Cisco Ethernet Switches vs HPE Ethernet Switches comparison

Cancel
You must select at least 2 products to compare!
Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Cisco Ethernet Switches and HPE Ethernet Switches based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Ethernet Switches solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.
To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Ethernet Switches vs. HPE Ethernet Switches Report (Updated: March 2024).
765,234 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Q&A Highlights
Question: Why does Cisco dominate the ethernet switching market?
Answer: We have used Zyxel and Netgear, Frankly the stability of Cisco, the scalability and ease of integration with other Vendors e.g VMware along with the training available make them far superior.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"The solution is easy to use.""The solution's valuable features are the speed of network transfer, it can transfer four to six gigabits per second.""You get good support for Cisco Ethernet Switches versus other products in the market.""As I am Cisco certified, I like the way that I can program them.""A stable product that is absolutely dependable.""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.""Its performance and reliability are valuable.""The technical support is good and they respond quickly. I haven't had any problems."

More Cisco Ethernet Switches Pros →

"The simplicity of the commands is most valuable. The commands are the same for several devices.""The graphical userface is very good and quite easy to run with.""We found the installation process to be simple.""A very robust solution.""The most valuable feature in HPE Ethernet Switches is programmability and analytics.""You can scale the product as needed.""The most valuable feature is that they all have PoE. It's one of the most important things that we need in the EdgeSwitch.""The initial setup of this solution is easy."

More HPE Ethernet Switches Pros →

Cons
"You do have to buy into the Cisco architecture to be able to use them.""The user interface could be improved.""We'd like the pricing to be lowered.""From a system integrator's perspective, Cisco must train system integrators, partners, and customers about their services.""Cisco Ethernet Switches is a very expensive solution.""Their firmware could be better secured against vulnerabilities or other exploits. Also, only selected catalyst switches are allowed to onboard to Cisco SD Access technology.""They need to offer free replacements until the end of life for devices.""Cisco has a licensing procedure that is very complicated and it changes every six months."

More Cisco Ethernet Switches Cons →

". There is room for improvement in pricing. One box shouldn't require additional installations. We need a package deal with licenses that are usable for different tasks. Right now, we need a license for every additional feature, which adds up.""They should continue to work on new features.""The VLAN tagging could be improved,""Technical support needs improvement, as the response time could be better.""If there is any fluctuation in power then we will face an outage with our POE switches, so this is something that should be improved.""I would like to see the initial setup become easier.""They should have more control tools for controlling the bandwidth.""The installation can be quite complex. However, that may not be the fault of HP and is rather more related to the way our infrastructure is arranged."

More HPE Ethernet Switches Cons →

Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "Not inexpensive. Price will vary widely depending on the chosen product and size of the deployment."
  • "Pricing for this product is high but the cost is worth it if you can afford it."
  • "The pricing is reasonable, and for small business it is acceptable."
  • "The price of this solution is good."
  • "This is an expensive solution, but you are paying for stability."
  • "The last time I bought a 24-port switch, which was a while ago, I paid about five or six thousand Euros. In this part of the world, that's quite expensive for us."
  • "These switches are expensive, but they are an excellent buy and definitely have value for the investment."
  • "We are happy with the pricing from Cisco."
  • More Cisco Ethernet Switches Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "There are free software updates and there is a lifetime warranty for a few of the switch series."
  • "Licensing fees are on a yearly basis."
  • "This is not an expensive solution."
  • "This is an expensive product."
  • "There are no licensing costs for this solution."
  • "The pricing is very good."
  • "The price is fair."
  • "They are affordable and less expensive than Cisco. Their price was the decider at the time."
  • More HPE Ethernet Switches Pricing and Cost Advice →

    report
    Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Ethernet Switches solutions are best for your needs.
    765,234 professionals have used our research since 2012.
    Comparison Review
    Answers from the Community
    Avigail Sugarman
    it_user8178 - PeerSpot reviewerit_user8178 (Product Manager at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees)
    Consultant

    Have to agree with Durrell on the Cisco offerings and certifications. I would say Avaya is more on VoIP capability and have not heard about their switch portfolio. For HP networking, they are on par with Cisco. In terms of capability and support, I would say Cisco is there.

