Cisco FabricPath Competitors and Alternatives

What is most valuable?

Dell PowerConnect Switches are easy to configure. These switches fully integrate into our Cisco switches without any problem.

What needs improvement?

It would be helpful if there were an option to use the device as either a switch or a pass-through for the traffic from inside to outside. This would mean that we would not have to replace hardware in some cases. I think that the IBM switches have this feature. It would be great to have modules that… more»

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

We also have Cisco switches in our environment. It is probably 80% Cisco and 20% Dell. I also have experience with Huawei, HP, and Juniper switches. Huawei switches used to use a similar set of commands, but they are different now. HP uses almost the same command set. Juniper switches are more… more»

What other advice do I have?

We have decreased our use of Dell PowerConnect Switches in the past year because we are moving to virtualization and using SDN switches. The problem comes about because it is difficult to see the server end-point directly on the SDN. For our Dell servers, we are replacing the switches with… more»

What is most valuable?

The solution is easy to use and offers good scalability. There's a good community and good forums on the internet if you have issues. It makes it easy to find what you need. The LAN features give us exactly what we need.

What needs improvement?

We do occasionally have issues with the solution and need to change out the switches sometimes. This can be due to the fan, but, in most cases, it's because the power supply was broken.

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

The solution is reasonably priced in comparison to other options, such as Cisco.

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

We previously used Cisco. We still have some Cisco switches, but we're switching over to HP as most of our network is oriented around it. It's more simple for us to work with HP. The pricing is also much better. Cisco is more expensive.

What other advice do I have?

We use the HP Procurve for the distribution switches. It's a 25-30 modem. We use the on-premises deployment model. I'd rate the solution nine out of ten. No solution is perfect. You still need to configure it a bit once you implement it… more»