- Stackable module
- Hot-swappable inventory
Customer Experience Manager at a comms service provider with 501-1,000 employees
We now have the ability migrate to multiple sites, but the TAC speed needs improvement.
What is most valuable?
How has it helped my organization?
- Easier to design and manage a network by enabling reuse
- Ability migrate to multiple sites
What needs improvement?
Deliverability speed of the Terminal Access Controller.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used it for over four years.
Buyer's Guide
Cisco Catalyst Switches
October 2025

Learn what your peers think about Cisco Catalyst Switches. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: October 2025.
868,787 professionals have used our research since 2012.
What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
No issues encountered.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
No issues encountered.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
There were issues with the maximum stackable switches per site & monitoring setup.
How are customer service and support?
Customer Service:
7/10.
Technical Support:
7/10.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We switched because we had weak tech support, especially for the PoE product.
How was the initial setup?
It was a medium difficulty setup.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Licensing is one of the major areas of confusion for a person with a technical if they gain the verification from Cisco website.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We also looked at Dell options.
What other advice do I have?
Ensure you select the right license, power supply and other components to install the switch into the rack.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Network Manager at a insurance company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Small switch with a lot of features - good for enterprises and small businesses
Valuable Features:
1. Cisco 2960 catalysts switch has lots of security features (Port Security, block DHCP snooping, VLAN).
2. I can create a stack with multiple Cisco 2960 switch which improve availability
3. I can create a port channel by merging multiple port of multiple switches which help me transfer large amounts of data traffic between serveres and it also increases reliability if one switch port becomes damaged.
4. It provides PoE (Power over Ethernet) which helps me easily setup Cisco wireless AP and IP phones at any office location.
5. RSPAN (Remote Switch Port Analyzer) enables me to monitor network traffic flow with of NMS software.
6. VTP (VLAN Trunking Protocol) helps me to transfer VLAN configuration from one switch to multiple switches.
Room for Improvement:
1. It does not provide any expansion slots so I cannot increase the number of ports.
2. If most of the switch ports get damaged than you have to replace the whole switch.
Other Advice:
It is a nice product for enterprises and small businesses. It is a small switch with a lot of features.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Buyer's Guide
Cisco Catalyst Switches
October 2025

