Victor Arceo - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Operations Section Head at Toyota Motor Philippines Corporation
Real User
Enterprise-grade networking switches that are stable and scalable
Pros and Cons
  • "I like everything about Cisco Catalyst Switches. It's both stable and scalable."
  • "The price could be better. For Cisco, there is no need for improvement except for the price. It's expensive."

What is our primary use case?

We use Cisco Catalyst Switches for the local area network.

What is most valuable?

I like everything about Cisco Catalyst Switches. It's both stable and scalable.

What needs improvement?

The price could be better. For Cisco, there is no need for improvement except for the price. It's expensive.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using Cisco Catalyst Switches for about ten years.

Buyer's Guide
Cisco Catalyst Switches
April 2024
Learn what your peers think about Cisco Catalyst Switches. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2024.
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's a stable solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Cisco Catalyst Switches are scalable. We have about 1,300 users.

How are customer service and support?

Technical support was okay.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup and installation were straightforward. For configuration, it took around ten minutes. For the maintenance, we have two network administrators—just two personnel.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

It's expensive.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend this solution to new users.

On a scale from one to ten, I would give Cisco Catalyst Switches a ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Telecommunications Engineer at Universidad
Real User
Good performance and load-balancing capabilities, and good integration with other brands
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature is load balancing."
  • "I would like to see a graphical user interface for the configuration."

What is our primary use case?

We are a solution provider and Cisco Catalyst Switches are one of the network products that we provide to our clients. Within the past year, we have implemented Catalyst 2960 switches and Cisco 1900 Series routers.

I am implementing complex solutions with the Catalyst series that include the Spanning Tree Protocol. I build these solutions for educational institutions that are servicing professors and students, including wireless services.

What is most valuable?

The performance is good for complex solutions.

The most valuable feature is load balancing.

The integration with other brands is good.

What needs improvement?

I would like to see a graphical user interface for the configuration. This is something that other brands and models have.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have worked with the Cisco brand for the past seven years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I am fine with the stability. With the protocol that was implemented, the network has not gone down.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability is good and is suitable for an enterprise network.

My clients are normally small companies.

How are customer service and technical support?

I don't usually contact technical support. I am familiar with the forum, so I search there when I need information. The documentation, manuals, and community support are all good.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

My client is using switches from MikroTik and Ubiquiti access points. We have also dealt with other vendors, including Cisco and Huawei, in the delivery of solutions to our customers. My clients choose Cisco because of the stability and performance.

I have also worked with telecom enterprises in the past, which included working with Cisco products Catalyst and Nexus. 

How was the initial setup?

I have worked with these switches and know how to configure them.

The length of time required for deployment depends on the size of the network. For a network of 15 switches, it takes me two or three days to configure.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The price is too high for this market. Catalyst switches are more expensive than the competing options.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I am currently evaluating several options for my client. Their goal is to improve the reliability and architecture of the network, to give them improved scalability and performance. They need a good switch, but the budget is small so I am searching for the most cost-economical one that suits their needs. In fact, for them, the price is essential now.

What other advice do I have?

Overall, these switches are very good. I like to work with them because they have advanced capabilities. I recommend this product because Cisco has proprietary protocols and we are happy with them.

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Reseller and Implementer
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Cisco Catalyst Switches
April 2024
Learn what your peers think about Cisco Catalyst Switches. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2024.
768,415 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Manager Customer Engineering South (Presales) at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Robust hardware with good documentation and good support
Pros and Cons
  • "Cisco provides very good support services."
  • "The pricing could be better. Cisco is quite expensive."

What is our primary use case?

LAN access, distribution and core. 

How has it helped my organization?

We are Cisco partner and sell Cisco solutions, we have sold this platform for last 20 years. Its quite robust and work in worst environmental conditions.

What is most valuable?

In terms of the switches, the uptime and the robustness of the hardware are the most valuable aspects. 

Cisco devices are quite good. They do not fail specially the Catalyst Switches. 

The solution offers quite a robust infrastructure, hardware-wise. 

Cisco provides very good support services.

Cisco is improving and investing in R&D right now. They are investing a lot in research, and keep improving their products.

For example, they have recently launched the SDA, SDWAN, ACI etc. Software Defined-Solutions, in which you can automate your operations and enhance your operations, and avoid manual stuff.

What needs improvement?

With their constant innovation and investment in R&D, there isn't really very much the solution isn't lacking or building upon in terms of features.

The pricing could be better.

For how long have I used the solution?

We've been using Catalyst for long time. It's a very old Cisco brand, I have been deploying catalyst switches for last 20 years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is extremely stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

You can scale the solution quite well. It's good in that regard.

