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reviewer929688 - PeerSpot reviewer
Owner with self employed
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Easy and straightforward setup but the dashboard needs improvement
Pros and Cons
  • "For me, the initial setup was easy and straightforward, but for some of our customers who are not as familiar with networking, it can be complicated."
  • "The dashboard needs some minor improvements."

What is our primary use case?

Our clients use this solution for monitoring and configuration purposes.

The deployment model varies from client to client.

What needs improvement?

The dashboard needs some minor improvements. Sometimes it is difficult to find items, other times it is quick, it just depends. Most of the feedback we receive are not complaints but suggestions or ideas about the dashboard.

The stability could be improved.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for more than twenty years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We have some glitches once in a while. There are times where it's a little bit slow or a bit delayed.

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What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have not had to scale yet, we are normally working with a fixed size. We haven't had to worry about upsizing or downsizing.

For our purposes, we are not using this, but on the client-side, we have anywhere from two to eight users, they are made up of technicians, support staff, and engineers.

How was the initial setup?

For me, the initial setup was easy and straightforward, but for some of our customers who are not as familiar with networking, it can be complicated.

For a technical person, it is straightforward. Of course, now and then you have to look in the manual and read it, as nothing is completely self intuitive.

Deployment can take anywhere from one to five days, depending on the requirements.

We require two employees for deployments.

What about the implementation team?

We implement this solution ourselves.

What other advice do I have?

There is no favorite function or feature, it depends on what you have to do and how you do it.

My advice regarding this solution is to understand your network, definitely have a look in the manual, understand the structure and don't just rely on trial and error. It's not target-aiming, so trial and error will not work.

I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
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ERP / HMIS / EMR Specialist at Fauji Foundation
Real User
ERP deployment & Cisco Ethernet Switches

High availability and sustainable network is a prime and foremost obligatory requirement of ERP deployment, Cisco layer 2-4 switches deliver the best when robust, secured, sub- netted and resilient network is concerned.

Strong Areas:

The Catalyst switches give ease of configuration with a comprehensive set of management protocol support such as Telnet, HTTP, CLI, SNMP and much more with software's like CMS (Cluster Management Suite) and Ciscoworks, all together. Conventional Fast Ethernet to Gigabit Ethernet connectivity with outstanding QoS, stackable and fixed configuration, security features like static VLAN support and in Linux OS ,TACACS with Radius Dial in authentication support where environment of installation of device(Switch) is harsh , less maintained temperature and less manageable environment like Tertiary care hospitals, Universities, Call centers, Tech labs and SMB’s where limited manpower is the major factor in considerations. Productivity of mid line layer 2 switches (Catalyst 2950G) can be coupled by using in conjunction with Catalyst 4506 Ethernet layer 3 switch acting as core of the IP routing. 2 x GBIC I/O slots (standard) for gigabit Ethernet and single mode fiber channel is one of the distinct specialties in sub- netted network, they offer.

Possible Cons:

Cost is one of the substantial aspect for layer 2 supported devices like catalyst WS-2900 series as compared to HP networking device with HP 2900 series. Yes cisco is little higher in cost but in return cisco offer resilience, reliability and dependable network for any application

Though Cisco provides lifetime limited warranty for their products like WS-2950G -48 switch, but HP 2900 series is shipped with “As long as you owned the device with advance replacement in a very short time.”

My experience is with a gigabit network of 467 active nodes spanned across 29 Catalyst WS-2950G-48 switches and inter-VLAN routed through Catalyst 4506 layer 3 switches with fiber optic backbone. Beside this I have had the experience of using HP 2920 switches which are less rugged and require a temperature moderated environment with less resilience as compare to Cisco 2950.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
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Senior Solution Architect at a comms service provider with 501-1,000 employees
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DNA is a very good way to do the configuration of all the equipment
Pros and Cons
  • "Good and stable operational experience with nearly no loss of hardware and very few software bugs."
  • "DNA Center is very interesting in automating the setup and monitoring as with each occurrence it gets easier to troubleshoot and provides an impression about what could be the problem."
  • "Location of customers to connect clients to the servers and transport the data and VoIP in parallel with QoS and NBAR with 802.1X."

What is our primary use case?

  • Collecting Clients in the floors.
  • Concentrate distribution and to forward over routers to other parts.
  • Fiber and copper ports with enhanced power over Ethernet and stacks.
  • NM-modules with 10G

How has it helped my organization?

  • Good and stable operational experience with nearly no loss of hardware and very few software bugs.
  • Plug and play works now.
  • DNA is a very good way to do the configuration of all the equipment.

What is most valuable?

