Unifi Switch Vs Cisco – Finding the best Switch for your networking needs

Want to enjoy seamless connectivity while running your business? How about you give the Unifi or the Cisco switch a try, check out our guide below for more information.

We recently automated our office to enhance service delivery and we can now better interact with our clients via email services and sell some of our products over the internet. The problem, however, is that we have had to restart the switch every time because of lost connection thus some of the services had to stall. We, however, moved swiftly and decided to get a new switch, so, narrowed down to two options, which are the Unifi Switch and the Cisco, the excerpt below contains information about our discovery.

What are the differences between Unifi Switch and Cisco

Name	Unifi Switch	Cisco (Winner)
Speed	Supports up to 8Gbps with a switching capacity of 16Gbps	Supports speeds of either 10mbps, 100 Mbps or 1000mbps
No of Ports	8 Ports	24 ports
warranty	Offers 1-year warranty	Offers a 90-day limited warranty
Call to action	Check Price here	Check Price here

Unifi Switch Vs Cisco- how do they compare?

Capacity

The Unifi switch comes incorporated with either a 48 RJ45, a 24 or an 8 Gigabit port, therefore, individuals who wish to adopt the switch stand to benefit from intelligent switching, a thing that will also cater to the demands of the businesses that are growing their networks. Remember that Unifi Switches are equipped with a high number of ports, and a 24 port model can support up to 26 Gbps nonblocking throughput.

The above means that the non-blocking internal bandwidth can effectively handle all the incorporated port bandwidths at the same time even at full capacity. The 26Gbps is a good connection speed but its effectiveness will be reliant on the type of infrastructure present and the available technology in the area that a person resides.

Besides, the higher the number of ports that your Unifi Switch has, the more speeds you will be able to enjoy. For example, if you decide to go with the 48 port Unifi switch, you will get up to 70 Gbps which when converted to Mbps translates to about 70, 000mbps.

For a business, 70,000 Mbps is perfect because it can cater to the high number of people who are using the same network. What’s more, is that the high speeds will work well with a Point of Sale system and enable one to download and upload large data files. The 48port Unifi switch can, therefore, be used to send photos especially if one is running an eCommerce site, and you can also use it to stream videos or send emails.

Cisco switches, on the other hand, are unique when it comes to service delivery and capacity, they, therefore, offer two types of network switches, which are the modular and the fixed-configuration switches. The former offers users, configuration flexibility, scalable performance, and incremental expansion. An example of the modular switch is the cisco catalyst 4500 series, which is equipped with a high capacity of 848 gigabits.

Users will also be able to access up to 240 full power over the Ethernet plus ports and the unit also offers up to 60 watts of universal power over the Ethernet powers to a large number of devices. The second type of network offered by the cisco switch is the fixed-configuration switch, this type of Ethernet switch solution can offer a wide range of deployment.

This, therefore, means that it can effectively accommodate an enterprise campus, the midsize organizations, the branch offices, and the small and medium-sized businesses. And while at this users will be facilitated with highly secure access, and energy utilization will be efficient. One example of the fixed-configuration switch is the Cisco catalyst 2960 series.

The unit offers fast Ethernet PoE configurations with 15.4 watts of PoE for 24 ports. Users also get layer 2 switchings with intelligent layer 2-4 services. Even more interesting about the Cisco switch is that users can get another version of the catalyst 2960, which is the ‘s’ series which is a cost-effective solution for the midsized organizations and the branch offices.

Network Topology

The cisco switch supports a variety of network topologies all of which cater to different types of users. The most common types of topology that Cisco supports are the Non-Split-Horizon network topology, the Internal Internet Reverse Proxy, the all Internal Network Topology, and the Split Horizon Network Topology.

If you decide to use the Non-Split Horizon Network topology then your users will be able to sign in and join meetings securely from the internet without necessarily using a VPN connection, the configuration can also accommodate mobile access. Another advantage is the ability of the topology to keep tight control on traffic that comes and goes into the network.

On the other hand, Unifi supports two spanning tree protocol (STP) types, and the best thing about STP is that it allows network administrators to tweak the network paths while at the same time preventing switch loops. With STP, you could also make passive redundant links incase an upstream switch dies or a network path cannot pass traffic for example when you experience fiber failure.

The two types of protocols supported by Unifi are such as the 802.1W Rapid spanning Tree Protocol (RSTP) or the 802.1D spanning Tree Protocol (STP). The difference in the two protocols is that RSTP takes a shorter time to converge when conducting normal operations while STP will extend to a full minute before it converges.

