Cisco Ethernet Switches Reviews

We use Cisco Ethernet Switches as part of our network infrastructure at two different sites.

Cisco switches has helped provide efficient and stable switching in the organization. Once configured and setup right they work fine without any worries and has helped free up resources to concentrate on other tasks. 

I love the fact that they can be configured to do exactly what you need them to do, which in my opinion is what anyone with Cisco experience would enjoy doing. They can be set up and configured nicely.

Ease of configuration for none cisco experts would be an improvement.

Pricing can also do with some improvement to make it more competitive with competitor products with similar functionality.

We have been using cisco switches for over ten years.

This is a stable product.

Cisco switches are scalable. I manage two large sites and at the first site, we have about 200 people. The second site has about 300 people. We do not have any plan to expand, per se. I do have plans to upgrade the switches and probably redesign the environment for better efficiency. 

Cisco has a good technical support and I love they way the come in to help when you are doing a research on their site. I have not had any serious need for cisco technical support and so I would not be in the best position to give a conclusive evaluation of this but I must say they do a good job with their certifications so people would need very little of such services.  For a few minor challenges I was also able to get answers from the cisco forums. There is a pretty good database online for any conceivable problems one would face with the cisco switches.

We did not use a different solution prior to this, although we are going to be buying a few Meraki switches that we will add to our environment. We are going to test them to see how well they work with Cisco.

The initial set was complex. When I came into the project, the features were just put in with no consideration, whatsoever. This meant that I had to start from scratch to design the network, draw up the configurations and setup vlans to easily manage the network.

It was implemented in-house.

The price of the product is on the higher side, I feel you pay for the  name of the product as well but it's still manageable for corporate customers. Licensing is simple and straight forward which is something going well for cisco switches.

My advice is that if you are going to be implementing Cisco then you should at least have someone in the organization who is knowledgeable and can manage the features. The alternative is to use Meraki because they are easier to manage.

We have some pretty old switches in our environment and some of them are only 100 megabits. I would like to upgrade them all to at least one-gigabit.

Some of our uplinks are on ethernet, but I want to upgrade them to fiber to improve the performance.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

All Ethernet switches come in various sizes and capabilities. For example, we can have a 12-port switch, a 24-port switch, or even a 48-port switch with multiple fiber up-links. Additionally, there are different feature sets depending on the brand and model, such as IP services, LAN-based, or IP-based. Stacking is only possible with similar feature sets, which means two 9300 switches may not be stackable, but up to eight of the same model may. Additionally, the iOS and feature set capabilities may differ between the same models. All of the switches are Ethernet, but the features they are equipped with vary, which means they will operate differently. For example, a LAN-based switch will only work at primarily layer 2, whereas IP services works more as a router with features such as NAT, multicast, dynamic routing, QOS, and other additional and advanced services.

Generally, we use the switches to provide LAN access to endpoints (workstations, cameras, wireless access points, IP phones, and so on).

In most projects awarded to my organization, we used Cisco Ethernet switches.

The most valuable feature of the solution is its stability and durability. There is no other alternative solution that is as stable as Cisco Ethernet Switches. We can expect Cisco Ethernet Switches to last for years without issue.

We often face issues with Cisco software, and while they do release patches to fix bugs, I believe they need to improve. Huawei, one of Cisco's competitors, is better in this regard. While I'm not a fan of Huawei due to my environment, clients insist on using it because it is cheaper. Despite this, I think Cisco could improve its software. Cisco should strive to improve the software for its switches. To make the switch more user-friendly, Cisco should create a system where a user can simply connect their cable and access the GUI interface without needing to configure the device first on the CLI.

I have been using the solution for nine years.

The solution is very stable.

The solution is highly scalable.

We have a good TAC support experience.

Neutral

The initial setup of a Cisco switch is straightforward for those who are technically inclined. This is because most Cisco switches are manned, meaning they require some configuration on the command line interface (CLI) before access to the graphical user interface (GUI) is granted. With a basic knowledge of the Cisco CLI, setup should take approximately 20-30 minutes.

The pricing is comparatively expensive.

I give the solution a nine out of ten.

We are a hospital. We use the solution in our endpoints. We have more than 2000 endpoints.

The tool is stable.

The solution is expensive. It is not cheap.

