Cisco vs. Extreme Networks?

[lisacoody]

Hi everyone,

I work at a junior college with 1 main campus and 3 satellite campuses. We're a Cisco shop - switches, routers, ASAs, VOIP, wireless - but most of our gear is either end of life or will be there soon. A few of my colleagues don't like paying for Smartnet coverage and have been getting quotes from Extreme Networks just for comparison. I keep telling them that there's more to consider than just cost. The gear we have has run SOLID for the past 7 years and whenever there's been a problem, I can call TAC and typically have the problem fixed within 24 hours at most. I love having TAC behind me when there's a problem. I don't feel nearly as confident if we go the Extreme Networks path.

Our network is EIGRP and I suspect will have to be totally re-engineered if we switch (the thought of that keeps me awake at night...). I'd like to hear from others who have experience with Extreme about their support.

What sort of issues are we likely to run into if we begin migrating away from Cisco? If we do, it won't be a total network forklift - it will be a gradual shift over the 10 years.

Your advice and thoughts are much appreciated!

Thanks in advance.

[fatdrfrog]

I heard that Extreme Networking is most popular and useful for todays day. But while studing in university instructor got another point of view. Let us know if you will find the answer. 

[chad.drier]

Hello, I just came across this post and was wondering what your decision was.   We use extreme here and I am not a big fan but I am also very familar with cisco switches so i may be a biased a bit.  

[lisacoody]

My supervisors chose to stick with Cisco. I'm very glad they did - big sigh of relief. I'm not bashing Extreme - just familiar with Cisco commands and happy to still have TAC support available when I need it.

[chad.drier]

Good choice.  I don't want to say anything negative but we are switching to cisco for some reasons.   It is hard to be beat TAC support like you stated.  

[lisacoody]

Thanks for the input Chad. Will you update this thread once you've made the switch? I'm interested to know what your experience is and if you're glad for the change.

[jwumcp]

We are using both Cisco and Extreme products. For edge switches, extreme is not a bad choice. I don't have much experience using extreme products for router especially gateway routers, so can't say too much about it. In terms of support, Extreme GTAC support is pretty good. No bias, I personally believe we should give Extreme a chance. Let Cisco dominate the market, it might not be a good thing in the long run.