Cisco Nexus vs Juniper QFX Series Switches comparison

Cisco and Juniper are both solutions in the Data Center Networking category. Cisco is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.7, while Juniper is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.4. Cisco holds a 18.4% mindshare in DCN, compared to Juniper’s 12.1% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Juniper users who would recommend it.

Cisco Nexus

Read 104 Cisco Nexus reviews

3,400 Views
2,456 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Juniper QFX Series Switches

Read 7 Juniper QFX Series Switches reviews

1,412 Views
1,186 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Cisco Nexus

Juniper QFX Series Switches

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 8, 2024

Cisco Nexus and Juniper QFX Series Switches compete in high-performance switching solutions for enterprise environments. Cisco Nexus edges ahead with a greater market presence but Juniper QFX is recognized for its cost-effectiveness and modern features such as EVPN-VXLAN.

Features: Cisco Nexus is noted for its modular design and high throughput, allowing for varied configurations and redundancy. It supports low latency and high-speed capacity and integrates well with Cisco security products. Juniper QFX stands out for its high port densities and lower power consumption, featuring advanced EVPN-VXLAN capabilities that cater to scalable network environments.

Room for Improvement: Cisco Nexus could enhance its multi-context capabilities and streamline licensing and programmability features. Juniper QFX might focus on simplifying its user interface and improving initial deployment and integration processes. Both brands could benefit from reviewing their pricing strategies and increasing feature availability.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco Nexus benefits from comprehensive deployment guides and a robust support network. However, some users report delays in customer service despite their technical expertise. Juniper QFX offers effective technical support but knowledge bases vary regionally. Its deployment process is generally well-received though may challenge new users.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco Nexus, though boasting advanced features and a reputable brand, commands a higher price and struggles with licensing complexity. It still promises a solid return on investment due to its reliability. Juniper QFX, while less expensive, may still be considered pricey but justifies cost through network scalability and reliability. Pricing models for both suggest potential for better competitive adjustments.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Nexus vs. Juniper QFX Series Switches Report (Updated: December 2024).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Nexus vs. Juniper QFX Series Switches

December 2024

Download the complete report

Helped 824,053 peers since 2012

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Nexus

Ranking in Data Center Networking

3rd

Average Rating

8.4

Number of Reviews

104

Ranking in other categories

LAN Switching (2nd)

Juniper QFX Series Switches

Ranking in Data Center Networking

5th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Ethernet Switches (18th)

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2024, in the Data Center Networking category, the mindshare of Cisco Nexus is 18.4%, up from 14.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Juniper QFX Series Switches is 12.1%, up from 5.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Data Center Networking

Featured Reviews

Joe Benítez

Systems Engineer at GAD Municipal de Guayaquil

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

Abdul Malik

Sr. Network / DC & Security Consultant at Premier Systems

Offers high port density, including 1/25G/40G/100G and 400 options upto 2 RU and lower power consumption and leverages Broadcom chipsets for enhanced performance

In terms of performance, scalability, and other factors, I would rate them around eight out of ten. I've encountered a few issues during deployments based on customer experiences. My first deployment was with the QFX5100-48S for a data center customer. I implemented layer-2 connectivity on them. Overall, I would say they're good for small-scale and medium scale so it seems these problems can persist for some time. However, the QFX series is still generally considered a good product and offers more flexibility than other options. It's very scalable. I haven't heard any customer complaints about scalability. In my experience, even the QFX5110 series extends for many years without needing upgrades. This scalability solves the challenge of needing to upgrade due to unknown internal problems, even when the release is stable.

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

"In terms of stability, this solution is rock solid."

"The setup is straightforward. I'd like to see the firmware and code upgradability to be slightly more intuitive."

"They are very high-performance switches and they are made for lossless data, so they're a good play in the customer environment."

"It has improved our organization because we have aggregated ports, we're able to put multiple agencies on the multiple different interfaces that we have going there. We're able to separate them out with the use of VLANs and whatnot."

"A very solid and reliable solution."

"This solution streamlines how we have to configure things because we can do everything from one device, whereas if we had individual devices we would have to go to each one and configure them manually."

"The most valuable feature is the Bluetooth console."

"The most valuable features of this solution are scalability and reliability."

More Cisco Nexus pros

"Support is good and customer-friendly"

"It's a stable solution."

"The most valuable features are the VxLAN and the EVPN."

"The QFX series is a good choice for large data centers, particularly for Spine-Leaf architectures."

