Cisco FabricPath vs Dell PowerSwitch N-Series comparison

Cisco and Dell Technologies are both solutions in the LAN Switching category. Cisco is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.4, while Dell Technologies is ranked #9 with an average rating of 8.5. Cisco holds a 5.3% mindshare in LS, compared to Dell Technologies’s 5.6% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 75% of Dell Technologies users who would recommend it.

Cisco FabricPath

Read 31 Cisco FabricPath reviews

1,644 Views
1,628 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Dell PowerSwitch N-Series

Read 4 Dell PowerSwitch N-Series reviews

956 Views
946 Comparison Views

75% willing to recommend

Cisco FabricPath

Dell PowerSwitch N-Series

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 6, 2025

Dell PowerSwitch N-Series and Cisco FabricPath compete in networking solutions. Dell PowerSwitch N-Series excels in pricing and support, while Cisco FabricPath offers advanced features that can justify its higher cost for some buyers.

Features: Dell PowerSwitch N-Series offers comprehensive Layer 2 and Layer 3 capabilities, energy-efficient technology, and extensive OpenFlow support, making it suitable for flexible network management. Cisco FabricPath provides scalable and high-performance networking capabilities, multipath redundancy, and seamless integration within existing Cisco ecosystems, beneficial for larger, complex environments.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Dell PowerSwitch N-Series emphasizes straightforward deployment with automated installation scripts and effective service support, streamlining the deployment process. Cisco FabricPath delivers robust deployment flexibility, supporting complex configurations requiring intricate planning, with access to Cisco's extensive technical support for environments needing detailed customization.

Pricing and ROI: Dell PowerSwitch N-Series generally needs a lower initial investment, offering a cost-effective solution with a faster ROI, appealing to budget-conscious buyers. Cisco FabricPath may entail higher setup costs but provides an extensive ROI through its enhanced network capabilities and long-term benefits of scalable solutions for enterprises aiming to future-proof their networks.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco FabricPath vs. Dell PowerSwitch N-Series Report (Updated: August 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco FabricPath vs. Dell PowerSwitch N-Series

August 2026

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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:

Categories and Ranking

Cisco FabricPath

Ranking in LAN Switching

4th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Dell PowerSwitch N-Series

Ranking in LAN Switching

9th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

3.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the LAN Switching category, the mindshare of Cisco FabricPath is 5.3%, up from 2.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell PowerSwitch N-Series is 5.6%, up from 3.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

LAN Switching Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Cisco FabricPath	5.3%
Dell PowerSwitch N-Series	5.6%
Other	89.1%

LAN Switching

Featured Reviews

AmrFouad

Technical Project Manager at Cairo International Airport Co.

Offers seamless integration and boosts operational efficiency with minimum downtimes

I find stability to be the most effective feature of Cisco FabricPath; it is stable. Cisco FabricPath has good scalability; I don't have any problems with scalability as I can add any switches or distributors without any problem. I utilize the multipath routing architecture feature in Cisco FabricPath, and it's good in load balancing. Cisco FabricPath's compatibility to support Dynamic Layer 2 multipath routing in complex virtualized environments is good; I don't have any problems with it. Nothing comes to mind regarding metrics for using the Layer 2 multipath routing feature; it was good, and there were no problems at all with Cisco FabricPath. Cisco FabricPath's integration with Cisco Nexus works with virtual port channel (VPC) and is good for dual home servers and edge switches. We are using VPC in every layer of the Nexus center. Implementing Cisco FabricPath positively impacted my organization by providing minimum downtimes as the service is always up; everything is working properly with the VPC and Cisco FabricPath. I have experienced operational efficiencies with Cisco FabricPath that are 200% better than the old legacy equipment and protocols.

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Mahendra Basera

Sr. Engineer at InterGlobe Technology Quotient

Reliable switching has supported secure audits and simplified long-term data center operations

Deploying Dell PowerSwitch N-Series on HA is very simple and easy. If we face any problem, we have our Dell support team to help us during the installation. They provide L2 engineers for supporting us on configuring the basic level configuration, stacking, and peering with others on HA. They have helped us with any faults or hardware issues, and we have taken high level care packs with three hour response time and same day hardware replacement. When we talk about the deployment of Dell PowerSwitch N-Series, when we extended our data center from starting from scratch, we had at that time nearly 170 physical servers. Then we virtualized it from mixed hardware, as we were using HCL, HP, or old heavy servers. Dell came to us and gave us a good solution with VMware, storage of Dell, and network devices. During the deployment, there were three team members from Dell and two from myself on the networking side, and one or two members from OS and server side. Almost five to six team members were there during the deployment from a hardware to a virtualized environment. The best advantages of Dell PowerSwitch N-Series is that it is very much similar to Cisco. There is a little bit of difference at the command level, and it is easy to handle. It is easy to handle whether it is a CLI base or a GUI base, and it is very easy to configure. It is also reliable. We had a low fault issue, and when we talk of switching level, in a time frame of 17 years, we faced a switching issue only one time, which was a hardware failure. That is it. It is as reliable as Cisco.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Cisco FabricPath is stable."

