Cisco Nexus 9000 Series vs Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access comparison

Cisco Nexus 9000 Series vs. Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access

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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

Cisco Nexus 9000 Series

Ranking in Ethernet Switches

9th

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

5.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Data Center Networking (5th)

Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secu...

Ranking in Ethernet Switches

12th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of Cisco Nexus 9000 Series is 1.2%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access is 3.1%, down from 4.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Ethernet Switches Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Cisco Nexus 9000 Series	1.2%
Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access	3.1%
Other	95.7%

Ethernet Switches

Featured Reviews

AbhinavSingh

Technical Marketing Engineer Hybrid Cloud Infrastructures at NetApp

Policy-driven data centers have delivered low-latency connectivity for critical applications

The most critical and important feature in Cisco Nexus 9000 Series is VPC. Apart from VPC, there are many other features in Cisco Nexus 9000 Series that stand out as advantages. You can apply access control lists on that. You can do Layer 3 capabilities. You can configure HSRP. You can implement VRFs. You can isolate the L3 network within your data center. It has a lot of features including network segmentation capabilities. You can apply a lot of security hardening and manage the access on the switches through auditing to see who is doing what and restrict access based on the network admin role. These are great features. The overlay technology support in Cisco Nexus 9000 Series is good for large-scale deployment where you are going to build something like a hyperscaler. You need more network segments, and with VXLAN, you can definitely build a large fabric with those Nexus switches.

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Hassan Mohamed

Cyber Security Manager at Greater Cairo Water Company (GCWC)

Zero Trust access has improved branch security and provides granular visibility for all devices

Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access has substantial automation because the configuration is managed from FortiGate dashboard. Automation increases performance and decreases installation time. I mentioned the unique specifications of the switch and the solution at the start. Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access granular visibility features have helped me manage IoT devices. I can see every device in the network and the details about each device because FortiGate has an inventory of every device, making the integration between Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access and FortiGate unique. The deep integration with Fortinet's Security Fabric is very important for threat intelligence in my organization. Reliability is key, and automation contributes significantly to network performance optimization in my organization. I have to use FortiLink for automatic UTM extension, as it is a unique proprietary protocol to manage Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access through FortiGate. Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access is a switch that is related to its Secure Access feature. I gave this review a rating of 9.

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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

"There has been improvement in our connectivity with Cisco Nexus 9000 Series, and there is less drag."

"The performance in data center operations with Cisco Nexus 9000 Series is excellent; we have never faced any performance issues."

"We are using the core capabilities of Cisco Nexus 9000 Series Ethernet switches, and it is performing well."

"The stability and reliability of Cisco Nexus 9000 Series are robust, and once you put it on, it does not just fail; that takes a long time, maybe even years."

"For one of the biggest European customers, they deployed Cisco Nexus for their core networking and it has been running for a few years without having a single downtime."

"Cisco Nexus 9000 Series is easy to use, and the performance is exceptional."

"Performance has been great with no abnormal behaviors detected, and the network remains stable even in failover scenarios, supporting vast environments with high availability."

"Cisco Nexus 9000 Series is quite a complex machine, but we are using a very simple configuration with basic Nexus switching, and we don't have many issues with Cisco Nexus 9000 Series at the moment in our present infrastructure."

More Cisco Nexus 9000 Series pros

"It's easy to be configured and powerful in terms of performance."

"Stability and scalability for this product are very good, setup is easy and deployment can be completed within minutes, and the technical support for Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access is good."

"With FortiSwitch, you can easily identify who is connected to each port, disable ports as needed, and retrieve configurations from FortiGate when required."

"Fortinet is working well for us overall."

"It is a stable solution from the security front."

"I would rate the the ease of management and scalability within our network architecture an eight out of ten, with ten being best."

"This solution is affordable, it makes sense, and it's easy to manage so it saves you time in both practice and in technical training."

"If you want to run full integration with the secure network architecture from a single point, you can use Fortinet."

More Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access pros

Cons

"In terms of automation with Cisco Nexus 9000 Series, it could be better."

"We find that Cisco has been left behind by the other vendors. The other vendors have adopted new technology, and we find Cisco lagging behind."

"For Cisco Nexus 9000 Series switches, I think we need to work on the HSRP. Whenever it flaps or something happens, it creates an issue."

"The potential for improvement lies in the licensing aspect, which is somewhat confusing. The perpetual and subscription licensing is a concern."

"I would like to see features that control traffic and maintain service continuity during the transfer of signals from physical connections to servers."

"I would rate the technical support for Cisco Nexus 9000 Series an eight out of ten. This rating is not because of their lack of expertise, but just the assignment period."

"When trying to contact support, we had issues trying to get someone to help us."

"Even though it is expensive, I am not sure about the return on investment. It is expensive, and you will need to pay for subscription fees that also are not cheap."

More Cisco Nexus 9000 Series cons

"It would also help if they lowered the cost of their service."

"More integration would be helpful, especially since we sometimes have devices from other companies. Improved interoperability would be very beneficial."

"I'd like to see more integration with different platforms."

"Renewing the annual licenses for Secure the Switch FortiSwitch can be cumbersome, especially considering the relatively high cost of Fortinet licenses."

"It would be easier if Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access could be managed via cloud, and this is something that could be improved in this product. Bandwidth display could also be better."

"If you contact Fortinet, it's a bit difficult. Most of the time, they send you just links and documents to read for troubleshooting. When you contact support, you don't need documents. You want someone that can understand your problem, give a hand, and help you. I'm not impressed by the support really."

"I would like Fortinet to make this product easier to configure."

"The product's end-user protection feature needs improvement."

More Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"The product's pricing is less compared to other enterprise solutions."

"Licensing is billed annually and contracts are either one or three years in length."

"We have to pay for the solution's subscription."

"The cost appears to be high in comparison to other competing products although with this product you are paying for what you get."

"The solution is expensive but overall the cost makes sense."

"The solution has reasonable pricing. The firewall costs around 500$ annually."

"The pricing for Fortinet FortiSwitch is not expensive."

"Licensing is easy: FortiCare and that's it."

More Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Comms Service Provider

22%

Outsourcing Company

17%

Manufacturing Company

12%

Construction Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

Outsourcing Company

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	7
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	6

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	39
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	7

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Cisco Nexus 9000 Series?

I would appreciate improvements in Cisco Nexus 9000 Series as data center equipment. I would like to see features that control traffic and maintain service continuity during the transfer of signals...

What is your primary use case for Cisco Nexus 9000 Series?

I am working with multiple clients, approximately ten clients who use Cisco Nexus 9000 Series in their data centers. I am currently supporting clients with Cisco Nexus 9000 Series and Cisco technol...

What advice do you have for others considering Cisco Nexus 9000 Series?

In networking, I recommend Cisco for switching and data center equipment including switching, Wi-Fi, and Cisco ISE to clients every time. It is still a perfect solution due to its high pricing, but...

Which would you choose - Fortinet Fortiswitch secure access or Cisco Ethernet Switches?

We researched Cisco but ultimately chose Fortinet FortiSwitch Secure Access, mostly because of the price. Fortinet FortiSwitch is an ethernet switch solution that provides security and performance...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access?

The price is very affordable. The price is comfortable for me.

What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access?

I believe enhancement in security is essential for Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access. Fortinet needs to perform extensive testing to improve its reliability. If they achieve that, I think it wil...

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Compared 6% of the time

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Compared 5% of the time

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Compared 20% of the time

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Compared 17% of the time

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Compared 6% of the time

Ubiquiti UniFi Switches vs Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access

Compared 5% of the time

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Compared 4% of the time

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Product Reports

Cisco Nexus 9000 Series

Download Cisco Nexus 9000 Series product report

Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access

Download Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access product report

Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access report

Overview

Cisco Nexus 9000 Series offers ease of use, high performance, and flexibility with support for VPCs, VXLAN, SDN, and Layer 3 capabilities, optimizing policy management and network segmentation.

This series is recognized for its stability and high-density interfaces. Integrating seamlessly with Cisco DNA and ACI, it enhances data center operations through efficient port channeling and trunking for VLAN management. The ability to support multiple connection speeds allows expanded network connectivity. Despite its strengths, Cisco Nexus 9000 can benefit from improved third-party integration, simplifying licensing, and reducing costs, while addressing traffic control and Spanning Tree protocol challenges. Regular OS patches could better support networking engineers in bug management.

What are the key features of Cisco Nexus 9000 Series?

VPCs and VXLAN support: Enhances virtualization for efficient resource use.
Software-Defined Networking: Facilitates agile network management.
Layer 3 capabilities: Offers robust routing and switching options.
Integration with Cisco DNA and ACI: Supports advanced policy-driven approaches.
Port channeling and trunking: Simplifies VLAN management.
High-density interfaces: Supports expanding network needs.

What benefits and ROI should users consider in evaluations?

Performance and flexibility: Adaptability to various networking environments.
Stability and reliability: Strong data center performance.
Connectivity options: Wide range of connection speed support.
Data center optimization: Enhanced operations through efficient management features.

Cisco Nexus 9000 Series finds its place in data centers, serving as top-of-rack, core, or federator switches. It caters to critical enterprise applications, databases, and on-premises data centers requiring low latency and high bandwidth. While integration with advanced Cisco DNA features is minimal, users predominantly implement it in non-cloud environments.

Cisco

Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access offers centralized control and seamless FortiGate integration, enhancing network management and security with single-console operations. Known for user-friendly configurations, it supports VLAN, PoE, and cloud-based management.

Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access provides a powerful network management solution, emphasizing integration with FortiGate for streamlined operations and enhanced security protocols. Its interface and straightforward configuration support effective device management. While recognized for robust performance and affordability, users seek improvements in pricing, support, and firmware reliability. FortiSwitch fits into industries such as education, healthcare, and retail, providing secure remote access and connectivity for campus environments and remote sites. Clients value its comprehensive management features but suggest enhancements in standalone management, terminology clarity, and initial setup.

What are the key features?

Centralized Control: Seamlessly integrates with FortiGate for streamlined management.
User-Friendly Interface: Simplified device management through easy configurations.
VLAN and PoE Support: Enhance connectivity with advanced network management capabilities.
Cloud-Based Management: Provides flexible and scalable network administration.
Robust Performance: Ensures high reliability and scalability for diverse network needs.

What benefits and ROI should users consider?

Affordability: Offers cost-effective network management solutions.
Scalability: Adapts to growing network demands with ease.
Efficient Deployment: Reduces need for extensive technical expertise.
Enhanced Security: Strengthens network protection across various environments.
Comprehensive Management: Centralizes operations for improved network oversight.

In industries like education, healthcare, and retail, Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access is implemented to manage network security and infrastructure efficiently. Organizations use it to integrate with FortiGate, ensuring centralized management and improved security. It is deployed for secure remote access and connectivity for campuses and remote sites, enhancing security requirements in these sectors. Fortinet partners and customers benefit from its advanced management features, supporting VLANs and access-level connectivity for phones and computers, aligning with industry-specific demands.

Fortinet

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data

Cisco Nexus 9000 Series vs. Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access