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Brocade 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

Brocade Ethernet Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
25th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
NETGEAR Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
57
Ranking in other categories
LAN Switching (5th), AV Over IP Switching (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of Brocade Ethernet Switches is 1.2%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NETGEAR Switches is 7.4%, down from 8.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Ethernet Switches Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
NETGEAR Switches7.4%
Brocade Ethernet Switches1.2%
Other91.4%
Ethernet Switches
 

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…
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

"The most valuable feature of Brocade Ethernet Switches is the good range of access it provides."
"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."
"I have not had any issues with our Brocade switches."
"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."
"It is easy to configure and provides good technical support."
"The initial setup was really straightforward and easy."
"There's a zone for each server and services in the storage."
"The reliability of Brocade is the most valuable feature. The solution has been up and running for over ten years without any fail, fixes required, or breakdowns. It is a very strong piece of equipment."
"Out-of-the-box, it works for our main use case; when passing multicast video across the network, our technicians don't have to make any changes, and if we do need to make configuration changes for a custom scenario, the web interface is user intuitive so it's easy to use and change."
"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten. I have not faced any issues with the product whatsoever."
"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."
"The tool is stable."
"With this, you literally just log in to a website, see all your clients, all your NETGEAR switches, and you can manage them all right there: the VLANs, powering on and off individual ports, rebooting the whole device, the firmware updates. Everything can be done remotely..."
"The GS-108 switch by Netgear is an excellent solution for setting up a wired gigabit network."
"The solution is stable."
"NETGEAR offers a competitive pricing structure, which is beneficial for cost management."
 

Cons

"Technically the product is always improving the software part, but the hardware needs to be more reliable."
"It should be simpler. There are still some things that can be simpler in the Brocade switches."
"The solution could be more secure."
"Brocade Ethernet Switches could improve by having better compatibility with web management of older versions."
"There are some performance issues that I would like to see improved."
"This solution doesn't have a graphical interface and that's an issue."
"Brocade Ethernet Switches need a better interface and centralized management."
"It could be made easier to configure with a graphical interface."
"The tool is good, but we probably need another model with PoE connections. Our office plans to switch from analog phone lines to VoIP next year, and we need a model that supports this transition and can handle the required technology. Additionally, improved support for newer technologies like Wi-Fi would be beneficial."
"They need to continue moving forward with their consulting in the AV realm to find out what is needed. They are some differences in the M4300 line and the larger M4500 line right now. They could produce a 1 Gigabit variety that could be a bit cheaper that might fit into that, since the majority of the projects that we see are still in that 1 Gigabit bandwidth threshold. Along with that, a great option would be if it would provide the same modular ability on a lower level."
"NETGEAR Switches could provide local technical support services."
"There is a technical problem they can't seem to solve. It doesn't support multicast packets; in layman's terms, Mac computers can't print over the network."
"I would like an email notification in case of errors or failures. If it was possible for the switch to email out an error log or notification note, especially in cases where we have the switches offsite (on the other side of town), then if something was to go wrong, it would be great to know about it before our client goes to use it for a big event, and it doesn't work. While I know that it does do SNMP, which is sort of standard, in the AV world, that is not always an option for us. We are usually running our own little network box and don't always have access to an SNMP server. We may just have simple Internet access or something similar."
"They need to implement a fully-featured CLI in their enterprise-class switches if they want to compete in that space and market."
"There are a lot of systems that are moving into different areas. There are a lot of cloud-based things happening. One nice feature that I've seen in other switches is artificial intelligence on the actual porting. They've got AI technology that will tell you when a port is down. They not only tell you when a port is down; they also tell you when a port is running slower. You can do a cable-fault check, or you can do other checks. It would be nice to have this information in NETGEAR. This feature might already be there in a new release of the NETGEAR's firmware, but I haven't seen it."
"When the power does go out, or if we do a soft shutdown, some of the transceivers or the monitor don't recognize when it turns back on, so I have to physically unplug it and plug it back in and then it works. We're working with NETGEAR's engineers to figure out why that's happening."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of Brocade Ethernet Switches is expensive."
"Another issue, when it comes to NETGEAR's competitors, is that other companies are offering the cloud management at no extra charge, whereas NETGEAR charges for it. You have to pay per-device for licenses."
"They are on par with other AV switch manufacturers, e.g., Pakedge, Cisco Small Business Series, and Extreme Networks. Though, they are closer in cost to Extreme Networks. They are more in the mid-range from an AV product price, maybe a bit higher. You can't beat their features compared to other vendors in that product range and capacity. AV specific only, they are mid-range price-wise."
"You get what you pay for. From a price comparison, there are cheaper switch makers on the market that are definitely less expensive than NETGEAR. They give you the same functionality, but they don't come with a name. There are solutions like Ubiquiti that are very good. They have the ease of setup, and I find NETGEAR battling a little bit in comparison to Ubiquiti."
"There are no licensing costs. It only involves the costs of the devices."
"Compared to other large names in the marketplace, the price of NETGEAR's product is extremely cost-effective compared to what Cisco or Extreme offer."
"It was an initial, single purchase for us. For the three switches, because I had the 96X and the two 48 port single gigabyte ones, then all the cards, etc. The total price on it, which may be a little on the low side, for the client was around $16,000 or $17,000."
"The price to performance of the switches is excellent. The price point of these switches is great compared to big brands, like Cisco or Extreme Networks, with approximately the same functionality."
"It's cheaper than Cisco. For the features it offers, the pricing is good."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
13%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Manufacturing Company
9%
University
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise5
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business43
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise11
 

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.
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 do you like most about NETGEAR Switches?
Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten. I have not faced any issues with the product whatsoever.
 

Also Known As

No data available
NETGEAR Insight Managed Switches, NETGEAR GC Series, NETGEAR M Series
 

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
Blaze Networks
Find out what your peers are saying about Brocade Ethernet Switches vs. NETGEAR Switches and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
884,933 professionals have used our research since 2012.