Cisco Catalyst 9600 Series Switches vs Cisco Catalyst Digital Building Series Switches

Likelihood to Recommend

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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Verified User

Technician in Information Technology

Information Technology & Services Company, 11-50 employees

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They are great for any data center or wiring closet but not so week suited for dusty environments as the cooling ports are large enough to let lots of dust inside.

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Mike O'Rourke

Director of Information Technology

Lighthouse Resources IncMining & Metals, 201-500 employees

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Pros

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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Michael Kerzner

Lead Systems Engineer

Nettology, LLCInformation Technology and Services, 11-50 employees

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They are reliable.
They have monitoring features built in.
They stack.

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Mike O'Rourke

Director of Information Technology

Lighthouse Resources IncMining & Metals, 201-500 employees

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Cons

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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Verified User

Executive in Information Technology

Government Administration Company, 201-500 employees

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The ports are somewhat set back in the chassis making it hard to access the disconnect on the cables.

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Mike O'Rourke

Director of Information Technology

Lighthouse Resources IncMining & Metals, 201-500 employees

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Pricing Details

General

Free Trial

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Free/Freemium Version

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Premium Consulting/Integration Services

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Entry-level set up fee?

No

Starting Price

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General

Free Trial

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Free/Freemium Version

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Premium Consulting/Integration Services

—

Entry-level set up fee?

No

Starting Price

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Alternatives Considered

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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Michael Kerzner

Lead Systems Engineer

Nettology, LLCInformation Technology and Services, 11-50 employees

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HP switches were used in our organization but many of those did not have as many of the features at the lower price point.

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Mike O'Rourke

Director of Information Technology

Lighthouse Resources IncMining & Metals, 201-500 employees

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Return on Investment

[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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Matt Raup

Senior Help Desk Technician

NettologyInformation Technology & Services, 11-50 employees

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