We performed a comparison between Cisco Ethernet Switches vs D-link Ethernet Switches based on our users’ reviews in five categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.
Comparison Results: Cisco Ethernet Switches has better ratings because it has better stability and technical support than D-Link Ethernet Switches. D-Link does come out on top in the pricing category, however.
"Cisco Ethernet Switches are rugged, secure, and scalable. It provides smart devices and reliable switches."
"The solution is a high-end router that can handle a huge network with tons of traffic."
"The most valuable aspect of the solution is the ability to manage the switches and the ability to have a certain level of familiarity with setting up and configuring the switches."
"The command-line interface is easy to use."
"I like that it's easy to use."
"The solution offers great bandwidth and speed."
"Cisco Ethernet Switches are pretty reliable, and I have rarely seen one of them break."
"The most valuable feature is the complete functionality, but the most important thing is support."
"The main selling point for me was the pricing. Moreover, the performance is good. I haven't had any issues so far."
"The product is simple to manage."
"It is very stable and reliable."
"It is a stable solution."
"The initial setup was very easy and user-friendly."
"The initial setup of D-Link Ethernet Switches is very easy."
"D-Link has a good VPN feature and quality of service."
"The solution is easy to use."
"The interface and dashboard could look better."
"There could be an improvement in the licensing by reducing the price of the different types, such as essential, advantage, and premium."
"Switches should be made stackable, even if they are not of the same model."
"The platform's management features need improvement."
"You have to be Cisco-certified to work on Cisco products, so we can't get into Cisco to do even basic configurations."
"The cost is very prohibitive both for us as well as other organizations. It's very expensive to buy Cisco switches. Among our colleagues, we find that we're not alone in thinking it's too high. Everyone's complaining about this."
"I haven't heard from my engineers that they said it's excellent."
"The management of the solution could improve."
"They could be more stable. They were not as resistant as Cisco. After some time, some of them failed. This could be because we import quite a lot of products from different horizons, so there is no guarantee of quality. In Africa, these products don't always directly come from the manufacturer. We get these products from the Middle East or Asia. Therefore, you cannot be sure that the quality is exactly similar to what you have in Europe or America."
"Its security features need improvement."
"We have issues with the stability."
"They need to enhance stability."
"They need to have some more high-end switches."
"The solution needs better local support."
"There is room for improvement in terms of stability."
"The solution's web filtering feature could be improved."
Cisco Ethernet Switches is ranked 1st in Ethernet Switches with 128 reviews while D-Link Ethernet Switches is ranked 12th in Ethernet Switches with 24 reviews. Cisco Ethernet Switches is rated 8.6, while D-Link Ethernet Switches is rated 7.8. The top reviewer of Cisco Ethernet Switches writes "It's a solidly stable product from a leader in the field". On the other hand, the top reviewer of D-Link Ethernet Switches writes "Plug-and-play, zero maintenance, and reasonably priced". Cisco Ethernet Switches is most compared with Aruba Switches, Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access, Ubiquiti UniFi Switches, NETGEAR Switches and Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches, whereas D-Link Ethernet Switches is most compared with NETGEAR Switches, Aruba Switches, MikroTik Routers and Switches, Ubiquiti UniFi Switches and Cisco Linksys Ethernet Switches. See our Cisco Ethernet Switches vs. D-Link Ethernet Switches report.
See our list of best Ethernet Switches vendors.
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I wholeheartedly agreee with everything Luis Apodaca has said. My additional comments are as follows:
What is the size of your network, and are you using any features of the Cisco switches?
How many switches are you trying to use and what is the total price difference between the two brands?
Most of the time, people are using cheap switches as plug-n-play equipment without any configuration and without any management. If that is also your case, you may use the cheapest alternative. After all, switch is a switch. And every brand will work with same performance values. Any switch will have most of the configurable/managerial features expected by a small to mid size network project.
However, Cisco support and Cisco durability is outstanding. Cisco didn't earn its reputation without these. Ofcourse, it comes with a slight price tag.
Hard to make a recommendation with zero details about your use case. But assuming your use case originally justified Cisco Catalyst switches (implying enterprise to medium-size business) I don’t recommend changing. The Cisco solution provides a greater feature set that can be very useful in larger environments. However, if the use case is a smaller/simple network there are more cost-effective options.
D-Link would not be at the top of my list though (Aruba, Netgear, Ubiquiti to name a few). I haven’t used a D-Link device in a long time though so I really can’t speak about their current product line which is why I wasn’t going to answer you until Evgeny Belenky called me out.
Hello Mesfin,
Luis has given good directions already.
Without much details, I could say that generally, I wouldn't recommend replacing a Cisco Switch with D-Link.
Thanks.