Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches - Catalysts, Still the Workhorse of Switching
August 31, 2021

Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches - Catalysts, Still the Workhorse of Switching

Derek Benson | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches

[Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches] for us are being used to replace our aging fleet of Cat2960s, while offering us enhancements at our access layer, including more possibilities for fiber and variable speed ports over 1Gbps that are extremely useful for the newest Catalyst APs which can run at those wire speeds. They integrate seamlessly with our Nexus core switches as well, so in all, we have transitioned to them without much fuss or downtime.
  • [Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches] provide[s] a stable, reliable switching platform. Typically I end up deploying these and once the configuration is dialed into what the need is I rarely ever have to bother with them again!
  • Multi-speed interfaces are handy if you are using newer Cisco APs.
  • StackPower cables give interesting power sharing options for 9300s living in the same space.
  • Documentation with Cisco has always been very thorough, but it can be difficult to parse through for straight answers on how to do something. This isn't any fault of the hardware itself of course.
  • Like most Cisco products it can be hard to get started with them if you don't have the IOS background, which leaves you going the consultant route.
  • We got these primarily to drive a wireless overhaul initiative and wished to take advantage of the 1Gbps+ speed interfaces that the 9300s can provide. The wireless throughput in the areas these are deployed are substantially faster owing to the added bandwidth.
  • Provided the power stays on, these switches just work. Uptime and maintaining SLA has not been a problem for us!
We haven't done any automation unfortunately.
Other than the basic routing and switching options, to include EIGRP, we haven't had a need to customize these switches too much.
We have always been primarily a Cisco switch and wireless shop and were familiar with the product line, have the relationship with Cisco, familiarity with TAC, etc., and it made sense to maintain that, in addition, to continue taking advantage of the in-house Cisco expertise we have. We are also aiming for SD-Access and DNA Center in the future so the Catalyst line of products made the most sense to set ourselves up for that.

Do you think Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches's feature set?

Yes

Did Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches again?

Yes

The [Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches] for us have been very agile switches. We deploy them across our campus singly or in stacks. They have not skipped a beat in supporting our power users. They might even be overkill. I'd say these are well-suited for enterprise organizations that have the Cisco experience in house to deploy and manage them. I'd say they are less suited for smaller outfits where maybe IT staff is limited or doesn't have the Cisco background to take full advantage of the 9300s.