Cisco Nexus vs Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL] comparison

Cisco and Dell Technologies are both solutions in the LAN Switching category. Additionally, 96% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 90% of Dell Technologies users who would recommend it.

Cisco Nexus

Read 102 Cisco Nexus reviews

2,345 Views
1,722 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Dell PowerConnect Switches ...

Read 34 Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL] reviews

90% willing to recommend

Cisco Nexus

Dell PowerConnect Switches ...

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Cisco Nexus and Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL] based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, HPE Aruba Networking and others in LAN Switching.

To learn more, read our detailed LAN Switching Report (Updated: August 2024).

Buyer's Guide

LAN Switching

August 2024

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Helped 801,634 peers since 2012

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Nexus

Average Rating

8.4

Number of Reviews

102

Ranking in other categories

LAN Switching (4th), Data Center Networking (3rd)

Dell PowerConnect Switches ...

Average Rating

8.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Featured Reviews

Joe Benítez

Systems Engineer at GAD Municipal de Guayaquil

May 24, 2023

Offer high performance capabilities and enables efficient data transmission and processing

Before Nexus, I used to have Catalyst 6500 switches. Those 6500 series chassis gave us a lot of problems. Too many problems, actually. And we had a Cisco ASA firewall blade within those chassis. And they were running outdated software. So, in fact, it was the firewall blade that caused us too many problems instead of the chassis. The chassis itself was working well and performing fine, but the firewall card was not suitable for our needs. That was one aspect. Additionally, those chassis had been in operation for more than five years. As we are a local government, we have a policy to renew hardware every five years. That's because we need to maintain all the hardware and software in the latest versions and keep up with the technology lifecycle of the technology we use.

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AhmedElghawabi

Technical Consultant at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees

Jan 12, 2020

Easy to configure and integrates well with Cisco hardware, but incompatible with SDN

We have decreased our use of Dell PowerConnect Switches in the past year because we are moving to virtualization and using SDN switches. The problem comes about because it is difficult to see the server end-point directly on the SDN. For our Dell servers, we are replacing the switches with pass-through modules because the spanning tree loops are the same. My advice for anybody who is considering this solution is to consider issues that might occur when using devices from multiple vendors. We found this difficult because of the integration. We like Dell because it is easy to use and it integrates well with Cisco. However, we are now having a problem where it does not integrate well with SDN. If the environment requires connectivity to SDN then these switches may not be suitable. Rating this solution as a switch, I would say that it is eight and a half out of ten. However, with respect to integration with new technologies, it is not mature enough and I would rate it a five out of ten. Overall, I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.

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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

"From a data center implementation, with respect to competition from your data, there isn't really a product recovery for the different tests other than Cisco Nexus. For example, if you take Multi-tenancy for the data center, it's something which, I think, only Cisco has. There are some implementation from HP, but I think it's limited there."

"The in-service software upgrade (ISSU) feature is quite valuable."

"The redundancy and the vPC are the most valuable features. We can integrate two switches together for file transfers; that is, we can operate two switches as one. This is because the network can be shared via a vPC trunk, particularly for devices that are not critical for redundancy."

"The solution has introduced VPC, Virtual Port Channel, which allows for more redundancy and flexibility."

"It provides a very flexible connection to a server. When you go into history and the VPC, it provides a very flexible connection from it. Once a server goes down I can instruct it easily. So the network actually keeps quality even if onsite it is down."

"Its easy management is most valuable. It is easy to use, easy to manage, stable, and very reliable."

"This solution has allowed us to better prepare our network for 10-gigabit."

"The most valuable feature of Cisco Nexus is speed compared to what you would get from a Catalyst Series switch."

More Cisco Nexus pros

"There is high reliability since we have used them for close to twenty years and only had possibly one failure."

"The most valuable features of the solution stem from the fact that it is a stable and reliable product covered with good warranties and prices that ensure deep discounts for partners."

"When the price is competitive the customers tend to choose the cheaper brand and then look at the features. So having a competitive price is a plus."

"The most valuable feature is its ability to multitask."

"The product is reliable."

"Its throughout and compatibility are the most valuable."

"Dell PowerConnect Switches are very easy to configure with the GUI. Dell supports the solution even though it has been discontinued."

"Dell offers very good support."

More Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL] pros

Cons

"The initial setup was somewhat complex."

