Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users
Head of Information Technology at a energy/utilities company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Top 20
Elects the switch with the highest configured root priority as the root for MDT 1
Pros and Cons
  • "As I mentioned earlier, the durability, flexibility, and security of Cisco devices are notable. Particularly with switches, the capability to implement multiple VLANs and easily aggregate the network has been advantageous. The ability to have different VLANs and aggregate the network without complications is a key feature of Cisco FabricPath."
  • "In terms of the series, I find that the integration with other teleconferencing applications needs to be more seamless. I have suggested to Cisco that the endpoint device should allow joining calls from Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and other teleconferencing applications. Additionally, I appreciate the recent inclusion of breakout sessions in the Cisco Webex application, which enhances its relevance in the networking field."

What is our primary use case?

Cisco devices have consistently demonstrated high reliability and security. The acquisition of Meraki by Cisco has enhanced its capabilities, particularly in enterprise access points. The flexibility offered by Meraki, allowing remote management of access points, has significantly benefited Cisco. Overall, Cisco devices have played a crucial role in our network, and the addition of Meraki has further strengthened its position.

What is most valuable?

The durability, flexibility, and security of Cisco devices are notable. Particularly with switches, the capability to implement multiple VLANs and easily aggregate the network has been advantageous. The ability to have different VLANs and aggregate the network without complications is a key feature of Cisco FabricPath.

What needs improvement?

In terms of the series, I find that the integration with other teleconferencing applications needs to be more seamless. I have suggested to Cisco that the endpoint device should allow joining calls from Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and other teleconferencing applications. Additionally, I appreciate the recent inclusion of breakout sessions in the Cisco Webex application, which enhances its relevance in the networking field.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Cisco FabricPath for the past 15 years. 

Buyer's Guide
LAN Switching
October 2024
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Juniper, Arista and others in LAN Switching. Updated: October 2024.
814,649 professionals have used our research since 2012.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Cisco FabricPath is highly stable, and I would rate its stability at 8.5 on a scale of one to ten, with one being low and ten being high.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability of Cisco FabricPath is impressive, allowing seamless expansion from one to any desired number. Cisco has effectively addressed scalability concerns.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We switched to Cisco for the firewall from Sophos. The decision was influenced by the ease of maintenance, flexibility, and seamless integration with endpoint protection, making it a preferable choice.

How was the initial setup?

I find it relatively easy to use, but it requires some basic knowledge. I would rate it around seven out of ten in terms of user-friendliness.I operate it, and the deployment took a few hours

What about the implementation team?

We didn't use a third party for the deployment, and the team size varied between one and four people, depending on the defined actions. Maintenance requires one to ten people based on the network size, with smaller networks needing fewer people and larger enterprises potentially requiring more.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

It is very expensive.


What other advice do I have?

I would overall rate the solution 8 out of 10. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
MarioCeribelli - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Network Specialist & Project Manager at Elmec Informatica Spa
Real User
Top 5
It is a very scalable tool that helped us grant higher availability in our data centers
Pros and Cons
  • "We can also enhance our service line with disaster recovery."
  • "Layer 3 does not have higher availability."

What is our primary use case?

We have the solution installed in many data centers, configured in spine-leaf technology configured with Nexus. We use FabricPath and VXLAN to make our infrastructure reliable in different data centers. We have multiple layers to our environment. Data Centers A to C are connected with fiber, and we used FabricPath to enhance our data center in spine-leaf technology six to seven years ago. Internally, we had VRF to separate our routing table. We use many virtualization environments, not only Cisco, but we especially use Cisco to expand layer 2 and layer 3.

What is most valuable?

For us, there is a change between a single data center with different IP addresses to a spam data center, where the VLAN could be extended between the two, so we are able to grant the service with high availability. We can also enhance our service line with disaster recovery.

What needs improvement?

We are working on layer 3 integration to completely expand our preferred center. At the moment, we are using VRF on an internal switch, so layer 3 does not have higher availability. I want to see that improve.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have used Cisco FabricPath for the last five or six years, and we have it installed in our data center.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

FabricPath is stable. Problems come when you try to integrate a different service or something else.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is very scalable because we can add new data centers by simply adding a leaf. My company has approximately 1,000 users, and we are growing year by year.

How are customer service and support?

We use tech support when we need to, and we usually get a good answer.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was slightly complex. We required around 60% of our staff to deploy the solution.

What other advice do I have?

At the moment, we are looking to deploy FabricPath on-premises. We are extending the private cloud to the customer. From our data center, we are connected with Azure and Amazon. We want to create a solution like a cloud, where our data center appears as a cloud for the customer.

