Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switches vs. HPE Networking Switches

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.

Incentivized

HPE Networking Switches are great for most any scenario. They are great with low network load and also high network load. They are not exactly the cheapest solution, so they aren't suited for budget conscious users. They are made to work 24/7 with no interruptions, and they have lived up to that promise for us.

Incentivized

• 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.

Incentivized

• Well priced. There's something for all budgets.
• Choice of managed and unmanaged models. Not all of our customers require (or want to pay for) managed switches, but many do.
• Tons of features on the higher end models.

Incentivized

• 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.

Incentivized

• The Enterprise management software always seemed less intuitive than the default software.
• More of the parts could be supported across a wider variety of models.
• Add-on modules should be cheaper than buying a new switch with modules already installed. So they could really do to serve their customers better with pricing options.

Incentivized

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.

Incentivized

It has great potential. It can support 10, 40, 100 Gig ports. The chipset are high processing capabilities

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Cisco TAC engineers are very responsive and supportive.

Incentivized

We have had very little experience with support and nothing for years really. But when we have needed support we always got what we needed in a timely fashion. Basically good support that you would expect from an enterprise class business. Definitely less hoops to jump through getting help or parts than their desktop or printer divisions.

Incentivized

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.

HP is a Great balance of everything you need, from cost, quality, and manageability. I have worked with Cisco, Dell, and Ubiquiti, as well as many other brands. Each come with their own Pros and Cons, but are all good products. In the end, I go with HP because the product has never done me wrong. Perception is everything. Downtime makes people question the credibility of the IT managing the systems. HP has never put me in a bad spot where the quality of IT is questioned.

Incentivized

• 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.

Incentivized

• I really like the idea of paying for the switches one time and just pay for support going forward. The prices are on the high end but I think it is worth it. I wish they would include all the features in one go so we would not have to pay for every new feature.

Incentivized