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Arista Campus LAN Switches vs Cisco FabricPath comparison

Arista and Cisco are both solutions in the LAN Switching category. Arista is ranked #11 with an average rating of 8.3, while Cisco is ranked #6 with an average rating of 8.3. Arista holds a 2.7% mindshare in LS, compared to Cisco’s 2.7% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Arista users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Cisco users who would recommend it.
Arista Campus LAN Switches
Read 7 Arista Campus LAN Switches reviews
  • 241 Views
  • 241 Comparison Views
100% willing to recommend
Cisco FabricPath
Read 31 Cisco FabricPath reviews
  • 393 Views
  • 377 Comparison Views
96% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 6, 2025

Arista Campus LAN Switches and Cisco FabricPath compete in the networking equipment market, aiming to enhance network efficiency with distinct advantages. Cisco FabricPath offers advanced features that may justify its higher cost, but Arista's appealing pricing and customer service make it a strong contender.

Features: Arista Campus LAN Switches are appreciated for their streamlined architecture, high availability, and scalability. Cisco FabricPath is recognized for its robust feature set that enhances performance and reliability in complex environments. Cisco delivers a comprehensive solution for intricate networks, while Arista focuses on simplicity for growing networks.

Room for Improvement: Arista could expand on advanced security features, integrate more cloud-based management options, and offer enhanced QoS controls. Cisco FabricPath may improve on reducing complexity for smaller deployments, offer more affordable configuration options, and enhance interoperability with non-Cisco devices.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco FabricPath provides a well-structured deployment model with extensive documentation, beneficial for large networks with complex needs. Arista Campus LAN Switches offer straightforward deployment and responsive customer service, ensuring immediate assistance and simpler integration across various network sizes.

Pricing and ROI: Arista provides budget-friendly setup costs, offering significant ROI with scalable solutions. Cisco FabricPath's setup costs are higher, justified by its feature-rich offerings, especially for networks requiring advanced functionalities. Arista is cost-efficient, while Cisco reflects its value through extensive capabilities.

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To learn more, read our detailed Arista Campus LAN Switches vs. Cisco FabricPath Report (Updated: July 2025).
Buyer's Guide
Arista Campus LAN Switches vs. Cisco FabricPath
July 2025
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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

Arista Campus LAN Switches
Ranking in LAN Switching
11th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Cisco FabricPath
Ranking in LAN Switching
6th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
31
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the LAN Switching category, the mindshare of Arista Campus LAN Switches is 2.7%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco FabricPath is 2.7%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
LAN Switching
 

Featured Reviews

Moshiur-Rahman Khan - PeerSpot reviewer
A switching solution that provides seamless connectivity but has a high renewal cost
We have numerous implementations of Arista switches. Cisco has a significant issue. It cannot maintain its service commitment regarding daily LAN returns, leading to client dissatisfaction. There are substantial delivery delays. Furthermore, Cisco currently charges double for the same product, which impacts cost-effectiveness. We found an issue with Arista Campus LAN Switches regarding license renewals. We have to renew the license every three years, which can be a challenge for customers. Arista, like other vendors, now follows a license-based system. In the past, we could purchase a Cisco system that would run without needing continuous license renewals. However, the current model requires regular license renewals, typically every three years, similar to Arista's approach. The renewal cost for Arista licenses is quite high. For instance, Cisco's renewal cost is about 22% of the total system cost, and Aroware also has a 22% renewal cost. In contrast, Arista's renewal cost is almost 55% or more, presenting a significant challenge for customers.
Read full review
SanjitAchary - PeerSpot reviewer
Delivers comprehensive assessments and superior post-procurement service
In Southeast Asian countries like Indonesia and Malaysia, and in the Latin America region, delivery times can be quite lengthy. This is challenging in terms of logistics and customs. Additionally, parts availability in these regions needs improvement to address hardware failure situations, such as the availability of parts like a power cable.
Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The technology is scalable as much as you want."
"QoS is the most valuable feature because our clients work with VOIP and Critical applications."
"The feature sets are pretty cool. They've got almost everything that the competition offers."
"I use the solution for connectivity in data centers and LANs, providing Layer 2 and Layer 3 connectivity based on network needs."
"The solution's most valuable feature is its stability because Arista falls in an industry that is very similar to Cisco."
"The CloudVision Portal allows us to centrally manage all of our Arista products."
"The technical assistance is good."
"I have experienced operational efficiencies with Cisco FabricPath that are 200% better than the old legacy equipment and protocols."
"Cisco FabricPath is very fast, stable, extendable, and scalable. It doesn't have issues with patches or problems because it's built on the stable NXOS operating system. In a scenario using FabricPath, the spin and leaf architecture is beneficial. For example, we can use two separate spine switches like 9980s and multiple leaf switches as access switches. These leaf switches are connected using VPC between them, with each switch separated and not directly connected to the spine. This setup improves data center architecture by allowing two ways to arrange destinations, connecting the first connection to the first spine and the second to the second spine. The spines are configured as a virtual chassis. In FabricPath, we can enhance VXLANs, VPNs, and integrate with Cisco ISE for user authentication. It can also be configured with WLC to manage wireless technology, depending on the client's architecture."
"The most valuable feature is the central management where the customer can receive all the alerts."
"It is a stable solution...It is a scalable soltuion."
"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."
"One of the most valuable features of Cisco FabricPath is its protocol freedom, which allows me to use multiple protocols at a time, such as Spanning Tree to prevent loops in the network."
"The most valuable features are the security, web control, and traffic control."
More Cisco FabricPath pros
 