I have been using the solution for 12 to 13 years.

We have around 3000 users. The tool is used daily.

We get technical support from TAC.

Positive

We have three in-house engineers who deploy the product. We need three people for maintenance.

We are absolutely fine with Cisco products. The product is good, but it is expensive. It will be helpful if it is cheaper. Whenever we order anything, it takes a lot of time to reach us. Overall, I rate the tool a ten out of ten.

I use the product for endpoint and server connectivity. I also use it as a core switch.

The product is the best in the market. It always works whether the environment is cold or hot. The product is pretty much reliable and stable.

The technical support should be improved.

I have been using the solution for seven years.

I rate the tool’s stability a ten out of ten.

The scalability of the solution depends on the models. I rate the scalability a nine out of ten.

I have contacted support many times. The support is good, but not that good.

Neutral

The initial setup is very straightforward and simple.

The solution is not too expensive.

If someone uses the solution for the first time, they must know that network design is the most important part. They must pick the right models. Overall, I rate the product a nine out of ten.

I'm a senior security network engineer and we have a gold partnership with Cisco. 

The valuable features of this solution are bandwidth, speed, low latency, and performance. Those are all features we need for our data center. 

I'd really like to see more programmability for the switches. We need more Python scripts because what we currently have doesn't cover all the configurations in the switch configuration. It would be helpful to have ASIC fast switching. I'd like higher speed and we're always looking for additional bandwidth.

We've been using this solution for over three years. 

The solution is stable. 

The solution becomes more scalable as more switches are connected to the ACI fabric. We currently have 2,000 users and this is increasing all the time. We just increase our switches as our users increase. 

If there are issues regarding the iOS or something similar, we open a ticket with Cisco tech support and they are very helpful. We're able to deal with most issues ourselves. 

The initial setup is relatively easy although I'd prefer if it were automated. If we have 100 sites and every site has nine or ten switches, it's a lot of work. For a small or medium implementation, it doesn't take long but for the enterprise sites, it takes some time. The initial configuration on one switch takes about 30 minutes. 

We pay an annual license fee and there are no additional costs other than when there is hardware failure. 

I recommend this solution, it's very dependable.

I rate this solution eight out of 10. 

We built all our ground network on Cisco Switches.

The features that I have found most valuable are that it is easy to use and it has good technical support.

We cooperate with local Cisco teams here in the Ukraine. They help us to develop our system and support it.

It would be good for Cisco to provide certification to our engineers for our IT infrastructure. Basically to train and certify our engineers.

In the next release I would like to see more training and documentations for our engineers.

We have been using Cisco Ethernet Switches for about five years.

Cisco Switches is a stable product.

Cisco Switches are scalable.

We have 300 users using it and 5 guys from the IT department that support our network.

They are basically all engineers and some programmers.

Cisco's technical support is perfect. There is no need to improve anything there.

If we have problems with the setup, we ask the local Cisco team and they help us. We have good cooperation with the local team.

Cisco Switches are very good. They are interoperable with Microsoft solutions, by the way.

On a scale from one to 10, I would rate Cisco Switches about a nine.

I would surely recommend Cisco Switches for other users who want to start using it.

The primary use case is for LAN networking.

This solution is also used for internet routing in small businesses.

The deployment model we used was on-premises.

Lower the pricing to compete with Aruba and HPE.

If they could provide a management solution for all systems then it would be an improvement. They have a product, but it's a license, and I have to pay for it. 

It is difficult to manage one hundred switches in many areas, without having a managing board.

I would like a management product to manage both the small business and the Catalyst.

In my business, I have all of these products and I have to configure them one by one, so the troubleshooting and the monitoring of each can be challenging.

Also with a managing board, it would improve the scalability as it would be easier to handle the traffic and monitoring several users.

This may be something that they are already working on, but it would be an improvement if they could add a layer of security to layer two and layer three to protect the server and to protect the data.

This solution is stable.

This solution is scalable. If I want to add switches to the existing one, I can easily do it. 

The technical support is good and they respond quickly. I haven't had any problems.

The initial setup is not difficult, it's easy.

The pricing is reasonable, and for small business it is acceptable.

Aruba and HPE are competitors that have a lower price than Cisco.

I would rate this solution a nine out ten.