3Com Baseline Switches (Discontinued) vs. Cisco 550X Series Stackable Managed Switches

As our company is growing we need to be able to upgrade our equipment. It is great for smaller companies.

Incentivized

It works very well as stack of core switches in small/medium company with 4x 10Gbit SFP+ interfaces. Native stacking is simple and in ring topology every switch has 2 redundant connections. They support maximum of 8 units per stack. You could use Cisco SG500X in hybrid stack with other series of switches, but make sure if other switch is compatible with hybrid mode stacking. Hybrid stack mode lower the number of units in stack. You should consider other model of switches if you need more then four SFP+ ports to connect more access switches using fiber cables.

Incentivized

• Great product used on a budget.
• It gets the job done.
• Better switches than most competitors.

Incentivized

• Easy to create stacking
• Easy to configure using web interface or command line
• Similar command line to Cisco IOS

Incentivized

• Our network is slow.
• Feels like things are not working properly at times.
• Old equipment.

Incentivized

• Missing command line options like show running-config "| include, exlude"
• Possibility to connect to switch using usb console cable or usb dongle
• Missing vtp protocol support, only gvrp available

Incentivized

I used Cisco and Cisco is a great product but more on the expensive side. This is a great product for smaller companies.

Incentivized

Cisco 550X switches stack using 10Gbit SFP+ ports on the front, while Dell N Series has dedicated ports (with cables) on the back of the unit. On the other hand dell N switches has number on small digital display showing stack member number, which is easier to identify. The cisco switches has dot beside the number of the switch member. I think Cisco devices are more reliable and stable than dell switches.

Incentivized

• Great price.
• Great product for small company.
• It was great before we expanded.

Incentivized

• Money savings as they are cheaper than competative Cisco IOS switches
• Cisco Business Switches has limited lifetime warranty
• Good switching capacity, and reliability

Incentivized