What users are saying about
14 Ratings
<a href='https://www.trustradius.com/static/about-trustradius-scoring' target='_blank' rel='nofollow noopener'>trScore algorithm: Learn more.</a>Score 8.9 out of 100
Based on 14 reviews and ratings
2 Ratings
<a href='https://www.trustradius.com/static/about-trustradius-scoring' target='_blank' rel='nofollow noopener'>trScore algorithm: Learn more.</a>Score 8.1 out of 100
Based on 2 reviews and ratings
Attribute Ratings
- Cisco Catalyst 3560-CX Series Switches is rated higher in 1 area: Likelihood to Recommend
Likelihood to Recommend
9.2
Cisco Catalyst 3560-CX Series Switches
92%
11 Ratings

8.0
Cisco FabricPath
80%
1 Rating
Likelihood to Renew
1.6
Cisco Catalyst 3560-CX Series Switches
16%
2 Ratings

Cisco FabricPath
N/A
0 Ratings
Usability
9.0
Cisco Catalyst 3560-CX Series Switches
90%
2 Ratings

Cisco FabricPath
N/A
0 Ratings
Support Rating
8.4
Cisco Catalyst 3560-CX Series Switches
84%
6 Ratings

Cisco FabricPath
N/A
0 Ratings
Likelihood to Recommend
Cisco Catalyst 3560-CX Series Switches
They are best suited for edge switching applications. We do have a couple in the data center doing legacy copper VM hosts that perform ok. But edge switching is most definitely the best suited, at least in our specific situation. I know that some of the higher end catalyst switches have the ability to do layer 3 functionality, but that's not something that we've personally delved into with the catalyst line.
Network Engineer II
Hall County SchoolsEducation Management, 1001-5000 employees
Cisco FabricPath
Cisco FabricPath seems to be well suited for larger datacenters where you need the scalability and flexibility that's provided. We've been able to provide our customers with much more bandwidth than they previously had throughout our datacenter and with applications generating much more east/west traffic now rather than large volumes of north/south traffic FabricPath and the nexus switches have given us the ability to provide our customers with the bandwidth that's needed to serve today's applications.

Verified User
Professional in Information Technology
Information Technology and Services Company, 10,001+ employeesPros
Cisco Catalyst 3560-CX Series Switches
- Simple administration, low occurrence rates, and a wide range of deployment options make it ideal for use in virtually any networking environment.
- Great features and good performance combine to form a small and quiet factor.
- Servers, printers, and PCs can connect via the Cisco Switch's auto smart ports, allowing zero-touch provisioning of edge devices.
IT Specialist
Lamda I-TECHInformation Technology & Services, 11-50 employees
Cisco FabricPath
- It scales fairly well.
- It's been fairly easy for people to learn and work with.
- It has simplified network administration by utilizing Fabric Extenders which are all configured from the same switch and treated as an extension of the switch rather than as a separate entity.

Verified User
Professional in Information Technology
Information Technology and Services Company, 10,001+ employeesCons
Cisco Catalyst 3560-CX Series Switches
- Cisco's switch code backup tool isn't the greatest and easiest to use.
- [It's] a lot more money than competitor's products.
- [Cisco Catalyst 3560-CX Series Switch] is a very diverse product line for even one model. [It] can be daunting to find the switch you need without Cisco's help.

Verified User
Administrator in Information Technology
Oil & Energy Company, 201-500 employeesCisco FabricPath
- We've had a few bugs that have caused random reloads of switches when modifying VLANS.
- We've had a bug that reloaded an entire fabric at once.

Verified User
Professional in Information Technology
Information Technology and Services Company, 10,001+ employeesPricing Details
Cisco Catalyst 3560-CX Series Switches
General
Free Trial
—Free/Freemium Version
—Premium Consulting/Integration Services
—Entry-level set up fee?
No
Starting Price
—Cisco FabricPath
General
Free Trial
—Free/Freemium Version
—Premium Consulting/Integration Services
—Entry-level set up fee?
No
Starting Price
—Likelihood to Renew
Cisco Catalyst 3560-CX Series Switches
Cisco Catalyst 3560-CX Series Switches 1.6
Based on 2 answers
We are extremely happy with the Cisco Catalyst series and don't have any reason to switch. As long as we continue to get great use and service out of the products we'll continue to use them for the foreseeable future.
Network Engineer II
Hall County SchoolsEducation Management, 1001-5000 employees
Cisco FabricPath
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Usability
Cisco Catalyst 3560-CX Series Switches
Cisco Catalyst 3560-CX Series Switches 9.0
Based on 2 answers
Cisco by and far does a great job with the Catalyst line. From a layer 2 dumb switch all the way up to ISP carrier grade switching within the Catalyst portfolio. The best part about it is command parity among the various tiers of product. The only differences are going to lie in what features are available per switch.
Network Engineer II
Hall County SchoolsEducation Management, 1001-5000 employees
Cisco FabricPath
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Cisco Catalyst 3560-CX Series Switches
Cisco Catalyst 3560-CX Series Switches 8.4
Based on 6 answers
So far we haven't had very many support issues with our Catalyst switches. When we have had issues TAC is always a pleasure to work with. They're prompt, knowledgeable, and take ownership of the case from open to close. Also, this isn't attributed to Cisco support directly. But because they are so widely known and have such a great market share you can find a solution to almost any issue with a quick internet search.
Network Engineer II
Hall County SchoolsEducation Management, 1001-5000 employees
Cisco FabricPath
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Cisco Catalyst 3560-CX Series Switches
The Cisco Catalyst switch is a robust switch and has a long lifespan regardless of the cost. it is easy to deploy and configure as a layer 3 device. As compared to other devices like Juniper Switch, it is easy to configure on the network.
Systems Admin
MultiChoiceBroadcast Media, 1001-5000 employees
Cisco FabricPath
In comparison to Cisco ACI, Cisco Catalyst, and Juniper EX Switches the Nexus switches have stood their ground and we've been fairly happy with them. I like that similar to Cisco's ACI and the Juniper EX switches that I've worked with I can manage multiple chassis from one place. ACI can do this on a much larger scale though. I think Juniper limited the number of devices in a single virtual chassis to 10 or less depending on the device type. ACI can do a few hundred leafs plus their fabric extenders so if you're looking for one place to manage all your devices it can scale well beyond either the Cisco FP or Juniper EX series switches, but it also has a much steeper learning curve and completely different interface. The loop prevention built into FP has been a great improvement vs our old Catalyst switches.

Verified User
Professional in Information Technology
Information Technology and Services Company, 10,001+ employeesReturn on Investment
Cisco Catalyst 3560-CX Series Switches
- Expansion has been made in our organization. We recently use a 24 port switch but as the company grew, we required a more robust switch
- Core switches are able to do MPLS to reach other locations
- Most switches are now 48 port and support fiber ports not only Gigabit ports
Systems Admin
MultiChoiceBroadcast Media, 1001-5000 employees
Cisco FabricPath
- FabricPath is easy enough to learn that the adoption on the team has been fairly quick. This allows us to quickly troubleshoot and allows us to meet and beat SLAs that demand we maintain 99.99%+ uptime for our paying customers.

Verified User
Professional in Information Technology
Information Technology and Services Company, 10,001+ employees