"The only issue that I have with this product is finding help on different commands when I'm trying to make a change."

"One of our switches died last week and we were able to RMA it. Within four hours it arrived on time and worked."

"This solution costs a lot."

"Cisco Nexus needs to add the SDN capability and lower the price."

"I would like to see better monitoring actions supported in the next release of this solution."

"Multi contexts would be nice to have to separate different tenants logically and securely."

"I feel that this solution should be more flexible and scalable."

More Cisco Nexus cons

"The product needs to improve in terms of reports and backups."

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

"The one issue you face in the industry there is always some planned obsolescence in these switches."

"Their hardware is not reliable, it's faulty."

"Not a ten because I have to do a lot of testing on it. The correlation is okay."

"More stable firmware releases would be an improvement because we have had them randomly power on and off."

"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."

"The product's infrastructure and connectivity features need improvement."

More Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL] cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The license on a yearly basis is $200,000."

"The price of the product is reasonable."

"This solution should be made more affordable."

"I thought that it would be less expensive."

"This is a very expensive product."

"It's around $160K a year for our license."

"The solution should be more cost-effective in general."

"Cisco Nexus is not cheap compared to Fortinet, Palo Alto, and Check Point."

More Cisco Nexus pricing and cost advice

"PowerConnect Switches are priced well."

"Cheaper than its competitors"

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

"Inexpensive"

"In my opinion, it is a product that is priced somewhere in the middle, making it a well-priced solution in the middle. It is not a very cheap product."

"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."

"The solution is less expensive and more cost-efficient."

"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."

More Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL] pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

26%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

18%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Educational Organization

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco Nexus?

The product's initial setup phase is very easy.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Nexus?

In most cases, there is a need to secure perpetual licenses to be able to use the product. When I set up the product, there isn't just a one-time cost that is involved. If you want to upgrade to iO...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Cisco Nexus?

In my company, we encountered some challenges since the network was not stable. The network is unstable, making it an area where improvements are required. If you do some kind of configuration on t...

See all answers

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.

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

Comparisons

Juniper QFX Series Switches vs Cisco Nexus

Compared 35% of the time

Cisco Catalyst Switches vs Cisco Nexus

Compared 25% of the time

Arista Networks Platform vs Cisco Nexus

Compared 19% of the time

ExtremeSwitching vs Cisco Nexus

Compared 4% of the time

VMware NSX vs Cisco Nexus

Compared 4% of the time

More Cisco Nexus Competitors

Cisco Catalyst Switches vs Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL]

Compared 54% of the time

NETGEAR Switches vs Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL]

Compared 10% of the time

HPE ProCurve vs Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL]

Compared 9% of the time

Arista Networks Platform vs Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL]

Compared 8% of the time

Dell PowerSwitch N-Series vs Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL]

Compared 7% of the time

More Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL] Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Nexus

September 2024

Download Cisco Nexus product report

Buyer's Guide

Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL]

September 2024

Download Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL] product report

Also Known As

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PowerConnect Switches

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Cisco

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Dell Technologies

Overview

The Cisco Nexus family of switches is designed to meet the stringent requirements of the next-generation data center. Not simply bigger or faster, these switches offer the following characteristics: infrastructure that can be scaled cost-effectively and that helps you increase energy, budget, and resource efficiency, transport that can navigate the transition to 10 Gigabit Ethernet and unified fabric and can also handle architectural changes such as virtualization, Web 2.0 applications, and cloud computing and operational continuity to meet your need for an environment where system availability is assumed and maintenance windows are rare if not totally extinct.

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.

Sample Customers

Advanced Medical Transport, Banco de Guayaquil, Baylor Scott & White Health, BH Telecom, Bowling Green State University, Calligaris, Children's Hospital Colorado, City of Biel, Del Papa Distributing, Department of Justice, Dimension Data, Dualtec Cloud Builders, Electricity Authority of Cyprus, Grupo Industrial Saltillo (GIS), Hertz, K&L Gates , LightEdge, Lone Star College System, Management Science Associates, Mindtree, NBC Olympics, Quest, Sony Corporation, The Department of Education in Western Australia, Valley Proteins

Amerijet Holdings Inc., CGD Securities, MavenWire, Tulane University

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, HPE Aruba Networking and others in LAN Switching. Updated: August 2024.

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