Cisco ACI vs Cisco Enterprise Network Functions Virtualization comparison

Cisco ACI vs. Cisco Enterprise Network Functions Virtualization

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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

Cisco ACI

Ranking in Network Virtualization

1st

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.5

Number of Reviews

101

Ranking in other categories

Software Defined Networking (SDN) (2nd), Cloud and Data Center Security (4th)

Cisco Enterprise Network Fu...

Ranking in Network Virtualization

3rd

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

8.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Network Virtualization category, the mindshare of Cisco ACI is 47.6%, up from 47.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Enterprise Network Functions Virtualization is 0.8%, down from 2.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Virtualization

Featured Reviews

Raj Metkar

Director, Head of Networks at MUFG, EMEA

Provides scalability, ease of migration for future DC moves, multi-tenancy and programmability

Cisco's MSO (Multi-Site Orchestrator) or NDO has room for improvement. Cisco monitors ACI through a product called NDI. I find it very frustrating that Cisco has multiple monitoring platforms. It has DNAC for monitoring Cisco NX-OS, campus switches, and any other routers and switches you would have in the environment. That same thing does not work for Cisco ACI monitoring. MEraki cloudbasd platform for Meraki which will get extended to Campus monitoring, to be honest Cisco never got Monitoring 100% right from days of CiscoWorks to Prime to current platforms. To monitor and manage Cisco ACI, you need to have another platform called NDI and Cisco Dashboard Insights. What frustrates me about Cisco is that it never has a central, single pane of glass platform for all its solutions. It has one thing for Cisco ACI and another thing for campus switches. I would really appreciate it if Cisco came up with something centralized to monitor everything. I haven't thought about anything since the Cisco NDO is quite advanced, and you can deploy your cloud networking through it. I don't know how many people use it. I might explore it as my cloud orchestration tool in the future. We do a lot of cloud automation using our scripts like TerraForm, but I would like to see people using NDO more. We could have more case studies on how many people use NDO for their cloud orchestration. That might be a much easier journey for people when they move from an on-premises data center into a cloud and move from one cloud to another cloud. That is where I personally see an orchestrator being effectively used for multiple deployments.

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Majdi Sabbah

Consultant Sales Engineer at BT Al-Saudia

Versatile, offering flexibility and scalability

I rely on Cisco Enterprise NFV for various sectors like government, campuses, and hospitality. It is a crucial foundational layer that is mandatory before delivering other services The most valuable feature is its user-friendly management dashboard. It is easy to use and covers everything in one…

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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 scalability has been great. It is very easy to scale."

"It is easy to use because you have all the information coming from the same technology."

"Virtualization and integration with VMware is the most valuable feature."

"The centralized management of the entire network data center, in this case with ACI, is the most valuable feature. By having access to some powerful APIs you can build your own tool to speak to the ACI controller, then with that, you can deploy things really fast. Having the option to build your own tools and then using the centralized management of the ACI to push the configuration to the network devices is very valuable."

"Cisco's technical support team is very good."

"We can support policy based on our intent, then that gets rendered into the policy that we will be using for Fabric."

"The most valuable feature is programmability, where we can manage a network via APIs and software, as opposed to having to manage complex hardware."

"This solution allows you to do everything quicker and more efficiently."

More Cisco ACI pros

"The most valuable feature is its user-friendly management dashboard."

"It is easy to manage, easy to maintain, and stable. If you set up everything alright, it will give years without any issues."

"Scalability is not a problem."

"Routing, switching, and wireless network security are the valuable features of Cisco Enterprise Network Functions Virtualization."

"The support system that they have in place is very good and they are easy to reach."

"Network Security is one of the most valuable features of Cisco Enterprise Network Functions Virtualization."

Cons

"ACI's blade servers could be more flexible, and its storage interface is a little too complex because they use some third-party storage solution."

"We're still in the process of doing the migration. We haven't migrated completely all of our applications out of our legacy into it yet. It was challenging at first, but getting easier now that we're starting to get into it."

"I would like this solution to be integrated with Pure Storage."

"I would like for ACI to manage all of the devices."

"The user interface should be made easier."

"The way the objects are oriented on it are not as straightforward as they should be."

"I would like for them to develop integration with AWS."

"The GUI is not easy to use."

More Cisco ACI cons

"This is a software solution, which is less stable than a hardware solution by definition."

"One of the things that can be improved is trimming all mobile numbers so that it aids in swiftly acquiring information for tablets or any necessary solution."

"The solution's orchestration part could be improved."

"There is room for improvement in enhancing compatibility with other solutions and vendors."

"In terms of what could be improved, I would say the cost. The SDN hardware especially is much too expensive, specifically 799 and 9000."

"It would be helpful if they offered modularized upgrades, such as additional memory or a faster processor."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It saves time and resources."

