What users are saying about
17 Ratings
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Based on 17 reviews and ratings
5 Ratings
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Based on 5 reviews and ratings
Attribute Ratings
- Cisco Catalyst 9400 Series Switches is rated higher in 1 area: Likelihood to Recommend
Likelihood to Recommend
9.6
Cisco Catalyst 9400 Series Switches
96%
11 Ratings

8.0
NETGEAR ProSafe Managed Switches
80%
1 Rating
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
NETGEAR ProSafe Managed Switches
Well suited for a small business with minimal IT capital.
Information Technology Manager
Human Resources FirmHuman Resources, 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
NETGEAR ProSafe Managed Switches
- The switches met the data transfer needs of a small business with about 30 users and 4 servers.
- The web interface was adequate for a business that didn't have the need to dive into a device with a CLI.
- These were wall mounted. Not the best network design, but small businesses cut corners. The mounting holes helped with this "solution".
Information Technology Manager
Human Resources FirmHuman Resources, 51-200 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+ employeesNETGEAR ProSafe Managed Switches
- Both switches were the same model number, same firmware. One switch needed to be rebooted about every 5 weeks. This problem was never resolved.
Information Technology Manager
Human Resources FirmHuman Resources, 51-200 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
—NETGEAR ProSafe Managed 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 employeesNETGEAR ProSafe Managed Switches
The NetGear switches are definitely entry-level switches. They don't have the functionality (or cost) of Dell, HP, nor Cisco. But for the money, a business that is just starting out can't complain.
Information Technology Manager
Human Resources FirmHuman Resources, 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+ employeesNETGEAR ProSafe Managed Switches
- The NetGear switches made a positive impact as entry level switches for a startup company.
Information Technology Manager
Human Resources FirmHuman Resources, 51-200 employees