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Cisco Ethernet Switches pros and cons

Vendor: Cisco
4.3 out of 5
Badge Ranked 1

Pros & Cons summary

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Prominent pros & cons

PROS

Cisco Ethernet Switches provide stable and reliable performance with low failure rates.
The hardware is rugged and durable, offering long-term usage without frequent replacements.
Technical support is highly rated, with quick responses and helpful assistance.
With high scalability and compatibility with many brands, Cisco Ethernet Switches are suitable for extensive network setups.
Advanced features like VLANs and PoE add to the functionality and versatility of Cisco Ethernet Switches.

CONS

Customers highlight that the price of Cisco Ethernet Switches is too high and suggest it could be lowered to remain competitive.
There are frequent complaints about the complexity and ever-changing nature of Cisco's licensing system, which adds to customer challenges.
Technical support is criticized for being insufficient and not providing expert assistance immediately, which frustrates users.
Users report regular bugs and suggest improvements in software stability, especially concerning BGP protocol and firmware upgrades.
Integration with third-party products and programmability are areas where Cisco Ethernet Switches lag, requiring enhancements to add value and accessibility.
 

Cisco Ethernet Switches Pros review quotes

it_user1065 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Manager of Data Center at a integrator with 51-200 employees
Jul 1, 2012
Cisco has built upon its reputation in delivering high quality ethernet switches for small scale to enterprise level needs.
it_user1164 - PeerSpot reviewer
Infrastructure Expert at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Jul 13, 2012
It has 24 x gigabit SFP + 8 x SFP ports, MAC address table size 96k entries, routing protocol RIP-2, EIGRP, operates on DC -48/-60 V power, supports remote management protocols SNMP 1, SNMP 2, RMON, Telnet, SNMP 3, complies with multiple IEEE standards, has RAM of 768 MB (installed) / 2 GB (max) and a flash memory of 192 MB, and includes the Cisco IOS IP Base software.
it_user1143 - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Manager at a tech company with 51-200 employees
Jul 13, 2012
Very stable switch. We use them as core switches at some of our locations and we never had any issues.
Learn what your peers think about Cisco Ethernet Switches. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2026.
884,933 professionals have used our research since 2012.
it_user1020 - PeerSpot reviewer
Head of Data Center at a tech company with 51-200 employees
Nov 24, 2012
Overall, Cisco Ethernet Switches are highly recommended.
WK
CIO at a government with 501-1,000 employees
Feb 24, 2014
Customer Service: Very GoodTechnical Support: Very Good
it_user92235 - PeerSpot reviewer
Security System Engineer at a wholesaler/distributor
Mar 4, 2014
Eliminates weak points, it simply does its job.
DR
Network Engineer at Transportation
Jun 12, 2017
Modularity of Industrial switches (IE3000) provides flexibility in solutions yet based on one platform.
it_user98859 - PeerSpot reviewer
Consulting Engineer EMEA at a computer software company with 201-500 employees
Jun 29, 2014
Customer Service: Excellent.Technical Support: Besides the great set of documentation available, partner support is usually good, no issues so far, on different projects.
it_user116220 - PeerSpot reviewer
Works at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Jul 14, 2014
Integration of Voice and Data over a single wire without any loss in voice quality, with security throughout LAN and WAN devices, and redundancy providing extremely high availability of devices.
it_user146331 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Network Operations Specialist at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees
Sep 3, 2014
Centralized administration and reduced time consumption.
 

Cisco Ethernet Switches Cons review quotes

it_user1065 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Manager of Data Center at a integrator with 51-200 employees
Jul 1, 2012
Few cons on the cisco switches are 1) Pricing strategies 2) Gigabit EtherChannel 3) Port based ACL 4) Ingress and Egress filtering not present in all 5) IGMP snooping and ISL trunking feature not present in few good series switches
it_user1164 - PeerSpot reviewer
Infrastructure Expert at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Jul 13, 2012
It is expensive in terms of pricing.
it_user1143 - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Manager at a tech company with 51-200 employees
Jul 13, 2012
Costly as compared to other brands, but with Cisco you definitely get reliability.
Learn what your peers think about Cisco Ethernet Switches. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2026.
884,933 professionals have used our research since 2012.
it_user1020 - PeerSpot reviewer
Head of Data Center at a tech company with 51-200 employees
Nov 24, 2012
If you invest on Cisco switches and use their propriety technology, be prepared for the cost implications and vendor lock-in for the foreseeable future.
WK
CIO at a government with 501-1,000 employees
Feb 24, 2014
When Cisco products integrate with a third party module it not easy to renew support on the third party modules software.
it_user92235 - PeerSpot reviewer
Security System Engineer at a wholesaler/distributor
Mar 4, 2014
More friendly interface, less Cisco centric approach
DR
Network Engineer at Transportation
Jun 12, 2017
Cisco should look into more flexible licensing for hardware/IOS.
it_user98859 - PeerSpot reviewer
Consulting Engineer EMEA at a computer software company with 201-500 employees
Jun 29, 2014
Selecting the licensing type can be the slightly tricky part, although you can usually upgrade it later.
it_user116220 - PeerSpot reviewer
Works at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Jul 14, 2014
The warranty costs are high. This is the reason HP and Juniper are somehow getting their clients.
it_user146331 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Network Operations Specialist at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees
Sep 3, 2014
The chassis can run out of slots as the environment expand further along.