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Senior Manager Technology at CNS Engineering
Reseller
Top 10
Easy to deploy and troubleshoot but improvement is needed for hardware and internal chips
Pros and Cons
  • "The tool's valuable features are easy to deploy and troubleshoot with available documentation. They are cost-effective and can reduce operational expenses. Huawei Ethernet Switches have built-in AI features for monitoring and analytics. These are the tool's solutions, not third-party integrations."
  • "The tool is not very robust in harsh environments. Issues with cooling and power can cause these switches to fail, which concerns customers. They work well in data centers but might be problematic in places without cooling or heat."

What is our primary use case?

Our use cases are mainly for banking, finance, and stock exchange companies. 

What is most valuable?

The tool's valuable features are easy to deploy and troubleshoot with available documentation. They are cost-effective and can reduce operational expenses. Huawei Ethernet Switches have built-in AI features for monitoring and analytics. These are the tool's solutions, not third-party integrations.

What needs improvement?

The tool is not very robust in harsh environments. Issues with cooling and power can cause these switches to fail, which concerns customers. They work well in data centers but might be problematic in places without cooling or heat. 


Huawei Ethernet Switches could improve by enhancing their hardware and internal chip. These changes are necessary because their capacity, particularly in handling ACLs, is currently lower than that of competitors like Cisco. For example, Huawei Ethernet Switches support up to 4,000 entries, whereas competitors' products can handle up to 8,000.

The product should also improve technical support on quick response and language barrier. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with the product for four to five years. 

Buyer's Guide
Huawei Ethernet Switches
November 2024
Learn what your peers think about Huawei Ethernet Switches. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: November 2024.
816,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I rate the product's stability a seven out of ten. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The platform is not scalable. 

How was the initial setup?

Huawei Ethernet Switches' deployment takes three to four hours to complete. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Huawei Ethernet Switches are cheap and cost around ten dollars. 

What other advice do I have?

Huawei Ethernet Switches require an on-premises solution because they cannot be deployed on the cloud. This makes it always a custom model. I rate it a seven out of ten. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:
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PeerSpot user
Salim Hebada - PeerSpot reviewer
Huawei IP Pre-sales Solution Manager at MC3
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
Diverse range of switches with various capabilities and use cases
Pros and Cons
  • "Huawei switches come in small, medium, and large capacities and can be used for monitoring and switching."
  • "The only thing that could be better is the security module."

What is our primary use case?

Huawei has a portfolio of switches for access, aggregation, and core layers. They offer various solutions for different use cases and meet the requirements of other projects. For example, we use Fort Knox cloud compass solution for cloud networking.

Huawei switches come in small, medium, and large capacities and can be used for monitoring and switching. They also offer alternatives like Huawei Altheirs, which provides all-in-one switching, security, and VPN routing functions for routers.

How has it helped my organization?

We have several customers, including those in high education, oil and gas, banking, insurance, and government companies, as well as some ministries. Huawei Ethernet Switches are very reliable and provide excellent performance.

What needs improvement?

Compared with other brands like Cisco, modular cards may have some security issues or vulnerabilities. The only thing that could be better is the security module.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been working with Huawei switches for a few years now. I use it for projects that include routing, security, and performance optimization features.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is a stable solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Huawei offers both cloud-based and non-cloud-based Ethernet switches with varying levels of scalability. Just like with security, you should consider scalability as well. There is a big difference in putting security for the switches, especially with the increasing number of cybersecurity threats. You should also consider a scalable security solution for future needs.

How are customer service and support?

Regarding my experience with customer service and support, technical support is essential, especially when designing and configuring switches. The level of support required may vary depending on the project manager and the scale of the project. It's worth noting that the level of interaction with the customer may differ depending on the local Huawei and the R&D team. However, it's always important to negotiate and agree on the support needed to ensure the project is successful.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is very straightforward. The setup is different depending on the situation. However, with the network management system and iMaster, it's easy to deploy and configure the switches for normal or batch configurations. I think it's a useful solution.

What about the implementation team?

The deployment process varies depending on the situation. But with the iMaster, you can easily input the necessary configurations for many switches at once.

