Cisco Catalyst and Aruba Switches compete in the network switching category. Aruba appears to have an advantage in terms of pricing and ease of management, while Cisco leads in reliability and performance.
Features: Cisco Catalyst Switches offer a comprehensive security suite, including Port Security, DHCP Snooping, and VLAN capabilities. They support stacking to enhance availability and reliability and allow large data transfers with port channeling. Equipped with PoE, they facilitate easy setup for Cisco wireless APs and IP phones. Aruba Switches provide flexible management with integration solutions like ClearPass. They feature a user-friendly command line similar to Cisco's and offer robust monitoring capabilities within a broad network ecosystem.
Room for Improvement: Cisco Catalyst Switches could improve pricing and licensing models and enhance security features. Improved integration with other vendors' ecosystems and simpler configurations would also be beneficial. Aruba Switches face challenges with visibility and stability in complex setups. Enhanced integration and ease of network control could improve user satisfaction. Both vendors have areas for functional enhancements.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco Catalyst Switches are noted for straightforward on-premises deployment but support can be slow and expensive. Users often rely on forums despite good ratings for official customer service. Aruba Switches provide flexible on-premises and hybrid cloud deployments, with consistent ease of service access and quicker support resolutions.
Pricing and ROI: Cisco Catalyst Switches are premium-priced with complex licensing, justified by performance reliability for larger enterprises. Aruba Switches are more cost-effective, appealing to budget-conscious organizations, offering good value and potentially greater ROI.
Their tech support is good.
I find that technical support is available, especially during the warranty period.
Cisco's support is good, one of the best supports that you will get.
I am paying for Cisco support and would rate it nine out of ten.
I would rate the scalability of the product an eight out of ten.
The scalability, in my opinion, is around seven to eight out of ten.
Cisco Catalyst Switches are scalable, and I would rate them eight to nine out of ten for scalability.
I have sites that have been running for many years with no issues.
The stability of Aruba Switches is very good, and I would rate it between eight and nine out of ten.
Cisco Catalyst Switches are stable.
Improving the distribution network across regions would be beneficial.
Cisco Catalyst Switches could be a little bit cheaper as they are very costly.
The configuration options on the Cisco Commerce website could be more efficient.
There could be improvements in the repeat configuration with some file integration that is currently missing.
The pricing of some products, such as the 6300M switch, is considered a significant cost.
From my experience, the pricing of Aruba Switches is competitive.
Cisco provides unique features that justify their pricing.
Cisco Catalyst Switches are quite pricey.
In the hotel sector, IGMP 3 is particularly valuable for IPTV.
Aruba Switches provide good security functionalities and quality of service.
Cisco Catalyst Switches are valuable for their reliability and performance.
The most beneficial features for our network management are their stability and good customer support.
Catalyst Switches are efficient and swift, which is valuable for my organization.
Aruba Switches is a network creation solution that enables users to easily manage every aspect of their networks.
Benefits of Aruba Switches
Some of the benefits of using Aruba switches include:
Reviews from Real Users
Aruba Switches are cutting-edge network creation tools that stand out among their competitors for a number of reasons. Two major ones are the warranty that guarantees them and the intuitive way in which they are designed. Aruba Switches are protected by lifetime warranties. If a switch malfunctions or is rendered inoperable, it can be quickly replaced. If the line of switches are still available, HPE will send the user the necessary replacement. Aruba Switches are built to be intuitive for users to customize and manipulate. This allows users to make full use of the solution without requiring them to devote a significant level of resources to training.
The head of technical support at a real estate law firm writes, “One valuable feature about HP is the warranty. All switches are very similar when it comes to most functionalities. Most switches provide a one-year warranty, but with HPE switches, if there's a unit that malfunctions, we call them and they replace it the next business day if that line is still available. We had a switch we reported the other day, it was a 25-10, which we procured way back, around 2014, and they replaced it. In general, HP provides a lot of support for its products. We will be doing some tinkering on the VLAN soon, first the layer two, and then connecting the layer three functionalities for some other departments. The advantage of Aruba compared to other switches is their reliability. If the product is trustworthy, I'll continue to use it.”
A network systems engineer at a financial services firm writes, “Their technical support is great. I have used Cisco products, and as compared to Cisco, Aruba's command-line syntax is not as complex. The command-line interface of Aruba switches is quite intuitive. It also has a graphical user interface. With Cisco, using the graphical user interface for configuration can be complex, whereas Aruba simplifies it, and you can easily use the graphical user interface. The configuration is secured. Their graphical user interface is quite robust.”
Cisco Catalyst Switches are a reliable and scalable network switching and routing solution, focusing on VLANs and VLAN switching. They are used as access switches, distribution switches, and core switches in various environments, deployed on-premises, and used for long connections. The switches are easy to configure, install, and upgrade and offer good pricing.
The most valuable features include warranty and firmware support, stability, security, good performance, flexibility, etc. The Cisco Catalyst Switches have provided a stable solution for the organizations and are widely used, trusted, and well-known in the networking industry.
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