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Arista Networks Platform vs Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL] comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
31
Ranking in other categories
Ethernet Switches (13th), Data Center Networking (5th)
Dell PowerConnect Switches ...
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
8.2
Number of Reviews
34
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Featured Reviews

Nimit Puvar - PeerSpot reviewer
A VP Enterprise Sales at Ashtech Infotech (India) Pvt.Ltd.
Automation and visibility have simplified data center operations and improved network control
I see some areas for improvement, particularly with pricing. I think that not all features that are needed are already in Arista. AI power is required nowadays. AI would be needed for understanding data traffic flowing in my network. Sometimes I have a vision of what data traffic is flowing in my network and I want to capture that data. Using AI, I can understand how my entire organization operates and what kind of applications are being used, what the peak times are, where there is a bottleneck if any exists. This kind of report should automatically generate and provide clear-cut visibility.
LarsEvans - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution is very stable."
"The platform is easy to scale."
"The solution has good load latency. They're the market leader in this aspect right now."
"Arista Networks Platform offers straightforward deployment, and has good features. Support for the platform is also good."
"The most valuable features of the Arista Networks Platform are the EVPN and VXLAN. It has comprehensive features."
"Arista Networks Platform has really boosted our organization to the extent that our organization does not want to think about any other platform except Arista in terms of access points and switches."
"The solution is scalable."
"The most valuable features of Arista include low latency, scalability, and sustainability of the products."
"The most valuable feature is its ability to multitask."
"The product is cheap."
"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."
"Dell PowerConnect Switches are easy to configure."
"The features I've found most valuable are that the product is very easy to configure and inexpensive."
"It's easy to set up. We can put it in production in a couple of minutes."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is simplicity."
"The most valuable features are the jumbo frames and the stacking."
 

Cons

"My company does face issues in terms of interoperability when it comes to the product, making it an area that needs to be fixed."
"The solution’s pricing could be better."
"I want the solution to include a unified controller."
"In my opinion, the solution for network monitoring is quite expensive."
"They should expand further into campus networks."
"Arista Networks is currently less popular as they were initially more focused on data centers than campus networks. They should expand further into campus networks."
"The product fails to offer functions related to cloud orchestration, making it in areas where improvements are required."
"Arista Networks Platform should focus on improving the compatibility or integration with Cisco solutions."
"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."
"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."
"What's lacking in Dell PowerConnect Switches is SD-WAN integration, and this is what needs to be improved in it. All enterprises now move towards SD-WAN infrastructure, and because Dell PowerConnect Switches don't currently support SD-WAN, the product would be replaced, considered a secondary switch, or linked up to a different switch. Integration or support for SD-WAN is what I'd like to see in the next version of Dell PowerConnect Switches."
"There should be more port options in this switch. Currently, it has 24 or 48 ports. However, some of our customers require only 8 ports, but I have to put a switch with 24 ports. They should provide smaller solutions and complimentary access point for companies like ours with a low quantity of work. The main issue with this product is branding. They should improve their branding and promote their brand more in Mexico. Customers are more aware of brands like Cisco as compared to Dell."
"The network features are not good."
"I would like to see better scalability and more features on these switches in the future."
"The CLI for Dell PowerConnect Switches is sometimes confusing, especially with the LAN, but for the GUI it is simple."
"Not a ten because I have to do a lot of testing on it. The correlation is okay."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Cost wise, Arista Networks Platform is more expensive than other networking solutions."
"The price of the Arista Networks Platform could be less expensive for the hardware and license."
"I rate the product price a seven on a scale of one to ten where ten is high price and one is low price."
"Network devices are generally expensive. However, during the evaluation, Arista was the most inexpensive vendor."
"The customer price for an Arista router is approximately $7,000 USD, while Cisco's is around $18,000."
"Arista is very expensive. Not everybody is in a position to spend $70,000 to $80,000 for one switch."
"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."
"Inexpensive"
"If one is the cheapest price and ten is the most expensive, I rate the product price as an eight or nine. The tool is not cheap."
"Cheaper than its competitors"
"The solution is less expensive and more cost-efficient."
"PowerConnect Switches are priced well."
"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."
"The product is cheaper than Cisco and licensing is yearly. We have to pay additional costs for support."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
11%
University
9%
Energy/Utilities Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise12
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business21
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise6
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Arista Networks Platform?
I do not handle the pricing for Arista Networks Platform as other departments handle the costing. I am a network engineer in my company.
What needs improvement with Arista Networks Platform?
I have not had any issues with Arista Networks Platform in terms of improvements. I would only advise that they should dive deeper into the Nigerian market and make it easily accessible.
What is your primary use case for Arista Networks Platform?
Arista Networks Platform is used most often for access points and switches. When setting up an organization or infrastructure with Arista Networks Platform, we advise customers to purchase Arista f...
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.
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...
 

Also Known As

7000 Series
PowerConnect Switches
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

American Internet Services
Amerijet Holdings Inc., CGD Securities, MavenWire, Tulane University
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Dell Technologies, Juniper and others in Data Center Networking. Updated: March 2026.
884,192 professionals have used our research since 2012.