We performed a comparison between Cisco Ethernet Switches vs D-link Ethernet Switches based on our users’ reviews in five categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.
Comparison Results: Cisco Ethernet Switches has better ratings because it has better stability and technical support than D-Link Ethernet Switches. D-Link does come out on top in the pricing category, however.
"Cisco Ethernet Switches have good performance."
"The greatest advantage of Cisco switches is their reliability. For example, we bought some 500 series switches back in 2002 or 2003, and they ran 24/7. I never had an issue for seven years."
"The most valuable features of Cisco Ethernet Switches for our network are speed, latency, and reliability."
"The features that I have found most valuable with Cisco switches are that once you get your configuration you can rest assured that it will work. The OS is not going to be failing intermittently or anything like that. Once you get your configuration end-goal right, the firmware and the OS are usually very stable enough to work a long time without support. Support is needed once in a while. My experience is that the Cisco switches are usually rocket."
"Technical support is excellent. They are very helpful."
"I know this solution for many years. I know the GUI and commands, and they are useful for me. I have all the functions that I want."
"Multicast is an advanced feature that helps alleviate some of our work challenges."
"I think the VMA architecture is valuable."
"The initial setup of D-Link Ethernet Switches is very easy."
"Its integration is the most valuable."
"The main selling point for me was the pricing. Moreover, the performance is good. I haven't had any issues so far."
"The initial setup is straightforward."
"The tool's fault frequency is very less."
"There are many good points about this product. Number one, they are very stable, and easy to configure and manage."
"These switches are very easy to install because there is no configuration."
"The solution is scalable."
"You do have to buy into the Cisco architecture to be able to use them."
"This may be something that they are already working on, but it would be an improvement if they could add a layer of security to layer two and layer three to protect the server and to protect the data."
"The technical support has room for improvement."
"The quality of Cisco Ethernet Switches could be better."
"The interface and dashboard could look better."
"Putting in a more complete management infrastructure would help when it comes to handling lower-end switches."
"We are less in the Cloud because the Cloud technologies didn't work so well. That happened in all of the companies where I've been engaged."
"Cisco could also open the API up to work closely with other systems."
"The solution needs to improve layer 2 switches."
"The solution could be cheaper."
"The solution's web filtering feature could be improved."
"The solution needs better local support."
"It could be easier to scale on managed devices."
"The availability could be improved."
"I would like an option to create different networks within the switch."
"In a future release, the solution could improve by being more secure and allowing the configuration of each port."
Cisco Ethernet Switches is ranked 1st in Ethernet Switches with 128 reviews while D-Link Ethernet Switches is ranked 11th in Ethernet Switches with 24 reviews. Cisco Ethernet Switches is rated 8.6, while D-Link Ethernet Switches is rated 7.8. The top reviewer of Cisco Ethernet Switches writes "It's a solidly stable product from a leader in the field". On the other hand, the top reviewer of D-Link Ethernet Switches writes "Plug-and-play, zero maintenance, and reasonably priced". Cisco Ethernet Switches is most compared with Aruba Switches, Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access, Ubiquiti UniFi Switches, NETGEAR Switches and Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches, whereas D-Link Ethernet Switches is most compared with NETGEAR Switches, Aruba Switches, MikroTik Routers and Switches, Ubiquiti UniFi Switches and Cisco Linksys Ethernet Switches. See our Cisco Ethernet Switches vs. D-Link Ethernet Switches report.
See our list of best Ethernet Switches vendors.
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I wholeheartedly agreee with everything Luis Apodaca has said. My additional comments are as follows:
What is the size of your network, and are you using any features of the Cisco switches?
How many switches are you trying to use and what is the total price difference between the two brands?
Most of the time, people are using cheap switches as plug-n-play equipment without any configuration and without any management. If that is also your case, you may use the cheapest alternative. After all, switch is a switch. And every brand will work with same performance values. Any switch will have most of the configurable/managerial features expected by a small to mid size network project.
However, Cisco support and Cisco durability is outstanding. Cisco didn't earn its reputation without these. Ofcourse, it comes with a slight price tag.
Hard to make a recommendation with zero details about your use case. But assuming your use case originally justified Cisco Catalyst switches (implying enterprise to medium-size business) I don’t recommend changing. The Cisco solution provides a greater feature set that can be very useful in larger environments. However, if the use case is a smaller/simple network there are more cost-effective options.
D-Link would not be at the top of my list though (Aruba, Netgear, Ubiquiti to name a few). I haven’t used a D-Link device in a long time though so I really can’t speak about their current product line which is why I wasn’t going to answer you until Evgeny Belenky called me out.
Hello Mesfin,
Luis has given good directions already.
Without much details, I could say that generally, I wouldn't recommend replacing a Cisco Switch with D-Link.
Thanks.