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reviewer1572795 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Production Engineer at a consultancy with 201-500 employees
Real User
Highly scalable, helpful technical support, and installation reasonable
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution highly scalable."
  • "The solution was stable 10 years ago, there is room for improvement in this area."

What is our primary use case?

We use Cisco Catalyst Switches to connect devices to a network.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Cisco Catalyst Switches for approximately 10 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution was stable 10 years ago, there is room for improvement in this area.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution highly scalable.

We have approximately 650 users using this solution in my organization.

Buyer's Guide
Cisco Catalyst Switches
May 2025
Learn what your peers think about Cisco Catalyst Switches. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: May 2025.
851,823 professionals have used our research since 2012.

How are customer service and support?

The technical support experience has been mixed, it depends on the subject. There are occasions when we have a quick resolution and for others, there can be long discussions to receive a resolution.

How was the initial setup?

The installation was not difficult for me but I have been working with these types of solutions for a long time. It could be difficult for those with limited experience.

What about the implementation team?

We have a team of 10 engineers that do the implementation and maintenance of the solutions.

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

The cost of this solution could be less expensive, and we are on an annual license.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend this solution to others.

I rate Cisco Catalyst Switches an eight out of ten.

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
Senior Project Manager at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Stable with good routing capabilities and a fairly easy setup
Pros and Cons
  • "The product offers very good routing and ranking capabilities."
  • "The product could offer more integrations with other solutions."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the solution specifically for our internal network - for our users and some servers. We also have servers on the cloud as well, although largely we are on-premise.

What is most valuable?

The VLANs portion of the solution is very good. 

The product offers very good routing and ranking capabilities.  It allows for better channels.

The initial setup is very simple. An organization shouldn't have too much trouble setting everything up.

We've found the solution to be rather stable. It offers good performance.

What needs improvement?

There aren't any features that are lacking from my perspective. It's pretty complete.

The solution itself is quite expensive. It would be ideal if they could lower the pricing a bit.

The product could offer more integrations with other solutions. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have had experience with the solution since around 2000. In 2010 I began on the sales-side of the product. Therefore, I have many, many years of experience with the product at this point.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution offers very good stability. We've found it to be reliable. It doesn't crash or freeze. It also doesn't seem to have bugs or glitches that affect its performance.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability depends on the layer you are talking about. Layer 2 is not scalable, however, Layer 3 switches offer very good scalability.

We have about 50 people currently using the solution.

How was the initial setup?

We found the implementation to be very simple, and straightforward. It was easy. There weren't any complexities, therefore, we didn't face any difficulty when setting everything up.

Deployment takes a few hours.

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

The pricing of the product is quite high. It's not the cheapest option on the market.

What other advice do I have?

We're Cisco partners. We have a business relationship with the company.

I'd recommend this solution to other organizations. Over the years, I've found that it works very well.

In general, on a scale from one to ten, I would rate it at a nine.

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
Cisco Catalyst Switches
May 2025
Learn what your peers think about Cisco Catalyst Switches. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: May 2025.
851,823 professionals have used our research since 2012.
it_user845862 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Technical Sales Engineer at Ingram Micro Inc.
Real User
It uses many protocols to ease operations, such as CDP and the interoperability of other Cisco products
Pros and Cons
  • "It uses many protocols to ease operations, such as CDP and the interoperability of other Cisco products."
  • "Perpetual POE is a valuable feature, because when the switch reboots, access points do not."
  • "Services should be improved."
  • "The delivery of the product lead time should be improved."

What is our primary use case?

Switching environments, as part of a LAN management solution, where the customer needs to build, operate, and maintain Layer 2 and Layer 3 networks for internal use.

How has it helped my organization?

It uses many protocols to ease operations, such as CDP and the interoperability of other Cisco products.

What is most valuable?

Perpetual POE is a valuable feature, because when the switch reboots, access points do not. This helps minimize infrastructure downtime and impacts internals.

What needs improvement?

  • Services should be improved.
  • The delivery of the product lead time should be improved as well.

For how long have I used the solution?

More than five years.

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

The price should go down instead of up. 

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
Team Leader Presales at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
Real User
Easy to use with good pricing and a simple installation process
Pros and Cons
  • "The pricing is quite good."
  • "The delivery dates need to be more expedient."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the solution for the virtualization infrastructure and for bare metal platforms.

What is most valuable?

We are satisfied with the solution's performance so far.

The stability has been perfect.

The solution can scale.

It is a very easy solution to use.

We have found the installation process to be very simple. 

The pricing is quite good.

What needs improvement?

The delivery dates need to be more expedient. This could be improved. Right now, when we need to buy a new Cisco Switch, we may have to wait a few months. It could be as much as six months sometimes. It's far too long of a wait.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for a few years at this point. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

So far, the solution has been very stable. The performance is excellent. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability of the solution is quite good. If a company needs to expand, it can do so.

