I'm facing the decision to replace our aging 10-year-old Catalyst switches at the headquarters, while our 10 branch offices have already transitioned to 4-year-old Extreme switches. We also have a SAN and a Failover Cluster set up with some 3-year-old 25GB Nexus switches. Given that nearly 700 users from our branch offices connect back to HQ in LA, I'm feeling a little anxious about switching to Extreme since Cisco has been reliable for us in the past. However, I've never enjoyed the command line interface of Cisco but don't feel proficient enough with it. Should I go with Extreme for HQ just to standardize, or explore other options?
5 Answers
I recently switched all our branch offices from Catalysts to Extreme 5520s and upgraded our core Nexus with 7520s. If you're already comfortable with Extreme's OS, you'll be just fine! Plus, I've found Extreme's support to be way better than Cisco’s. In terms of reliability, I’ve had experiences with both, and they seem pretty comparable. You might want to stick with what you're familiar with!
If you feel comfortable with Cisco, sticking with them might make more sense. It’s all about getting a good VAR to help you through the transition, and once you're comfortable with Command Line Interface, it gets a lot easier!
I’d recommend going all in with Extreme, especially if you can implement a fabric setup. It should serve your needs well!
Consider looking into Aruba as an alternative. They have solid offerings that could meet your needs as well!
Standardizing is definitely a good move here, so going with Extreme would simplify things for you. But don’t forget to explore other options! With 100G technology becoming the norm, you should consider how your future needs will be met. It's a good time to look at what's available in the market as well. Just some food for thought!
If you do switch, just know that I'd happily take your old 25G Nexus switches off your hands!