Dell 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 They have been superseded by the PowerSwitch line of switches, from Dell.
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.
We have had a multitude of different back-end network switch equipment and the Netgear switches always are compatible in the traffic pattern and packet transmission with the back-end gear.
I've had fans burn out after the warranty period. In a way that is a positive and tells you just how long the fans last. However, it would be nice if the fans lasted a bit longer.
In a perfect world, it would be nice if the switches were not so loud.
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.
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.
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.
Many different brands have their pros and cons; it depends on the use case and the budget constraints of the project, and also the location. Determining the scope of the project and all the variables is crucial when evaluating which product to use and where. There is so much competition in this sector, and you make the best decision based on crunching all the data.
Rarely need to reboot or troubleshoot the SOHO switches.
Low cost for the functionality. For example, 8 port GB switches for $20 is a no brainer for a home environment that doesn't need vlans or more enterprise type features.
No negative impact on any environment I am aware of, however have not tested in a larger environment with multiple switches.
