TrustRadius
Cisco offers the Catalyst 9300 series of stackable LAN switches.https://media.trustradius.com/product-logos/ku/AF/F0JDW2AQTDDO-180x180.JPEGCiscoMy First Taste of Catalyst 9300 Series Switches2019-06-14T19:07:41.621ZCatalyst 9300 Series,Catalyst Switches have been broadly deployed in the university campuses over 14 years. The switches serve the campus network for the office space, computer lab, classroom, library, voice IP system, the building control system, and security system. They are the fundamental infrastructure of the campus network. It delivers the essential networking communication of the university teaching and learning environment.,Using Power of Ethernet to deliver the network connection for IP Phones and Wireless Access Points.
Catalyst Switch stacking capability makes it easy to use in networking management.
Hardware ready for Software Defined Access technology will protect the investment while the business decides to migrate to the campus fabric solution in the near future.,Make the IOS XE code more robust and stable.
It will be nice to have full SFP+ ports available on 9300 switch.
UPoE available on all ports.,6,The list price of the switch is almost equivalent to the cost for the previous Catalyst Switch models, which is good for the business financial plan.
The dedicated management switch port is much easier for out-of-band management purposes.
Catalyst 9300 is not compatible with the old switch model, which is a bit challenging for migration in some situations.,Automation is a pretty new technology. To be frank, most of the users including my company are still in the lab or proof of concept stage at this moment. It will take for a while for us to absorb and test how the product can do and then migrate into the production environment eventually. This will mean a whole infrastructure change and will also impact the business flow.,As stated previously, we are still in early stage. But we have purchased 70 Catalyst 9300 switches to replace the existing. However, we will deploy them in legacy mode. Therefore, I do not have much comments on this, but through the lab testing and the proof of concept project, we will eventually enable these advanced features into the production environment when the time comes.,Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series SwitchesRoger QianCatalyst 9300 first impressions2019-06-14T18:39:00.215ZCatalyst 9300 Series,We have started rolling out the new Cisco Catalyst 9300 switches in our environment to replace our aging network so we can work on improving our security. So far they have been incredibly easy to update, configure, and deploy even without using automated tools. The ones I have deployed so far have been rock solid and fit our needs.,Switching - various modules to connect to devices depending on their cabling needs
Ease of setup and operation - Can support zero touch setup - works with DNA center for automation
Routing - Supports most major IGPs for IPv4 and IPv6 - i.e. EIGRP, OSPF
Security,None at this time - haven't ran into anything that I haven't been able do with them at my company,9,Saved time - took less then half the time to update and configure before sending out.
Improved security - supports SSH. Also AAA which can be leveraged for device login and 802.1x for better security controls.
Saved Money.,So far our organization has only used the basic features of the Catalyst 9300 but have plans to implement more of their capabilities in the feature when we get more of them installed and become more comfortable using them. We are soon to use AAA and 802.1x and am looking forward to using DNA center to help automate their configurations.,We are still using the basics for customization and manageability but are looking forward to the more advanced features that they are capable of. I will update my review when we have used more of the features.,Jesse MyhreCisco bug that bites2019-06-12T00:51:00.068ZCatalyst 9300 Series,The C9300-48P are used at our branch offices to connect all network devices in the branch office network.,StackWise technology.
Integrates with Cisco Prime Infrastructure.,The Cisco Bug CSCvi49725 C9300: Group of 4 ports stops forwarding traffic, making extremely disruptive downtime to business as usual, and causing difficulty to troubleshooting, driving up deployment costs.
The length of the switch is longer, even with standard power supplies, than the previous model, Cisco 3850. This makes them difficult to fit into tight IDF spaces.,8,Negative impact Cisco bug CSCvi49725 C9300: Group of 4 ports stopped forwarding traffic.,The Cisco bug CSCvi49725 C9300: Group of 4 ports stopped forwarding traffic, did not have any time saving, and caused a bad perception of an otherwise good product.,The customization and other capabilities were hindered from troubleshooting and patching the Cisco Bug CSCvi49725 C9300. Manageability of more than 100 9300 switches by Cisco Prime Infrastructure is a benefit.,Elden Torres9300 series switches2019-06-11T23:12:11.836ZCatalyst 9300 Series,Ours is a hospital set up with about 400 beds. We do need to make sure our IT services provide uninterrupted, high-quality network availability to our patients, care providers, and other ancillary staff. We were using Cisco 3750 access switches before and have just migrated and/or are in the process of migrating them to 9300 series access switches. Since we planned to migrate our entire access layer switches to a new platform, we had to choose one with an ease of deployment, and 9300 fit the bill. They provide a great balance of performance and cost. Also, features like more bandwidth per port, and less latency on the network, help us to provide reliable 24x7 SLA based operations to our customers. Cisco also provides a multitude of SDN features, which helps the network team to build and automate network tasks, so that we can spend less time on deployment and configuration while spending more time on the healthcare business, the primary goal of our company. We are planning to use them for at least another 6-7 years, as we have the necessary port level bandwidth to support their end-user requirements. All in all, it's a great product from a great company, and we recommend it.,Higher port level bandwidth availability.