Moreover, it depends on the customer's requirements. Do they have an existing network, or do we need to build a new one? If it's a new network, it will be easier. We can make access aggregation in the form of specs and then make it work for the customer. We need to know the MAC address to make it work. For example, network management can be different for different customers, depending on their existing network. It's not difficult, but it can be challenging for wireless.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

If you have the basic function, there's no problem. However, you must purchase a license if you require advanced features or additional functionality beyond the basic setup. It applies to all customers, not just myself, and purchasing a license is perfectly acceptable and necessary to access these additional features.

What other advice do I have?

I would advise you should make a good design, and the project will be easier.

Overall, I would rate Huawei Ethernet Switches an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Reseller
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Huawei Ethernet Switches
November 2024
Learn what your peers think about Huawei Ethernet Switches. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: November 2024.
816,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Director at Omnium Technologique (OMTEQ)
Real User
Good pricing and better performance than the competition
Pros and Cons
  • "So far, so good when it comes to stability."
  • "We would like to see additional backup solutions, since we have several degrees of backup."

What is our primary use case?

We use the solution in-house. The network we have is not a very large one and we have in the vicinity of 300 terminals. So, it is used with IP telephony. 

We also use the solution for all the classic interactions between the terminals and memories, which is how these switches are classically used. This is different than the cases that we study and we tell our clients what to do since we are an engineering consultancy. So, we work with the government building for more than 3,000 access points. This would involve hospitals with 2,000 or more access points in respect of medical energy. We are currently working on towers building and are endeavoring to move into a passive optical local area network.

The switches will be replaced by splitters. This is a completely optical device by which the switch is at the office or the room end. I foresee this as the future, in which the entire layer of switches will disappear. I don't know if you are up to speed on the current trends, but these concern passive optical local area networks in which all the intelligent switching is in the main room with the big OLTs. In this case we are splitting an optical, meaning the fiber will go to the room or even to the device, not to the office. This will depend on whether the device has an optical interface.

So, we are making strides and advising our customers, which is not easy. 

How has it helped my organization?

The solution did improve our organization. For example, we had an application, which is a building beam for building information modeling. This involved tremendous number crunching and many files involving the building engineering structure. We were suffering from latency from the network speed and had to make servers especially for this application. These servers are virtualized. Of course, the speed of the switches allowed us to have a stable installation especially for this application. We are talking about a major application, involving a software collaborative work such as Autodesk Revit. 

We are now discovering these and are at ease with this new installation. We now feel at ease when it comes to working on this.

What needs improvement?

The price should be lowered as concerns flash backup. This would enable us to get rid of all of the mechanical, hard disks, as we currently have a mixture of flash and classic hard disks. I feel that technology is progressing fast enough and I believe that in the near future, within the next 12 months, we'll be able to add all flash backup systems to our solution. As for the switches, I think they will be all right for some time to come. If the network were to  improve sufficiently, we would be able to make more use of the cloud, even as concerns the telephone. However, this is not the case at present. 

It is difficult for me to point to other areas needing improvement as we have been using the technology for a relatively short period, only around five months, and I am trying to digest what we have. My network engineers would be in a better position to address this issue. Also while our installation is not that large, we are working on huge projects. These are new to Morocco, consisting of two or three years, which is not that much. 

This said, we would like to see additional backup solutions, since we have several degrees of backup. For the moment, the final one involves magnetic tapes, which is an IBM solution. We would like to take the thread of these magnetic tapes and have Huawei help us with strategic backup. One of the reasons we backup our system is for fear of ransomware, but we are required to backup everything by the end of each day or at the close of each week. It would be nice to see other solutions which would allow this, as I am not satisfied with the current one involving the use of magnetic tape. 

I am not certain that using the cloud is a solution for the time being in Morocco. We are looking with Huawei at the possibility of using hardware. This is a point of concern. 

Moreover, we would like to see more security applications. We have network security, such as Fortinet and Fortigate, but we would like to see Huawei come out with its own solution. Maybe this already exists but, if so, it is not yet very well known. 

We are satisfied with the switches and, in our approximately six months experience, have not encountered problems. We have not had stoppages or buffer memory. What I would like to see is a complete solution in which the network security is integrated with the switching as well. This way, we could have a single source for the network and not need to rely on Fortinet and Fortigate. 

As far as wifi access is concerned, we do have a system, I believe called HP Aruba, but it is old. It would be nice to see this integrated. We are not looking to change things in the short term, but to undertake a six to ten month overhaul involving the wifi and integration of 5G and IOT into our network. 

