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Cisco Nexus vs Juniper QFX Series Switches comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 8, 2024

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
104
Ranking in other categories
LAN Switching (2nd)
Juniper QFX Series Switches
Ranking in Data Center Networking
5th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
Ethernet Switches (18th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2025, in the Data Center Networking category, the mindshare of Cisco Nexus is 18.8%, up from 14.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Juniper QFX Series Switches is 13.1%, up from 6.1% 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 And they were running outdated software.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.
Abdul  Malik - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The seamless integration of Nexus in the data center provides a scalable and stable solution."
"The scalability of Cisco Nexus is good. We've had them for the entire lifetime. We've never had to upgrade them yet."
"Cisco Nexus is a stable solution."
"Cisco Nexus and Cisco Catalyst have processing power and offer good utilization of Cisco devices."
"The product has a stable and strong server panel switch."
"This solution has allowed us to better prepare our network for 10-gigabit."
"It's easy to use, and the performance is great."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is its stability."
"It's a stable solution."
"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"
"The most valuable features are the VxLAN and the EVPN."
"EVPN-VXLAN feature offers the most benefits."
"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

"The only issue that I have with this product is finding help on different commands when I'm trying to make a change."
"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."
"The scalability can be improved."
"The licensing is very complicated. They should work to simplify it."
"If we could get some more automation integrated into it, it would make it easier."
"I feel that this solution should be more flexible and scalable."
"Our only complaint is about the licensing because it can always be a little more cost-effective."
"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."
"Integrating QFX switches was the first point of challenge."
"The price could be cheaper."
"There have been some issues sometimes. When you upgrade the device, it doesn't come up. It gets stuck."
"There is room for improvement in the pricing model. It is too high."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I don't like the Smart Licensing models that Cisco uses."
"The solution is expensive."
"Our licensing fees are approximately $2,000 USD per year."
"It is very expensive. Its licensing is on a yearly basis."
"Our licensing fees are paid annually."
"Cisco Nexus is not cheap compared to Fortinet, Palo Alto, and Check Point."
"The Nexus 9000 is very competitively priced."
"The solution should be more cost-effective in general."
"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 solution is cheap, especially compared to competitors like Cisco."
"The cost is expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
26%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Government
5%
Computer Software Company
24%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Government
7%
University
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?
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.
 

Learn More

 

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: January 2025.
831,158 professionals have used our research since 2012.