Cisco Ethernet Switches and Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center compete in the network hardware sector. Cisco seems to have the upper hand due to its advanced management capabilities and extensive features, while Fortinet is favored for cost-effectiveness and seamless integration.
Features: Cisco Ethernet Switches offer high availability, flexible configurations, and advanced AI Network Analytics. They focus on port-based security, VLAN for network virtualization, and power-saving designs. Fortinet FortiSwitch seamlessly integrates with FortiGate for enhanced visibility and security. It provides centralized management, advanced QoS for network optimization, and efficient traffic control.
Room for Improvement: Cisco Ethernet Switches can improve pricing and streamline their graphical interface and licensing complexities. They could also simplify the CLI to ease new users' challenges. Fortinet FortiSwitch requires enhancements in its management interface and better VLAN handling, and improved third-party integration for more intuitive use.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco Ethernet Switches face integration support challenges, although customer service is generally well-regarded, with some regional variations. Fortinet FortiSwitch is praised for its seamless deployment with FortiGate, although users desire more intuitive display speeds and enhanced troubleshooting support.
Pricing and ROI: Cisco Ethernet Switches are expensive, with high licensing and support fees, but their stability and performance often lead to high ROI. Fortinet FortiSwitch is more budget-friendly, with competitive pricing that aligns with its feature set, leading to quicker returns on investment, especially for those using its integration with FortiGate.
The integration of Fortinet infrastructure, including FortiSwitches, is cost-effective compared to Cisco, especially when paired with Fortinet wireless solutions.
It takes two to three days for Cisco support to address issues.
Currently, we don't have any technical support because our license doesn't allow for direct support.
Cisco support is quick and responsive, often answering within an hour.
Technical partners provide responses within a day for any technical queries.
Customer support needs improvement in terms of speed and reliability.
I gave it eight points because local support is absent.
Cisco mainly provides security, patch management, hardware reliability, durability, scalability, and security features supporting my organization's expansion.
The latest products do not allow integration with the earlier environment.
The scalability depends on the model.
When used in a dedicated Fortinet infrastructure, FortiSwitch scalability is better than some other switches, like Cisco, Meraki, or Arista.
Scalability is generally good, with transitions from gigabit to ten giga, twenty-five giga, and forty giga.
The switches are very stable, rated ten out of ten.
There is room for improvement as it sometimes takes over an hour to push configurations onto the devices from the management tool.
The pricing and hardware warranty renewal costs are more expensive than other products.
FortiGate switches are considered more valuable because they have firewall capabilities.
For example, on switches, filtering specific sections isn't supported, whereas, on routers, you can do 'show run' with additional commands to filter.
There is room to improve the integration between FortiSwitch and other third-party solutions, as challenges arise when integrating with different vendors.
Sometimes, customer support does not provide prompt assistance, leaving projects hanging.
The commercial aspect presents challenges, particularly with pricing, as customers often ask for Juniper or Cisco, brands they are more aware of, which makes awareness about Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center another weak point.
Cisco Ethernet switches are priced at a rating of nine, indicating they are expensive.
We need to pay for the subscription, as there are extra expenses after purchasing the product.
Regarding the cost, Cisco Ethernet Switches have a competitive price.
The Fortinet switches come with no additional cost as they are open source, with only hardware warranties applicable.
Pricing is competitive, although it's not the cheapest option.
Their stability and durability are essential features we've been looking for many years, and they are still working fine.
The Cisco Ethernet switches are sturdy products that do not require any kind of maintenance.
The most valuable features of Cisco Ethernet switches include plug-and-play capabilities.
This feature allows the switch's ports to be used as firewall ports, enhancing network security by enabling IPS and network profiling directly on the ports.
It allows me to create VLANs, implement security measures, and push configurations using a single tool.
The main actual benefit that Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center brought to my customer's environment is secure connectivity while minimizing downtime from unexpected traffic or broadcasting.
| Product | Market Share (%) |
|---|---|
| Cisco Ethernet Switches | 10.3% |
| Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center | 2.3% |
| Other | 87.4% |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 59 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 35 |
| Large Enterprise | 55 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 17 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 5 |
| Large Enterprise | 4 |
With 10 or 40 GE access ports and a high-throughput backbone, FortiSwitch Data Center Switches are ideal for the top-of-rack (ToR) server or firewall-aggregation applications. The high-speed switching fabric is also well suited for enterprise network core or backbone network installations.
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