Cisco Catalyst Switches vs. Dell PowerSwitch S/Z Series

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Cisco Catalyst Switches
Score 9.1 out of 10
N/A
Cisco's Catalyst is one of that company's brand of network switches.N/A
Dell PowerSwitch S/Z Series
Score 5.0 out of 10
N/A
Based on the former Force10 switches, the Dell PowerSwitch S and Z Series Ethernet switches are a varied series of data center switches.
$3,002
one-time fee (approx)
Pricing
Cisco Catalyst SwitchesDell PowerSwitch S/Z Series
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
S3124
$3,002.00
one-time fee (approx)
S3124F
$3,354.00
one-time fee (approx)
S4128F-ON
$6,582.00
one-time fee (approx)
S5248F-ON
$8,918.00
one-time fee (approx)
S4148F-ON
$9,340.00
one-time fee (approx)
S4148U-ON
$11,516.00
one-time fee (approx)
S6010-ON
$11,532.00
one-time fee (approx)
S5296F-ON
$17,689.00
one-time fee (approx)
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Cisco Catalyst SwitchesDell PowerSwitch S/Z Series
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Cisco Catalyst SwitchesDell PowerSwitch S/Z Series
Considered Both Products
Cisco Catalyst Switches
Chose Cisco Catalyst Switches
Cisco Catalyst Switches provide broader integration with other network components and tools than most brands. The support is top tier and software development is very mature. There is greater visibility and self-troubleshooting capability than on Meraki. They follow published …
Chose Cisco Catalyst Switches
Both have their own advantages, I have used Nexus for the datacenter Environment, I worked as Operations Engineer and got a chance to work with both switches.
Chose Cisco Catalyst Switches
I haven't stacked Catalyst switches against smart switches, these are the switches I have implemented in my previous work environments and currently I have also worked with 9350
Chose Cisco Catalyst Switches
Market reputation, cost.
Chose Cisco Catalyst Switches
Nexus switches are more geared for datacenter networking. We primarily use Cisco Catalyst Switches in our access layer.
Chose Cisco Catalyst Switches
C9500 switches combined in Svl stack and interconnected to this router over L3 Etherchanel. In such manner we are achieved the device and link redundancy.
We selected this switches it's high volume throughput, ISSO feature, reach routing protocols features and vxlan tunnel …
Chose Cisco Catalyst Switches
Now that the Catalyst Switches can be migrated into the Meraki Dashboard, there is almost no reason to use the MS models. The Catalyst Switches have way more feature capabilities while also having the simplicity capabilities that are built into the Meraki Dashboard. All you …
Chose Cisco Catalyst Switches
not used any other product as Cisco
Chose Cisco Catalyst Switches
We have had no need to shop for other switching providers in over 20 years. We are dedicated to Cisco.
Chose Cisco Catalyst Switches
higher quality build materials, more reliable, more familiar, better reputation on the Cisco Catalyst Switches. didn't spend enough time with the Aruba switches to be able to tell how much better they were at a more granular level
Chose Cisco Catalyst Switches
HPE Aruba Networking EdgeConnect SD-WAN
Chose Cisco Catalyst Switches
Cisco 8000 Series Routers
Chose Cisco Catalyst Switches
Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers
Chose Cisco Catalyst Switches
Cisco ThousandEyes, Cisco Nexus Dashboard and Critical Insight Managed Detection and Response
Chose Cisco Catalyst Switches
Arista Campus Switches
Chose Cisco Catalyst Switches
Cisco Catalyst Switches is a better option, more robust and reliable
Chose Cisco Catalyst Switches
Easy to configure and zero day deployment
Chose Cisco Catalyst Switches
Cisco Nexus 9000 Series Switches
Dell PowerSwitch S/Z Series
Chose Dell PowerSwitch S/Z Series
Due to Dell EMC powerswitch s series have reliable and flexible connevtivity and easily integrated with current system of organization and provided solution we are looking for within friendly budget. Data flow managing help us to customize data within time enable to get report …
Best Alternatives
Cisco Catalyst SwitchesDell PowerSwitch S/Z Series
Small Businesses

No answers on this topic

No answers on this topic

Medium-sized Companies
Extreme Networks Wired Access - Switches
Extreme Networks Wired Access - Switches
Score 9.0 out of 10
Extreme Networks Wired Access - Switches
Extreme Networks Wired Access - Switches
Score 9.0 out of 10
Enterprises
Cisco Nexus Series Switches
Cisco Nexus Series Switches
Score 9.3 out of 10
Cisco Ethernet Switches
Cisco Ethernet Switches
Score 9.1 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Cisco Catalyst SwitchesDell PowerSwitch S/Z Series
Likelihood to Recommend
9.0
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.6
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Availability
8.9
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
9.3
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.5
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
In-Person Training
9.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
9.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
7.8
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
8.8
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
8.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
9.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
7.7
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
8.1
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Cisco Catalyst SwitchesDell PowerSwitch S/Z Series
Likelihood to Recommend
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.
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Quick system and flexible features allow easy networking within the entire company and the network distribution is excellent and easy via this Dell platform. The easy issues reporting using the production capability is good and also securing the entire organization network from various cyber threats and securing all the business information within the system and even the server performance management capability with the product is excellent.
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Pros
  • 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.
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  • Improve connectivity
  • Control network coverage
  • Monitor flow of data
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Cons
  • 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.
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  • To non technical users, training is a must.
  • Managing various created networks for some users.
  • Detecting some network performance issues is also not easy to the beginners.
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Likelihood to Renew
We are extremely happy with the Cisco Catalyst series and don't have any reason to switch. As long as we continue to get great use and service out of the products we'll continue to use them for the foreseeable future.
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No answers on this topic
Usability
Based on my previous experience with other vendors, Cisco is worlds apart. I can manage every feature I need with great flexibility. Other vendors that only provide web UI, limited functionality exists. The other benefit is that since Cisco has been a strong player for so long, their training is being done in some high schools now expanding the knowledge to more of the workforce.
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No answers on this topic
Reliability and Availability
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!
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No answers on this topic
Performance
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.
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No answers on this topic
Support Rating
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.
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No answers on this topic
In-Person Training
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.
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No answers on this topic
Online Training
My own personal research to get the information I want is very handy and helped me many times
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No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
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.
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No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
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.
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Due to Dell EMC powerswitch s series have reliable and flexible connevtivity and easily integrated with current system of organization and provided solution we are looking for within friendly budget. Data flow managing help us to customize data within time enable to get report timely and increased overall performance and production of the organization
Read full review
Scalability
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
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No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
  • 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
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  • Great tool to secure the entire business network.
  • Effective issues management within the company networking systems.
  • Data easy management and transportation through the secure environment.
  • Reporting is good and easy.
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ScreenShots

Cisco Catalyst Switches Screenshots

Screenshot of Screenshot of Catalyst 9200 SeriesScreenshot of Catalyst 9300 SeriesScreenshot of Catalyst 9400 SeriesScreenshot of Catalyst 9400 Series Additional ViewScreenshot of Catalyst 9500 Series