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Cisco Catalyst Switches vs Nokia Ethernet Service Switch comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

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

Cisco Catalyst Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
3rd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
186
Ranking in other categories
LAN Switching (1st), Data Center Networking (1st), AV Over IP Switching (1st)
Nokia Ethernet Service Switch
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
22nd
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
3.1
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of Cisco Catalyst Switches is 4.5%, up from 2.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Nokia Ethernet Service Switch is 1.2%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Ethernet Switches Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Catalyst Switches4.5%
Nokia Ethernet Service Switch1.2%
Other94.3%
Ethernet Switches
 

Featured Reviews

MS
Electrical control system engineer at Dangote petroleum refinery and petrol chemicals
Reliable switching has delivered long‑term uptime, strong PoE support, and predictable performance
Cisco Systems Catalyst Switches are highly regarded for their performance, reliability, and enterprise-grade capabilities. My main reservation, however, is the pricing. The cost of Cisco Catalyst Switches—and Cisco products in general—is relatively high, especially in many African markets where organizations often need to balance budget constraints with required functionality. There are alternative vendors that offer comparable features at a lower price point. While they may not always match Cisco’s ecosystem, stability, or full feature depth, many businesses still choose them because of the significant cost savings. Another consideration is licensing, which can add to the overall total cost of ownership depending on the deployment model and required features. Overall, Cisco Catalyst Switches remain premium enterprise solutions, but when compared with other OEMs, their higher acquisition and licensing costs can be a major deciding factor for cost-conscious organizations.
L.
Project Manager and Assistant General Manager at tele
Ensures network reliability and meets compliance requirements
We can understand the customer network better and propose products accordingly as areas for improvement. Engaging with customers directly would improve how that could be done easily. Many times there is a requirement for very low-end products, which Nokia Ethernet Service Switch is not currently marketing many of the lower-end products.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"What I like the most about Cisco Catalyst Switches is ISSU."
"Cisco is very reliable and I would recommend their products."
"The benefit of the tool is that it is a stable product."
"The greatest benefit for our organization is that our Cisco Catalysts are quite reliable, and we can depend on them."
"One good feature is UPOE. Another is having a built-in controller, the customer doesn't have to ask for another controller. For example, you get a built-in controller with the C650. And two-port is one of the premium factors from Cisco."
"As far as technology is concerned, Cisco improves the client-to-client business."
"The solution was easy to install it.This took around half a day."
"The features that I like the most with Cisco Catalyst Switches probably would be the access to the console, and I am very impressed with the end-to-end visibility offered by Cisco and the operational efficiency of Cisco in my IT environment is well assessed."
"The most valuable features are user functionality and interoperability."
"The performance and reliability are the solution's most valuable features."
"On several occasions we encountered major issues with the solution and have found the Nokia technical support to be quite supportive."
"7210 SAS help transformed our legacy network to an MPLS based services and improved the network performance and availability."
"The highest value lies in aggregating the data to improve both traffic management and device utilization, emphasizing the importance of engagement and liability."
"The most valuable feature is the product's availability."
"Despite initial hindrances, once understood, these differences help in forming a good career foundation."
"The solution saves time and money for my customer in terms of reliability and product durability."
 

Cons

"Any improvements that they make should be in the wireless area of the product."
"Cisco tech support is really slow. In the time it takes them to actually understand a scenario, we have mostly found our way out on our own."
"The solution is expensive. They should work on their pricing model to try to make it more affordable for customers."
"The product could always be more secure."
"The GUI should be addressed."
"Prices could always be lower."
"The problem is that they charge you for what they have supplied that you wanted as well as what they make it mandatory to buy."
"Pricing for Cisco Catalyst Switches is on the higher end, compared to its competitors, and is something that could be improved."
"The solution needs more monitoring tools."
"The release is not very stable. You should have stability in the card."
"I would suggest improvements regarding enhancing support response times and implementing user interface modifications for quicker and more user-friendly interactions."
"The segment routing could be improved, and they could also transfer a lot of legacy to the cloud domain."
"I would like to see more collaboration with advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) vendors, such as Itron."
"I would prefer that all the licenses be open for our use."
"This solution is not particularly flexible."
"We would like to have an unified monitoring system, while Nokia have different monitoring system for different product, we find it to be quite troublesome."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Catalyst is very expensive."
"The price of this solution could be reduced, it is expensive and I am using an annual license."
"Cisco switches are expensive. Their price range is based not only on what the product does but also the name in the industry. They are good at what they do. If you need a better product, there are other lineups available."
"It is reasonably priced because we have already conducted a tender, allowing Cisco and other vendors to compete for the best price."
"We have a contract for service with this partner, meaning we don't purchase the license or equipment directly."
"I don't see any price issue with Cisco. Whenever you buy a quality product, you always have a mindset of paying the premium amount. For any good product, you pay a premium amount, but that also means you are going to recover that premium over a period of time in terms of performance."
"I cannot say that the pricing is reasonable because it's a little above our expectations. If we consider the recent price increases, it is not acceptable anymore."
"The price could be improved."
"It is quite expensive compared to alternative technologies."
"The price of the solution is very competitive in comparison with that of the competition."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Ethernet Switches solutions are best for your needs.
896,942 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
7%
Healthcare Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Performing Arts
10%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Educational Organization
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business83
Midsize Enterprise29
Large Enterprise83
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise2
 

Questions from the Community

Would you recommend replacing a Cisco Catalyst Switch by a D-link one?
Hello Mesfin It depends on the real scenario, the cisco 2960 is a very good device and they usually have routing functions but there are many different models within the same 2960 line, and on the ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Catalyst Switches?
For deployment costs, we handled the network infrastructure setup internally, so there was little to no external implementation cost. One major advantage of Cisco Systems products is the strong ava...
What needs improvement with Cisco Catalyst Switches?
Cisco Systems Catalyst Switches are highly regarded for their performance, reliability, and enterprise-grade capabilities. My main reservation, however, is the pricing. The cost of Cisco Catalyst S...
What needs improvement with Nokia Ethernet Service Switch?
We can understand the customer network better and propose products accordingly as areas for improvement. Engaging with customers directly would improve how that could be done easily. Many times the...
What is your primary use case for Nokia Ethernet Service Switch?
I am a system integrator working for different customers. My clients use this product for their network, either for network upgrade or new rollout.
What advice do you have for others considering Nokia Ethernet Service Switch?
This possibility could be provided by the vendor. I advise people looking to use Nokia Ethernet Service Switch to always look for reliability rather than going for cheaper Chinese products. On a sc...
 

Also Known As

Cisco Catalyst, Catalyst
Nokia ESS, Nokia 7450 Ethernet Service Switch, Nokia 7450 ESS
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Afni, Anilana Hotels and Resorts, Baylor Scott & White Health, Beachbody, Bellevue, Del Papa Distributing, Explorer Pipeline, Mindtree, Omaha World Herald, Radio 538, Sony Corporation, Telecom Italia, Telenor Arena
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Catalyst Switches vs. Nokia Ethernet Service Switch and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
896,942 professionals have used our research since 2012.