SDN ready platform.
Encrypted traffic analytics.,The price point is high compared to other vendor products.
They provide bare-bones hardware so that the customer can write their own code to operate them.,8,The price point is high.,We have not started to use them yet, but we certainly like that these features have been added to the Catalyst products, and we plan to use them in the near future to automate some of our daily configuration tasks, etc. They are of great benifit to the network administrators and DevOps engineers.,We are planning to use DNA functionality. We have purchased the product and started to integrate these 9300 catalyst switches to the DNA center so that we can start managing them through that. We would like to leverage the DNA tools to troubleshoot network level issues and get to the root cause analysis as soon as possible to meet the SLA expectation of the customer.,HPE Aruba Ethernet SwitchesSURESH GADDEEvolving our Office LAN with the next evolution of Cisco Catalyst switches.2019-05-07T15:28:32.947ZCatalyst 9300 Series,The Catalyst 9300 Series switches are the Access Layer Switches of our office LAN. The switches are used depending on demand in a stack or as standalone switches in the wiring closets.
With the power and data stacking options of the technology, we try to reach the highest possible availability for devices that have only one network card included.,High reliability
Good scalability through the stacking concept
One software version across the whole product line,Price,9,Ease of deployment.
Enhanced PoE compared to the old office switches.
No need for careful selection of PoE devices depending on their power requirement due to power stack.,With the automation, we are just at the beginning, but the selection of the switches was done to have the option to increase the automation part on the office network for day 0 deployment, change and troubleshooting.
We don't use the possibilities that come with DNA at the moment as the cost for DNA is very high and the IT budget, unfortunately, is very limited. We see the potential and might migrate to a DNA solution later.,In way of customization, what changed between the old and the new Cisco office LAN switches for us is that we no longer have uplink port on all members of a stack but only on two of the stack switches. Before, we only used the uplink of two of the stack switches but had unused uplink ports on all of the other stack members.,Christoph NeulingerReview: Cisco Catalyst 9300 is the best!2019-05-02T20:49:26.924ZCatalyst 9300 Series,We are using them as access switches for branch and campus network environments. They provide us with a better experience in the provisioning and management of our network at an affordable price. The Catalyst 9000 family provides enterprise-class strength to keep our business running smoothly. This family of products provides advanced security features that protect the integrity of the hardware, as well as the software and all the data that flows through the switch and the network. You can choose different models and features that can be adapted to your business.,Stability of the connection between the regions and campus.
They support the industry’s highest density 802.11ac Wave 2 deployments with Cisco Multigigabit Technology.
This allows us to auto-provision end-user computers, phones, and access points without an engineer having to touch each switch to ensure proper VLANs and QoS are set up.,Leadtimes are often quite long.
Strong security, advanced QoS, comprehensive IPv6 support, Layer 3 static routing, and true stacking.
The hardware is reasonably priced, however, the licenses can be a surprise on the initial investment budget.,9,I like the way Catalyst implements VLANs; very easy and straightforward.
The flexibility of the modules that can be added to the Catalyst switches of the 9300, 9500 (line cards) and 3850 series is impressive. These switches are capable of speeds of 10/25/40/100 GB, which means that instead of replacing a switch, simply update the module. This has saved and helped us tens of thousands of times in recent years.
The reliability and great technical support substantially cut down on the amount of attention these switches require. Often we find our selves forgetting the switches are even there because they "just work". Dependability like that is in my opinion priceless.,Many benefits have been achieved by incorporating the 9300 or 9500 series switches. We have made some APIs through the same IOS, but we have not integrated it with the most powerful solutions (DNA Center, ISE and Stealthwatch). We have them internally and in the near future (January 2019) we will be implementing a complete SDA solution. Once this is completed, I will love to see how much automation and other features included in this package are revealed.,We expect to take full advantage of the manageability of the Catalyst 9300 switches, during 2019 when we implement our DNA center. This will greatly improve our central management and orchestration capabilities. Until then we're still managing our infrastructure the good old way, which can be quite tedious and time-consuming.,Alejandro ArayaCisco Catalyst provides a longterm stable network fabric for enterprise infrastructures.2018-11-28T16:54:13.409ZCatalyst 2960 X/XR Series
Catalyst 3850 Series
Catalyst 9300 Series,We use Cisco Catalyst 3850/9300. It provides a stable fabric for our internal network infrastructure. We always install these devices as switch stacks to ensure full redundancy on both power and the dataplane. The switch stacks can always be expanded with more interfaces as the installation grows. This can even be achieved without service windows and zero network outage.,The device profile can be modified by installed a new license, e.g. introducing new routing protocols and advanced features.