Learn what your peers think about Cisco Catalyst Switches. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: October 2025.
868,787 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Co- Founder at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
The online support available for the tool is good, but it can be difficult to understand the functioning of the solution
Pros and Cons
- "The benefit of the tool is that it is a stable product."
- "There are multiple operating systems across Cisco's portfolio, which is problematic."
What is our primary use case?
I use the tool in my company for spine and leaf architectures and to deploy new data centers.
How has it helped my organization?
The benefit of the tool is that it is a stable product. You can find enough expertise in the market to hire someone for help if required. Cisco's technical support is great.
What is most valuable?
Cisco Catalyst Switches offer familiarity with operating systems. The operational knowledge that I have gained after working with Cisco for around ten to twelve years is the sole reason I prefer it. The stability in the operations that I get with Cisco Catalyst Switches, the support it offers to users through the articles available over the internet, and the expertise related to the tool available in the market are good.
What needs improvement?
There are multiple operating systems across Cisco's portfolio, which is problematic. Cisco's firewall has some different operating systems, while Cisco's routers have a different operating system, so you might need to have people with different expertise, and the learning curve might be a little high as compared to other network providers, which might have common operating systems across different types of devices.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Cisco Catalyst Switches for ten to twelve years. Currently, I'm not working with Cisco. I have my own startup organization where I provide services related to networking devices.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a stable solution. I have no complaints about the tool's stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is a scalable solution.
Around 100 people in my company use the tool.
How are customer service and support?
I have experience with the solution's technical support. I found Cisco's support team to be one of the best in the industry.
I rate the overall tool a seven and a half out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
How was the initial setup?
It doesn't take much time to set up any Cisco device, but again, it depends on how comfortable you are with the tool. From my personal viewpoint, Cisco Catalyst Switches are pretty much easy to set up.
The product's deployment phase initially starts with a discovery and a design workshop. After that, our company mostly automates a lot of stuff based on the design and discovery workshop, where we come up with some artifacts with respect to configuration, and then we leverage some automation tools to deploy it.
The solution is deployed on an on-premises model.
Depending on the size of the deployment, around eight to ten people are required from an operation standpoint, and not more than two people are required to manage the deployment process.
What about the implementation team?
The solution can be deployed with help from an in-house team.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The licenses are definitely expensive. There is a need to make annual payments towards the subscription or licensing costs attached to the solution.
What other advice do I have?
Before a user picks up any product or solution, due diligence should be followed. Though Cisco offers many services, features, and functionalities, better solutions might be available in the market. If users need only ten features, it is better to choose a solution that offers only ten features rather than opting for something like Cisco, which offers over a hundred features, making it an expensive product.
I rate the overall tool a seven and a half out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Solutions Architect at a comms service provider with 11-50 employees
Helpful support, reliable, and simple implementation
Pros and Cons
- "I have found that the protocols that Cisco Catalyst Switches support are beneficial for my customers."
What is our primary use case?
I use Cisco Catalyst Switches for the connectivity of my client's local area network.
What is most valuable?
I have found that the protocols that Cisco Catalyst Switches support are beneficial for my customers.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Cisco Catalyst Switches for approximately one year.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Cisco Catalyst Switches is a stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I have found Cisco Catalyst Switches to be scalable.
We have five customers using Cisco Catalyst Switches.
How are customer service and support?
The support from Cisco Catalyst Switches is good.
How was the initial setup?
Cisco Catalyst Switches has a straightforward installation.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing of Cisco Catalyst Switches could be better in general. There is an annual license required.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others.
I 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
Networking Engineer at a non-tech company with 10,001+ employees
Stable reliable product
Pros and Cons
- "Scalable product."
- "Customer support answers on time and resolve any issues I have."
- "Price could be lower."
What is our primary use case?
I am a CMP and know the Cisco Catalyst Switches very well. We use them for connectivity.
What is most valuable?
The product is good, very stable.
What needs improvement?
Prices could always be lower.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Cisco Catalyst Switches for 12 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This solution is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Cisco Catalyst Switches is very scalable.
How are customer service and support?
The customer service and support is good, they answer on time and resolve any issues that I have
How was the initial setup?
Being a CMP, the initial setup is easy for me.
What other advice do I have?
Cisco is very reliable and I would recommend their products. I would rate the Catalyst Switches a 10 out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Director at REDCO
Excellent technical support
Pros and Cons
- "The best feature is the technical support."
- "An area for improvement would be the high price."
What is most valuable?
The best feature is the technical support.
What needs improvement?
An area for improvement would be the high price.
How was the initial setup?
The setup was complex, as we had some issues with the new SMARTnet and DNA.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate this product as ten out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Senior Buyer at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
A stable and scalable solution which is easy to install
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is stable."
- "The general price of the solution could be cheaper."
What is our primary use case?
I do not recall which version we are using.
We use the solution with our networks.
What needs improvement?
The general price of the solution could be cheaper.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Cisco Catalyst Switches for around five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable.
How are customer service and support?
I have not had contact with technical support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We did not use other solutions prior to the one we are using at present.
How was the initial setup?
The solution was easy to install it.
This took around half a day.
What about the implementation team?
Installation can be done on one's own.
We have two people responsible for the deployment and maintenance.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The general price of the solution could be cheaper.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others.
There are, perhaps, five users making use of the solution.
I rate Cisco Catalyst Switches as an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Network Operations Center Engineer at a tech company with 51-200 employees
Stable, simple to use, and the technical support is good, but the pricing could be better
Pros and Cons
- "If they worked on lowering the price, they would be able to attract more customers."
What is our primary use case?
This solution is used to strengthen our connections, connect to the network, as a router to multiple systems, network management, and monitoring.
What is most valuable?
The configuration is the most valuable feature of this solution.
It is easy to use.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Cisco Catalyst Switches for one year.
We are working with the 3750 series.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability of Cisco Catalyst Switches is good.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It's a scalable product.
This solution is used by 1,000 customers.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support is good.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We use Cisco Routers as well as Huawei Routers, and Cisco Linksys.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was straightforward.
The solution took them two and a half years to implement.
What about the implementation team?
We have a fiber team that handles solution maintenance and helps us with some technical issues.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The cost could be reduced.
If they worked on lowering the price, they would be able to attract more customers.
We are consultants who provide licensing to our clients.
What other advice do I have?
When I graduate, I will have improved my English and will be able to perform more tasks.
I am in charge of the data while learning how to deploy this solution.
I would rate Cisco Catalyst Switches a seven 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

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Updated: October 2025
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We make use of Brocade's BigIron and IBM's Rackswitch in our data center. I would say they are the best; maybe because they are the ones I have experience using. How would you rate Catalyst in comparison two these two products: Rackswitch and BigIron?