What users are saying about
Top Rated
78 Ratings
<a href='https://www.trustradius.com/static/about-trustradius-scoring' target='_blank' rel='nofollow noopener'>trScore algorithm: Learn more.</a>Score 9.3 out of 100
Based on 78 reviews and ratings
74 Ratings
<a href='https://www.trustradius.com/static/about-trustradius-scoring' target='_blank' rel='nofollow noopener'>trScore algorithm: Learn more.</a>Score 8.8 out of 100
Based on 74 reviews and ratings
Attribute Ratings
- Cisco Catalyst 2960-X/XR Series Switches is rated higher in 3 areas: Likelihood to Recommend, Likelihood to Renew, Product Scalability
- Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches is rated higher in 2 areas: Usability, Support Rating
- Cisco Catalyst 2960-X/XR Series Switches and Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches are tied in 3 areas: Availability, Performance, Implementation Rating
Likelihood to Recommend
9.2
Cisco Catalyst 2960-X/XR Series Switches
92%
45 Ratings
8.8
Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches
88%
39 Ratings
Likelihood to Renew
9.1
Cisco Catalyst 2960-X/XR Series Switches
91%
1 Rating
8.2
Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches
82%
5 Ratings
Usability
9.1
Cisco Catalyst 2960-X/XR Series Switches
91%
1 Rating
10.0
Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches
100%
3 Ratings
Availability
9.1
Cisco Catalyst 2960-X/XR Series Switches
91%
2 Ratings
9.1
Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches
91%
2 Ratings
Performance
9.1
Cisco Catalyst 2960-X/XR Series Switches
91%
2 Ratings
9.1
Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches
91%
2 Ratings
Support Rating
7.7
Cisco Catalyst 2960-X/XR Series Switches
77%
6 Ratings
9.5
Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches
95%
15 Ratings
In-Person Training
Cisco Catalyst 2960-X/XR Series Switches
N/A
0 Ratings
7.3
Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches
73%
1 Rating
Online Training
Cisco Catalyst 2960-X/XR Series Switches
N/A
0 Ratings
7.3
Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches
73%
1 Rating
Implementation Rating
8.2
Cisco Catalyst 2960-X/XR Series Switches
82%
2 Ratings
8.2
Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches
82%
2 Ratings
Product Scalability
9.1
Cisco Catalyst 2960-X/XR Series Switches
91%
1 Rating
7.3
Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches
73%
1 Rating
Likelihood to Recommend
Cisco Catalyst 2960-X/XR Series Switches
Cisco Catalyst [2960-X/XR Series] switches are the gold standard for networking gear, they just work and if you do run into issues, Cisco TAC support is world-class and will work with you until it's resolved. During issues and outages knowing we have TAC is a great tool. They perform well while stacking and offer the base functionality every standard corporate network should need. If you have team members that are shy around a command line there will be a learning curve or heavy use of web interface tools that are not as built out as the CLI command-line interface.
IT Infrastructure Supervisor
Sight and Sound TheatresEntertainment, 201-500 employees
Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches
One of the best switch series available today from Cisco is the Catalyst 9300 Series [Switches]. They work as well as other Cisco enterprise products and are just as dependable. It's difficult to just turn these things on and forget about them with the new licensing model. After inserting the smart-licensing token into the switch, one of two options must be granted: internet access or no internet access. We will have to purchase three years of auto-renewing DNA licensing and licensing is a costly venture. Nonetheless, I have yet to encounter anything that I do not enjoy. Since the deployments, we've had a period of trouble-free operation.
Marketing Product Management
ClopsmithInformation Technology & Services, 11-50 employees
Pros
Cisco Catalyst 2960-X/XR Series Switches
- I haven't worked on many other brands of routers/switches, but I can say with certainty that Cisco's IOS network operating system is very well written. Using the question mark helps you find a command or complete its options very easily.
- Cisco's Catalyst documentation is superb and if you can't find what you're looking for there, you can find a ton of great blogs by certified Cisco engineers.
- Cisco may be notorious for creating their own proprietary protocols, but for every proprietary protocol they also support the industry standard protocols.
- Cisco Catalyst switches are genuine workhorses; we still have some switches on our network that are older than 10 years and still performing great!
- I like the way Catalyst implements vlans; very easy and straightforward
- I like the stacking capability of Catalyst. it's very easy to configure and you are now managing a single switch, composed of multiple switches
Systems Administrator
Whitworth UniversityHigher Education, 501-1000 employees
Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches
- [Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches] provide[s] a stable, reliable switching platform. Typically I end up deploying these and once the configuration is dialed into what the need is I rarely ever have to bother with them again!
- Multi-speed interfaces are handy if you are using newer Cisco APs.
- StackPower cables give interesting power sharing options for 9300s living in the same space.
Infrastructure, Network Administrator II
Dynamic AviationAviation & Aerospace, 501-1000 employees
Cons
Cisco Catalyst 2960-X/XR Series Switches
- Cost. Always the downside with Cisco. The competition is cheaper.
- Tech support used to be incredible. It is above average now but not like it was 10+ years ago.
- Better support for third-party cables and SFP/SFP+ would be nice. I hate being warned in the logs that I'm not using a Cisco OEM accessory.
- I wish they could upgrade the stack without taking the whole stack offline. This is a real issue.

