Item: Cisco Catalyst Switches
Rating: 8
Author: Verified User

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Cisco Catalyst Switches are used in my company to interconnect clients in office and manufacturing environments.
The quality of routing and forwarding allows us to keep the production at the fastest rates assuring also the right level of segmentation and security (through dot1x authentication and integration with ISE Profiling and authorization capabilities).

Pros and Cons

Dot1x Authentication
BPDU guard
VRF handling

Web management interface
R-SPAN support on all switches

Return on Investment

High performance for system operation

Alternatives Considered

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)

Integration is the best we could get for extensible attributes during user authentication and authorization phase.

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

Cisco Aironet and Catalyst Access Points, Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)

Likelihood to Recommend

Well suited:
1) high performance networking scenarios for office areas
2) high performance networking scenarios for manufacturing areas
3) dot1x integration with ISE

Less appropriate:
1) less challenging networking scenarios for office areas
2) pure internet exit networks in small offices or areas
3) SDN scenarios where no routed access layer is present

Cisco Catalyst Switches Enthusiast

Overall Satisfaction with Cisco Catalyst Switches