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Arista Networks Platform vs Cisco Ethernet Switches comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024
 

Categories and Ranking

Arista Networks Platform
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
9th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
26
Ranking in other categories
Data Center Networking (2nd)
Cisco Ethernet Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
134
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2024, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of Arista Networks Platform is 2.6%, up from 2.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Ethernet Switches is 19.1%, down from 20.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Ethernet Switches
 

Featured Reviews

MarekSzafrański - PeerSpot reviewer
Affordable for enterprise-sized companies
Speaking about whether the product enhanced our company's data center scalability, I would say that it was a solution that was used in a banking company, where it served as a replacement for Cisco. Though Arista Networks Platform is similar to Cisco IOS CLI, I feel that the former product offers better prices compared to the latter tool. Arista Networks Platform office is more efficient at a lower cost. I recommend the product to those who plan to use it. The tool is stable and cheaper than Cisco. I would say that Arista Networks Platform is 100 percent compatible with the existing infrastructure in my company. The impact of the tool's network telemetry on our company's troubleshooting practices was just good for the scope for which I need the product. I rate the overall tool a nine out of ten.
Ronald Van Rees - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers a power stacking feature and enhances port speed with impressive stability
The vendor is presently working with large digital network architectures and additional software, as it is now willing to become a software-focused company instead of a hardware one. Cisco Ethernet Switches presently provide two options, either the user can utilize the basic features or the advanced software. Previously, advanced features were included in the basic package, but now they are provided as add-ons that need to be purchased separately for an extensive period of three or five years. As part of the advanced features in the solution, there is Digital Network Architecture (DNA) that provides insights, multiple dashboards and monitoring capabilities over Nexus and Catalyst switches from Cisco. Sometimes, customers need to buy features for Cisco Ethernet Switches that they do not require or use. The basic switches like the C1000 from the vendor don't have the DNA feature, but advanced version switches like Cisco Ethernet Switches have made the add-on purchases mandatory to avail certain features, which makes it difficult for several users.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Arista's customer service is excellent."
"Arista Networks offers similar features to Cisco."
"The most valuable feature is the Linux shell, which is useful for troubleshooting or capturing traffic."
"The platform is easy to scale."
"They support open standard features."
"The solution is very stable."
"The product's implementation phase was easy."
"Arista Networks Platform offers straightforward deployment, and has good features. Support for the platform is also good."
"The solution's valuable features are the speed of network transfer, it can transfer four to six gigabits per second."
"The security of the switches is pretty impressive. There are many security features available on the product."
"I know this solution for many years. I know the GUI and commands, and they are useful for me. I have all the functions that I want."
"The initial setup was for Cisco Ethernet Switches was straightforward."
"You can tap into all of the features for your virtual workload environment."
"It is a scalable solution."
"For me, the initial setup was easy and straightforward, but for some of our customers who are not as familiar with networking, it can be complicated."
"The quality of service is one of the main reasons we use Cisco in our organization. It's quite high and very reliable. The switches also end up working for a long time, so there's less need to replace them as often as others. We have some switches in our company that has been running since 2006, for example. They are quite old, but they still work."
 

Cons

"The solution is a bit pricey."
"The solution needs to accommodate new features."
"The solution is quite expensive. One of the negative aspects of it is the pricing."
"They should have a more stable code."
"Arista Networks is currently less popular as they were initially more focused on data centers than campus networks. They should expand further into campus networks."
"A smoother transition between ISPs during failover would improve the user experience by reducing unnecessary notifications and interruptions."
"I want the solution to include a unified controller."
"The product fails to offer functions related to cloud orchestration, making it in areas where improvements are required."
"Up to a certain network size, it is easy to scale, but after that, it becomes difficult."
"Cisco could definitely work on delivering improved pricing to its customers."
"AI technology must be involved in the future."
"Its management should be improved."
"Switches should be made stackable, even if they are not of the same model."
"They can make the licensing model a little easier."
"Pricing could be lower."
"The pricing and hardware warranty renewal costs are more expensive than other products."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I remember that when our customers were offered the Arista Networks Platform, they used a checklist to compare the prices between Arista and Cisco for their requirements, and found that the prices were almost the same."
"It is pretty pricey for a networking platform. It is on par with Cisco."
"Arista Networks Platform was cheaper than Cisco. I have heard that the product is affordable for enterprise-sized companies."
"I rate the product price a seven on a scale of one to ten where ten is high price and one is low price."
"The customer price for an Arista router is approximately $7,000 USD, while Cisco's is around $18,000."
"There is an annual license required to use the Arista Networks Platform."
"If one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the product price as seven out of ten."
"The price of the Arista Networks Platform could be less expensive for the hardware and license."
"It is an expensive product."
"When you compare with other products, they are more or less the same price."
"In addition to the fees being high, you pay for support which is also on the higher side."
"The solution is not too expensive."
"The cost of Cisco Ethernet Switches is expensive."
"The solution is highly expensive compared to other solutions. The prices get tripled when they arrived in my country of Angola."
"The product is expensive."
"Not inexpensive. Price will vary widely depending on the chosen product and size of the deployment."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Ethernet Switches solutions are best for your needs.
824,053 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Comparison Review

it_user82779 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 29, 2014
Benefits of Juniper vs Cisco
Both are decent products. I prefer Juniper for the following reasons: 1) Cleaner separation of data plane from control plane. Higher end Cisco devices are better at this but most of the lower end products still seem to be more integrated than I like. 2) The Hierarchical config design means I can…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
University
7%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Arista Networks Platform?
Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Arista Networks Platform?
Compared to Cisco, Arista routers are significantly cheaper. The customer price for an Arista router is approximately $7,000 USD, while Cisco's is around $18,000.
What needs improvement with Arista Networks Platform?
Arista Networks is currently less popular as they were initially more focused on data centers than campus networks. They should expand further into campus networks.
Would you recommend replacing a Cisco Catalyst Switch by a D-link one?
Hello Mesfin It depends on the real scenario, the cisco 2960 is a very good device and they usually have routing functions but there are many different models within the same 2960 line, and on the ...
Which would you choose - Fortinet Fortiswitch secure access or Cisco Ethernet Switches?
We researched Cisco but ultimately chose Fortinet FortiSwitch Secure Access, mostly because of the price. Fortinet FortiSwitch is an ethernet switch solution that provides security and performance...
In terms of ethernet switches, would you go with Cisco or Juniper?
Our organization ran comparison tests to determine whether Cisco or Juniper Ethernet switches were the better fit for us. We decided to go with Juniper. Juniper ethernet switches are a lesser-known...
 

Also Known As

7000 Series
Cisco Industrial Ethernet Switches
 

Learn More

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

American Internet Services
Linz AG
Find out what your peers are saying about Arista Networks Platform vs. Cisco Ethernet Switches and other solutions. Updated: December 2024.
824,053 professionals have used our research since 2012.