Cisco Nexus Series Switches vs. Dell PowerConnect Switches

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Cisco Nexus Series Switches
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
Cisco Nexus is a series of network switches.
$49
Dell PowerConnect Switches
Score 8.9 out of 10
N/A
Dell PowerConnect is a series of networking switches.N/A
Pricing
Cisco Nexus Series SwitchesDell PowerConnect Switches
Editions & Modules
Starting Price
$49.00
Maximum Price
$200,000.00
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Cisco Nexus Series SwitchesDell PowerConnect 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 Nexus Series SwitchesDell PowerConnect Switches
Considered Both Products
Cisco Nexus Series Switches
Chose Cisco Nexus Series Switches
I like Cisco Nexus and the CLI is very similar to Cisco Catalyst so the majority of this is interchangeable but with the Dell networking, it is a totally different world and requires a lot of searching and assistance to learn, and even then some issues are caused by the …
Dell PowerConnect Switches

No answer on this topic

Top Pros
Top Cons
Best Alternatives
Cisco Nexus Series SwitchesDell PowerConnect 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 9.1 out of 10
Extreme Networks Wired Access - Switches
Extreme Networks Wired Access - Switches
Score 9.1 out of 10
Enterprises
Cisco Catalyst Switches
Cisco Catalyst Switches
Score 9.0 out of 10
Cisco Catalyst Switches
Cisco Catalyst Switches
Score 9.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Cisco Nexus Series SwitchesDell PowerConnect Switches
Likelihood to Recommend
8.6
(74 ratings)
9.5
(13 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.5
(6 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.2
(5 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
9.2
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.7
(10 ratings)
9.1
(2 ratings)
In-Person Training
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.9
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
9.2
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Cisco Nexus Series SwitchesDell PowerConnect Switches
Likelihood to Recommend
Cisco
Fairly stable and easy to operate - but I haven't any experience with other brands, so I don't have anything to compare with. Fairly fast in the OS. Easy to upgrade - but with some SW issues. Sometimes clearing of log folders is needed. Access to bash is cool. Tips & cool tricks for operations could be nice to share.
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Dell Technologies
We work in the electric industry. These should not be used in a high-heat environment. We like to keep the temperature of the room in the low 60's so they are not suited for our Substation locations due to extreme heat and cold. However, they perform great in a server room.
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Pros
Cisco
  • Continuous system operation:
  • Maintenance, upgrades, and software certification can be performed without service interruptions because of the modular nature of NX-OS and features such as In-Service Software Upgrade (ISSU) and the capability for processes to restart dynamically
  • FabricPath:
  • Enables each device to build an overall view of the topology; this is similar to other link state routing protocols. Each device in the FabricPath topology is identified by a switch-id. The Layer 2 forwarding tables are built based on reachability to each switch-id, not by the MAC address. Eliminates spanning-tree to maximize network bandwidth and flexibility in topological configurations, as well as simplify operational support and configuration. This enables a tremendous amount of flexibility on the topology because you can now build FabricPath topologies for Layer 2-based networks the same as for Layer 3-based networks
  • Overlay Transport Virtualization (OTV): Enables the Layer 2 extension between distributed data centers over any transport Layer 3 network
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Dell Technologies
  • Reliable.
  • Excellent hardware support from Dell including 4 hour parts/replacement.
  • Excellent technical support from Dell on software, troubleshooting, and configuration.
  • More affordable than its main enterprise competitors.
  • Easy to use CLI.
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Cons
Cisco
  • Implementing jumbo frames on interfaces of its fabric extender series (N2k, etc.) by editing the network QoS does not have to be a global configuration that would affect all its interfaces. It can be improved to become just an interface configuration.
  • Licensing on the NXOS is a bit complicated and expensive. I understand that the Nexus is made for core data center switching but it does not have to break the bank.
  • OTV technology is for Nexus only. Based on the advantage of the technology, it should be made vendor-neutral to accommodate other vendor devices.
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Dell Technologies
  • Precarious graphical (GUI) mode, needing to be updated for more efficient technologies such as HTML5
  • Short support time, given how much these devices support in terms of use. I have owned the devices for years, but no longer have a warranty
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Likelihood to Renew
Cisco
We will use it for a long time, since they are switches with great capacity and positive results, they promote the perfect operation of our data center, I always recommend them, because they are switches with good results.
