Arista Networks Platform vs Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL] comparison

Arista and Dell Technologies are both solutions in the Data Center Networking category. Additionally, 100% of Arista users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 90% of Dell Technologies users who would recommend it.

Arista Networks Platform

Read 27 Arista Networks Platform reviews

3,332 Views
2,446 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Dell PowerConnect Switches ...

Read 34 Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL] reviews

90% willing to recommend

Arista Networks Platform

Dell PowerConnect Switches ...

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Arista Networks Platform and Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL] based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Arista, Dell Technologies and others in Data Center Networking.

To learn more, read our detailed Data Center Networking Report (Updated: March 2025).

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Data Center Networking

March 2025

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Helped 848,989 peers since 2012

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

Arista Networks Platform

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Ethernet Switches (10th), Data Center Networking (2nd)

Dell PowerConnect Switches ...

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

8.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Featured Reviews

MarekSzafrański

Senior Core Network Engineer at Eurofins

Affordable for enterprise-sized companies

Speaking about whether the product enhanced our company's data center scalability, I would say that it was a solution that was used in a banking company, where it served as a replacement for Cisco. Though Arista Networks Platform is similar to Cisco IOS CLI, I feel that the former product offers better prices compared to the latter tool. Arista Networks Platform office is more efficient at a lower cost. I recommend the product to those who plan to use it. The tool is stable and cheaper than Cisco. I would say that Arista Networks Platform is 100 percent compatible with the existing infrastructure in my company. The impact of the tool's network telemetry on our company's troubleshooting practices was just good for the scope for which I need the product. I rate the overall tool a nine out of ten.

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LarsEvans

Chief Technology Officer / Chief Information Security Officer at Lorton Data, Inc.

Reliable and useful for network segmentation

The solution's most valuable feature stands up well. The tool is reliable, and it stands up well. The solution works fine and lasts a long time. I think if you speak about the features that have a flow and you can measure, it is hard to say. I don't spend a lot of my time with the tool, but I know that Dell APEX is the solution's cloud. I would say the VLAN features are important. The VLAN features are really useful because network segmentation is important. I would say the tool is easy to program. I don't know if the tool has any security features that I am aware of other than the fact that the solution is for networking. The VLAN and the ability to segment your networks are easy, which is its security feature.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Arista Networks Platform offers straightforward deployment, and has good features. Support for the platform is also good."

"It's an extremely reliable platform for the network switches we use."

"The product's implementation phase was easy."

"If someone uses Arista Networks Platform, I believe they are secured."

"It provides telemetry and visibility for many metrics that are not supported by most of the other vendors. Out of the box, no third party solutions are needed."

"The most valuable features of Arista include low latency, scalability, and sustainability of the products."

"The most valuable features of the Arista Networks Platform are the EVPN and VXLAN. It has comprehensive features."

"They support open standard features."

More Arista Networks Platform pros

"The technology is good and the interface is simple. We haven't had any bugs, disconnections or delays."

"The most valuable feature is stability."

"The tool is very user-friendly, with features catering to beginners and advanced users. For beginners, there are models with interactive and easy-to-navigate GUIs that aid in initial deployment and updates. For advanced users, there is the option to use the CLI."

"The functionality is very good."

"The platform's most valuable features are network switch functionality and fiber switch capabilities."

"The most valuable feature of Dell PowerConnect Switches for me is the throughput. I also like that the product has more compatibility with Dell infrastructure, especially with EMC and new generation Dell servers. Dell PowerConnect Switches can also easily integrate with Dell servers, and this is another pro."

"Dell offers very good support."

"The product is cheap."

More Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL] pros

Cons

"A weakness would be that in our company, we don't have many people within our team who support the product because there are different vendors, and most of them are not tier-one vendors, so the skills required sometimes are just not there."

"Currently, Arista is too costly for its customers."

"The product fails to offer functions related to cloud orchestration, making it in areas where improvements are required."

"The community is good but is not good enough. It still needs to grow more."

"Something that you will often hear about Arista products is that the price is a bit too high and, like with Cisco, we sometimes have problems with our customers because of its pricing."

"I want the solution to include a unified controller."

"They should expand further into campus networks."

"In my opinion, the solution for network monitoring is quite expensive."

More Arista Networks Platform cons

"I expect it to be a zero-touch or a plug-and-play device. To some extent, it is, but we need to know the architecture, and we need to know what exactly we are doing. It is not so easy to implement. It depends on what exactly we are doing and it is still not a plug-and-play or zero-touch device. In the upcoming version, they can make it zero-touch, where we can just power it on and start using it. They can have some templates for different scenarios, such as when you are using it for the data center or adding it to your existing infrastructure."

"When it comes to the configuration, there should be documentation and interactive help available to assist people who have experience with products from other vendors."

"The IOS software that is used on the switches could be improved."