"Pricing for Cisco ACI could be expensive if you're not a gold partner. If you're a gold partner, you'll get reasonable pricing, but to become a gold partner, you must cross several layers. For example, at least twenty engineers within your organization have to be certified, with each certification priced at £2,000 minimum, so this would make some companies think twice about the product. If you're going for Aruba and Juniper products, on the other hand, you can quickly get the partner status, and you can start selling the product. As a gold partner, you can get up to seventy percent discount on Cisco ACI, for example, while an ordinary partner gets ten percent off. Cisco ACI is expensive for both customers and partners, but I'm rating pricing for the product as four out of five because even if the price is costly, you get a lot of benefits from the product. Cisco ACI isn't the best, price-wise, but it's still a good solution. If you're in a small organization, you may be unable to afford it. Cisco ACI is best for enterprises but not SMBs because Cisco ACI and its required resources are expensive."

"Cisco ACI costs depend on how many sites you have. One simple site with a simple installation, including two leaves, two spines, and some fibers, would cost $200,000 to $300,000 for the licenses. The solution is a bit expensive, but it's a good investment if you want your data centers to work without interruption."

"Cisco's pricing is very expensive."

"The pricing is pretty good for new technology."

"The pricing, including both hardware and licenses, is reasonable."

"We have seen time improvement using the product."

"The pricing and licensing are both high, particularly if you want a high level of functionality. It would be great if the price and licensing cost could be decreased."

More Cisco ACI pricing and cost advice

"There is a separate charge for support."

"Cisco Enterprise Network Functions Virtualization is an expensive solution."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

23%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Manufacturing Company

Government

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What are the biggest differences between Cisco ACI and VMware NSX?

There are some very major differences between both the Products and to name a few. -Cisco ACI have physical network gear (9K Switches) where the Code runs in ACI Policy Mode & the UCS server wh...

What are the biggest differences between Cisco ACI and VMware NSX?

Once you know your way around the Cisco ecosystem, using Cisco ACI is not so difficult. It is a global product, so when you change one interface, changes are automatically reflected on every switch...

What do you like most about Cisco ACI?

The flexibility of adding new components with minimal impact on existing services running in the data center is a key benefit of this ACI-based solution.

What do you like most about Cisco Enterprise Network Functions Virtualization?

The most valuable feature is its user-friendly management dashboard.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Enterprise Network Functions Virtualization?

Like any Cisco product, Cisco Enterprise NFV is on the expensive side.

What needs improvement with Cisco Enterprise Network Functions Virtualization?

There is room for improvement in enhancing compatibility with other solutions and vendors. Better integration capabilities could provide more value, especially in scenarios where a mix of solutions...

Cisco Secure Workload vs Cisco ACI

Comparisons

Compared 26% of the time

VMware NSX vs Cisco ACI

Compared 21% of the time

Akamai Guardicore Segmentation vs Cisco ACI

Compared 16% of the time

HPE SDN vs Cisco ACI

Compared 10% of the time

Illumio vs Cisco ACI

Compared 7% of the time

More Cisco ACI Competitors

No data available

Product Reports

Cisco ACI

Download Cisco ACI product report

Network Virtualization

Download Cisco Enterprise Network Functions Virtualization product report

Cisco Enterprise Network Functions Virtualization report

Also Known As

No data available

Cisco NFV

Overview

Cisco ACI automates data center networking, centralizing management and configuration of diverse network environments. It's used for micro-segmentation, replacing legacy networks, and deploying software-defined networking.

Cisco ACI enables seamless integration with cloud platforms and multi-site connectivity. It ensures high availability and redundancy, supports network-centric applications, enhances security, and facilitates agile service implementations across different regions and data centers. The platform offers high throughput, ease of configuration, centralized management, and programmability. Users find value in its single management interface, policy-based routing, Service Graphs, and simplified deployment. Cisco ACI also excels in scalability, automation, low latency, and supports data center expansion efficiently.

What are the key features of Cisco ACI?

High Throughput: Ensures fast data transmission and network efficiency.
Ease of Configuration: Simplifies setup and changes to network configurations.
Centralized Management: Provides a single interface for managing the entire network.
Micro-Segmentation: Enhances security by isolating network segments.
Integration with VMware: Seamlessly integrates with VMware environments.
Scalability: Easily expands to accommodate growing organizational needs.
Automation Capabilities: Reduces manual tasks through advanced automation.
Policy-Based Routing: Optimizes network traffic based on set policies.

What benefits should users look for when evaluating Cisco ACI?

Seamless integration with cloud platforms and multi-site connectivity.
High availability and redundancy ensuring consistent service uptime.
Enhanced security with micro-segmentation and policy-based control.
Agility in service implementations across regions and data centers.
Efficiency in network management with centralized control.

Organizations in industries such as finance, healthcare, and technology implement Cisco ACI to modernize data centers, improve security, and streamline network operations. Its capabilities support expanding infrastructure, integrating with cloud services, and managing complex network architectures with minimal effort.

Cisco

Simplify operations and roll out new virtual network services in minutes on any platform.

Cisco

Sample Customers

Bowling Green State University, du, Qatar University

Information Not Available

Cisco ACI vs. Cisco Enterprise Network Functions Virtualization