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Dell Technologies
No answers on this topic
Usability
Cisco
In our environment (and especially during COVID and the Work From Home era), I would really like our network devices to be more resilient [against} errors in remote configuration. Having a standard, easy to use, configure, commit/deploy, rollback system should be installed, but it's not there. Other companies have been providing this for over 20 years, and Cisco does this on some of their devices. Why not all?
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Dell Technologies
No answers on this topic
Reliability and Availability
Cisco
Our network is very well design. Any components or device failure. Doesn't affect network availability
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Dell Technologies
No answers on this topic
Performance
Cisco
These switches are very fast. They've been designed to work within the data center. We connect them to Cisco UCS-B Mini servers with the storage being directly attached. They are able to handle the data traffic pretty easily. We can also move servers pretty fast from data center to data center without overloading them. This has allowed our company to stay running during any kind of conditional outage. We have come to really rely on them for business continuity.
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Dell Technologies
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Cisco
Overall, Cisco has great products and I believe that they believe in the philosophy of a great customer experience. Although there have been a few technical support issues that caused a lot of company anxiety, in most cases, Cisco has gone above and beyond in making a valiant effort to help the customer solve any issues.
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Dell Technologies
Dell ProSupport is outstanding. Dell ProDeploy is likewise outstanding. I prefer them even over traditional Cisco support. I've had repeated cases where Dell immediately addressed or fixed an issue with US-based support, including firmware hotfixes. Not even Cisco can boast that.
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In-Person Training
Cisco
Trainer didn't has good handon experience.. he was bookish trainer.
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Dell Technologies
No answers on this topic
Online Training
Cisco
Never had it
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Dell Technologies
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Cisco
It is reliable and working as expected
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Dell Technologies
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Cisco
The Cisco 9000 stacks up quite well against the Cisco Catalyst 3850 switches. The additional features available in the Nexus 9000, such as VPN, FCoE, 40 gigabits, give us the ability to support the future needs of the company in our data center. The Nexus 9000 allowed us to condense our core and aggregation environment that comprised of 2 Catalyst 6504 and 2 Catalyst 6509 to a port of Nexus 9000. Although the Catalyst 3850 would be sufficient to handle routing, those features in the Nexus 9000 made it the clear choice for us.
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Dell Technologies
I selected Dell mainly due to previous experience using them in a business environment. I've never had a unit fail on me and when my budget for equipment like network switches has been less than a training class on how to use those switches, it's incredible to be able to find quality equipment at the price point Dell offers and even more so when their enterprise support has been as excellent as I have been accustomed to dealing with. In all honesty, even if I had a larger budget, I would have bought these same switches since they were exactly what I needed to suit my needs. We looked into HPE/Aruba network switches, and while they would have performed everything we needed and more, they were almost four times the cost of these Dell network switches. That's a hard sell when it comes to planning a tight budget.
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Scalability
Cisco
The Nexus 3000 series switches are data center switches, so I would say they have similar security ability to other switches in this segment. I don't have a lot of experience doing more than basic ACL security on switches, but I know these can be integrated into other security solutions like Cisco ISE and 802.1x authentication. It could also be integrated into an ACI solution to add micro segmentation, which would bring in other security functions.
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Dell Technologies
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Cisco
  • We expected the switches to provide ROI and they did as advertised.
  • NX-OS was pretty similar to IOS so the learning curve was pretty low.
  • Being a Non-Profit we need to be extremely cost conscience and buy gear that has a long shelf life. Nexus line of switches met this objective.
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Dell Technologies
  • Reports are easily created and very useful.
  • Quick creation of different network connections.
  • Excellent and secure channels for multiple data management.
  • Great data visualization options offered by Dell PowerConnect Switches.
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ScreenShots