Cisco Catalyst 1000 Series Switches Reviews

Well suited for small to medium office spaces. This is not a switch you'd put in your data center, as it misses a redundant power supply or complex failover mechanisms. It does come with port-trunking, VLAN, etc. which makes it still very versatile. If you're comfortable on the console or use configuration management tools you'll get your network set up in no time.

The usability will feel natural to frequent Cisco users and a bit harder to navigate if you're new to the system. If you're limited to a small rack, maybe even in a not climate controlled environment the fan-less models with less energy consumption are a pro. With PoE you can deploy your network hardware anywhere you have a network socket: Thin Clients, APs, Sensors, you name it. The integrated power monitoring tells you how much power each client consumes and how much you have left.

The Cisco Catalyst 1000 Series of Switches are best suited for critical environments within an organization that requires highly available endpoints on a small to medium scale. Cisco products can be somewhat expensive compared to the alternatives, but these may not provide the level of assurance that Cisco is known for. Larger scale critical environments may benefit from the 3000x or 9000x series. For non-critical and/or low-budget environments, there are more cost-effective alternatives.

We have found that Cisco Catalyst 1000 Series switches are highly optimized pieces of hardware that are perfect for their target environments. Smaller, simpler designs allow for more relaxed network room/cabinet requirements and PoE functionality have even allowed for micro-segmentation of CCTV and VoIP devices in certain areas without the need for additional hardware.