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NETGEAR Switches vs NVIDIA Mellanox comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

NETGEAR Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Number of Reviews
54
Ranking in other categories
LAN Switching (5th), AV Over IP Switching (2nd)
NVIDIA Mellanox
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
20th
Average Rating
7.8
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2024, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of NETGEAR Switches is 9.5%, up from 9.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NVIDIA Mellanox is 1.9%, up from 1.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Ethernet Switches
 

Featured Reviews

BH
Feb 7, 2023
Peak performance for uncompressed 4K video streaming at a very affordable price point
NETGEAR's web interface describes settings with names and sentences which are different from other switch manufacturers. Therefore, you must figure out what each one does before you can use it. If you compare it to Cisco, for example, their web interface is a bit more intuitive. The web interface could also be improved when it comes to multicast settings. Especially, that IGMP is spread to “Switching” and “Routing“ is confusing. At first, it is unclear what needs to be setup where. Support for IGMPv3 querier would be appreciated. Currently, only a version 2 querier can be sent by the switches, which is a bit outdated, since version 3 has been on the market for a few years now. Cisco does support querier version 3 in their small business switches. The ‘how-to’ guides could do with some improvements. We got in trouble following the stacking and Dante set-up guides. If these would have been accurate, we would not have lost three days.
RK
Oct 22, 2021
Stable, easy to use, and offers a unique RDMA feature
We primarily use the solution for a network switch.  Mellanox provides a feature called RDMA. This feature is very special and only Mellanox can provide it. For example, Cisco cannot offer this. The solution is very stable.  It is a very easy-to-use product. The configuration is a bit different…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"With this, you literally just log in to a website, see all your clients, all your NETGEAR switches, and you can manage them all right there: the VLANs, powering on and off individual ports, rebooting the whole device, the firmware updates. Everything can be done remotely..."
"For what I used this switch for, it did well."
"We use these switches to help us leverage and connect more devices."
"The most valuable feature is definitely the fully functional IGMP snooping and querier, out-of-the-box, that the switch provides. With most if not all switches that we've worked with previously, at a minimum you have to enable a couple of different options... It's really a good feature to have that stuff enabled and fully functional out-of-the-box so that [AV techs] don't have to worry about configuring any of that stuff."
"The remote troubleshooting is pretty easy. You can turn off a port that might have a network loop created, or where there might be a bad NIC card that is creating issues. Being able to turn off that port remotely is fantastic, instead of having to replace the whole switch. Remote management is really easy."
"There is a lot of helpful documentation that helps with the configuration process."
"Technical support is helpful and quick to respond."
"The ease of use of these switches is very good because of the Cisco CLI. If you are familiar with CLI, then you can configure the switch that way. It also has a relatively straightforward web interface. Using the web interface is good for beginners or people who aren't familiar with Cisco CLI. However, having a common command line interface method is great for some of our more advanced guys who are familiar with it."
"The most valuable features of Mellanox Switches are the powerful hardware and the software is open. They're using Linux operating system. You can do and install many things, and it performs well."
"From what I've been told, a valuable feature of Mellanox switches is they're quite user-friendly."
"The most valuable features of Mellanox Switches are the size, power consumption, and the vast amount of features."
"The most valuable features of this solution are its functionality."
"The tool is very configurable because it runs on a Linux operating system."
"It is a very easy-to-use product."
 

