What users are saying about
71 Ratings
<a href='https://www.trustradius.com/static/about-trustradius-scoring' target='_blank' rel='nofollow noopener'>trScore algorithm: Learn more.</a>Score 9 out of 100
Based on 71 reviews and ratings
38 Ratings
<a href='https://www.trustradius.com/static/about-trustradius-scoring' target='_blank' rel='nofollow noopener'>trScore algorithm: Learn more.</a>Score 9.1 out of 100
Based on 38 reviews and ratings
Attribute Ratings
- Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series Switches is rated higher in 2 areas: Likelihood to Renew, Usability
- Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switches is rated higher in 2 areas: Likelihood to Recommend, Support Rating
Likelihood to Recommend
8.3
Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series Switches
83%
40 Ratings
9.0
Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switches
90%
22 Ratings
Likelihood to Renew
9.6
Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series Switches
96%
3 Ratings
8.2
Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switches
82%
2 Ratings
Usability
9.5
Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series Switches
95%
3 Ratings
9.0
Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switches
90%
1 Rating
Availability
9.1
Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series Switches
91%
4 Ratings
Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switches
N/A
0 Ratings
Performance
7.3
Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series Switches
73%
2 Ratings
Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switches
N/A
0 Ratings
Support Rating
8.5
Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series Switches
85%
8 Ratings
9.0
Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switches
90%
2 Ratings
Implementation Rating
7.3
Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series Switches
73%
2 Ratings
Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switches
N/A
0 Ratings
Product Scalability
8.9
Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series Switches
89%
2 Ratings
Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switches
N/A
0 Ratings
Likelihood to Recommend
Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series Switches
The Cisco Catalyst 3850 switches are well suited for medium to large enterprise deployments, especially where the distribution and access layer may be collapsed and a device that has more routing capabilities than a 2960 is required. In basic environments where trunking is only required then 2960 switches would be more cost effective and suitable. Depending on the size of the environment these switches may also work well higher up such as in the datacenter with the full fiber models if a higher line rate than 10 Gb isn't required.

Verified User
Manager in Information Technology
Higher Education Company, 201-500 employeesCisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switches
The [Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switches] is very well suited for datacenter core and distribution models, they work very well as a replacement for the 3850 switches that many smaller organizations use for core switching.The 9500 series also works very well as a top of rack aggregation switch for SFP and QSFP connectivity.
Network Administrator
Arkansas Federal Credit UnionBanking, 201-500 employees
Pros
Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series Switches
- They meet the need in office on a desk to out on a warehouse or factory floor
- Have the PoE power to support everything a company will need
- have a matching product for your need from a few ports to 48 PoE port with uplinks that connect back a MDF or DC Distribution
Senior Solution Architect
Entisys360Computer & Network Security, 501-1000 employees
Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switches
- Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switches are capable of 10g/40g with a great selection of ports for these speeds.
- The Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switch is a very capable piece of kit, supporting a lot of Cisco's new feature sets.
- Cisco IOS is the gold standard for switch operating systems.

Verified User
Administrator in Information Technology
Higher Education Company, 201-500 employeesCons
Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series Switches
- Price point has always been higher and a concern as compared to other products.
- Ongoing support costs are also pricey, but if you have a large enough quantity installed, you can purchase a couple of spares and self-insure at a lower cost.

Verified User
Professional in Information Technology
Government Administration Company, 1001-5000 employeesCisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switches
- The 9500C does not have dedicated stackwise, in order to stack these switches you must consume some of the available ports on the switch itself.
- Virtual Stackwise is a little cumbersome to configure and get running properly
- The newest iteration of Catalyst switches REQUIRE the DNA licensing platform, even though it will not be used.
Network Administrator
Arkansas Federal Credit UnionBanking, 201-500 employees
Pricing Details
Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series Switches
General
Free Trial
—Free/Freemium Version
—Premium Consulting/Integration Services
—Entry-level set up fee?
No
Starting Price
—Cisco Catalyst 9500 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 3850 Series Switches
Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series Switches 9.6
Based on 3 answers
We rely heavily on this product line and feel comfortable supporting it.

Verified User
Engineer in Information Technology
Higher Education Company, 10,001+ employeesCisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switches
Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switches 8.2
Based on 2 answers
Based on the site load and requirements, the switches meets our processing and fiber ports requirements. Also they have great potential for future programmability options we are looking into.

