PeerSpot user
Technical & Pre-Sales Manager at GateLock
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
Good technical support for our LAN and routing solution
Pros and Cons
  • "The technical support is good and they respond quickly. I haven't had any problems."
  • "This may be something that they are already working on, but it would be an improvement if they could add a layer of security to layer two and layer three to protect the server and to protect the data."

What is our primary use case?

The primary use case is for LAN networking.

This solution is also used for internet routing in small businesses.

The deployment model we used was on-premises.

What needs improvement?

Lower the pricing to compete with Aruba and HPE.

If they could provide a management solution for all systems then it would be an improvement. They have a product, but it's a license, and I have to pay for it. 

It is difficult to manage one hundred switches in many areas, without having a managing board.

I would like a management product to manage both the small business and the Catalyst.

In my business, I have all of these products and I have to configure them one by one, so the troubleshooting and the monitoring of each can be challenging.

Also with a managing board, it would improve the scalability as it would be easier to handle the traffic and monitoring several users.

This may be something that they are already working on, but it would be an improvement if they could add a layer of security to layer two and layer three to protect the server and to protect the data.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for nine years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

This solution is stable.

Buyer's Guide
Cisco Ethernet Switches
May 2024
Learn what your peers think about Cisco Ethernet Switches. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: May 2024.
770,141 professionals have used our research since 2012.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

This solution is scalable. If I want to add switches to the existing one, I can easily do it. 

How are customer service and support?

The technical support is good and they respond quickly. I haven't had any problems.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is not difficult, it's easy.

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

The pricing is reasonable, and for small business it is acceptable.

Aruba and HPE are competitors that have a lower price than Cisco.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate this solution a nine out ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
ERICK KAGWEZA - PeerSpot reviewer
Network and Collaboration Engineer at SoftNet Technologies Limited
Real User
Top 20
Easy to deploy, stable, and scalable
Pros and Cons
  • "Remote access is a valuable feature."
  • "Currently, we have to wait up to eight months for a switch."

What is our primary use case?

We use the Cisco 9200 and 2960 Ethernet Switches to connect our devices to the network.

What is most valuable?

Remote access is a valuable feature.

What needs improvement?

Cisco can improve its supply chain. Currently, we have to wait up to eight months for a switch.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for four years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable. We have 1,000 people using the solution.

How are customer service and support?

The technical support is quick to respond.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward and easy to deploy.

What other advice do I have?

I give the solution a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Cisco Ethernet Switches
May 2024
Learn what your peers think about Cisco Ethernet Switches. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: May 2024.
770,141 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Network Analyst at a manufacturing company with 11-50 employees
Real User
Top 5
Reliable and easy to set up with great support
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution is basically issue-free."
  • "The user interface could be improved."

What is most valuable?

The solution is basically issue-free. They are constantly upgrading their technology.

It's an easy solution to set up. 

Technical support is helpful and responsive. 

It's a stable product. 

What needs improvement?

The user interface could be improved. 

The licensing is too expensive. It's one of the main reasons customers leave Cisco. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been working with Cisco products for more than ten years. I've used the product for a very long time. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability has been very good. It's quite reliable. There are no bugs or glitches and it doesn't crash or freeze. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's a scalable product. If a company needs to expand it, it can do so. It's no problem. 

We've used it in a large company and had no issues. 

How are customer service and support?

Technical support is the best. Compared to other solutions, like Aruba, Cisco is top-notch. 

Typically, the agents are good and helpful. Sometimes we may run into issues, however, 90% of the time, they are great. 

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

The solution is easy to implement. The process is not overly complex. Technically speaking, it's pretty simple. 

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

The solution is not cheap. Cisco is quite pricey.

What other advice do I have?

We're customers and end-users. 

I'd advise users to try out the product. I've been happy with its capabilities. 

I would rate the solution nine out of ten. 

