Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switches
Score 9.5 out of 10
N/A
Cisco offers the Catalyst 9500 series of campus LAN switches.N/A
Cisco Catalyst 9600 Series Switches
Score 8.7 out of 10
N/A
Cisco Catalyst 9600 Series switches are described by the vendor as purpose-built for resiliency at scale, providing comprehensive security and helping organizations grow at low total operational cost. Built on the foundation of Catalyst 9000, the Catalyst 9600 Series is designed to offer scale and high levels of security when "always on" is the goal.N/A
Pricing
Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series SwitchesCisco Catalyst 9600 Series Switches
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series SwitchesCisco Catalyst 9600 Series Switches
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details——
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series SwitchesCisco Catalyst 9600 Series Switches
Top Pros
Top Cons
Best Alternatives
Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series SwitchesCisco Catalyst 9600 Series Switches
Small Businesses

No answers on this topic

No answers on this topic

Medium-sized Companies
Extreme Networks Wired Access - Switches
Extreme Networks Wired Access - Switches
Score 9.1 out of 10
Extreme Networks Wired Access - Switches
Extreme Networks Wired Access - Switches
Score 9.1 out of 10
Enterprises
Cisco Catalyst Switches
Cisco Catalyst Switches
Score 9.0 out of 10
Cisco Catalyst Switches
Cisco Catalyst Switches
Score 9.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series SwitchesCisco Catalyst 9600 Series Switches
Likelihood to Recommend
9.1
(20 ratings)
9.5
(11 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
1.0
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series SwitchesCisco Catalyst 9600 Series Switches
Likelihood to Recommend
Cisco
The [Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switches] is very well suited for datacenter core and distribution models, they work very well as a replacement for the 3850 switches that many smaller organizations use for core switching. The Catalyst 9500 series switches also works very well as a top of rack aggregation switch for SFP and QSFP connectivity.
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Cisco
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.
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Pros
Cisco
  • Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switches are capable of 10g/40g with a great selection of ports for these speeds.
  • The Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switch is a very capable piece of kit, supporting a lot of Cisco's new feature sets.
  • Cisco IOS is the gold standard for switch operating systems.
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Cisco
  • 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.
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Cons
Cisco
  • Well the ACI, so the AP, the controller give us good chances to run everything, to configure everything. But the monitoring itself, it's not that easy. You need other products like Nexus dashboard or something else to do the monitoring. This is a little bit of a con. It's another technology so everyone has to think a little bit of others to adapt this knowledge and it takes two years I think for a technician to understand what ACI is really doing and what we can do with it.
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Cisco
  • 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
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Likelihood to Renew
Cisco
Based on the site load and requirements, the switches meets our processing and fiber ports requirements. Also they have great potential for future programmability options we are looking into.
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Cisco
No answers on this topic
Usability
Cisco
It has great potential. It can support 10, 40, 100 Gig ports. The chipset are high processing capabilities
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Cisco
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Cisco
Cisco TAC engineers are very responsive and supportive.
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Cisco
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Cisco
The Catalyst 9400 was not out when we were looking at new core switches. We thought about using a Nexus 9k but neither were as good of a fit as the 9500. Between price and performance it was a no-brainer for us to look at the 9500. We have not nor in the future would we consider other brands for core switching.
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Cisco
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.
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Return on Investment
Cisco
  • These switches did require a purchase of the DNA license on top of standard switch licensing, even if the functions are no needed in the environment.
  • The increased SFP & QSFP connectivity enabled for faster processing within our compute environment. While the system is too new to quantify the value added in this, it undeniably will help with its ROI.
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Cisco
  • [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.
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