Cisco FabricPath vs IBM BNT comparison

Cisco and IBM are both solutions in the LAN Switching category. Cisco is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.3, while IBM is ranked #13. Cisco holds a 3.2% mindshare in LS, compared to IBM’s 1.0% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution.

Cisco FabricPath

Read 31 Cisco FabricPath reviews

571 Views
560 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

IBM BNT

Read 1 IBM BNT review

140 Views
136 Comparison Views

0% willing to recommend

Cisco FabricPath

IBM BNT

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Cisco FabricPath and IBM BNT based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Netgear and others in LAN Switching.

To learn more, read our detailed LAN Switching Report (Updated: January 2026).

Buyer's Guide

LAN Switching

January 2026

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Helped 881,082 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

Cisco FabricPath

Ranking in LAN Switching

3rd

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

IBM BNT

Ranking in LAN Switching

13th

Average Rating

0.0

Reviews Sentiment

8.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the LAN Switching category, the mindshare of Cisco FabricPath is 3.2%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM BNT is 1.0%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

LAN Switching Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Cisco FabricPath	3.2%
IBM BNT	1.0%
Other	95.8%

LAN Switching

Featured Reviews

AmrFouad

Technical Project Manager at Cairo International Airport Co.

Offers seamless integration and boosts operational efficiency with minimum downtimes

I find stability to be the most effective feature of Cisco FabricPath; it is stable. Cisco FabricPath has good scalability; I don't have any problems with scalability as I can add any switches or distributors without any problem. I utilize the multipath routing architecture feature in Cisco FabricPath, and it's good in load balancing. Cisco FabricPath's compatibility to support Dynamic Layer 2 multipath routing in complex virtualized environments is good; I don't have any problems with it. Nothing comes to mind regarding metrics for using the Layer 2 multipath routing feature; it was good, and there were no problems at all with Cisco FabricPath. Cisco FabricPath's integration with Cisco Nexus works with virtual port channel (VPC) and is good for dual home servers and edge switches. We are using VPC in every layer of the Nexus center. Implementing Cisco FabricPath positively impacted my organization by providing minimum downtimes as the service is always up; everything is working properly with the VPC and Cisco FabricPath. I have experienced operational efficiencies with Cisco FabricPath that are 200% better than the old legacy equipment and protocols.

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VLADIMIR RAMIREZ

Owner at ACANI Soluciones, SA de CV

A low maintenance solution with cybersecurity measures

If we rate the capacity from one to ten, where one is small and ten is big, I will rate it a little more than medium for my customers. In my view, the big ones are the government accounts, but we don't have any because they're too large for us. Our typical customers include pharmacies, for example. These customers vary in size and might need storage solutions of around 50 terabytes. We have a very good relationship with our customers. We provide all the maintenance of our software. For IBM BNT, we and the customer handle all the product analysis, recommendations, and so on. When a customer has an idea or issue, they call us or make a decision and explain the problem. Usually, we have a solution, like making a configuration change—something very simple. If you ask how much time customers spend on maintenance, it's very low because the system is very stable. When advising potential customers about IBM BNT, I often suggest they talk to our current customers. Hearing directly from them about how the solutions work in real-world situations can provide valuable insights. I rate the overall product a nine out of ten.

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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

"The solution has excellent stability."

"Cisco FabricPath operates with minimal errors."

"The technical support we get from Cisco is excellent. It's the best in the industry. We're more than satisfied with the level of service they provide."

"It's very stable."

"I like the 10G ports and the modular uplink port."

"Additional bandwidth is available when needed."

"It's a reliable product and you know that it will work in the enterprise environment."

"The fact that the solution is on the cloud is its most valuable aspect. If you are on the cloud, you can manage your network from anywhere, any place. It's very good."

More Cisco FabricPath pros

"IBM BNT's latest advancements offer cybersecurity measures for network security. Our customers adapt these solutions to their sites and are very happy with the results."

Cons

"In terms of the series, I find that the integration with other teleconferencing applications needs to be more seamless. I have suggested to Cisco that the endpoint device should allow joining calls from Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and other teleconferencing applications. Additionally, I appreciate the recent inclusion of breakout sessions in the Cisco Webex application, which enhances its relevance in the networking field."

"If Cisco can include management for this protocol in Layer 3, that would be ideal."

"They should consider upgrading the memory feature of the product."

"Currently, there are no issues or suggestions for improvement as everything is working smoothly."

"The solution is complex to set up."

"I would like one management console to control the network."