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Responsable Infrastructures, Réseaux & Télécoms at a university with 201-500 employees
Real User
Customizable interface with good good throughput and the ability to expand
Pros and Cons
  • "Technical support has always been helpful."
  • "We'd like the pricing to be lowered."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the solution in the access layer for connecting EP-phone, PC, and access points. We use Cisco, like 3850, for the aggregation layer, and we use 6500 catalyst switches for the core layer.

What is most valuable?

They have very good throughput and backup for their energy. We find, stock-wise and energy-wise, it's easy to use with the CLA command.  

I can create a lot of interfaces, or SDI interfaces for VLAN and SNMP. I can show it with my SNMP platform. I can gain much access to them. They are really, really, good switches.

The solution is stable.

The scalability has been great.

We find the setup process to be simple. 

Technical support has always been helpful.

What needs improvement?

Stock-wise, the solution can improve.

The patching and updating could be better.

We'd like the pricing to be lowered. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is quite good. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability of the product is great, If a company needs to expand, it can. There is a lot of stacking and cascading that can happen.

How are customer service and support?

Technical support from Cisco has been great. They are helpful and responsive. 

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

We primarily use Cisco in our company.

How was the initial setup?

It's a very easy to deploy product. It's just a question of buying the cable for stacking and getting it done.

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

The pricing of the solution is pretty high.

Compared with other switches, such as Huawei or HPE, it's very, very expensive. ON top of that, the campus network, it's not an area that has a high budget. We have to have work towards minimizing this price.

What other advice do I have?

I'd rate the solution at a nine out of ten.

I would recommend the solution to other users and companies. It's great for small to large enterprises. Just the number of ports that we can create makes a difference. We can use a lot of switches with 48 ports. In the smaller cases, we can still use 12 ports. 

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: partner
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
Senior Presale Manager at a tech services company with self employed
Real User
Supremely reliable but would benefit from bulk fixing and patching.
Pros and Cons
  • "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."
  • "In terms of what could be improved, there is the bulk issue that is sometimes experienced with Cisco products we've used."

What is most valuable?

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 stable enough to work a long time without support. Support is only needed once in a while. My experience is that the Cisco switches are usually rocket.

What needs improvement?

In terms of what could be improved, there is the bulk issue that is sometimes experienced with the Cisco products we've used. I don't know how it could be possible to be done, but it would be very good if there was an automated patching system. It would be a very big and difficult one, because some of these routers or switches or products are not even within an internet environment. This is especially limited with the switches. Routers can be connected to the internet and switches might not even have internet access and might just be for the local area network. If it has an internet connection, that would be great and if it has an automated parking code inside of the POE this would help them to patch without the user's input.

In the next release, I would like to see bulk fixing. That is basically what I do now. If we could have an automated patch for Cisco to just be standard for patching switches or routers or firewalls by default without the input of anyone adjusting, that would be great.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Cisco Ethernet Switches since 2009, so probably for 13 years now.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

In terms of scalability, normally you have a 24 port switch or a 48 port switch, which are fixed to scalability. So you can't really go beyond what has been provided. If it's a 24 switch, it's 24 users, if it's 48 it's 48, except if you're using the switch as an extender for a wireless device. That is a different conversation, but if you're using it in a LAN environment and for a connected, wired connection, then you can't scale.

But you can connect multiple switches to themselves and stack them and make it one switch depending on your design.

How was the initial setup?

The setup is pretty easy. It's usually easy to configure, especially when you are using it for basic switching. It is usually easy to configure the VLAN, the PTPs and all of that.  The major work lies with your architecture and your design and how you want to use the solution, because once you get the architecture right, then your configurations and all will be very simple. But if you don't, you might have to do a lot of work when it comes to configuring.

A lot depends on how you configure it from the beginning. It's going to influence how it's going to work the rest of the time.

What other advice do I have?

When it comes to switches and routers, I will always prefer Cisco over any other.

On a scale of one to ten, I'll give Cisco Ethernet Switches a seven because switch-wise, I think Juniper switches are also very good in performance. Especially the high end switches.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Imtiyaj Jamadar - PeerSpot reviewer
Information Technology Executive at Akums Drugs & Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
Real User
Responsive support, stable, and scalable
Pros and Cons
  • "Cisco Ethernet Switches are stable."
  • "The management of the solution could improve."

