Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches vs. Cisco Catalyst 9600 Series Switches

Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches are well suited for your small to large enterprise campus networks where high performance, scalability, and reliability are critical. The modular design of Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches allows for easy expansion, and features like stacking enable simplified management. The PoE capabilities are ideal for scenarios where powering IP phones, CCTV cameras, and wireless access points.

Even with the higher price point compared to other vendors, we highly recommend [Cisco Catalyst 9600 Series Switches] to all of our clients. These switches are built to last. [They] make network management very easy and will benefit any business in the long run. Cisco stands behind its product. It is very easy to add additional switches as a network grows.

Incentivized

• Great hardware. I've hardly had a device fail due to hardware.
• Throughput. These devices handle quite a bit of processing power.
• Extreme conditions. We have 9300s in NEMA cabinets that reach well into the 110 range and beyond.
• Very diverse. These devices can be placed in an office IDF, outside in a NEMA cabinet, or in an MDF.

• Cisco Catalyst Switches are very easy to use and manage.
• Cisco support it top notch.
• Very easy to scale up as [the] network infrastructure grows.

Incentivized

• One of the things that I would like to see is in the Meraki space, Meraki is a little behind compared to Catalyst because Meraki provides weeks of traffic segregation. That's one of the pain points that we are facing right now. But overall we say that Meraki is comparatively cheaper than the Catalyst. So that could be one of the advantages of that.

Incentivized

• Programming is different from other providers; this has caused some issues with staffing
• The training opportunities do not provide the basics of programming or migration from other vendors' products.
• Unless you are willing to purchase renewed switches, cost can be out of line with other vendors

Incentivized

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.

Incentivized

I love them

Incentivized

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.

Incentivized

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

Incentivized

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.

Incentivized

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.

Incentivized

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.

Incentivized

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

Incentivized

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

Incentivized

Cisco is top of the class when it comes to comparing them to other vendors in the network hardware environment. They may have a higher price-point, but they justify it with great support and a very long lifecycle.

Incentivized

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

Incentivized

• Stability, uptime, and the way Catalyst implements VLANs are straightforward, which I appreciate.
• Depending on the cabling requirements of the devices, different modules can connect them. Modules for the Catalyst 9300 series switches offer impressive flexibility.
• This is priceless because it makes setup and operation so simple. It works with the DNA center for automation and dependability.

Incentivized

• [There is a] high price point, but [Cisco Catalyst Series Switches] will save [you] in the long run because these switches are reliable and last a very long time.
• Cisco offers very good support so you can depend on them to keep everything running smoothly.
• Once techs are trained on Cisco devices, they will be able to save time making changes to networks.

Incentivized