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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
6.3
Number of Reviews
103
Ranking in other categories
Network Virtualization (1st), Cloud and Data Center Security (7th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Software Defined Networking (SDN) category, the mindshare of Big Switch Networks is 4.4%, up from 4.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco ACI is 9.6%, down from 15.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Software Defined Networking (SDN) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco ACI9.6%
Big Switch Networks4.4%
Other86.0%
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.
Rahul Khandelwal - PeerSpot reviewer
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I think it's an easy, versatile solution to implement."
"What I liked about the solution is the quick and easy way you can build a network data center fabric."
"Before we started using Cisco ACI, everything was essentially flat open access, and by using ACI, we're able to segment out everything and get more visibility into our virtual environment."
"It is easy to use because you have all the information coming from the same technology."
"The most valuable feature is the unified fabric."
"We had different networks and combined them with ACI so we could have the control of one controller-based network. Also, everything is combined now."
"The efficiency in terms of the data center latency has been reduced by around 20-30%. Our applications function a lot better. We get a lot of intuitive data to know how our application stack is performing."
"The most valuable feature is the unified fabric."
"Our customers are very much satisfied with the stability."
"The previous generation of networking, everything was slow, taking days to deploy and run a script, but with Cisco ACI, I can deploy things with a script, then run it in five minutes."
 

Cons

"I think if I was to say something that could be improved, it would be a multi-data center nature of the implementation."
"I think if I was to say something that could be improved, it would be a multi-data center nature of the implementation."
"I would like them to simplify the way you configure the Fabric. The process is quite complex. This can be a barrier to entry. For anything, where it should take two or three steps, you have ten steps"
"There is quite a learning curve at the beginning."
"I have been a bit disappointed with technical support from Cisco. They will often take some time to respond."
"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."
"Where there is room for improvement from ACI is for Layer 2 and Layer 7 packages. Normally, when you're updating your ACI fabric or you're introducing new Layer 4 to Layer 7 devices, there are some constraints, there are some limitations... When you are doing device packages you will not have the functionality of ASM. It's like WAF, web application firewalls. So you need to configure it manually."
"In the new version of 4.0, the management groups for updating the software is not the best way to do it. It was better in 3.2."
"This is a good solution, but I would really like to see the network-centric philosophy of configuration be a little bit easier; the learning curve is steep."
"It needs more integration with public clouds, like Azure and AWS."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing cost depends on the number of switches that are going to be licensed to run the software."
"This is an expensive solution."
"The pricing, including both hardware and licenses, is reasonable."
"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."
"The pricing is pretty good for new technology."
"It is quite expensive. It is not at all on the cheap or medium side."
"Cisco is much more expensive than other vendors, especially when it comes to the licensing."
"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing an eight out of ten."
"We don't use all of the features but it's still worth the money."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Healthcare Company
12%
Construction Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business20
Midsize Enterprise20
Large Enterprise87
 

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, Juniper and others in Software Defined Networking (SDN). Updated: April 2026.
893,244 professionals have used our research since 2012.