What is our primary use case?

We have a local network and we have four Cisco Ethernet Switches that have 48 ports.

What needs improvement?

The management of the solution could improve.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Cisco Ethernet Switches are stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable.

How are customer service and support?

Cisco technical support is good. We have a better experience because we have local support when we have some technical problems. The team support is very good.

How was the initial setup?

The setup of the solution is easy.

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

The price of Cisco Ethernet Switches here in India is too high. There are other cheaper solutions available.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Our management has decided we should look into other solutions, and we are currently evaluating Juniper switches. We are checking the performance of the solution.

What other advice do I have?

Cisco products are good, but nowadays technology is changing, some other products are available in the market. We are checking some different products available. I'll see how the performance is and how it works on the network.

I rate Cisco Ethernet Switches a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
sTAM at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Reliable with good customer support and global distribution
Pros and Cons
  • "The product offers very good customer support. It's likely the best in the industry."
  • "The solution really should offer better pricing. It would help them stay competitive."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the solution in our data center or campus connectivity. We're using bridges to connect end-user devices and terminals.

What is most valuable?

The solution comes from a solid company that always offers good quality products. It's a real market leader in this area and can provide end-to-end solutions.  

The initial setup is straightforward. It's not too hard.

The product offers very good customer support. It's likely the best in the industry.

There is very good distribution around the globe. 

The products are very reliable.

A single switch is very easy to manage.

What needs improvement?

Cisco doesn't do everything 100% perfect. There are competitors that have developed simpler and cheaper options, for example. The solution really should offer better pricing. It would help them stay competitive.

The product is a bit difficult to manage as there's a different management system now.

The network management system could be improved. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've worked with the solution for 25 years now. I've used it for decades. I have a wealth of experience with this product.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is quite stable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's reliable. The performance is good.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The product scales quite well. It works for any size organization. A company can also expand it out if they need to.

We have around 2,500 customers and half of them use Cisco.

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support is excellent. It's the best in the industry.

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

As an implementor, I've worked with a variety of solutions, including Aruba, Mellanox, Juniper, Ruckus, and more. I've worked with most of the vendors in the industry.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is not overly complex. It's pretty straightforward. 

The deployment depends. It can take from a couple of minutes to a couple of months. It depends on the project and it depends on the size of the network.

How many people you need for the deployment depends on the size of the job. Some companies have their own on-site engineers.

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

The solution does not come cheap. It's quite pricey.

You do need a license in order to use the solution.

What other advice do I have?

I work with the latest version of the solution. I'm an implementor and my company is a Cisco Gold partner.

I would recommend the solution to others. I would rate the solution at an eight 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: Integrator
PeerSpot user
Student at a educational organization with 201-500 employees
Real User
Top 5
Stable and scalable
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature is that we create a network as a villain."
  • "The technical support has room for improvement."

What is our primary use case?

We use Cisco Ethernet Switches in our data center.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature is that we create a network as a villain. For some time, we use a port channel and sometimes, the Spanning Tree Protocol for requests. We search for the user's Cisco Internet switches for small packets.

What needs improvement?

The technical support has room for improvement.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for six years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The Cisco Ethernet Switches are very stable and a leader in the market.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable and we have the ability to upgrade our appliances without impacting our services.

How are customer service and support?

The Cisco technical support is good but when compared to other products such as McAfee and Palo Alto they have room for improvement.

How was the initial setup?

For Cisco Catalyst switches, the initial setup was usually automated for large-scale deployments such as Azure, which worked well. However, for newer technologies such as Cisco ACI, the initial setup can be challenging. Once the primary phase is completed, however, the efficiency of the operation requires less support.

What other advice do I have?

I give the solution an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Cisco Ethernet Switches Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: May 2024
Product Categories
Ethernet Switches
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Cisco Ethernet Switches Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.