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 108 Cisco Nexus reviews

2,995 Views
1,258 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, Netgear and others in LAN Switching.

To learn more, read our detailed LAN Switching Report (Updated: March 2026).

Buyer's Guide

LAN Switching

March 2026

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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 Nexus

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.7

Number of Reviews

108

Ranking in other categories

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

Dell PowerConnect Switches ...

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

8.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Featured Reviews

Fakhar Mahmood

Sr. Network Administrator at i2c

Migration between data centers has strengthened core connectivity and simplified segmentation

The biggest problems during migration were corporate issues, including dependencies on other devices such as F5, HSMs, and firewalls from Palo Alto. Everything was connected over the core switches, which made this a quite difficult part to manage and to onboard the teams and to understand the impact of the migration. We encountered an issue where we have two data centers, and unknowingly we were configuring the devices with the same VPC number on both devices. By doing that, we were not able to terminate the lease lines over those core switches. According to Cisco, we had to change the VPC number of one of the data center's core switches since they are in a VPC. We are still waiting, and it has been more than five to six years just to change the VPC number and migrate back the lease line. Now we are having cabin switches for the lease line and then the core switch. That VPC number issue was quite surprising for us. However, we have a very frequent issue with Cisco Nexus, particularly with the SFPs. Every time a port or the SFP heats up, it gets faulty. We have almost sixteen Nexus switches per data center. In a year, we experience one or two port issues per annum. We have standard Equinix data centers with standard installations, but somehow the temperature is always maintained and there is no ducting, yet the ports and the SFPs heat up or become faulty. This is a very frequent issue with the SFP-based port.

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LarsEvans

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.

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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

"The solution has improved operations by helping us resolve bottlenecks throughout our infrastructure, as these new products have a much higher throughput that cleans traffic up and makes processes a lot smoother."

"The solution is stable."

"The most valuable features are the solution is robust, you are able to use it for fabric architecture as well as SPAN on exit with the controller."

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

"We now have one box that does multiple services."

"It's pretty easy to use and operates at high speed."

"Nexus has improved my organization in the way that it provided enhanced security in a point in the network that was critical."

"The implementation was straightforward and the product is stable."

More Cisco Nexus pros

"The features I've found most valuable are that the product is very easy to configure and inexpensive."

"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."

"The tool is reliable, and it stands up well. The solution works fine and lasts a long time."

"The support is just so good that there is no reason to re-evaluate because of the impact on the trust structure of operations."

"If you buy Dell PowerConnect Switches as a bundle with computers and the rest of the infrastructure, it's a good setup and you'll get value from your investment or ROI from the product."

"PowerConnect Switches' stability is satisfactory."

"The security is the most valuable aspect of this solution. It also has good storage and resource handling."

"We have these switches installed in an environment with hardware from many other vendors, and so far, so good."

More Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL] pros

Cons

"The price is a con."

"In terms of improvement, the stacking between the two switches in the higher availability model should be similar to Catalyst. It's better to have one interface for configuration."

"Some of the DHCP features need improvement."

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

"I would like to see better collaboration with other, low-end devices."

"I can't necessarily do that with the costings of a Cisco organization, as they're too expensive."

"In the Nexus 3500, you can't do per-port Jumbo frames, so you have to enable it as a global configuration."

"The scalability can be improved."

More Cisco Nexus cons

"The CLI for Dell PowerConnect Switches is sometimes confusing, especially with the LAN, but for the GUI it is simple."

"Scalability can be a problem with these switches."

"The IOS software that is used on the switches could be improved."

"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."

"Dell is sometimes slow to provide updates to firmware."

"If I were to rate the support for Dell PowerConnect Switches, I'd give a rating of two out of five."

"I would like to see better scalability and more features on these switches in the future."

"The configuration should be improved."

More Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL] cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We consider Juniper switches to be more affordable."

"It is very expensive. Its licensing is on a yearly basis."

"Licensing is annual or every three years. We were one of the big customers, and we used to get good prices, but the cost of the support can be improved."

"The solution is expensive."

"Costs more than most, but the reliability pays for the difference."

"All of our costs including subscription, licensing, and support services are bundled together, and the cost is approximately $100,000 USD per year."

"It's worth the money we're paying for Nexus."

"I don't like the Smart Licensing models that Cisco uses."

More Cisco Nexus pricing and cost advice

"This solution is much cheaper than comparable products by Cisco."

"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."

"Its price is okay. Sometimes, it is lower than a Cisco solution."

"If you want to purchase a new Dell PowerConnect Switch, you will pay up to $1,600, but I bought them used. I bought the four Dell PowerConnect Switches that I used for $1,000."

"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."

"The product has a low price for the features it provides."

"The price of these switches is okay."

"The product is cheaper than Cisco and licensing is yearly. We have to pay additional costs for support."

More Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL] pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Marketing Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Construction Company

17%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

Energy/Utilities Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	19
Midsize Enterprise	17
Large Enterprise	83

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	21
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	6

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?

We are a reseller, and we sell products to our customers.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Cisco Nexus?

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 15% of the time

Cisco Catalyst Switches vs Cisco Nexus

Compared 12% of the time

Arista Networks Platform vs Cisco Nexus

Compared 10% of the time

Dell PowerEdge R-Series vs Cisco Nexus

Compared 8% of the time

Arista Campus LAN Switches vs Cisco Nexus

Compared 7% of the time

More Cisco Nexus Competitors

Cisco Catalyst Switches vs Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL]

Compared 32% of the time

HPE ProCurve vs Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL]

Compared 17% of the time

NETGEAR Switches vs Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL]

Compared 17% of the time

Arista Networks Platform vs Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL]

Compared 9% of the time

ExtremeSwitching vs Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL]

Compared 8% of the time

More Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL] Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Nexus

March 2026

Download Cisco Nexus product report

Buyer's Guide

Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL]

March 2026

Download Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL] product report

Also Known As

No data available

PowerConnect Switches

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.

Cisco

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.

Dell Technologies

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, Netgear and others in LAN Switching. Updated: March 2026.

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