Before choosing FabricPath, get the right design initially to support the right tools. I rate FabricPath an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
LAN Switching
October 2024
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Juniper, Arista and others in LAN Switching. Updated: October 2024.
814,649 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Senior Network Engineer at UPS
Real User
Package solution, with everything in one device but it should offer better reporting
Pros and Cons
  • "The fact that the solution is on the cloud is its most valuable aspect. If you are on the cloud, you can manage your network from anywhere, any place. It's very good."
  • "The solution should offer better reporting."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the solution for a firewall and to control viruses. It has many uses in our organization and we can manage it all through the cloud.

What is most valuable?

The fact that the solution is on the cloud is its most valuable aspect. If you are on the cloud, you can manage your network from anywhere, any place. It's very good. 

The solution also offers services for wireless, internet, firewalls, etc. Everything is in one device, which is very helpful. It's a great package solution.

The solution is very simple and offers very high levels of security for organizations.

What needs improvement?

The solution is quite expensive. They should work on lowering the cost to make it more affordable for users.

Cisco should add a few more security features to make it more robust.

The solution should offer better reporting.

For how long have I used the solution?

We've been using this solution for six months now.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is very stable. We haven't had any issues with it.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have about 120 people in our organization using the solution. They are mostly architects and engineers.

How are customer service and technical support?

We haven't been in touch with Cisco for this particular solution, although we were in touch with a different solution. We found their assistance to be quite good and we're very satisfied with their level of support.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We previously used Cisco's Firepower. It was much more complicated, in terms of setup, and we find Fabricpath to be much easier.

How was the initial setup?

The solution is a bit complex to set up initially. It shouldn't be a problem for most IT teams to handle, however. It's much simpler than a solution like Cisco's Firepower, which we found to be quite complicated.

What about the implementation team?

We didn't have vendors or integrators help us implement the solution. We did some internet research instead and watched Youtube videos. These helped us get through the process. They were quite effective.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The solution is expensive.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend the solution. I'd rate it a six 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?

Other
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Chinthaka Kannangara - PeerSpot reviewer
Chinthaka KannangaraNetwork System Engineer at VSIS
Real User

When and as we required to build redundancy into the important link connectivity of the data center where STP cannot take place then we need to talk about fabric path. FabricPath is designed and work with intelligence of IS-IS protocol. this brings Layer 3 routing intelligence which can choose preferred paths in the network topology

Victor Sibanda - PeerSpot reviewer
Managing Director at Equilogic Technologies
Real User
A solution with excellent stability and customer service support
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution has excellent stability."
  • "The cloud version of Cisco Fabric Path could be improved."

What is our primary use case?

We deploy this solution for clients who specifically request it. The solution is often deployed on-premises as per client requests.

What needs improvement?

The cloud version of Cisco Fabric Path could be improved because most of our clients choose to stay on premises because of the unstable internet service available here.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using this solution for three years and are currently using the most recent version.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution has excellent stability. We have a client who ran a Catalyst 4506-E switch for seven years straight without switching it off. Hence, the solution's stability is impressive.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability primarily depends on the size of the company we are dealing with.

How are customer service and support?

Our experience with customer service and support has been excellent. The clients have been able to reach the support team. However, we also had delays before.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup process differs. It could be very basic or complex, depending on the client's needs and requests. For example, clients may request to be educated on the tools before deploying the technology in their network. At other times, the company may be moving from one solution to another. Therefore, it depends on the client's needs.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

We usually request that any additional costs we may incur be included at the onset of our purchase. The licensing fees differ from one client to another. We have clients who have paid 1,000 and others who paid 3,000.

What other advice do I have?

I rate this solution an eight out of ten. We recommend Cisco Enterprise solutions because they're very good, stable, offer high-quality equipment and provide good value for the price.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Reseller
PeerSpot user
Responsable Infrastructures, Réseaux & Télécoms at a university with 201-500 employees
Real User
Reliable, simple to set up, and offers good technical support
Pros and Cons
  • "We have found the solution to be stable."
  • "If Cisco can include management for this protocol in Layer 3, that would be ideal."

What is our primary use case?

We use FabricPath in the Cisco Data Center Switches. FabricPath is a license to inject into Cisco Data Center Switches like Nexus 7K, 9K for reducing the Spanning Tree phenomenon.

What is most valuable?

Cisco FabricPath is used to eliminate Spanning Tree broadcasts into the Layer 2 network. We can configure the FabricPath in a lot of different interfaces for communicating with different switches and disabling the Spanning Tree Protocol so we can't have a loop in the leaf and spine architecture.

The setup is very simple. 

We have found the solution to be stable.

It scales well.

What needs improvement?

There could always be more interfaces included in the switch.

