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Cisco Catalyst Switches vs Cisco Nexus comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 8, 2024
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Catalyst Switches
Ranking in LAN Switching
1st
Ranking in Data Center Networking
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
173
Ranking in other categories
Ethernet Switches (7th), AV Over IP Switching (1st)
Cisco Nexus
Ranking in LAN Switching
2nd
Ranking in Data Center Networking
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Number of Reviews
104
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2024, in the LAN Switching category, the mindshare of Cisco Catalyst Switches is 30.8%, down from 31.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Nexus is 9.0%, down from 11.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
LAN Switching
 

Featured Reviews

SameerBali - PeerSpot reviewer
Reliable and stable catalyst switch; can be easily installed
I like Cisco Catalyst Switches because most of the time, we can do what we want with the product. Cisco has good guidelines that enable us to implement anything, so we can have a multiple ability product on most of the network equipment worldwide. Cisco has communities or forums that help us implement more complicated areas in terms of network, so in addition, Cisco is not just a network equipment company, because they provide us most of the solutions, development, protocols, and new technologies, more than any other company in the world. I also like the availability of Cisco Catalyst Switches, including scalability and reliability. You can find all these in this product.
Joe Benítez - PeerSpot reviewer
Offer high performance capabilities and enables efficient data transmission and processing
Before Nexus, I used to have Catalyst 6500 switches. Those 6500 series chassis gave us a lot of problems. Too many problems, actually. And we had a Cisco ASA firewall blade within those chassis. And they were running outdated software. So, in fact, it was the firewall blade that caused us too many problems instead of the chassis. The chassis itself was working well and performing fine, but the firewall card was not suitable for our needs. That was one aspect. Additionally, those chassis had been in operation for more than five years. As we are a local government, we have a policy to renew hardware every five years. That's because we need to maintain all the hardware and software in the latest versions and keep up with the technology lifecycle of the technology we use.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Catalyst switches are easy to use and simple to work with."
"The solution works well with analytics."
"One good feature is UPOE. Another is having a built-in controller, the customer doesn't have to ask for another controller. For example, you get a built-in controller with the C650. And two-port is one of the premium factors from Cisco."
"We have to use the QoS (CBWFQ) function... and it is easy to use."
"It's easy to configure."
"The product is reliable."
"The solution is easy to use."
"The installation process is very straightforward."
"From a data center implementation, with respect to competition from your data, there isn't really a product recovery for the different tests other than Cisco Nexus. For example, if you take Multi-tenancy for the data center, it's something which, I think, only Cisco has. There are some implementation from HP, but I think it's limited there."
"The initial setup is easy."
"Nexus has improved my organization in the way that it provided enhanced security in a point in the network that was critical."
"We got increased bandwidth, faster performance, and newer software which has improved our organization."
"It speeds up the network data transfer time."
"The most valuable features of the solution are capacity and scalability."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is that it scales well. It supports a lot of servers. We don't have to come up with different designs for anything. That's the best part about it."
"The biggest benefit to this solution is a high port density with high bandwidth."
 

Cons

"It is not easy for everyone to configure the product's initial setup part, making it an area where improvements are required."
"Reporting could be improved as well as integration possibilities with other platforms."
"Cisco should provide customers with a more advantageous licensing model included with the purchase of the equipment."
"The support team’s response and resolution time must be faster."
"Their centralized management could be better. There should be some kind of software for centralized management so that I don't need somebody else to manage it."
"I would like to see better compatibility between Cisco and other vendors."
"The configuration process is hard."
"The product could offer more integrations with other solutions."
"The initial setup wasn't simple or user-friendly."
"One of the problems we have is that there is no confirmation for when you try to test a system command."
"Ease-of-use and making things more human-readable is most important."
"The product's high price is an area of concern where improvements are required. Cisco Nexus should lower its current prices."
"They could improve on having different technologies between product models."
"I would like to see more on-device programmability, as it seems to be lacking in this platform."
"The GUI interface could be improved to make it more user friendly."
"There is an ongoing problem with the limitation of the TCAM table, which is that it doesn't have enough memory to allow you to be really granular with your policy."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing should be improved."
"Catalyst Switches are costly. When I started working with them 25 years ago, prices were a problem too."
"We love Cisco, but the price is very prohibitive."
"The price is on the higher side."
"I don't know a lot about the price, but they are affordable compared with other solutions."
"Cisco products are not that cheap."
"The new products from Cisco in the market are expensive. My company cannot import Cisco products, so they are mostly unavailable."
"It is reasonably priced because we have already conducted a tender, allowing Cisco and other vendors to compete for the best price."
"I thought that it would be less expensive."
"We have a virtual license."
"The licensing fees for this solution are approximately $800,000 USD annually."
"Our licensing costs for this solution are approximately $200 USD per month."
"The solution should be more cost-effective in general."
"Our licensing costs for this solution are approximately $100K a year for the switching part."
"Licensing is annual or every three years. We were one of the big customers, and we used to get good prices, but the cost of the support can be improved."
"We use a local distributor for support, which is very expensive."
report
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
62%
Computer Software Company
7%
Government
3%
Financial Services Firm
3%
Computer Software Company
26%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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 ...
What do you like most about Cisco Catalyst Switches?
We are a vendor for the healthcare sector, especially hospitals, and normally, we use a full Cisco solution for stability, especially for the stability of the Access Points and the security of swit...
What do you like most about Cisco Nexus?
The product's initial setup phase is very easy.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Nexus?
Cisco pricing is at the same level as many competitors, however, due to competition, they sometimes lower prices and offer large discounts.
What needs improvement with Cisco Nexus?
Cisco's security features are in line with other OEMs, however, for data center security in terms of layer seven security, we prefer to have different OEMs rather than relying solely on Cisco.
 

Also Known As

Cisco Catalyst, Catalyst
No data available
 

Learn More

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Afni, Anilana Hotels and Resorts, Baylor Scott & White Health, Beachbody, Bellevue, Del Papa Distributing, Explorer Pipeline, Mindtree, Omaha World Herald, Radio 538, Sony Corporation, Telecom Italia, Telenor Arena
Advanced Medical Transport, Banco de Guayaquil, Baylor Scott & White Health, BH Telecom, Bowling Green State University, Calligaris, Children's Hospital Colorado, City of Biel, Del Papa Distributing, Department of Justice, Dimension Data, Dualtec Cloud Builders, Electricity Authority of Cyprus, Grupo Industrial Saltillo (GIS), Hertz, K&L Gates , LightEdge, Lone Star College System, Management Science Associates, Mindtree, NBC Olympics, Quest, Sony Corporation, The Department of Education in Western Australia, Valley Proteins
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Catalyst Switches vs. Cisco Nexus and other solutions. Updated: December 2024.
824,145 professionals have used our research since 2012.