What users are saying about
17 Ratings
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Based on 17 reviews and ratings
Dell PowerConnect Switches
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Top Rated
33 Ratings
<a href='https://www.trustradius.com/static/about-trustradius-scoring' target='_blank' rel='nofollow noopener'>trScore algorithm: Learn more.</a>Score 9.2 out of 100
Based on 33 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

9.4
Dell PowerConnect Switches
94%
18 Ratings
Support Rating
Cisco Catalyst 9400 Series Switches
N/A
0 Ratings

9.1
Dell PowerConnect Switches
91%
3 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
Dell PowerConnect Switches
We work in the electric industry. These should not be used in a high-heat environment. We like to keep the temperature of the room in the low 60's so they are not suited for our Substation locations due to extreme heat and cold. However, they perform great in a server room.
Network Administrator
Deaf Smith ElectricUtilities, 51-200 employees
Pros
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
Dell PowerConnect Switches
- Reliable.
- Excellent hardware support from Dell including 4 hour parts/replacement.
- Excellent technical support from Dell on software, troubleshooting, and configuration.
- More affordable than its main enterprise competitors.
- Easy to use CLI.

Verified User
Executive in Information Technology
Information Technology & Services Company, 11-50 employeesCons
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+ employeesDell PowerConnect Switches
- Precarious graphical (GUI) mode, needing to be updated for more efficient technologies such as HTML5
- Short support time, given how much these devices support in terms of use. I have owned the devices for years, but no longer have a warranty
Diretor de Tecnologia da Informação e Telecomunicação
Câmara Municipal de CampinasGovernment Administration, 501-1000 employees
Pricing Details
Cisco Catalyst 9400 Series Switches
General
Free Trial
—Free/Freemium Version
—Premium Consulting/Integration Services
—Entry-level set up fee?
No
Starting Price
—Dell PowerConnect Switches
General
Free Trial
—Free/Freemium Version
—Premium Consulting/Integration Services
—Entry-level set up fee?
No
Starting Price
—Support Rating
Cisco Catalyst 9400 Series Switches
No score
No answers yet
No answers on this topic
Dell PowerConnect Switches
Dell PowerConnect Switches 9.1
Based on 3 answers
Dell ProSupport is outstanding. Dell ProDeploy is likewise outstanding. I prefer them even over traditional Cisco support. I've had repeated cases where Dell immediately addressed or fixed an issue with US-based support, including firmware hotfixes. Not even Cisco can boast that.

Verified User
Executive in Information Technology
Information Technology & Services Company, 11-50 employeesAlternatives 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 employeesDell PowerConnect Switches
I selected Dell mainly due to previous experience using them in a business environment. I've never had a unit fail on me and when my budget for equipment like network switches has been less than a training class on how to use those switches, it's incredible to be able to find quality equipment at the price point Dell offers and even more so when their enterprise support has been as excellent as I have been accustomed to dealing with. In all honesty, even if I had a larger budget, I would have bought these same switches since they were exactly what I needed to suit my needs. We looked into HPE/Aruba network switches, and while they would have performed everything we needed and more, they were almost four times the cost of these Dell network switches. That's a hard sell when it comes to planning a tight budget.
IT Director
Clark County Juvenile CourtGovernment Administration, 51-200 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+ employeesDell PowerConnect Switches
- Reports are easily created and very useful.
- Quick creation of different network connections.
- Excellent and secure channels for multiple data management.
- Great data visualization options offered by Dell PowerConnect Switches.
Senior Project Manager
Linio GroupInternet, 1001-5000 employees