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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
7.1
Number of Reviews
34
Ranking in other categories
Ethernet Switches (12th), Data Center Networking (4th)
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

Dibyendu Das - PeerSpot reviewer
Director at a tech company with 11-50 employees
Ultra-low latency networking has delivered reliable video workflows and critical operations
The support of Arista Networks Platform is quite complex; it is not very easy to configure. It needs a lot of network expertise for token sheddings and different kinds of configurations. It is very difficult to configure because Arista Networks Platform does not have a flexible GUI like Huawei or Netgear; everything is a very CLI kind of mainframe architecture. Scalability at every single step has a huge upgrade cost which is required for port mapping, connectivity, and transceivers certified by Arista Networks Platform, then the fabric upgrades from a software firmware level. Arista Networks Platform should improve commercial aspects to be affordable. There is no path for growth with a perfect score because the focus is more on reducing costs globally.
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 most valuable features of the Arista Networks Platform are the EVPN and VXLAN. It has comprehensive features."
"Arista Networks Platform has a feature that helps with monitoring and management."
"The product's implementation phase was easy."
"We use Arista products not only because they are so stable, easy to adopt and configure, but also because they have high throughput ratings (e.g. 40 / 100 / 400 gigabits), making them very scalable."
"Arista Networks Platform is comfortable, easy to deploy, and easy to manage, with non-blocking technology. Additionally, it has a useful CloudVision platform and automation capabilities."
"The most valuable features of the Arista Networks Platform are the EVPN and VXLAN, and it has comprehensive features."
"The biggest advantages in Arista Networks Platform for me over the past three years are that it works very well, it is not that noisy (I modified it with silent fans), it was less bulky than Cisco, and it worked very well because it has an extra for a more precise clock, which also helps my use case."
"The feedback from customers using Arista Networks Platform APs that we deployed has positively impacted our organization, as they have provided good service and a good customer experience compared to what they used before."
"The product is cheap."
"PowerConnect Switches' stability is satisfactory."
"The functionality is very good."
"This is a very reliable solution."
"Dell PowerConnect Switches are easy to configure."
"The security is the most valuable aspect of this solution. It also has good storage and resource handling."
"Dell PowerConnect Switches are very easy to configure with the GUI. Dell supports the solution even though it has been discontinued."
"This solution comes with a lifetime warranty."
 

Cons

"An area for improvement in Arista Networks Platform is its integration, e.g. it needs to have more integration with its new products. Incorporating more security and cloud is also another area for improvement in the platform."
"The solution needs to improve their product range."
"Arista is very expensive."
"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."
"We have decided not to expand the Arista Networks Platform because of some of the issues we have had."
"The CVP management platform needs to be improved."
"The solution is quite expensive. One of the negative aspects of it is the pricing."
"They should expand further into campus networks."
"Accessibility and management could be improved."
"More stable firmware releases would be an improvement because we have had them randomly power on and off."
"Dell is sometimes slow to provide updates to firmware."
"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."
"A big issue with this product is that when our customer migrated the data center, one cluster blocked the whole network and because we had a new approach, some commands were not compatible with the new version."
"I would rate it a seven out of ten. Not a ten because I have to do a lot of testing on it."
"Not a ten because I have to do a lot of testing on it. The correlation is okay."
"The configuration should be improved."
 

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."
"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."
"Specific tools definitely require a license for the subscription. But we are not using these tools in our environment. In terms of licensing, you need to spend approximately $10,000 per month."
"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."
"Network devices are generally expensive. However, during the evaluation, Arista was the most inexpensive vendor."
"The initial cost was high but since they have lasted for over ten or twenty years they are worth it."
"I would rate the pricing as a seven or eight."
"Cheaper than its competitors"
"The price of these switches is okay."
"The product has a low price for the features it provides."
"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."
"This solution is much cheaper than comparable products by Cisco."
"In my opinion, it is a product that is priced somewhere in the middle, making it a well-priced solution in the middle. It is not a very cheap product."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Computer Software Company
7%
Construction Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Energy/Utilities Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business16
Midsize Enterprise7
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?
As for the licensing model of Arista Networks Platform, I would describe it as moderate—neither too expensive nor too cheap compared to Cisco.
What needs improvement with Arista Networks Platform?
I found that Arista Networks Platform could improve by introducing a feature that combines configuration for both switches and access points into a single portal. Currently, you need to juggle betw...
What is your primary use case for Arista Networks Platform?
I currently use Arista products, including Arista wireless solutions like CVQ and Agni solutions, which come with a AAA server, as well as ClearPass from Aruba. I am using Arista Networks Platform ...
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...
What is your primary use case for Dell PowerConnect Switches?
Dell PowerConnect Switches are primarily used at the distribution layer, but as the product evolved, higher models became available. These newer models can function closer to the core network or th...
 

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, Arista and others in Data Center Networking. Updated: April 2026.
890,088 professionals have used our research since 2012.