3Com Baseline Switches (Discontinued) vs Cisco Ethernet Switches

Likelihood to Recommend

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

Verified User

Employee in Information Technology

Civil Engineering Company, 501-1000 employees

Cisco is a name well known in the IT field. The technology is tried and true and they have built a reputation on a solid platform. Though many people do not like the cost of the devices and the continued fees associated with long term ownership, you get what you pay for. I dont hesitate to recommend Cisco because I know people will get a solid product that will last a long time.

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Dean Aceto II

Senior Infrastructure Administrator

Merz North AmericaMedical Devices, 501-1000 employees

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Pros

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

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Verified User

Employee in Information Technology

Civil Engineering Company, 501-1000 employees

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Easy setup and configuration. While the web UI has its quirks, setting up VLANs and other tasks which can be exceedingly complicated on other switches, are much easier on Cisco SG switches. You also have the ability to upload an existing configuration to switches, which can speed up the task of deploying many identical switches.
Features for the price. Getting a 48 port L3 switch with PoE+ for less than $2,000 is a great value.
Reliability. We have hundreds of the SG switches in dozens of client sites, many in harsh conditions, and they just keep going.

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Patrick Plaisance

CTO (Chief Technical Officer)

Pachyderm ConsultingInformation Technology and Services, 1-10 employees

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Cons

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

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Verified User

Employee in Information Technology

Civil Engineering Company, 501-1000 employees

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The web UI has taken a turn for the worse with the latest firmware on the SGx50 models -- the bifurcation between basic and advanced modes and the changes to the way VLANs are modified is a step backward in my opinion.
The power bricks on smaller models are enormous. I'm sure, however, keeping this circuitry external to the switch is what keeps my switches running year after year in hot environments.
Fans can be a bit loud on larger switches -- this is true of pretty much any 1U device though.

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Patrick Plaisance

CTO (Chief Technical Officer)

Pachyderm ConsultingInformation Technology and Services, 1-10 employees

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Pricing Details

General

Free Trial

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Free/Freemium Version

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Premium Consulting/Integration Services

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Entry-level set up fee?

No

Starting Price

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General

Free Trial

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Free/Freemium Version

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Premium Consulting/Integration Services

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Entry-level set up fee?

No

Starting Price

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Likelihood to Renew

No score

No answers yet

No answers on this topic

Cisco Ethernet Switches 9.0

Based on 1 answer

for their relialiabilty

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Paolo Della Mea

Network Build Leader

GEChemicals, 10,001+ employees

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Alternatives Considered

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

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Verified User

Employee in Information Technology

Civil Engineering Company, 501-1000 employees

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Cisco is more enterprise level, more reliable, and generally more feature rich but also very expensive. That being said old or refurbished Cisco switches are much more affordable and in comparison to even new switches from the competitor they are still a great value even though they are used. I like Ubiquiti switches as well but Cisco is usually better overall.

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Verified User

Technician in Information Technology

Education Management Company, 201-500 employees

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Return on Investment

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

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Verified User

Employee in Information Technology

Civil Engineering Company, 501-1000 employees

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Failure on Cisco Switches, from my experience, is rare in the first 5 years the device is up.
I have see the Cisco 6500 switches go 5 years without a reboot, which is nothing short of amazing.
The service that you get is top notch and available 24/7, and you really cannot put a price on that.

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Michael Timms

Network Administrator II

iQorTelecommunications, 10,001+ employees

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3Com Baseline Switches (Discontinued) vs Cisco Ethernet Switches