Cisco Catalyst 9400 Series Switches vs. NETGEAR ProSafe Managed Switches

Cisco Catalyst Switches are well suited for those that enjoy software headaches and double-dipping support contracts (SmartNet and DNA Advantage). Cisco introduced the platform without clear documentation on licensing (our involvement was the onus for Cisco to create clear documentation at the cost of our time and frustration), configurations (dropping GLBP yet allowing it to be configured), features (selling us Stack Wise as replacement for GLBP) or intentions (we purchased the 9407 to replace a currently supported 6509 and literally a week or two after purchase, Cisco dropped the 9600 series as the replacement for the 6500-E series). The pains in Cisco licensing, software quality and lack of transparency in regards to hardware and features is disheartening

Incentivized

Well suited for a small business with minimal IT capital.

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• 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.

• 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".

Incentivized

• We've run into a few bugs on IOS-XE, particularly earlier versions.
• Many of the cool and necessary features being touted by Cisco require newer versions of IOS-XE (16.9.X and up). As of 6/15/19, the recommended MD is still 16.5.X, which we prefer to use for stability.

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• Both switches were the same model number, same firmware. One switch needed to be rebooted about every 5 weeks. This problem was never resolved.

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The Catalyst switches definitely have a more robust feature set than the Meraki switches but the Meraki switches are intended for a different use case than the Catalyst switches. We used Catalyst switches in our wiring closets because they fit in better with the topology and feature sets that we wanted to deploy.

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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.

Incentivized

• 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.

Incentivized

• The NetGear switches made a positive impact as entry level switches for a startup company.

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