Features such as stackwise and power stacking makes the devices very modular and customizable.
Hardware is very mature and provides years of stable operation.
Software is constantly updated and supported.,The hardware is reasonably priced, however the licenses can be a surprise on the initial investment budget.
Leadtimes are often quite long.
Global list prices seems inflated and unrealistic.,8,The Clock Signal Component Issue had a negative impact on our ROI. However this was mainly an issue with our Cisco routers and firewalls.
The Catalyst 3850 had some issues with keeping persistent OID values. E.g. we were monitoring the power supply status on a 3850 stack, but the targeted OID values kept changing every time the stack was reloaded. There was no fix addressing this issue.
We had a container on a remote site where the AC had failed. The temperature went above 70 degrees Celsius and the equipment managed to still switch packages. Which was quite impressive, although the expected lifespand of the switches may have been reduced due to internal components overheating.,In our organization we're utilizing virtualization on Cisco's ENCS platform and the hypervisor platform is always accompanied by a Catalyst Switch stack, due to the limited number of physical interfaces on the ENCS hardware. We did however upgrade to the Catalyst 9300 due to its DNA center support, which we will implement next year.,We expect to take full advantage of the manageability of the Catalyst 9300 switches, during 2019 when we implement our DNA center. This will greatly improve our central management and orchestration capabilities. Until then we're still managing our infrastructure the good old way, which can be quite tedious and time consuming.,,Providing high density interface fabric for end devices
Redundant switch stacks
Reliable switch platform,Product Features
Prior Experience with the Product
Existing Relationship with the Vendor,Configure them according to best practice utilizing the CLI.,8,8,9,We use the NBD support level. It’s expensive but necessary.,9,20,6,N/A,We plan on utilizing the industrial versions under harsh conditions in offshore windfarms.,10,No,We always conduct a Proof of Concept project, so that we establish trust in new products or models. But as long as the required features, price and support is good enough, we would always consider the hardware.,Implemented in-house,Yes,Change management was a small part of the implementation and was well-handled,Finding the correct software, suitable for our specific feature requirements, without being too new- or too old.,9,Online training
Self-taught,8,As long as you have general network switch experience, configuring and working with the C9300 platform will be pretty straight forward.,9,No - we have not done any customization to the interface,No - we have not done any custom code,We plan to migrate the C9300 we already own and have deployed over to our Cisco DNA Center.,Yes,Yes,At one point we experienced redundancy/failover problems with an older 720 supervisor board installed in a set of Catalyst switches. TAC weren’t able to solve the issue within reasonable time, so they simple offered us a trade-in to the upgraded and newer version of the supervisor board, Sup 2T. Which solved the issues.
Excellent service!,Stackwise expand as you grow. Even without reloading the switch
Stackpower, ising power modulets across switch chassis for redundancy.
Modular design for easy uplink boost, if interface density becomes too high.,Most Catalyst seitches are noisy and uses alot of power, so when testing or using them in an office environment, they should be installed remotely to where people are located and accessed via remote.,Yes, but I don't use it,9,8,10,10,Cisco DNA Center
Cisco Enterprise Network Compute System,Cisco CNA Center,File import/export,9,Just get people on the integration team with experience from earlier Catalyst platforms.,We were able to get a decent discount, compared to their Global Price List. There's also the possibility to arrange Cisco's so-called Learning Credits, which is a kind of kick-back, which can be used for attending training or Cisco Live.,It's always a good thing to spend some time with your key account manager, to establish a professional relation. This might help you to get a better discount and access to their ressources in the long run.,No,The DNA Center integration,DNA Center Integration which will enable us to install the hardware and roll-out configurations based on existing templates.
Patch management from DNA Center,No,NoVerified UserCisco Catalyst 9300 Switches2019-07-16T21:48:39.136ZCatalyst 9300 Series,We use them as our access layer switches. Providing multi-gig connectivity to our Meraki access points. We also like the fact that they can run containers, this is a new feature we are being exposed to, so we are still testing this new feature.,Routing and Switching
Multi Gigabit
Run Containers,None at this time
The switch itself is quite long. Was not able to fit it in some of our cabinets. We need the 9200 for those locations.,8,Our Cisco switches generally have good ROI since we run them for 8-10 years.,We are not yet using these capabilities yet. We manage them individually over SSH still. We are testing a few of them using Cisco DNA center.,We are not yet using these capabilities yet. We manage them individually over SSH still. We are testing a few of these with Cisco's new DNA center platform with the hopes of centrally managing all of our switches.,Verified UserCisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches2019-04-29T23:41:18.249ZCatalyst 9300 Series,The Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches are primarily utilized for the user access level. We use stand-alone switches at small sites and stacks in some slightly larger where a chassis would not be best. We also utilize the mGig line for 3800 and 4800 series APs.,Throughput.
