Cisco Catalyst 9600 Series Switches vs. HPE Aruba Ethernet Switches

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.

Incentivized

We manage a lot of public infrastructure and schools which
means we need reliable hardware that is easy to prep and install quickly due to
time constraints. The price is great as we must keep a close eye on our budget.


We use these switches in all types of situations and
configurations some are full SFP and others are ethernet but honestly the software
and hardware are great for our usage.

Incentivized

• 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.

Incentivized

• REST API capability
• Wired & Wireless 802.1x configuration easiness
• Wireless Access Points (APs) zero touch provisioning
• Its high-end family (running the AOS-CX firmware) supports a virtualization technology called VSX (Virtual Switching Extension) which allows 2 switches to present itself as one virtualized switch under Layer 2, and as 2 separate routers under Layer 3; thereby providing high availability.

Incentivized

• 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

Incentivized

• I have had issues finding monitoring software that natively supports Provision/Aruba OS. Most are designed primarily with Cisco in mind.
• HPE/Aruba switches have historically had issues with corrupt flash. This seems to be less common in more recent models.
• HPE/Aruba's switching portfolio can be confusing. Some models run on the Aruba OS while some others run on Comware. There is some overlap in these model lines so at times is can be tough to tell which switch is right.

Incentivized

It is a very good product, has almost all the feature you can need to access switches, a simple web GUI management, but not all can be configured from the GUI interface.

Incentivized

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.

Incentivized

The HPE Aruba Switches are definitely easier to setup than Cisco Catalyst Switches. We prefer to have a managed interface, so the HPE Aruba Switches are a better option than most Netgear or D-Link switches. Compared to HPE Networking Switches, the Aruba models typically are cheaper and perform nearly as well

Incentivized

• [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.

Incentivized

• Ease of deployment has cut back on labor hours.
• Ease of management has allowed us to be more proactive to other potential issues that may occur on the network.

Incentivized