No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

Cisco Catalyst Switches vs Enterasys Campus LAN Switches comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 6, 2025

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

Cisco Catalyst Switches
Ranking in LAN Switching
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
187
Ranking in other categories
Ethernet Switches (3rd), Data Center Networking (1st), AV Over IP Switching (1st)
Enterasys Campus LAN Switches
Ranking in LAN Switching
12th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
8.0
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2026, in the LAN Switching category, the mindshare of Cisco Catalyst Switches is 18.2%, down from 27.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Enterasys Campus LAN Switches is 4.2%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
LAN Switching Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Catalyst Switches18.2%
Enterasys Campus LAN Switches4.2%
Other77.6%
LAN Switching
 

Featured Reviews

MS
Electrical control system engineer at Dangote petroleum refinery and petrol chemicals
Reliable switching has delivered long‑term uptime, strong PoE support, and predictable performance
Cisco Systems Catalyst Switches are highly regarded for their performance, reliability, and enterprise-grade capabilities. My main reservation, however, is the pricing. The cost of Cisco Catalyst Switches—and Cisco products in general—is relatively high, especially in many African markets where organizations often need to balance budget constraints with required functionality. There are alternative vendors that offer comparable features at a lower price point. While they may not always match Cisco’s ecosystem, stability, or full feature depth, many businesses still choose them because of the significant cost savings. Another consideration is licensing, which can add to the overall total cost of ownership depending on the deployment model and required features. Overall, Cisco Catalyst Switches remain premium enterprise solutions, but when compared with other OEMs, their higher acquisition and licensing costs can be a major deciding factor for cost-conscious organizations.
reviewer1319712 - PeerSpot reviewer
Systems Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Uniquely unified the hardware in a very smart way and led to improved performance
Security features do exist, and they're mostly common with other switches. What makes these switches unique is the ability to see application layers on the switch, but not directly through the switch. There are tools from Extreme Networks that allow visibility of such traffic, which other switches lack. Extreme CloudIQ analytics can analyze all the traffic on Extreme Switches up to layer seven, offering full visibility. However, this tool is necessary for such detailed analytics and might not be compatible with some third-party products. Improvements are always possible. One suggestion from a customer about Universal switches was to merge the two operating systems into one to create a new, unified OS, but that would take a lot of time and might affect stability. Juniper did that with their firmware and faced customer issues. So, creating a new OS is a tough call. From Enterasys Campus Compass, they're doing well, but the Data Center Switches aren't. Data Center switches, like Extreme Switching for data center networks. Those are separate categories from the Campus Switches.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Cisco Catalyst Switch's technical support is one of the best; they are very fast and knowledgeable."
"The installation process is very straightforward."
"The stability has never been an issue."
"The greatest benefit for our organization is that our Cisco Catalysts are quite reliable, and we can depend on them."
"Cisco Catalyst Switches are reliable."
"In terms of technology, Cisco is the leader in everything. I'd rather buy a second-hand Cisco switch than a brand new switch from a competitor. They're that reliable and resilient."
"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."
"The pricing is quite good."
"Enterasys Campus LAN Switches is a trustable and powerful solution. The solution has good web management features. You can do whatever you want, like a CLI. The solution is easy to diagnose and manage. I like the Linux-based operating system. If any service crashes, you need to restart the system."
"The performance is good."
"Extreme Networks is the only one that has this kind of universal switch. It simplifies things greatly. Customers no longer have to worry about the price differences between traditional and fabric technology switches, which used to have their own pricing. This has made it easier for us as solution providers to tailor options for our customers with fewer but more suitable choices."
"The performance is good; I am satisfied with this product."
 

Cons

"If someone was trying to manage their own office, I would rate the usability of Cisco Catalyst Switches a five out of ten. Unless you know the CLI well then you will use the interface that is a little bit tricky to work with."
"I would like for Cisco to come up with an affordable dynamic VLAN solution."
"The GUI should be addressed."
"I wouldn't recommend this product because it's overpriced."
"The only drawback I saw with Cisco Catalyst Switches is that it's not cloud-managed."
"The configuration process is hard."
"The solution was stable 10 years ago, there is room for improvement in this area."
"The prices are high. It's more expensive than other similar options."
"The tool's price is high. We need a cost-effective service. It also needs to add wireless controller features like Huawei."
"Security features do exist, and they're mostly common with other switches. What makes these switches unique is the ability to see application layers on the switch, but not directly through the switch. There are tools from Extreme Networks that allow visibility of such traffic, which other switches lack. Extreme CloudIQ analytics can analyze all the traffic on Extreme Switches up to layer seven, offering full visibility. However, this tool is necessary for such detailed analytics and might not be compatible with some third-party products."
"While the support is good, it could be better, and the price could be reduced."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing of these devices can be better."
"The price of this solution is reasonable."
"I don't see any price issue with Cisco. Whenever you buy a quality product, you always have a mindset of paying the premium amount. For any good product, you pay a premium amount, but that also means you are going to recover that premium over a period of time in terms of performance."
"The licensing, and maintenance fees are paid on a yearly basis."
"Cisco Catalyst Switches is an expensive solution."
"When compared with other products, the solution is kind of on the expensive side."
"It's overpriced and should be cheaper."
"The solution provides a good balance between the features and the cost structure"
"The price itself is good, but the economic crisis is causing them to raise prices occasionally."
"In general, the price could be improved."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which LAN Switching solutions are best for your needs.
902,894 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Construction Company
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business83
Midsize Enterprise29
Large Enterprise85
No data available
 

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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Catalyst Switches?
Those aspects regarding pricing, setup, cost, and licensing are managed by management, so I am not directly involved.
What needs improvement with Cisco Catalyst Switches?
I believe that Cisco Catalyst Switches could be improved by being given AI capability and advanced licensing, which would be beneficial.
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

Also Known As

Cisco Catalyst, Catalyst
No data available
 

Overview

 

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
Americatel Peru
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Catalyst Switches vs. Enterasys Campus LAN Switches and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
902,894 professionals have used our research since 2012.