"Cisco FabricPath is highly beneficial for network performance and relatively easy to implement. It also offers straightforward monitoring capabilities."

"The setup is straightforward."

"The solution is very, very cheap compared with all other brands - including Huawei or HPE Switches, and we buy Cisco for the performance, really the performance, scalability, backup, and a lot of technology like VPC, OTV, or VDC, Virtual Device Context."

"One of the most valuable features of Cisco FabricPath is its protocol freedom, which allows me to use multiple protocols at a time, such as Spanning Tree to prevent loops in the network."

"The technical support we get from Cisco is excellent; it's the best in the industry, and we're more than satisfied with the level of service they provide."

"It's very stable."

"The tool makes it easy to manage multi-layer networking and increases network efficiency. I haven't faced any challenges in integrating it into our existing infrastructure."

More Cisco FabricPath pros

"The best advantages of Dell PowerSwitch N-Series is that it is very much similar to Cisco, it is easy to handle whether it is a CLI base or a GUI base, it is very easy to configure, and it is also reliable, as in a time frame of 17 years we faced a switching issue only one time, which was a hardware failure, and it is as reliable as Cisco."

"Port density and port speed performance are both suitable. It has some appealing intangibles."

"Currently, I am using the Dell S4048; it's a nice switch and it gives you good results in terms of a broadcast station connection, with HSRP (Hot Standby Router Protocol) and bandwidth allocation that are very nice, and for a customer it is easy to configure and to add ports through the LAN GUI."

"The automated configuration management tools of Dell PowerSwitch N-Series help improve network traffic management."

"For a customer, it is easy to configure and to add ports through the LAN the GUI."

Cons

"The solution is complex to set up."

"In terms of the series, I find that the integration with other teleconferencing applications needs to be more seamless. I have suggested to Cisco that the endpoint device should allow joining calls from Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and other teleconferencing applications. Additionally, I appreciate the recent inclusion of breakout sessions in the Cisco Webex application, which enhances its relevance in the networking field."

"The initial setup is a little complex."

"The product lacks AI...The initial setup of Cisco FabricPath was a bit complex."

"The price is a little bit too high."

"Layer 3 does not have higher availability."

"Cisco FabricPath's pricing is expensive."

"The documents could improve for Cisco FabricPath. There are times when the relevant information is not present in the different sections of the documents, such as deployment. The documents should be more detailed and enhanced."

More Cisco FabricPath cons

"We have had problems in the past that needed a reboot of the switch."

"I would not recommend it to smaller businesses because they could not afford it."

"Some features need improvements with stability."

"Instead of competing at the enterprise level with that product, they should probably scale it. With all of the ports, they should develop a good mid-level business to truly scale it and gain adoption before attempting to go after the enterprise."

"The disadvantages of Dell PowerSwitch N-Series is that only the booting time is a weak point."

"Customers do not prefer this to connect to multiple cities."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing of Cisco FabricPath can be quite high depending on the architecture, but it's justified by the stability it offers."

"The pricing for this product is good."

"I rate it seven out of ten on pricing as it's a bit expensive. It would be better if the price were lower, but we prioritize quality over cost."

"FabricPath is very reasonably priced."

"The price of Cisco FabricPath could be reduced, it is expensive in the market here in Sri Lanka. The solution is subscriptions based, if the customer wants any future integrations, or if there are any future enhancements they will have to pay. There are different license options available, such as one or three years purchases."

"It is very expensive."

"The solution falls under the pricier category, but it provides value for the price charged."

"Cisco is expensive but offers good-quality features, so I would rate it high on the pricing scale."

More Cisco FabricPath pricing and cost advice

"You are selling it to larger customers and in larger environments, where it's a less expensive model than Cisco, which is attempting to use the same approach Arista did, but with a completely different programming language."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Healthcare Company

Construction Company

Outsourcing Company

Financial Services Firm

Construction Company

13%

Educational Organization

Retailer

Healthcare Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	11
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	14

No data available

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco FabricPath?

Cisco is somewhat expensive, but it provides good quality products and operations, so I can't complain about licensing cost and setup costs. There is room for improvement in terms of pricing for th...

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What needs improvement with Cisco FabricPath?

In future updates, I would prefer to see features such as more AI functionality or better integration added to Cisco FabricPath; more AI would be useful.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Cisco FabricPath?

The typical use cases for Cisco FabricPath in my environment is that it's better than STP spanning tree protocols, doesn't block redundant links, and gives us active-active links that increase our ...

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What needs improvement with Dell-Force10 Campus LAN Switches?

The disadvantages of Dell PowerSwitch N-Series is that only the booting time is a weak point. When we reboot that switch, it takes time. As compared to Cisco, it takes almost three to five minutes,...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Dell-Force10 Campus LAN Switches?

We are using McAfee XDR solution rather than Cisco XDR. On Cisco products, we are using Cisco routers and Cisco switches. We work with Dell, specifically Dell switches, and we are using PowerEdge i...

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Dell-Force10 Campus LAN Switches?

Dell PowerSwitch N-Series is the one we have been working on. There was an advanced Layer 3 configuration on Dell PowerSwitch N-Series, and we have almost every security which can be configured on ...

