Arista Networks Platform vs NVIDIA Mellanox comparison

Arista and NVIDIA are both solutions in the Ethernet Switches category. Arista is ranked #14 with an average rating of 8.4, while NVIDIA is ranked #19 with an average rating of 9.0. Arista holds a 3.2% mindshare in ES, compared to NVIDIA’s 2.0% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Arista users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 80% of NVIDIA users who would recommend it.

Arista Networks Platform

Read 27 Arista Networks Platform reviews

6,579 Views
4,868 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

NVIDIA Mellanox

Read 6 NVIDIA Mellanox reviews

2,665 Views
1,940 Comparison Views

80% willing to recommend

Arista Networks Platform

NVIDIA Mellanox

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

Arista Networks Platform and NVIDIA Mellanox offer advanced networking solutions, each with specific strengths. Arista Networks gains an edge in support and competitive pricing, appealing to budget-conscious users, while NVIDIA Mellanox attracts those seeking high-performance features and data processing capabilities.

Features: Arista Networks is renowned for its extensive automation capabilities, robust security features, and a unified operating system that simplifies network management. NVIDIA Mellanox is distinguished by its advanced data processing capabilities, high-performance computing enhancements, and RDMA technology, which ensure efficient data handling.

Room for Improvement: Arista Networks can improve by enhancing its integration process for new hosts, increasing the complexity of its feature set, and expanding its open-standard feature support. NVIDIA Mellanox could benefit from simplifying its setup process, improving energy efficiency, and offering more competitive pricing options.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Arista Networks offers an easy deployment process and highly accessible customer service, ideal for straightforward integrations. NVIDIA Mellanox, although offering a complex setup, provides specialized support for high-performance applications, demanding more initial setup efforts but ensuring tailored assistance for intricate systems.

Pricing and ROI: Arista Networks Platform is noted for its competitive pricing and attractive ROI, suitable for organizations balancing cost-efficiency and functionality. NVIDIA Mellanox, with a higher initial cost, is considered an investment toward remarkable network performance, providing long-term benefits for companies with intensive data processing needs.

To learn more, read our detailed Arista Networks Platform vs. NVIDIA Mellanox Report (Updated: January 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Arista Networks Platform vs. NVIDIA Mellanox

January 2025

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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

Ranking in other categories

Data Center Networking (3rd)

NVIDIA Mellanox

Ranking in Ethernet Switches

19th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.3

Number of Reviews

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 NVIDIA Mellanox is 2.0%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Ethernet Switches

Featured Reviews

MarekSzafrański

Senior Core Network Engineer at Eurofins

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.

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Anil Ergunsah

Managing Partner & Technical Consultant&Trainer(CCIE#29761, CCSI#31865) at IT Expert

Powerful hardware, reliable performance, and advantageous open-source OS

Mellanox Switches were easier before Nvidia bought Mellanox and then their new version of the operating system changed. They started with Ennui, and now they only use Linux. If they returned to their previous CLI it would be a good option for starters. The new CLI is more difficult to use but more powerful than the older one. It has its advantages.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution is scalable."

"It is very stable. It has good hardware and very stable code. It provides good value for its price. They are a very lean type of organization, so they are very responsive, and they're able to focus more on their platform versus having multiple products out there."

"The product's initial setup phase was straightforward."

"The solution is very stable."

"The best part is the single operating system that they have. Regardless of your model, it's the same operating system functioning across the board, which means you don't have to worry about backward compatibilities between your older switches and the new ones that you deploy."

"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 has a feature that helps with monitoring and management."

"The platform is easy to scale."

More Arista Networks Platform pros

"It is a very easy-to-use product."

"The most valuable features of Mellanox Switches are the powerful hardware and the software is open. They're using Linux operating system. You can do and install many things, and it performs well."

"The most valuable features of this solution are its functionality."

"The tool is very configurable because it runs on a Linux operating system."

"From what I've been told, a valuable feature of Mellanox switches is they're quite user-friendly."

"The most valuable features of Mellanox Switches are the size, power consumption, and the vast amount of features."

Cons

"They should have a more stable code."

"The product fails to offer functions related to cloud orchestration, making it in areas where improvements are required."

"Currently, Arista is too costly for its customers."

"The solution needs to improve their product range."

"The solution needs to accommodate new features."

"From VMware, I think the cost of the tools is very high."

"My company does face issues in terms of interoperability when it comes to the product, making it an area that needs to be fixed."

More Arista Networks Platform cons

"If you compare this solution with Cisco, utilization in Cisco is more popular and it is more friendly."

"The configuration is a bit different from Cisco, and therefore, for me at least, there's a bit of a learning curve."