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using Huawei Ethernet Switches for around five or six months. It's a new experience for us. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

So far, so good when it comes to stability. In the six months which have transpired since using the solution we have yet to encounter any problems. With Alcatel we encountered several problems over the same period. These were solved with internal memory of switches. With Dell we had to restart it to clean the buffers. Since we started using Huawei Ethernet Switches we have not even had occasion to call support. This is in contrast to our experience with Alcatel, although I must point out that they solved our issues rapidly. 

How are customer service and technical support?

The support is there and I did not have any problems with it. They intervene very quickly when the backup is there. They answer all questions and the online help line is efficient. It's very good. Huawei also has hundreds of engineers, including Chinese and Moroccan. So, it is well established, which is not the case with others. We have been working for many years with big telephone and communication companies and recently, about three years ago, they got involved in business applications. They have a policy, which is not in place from the beginning. They started to attack the business applications. They had the switches on the floor. I am talking about the Datacom, big structures. They then extended it with a great team. I believe they have involvement in 5G in Morocco, which will be operational by the end of the year, perhaps sooner. They are well established in this country.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

There was a need for us to upgrade our network to one gigabit and to enable fiber channel capabilities. We contemplated all the options available in Morocco, meaning Alcatel, HP, Huawei and several others, all of the ones utilizing Oracle. In the past we made use of Avaya, as we are an engineering consultancy, meaning we deal with big offices and hospitals. So, we know about these things.

We considered all the capabilities of these switches, as well as the price and performance. We came to the realization that Huawei provides much better performance for the same price, even when taking into account very aggressive commercial policies. The prices were lower by 20 or 30 percent with more powerful features. Very importantly, we were able to to take out a five-year guarantee, with a four-year extension option. We are talking only about switches, not servers. In contrast, the other solutions only offered one to two years tops. 

How was the initial setup?

The deployment took some time and I would have liked it to be faster. It took a couple of weeks or so. 

What about the implementation team?

When it came to the initial setup I had my engineers do all the work. It took us a couple of months to decide on the configuration and to choose the switches.

This said, I would have to consult with our network engineers to properly address the initial installation. It is they who provided me with three detailed reports about the solution and its capacity. 

I do know that we conducted meetings with HP, Huawei and Alcatel. While I don't know what the future of switching holds for the latter I can say that Alcatel is alright. With this company we had some installation done of high end products for a hotel. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The price is the best, 20 percent cheaper than apple to apple and with an extended warranty. 

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

You should know that we also contemplated the Cisco Suite, but found it to be excessively expensive. It is simply overpriced. Even as Cisco is very established in Morocco, big telecom companies are going the route of Huawei and Nokia. Cisco provides its own passive optical solution. We are contemplating the solutions offered by IBM, Nokia, Cisco and Huawei and our focus is on big installations campus-wise and on big hotels. We are trying to introduce the passive optical technologies, with all the advantages they offer. 

What other advice do I have?

We are dealing with all these things in our office. We now have ease when it comes to back-up. We have a very fast spotted system with hard disk storage of 36 terabytes, meaning it is a mixed hybrid which combines flash disks and classic CDs. I am talking about the interface. The old 32 terabyte flash is extremely expensive. We are a mid-sized company, not very big. So our approach is to have this hybrid flash storage system, which allows us considerable speed but with a reasonable price.

As mentioned, our solution is a hybrid. We have certain applications in the cloud, such as office 365. We have other applications, such as engineering software. We also have it in private cloud. For the time being we have a mixed solution as we cannot, at present, put everything in the cloud. In Morocco, the internet connection speed is good but it can be better, since we have huge files with which we must work interactively. 

So, sometimes we work on-site and then the file will be stored in the cloud, but all the number crunching is used in working stations on the site, not PCs.

Internally there are around 70 users making use of the solution in our organization and externally around 40 engineers and technicians who are connected to our network country-wide. We even have our mailing system in-house. We use an English-based electronic document, such as PDF, which we have in the cloud. For the moment, our solution is a hybrid between the scientific and office application. 

We are using the solution daily and it comprises our entire network, all our work. If it stops we lose money. We use it all the time. Of course, we have the standby generator and all the redundancy of static uninterruptible power supplies, since a single hour of stoppage would equal thousands of euros lost. We are very careful about that. We have one or two configured switches so we can just plug it in and continue to work. We have yet to encounter this problem. 

