Item: Cisco Catalyst Switches
Rating: 9
Author: Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Cisco Catalyst Switches

Cisco Catalyst Product Series

Catalyst 3850 Series
Catalyst 9300 Series

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We currently use Catalyst 9300 and 3850 switches at the access layer. The importance of these switches staying up is extremely vital to our health and safety alert system PDAS (personal duress alarm system). The switches support the access points that then support the rtls of the tags that the staff wears. Our access layer switches have been a joy to work with and maintain. They also have been running for months with no problems. Some of these switches in have been up for a year plus without a single issue. I would recommend Cisco Catalyst Switches to friends in other organizations as my experience has great.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Run forever
Upgrades get easier
Support
Function

Cons

Licensing
Provide better rails instead of brackets
Make stackwise cables easier to hook up if switch is mounted

Return on Investment

Reliability
Ease of learning
Has saved staff members lives

Cisco Catalyst Customization and Manageability

We have benefited from the advanced customization but we only use the CLI so any functionality comes from our baseline configurations. After that, we add or remove whatever is needed based on the scenario. I can’t specifically point to an instance of advanced customization but I’m sure we've had some. We use a variety of NAC solutions as well as various other tools and they all work well with the Cisco Catalyst Switches.

Alternatives Considered

Aruba ClearPass

We wanted reliability as well as a good support system. We like the fact that if the first engineer can’t fix the issue, we can rely on them getting us to a person that can fix the problem. Compared to other companies, we prefer the support and help that comes from Cisco and their advanced services.

Key Insights

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

Other Software Used

NetBrain, Aruba ClearPass, Forescout Platform (CounterACT)

Likelihood to Recommend

Cisco Catalyst Switches are perfect for access layer switches. We have had fewer and fewer issues over time and the code has gotten better. They support our APs that support our RTLS system that runs the PDAS system. They are easy to mount but sometimes the StackWise cables can be a pain. The power supplies are a breeze to swap out. My only gripe would be that sometimes it's hard to unplug a DAC cable of SFP.

Comments

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