Cisco Ethernet Switches Reviews and Pricing

Consulting Engineer EMEA at a computer software company with 201-500 employees

Jun 29, 2014

Remote management and monitoring, multi-layer switching and flexibility are valuable features.

What is most valuable?

Remote management and monitoring, multi-layer switching, flexibility, per port configurations, possibility of port aggregation, standard management interface, loads of documentation available from Cisco and Partners, multitude of troubleshooting tools embedded in the OS, QoS.

How has it helped my organization?

Ease of deployment of internal networks, separation of departments traffic, replacement of hubs (and the respective absence of collision related network unavailability), implementation of VoIP, improved configuration and access management.

What needs improvement?

VTP should be configured as Transparent by default.

For how long have I used the solution?

Several years, on different projects.

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What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

A close look at each part-number characteristics is recommended, especially regarding the type of Uplink Ports (do you need fiber or copper uplinks for example?) and specific protocols (do you need BGP? is RIPv2 enough, for instance), as some of them are only available in specific models or with additional licenses. Selecting the licensing type can be the slightly tricky part, although you can usually upgrade it later.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Not unless it was caused by malfunction or a mixup in configuration.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

On the specific cases I used, never. Adding new switches to the networks is painless (but please be careful with the VTP configuration though, as if it’s not configured you do have the possibility of a new switch giving you trouble with the VLAN configuration).

How are customer service and support?

Customer Service: Excellent.Technical Support: Besides the great set of documentation available, partner support is usually good, no issues so far, on different projects.

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

Previous configuration was based on a basic router and switch configuration for each separate network, interconnecting at router level. The needs included reducing equipments, add management to the network to allow central monitoring and configuration, and adding new functionalities to the network, as well as having a buildup of different networks to separate traffic.

How was the initial setup?

Straightforward if you’re installing for the first time. If it’s not the first installation, and you have multiple VLANs in place, be careful with the VTP configuration setup, as a misconfigured switch, since it’s on VTP server mode, can give you trouble.

What about the implementation team?

Mixed types of implementations. Mixed expertise levels - some partners have better technicians than others, but never had a case where the technician didn’t leave with the configuration completed.

What was our ROI?

Generally a reduction on the number of equipments to manage, less time to manage and higher uptime.

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

Day to day costs are the maintenance costs from the manufacturer (different levels available), and part of the time of the IT Team. Setup Costs have depended on projects, and specific setup needs.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

A few, namely Huawei and HP. While Huawei did allow some of the same characteristics at a lower price, available expertise and documentation, tipped the balance to Cisco, and the greater flexibility and feature set tipped the balance from HP.

What other advice do I have?

Check that it’s the most cost effective solution (it’s very expensive if you only want to connect 4 users and a printer.); Check the model that fits your needs, regarding number of ports, and PoE for instance (no need of PoE for most uses.); Main uses would be to use a solution with multiple internal VLANs (needs at least IP Base License), VoIP implementations, and adding security and manageability to the network; Carefully check what License Feature set you need (there are 3 levels, LAN Base, IP Base, and IP Services), depending on your needs. You may be able to upgrade the software feature set later, but should check ahead.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.

it_user133842

Infrastructure Connectivity Engineer at Reputable Service Company

Jun 22, 2014

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Cisco Ethernet Switches are very reliable in any network.

What is most valuable?

Port-based security feature, network virtualization using VLAN, loop-avoidance mechanism using different variants of STP, many others.

How has it helped my organization?

It has improved the network reliability, It has improved the network availability which results to improved productivity of the users ( Increased ROI).

For how long have I used the solution?

4 to 5 years now

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

How are customer service and technical support?

Customer Service: GoodTechnical Support: Good

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

Yes, due to demand driven by requirements.

What about the implementation team?

In-house

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Dlink, Mikrotik

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Ethernet Switches

August 2025

Free Report: Cisco Ethernet Switches Reviews and More

Learn what your peers think about Cisco Ethernet Switches. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: August 2025.

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it_user92235

Security System Engineer at a wholesaler/distributor

Mar 4, 2014

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The interface needs improvement to make it more friendly but overall the products are reliable

What is most valuable?

Reliability and availability

How has it helped my organization?

Eliminates weak points, it simply does its job.

What needs improvement?

More friendly interface, less Cisco centric approach

For how long have I used the solution?

8 years

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

How are customer service and technical support?

Customer Service: Rather good, I've only needed to contact them on really rare occasions.Technical Support: There was no need for technical support. T only thing I did was a memory upgrade which was quick and not problematic.

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

Yes, linux based routers such as pfsense, zentyal. Those solutions were much more unstable. I also used some less known switches. First power supply issues eliminates them fast.

How was the initial setup?

If you have the proper knowledge level there is no problems with initial setup. You simply need to know what are you doing.

What about the implementation team?

In-house

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

Initial costs were reasonable and the day-to-day cost is the cost of keeping a Cisco engineer on staff

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Yes- 3com, Mikrotik

What other advice do I have?

Hire/educate a Cisco engineer or a fast learning IT manager.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.

it_user92235

Security System Engineer at a wholesaler/distributor

Mar 2, 2014

Pro's and Con's of transitioning from Juniper to Cisco

I recently spoke with a colleague who transitioned from Juniper to Cisco. We agreed that each solutions is completely different and each one has its strong and weak points.

