Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches
Updated March 10, 2025

Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches

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

Modules Used

  • Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches
  • Catalyst 9300 60W PoE models
  • Catalyst 9300 1G models

Overall Satisfaction with Cisco Catalyst Switches

The Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches is our access switch standard throughout our whole environment. They are used in our retail, manufacturing, hospitality, and office environments.

Pros

  • Fast processing
  • Multiple hardware options
  • Redundancy features

Cons

  • Large firmware upgrades
  • Some instances of buggy hardware
  • Proprietary protocols
  • Redundancy in the network keeps all business functions available
  • POE capabilities reduce power needs in certain equipment
  • Catalyst Switches are more costly than some comparible vendors
We do not use the automation of switch installs within our environment, as everything is pre-configured prior to shipment. Replacements typically are easier, as replacing a faulty switch is normally plug and play.
We do some customization and manageability with the Cisco DNA product. The use of Cisco DNA does require an additional license, but it has made performing and scheduling of firmware upgrades easy. We are also using the auditing feature of DNA to help with the standardization of switch configs.
  • Cisco DNA Center
We did not use hybrid work
Not relavent
We did not use
Netgear switches are great when using in a flat network configuration. They do not scale nor have the flexible functionality of the Cisco Catalyst.

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

Yes

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

They work great in any normal switching network. Hardware and support costs are higher than most other vendors, but support is good and we have no issues with hardware warranties.

Cisco Hybrid Work

  • Working from anywhere (e.g., coffee shop, airport)
  • Working from an office or other company space
  • Working from home
We are fully deployed in our hybrid work solution
We use Cisco anyconnect to enable vpn connectivity from any sort of broadband connection. This gives us the ability to connect to our internal services. Some of our other collaboration applications allow connectivity to cloud services, but not internally.
  • Microsoft Teams

Cisco Catalyst Addtional Questions

  • Secure network segmentation to comply with PCI requirements
  • Remote management capabilities
  • Scalabiltiy in large and small environments
  • Scalability
  • Integration with Other Systems
  • Ease of Use
Cisco Catalyst switches are the industry leader in scalability and ease of use. Most network engineers are trained exclusively on the Cisco IOS-XE command set and configurations.
Always use unique host names.
Configure secure radius/tacacs authentication and authorization
Configure secure remote protocols adhering to the latest feature sets.
Always configure a MOTD and LOGIN banners.
We have no problems working the the VAR to get quotes for our Cisco switching. Cisco does not allow purchasing direct from themselves.
Cisco has a robust TAC support. Cases can be opened up online or by phone. They will assist with implementation, configuration, troubleshooting or RMA issues if necessary.
We did not, as we are a mature Cisco end user.

Using Cisco Catalyst Switches

20000 - The end users that connect to Cisco Catalyst are in our retail, hospitality, and manufacturing environments. Any ip device on our internal network connects to a Cisco Catalyst switch.
8 - Network engineers. Most of our engineers have Cisco network certifications and basic network troubleshooting skills.
  • Using Cisco DNA Center to audit configuration on switches
  • Automatic firmware upgrades
  • Stacking features allowing switch management across one login
  • Power stacking features allowing shared power across physical switches.
  • Zero day deployment
  • POE scheduling to reduce power consumption
We are currently utilizing a refresh schedule across our environment to stay ahead of hardware and software end of support timelines.

Evaluating Cisco Catalyst Switches and Competitors

Cisco Catalyst switches tend to cost more than most other hardware vendors; Most of our engineers are trained on the command sets of the Cisco Catalyst switches. There would be a learning curve on configuring a competing vendors equipment.

Cisco Catalyst Switches Implementation

Most of the implementation was plug and play. Did not see any significant issues during the implementation.
  • Implemented in-house
Change management was minimal - There was minimal organizational change management. Command sets were just copied over from previous hardware.
  • Needed to update some cabling for new hardware
  • Needed to update some uplink modules for new equipment

Cisco Catalyst Switches Training

  • No Training
Cisco has some very good training programs. Completed the CCNA and passed the certification test. They additionally have several higher level training programs available.
Cisco has several good online training programs available.
I learned the Cisco command at a different organization.

Configuring Cisco Catalyst Switches

Cisco has a high level of configurability to the Catalyst command set. You will need some training to learn all the available options that the switch can accomplish.
No - we have not done any customization to the interface
No - we have not done any custom code
We do not customize any of the command sets within the switches.

Cisco Catalyst Switches Support

ProsCons
Quick Resolution
Good followup
Knowledgeable team
Problems get solved
Kept well informed
Immediate help available
Support understands my problem
Quick Initial Response
None
Yes, we are a large group that cannot handle down time. We have redundancy built into our environment and need to fix hardware and software issues quickly
Yes - Most of the time the bugs we reported were already known issues and bug/firmware fixes were implemented or hardware was replaced.
There was a hardware bug reported on about 15 percent of our switches. Cisco was able to provide a website to check serial numbers against the bug to help us get those switches replaced via RMA.
I cannot remember anytime where Cisco did not either fix the issue, or replace the hardware when we had an issue.

Using Cisco Catalyst Switches

ProsCons
Like to use
Relatively simple
Easy to use
Technical support not required
Well integrated
Consistent
Quick to learn
Convenient
Feel confident using
None
  • Layer 2 switching
  • Configuring trunking on the switch
  • dhcp snooping on the switch
  • QOS if not using the auto qos functions
  • Using the embedded WLC
We use Cisco Catalyst exclusively in our environment and are extremely familiar with the hardware and functionallity.

Cisco Catalyst Switches Reliability

We have large sites with over 3000 end users and smaller sites with only 10 end users. We use Cisco Catalyst switches at all our sites. This helps by standardizing hardware and configuration issues.
Cisco Catalyst switches are highly reliable. We try to implement available redundancy features to enhance the reliability of the platform. Any errors or outages are typically from outside forces and not Cisco problems.
Any speed issues are typically not Catalyst related. All data speed issues can be traced to either end device or WAN related.

Integrating Cisco Catalyst Switches

  • Ubiquity wireless bridges
  • Juniper Mist wireless APs
These are standard port setups to integrate with other vendor hardware. We do not have any issues in setting up the equipment.
No services we need to integrate with that we are not already working with.
  • File import/export
  • Single Signon
Cisco Catalyst switches are only carriers of those technologies. They are independent to integrating with the technologies.
Cisco Catalyst switches are industry leaders in networking solutions. I would expect they do not have any issues with integration

Relationship with Cisco

We were able to negotiate a reduced percentage off by offering to purchase a set amount of switches.
The bigger the annual purchase, the deeper discount you will be able to get off from published pricing.

Upgrading Cisco Catalyst Switches

Yes - Upgrading hardware was seamless. Copying command sets across from older hardware to newer hardware was simple.
  • Continue warranty and support
  • Upgraded throughput
  • Upgraded POE capabilites
  • Increased bandwidth to end devices
  • Upgraded uplink bandwidth
  • Higher POE support to end devices.

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