Cisco Catalyst Digital Building Series Switches vs Ruckus ICX Switches

Likelihood to Recommend

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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I am a fan of the Ruckus ICX switching portfolio and often position them to my customers. They're biggest advantage is that they have centralised management from a web interface which is much easier to use than having to remember complex command line interfaces such as Cisco, HP and Dell.

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Tom Shepherd

Technical Architect

Computerworld GroupInformation Technology & Services, 11-50 employees

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Pros

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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They are relatively easy to configure and to maintain.
They have all of the high-end configuration capabilities as Cisco switches.
The switches have excellent performance and reliability.

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Kenneth Hess

Senior Systems Analyst

CymSTAR, LLCDefense & Space, 201-500 employees

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Cons

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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Licensing for the 10GB ports is a bit pricey, but that was 5 years ago, so things may have changed
The CLI commands are slightly different than typical Cisco commands
Their rack mounting was not the prettiest in the world

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Verified User

Manager in Information Technology

Hospital & Health Care Company, 51-200 employees

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Alternatives Considered

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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The switching holds up well against HP, Extreme, Juniper, et. al at the edge. Cost is also a huge factor, and played a part in the purchase. Not just for the switches themselves, but also optics can be purchased at a discount. Service delivery has been fantastic, and in 3 years I've not had to replace any of the brocade switches I've purchased.

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Verified User

Professional in Information Technology

Logistics and Supply Chain Company, 1001-5000 employees

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Return on Investment

They have all lasted well beyond the 5 year depreciation cycle.
They get reused in other projects because they are still a viable solution.

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Mike O'Rourke

Director of Information Technology

Lighthouse Resources IncMining & Metals, 201-500 employees

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As a service offering help customers focus their energy on more productive tasks
Initial outlay is less than competitors
Reliability keeps the business running

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Tom Shepherd

Technical Architect

Computerworld GroupInformation Technology & Services, 11-50 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

Cisco Catalyst Digital Building Series Switches Editions & Modules

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Additional Pricing Details

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General

Free Trial

—

Free/Freemium Version

—

Premium Consulting/Integration Services

—

Entry-level set up fee?

No

Ruckus ICX Switches Editions & Modules

Edition

Compact Switch	$835.00
Port Switch	$1,000.00

Additional Pricing Details

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