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Cisco Nexus vs Dell PowerSwitch N-Series comparison

Cisco and Dell Technologies are both solutions in the LAN Switching category. Cisco is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.6, while Dell Technologies is ranked #12. Cisco holds a 9.5% mindshare in LS, compared to Dell Technologies’s 2.0% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 50% of Dell Technologies users who would recommend it.
Cisco Nexus
Read 103 Cisco Nexus reviews
  • 2,146 Views
  • 1,549 Comparison Views
96% willing to recommend
Dell PowerSwitch N-Series
Read 2 Dell PowerSwitch N-Series reviews
  • 292 Views
  • 243 Comparison Views
50% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary
We performed a comparison between Cisco Nexus and Dell PowerSwitch N-Series based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two LAN Switching solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

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To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Nexus vs. Dell PowerSwitch N-Series Report (Updated: October 2024).
Buyer's Guide
Cisco Nexus vs. Dell PowerSwitch N-Series
October 2024
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Helped 816,636 peers since 2012
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Nexus
Ranking in LAN Switching
4th
Average Rating
8.4
Number of Reviews
103
Ranking in other categories
Data Center Networking (3rd)
Dell PowerSwitch N-Series
Ranking in LAN Switching
12th
Average Rating
6.6
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2024, in the LAN Switching category, the mindshare of Cisco Nexus is 9.5%, down from 11.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell PowerSwitch N-Series is 2.0%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
LAN Switching
 

Featured Reviews

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 And they were running outdated software.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.
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Al Vasek - PeerSpot reviewer
Performs well, but the support and stability could be improved
There is a lack of support because there is a lack of adoption. Because Cisco switches are so widely used, anyone in the world can support them. It was two Cisco engineers who released Arista's code. In terms of programming functionality, they essentially duplicated the Cisco iOS, so all Cisco commands work on the Arista commands. You can do an Arista if you can do a Cisco. Aruba isn't all that different. It's a little different, but they have all of HPE's money and stuff behind it and things like that. I would say the same thing about Extreme or some of the other switches where it's penny-wise, pound-foolish. You save some money if you are a small shop with only one or two guys, it's understandable. Fortinet is now in the switch business, and they have their FortiSwitch devices, which are controlled by the FortiGate firewalls to do all of the programs. There is a lot to choose from. But, in my opinion, a lot of it is dependent on the use case and the customer type. Meraki is a nice little Cisco product for the right kind of business, but I wouldn't use it in an enterprise setting.
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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

"I like the fact that they are a well-supported product."
"The initial setup is easy."
"We got increased bandwidth, faster performance, and newer software which has improved our organization."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is its reliability."
"We used older versions of Cisco Cloud. The reason why we switched was just adapting with the times."
"The scalability of the solution is well beyond anything I would ever need."
"Its easy management is most valuable. It is easy to use, easy to manage, stable, and very reliable."
"The most valuable feature of the 7700 series is probably the multi-context subset VRS, which lets you use multi-VRS, multi-context, and also VPC setup, where you have two logical devices that are still separate in terms of management planes, but have shared, virtual core channels."
More Cisco Nexus pros
"For a customer, it is easy to configure and to add ports through the LAN the GUI."
"Port density and port speed performance are both suitable. It has some appealing intangibles."
 

Cons

"In terms of improvement, the stacking between the two switches in the higher availability model should be similar to Catalyst. It's better to have one interface for configuration."
"We lag on the configuration. The changes make a difference in troubleshooting."
"Overall, I wish it was a more intuitive OS."
"Areas in which the solution have room for improvement are the interface, management, and reporting."
"Cisco Nexus still needs more stability."
"I would like to see more automation and for it to be easier to use."
"Stability is not really up to the mark."
"They should make it easier to update the code on it."
More Cisco Nexus cons
"Instead of competing at the enterprise level with that product, they should probably scale it. With all of the ports, they should develop a good mid-level business to truly scale it and gain adoption before attempting to go after the enterprise."
"Customers do not prefer this to connect to multiple cities."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I thought that it would be less expensive."
"We have a virtual license."
"We only have a yearly support contract, as we do not use any of the subscription-based functions at this time."
"Cisco Nexus is not cheap compared to Fortinet, Palo Alto, and Check Point."
"We consider Juniper switches to be more affordable."
"This is a very expensive product."
"Our licensing costs for this solution are approximately $200 USD per month."
"All of our costs including subscription, licensing, and support services are bundled together, and the cost is approximately $100,000 USD per year."
More Cisco Nexus pricing and cost advice
"You are selling it to larger customers and in larger environments, where it's a less expensive model than Cisco, which is attempting to use the same approach Arista did, but with a completely different programming language."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
26%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
6%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco Nexus?
The product's initial setup phase is very easy.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Nexus?
In most cases, there is a need to secure perpetual licenses to be able to use the product. When I set up the product, there isn't just a one-time cost that is involved. If you want to upgrade to iO...
See all answers
What needs improvement with Cisco Nexus?
In my company, we encountered some challenges since the network was not stable. The network is unstable, making it an area where improvements are required. If you do some kind of configuration on t...
See all answers
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Comparisons

Juniper QFX Series Switches vs Cisco Nexus Logo
Juniper QFX Series Switches vs Cisco Nexus
Compared 41% of the time
Arista Networks Platform vs Cisco Nexus Logo
Arista Networks Platform vs Cisco Nexus
Compared 20% of the time
Cisco Catalyst Switches vs Cisco Nexus Logo
Cisco Catalyst Switches vs Cisco Nexus
Compared 20% of the time
ExtremeSwitching vs Cisco Nexus Logo
ExtremeSwitching vs Cisco Nexus
Compared 4% of the time
NETGEAR Switches vs Cisco Nexus Logo
NETGEAR Switches vs Cisco Nexus
Compared 2% of the time
More Cisco Nexus Competitors
Cisco Catalyst Switches vs Dell PowerSwitch N-Series Logo
Cisco Catalyst Switches vs Dell PowerSwitch N-Series
Compared 60% of the time
More Dell PowerSwitch N-Series Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Cisco Nexus
November 2024
Cisco Nexus reportDownload Cisco Nexus product report
Buyer's Guide
LAN Switching
November 2024
Dell PowerSwitch N-Series reportDownload Dell PowerSwitch N-Series product report
 

Learn More

Cisco
Dell Technologies
 

Overview

The Cisco Nexus family of switches is designed to meet the stringent requirements of the next-generation data center. Not simply bigger or faster, these switches offer the following characteristics: infrastructure that can be scaled cost-effectively and that helps you increase energy, budget, and resource efficiency, transport that can navigate the transition to 10 Gigabit Ethernet and unified fabric and can also handle architectural changes such as virtualization, Web 2.0 applications, and cloud computing and operational continuity to meet your need for an environment where system availability is assumed and maintenance windows are rare if not totally extinct.

Dell PowerSwitch N-Series bring users efficient connections to the network with highly functional access and aggregation switching. Products consist of: Dell EMC Networking N1100 Series, Dell Networking N1500 Switches, Dell Networking N2000 Series, Dell Networking N3000 Series and Dell Networking N4000 Series.

 

Sample Customers

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
Norwich University of the Arts, Shelby American, City and Islington College
Buyer's Guide
Cisco Nexus vs. Dell PowerSwitch N-Series
October 2024
Free Report: Cisco Nexus vs. Dell PowerSwitch N-Series
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Nexus vs. Dell PowerSwitch N-Series and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.
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We monitor all LAN Switching reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.