We performed a comparison between Cisco Catalyst Switches and Dell PowerConnect Switches based on our users’ reviews in four categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.
Comparison Results: Users feel Cisco Catalyst Switches provide great stability, intuitive reliable analytics, seamless scalability, excellent PoE capabilities, and solid robust security. However, users are happier with the pricing of Dell PowerConnect Switches.
"The quality of a Cisco switch is very high. They are extremely stable."
"The solution highly scalable."
"The product is stable, and it performs well."
"The ability to configure throughput is very flexible and improved the performance of our systems."
"The product is convenient to deploy."
"If we are providing a switching solution, it's not just switching, it's a whole solution with DNA. That is where the whole concept of Network Management and Network Assurance comes in. So Catalyst plays a big role in putting everything together and providing a whole solution to the customer."
"All features are very strong. It is very easy to manage. It is also certified and popular. Cisco has come up with a new management console to manage the switches. I still haven't tried it, but in my opinion, this is the best way forward. You can use software to manage the switches instead of the common line configuration. You can manage it through software, which is very easy."
"The most valuable feature is load balancing."
"The security is the most valuable aspect of this solution. It also has good storage and resource handling."
"When the price is competitive the customers tend to choose the cheaper brand and then look at the features. So having a competitive price is a plus."
"There is high reliability since we have used them for close to twenty years and only had possibly one failure."
"Dell PowerConnect Switches are very easy to configure with the GUI. Dell supports the solution even though it has been discontinued."
"The setup is straightforward. It takes minimum time for deployment."
"We have these switches installed in an environment with hardware from many other vendors, and so far, so good."
"The solution’s technical support is good."
"The most valuable feature is stability."
"The support is not the quickest."
"This product could be improved with cheaper pricing."
"If they worked on lowering the price, they would be able to attract more customers."
"The vendor must provide mid-level switches."
"The security of the solution could be improved, it is really important to us."
"The technical support, in some cases, should be faster and could improve."
"The delivery of the product lead time should be improved."
"The solution could be easy to use, you need a certificate to use it."
"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 pricing could always be a bit lower."
"The product needs to improve in terms of reports and backups."
"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."
"The one issue you face in the industry there is always some planned obsolescence in these switches."
"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."
"Accessibility and management could be improved."
"The CLI for Dell PowerConnect Switches is sometimes confusing, especially with the LAN, but for the GUI it is simple."
Cisco Catalyst Switches is ranked 1st in LAN Switching with 170 reviews while Dell PowerConnect Switches is ranked 3rd in LAN Switching with 30 reviews. Cisco Catalyst Switches is rated 8.6, while Dell PowerConnect Switches is rated 8.0. 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 Dell PowerConnect Switches writes "Excellent support, good pricing, and easy setup". Cisco Catalyst Switches is most compared with Arista Networks Platform, Cisco Nexus, HPE ProCurve, ExtremeSwitching and Aruba Instant On Switches, whereas Dell PowerConnect Switches is most compared with Cisco Nexus, HPE ProCurve, NETGEAR Switches, Arista Networks Platform and Dell PowerSwitch N-Series. See our Cisco Catalyst Switches vs. Dell PowerConnect Switches 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.