Stacking.
Programmability.
mGig.,Buggy IOS sometimes (still new).
Overpowered for small businesses.
Licensing limitations ($$).,10,Makes the transition to DNA possible.
Support for 3800 and 4800 APs.
Better stacking capabilities than previous stackable models.,We are still setting up the DNA Center, so we haven't really started with programmability yet. But the added assurance and visibility has been eye-opening on what we've been missing.,Perpetual POE - keeps phones and APs powered up while the switch reboots (such as for an upgrade). High/Low priority POE ports - specifying which ports to maintain during limited power losses. Stacking - improved functions. For example, so long as one switch is fully up and in control, the ports of other stack switches will come online BEFORE those other switches even finish booting.,Cisco Catalyst 2960-X/XR Series Switches, Cisco Catalyst 3560-CX Series Switches, Cisco Catalyst 3650 Series Switches, Cisco Catalyst 3850 Series Switches, Cisco Catalyst 9400 Series Switches, Cisco Catalyst 9500 Series Switches, Cisco Catalyst 6800 Series Switches and Cisco Catalyst SwitchesVerified UserCisco Cat 9300 review - My favorite new switch2019-06-14T20:25:05.651ZCatalyst 9300 Series,Used as access switches in the Enterprise network. Feature rich platform which helps with QoS deployments, supports ETA and is supported by Cisco DNA-C.,QoS
ETA
Cisco DNA-C support,Documentation of bugs
ASIC documentation
Upgrade cycles,9,Reduced QoS deployment time
Supports PNP so reduced deployment time too
Ease of management due to stacking,Yes, benefited from the PnP feature for 0-touch provisioning.
Also benefited from the QoS policy feature in DNA-C for supported devices.,Stacking multiple switches into one logical switch has its benefits. Management is easy since you only manage using 1 management IP.,HPE Aruba Ethernet SwitchesVerified UserSolutions for a new era of intent-based networking.2019-02-05T21:26:25.325ZCatalyst 9300 Series,We are using them as access switches for branch and campus environments. They give us better experience provisioning and managing our network at an affordable price. The Catalyst 9000 family provides enterprise-level resiliency to keep our business up and running seamlessly. They give access to Cisco’s best in class security portfolio anchored by Talos, Encrypted Traffic Analytics, Trustworthy Solutions, MACsec encryption and segmentation. This product family provides advanced security features that protect the integrity of the hardware as well as the software and all data that flows through the switch and the network.,One network, one OS, wired and wireless. The convergence is seamless with the Cisco Catalyst 9000 portfolio.
Policies are applied consistently for security, automation, and assurance, while segmentation separates devices and users to help reduce the attack surface.
They support the industry’s highest density 802.11ac Wave 2 deployments with Cisco Multigigabit Technology,It lacks a controller with integrated visibility between Cisco DNA and Cisco ACI
They can be expensive for certain customers
The installed base is still not very high,9,We obtained twice the port density at a lower cost.
Reduce our operating costs via accelerating changes with programmability.
Cisco DNA Premier, Advantage and Essentials subscription-based software licensing lets us purchase the features and capabilities we need.,Our products and services can be customized, ordered and delivered at the click of a button using web-based applications. Business data can be acquired, analyzed and exchanged in near-real time. Geographic boundaries between businesses and consumers are diminishing. And the network is at the center of communication to and between the applications driving the digital economy.,We used simplified automation and assurance: goal-based policies are created once centrally, applied network-wide. No more constant cutting, pasting and tweaking device by device is needed for our network administrators. They create once, apply network-wide using cross-domain policy enforcement and automation. The Catalyst 9000 family also offers multiple programmability options to further simplify configuration and adapt to changes.Jose Antonio Alvarez CuberoCisco Switches - Great for Enterprise Networking2019-02-06T14:28:28.515ZCatalyst 2960 X/XR Series
Catalyst 3850 Series
Catalyst 9300 Series,I can't imagine any LAN without Cisco Switches. They are as essential as anything else that you need to set up a LAN network. I never had any huge problems using this platform, and they can actually work forever without breaking. You can select from multiple models and features that can suit your business.,Switching
Routing
Operation,No complaints at this time.,10,Saved time
Saved money
Improved operations,Yes, we do use automation, but using standard scripts.,I think we are using most of the features.,HPE Networking SwitchesAleksander OstojaCisco 9000 series2018-06-11T18:34:52.530ZWe use the 9000 series for ACI and SDN. That forms our core network.,SDN for the 9000 series.