The transition process was rather hard. It was hard to change approach and rare similarities were sometimes misleading for my colleague. Although Cisco is moving away from the standard monolithic IOS straight to modular architecture there are many disadvantages for somebody who 'thinks modular'.

Personally I have experience with Cisco and although I have some difficulties and a Cisco-centric way of thinking, I prefer it over the others. But if I would possibility need to be involved in a Juniper environment, I think it would be worth to walk through the transition process.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.

William Kosinetz

CIO at a government with 501-1,000 employees

Feb 24, 2014

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Business decisions made today, now become key strategic advantages and capabilities of tomorrow.

What is most valuable?

Flexibility

How has it helped my organization?

We standardized on an common command line interface

What needs improvement?

When Cisco products integrate with a third party module it not easy to renew support on the third party modules software. On hardware replacement the serial numbers don't get added to the support contract and feature codes have to be reinstalled.

For how long have I used the solution?

10 Years

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

How are customer service and technical support?

Customer Service: Very GoodTechnical Support: Very Good

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

Yes, because of cost. Then the replacements were not reliable enough.

How was the initial setup?

Complex setup. Mostly because of Data,VoIP and Video QOS.

What about the implementation team?

Both. The vendor was very good.

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

The cost on the entire infrastructure was 1.2 mil. The OPEX is 95k

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Yes, tried HP, Dell, 3Com

What other advice do I have?

The network system will need the capacity for future expansion. To go beyond Enterprise Integration, by creating a new infrastructure. Business decisions made today, now become key strategic advantages and capabilities of tomorrow.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.

it_user7944

Network Engineer & Web Developer at OneTexh

Jul 21, 2013

It seems a little expensive given the compromises on offerings and features.

The switches used worldwide are basically required to optimize routers’ performance. Users apt to use Cisco switches among which “Catalyst” series are most popular and abruptly demanding produced. The Cisco Catalyst series Switches are mostly wire-speed, low-latency, Layer 2-4, 1-rack-unit (1-RU), fixed-configuration switches. The catalyst series switches provide exceptional performance, bandwidth, and reliability for low-density. The abundant use of switches provides dependability, reliability and constancy by working with servers and workstations because of remarkable features like :
 Layer 2 & 3 switching
 Remote Management Protocols
• Telnet
• HTTP
• SNMP
 VLAN Support
 Multiple spanning tree
 Trivial File Transfer
 DHCP
 Auto IP Routing
 MAC Address Filter
The worst disadvantage lies in the security which particularly belongs to console port to which modems or other router attached to. The console does not support RS232 DCD (Data Carrier detect). Therefore when the executional session comes to a conclusion, one has to manually detach the session.
Another problem related to catering the situation when a modem connection is lost. In this case, switches are unable to reset therefore producing a security hole because of illegal entry of modem call without the authorization.
But in the normal cases, one can take great advantages of blasting and innovative features of these catalyst series switches and other Cisco’s switches.
If you're not a fan of the Cisco switches for price alone, then the catalyst is definitely going to meet your needs. It seems a little expensive given the compromises on offerings and features. The best thing for which you can love Cisco’s is that its VLAN is automatically configured but its counterpart Juniper products need to be configured manually. Another difference Is the presence of VTP (VLan Truncking Protocol) in Cisco’s switches that is absent in Juniper. Cisco’s switches support both 802.1Q and ISL (Inter Switched Link) protocols while Juniper only supports 802.1Q.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.

it_user7944Network Engineer & Web Developer at OneTexh

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Jul 26, 2013

Hi Gamerboy.what you noticed is also highlighted by me in this review. Yet it has that drawback but apart from it, cisco switches are still more preferable than other related products.

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it_user1020

Head of Data Center at a tech company with 51-200 employees

Nov 24, 2012

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Cisco 3560X delivers outstanding performance, manageability and reliability. Specialized skills are required for configuring them, so make sure to have someone around during implementation.

Valuable Features:

Cisco Ethernet Switches bring outstanding performance and manageability. We have been using ethernet switches from various vendors like 3Com, Allied Telesis, LInksys and HP before we bought our Cisco ethernet switches as part of our network equipment upgrade project.The results after switching our core networking devices with Cisco switches and routers was undeniable. Network performance improved tremendously, as large file transfers completed faster than before. Intranet web applications also benefited from the improved network speed.While Cisco ethernet switches usually cost a lot more than other comparable devices from other manufacturers, the value of your investment on Cisco does not there. We were also able to acquire the CNAP equipment bundle at a massively discounted rate.

Room for Improvement:

Set-up and configuration of Cisco ethernet switches can be a daunting task, and you need someone experienced with configuring Cisco devices for this task. Configuring a Cisco switch via CLI can be a daunting task for others.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. If these are not problems for your company then the choice is easy.

Other Advice:

Overall, Cisco Ethernet Switches are highly recommended. They really improve overall network performance and gives you the peace of mind you deserve. Just be sure to have someone very knowledgeable about configuring Cisco devices on-hand to help you with the configuration and network set-up.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.