What users are saying about
17 Ratings
<a href='https://www.trustradius.com/static/about-trustradius-scoring' target='_blank' rel='nofollow noopener'>trScore algorithm: Learn more.</a>Score 9.6 out of 100
Based on 17 reviews and ratings
20 Ratings
<a href='https://www.trustradius.com/static/about-trustradius-scoring' target='_blank' rel='nofollow noopener'>trScore algorithm: Learn more.</a>Score 9.7 out of 100
Based on 20 reviews and ratings
Attribute Ratings
- Cisco Catalyst 9400 Series Switches is rated higher in 1 area: Likelihood to Recommend
Likelihood to Recommend
9.5
Cisco Catalyst 9400 Series Switches
95%
11 Ratings
8.9
Cisco Catalyst 9600 Series Switches
89%
11 Ratings
Likelihood to Recommend
Cisco Catalyst 9400 Series Switches
Cisco Catalyst 9400 Series Switches are enterprise-class network core switches. They are not meant for small to medium size companies or satellite offices. These switches are useful to provide a highly available network backbone where all of your firewalls, edge routers, top-of-rack switches, and fabric interconnects can terminate on a scalable and secure network.
Senior Network Administrator
University HealthSystem ConsortiumHospital & Health Care, 1001-5000 employees
Cisco Catalyst 9600 Series Switches
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.

Verified User
Technician in Information Technology
Information Technology & Services Company, 11-50 employeesPros
Cisco Catalyst 9400 Series Switches
- Dual supervisors and up to 6 power supplies keep them running continuously.
- Multigig ports and a high throughput backplane keeps the data flowing as fast as users need.
Network Engineer II
Regional HealthHospital & Health Care, 1001-5000 employees
Cisco Catalyst 9600 Series Switches
- 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.
Lead Systems Engineer
Nettology, LLCInformation Technology and Services, 11-50 employees
Cons
Cisco Catalyst 9400 Series Switches
- Software needs improvement, where features are added (Stack wise) or removed (GLBP) without solicitation from a wider audience or depreciation, respectively
- Software bugs recently in basic features like AAA
- Ability to turn off all unused services or features to reduce the attack surface
- Cisco CoPP functionality is not like it was on the Cat 6k platform - users cannot create custom policies for use at the control-plane interface

Verified User
Supervisor in Information Technology
Utilities Company, 10,001+ employeesCisco Catalyst 9600 Series Switches
- 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

Verified User
Executive in Information Technology
Government Administration Company, 201-500 employeesPricing Details
Cisco Catalyst 9400 Series Switches
General
Free Trial
—Free/Freemium Version
—Premium Consulting/Integration Services
—Entry-level set up fee?
No
Starting Price
—Cisco Catalyst 9600 Series Switches
General
Free Trial
—Free/Freemium Version
—Premium Consulting/Integration Services
—Entry-level set up fee?
No
Starting Price
—Alternatives Considered
Cisco Catalyst 9400 Series Switches
We ran a proof of concept for HPE and Cisco switches. Cisco won out due to the following:
- Cisco's positive track record of previous Catalyst switch platforms we've had experience with (2900, 4500, 6500).
- Large TCAM space to support large ACLs used to lock down endpoint access.
- Cisco's community is large so it's typically easy to find answers online to questions we have about design, installation, or troubleshooting.
- Catalyst 9000 is a newer platform than Aruba's switches that were perceived as re-branded HP Procurve switches, which have been around longer. While we can't say for sure this will amount to better ROI, we certainly felt like we'd get more life out of the Cisco 9000s.
- ROI for Aruba Mobility Access Switches was low due to an unexpected EoS/EoL announcement, affecting our campus access switch deployment. This forced us to replace Aruba MAS switches sooner than expected, leaving a bad taste in our mouth.

Verified User
Technician in Information Technology
Insurance Company, 1001-5000 employeesCisco Catalyst 9600 Series Switches
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.
Lead Systems Engineer
Nettology, LLCInformation Technology and Services, 11-50 employees
Return on Investment
Cisco Catalyst 9400 Series Switches
- Don't need to buy services - lifetime warranty
- Stability - even 10 year old devices are still running and doing the job
- Sometimes lines of products are on the market for a very short time (eg. 6800 instant access) - it is hard to buy equipment to make the network bigger.

Verified User
Team Lead in Information Technology
Oil & Energy Company, 10,001+ employeesCisco Catalyst 9600 Series Switches
- [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.
Senior Help Desk Technician
NettologyInformation Technology & Services, 11-50 employees