Cisco Ethernet Switches Reviews

We primarily use the solution as an ethernet switch. 

The product is very robust.

It offers better reporting than any other OEM.

The solution is easy to set up. 

It is stable.

The solution can scale. 

In India, we have a requirement for free replacement warranties. For example, brands like HP are offering free replacement parts. Cisco needs to offer free replacement parts. They need to offer free replacements until the end of life for devices. They should offer this without requiring renewals. 

I have been using Cisco for the last 15 years. 

The solution is totally stable. I've used it for the last ten to 15 years and haven't faced any issues. There are no bugs or glitches. 

This is a scalable product. It expands well. 

We have about 50 users on the solution right now. 

I've never had to contact technical support. I cannot speak to how the support services are. 

The initial setup is very easy. We find it more straightforward than HP or Juniper.

The deployment process didn't take too long. If there is pre-planning done and it is okay, it shouldn't take more than one hour.

The solution is a bit more expensive when compared to other options. However, they are not so different. HP, for example, isn't much cheaper. They are all mostly the same.  

We are currently considering using Aruba and are evaluating them. 

I'm a customer and end-user.

It's a good solution. of course, you need to choose what meets your company's requirements. If you have the capital to buy it, I would recommend it. 

I'd rate the solution nine out of ten. It is robust and I have very few problems when dealing with Cisco switches. Also, support is fantastic.

I am using Cisco Ethernet Switches for internet usage.

The price of the solution could be reduced.

I have been using Cisco Ethernet Switches for approximately four years.

The solution is highly reliable.

I am the only one using this solution.

The support from Cisco Ethernet Switches is great.

I rate the support from Cisco Ethernet Switches a ten out of ten.

Positive

The initial setup of Cisco Ethernet Switches is straightforward. The deployment took approximately 30 minutes.

The deployment was done by myself.

The price of Cisco Ethernet Switches is expensive.

I would recommend this solution to others. This is the most reliable brand on the market.

I rate Cisco Ethernet Switches a ten out of ten.

If I have to make some connections, I use Cisco products and protocols, but if I have to multitask or have other requirements, that's where I use Cisco Ethernet Switches. I also use Cisco Ethernet Switches for my storage use case, particularly for FCIP.

I like that Cisco has a wide range of solutions, and you get good support for Cisco Ethernet Switches versus other products in the market.

An area for improvement in Cisco Ethernet Switches is its command-line interface, for example, for Juniper, because it's not working if you want to do some implementation. Still, for any system integrator or simple integration, it works.

Generally, an issue arises if you miss a semicolon or a space, for example, or if you add one word. It can be tricky because people usually forget minor details in a configuration. What could make Cisco Ethernet Switches better is a rollback feature. If you can quickly roll back the changes you made and revert to your old configuration, that would be helpful.

Another area for improvement is the response time of the technical support team. It could be faster.

I've worked with most Cisco switches for over twenty years, including Cisco Ethernet Switches. I still deal with Cisco Ethernet Switches.

Cisco Ethernet Switches are fine most of the time in terms of stability. However, for any significant number of machines, in some cases, systems fail, and that's normal.

I can scale Cisco Ethernet Switches when required. For example, when I'm running out of port, I need a new switch, but that only happens sometimes.

I'm not directly involved in contacting the Cisco Ethernet Switches technical support team. My company is a large service provider, and when you go out of scale, there'll be some limitations in the product, and that's when technical support comes in. Support takes a bit of time, though.

The initial setup for Cisco Ethernet Switches could have been more straightforward and user-friendly. If the setup were easier, then more people would love the product.

Deploying Cisco Ethernet Switches requires checking with the project coordinator on requirements, such as the network type, the bandwidth, etc., to determine the type of switch to use. I'll then figure out whether to input single-tier, dual-tier, or multi-tier on the Cisco Ethernet Switches.

I cannot comment on pricing for Cisco Ethernet Switches because customers use the product continuously, which also depends on the requirement. If I need to multitask or use up 40 GB, I need to change the switches or use a new solution. It depends on the customer's requirements.

I'm currently working with Cisco Ethernet Switches.

I'm not an end-user of Cisco Ethernet Switches, but I help the network team implement the product.

My company is huge because it's a telecom service provider, so it has a significant number of users of Cisco Ethernet Switches, but the number would not reach millions.

I recommend Cisco Ethernet Switches as long as your solution is correctly designed and your requirement is okay. You can implement the product or any other Cisco technology based on the two points I mentioned.

I'm rating Cisco Ethernet Switches as eight on a scale of one to ten.

There are no additional features in the switch from Cisco. They are conventional switches that only provide basic Layer Two switching capabilities and do not have the advanced security features that newer switches, such as Fortinet offer. They simply forward data and do not have any other capabilities.

The most valuable feature of Cisco Ethernet Switches is its hardware.

