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Cisco Nexus vs Cisco Nexus 9000 Series comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 1, 2026

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
Ranking in Data Center Networking
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
108
Ranking in other categories
LAN Switching (2nd)
Cisco Nexus 9000 Series
Ranking in Data Center Networking
6th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
5.3
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
Ethernet Switches (9th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Data Center Networking category, the mindshare of Cisco Nexus is 10.4%, down from 17.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Nexus 9000 Series is 4.3%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Center Networking Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Nexus10.4%
Cisco Nexus 9000 Series4.3%
Other85.3%
Data Center Networking
 

Featured Reviews

Fakhar Mahmood - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. Network Administrator at i2c
Migration between data centers has strengthened core connectivity and simplified segmentation
The biggest problems during migration were corporate issues, including dependencies on other devices such as F5, HSMs, and firewalls from Palo Alto. Everything was connected over the core switches, which made this a quite difficult part to manage and to onboard the teams and to understand the impact of the migration. We encountered an issue where we have two data centers, and unknowingly we were configuring the devices with the same VPC number on both devices. By doing that, we were not able to terminate the lease lines over those core switches. According to Cisco, we had to change the VPC number of one of the data center's core switches since they are in a VPC. We are still waiting, and it has been more than five to six years just to change the VPC number and migrate back the lease line. Now we are having cabin switches for the lease line and then the core switch. That VPC number issue was quite surprising for us. However, we have a very frequent issue with Cisco Nexus, particularly with the SFPs. Every time a port or the SFP heats up, it gets faulty. We have almost sixteen Nexus switches per data center. In a year, we experience one or two port issues per annum. We have standard Equinix data centers with standard installations, but somehow the temperature is always maintained and there is no ducting, yet the ports and the SFPs heat up or become faulty. This is a very frequent issue with the SFP-based port.
AS
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The initial setup is pretty easy."
"The most valuable features of this solution are scalability and reliability."
"In general, Cisco products are excellent and we've been really happy with them."
"It is good because when we went to purchase this, we did not have all the information and knowing that there are a lot of options with all those differences, we had some issues, but it is obvious that this solution is going to do everything that we need."
"Regarding maintaining infrastructure, we have achieved uniformity."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is its stability."
"The integrations are valuable."
"Cisco Nexus provides a reliable switching platform for our data centers."
"Performance has been great with no abnormal behaviors detected, and the network remains stable even in failover scenarios, supporting vast environments with high availability."
"There has been improvement in our connectivity with Cisco Nexus 9000 Series, and there is less drag."
"RealPresence works effectively."
"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 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."
"Cisco Nexus 9000 Series is very durable and very reliable, and there has never been any issue with it."
"We are using the core capabilities of Cisco Nexus 9000 Series Ethernet switches, and it is performing well."
"According to the customers, they are not utilizing even 40% of the switches because the capacity is very large."
 

Cons

"The problem with Cisco, from what I see, is that their costs are much higher."
"We lag on the configuration. The changes make a difference in troubleshooting."
"Data center access is stable and high speed but it is not compatible with Cisco's server hardware devices. The solution can be technically improved and can have features like automation, better visibility, better functionality, and cheap pricing."
"My only complaint is that not all of the ports on it are enabled from the start."
"The price is a con."
"I feel that this solution should be more flexible and scalable."
"It is a bit expensive to get started."
"If I call during a high volume, I might get someone that just doesn't know as much or it takes a little bit of time and they put us on hold more. Otherwise, it's good."
"When trying to contact support, we had issues trying to get someone to help us."
"The SFP modules we are using have had issues. We have Cisco modules, but they frequently heat up or there are packet error issues."
"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."
"Cost-wise, Cisco Nexus 9000 Series is very expensive."
"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."
"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."
"In terms of automation with Cisco Nexus 9000 Series, it could be better."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution should be more cost-effective in general."
"I don't like the Smart Licensing models that Cisco uses."
"We have a virtual license."
"We only have a yearly support contract, as we do not use any of the subscription-based functions at this time."
"The problem with Cisco, from what I see, is that their costs are much higher."
"It's around $160K a year for our license."
"Licensing is annual or every three years. We were one of the big customers, and we used to get good prices, but the cost of the support can be improved."
"The solution is expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Construction Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Comms Service Provider
21%
Outsourcing Company
16%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Construction Company
11%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise17
Large Enterprise83
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Large Enterprise5
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Nexus?
Cisco Nexus switches are generally priced at the higher end of the market, but their performance, scalability, and reliability make them a strong option for enterprise data centers. The overall cos...
What needs improvement with Cisco Nexus?
The biggest problems during migration were corporate issues, including dependencies on other devices such as F5, HSMs, and firewalls from Palo Alto. Everything was connected over the core switches,...
What is your primary use case for Cisco Nexus?
Cisco Nexus is used in data centers with a simple Nexus OS deployment model. In our environment, we do not use programmability with Cisco Nexus. The switches are used very basically in our infrastr...
What needs improvement with Cisco Nexus 9000 Series?
I have not configured the DNA, but I have configured Cisco Intersight, and from Intersight, I have managed monitoring of the servers and switches. I have not given a 10 because there is some depend...
What is your primary use case for Cisco Nexus 9000 Series?
I am a system integrator and user myself. I have worked with Cisco Smart switches, Nexus switches, and Meraki MS switches. I have deployed these switches for Oil and Gas companies in India.
What advice do you have for others considering Cisco Nexus 9000 Series?
I have been dealing with Cisco series Smart switches and Nexus series, and I have worked with the Nexus switches. I have good support from the overlay technology support in Nexus 1900 for enhanced ...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Advanced Medical Transport, Banco de Guayaquil, Baylor Scott & White Health, BH Telecom, Bowling Green State University, Calligaris, Children's Hospital Colorado, City of Biel, Del Papa Distributing, Department of Justice, Dimension Data, Dualtec Cloud Builders, Electricity Authority of Cyprus, Grupo Industrial Saltillo (GIS), Hertz, K&L Gates , LightEdge, Lone Star College System, Management Science Associates, Mindtree, NBC Olympics, Quest, Sony Corporation, The Department of Education in Western Australia, Valley Proteins
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Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Nexus vs. Cisco Nexus 9000 Series and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
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