Cisco Ethernet Switches Reviews

I use the solution in our typical university network, which is not very sophisticated. In our university, we have some virtual networks within the labs, but normally, we have a very simple configuration without too many rules because it's supposed to be very flexible for us to use. The end users always ask something like how they would like to test one server over the other, making it really hard for our university's network administrator to manage it all day. Our university's network is pretty much open, and there is always a danger of intruders, but currently, we don't have such problems.

The high price of the tool is an area of concern where improvements are required.

I have been using Cisco Ethernet Switches for over twenty years.

I haven't experienced any stability problems with the product, making it a perfect solution for me. I don't care about the other factors involving network administrators who use the tool since, for me, the service provided by the solution is okay.

It is a stable solution since I have not seen any network failures when using the product. Normally, there are no problems with the networks in our university. If there are some general problems in our university's network, it's mainly due to the provider facing some issues due to a cut-off in some fiber switches, which may be the result of some construction work somewhere. Under normal circumstances, everything functions perfectly.

It is a scalable solution.

There are around 3,000 to 4,000 users of the solution, considering that all the students in our university use it.

The product's initial setup phase is not easy, considering that there is a need to plan the virtual networks and see how you are connected. I think that network administrators can manage the setup phase since they have been through Cisco-centric courses, making them capable of handling the setup phase if they are able to define what you want.

During the setup phase, challenges arise when we have to define what we want and the services we expect from our network.

The solution is deployed on an on-premises model.

It is an expensive product since it is used in a large network where you cannot rely on some cheaply priced solution. The solution primarily stays stable, so we don't face any problems with the product.

If you are looking at something really stable, then you will buy Cisco. If you want to buy a product for some offices or small buildings, then you can go for a cheaper tool that you can maintain and replace easily.

Though I wanted to use the product, there were no opportunities at the university that would allow me to use the solution.

The product does have some security features, but I don't get involved with the security area since I don't need it.

There are two to three people to maintain the solution, but we outsource the maintenance services when we face some major issues.

I recommend the product to those who plan to use it.

I rate the tool an eight to nine 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.

We use the solution for everything. We primarily use the solution in our office and for our data center. We're using older versions. 

The main issue is that the company did grow way too fast. We have issues with merging companies and installing a network device, and it's hard to manage them. Everything is still manual around here. Nothing is centralized. 

Small business devices most of the controls have been very good.

The community is very helpful.

Catalyst switches are the same quality as Dell switches. The quality is identical. 

The solution is extremely stable. The performance is excellent.

The more expensive versions can be more expensive, and the switches cannot take the heat. Some of the rooms they are in are too hot for the switch.

We need more management tools for the solution. 

I don't have any notes for new features. 

There should be fiber switches that could be capable of doing more things. 

I've used the solution for a very long time. I've used them for probably 25 years - since Cisco first offered them.

It's very stable. I'd rate it ten out of ten. 

I do not like the way the stack feature is done on Cisco. I mostly prefer Fortinet or ESL from Brocade. It's way more flexible and straightforward, and you just need to understand the logic. With Cisco, it's a black box. It's hard to understand. 

It is possible to scale. However, you do reach a limitation with eight switches placed together. We have four switches in the data center, so we've never hit a scalability threshold. 

We have five admins on the solution, and across the company, we have 30 people that have access to the solution. 

I've never had to use technical support. I've only had a small issue on the firewall, and I reached out to the community to troubleshoot. 

I've also used Palo Alto and Fortinet. I used Brocade switches six to ten years ago. It is now Extreme Networks, and I am interested in trying Extreme. I have two Extreme switches right now. 

Fortinet is really user-friendly and easy for even non-technical people to understand. However, the information from Fortinet is really specific. With Cisco, you just have to press the questions mark, and you have a description of every menu. Extreme is like Juniper. You have to create the VLAN, which can be difficult to read if you have a lot of VLAN, although the scalability is great. 

If you are familiar with the technology, it is straightforward. You do need knowledge. It's not extremely simple. For me, since I am knowledgeable, I'd rate the ease of implementation eight out of ten.

We have an ongoing deployment. Deployments of us are never-ending. We are always working on new sites. 

Even level-one support can do a copy-paste and deploy the switches, so our process at this point is very fast.

The pricing depends on the model. The C-1000's are okay. They are not cheap yet not expensive. I'd rate the pricing seven out of ten.  

All the devices we order from Cisco come from Germany. We simply buy devices. We don't have a relationship with Cisco. 

The big thing with Cisco is the great community. It's really easy to find whatever you need online.

I'd rate the solution eight out of ten. It's not quite user-friendly. They do get it right with Meraki, however, that isn't for the type of company we have. If you have an internet issue and can't reach the switch from the cloud, Meraki will give you issues. 

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. 

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. 

Our primary use case for Cisco is for access and core switching as most of our clients use it for these purposes. We also work with Fortinet for network solutions, mainly FortiGate, FortiAuthenticator, and FortiManager. Additionally, we use Cisco for campus switches, mainly the Catalyst series.