We have hundreds of users that are leveraging this product.

At the moment, we do not have plans to increase usage.

How are customer service and support?

We've never contacted technical support in the past. I can't speak to how helpful or responsive they are. 

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

A very, very long time ago we used HP Brocade Switches. W removed over to Cisco mostly due to the fact that there is a very rich knowledge base over the internet. Also, the implementation is pretty straightforward and the commands are pretty easy to follow. 

How was the initial setup?

When it comes to the initial setup, the solution is very simple and straightforward. It's not overly complex or difficult.

How much time it takes depends on the configuration, specifically the complexity of the configuration for the Cisco Switch. Most of the time, a few days are enough for any configuration.

Two engineers are enough in terms of handling the initial setup.

What about the implementation team?

We were able to set up the solution ourselves, in-house. It's not a complex process, and therefore, we did not need outside help from integrators or consultants.

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

There is a license that is paid with the Switch when you are buying the Switch.

It's reasonably priced.

What other advice do I have?

I'm not sure if we are using the latest version of the solution, although we are often handling product updates.

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

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
Coordinator of IT infrastructures at UMC Electronics Mexico
Real User
Stable and scalable product
Pros and Cons
  • "I've had no problems with the stability of this solution."
  • "An area for improvement would be the documentation and training on configuring this product."

What is our primary use case?

My primary use case is to assign VLAN or a port for VLAN on the main network.

What needs improvement?

An area for improvement would be the documentation and training on configuring this product.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using this solution for four or five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I've had no problems with the stability of this solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability is fine.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was complex because it was a common line.

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

Licenses are available on a three-yearly basis.

What other advice do I have?

I would give this solution a score of nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1672632 - PeerSpot reviewer
Head of Production Information Systems/MES at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Stable and scalable but could be more secure
Pros and Cons
  • "Catalyst Switches are easy to install."
  • "Catalyst Switches could be more secure."

What is our primary use case?

Cisco Catalysts Switches can be useful for the future.

What needs improvement?

Catalyst Switches could be more secure.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using Catalyst Switches for about four or five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Cisco Catalyst Switches are stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have room to expand.

How are customer service and support?

We haven't used Cisco support for this. For the technical aspect of Cisco products, we have some in-house support in this aspect.

How was the initial setup?

Catalyst Switches are easy to install. 

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

My company gets the quote from the provider.

What other advice do I have?

I rate Cisco Catalyst Switches seven out of 10. I would recommend the solution to others. 

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
Consultant at a comms service provider with 501-1,000 employees
Consultant
Easy to scale, efficient technical support, and affordably priced
Pros and Cons
  • "Cisco Catalyst Switches are very stable."
  • "I would like to see the integration of the 2960 SX switched."

What is our primary use case?

We are implementors. We implement this solution for our customers as access switches. They connect the users to the network and identify them.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature is network access.

What needs improvement?

I would like to see the integration of the 2960 SX switches. I would also like to see more information about them.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for six months.

We are using Catalyst 2960-SX and Catalyst 3560.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Cisco Catalyst Switches are very stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's a very scalable solution. They are very easy to scale.

We have approximately 40 users in our organization who are using it.

How are customer service and technical support?

Cisco technical support is very efficient.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was simple and straightforward.

Our administrators maintain this solution.

What about the implementation team?

We had some help from Cisco it implement these switches. 

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

I don't know a lot about the price, but they are affordable compared with other solutions.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate this solution 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
Group Head of IT at a maritime company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Very easy to manage with a long lifespan
Pros and Cons
  • "Easy to manage, with a long lifespan."
  • "Reporting could be improved as well as integration possibilities with other platforms."

What is our primary use case?

I'm the group head of IT and we are customers of Cisco. 

What is most valuable?

In general, this is a good product with a long lifespan and easily managed. There is good local support available as well as principal support.

What needs improvement?

I'd like to see better reporting and also integration possibilities with other platforms. It's quite an expensive product and it would be helpful if they reduced the cost. 

For how long have I used the solution?

We've been using this product for five years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

This product is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's a scalable product. 

How are customer service and technical support?

Support can be improved, it's usually a matter of your location. That aside, if you can reach them, the support is fine. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is quite straightforward although deployment takes some time because you need to carry out the configuration and attach some additional equipment. It can take a few hours. Our implementation partner helps with the base configuration, and then they draw on our internet team to work with them. Once completed, it's handed over to our team management. We've deployed the product on five sites and we usually have one or two people dealing with any issues that arise. 

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

There is an annual license fee. 

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
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Cisco Catalyst Switches Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: May 2025
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Cisco Catalyst Switches Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.