Cisco Catalyst Switches Reviews

I've utilized Cisco Catalyst Switches on a DNA center. I've also used it for many solutions, e.g. in universities, telecom companies, and other commercial institutions.

I've implemented many solutions that contain Cisco Catalyst Switches, call switches, abbreviation switches, and access switches on Cisco design solutions. I worked on a network that contained more than 100 Cisco Catalyst Switches in some of the universities.

I use Cisco Catalyst Switches and I implement most of the technology with that content in IOS.

I like Cisco Catalyst Switches because most of the time, we can do what we want with the product. Cisco has good guidelines that enable us to implement anything, so we can have a multiple ability product on most of the network equipment worldwide.

Cisco has communities or forums that help us implement more complicated areas in terms of network, so in addition, Cisco is not just a network equipment company, because they provide us most of the solutions, development, protocols, and new technologies, more than any other company in the world.

I also like the availability of Cisco Catalyst Switches, including scalability and reliability. You can find all these in this product.

Pricing for Cisco Catalyst Switches is on the higher end, compared to its competitors, and is something that could be improved. Security could also be increased.

I've been working with Cisco Catalyst Switches for 15 years, and still working with it and other Cisco products currently.

I find this product stable.

This product is scalable.

We count on the technical support of Cisco in many ways, and we have different ways of contacting them. We can open a ticket, use the Cisco community forum online to provide us support, and give them a call to solve any problems that arise.

I've installed a lot of Cisco Catalyst Switches and I never had any problems with the installation, including the installation of other Cisco products, e.g. routers, firewalls, etc.

Some switches need a license, while some don't. Cisco Catalyst Switches has different types of licenses that could count as versions, e.g. version 12.4. 12.4 is a version we can't provide because we don't have a license for it, but Cisco Catalyst Switches from IOS version 15 and up, we need to purchase a license for all features if you want to run them on Cisco Catalyst Switches. Version 15 is better than 12.4, and version 15 has a better license, when compared to other Cisco Catalyst Switches licenses.

Cisco Catalyst Switches are not one of the cheapest switches in the market. There are a lot of products that are cheaper, e.g. HP, Huawei, Netgear, but they don't provide us with the availability, possibility, etc., we need, which Cisco can provide.

HP could provide us with cheaper switches, with a lot of security features and stability, but it's not absolute, compared to what Cisco Catalyst Switches can provide.

Juniper switches can also provide us with more security and stability without any problem, so it can be a Cisco competitor product we can use.

I was able to evaluate HP, Netgear, and Juniper switches.

I've worked with all Cisco products, e.g. routers, ASA firewall, switches, etc. I started working with them 15 years ago.

More than 500 employees in our company use this product. We have more than 1,000 network equipment that utilize Cisco Catalyst Switches.

My rating for Cisco Catalyst Switches is a nine out of ten.

We are using Cisco Catalyst Switches for our office network. We have deployed the 9200 and 9400 series solutions.

Cisco Catalyst Switches have been stable, and we haven't had issues with them for the last five years. They also provide good security at the LAN level.

The most beneficial features for our network management are their stability and good customer support.

Cisco Catalyst Switches could be a little bit cheaper as they are very costly.

I have an experience of working with Cisco Catalyst Switches for about eighteen years.

Cisco Catalyst Switches are stable. I would rate their stability as eight to nine out of ten.

Cisco Catalyst Switches are scalable, and I would rate them eight to nine out of ten for scalability.

Cisco's support is good, one of the best supports that you will get. I would rate their technical support as nine out of ten.

Positive

We have always been with Cisco.

The initial setup is not difficult for me. The new ones that are coming up are actually easy to implement and deploy.

Cisco Catalyst Switches are quite pricey.

I would recommend Cisco Catalyst Switches because they can scale, and they are stable. I don't have to worry once I install them.

I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.

It's easy to configure. The forum is good. We can also get help from the forum and Cisco support. Many people use it, so we can get help from anyone if you have any issues.

There is no GUI. Nowadays, many other switches provide GUI features and options that can be configured through the GUI. The Cisco Catalyst series doesn't offer that. It should be configured only through CLI mode. If another GUI option or feature allows configuration through the GUI, that would be beneficial.

