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 their work on the new system. Although Dell PowerConnect switches support many industry standards, vendor-specific proprietary commands still differ between OEMs like Cisco, HP, and IBM. It is designed to accommodate industry standards and ensure vendor compatibility. This approach would create a more seamless transition for users, allowing them to use familiar commands across different devices. Intellectual property issues or policies might restrict this kind of implementation, but offering the ability to use proprietary commands from various vendors on a single device would provide a competitive edge and a better overall solution for users.
The solution could provide more integration to focus on targeting the network as a whole rather than a unified environment. It is meant for a built environment, so integration with other third-party vendors will likely be necessary.
From an improvement perspective, I would like Dell to offer more core products to users since Dell doesn't offer a wide range of products. I want the product to be more compatible with Cisco. It would be great if users could have more products for their core business.
Learn what your peers think about Dell PowerConnect Switches [EOL]. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2024.
The switches are generic. There are no significant differences between the product and competitors. The commands may be different, but functionalities are the same. But, as Cisco dominates the network, Cisco-centric things might need to be present in Dell products. One area that needs improvement is their routing protocol approach or command, which gets a little complex.
Dell is sometimes slow to provide updates to firmware. In the future, I would like PowerConnect Switches to be more secure and more manageable in web-based environments.
What's lacking in Dell PowerConnect Switches is SD-WAN integration, and this is what needs to be improved in it. All enterprises now move towards SD-WAN infrastructure, and because Dell PowerConnect Switches don't currently support SD-WAN, the product would be replaced, considered a secondary switch, or linked up to a different switch. Integration or support for SD-WAN is what I'd like to see in the next version of Dell PowerConnect Switches.
I expect it to be a zero-touch or a plug-and-play device. To some extent, it is, but we need to know the architecture, and we need to know what exactly we are doing. It is not so easy to implement. It depends on what exactly we are doing and it is still not a plug-and-play or zero-touch device. In the upcoming version, they can make it zero-touch, where we can just power it on and start using it. They can have some templates for different scenarios, such as when you are using it for the data center or adding it to your existing infrastructure.
System Administrator at a media company with 51-200 employees
Real User
2021-12-22T17:38:00Z
Dec 22, 2021
An area for improvement would be that it's very hard to configure if you're not familiar with the UI or CLI of the product. The UI itself could also be improved.
A big issue with this product is that when our customer migrated the data center, one cluster blocked the whole network and because we had a new approach, some commands were not compatible with the new version.
Their hardware is not reliable, it's faulty. After three years of use, something goes wrong with the switches and they need replacing. It's prone to be faulty. We expect it when we deploy them out of the box. We expect that this will be corrected and they will be more reliable in the near future. Our hope is that it would be close to the stability of Cisco and Nortel.
Director of operations and projects at SERTEI Soluciones Informáticas
Real User
2020-12-10T11:32:33Z
Dec 10, 2020
There should be more port options in this switch. Currently, it has 24 or 48 ports. However, some of our customers require only 8 ports, but I have to put a switch with 24 ports. They should provide smaller solutions and complimentary access point for companies like ours with a low quantity of work. The main issue with this product is branding. They should improve their branding and promote their brand more in Mexico. Customers are more aware of brands like Cisco as compared to Dell.
IT Manager at a real estate/law firm with 1-10 employees
Real User
2020-06-03T06:54:50Z
Jun 3, 2020
I think accessibility and management could be improved. It would be helpful if it could be configured on a tablet or mobile. It would be great if at some point they came up with some web-based GUI app that allows you to easily manage and configure your switches.
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. For example, if I type in a Cisco keyword then it should highlight the differences and display what steps or similar commands are required.
Network Infrastructure Administrator at PCC Intermodal
Real User
2020-03-09T08:07:59Z
Mar 9, 2020
We've only been using the solution for half a year. We haven't run into any issues, but maybe over time, that may change. It's too soon to tell. Offhand, there aren't any features that are lacking.
Technical Consultant at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Consultant
2020-01-12T12:02:00Z
Jan 12, 2020
It would be helpful if there were an option to use the device as either a switch or a pass-through for the traffic from inside to outside. This would mean that we would not have to replace hardware in some cases. I think that the IBM switches have this feature. It would be great to have modules that integrate with SDN solutions such as Cisco ACI, Arista SDN, Huawei Agile, and IBM.
System Administrator at a media company with 51-200 employees
Real User
2020-01-12T07:22:00Z
Jan 12, 2020
A possible way the product could be improved would be to allow integration between other brands like HP or Cisco. It would be great if you could use the interface with more than one brand. Compatibility would be a good feature but it's unlikely to happen. Stacking and fiber cords would be good additional features in the next release. Because of the stackings, you lose some boards and the two switches. If they made a core cable that would be better.
IT Engineer at a financial services firm with 11-50 employees
Real User
2019-10-31T09:55:00Z
Oct 31, 2019
We have had some problems with the firmware. More stable firmware releases would be an improvement because we have had them randomly power on and off. These switches should be better tested before a firmware update is released. Technical support for this solution should be improved.
