Item: Cisco Catalyst Switches
Rating: 8
Author: Fraser Clark

Overall Satisfaction with Cisco Catalyst Switches

Cisco Catalyst Product Series

Catalyst 2960 X/XR Series
Other

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use Cisco Catalyst Switches for our entire internal switching infrastructure, we use the 2960's at the edge and 4500's for our core switches. We chose Cisco as we have a high level of expertise when it comes to the devices and we have always been impressed with the level of reliability we get when using Cisco products.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Switching.
Reliable hardware.
Ease of configuration.
TAC Support.

Cons

Issues with USB flash drives.
Support for easier upgrading of firmware.
Pricing.

Return on Investment

High initial and annual cost. Purchase and support renewals.
Enterprise leader.
Reliability and expertise.

Cisco Catalyst Benefits

We have been slow to embrace automation but this is now changing, and with support for ansible and python it is making it easier and easier. Cisco also appears to be placing greater emphasis on network automation as a basic skill for upcoming network engineers which is very valuable. Specifically, we have been scripting simple changes and firmware upgrades to get ourselves started with automation.

Cisco Catalyst Customization and Manageability

We have definitely benefited from the manageability of Catalyst Switches as they are very easy to get up and running which we appreciate greatly in the event of an outage. Cisco IOS is the de facto and what the majority of people are trained on so most members of our team have some level of familiarity with the syntax which can help during troubleshooting.

Alternatives Considered

HPE Aruba Ethernet Switches

Cisco may not be best in class at switching but when supporting a large organization that uses multiple products, it can be a nightmare to have to manage support and contracts from several different vendors. Cisco gives the advantage of being able to provide switching, routing, firewall, load balancers, etc. across an entire estate which is why for us they have the edge.

Likelihood to Recommend

In a medium to a large-sized enterprise network, I would definitely recommend Cisco. Especially if this is what the engineers who will be maintaining them will be used to. There are offerings that do switching better but few that can give a stable and reliable platform across L2/L3/Routing/Firewalls etc. Cisco provides excellent products for all these use cases. The level of support available from cisco is exceptional as well, however, you do you pay for what you get in terms of support. For small startups requiring only perhaps a few edge devices for switching, in this case, I would recommend a different product.

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Cisco Catalyst Review