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Arista Campus LAN Switches vs Cisco Nexus comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 6, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Arista Campus LAN Switches
Ranking in LAN Switching
11th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Cisco Nexus
Ranking in LAN Switching
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
105
Ranking in other categories
Data Center Networking (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the LAN Switching category, the mindshare of Arista Campus LAN Switches is 1.9%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Nexus is 8.7%, down from 11.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
LAN Switching
 

Featured Reviews

MarekSzafrański - PeerSpot reviewer
Functions efficiently and is cheaper than what its competitors offer
In general, the product works fine and is efficient. It was mainly used by someone else in my company, and I just used to operate it The solution's most valuable feature is its stability because Arista falls in an industry that is very similar to Cisco. If the engineer knows Cisco's solution,…
Joe Benítez - PeerSpot reviewer
Offer high performance capabilities and enables efficient data transmission and processing
Before Nexus, I used to have Catalyst 6500 switches. Those 6500 series chassis gave us a lot of problems. Too many problems, actually. And we had a Cisco ASA firewall blade within those chassis. And they were running outdated software. So, in fact, it was the firewall blade that caused us too many problems instead of the chassis. The chassis itself was working well and performing fine, but the firewall card was not suitable for our needs. That was one aspect. Additionally, those chassis had been in operation for more than five years. As we are a local government, we have a policy to renew hardware every five years. That's because we need to maintain all the hardware and software in the latest versions and keep up with the technology lifecycle of the technology we use.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"QoS is the most valuable feature because our clients work with VOIP and Critical applications."
"The solution's most valuable feature is its stability because Arista falls in an industry that is very similar to Cisco."
"The technology is scalable as much as you want."
"I use the solution for connectivity in data centers and LANs, providing Layer 2 and Layer 3 connectivity based on network needs."
"The CloudVision Portal allows us to centrally manage all of our Arista products."
"The feature sets are pretty cool. They've got almost everything that the competition offers."
"The solution is stable."
"Cisco Nexus and Cisco Catalyst have processing power and offer good utilization of Cisco devices."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is its stability."
"Its low latency is most valuable. Its performance is good, and it is also very stable."
"The most valuable features of the solution are capacity and scalability."
"Nexus provides inner redundancy. It allows us to perform updates on individual switches, while still maintaining reliability and uptime on the server."
"The scalability of the solution is well beyond anything I would ever need."
"The most valuable features are extensions and recorded scalability."
 

Cons

"I think there's still room for improvement. Arista Campus LAN Switches are not highly scalable as they are hardware-based. If hardware requirements exceed capacity, the product needs to be changed, which can impact service."
"I would like to see a version available with eight or sixteen ports."
"We have to renew the license every three years, which can be a challenge for customers. Arista, like other vendors, now follows a license-based system."
"One of the issues that we have been faced with here in Brazil is that we don't have any list times for delivery."
"The complex setup phase is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"It would be ideal if the solution was less expensive."
"This solution costs a lot."
"The interface integration of Cisco Nexus with AI can be improved for better infrastructure management."
"Nexus switches should be able to support network function virtualization (NFV)."
"We have encountered some software bugs."
"The only thing to improve is to continue to get better."
"I would like to see a lighter platform."
"There's a couple of really bad incidents lately. Probably luck of the draw."
"Nothing is perfect."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price is not that good, but our clients value the solution despite the price."
"The only licensing costs are for CloudVision, although the upfront price of the device is not cheap."
"The solution is expensive."
"If you compare Cisco hardware to any other vendors, such as HPE, they are more expensive. There is a license to use the solution. If my customer's licenses are about to expire I receive notification from Cisco, this is very helpful."
"This is a very expensive product."
"Our licensing costs for this solution are approximately $200 USD per month."
"The license for Cisco Nexus is one year to three years, in this case for the SMARTnet. It is a price per unit, in terms of this specific appliance."
"The solution should be more cost-effective in general."
"The subscription model and price could be better."
"We have a virtual license."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Computer Software Company
24%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Arista Campus LAN Switches?
I have cross-checked because this network is a ten-gig network. We are using the multigig switches, which Cisco also has. We found that Cisco's cost is 100%, while the cost of the multi-gig switche...
What needs improvement with Arista Campus LAN Switches?
I think there's still room for improvement. Arista Campus LAN Switches are not highly scalable as they are hardware-based. If hardware requirements exceed capacity, the product needs to be changed,...
What is your primary use case for Arista Campus LAN Switches?
I use the solution for connectivity in data centers and LANs, providing Layer 2 and Layer 3 connectivity based on network needs.
What do you like most about Cisco Nexus?
The product's initial setup phase is very easy.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Nexus?
The price of Cisco Nexus is on the higher side due to the premium services Cisco offers. Despite the cost, it offers valuable features and services.
What needs improvement with Cisco Nexus?
When I talk about data centers, which are critical infrastructure and centralized application hubs, the Nexus platforms should be highly stable. Initially, the codes I received through ACI were qui...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

University of Winchester, AWE, picturemaxx, Medical Mutual, Leonix, CloudEra, National Physical Laboratory, Tri-State G&T, AIS, Morph, SingTel, SDSC, BBC
Advanced Medical Transport, Banco de Guayaquil, Baylor Scott & White Health, BH Telecom, Bowling Green State University, Calligaris, Children's Hospital Colorado, City of Biel, Del Papa Distributing, Department of Justice, Dimension Data, Dualtec Cloud Builders, Electricity Authority of Cyprus, Grupo Industrial Saltillo (GIS), Hertz, K&L Gates , LightEdge, Lone Star College System, Management Science Associates, Mindtree, NBC Olympics, Quest, Sony Corporation, The Department of Education in Western Australia, Valley Proteins
Find out what your peers are saying about Arista Campus LAN Switches vs. Cisco Nexus and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
848,270 professionals have used our research since 2012.