My advice to others who are considering implementing the solution is to negotiate aggressively. Huawei is very good at negotiating, but it is important for the consumer to know the nuts and bolts of the proposal and to derive from it the maximum. Someone with technical knowledge can get many more concessions from Huawei than one without. 

I rate Huawei Ethernet Switches as an eight out of ten, as nothing is perfect. This is because the deployment took some time and I would have liked it to be faster. 

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Khine Shein Win - PeerSpot reviewer
Infrastructure Manager at a retailer with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Top 5
Switches are easily scalable but stability issues with the switches
Pros and Cons
  • "It is cheap."
  • "Huawei has a lot of issues; it's not in sync properly. For instance, if the ONT is down, there's another problem with another ONT that is not functioning correctly. Even after configuring the siding, I cannot reach some other side, and I don't know why it's happening."

What is most valuable?

It is cheap. Another reason is that we cannot change to another product already. It's GPON, and it's not quite cheap. Something might probably change around half a million.

Generally, the core features of wireless networking equipment from Cisco, Aruba, and Ruckus are similar. All three vendors offer the ability to configure basic features such as DHCP, routing, and security.

What needs improvement?

Huawei has a lot of issues; it's not in sync properly. For instance, if the ONT is down, there's another problem with another ONT that is not functioning correctly. Even after configuring the siding, I cannot reach some other side, and I don't know why it's happening.

Another concern was with the ONT and using fiber.

For how long have I used the solution?

We recently migrated from Nokia to Huawei. After migrating, at least, there were some failures, some of which impacted operations.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

So far, not very stable.  

We've had an issue with one of the Power Trip ports not working properly.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's scalable. We can add new switches to an ORT easily. This is not the same as adding new switches to an ONT, but it is a similar process. We can use a GPON splitter to add more users to the network, which is comparable to how traditional networks are scaled.

We've been using the Nokia switches for a few years, and we have about 1000 users. We just started using the Huawei switches this year, so we don't have any data on how many users are using them yet.

How are customer service and support?

The technical support from Huawei is not very good. We've had to wait a week or a month for them to provide a solution to some of our problems. So it's quite time-consuming.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?


How was the initial setup?

For the switches, the premise set is done for maintenance.

I often draw comparisons with Cisco, where we can use the command line for the show, whereas with Huawei, it is displayed differently. However, it is essential to note that all the features supported by Cisco are also supported by Huawei.

What about the implementation team?

We have a vendor, and the project team is responsible for the deployment.

We maintain the solution, but we still have a managed service from Vendor. If we have any troubleshooting or issues related to the vendor, they handle it.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

It is a china brand. This is not a good product, but it's very cheap compared with Cisco, another Ruckus, kind of compared with Huawei, Huawei from China, the prices are very cheap.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We are using router switches as far as the server. Everything we are using.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend using HPE or Cisco switches instead. I would give them a six out of ten. They're not the worst switches I've used, but they're not the best either.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Bilal Farooq - PeerSpot reviewer
Assistant Manager at Tecknotra
Real User
Top 10
User-friendly and quick to deploy but needs better support
Pros and Cons
  • "They are very user-friendly. Handling Huawei is very easy."
  • "There are some support issues."

What is our primary use case?

I've been selling Huawei switches here in Pakistan. This is used as a switch. It can be used for firewalls and other PoE switches. 

What is most valuable?

They are very user-friendly. Handling Huawei is very easy.

It is a stable product.

The solution is scalable.

I have found the deployment process to be pretty fast.

It's an affordable product.

What needs improvement?

I'm still learning the solution. 

There are some support issues.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for five years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable. I'd rate it eight out of ten. It is reliable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution can scale. I'd rate the scalability potential 7.5 or eight out of ten. 

We have a variety of clients using the solution. Usually, they are companies in the public sector. 

How are customer service and support?

We've had issues with support in our region. They do help us with support issues and really try to get us answers. However, there can be a delay in getting a response and it isn't consistent. 

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I'm also familiar with HPE. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is pretty straightforward. I'd rate the ease of deployment 7.5 out of ten. 

Deployment can be finalized in just a few hours. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The pricing is okay. They support various partners. I'd rate the pricing ten out of ten. They are affordable. 

What other advice do I have?

I'm an authorized Huawei partner and reseller. 

The solution is good, however, sometimes, we have issues with technical support. 

