Cisco Catalyst Switches vs Dell PowerEdge R-Series comparison

Cisco Catalyst Switches vs. Dell PowerEdge R-Series

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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:

ROI

Sentiment score

5.7

Cisco Catalyst Switches offer long-term value and reliability but may not provide immediate returns due to initial costs.

Sentiment score

6.5

Dell PowerEdge R-Series offers financial returns through reliability, reduced costs, extended lifecycles, and improved performance efficiency with effective support.

From an investment standpoint, deploying Cisco Catalyst Switches offers tangible benefits, including cost reductions.

For more quotes and insights, download the Cisco Catalyst Switches report

Unit Nos at Orange

By not having to worry about it, I would estimate we save two to four hours a week, depending on what's happening, such as if we need to spin up a new server, which would contribute to more time if done the old way.

Desi Rodriguez

Manager, Systems & Desktop Support at Tilson Home Corporation

In my immediate case for antenna analysis, Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers offer a reduction from days of computing to half a day or hours.

Duane Harvey

Senior Radio Frequncy Systems Engineer at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees

The value of uptime to us is critical.

reviewer2707641

VP IT Operations at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Dell PowerEdge R-Series report

Customer Service

Sentiment score

6.9

Cisco Catalyst Switches support is praised for expertise but criticized for slow responses; documentation aids self-service troubleshooting.

Sentiment score

7.5

Dell PowerEdge R-Series support is praised for responsiveness and knowledge, despite occasional delays and language challenges. Ratings are high.

When requesting an RMA, they replace defective items in just one day.

Yaser_Altwailey

Network Engineer at General Authority OF ZAKAT & TAX

On a scale from one to 10, I would rate the technical support of Cisco at 10 out of 10.

Jaya Pradeep

student at St. Joseph's College of Engineering

Cisco's support is good, one of the best supports that you will get.

For more quotes and insights, download the Cisco Catalyst Switches report

Network Manager at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees

I would give Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers a ten because they're always able to answer all the questions we have; they reach a solution no matter how long it takes, and they don't give up.

reviewer2706693

Manager, Systems Security at a healthcare company with 501-1,000 employees

It has always been scheduled maintenance, which says a lot for a production environment, as we haven't had to call in a trouble ticket for the actual hardware during its entire run.

Desi Rodriguez

Manager, Systems & Desktop Support at Tilson Home Corporation

Typically, the contacts we have on-site are very knowledgeable, they come in within a day and usually have it fixed and taken care of if there are issues.

Brad Dugenske

Senior Systems Engineer at Federal Data Systems

For more quotes and insights, download the Dell PowerEdge R-Series report

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score

7.6

Cisco Catalyst Switches are praised for scalability, handling large deployments, modularity, despite potential cost or configuration challenges.

Sentiment score

7.3

Dell PowerEdge R-Series offers scalable and flexible configurations, supporting diverse business needs and seamless integration with existing systems.

The scalability of Cisco Catalyst Switches is very much scalable, as it supports the stacking feature and growth; for instance, with 94K modular switches, based on the requirement, we can even increase modules for more bandwidth.

Unit Nos at Orange

Unlike Meraki, where I can bring a switch online, join it to the portal, and it becomes operational immediately.

Software Developer/ IT Analyst Individual Contributor at a consultancy with 11-50 employees

Cisco Catalyst Switches are scalable, and I would rate them eight to nine out of ten for scalability.

For more quotes and insights, download the Cisco Catalyst Switches report

Network Manager at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees

The scalability of Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers is excellent.

reviewer1362099

Software Engineer at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees

Any outages or blackouts are limited to particular servers, not affecting the whole chassis or enclosures.

reviewer926175

Senior Systems Engineer at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees

We bought our product with scaling involved, and we've been scaling it up anytime we've needed more storage.

Adnan Yasin

Director, Information Technology at TEXAS PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE GUARANTY ASSOCIATION

For more quotes and insights, download the Dell PowerEdge R-Series report

Stability Issues

Sentiment score

8.2

Cisco Catalyst Switches are praised for their strong stability, reliability, and long-term operation, even in demanding environments.

Sentiment score

7.9

Dell PowerEdge R-Series offers reliable, long-term stability with minimal downtime, supported by prompt resolution of minor issues.

Cisco Catalyst Switches are stable.

Network Manager at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees

I would rate the stability of Cisco Catalyst Switches at about eight out of ten.

For more quotes and insights, download the Cisco Catalyst Switches report

Software Developer/ IT Analyst Individual Contributor at a consultancy with 11-50 employees

Over four years, we've had less than 1 percent downtime.

Thim Johnsen

It support lead at a retailer with 10,001+ employees

There is a feature to update the server while it is running, so there is no need to restart.