Large administration base
Industry standard,Needs more constant innovation
Cost,8,Easy SDN migration path
Native Cisco DNA,HPE Aruba Ethernet Switches,No,I would love to visit a VAR that was as neutral as Switzerland to evaluate the features and cost with various switching gear. If we had to start fresh and I do mean true greenfield- this would have been a good route. Often though you are dealing with a Vendor strategy that existed well before most of us started at our companies.,In-person training
Self-taught,8,9300 switch can be self taught if you have solid foundation of Cisco Knowledge. Otherwise, I don't recommend winging it if this is a brand new deployment.Justin McDermott"My Review of Cisco Switches"2019-02-05T20:11:55.376ZTo split the charge between the regions, and help in the stability of connections. In our case we use it to split the deploy and user charges around the world, actually when we count to go in production with the new game, we try to use this type of switch. It helps us to define with monitoring tools (Orion the charge).,Stability of the connection between the regions.
It is used in the majority of the organization across multiple locations.
This allows us to auto-provision end-user computers, phones, and access points without an engineer having to touch each switch to ensure proper VLANs and QoS are set up.
We use it more for our own cloud platform and it works great.,Ability to do routing network packets.
Servers, printer and PCs have been able to connect to the each other via the Cisco Switch.
The price a little bit high.
Strong security, advanced QoS, comprehensive IPv6 support, Layer 3 static routing, and true stacking.,9,Cisco's Catalyst documentation is superb and if you can't find what you're looking for there, you can find a ton of great blogs by certified Cisco engineers.
I like the way Catalyst implements VLANS; very easy and straightforward.,,split charge for the environment
set up network security
switching capacity for fast, uninterrupted service, even during high-traffic times,Existing Relationship with the Vendor,First, power on the switch and verify that all the indicator lights are working fine. Then, you will need to console into the device. Using a rollover cable, console into the switch from your computer. You will need to download and install Putty for this or use whichever tool you prefer.Run Putty and select serial connection with 9600 speed. Once you are connected to the switch, it’s important that you run and carefully check the output of the following commands:show versionshow running-configshow vlan briefshow vtp statusFor spare switches, make sure to delete the flash:vlan.dat file to erase the previous VLAN configuration.,9,9,9Verified UserFair and honest2018-06-25T21:37:37.783ZCatalyst 3650 Series
Catalyst 3850 Series
Catalyst 9300 Series,They are our primary access layer switch. We use them in our distribution centers and our office buildings. We have anywhere from a single switch in some locations to stacks of up to 6 in a single node. They very effectively give us the ports needed to get our users on the network and operating.,They are port dense enough to allow us to deploy an easy to manage number of devices while still meeting the needs of the building.
Easy to manage. The Catalyst switch and the IOS software inside have been great. We have hit a few small bugs and issues in the software but a quick update later they are running strong.
The hardware is very stable. I have only had one or two switches that had hardware issues in the 17+ years of using all kinds of different models. I cannot say that about all networking gear.,Power supplies, I have had many power supplies go bad over the years. They are hot swap-able (if you have the redundant power or power stack) and easily replaced but there have been a lot of bad ones.
Power over ethernet has been an issue a couple of times. Since I use these as access layer I have lots of utilization via phones, laptops, cameras, other devices. I have ran into power issues where I was consuming more POE than the switch could handle several times.,10,They have provided a very stable platform for the users and the decreased outage time has paid dividends over the years.
We are approaching a time where Catalyst may not be the right choice any longer as Meraki switches and Cisco are further integrated.,I have not been able to utilize the automation features yet. We are still maturing that direction but I have not been able to partake just yet. Its on the road map for the next year or two.,Like the automation features I have not been able to utilize this yet.,Meraki MS Switches,I like these for port density
I like these for simplicity while still being feature rich
The price point on the 9300's has made these an easy choice and are now our standard platform.,Price
Product Usability
Prior Experience with the Product
Positive Sales Experience with the Vendor,I'm a CLI junkie and actually enjoy hand jamming configurations. If you do not like that look into the automation tools in conjunction with the switches to automate and streamline these. They integrate very well.,8,10,10,I did not.,5,1500,2,We are boring. They are just access switches,Probably just keep them as access layer switches.,10,Not Sure,I wouldn't, I would test features again and come out to the same decision.,Yes,Yes,I cannot think of any exceptional interactions but they are generally very easy to work with.,I like how easy software updates and upgrade are to execute.,The job is a learning curve. I have not found anything that I would call cumbersome.,10Verified UserNext Gen Catalyst Good choices2018-11-12T23:10:43.422ZCatalyst 3850 Series
Catalyst 9300 Series
Catalyst 9400 Series
Catalyst 9500 Series,We're using Catalyst Switches for both access and a collapsed core solution. I find the 3850 product to be a great option for just about anything access-related. We're currently using both the 9300 and 3850 series switches as classroom access solutions. We're using them mostly for our students to connect back into our private cloud solution. They work great for this.,They're dependable, I've been working with a wide variety of Catalyst Switches, specifically 3750 and 3850 series for 8+ years. Only once have I encountered an issue with the hardware.
