Linksys Vs Cisco________________________

Buying the best switch: Linksys vs. Cisco

Takeaway: You may think of Linksys as the consumer-grade switch vendor, but the company boasts a line of Business Series switches as well. How do they stack up against Cisco switches? David Davis offers a point-by-point comparison. When it comes to routers and switches, most IT pros associate Cisco with professional-grade quality and Linksys with low-end, consumer-grade routers and wireless equipment. While there's nothing wrong with this distinctionLinksys (a division of Cisco) addresses the consumer market very wellthe comparison may be a bit basic. Would you buy an access-layer switch for your organization's wiring closet from Linksys? This is a somewhat controversial question. In this article, I'll offer my take, and you can chime in with your opinion in the article's discussion. Let's find out how Linksys switches stack up to their Cisco counterparts. Did you know that Linksys makes "business" switches? I'll be honestI didn't know that Linksys made any products targeted toward businesses. And I'm willing to bet I'm not the only one. One reason for this is the general perception of Linksys products: Most expect Linksys to offer a good integrated router/switch/firewall/wireless AP that you buy at your local electronics store for about $40. But when you need a switch for a new remote office that has 35 PCs and printers and that needs Gb Ethernet uplinks, QoS, VLAN, 802.1x RADIUS, and a Web-based management interface, most people aren't going to think Linksys will be in the running. Most likely, you'll think of Cisco, Nortel, or HP ProCurvebut not Linksys. However, Linksys offers a switch that can do all of these things for youfor about 75 percent less than what you'll spend on a comparable Cisco switch (even with discounts). Let's find out how two similar switches from the same parent company with drastically different costs stack up. Before I begin the comparison, a disclaimer: I'm not trying to sell anyone on Linksys business switches; I'm not even saying I would personally choose a Linksys business switch over a Cisco switch. But it's never a bad idea to know your various options, and you never know when you'll be in a situation where cost is the defining factor. For this comparison, I'm using one of the highest level switches in the Linksys Business Series lineup with the new Cisco Catalyst 2960. (The 2960 recently replaced the 2950 line of switches.)

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Linksys Vs Cisco________________________
Linksys switch Cisco switch Part number WS-C2960-48TT-L, the Cisco Catalyst 2960 is also a 48-port Ethernet switch, but this switch will set you back about $1,250 to $1,500. Specifications: 48 10/100 Mb Ethernet ports and two 10/100/1000 Gb uplinks 16-Gbps switching fabric 10.1-Mpps forwarding rate for 64-byte packet Pros: For the most part, the Cisco switch offers the same software features as the Linksys switch. The Cisco IOS command line includes many advanced features, including Advanced QoS, classic Cisco IOS ACLs, Smartports macros, Network Admissions Control, and a time-domain reflectometer (TDR) to diagnose and resolve cabling problems on copper ports. Incredible grass-roots support, including how-to resources, books, forums, and videos Cisco Network Assistant (CNA) CiscoWorks support Optional redundant power supply (RPS) connector

Part number SRW248G4, this is a 48port Ethernet switch that will run you about $300 to $350. Specifications: 48 10/100 Mb Ethernet ports and four 10/100/1000 Gb uplinks 2 shared mini-GBIC ports for optical or copper interconnect (not on Cisco) 17.6-Gb switching capacity Pros:

QoS with 802.1p, diffserv, or ToS Web browser interface SSH remote management with menudriven text console (not the Cisco IOS) VLAN support with 802.1q 802.1x authentication and MAC address filtering Supports up to 256 VLANs SNMP management Firmware upgradeable through TFTP or Web interface Port mirroring SNTP for time synchronization Syslog ACLs are configurable in menu and Web interface IGMP snooping for multicast Dynamic VLAN registration with GVRP Link aggregation (LACP) (Similar to EtherChannel in the Cisco IOS world, this is a different protocol.) Rack mountable Five-year warranty Cons: No Cisco IOS Not as many advanced features as Cisco IOS Not as much grass-roots support Supported by different technical support than the well-known Cisco TAC

Limited lifetime warranty Cons: Cost

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Linksys Vs Cisco________________________
User Comment/Review:
Third that - Linksys is NOT Cisco - I found out the hard way If there are two reasons NOT to buy a consumer-grade switch for a business, it is reliability and support. I also thought that Linksys = Cisco quality (heck, it says Cisco on the box), but I learned the hard way that this was not the case. I bought a new Linksys SRW224P POE switch for my company's new office. Everything worked great for the first 5 minutes, but then the switch kept crashing. I called Linksys for support, and discovered the following: 1) Linksys Techs are of little / no use - Their support is outsourced, and their "engineers" have very limited knowledge about networks or networking in general. They insisted that the switch was working fine since it was new and I had the latest firmware. This was NOT the case. 2) Your time is not valuable to Linksys - Their tech INSISTED I spend FOUR hours troubleshooting the switch before issuing me an RMA. Time is money, but not to Linksys. 3) We'll ship it when we ship it - After a WEEK of waiting for my new switch, I found out that Linksys had not sent my switch due to a goof up on their end. Mind you, I had to call THEM to find this out. So I lost a week for absolutely nothing. Absurd. After four follow-up calls and THREE weeks later, I received a new switch, and thankfully it worked. I understand that any BRAND NEW switch can fail on day one, but the hassle of dealing with Linksys support and their faulty hardware was enough to convince me to go with HP Procurve. HP has a next-day service guarantee, and their support is MUCH better. My takeaway? If you are installing switches for a business, saving a few bucks in the front may actually cost you MUCH more in downtime. Plus, spending four hours with a script tech is not worth your time. If you buy Linksys, Netgear or any other consumer-grade product, caveat emptor. As far as Linksys goes, it is NOT CISCO INSIDE!!! The switching fabric, software, support, etc. are all different!!! So when somebody tells you that Linksys switches are the same as Cisco since they have the same parent company, offer to take a **** in their bathtub since everything ultimately ends up in the sewer.

jonnysnakes@... Job Role: Development Project Management Location: Los Angeles, California Member since: 06/13/2008

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Linksys Vs Cisco________________________
linksys consumer experience... not that good.
Having the $40 linksys wap @home, upgraded to the latest version of the firmware leads to wireless reconnects (running SAP front-end leads to a re-log-in) and lock ups requiring reset. Skype phone calls have low quality if other network activity is going on... tech support is filled with people who barely know the wap. Changed to Dlink 624 and never rebooted, no re-connects and Skype quality is not dependent on amount of traffic (family of 6 on laptops); Dlink's throughput and reliability is way better. For me? No Linksys and never look back.

rfaass@... Job Role: IT Consultant Location: Port Townsend, Washington Member since: 11/18/2000

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Prepared by : SRIN, TSS 19th March 2010