Cisco Catalyst 9600 Series Switches vs Dell PowerConnect 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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We work in the electric industry. These should not be used in a high-heat environment. We like to keep the temperature of the room in the low 60's so they are not suited for our Substation locations due to extreme heat and cold. However, they perform great in a server room.

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Seth Urbanczyk

Network Administrator

Deaf Smith ElectricUtilities, 51-200 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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Reliable.
Excellent hardware support from Dell including 4 hour parts/replacement.
Excellent technical support from Dell on software, troubleshooting, and configuration.
More affordable than its main enterprise competitors.
Easy to use CLI.

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Verified User

Executive in Information Technology

Information Technology & Services Company, 11-50 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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Precarious graphical (GUI) mode, needing to be updated for more efficient technologies such as HTML5
Short support time, given how much these devices support in terms of use. I have owned the devices for years, but no longer have a warranty

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Roni Peterson Alvarenga

Diretor de Tecnologia da Informação e Telecomunicação

Câmara Municipal de CampinasGovernment Administration, 501-1000 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

—

Support Rating

No score

No answers yet

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Dell PowerConnect Switches 9.1

Based on 3 answers

Dell ProSupport is outstanding. Dell ProDeploy is likewise outstanding. I prefer them even over traditional Cisco support. I've had repeated cases where Dell immediately addressed or fixed an issue with US-based support, including firmware hotfixes. Not even Cisco can boast that.

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Verified User

Executive in Information Technology

Information Technology & Services Company, 11-50 employees

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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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I selected Dell mainly due to previous experience using them in a business environment. I've never had a unit fail on me and when my budget for equipment like network switches has been less than a training class on how to use those switches, it's incredible to be able to find quality equipment at the price point Dell offers and even more so when their enterprise support has been as excellent as I have been accustomed to dealing with. In all honesty, even if I had a larger budget, I would have bought these same switches since they were exactly what I needed to suit my needs. We looked into HPE/Aruba network switches, and while they would have performed everything we needed and more, they were almost four times the cost of these Dell network switches. That's a hard sell when it comes to planning a tight budget.

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Chris Funk

IT Director

Clark County Juvenile CourtGovernment Administration, 51-200 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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