Cons

"Being able to pass AVB traffic over these switches, that would be a huge add. There are not many switches out that support that. The GS728TP NETGEAR switches used to or still do support AVB, but it would be ideal if the 4300 Series could support it as well."
"The management of them, itself, is not so good. You have to go between many different browsers, even some super-old browsers, to be able to do it. That is a super pain."
"NETGEAR Switches could be more secure. Scalability could also be better. This infrastructure is a bit old, and we need something that will be more secure. Something that will introduce WLAN, and we will need the knowledge to go with that. Some of the switches were used for more than seven years. I think it was just their lifespan that was exhausted. But other than that, there haven't been any issues that required us to complain or get concerned."
"There are some design issues on which they really missed the boat. The problem has to do with rack mounting them because the lights and jacks should all be on the front, and the power on the back. The way they did it makes it really difficult to use them in a rack environment, because when the lights are on the opposite side of the jacks... you usually can't see the back side of a rack. You can't get back there to see, so it's just crazy."
"NETGEAR Switches could provide local technical support services."
"Centralized monitoring is there, but competitors like Cisco Prime are at a higher level of centralized monitoring."
"Support could be improved."
"The M4250 switches needs more SFP models."
"Mellanox Switches could improve by adding some features that can make it easier for integrating the switches in some managing and monitoring platforms, such as Elastic or similar software for monitoring data with the data center in a more holistic way."
"Mellanox Switches were easier before Nvidia bought Mellanox and then their new version of the operating system changed. They started with Ennui, and now they only use Linux. If they returned to their previous CLI it would be a good option for starters. The new CLI is more difficult to use but more powerful than the older one. It has its advantages."
"The configuration is a bit different from Cisco, and therefore, for me at least, there's a bit of a learning curve."
"If you compare this solution with Cisco, utilization in Cisco is more popular and it is more friendly."
"The scalability is working fine at the moment, but there's always room for improvement. As of right now, I don't know of any improvements to suggest."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price point, compared to a lot of the competitors that didn't have the modular switch, was about 20 to 30 percent less expensive."
"It's a great price-to-performance solution. I think it's singularly the best price-per-performance we can find, if not just straight performance to begin with... The cost of hardware and additional services is lower, absolutely. I wouldn't say "low," but we found it to be lower than other options, and that helps us resell this back to customers who are looking at other things like a Cisco Meraki..."
"It was an initial, single purchase for us. For the three switches, because I had the 96X and the two 48 port single gigabyte ones, then all the cards, etc. The total price on it, which may be a little on the low side, for the client was around $16,000 or $17,000."
"The pricing for what you get with the Insight product line is very fair and the value is there, including the annual licensing fees for the Insight Pro for each device... the Insight Pro level, which is their highest level, where you get a lot of features with the Insight, is a bargain. You get a lot of good features for what you're paying there annually."
"The price to performance of this solution is very good. When it comes to pricing, as far as I'm concerned, they're very comparable with Ubiquity. NETGEAR has pricing that is as good as it gets. That's why I use them."
"This is a one-time purchase and there are no licensing fees."
"It is not expensive."
"NETGEAR pricing is the best on the market by far. I was shocked when I saw what their price came out as for their subscription. It's extremely reasonable."
"There is a license to use the switch ports of Mellanox Switches."
"The pricing is very competitive. The licensing costs are fine."
"The price of Mellanox Switches is reasonable compared to other solutions. The price and quality ratio was very good. There is a one-time license purchase that is needed."
"It's an open-source solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Educational Organization
7%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
25%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

How do NETGEAR switches compare with Cisco ethernet switches?
NetGear switches have a lot to offer. They have high availability, zero-downtime stacking, L2 and L3 functionality, and are AV-over-IP ready. NetGear switches also have a command line interface and...
Which switches are better - Ubiquiti Unifi or Netgear?
Ubiquiti Unifi offers a great set of features. For starters, it is easy to configure and implement, and also doesn’t require a learning curve because it is easy to use. It is also simple to reconfi...
What do you like most about NETGEAR Switches?
Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten. I have not faced any issues with the product whatsoever.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Mellanox Switches?
The solution is affordable. I rate the product’s pricing as two out of ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive.
What needs improvement with Mellanox Switches?
The response time of the support could be faster.
What is your primary use case for Mellanox Switches?
We use the solution to lock switches, storage switches, and border gate switches.
 

Also Known As

NETGEAR Insight Managed Switches, NETGEAR GC Series, NETGEAR M Series
Mellanox Switches, Mellanox SN2700
 

Learn More

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Blaze Networks
CNPC, Korea Consumer Agency, Nutanix, Roxo Systems, StorPool, Atlantic.Net, INFN, StarWind, NYSE Technologies, Creative Consultants, ENKI
Find out what your peers are saying about NETGEAR Switches vs. NVIDIA Mellanox and other solutions. Updated: September 2024.
802,829 professionals have used our research since 2012.