Network Administrator at a engineering company with 201-500 employees
Real User
2019-10-30T06:14:00Z
Oct 30, 2019
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.
I have no idea, as they have always worked rock solid for me. Some firmware have a hard Telnet/SSH/web timeout that is really short. That's sometimes annoying.
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.
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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 their work on the new system. Although Dell PowerConnect switches support many industry standards, vendor-specific proprietary commands still differ between OEMs like Cisco, HP, and IBM. It is designed to accommodate industry standards and ensure vendor compatibility. This approach would create a more seamless transition for users, allowing them to use familiar commands across different devices. Intellectual property issues or policies might restrict this kind of implementation, but offering the ability to use proprietary commands from various vendors on a single device would provide a competitive edge and a better overall solution for users.
The solution could provide more integration to focus on targeting the network as a whole rather than a unified environment. It is meant for a built environment, so integration with other third-party vendors will likely be necessary.
The IOS software that is used on the switches could be improved. The solution is a little cumbersome to configure and get them up in the environment.
From an improvement perspective, I would like Dell to offer more core products to users since Dell doesn't offer a wide range of products. I want the product to be more compatible with Cisco. It would be great if users could have more products for their core business.
The network features are not good.
The product needs to improve in terms of reports and backups.
I do not need any features added. I have no notes for improvement. The pricing could always be a bit lower.
The switches are generic. There are no significant differences between the product and competitors. The commands may be different, but functionalities are the same. But, as Cisco dominates the network, Cisco-centric things might need to be present in Dell products. One area that needs improvement is their routing protocol approach or command, which gets a little complex.
The one issue you face in the industry there is always some planned obsolescence in these switches.
Dell is sometimes slow to provide updates to firmware. In the future, I would like PowerConnect Switches to be more secure and more manageable in web-based environments.
What's lacking in Dell PowerConnect Switches is SD-WAN integration, and this is what needs to be improved in it. All enterprises now move towards SD-WAN infrastructure, and because Dell PowerConnect Switches don't currently support SD-WAN, the product would be replaced, considered a secondary switch, or linked up to a different switch. Integration or support for SD-WAN is what I'd like to see in the next version of Dell PowerConnect Switches.
I expect it to be a zero-touch or a plug-and-play device. To some extent, it is, but we need to know the architecture, and we need to know what exactly we are doing. It is not so easy to implement. It depends on what exactly we are doing and it is still not a plug-and-play or zero-touch device. In the upcoming version, they can make it zero-touch, where we can just power it on and start using it. They can have some templates for different scenarios, such as when you are using it for the data center or adding it to your existing infrastructure.
It has everything we need. I can't think of what we would want in the next release.
The CLI for Dell PowerConnect Switches is sometimes confusing, especially with the LAN, but for the GUI it is simple.
An area for improvement would be that it's very hard to configure if you're not familiar with the UI or CLI of the product. The UI itself could also be improved.
A big issue with this product is that when our customer migrated the data center, one cluster blocked the whole network and because we had a new approach, some commands were not compatible with the new version.
Their hardware is not reliable, it's faulty. After three years of use, something goes wrong with the switches and they need replacing. It's prone to be faulty. We expect it when we deploy them out of the box. We expect that this will be corrected and they will be more reliable in the near future. Our hope is that it would be close to the stability of Cisco and Nortel.
There should be more port options in this switch. Currently, it has 24 or 48 ports. However, some of our customers require only 8 ports, but I have to put a switch with 24 ports. They should provide smaller solutions and complimentary access point for companies like ours with a low quantity of work. The main issue with this product is branding. They should improve their branding and promote their brand more in Mexico. Customers are more aware of brands like Cisco as compared to Dell.
The configuration should be improved. For example, the configuration on a Cisco switch is more logical than it is with Dell.
I think accessibility and management could be improved. It would be helpful if it could be configured on a tablet or mobile. It would be great if at some point they came up with some web-based GUI app that allows you to easily manage and configure your switches.
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. For example, if I type in a Cisco keyword then it should highlight the differences and display what steps or similar commands are required.
We've only been using the solution for half a year. We haven't run into any issues, but maybe over time, that may change. It's too soon to tell. Offhand, there aren't any features that are lacking.
I would like to see better scalability and more features on these switches in the future.
It would be helpful if there were an option to use the device as either a switch or a pass-through for the traffic from inside to outside. This would mean that we would not have to replace hardware in some cases. I think that the IBM switches have this feature. It would be great to have modules that integrate with SDN solutions such as Cisco ACI, Arista SDN, Huawei Agile, and IBM.
A possible way the product could be improved would be to allow integration between other brands like HP or Cisco. It would be great if you could use the interface with more than one brand. Compatibility would be a good feature but it's unlikely to happen. Stacking and fiber cords would be good additional features in the next release. Because of the stackings, you lose some boards and the two switches. If they made a core cable that would be better.
We have had some problems with the firmware. More stable firmware releases would be an improvement because we have had them randomly power on and off. These switches should be better tested before a firmware update is released. Technical support for this solution should 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.
I have no idea, as they have always worked rock solid for me. Some firmware have a hard Telnet/SSH/web timeout that is really short. That's sometimes annoying.