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Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch LAN Switches vs Cisco Catalyst Switches comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 6, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch L...
Ranking in LAN Switching
11th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
4.5
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Cisco Catalyst Switches
Ranking in LAN Switching
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
179
Ranking in other categories
Ethernet Switches (5th), Data Center Networking (1st), AV Over IP Switching (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the LAN Switching category, the mindshare of Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch LAN Switches is 4.1%, up from 3.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Catalyst Switches is 21.3%, down from 29.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
LAN Switching Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Catalyst Switches21.3%
Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch LAN Switches4.1%
Other74.6%
LAN Switching
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2048676 - PeerSpot reviewer
App. Manager at a political organization with 501-1,000 employees
Reliable network access has improved daily connectivity and simplified graphical management
The specific network design is done by another company, and we just manage the access switches, in fact, the local access switches on the LAN. I don't think there is much prioritization in our network for the moment. I don't think that the users see much about it; it's transparent for users. Whether there is a Cisco switch or an Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch LAN Switch, the user doesn't care. We are not expert users, but we are users for maintaining and keeping the situation alive, not experts of network switch programming. I'm not an expert of the switches to say what's missing. For smaller sites with 10 persons or so, it's sometimes not so easy to choose Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch LAN Switches.
AG
Unit Nos at Orange
Reliable support boosts confidence while initial setup complexities highlight improvement areas
Challenges I've encountered mostly involve the RMA part for hardware replacement, which doesn't happen regularly, but sometimes I face challenges due to limited parts in India; they offer different model devices as a stopgap arrangement. It's quite difficult to specify features I would want to see in future updates because that varies from model to model. I would definitely recommend Cisco Catalyst Switches to other users. We do maintenance for Cisco Catalyst Switches. For maintenance, we usually need three people from different regions working as a single team; our engineers handle both projects and maintenance, so there isn't a specific engineer just for maintenance. I work with firewalls and next-generation firewalls. Overall, I would rate the solution as an eight out of ten.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The most valuable feature is the ease of configuration."
"These OmniSwitches are very manageable and easy to configure."
"Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch LAN Switches provide stable work with no issues, with less downtime and fewer maintenance windows."
"With Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch LAN Switches everything comes from one vendor. It operates very smoothly."
"I rate the technical support an eight or a nine out of ten. So far, they've been very professional and helpful, especially when we need to raise a case for any issue."
"One of the main advantages of the solution is that the configuration is straightforward, offering various configuration options through CLI or web interfaces. I'm satisfied with the customer service and support. The solution is good and people should know about it."
"OmniSwitch LAN Switches' performance is very good."
"I like everything about Cisco Catalyst Switches. It's both stable and scalable."
"The most valuable features of Cisco Catalyst Switches are that they are very common. If you talk to someone most likely they will have a Cisco Catalyst Switch, they will not mention other names, such as Juniper, ProCurve, Dell, or anything else. The most common product in networking in my country is Cisco. Everywhere you go they talk about Cisco."
"It is a stable and good product. It is also easy to install."
"Stability. We have many Catalyst switches now, and they work without any downtime."
"I have found this solution to be extremely stable."
"Cisco Catalyst Switches are valuable for their reliability and performance."
"They are pretty good. They are stable. Cisco has been around in the industry for a long time, so they are reliable, as well."
"The network is secure."
 

