Likelihood to Recommend With the flexibility of sizing options, the Cisco Catalyst 8000 Edge Platforms has worked to deliver solutions for our various needs. Smaller systems offer strong connectivity for office developments. Mid-range options have served our larger campuses well. Our data center deployments of the larger systems have provided up to 100G connectivity and advanced routing solutions. The Cisco Catalyst 8000 Edge Platforms continues to meet our needs and exceed our expectations.
Read full review I think the most suited ones will be of course, for example, a supermarket where you have more than 50 plus devices because there are like 48 ports in a switch. We can just use a lot of devices and connect them to it. A less use case will be, I think it depends at the end of the day how your topology looks like. If you have a very few devices, you shouldn't be going for these catalyst switches because they are of course much bigger, more processing power and all those things. If you have, again, it comes to topology. If you have the number of users who are using these switches is less than 15, it's less than 15, then you can just go for any other option and not use them.
Read full review Pros More resources for tunneling Ability to use sdwan softwre More memory for tcam tables Ability to utilize T1 lines for PRI Ability to act as a SBC for VoIP communication Rfid usage Read full review The Switches package is very well with very low latency. I would say in my opinion, it's very user-friendly or if you have been in the game for Cisco. I have with my education where we usually use Cisco, it's very user-friendly. Read full review Cons Adding more NIM slots on motherboard Adding PVDM slot for use cases where the router is used only for trans coding Adding more granular tiers for DNA licensing. For example it is a big gap between 2000Mbps (400 Mbps agg) and 1Gbps (2 Gbps Agg) Read full review The Cisco Catalyst Switches 9k line is fairly high. A lower cost option like a 9200X would be an improvement. The Cisco Catalyst Switches 9k line lacks a higher port density fanless switch. More blade combinations for the Cisco Catalyst Switches 9k chassis switches are needed. Read full review Likelihood to Renew Because I have had no issues with this product line and have grown go really trust in it. One of the besr thing is that this has had less vulnerabilities that the past cisco router that I have dealt with. In my line of work needing to upgrade code is always something that needs to be done after hours and most likely on weekends.
Read full review They are consistently reliable and this switch in particular is a very affordable solution. We can place the Cisco Catalyst 1000 Series Switches gear in areas that we normally would not place a switch because it is affordable enough to make it justifiable. And because it is a reliable solution, we are confident it will continue to provide service over the long haul.
Read full review Usability it`s very easy to use it
Read full review The usability will feel natural to frequent Cisco users and a bit harder to navigate if you're new to the system. If you're limited to a small rack, maybe even in a not climate controlled environment the fan-less models with less energy consumption are a pro. With PoE you can deploy your network hardware anywhere you have a network socket: Thin Clients, APs, Sensors, you name it. The integrated power monitoring tells you how much power each client consumes and how much you have left.
Read full review Reliability and Availability We have very few is any outages due to a Cisco hardware failure. Some of our gear is exposed to some pretty harsh environments, and they keep on ticking!
Read full review Performance No, the packets flow. Sometimes you will see collisions and broadcast storms can happen which will slow performance but that can be fixed and the packets will flow.
Read full review Support Rating I have always had great response time and have never been let down by cisco support. I have had issues where the person who was assisting me was not able to provide a resolution but by utilizing his team members they where able to come together to provide a answer and resplve the situation.
Read full review 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.
Read full review In-Person Training 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.
Read full review Implementation Rating the licensing is messy
Read full review The implementation of the Cisco Catalyst 1000 Series Switches is fairly seamless, especially if you are familiar with Cisco products. We have had Brocade switch gear in place too, and the differences between the manufacturers [are] not a major issue.
Read full review Alternatives Considered Compared to the Cisco 2000 Series Connected
GRID Routers, CGR2010, the Cisco Catalyst 8000 Edge Platforms is more powerful in processing, and it has the capability to do the segment routing. It is easier to install physically and occupies less space in the rack, consumes less power, and saves more for the company.
Read full review We do have other vendors. For example, Juniper, Fortinet, and there are quite a few others. And Cisco is pretty good because we know the workflow, we know how the operating system works. We are much more familiar with Cisco products and we know the support system behind it. So in terms of comparing with others, I think it stands out. It's one of our top products to go to
Read full review Scalability We are exclusive Cisco at our organization. In truth part of the reason is, with one type of switch and one manufacturer, it is easier to support. It is also easier to give consistent training to our staff in our tech department
Read full review Return on Investment Improving the performance and the availability, it has increased the SLA we can ensure to the customers and so the sales has increased The initial expense is really high so the breakeven point is not so near The opex for licensing is high too Read full review Negative - Being a serviced provider in a school district Cisco is difficult to justify. The cost for these devices is quite a bit and when you are refreshing 100 plus switches at $5000 a piece that is a lot of money. Plus if you have SmartNET coverage on a lot of them it adds another 30% or more. Positive - Because they are so reliable, I purchase about 5% for break fix. I know when one of these goes out into production it is going to be solid. Positive - If you have used Cisco in the past then refreshing to the latest and greatest gear is usually fairly easy. The commands across the different generations are usually the same so there isn't really a learning curve. Another great benefit of the newer generations is potential for backwards compatibility for modules and SFPs. 9300 switches support 3800 series network modules. Read full review ScreenShots Cisco Catalyst Switches Screenshots