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 33 Arista Networks Platform reviews

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1,463 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, Dell Technologies, Arista and others in Data Center Networking.

To learn more, read our detailed Data Center Networking Report (Updated: March 2026).

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Data Center Networking

March 2026

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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

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

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Featured Reviews

VIJAY PANDEY

Network Architect at a tech services company with 201-500 employees

Unified wireless access has supported diverse users and simplified network operations

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 between two different interfaces—one for the CVQ portal for access point configuration and another called CloudVision for switch configuration. A single interface for end-to-end wireless solutions would simplify the experience. I would assess CloudVision's impact on my network's control and visibility as okay but not exceptional compared to Cisco solutions like the Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller. It is much more optimizable for traditional users; however, you still need to know the command line configuration to push configurations smartly using CloudVision. The advantage is that it provides a single interface to control the entire infrastructure, which is beneficial.

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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

"I would tell potential users that if they are supporting a media or trading kind of business, they should go for Arista because it is a low-latency switch that will meet the expectation of the business."

"Arista Networks offers similar features to Cisco."

"The solution offers a lot of features and we were able to organize our network around them, and the configuration capabilities were good."

"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."

"What we like most is its performance to price ratio."

"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 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."

"Arista Networks Platform offers straightforward deployment, and has good features."

More Arista Networks Platform pros

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

"The security is the most valuable aspect of this solution. It also has good storage and resource handling."

"The Dell EMC Networking N1500 Switches are a great solution and are great switches for access switch on LAN which they have combined for data, high-performance access-point, IT surveillance, and cameras."

"Dell seems to accommodate everyone when it comes to managing these switches."

"If you buy Dell PowerConnect Switches as a bundle with computers and the rest of the infrastructure, it's a good setup and you'll get value from your investment or ROI from the product."

"Its throughout and compatibility are the most valuable."

"For me, excellent, never had any issue."

"The most valuable feature is stability."

More Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL] pros

Cons

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

"The stability of this solution needs to be improved as part of the next upgrade."

"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."

"Its price can be better."

"I see some areas for improvement, particularly with pricing."

"For my particular use, the only potential improvement I see is in power consumption."

"A smoother transition between ISPs during failover would improve the user experience by reducing unnecessary notifications and interruptions."

"The solution needs to improve their product range."

More Arista Networks Platform cons

"The product price is an area of concern where improvements are required."

"The CLI for Dell PowerConnect Switches is sometimes confusing, especially with the LAN, but for the GUI it is simple."

"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."

"Dell is sometimes slow to provide updates to firmware."

"Because of the stackings, you lose some boards and the two switches."

"I would like to see better scalability and more features on these switches in the future."

"Technical support tends to give conflicting advice on how to configure the product."

"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."

More Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL] cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I rate the product price a seven on a scale of one to ten where ten is high price and one is low price."

"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."

"The price of the Arista Networks Platform could be less expensive for the hardware and license."

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

"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."

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

"Cost wise, Arista Networks Platform is more expensive than other networking solutions."

More Arista Networks Platform pricing and cost advice

"The product is cheaper than Cisco and licensing is yearly. We have to pay additional costs for support."

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

"On a scale of one to ten, if one means it is a cheap solution, and ten means it is a very expensive tool, I rate the product's price as seven. The tool is a bit pricey."

"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."

"Pricing for Dell PowerConnect Switches is quite competitive compared to Cisco and HP pricing. Dell has cheaper pricing and the company is trying to push for sales for its switching infrastructure because right now, the current market is dominated by Cisco. In the US market, there's Cisco, HP, Juniper, and Arista which you can buy for data center switching meant for different kinds of enterprises and ISPs. Dell PowerConnect Switches, on the other hand, is a product for people who need smaller setups or individual switches, especially those looking for a cheaper product and basic switching, though you can also buy a complete suite packaged with the switches."

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

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

"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

Manufacturing Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

Construction Company

16%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Energy/Utilities Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	15
Midsize Enterprise	7
Large Enterprise	12

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	21
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	6

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.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Arista Networks Platform?

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...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Arista Networks Platform?

We are still using Arista Networks Platform as system integrators. We sold the product and my customer is using this product. Mostly we sold Arista Networks Platform in data centers where customer ...

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

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...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 5% of the time

Cisco Nexus vs Arista Networks Platform

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Compared 31% of the time

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Compared 16% of the time

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Compared 12% of the time

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Compared 8% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Arista Networks Platform

April 2026

Download Arista Networks Platform product report

Buyer's Guide

Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL]

April 2026

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 2026

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