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Cisco Catalyst Switches

Score9.2 out of 10

1,052 Reviews and Ratings

What is Cisco Catalyst Switches?

Cisco's Catalyst is one of that company's brand of network switches.

Categories & Use Cases

Media

Catalyst 9200 Series
Catalyst 9300 Series
Catalyst 9400 Series
Catalyst 9400 Series Additional View
Catalyst 9500 Series
Catalyst 9600 Series
Catalyst 9600 Series Additional View

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Cisco Catalyst Switches Secure and Connected!

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use the catalyst switches everywhere! They keep us connected from the core to the edge. And configuring was fairly easy. We are upgrading pretty much all of our switches to Catalysts. With module connections at 10+ Gig we are set for years to come. Also with multigig we can connect our wireless and know that our endpoints are at the best connection!

Pros

  • Connection Speed
  • initial setup is fairly easy
  • Replacement is easier

Cons

  • I know they are trying to be compact, but do they have to be so tight? Hard to get your fingers in once all the cables are wired up!
  • LED lights could be positioned differently to make it easier to see them.
  • Power cable management could use a little better design.

Return on Investment

  • I wish things didn't go end of life, but I understand the fast-paced, ever-evolving technology.
  • Being able to easily deploy quickly is key
  • Having support right there for issues makes like you made a good investment.

Alternatives Considered

Vidcast by Webex Leap, Webex App, Webex Calling, Webex Contact Center, Webex Meetings, Cisco Catalyst 9100 Access Points, Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers, Cisco Catalyst Switches, Cisco Room Series, Cisco Headsets and Deskpro

Other Software Used

Cisco Desk Camera, Webex App, Vidcast by Webex Leap

Cisco Catalyst Switches

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We are using them for access, distribution, and core switches across our customer's enterprise networks. They offer great flexibility to support both simple and complex solutions. They are also very reliable with very few issues or downtime.

Pros

  • Flexibility to support many solutions or designs
  • Very reliable with low failure rates
  • Verify scalable, stacking technology allows for easy growth options

Cons

  • Ease of software upgrades and maintenance
  • Native cloud management

Return on Investment

  • ROI by allowing us to stack switches as needed and better meet requirements based on port density
  • Less downtime, the newer Cisco Catalyst Switches have had a much better Mean Time Between Failures. Our maintenance windows with software upgrades has also been much improved.
  • Great resiliency options to help with keeping everything up and running

Cisco Catalyst Switches

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We have two for the front end of our internal network. We have used Cisco Catalyst Switches for years and cannot say much against them. Their products are easy to use, and they have great support. Their scalability is also a reason why we went with them.

Pros

  • Ease of use
  • Speed
  • Reliability
  • Scalability
  • Support

Return on Investment

  • Worth the Money
  • Reliable
  • Salability

Other Software Used

Cisco AnyConnect, Cisco Meraki MS, Cisco Duo, Cisco Meraki Dashboard

Catalyst switches.

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We are Cisco partners and provide services to customers. Catalyst switches are preferred in large organisations over other devices like Meraki and HP. Mostly, customer go for the 9200 series whenever they require L2 switches and 9500 & 9600 switches for their core infra. Catalyst switches are the lifeline of many major companies.

Pros

  • Catalyst switches are having high bandwidth.
  • Advance features of customisation and programmability.
  • Lots of access options like telnet, ssh, GUI.
  • They can now even be converted to cloud based switch like meraki.

Cons

  • Automation should be available for automatic loop detection and prevention without any command so that if someone makes up by default, it should not affect his whole network.
  • Ports speed should be auto negotiated with the peer one.
  • The switch alert system should be there directly inside for any major issues instead of getting that through DNAc or other monitoring tools.

Return on Investment

  • Common and most user friendly configuration setup.
  • One of the most rugged devices.
  • Last long even after support is ended.

Alternatives Considered

Cisco Catalyst Center, Cisco Spaces and Cisco Meraki Dashboard

Other Software Used

Cisco ThousandEyes, Webex App, Webex Connect

Cisco Catalyst Switches

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use them everywhere. We use them at the access layer, the collapsed distribution layer, and more. We have always used the platform in all of its iterations but currently we are moving towards having the entire 9000 series across the board. They address our design concerns, split vendor setup issues, and capacity management.

Pros

  • traffic handling and QoS policing
  • software upgrade ease
  • easy management

Cons

  • code bugs REQUIRING code changes
  • code bugs REQUIRING reloads
  • a mechanism to provide more redundancy or mitigate impact during a code change for access layer switches

Return on Investment

  • The redundancy options on the non-access layer devices keeps uptimes higher which translates to service continuity.
  • The capacity and segmentation options enables a more secure and customizable environment.
  • The hot scalability enables us to add more endpoints in a live environment and expanding the existing footprint without impacting others.

Alternatives Considered

Cisco Routers and Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers

Other Software Used

OneDrive, Atlassian Confluence, Cisco AnyConnect