partners aren't well-trained or capable, it could lead to setbacks, but generally, Cisco works with good partners.

Deploying Cisco Ethernet Switches involved two main phases. The passive network setup, including cable laying and rack installation, took about eight to nine months due to various challenges. However, mounting and configuring the switches only required around one month. Overall, the deployment involved a team of three people.

For maintenance, at least two people are typically available around the clock to monitor the network, address calls, and handle any issues that arise. So far, there haven't been any failures, but if one occurs, they address it.

I would rate the pricing of the product as a seven out of ten in terms of costliness. While Cisco Ethernet Switches are expensive, they were chosen for their quality and worth the investment. Additional costs beyond standard licensing fees were fixed for two years, but afterward, negotiations depended on market fluctuations.

In a big hospital project covering 20 acres and 51 buildings, Cisco Ethernet Switches played a crucial role. We set up connections for the entire campus, including the data center, all the devices people use, and equipment, making sure everything could communicate smoothly.

The scalability of Cisco Ethernet Switches has supported our organization's growth by allowing us to easily expand our network architecture. We have implemented a scalable design with core, distribution, and endpoint switches, connected via fiber optic cables. This setup enables us to add new switches or networks without disrupting the existing infrastructure. We can seamlessly plug in additional switches to the core switches, facilitating expansion wherever needed.

When considering Cisco Ethernet Switches, users should assess their specific needs and whether they require higher speeds or prioritize stability and reliability. It is crucial to ensure that the switches perform as advertised, especially for critical applications. Reliability is crucial, so users should prioritize switches that can operate without downtime, particularly for mission-critical functions.

Overall, I would rate Cisco Ethernet Switches as an eight out of ten.

On-premises

Our company uses the solution to set up local access networks for users and route applications. We work with several models including 9300 and 9500. We plan to increase usage in the future. 

The solution effectively provides a stable connection for users. 

There is a lot of knowledge in terms of Cisco networking, so you can very quickly find technical support. 

To keep up with the market, the solution should have better evolution and innovation. 

More security features should be added. 

I have been using the solution for five years. 

The solution is stable so I rate stability a nine out of ten. 

The solution is scalable so I rate scalability an eight out of ten. 

Technical support is good so I rate it a nine out of ten. 

Positive

The setup is very simple. 

The pricing is reasonable so I rate it a six out of ten. 

Be sure you have an understanding of how many appliances you need and how many users you have to cover, so that you have a good and proper design for the solution. 

I rate the solution an eight out of ten. 

On-premises

It has 24 x gigabit sfp + 8 x sfp ports, mac address table size96k entries, routing protocolrip-2, eigrp.operates on dc -48/-60 v power. It has the following remote management protocol :snmp 1, snmp 2, rmon, telnet, snmp 3.complies to the following standards: ieee 802.3, ieee 802.3u, ieee 802.3z, ieee 802.1d, ieee 802.1q, ieee 802.3ab, ieee 802.3x, ieee 802.3ad (lacp), ieee 802.1w, ieee 802.1x, ieee 802.1s, ieee 802.1t, has a ram of 768 mb (installed) / 2 gb (max) and a flash memory of 192 mb flash. It has the cisco ios ip base software included.

It is expensive in terms of pricing. A reboot is also required if it jams. It has a minimum operational temperature of 32F.

Cisco Ethernet system serves our needs primarily for user integration and connectivity, providing access to the Internet and services. One scenario where Cisco switches significantly improved our network performance was when we faced challenges with traditional network setups. The features that proved highly effective for network management include comprehensive visibility, an all-in-one solution for management, stability, connectivity, and troubleshooting capabilities.

We use Cisco Ethernet system for user connectivity, with multicast being an advanced feature that helps alleviate some of our work challenges. In terms of scalability, we utilize stacks which have proven to be reliable and easy to manage. As for security functionalities, we rely on Palo Alto for our network's safety. I would prefer to discuss detailed information via email for a comprehensive review.

Improvement as per customer requirements. 

I have been using Cisco Ethernet Switches for the past 4 years. 

As for stability, I have found the feature to be highly stable with minimal issues.

Although we also use HPE switches in other departments, I lean towards Cisco due to its reliability and performance.

