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Cisco FabricPath vs. Dell PowerConnect Switches (discontinued)

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Cisco FabricPath

    Score8.1 out of 10
    N/ACisco's FabricPath is a brand of LAN switch.N/A

    Dell PowerConnect Switches (discontinued)

    Score8 out of 10
    N/ADell PowerConnect were a series of managed and unmanaged ethernet switches for data centers, discontinued by Dell. They have been superseded by the PowerSwitch line of switches, from Dell.N/A
    Pricing
    Cisco FabricPathDell PowerConnect Switches (discontinued)
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Cisco FabricPathDell PowerConnect Switches (discontinued)
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details
    More Pricing Information
    Best Alternatives
    Cisco FabricPathDell PowerConnect Switches (discontinued)
    Small Businesses
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Medium-sized Companies
    Cisco Catalyst Switches
    Score9.3 out of 10
    RUCKUS Ethernet Switches
    Score10 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Cisco Catalyst Switches
    Score9.3 out of 10
    Cisco Ethernet Switches
    Score9.1 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Cisco FabricPathDell PowerConnect Switches (discontinued)
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    8.0
    (14 ratings)
    Usability
    -
    (0 ratings)
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    Support Rating
    -
    (0 ratings)
    9.1
    (2 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Cisco FabricPathDell PowerConnect Switches (discontinued)
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Cisco
    Cisco FabricPath seems to be well suited for larger datacenters where you need the scalability and flexibility that's provided. We've been able to provide our customers with much more bandwidth than they previously had throughout our datacenter and with applications generating much more east/west traffic now rather than large volumes of north/south traffic FabricPath and the nexus switches have given us the ability to provide our customers with the bandwidth that's needed to serve today's applications.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    We work in the electric industry. These should not be used in a high-heat environment. We like to keep the temperature of the room in the low 60's so they are not suited for our Substation locations due to extreme heat and cold. However, they perform great in a server room.
    Incentivized
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    Pros
    Cisco
    • It scales fairly well.
    • It's been fairly easy for people to learn and work with.
    • It has simplified network administration by utilizing Fabric Extenders which are all configured from the same switch and treated as an extension of the switch rather than as a separate entity.
    Incentivized
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    Discontinued Products
    • Reliable.
    • Excellent hardware support from Dell including 4 hour parts/replacement.
    • Excellent technical support from Dell on software, troubleshooting, and configuration.
    • More affordable than its main enterprise competitors.
    • Easy to use CLI.
    Incentivized
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    Cons
    Cisco
    • We've had a few bugs that have caused random reloads of switches when modifying VLANS.
    • We've had a bug that reloaded an entire fabric at once.
    Incentivized
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    Discontinued Products
    • Precarious graphical (GUI) mode, needing to be updated for more efficient technologies such as HTML5
    • Short support time, given how much these devices support in terms of use. I have owned the devices for years, but no longer have a warranty
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Usability
    Cisco
    No answers on this topic
    Discontinued Products
    The Dell PowerConnect switch is a great switch in certain use cases. It really works well when training users to set up their own vlans in a technology class. We have a lot of different scenarios happening at this company, with 8 different buildings and multiple different affiliate entities. For some of the departments, the budget is the most crucial element. That is where the Dell PowerConnect switches are a really great option.
    Incentivized
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    Support Rating
    Cisco
    No answers on this topic
    Discontinued Products
    Dell ProSupport is outstanding. Dell ProDeploy is likewise outstanding. I prefer them even over traditional Cisco support. I've had repeated cases where Dell immediately addressed or fixed an issue with US-based support, including firmware hotfixes. Not even Cisco can boast that.
    Incentivized
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    Alternatives Considered
    Cisco
    In comparison to Cisco ACI, Cisco Catalyst, and Juniper EX Switches the Nexus switches have stood their ground and we've been fairly happy with them. I like that similar to Cisco's ACI and the Juniper EX switches that I've worked with I can manage multiple chassis from one place. ACI can do this on a much larger scale though. I think Juniper limited the number of devices in a single virtual chassis to 10 or less depending on the device type. ACI can do a few hundred leafs plus their fabric extenders so if you're looking for one place to manage all your devices it can scale well beyond either the Cisco FP or Juniper EX series switches, but it also has a much steeper learning curve and completely different interface. The loop prevention built into FP has been a great improvement vs our old Catalyst switches.
    Incentivized
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    Discontinued Products
    I selected Dell mainly due to previous experience using them in a business environment. I've never had a unit fail on me and when my budget for equipment like network switches has been less than a training class on how to use those switches, it's incredible to be able to find quality equipment at the price point Dell offers and even more so when their enterprise support has been as excellent as I have been accustomed to dealing with. In all honesty, even if I had a larger budget, I would have bought these same switches since they were exactly what I needed to suit my needs. We looked into HPE/Aruba network switches, and while they would have performed everything we needed and more, they were almost four times the cost of these Dell network switches. That's a hard sell when it comes to planning a tight budget.
    Incentivized
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    Return on Investment
    Cisco
    • FabricPath is easy enough to learn that the adoption on the team has been fairly quick. This allows us to quickly troubleshoot and allows us to meet and beat SLAs that demand we maintain 99.99%+ uptime for our paying customers.
    Incentivized
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    Discontinued Products
    • Reports are easily created and very useful.
    • Quick creation of different network connections.
    • Excellent and secure channels for multiple data management.
    • Great data visualization options offered by Dell PowerConnect Switches.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
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