    Have you used any other vendors in the Ethernet Switch market?
    Answer: Yes, I have used Arista Networks as well.

    it_user117876 - PeerSpot reviewerit_user117876 (Network Engineer at a tech company with 51-200 employees)
    Consultant

    Have to agree with Durrell, while the equipment and support performs better than the competitors in my opinion, the shear volume of training that has been put out by Cisco has made it the leader. Other providers offer training of course, but none are as comprehensive and well known as the Cisco offerings..they have become THE standard for networking.

    it_user92235 - PeerSpot reviewerit_user92235 (Security System Engineer at a wholesaler/distributor)
    Vendor

    Hi,

    Cisco simply has very well working equipment and it's a huge company which has gold reserves bigger than fort knox :)

    I've used enterasys, juniper, noname and 3com switches, everyone has its advantages but cisco was what I liked most. Simply does its work and there is no place for failure. Only thing you need is vacuum machine from time to time.

    it_user139653 - PeerSpot reviewerit_user139653 (IT Engineer at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees)
    Consultant

    The emphasis that has been put on certifications is the biggest reason these vendors are not taking up a bigger share of the market. The industry standards for networking certs are the Cisco ones. Since the certs are catered to their equipment, it just makes sense that they have such a huge market share.

    it_user3039 - PeerSpot reviewerit_user3039 (Senior Systems Engineer at a cloud provider with 51-200 employees)
    Vendor

    For price/performance, I think HP and Juniper offer more than Cisco. HP typically comes in at a much lower cost for comparable features and throughput, and their switches have been very reliable for me. Juniper switches are similarly priced to Cisco gear, but they usually offer a much wider range of functions, along with equal or better performance.

    All of the reasons Nuno listed, above, are valid. In addition:

    4. High Performance - On balance, for most classes of switch, Cisco gear performs better. I've had great experience with HP Procurve switches, and their price/performance has been very good. But once in a while, they couldn't keep up with demanding traffic, like iSCSI, and we had to go back to Cisco gear.

    5. OEM Testing and Validation - If you're introducing new network gear - firewalls, storage, servers, etc. - you will make sure it works with Cisco switches because the installed base is huge. This is a vicious cycle - more Cisco interoperability and validation means fewer issues with Cisco gear.

    it_user114549 - PeerSpot reviewerit_user114549 (Onsite IT Support/Engineer)
    MSP

    I have used Netgear and 3com switches.

    it_user98859 - PeerSpot reviewerit_user98859 (Consulting Engineer EMEA at a computer software company with 201-500 employees)
    Consultant

    I have tried a few other vendors on the Ethernet switch market, especially HP, Huawei and SMC switches. Haven’t used Alcatel personally, but have had interesting feedback for them from colleagues.

    Regarding Cisco however, I believe there are three main reasons for it:

    1) Integration on the “cisco environment”, with a structured offer from basic switches, up to multi-layer equipment, allowing a consistent platform all through the enterprise.

    2) Management interface – ranging from graphic management (through local web interface, CiscoWorks modules, etc.), to CLI, with the Cisco IOS, provides great flexibility for remote management, configuration backup, and monitoring.

    3) Expertise of in-house personnel – Both the training provided by Cisco itself, and the fact that Cisco has a strong base for the remaining network infrastructure (routers, and other network devices).

    There is also the issue that, sometimes, some mixed vendor environment can bring issues with 802.1q trunking (I’ve seen issues with HP Switches while having problems with a VLAN 1 on the HP mixing with a native VLAN on Cisco for instance…), and other proprietary protocols (CDP for instance) that can have implications with the way management or configuration is done…

    Also, in some cases, the use of other technologies that cisco has brought along over the years – Network access control, that interfaces with Cisco switches for instance, and the buildup of different interactions with other technologies, ends up creating a technical barrier on top of the barrier for change on things like:

    “our other 30 switches are Cisco, and now I’ll place another vendor one?”.