"It's really easy to replicate rules. It's the one that I've used; it was CLI-based. You can implement a large set of rules with CLI. You can just copy a script and add additional changes to the source and destination on the part. And so it's easy to do large zone-based rules."

"EVPN-VXLAN feature offers the most benefits."

"Juniper QFX Series Switches provide a good platform for all of our hardware and are easy to use."

Cons

"I would like to see Duo directly integrated with the Nexus hardware, instead of it being through the proxies, like how Duo works today."

"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."

"There are too many different model numbers and too much complexity."

"Multi contexts would be nice to have to separate different tenants logically and securely."

"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."

"The cost of the support can be improved. We had critical operations, and we needed 24/7 support for 365 days, which was quite expensive. We had to go for a very costly support contract, which was really a concern. The availability of spare parts, especially in a remote location such as Egypt, can also be improved."

"I would like to see more granularity."

"Stability is not really up to the mark."

More Cisco Nexus cons

"The price could be cheaper."

"It is very costly."

"I faced issues with the deployment and upgrade. In the QFX5110 series, features like ISSU and DSSQ should be improved. Upgrades should be smoother."

"There is room for improvement in the pricing model. It is too high."

"There have been some issues sometimes. When you upgrade the device, it doesn't come up. It gets stuck."

"Integrating QFX switches was the first point of challenge."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

"All of our costs including subscription, licensing, and support services are bundled together, and the cost is approximately $100,000 USD per year."

"Our licensing fees are paid annually."

"The solution is relatively expensive when compared with Cisco Catalyst."

"Our licensing costs for this solution are approximately $100K a year for the switching part."

"Cisco Nexus is not a cheaply priced product."

"Every Cisco product is more expensive than competitors on the market, which is just a fact, but from my perspective, it is worth it."

"Our licensing fees are approximately $2,000 USD per year."

More Cisco Nexus pricing and cost advice

"The cost is expensive."

"The solution is cheap, especially compared to competitors like Cisco."

"The price of Juniper QFX Series Switches is expensive because we are running some enterprise hardware. However, they are less expensive than Cisco or HPE hardware."

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Data Center Networking solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

824,053 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

26%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

23%

Financial Services Firm

Government

Manufacturing Company

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

What do you like most about Juniper QFX Series Switches?

EVPN-VXLAN feature offers the most benefits.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Juniper QFX Series Switches?

It is very costly. It has a three-year license.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Juniper QFX Series Switches?

The price could be cheaper.

See all answers

Comparisons

Arista Networks Platform vs Cisco Nexus

Compared 22% of the time

Cisco Catalyst Switches vs Cisco Nexus

Compared 18% of the time

ExtremeSwitching vs Cisco Nexus

Compared 4% of the time

Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch LAN Switches vs Cisco Nexus

Compared 3% of the time

VMware NSX vs Cisco Nexus

Compared 3% of the time

More Cisco Nexus Competitors

PTX Series Routers vs Juniper QFX Series Switches

Compared 26% of the time

Juniper MX Series Universal Routing Platforms vs Juniper QFX Series Switches

Compared 8% of the time

Cisco Catalyst Switches vs Juniper QFX Series Switches

Compared 3% of the time

More Juniper QFX Series Switches Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Nexus

December 2024

Download Cisco Nexus product report

Buyer's Guide

Ethernet Switches

December 2024

Download Juniper QFX Series Switches product report

Learn More

Cisco

Juniper

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.

QFX Series Switches deliver industry-leading throughput and scalability, an extensive routing stack, the open programmability of the Junos OS, and a broad set of EVPN-VXLAN and IP fabric capabilities. With QFX, you’ll find premier solutions for data center spine-and-leaf, campus distribution, core, and data center gateway and interconnect switching.

Rethink data center operations and fabric management with turnkey Juniper Apstra software in your QFX Series environment. You can automate the entire network lifecycle to simplify design and deployment and provide closed-loop assurance. With Apstra, customers have achieved 90% faster time to deployment, 70% faster time to resolution, and 83% OpEx reduction.

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

Linode, VPRO, West Chester University

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Nexus vs. Juniper QFX Series Switches

December 2024

Free Report: Cisco Nexus vs. Juniper QFX Series Switches

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Nexus vs. Juniper QFX Series Switches and other solutions. Updated: December 2024.

DOWNLOAD NOW

824,053 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our Cisco Nexus vs. Juniper QFX Series Switches report.

See our list of best Data Center Networking vendors.

We monitor all Data Center Networking 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.