Cons

"It would be ideal if the solution was less expensive."
"We have to renew the license every three years, which can be a challenge for customers. Arista, like other vendors, now follows a license-based system."
"I think there's still room for improvement. Arista Campus LAN Switches are not highly scalable as they are hardware-based. If hardware requirements exceed capacity, the product needs to be changed, which can impact service."
"I would like to see a version available with eight or sixteen ports."
"The complex setup phase is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"One of the issues that we have been faced with here in Brazil is that we don't have any list times for delivery."
"There is room for improvement in terms of pricing for the Cisco solution. They are somewhat good at the starting point, but when you get the license and such, it becomes very expensive."
"Cisco FabricPath can be integrated into data centers and remote sites. For example, in a bank, we can extend the architecture to remote branches by implementing switches connected to the first and second spine for redundancy. This setup allows for VXLAN, VLAN, and SGT for user authentication. We can also use wireless technology through the data plane and route it on L3. This setup provides scalability and visibility. This technology is deployed in the USA, France, and Europe. For instance, BNP Paribas in France uses this technology."
"It's important to note that the graphical interface often relies on Java, and compatibility with different versions of Java can be a factor."
"The prices for FabricPath are very high, and Cisco also takes a long time to deliver products (in Mexico, the delivery time is eight months)."
"They should consider upgrading the memory feature of the product."
"The price is a little bit too high."
"Currently, there are no issues or suggestions for improvement as everything is working smoothly."
"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."
More Cisco FabricPath cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The only licensing costs are for CloudVision, although the upfront price of the device is not cheap."
"The price is not that good, but our clients value the solution despite the price."
"Cisco is expensive but offers good-quality features, so I would rate it high on the pricing scale."
"The pricing for this product is good."
"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."
"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."
"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."
"FabricPath is very reasonably priced."
"The solution falls under the pricier category, but it provides value for the price charged."
More Cisco FabricPath pricing and cost advice
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Government
16%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Arista Campus LAN Switches?
I have cross-checked because this network is a ten-gig network. We are using the multigig switches, which Cisco also has. We found that Cisco's cost is 100%, while the cost of the multi-gig switche...
See all answers
What needs improvement with Arista Campus LAN Switches?
I think there's still room for improvement. Arista Campus LAN Switches are not highly scalable as they are hardware-based. If hardware requirements exceed capacity, the product needs to be changed,...
See all answers
What is your primary use case for Arista Campus LAN Switches?
I use the solution for connectivity in data centers and LANs, providing Layer 2 and Layer 3 connectivity based on network needs.
See all answers
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
 

Comparisons

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Cisco Nexus vs Arista Campus LAN Switches
Compared 37% of the time
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HPE ProCurve vs Cisco FabricPath Logo
HPE ProCurve vs Cisco FabricPath
Compared 35% of the time
Juniper QFabric vs Cisco FabricPath Logo
Juniper QFabric vs Cisco FabricPath
Compared 35% of the time
More Cisco FabricPath Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
LAN Switching
June 2025
Arista Campus LAN Switches reportDownload Arista Campus LAN Switches product report
Buyer's Guide
Cisco FabricPath
July 2025
Cisco FabricPath reportDownload Cisco FabricPath product report
 

Also Known As

No data available
FabricPath
 

Overview

Arista Campus LAN Switches are the perfect network solution for your most demanding workloads.With native support for VMware Virtualization and hundreds of Linux applications integrated into hardware platforms designed to meet the stringent power and cooling requirements of today's most demanding data centers, Arista delivers the most efficient and best performing 10Gb Ethernet platforms.
Arista
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
 

Sample Customers

University of Winchester, AWE, picturemaxx, Medical Mutual, Leonix, CloudEra, National Physical Laboratory, Tri-State G&T, AIS, Morph, SingTel, SDSC, BBC
Bellevue, Calligaris, Electricity Authority of Cyprus, Management Science Associates, Multi-Customer, Oediv, Roper St. Francis, SNAM
Buyer's Guide
Arista Campus LAN Switches vs. Cisco FabricPath
July 2025
Free Report: Arista Campus LAN Switches vs. Cisco FabricPath
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