When comparing switches, it's important to consider flexibility, reliability, and security as well as speed, port count, and size while looking for the right fit—now and in the future.
Investment protection
Investment protection with line card and supervisor upgrades
Catalyst 9400X:
Catalyst 9600X:
IPsec encryption on the hardware with no impact on performance
Catalyst 9300X models:
Offers high speeds for Wi-Fi 6E across current Cat5/6 cabling
Cisco Multigigabit Technology:
Critical for hybrid work and sustainability efforts
Expands value for smart buildings:
Necessary to complete the smart building solution, including shades, lights, sensors, and applications
Necessary for complete visibility from edge to core
Wired assurance with AI/ML is essential for monitoring and control of wired devices
Relies on constant data flow without impairing performance
Helps with consistent software management and feature parity
Essential for customization and easy management
Allows for greater cloud services visibility and management
Greatly enhances applications' visibility and performance without cost and maintenance of a separate application server
A must for mission-critical networks, especially as more services are migrated to the cloud
Powering devices with PoE requires greater resilience for constant operation of the network and smart building solutions
Security and a secure infrastructure are a must for any network operations
Trustworthy solutions help ensure that software is authentic, unmodified, and operating correctly:
Encrypting data to secure transport, without impacting performance, is critical to securing the network and data
Helps isolate risks in the network, which grow as IoT rises in popularity
Offers better risk mitigation at the access edge through to the network edge, LAN to WAN
Advanced security features:
Helping ensure network availability, agility, and policy segmentation is key to security and sustained operations
Updated in March 2023 based on public information.