Solved: Making a switching choice - Catalyst 500/520/ESW Linksys SRW/SFE

exonetinf1nity · ‎06-09-2009

Greetings would someone be able to clarrify please what direction Cisco is taking in regards to the SMB switching product line as i am starting to get somewhat confussed.

From my estimation we currently have the following available for the SMB market, agreed there is a significant price difference between some of the product lines but it appears as though the choice when choosing an appropriate switch is becoming somewhat blurred and is beginning to come down to price rather than features and or performance characteristics.

Cisco Catalyst Express 500 Series Switches
Cisco Catalyst Express 520 Series Switches
Cisco Small Business Pro ESW 500 Series Switches
Cisco Small Business Managed Switches (Linksys Business Series)
Cisco Small Business Smart Switches (Linksys Business Series)
Cisco Catalyst 2960 Series Switches

Can i ask if there are any plans to merge some of the product lines such as the 500 and 520 which are both similiarly priced, managed almost identically and have the same feature set.
Are there plans for the ESW line to replace the existing Linksys SRW/SFE and Cisco 500/520 equivalents?
Would i correct in assuming that the ESW line runs IOS Code?

Any assistance would be much appreciated.

Regards

Mark Rigby

gbenesch · ‎06-09-2009

Mark,

Great questions. Thanks for posting.

1. Yes, you can expect that over time the ESW 500 Series will replace the Catalyst Express Series.

2. There are no plans for the ESW 500 series to replace the SRW/SFE switches. These product families are somewhat overlapping, but are targeted towards different types of small business customers and VAR partners.

3. You are incorrect in assuming the ESW is IOS based. It is not.

The attached PDF provides a high-level comparison of the Cisco switches that sell into SMB.

Thanks,

Georganne

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