The current state of Cisco Ethernet Switches leaves room for improvement, particularly in regard to central management and security. While they possess the capability to function as owners of Layer Two, they fall short in regard to security awareness. While there are some supplementary products available that can provide additional security measures, such as the deployment of virtual machines, these solutions are external and not integrated within the switch itself. For this reason, Cisco Ethernet switches could benefit from incorporating the same centralized management and security features as other companies, such as Fortinet, offer in their FortiSwitches. By being aware of potential threats such as MAC spoofing and ARP poisoning, the switch can provide a more comprehensive level of security.

I have been using Cisco Ethernet Switches for a very long time.

I've communicated with the technical support team of Cisco previously in regard to their switches. I have always been pleased with the support I have received from them. No matter what challenges I have encountered with their products, I have always been satisfied with their assistance. The support team has consistently demonstrated their readiness to assist and I have never encountered any issues with their support services. Thus, I can confirm that I have indeed had previous interactions with the Cisco support team.

The initial setup of Cisco Ethernet Switches is never easy.

The solution is highly expensive compared to other solutions. The prices get tripled when they arrived in my country of Angola.

I would recommend others use Arista, Fortinet, or Juniper switches.

The adoption of Cisco Ethernet switches in Angola was a result of various factors, including the popularity and widespread usage of the brand. Additionally, the impact of the research and advisory firm, Gartner, has played a significant role in the purchasing decisions of decision-makers. Despite the speaker's advice to not solely rely on Gartner's recommendations, the company's influence is perceived as prominent as they often feature the most expensive solutions at the top of their rankings.

I rate Cisco Ethernet Switches a seven out of ten.

We use Cisco Ethernet switches for building on-site LAN projects and topologies. It depends on the switches I use. Usually, it's supposed to be a PoE, especially if we're supporting VoIP and wireless technologies. We deploy everything on-premises because I work with government entities in Singapore. 

Cisco Ethernet switches help build an office-based LAN. We seldom use Cisco Ethernet switches in data centers. We typically use Nexus switches for data centers. Compared to other vendors, Cisco switches are more like rugged switches. We seldom need to reboot those switches unless there's a bug or it was deployed on a different environment—like the racks aren't adequately ventilated.

Cisco switches have several valuable features like VLAN mapping. We seldom use that, but we find the security configurations helpful, like high availability with trading port channels and MAC filtering. 

Their firmware could be better secured against vulnerabilities or other exploits. Also, only selected catalyst switches are allowed to onboard to Cisco SD Access technology. 

I have used Cisco switches for 10 years.

I rate the hardware stability 10 out of 10. 

I rate Cisco Ethernet switches seven out of 10 for scalability. Unless the switch is submodular, you can remove those modules and plug in better ones. Scalability is harder if it's fixed hardware, but it's easier to scale a virtualized network appliance.

I rate Cisco support 10 out of 10. We usually purchase their highest level of support. 

Positive

Our setups are simple, but it depends on the complexity of the client's infrastructure and requirements. I'm more on the operations side, so everything is already deployed, but when we build a new network, I am involved in configuring the new switches. When we do an RMA for a faulty device, I configure it. It's usually a copy-paste of the configuration, but I can build the design from scratch.

The number of people required for deployment and maintenance depends on the size of the environment. A data center usually needs about five or six people to maintain it. You have two people on 12-hour shifts; the rest are senior staff. 

I'm not usually involved on the financial side, but the ROI is excellent based on the performance of Cisco products overall.

I rate Cisco Ethernet switches three out of 10 for affordability. They are expensive, but they're worth it. I believe in quality over quantity.

I rate Cisco Ethernet switches nine out of 10. I highly recommend Cisco switches, but the bottom line is that it depends on your budget.

I am using the Cisco Ethernet Switches in the food industry.

Cisco Ethernet Switches could improve if they removed the command line interface and replaced it with a better GUI. It is too difficult at the moment, we always need to figure out the commands.

I have been using Cisco Ethernet Switches for approximately six months.

The stability of Cisco Ethernet Switches is very stable.

Cisco Ethernet Switches are scalable.

We have approximately 250 people using the Cisco Ethernet Switches.

I did not have any experience with the technical support of Cisco Ethernet Switches.

We were previously using Aruba switches and we migrated to Cisco because of the groups' direction, it was not a fault of Aruba switches. Aruba switches are great. We were working with Aruba for 10 years without any problem, and they gave us a lifetime warranty for the switches. If we had a faulty switch they would give us new ones.

The service from Aruba was very good, but I think that Cisco solutions are more professional for something VLANs. I didn't try Aruba with VLANs, however, we make all of our VLANs with Cisco.

I prefer Aruba solutions because they are easier to use.

The initial setup was for Cisco Ethernet Switches was straightforward.

I rate the implementation of Cisco Ethernet Switches a four out of ten.

The implementation of Cisco Ethernet Switches was done with a partner and our experience was very good.

We are in a manufacturing environment running 24 hours a day. We have a dedicated team of three that works on the switches and network.

We have a one-year license to have the Smart Net Total Care service. The license to use the Cisco Ethernet Switches comes with the initial purchase of the solution.

I rate the price of Cisco Ethernet Switches a two out of five.