Layer 2 Access control, as well as the ability to handle closet routing, should the need arise. The versatility of this line of Switches is outstanding. From POE to VoIP solutions the 3850 line provides it all.
The new generation of 9300 and 9500 Switches promise much much more, we've only been using them for a few months in-house and have yet to implement the SDA architecture. However the North and South bound API'S included with this OS are very robust and pretty awesome.,The CLI is a bit of a legacy. Maybe a revamp of this portion.
More robust out of the gate routing capabilities. Stop license gating features. For the 3850 series perhaps adding a more robust API as well.,9,They've definitely been a positive for our bottom line. The reliability and great technical support substantially cuts down on the amount of attention these switches require. Often we find our selves forgetting the switches are even there because they "just work". Dependability like that is in my opinion priceless.
The flexibility of modules that can be added to both the 9300, 9500 (line cards), and 3850 series Catalyst Switches is awesome. These switches are capable of 10/25/40/100 GB speeds this means that instead of replacing a switch you just upgrade the module. This has saved us tens of thousands over the last few years.,We have not done anything more than testing on the 9300 or 9500 Switches. We have done some API through the IOS itself but have not integrated it with the more powerful solutions (DNA Center, ISE, and Stealthwatch). We do have them in-house and in the near future (January 2019) we will be implementing a full SDA solution. Once this is completed I will be excited to see how far the automation and other features included in this package reveals.,We have not as of now. Currently in a design and change state where we will be implementing some of these more advanced solutions in the coming months.Verified UserCisco Catalyst Switches as foundation of our network2019-02-14T19:48:04.227ZCatalyst 3850 Series
Catalyst 9300 Series
Other,We use them in each part of our business: offices, manufacturing, and Nexus for Data Center. The Catalyst Switches are reliable, easy to configure and provide all the features our business requires: high-speed switching, QoS, Multi-Chassis Eth-Channel and many others.,QoS
Low latency
Reliability
Resiliency,Programmability,10,Resiliency and reliability to help us to continue the business even in a critical situation. This increase avoids the loss of revenue.,We are starting now to automate simple processes and configurations, however, we need to complete standardization of our sites before we can take full advantage of automation.,Our sites are a very mixed environment. Offices, manufacturing sites, laboratories and each of them rely on the network in a different way. Thanks to Cisco Catalyst Switches we can have a single OS and few platforms to achieve very different results and support modern and legacy devices.,Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure, Cisco FabricPath, Cisco Nexus, Cisco Sourcefire SNORT, Cisco Wireless LAN Controllers, Cisco Wide Area Application Services and Cisco Webex Teams (formerly Cisco Spark)Verified UserCisco Catalyst is a pretty solid choice, but is it the only one?2018-08-29T17:47:05.675ZCatalyst 3850 Series
Catalyst 9300 Series,We are trying to follow the hardware refresh policy that Cisco is somehow enforcing. So every, 4-5 years, we change all the catalysts in the entire organization. At the moment we have mostly 3850 and just started the installation process of the new 9300. As access layer switches we use them to connect users.,Stacking is quite good and starting with the 3850 the connections at 480Gbs. In INSTALL mode, with a couple of commands, you can upgrade the entire stack.
Port security is quite easy and customizable. Together with DHCP snooping and dynamic ARP inspection, you can guarantee a good level of security
Usually they are pretty stable if they are running a basic configuration. We haven't have any hardware issues with 3850 in years.,Bugs. Cisco (but also other vendors) is not exempt from bugs. Sometimes they can be quite frustrating, and also create serious issues to users
The price is still too high, even if the new 9300 has the same price as the 3850. With 3850, to get to the L3 license from the L2, the price is just ridiculous
Sometimes waiting 6 weeks for a switch is too much. They can definitely improve the shipment time.,7,We have 90% of the global network running with Cisco and the uptime is pretty good. Downtime means we lose money, so it's really important.