Verified User
Engineer in Information Technology
Retail Company, 1001-5000 employeesCisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches
- Ability to do routing network packets.
- Servers, printer and PCs have been able to connect to the each other via the Cisco Switch.
- The price a little bit high.
- Strong security, advanced QoS, comprehensive IPv6 support, Layer 3 static routing, and true stacking.

Verified User
Administrator in Information Technology
Information Technology and Services Company, 10,001+ employeesPricing Details
Cisco Catalyst 2960-X/XR Series Switches
General
Free Trial
—Free/Freemium Version
—Premium Consulting/Integration Services
—Entry-level set up fee?
No
Starting Price
—Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches
General
Free Trial
—Free/Freemium Version
—Premium Consulting/Integration Services
—Entry-level set up fee?
No
Starting Price
—Likelihood to Renew
Cisco Catalyst 2960-X/XR Series Switches
Cisco Catalyst 2960-X/XR Series Switches 9.1
Based on 1 answer
Cisco has great products, easy to deploy, configure, and manage

Verified User
Professional in Information Technology
Automotive Company, 1001-5000 employeesCisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches
Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches 8.2
Based on 5 answers
Catalyst isn't even the family, it's bigger than that. The current "family" is the catalyst 9000 series. And Cisco keeps pushing the edge of the envelope with each new family.

Verified User
Engineer in Information Technology
Hospital & Health Care Company, 10,001+ employeesUsability
Cisco Catalyst 2960-X/XR Series Switches
Cisco Catalyst 2960-X/XR Series Switches 9.1
Based on 1 answer
very easy to navigate the CLI

Verified User
Professional in Information Technology
Automotive Company, 1001-5000 employeesCisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches
Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches 10.0
Based on 3 answers
I love them

Verified User
Engineer in Information Technology
Retail Company, 1001-5000 employeesReliability and Availability
Cisco Catalyst 2960-X/XR Series Switches
Cisco Catalyst 2960-X/XR Series Switches 9.1
Based on 2 answers
Always in stock

Verified User
Professional in Information Technology
Automotive Company, 1001-5000 employeesCisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches
Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches 9.1
Based on 2 answers
If you install the C9300 as a switch stack, the availability is amazing. This can even be a power stack setup, where the chassis power supplies can provide power redundancy for the other member switch chassis.

Verified User
Engineer in Information Technology
Renewables & Environment Company, 10,001+ employeesPerformance
Cisco Catalyst 2960-X/XR Series Switches
Cisco Catalyst 2960-X/XR Series Switches 9.1
Based on 2 answers
uptime meets expectations

Verified User
Professional in Information Technology
Automotive Company, 1001-5000 employeesCisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches
Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches 9.1
Based on 2 answers
The C9300 is surfficiently spec'ed to support all the features it provides. We haven't yet experienced any hardware limitations, unless there's a loop in the network, which spanning-tree should take care of anyway

Verified User
Engineer in Information Technology
Renewables & Environment Company, 10,001+ employeesSupport Rating
Cisco Catalyst 2960-X/XR Series Switches
Cisco Catalyst 2960-X/XR Series Switches 7.7
Based on 6 answers
Product support is one area that Cisco leads the field in. Other vendors try providing technical support for their products. When I purchase catalyst switches I know that "IF" I where to have a problem with one of my Cisco Catalyst switches that I can either open a TAC case online or over the phone and a knowledgeable person will be able to help me with what ever the issue is.
Network Operations Supervisor
BKD LLPAccounting, 1001-5000 employees
Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches
Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches 9.5
Based on 15 answers
Honestly it really depends on who is going to take your case. You may need to contact your Cisco account manager if you don't get good support from the TAC.
Lately the 3850 and 9300 switches are affected by several bugs and sometimes it is frustrating when it's faster if you research the problem by yourself instead of rely on Cisco support. On the other hand I found also some really talented people in the cisco support team.

