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.
"A very expandable solution."
"The configuration is easy."
"I find their system throughput and Cisco support very useful."
"The solution is stable."
"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."
"They have a robust monitoring system."
"Cisco Catalyst Switches are highly reliable and stable."
"Scalable product."
"This is a very reliable solution."
"The functionality is very good."
"It's easy to set up. We can put it in production in a couple of minutes."
"The most valuable features are the jumbo frames and the stacking."
"The security is the most valuable aspect of this solution. It also has good storage and resource handling."
"We have these switches installed in an environment with hardware from many other vendors, and so far, so good."
"The most valuable feature is its ability to multitask."
"The most valuable feature is stability."
"The licensing process should be back to how it was before. Now, you have to register online, and it makes staging a bit trickier."
"Cisco Catalyst Switches should have better performance and be easier to use. Additionally, they should add artificial intelligence features."
"The price can definitely be lower."
"Facilitating and adapting the security updates would be a good improvement, because usually it requires to reboot the router to get them"
"Cisco needs to improve compatibility with other solutions and other vendors like SolarWinds. We've had problems using Catalyst with SolarWinds. Some devices can't be put on SolarWinds due to some ID Values and so on."
"First of all, there are some features that take a long time to get implemented, and other vendors have them for a long time before them. For example, it took a long time to have a way to commit change with the timer, so it gets undone if the user doesn't accept the change after it's done. Like, having to say the changes be done, and everything works fine. In the end, everything works fine, but it didn't exist. That's just an example of stuff that came late to Catalyst."
"The product could always be more secure."
"The stability must be improved."
"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."
"Because of the stackings you lose some boards and switches."
"The IOS software that is used on the switches could be improved."
"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."
"The one issue you face in the industry there is always some planned obsolescence in these switches."
"Not a ten because I have to do a lot of testing on it. The correlation is okay."
"The configuration should be improved."
"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."
Cisco Catalyst Switches is ranked 1st in LAN Switching with 166 reviews while Dell PowerConnect Switches is ranked 3rd in LAN Switching with 29 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, HPE ProCurve, Cisco Nexus, 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.