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Aruba Instant On Switches vs Cisco Nexus comparison

Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Cisco are both solutions in the LAN Switching category. Hewlett Packard Enterprise is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.2, while Cisco is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.2. Hewlett Packard Enterprise holds a 9.7% mindshare in LS, compared to Cisco’s 8.5% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of Hewlett Packard Enterprise users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Cisco users who would recommend it.
Aruba Instant On Switches
Read 30 Aruba Instant On Switches reviews
  • 1,591 Views
  • 526 Comparison Views
95% willing to recommend
Cisco Nexus
Read 106 Cisco Nexus reviews
  • 1,347 Views
  • 491 Comparison Views
96% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 6, 2025

Cisco Nexus and Aruba Instant On Switches cater to different market segments within network infrastructure. Cisco Nexus offers more advanced features tailored for data centers, whereas Aruba Instant On targets small to medium businesses. Cisco stands out for data center optimization, while Aruba offers simplicity in deployment.

Features: Cisco Nexus excels with its advanced features like VDCs, VPCs, and superior hardware engineering for data center environments. Its high scalability and stability make it ideal for complex configurations. Aruba Instant On, although less feature-rich, is favored for its easy deployment, affordability, and capabilities such as centralized management through Aruba Central, making it appealing to SMBs.

Room for Improvement: Cisco Nexus can improve by enhancing cost-effectiveness and simplifying the licensing process. Users have reported stability issues with software updates. Aruba Instant On can benefit from more robust features, improved stability, and quicker boot-up times. Expanding its scalability and management capabilities would also enhance its appeal to larger networks.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco Nexus requires sophisticated technical expertise for deployment, praised for robust support despite inconsistent experiences. In contrast, Aruba Instant On is noted for its simple and fast deployment process, well-received customer service, ensuring a smooth onboarding experience for SMBs.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco Nexus is higher-priced due to its enterprise capabilities, justified by the ROI from system stability. However, its complex licensing can be a drawback. Aruba Instant On offers a cost-effective alternative with competitive pricing and low ongoing fees, attracting budget-conscious buyers with a balanced feature set.

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To learn more, read our detailed Aruba Instant On Switches vs. Cisco Nexus Report (Updated: June 2025).
Buyer's Guide
Aruba Instant On Switches vs. Cisco Nexus
June 2025
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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

Aruba Instant On Switches
Ranking in LAN Switching
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Cisco Nexus
Ranking in LAN Switching
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
106
Ranking in other categories
Data Center Networking (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the LAN Switching category, the mindshare of Aruba Instant On Switches is 9.7%, up from 9.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Nexus is 8.5%, down from 11.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
LAN Switching
 

Featured Reviews

MashukThakur - PeerSpot reviewer
A centrally managed switches ideal for small and medium businesses but does not have any console access
The solution does not have any console access. For example, if you do not have internet access on your side and you need to configure anything, you should at least have CLI access to do something or manage the solution to put to some IP. It will only work if we have a TSCT on the network. We can port and configure the initial settings before we get the Instant On Switches. I am not working deeply on Instant On devices. I have only installed it in a couple of accommodation sites. Even today, one customer has ordered to install 80 pieces of Instant On. I’ve to order additional 94 access points. I was confused about whether to go with Aruba Instant On or AP-505. Instant On has limited accessibility but AP-505 have cloud or local access on normal infrastructure. This would be better and easier to configure. So, there are further improvements in regard to console access and some limitations with access.
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Vinayak Lokare - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhancing data center network efficiency with reliable security integrations and good switching
Cisco Nexus provides a reliable switching platform for our data centers. It allows us to run dynamic routing protocols and helps improve network efficiency with features like MPLS. Additionally, it supports integration with third-party security tools, which is advantageous for our network architecture. Security-wise, we utilize Cisco's solutions while exploring other vendor options too.
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

"Setup is easy."
"The tool's best part is the commercials. Its pricing is lower compared to other enterprise products. We pitch the product to customers who have budget constraints. Its implementation is plug-and-play."
"The stability is fine. I would rate the stability a nine out of ten. Almost a ten on a ten."
"It is a very stable solution."
"Aruba's management solutions, like Aruba Central are valuable."
"The initial setup is simple."
"Instant On Switches' best feature is the 1930, which is stackable."
"The solution provides GUI control, making it particularly suitable for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and small office/home office (SOHO) networks."
More Aruba Instant On Switches pros
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the power."
"The most valuable features are the access layer security, OpenConfig, and OpenFlow."
"Cisco Nexus has improved the way our organization functions through the troubleshooting. We had issues where we've seen our links saturated. We were able to determine what was being processed on the link."
"This solution has allowed us to better prepare our network for 10-gigabit."
"They are very high-performance switches and they are made for lossless data, so they're a good play in the customer environment."
"The scalability of the solution is well beyond anything I would ever need."
"This solution provides all of the routing and searching features that we need."
"It's pretty easy to use and operates at high speed."
More Cisco Nexus pros
 

