Arista 7000 series vs. Cisco Catalyst IE3300 Rugged Series Switches

Core and data center applications are the strengths of Arista products. The distribution layer is also a good fit. For the access layer, it would be more of a niche product.

Incentivized

Well suited in areas where traditional IT personal need to have some management in a IoT development while keeping security at the for front of the deployment plan. Also offers great flexibility with the ability to purchase additional modules to expand switch port count without purchasing an entire separate switch which is extremely beneficial when space is a constraint and the ability to plan for future growth is impossible. Also the ability to just move SD card to back up switch and plug it in is great when IT staff is remote to keep warm spares onsite.

Incentivized

• The 7304's along side our core network design has provided 100% uptime during the 5 years of deployment.
• The multi-chassis LAG has provided near 100% connectivity to the distribution and access switches.
• Very low maintenance attention is needed.

Incentivized

• We're extremely proud of the IE3300s. We actually put them up on the cranes as well and with all the movement of the cranes, they're very sturdy and durable. We have not had issues at all with them.

Incentivized

• The 7304's lack a graceful non-intrusive upgrade method even though they are dual supervisor.
• I would like to see more integration with Aruba's ClearPass and Airwave products.

Incentivized

• Whilst these switches for once weren't actually the most expensive, they are still not the cheapest.
• The IE-3XXX series in particular has great flexibility in that it offers custom options for bespoke needs.
• I would say Cisco focus on their software rather than hardware from experience and design, but it is by no means bad!

Incentivized

I have used the Catalyst 6500 series in the past. From my point of view, the Arista surpasses the Catalyst on just about every front. Originally we were planning on implementing the Nexus 7000/7700 series switches for our core. Though a little more feature rich, it did not provide features we needed that the Arista did. The Nexus also was a confusing and complex platform to work with. Also, the Nexus was a significantly more expensive solution. Although very happy with the Arista switches we may evaluate the Aruba HPE 8400 chassis-based switches along with Arista switches in the future.

Incentivized

Cisco is more expensive, but it has better security and functionality over competitor products. additionally, our core network is Cisco

Incentivized

The expansion modules really allow us to use these switches for different scenarios in the way that we need them. Sometimes we need a lot of extra ports. Sometimes we need some extra ports, but also extra fiber ports to bring the network to other areas.

Incentivized

• The Arista 7000 series met or exceed our data center switching and routing needs.
• It provided a more cost effective alternative to other products we were considering.
• Implementation was quick and easy due to the simple standards-based configuration.

Incentivized

• They are grossly overpriced for our implementation, but the built in cybervision and port expansion possibility is vital for us.
• Able to push our security standards with ISE into IoT enviroment.

Incentivized