Cisco Business 350 Series vs. NETGEAR ProSafe Managed Switches

This is a small business switch, and for me, that means that if all I need is just this one switch, then I am on the right path. I would not want to use this switch to support a couple of hundred people trying to access heavy local resources. It should be used when you have a few dozen devices and/or users and a fairly flat network.

Incentivized

Well suited for a small business with minimal IT capital.

Incentivized

• Good throughput per port
• Good manageability
• Reasonable price point

Incentivized

• The switches met the data transfer needs of a small business with about 30 users and 4 servers.
• The web interface was adequate for a business that didn't have the need to dive into a device with a CLI.
• These were wall mounted. Not the best network design, but small businesses cut corners. The mounting holes helped with this "solution".

Incentivized

• Not every feature in the GUI is available at the command line
• Software can only be updated via the GUI interface
• It would be nice if the physical foot print were smaller

Incentivized

• Both switches were the same model number, same firmware. One switch needed to be rebooted about every 5 weeks. This problem was never resolved.

Incentivized

We are a big Cisco shop and wanted to use Cisco switches for this application. We knew that we'd be able to configure them quickly and the time saved doing the configuration would be to our benefit. Knowing that we wanted to go with a fully managed switch also was a major tipping point in Cisco's favor. Having used some of the other vendors' "managed" switch interfaces, nothing comes close to Cisco's approach. Having a better user interface will give us plenty of time down the road.

Incentivized

The NetGear switches are definitely entry-level switches. They don't have the functionality (or cost) of Dell, HP, nor Cisco. But for the money, a business that is just starting out can't complain.

Incentivized

• We replaced thirty older switches for very little capital investment.
• The new devices are compliant with our security needs, so we quickly cleared those issues.
• The new switches were very easy for us to apply a standardized configuration that allowed us to get them up and operational in minutes.

Incentivized

• The NetGear switches made a positive impact as entry level switches for a startup company.

Incentivized