How are customer service and technical support?

We're quite happy with their support services. They also offer very good documentation.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Since we are reseller / partner we sell different vendors solutions.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is very easy.

On top of that, they have complete documentation available on their website. Whatever scenario you are deploying, you can search for an example of it on their website. That can help guild you during the process.

What was our ROI?

We are reseller / partner.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

licensing model is changing from perpetual licenses to subscription based licensing. Subscription based licensing model is cheaper but reoccur every year or 3, 5 or 7 years.  

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Not relevant. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Hybrid Cloud & Infrastructure Operations at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
MSP
A stable and easy-to-deploy solution with quick support and DHCP feature
Pros and Cons
  • "I recently discovered the DHCP feature. There is a feature with which you can make the core act as a DHCP server, and it will distribute the IPs for every device. I discovered this feature recently, and it is very nice."
  • "Its price can be improved. Some devices can be very expensive."

What is our primary use case?

We are supporting many clients. Some of them have Cisco switches, and some of them have HPE. We are supporting their network and solving any requests. We are doing troubleshooting for them. For most of the clients, we do full support of the network, but it also depends on the service that they took from our company. Some of them don't give us access to their core switches, which is very rare. Most of the clients give us full access. If they need, for example, a new route, we edit the VLAN port configuration, port channels, etc.

We are also managing the wireless controller for all clients. We are supporting them by creating the wireless connection and changing the password periodically.

What is most valuable?

I recently discovered the DHCP feature. There is a feature with which you can make the core act as a DHCP server, and it will distribute the IPs for every device. I discovered this feature recently, and it is very nice.

What needs improvement?

Its price can be improved. Some devices can be very expensive.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with this solution for around two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

If you follow the recommendation of Cisco, it is scalable. Sometimes, when there is anything wrong with it, we open a ticket with Cisco, and they recommend upgrading the IOS. 

We have many clients here. Most of them have Cisco. We have three clients with HPE. 

How are customer service and support?

They are very nice and very quick.

How was the initial setup?

Most of them are easy, especially if you have a stack solution. If it is arranged as a stack, it would be very easy to do an installation, and it also takes a shorter time than the standalone. One of the clients I worked with had a stack solution, and it was very easy. We just had to erase everything, put the new switch in there, and connect the stack cables and power cables. That was it. Sometimes, it can take the configuration from the flash.

The number of people required depends on the topology. If it is a big topology, you need two or three people. If it is a small topology, you need less number of people.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

It is overpriced. Some devices can be very expensive.

Most of the clients have a contract with Cisco for two or three years.

What other advice do I have?

There are different categories of switches. There are Layer 2 and Layer 3 switches. In Layer 2 switches, 2650 is nice. It is a good switch. In Layer 3, most of the switches are good.

I would rate this solution an eight out of 10.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Project Manager at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
Real User
Great equipment with good performance and an excellent warranty
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution is easy to implement and quick to deploy."
  • "The technical support, in some cases, should be faster and could improve."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use it to provide a hierarchy in the data center, enterprise solutions, and high availability solutions.

What is most valuable?

The performance of this equipment is much better than other options. The warranty on offer is perfect for me as they attend to issues in a maximum of four hours or within the next business day.

The solution is easy to implement and quick to deploy.

The solution is very stable.

I found the scalability to always be good. 

What needs improvement?

The technical support, in some cases, should be faster and could improve.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for ten years. It's been a decade. I've dealt with Cisco for a while. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The product is stable. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's reliable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability potential is very high. I can put many types of equipment on it and the solution will keep in the same level performance. It doesn't dip. 

Currently, we have 1,000 people on the solution. 

I do plan to implement the solution in future projects, as, so far, it has been issue-free and works very well. 

How are customer service and support?

Technical support could be a bit more responsive. 

How was the initial setup?

in terms of the initial setup, and how easy or hard it is, it depends on the technical knowledge base and on the person that will be implementing the solution.

I was working with data center providers, and, for us, with our level of knowledge, every time it was very easy to implement this equipment.

The deployment is pretty fast. After a couple of hours, you should have it up and running. We had a big team as well, which helped ensure it didn't take us long.

We have about 15 people at three technical levels that can handle maintenance tasks. 

What about the implementation team?

I implemented the solution myself. I did not need an integrator or consultant to assist. 

What was our ROI?

Likely, after three or so years, you may see an ROI. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The licensing costs vary. If you buy a lot, the costs are lower, however, if you only need a few, the costs are very, very high. 

You can also pay for additional support that guarantees four-hour or next-day resolutions. 