Installing Cisco Ethernet system is relatively straightforward, especially since we are familiar with the process. However the installation may require some technical expertise.The deployment process for Cisco Ethernet system typically takes about a day with our team's support. For more complex configurations, it may require additional time depending on the customer's requirements. One major challenge we face is with licensing, especially for Cisco's wireless features. Understanding and managing license changes over time, such as moving to new licenses for VPN support, can be challenging for customers. We often need support from Cisco to navigate these licensing challenges.

While Cisco's pricing can be a concern, particularly with support fees, its overall features and support community make it a solid choice.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate Cisco Ethernet system as a 9 for its overall functionality and support, with the caveat of considering pricing and support options carefully before making a decision

The platform's management features need improvement.

We have been using Cisco Ethernet Switches for ten years.

I rate the platform's stability a nine out of ten.

The platform is highly scalable. I rate the scalability a ten out of ten.

Our experience working with the technical support service team was great. The engineers took around an hour to resolve the issue.

Positive

The product can be deployed on-premises and on the cloud as well. It takes a few minutes to complete the process.

The product is expensive.

Port security is one of the most crucial features of the platform. It allows for analyzing and confirming security measures at the port level. 

The user interface and management of Cisco switches have significantly simplified network administration. The tool is easy to use, offering numerous options in terms of server connection.

While integrating Cisco Ethernet switches into existing network infrastructure, one challenge I encountered was ensuring connectivity with other servers.

It is reliable and stable, offering a wide range of features that can be easily implemented.

I rate it a ten out of ten.

I use Cisco Ethernet Switches as a core product in the infrastructure that serves as the backbone of my network.

The most valuable feature of the solution is the performance of the product.

I don't like the fact that the product is very expensive. There are a lot of software subscriptions to which a user needs to subscribe other than the support and services offered by Cisco. In general, Cisco is a very good product but expensive.

There should not be different licenses for subscriptions, Cisco SMARTnet Service, or support, and they should all be made available under one single license. If you want to use the support offered by Cisco, you may not have access to the support services. The support services may be offered as a part of a subscription that needs to be purchased while getting users to space separately for Cisco SMARTnet Service, while in general, everything should be available in a single license.

Cisco always announces the end of life support, which is really great, but Cisco should also offer the buyback option for existing customers instead of getting them to make new investments to use Cisco products.

I have experience with Cisco Ethernet Switches.

The solution's stability is very high. The benefit a user experiences with Cisco is that it is easy to find a lot of knowledgeable people in the market. Many people understand Microsoft, but it doesn't mean that Windows is the best compared to Linux, which is more stable but they are used less in the market.

Regarding the product's scalability, the scalability option will be available as long as the product or the hardware does not reach the end of life or support.

All the people working in my company use the solution, which comes to more than 8000 people.

My company plans to increase the number of users who use the solution.

I have experience with the technical support offered by Cisco's support team, and I feel that they were a bit slow in their response.

The product's initial setup phase was easy because our company got help from an engineer associated with Cisco. If you don't get any help from an engineer from Cisco, then the setup phase will be difficult. In my company, we have a Cisco-certified engineer on our team.

The time period required to deploy the product is something that depends on the project, but if you have the right people with the right skills, then it doesn't take too much time to deploy the solution.

The solution is deployed on an on-premises model.

For the deployment process, you designed the network and built the infrastructure before testing the product with the help of PoC. The deployment phase may seem like a long process, and it is not something that is applicable only to Cisco since the same process is followed for the switches from other brands like Huawei and HPE.

In my company, we need more than three people, consisting of a system engineer, network, and technical support, to not just take care of the deployment part of the solution but also to monitor it twenty-four hours, seven days a week.

My company takes care of the product's installation process with the help of our in-house team.

If a person plans to buy a new switch or a new product launched by Cisco recently, then there is a guarantee that it will last for seven to ten years, meaning the return on investment is high.

It is an expensive product.

Considering the present products in the market, Cisco is a leader in the networking world, but price-wise, products from Cisco are priced crazily.

To those who plan to buy the solution, I would suggest that they speak directly to the vendor and not to a consultant so that they can secure a better deal. Dealing with the vendor always fractures positive responses, especially in terms of the costs attached to the solution.

I rate the overall product a nine out of ten.

On-premises

My former employer used the solution to build a campus network that included one distribution switch for each of its 200 buildings. 

Every building had its own Catalyst 3750 Series switch that provided access layers connecting back to 7600 Series distribution switches and routers. We used the MPLS network to build OSPF and PGP and provide multiple services with their own VRFs such as data NPT television and building management systems. 