"The documents could improve for Cisco FabricPath. There are times when the relevant information is not present in the different sections of the documents, such as deployment. The documents should be more detailed and enhanced."

"It's important to note that the graphical interface often relies on Java, and compatibility with different versions of Java can be a factor."

More Cisco FabricPath cons

"In terms of improvement, the price is not an issue; it's very good. However, the range of solutions could be improved. Some of our customers are very small, and the current IBM BNT solutions, such as switches, are too large for them. It would be wonderful if we could have switched with maybe 16 ports instead of the usual 24 ports because they don't use all the ports."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I rate it seven out of ten on pricing as it's a bit expensive. It would be better if the price were lower, but we prioritize quality over cost."

"I rate the product's pricing a ten out of ten. Cisco switches cost around 15,000 dollars, and DNS licenses cost around 25,000 dollars. The total amount is 45,000 dollars, which is too expensive."

"Cisco is expensive but offers good-quality features, so I would rate it high on the pricing scale."

"The price of Cisco FabricPath could be reduced, it is expensive in the market here in Sri Lanka. The solution is subscriptions based, if the customer wants any future integrations, or if there are any future enhancements they will have to pay. There are different license options available, such as one or three years purchases."

"The pricing for this product is good."

"The solution falls under the pricier category, but it provides value for the price charged."

"It is very expensive."

"The pricing of Cisco FabricPath can be quite high depending on the architecture, but it's justified by the stability it offers."

More Cisco FabricPath pricing and cost advice

"The solution is cheap. However, I think the price for the final user, who in this case is my customer, might be higher than the usual price. I emphasize the real value of the entire solution, not just the cost of the hardware and software. It's about how the solution helps the customer improve their internal operations."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

University

13%

Manufacturing Company

13%

Recreational Facilities/Services Company

Performing Arts

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	11
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	14

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco FabricPath?

The tool makes it easy to manage multi-layer networking and increases network efficiency. I haven't faced any challenges in integrating it into our existing infrastructure.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco FabricPath?

Cisco is somewhat expensive, but it provides good quality products and operations, so I can't complain about licensing cost and setup costs. There is room for improvement in terms of pricing for th...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Cisco FabricPath?

In future updates, I would prefer to see features such as more AI functionality or better integration added to Cisco FabricPath; more AI would be useful.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM BNT?

The solution is cheap. However, I think the price for the final user, who in this case is my customer, might be higher than the usual price. I emphasize the real value of the entire solution, not j...

See all answers

What needs improvement with IBM BNT?

In terms of improvement, the price is not an issue; it's very good. However, the range of solutions could be improved. Some of our customers are very small, and the current IBM BNT solutions, such ...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for IBM BNT?

We create solutions for data protection and redundancy. Sometimes, we have three or four BNT switches backing up one another. We also manage many partitions and operating systems.

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 45% of the time

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Compared 32% of the time

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Compared 23% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco FabricPath

January 2026

Download Cisco FabricPath product report

Buyer's Guide

LAN Switching

January 2026

Download IBM BNT product report

Also Known As

FabricPath

BNT

Overview

Cisco FabricPath is a Cisco NX-OS software innovation combining the plug-and-play simplicity of Ethernet with the reliability and scalability of Layer 3 routing. Using FabricPath, you can build highly scalable Layer 2 multipath networks without the Spanning Tree Protocol. Such networks are particularly suitable for large virtualization deployments, private clouds, and high-performance computing (HPC) environments. The benefits of Cisco FabricPath include: Minimal commands per switch ease configuration and operation, Autodiscovery simplifies addition of new links and switches, Provision additional network bandwidth without impacting network, Supports one-, two-, or three-tier architectures, VLAN extensibility across the data center.

Cisco

IBM BNT RackSwitch G8264R Model 64C Browser-Based Interface, has forty-eight 10 Gb SFP+ ports and four 40 Gb QSFP+ ports, four 40 Gb QSFP+ ports that can each be converted to four 10 Gb SFP+ ports with optional breakout cable. redundant hot-swappable power supplies and fans. rack front-to-rear airflow, and latency of less than 850 nanoseconds. The BLADEOS Browser-Based Interface (BBI) software is included with the RackSwitch G8264 (G8264). The BBI software lets you use your Web browser to access switch information and statistics, and to perform switch configuration via the Internet.

IBM

Sample Customers

Bellevue, Calligaris, Electricity Authority of Cyprus, Management Science Associates, Multi-Customer, Oediv, Roper St. Francis, SNAM

King's College London

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Netgear and others in LAN Switching. Updated: January 2026.

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