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Arista Networks Platform vs Cisco Ethernet Switches comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

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 Networks Platform
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
14th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
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
133
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of Arista Networks Platform is 3.2%, down from 5.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Ethernet Switches is 16.8%, down from 18.6% 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.
Pradeep Adhav - PeerSpot reviewer
Network security enhancement with sturdy switches despite high costs
The Cisco Ethernet switches are primarily used as regular core switches for networking, distribution, and access levels. We also utilize Cisco Wi-Fi, VPN, and Wi-Fi controllers The Cisco Ethernet switches have improved our network's security, ensuring it is 100% secure by not allowing any…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable aspect of Arista Networks products is their ease of configuration, especially when compared to Cisco products. When we implement advanced features for data centers such as BGP EVPN and VXLAN, Arista's configuration process is similar to that of Cisco's process, but at the same time it is simply much easier, clearer, and more understandable."
"What we like most is its performance to price ratio."
"They support open standard features."
"Arista Networks Platform has a feature that helps with monitoring and management."
"It's an extremely reliable platform for the network switches we use."
"We find the CloudVision switching feature of this solution really useful."
"The user-friendly policy manager lets us apply different controls for various user groups easily."
"Arista's customer service is excellent."
"The security of the switches is pretty impressive. There are many security features available on the product."
"Being able to deal with multiple VLANs to segment the network logically is the biggest feature for us. The management of these switches is okay for us. These switches work very well, and they meet our needs."
"I am not sure exactly which feature is most valuable because overall, the device helps us to manage our environment."
"The command-line interface is easy to use."
"I like that it's easy to use."
"Very stable solution with a very low failure rate."
"The greatest advantage of Cisco switches is their reliability. For example, we bought some 500 series switches back in 2002 or 2003, and they ran 24/7. I never had an issue for seven years."
"The solution is basically issue-free."
 

Cons

"The solution’s pricing could be better."
"My company does face issues in terms of interoperability when it comes to the product, making it an area that needs to be fixed."
"The solution is quite expensive. One of the negative aspects of it is the pricing."
"Its price can be better."
"In my opinion, the solution for network monitoring is quite expensive."
"The CVP management platform needs to be improved."
"The solution is a bit pricey."
"Something that you will often hear about Arista products is that the price is a bit too high and, like with Cisco, we sometimes have problems with our customers because of its pricing."
"The user interface, the UI, could be better."
"Cisco has a lot of propriety protocols compared to other products, such as Arista Networks."
"The cost is very prohibitive both for us as well as other organizations. It's very expensive to buy Cisco switches. Among our colleagues, we find that we're not alone in thinking it's too high. Everyone's complaining about this."
"Switches should be made stackable, even if they are not of the same model."
"The enterprise-level switches should have a simpler deployment. They should make it possible for lower-skilled workers to be able to deploy the product."
"In terms of features, all features are there. I can't find anything new that needs to be added. Its price, however, is a bit higher than other brands and can be improved."
"There could be an improvement in the licensing by reducing the price of the different types, such as essential, advantage, and premium."
"Integration with third-party products could be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Cost wise, Arista Networks Platform is more expensive than other networking solutions."
"If one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the product price as seven out of ten."
"It is pretty pricey for a networking platform. It is on par with Cisco."
"There is an annual license required to use the Arista Networks Platform."
"Arista Networks Platform was cheaper than Cisco. I have heard that the product is affordable for enterprise-sized companies."
"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."
"I rate the product price a seven on a scale of one to ten where ten is high price and one is low price."
"Network devices are generally expensive. However, during the evaluation, Arista was the most inexpensive vendor."
"The product is expensive."
"The price of this solution is fair."
"We get the SMARTnet and one of the switches has that Cisco ONE licensing. It's probably running about $12,000 a year right now."
"We are happy with the pricing from Cisco."
"It is an expensive product since it is used in a large network where you cannot rely on some cheaply priced solution."
"Its price is very high, but it is a good device. Cisco must work on its price. Other solutions provide a better price for similar functionalities."
"Price-wise, Cisco Ethernet Switches is a product that falls a little bit on the expensive side."
"Its price is a bit higher than other brands. Indian customers are price-conscious. They should improve its price."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Ethernet Switches solutions are best for your needs.
832,138 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
18%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
University
7%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
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
 

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: January 2025.
832,138 professionals have used our research since 2012.