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Arista Networks Platform vs Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024
 

Categories and Ranking

Arista Networks Platform
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
9th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
Data Center Networking (2nd)
Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secu...
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
5th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
46
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2024, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of Arista Networks Platform is 2.5%, up from 2.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access is 6.2%, up from 6.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Ethernet Switches
 

Featured Reviews

MarekSzafrański - PeerSpot reviewer
Feb 12, 2024
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.
SherifAbdelrahman - PeerSpot reviewer
Nov 11, 2024
Efficient integration allows streamlined network management with a straightforward setup
I use it for retail business. We are using the FortiSwitch solution for our voice switches and access points as well It has helped us by providing easy management from a single platform through the firewall interface. It's very easy to manage and provides all the insights and vulnerabilities,…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I find the operational system used by Arista to be very valuable, and the hardware is exceptionally nice. Arista has a unified operational system called EOS that is easy to set up and replicate on other devices. The ease of configuration and transition between devices is a significant advantage for me."
"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."
"Arista Networks Platform is comfortable, easy to deploy, and easy to manage, with non-blocking technology. Additionally, it has a useful CloudVision platform and automation capabilities."
"The user-friendly policy manager lets us apply different controls for various user groups easily."
"The platform is easy to scale."
"It's an extremely reliable platform for the network switches we use."
"Arista Networks Platform offers straightforward deployment, and has good features. Support for the platform is also good."
"What we like most is its performance to price ratio."
"The most valuable feature of this product is its simplicity."
"The most valuable feature is that I can completely isolate devices that are compromising the network."
"It is a stable solution from the security front."
"The integration with the whole platform, so there's one dashboard for everything. It is one of the most valuable features."
"It's easy to be configured and powerful in terms of performance."
"The software is very stable."
"One of the most feature-packed switching solutions you can implement."
"I would rate the the ease of management and scalability within our network architecture an eight out of ten, with ten being best."
 

Cons

"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 intent-based networking management, together with the provider of these solutions that are already free, would be beneficial."
"A smoother transition between ISPs during failover would improve the user experience by reducing unnecessary notifications and interruptions."
"An area for improvement in Arista Networks Platform is its integration, e.g. it needs to have more integration with its new products. Incorporating more security and cloud is also another area for improvement in the platform."
"The solution needs to accommodate new features."
"Arista Networks Platform should focus on improving the compatibility or integration with Cisco solutions."
"A weakness would be that in our company, we don't have many people within our team who support the product because there are different vendors, and most of them are not tier-one vendors, so the skills required sometimes are just not there."
"Its price can be better."
"I feel that the product's stability is an area where improvements are required."
"The initial setup is pretty easy; we have built a knowledge base. But there's a learning curve for beginners."
"The solution doesn't support other switches."
"The product's end-user protection feature needs improvement."
"More integration would be helpful, especially since we sometimes have devices from other companies. Improved interoperability would be very beneficial."
"The central management needs improvement. The initial setup could be easier."
"I believe that stacking, a feature that is available in Huawei and Cisco, is not available in Fortinet products."
"It would be easier if Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access could be managed via cloud, and this is something that could be improved in this product. Bandwidth display could also be better."
 

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."
"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."
"Arista Networks Platform was cheaper than Cisco. I have heard that the product is affordable for enterprise-sized companies."
"Cost wise, Arista Networks Platform is more expensive than other networking solutions."
"I rate the product price a seven on a scale of one to ten where ten is high price and one is low price."
"Arista is very expensive. Not everybody is in a position to spend $70,000 to $80,000 for one switch."
"The price of the solution could improve, it is expensive."
"It's affordable and there are no additional costs, just regular support, and license fees."
"You can buy this equipment in a multitude of ways. You can buy just the hardware, or you can buy the hardware and the licenses."
"It's affordable compared to other switching products, like Cisco switches."
"We have to renew and pay for the licenses."
"Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access requires a license and the price is expensive."
"The cost appears to be high in comparison to other competing products although with this product you are paying for what you get."
"The solution has reasonable pricing. The firewall costs around 500$ annually."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
18%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
University
7%
Computer Software Company
16%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

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?
Two years ago, I found Arista to be more expensive than RTL devices with almost the same features.
What needs improvement with Arista Networks Platform?
In my opinion, the solution for network monitoring is quite expensive. More ACLs and traffic filtering make setups complex. I believe there could be improvements to make the initial configuration l...
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...
What do you like most about Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access?
With FortiSwitch, you can easily identify who is connected to each port, disable ports as needed, and retrieve configurations from FortiGate when required.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access?
The product pricing seems to be mid-range. The licensing structure is not uniform and can be difficult to understand. I rate the pricing around five or six out of ten.
 

Also Known As

7000 Series
No data available
 

Learn More

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

American Internet Services
Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Find out what your peers are saying about Arista Networks Platform vs. Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.
815,854 professionals have used our research since 2012.