A Quick Guide to Best Enterprise Switches in 2022

In large branches and organizations that have data centers on their premises, enterprise switches play an essential role in transferring and monitoring data quickly and enabling cloud growth. You can buy enterprise switches online to use for software-defined networking (SDN) environments. These switches can be monitored remotely and configured and implemented with policies defined by network administrators. Enterprise switches are known to support:

• Security
• Automation
• Analytics
• Enhance network performance

All these capabilities allow enterprise switches to protect an organization’s data and applications and also furnish information on network traffic that is crucial to improving the network.

What are the advantages of enterprise network switches?

Enterprise switches come with a wide range of benefits that make them preferred switches over other types of switches. Some of these are:

• The first and foremost advantage is that enterprise switches help systematically connect the entire network.
• Enterprise switches assist network operators and administrators manage all the devices connected to the network with ease.
• They come with a feature-rich console to manage connected switches that work together and monitor and secure access points in the network. Hence, they consolidate the effort taken by network administrators.
• Enterprise switches also enable you to manage traffic for remote offices and use edge devices with ease. What’s more, many enterprise switch platforms can also be extended to data center technology.
• Switches help implement the network security policies at their level, which means any policy that is set by the network admin for traffic passing through a switch will also be implemented automatically on software-defined networks.

Top Features of High-Quality Enterprise Switches

Though you will find a wide range of enterprise switches in the market, you can segregate the high-quality enterprise switches by keeping in mind the following features.

• Analytics: This feature allows network administrators to view information such as system errors and security vulnerabilities and analyze the performance of the switch.

• Management Console: This feature enables network administrators to easily configure and update switches timely and correctly.

• Monitoring: Enterprise switches are precisely engineered to not just transfer data but also monitor and record data packets that make requests by scanning them for known threats.

• Automation: To reduce the workload of the employees, network administrators can define policies such as security and traffic rules. Once these policies are set, software-defined switches can implement these policies automatically and respond to the network behavior accordingly.

• Network Segmentation: Apart from automation policies, network administrators can also achieve segmentation in the network, which is very important for any organization. It is one of the best and most effective ways to prevent the lateral movements of attackers and hackers through a network. Plus, network segmentation policies also help create enhanced access control.

If the enterprise switch that you are looking for possesses all these features, it is simply a green light that the enterprise switch is best for your organization. However, you need to learn more to find the best enterprise switches in 2022.

Best Enterprise Switches You Must Know About in 2022

Cisco Catalyst 9000 Series

The Catalyst 9000 Series of Cisco is specially designed for hybrid network environments and comes in multiple choices for enterprises with different sizes of branch locations. The switches of this series operate on a programmable operating system called Cisco IOS XE Software. This operating system supports the Cisco DNA Center which is a network controller and management hub for network administrators and network operators. It features 3D wireless maps that explain topographical network views.

You can implement network segmentation and develop a better understanding through group-based policy analytics, and AI policy analytics. Besides, businesses can also test hardware compatibility with the newest Wi-Fi standard.

While the 9200 series is suitable for smaller branch locations, the 9600 and 9600X series are best for enterprises with large premises.

Why Buy the Cisco 9000 Series?

• Enables businesses to implement zero-trust network policies
• DNA Center management console helps oversee all network assets
• 3D wireless maps to view heat map KPI metrics
• Comes with embedded threat intelligence and encryption within Catalyst 9600

Juniper Network EX Series

The EX Series of Juniper includes Ethernet switches that are engineered to deliver high performance and are suitable for branches, campuses, and data centers. The series includes both access and distribution switches and covers a wide range of needs, such as smaller networks, low-density data center environments, and critical applications. Enterprises that regularly stream video can benefit from its EX3400 series as it is specifically designed for data, voice, and video enterprise access networks. It can also be combined with Juniper’s Wi-Fi solutions for both wired and wireless connections. Besides, it can also integrate with the Mist platform including Juniper Mist Cloud. It allows businesses to deploy and manage network fabrics.

Why Buy Juniper EX Series Switches?

• Integration with Mist Cloud enables SD-WAN technology and real-time threat intelligence
• Deliver high performance
• Can handle critical workloads
• Can be connected with wired and wireless connections through Juniper’s Wi-Fi solution

HPE Aruba CX

HPE-owned Aruba provides access and integration enterprise switches along with data center and campus core switches. Its switches operate on the AOS-CX operating system that offers insights into switch management. Its Network Analytics Engine (NAE) helps monitor network performance and also notifies network admin about the network configuration changes. It helps with troubleshooting issues within the network by using Python, CLI, and REST APIs.

Aruba also offers Fabric Composer, a software-defined orchestration tool that allows leaf-spine networking provisioning and rack-scale infrastructure operations. Since this Fabric Composer can work with other HPE products also, network operators can have access to a range of devices in the network. This tool also provides information about switches regarding their health status and inventory.

Why Buy HPE Aruba CX?

• Offers Fabric Composer that offers insights on switches’ health status and inventory
• Also helps orchestrate data center network operations
• API-level integration
• Virtual Switching Extension
• NetEdit for switch configuration and troubleshooting

Are you still confused about which switches are best for your business’s network needs and want some guidance while shopping for enterprise switches?

Author: TechBlonHub

As a passionate blogger, I'm thrilled to share my expertise, insights, and enthusiasm with you. I believe that technical knowledge should be shared, not hoarded. That's why I take the time to craft detailed, well-researched content that's easy to follow, even for non-tech. I love hearing from you, answering your questions, and learning from your experiences. Your feedback helps me create content that's tailored to your needs and interests