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Big Switch Networks vs Cisco ACI comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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)
9th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.6
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
Network Packet Broker (NPB) (4th)
Cisco ACI
Ranking in Software Defined Networking (SDN)
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
105
Ranking in other categories
Network Virtualization (2nd), Cloud and Data Center Security (9th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Software Defined Networking (SDN) category, the mindshare of Big Switch Networks is 4.1%, down from 4.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco ACI is 9.1%, down from 13.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Software Defined Networking (SDN) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco ACI9.1%
Big Switch Networks4.1%
Other86.8%
Software Defined Networking (SDN)
 

Featured Reviews

Jason Best - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Sulaiman Olubiyi - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Network Automation Engineer at a outsourcing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Network automation has simplified secure multi-site connectivity and reduced daily operational effort
I believe Cisco ACI could improve by incorporating something related to agentic AI, where it can execute tasks based on particular evaluations or loop engineering, enhancing fault identification or suggestions based on each tenant's configuration. Additionally, I think they should ensure that the documentation is comprehensive. I appreciate that Cisco provides documentation, and their support engineers are helpful in case of any issues. In terms of governance and security regarding Cisco ACI's AI capabilities, I think what we call evals or evaluations is important, whereby the engineer can evaluate the functionalities of the AI in Cisco ACI, preventing it from making deletions or modifications on its own. Therefore, there should be evaluations or guardrails incorporated into the development capabilities. Regarding accuracy and reliability of output for Cisco ACI's AI capabilities, it hasn't met my expectations. What we need is something called RAG, or retrieval-augmented generation. If Cisco can implement that to utilize customer-specific data instead of general knowledge, while ensuring data privacy under GDPR laws, I think that will result in very good, reliable output.

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."
"I think it's an easy, versatile solution to implement."
"I like using WebEx Board."
"I recommend Cisco ACI because right now, there is no other solution like it."
"You can integrate Cisco ACI well with VMware."
"It has saved me a couple of times, as just a backup feature. It can easily do a snapshot before you do any change, and if something goes wrong, you can just rollback."
"It is more scalable than our previous products."
"It has been able to transverse all the processes between two companies merging into one: Air France and KLM."
"We can implement customer requirements more quickly."
"It is very stable, allowing us to update firmware on the go without any downtime, which we couldn't do before, with everything redundant so if you shut down one system then another one takes over."
 

Cons

"I think if I was to say something that could be improved, it would be a multi-data center nature of the implementation."
"For technical support, I would rate them a seven because it's a complex technology and the TAC people sometimes don't have much understanding of the product."
"The initial setup was very complex."
"If I lose the connection from one side to the core, I can't use the other side to go to the core. I hope in the future, this will be fixed."
"There were issues when upgrading venues and registering devices."
"Because this is new technology, which requires a different way of thinking, it can be hard to understand. Therefore, I would like more documentation or education."
"For Multipod we need Layer 3 devices that support multicast. Customers ask: "Why can't ACI do that? Why do we need a dedicated Layer 3 device for this?" If they go for Multi-Site there is no need for that, ACI can do it. So Cisco needs to increase the Multipod features in ACI."
"My complaint about this is: We purchased the ACI gear, but to do monitoring, to do stats, to do telemetry statistics, etc. we have to purchase another product from Cisco."
"Cisco is much more expensive than other vendors, especially when it comes to the licensing. For half the cost, I can obtain the same service with another product."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing cost depends on the number of switches that are going to be licensed to run the software."
"Cisco ACI costs depend on how many sites you have. One simple site with a simple installation, including two leaves, two spines, and some fibers, would cost $200,000 to $300,000 for the licenses. The solution is a bit expensive, but it's a good investment if you want your data centers to work without interruption."
"It's expensive but the product is very good. I have never found another partner like Cisco with a solution like this and with great support."
"Cisco's pricing is very expensive."
"Yearly, we pay around one point two million for the solution."
"The pricing and licensing are both high, particularly if you want a high level of functionality. It would be great if the price and licensing cost could be decreased."
"The price could be improved. It is expensive, but then again, it is Cisco. The price is worth what you pay for."
"Once you sign for the start kit implementation, you have to go all the way through to the implementation, even if you are experiences issues."
"A big company can automate it themselves or spend a lot of money and buy it."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Construction Company
12%
Healthcare Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Construction Company
8%
Outsourcing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business21
Midsize Enterprise19
Large Enterprise89
 

Questions from the Community

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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...
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...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco ACI?
Cost is one thing that could be improved, as it is heavy for an emerging market like ours.
 

Overview

 

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
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Aviatrix, Megaport and others in Software Defined Networking (SDN). Updated: August 2026.
908,834 professionals have used our research since 2012.