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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
32
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

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

"Arista Networks Platform offers a clean dashboard page with only useful options that do not include unnecessary tabs or features that customers mostly don't want to use."
"We are always surprised about the proficiency of the speed of the technical support."
"Arista Networks Platform offers straightforward deployment, and has good features."
"The best part is the single operating system that they have. Regardless of your model, it's the same operating system functioning across the board, which means you don't have to worry about backward compatibilities between your older switches and the new ones that you deploy."
"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, and it has comprehensive features."
"Arista Networks Platform offers straightforward deployment, and has good features. Support for the platform is also good."
"The product's implementation phase was easy."
"PowerConnect Switches' stability is satisfactory."
"The product is cheap."
"Dell PowerConnect switches are cheaper than Cisco switches, and because they are modular I do not need to invest 100% upfront as I can start with 25 gigs today, move to 100 gigs after a few months, and then go to 200 gigs later."
"Their support has been excellent, and it has been quite stable and easy to set up."
"The most valuable feature is its ability to multitask."
"Its throughout and compatibility are the most valuable."
"We have these switches installed in an environment with hardware from many other vendors, and so far, so good."
"This is a stable product and I have not experienced any bugs."
 

Cons

"I see some areas for improvement, particularly with pricing."
"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."
"The stability of this solution needs to be improved as part of the next upgrade."
"I want the solution to include a unified controller."
"Its price can be better."
"Arista is very expensive."
"We have decided not to expand the Arista Networks Platform because of some of the issues we have had."
"The solution needs to accommodate new features."
"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."
"An area for improvement would be that it's very hard to configure if you're not familiar with the UI or CLI of the product. The UI itself could also be improved."
"We've only been using the solution for half a year. We haven't run into any issues, but maybe over time, that may change."
"More stable firmware releases would be an improvement because we have had them randomly power on and off."
"Their hardware is not reliable, it's faulty."
"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."
"I can't think of what we would want in the next release."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There is an annual license required to use the Arista Networks Platform."
"It is pretty pricey for a networking platform. It is on par with Cisco."
"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."
"I rate the product price a seven on a scale of one to ten where ten is high price and one is low price."
"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."
"The price of the Arista Networks Platform could be less expensive for the hardware and license."
"Arista is very expensive. Not everybody is in a position to spend $70,000 to $80,000 for one switch."
"The price of these switches is okay."
"The solution is less expensive and more cost-efficient."
"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."
"Its price is okay. Sometimes, it is lower than a Cisco solution."
"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 product is cheaper than Cisco and licensing is yearly. We have to pay additional costs for support."
"This solution is much cheaper than comparable products by Cisco."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Construction Company
16%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Energy/Utilities Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business16
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 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...
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 ...
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, Arista and others in Data Center Networking. Updated: March 2026.
886,174 professionals have used our research since 2012.