If Cisco can include management for this protocol in Layer 3, that would be ideal. For example, we have our first data center in the USA and the second data center is in Europe. If we could juxtapose FabricPath for managing the Layer 2 loop between these two data centers locally, that would be great. 

For how long have I used the solution?

We have used the solution since 2018.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's stable. Really, we don't have any problems with FabricPath when we configure it into our Nexus switches. It's very stable without looping into our Layer 2 network. I recommend its usage for this reason, really.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The product scales well. If a company needs to expand, it can do so.

How are customer service and support?

We don't have any problems with FabricPath. If we have to reach out to Cisco support to resolve a problem, we can, however, it rarely happens. That said, if you call Cisco to resolve a problem, it's my understanding that they have very good support can resolve problems immediately. Support from Cisco is very, very good.

How was the initial setup?

So far, we have found the initial setup to be very simple, very straightforward. It's not overly complex or difficult. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The solution is very, very cheap compared with all other brands - including Huawei or HPE Switches. We buy Cisco for the performance, really the performance, scalability, backup, and a lot of technology like VPC, OTV, or VDC, Virtual Device Context. It's good.

What other advice do I have?

I'd rate the solution at a ten out of ten. We've been very happy with its capabilities. 

I would recommend the product for a company that has a very big data center. It's good for those in banking or insurance, for example.  

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: partner
PeerSpot user
Chinthaka Kannangara - PeerSpot reviewer
Network System Engineer at VSIS
Real User
A stable networking solution with good technical support
Pros and Cons
  • "The technical assistance is good."

    What is our primary use case?

    We are a leading solution integrator and Cisco FabriPath is one of the products that we implement for our customers.

    This solution makes up part of an enterprise LAN. 

    What is most valuable?

    The technical assistance is good.

    What needs improvement?

    The exact role that this solution plays, as compared to other products by Cisco, is unclear to our customers. It is sometimes difficult to highlight exactly what individual products are used for and it is something that should be simplified.

    This product doesn't have its own LAN monitoring tool.

    There would be more support for this solution if there were options available for those with a smaller budget.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    We have been working with Cisco for at least ten years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Cisco FabriPath is a stable solution. Apart from a few cases, we have had no issues with reliability.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    We have not had any issues with scalability.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    We are satisfied with the technical support.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    We primarily use Cisco, but apart from that, we also use networking solutions from Aruba.

    If a customer has a critical demand for a product from another vendor such as Juniper or HPE then we can provide it. However, normally we use either Cisco or Aruba.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    We are satisfied with the pricing.

    What other advice do I have?

    Most of our customers are satisfied with the solutions from Cisco. That said, nothing is ever completed because everybody has their own difficulties and challenges.

    I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: partner
    PeerSpot user
    Sandeep Roy - PeerSpot reviewer
    Lead-Supply chain Operations at Orange
    Real User
    High quality and up-to-date but slightly complex to set up
    Pros and Cons
    • "The most valuable features are the lead time and the high quality of the product."
    • "The initial setup is a little complex."

    What is most valuable?

    The most valuable features are the lead time and the high quality of the product.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    My company's been using FabricPath for the last twenty to twenty-five years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    FabricPath is stable.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    FabricPath is scalable.

    How are customer service and support?

    Cisco's technical support is very good - they always make the deadlines.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup is a little complex.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    FabricPath is very reasonably priced.

    What other advice do I have?

    In terms of future models, Cisco are already building up, so they're up to the mark in terms of digital turnaround. I would give FabricPath a score of seven out of ten.

    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:
    PeerSpot user
    Chief Enterprise Architect at T9 Enterprise
    Real User
    Top 5
    Reliable product with valuable topology management features
    Pros and Cons
    • "The product's most valuable feature is its ports."
    • "They should consider upgrading the memory feature of the product."

    How has it helped my organization?

    Cisco FabricPath is preferred mostly for its security features and user-friendliness.

    What is most valuable?

    The product's most valuable feature is its ports. They are reliable and do not give problems like many other switches. They can be used for a very long time without failures.

    What needs improvement?

    They should consider upgrading the memory feature of the product.


    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been working with Cisco FabricPath for two years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    I rate the product stability a seven. 

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    I rate the platform's scalability as an eight.

    How was the initial setup?

    The deployment took approximately six weeks to complete. I rate the initial setup process an eight. 

    What about the implementation team?

    We take assistance from a third-party vendor for implementation. 

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    Cisco is expensive but offers good-quality features, so I would rate it high on the pricing scale.

    What other advice do I have?

    The topology management of Cisco FabricPath is perfect. 

    Overall, I rate the product a seven.

    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    Flag as inappropriate
    PeerSpot user