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Brocade Ethernet Switches vs Cisco Ethernet Switches comparison

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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

Brocade Ethernet Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
22nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Cisco Ethernet Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
138
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of Brocade Ethernet Switches is 1.6%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Ethernet Switches is 9.3%, down from 12.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Ethernet Switches Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Ethernet Switches9.3%
Brocade Ethernet Switches1.6%
Other89.1%
Ethernet Switches
 

Q&A Highlights

AS
Community Manager at PeerSpot (formerly IT Central Station)
Jul 26, 2014
 

Featured Reviews

PB
Data Center Admin at Sysnet Global Technologies
Experience seamless configuration with secure and adaptable network solutions
I use Brocade Ethernet Switches because they are scalable. I recommend them since they are easy to configure. They are connected and used every day in our operations It is good and scalable. It is easy to configure and provides good technical support. Brocade Ethernet Switches are good to…
Sachin-Yadav - PeerSpot reviewer
Network & Security Engineer at Arrow PC Network Pvt Ltd
Network segmentation has improved security and performance across all departments
Cisco Ethernet Switches offer various features such as L3 capable models which help me with my routing requirements, OSPF, EIGRP, and VRF for segmentation, as well as policy-based routing. Additionally, it provides a high layer of enterprise security via 802.1X port-based authentication, DHCP snooping, ARP inspection, IP Guard, ACLs, and integration with Cisco ISE. I have been using Cisco Ethernet Switches for more than four years, and they have provided me stability, better connectivity, and higher speed. My organization values these switches greatly.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature of Brocade Ethernet Switches is the good range of access it provides."
"The switches last for a very long time."
"The switches are very flexible and easy to deploy and manage, are energy-saving and help to effectively reduce costs, perform at great speeds, protect the topology using root guard, and can handle redundancy and failovers automatically."
"It is easy to configure and provides good technical support."
"The technical support is good."
"There's a zone for each server and services in the storage."
"It has good integration with HPE Primera. They have smart zoning in which the administration is very easy. You don't have to do anything. Zoning and other things are done automatically if you just enable the smart zoning. That's one very good thing in HP."
"The most important feature of this solution is the performance because we have many switches and we have a performance for Brocade Ethernet Switches that needs about 16 gigabyte per second."
"Integration of Voice and Data over a single wire without any loss in voice quality, with security throughout LAN and WAN devices, and redundancy providing extremely high availability of devices."
"The most valuable feature of Cisco Ethernet Switches is their stability. They are rock solid, and that's the advantage of Cisco."
"The initial setup was very easy."
"Cisco Switches serve their purpose; they add value to the virtual workload, and you can tap into all of the features for your virtual workload environment."
"The Quality of Service, QoS, features of Cisco Ethernet Switches in managing network traffic are actually really good for this."
"The most valuable feature is the simplicity of the central management system(CMS)."
"We appreciate Cisco Ethernet Switches because we can install them and forget them, which is the most important thing for us."
"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."
 

Cons

"There are some performance issues that I would like to see improved."
"It should be simpler. There are still some things that can be simpler in the Brocade switches."
"This solution doesn't have a graphical interface and that's an issue."
"These switches are no longer supported."
"Brocade Ethernet Switches could improve by having better compatibility with web management of older versions."
"Brocade Ethernet Switches need a better interface and centralized management."
"No graphical interface."
"Technically the product is always improving the software part, but the hardware needs to be more reliable."
"The initial setup can be simplified."
"Cisco has a lot of propriety protocols compared to other products, such as Arista Networks."
"Switches should be made stackable, even if they are not of the same model."
"The solution is expensive."
"The price could be better."
"The local support resources for Cisco in Bangledesh are very poor and should be increased."
"The pricing and hardware warranty renewal costs are more expensive than other products."
"The stability of the recent iOS is not good, and every now and then, there are bugs."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of Brocade Ethernet Switches is expensive."
"In some of the latest switches, the warranty is not included in the pricing and we have to purchase it separately."
"I pay a fixed price on it. I'm not the person on the pursing, so I don't really compare."
"Customers have to pay for some of the L3 switches licenses, which are expensive."
"The solution is not too expensive."
"In addition to the fees being high, you pay for support which is also on the higher side."
"The last time I bought a 24-port switch, which was a while ago, I paid about five or six thousand Euros. In this part of the world, that's quite expensive for us."
"The price is a bit on the high side."
"It could be cheaper."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Ethernet Switches solutions are best for your needs.
913,924 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Answers from the Community

