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IT Support Executive at a healthcare company with 51-200 employees
Real User
A stable and proven technology for our network infrastructure
Pros and Cons
  • "These are a proven technology and I haven't had any problem with them."

    What is our primary use case?

    These switches were provided by our internet provider and they are used as part of our network infrastructure.

    What is most valuable?

    These are a proven technology and I haven't had any problem with them.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    We have been using Cisco Catalyst Switches for approximately four years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    This is a stable product.

    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.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    I have not configured these switches before, so I'm not sure about the scalability.

    We have between 60 and 100 users.

    How are customer service and support?

    I have not been in contact with technical support for this product.

    What about the implementation team?

    The Catalyst switches are all maintained by our vendors, so we don't have to concern ourselves with maintenance.

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

    The pricing of these devices can be better.

    What other advice do I have?

    Based on my experience, I can recommend these switches.

    I would rate this solution 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
    reviewer1471347 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Administrator at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
    Real User
    Stable and easy to install
    Pros and Cons
    • "It is a stable and good product. It is also easy to install."
    • "Its price can be improved. It is currently expensive."

    What is our primary use case?

    I am a student as well as a researcher at a university. I use this solution for various simulations. I am using the latest version of this solution. We have 10 to 15 technical people in our team. 

    What is most valuable?

    It is a stable and good product. It is also easy to install.

    What needs improvement?

    Its price can be improved. It is currently expensive.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using this solution for two to three years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    It is stable.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    I didn't use any technical support.

    How was the initial setup?

    It was easy to install. It wasn't complex. It took about 10 to 20 minutes.

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

    It is expensive.

    What other advice do I have?

    I would recommend this solution. It is a good product. There are a lot of users of Cisco solutions in Pakistan. 

    I would rate Cisco Catalyst Switches a ten 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
    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.
    reviewer1079556 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Head of Project Management at a tech vendor with 1-10 employees
    Reseller
    A reliable brand with good performance that's easy to manage
    Pros and Cons
      • "We'd like Cisco to integrate with other solutions, including their own."

      What is our primary use case?

      We're an implementor of the product. We provide this product to our clients.

      What is most valuable?

      The solution's most valuable aspect is the management.

      Our clients really trust the brand.

      The quality of the product is excellent. It offers great performance.

      What needs improvement?

      We'd like Cisco to integrate better with other solutions, including their own.

      For how long have I used the solution?

      I've been using the solution for the last two years or so.

      What do I think about the stability of the solution?

      The stability of the solution is very good. We haven't had any stability issues. There aren't bugs or glitches. It's good.

      What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

      The solution can scale. If a company needs to expand, they can do so easily.

      We typically deal with medium-sized companies.

      How are customer service and technical support?

      The technical support of the solution is good. The clients are covered under warranty. Cisco is very responsible when it comes to covering any issues for them.

      The documentation is quite good for the solution as well. It helps people understand the product.

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

      We also use HP and Extreme Networks. We work with a variety of solutions. We don't exclusively work with Cisco. Cisco does, however, have one of the highest product qualities on offer.

      What other advice do I have?

      We help our clients decide which product to use. We use Cisco and a wide variety of other products. We're implementors.

      When it comes to working with Cisco, customers are consistently offered a quality product. Many of our clients need a quality product with good performance. This solution is very reliable which is why we work with it.

      On a scale from one to ten, I would rate the solution at an eight.

      Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Reseller
      PeerSpot user
      IT Consultant at L&M Alpha Solutions
      Real User
      Ease of configuration, the CLI, and the GUI are the key features for us
      Pros and Cons
      • "The main valuable features for me are the ease of configuration, the CLI, and the GUI."

        What is our primary use case?

        The use case is for user access. It's good, it's performing very well.

        How has it helped my organization?

        Catalyst functions as a core and the main benefit for us is the performance, having multiple users.

        What is most valuable?

        The main valuable features for me are

        • the ease of configuration
        • CLI
        • GUI.

        What needs improvement?

        My dream is to have the netflow in the port, for the administration and the utilization of user traffic, similar to the Meraki.

        For how long have I used the solution?

        More than five years.

        What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

        It's very scalable. It's very easy to cover all the services.

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

        We chose Catalyst because we are looking to the future.

        When selecting a vendor, the most important criteria for me are the post-sale support as well as the price.

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

        Catalyst is very expensive.

        Which other solutions did I evaluate?

        For our company, Cisco's competition was Aruba.

        What other advice do I have?

        The configuration is simple and the support is good. The equipment for networking is the best for an organization. It's working very well.

        I rate Catalyst at 10 out of 10 because of the performance and support.

        Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
        PeerSpot user
        PeerSpot user
        Director of Technical Services at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
        Consultant
        ​This switch and its functionality allowed me to deploy a secure network connection in three months.​

        What is most valuable?

