You say: "Of course price is a consideration for many (though not all) enterprises buying switches."

The reality is that price IS a consideration for ALL. However, in this case the IT manager has almost total influence over the vendor purchase decision since the bean counters are not technically proficient enough to challenge what he recommends. Cisco charges so much for their switches because MOST IT managers (and I know I will get in trouble for saying that in this magazine!) do not have the wisdom or the courage to pick another vendor. Everyone is locked into buying Cisco, because that is all they know and that is their comfort zone. Unfortunately, that does a disservice to the company, as the IT manager pays DOUBLE for his data infrastructure. Most just laugh and say the company doesn't care. Name me one company that doesn't care about wasting money. Name me one shareholder that doesn't care.