AS
Community Manager at PeerSpot (formerly IT Central Station)
Jul 26, 2014
Jul 26, 2014
We have used Zyxel and Netgear, Frankly the stability of Cisco, the scalability and ease of integration with other Vendors e.g VMware along with the training available make them far superior.
2 out of 9 answers
it_user110388 - PeerSpot reviewer
Works at a tech services company
Jul 15, 2014
Hi When you buy something for Yourself using your Own money then you buy the product your utility plus approx 20% extra features and some extra money for brand. Now change the scenario when you are a I T manager in an organization then you buy as per your understanding Best whether exploring those best feature will take 10,years before the technology reaches to your device and moreover you are not paying from your pocket per se then what is the harm if some one says and appreciate that hey buddy you belong to High brand category. ROI & TCO is not their concern.
it_user98859 - PeerSpot reviewer
Consulting Engineer EMEA at a computer software company with 201-500 employees
Jul 15, 2014
I have tried a few other vendors on the Ethernet switch market, especially HP, Huawei and SMC switches. Haven’t used Alcatel personally, but have had interesting feedback for them from colleagues. Regarding Cisco however, I believe there are three main reasons for it: 1) Integration on the “cisco environment”, with a structured offer from basic switches, up to multi-layer equipment, allowing a consistent platform all through the enterprise. 2) Management interface – ranging from graphic management (through local web interface, CiscoWorks modules, etc.), to CLI, with the Cisco IOS, provides great flexibility for remote management, configuration backup, and monitoring. 3) Expertise of in-house personnel – Both the training provided by Cisco itself, and the fact that Cisco has a strong base for the remaining network infrastructure (routers, and other network devices). There is also the issue that, sometimes, some mixed vendor environment can bring issues with 802.1q trunking (I’ve seen issues with HP Switches while having problems with a VLAN 1 on the HP mixing with a native VLAN on Cisco for instance…), and other proprietary protocols (CDP for instance) that can have implications with the way management or configuration is done… Also, in some cases, the use of other technologies that cisco has brought along over the years – Network access control, that interfaces with Cisco switches for instance, and the buildup of different interactions with other technologies, ends up creating a technical barrier on top of the barrier for change on things like: “our other 30 switches are Cisco, and now I’ll place another vendor one?”. And on that question, price is not likely to be the most important factor, but TCO, existing expertise, and applications running on the network (that need QoS for instance), and integration with existing monitoring, configuration management, and infrastructure, may be the most important factor on the decision…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Healthcare Company
7%
Government
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Construction Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise7
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business60
Midsize Enterprise35
Large Enterprise55
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Brocade Ethernet Switches?
To improve, it could be made easier to configure with a graphical interface.
What is your primary use case for Brocade Ethernet Switches?
I use Brocade Ethernet Switches because they are scalable. I recommend them since they are easy to configure. They are connected and used every day in our operations.
What advice do you have for others considering Brocade Ethernet Switches?
I would recommend Brocade Ethernet Switches because they are easy to configure and have good technical support. I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.
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 ...
Which would you choose - Fortinet Fortiswitch secure access or Cisco Ethernet Switches?
We researched Cisco but ultimately chose Fortinet FortiSwitch Secure Access, mostly because of the price. Fortinet FortiSwitch is an ethernet switch solution that provides security and performance...
In terms of ethernet switches, would you go with Cisco or Juniper?
Our organization ran comparison tests to determine whether Cisco or Juniper Ethernet switches were the better fit for us. We decided to go with Juniper. Juniper ethernet switches are a lesser-known...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Cisco Industrial Ethernet Switches
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Ajubeo, Akquinet AG, Big Data Analytics Provider Boligkontoret Danmark Bristol is Open, CDE Lightband, Cicero School District 99, City and County of San Francisco, Department of Emergency, City of Chattanooga, Cloudscale.sh
Linz AG
Find out what your peers are saying about Brocade Ethernet Switches vs. Cisco Ethernet Switches and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
913,924 professionals have used our research since 2012.