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Cisco Catalyst Switches vs. Cisco Optical Networking

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Cisco Catalyst Switches

    Score9.1 out of 10
    N/ACisco's Catalyst is one of that company's brand of network switches.N/A

    Cisco Optical Networking

    Score8.6 out of 10
    N/ACisco Optical Networking is a suite of products supporting data center networking, including the NCS 1000, 2000, 4000, 4200, and the Cisco Evolved Programmable Network Manager (Cisco EPN Manager), as well as Cisco ONS 15000 series platforms and devices.N/A
    Pricing
    Cisco Catalyst SwitchesCisco Optical Networking
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Cisco Catalyst SwitchesCisco Optical Networking
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoYes
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Cisco Catalyst SwitchesCisco Optical Networking
    Considered Both Products
    Cisco
    No answer on this topic
    Cisco
    Chose Cisco Optical Networking
    strong
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    98%
    Would buy again
    600 Answers
    94%
    Would buy again
    16 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    96%
    Delivers good value for the price
    531 Answers
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    15 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    98%
    Happy with the feature set
    600 Answers
    94%
    Happy with the feature set
    16 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    97%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    490 Answers
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    12 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    98%
    Implementation went as expected
    568 Answers
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    15 Answers
    Best Alternatives
    Cisco Catalyst SwitchesCisco Optical Networking
    Small Businesses
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Medium-sized Companies
    RUCKUS Ethernet Switches
    Score1 out of 10
    Cisco Nexus Series Switches
    Score9.3 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Cisco Ethernet Switches
    Score9.1 out of 10
    Cisco Nexus Series Switches
    Score9.3 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Cisco Catalyst SwitchesCisco Optical Networking
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.0
    (774 ratings)
    8.2
    (17 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    8.9
    (40 ratings)
    7.3
    (1 ratings)
    Usability
    8.6
    (46 ratings)
    8.1
    (10 ratings)
    Availability
    8.8
    (14 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    9.3
    (14 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.5
    (38 ratings)
    8.2
    (1 ratings)
    In-Person Training
    9.0
    (5 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Online Training
    9.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    8.0
    (12 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Configurability
    8.8
    (10 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    8.1
    (9 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Product Scalability
    9.2
    (14 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor post-sale
    7.9
    (36 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Vendor pre-sale
    8.2
    (37 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Cisco Catalyst SwitchesCisco Optical Networking
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Cisco
    Well-suited for big companies like mine, where we have a lot of users that we have to connect together. Getting all the switches into one big stack that you can just manage all at one time is fantastic for ease of use. Not suited for maybe smaller mom and pop shops or smaller companies that don’t have as many. They could probably go with something much easier to manage.
    Incentivized
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    Cisco
    Based on my experience, I think it's a goldmine for the experienced professional and a hectic job for newbies. I recommend newbies to have some experience and then jump to Cisco Optical Networking so that they can easily understand what they paid for and take the best out of it. It's best for network scalability so I highly recommend it to those who intend to scale their network in the near future however, if you know that your network will remain the same and you don't require it, there are cheaper options within Cisco.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Cisco
    • Easy-to-use management interfaces. The CLI commands go across the whole Cisco Catalyst Switches 9000 series, so it makes it easy, the code being the same on the 9000 series. Just being able to do port channels, trunks, and connecting up edge switches to it with the Cisco Catalyst Switches 9000 Series.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cisco
    • Makes use of limited fiber effectively.
    • Allows for the deployment of smart P2P MPLS links that automatically re-route around outages.
    • Simplifies the overhead of managing multiple technologies by converging the technologies.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Cisco
    • One thing is that these, every time Cisco gets a new switch, they just make an amendment to the power supply, so they'll just put a knob on it. So let's say if you lose any power supply unit, you'll have to purchase another one, which costs a lot of extra money because we have a lot of another power supply units from the redundant, which we can use, but we can't now because they have just tweaked the modeling of that. Which makes no sense, particularly to me because it's an extra money making machine kind of a thing. But that's fine.
    • Another thing is these ports, I believe they are a bit less of, if I can say the quality of the oldest switches, they were quite sturdy. As I said earlier, the new switches, they're very light and when you lift them you feel it. So that's one thing, which I think the quality or the material which we are using has gone down.
    Incentivized
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    Cisco
    • A simplified management platform that provides services without having to invest In multiple products, each with an additional cost. The product should just come with the services and features.
    • Simplifying the BOM selection process. There are to many hidden part numbers you need to know.
    Incentivized
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    Likelihood to Renew
    Cisco
    They are consistently reliable and this switch in particular is a very affordable solution. We can place the Cisco Catalyst 1000 Series Switches gear in areas that we normally would not place a switch because it is affordable enough to make it justifiable. And because it is a reliable solution, we are confident it will continue to provide service over the long haul.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cisco