DNA Center is very interesting in automating the setup and monitoring as with each occurrence it gets easier to troubleshoot and provides an impression about what could be the problem.

What needs improvement?

Location of customers to connect clients to the servers and transport the data and VoIP in parallel with QoS and NBAR with 802.1X.

For how long have I used the solution?

More than five years.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
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Dmitriy Ronkin - PeerSpot reviewer
Dmitriy RonkinNetwork Engineer at Transportation
Real User
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DNA is relatively new product even it gets use of some matured features in the background. But it is quite a change on how we do access layer management. What I like about the solution, I could preserve my investment in the legacy hardware when deploy DNA. Older switches (not all - please, consult feature support for Cisco equipment) could be integrated into DNA matrix.

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Network Engineer at Transportation
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Pros: streamlined and versatile solutions. Cons: expensive maintenance fees and they are slow with patches

What is most valuable?

Versatility and streamlined IOS

Availability of expertise on the market (resources)

How has it helped my organization?

Streamlined IOS helped to develop templates for Ethernet Switches without worrying of compatibility of commands in regards to hardware platforms.

Modularity of Industrial switches (IE3000) provides flexibility in solutions yet based on one platform.

Vast array of Industrial models (IE2000, IE3000, IE4000, IE5000).

What needs improvement?

Acceptance of open source trends (there is slight move already - just keep going)

For how long have I used the solution?

10 years overall for all switching/routing products. Industrial switches for last 5 years.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

No

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

No

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Well, need more pro-active option to add PoE modules to Industrial switches.

How are customer service and technical support?

Customer Service:

We deal with a Cisco partner - 4.5 out of 5.

Technical Support:

We deal with a Cisco partner - 4.0 out of 5. Sometimes we find the solution before we get an answer from the Cisco partner.

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

Everything is driven by business requirements, which in turn different from one project to another. Major points are: availability of support/expertise beyond internal resources, territorial coverage, performance and support of multiple options from enterprise to industrial environment

How was the initial setup?

Straightforward.

What about the implementation team?

90 % in house. Vendor team has sufficient skills.

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

Cisco should look into more flexible licensing for hardware/IOS. It is hard to beat some vendors' lifetime warranty even they offer less in functionality compare to Cisco.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

There are multiple vendors but they are very specialized and do not support versatile solutions. For example, we had to move from Schneider switches as they were just a marketing move by vendor and did not provided better performance or compatibility with SCADA products.

What other advice do I have?

Start from your business requirements (what would you like to have) and budget (what can you afford).

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
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System Engineer Monitoring and Response at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Consultant
Pro's and Con's - Cisco vs. Juniper

Competitive strength – Cisco and Juniper are a good fit in any data centre.


Competitive weaknesses –

  1. Cisco takes a proprietary spin on standards, increasing fear of vendor lock-in and cost to replace. Juniper has to spend time explaining the technology.
  2. Cisco’s Nexus portfolio is broad and complex, requiring advanced skills to design, deploy and manage which increases costs. Juniper’s market share remains small compared to equally well-known competitors and calls into question the company’s ability to execute and attract channel and other partners.

Current Perspective –

  1. Cisco switches remains a leader in the data centre due to both market presence and portfolio breadth.
  2. Cisco switches continues to win new customers based on both its portfolio and its technology partner network

Strength and weaknesses

  1. Cisco’s portfolio of switches, servers, software and services makes it one of the preeminent data centre technology partners for enterprises today.
  2. Cisco constantly strives to develop and deliver cutting edge solutions through innovations that meet the needs customers face today.
  3. By simplifying operations, Juniper’s networks increase business agility and at the same reduce operating expenses
  4. Cisco is a company driven by the market and by customers, and the resulting solutions produced and offered are a direct result of that demand
  5. Junipers inter operate with any vendor’s switch devices very well.

Convergence

  1. Cisco is the only vendor that delivers an all Unified Ports form factor of switches that can support any Ethernet or storage protocol (FC, FCoE, iSCSI, and NAS).
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
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it_user3396 - PeerSpot reviewer
it_user3396Team Lead at Tata Consultancy Services
Top 5Real User
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Cool report

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ICT Manager at a aerospace/defense firm
Real User
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Modules are hot swappable, as you have dual power supplies. If you need improvements, you'll need to upgrade the hardware.

What is most valuable?

Support for various dynamic IP routing protocols and the ability to slot in additional modules while the switch is running.

How has it helped my organization?

Modules are hot swappable, as you have dual power supplies, as well as support for various dynamic IP routing protocols.

What needs improvement?