        • Security
        • Configuration

        What needs improvement?

        At first glance this switch looks exactly like the an Ethernet switch, I would recommend that there be verbage in the documentation on exactly what gbit connectors are required.

        For how long have I used the solution?

        We've been using it for eight years.

        What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

        There have been no issues with the deployment.

        What do I think about the stability of the solution?

        The stability has never been an issue.

        What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

        We've had no issues scaling it for our needs.

        How are customer service and technical support?

        Customer Service:

        It's great.

        Technical Support:

        It's great.

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

        We didn't have anything in place and needed a fiber solution.

        How was the initial setup?

        It was very straightforward.

        What about the implementation team?

        We did it in-house with help from the vendor.

        Which other solutions did I evaluate?

        There were no other options looked at.

        What other advice do I have?

        Make sure you get the right connectors.

        Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
        PeerSpot user
        Supervisor at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
        Real User
        It's useful for connecting everything into one big domain, but we've had problems since we upgraded
        Pros and Cons
        • "Catalyst switches are our dedicated solution for connecting everything into one big domain."
        • "We have configurations for port channels between two facilities, and we cannot communicate between these two buildings. An SFP configuration uses one wire to send and receive the signal. It's opt-in. We cannot use it after the upgrade. What can we do in this situation? We already bought it."

        What is our primary use case?

        Catalyst switches are our dedicated solution for connecting everything into one big domain.

        What needs improvement?

        We have configurations for port channels between two facilities, and we cannot communicate between these two buildings. An SFP configuration uses one wire to send and receive the signal. It's opt-in. We cannot use it after the upgrade. What can we do in this situation? We already bought it. 

        We have a lease between these buildings, so it's important for us. There are some other SFPs, but we cannot order them at the moment. It's a very slow project. We will order those and receive them after two or three months.

        Cisco devices should support Cisco SFPs. Right now, I'm testing it on Cisco and some small devices, like Planets, and it worked. It has changed, but it's working. But it doesn't work using the original Cisco because inside of a Cisco Data Sheet it says they do not support this product on the device.

        What do I think about the stability of the solution?

        I thought Catalyst switches were stable, but now I'm not so sure. 

        How was the initial setup?

        Deploying Catalyst switches is complex. We had to add a second one for high availability. 

        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
        reviewer1715952 - PeerSpot reviewer
        Senior Consultant
        Consultant
        Useful analytics, stable, and highly scalable
        Pros and Cons
        • "The solution works well with analytics."
        • "Cisco Catalyst Switches could improve by having more integration with third-party products."

        What is our primary use case?

        I use Cisco Catalyst Switches for an SD-Access solution.

        What is most valuable?

        The solution works well with analytics.

        What needs improvement?

        Cisco Catalyst Switches could improve by having more integration with third-party products.

        In the next release, I would like the solution to be able to integrate easily with third-party WFi products.

        For how long have I used the solution?

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

        What do I think about the stability of the solution?

        Cisco Catalyst Switches have very good performance and are reliable.

        What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

        The solution is scalable.

        How are customer service and support?

        I have been satisfied with the technical support. They are very good.

        How was the initial setup?

        Cisco Catalyst Switches are complex to implement, it takes a lot of time. You need to take a lot of time to learn out to configure the solution.

        What about the implementation team?

        Cisco does the maintenance of the solution for us.

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

        The price of the solution is expensive compared to other products from America or Europe. They should have more competitive pricing.

        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: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
        PeerSpot user
        reviewer1483503 - PeerSpot reviewer
        Head of Corporate Security at a financial services firm with 201-500 employees
        Real User
        Good communication features, scalable, stable, and has good support
        Pros and Cons
        • "The most valuable feature of this solution is communication."
        • "When you compare it with HPE and Aruba, it should be fancier."

        What is our primary use case?

        We use Cisco Catalyst Switches for the LAN connection.

        What is most valuable?

        The most valuable feature of this solution is communication.

        What needs improvement?

        When you compare it with HPE and Aruba, it should be fancier.

        For how long have I used the solution?

        We have been using Cisco Catalyst Switches for three years.

        We are using version 2950.

        What do I think about the stability of the solution?

        The stability is great! We have not had any issues with stability.

        What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

        It's a scalable product. It's very good.

        We have approximately 200 users in our company.

        How are customer service and technical support?

        Technical support is very good. I would rate them a nine to ten out of ten.

        We did not have any issues with technical support.

        How was the initial setup?

        The initial setup is straightforward. It's easy.

        It can take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour to deploy.

        What other advice do I have?

        Plan well before implementing this solution.

        I would rate Cisco Catalyst Switches a ten 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
        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.