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Cisco Nexus vs Juniper QFX Series Switches comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 9, 2025

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
Ranking in Data Center Networking
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
105
Ranking in other categories
LAN Switching (3rd)
Juniper QFX Series Switches
Ranking in Data Center Networking
5th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
Ethernet Switches (19th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Data Center Networking category, the mindshare of Cisco Nexus is 19.4%, up from 15.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Juniper QFX Series Switches is 15.1%, up from 7.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Center Networking
 

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 And they were running outdated software.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.
RafaelTorres - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers automation capabilities and good customer support
Juniper QFX Series Switches offer several features that contribute to improved efficiency. One key advantage is the automation capabilities. This allows us to automate network configuration and management tasks using scripting languages. In our case, at the bank, we use a script for automation to confirm the switch's scalability in the local data center. We expanded the environment to utilize the environment feature with AWS, creating connections between both data centers. This setup allowed us to extend our operations to another data center in Latin America, using AWS and Juniper together.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We now have one box that does multiple services."
"Cisco Nexus has good overall reliability and configuration options. It is fairly straightforward to access the switching platforms."
"Cisco Nexus meets all of our requirements."
"Its low latency is most valuable. Its performance is good, and it is also very stable."
"It's easy to use."
"A very solid and reliable solution."
"Solid product, communications and support from a well-known dependable company."
"Cisco Nexus has been very stable. No issues. It's been rock solid. We haven't had any issues with it in the last twelve months."
"It's a stable solution."
"The most valuable features are the VxLAN and the EVPN."
"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."
"The QFX series is a good choice for large data centers, particularly for Spine-Leaf architectures."
"Support is good and customer-friendly"
"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."
 

Cons

"There are too many different model numbers and too much complexity."
"They should make it easier to update the code on it."
"I would like to see Duo directly integrated with the Nexus hardware, instead of it being through the proxies, like how Duo works today."
"I would like to see a lighter platform."
"There's a couple of really bad incidents lately. Probably luck of the draw."
"My only complaint is that not all of the ports on it are enabled from the start."
"I don't really deal with the pricing but I know that it's not cheap."
"I would like to see more granularity."
"There have been some issues sometimes. When you upgrade the device, it doesn't come up. It gets stuck."
"The price could be cheaper."
"There is room for improvement in the pricing model. It is too high."
"I faced issues with the deployment and upgrade. In the QFX5110 series, features like ISSU and DSSQ should be improved. Upgrades should be smoother."
"Integrating QFX switches was the first point of challenge."
"It is very costly."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Costs more than most, but the reliability pays for the difference."
"If you compare Cisco hardware to any other vendors, such as HPE, they are more expensive. There is a license to use the solution. If my customer's licenses are about to expire I receive notification from Cisco, this is very helpful."
"Our licensing fees are approximately $2,000 USD per year."
"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 have a three-year subscription for our licensing fees."
"The license on a yearly basis is $200,000."
"This solution should be made more affordable."
"I don't like the Smart Licensing models that Cisco uses."
"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."
"The cost is expensive."
"The solution is cheap, especially compared to competitors like Cisco."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
24%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
5%
Computer Software Company
22%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Government
7%
 

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.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Nexus?
The price of Cisco Nexus is on the higher side due to the premium services Cisco offers. Despite the cost, it offers valuable features and services.
What needs improvement with Cisco Nexus?
When I talk about data centers, which are critical infrastructure and centralized application hubs, the Nexus platforms should be highly stable. Initially, the codes I received through ACI were qui...
 

Overview

 

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
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Nexus vs. Juniper QFX Series Switches and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
845,040 professionals have used our research since 2012.