Cisco Catalyst 9600--Secure, Reliable, Stable
May 03, 2021
Cisco Catalyst 9600--Secure, Reliable, Stable
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with Cisco Catalyst 9600 Series Switches
- Catalyst 2960 X/XR Series
Layer-2 switch environment for WAN (connection of 19 locations back to the main data center). The connection is over Fiber backbone provided by a third party, with a network comprised of 12 VLANs. Once configured and deployed, Cisco Catalyst 9600 Series Switches have provided stable, secure, and reliable connections for all clients back to the main data center.
- Support of VLAN architecture that in our environment is somewhat complicated
- Interface well with Fiber backbone provided by third party
- Secure configuration and operation of network infrastructure
- Uptime has been outstanding with no outages noted
- Programming is different from other providers; this has caused some issues with staffing
- The training opportunities do not provide the basics of programming or migration from other vendors' products.
- Unless you are willing to purchase renewed switches, cost can be out of line with other vendors
- Negative impact, difficult to find seasoned Cisco network admins at city government pay scales.
- Difficult to find operational training (not cert training) for seasoned IT personnel to bring them up to speed for supporting the Cisco infrastructure.
- Positive impact on network uptime and reliability in a WAN environment--over 50 units deployed have had zero down time.
- Once configured, the environment appears to be secure and VLAN assignment straightforward.
We have not deployed any of these capabilities, due to the loss of a network administrator and inability to attract a replacement based on our municipal salary scale. When we do hire, we will begin to investigate the automation, scaling, and most certainly the analytics to determine if our deployment is optimal.
We have utilized the stacking of switches to allow for better management. This allows for remote management in a clean, easy-to-use format. Regarding customization, the only thing we are currently using is up to 15 VLANs per switch/stack. This allows us to secure areas of our network and data allowing only those with known needs to access.
Do you think Cisco Catalyst 9600 Series Switches delivers good value for the price?
Yes
Are you happy with Cisco Catalyst 9600 Series Switches's feature set?
Yes
Did Cisco Catalyst 9600 Series Switches live up to sales and marketing promises?
Yes
Did implementation of Cisco Catalyst 9600 Series Switches go as expected?
Yes
Would you buy Cisco Catalyst 9600 Series Switches again?
Yes