Cisco Catalyst IE9300 Rugged Series Switches vs. RUCKUS Ethernet Switches

As the Cisco Catalyst IE9300 Rugged Series Switches do not come with a fan, it is really good for the environment that requires quietness, as these switches are super quiet, not even with any air flow noise. Of course, if you are going to deploy it to a hot, humid environment, that's a no brainer. Plus, those switches have some built-in POE ports that make them quite handy for connecting PoE CCTV cameras and VoIP phones

Incentivized

I love this switch for access and aggregate, especially due to the lack of needing reboots. [Other systems require this] reliable and stable platform.

• First of all, if I encounter something, it's really easy for me to find an answer from Google. That's because that's a very famous company, lots of people using that. And for example, what if we have a bot or something? Hard questions, hard problems. It's really easy to find out from the outside world because everybody use it.

Incentivized

• 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.

Incentivized

• we identified an unpublished bug that the devices are all generating the same engine id for snmp v3, hence could not get the snmp v3 working on all of the devices.
• for improvement, maybe Cisco can introduce some edge computing or AI driven diagnostics to preemptively flag network anomalies.
• we bought the 24 port version of the switches 9320, it would be good to introduce some switches modules that can easily get the switch port density upgrade in case we need to have more, rather than buying a whole new switch.

Incentivized

• 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

Incentivized

its slightly frustrating that even the AC power supplies which are using normal power ranges, still require a licensed electrician to complete the first time connections, and that the power modules are hot swappable from the rear, so ensuring front and rear access is a must for long term servicing of the unit. Other than those draw backs the Cisco Catalyst IE9300 Rugged Series Switches is fantastic and integrates into our SDA fabric

Incentivized

I would rate the IE9300 higher than the IE3300 where space permits for a full size switch installation and where PoE requirements are higher. The IE3300 has its place in networks for works like SCADA systems and lower PoE Draw The IE9300 is a more full fledged switch, where the installation environmentals are just too harsh for a normal Cisco Catalyst 9300

Incentivized

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.

Incentivized

• it reduces downtime in our harsh environment, cutting down manual maintenance cost
• the built-in PoE eliminated the external power supplies, lowering deployment cost
• operational continuity makes us more stick to the SLAs contracted with our customers, which support revenue retention.

Incentivized

• Equipment just runs
• Sometimes past EOL/EOS
• Firmwares just work