    We will renew our use of Cisco Optical Networking due to its reliability in maintaining high-performance, low-latency connections, its scalability in supporting growing bandwidth demands, and its integration with existing Cisco infrastructure, which simplifies management and reduces operational complexity. Additionally, its robust security features and automation capabilities have enhanced network resilience, making it a valuable long-term solution for our expanding needs.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Cisco
    Cisco by and far does a great job with the Catalyst line. From a layer 2 dumb switch all the way up to ISP carrier grade switching within the Catalyst portfolio. The best part about it is command parity among the various tiers of product. The only differences are going to lie in what features are available per switch.
    Incentivized
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    Cisco
    It just works depending on what your requirement is. Cisco also provides a well formed cheat sheet on which gear to use for which scenario. Very convenient. It makes my job as a Sales Engineer easier when I have a short timeline to get a solution designed. It is also build well enough to be used in austere environments.
    Incentivized
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    Reliability and Availability
    Cisco
    We have very few is any outages due to a Cisco hardware failure. Some of our gear is exposed to some pretty harsh environments, and they keep on ticking!
    Incentivized
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    Cisco
    No answers on this topic
    Performance
    Cisco
    No, the packets flow. Sometimes you will see collisions and broadcast storms can happen which will slow performance but that can be fixed and the packets will flow.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cisco
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    Cisco
    We rarely have issues with the product. I have only had to contact support one time since we put it in and that was to see if another vendor was giving me accurate information on an issue I was having.
    Incentivized
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    Cisco
    I would rate the overall support for Cisco Optical Networking at 9/10. The support team is highly responsive, knowledgeable, and effective in resolving issues quickly. Cisco’s comprehensive online resources, documentation, and community forums also make it easy to find solutions. However, there is always room for improvement in terms of response time during peak periods.
    Incentivized
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    In-Person Training
    Cisco
    Cisco Networking Academy partners with many local Colleges and High Schools to provide great hands-on training. You do need to drive to learn the topic. The in-class session only go so far. You really need to apply this to the real world. Cisco makes it easy for business to connect via CLC or Cisco Learning Credits.
    Incentivized
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    Cisco
    No answers on this topic
    Online Training
    Cisco
    My own personal research to get the information I want is very handy and helped me many times
    Incentivized
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    Cisco
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation Rating
    Cisco
    The implementation of the Cisco Catalyst 1000 Series Switches is fairly seamless, especially if you are familiar with Cisco products. We have had Brocade switch gear in place too, and the differences between the manufacturers [are] not a major issue.
    Incentivized
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    Cisco
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    Cisco
    2960s, 9200s, 9400s, 3650s, 3800s. I think that this product is a lot better. I know I just complained about the noise, but it’s still much quieter than our other ones. So we do have a couple of public deployments, and once we swap these out, they complained less. Sometimes we have small offices that get the gear in with them, and these sound less like a jet engine. And yeah, these are a lot easier to manage as well. Everything in the same family. It’s a lot.
    Incentivized
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    Cisco
    We selected Cisco Optical Networking after evaluating alternatives such as Ciena, Nokia, and Infinera. Cisco stood out for its seamless integration with our existing network infrastructure, which already relied heavily on Cisco solutions. This made deployment and management significantly easier. The Cisco NCS 2000 series offered flexible ROADM capabilities, allowing us to scale bandwidth dynamically without extensive infrastructure changes. Additionally, Cisco’s Evolved Programmable Network Manager (EPNM) provided intuitive management and automation, streamlining provisioning and monitoring tasks. While Ciena’s WaveLogic Ai impressed us with its adaptive modulation and Nokia’s 1830 PSS offered strong scalability, both required more complex configurations that didn’t align as well with our existing setup. Infinera’s GX Series excelled in long-haul capacity, but Cisco’s modular design better suited our evolving bandwidth needs. Ultimately, Cisco Optical Networking provided the best combination of scalability, integration ease, and operational efficiency, making it the ideal choice for our organization.
    Incentivized
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    Scalability
    Cisco
    We are exclusive Cisco at our organization. In truth part of the reason is, with one type of switch and one manufacturer, it is easier to support. It is also easier to give consistent training to our staff in our tech department
    Incentivized
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    Cisco
    No answers on this topic
    Return on Investment
    Cisco
    • energy costs dropped by around 11 per cent on the access layer
    • management has become easier with DNA Center
    • ISSU software upgrades and fabric deployments have significantly reduced "planned" down times
    • network speed has increased, latency is at an all-time best within our own LAN
    Incentivized
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    Cisco
    • The best impact it had was to lower my network maintenance cost by the time span of more than a year
    • It might look a bit pricey at the beginning, but along with time, you'll feel that you're actually saving a lot of your time and money in terms of network management
    Incentivized
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    ScreenShots

    Cisco Catalyst Switches Screenshots

    Product screenshotScreenshot of Catalyst 9200 SeriesScreenshot of Catalyst 9300 SeriesScreenshot of Catalyst 9400 SeriesScreenshot of Catalyst 9400 Series Additional ViewScreenshot of Catalyst 9500 Series

    Cisco Optical Networking Screenshots

    Screenshot of Cisco Network Convergence System 2006Screenshot of Cisco Network Convergence System 2006Screenshot of Cisco Network Convergence System 2006