NVIDIA Mellanox and Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center compete in the networking space, offering diverse features for specific needs. NVIDIA Mellanox emphasizes advanced performance, particularly in high-speed data transfer and integration, while Fortinet FortiSwitch stands out for its superior security features, making Fortinet appealing for those prioritizing security over performance.
Features: NVIDIA Mellanox is valued for its high-performance data transfer rates, robust integration capabilities with advanced data center technologies, and ability to handle environments requiring low latency and high throughput. Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center is known for its strong security protocols, integration with FortiGate for enhanced visibility, and comprehensive policy management features.
Room for Improvement: NVIDIA Mellanox could enhance user-friendly management interfaces, improve interoperability with non-proprietary systems, and expand customer education resources. Fortinet FortiSwitch could streamline configuration processes, enhance standalone mode management options, and increase flexibility in integrating third-party hardware.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: NVIDIA Mellanox provides a straightforward deployment experience, ideal for tech-savvy users, accompanied by reliable customer service. Fortinet FortiSwitch offers an easy-to-understand deployment process and excellent customer service, with a notable emphasis on providing personalized support.
Pricing and ROI: NVIDIA Mellanox generally involves higher initial setup costs, promising significant ROI through efficiency gains in performance. Fortinet FortiSwitch presents a more accessible pricing model, with security features enhancing perceived value, thereby delivering a favorable balance between cost and ROI.
The integration of Fortinet infrastructure, including FortiSwitches, is cost-effective compared to Cisco, especially when paired with Fortinet wireless solutions.
Technical partners provide responses within a day for any technical queries.
Customer support needs improvement in terms of speed and reliability.
On a scale from one to 10, I would rate the technical support of Fortinet an eight.
I would assess their technical support as good—not the best, but it is good.
When used in a dedicated Fortinet infrastructure, FortiSwitch scalability is better than some other switches, like Cisco, Meraki, or Arista.
Scalability is generally good, with transitions from gigabit to ten giga, twenty-five giga, and forty giga.
There is room for improvement as it sometimes takes over an hour to push configurations onto the devices from the management tool.
I would rate it a seven because the old versions were not stable, but it is becoming stable over time.
Sometimes, customer support does not provide prompt assistance, leaving projects hanging.
The commercial aspect presents challenges, particularly with pricing, as customers often ask for Juniper or Cisco, brands they are more aware of, which makes awareness about Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center another weak point.
There is room to improve the integration between FortiSwitch and other third-party solutions, as challenges arise when integrating with different vendors.
I think it's okay; it's the best solution for now for AI data centers.
The Fortinet switches come with no additional cost as they are open source, with only hardware warranties applicable.
Pricing is competitive, although it's not the cheapest option.
For its performance, it's cheaper.
The main actual benefit that Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center brought to my customer's environment is secure connectivity while minimizing downtime from unexpected traffic or broadcasting.
This feature allows the switch's ports to be used as firewall ports, enhancing network security by enabling IPS and network profiling directly on the ports.
It allows me to create VLANs, implement security measures, and push configurations using a single tool.
The biggest advantage is that the vendor is the only one providing no-drop traffic.
Product | Market Share (%) |
---|---|
Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center | 2.0% |
NVIDIA Mellanox | 2.0% |
Other | 96.0% |
Company Size | Count |
---|---|
Small Business | 16 |
Midsize Enterprise | 5 |
Large Enterprise | 4 |
Company Size | Count |
---|---|
Small Business | 5 |
Midsize Enterprise | 1 |
Large Enterprise | 2 |
With 10 or 40 GE access ports and a high-throughput backbone, FortiSwitch Data Center Switches are ideal for the top-of-rack (ToR) server or firewall-aggregation applications. The high-speed switching fabric is also well suited for enterprise network core or backbone network installations.
NVIDIA Mellanox empowers data centers with advanced networking capabilities, featuring RDMA, user-friendly interfaces, efficient design, and competitive performance. Designed for Linux-based environments, it ensures robust network automation and AI integration.
Known for its compact hardware, NVIDIA Mellanox delivers dependable networking through its innovative features like no-drop traffic handling and essential data center protocols BGP EVPN and VXLAN. It enhances efficiency with its integration into AI-driven environments and extensive configuration options on Linux. Though the installation and its command-line interface pose challenges for some, its automation capabilities complement complex infrastructures in data centers. Users highlight its scalability in networking, yet seek improvements in documentation, training, and OS transition aspects for smoother integration and enhanced accessibility. Ongoing advancements are anticipated, particularly regarding support response and platform compatibility like Elastic.
What are the key features of NVIDIA Mellanox?In industries operating networking infrastructures, NVIDIA Mellanox offers LAN and AI data center solutions, integral to high-performance computing. Users in sectors utilizing spine-and-leaf topology for top-of-rack and core devices leverage its infinite band speed and EVPN/VxLan capabilities. With support for edge, storage, and border gate switches, it optimizes networking automation beginning with Ethernet-based setups. Organizations gradually enhance complexity as their networking needs evolve.
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