Hariraj Chauhan

Manager, Regions Information Technology Security at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees

We have truly not had any downtime on the infrastructure at all.

Adnan Yasin

Director, Information Technology at TEXAS PROPERTY AND CASUALTY INSURANCE GUARANTY ASSOCIATION

For more quotes and insights, download the Dell PowerEdge R-Series report

Room For Improvement

Cisco Catalyst Switches users desire improved pricing, compatibility, ease of use, security, support, automation, scalability, and user-friendly interfaces.

Dell PowerEdge R-Series requires enhancements in performance, compatibility, scalability, management tools, security, support, documentation, and integration.

Cisco should provide some level of software that I can bring on-premise where I can add all my Catalyst switches for central management.

Software Developer/ IT Analyst Individual Contributor at a consultancy with 11-50 employees

Currently, I don't see much AI integration with Cisco Catalyst Switches; though they've started, it still needs improvement.

For more quotes and insights, download the Cisco Catalyst Switches report

Unit Nos at Orange

It is the highest cost in the market.

Yaser_Altwailey

Network Engineer at General Authority OF ZAKAT & TAX

We need to know about any upcoming updates so that we can plan accordingly.

Merin David

End User Manager at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees

The beneficial aspect of that feature was that we could skip the PowerStore and just have the Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers alone, as they also served as storage, which helped us save money.

Mikko Peltoniemi

Director of IT at Star Kay White

This forces you to go up to a larger server to get the desired processor, which increases the cost.

ScottAllen1

Team Lead Infrastructure at a computer software company with 201-500 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Dell PowerEdge R-Series report

Setup Cost

Cisco Catalyst Switches are pricey with complex licensing, prompting buyers to consider cheaper alternatives like Dell, Juniper, or Huawei.

Dell PowerEdge R-Series offers competitive pricing for enterprises, with mixed opinions on cost-effectiveness compared to other brands.

Cisco provides unique features that justify their pricing.

Premnath Jaganathan

Product Manager at Uop Ipl

Cisco Catalyst Switches are quite pricey.

Network Manager at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees

Cisco usually is costly compared to other vendors.

For more quotes and insights, download the Cisco Catalyst Switches report

Unit Nos at Orange

They have been stable and running for years without performance downtime or significant disc failures.

Zaryab Khalil

Product manager at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees

Some customers find it cheaper due to contractual agreements, while others find it expensive, especially when scaling up.

Dacio Ferreira

System Administrator at Tigs

The software associated with servers, like VMware subscription licenses, drives costs.

reviewer1362099

Software Engineer at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees

For more quotes and insights, download the Dell PowerEdge R-Series report

Valuable Features

Cisco Catalyst Switches provide secure, reliable infrastructure with features like VLAN, PoE, and robust CLI for diverse network environments.

Dell PowerEdge R-Series offers scalable performance, reliable management, security features, and excellent support with a strong price-to-performance ratio.

Cisco Catalyst Switches are valuable for their reliability and performance.

Premnath Jaganathan

Product Manager at Uop Ipl

With Meraki access points, I do not have to have a wireless controller for them. I can configure the wireless device directly from the switch, making the setup cleaner, and that is a major reason for my preference.

Software Developer/ IT Analyst Individual Contributor at a consultancy with 11-50 employees

The most beneficial features for our network management are their stability and good customer support.

For more quotes and insights, download the Cisco Catalyst Switches report

Network Manager at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees

They keep running for at least five to seven years without any issues.

Naeem Afzal

IT Manger at Dubai precast LLc

With PowerEdge Servers, I don't need a one-to-one ratio redundancy, which leads to about eighty percent downtime reduction.

Zaryab Khalil

Product manager at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees

One of the valuable features is Active Directory, which helps in managing the network.

Ahmed Salah

IT Manager at Misrconsult

For more quotes and insights, download the Dell PowerEdge R-Series report

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Catalyst Switches

Ranking in Data Center Networking

1st

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

179

Ranking in other categories

LAN Switching (1st), Ethernet Switches (5th), AV Over IP Switching (1st)

Dell PowerEdge R-Series

Ranking in Data Center Networking

2nd

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

271

Ranking in other categories

Converged Infrastructure (1st), Blade Servers (4th), Rack Servers (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Data Center Networking category, the mindshare of Cisco Catalyst Switches is 17.7%, down from 23.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell PowerEdge R-Series is 4.4%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Data Center Networking Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Cisco Catalyst Switches	17.7%
Dell PowerEdge R-Series	4.4%
Other	77.9%

Data Center Networking

Featured Reviews

Reliable support boosts confidence while initial setup complexities highlight improvement areas

Unit Nos at Orange

Challenges I've encountered mostly involve the RMA part for hardware replacement, which doesn't happen regularly, but sometimes I face challenges due to limited parts in India; they offer different model devices as a stopgap arrangement. It's quite difficult to specify features I would want to see in future updates because that varies from model to model. I would definitely recommend Cisco Catalyst Switches to other users. We do maintenance for Cisco Catalyst Switches. For maintenance, we usually need three people from different regions working as a single team; our engineers handle both projects and maintenance, so there isn't a specific engineer just for maintenance. I work with firewalls and next-generation firewalls. Overall, I would rate the solution as an eight out of ten.

