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Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center vs NVIDIA Mellanox comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
1.0
Fortinet FortiSwitch offers cost-effective solutions, though Cisco provides better long-term ROI with superior disaster management and quicker replacement.
Sentiment score
1.0
Users reported time and cost savings from NVIDIA Mellanox, highlighting improved performance, reduced latency, increased efficiency, scalability, and reliability.
The integration of Fortinet infrastructure, including FortiSwitches, is cost-effective compared to Cisco, especially when paired with Fortinet wireless solutions.
Network Security Engineer at STN Inc
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.3
Fortinet FortiSwitch customer service is praised for reliability, though local support issues create mixed user experiences.
Sentiment score
7.5
Customers desire multilingual NVIDIA Mellanox support, rating it satisfactory to good, while often relying on peer assistance.
Technical partners provide responses within a day for any technical queries.
Network Security Engineer at STN Inc
I gave it eight points because local support is absent.
Information Technology Infrastructure Engineer at REYADA IT SOLUTIONS CO. LLC
Customer support needs improvement in terms of speed and reliability.
senior technical administrator at Ogma Consulting
I would assess their technical support as good—not the best, but it is good.
CEO at Tekpulse Ltd
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.8
Fortinet FortiSwitch is scalable, modular, easily integrates with networks, but could improve SPF model support.
Sentiment score
5.8
NVIDIA Mellanox's scalable leaf and spine architecture efficiently supports network growth for organizations across various sectors.
When used in a dedicated Fortinet infrastructure, FortiSwitch scalability is better than some other switches, like Cisco, Meraki, or Arista.
Network Security Engineer at STN Inc
Scalability is generally good, with transitions from gigabit to ten giga, twenty-five giga, and forty giga.
CTO at Exceed NetSec LLC
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
Fortinet FortiSwitch is stable and reliable, though integration and configuration challenges occasionally affect performance.
Sentiment score
5.8
Users are satisfied with NVIDIA Mellanox for its reliable performance and stability, with improvements noted over time.
There is room for improvement as it sometimes takes over an hour to push configurations onto the devices from the management tool.
senior technical administrator at Ogma Consulting
I would rate it a seven because the old versions were not stable, but it is becoming stable over time.
Managing Partner & Technical Consultant at IT Expert
 

Room For Improvement

The Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center faces challenges in automation, UI complexity, pricing, and requires better AI and integration features.
NVIDIA Mellanox needs improved user-friendliness, better integration, enhanced GUIs, faster support, and occasional bug fixes.
The commercial aspect presents challenges, particularly with pricing, as customers often ask for Juniper or Cisco, brands they are more aware of, which makes awareness about Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center another weak point.
CXO at Aariha Enterprise Private Limited
There is room to improve the integration between FortiSwitch and other third-party solutions, as challenges arise when integrating with different vendors.
CTO at Exceed NetSec LLC
Sometimes, customer support does not provide prompt assistance, leaving projects hanging.
senior technical administrator at Ogma Consulting
I think it's okay; it's the best solution for now for AI data centers.
Managing Partner & Technical Consultant at IT Expert
 

Setup Cost

Fortinet FortiSwitch is competitively priced compared to Cisco, with no licensing needed for some FortiGate users.
NVIDIA Mellanox offers competitive pricing, strong performance, and cost-effective licensing, making it a highly-rated, affordable enterprise solution.
The Fortinet switches come with no additional cost as they are open source, with only hardware warranties applicable.
Network Security Engineer at STN Inc
Pricing is competitive, although it's not the cheapest option.
CTO at Exceed NetSec LLC
For its performance, it's cheaper.
Managing Partner & Technical Consultant at IT Expert
 

Valuable Features

Fortinet FortiSwitch offers centralized management, intuitive UI, security enhancements, and control over network traffic and security.
NVIDIA Mellanox excels in performance, flexibility, and integration with AI systems, making it ideal for data centers.
The main actual benefit that Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center brought to my customer's environment is secure connectivity while minimizing downtime from unexpected traffic or broadcasting.
CXO at Aariha Enterprise Private Limited
This feature allows the switch's ports to be used as firewall ports, enhancing network security by enabling IPS and network profiling directly on the ports.
Network Security Engineer at STN Inc
It allows me to create VLANs, implement security measures, and push configurations using a single tool.
senior technical administrator at Ogma Consulting
The biggest advantage is that the vendor is the only one providing no-drop traffic.
Managing Partner & Technical Consultant at IT Expert
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data...
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
15th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
26
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
NVIDIA Mellanox
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
19th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
4.7
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center is 2.3%, up from 1.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NVIDIA Mellanox is 2.1%, up from 1.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Ethernet Switches Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center2.3%
NVIDIA Mellanox2.1%
Other95.6%
Ethernet Switches
 

Featured Reviews

Rutul SHah - PeerSpot reviewer
CXO at Aariha Enterprise Private Limited
Provides seamless traffic control and secure connectivity while minimizing downtime and optimizing resource allocation
There is always room for improvement in Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center because with this switch, they can reduce downtime due to broadcasting issues by denying specific traffic on particular ports. Currently, I am not identifying any weak points of Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center because it meets the customer's use case. However, the commercial aspect presents challenges, particularly with pricing, as customers often ask for Juniper or Cisco, brands they are more aware of, which makes awareness about Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center another weak point.
Nurudeen Suleiman - PeerSpot reviewer
CEO at Tekpulse Ltd
Automation and integration improve operations efficiently
We wanted to utilize the advanced InfiniBand and Ethernet solutions offered by NVIDIA, but the users are not too familiar with the InfiniBand environment, which is why we are using the Linux Cumulus 5.6, which is usually the normal Ethernet. I am familiar with NVIDIA Mellanox, as I have products from NVIDIA on review here on our website. I use enhanced multi-tenancy features. Currently, within the data center, we have mixtures of both Cisco Nexus switches, NVIDIA switches, and Huawei switches, so eventually, we are changing all the switches to NVIDIA. On a scale of 1-10, I rate NVIDIA Mellanox an eight.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
14%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Retailer
7%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Educational Organization
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business17
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise4
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise2
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center?
The Fortinet switches come with no additional cost as they are open source, with only hardware warranties applicable.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center?
There is always room for improvement in Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center because with this switch, they can reduce downtime due to broadcasting issues by denying specific traffic on particular po...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Mellanox Switches?
The pricing is competitive. For its performance, it's cheaper, so I would rate it a four if cheaper is lower.
What needs improvement with Mellanox Switches?
The feature we would want to see in future updates of NVIDIA Mellanox is improved accessibility for normal users, as quite a lot of experience is needed before using Mellanox. None of the Mellanox ...
What is your primary use case for Mellanox Switches?
NVIDIA Mellanox is usually used for numerous purposes, but in our case, we are using it in a data center for high-end servers running 200 gig interfaces, and we are able to link it up with Ansible ...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Mellanox Switches, Mellanox SN2700
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
CNPC, Korea Consumer Agency, Nutanix, Roxo Systems, StorPool, Atlantic.Net, INFN, StarWind, NYSE Technologies, Creative Consultants, ENKI
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center vs. NVIDIA Mellanox and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
880,511 professionals have used our research since 2012.