"Mellanox Switches were easier before Nvidia bought Mellanox and then their new version of the operating system changed. They started with Ennui, and now they only use Linux. If they returned to their previous CLI it would be a good option for starters. The new CLI is more difficult to use but more powerful than the older one. It has its advantages."

"Mellanox Switches could improve by adding some features that can make it easier for integrating the switches in some managing and monitoring platforms, such as Elastic or similar software for monitoring data with the data center in a more holistic way."

"The scalability is working fine at the moment, but there's always room for improvement. As of right now, I don't know of any improvements to suggest."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

"Cost wise, Arista Networks Platform is more expensive than other networking solutions."

"Network devices are generally expensive. However, during the evaluation, Arista was the most inexpensive vendor."

"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."

"Arista is very expensive. Not everybody is in a position to spend $70,000 to $80,000 for one switch."

"The customer price for an Arista router is approximately $7,000 USD, while Cisco's is around $18,000."

More Arista Networks Platform pricing and cost advice

"The price of Mellanox Switches is reasonable compared to other solutions. The price and quality ratio was very good. There is a one-time license purchase that is needed."

"The pricing is very competitive. The licensing costs are fine."

"It's an open-source solution."

"There is a license to use the switch ports of Mellanox Switches."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

18%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

University

Computer Software Company

19%

Manufacturing Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Educational Organization

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Arista Networks Platform?

Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Mellanox Switches?

The solution is affordable. I rate the product’s pricing as two out of ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Mellanox Switches?

The response time of the support could be faster.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Mellanox Switches?

We use the solution to lock switches, storage switches, and border gate switches.

See all answers

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MikroTik Cloud Router Switch vs Arista Networks Platform

Compared 4% of the time

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Compared 27% of the time

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Compared 16% of the time

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Compared 10% of the time

Brocade Ethernet Switches vs NVIDIA Mellanox

Compared 6% of the time

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Compared 6% of the time

More NVIDIA Mellanox Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Arista Networks Platform

February 2025

Download Arista Networks Platform product report

Buyer's Guide

Ethernet Switches

January 2025

Download NVIDIA Mellanox product report

Also Known As

7000 Series

Mellanox Switches, Mellanox SN2700

Overview

Arista Networks Platform is a stable and reliable solution for data center features, specifically for non-blocking switches used for spine-leaf connectivity with servers hooked to these switches. It also provides multi-layer switches for client networks, particularly in the banking sector.

Arista products are preferred for their stability, good hardware, ease of adoption and configuration, responsive and helpful support, and high throughput ratings. The solution has helped prevent screen loss and business outages in the media industry and is designed for next-generation data centers.

Arista

NVIDIA Mellanox is used for LAN in data centers, deployed on-premises for private clouds and HPC with large data needs. It includes switches for network, data centers, edge, and spine-and-leaf topology, serving as public switches, top-of-rack, core devices for infinite bands, EVPN solutions, and more.

NVIDIA Mellanox provides robust functionality with unique RDMA features, stability, and user-friendliness. Known for its compact size, low power consumption, powerful hardware, and open Linux-based software, it allows extensive customization and installation flexibility. Training documentation needs improvement, as do installation and configuration processes, which have steep learning curves. Integration with managing platforms could be smoother, and faster support response times are necessary.

What are the key features of NVIDIA Mellanox?

RDMA Features: Unique Remote Direct Memory Access capabilities.
Stability: Consistent and reliable performance.
User-Friendliness: Easy to use with an intuitive interface.
Compact Size: Space-efficient design.
Low Power Consumption: Energy-efficient operation.
Powerful Hardware: High-performance components.
Open Software: Runs on Linux, allowing flexibility.
Highly Configurable: Extensive customization options.

What benefits do users find in NVIDIA Mellanox?

Customization: Tailors to specific needs.
Performance: High throughput and low latency.
Energy Efficiency: Reduced power costs.
Scalability: Adapts to growing demands.
Flexibility: Multiple deployment options.

In industries like finance, healthcare, and telecommunications, NVIDIA Mellanox is implemented to support high-performance computing clusters, manage large data volumes, and enhance data center operations. Its switches enable efficient networking setups, facilitating edge computing solutions and optimizing spine-and-leaf topologies for enhanced performance.

NVIDIA

Sample Customers

American Internet Services

CNPC, Korea Consumer Agency, Nutanix, Roxo Systems, StorPool, Atlantic.Net, INFN, StarWind, NYSE Technologies, Creative Consultants, ENKI

Buyer's Guide

Arista Networks Platform vs. NVIDIA Mellanox

January 2025

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