The price is not helping while creating a BOM and/or a CAR. Business is not always happy when we have 150k in Cisco switches.
The hardware lifetime is around 5 years.,SD-Access is "included" in the 9300 license, but we don't use it since the entire ecosystem is really expensive and not mature yet.,We manage the switches in the "old" fashioned way, with a monitoring tool (not Cisco), and actually we are ok with this solution.,Brocade ADX and Arista Campus Switches,We use them as access devices in the LAN for users
With IP Base license we use them as L3 switches
With Advanced IP service license they can be used as core switches for the campus with dynamic routing protocols,Product Usability
Prior Experience with the Product
Existing Relationship with the Vendor,We use a template in order to have the same configuration in every site.I suggest to study Cisco documentation and also to use the Cisco community knowledge base to get a standard and suitable configuration for your company.It's part of the best practice to consider security features like port security, broadcast storm control and DHCP snooping,6,6,7,Usually we plan and deploy every solution internally.When we implemented the first data center, we just went to the Cisco HQ to discuss in detail about the solution and also we did some testing in the lab. All of this was free of charge and we successfully designed and implemented our DC.,6Verified UserCisco Switches are a Must for any Enterprise2018-06-11T19:45:37.166ZCatalyst 2960 X/XR Series
Catalyst 3560-CX Series
Catalyst 3650 Series
Catalyst 3850 Series
Catalyst 6800 Series
Catalyst 9300 Series
Catalyst 9400 Series
Catalyst 9500 Series
Other,We utilize Cisco exclusively for our routing, switching, and WiFi. We have limited use of 2960-series, but have a large deployment of 3560, 3650, 3750, 3850, 4500/E, 6500/E - and are now installing the 9300, 9400, and 9500 series switches. The 9000-series come in so many different varieties they can fill any need for access, distribution, core; from small sites to large hospitals. In addition, the mGig switches provide the 5Gig connection to the Cisco 3800 APs for increased throughput. These 9000-series are so physically advanced, the software is still catching up to what all they do!,Access
Distribution
Core
High throughout, low latency,N/A,10,They're necessary!
Long-life: we removed the last ancient 5500 about 4 years ago...and it had been running (without reboot) for 12+ years!,The 9000-series integrates with DNA-C. We are just delving into this now and it looks AMAZING!,As these scale from small deployment to large enterprise, it is very beneficial in having the same base platform and provider when it comes to central management and monitoring.,,Small-to-Medium access switches (using the 1U size switches)
Medium-to-Large access switches (using the chassis size switches)
Distribution (or even Core) switches with some of the higher-end catalyst with 10G (or higher) connections,10,70000,15,10,Yes,We had a remote data center (hospital) that was performing corrupted backups to the main data center. EVERYTHING checked out. We worked with Cisco and other vendors for nearly a month with no resolution. Eventually, we found that if we performed backups over one circuit va the original primary, the backups were good. Cisco high-level experts worked magic on the specific module that one circuit was coming into and found that - for unknown reasons - that module was corrupting random packet payloads WITHOUT corrupting the checksums. We don't know how it did it or how Cisco discovered it, but they sent us a replacement and everything started working again. Magic!Verified UserCisco Catalyst Switches Review2019-02-13T13:44:40.957ZCatalyst 2960 X/XR Series
Catalyst 3650 Series
Catalyst 3850 Series
Catalyst 9300 Series
Catalyst 9400 Series
Catalyst 9500 Series,We currently use Catalyst switches in access, core and distribution infrastructures, whether simple or complex environments,Easy configuration
Compatibility
Price,I have no major concerns or improvements to suggest at this time.,9,Easy to manage
Recurrent revenue
Saas,It has been very useful when trying to look at analytics.,We use Prime and DNA, both are really useful to manage and review operating metrics and have a dashboard with the status of the network in real time,Cisco Webex Teams (formerly Cisco Spark), Avaya Enterprise Routers, Cisco Meraki MS Switches and Cisco Meraki Wireless Access PointVerified UserCatalyst for intent based networking2018-06-26T20:50:30.142ZCatalyst 3850 Series
Catalyst 9300 Series,We use Cisco Catalyst switches in our access layer. They provide a great balance of performance and cost. They come in a variety of models with different features. They have modular power supplies and modules. This ensures they provide the roustabout redundancy we need. With IoT and other technologies, these switches ensure that we can keep up with the needs of the business. Whether it's from a user or security perspective the catalyst switches have us covered.,Security features
Ability to adapt to new needs (through Hardware ASICs and software)
Catalyst support is best of breed
Modular design to grow with the need,TCO
Boot times
Licensing,10,Our budget ask is larger because of the costs associated with purchasing catalyst switches