"Scalability, especially with the power connect series is something that you have to take into account before starting the project because any changes to an ongoing project can be difficult."

"More stable firmware releases would be an improvement because we have had them randomly power on and off."

"The solution could provide more integration to focus on targeting the network as a whole rather than a unified environment. It is meant for a built environment, so integration with other third-party vendors will likely be necessary."

"The one issue you face in the industry there is always some planned obsolescence in these switches."

"Not a ten because I have to do a lot of testing on it. The correlation is okay."

More Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL] cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Arista is very expensive. Not everybody is in a position to spend $70,000 to $80,000 for one switch."

"It is pretty pricey for a networking platform. It is on par with Cisco."

"Network devices are generally expensive. However, during the evaluation, Arista was the most inexpensive vendor."

"There is an annual license required to use the Arista Networks Platform."

"If one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the product price as seven out of ten."

"I remember that when our customers were offered the Arista Networks Platform, they used a checklist to compare the prices between Arista and Cisco for their requirements, and found that the prices were almost the same."

"The customer price for an Arista router is approximately $7,000 USD, while Cisco's is around $18,000."

"Arista Networks Platform was cheaper than Cisco. I have heard that the product is affordable for enterprise-sized companies."

More Arista Networks Platform pricing and cost advice

"Cheaper than its competitors"

"Its price is okay. Sometimes, it is lower than a Cisco solution."

"If you want to purchase a new Dell PowerConnect Switch, you will pay up to $1,600, but I bought them used. I bought the four Dell PowerConnect Switches that I used for $1,000."

"The product has a low price for the features it provides."

"I would rate the pricing as a seven or eight."

"The initial cost was high but since they have lasted for over ten or twenty years they are worth it."

"This solution is much cheaper than comparable products by Cisco."

"Dell PowerConnect switches are cheaper than Cisco switches. Cisco's higher capacity switches (100 or 200 gigs) are super-expensive. With the higher capacity, the price of the switches and the price of the architecture go high. Dell is cheaper and modular. So, I don't need to invest 100% upfront. I can invest as I progress. That is an option because the chassis will not be populated with all the pluggables. I have a choice because it is modular. I can go for 25 gigs today, and after four months, I can go for 100 gigs, and after that, I can go for 200 gigs. I have a choice when it is not a fixed switch."

More Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL] pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

17%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

University

Computer Software Company

15%

Educational Organization

Government

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Arista Networks Platform?

Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Arista Networks Platform?

Arista products are perceived as costly, especially compared to competitors like Cisco.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Arista Networks Platform?

Currently, Arista is too costly for its customers. Feature-wise, it addresses most customer requirements. However, we sometimes face challenges when integrating with proprietary protocols and solut...

See all answers

What do you like most about Dell PowerConnect Switches?

Dell PowerConnect Switches have a VTL feature similar to Cisco's VSS. With VTL, using this technology, you can cluster two switches together to increase redundancy in the environment.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Dell PowerConnect Switches?

The solution is cheaper than Cisco.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Dell PowerConnect Switches?

Some proprietary commands available in Cisco are preferred by users accustomed to Cisco systems. These users might hesitate to switch because they want to continue using familiar commands and see t...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 19% of the time

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Compared 10% of the time

Cisco Nexus vs Arista Networks Platform

Compared 10% of the time

Aruba Switches vs Arista Networks Platform

Compared 9% of the time

Cisco Ethernet Switches vs Arista Networks Platform

Compared 8% of the time

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Cisco Catalyst Switches vs Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL]

Compared 57% of the time

Cisco Nexus vs Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL]

Compared 13% of the time

NETGEAR Switches vs Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL]

Compared 8% of the time

Dell PowerSwitch N-Series vs Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL]

Compared 8% of the time

HPE ProCurve vs Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL]

Compared 6% of the time

More Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL] Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Arista Networks Platform

April 2025

Download Arista Networks Platform product report

Buyer's Guide

Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL]

April 2025

Download Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL] product report

Also Known As

7000 Series

PowerConnect Switches

Overview

Arista Networks Platform is a stable and reliable solution for data center features, specifically for non-blocking switches used for spine-leaf connectivity with servers hooked to these switches. It also provides multi-layer switches for client networks, particularly in the banking sector.

Arista products are preferred for their stability, good hardware, ease of adoption and configuration, responsive and helpful support, and high throughput ratings. The solution has helped prevent screen loss and business outages in the media industry and is designed for next-generation data centers.

Arista

PowerConnect Switches family offers a set of flexible, manageable and comprehensive switch solutions supporting up to 10 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) and optimized Internet iSCSI (iSCSI) performance with Dell Storage solutions, ideal for enterprise and campus LAN environments alike.

Dell Technologies

Sample Customers

American Internet Services

Amerijet Holdings Inc., CGD Securities, MavenWire, Tulane University

Buyer's Guide

Data Center Networking

March 2025

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