I have been using Cisco Catalyst Switches for 15 years.

I rate the solution’s stability a nine out of ten.

It is scalable and provides good performance. It is suitable for enterprise customers.

Support is also good.

Positive

The initial setup is easy. It depends on the larger network. Due to the backbone infrastructure and other passive components we need to complete, such as cabling and structured cabling, it may take time. If the cabling and architecture are already in place, it will take only a few hours.

It provides efficiency followed by cost setting.

The solution is cheap.

Cisco Catalyst Switches handle the network traffic very swiftly during peak loads.

Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

We use the solution for live support systems.

The stability and performance are extremely good.

The solution could be cheaper.

I have been using Cisco Catalyst Switches for 20 years.

The product is stable.

I rate the solution’s stability a ten out of ten.

The solution’s scalability is good. 200 licenses of support systems are used.

I rate the solution’s scalability a ten out of ten.

The initial setup is straightforward and takes half an hour to complete.

ROI is of 10-15 years. It's very good for long-term investment.

It provides stability to our life monitoring system. The ease of management and configuration is good.

It is attributing the switches and has accessible IT. There's always a web configuration. I manage the solution.

Overall, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

Since Cisco Catalyst Switches don't go online, they are secured. The solution is not on the same network as the users.

The solution’s pricing and stability could be improved.

I have been using Cisco Catalyst Switches for a couple of years.

We haven’t received any complaints from our customers regarding the solution’s stability.

I rate the solution a seven or eight out of ten for stability.

Cisco Catalyst Switches is a scalable solution, and two customers are working with the solution.

We configure the solution for our customers within 30 minutes. You can open the switch console on the device and configure it.

The solution is too expensive for me, and I will never have a return on investment with it.

Cisco Catalyst Switches is a very expensive solution. I do not pay for a license for the solution.

We don't manage Cisco Catalyst Switches once it's configured. Two people from the tech support team are involved in the solution’s deployment and maintenance. I wouldn’t recommend Cisco Catalyst Switches to other users because it’s expensive.

Overall, I rate the solution a six out of ten.

The solution connects our hosts to the network. It's our core aggregation and access layer. It's used throughout the network.

I like the product’s performance. The solution is reliable. It provides support.

The support is not the quickest.

I have been using the solution for 20 years.

I rate the tool’s stability a ten out of ten.

The tool is scalable. We have more than 1000 users in our organization.

We contact the support through a third-party vendor. They are not the quickest.

The setup is quite simple. It is not complicated. We do not overcomplicate things. Otherwise, support-wise, it gets difficult. We follow the design given to us to deploy the tool. We use Cisco’s recommended best practices for installing switches. We try to follow it as much as we can. Deployment can take up to a year.

The implementation is done in-house. There might be contract resources that get involved in the deployment, but we don't go outside to another company to get people to do it for us.

Without the tool, we wouldn’t have service, without which we would not have revenue. Then, we wouldn’t be a viable business.

We do not use the solution much currently, but it is still in the network. We have replaced it with Nexus. The solution fits the purpose. I will recommend the product to others. Overall, I rate the product a ten out of ten.

I use the solution in my company as a data switch. The product is mostly used in the entertainment systems of luxury yachts and not in some banks.

The most valuable feature of the solution is reliability. I have seen Cisco Catalyst Switches working for more than six years without any kind of outage.

Products from Cisco that deal in areas like VLAN management, internal routing, and inter-VLAN routing don't seem to be compatible with other products. When users put Cisco Catalyst Switches in the same environment or infrastructure where other devices or products exist, like HPE, Aruba, and Ubiquiti, it doesn't work properly. The aforementioned area can be considered for improvement.

I have been using Cisco Catalyst Switches for more than twenty years.

It is a stable solution.

It is a scalable solution. Cisco solutions are always scalable.

My organization has around 200 users of the product.

There is a need to increase the number of devices or switches, or it can be done by implementing a change in relation to the old devices in an environment by moving from a 10 GB switch to 40 GB uplinks. A 10 GB switch is enough for now in my business.

