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Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch Ethernet Switches vs NETGEAR Switches comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch E...
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
22nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
NETGEAR Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
6th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
57
Ranking in other categories
LAN Switching (8th), AV Over IP Switching (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch Ethernet Switches is 1.4%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NETGEAR Switches is 7.3%, down from 8.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Ethernet Switches Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
NETGEAR Switches7.3%
Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch Ethernet Switches1.4%
Other91.3%
Ethernet Switches
 

Q&A Highlights

AJ
Co-Founder at Shellios Technolabs
 

Featured Reviews

MK
Operational Manager at Astrah Technologies
Has enabled reliable access control with good scalability
The primary use case is access control and normal LAN usage, including internet and email. For example, I have deployed the solution in airport scenarios where there are many users The most valuable feature for me is the stability of the switches. They do not hang often and are very reliable,…
Tomas Devriese - PeerSpot reviewer
Teamleader Av Installers at solufak
VLAN support has improved audiovisual installations and secures network traffic for our projects
Our major use cases include audiovisual installations and we mainly use the AV line for that. We work with the VLAN support feature The best things about NETGEAR Switches are the support they provide and the ease of implementation. The ease of installation helps with network performance. It helps…

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"As someone with long-term experience with the product, I can say that you can trust the Alcatel switches."
"All of the features in these switches are good."
"The new web graphical interface is much better than before. We now have easy access to the command lines. They're all functional."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the wireless access points that enable direct access to clusters, and this is also a very stable and scalable solution."
"The product is stable. It does have only one power supply. They don't have a redundant power supply."
"The most valuable feature for me is the stability of the switches."
"The solution doesn't have many proprietary protocols like Cisco's. It mainly uses standard protocols like VRRP (similar to Cisco's HSRP), Spanning Tree, and Rapid Spanning Tree, which can sometimes cause integration issues."
"It's easy to extend the stack, We don't use the smaller switches, but it's going well for the rest."
"The remote management tools are fantastic. The combination of the webpage as well as the app makes life so much easier. I don't need to go and visit sites to do upgrades or any sorts of changes. The firmware can all be deployed remotely. I can see the traffic on each of the switch ports remotely as well, so I can see if we've got problems, down to an individual port. It's very granular."
"It's definitely worth it for what you're getting; a lot of switches, a lot of networks."
"We have one client that has three Insight switches and when we make a change to their network... we can make the configuration change and push it down to all three switches at once. We don't have to individually log on to each switch to make the change."
"Technical support is helpful and quick to respond."
"The ability to mix and match is invaluable. So, we didn't have to run massive super extensive switches in the data closets where it wasn't necessary. Being able to manage it all from one place, as all your network configuration settings went live across your entire building from one management console was really handy."
"This has helped our business to provide better service to our customers, and that's what they look for from us."
"NETGEAR Switches has valuable cybersecurity features."
"For us to have a system where we can run a 4K video source virtually anywhere in a building without having to worry about really expensive matrix switchers, this is the way AV is going in the next little while."
 