See all answers

Comparisons

Juniper QFabric vs Cisco FabricPath

Compared 22% of the time

Arista Campus LAN Switches vs Cisco FabricPath

Compared 18% of the time

IBM BNT vs Cisco FabricPath

Compared 12% of the time

HPE ProCurve vs Cisco FabricPath

Compared 10% of the time

More Cisco FabricPath Competitors

Cisco Catalyst Switches vs Dell PowerSwitch N-Series

Compared 31% of the time

Cisco Nexus vs Dell PowerSwitch N-Series

Compared 17% of the time

Arista Campus LAN Switches vs Dell PowerSwitch N-Series

Compared 11% of the time

Aruba Instant On Switches vs Dell PowerSwitch N-Series

Compared 11% of the time

HPE ProCurve vs Dell PowerSwitch N-Series

Compared 4% of the time

More Dell PowerSwitch N-Series Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco FabricPath

August 2026

Download Cisco FabricPath product report

Buyer's Guide

Dell PowerSwitch N-Series

August 2026

Download Dell PowerSwitch N-Series product report

Also Known As

FabricPath

No data available

Overview

Cisco FabricPath offers enhanced network management, reliable VM migration, and robust security for data centers and hybrid clouds, integrating well with Cisco Nexus and VPC. It ensures improved traffic control and minimal downtimes, supporting efficient Layer 2 networks.

Cisco FabricPath empowers enterprises with a seamless networking experience, offering robust performance and operational efficiency. It supports dynamic multiprotocol environments and ensures reliable service continuity. By eliminating STP issues, it enables active-active links, reducing downtime risks. Integration within data centers enhances management and optimizes VM migration, contributing to a stable and scalable network architecture. However, improvements in interoperability, cost management, and security features are areas where users seek optimization.

What are the key features of Cisco FabricPath?

Seamless VM Migration: Facilitates smooth movement of virtual machines across data centers.
Robust Security: Provides strong security measures to protect network integrity.
Multiprotocol Support: Handles diverse protocols efficiently, offering flexibility.
Dynamic Layer 2 Multipath Routing: Supports multiple active paths for optimal performance.
Integration with Nexus and VPC: Enhances connectivity and performance within networks.

What benefits should users consider in the reviews?

Minimal Downtimes: Ensures reliable network uptime and continuous service.
Improved Traffic Control: Prioritizes network traffic, enhancing performance.
Scalability: Supports growing network demands without compromising performance.
Enhanced Management: Simplifies management tasks, leading to greater efficiency.
Redundancy and Continuity: Provides backup paths to maintain seamless operations.

In the telecom and enterprise sectors, Cisco FabricPath is commonly implemented to support robust data environments. It is ideal for hybrid clouds and large enterprise LANs due to its capacity to handle extensive VLANs and Layer 2 networks. Its implementation streamlines operations, enhances connectivity, and offers scalable solutions to meet intense data demands, particularly benefiting industries requiring high reliability and secure, continuous connectivity.

Cisco

Dell PowerSwitch N-Series offers efficient and scalable networking solutions tailored for modern enterprises. Designed to enhance performance and streamline management, these switches support demanding business environments with seamless integration and advanced features.

With advanced Layer 2 and Layer 3 functionality, Dell PowerSwitch N-Series meets the high-speed connectivity requirements of dynamic network systems. Its flexible security options and energy-efficient performance make it ideal for supporting cloud connectivity and virtualization. The series ensures reliability and minimizes downtime with its robust architecture and efficient troubleshooting mechanisms.

What are the key features of Dell PowerSwitch N-Series?

High-Performance Switching: Delivers excellent throughput and latency characteristics for demanding applications.
Energy-Efficient Design: Reduces energy costs without sacrificing performance, catering to green data center initiatives.
Scalable Architecture: Supports network growth with modular uplinks and stacking capabilities, allowing adaptation to changing requirements.
Comprehensive Security: Protects network integrity with features like Access Control Lists and Secure Boot.

What benefits should you look for when evaluating Dell PowerSwitch N-Series?

Cost Savings: Competitive pricing combined with reduced energy consumption offers substantial long-term savings.
Easy Management: Simplified configuration and management enhance operational efficiency, saving time and resources.
Enhanced Network Performance: Delivers robust connectivity and reliability, optimizing overall network productivity.
Future-Proof Investments: Supports future growth while maintaining compatibility with existing infrastructure.

Dell PowerSwitch N-Series is effectively implemented across industries such as education and retail, where reliable and flexible network infrastructure facilitates data-driven operations and customer engagement. Healthcare organizations utilize its secure and efficient features to enhance patient data management and telemedicine services, ensuring reliable connectivity in critical care environments.

Dell Technologies

Sample Customers

Bellevue, Calligaris, Electricity Authority of Cyprus, Management Science Associates, Multi-Customer, Oediv, Roper St. Francis, SNAM

Norwich University of the Arts, Shelby American, City and Islington College

Buyer's Guide

Cisco FabricPath vs. Dell PowerSwitch N-Series

August 2026

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