What other advice do I have?

I am a solutions provider. We're consultants and we help other companies implement this solution. 

I'd rate the solution at a nine out of ten. 

I would recommend the solution to other users and organizations. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
NOC Manager at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
Real User
Easy to install and setup, but the price needs improvement
Pros and Cons
  • "It is easy to use."
  • "The pricing needs improvement."

What is our primary use case?

We use Cisco Catalyst Switches as access switches, for connecting to what we call the last mile within the office. We connect from the patch panel to the wall jack. 

We use layer three switchings to interconnect between branch sites.

What is most valuable?

It is easy to use. I have only had one course on Cisco Switches.

What needs improvement?

The pricing needs improvement.

Price stops entries in Africa. We are not at that level where IT is considered a very big business enabler.

When I compare with the competition, MikroTik or NETGEAR I can purchase the switch and use it for whatever I want. I don't have to add the license, or the BGP routing license, and an ERGP writing license. Other switches are the providers that work out of the box without additional hidden fees.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Cisco Catalyst Switches since 2005.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have 1,500 end users.

How are customer service and technical support?

I have only ever contacted Cisco support once in the time that I have been using it, but it was not related to the switches. Rather, I contacted them regarding Cisco ISE.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We started out with Cisco Linksys in 2006, now we are fully using Catalyst.

How was the initial setup?

It was very easy to install. The last switch I implemented took me 15 minutes to install and set up a complete network.

We have 15 admins to manage this solution

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

We love Cisco, but the price is very prohibitive. We don't require any licensing, we scaled down to 2960.

What other advice do I have?

I would not recommend using this solution in Africa.

I would rate Cisco Catalyst Switches a six out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
Telecommunication Department Head at a energy/utilities company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Reasonably priced with good routing capabilities but needs to be more stable
Pros and Cons
  • "The installation process is very straightforward."
  • "We would like the solution to be more stable."

What is our primary use case?

The solution is primarily used for getting network switching and routing for the telephone exchange here.

What is most valuable?

The solution is rather inexpensive.

The product has very good routing capabilities.

The installation process is very straightforward.

What needs improvement?

We would like the solution to be more stable.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for about five years or so. It's been a while. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution's stability is questionable. It's something they could work on. It would be ideal if it had better performance and reliability.

How are customer service and technical support?

I've bever dealt directly with technical support as everything so far has been fine. We haven't had any issues or required any assistance so far.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We previously used Huawei switches, however, we do not use them anymore. We have completely moved away from them.

How was the initial setup?

We have found that the installation process isn't overly complex or difficult. It was pretty straightforward and simple for us. We didn't face any complexity issues. 

For every switch, it took a few hours to be adjusted and managed.

We only needed one technical person for deployment and maintenance.

What about the implementation team?

We had a manager that was able to handle the initial setup. We didn't hire any consultants or integrators.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

We found the product to be reasonably priced. It's not too expensive.

We do not pay a licensing fee to use the product.

What other advice do I have?

We use various versions of the solutions, including versions 12 and 15X.

I'd rate the solution at a seven out of ten. We're mostly happy with the product.

I'd recommend the solution to other users and companies. 

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Sr. Project Engineer at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Reliable, with good virtual LAN, and outstanding support
Pros and Cons
  • "This technology is a completely mature technology and I don't think anything needs to be changed."
  • "Scaling can be quite costly."

What is our primary use case?

We use this solution for LAN and WAN networking.

We are system integrators, and we provide maintenance services for our clients.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature of this solution is the Virtual LAN.

This technology is completely mature and I don't think anything needs to be changed.

What needs improvement?

Scaling can be quite costly.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with Cisco Catalyst Switches for ten years.

We are using the latest version.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's an extremely stable product.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's a scalable solution, but at a high cost.

Our clients have large-sized companies.

How are customer service and technical support?

We have contacted technical support. The support is excellent and they are efficient.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We are using other brands but the volume is very small compared to the Cisco Catalyst Switches.

Cisco has advantages in terms of stability, reliability, and scalability as well.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was complex but has since been simplified.

To deploy with one node can take 10 to 15 minutes.

This solution requires long-term maintenance.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The price is in an affordable range and everything is included.

What other advice do I have?

I would advise going with Cisco because they have an outstanding support team.

They can support up to the extent of installation. They have other services as well, such as RMN. 

Your network downtime is minimal, and your business will not suffer in case of any trouble in the network. I would definitely recommend going with Cisco only.

I would rate Cisco Catalyst Switches a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Cisco Catalyst Switches Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: April 2024
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Cisco Catalyst Switches Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.