We don't have many hardware issues because we use catalyst switches,We will start to use these features with the roll out of Cisco DNS Center that will work with the catalyst switches. The virtualization technology in the switch is a new concept for us. I think we will start to leverage that in the near future. We should start to see improvements in efficiencies with these new switches.,We have not done anything with customization on the switches. We are going to start to leverage the new management features with DNA Center.,Ryan SteeleCatalyst-astic2018-06-14T16:29:52.836ZCatalyst 3650 Series
Catalyst 3850 Series
Catalyst 9300 Series,We use Cisco Catalyst Switches for multiple applications within multiple layers. They provide us dependable port connectivity as well as additional functionality such as 802.1x.,LAN switching
Voice segmentation
Routing and MPLS tagging
Port aggregation,Per port costs are higher than other vendors, even though those vendors do not provide as much out of their switches, the number is a selling obstacle,10,Reliability has limited outage costs
Ease of deployment has prevented large acquisition costs
Ability to stack has reduced the demand for larger modular switches,Combined with ISE we have been able to implement secure connectivity throughout our network.,Not that I am aware of.,Dell Force10 Ethernet Switches,Network connectivity
Security
Voice segmentation
Inline power,Product Features
Prior Experience with the Product,10,10000,3,Data connectivity
Voice connectivity
Identity services,Spine leaf deployment
SDN using ACI,10,No,Would emphasize ROI rather than cost.,Yes,No,It is always exceptional.Brandon HudsonCisco Catalyst Switches Review2018-06-11T17:09:21.753ZCatalyst 9300 Series,Financial institutions are very interested in the Encrypted Traffic Analytics feature, specifically the ability to do a crypto audit with StealthWatch to meet their regulatory requirements.,1X integration with ISE
API access, with Python bindings
The guest shell allows customers to do almost anything they need with these switches.,Cost
Some of the default settings are ridiculous. I always update the log and debug settings to include the timestamp, and auto secure is a must. Why shouldn't these be defaults?
The LAN Lite image is useless, I have no reason to sell such a limited switch.,8,The insight gained into the access layer has finally provided some return on my IT investment.
Customers who have used Avaya or Extreme switches for a while, and are ok with the limited feature set, rarely see the ROI in Catalyst switches.,The single most useful feature in the new automation abilities is being able to run packet captures directly on an access switch. This saves minutes if not hours each time a capture needs to be set up.,Most organizations don't have the personnel or drive to build a custom management platform. Despite the open nature of these switches, a Cisco-branded management platform will be looked at first before anything built in-house.,Avaya Ethernet Routing Switch 8800, Avaya Ethernet Switches and HPE Ethernet SwitchesMark CieciorCatalyst Switches2018-06-15T18:33:39.046ZCatalyst 3850 Series
Catalyst 9300 Series,We use Catalyst Switches for all edge connections on the CU Boulder campus.,CDP neighbor protocol is convenient
Cisco IOS is easy to use and consistent between models
Great for serving numerous 1G connections,We have had some issues with the 715w power supplies failing
We sometimes have issues with the switch denying PoE but a reload usually resolves this (c3750x)
Switches take a long time to boot up, sometimes up to 15mins
Can only power stack 4 switches,9,Reliably serve our clients
Modular switch is easy to replace individual components rather than whole switches
Adding switches to a stack is easy and saves install time,We are currently researching programmability options for the 9300 series switches including possibly bringing the Cisco DNA system on board. Currently, most configuration is done manually via the CLI (Calling Line Identity).,We are just starting to deploy the 9300 series and are learning about customizability and management options. Remotely managing the 3850 series is simple using a remote console. We also use SolarWinds for management purposes.,Arista 7000 seriesVerified UserOur Legacy Hardware that just keeps on ticking.2018-01-16T22:40:45.223ZWe've use Cisco Catalyst as both access switches and aggregation routers. For the most part we've moved away from them, but they still exist in our legacy environments. It provided a relatively easy and reliable way of connecting our servers together. Even comparing them to the new fabricpath environments that we've stood up, the Catalysts seem to be very reliable.,If you need a solid switch, Cisco Catalysts tend to be very stable.,I've mostly worked with legacy Catalyst switches and in those cases their are some speed/distribution limitations in comparison, but not everyone needs to go through the expense of setting up a fabricpath (spine and leaf) environment.,9,Their long term stability allowed us to go longer than normal between tech refreshes.
That stability coupled with our design and business practices have allowed us to meet our SLAs and for the most part provide our clients with the 99.99% uptime that they expect.,,PyCharm, Ansible, Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure, Cisco ASA, F5 BIG-IP, Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA SeriesVerified User
Unspecified
Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches
31 Ratings
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