The solution provided a high-end throughput that was easy to handle, implement, and route. 

The solution can handle a huge network with tons of traffic.

The solution should offer a method for user-based load balancing. Load sharing exists but the only balancing available is for the server load and not the Internet. 

Most engineers now prefer a GUI that is not part of this solution. In my experience, GUI is not required because the solution's commands are very familiar, easy to understand, and available via Google or the solution's portal. 

I have been using the solution for eleven years. 

The solution is very stable because of its good performance and long life. 

The solution is scalable and depends on the desired model. You can create multiple contexts and extend your network by adding Nexus 5000 or 2000 for connections. 

I am currently working on a big project with thousands of routers and 70% of them are Cisco switches. Scalability is not dependent on the number of users but is instead about providing access to the network. 

I contacted technical support many times in the past and received helpful, straightforward, and responsive assistance. 

Recently, I worked with them on an encryption issue and didn't receive a solution for three weeks. This experience was disappointing but others have been resolved satisfactorily. 

The setup was straightforward. 

It takes about four hours to build both chases and install the supervisor engine, line cards, and fiber connectivity before uploading and confirming configurations. 

The pricing for individual use is expensive but partners receive discounts of 70-80 percent for high-end use. 

I used to face many physical hardware issues with FortiGate that I don't experience with the solution because it is straightforward to install, upgrade, and configure. 

The solution's logistical perspective is easy to understand and troubleshoot when configuring protocols and manipulating routes.

When choosing a router, it is important to match solutions to requirements. This is a high-end router so important things to consider are use, budget, and desired performance. 

I am not familiar with all of the solution's features. Based on my use cases, I rate the solution an eight out of ten. 

On-premises

Our main use case of ethernet switches is for security networks for digital video, digital access control, and digital inter-communications. Most of our work is for public institutions, including hospitals and universities when they need upgrades to POE switches. We're consultants in the security industry and I'm the senior project manager/systems engineer.

One of the prime features of this product is Multicast which is critical for video systems, ensuring you don't take down the network during an event where everybody needs video access. It generally requires layer 3 switches so that we cut up VLANs and separate different aspects of the systems. 

Network setup and Multicast are critical components for us and when you're also programming for video streams it can become quite complicated. It's more of an issue when you're dealing with public institutions and there might be a lack of tech-savvy people. When it comes to the video streams, if you're sending real-time video in a security system, and you drop packets, the information is lost and you can't get it back. That's a critical aspect for us. One of the issues we have is that the guy doing the video system knows how that works, and the network people know how the network works, but they don't know how to communicate with each other. The industry is trying to adapt to sort out that problem.  

I've been using this solution for over 30 years. 

This solution is stable. 

This solution covers it all. I've done everything from simple 12-port switches for a small facility to a wide area network with core switches and multiple redundant communication lines and there haven't been any scalability issues. There's no one-size-fits-all in terms of maintenance required, it depends on the size of the organization. 

On one of our recent large projects where we used core switches, I worked in-depth with technical support to help determine how to configure the switches, which hardware was required, and how to get the redundant communication paths. We don't use support much but when we do they're very helpful. 

The initial setup is complex. We've found that a lot of people don't know how to configure Multicast properly on a network, particularly in government agencies. It's one of the key components, especially when you're in the security industry, and it's a big issue for us. There's a steep learning curve in terms of properly setting up the network to manage the Multicast traffic, and then programming, especially on the IP video systems. Because they're managing video streams both systems have to be set up properly, and there seems to be a lack of knowledge around that. 

Our clients purchase the license so we're not involved in that aspect. Cisco doesn't like to give out information unless you're a dealer. For smaller projects, the cost is an issue and organizations will often look for less expensive options. Cisco is the major player in the network environment, but there are numerous alternative products that may be less feature-rich but fit the bill from a cost perspective. In addition to licensing, there is likely to be an annual fee to enable access to support. 

We previously looked at Extreme Networks, Fortinet, Aruba and NETGEAR. When we're dealing with harsh environments, we tend to look at companies like ComNet, EtherWAN, GarrettCom, who make hardened switches for harsh or difficult environments. A lot of the main players only make switches that go in data centers and IDF rooms.

When configured properly, the solution works. I rate this solution nine out of 10. 

On-premises