Cisco 2000 Series Connected Grid Routers (CGR 2000) vs. Dell PowerConnect Switches (discontinued)

The Cisco 2000 Series Connected Grid Routers (CGR 2000) is well suited in an enclosed environment where there is no air con in place, and it may get quite hot. It provides copper and fiber connections to the next site so if you have a fiber in place, it suits as well. As it's not designed for speed, so if you are after high speed links, such as 10G and above, it is not the choice.

Incentivized

We work in the electric industry. These should not be used in a high-heat environment. We like to keep the temperature of the room in the low 60's so they are not suited for our Substation locations due to extreme heat and cold. However, they perform great in a server room.

Incentivized

• Resistant to many elements that its exposed to
• Work well in higher temperatures
• Compact enough to be installed in an inground box

Incentivized

• Reliable.
• Excellent hardware support from Dell including 4 hour parts/replacement.
• Excellent technical support from Dell on software, troubleshooting, and configuration.
• More affordable than its main enterprise competitors.
• Easy to use CLI.

Incentivized

• Harder to find and acquire than other routers

Incentivized

• Precarious graphical (GUI) mode, needing to be updated for more efficient technologies such as HTML5
• Short support time, given how much these devices support in terms of use. I have owned the devices for years, but no longer have a warranty

Incentivized

The Dell PowerConnect switch is a great switch in certain use cases. It really works well when training users to set up their own vlans in a technology class. We have a lot of different scenarios happening at this company, with 8 different buildings and multiple different affiliate entities. For some of the departments, the budget is the most crucial element. That is where the Dell PowerConnect switches are a really great option.

Incentivized

Have not had to use support yet but would follow our current Cisco process.

Incentivized

Dell ProSupport is outstanding. Dell ProDeploy is likewise outstanding. I prefer them even over traditional Cisco support. I've had repeated cases where Dell immediately addressed or fixed an issue with US-based support, including firmware hotfixes. Not even Cisco can boast that.

Incentivized

While the Cisco Catalyst 8000 Edge Platforms provide better throughput and thin chassis (1 RU) compared to the Cisco 2000 Series Connected Grid Routers, the Cisco 2000 Series Connected Grid Routers survive in a hot, non-ventilated/aircon enclosed environment and, at the same time, provide connectivity from the sites back to the data center.

Incentivized

I selected Dell mainly due to previous experience using them in a business environment. I've never had a unit fail on me and when my budget for equipment like network switches has been less than a training class on how to use those switches, it's incredible to be able to find quality equipment at the price point Dell offers and even more so when their enterprise support has been as excellent as I have been accustomed to dealing with. In all honesty, even if I had a larger budget, I would have bought these same switches since they were exactly what I needed to suit my needs. We looked into HPE/Aruba network switches, and while they would have performed everything we needed and more, they were almost four times the cost of these Dell network switches. That's a hard sell when it comes to planning a tight budget.

Incentivized

• Saved money on replacing standard routers that die in those environments
• Saved time with the easy linking and connection options
• Given us peace of mind that the device will continue to run without intervention

Incentivized

• Reports are easily created and very useful.
• Quick creation of different network connections.
• Excellent and secure channels for multiple data management.
• Great data visualization options offered by Dell PowerConnect Switches.

Incentivized