    And on that question, price is not likely to be the most important factor, but TCO, existing expertise, and applications running on the network (that need QoS for instance), and integration with existing monitoring, configuration management, and infrastructure, may be the most important factor on the decision…

    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:Hello Mesfin It depends on the real scenario, the cisco 2960 is a very good device and they usually have routing functions but there are many different models within the same 2960 line, and on the… more »
    Top Answer:We researched Cisco but ultimately chose Fortinet FortiSwitch Secure Access, mostly because of the price Fortinet FortiSwitch is an ethernet switch solution that provides security and performance… more »
    Top Answer:Our organization ran comparison tests to determine whether Cisco or Juniper Ethernet switches were the better fit for us. We decided to go with Juniper. Juniper ethernet switches are a lesser-known… more »
    Top Answer:The solution's interface is helpful, and you can see the traffic.
    Top Answer:HPE Ethernet Switches is a fairly cheap solution. The solution does the job well for its price. You have to pay a lot more money for higher features, but then you are probably better off looking at… more »
    Top Answer:The solution lacks certain protocols and has a limited warranty. You have to pay extra to get more warranty on it.
    Ranking
    1st
    out of 34 in Ethernet Switches
    Views
    34,588
    Comparisons
    31,074
    Reviews
    28
    Average Words per Review
    363
    Rating
    9.1
    10th
    out of 34 in Ethernet Switches
    Views
    4,653
    Comparisons
    4,342
    Reviews
    24
    Average Words per Review
    378
    Rating
    8.3
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    Cisco Industrial Ethernet Switches
    HP Ethernet Switches
    Learn More
    Overview
    Cisco Ethernet Switches scale to meet the needs of networks of all sizes. They are Secure, Reliable and Seamless.

    HP has created the most open, integrated and software-defined networking portfolio and ecosystem of its kind – driving simplification with networks that understand, adapt to and protect your business applications in real-time. Only HP extends the momentum of software-defined networking everywhere–from the mobile edge to the heart of data centers.

    Sample Customers
    Linz AG
    Emirates Palace Hotel
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Comms Service Provider12%
    Educational Organization11%
    Computer Software Company9%
    Financial Services Firm7%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company15%
    Government9%
    Manufacturing Company8%
    Comms Service Provider7%
    REVIEWERS
    Comms Service Provider7%
    Government7%
    Computer Software Company7%
    Financial Services Firm7%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company20%
    Government9%
    Comms Service Provider7%
    Manufacturing Company6%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business40%
    Midsize Enterprise25%
    Large Enterprise35%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business27%
    Midsize Enterprise18%
    Large Enterprise55%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business52%
    Midsize Enterprise18%
    Large Enterprise30%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business36%
    Midsize Enterprise16%
    Large Enterprise48%
    Buyer's Guide
    Cisco Ethernet Switches vs. HPE Ethernet Switches
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Ethernet Switches vs. HPE Ethernet Switches and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.
    765,234 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Cisco Ethernet Switches is ranked 1st in Ethernet Switches with 123 reviews while HPE Ethernet Switches is ranked 10th in Ethernet Switches with 91 reviews. Cisco Ethernet Switches is rated 8.6, while HPE Ethernet Switches is rated 8.2. 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 HPE Ethernet Switches writes "They're solid and can last for up to 15 years". Cisco Ethernet Switches is most compared with Aruba Switches, Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access, D-Link Ethernet Switches and Ubiquiti UniFi Switches, whereas HPE Ethernet Switches is most compared with Ubiquiti UniFi Switches, H3C Ethernet Switches, Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches, Meraki MS Switches and D-Link Ethernet Switches. See our Cisco Ethernet Switches vs. HPE Ethernet Switches report.

    See our list of best Ethernet Switches vendors.

    We monitor all Ethernet Switches 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.