I'd rate the solution seven out of ten. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Fernando Solanes - PeerSpot reviewer
Product Manager at Daxa Argentina
Real User
Top 5
Offers a range of switches from basic to high-end models and helps to upgrade network speed
Pros and Cons
  • "One scenario where Huawei Ethernet Switches improved network efficiency was last year when a customer needed switches with 10 gigabits, which are not very common in the market. Huawei provided this kind of switch, enabling the customer to upgrade their network from 1 gigabit to 10 gigabit speeds across all devices."
  • "The solution's marketing could be better. It spends money on marketing but doesn't highlight the most important features. Sometimes, it provides too much information, which can confuse customers."

What is most valuable?

One scenario where Huawei Ethernet Switches improved network efficiency was last year when a customer needed switches with 10 gigabits, which are not very common in the market. Huawei provided this kind of switch, enabling the customer to upgrade their network from 1 gigabit to 10 gigabit speeds across all devices.

The tool offers a range of switches from basic to high-end models, with different features. 

What needs improvement?

The solution's marketing could be better. It spends money on marketing but doesn't highlight the most important features. Sometimes, it provides too much information, which can confuse customers.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We considered and evaluated other switches besides Huawei Ethernet Switches. Sometimes, customers specifically ask for other brands or another partner who is already working with them. However, we know the resources in Huawei and have good communication with the brand. 

What other advice do I have?

Initially, our customers had some questions and doubts about these devices. However, now they understand their value and have told us that they are among the best on the market.

Our clients integrate the tool with other solutions. We try to sell a complete solution with all Huawei components. Integrating WLAN or access points from other brands sometimes causes issues, but these cases are exceptions.

I would recommend it. We tell our customers about the many benefits of our technology when they speak with us. I rate the overall product a ten out of ten. 

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
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PeerSpot user
Mohammed Asim - PeerSpot reviewer
Group Head of IT Infrastructure & Operations at Aldar Education
Real User
Has straightforward initial setup process and good technical support services
Pros and Cons
  • "The initial setup is straightforward."
  • "The product’s pricing needs improvement. It could be more stable as well."

What is our primary use case?

We use the product for IT infrastructure requirements.

What is most valuable?

Huawei Ethernet Switches is a stable product.

What needs improvement?

The product’s pricing needs improvement. It could be more stable as well.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using Huawei Ethernet Switches for six years. At present, we use the latest version.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The product is stable. I rate its stability an eight out of ten. It could be better.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have around more than 10,000 Huawei Ethernet Switches end users at our clients’ educational institutions.

How are customer service and support?

The technical support services are satisfactory.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward. The deployment time depends on the type of project.

What about the implementation team?

Our team manages the product implementation for our customers.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Huawei Ethernet Switches’s price could be better.

What other advice do I have?

I recommend Huawei Ethernet Switches and rate it an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Azedine ADJTOUTAH - PeerSpot reviewer
Distributor at ALGERIA BUSINESS MULTIMEDIA
Real User
Good pricing and an easy setup but needs a more accessible text report
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution is stable and the performance is good."
  • "The solution should make the text report more accessible."

What is our primary use case?

It's to connect our devices like IT comms and our end users to the the company's data center.

What is most valuable?

It's working fine. It responds to our scope and we are satisfied with the product.

It is straightforward to set up. 

The solution is stable and the performance is good. 

We can scale the solution.

It's a solid product.

We have found the pricing to be reasonable.

What needs improvement?

We would always prefer if the solution were cheaper. 

The solution should make the text report more accessible.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've used the solution for two to three years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable and reliable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is scalable. You can always scale from the current configuration to a higher one.

We have about 200 people using it right now. 

We do have plans to increase usage.

How are customer service and support?

While I have not used technical support, I have a colleague who has, and they were responsive and helpful. 

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I use Cisco as well. We do use Catalyst switches. 

How was the initial setup?

The solution offers an easy setup. It's not overly complex or difficult. It takes between 15 days to a month to deploy.

We have three to five engineers that are able to handle deployment and maintenance.

What about the implementation team?

We used an integrator to assist with the solution's implementation. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The price is quite low. It's not overly expensive. The solution offers perpetual licensing. I'd rate it 3.5 or four out of five in terms of pricing.

What other advice do I have?

We do sell the solution to clients. 

I'd recommend the solution to others. It's a very solid product, and the pricing is quite low. 

I'd rate the solution seven out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Reseller
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Huawei Ethernet Switches Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: November 2024
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Download our free Huawei Ethernet Switches Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.