Big Switch Networks vs Cisco ACI comparison

Arista and Cisco are both solutions in the Software Defined Networking (SDN) category. Arista is ranked #8, while Cisco is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.7. Arista holds a 4.6% mindshare in SDN, compared to Cisco’s 11.7% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Arista users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 85% of Cisco users who would recommend it.

Big Switch Networks

Read 1 Big Switch Networks review

742 Views
215 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Cisco ACI

Read 103 Cisco ACI reviews

3,530 Views
1,236 Comparison Views

85% willing to recommend

Big Switch Networks

Cisco ACI

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Big Switch Networks and Cisco ACI based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, TP-Link, Aviatrix and others in Software Defined Networking (SDN).

To learn more, read our detailed Software Defined Networking (SDN) Report (Updated: January 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Software Defined Networking (SDN)

January 2026

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Helped 881,114 peers since 2012

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

Big Switch Networks

Ranking in Software Defined Networking (SDN)

8th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

8.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Packet Broker (NPB) (5th)

Cisco ACI

Ranking in Software Defined Networking (SDN)

2nd

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.3

Number of Reviews

103

Ranking in other categories

Network Virtualization (1st), Cloud and Data Center Security (7th)

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Software Defined Networking (SDN) category, the mindshare of Big Switch Networks is 4.6%, up from 3.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco ACI is 11.7%, down from 13.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Software Defined Networking (SDN) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Cisco ACI	11.7%
Big Switch Networks	4.6%
Other	83.7%

Software Defined Networking (SDN)

Featured Reviews

Jason Best

Data center network architect at Cloudwire

A flexible solution that can be integrated with third-party solutions whilst maintaining its automated nature

I think if I was to say something that could be improved, it would be a multi-data center nature of the implementation. Meaning, having an active-active data center with multiple entrance-exit points. I think that feature could be improved to provide a kind of anycast gateway solution into the functionality that would make it a lot more flexible and versatile. Maybe also making the solution a bit more like the NSX-T from VMware, more on the logical part of the solution, like micro-segmentation and the ability to have a distributed firewall across the whole solution, to implement it in an easier way than they currently do with the security aspect of the solution.

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Rahul Khandelwal

Network Technical Manager at KPMG

Enables streamlined data center management with automation and application-centric design

The main features of Cisco ACI that I really appreciate are the application-centric and network-centric designs, allowing you to create your network according to your application. That's helpful, and it's good for one-time implementation. The automation capabilities are really helpful. We deployed one data center using Terraform, and after deployment, many automation features are available, which can be very helpful. Based on my experience, Cisco ACI provides substantial capability; you can design your network accordingly and it's part of the SDN family, providing many benefits to the organization, especially when moving from traditional network infrastructure. Many organizations are actually using the old traditional Nexus infrastructure or some old data center devices. It gives you significant control and one-time implementation capabilities, and it also provides better performance and security. Functionality-wise, Cisco ACI provides integration using automation. We implemented it through Terraform, which was easy. Those features are available, so I don't think any new features are needed right now; something new could come up, but they have implemented many improvements over the years.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"What I liked about the solution is the quick and easy way you can build a network data center fabric."

"Now, our customers have tiers of management that have meetings with about the simplest tasks because it has to be approved from upper management and senior management and by the time it gets to the engineer that's going to deploy it, it takes way too long. With the solution, they can delegate a person who would be in charge of running the ACI as a whole, and it will be much faster because it doesn't have to go through the whole chain of command for the simple task of deploying one little machine on one port in the data center."

"PBR has been beneficial for network efficiency."

"It improves security and automation."

"Cisco ACI is scalable and easy to expand."

"The most valuable feature is the unified fabric."

"The straightforward migration of all of the applications and loop balancing are the two most valuable features. Also, the measurement of their customer-wide sources is very straightforward. It's another dimension of the networks."

"The most valuable feature is programmability, where we can manage a network via APIs and software, as opposed to having to manage complex hardware."

"Cisco ACI can separate networks with a buoy interface. That is the most valuable feature."

More Cisco ACI pros

Cons

"I think if I was to say something that could be improved, it would be a multi-data center nature of the implementation."

"It would be great if ACI would include the next generation firewall feature."

"An area for improvement in Cisco ACI is security, which Cisco needs to enhance in the solution. Though Cisco ACI uses a whitelist model, you must purchase an external product, such as a security firewall solution, to make whitelisting work, which the customer could find expensive. For example, you're a customer who has Cisco ACI, and the solution doesn't have IP-based filtering, so as a customer, you've purchased Cisco ACI. However, you still need to buy another product for security, and some customers wouldn't like that. However, some customers prefer to go with Cisco ACI because of its scalability and flexibility versus other solutions such as Juniper and Aruba. Technical support for Cisco ACI also needs improvement, particularly in product knowledge."

"Cisco needs to enhance their technical support and pay more attention to regional support."

"The initial setup was a bit complex. ACI was just out at that time, and there wasn't support at that time."

"We deployed a lot of Fabrics to multiple sites, which was a bit complex."

"One of the things that makes it a lot more complicated is the way contracts are handled in ACI. Contracts are like their own access lists. They can improve the setting up of contracts between devices a lot. It can be simplified."

"The challenging thing about Cisco ACI was we had to put a lot of effort into providing the customer the full picture, new standards, and new technology that they had to use. This was more challenging than deploying the product."

"The CLI needs to be improved."

More Cisco ACI cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing cost depends on the number of switches that are going to be licensed to run the software."

