Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches vs. Extreme Networks Wired Access - 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.

If you have a big environment with a lot of edge switch needs and department groups, then Extreme's fabric connect can save a lot of management time. If your environment is small then you may want to stick with the traditional model since fabric connect costs more. Also if you make lots of configuration changes all the time then fabric connect will be helpful. Otherwise, making an occasional change you don't need fabric connect.

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.

• Cloud management
• SFP+ uplinks
• Stacking capability
• Robust CLI

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

• Improved Extreme Management Console UI.
• More robust CLI auditing/logging.
• Easier log harvesting for adverse events.

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

There hasn't been a single problem with the code or hardware that hasn't been resolved in a timely fashion. You get technicians who know the product and who will work with you to get things fixed. That being said, I never ran into a problem with Cisco tech support either. I love that both groups were willing to teach me as they fixed things.

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

Foundry, HP, Cisco, Brocade. Extreme performance is equivalent or better without the price tag added just for their name

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

• Extreme [Ethernet Switches] have a long-life. You can easily get 7 years in main production life depending on when you buy in the product life-cycle.
• Extreme [Ethernet Switches] are expensive, no doubt, but we also don't have "weird" network problems or other issues with the network randomly going down.
• If you use fabric connect switches then the ease of managing many switches is of no concern.

Incentivized