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Cisco Nexus vs HPE A-Series [EOL] comparison

Cisco and Hewlett Packard Enterprise are both solutions in the Data Center Networking category. Additionally, 96% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Hewlett Packard Enterprise users who would recommend it.
Cisco Nexus
Read 104 Cisco Nexus reviews
  • 3,164 Views
  • 2,233 Comparison Views
96% willing to recommend
HPE A-Series [EOL]
Read 1 HPE A-Series [EOL] review
    100% willing to recommend
     

    Comparison Buyer's Guide

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    Executive Summary
    We performed a comparison between Cisco Nexus and HPE A-Series [EOL] based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

    Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Arista, Dell Technologies and others in Data Center Networking.

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    To learn more, read our detailed Data Center Networking Report (Updated: January 2025).
    Buyer's Guide
    Data Center Networking
    January 2025
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    Helped 832,138 peers since 2012

    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 Nexus
    Average Rating
    8.4
    Reviews Sentiment
    7.6
    Number of Reviews
    104
    Ranking in other categories
    LAN Switching (2nd), Data Center Networking (2nd)
    HPE A-Series [EOL]
    Average Rating
    8.0
    Number of Reviews
    1
    Ranking in other categories
    No ranking in other categories
     

    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 And they were running outdated software.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.
    Read full review
    Mohamed-Mousa - PeerSpot reviewer
    Stable and scalable with a good user interface
    Overall, everything related to the interface is very good Some follow up from our user-partners would be useful. Letting users know what is up and coming or providing better documentation would be helpful. Overall, the solution could offer its users better support. I've been using the solution…
    Read full review

    Quotes from Members

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

    Pros

    "The initial setup is easy."
    "The most valuable feature is the HSRP (Hot Standby Router Protocol)."
    "The most valuable feature is the Bluetooth console."
    "We are a Cisco shop. This solution is better compared to other options."
    "It's pretty easy to use and operates at high speed."
    "It's easy to use."
    "A very solid and reliable solution."
    "The most valuable feature is the automation that we can do with it."
    More Cisco Nexus pros
    "The solution is very stable."
     

    Cons

    "I would like to see a central management solution in order to have all of the equipment in one place."
    "One of the biggest challenges, which I see is that there's a constant evolution in the product. For example, our configuration is based on what is known as traditional data center implementation. Today there is the ACI deployment and to implement, to migrate from one technology to another, that's challenging both from a configuration perspective and also from a cost perspective."
    "I don't really deal with the pricing but I know that it's not cheap."
    "Stability is not really up to the mark."
    "They need to understand that when we call them and have an issue, it's our production and sometimes they want us to do repairs that would cause other issues. That's the biggest problem."
    "Standardization across iOS and Nexus operating systems would be an improvement."
    "The initial setup was somewhat complex."
    "Areas in which the solution have room for improvement are the interface, management, and reporting."
    More Cisco Nexus cons
    "Some follow up from our user-partners would be useful. Letting users know what is up and coming or providing better documentation would be helpful. Overall, the solution could offer its users better support."
     

    Pricing and Cost Advice

    "The subscription model and price could be better."
    "We only have a yearly support contract, as we do not use any of the subscription-based functions at this time."
    "We use a local distributor for support, which is very expensive."
    "The license on a yearly basis is $200,000."
    "We have a three-year subscription for our licensing fees."
    "Our licensing fees are approximately $2,000 USD per year."
    "The license for Cisco Nexus is one year to three years, in this case for the SMARTnet. It is a price per unit, in terms of this specific appliance."
    "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."
    More Cisco Nexus pricing and cost advice
    Information not available
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    Top Industries

    By visitors reading reviews
    Computer Software Company
    26%
    Financial Services Firm
    10%
    Manufacturing Company
    7%
    Government
    5%
    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?
    Cisco pricing is at the same level as many competitors, however, due to competition, they sometimes lower prices and offer large discounts.
    See all answers
    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.
    See all answers
    Ask a question
    Earn 20 points
     

    Comparisons

    Juniper QFX Series Switches vs Cisco Nexus Logo
    Juniper QFX Series Switches vs Cisco Nexus
    Compared 46% of the time
    Arista Networks Platform vs Cisco Nexus Logo
    Arista Networks Platform vs Cisco Nexus
    Compared 21% of the time
    Cisco Catalyst Switches vs Cisco Nexus Logo
    Cisco Catalyst Switches vs Cisco Nexus
    Compared 14% of the time
    ExtremeSwitching vs Cisco Nexus Logo
    ExtremeSwitching vs Cisco Nexus
    Compared 5% of the time
    Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch LAN Switches vs Cisco Nexus Logo
    Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch LAN Switches vs Cisco Nexus
    Compared 3% of the time
    More Cisco Nexus Competitors
    No data available
     

    Product Reports

    Buyer's Guide
    Cisco Nexus
    February 2025
    Cisco Nexus reportDownload Cisco Nexus product report
    Buyer's Guide
    Data Center Networking
    January 2025
    HPE A-Series [EOL] reportDownload HPE A-Series [EOL] product report
     

    Also Known As

    No data available
    A-Series, HP A-Series
     

    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.
    Cisco
    Information not available
    Hewlett Packard Enterprise
     

    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
    SEED Infotech, Weta Digital, BlueShore Financial
    Buyer's Guide
    Data Center Networking
    January 2025
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