Cisco Nexus Reviews

I am an engineer and work primarily with our data center network and data center security. The Nexus switch is a data center switch and I have a lot of recent experience with it. My company is a solution provider and this is one of the products that we sell to our clients.

The 9000 series works really well in the spine-and-leaf architecture and gives you capabilities up to 400 gig.

The most valuable feature is performance. Not many customers are using the 400 gig speed yet, but you do have flexibility as if you're going to run the ports at 10 gig, 40 gig, or 100 gig. That port flexibility is really important.

There is an ongoing problem with the limitation of the TCAM table, which is that it doesn't have enough memory to allow you to be really granular with your policy. Without enough memory, it requires manual manipulation if you exceed or get near to the TCAM limits. They have improved it, but in the early days, it took down some companies.

I have been using Cisco products for many years and have experience with the Nexus line since it was first released.

These switches are very stable.

The spine-and-leaf architecture is very scalable. If you need more ports to plug servers in, you add more leaves. If you need more throughput then you add more spines.

All of the switches at the top are the spine, and those plug into those are the leaves, and then the servers plug into the leaves. It's highly scalable, because if you have more servers then just purchase two more switches. If you need more throughput and better performance, then you just purchase two switches for the spine. You can continue to scale out the model very simply.

The Nexus 9000 platform is by far the best-selling and most popular, and there are a couple of reasons for that. It's less expensive than a 7K or 5K solution and in fact, we hardly sell the 5Ks anymore. The 9000 really works well in the spine-and-leaf, which is the current architecture.

The initial setup is really straightforward and if you use ACI, running on top of the Nexus 9K, you don't really have to do anything but plug the switches in. The software manages all of the policy.

Without ACI, setup requires the use of the command line, which is the same as it's always been.

The maintenance can be handled by one person or a small team.

The Nexus 9000 is very competitively priced. 

The Nexus Dashboard is a relatively new product that is in the portfolio for the data center. It hosts the multi-site orchestrator and has functionality for self-healing and self-optimizing of the data center network. It's Nexus' best work.

My advice for anybody who is considering this solution is that if you're looking to cut costs in the data center, there's not that big of a difference between a Cisco switch and other switches. But, when it comes to things like storage, between the most expensive and the least expensive, there's a lot of different pricing in there. So, I wouldn't cut costs on your switches. I would suggest looking at other areas where you can cut costs.

I would rate this solution a ten out of ten.

I use the solution in the customer's companies. I have used many different version of the solution. 

I find all the data center features to be most valuable, such as VXLAN and OTV. The ACI and FEX connectivity are good features too. Cisco is refining the features all the time and you can see this in all the different vendors.

They could improve on having different technologies between product models. The management dashboard could be better if it could handle the Catalyst and the Nexus at the same time. If Cisco could find management connectivity between the DMA center and the ACI connectivity this would be helpful.

I have been using the product for more than ten years.

The solution is stable.

I have found the scalability good with this product.

The support we received was excellent.

I have worked previously with Catalyst version 6500, 4500, and 3750 series, most of them.

The setup of the solution was easy.

The price of the product is reasonable.

In all the benchmarks and testing that I did, I found the best solution to be Cisco. I recommend the product. They have a good product with all the features that are required. 

I rate Cisco Nexus a nine out of ten.

The most valuable features are extensions and recorded scalability.

Areas for improvement would be the delivery timeline for the actual model, the length of which means we have to sacrifice a range of models because we can't wait six months for delivery.

I've been working with this solution for a few months.

In terms of stability, it's so far so good - we haven't faced any big issues at this point.

We want to extend out to other regions, which is very easy to achieve if compared to the typical traditional legacy layer 2 switch, layer 3 routing approach.

The initial setup wasn't simple or user-friendly. We're still in the process of fully deploying - currently, we've been working on it for around three months.

We used the Cisco team to implement, with whom we've had a good experience. We've also had support from HPE, who are very technically strong and able to answer any questions we have on the spot.

I don't like the Smart Licensing models that Cisco uses.

Cisco is one of the most stable solutions, regardless of which model. I would give this solution a rating of eight out of ten.

We are using the Cisco Nexus as our core switch for our main backbone.

I have been using Cisco Nexus for approximately two years.

The solution is stable.

