We performed a comparison between Cisco Ethernet Switches vs D-link Ethernet Switches based on our users’ reviews in five categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.
Comparison Results: Cisco Ethernet Switches has better ratings because it has better stability and technical support than D-Link Ethernet Switches. D-Link does come out on top in the pricing category, however.
"Cisco Ethernet Switches are scalable, much more than Jupiter."
"I have found the solution to have good scalability. Cisco is the pioneers on switching technology, they are very good."
"The features that I have found most valuable are the core reliability and the switching group. All the features are very generic switching features with high reliability. That is the main key point I can highlight."
"A stable product that is absolutely dependable."
"It is very scalable."
"Cisco switches are trouble-free. They are reliable, and their performance is excellent."
"The features that I have found most valuable with Cisco switches are that once you get your configuration you can rest assured that it will work. The OS is not going to be failing intermittently or anything like that. Once you get your configuration end-goal right, the firmware and the OS are usually very stable enough to work a long time without support. Support is needed once in a while. My experience is that the Cisco switches are usually rocket."
"The most valuable features of this solution are the auto-complete functionality and the end-to-end functionalities such as routing with the channel."
"Its integration is the most valuable."
"These switches are very easy to install because there is no configuration."
"The initial setup is straightforward."
"The initial setup of D-Link Ethernet Switches is very easy."
"The solution is easy to use."
"The main selling point for me was the pricing. Moreover, the performance is good. I haven't had any issues so far."
"It's plug-and-play. There is no configuration necessary."
"I can't find anything wrong with our D-Link Ethernet Switches."
"They need to offer free replacements until the end of life for devices."
"I think the price should be cheaper to be able to afford more."
"The technical support has room for improvement."
"The solution's pricing could be improved."
"Cisco Ethernet Switches could improve if they removed the command line interface and replaced it with a better GUI. It is too difficult at the moment, we always need to figure out the commands."
"The solution is expensive."
"Cisco products are expensive compared to any other solution. Now, there are many competitors that give the same level of services - such as Juniper or Aruba."
"Cisco has a lot of propriety protocols compared to other products, such as Arista Networks."
"I'd like to see a central management system included as part of their license, not as a separate purchase. Currently, we have to manage switches independently. A central portal for managing all switches and providing visibility would be great."
"I would like an option to create different networks within the switch."
"It should be more stable, and it should have good integration with the cloud. It should support configuration, supervision, and control through the cloud."
"The D-Link Ethernet Switches have to be replaced because they are difficult to manage and security is poor. They should add centralized manageability to make the solution better, it will allow administrators to better know what is happening on the network."
"The solution needs to improve layer 2 switches."
"There is room for improvement in terms of stability."
"The solution could be cheaper."
"The solution needs better local support."
Cisco Ethernet Switches is ranked 1st in Ethernet Switches with 128 reviews while D-Link Ethernet Switches is ranked 11th in Ethernet Switches with 24 reviews. Cisco Ethernet Switches is rated 8.6, while D-Link Ethernet Switches is rated 7.8. The top reviewer of Cisco Ethernet Switches writes "It's a solidly stable product from a leader in the field". On the other hand, the top reviewer of D-Link Ethernet Switches writes "Plug-and-play, zero maintenance, and reasonably priced". Cisco Ethernet Switches is most compared with Aruba Switches, Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access, Ubiquiti UniFi Switches, NETGEAR Switches and Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches, whereas D-Link Ethernet Switches is most compared with NETGEAR Switches, Aruba Switches, MikroTik Routers and Switches, Ubiquiti UniFi Switches and Cisco Linksys Ethernet Switches. See our Cisco Ethernet Switches vs. D-Link Ethernet Switches report.
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I wholeheartedly agreee with everything Luis Apodaca has said. My additional comments are as follows:
What is the size of your network, and are you using any features of the Cisco switches?
How many switches are you trying to use and what is the total price difference between the two brands?
Most of the time, people are using cheap switches as plug-n-play equipment without any configuration and without any management. If that is also your case, you may use the cheapest alternative. After all, switch is a switch. And every brand will work with same performance values. Any switch will have most of the configurable/managerial features expected by a small to mid size network project.
However, Cisco support and Cisco durability is outstanding. Cisco didn't earn its reputation without these. Ofcourse, it comes with a slight price tag.
Hard to make a recommendation with zero details about your use case. But assuming your use case originally justified Cisco Catalyst switches (implying enterprise to medium-size business) I don’t recommend changing. The Cisco solution provides a greater feature set that can be very useful in larger environments. However, if the use case is a smaller/simple network there are more cost-effective options.
D-Link would not be at the top of my list though (Aruba, Netgear, Ubiquiti to name a few). I haven’t used a D-Link device in a long time though so I really can’t speak about their current product line which is why I wasn’t going to answer you until Evgeny Belenky called me out.
Hello Mesfin,
Luis has given good directions already.
Without much details, I could say that generally, I wouldn't recommend replacing a Cisco Switch with D-Link.
Thanks.