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A fine addition to the Cisco family offering a lot more than meets the eye.
December 08, 2020

A fine addition to the Cisco family offering a lot more than meets the eye.

Matt Rees | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Modules Used

  • Cisco Catalyst 3560 - CX

Overall Satisfaction with Cisco Catalyst Switches

  • Catalyst 3560-CX Series
We are using the Cisco 3560-CX series switches as our edge switches, linking different floors/wings to our main server room. As they support 10Gb SFP+ this gives the links to each floor/wing a tremendous amount of speed without the worry of bottlenecks from the floor's cab rooms. They also support multigigabit ethernet, allowing us to run our busiest APs at 5/10Gbps to help handle the extra wireless traffic load.
  • Solid reliable platform.
  • Small factor and quiet.
  • Effective, great features and good performance.
  • Lacking multigigabit ports (only 2).
  • Expensive.
  • Extra licensing for further features (Cisco DNA).
  • More efficient network.
  • Better wireless performance.
  • Helping minimise downtime.
Unfortunately we have not ventured into some of the deeper features of the 3560-CX though it's something we will be looking at going forward (DNA). The extra licensing and infrastructure required is costly and not always practical for smaller set ups. We do however use 3rd party monitoring software and the information we get out of the 3560-CX (performance information, logging and SNMP details) help with our overall support.
We manage these switches via 3rd party software and because they use network standard protocols, can be looked after very well. Giving deeper insight and information for us on a daily basis. We haven't delved into Cisco DNA and the benefits of the management side but will be considering it in the future.
The familiarity and leadership of Cisco is always something that will be considered when choosing new network equipment. Though some of the Aruba equipment we have worked with is very good, there is always that trust with Cisco ( especially the Cisco catalyst switches) that you are using the latest and most reliable technology.

Do you think Cisco Catalyst Switches delivers good value for the price?

Not sure

Are you happy with Cisco Catalyst Switches's feature set?

Yes

Did Cisco Catalyst Switches live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Cisco Catalyst Switches go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Cisco Catalyst Switches again?

Yes

SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (npm), Microsoft Teams, SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM)
We use them as our main edge switches and have found them a great product. They are suited well for small cabs/racks and due to them being very quiet and discreet they can be used almost anywhere, without complaints. They can handle load well, especially when using the SFP+ ports, so anywhere with particular heavy network traffic. You can obviously use them in most any network scenario but they lack the ports. If you're looking to use them for a multigigabit wireless solution for several APs, then you're going to have to look elsewhere.