It helps our organization because Cisco switches are stable and rock solid, making them reliable for our clients.

The most valuable feature of Cisco Ethernet Switches is their stability. They are rock solid, and that's the advantage of Cisco. It is also easy to integrate.

Cisco should consider adding a GUI as most vendors now offer the ability to manage switches via a graphical user interface, while Cisco switches are managed using pure CLI.

I have been working with Cisco Ethernet Switches for more than ten years.

Cisco Ethernet Switches are stable. I would rate their stability at eight or nine out of ten.

In terms of scalability, it's pretty straightforward to expand the number of users and the network. I would rate it an eight out of ten.

Their technical support is very professional, and I don't have any negative comments.

Positive

The setup and configuration process is very simple.

The pricing of Cisco is high, which makes it more suitable for enterprise-level companies. I would rate the pricing model at four out of ten.

Apart from Cisco, other solutions considered include Juniper, Aruba, and Huawei. Huawei is considered a strong competitor due to its pricing and features.

Cisco Ethernet Switches are mostly recommended for enterprise-level companies due to the cost.

I'd rate the solution seven out of ten.

Cisco Ethernet Switches can be used for any particular application. We have many customers like IDBI and State Bank of India using Cisco switches, Cisco routers, and Cisco SD-WAN. My organization provides some Cisco switches and AMCs of Cisco switches.

Cisco Ethernet Switches is a very stable product. Cisco products are extremely rugged and stable. I have faced very few complaints about Cisco products supplied to my customers.

From a system integrator's perspective, Cisco must train system integrators, partners, and customers about their services. Cisco has many products like switches, routers, and now SD-WAN, and they need to educate the partners and customers about these services.

I've been dealing with Cisco Ethernet Switches for about 25 years.

I rate Cisco Ethernet Switches ten out of ten for stability.

Since Cisco Ethernet Switches can be integrated with different modules, we can have one switch to scale up to 10, 15, or 20 switches. The solution is enterprise scalable and telecom scalable. I've got about 12 to 14 customers using Cisco products.

In my previous organization, my service engineer used Cisco's technical support, and their response was quite good.

Setting up a Cisco switch or router is very user-friendly as far as the service team is concerned.

Cisco L2 switches hardly take a couple of hours or less than an hour to deploy. It all depends on whether the customer requires VLAN and what type of setup they require. LC switches would take a couple of days to deploy, depending on the SoW the customer provides. The solution's tech support is also quite good. Most of their employees have done the Cisco certification, and installing Cisco Ethernet Switches doesn't take any time.

The deployment model is quite simple. It's fit-and-play if it's an L2 switch. However, if it is an L3 switch, some configurations are required, which takes time.

There are certain modules for L3 switches. Customers have to pay for some of the L3 switches licenses, which are expensive.

Overall, I rate Cisco Ethernet Switches ten out of ten.

We use Cisco Ethernet switches for building on-site LAN projects and topologies. It depends on the switches I use. Usually, it's supposed to be a PoE, especially if we're supporting VoIP and wireless technologies. We deploy everything on-premises because I work with government entities in Singapore. 

Cisco Ethernet switches help build an office-based LAN. We seldom use Cisco Ethernet switches in data centers. We typically use Nexus switches for data centers. Compared to other vendors, Cisco switches are more like rugged switches. We seldom need to reboot those switches unless there's a bug or it was deployed on a different environment—like the racks aren't adequately ventilated.

Cisco switches have several valuable features like VLAN mapping. We seldom use that, but we find the security configurations helpful, like high availability with trading port channels and MAC filtering. 

Their firmware could be better secured against vulnerabilities or other exploits. Also, only selected catalyst switches are allowed to onboard to Cisco SD Access technology. 

I have used Cisco switches for 10 years.

I rate the hardware stability 10 out of 10. 

I rate Cisco Ethernet switches seven out of 10 for scalability. Unless the switch is submodular, you can remove those modules and plug in better ones. Scalability is harder if it's fixed hardware, but it's easier to scale a virtualized network appliance.

I rate Cisco support 10 out of 10. We usually purchase their highest level of support. 

Positive

Our setups are simple, but it depends on the complexity of the client's infrastructure and requirements. I'm more on the operations side, so everything is already deployed, but when we build a new network, I am involved in configuring the new switches. When we do an RMA for a faulty device, I configure it. It's usually a copy-paste of the configuration, but I can build the design from scratch.

The number of people required for deployment and maintenance depends on the size of the environment. A data center usually needs about five or six people to maintain it. You have two people on 12-hour shifts; the rest are senior staff. 

I'm not usually involved on the financial side, but the ROI is excellent based on the performance of Cisco products overall.

I rate Cisco Ethernet switches three out of 10 for affordability. They are expensive, but they're worth it. I believe in quality over quantity.

I rate Cisco Ethernet switches nine out of 10. I highly recommend Cisco switches, but the bottom line is that it depends on your budget.