Cisco FabricPath vs. Extreme Networks Wired Access - Switches

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Cisco FabricPath
Score 8.1 out of 10
N/A
Cisco's FabricPath is a brand of LAN switch.N/A
Extreme Networks Wired Access - Switches
Score 9.2 out of 10
N/A
As a supplier of fabric networking, Extreme offers a portfolio of Ethernet and IP fabric solutions. Whether to transform a campus, data center, metro, or WAN, Extreme Networks Wired Access - Switches (ExtremeSwitching) fabric technologies aim to ensure a faster, more flexible, and more secure foundation for businesses.N/A
Pricing
Cisco FabricPathExtreme Networks Wired Access - Switches
Editions & Modules
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Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Cisco FabricPathExtreme Networks Wired Access - Switches
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 FabricPathExtreme Networks Wired Access - Switches
Top Pros

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Top Cons

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Best Alternatives
Cisco FabricPathExtreme Networks Wired Access - Switches
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 9.2 out of 10
Dell PowerConnect Switches
Dell PowerConnect Switches
Score 8.3 out of 10
Enterprises
Cisco Catalyst Switches
Cisco Catalyst Switches
Score 9.2 out of 10
Cisco Ethernet Switches
Cisco Ethernet Switches
Score 9.1 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Cisco FabricPathExtreme Networks Wired Access - Switches
Likelihood to Recommend
8.0
(1 ratings)
9.0
(6 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
9.0
(1 ratings)
Support Rating
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(2 ratings)
User Testimonials
Cisco FabricPathExtreme Networks Wired Access - Switches
Likelihood to Recommend
Cisco
Cisco FabricPath seems to be well suited for larger datacenters where you need the scalability and flexibility that's provided. We've been able to provide our customers with much more bandwidth than they previously had throughout our datacenter and with applications generating much more east/west traffic now rather than large volumes of north/south traffic FabricPath and the nexus switches have given us the ability to provide our customers with the bandwidth that's needed to serve today's applications.
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Extreme Networks
If you have a big environment with a lot of edge switch needs and department groups, then Extreme's fabric connect can save a lot of management time. If your environment is small then you may want to stick with the traditional model since fabric connect costs more. Also if you make lots of configuration changes all the time then fabric connect will be helpful. Otherwise, making an occasional change you don't need fabric connect.
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Pros
Cisco
  • It scales fairly well.
  • It's been fairly easy for people to learn and work with.
  • It has simplified network administration by utilizing Fabric Extenders which are all configured from the same switch and treated as an extension of the switch rather than as a separate entity.
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Extreme Networks
  • Uptime has been fantastic. We have had no issues with our switches shutting down or crashing
  • Policy, We have the ability to enforce Policy at the port
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Cons
Cisco
  • We've had a few bugs that have caused random reloads of switches when modifying VLANS.
  • We've had a bug that reloaded an entire fabric at once.
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Extreme Networks
  • They are working on it, but a single console to manage the policies across all switches.
  • For those with a Cisco background, the CLI commands are different with Extreme so you have to get used to that. Nothing necessarily wrong though.
  • If you want a chassis core switch/router then those are becoming less available and won't find many options with Extreme.
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Likelihood to Renew
Cisco
No answers on this topic
Extreme Networks
Great product, great support and very happy with the reliability.
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Usability
Cisco
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Extreme Networks
Very easy to use, the CLI is a little different than competing products, but the GUI is very intuitive.
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Support Rating
Cisco
No answers on this topic
Extreme Networks
There hasn't been a single problem with the code or hardware that hasn't been resolved in a timely fashion. You get technicians who know the product and who will work with you to get things fixed. That being said, I never ran into a problem with Cisco tech support either. I love that both groups were willing to teach me as they fixed things.
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Alternatives Considered
Cisco
In comparison to Cisco ACI, Cisco Catalyst, and Juniper EX Switches the Nexus switches have stood their ground and we've been fairly happy with them. I like that similar to Cisco's ACI and the Juniper EX switches that I've worked with I can manage multiple chassis from one place. ACI can do this on a much larger scale though. I think Juniper limited the number of devices in a single virtual chassis to 10 or less depending on the device type. ACI can do a few hundred leafs plus their fabric extenders so if you're looking for one place to manage all your devices it can scale well beyond either the Cisco FP or Juniper EX series switches, but it also has a much steeper learning curve and completely different interface. The loop prevention built into FP has been a great improvement vs our old Catalyst switches.
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Extreme Networks
We upgraded to Extreme Switches from Cisco SG500 and SG250 small business switches. Extreme Switches offer a much easier to use GUI management platform called Extreme CloudIQ, which makes visibility into our network much easier and user friendly. Performance wise these offered higher uplink speed as well.
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Return on Investment
Cisco
  • FabricPath is easy enough to learn that the adoption on the team has been fairly quick. This allows us to quickly troubleshoot and allows us to meet and beat SLAs that demand we maintain 99.99%+ uptime for our paying customers.
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Extreme Networks
  • Extreme [Ethernet Switches] have a long-life. You can easily get 7 years in main production life depending on when you buy in the product life-cycle.
  • Extreme [Ethernet Switches] are expensive, no doubt, but we also don't have "weird" network problems or other issues with the network randomly going down.
  • If you use fabric connect switches then the ease of managing many switches is of no concern.
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