Nowadays, every five years technology changes. However, you will find customers who are using the same Cisco switch which has a life span of five years or seven years, will still be using them for more than 10 years without raising a single ticket. This is the confidence they have in Cisco. This is my personal customer experience, it makes it difficult for us to generate business. We can do a technology refresh or a product replacement But when there is Cisco, it is tough for any person to replace that solution. Cisco has that X factor in their solutions, and specifically with networking. Nexus is definitely their bread and butter. It is an exceptional solution.

Cisco Nexus is scalable.

We have approximately two customers.

The Technical support of Cisco is really good. It is a core switch, you require three to four hours, same business day support. They give you a good resolution within that time. They are good at troubleshooting.

The installation is straightforward. If you have someone who is certified to do the implementation of Cisco Nexus they can do it quickly. 

All other switches, such as distributed switches and access switches connect to the Cisco Nexus switch. If you have done everything correctly including the sizing, there should not be an issue at the time of installation.

we have one manager and one engineer for the deployment and maintenance of the solution.

The subscription model and price could be better.

I would recommend this solution to others.

I rate Cisco Nexus an eight out of ten.

Cisco Nexus could also have better documentation.

Moreover, it would be nice if the solution offered multiple types of port support. It does not have, for example, a single switch for both internet and fiber ports. 

I have been using Cisco Nexus for around 10 years.

The solution has demonstrated stability thus far. 

The solution is scalable.

The technical support is fine.

For Cisco, we use Nexus and 2900.

The initial setup is easy.

As I deal with the technical aspects of the solution, I am not in a position to comment on the price. 

We consider Juniper switches to be more affordable.

I use the solution in my own company. It works.

There are around 500-plus devices being utilized in our organization. 

My advice to others is that they get initial hands-on experience in a lab environment. This should involve a proper grasp of the solution's features, such as that which concerns troubleshooting and may involve a different setup. Only at this point should one enter the production stage. 

I rate Cisco Nexus as a seven out of ten. 

We use this solution for many purposes. For example, to automate Nexus switches and to view the modern architecture network, such as SDN.

The most valuable features are the solution is robust, you are able to use it for fabric architecture as well as SPAN on exit with the controller.

Nexus switches should be able to support network function virtualization (NFV).

I have been using the solution for approximately five years.

I have found Cisco Nexus switches highly scalable.

This solution is very scalable because of the architecture. We have approximately 400 users using this solution in my organization.

I am satisfied with the Cisco support, they are very good. 

The installation is very easy and it took me approximately 10 minutes to install.

We did the implementation of the solution ourselves. We have a few administrators that do the implementation and maintenance of the solution. We do not need a really big team because it can be automated, we need them mostly for orchestration.

I rate Cisco Nexus a nine out of ten.

We are using it for the data center. We have its latest version.

Its low latency is most valuable. Its performance is good, and it is also very stable.

The operating system needs to be improved. There should be stability in the operating system, and it should not have as many vulnerabilities.

It is very expensive. Its price could be better.

I have been using this solution for ten years.

It is very stable.

It is a really good scalable product. Currently, we have about 50 users. We don't have any plans to increase its usage.

I don't have experience with the technical support of Cisco.

We didn't use any other solution previously.

Its installation is straightforward. It only takes 15 minutes.

We do it ourselves. We have about four admins for deployment and maintenance.

It is very expensive. Its licensing is on a yearly basis.

We didn't evaluate other options.

I would recommend this solution to others. Cisco is a good vendor to work with.

I would rate Cisco Nexus an eight out of ten.

We use the solution in a data center farm.

We have found that logical tenant segregation to be the most useful feature.

The software is not as mature as it could be and needs some integration improvements with other orchestrators.

I have been using the solution for three years.

When it comes to the stability we had some issues with some software features due to a release bug. The hardware itself is pretty stable. 

The solution is scalable.

The initial installation is pretty straightforward, it takes approximately an hour. When you start with the configuration and moving forward from there, which is not only a matter of technical configuration or the key component but the integration into the environment, this can take several hours.

The solution is expensive.

I would advise others before implantation this solution to study. There are some big changes in respect to the previous concept of networking. There is a learning curve that needs to be considered.

I rate Cisco Nexus an eight out of ten.