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Dell PowerConnect Switches (discontinued)

Score8.1 out of 10

24 Reviews and Ratings

What is Dell PowerConnect Switches (discontinued)?

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 They have been superseded by the PowerSwitch line of switches, from Dell.

Categories & Use Cases

Most Frequent Users

Top 3 industries using Dell PowerConnect Switches (discontinued)
Based on HG Insights installation data
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#1 most frequent

Information

14.3%

8 installations of 56

#2 most frequent

Public Administration

10.7%

6 installations of 56

#3 most frequent

Manufacturing

10.7%

6 installations of 56

Reviews

What users are saying about Dell PowerConnect Switches (discontinued).
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Dell PowerConnect - Great Choice for K-12 Labs per YoSan

Incentivized
Verified User
Team Lead in Information Technology (201-500 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use Dell PowerConnect switches with our VOIP phones, backup storage connects, etc. Some of our MDF and IDF closets have limited rack space. These switches have the capability to be stacked. They also have the POE option which we use with some of our security cameras. They tend to be easy to manage also.

Pros

  • Easy to Manage
  • Very Reasonably Priced
  • POE capability for Cameras and VOIP Phones

Cons

  • CLI interface could be more user friendly with advanced features
  • More 10/100/1000 ports would be great
  • Proprietary features may make it difficult to switch to other vendor models

Return on Investment

  • Great positive effect for departments with small budgets
  • Stacking capability helps with switch management
  • In enterprise environment these switches may not be able to handle processes as fast

Usability

Alternatives Considered

Cisco UCS Series, Cisco UCS Manager, Cisco 550X Series Stackable Managed Switches and Cisco Catalyst Switches

Other Software Used

Cisco 4000 Series Integrated Services Routers (ISR 4000), Dell Compellent (discontinued), Cisco Nexus Series Switches

Great Products, Industry Leader.

Incentivized
Seth Urbanczyk
Network Administrator in Information Technology at Deaf Smith Electric (51-200 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

They are rack-mounted in our server room. They provide network connectivity to all the servers in the rack space. We chose them because all of our servers are Dell as well.

Pros

  • They work well with other Dell products.
  • They are easy to setup and manage because the UI is homogenous across Dell.
  • Port configuration is a bonus too.

Cons

  • If the price had some room to come down we would be able to afford higher models.
  • The CLI could be more uniform across the suite of switches.
  • Sometimes they will fight you on spanning tree protocol.

Most Important Features

  • Layer 3 routing.
  • Gigabit speed.
  • Fully managed, Web and CLI.

Return on Investment

  • Consistent uptime.
  • Long lasting, haven't had to replace yet.

Alternatives Considered

Ruckus ICX Switches (formerly Brocade ICX Switches)

Other Software Used

Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365), Microsoft Azure, Goverlan Reach

Dell X-1052 48+4 1GBs/10GBs Ethernet Switch

Incentivized
Chris Funk
IT Director in Information Technology at Clark County Juvenile Court (51-200 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Currently, Dell X1052 switches make up the majority of my core switch rack for my server and desktop connections. We have 7 switches in three racks and they replaced aging HP ProCurve switches. Our network is relatively simple and uses a single VLAN, so the use of the internal management interface was only used to set a static IP. They have 4 SFP ports that will support 10GB/s Ethernet, but we're uplinked on 1GB/s wired connections. I use Dell due to the cost, the warranty/support, and years of previous experience with Dell's networking hardware. Across 20 years of using their network hardware, they have proven to not only be reliable but extremely cost-effective compared to competitors with similar traits. Their support has also been really great with next-day advance shipments means we have minimal downtime in the event one or more devices fail. I have absolutely zero hesitation in recommending their products to anyone interested. One item of note, their SFP ports may require having Dell-branded SFP adapters, as we found pre-made 10GB SFP cables for an HPE switch were not compatible. From what I've been told by support representatives, this isn't unusual with several vendors so now we know to order those specifically in the future.

Pros

  • Competitive pricing.
  • Quality hardware components.
  • Enterprise warranty service/support.

Cons

  • Compatibility with 3rd party vendor hardware.
  • Less expensive lines of equipment only sold through resellers.
  • Selection of models sometimes limited.

Most Important Features

  • Connectivity.
  • Affordability.
  • Reliability.

Return on Investment

  • Positive from cost compared to competitors.
  • Positive on capability compared to our needs and requirements.
  • Negative on connectivity with other vendor equipment.

Alternatives Considered

HPE Aruba Ethernet Switches

Other Software Used

Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued), Zoom, ESET Endpoint Security

Dell PowerConnect Review

Incentivized
Michael Cattano
Sr. Systems Engineer in Information Technology at Amoeba Networks (11-50 employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We have implemented Dell PowerConnect 5500 series switches to various clients ranging from 5-500 endpoints. They are versatile and easily managed though the web interface. We have also implemented the 5500P services for VOIP implementations and camera implementations. Dell Support for the switch series is very good when needed. The switches are work horses for cost conscience clients.

Pros

  • Dell provides good support for the PowerConnect line
  • The PowerConnect switches are easily managed
  • The PowerConnect switches are reliable and can fit a wide variety of environments

Cons

  • I'd like to see better centralized monitoring and management
  • Better onsite support
  • More consistency with the firmware updates

Most Important Features

  • Reliability
  • Price
  • Dell name

Return on Investment

  • These switches has provided a positive impact on our clients

Alternatives Considered

Cisco 350X Series Stackable Managed Switches

Other Software Used

Cisco 350X Series Stackable Managed Switches, NETGEAR Ethernet Switches, Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches

Dell PowerConnect Switches.... Cost effective, reliable and very secure.

Incentivized
Pardeep SanghView profile
Senior Software Engineer in Engineering at Larsen & Toubro (10,001+ employees employees)

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

When it comes to performance and functionality, they are pretty good. Dell PowerConnect Switches is cheaper compared to other similar systems but it offers the same solution that is needed in our organization. It is perfect and suitable for midsized businesses and a very good and secure alternative for Cisco switches.

Pros

  • Dell PowerConnect Switches has increased network performance.
  • Dell PowerConnect Switches comes at an affordable cost.
  • It is highly customizable and easy to use.

Cons

  • At the moment, I haven't found any room for improvement. It is a complete system and it works pretty well.

Most Important Features

  • Ability to handle loads of storage and servers efficiently.
  • Compatibility and scalability.
  • It is easy and simple to manage.

Return on Investment

  • Dell PowerConnect Switches improves network speed.
  • Less downtime and secure updates.
  • It is easy and fast to deploy.