We performed a comparison between Cisco Ethernet Switches and Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access based on our users’ reviews in five categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.
Comparison Results: Based on the parameters we compared, Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access seems to be the superior solution for pricing and service and support. Users gave a similar rating for both products regarding ease of deployment. It’s important to note that, though there were no ROI reviews for Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access, users of Cisco Ethernet Switches were less than pleased with the ROI they saw. In terms of features, users of Cisco Ethernet Switches felt the product wasn’t user-friendly, whereas users of Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access felt the product needed more security features.
"It's all-encompassing and can help you in all these different areas. If people realize that they want something that's going to work, that's pretty foolproof, then Cisco's always worth the investment."
"Cisco Ethernet Switches are rugged, secure, and scalable. It provides smart devices and reliable switches."
"Multicast is a great feature of this product."
"The most valuable feature of Cisco Ethernet Switches is their capacity."
"The installation is very straightforward."
"Cisco Ethernet Switches have good performance."
"I know this solution for many years. I know the GUI and commands, and they are useful for me. I have all the functions that I want."
"Being able to deal with multiple VLANs to segment the network logically is the biggest feature for us. The management of these switches is okay for us. These switches work very well, and they meet our needs."
"I rate Fortinet support 10 out of 10. Their support is excellent and inexpensive. They respond immediately."
"Deploying the solution is a breeze, even a novice can do it."
"What I actually use in this deployment are Forti APs (Fortinet Access Points). So, I can see all my office infrastructure from a single console, which is handy. One FortiGate, one FortiSwitch, and five access points, everything under good control. It's really nice to see it all together like this."
"It is a cheap and secure solution. The job switching and security features are better than other solutions."
"The software is very stable."
"It can integrate well with other Fortinet products."
"The most valuable feature is the breakability after integration with the FortiGate firewall."
"Integration is good, as well as price and technical support."
"Cisco has a lot of propriety protocols compared to other products, such as Arista Networks."
"One thing we did have to work around is, on the broadcast side, we're reliant on the PTP protocol, precision time protocol, and the Cisco switches in general, don't support that."
"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."
"The NX-API REST is not very good and should be improved."
"The price is an area with a shortcoming in the solution."
"The user interface, the UI, could be better."
"One area for improvement could be integrating a single dashboard for both wired and wireless networks."
"The initial setup for on-prem versions is complex and requires a trained, certified engineer."
"Currently issues with some of the switches and problems with the firmware."
"The tool should improve its CLI."
"The solution has SD-WAN but it doesn't have SDN. This should be added."
"The solution could provide an active VPN."
"It would be easier if Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access could be managed via cloud, and this is something that could be improved in this product. Bandwidth display could also be better."
"It would also help if they lowered the cost of their service."
"I don't like the way it's managed."
"We had experienced downtime. I would like to see it to be improved."
More Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access Pricing and Cost Advice →
Cisco Ethernet Switches is ranked 1st in Ethernet Switches with 128 reviews while Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access is ranked 7th in Ethernet Switches with 41 reviews. Cisco Ethernet Switches is rated 8.6, while Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access 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 Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access writes "It's a strong product that's easy to manage and costs significantly less than competing solutions ". Cisco Ethernet Switches is most compared with Aruba Switches, D-Link Ethernet Switches, Ubiquiti UniFi Switches, NETGEAR Switches and Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches, whereas Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access is most compared with Aruba Switches, Meraki MS Switches, Ubiquiti UniFi Switches, NETGEAR Switches and Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches. See our Cisco Ethernet Switches vs. Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access report.
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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.