Arista Campus LAN Switches vs Cisco Catalyst Switches comparison

Arista Campus LAN Switches vs. Cisco Catalyst Switches

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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

Arista Campus LAN Switches

Ranking in LAN Switching

11th

Average Rating

8.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Cisco Catalyst Switches

Ranking in LAN Switching

1st

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

175

Ranking in other categories

Ethernet Switches (7th), Data Center Networking (1st), AV Over IP Switching (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the LAN Switching category, the mindshare of Arista Campus LAN Switches is 1.9%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Catalyst Switches is 29.4%, down from 32.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

LAN Switching

Featured Reviews

MarekSzafrański

Senior Core Network Engineer at Eurofins

Functions efficiently and is cheaper than what its competitors offer

In general, the product works fine and is efficient. It was mainly used by someone else in my company, and I just used to operate it The solution's most valuable feature is its stability because Arista falls in an industry that is very similar to Cisco. If the engineer knows Cisco's solution,…

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Joshua Odunsi

I.T INFRASTRUCTURE/SECURITY ADMINISTRATOR at Haggai Mortgage Bank Ltd

Ensures efficient performance and supports network growth with optimal speed

Catalyst Switches are efficient and swift, which is valuable for my organization. I experience optimal speed and effective configuration, making them stand out compared to other switches. The PoE switches offer more ports on SFP, and it is efficient in use. Overall, the switches provide me with the value I expect in terms of speed and efficiency.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The CloudVision Portal allows us to centrally manage all of our Arista products."

"The technology is scalable as much as you want."

"QoS is the most valuable feature because our clients work with VOIP and Critical applications."

"The feature sets are pretty cool. They've got almost everything that the competition offers."

"The solution's most valuable feature is its stability because Arista falls in an industry that is very similar to Cisco."

"I use the solution for connectivity in data centers and LANs, providing Layer 2 and Layer 3 connectivity based on network needs."

"The solution is easy to use."

"The solution is extremely flexible."

"The product offers very good routing and ranking capabilities."

"These switches are very stable. We haven't had any problems. We also have some old switches that are working for almost ten years."

"The Cisco software ties all the hardware together better than the competition."

"The main valuable features for me are the ease of configuration, the CLI, and the GUI."

"It is an infrastructure tool, so it is just providing a backend service. Its most useful feature is that it operates on a regular basis. It is reliable."

"The most valuable features are the Stacking and the capacity of the switches because they have more throughput. Layer 2 is also part of its rich feature set."

More Cisco Catalyst Switches pros

Cons

"I would like to see a version available with eight or sixteen ports."

"One of the issues that we have been faced with here in Brazil is that we don't have any list times for delivery."

"It would be ideal if the solution was less expensive."

"The complex setup phase is an area of concern where improvements are required."

"We have to renew the license every three years, which can be a challenge for customers. Arista, like other vendors, now follows a license-based system."

"I think there's still room for improvement. Arista Campus LAN Switches are not highly scalable as they are hardware-based. If hardware requirements exceed capacity, the product needs to be changed, which can impact service."

"An area for improvement would be the documentation and training on configuring this product."

"The solution could be easy to use, you need a certificate to use it."

"The pricing needs improvement."

"I would like to see the integration of the 2960 SX switched."

"Personal automatization is a feature that should be addressed."

"There could be improvements in the repeat configuration with some file integration that is currently missing."

"They should make so that they let users know five to ten minutes before productivity is restored in the case of power loss."

"I think one switch should go beyond the 10 gig connectivity to 40 gigs."

More Cisco Catalyst Switches cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The only licensing costs are for CloudVision, although the upfront price of the device is not cheap."

"The price is not that good, but our clients value the solution despite the price."

"They are a little bit expensive. We are a public institution, so we go through other traders, and sometimes, they put in their own surplus price because it is a government contract. Cisco products are expensive, especially when you compare them to Huawei."

"The price of a Cisco Catalyst Switches license is expensive."

"I would say that the pricing of the solution falls within the moderate to higher range."

"The new products from Cisco in the market are expensive. My company cannot import Cisco products, so they are mostly unavailable."

"Pricing from Cisco is expensive but we pay for the reliability."

"Pricing is an issue I have been facing, in comparison with HPE or Juniper. The Nexus series is out of the question right now. Scalability is more an issue on the pricing side and less on the technology side."

"The price is on the higher side."

"Highly priced"

More Cisco Catalyst Switches pricing and cost advice

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845,040 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Educational Organization

67%

Computer Software Company

Government

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Arista Campus LAN Switches?

I have cross-checked because this network is a ten-gig network. We are using the multigig switches, which Cisco also has. We found that Cisco's cost is 100%, while the cost of the multi-gig switche...

What needs improvement with Arista Campus LAN Switches?

I think there's still room for improvement. Arista Campus LAN Switches are not highly scalable as they are hardware-based. If hardware requirements exceed capacity, the product needs to be changed,...

What is your primary use case for Arista Campus LAN Switches?

I use the solution for connectivity in data centers and LANs, providing Layer 2 and Layer 3 connectivity based on network needs.

Would you recommend replacing a Cisco Catalyst Switch by a D-link one?

Hello Mesfin It depends on the real scenario, the cisco 2960 is a very good device and they usually have routing functions but there are many different models within the same 2960 line, and on the ...

What do you like most about Cisco Catalyst Switches?

We are a vendor for the healthcare sector, especially hospitals, and normally, we use a full Cisco solution for stability, especially for the stability of the Access Points and the security of swit...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Catalyst Switches?

Although Juniper is cheaper, Cisco provides unique features that justify their pricing.

Cisco Nexus vs Arista Campus LAN Switches

Comparisons

Compared 48% of the time

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Compared 20% of the time

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Aruba Instant On Switches vs Cisco Catalyst Switches

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ExtremeSwitching vs Cisco Catalyst Switches

Compared 9% of the time

Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch LAN Switches vs Cisco Catalyst Switches

Compared 7% of the time

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Product Reports

LAN Switching

Download Arista Campus LAN Switches product report

Cisco Catalyst Switches

Download Cisco Catalyst Switches product report

Also Known As

No data available

Cisco Catalyst, Catalyst

Overview

Arista Campus LAN Switches are the perfect network solution for your most demanding workloads.With native support for VMware Virtualization and hundreds of Linux applications integrated into hardware platforms designed to meet the stringent power and cooling requirements of today's most demanding data centers, Arista delivers the most efficient and best performing 10Gb Ethernet platforms.

Arista

Cisco Catalyst Switches are a reliable and scalable network switching and routing solution, focusing on VLANs and VLAN switching. They are used as access switches, distribution switches, and core switches in various environments, deployed on-premises, and used for long connections. The switches are easy to configure, install, and upgrade and offer good pricing.

The most valuable features include warranty and firmware support, stability, security, good performance, flexibility, etc. The Cisco Catalyst Switches have provided a stable solution for the organizations and are widely used, trusted, and well-known in the networking industry.

Cisco

Sample Customers

University of Winchester, AWE, picturemaxx, Medical Mutual, Leonix, CloudEra, National Physical Laboratory, Tri-State G&T, AIS, Morph, SingTel, SDSC, BBC

Afni, Anilana Hotels and Resorts, Baylor Scott & White Health, Beachbody, Bellevue, Del Papa Distributing, Explorer Pipeline, Mindtree, Omaha World Herald, Radio 538, Sony Corporation, Telecom Italia, Telenor Arena

Arista Campus LAN Switches vs. Cisco Catalyst Switches