Cons

"It is not a very scalable solution."
"You cannot use many VLANs, like VLAN 10, VLAN 20, VLAN 30, and VLAN 100 on Aruba Instant On AP."
"In the next version, they should add a firewall from a single source."
"The solution’s GUI should be improved a bit."
"They should extend the marketing and talk about Aruba's success stories throughout the region."
"Instant On Switches' layer 3 and visibility could be improved."
"They don't have a lot of diagnostics tools, which could be an area for improvement."
"In general, mostly in Instant On series, if we could have much more control on the switches, at least. We'd like a CLI access so that, when we want to do some advanced configurations we could."
More Aruba Instant On Switches cons
"There is limited guidance in terms of the use and configuration of Cisco Nexus for specific use cases. The documentation is not comprehensive, and you have to do a lot of online research."
"Nexus is a costly solution."
"The only issue that I have with this product is finding help on different commands when I'm trying to make a change."
"It would be nice if the solution offered multiple types of port support."
"There's a couple of really bad incidents lately. Probably luck of the draw."
"Areas in which the solution have room for improvement are the interface, management, and reporting."
"I would like to see better monitoring actions supported in the next release of this solution."
"The product lacks options for integration with other market products that would allow us more flexibility."
More Cisco Nexus cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product has good pricing."
"The product is not cheaply priced, especially when compared to the other vendors in the market."
"It is an expensive solution."
"The pricing is cheap."
"Pricing is competitive, and there are no supplementary fees."
"Aruba Instant On Switches is not expensive."
"The license for Instant On Switches is free."
"I give the price seven out of ten."
More Aruba Instant On Switches pricing and cost advice
"I don't like the Smart Licensing models that Cisco uses."
"We use a local distributor for support, which is very expensive."
"Cisco's licensing structures can be complex across different technologies, for example, unified communications."
"The solution is expensive."
"I thought that it would be less expensive."
"We have a three-year subscription for our licensing fees."
"The price of this solution is good when compared to others in the market."
"The solution should be more cost-effective in general."
More Cisco Nexus pricing and cost advice
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
10%
University
7%
Computer Software Company
21%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Aruba Instant On Switches?
The solution has a simple deployment and zero border.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Aruba Instant On Switches?
I think the pricing for the switches is reasonable.
See all answers
What needs improvement with Aruba Instant On Switches?
I have run into a couple of problems with the switches. Recently, one of the newer stacks stopped working and had to be rebooted individually. They don't have a lot of diagnostics tools, which coul...
See all answers
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?
All solutions are very expensive and not an economy solution.
See all answers
What needs improvement with Cisco Nexus?
All solutions are very expensive and not an economy solution. The solution is on-premises and stable. We haven't tried integration with the network software.
See all answers
 

Comparisons

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Cisco Catalyst Switches vs Aruba Instant On Switches
Compared 36% of the time
NETGEAR Switches vs Aruba Instant On Switches Logo
NETGEAR Switches vs Aruba Instant On Switches
Compared 15% of the time
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Juniper QFX Series Switches vs Cisco Nexus Logo
Juniper QFX Series Switches vs Cisco Nexus
Compared 42% of the time
Arista Networks Platform vs Cisco Nexus Logo
Arista Networks Platform vs Cisco Nexus
Compared 18% of the time
Cisco Catalyst Switches vs Cisco Nexus Logo
Cisco Catalyst Switches vs Cisco Nexus
Compared 8% of the time
Juniper QFabric vs Cisco Nexus Logo
Juniper QFabric vs Cisco Nexus
Compared 5% of the time
ExtremeSwitching vs Cisco Nexus Logo
ExtremeSwitching vs Cisco Nexus
Compared 5% of the time
More Cisco Nexus Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Aruba Instant On Switches
June 2025
Aruba Instant On Switches reportDownload Aruba Instant On Switches product report
Buyer's Guide
Cisco Nexus
June 2025
Cisco Nexus reportDownload Cisco Nexus product report
 

Also Known As

Aruba Instant On 1930 Switches
No data available
 

Overview

The Aruba Instant On 1930 switches features advanced, smart-managed, fixed configuration Gigabit switches designed for small businesses that are easy-to-deploy and affordable. They’re made to handle today’s bandwidth-heavy applications like voice and video conferencing, enabling consistent connectivity to enhance performance. Using either the Instant On mobile app or the cloud-based web portal, you can quickly set up, monitor and manage the 1930 switch series from anywhere at any time. What’s more, up to 30 W PoE power delivery is available out-of-the-box for your class 4 PoE devices, like access points, surveillance cameras and VoIP phones, all easily managed from the same platform.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise
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
 

Sample Customers

KEMET, Vestavia Hills City Schools, Dropbox
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
Buyer's Guide
Aruba Instant On Switches vs. Cisco Nexus
June 2025
Free Report: Aruba Instant On Switches vs. Cisco Nexus
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