Software installation and other support services

Installation of the Cisco software it can be handled from two perspectives, the first is by booting the switch from the IOS XE bundles or by installing the package files on the switch. You can then use the show software package command in the privileged EXEC mode to access information on the contents of the Cisco IOS XE bundles

You could also upgrade the Cisco IOS XE software but the method that you are going to use will largely depend on the mode in which the switch is running that is either (Installed or Bundle).  Bundle mode is when you boot the switch while using the bin file to the RAM of the switch then you run if form there. Install mode, on the other hand, is when you pre-extract the bin file in the flash and then boot the stack while using the packages.

So to successfully upgrade the Cisco IOS XE software while running in installed mode just use the software installed privileged exec command. The software bundles can be accessed from local storage media or over the network by utilizing FTP or TFTP. Upgrading the Cisco software can be done in several different ways apart from the installed mode.

Now when it comes to installing the Unifi software, you will have to download and install the latest version of the Unifi controller software but if you have the Unifi controller v4.3x or a higher version already installed then you will have to directly adopt the Unifi switch.

After the software has been installed and the Unifi installation wizard has run you will be presented with a login screen, where you will enter the admin name and password that you had come up with and press login. And the best thing about the Unifi software is that you can manage your network and even access the network statistics via the Unifi Controller Management Interface.

Initially, we had mentioned about adopting the Unifi switch, well, the option can be accessed in the dashboard where you will click on the devices, then search for the Unifi switch, and then click Adopt in the unifi switch. And to ensure that you have successfully adopted, the Unifi switch will turn blue.  The remaining bit will be to configure the PoE settings and this can be done in the configuring the PoE settings option.

Structures and Design

The design of the Unifi 8 port, 150w PoE switch enables mounting on the wall or any other relevant surface. The unit has been equipped with a standard AC adapter and an AC plug, the outer part is made of metal which helps to keep the heat dissipated, there are also ventilation holes on the side of the metal casing that should not be covered to prevent the switch from running hot.

At the front of the switch, there are two SFP ports and 8 PoE ports enabling easy connectivity and at the side, there is an indicative light to inform you when the unit is up and running or if it hasn’t powered on. The Cisco SG 112 is a 24 port desktop switch that has a similar design to the Unifi 8 port switch and the only difference is that Cisco has more ports including the SFP ports, offering users a huge network of possibilities.

Unifi Switch vs. Cisco – Comparison Overview

Unifi Switch Overview

The Unifi Switch is quite a powerful performer with the 10 independent switch ports, the unit, therefore, shares up to 150w PoE. The equipped eight gigabit Ethernet ports offer up to 802.3af/at PoE, and the two SFP ports are for optical connectivity. The Unifi switch is quite versatile and can be easily attached to the wall for ease of use and to encourage connectivity.

Pros

• Can cater to many wired devices
• Easy to install
• Great for industrial use

Cons

• The unit tends to run hot when being used
• Works best when used with an access point

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Cisco Switch Overview

The Cisco switch features a simple design complete with an intuitive web and mobile network management tools that lets users set the unit up in minutes. The switch is customizable and can thus effectively cater to every stage of your business; the extensive portfolio has been designed to address the budget and technical requirements.

Security has also been catered for, as it has been built into the system and this is inclusive of the cisco umbrella, which mitigates the costly breaches while protecting privacy at the same time.

Pros

• The unit is flexible because of the provided extensive portfolio
• The Switch is customizable
• The Switch has incorporated security features

Cons

• Not all ports are PoE, 12 are standard gigabit ports
• The unit is not effective as users complain of it failing to route traffic

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Conclusion

Both the Cisco and the Unifi switch can effectively receive information from the source that they have been connected to and dispatch the information to the relevant destination. They can both be adopted for various applications, and different sized businesses, for home or office use. So whether you choose Unifi or Cisco, one thing to put in mind is that the higher the number of ports the higher the speeds you will benefit.

Verdict: So which is better? The Unifi Switch or the Cisco

With regards to the above information, the Cisco takes the win, first because of its ability to achieve faster speeds. And when it comes to software installation users are offered at least two options this is to offer versatility to either booting or directly installing. Unifi on the other hand only gives users one option and that is to download and install the latest version.

And while Unifi only supports two Tree spanning tree protocols, Cisco supports about four network topologies, all of which cater to different types of users. And besides the fact that the Unifi switch is great for industrial use, it fails to give users the liberty to customize the switch like the Cisco switch.

FAQs

1. Is it possible to frequently update the Unifi controller?

Yes it is possible and this can be done by the refresher button, which has been hidden by default but you can easily add it to the top toolbar. And once you enable it in the controller preferences then you could select the intervals between updates. There is also a never refresh option in which you will have to refresh the controller manually.

2. Is it possible to restore data from one server to another?

Yes, it is possible but only if both the servers are running the same version of the Cisco IPICS software