Verified User
Engineer in Engineering
Pharmaceuticals Company, 10,001+ employeesIn-Person Training
Cisco Catalyst 2960-X/XR Series Switches
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches
Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches 7.3
Based on 1 answer
Cisco Networking Academy partners with many local Colleges and High Schools to provide great hands-on training. You do need to drive to learn the topic. The in-class session only go so far. You really need to apply this to the real world. Cisco makes it easy for business to connect via CLC or Cisco Learning Credits.
Information Security Architect
Wintrust Financial CorporationFinancial Services, 1001-5000 employees
Online Training
Cisco Catalyst 2960-X/XR Series Switches
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches
Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches 7.3
Based on 1 answer
Our training for Cisco switches came from a third party instructor, e.g. CBT Nuggets. This was general training on switches and not in particular only the C9300 series. Nevertheless any hands-on experience from any other Cisco switching platform, will make you feel very acquainted with the C9300. The new switch platform just enables more perfomance and features.

Verified User
Engineer in Information Technology
Renewables & Environment Company, 10,001+ employeesImplementation Rating
Cisco Catalyst 2960-X/XR Series Switches
Cisco Catalyst 2960-X/XR Series Switches 8.2
Based on 2 answers
usually pretty seamless into existing deployments

Verified User
Professional in Information Technology
Automotive Company, 1001-5000 employeesCisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches
Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches 8.2
Based on 2 answers
It's essential to spend a few weeks on a Proof of Concept/Value test, to ensure that the equipment is ready for production. It's extremely hard to revert back to older hardware later. This testing period will also be a great opportunity for hardware burn-in, which will reveal any potential hardware failure due to production defects, etc

Verified User
Engineer in Information Technology
Renewables & Environment Company, 10,001+ employeesAlternatives Considered
Cisco Catalyst 2960-X/XR Series Switches
We've selected Catalyst Switches because of its widespread documentation , great hardware, and the best manufacturer support.They can be stacked as a unique switch increasing the port number, manageability and reducing the uplink and broadcast traffic among many cascaded switches. Cisco always there to support us anytime when we in need of their support so no disappointments we feel anytime using these products.
Network Specialist
OrangeInformation Technology & Services, 10,001+ employees
Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches
We used HP ProCurves at our old office. They offered cheap switching, lots of ports, and lifetime warranties, but you realistically got what you paid for. They were often times confounding, and much more difficult to integrate together and with our firewalls. QoS was pretty much a lost cause on them. We also had many issues with dead ports. While they were covered under warranty, having to take an entire 48 port module offline to get the defective port replaced was quite cumbersome and caused some outages.The inability to push multiple VLAN's across a single port was also a huge impediment, necessitating two ports per cube, whereas we can accomplish the same thing with one port per desk with the Catalyst 9300's
Lead Desktop Analyst
Fidelity & Guaranty LifeInsurance, 201-500 employees
Scalability
Cisco Catalyst 2960-X/XR Series Switches
Cisco Catalyst 2960-X/XR Series Switches 9.1
Based on 1 answer
Switch stacking feature is flawless

Verified User
Professional in Information Technology
Automotive Company, 1001-5000 employeesCisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches
Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches 7.3
Based on 1 answer
It seems like a very robust platform, which Cisco is constantly evolving with new features and possibilities. The standard network module gives the opportunity to customize the uplink interfaces, in both bandwidth and SFP type

Verified User
Engineer in Information Technology
Renewables & Environment Company, 10,001+ employeesReturn on Investment
Cisco Catalyst 2960-X/XR Series Switches
- The organization was able to create a standardization of a single access switch model in our regional office and helped with equipment management.
- We've increased network security.
- We were able to connect WiFi access points without the need for an external source because they are power over ethernet.
Analista de sistema
NaturaChemicals, 201-500 employees
Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches
- The list price of the switch is almost equivalent to the cost for the previous Catalyst Switch models, which is good for the business financial plan.
- The dedicated management switch port is much easier for out-of-band management purposes.
- Catalyst 9300 is not compatible with the old switch model, which is a bit challenging for migration in some situations.
Senior Network Architect
MacEwan UniversityEducation Management, 1001-5000 employees