We compared Cisco Catalyst Switches and Cisco Nexus based on our user's reviews in several parameters.
Overall, the user reviews highlight that Cisco Catalyst Switches are valued for their stability, performance, scalability, ease of use, and flexibility, with emphasis on excellent customer support and significant ROI. On the other hand, Cisco Nexus is praised for its ease of use, scalability, redundancy capabilities, and technical support, with attention to its reliability and suitability for data center management. The key differences between the two products lie in their target markets, feature sets, and user experiences.
Features: The valuable features of Cisco Catalyst Switches include flexibility, ease of use, stability, performance, scalability, easy configuration, interconnectivity of devices, streaming audio and video management, and robust security features. On the other hand, Cisco Nexus is praised for its stability, user-friendly GUI, scalability, helpful technical support, and features like VDC and VPC that enhance flexibility and redundancy capabilities. It is especially suitable for data center management. ISSU feature allows for changes and testing before implementing them in the production environment.
Pricing and ROI: Cisco Catalyst Switches are known for their reasonable and competitive pricing in the market. The setup cost is straightforward and easy to integrate into existing networks. The licensing process is hassle-free and flexible. On the other hand, Cisco Nexus also offers competitive pricing, with a straightforward and hassle-free setup cost. Users appreciate the flexibility of licensing options provided by Cisco Nexus., Cisco Catalyst Switches offer a significant ROI with improved network performance, reliability, security features, and scalability. Users appreciate the ease of installation and management, leading to increased efficiency and cost savings. On the other hand, Cisco Nexus also provides a highly positive ROI with increased network performance, enhanced security measures, improved scalability, and simplified management. It offers cost savings through reduced downtime, improved productivity, and streamlined operations. Users praise its reliability, ease of implementation, and comprehensive feature set.
Room for Improvement: Cisco Catalyst Switches could benefit from enhanced firmware stability, better compatibility with third-party software and devices, improved user interface, faster response times, and enhanced troubleshooting capabilities. In contrast, Cisco Nexus could be improved in terms of reliability, performance speed, configuration simplicity, and compatibility limitations.
Deployment and customer support: The reviews for Cisco Catalyst Switches mention that deployment can take either three months or just a week, with some users using "deployment" and "setup" interchangeably. On the other hand, Cisco Nexus reviews indicate varying durations, with some users spending three months on deployment and an additional week on setup, while others only need a week for both., The customer service for Cisco Catalyst Switches has been praised for its prompt, reliable, and effective support. Users value the helpfulness and knowledge of the support staff. On the other hand, the customer service for Cisco Nexus is also highly regarded for its prompt, knowledgeable, and efficient support. Users appreciate the helpful and attentive support representatives and the availability of comprehensive documentation and online resources to assist them. Overall, users are satisfied with the assistance and support provided by Cisco Nexus.
The summary above is based on 87 interviews we conducted recently with Cisco Catalyst Switches and Cisco Nexus users. To access the review's full transcripts, download our report.
"Cisco Catalyst Switches are the best overall."
"I have not opened up a ticket for Cisco Catalyst Switches. However, I have used the support from Cisco and they are very good and responsive."
"Its implementation is quite simple as there's good documentation you can reference."
"It is a stable and good product. It is also easy to install."
"The platform significantly improved our organization by addressing latency issues in our network."
"A good feature of Cisco Catalyst is that it records crash log files which can be used to literally identify the cause of a crash because there is a lot of information. And Cisco Catalyst supports the use of external flash disks for storing of images and file systems."
"The solution is already at the cutting edge in terms of innovation."
"I highly appreciate the durability and the availability"
"The most valuable feature of the 7700 series is probably the multi-context subset VRS, which lets you use multi-VRS, multi-context, and also VPC setup, where you have two logical devices that are still separate in terms of management planes, but have shared, virtual core channels."
"Its easy management is most valuable. It is easy to use, easy to manage, stable, and very reliable."
"Tech support is good."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is its reliability."
"It gives me an unparalleled ability to build out my environment differently than I would have if I was going with another vendor."
"It speeds up the network data transfer time."
"Current flexibility and the opportunities for future planning and scaling make this product line an ultimate opportunity."
"The redundancy and the vPC are the most valuable features. We can integrate two switches together for file transfers; that is, we can operate two switches as one. This is because the network can be shared via a vPC trunk, particularly for devices that are not critical for redundancy."
"The product could always be more secure."
"In terms of additional features or improvements, I would like to see more fiber ports, more security features, and perhaps the integration of wireless features into the switch."
"The initial setup can be easier in cases where the policy and ruleset are complex."
"The product's high price is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"The current catalyst is probably outdated so we will most likely move to the newer version of the solution soon."
"We would like the solution to be more stable."
"The product must provide a better central tool for management."
"The solution was stable 10 years ago, there is room for improvement in this area."
"If I call during a high volume, I might get someone that just doesn't know as much or it takes a little bit of time and they put us on hold more. Otherwise, it's good."
"With some of the products we had before, we had a little more downtime than we would like."
"The price could be better."
"Nexus switches should be able to support network function virtualization (NFV)."
"The initial setup was somewhat complex."
"Standardization across iOS and Nexus operating systems would be an improvement."
"The installation process lasted too long, taking 16 to 24 hours for full completion."
"The additional features I would like to see included in the next release is the ability to integrate routing and switching features."
Cisco Catalyst Switches is ranked 1st in LAN Switching with 171 reviews while Cisco Nexus is ranked 6th in LAN Switching with 101 reviews. Cisco Catalyst Switches is rated 8.6, while Cisco Nexus is rated 8.4. The top reviewer of Cisco Catalyst Switches writes "Reliable and stable catalyst switch; can be easily installed". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Cisco Nexus writes " Offer high performance capabilities and enables efficient data transmission and processing". Cisco Catalyst Switches is most compared with Arista Networks Platform, Dell PowerConnect Switches, HPE ProCurve, ExtremeSwitching and Aruba Instant On Switches, whereas Cisco Nexus is most compared with Juniper QFX Series Switches, Arista Networks Platform, Dell PowerConnect Switches, VMware NSX and ExtremeSwitching. See our Cisco Catalyst Switches vs. Cisco Nexus report.
See our list of best LAN Switching vendors and best Data Center Networking vendors.
We monitor all LAN Switching reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.