Cons

"n general, the way the product is put together is not well done."
"For smaller sites with 10 persons or so, it's sometimes not so easy to choose Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch LAN Switches."
"I would like to see better third-party integration with third-party systems."
"There is no OEM support in India so RMAs need to be sent to France, which takes a long time if the hardware is faulty."
"There are some issues with the network firmware being deleted from the switches."
"A customer expressed dissatisfaction with the color of the switches, preferring black over the current color, which is close to white. While the color is not a personal concern, my earlier preference was for all products to be extendable in one large stack since some equipment limits stacking to four elements instead of eight."
"For zero-touch deployment, we have to work around a little bit initially because the switches are not exactly zero-touch provision ZTP. Currently, I don't see much AI integration with Cisco Catalyst Switches; though they've started, it still needs improvement."
"Its initial setup can be simpler, and it would be great if we can work with a reference architecture. Cisco has the capability to provide a very integrated solution. They have DNA Center, Cisco ISE, Cisco Prime, FMC, and AMP. We are looking at all the products, but it is rather complex to pick out the right licenses that you need. The license structure is a bit complex. Sometimes, there is an overlap in products, which does not really make sense. For example, you have DNA Center and Cisco Prime, and it is not really clear what you would use for what exactly. There is a lot of information on the Cisco website, but it takes a while to go through all this and look at the presentations that are available from Cisco Live. These presentations are appreciated, but sometimes, they are a bit too much like bullet points. You don't exactly know what's behind it, so you have to do a second guess. Overall, there is a lot of information but not always to the point."
"It can have more security features to secure the access layer."
"The solution could be cheaper."
"It is kind of expensive."
"Facilitating and adapting the security updates would be a good improvement, because usually it requires to reboot the router to get them"
"In the future, I would like to see better security for this product."
"Cisco needs to improve compatibility with other solutions and other vendors like SolarWinds. We've had problems using Catalyst with SolarWinds. Some devices can't be put on SolarWinds due to some ID Values and so on."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution’s price is at a moderate level."
"OmniSwitch LAN Switches are cheaper than Cisco's switches."
"The price is okay. It's comparable to similar switches."
"The license is purchased one time only, it is a perpetual license with no renewal."
"The price of this solution is reasonable."
"The prices of Cisco devices are too high."
"It's expensive."
"I rate the product price a nine on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price and ten is high price."
"Cisco Catalyst Switches are very expensive."
"The product is quite expensive."
"The solutions are costly, considering that Cisco provides top-notch support and devices."
"Cisco Catalyst Switches is an expensive solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Educational Organization
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise2
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business80
Midsize Enterprise29
Large Enterprise79
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch LAN Switches?
The specific network design is done by another company, and we just manage the access switches, in fact, the local access switches on the LAN. I don't think there is much prioritization in our netw...
What is your primary use case for Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch LAN Switches?
I still work with Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch LAN Switches. We work with internet switches, but we also use LAN switches from Alcatel-Lucent. All the switches on the sites or across sites are Alcatel...
What advice do you have for others considering Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch LAN Switches?
Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch LAN Switches work well for us. I would rate this solution a 9 out of 10.
Would you recommend replacing a Cisco Catalyst Switch by a D-link one?
Hello Mesfin It depends on the real scenario, the cisco 2960 is a very good device and they usually have routing functions but there are many different models within the same 2960 line, and on the ...
What do you like most about Cisco Catalyst Switches?
We are a vendor for the healthcare sector, especially hospitals, and normally, we use a full Cisco solution for stability, especially for the stability of the Access Points and the security of swit...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Catalyst Switches?
For pricing satisfaction, I'd say it will be six to seven because Cisco usually is costly compared to other vendors. Regarding pricing, there is indeed room for improvement.
 

Also Known As

Alcatel Lucent OmniSwitch LAN Switches, OmniSwitch, OmniSwitch LAN Switches
Cisco Catalyst, Catalyst
 

Overview

Information not available
 

Sample Customers

Advocate Health Care, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Azienda Ospedaliera della Provincia di Lodi, Centre Hospitalier Carcassonne, Certis Cisco Security, China Tianchen Engineering Corporation Co. LTD, City of Frankfurt, Dongseo University
Afni, Anilana Hotels and Resorts, Baylor Scott & White Health, Beachbody, Bellevue, Del Papa Distributing, Explorer Pipeline, Mindtree, Omaha World Herald, Radio 538, Sony Corporation, Telecom Italia, Telenor Arena
Find out what your peers are saying about Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch LAN Switches vs. Cisco Catalyst Switches and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
884,732 professionals have used our research since 2012.