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Cisco Linksys Ethernet Switches vs Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access 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 Linksys Ethernet Swit...
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
10th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
75
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secu...
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
5th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
47
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of Cisco Linksys Ethernet Switches is 3.5%, up from 3.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access is 6.0%, down from 6.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Ethernet Switches
 

Featured Reviews

Hakan Pehlivan - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhanced broadcast management with trusted support and intuitive interfaces
Cisco is the best on the Metro Solution side and also strong in the broadcast sector. Cisco and Arista support the IP standard, which is more in demand nowadays for TV broadcasting. Cisco is trusted by most broadcast customers for data centers due to their experience and knowledge. Cisco Linksys switches offer ease of management and experience, especially for engineers holding CCNA certificates. The functionalities and measurements are similar across switches, but Cisco offers a useful web interface.
SherifAbdelrahman - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficient integration allows streamlined network management with a straightforward setup
I use it for retail business. We are using the FortiSwitch solution for our voice switches and access points as well It has helped us by providing easy management from a single platform through the firewall interface. It's very easy to manage and provides all the insights and vulnerabilities,…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Cisco Linksys is scalable. You can use it as an extender, too."
"It is easy to use and stable."
"They are very reliable."
"it's a stable solution. We have not experienced any bugs or issues. Many data centers and enterprise data centers prefer Cisco to any other product because they are very stable."
"Cisco Linksys Ethernet Switches have a good interface, and the documentation is detailed."
"The most important feature related to this solution is that most of the time, it covers all of what we need for our projects."
"Cisco's product is excellent and highly stable with decades of experience in switching and technology. It's a top-notch solution when your entire network operates within the Cisco ecosystem, allowing for a wide range of capabilities. However, the challenge with Cisco lies in its prioritization. When integrating with third-party solutions, like Juniper, it can be somewhat challenging, but it still performs reasonably well. Setting up Cisco switches is not a straightforward process; it's complex and requires more than simply powering them on and figuring things out as you go. You need a solid understanding of switch and stack configuration because Cisco has its unique software features. Cisco excels in vendor lock-in, meaning that if you want to combine Cisco switches with non-Cisco functionality, it can be both time-consuming and costly. While Cisco offers the most extensive capabilities, it can also be less flexible and more challenging when you want to deviate from the Cisco ecosystem."
"Ability to expand connections."
"You can hook all the other components to be monitored. You can create policies and block certain people from accessing the Internet."
"The integration with the whole platform, so there's one dashboard for everything. It is one of the most valuable features."
"The tool's setup was very easy."
"The solution is easy to scale."
"I would rate the the ease of management and scalability within our network architecture an eight out of ten, with ten being best."
"It's easy to be configured and powerful in terms of performance."
"The solution is very simple, and it's very easily available."
"I rate Fortinet support 10 out of 10. Their support is excellent and inexpensive. They respond immediately."
 

Cons

"The manageability could be improved."
"Cisco offers a wide range of features, and in the enterprise and mid-segment market in Europe, we make use of most of them. Some features are essential for our operations, while others may go unused. The feature set provided by Cisco is comprehensive, and there's little more we could ask for. It would be a nice addition if, in the future, Cisco switches could incorporate artificial intelligence to provide proactive feedback and guidance instead of having to search for solutions ourselves. This development is likely to come with time, and we'll patiently await such enhanced functionality."
"Cisco Linksys Ethernet Switches are expensive."
"Cisco Linksys Ethernet Switches are stable but could be better."
"The drawbacks come from support. The tools are rare, but to find someone knowledgeable with Cisco, is a problem."
"The initial setup was complex."
"Scalability-wise, this solution is not designed for small businesses."
"It would be ideal if, for private users that are not companies, the solution could be made even cheaper."
"The pricing could be improved, and it could be easier to configure."
"It would be easier if Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access could be managed via cloud, and this is something that could be improved in this product. Bandwidth display could also be better."
"We've had some issues with Layer 3 FortiSwitch. We can deploy the device in the cloud. However, we can't deploy this solution in complex environments easily."
"I don't like the way it's managed."
"The product's end-user protection feature needs improvement."
"In Fortinet, the packet reconstruction in the SD-WAN solution needs a little bit of improvement. When it comes to the Secure Access to the switches or the mix of Fortinet solution, the very small ones do not have the capability to use fiber cables. So, the small FortiGates have to work with the copper cables and cannot use fiber cables. Even though they have the capacity and throughput on all technical connectors, they don't have the interfaces, which is one of the good things with Cisco. They just add models to it. You buy the independent models, and you add them."
"Currently issues with some of the switches and problems with the firmware."
"I give the stability a seven out of ten because we have noticed when we hook up phones the switching of ELANs et cetera doesn't work as it should."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The cost of Linksys switches is very reasonable and for a small enterprise like my company, it's perfect."
"The tool is expensive."
"Cisco switches are a little expensive when it comes to the price."
"It's an affordable price for small companies using on-premises networks where cloud services are too expensive for them."
"If you look at the product portfolio from Cisco, it's quite expensive."
"They are cheaper than Cisco Catalyst Switches."
"It is costly. Because of its pricing, customers are not ready to buy Cisco solutions, and they are going for other brands."
"Considering the problems that we have, Linksys is overpriced."
"Fortinet FortiSwitch is a pricey solution."
"The product's pricing is good."
"Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access requires a license and the price is expensive."
"You can buy this equipment in a multitude of ways. You can buy just the hardware, or you can buy the hardware and the licenses."
"The solution is cheaper than Cisco but more expensive than Huawei."
"Licensing is billed annually and contracts are either one or three years in length."
"The pricing is cheap and only a yearly licensing cost needs to be paid."
"The solution has reasonable pricing. The firewall costs around 500$ annually."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
16%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Linksys Ethernet Switches?
Pricing can be high when compared to other solutions in the market. Despite this, most broadcast customers prefer Cisco due to trust, experience, and manageability. However, some are also consideri...
What needs improvement with Cisco Linksys Ethernet Switches?
There should be an improvement in Cisco's response time and overall competence. They should be more easily reachable in Turkey for technical support.
Which would you choose - Fortinet Fortiswitch secure access or Cisco Ethernet Switches?
We researched Cisco but ultimately chose Fortinet FortiSwitch Secure Access, mostly because of the price. Fortinet FortiSwitch is an ethernet switch solution that provides security and performance...
What do you like most about Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access?
With FortiSwitch, you can easily identify who is connected to each port, disable ports as needed, and retrieve configurations from FortiGate when required.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access?
Currently, I don't have an opinion about the price as I focus on implementation and am not informed about pricing in comparison to other vendors.
 

Also Known As

Linksys Ethernet Switches
No data available
 

Learn More

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Overview

 

Sample Customers

Linz AG
Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Linksys Ethernet Switches vs. Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
831,158 professionals have used our research since 2012.