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.
"We have to use the QoS (CBWFQ) function... and it is easy to use."
"We use a lot of security features available with Cisco Catalyst Switches."
"Catalyst switches are highly reliable. They have a good product life, they are balanced overall compared to others."
"Their technical support is good, one of the best in the industry."
"I have found that the protocols that Cisco Catalyst Switches support are beneficial for my customers."
"These switches are very stable. We haven't had any problems. We also have some old switches that are working for almost ten years."
"The solution is stable."
"The solution is very stable."
"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 technology is good and the interface is simple. We haven't had any bugs, disconnections or delays."
"Dell offers very good support."
"Its throughout and compatibility are the most valuable."
"The solution’s technical support is good."
"The most valuable feature of Dell PowerConnect Switches for me is the throughput. I also like that the product has more compatibility with Dell infrastructure, especially with EMC and new generation Dell servers. Dell PowerConnect Switches can also easily integrate with Dell servers, and this is another pro."
"The features I've found most valuable are that the product is very easy to configure and inexpensive."
"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."
"The solution is expensive."
"Cisco can definitely improve the training part. They can provide more training related to configuration."
"The general price of the solution could be cheaper."
"The solution could improve by allowing administrators to create scripts to help automate processes to make tasks easier."
"Scaling can be quite costly."
"The management of Cisco Catalyst Switches could be improved."
"The addition of more security and privilege levels to Cisco Catalyst Switches is required as it is one of the areas with certain shortcomings."
"Not a ten because I have to do a lot of testing on it. The correlation is okay."
"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."
"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."
"It would be great to have modules that integrate with SDN solutions such as Cisco ACI, Arista SDN, Huawei Agile, and IBM."
"The configuration should 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."
"The network features are not good."
"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 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.