Nothing that I can think of. If you want to improve, you have the choice to upgrade the hardware.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've used it for four years.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

No issues encountered.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's been very stable since deployment.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's very scalable, as you just need to buy new modules, and slot them in as and when required.

How are customer service and technical support?

Customer Service:

Excellent customer service.

Technical Support:

I never had an issue yet with this product which required TAC intervention but from my previous experience Cisco TAC support is the best.

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

We previously used 3com switches, and we switched to Cisco in order to standardize our network hardware.

How was the initial setup?

It's easy to deploy if you know what you are doing, and do proper planning. For me, it was pretty straightforward. I have years of experience on Cisco products.

What about the implementation team?

It was an in-house deployment.

What was our ROI?

It's high.

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

It's worth the price you pay.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We considered using Cisco 3700 series switches and stacking them.

What other advice do I have?

It's best for access layer deployment.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
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Senior Network Operations Specialist at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees
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Cisco 6509 Ether Switches can be a one stop and do-it-all product for a huge enterprise.

What is most valuable?

The blade module feature which provide the scalability for site expansion.

How has it helped my organization?

A Cisco Network Structure consisted of 3 Layers (Core, Distribution & Access). We used the FWSM (Firewall Services Module) to route the traffic and as a gateway to get to the WAN. As a result, we were able to collapse the Core Layer into the Distribution Layer with a few blade modules (FWSM, SUP & Ethernet).

What needs improvement?

A FoE module would be imminent in the future. This module can communicate with storage devices' and ESXi Servers' HBA (fiber) connection via fibre channel switches (Brocade or Cisco MDS). This can provide a cost effective method in a data center environment without upgrading to a more advanced Cisco Nexus core switch.

For how long have I used the solution?

5 years

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

The power supply requires certain sockets and UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply). Each device should require a designated UPS for it. The UPS should not be shared with other devices. An improper termination of the switch's power supply cased a power surge and took out a SUP module during an annual power test.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

No extraordinary issues. Just minor day-to-day issues.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The Chassis can run out of slots as the environment expand further along.

How are customer service and technical support?

Customer Service: Great but Cisco outsources its customer support services to India since most of our issues and outages occurred after hours. Some support technicians have a heavy Indian accent which led to difficult comprehension and time consumption.Technical Support: 4.5 out of a 5 since Tech Support personnels are very knowledgeable of the product.

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

No, I have not due to our contract agreement with Cisco.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup consist of the right personnel to set up and administer the product.

What about the implementation team?

All implementation were completed by in-house team members.

What was our ROI?

Centralized administration and reduced time consumption.

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

The SUP (Supervisor) module can provide up to 720 GBPS of data transmission compared to a stackable Cisco 3750 switches.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Yes, the Cisco Nexus 7000 Series core switches.

What other advice do I have?

No further comments.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
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Works at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
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Best in its class but warranty costs are high. This is the reason HP and Juniper are getting their clients

What is most valuable?

High Availability, Toughness under temperature rise situations.

How has it helped my organization?

Integration of Voice and Data over a single wire without any loss in voice quality. Security throughout LAN and WAN devices. Redundancy and extremely high availability of devices.

What needs improvement?

The Warranty costs are high. This is the reason HP and Juniper are somehow getting their clients.

For how long have I used the solution?

9 Years.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

Sometimes it is quite complex as there is still the need for qualified technicians. For example: in the case of Cisco Nexus series.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

No

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

No

How are customer service and technical support?

Customer Service: GoodTechnical Support: Good

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

I have used, 3com, Dell, Dlink but didn’t find the ease of use and features rich device!

How was the initial setup?

Initial Setup with Cisco device configuration is always quite easy. They have a setup wizard that asks you the parameters that are needed to make the switch up and running.

What about the implementation team?

Yes, our Client used a vendor team. Their work was fine; they were experts in settings up the small data center.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

HP, Dlink.

What other advice do I have?

Go for the Cisco Solution if Your Company can afford support Service and Warranty cost in future.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
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it_user117876 - PeerSpot reviewer
it_user117876Network Engineer at a tech company with 51-200 employees
Real User
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In my experience, the cisco devices do handle extremes quite well, I've worked with millitary deployable kit thats dropped off trucks or out of aircraft, or in mine sites with unstable power and numerous other nasties. The biggest issue with these kinds of environments is dust and extreme temperatures, or in the outback the bull dust, being sucked through the machines, not an issue until moisture is also incurred. All vendor network devices will suffer under those forms of conditions, but the Cisco kit still seems to keep ticking even with that sort of harsh treatment. Can't say what the Cisco RMA returns engineers would think on opening up a returned device thats full of bulldust though, I'd assume that might void the warranty :-).

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August 2025
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