Cons

"The product would be better if it were completely compatible with other switching products."
"OmniSwitch Ethernet Switches would be improved if cloud-based technology was provided in the Gulf region."
"There needs to be better integration with the interface."
"The price should be lowered so that we can capture more of the market for Ethernet switches."
"I could see them possibly creating a more intuitive software. It's very user-friendly, but there are some things that aren't very intuitive when programming the switches."
"My customer's team is not able to understand the loophole with Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch Ethernet Switches, but apart from that, there are no issues."
"The solution could be more user friendly and there are issues with technical support where the response time is sometimes very slow."
"The network connection should be improved."
"Even though I'm using it, I'd throw it down at a three out ten, because it is really bad that the status lights can't be seen from the front."
"NETGEAR should focus on eliminating single points of failure."
"What I'd like to see is more compatibility with virtual stacking, so that 4300-series switches and 3300-series switches will actually stack together and that virtual switch stacks, themselves, are not limited to just six devices, so that they can create larger loops with more bandwidth and more redundancy."
"I've currently maxed out the scalability of the switches, and this revolves around the virtual stacks."
"There is a lot of delay in the data coming to the servers."
"Netgear switches could be cheaper."
"They currently don't have any stock. It's hard to get the devices."
"The ‘how-to’ guides could do with some improvements. We got in trouble following the stacking and Dante set-up guides. If these would have been accurate, we would not have lost three days."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is an expensive solution."
"The licensing for OmniSwitch Ethernet Switches is a one-time purchase with no additional costs."
"The pricing is reasonable compared to Aruba and HPE."
"Pricing is cheap compared to other vendors. When we benchmark the tool against Meraki, Cisco, and others, it is usually more affordable."
"NETGEAR Switches' pricing is low compared to other brands. I rate it an eight out of ten."
"We find the cost of NETGEAR hardware and additional services to be below average compared to the top tier. There are still cheaper products out there, but they lack in functionality."
"NETGEAR is a cost-effective solution when going for a small enterprise."
"There are no licensing costs. It only involves the costs of the devices."
"There are two parts to the pricing. There's the pricing of the device itself, which is good. Their licensing model needs work, though. The licensing model doesn't fit the way MSPs do business."
"The pricing is great. The cost of the hardware is low... There are a few solutions that have a lower cost, but NETGEAR is very value-oriented."
"For the price, they're good. If you look at Ubiquity switches (which have cloud features too) or even the regular NETGEAR GS switches, these are still price-competitive and come with the cloud features, which is just amazing."
"From a price perspective, the solution comes in higher than a small business product from their competitors. The solution is a bit higher, but it's a fraction of the cost compared to an enterprise switch. For example, a Cisco Catalyst can run approximately $13,000, where their Small Business Series may run $800 on the Cisco side. With NETGEAR, it falls in around the $1,000 to $2,000 range for most of what we use it for. Essentially, at this price point, you're getting a lot of enterprise grade features (e.g., that you would on a Catalyst) on an M4300."
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Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Ethernet Switches solutions are best for your needs.
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Answers from the Community

AJ
Co-Founder at Shellios Technolabs
Feb 15, 2022
Feb 15, 2022
My last experience with Netgear wasn't good but it was a long time ago. It may be better now. As for me, it would be Cisco because it is easier to find network engineer with knowledge of Cisco products and many supervision or orchestration tools will support them well. Regarding my experience, they are reliable assets but the cost might be sometime a good reason to go for something else.
2 out of 4 answers
EK
Partner / Owner at Bimel Elektronik Mamuller Paz. Ltd.
Nov 29, 2021
For an Enterprise? I would definitely go with Cisco. Cisco has a wide range of products to accommodate all present and future needs of an enterprise organization.  Cisco support is very professional in case something goes wrong.  Cisco products are very stable, have lots of features to satisfy every need of an enterprise and in my experience, they don't easily fail. 
RI
Technical Support Engineer at provident technology
Nov 29, 2021
cisco ethernet switches
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
10%
Construction Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Construction Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
University
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise3
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business43
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise11
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch Ethernet Switches?
In terms of pricing, Alcatel is cheaper than Cisco, however, MikroTik is the cheapest. I cannot comment on the pricing reasonability as I am a technical person, and decisions are made by those who ...
What needs improvement with Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch Ethernet Switches?
The commands for the switches could be easier as I find them more complex compared to those of Cisco.
What is your primary use case for Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch Ethernet Switches?
The primary use case is access control and normal LAN usage, including internet and email. For example, I have deployed the solution in airport scenarios where there are many users.
How do NETGEAR switches compare with Cisco ethernet switches?
NetGear switches have a lot to offer. They have high availability, zero-downtime stacking, L2 and L3 functionality, and are AV-over-IP ready. NetGear switches also have a command line interface and...
Which switches are better - Ubiquiti Unifi or Netgear?
Ubiquiti Unifi offers a great set of features. For starters, it is easy to configure and implement, and also doesn’t require a learning curve because it is easy to use. It is also simple to reconfi...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NETGEAR Switches?
If I were to rate price, I would give it eight or nine points. It is an expensive product.
 

Also Known As

Alcatel-Lucent Ethernet Switches, OmniSwitch Ethernet Switches
NETGEAR Insight Managed Switches, NETGEAR GC Series, NETGEAR M Series
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Bayonette, California State University (CSU), Centre Hospitalier Carcassonne, Centro Universitšrio de Brasilia (UniCEUB), China Tianchen Engineering Corporation Co. LTD, Citta Della Speranza, City of Frankfurt, City of Ogden, City of Vila Franca de Xira
Blaze Networks
Find out what your peers are saying about Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch Ethernet Switches vs. NETGEAR Switches and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
908,858 professionals have used our research since 2012.