Cisco's support team is friendly if you have a maintenance contract active with the technical support team of the tool. You will end up breaking your head on the wall if you do not have an active maintenance contract with Cisco's technical team since they are not responsive or supportive at all until you subscribe to the service contract Cisco offers.

After dealing with the product for more than twenty years, it has become easy to deploy the solution.

I have been installing the tool inside a luxury yacht to manage some internal data switches and for some of the entertainment systems where streaming services are required. VLAN is mandatory for managing the kind of networks in the aforementioned environment.

The solution is deployed on an on-premises model.

The time required to deploy the product depends on the dimension of the project undertaken by someone. If you install the system in a 30-meter yard, deploying it takes around four days. If you install the product on a yacht where around 100 meters need to be covered, the deployment process may take over a month.

The number of people required to deploy and maintain the product depends on the project size. One person is enough to take care of the deployment in a 50-meter yard area. Three people are enough to take care of the deployment in a 100-meter yard area. In an infrastructure with around 200 people, only one person can maintain the warehouse system.

I rate the overall product a six out of ten from a price perspective since it is an expensive tool.

There is a need to make yearly payments towards the licensing charges of the product.

From a technical perspective, I rate the overall product a nine out of ten.

There is a need to use professional devices like the ones offered by Cisco if someone needs a reliable infrastructure that is flexible and scalable.

Overall, I rate the product a nine out of ten.

We use them in multiple projects in the organization.

So we provide access to approximately 600 users. They use access points, and some of them are designated for core features.

The benefits are that it is pretty easy to configure, deploy, and troubleshoot. There are no issues because we have a lot of knowledge-based access from Cisco itself. So troubleshooting is smooth, and it's good for both plugging and troubleshooting.

Power over Ethernet (PoE) is one of the most valuable features. It eliminates the need for power supplies every time. 

Then, the stacking capability allows me to stack nine or ten switches. With that, I don't need to log into every switch individually; I can access all of them through one. That's the second thing. 

Third, they can be used with automation pretty easily. Our organization is not currently using automation, but we're planning to. I've used it on virtual platforms, like emulation software, and they work well with automation. That's a good thing. 

Another point is that I've worked with various Cisco switches, including the 3900 series, 800 series, 2900, and 2600 switches. In the past, the environment used to be dusty and tested, but these devices, even the older ones, worked remarkably well. I was amazed because any other device might have failed in those conditions, but these switches performed admirably.

It has everything covered, from automation to a non-automated environment.

Customization is okay, but it's not fully fledged because if it's not modular switches, you can not change it. 

Cost-wise, they are expensive, but the service they provide is very good. However, the solution should aim for a little bit more cost-effectiveness.

There is room for enhancement in customization and pricing models. 

I have been using this solution for more than five years. I am still currently working with the Cisco Catalyst switches, specifically the Catalyst 3900 series in my current organization.

I haven't seen any issues with stability or durability. Even the older ones work well in the worst-case scenarios.

The product is scalable. However, some features or technologies owned by Cisco can be a bit troublesome while deploying. They cannot be embedded with other vendors.

The customer service and support need a bit more improvement and a faster response. So, there is an area of improvement.

Positive

I have also worked with ASR 9000 and XR series routers. I have worked with enterprise routers for a longer duration, around five years.

The deployment is good. The knowledge base and articles are available for normal users, so they can configure it well. If needed, we can raise a complaint ticket, and we get good tech support for that too.

If everything is ready and set up, including detailed information and physical products, it takes around two to three hours, max.

It's not difficult, but it requires maintenance. They have engineers for that, and they come for regular maintenance, check, and update or replace parts if needed. They also have AMCs for regular maintenance.

It is worth the money. The product is expensive, but the service they provide is very good, which makes it worth it.

It is a good product. It's a low-maintenance product, a little bit costly, but worth it. Good technical support also. It is vendor-specific, and you need to have these things for the configuration part and deployment. Everything is good, so there are no issues while deploying with other vendors.

Overall, I would rate the solution a nine out of ten because I expect a little bit faster support from the technical support team.