"There are no additional costs. We only have to pay for a support contract apart from the license."

"The thing that I like the most from Cisco is the support and all the documentation that they have. We do have to pay for it though."

"This is an expensive solution."

"Cisco is much more expensive than other vendors, especially when it comes to the licensing."

"We bought a package for hardware, software, and support. At that time, Cisco was simply selling that package to distributors, then we opted for it directly."

"We don't use all of the features but it's still worth the money."

"A big company can automate it themselves or spend a lot of money and buy it."

"We have saved time on the provisioning and configuration."

More Cisco ACI pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

13%

Manufacturing Company

13%

Healthcare Company

10%

University

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

Healthcare Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	21
Midsize Enterprise	19
Large Enterprise	87

Questions from the Community

Ask a question

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What are the biggest differences between Cisco ACI and VMware NSX?

There are some very major differences between both the Products and to name a few. -Cisco ACI have physical network gear (9K Switches) where the Code runs in ACI Policy Mode & the UCS server wh...

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What are the biggest differences between Cisco ACI and VMware NSX?

Once you know your way around the Cisco ecosystem, using Cisco ACI is not so difficult. It is a global product, so when you change one interface, changes are automatically reflected on every switch...

See all answers

What do you like most about Cisco ACI?

The flexibility of adding new components with minimal impact on existing services running in the data center is a key benefit of this ACI-based solution.

See all answers

Comparisons

Gigamon Deep Observability Pipeline vs Big Switch Networks

Compared 31% of the time

Ixia Network Packet Brokers vs Big Switch Networks

Compared 18% of the time

SmartNA-PortPlus HyperCore vs Big Switch Networks

Compared 15% of the time

Niagara Packet Brokers vs Big Switch Networks

Compared 11% of the time

Pica8 vs Big Switch Networks

Compared 9% of the time

More Big Switch Networks Competitors

VMware NSX vs Cisco ACI

Compared 19% of the time

Cisco Secure Workload vs Cisco ACI

Compared 18% of the time

Akamai Guardicore Segmentation vs Cisco ACI

Compared 10% of the time

Illumio vs Cisco ACI

Compared 9% of the time

HPE SDN vs Cisco ACI

Compared 8% of the time

More Cisco ACI Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Software Defined Networking (SDN)

January 2026

Download Big Switch Networks product report

Buyer's Guide

Cisco ACI

January 2026

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Overview

Big Switch Networks is at the forefront of the next-generation of networking technologies. By combining industry standard switch hardware (“white box / branded white box “brite box”) with intelligent SDN control software, the company is delivering next-generation data center networking fabrics for the world’s most advanced data centers looking to achieve unmatched degrees of network automation at cloud-competitive price points.

Big Switch Networks has two data center networking solutions: Big Cloud Fabric, a data center switching fabric for OpenStack clouds or VMware virtualization environments, and Big Monitoring Fabric, a network packet broker that enables pervasive security and security, monitoring data center traffic for inline or out-of-band deployments. Big Switch is taking three key technologies: vendor agnostic switch hardware, SDN control software, and core-and-pod data center designs –and leveraging them for use in next-generation data center switching and monitoring solutions designed for use in enterprises, cloud providers, and service providers.

All Big Switch solutions run on high-performance open networking switches from Accton or Dell Technologies and leverage centralized SDN controller software for fabric-wide control and management. Big Switch Networks has two solutions:

Arista

Cisco ACI provides advanced capabilities with features like seamless integration with VMware and APIs for programmability. It offers centralized management for streamlined operations, efficient micro-segmentation, and robust security, addressing modern data center needs.

Cisco ACI brings automation to data center infrastructure, enabling transitions from legacy to modern environments with centralized management. Organizations benefit from optimized server farms, seamless integration with VMware, and support for Kubernetes, making it suitable for large-scale environments. Offering support for healthcare, finance, and public sectors, Cisco ACI facilitates tasks such as virtual networking and multi-site connectivity with application-centric and network-centric designs.

What are the key features of Cisco ACI?

Seamless Integration with VMware: Ensures smooth operation with existing virtualized environments.
Programmability via APIs: Offers flexibility in network configuration and management through APIs.
Centralized Management: Provides a unified view of the network, simplifying oversight.
Automation: Reduces manual configuration workload, speeding up deployment.
Scalability: Adapts to growing network demands with ease.
Robust Security: Enhances protection against threats with comprehensive security measures.
Efficient Micro-Segmentation: Improves network segmentation for security and efficiency.

What benefits or ROI should users look for when evaluating Cisco ACI?

Streamlined Operation: Reduced complexity in network management.
Enhanced Performance: Improved network and application efficiency.
Cost Efficiency: Better resource allocation reduces operational costs.
Improved Security: Advanced features for increased protection.
Scalability: Allows growth without significant redesigns.

In the healthcare industry, Cisco ACI supports secure and efficient data management, accommodating regulatory needs and enhancing patient data handling. Financial institutions benefit from robust security and seamless integration with existing infrastructures, facilitating smooth transaction processing. In the public sector, it's utilized for reliable network management and servicing a diverse range of applications.

Cisco

Sample Customers

A10 Networks, Edge-Core Networks, Blue Coat Systems, BlueData, Broadcom Corporation, Canonical, Check Point Software Technologies, Citrix, Dell, FireEye, Garland, Hortonworks, Mirantis, Nexenta, Riverbed

Bowling Green State University, du, Qatar University

Buyer's Guide

Software Defined Networking (SDN)

January 2026

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