The cost of Cisco Ethernet Switches is expensive.

I have evaluated other switches, such as Aruba.

My advice to others looking to purchase a Cisco Ethernet Switch is the best use case depends on many factors. For example, the number of users, details of the company, type of network, and how large the network is. If the company is small to medium-sized I would recommend Aruba. For larger companies, I would recommend Cisco Ethernet Switches.

I rate Cisco Ethernet Switches an eight out of ten.

Our main use case of ethernet switches is for security networks for digital video, digital access control, and digital inter-communications. Most of our work is for public institutions, including hospitals and universities when they need upgrades to POE switches. We're consultants in the security industry and I'm the senior project manager/systems engineer.

One of the prime features of this product is Multicast which is critical for video systems, ensuring you don't take down the network during an event where everybody needs video access. It generally requires layer 3 switches so that we cut up VLANs and separate different aspects of the systems. 

Network setup and Multicast are critical components for us and when you're also programming for video streams it can become quite complicated. It's more of an issue when you're dealing with public institutions and there might be a lack of tech-savvy people. When it comes to the video streams, if you're sending real-time video in a security system, and you drop packets, the information is lost and you can't get it back. That's a critical aspect for us. One of the issues we have is that the guy doing the video system knows how that works, and the network people know how the network works, but they don't know how to communicate with each other. The industry is trying to adapt to sort out that problem.  

I've been using this solution for over 30 years. 

This solution is stable. 

This solution covers it all. I've done everything from simple 12-port switches for a small facility to a wide area network with core switches and multiple redundant communication lines and there haven't been any scalability issues. There's no one-size-fits-all in terms of maintenance required, it depends on the size of the organization. 

On one of our recent large projects where we used core switches, I worked in-depth with technical support to help determine how to configure the switches, which hardware was required, and how to get the redundant communication paths. We don't use support much but when we do they're very helpful. 

The initial setup is complex. We've found that a lot of people don't know how to configure Multicast properly on a network, particularly in government agencies. It's one of the key components, especially when you're in the security industry, and it's a big issue for us. There's a steep learning curve in terms of properly setting up the network to manage the Multicast traffic, and then programming, especially on the IP video systems. Because they're managing video streams both systems have to be set up properly, and there seems to be a lack of knowledge around that. 

Our clients purchase the license so we're not involved in that aspect. Cisco doesn't like to give out information unless you're a dealer. For smaller projects, the cost is an issue and organizations will often look for less expensive options. Cisco is the major player in the network environment, but there are numerous alternative products that may be less feature-rich but fit the bill from a cost perspective. In addition to licensing, there is likely to be an annual fee to enable access to support. 

We previously looked at Extreme Networks, Fortinet, Aruba and NETGEAR. When we're dealing with harsh environments, we tend to look at companies like ComNet, EtherWAN, GarrettCom, who make hardened switches for harsh or difficult environments. A lot of the main players only make switches that go in data centers and IDF rooms.

When configured properly, the solution works. I rate this solution nine out of 10. 

All Ethernet switches come in various sizes and capabilities. For example, we can have a 12-port switch, a 24-port switch, or even a 48-port switch with multiple fiber up-links. Additionally, there are different feature sets depending on the brand and model, such as IP services, LAN-based, or IP-based. Stacking is only possible with similar feature sets, which means two 9300 switches may not be stackable, but up to eight of the same model may. Additionally, the iOS and feature set capabilities may differ between the same models. All of the switches are Ethernet, but the features they are equipped with vary, which means they will operate differently. For example, a LAN-based switch will only work at primarily layer 2, whereas IP services works more as a router with features such as NAT, multicast, dynamic routing, QOS, and other additional and advanced services.

Generally, we use the switches to provide LAN access to endpoints (workstations, cameras, wireless access points, IP phones, and so on).

In most projects awarded to my organization, we used Cisco Ethernet switches.

The most valuable feature of the solution is its stability and durability. There is no other alternative solution that is as stable as Cisco Ethernet Switches. We can expect Cisco Ethernet Switches to last for years without issue.

We often face issues with Cisco software, and while they do release patches to fix bugs, I believe they need to improve. Huawei, one of Cisco's competitors, is better in this regard. While I'm not a fan of Huawei due to my environment, clients insist on using it because it is cheaper. Despite this, I think Cisco could improve its software. Cisco should strive to improve the software for its switches. To make the switch more user-friendly, Cisco should create a system where a user can simply connect their cable and access the GUI interface without needing to configure the device first on the CLI.

I have been using the solution for nine years.

The solution is very stable.

The solution is highly scalable.

We have a good TAC support experience.

Neutral

The initial setup of a Cisco switch is straightforward for those who are technically inclined. This is because most Cisco switches are manned, meaning they require some configuration on the command line interface (CLI) before access to the graphical user interface (GUI) is granted. With a basic knowledge of the Cisco CLI, setup should take approximately 20-30 minutes.

The pricing is comparatively expensive.

I give the solution a nine out of ten.