Verified User
Engineer in Engineering
Transportation/Trucking/Railroad Company, 10,001+ employeesUsability
Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series Switches
Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series Switches 9.5
Based on 3 answers
Everything can be improved, the Catalyst devices are great but some more advanced issues get very complex and if you aren't doing it every day it is easy to lose knowledge and need help.
Senior Network Engineer
City of WichitaGovernment Administration, 1001-5000 employees
Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switches
Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switches 9.0
Based on 1 answer
It has great potential. It can support 10, 40, 100 Gig ports. The chipset are high processing capabilities

Verified User
Engineer in Engineering
Transportation/Trucking/Railroad Company, 10,001+ employeesReliability and Availability
Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series Switches
Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series Switches 9.1
Based on 4 answers
We have had very few unplanned outages with all of our Cisco Catalyst products. The biggest issue I have seen is when a device has been powered on for a very long time and it gets powered off and reused later. Sometimes, the switch will not come back up. In most cases, these are switches that are way past end of life. I can't say we have really seen any other issues with the availability of the Catalyst family of switches

Verified User
Engineer in Information Technology
Information Technology and Services Company, 10,001+ employeesCisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switches
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Performance
Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series Switches
Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series Switches 7.3
Based on 2 answers
The Catalyst switches on our network perform very well, given the amount of users and servers on our network. We have older Catalyst switches that are at their End of Life, and they are still performing as well as needed

Verified User
Engineer in Information Technology
Information Technology and Services Company, 10,001+ employeesCisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switches
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series Switches
Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series Switches 8.5
Based on 8 answers
If I am unable to locate the support I need to complete a task from the data sheets which are provided online I can utilize the other resources available to me. Some of those resources are the Cisco Connection Program Community where there are many questions asked for similar issues or by utilizing the TAC team as mentioned before. Either resource I am able to resolve any issues I experience.
IT Infrastructure Supervisor
Holy Cross EnergyUtilities, 51-200 employees
Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switches
Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switches 9.0
Based on 2 answers
Cisco TAC engineers are very responsive and supportive.

Verified User
Engineer in Engineering
Transportation/Trucking/Railroad Company, 10,001+ employeesImplementation Rating
Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series Switches
Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series Switches 7.3
Based on 2 answers
Automation was the key to minimizing the initial update and configuration.
Senior Network Engineer
City of WichitaGovernment Administration, 1001-5000 employees
Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switches
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series Switches
All the products that we evaluated we felt were all good products that have plenty to offer but for our edge switches, we felt the 3850 had the most to offer. We were looking for not only a very reliable switch but one with many features that would not get used in a lot of other types of deployments. Juniper came close to providing what we wanted but we didn't feel it offered anything more than the 3850 did, and with our existing relationship with Cisco it simply made sense to stick with the 3850.
Network Engineer
Synergy FiberInternet, 51-200 employees
Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switches
The Catalyst 9400 was not out when we were looking at new core switches. We thought about using a Nexus 9k but neither were as good of a fit as the 9500. Between price and performance it was a no-brainer for us to look at the 9500. We have not nor in the future would we consider other brands for core switching.

Verified User
Manager in Information Technology
Mining & Metals Company, 501-1000 employeesScalability
Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series Switches
Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series Switches 8.9
Based on 2 answers
Catalyst switches are extremely scalable. , using any of the Cisco validated designs. The same family of switches can be used for access, distribution, and core, making the overall integration much smoother. Cisco also supports multi-gigabit ethernet ports to allow for scaling of 1 gbps up to 10 gbps over the same port, using different types of cables, and supports PoE. So you don't have to buy all new switches because access points are suddenly 2.5, 5, or 10 gig uplinks

Verified User
Engineer in Information Technology
Information Technology and Services Company, 10,001+ employeesCisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switches
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series Switches
- Cisco switches have enabled us to deploy the switches and manage them remotely using Cisco management applications. This makes management much easier, without having to telnet into each one to make config changes, thereby lowering support costs.
- Cisco Catalyst switches enabled us to expand without replacing all of the existing network equipment because of their multi-vendor interoperability.
- Stable code and quick bug fixes. Bugs that cause major operational or security problems have been extremely rare in my experience which leads to 99.99999 uptime.

Verified User
Former Employee in Information Technology
Food & Beverages Company, 51-200 employeesCisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switches
- These switches did require a purchase of the DNA license on top of standard switch licensing, even if the functions are no needed in the environment.
- The increased SFP & QSFP connectivity enabled for faster processing within our compute environment. While the system is too new to quantify the value added in this, it undeniably will help with its ROI.
Network Administrator
Arkansas Federal Credit UnionBanking, 201-500 employees