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Tom van Mil

Systems Administrator at Lico Innovations B.v.

Supports flexible hosting needs through seamless upgradability and strong monitoring capabilities

The most valuable features of Dell PowerEdge R-Series for me are the feature richness and the upgradability. I really love the way that it is so dynamically applicable for every situation, and they manage to have an all-in-one solution for every single situation. Dell PowerEdge has supported the growth and operational success of my company through its great compute power and price-to-performance ratio. Every time Dell is at the top of its game for us, and there is just no other brand for us that is able to reach that kind of price-to-performance ratio. Dell PowerEdge R-Series has features that specifically cater to the needs of my small company, such as iDRAC. The iDRAC system is a complete feature set for managing servers and hardware technically and monitoring-wise. It really fits in our system and our ecosystem, and monitoring-wise, it is excellent. They have all these sensors available via different protocols and end points, which I love, and the ability to manage and control everything via the iDRAC interface is just a welcome bonus. In our use case, Dell PowerEdge R-Series is very flexible. It is another computer which helps a lot because of the durability over time. They keep running, making scalability for getting more of those resources in our environment so easy.

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

11%

Computer Software Company

Comms Service Provider

Educational Organization

Manufacturing Company

12%

Computer Software Company

11%

University

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	80
Midsize Enterprise	29
Large Enterprise	79

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	97
Midsize Enterprise	59
Large Enterprise	113

Questions from the Community

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?

For pricing satisfaction, I'd say it will be six to seven because Cisco usually is costly compared to other vendors. Regarding pricing, there is indeed room for improvement.

When shopping for a rack server, would you go with Dell EMC Poweredge or Lenovo Thinksystem?

Our organization ran comparison tests to determine whether the Dell EMC Poweredge or Lenovo Thinksystem rack servers were the better fit for us. We ultimately decided to go with Dell EMC Poweredge....

What do you like most about Dell EMC PowerEdge Rack Servers?

It has helped us reduce unplanned downtime by 20% to 30%.

What needs improvement with Dell EMC PowerEdge Rack Servers?

I do not see any area for improvement in Dell PowerEdge R-Series, particularly nothing very significant. I do not know what new features Dell could add to Dell PowerEdge R-Series; I have no idea, a...

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Product Reports

Cisco Catalyst Switches

Download Cisco Catalyst Switches product report

Dell PowerEdge R-Series

Download Dell PowerEdge R-Series product report

Also Known As

Cisco Catalyst, Catalyst

Dell PowerEdge Rack Servers

Overview

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

PowerEdge R-Series delivers high performance, flexibility, and scalability for data centers. It supports demanding tasks with robust management tools and advanced cooling, providing reliability and efficiency across various workloads.

Engineered for large deployments, PowerEdge R-Series supports extensive configurations optimizing performance in data centers. With features like advanced cooling and energy-efficient architecture, it empowers organizations to manage heavy workloads while facilitating seamless scalability. It offers remote management, robust security, and integration with VMware ensuring operational excellence and high availability for business-critical applications.

What are the key features of Dell PowerEdge R-Series?

Scalability: Supports flexible configurations for diverse workloads.
Remote Management: iDRAC and OpenManage facilitate easy oversight.
Energy Efficiency: Architecture helps reduce energy consumption.
Security: Robust features ensure protected performance.
VMware Integration: Enhances manageability and productivity.

What benefits and ROI should you look for?

Performance: Handles high-performance and demanding tasks.
Flexibility: Offers easily upgradable configurations.
Reliability: Provides consistent performance with long-term support.
Efficiency: Reduces energy use and operational costs.
Ease of Use: Simplifies management and maintenance.

PowerEdge R-Series is deployed across industries for virtualization, database hosting, and application servers. It supports environments like VMware and Hyper-V for AI, cloud infrastructure, and computing tasks. Widely used by finance, healthcare, and academia, it enhances reliability and efficiency of IT infrastructure.

Dell Technologies

Sample Customers

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

NxtGen Datacenter, Medien-Service Untermain (MSU), Exasol, IndigoVision, Dayco

Cisco Catalyst Switches vs. Dell PowerEdge R-Series