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Arista Networks Platform vs Cisco Ethernet Switches comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
6.7
Arista Networks Platform delivers good ROI, justifies higher costs with long-term savings, especially compared to Cisco and Juniper.
Sentiment score
7.5
Cisco Ethernet Switches offer reliability and efficiency, resulting in higher uptime, cost-effectiveness, and substantial long-term investment returns.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.6
Arista Networks Platform offers fast, proficient support, praised for direct engineer access and high customer satisfaction globally.
Sentiment score
6.6
Cisco customer service is praised for responsiveness and efficiency, though support quality varies globally and integration issues exist.
They provide instant support and maintain commitments regarding replacement products.
According to my team’s feedback, we receive extended support from the Arista team.
Cisco support is quick and responsive, often answering within an hour.
It takes two to three days for Cisco support to address issues.
Currently, we don't have any technical support because our license doesn't allow for direct support.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Arista Networks Platform offers scalable, reliable networking for data centers, praised for network capacity, low latency, and intuitive management.
Sentiment score
8.0
Cisco Ethernet Switches offer flexibility and scalability, but some users are concerned about high costs and limited scalability.
Scalability is a key feature of Arista, owing to the possibilities to manage the entire data center network from a single console.
Cisco mainly provides security, patch management, hardware reliability, durability, scalability, and security features supporting my organization's expansion.
The latest products do not allow integration with the earlier environment.
The scalability depends on the model.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Arista Networks Platform is highly stable with minimal downtime, praised for reliability when following best practice configurations.
Sentiment score
8.9
Cisco Ethernet Switches are praised for stability, reliability, and durability, offering minimal disruptions and consistent low-maintenance performance.
The switches are very stable, rated ten out of ten.
 

Room For Improvement

Arista Networks needs better documentation, integration, pricing, security, stability, management, community support, and network feature expansion.
Cisco Ethernet Switches need improved usability, security, pricing, support, integration, stability, scalability, and enhanced management features.
Feature-wise, it addresses most customer requirements.
Arista Networks is currently less popular as they were initially more focused on data centers than campus networks.
The pricing and hardware warranty renewal costs are more expensive than other products.
FortiGate switches are considered more valuable because they have firewall capabilities.
In the data center portion, we need to provide the fiber channel and Nexus switch to use a more reliable solution.
 

Setup Cost

Arista Networks is costly, with high hardware and licensing expenses, especially compared to Huawei and NETGEAR, affecting affordability.
Cisco Ethernet Switches are considered expensive but valued for quality and reliability, despite cheaper alternatives and licensing costs.
Compared to Cisco, Arista routers are significantly cheaper.
Arista products are perceived as costly, especially compared to competitors like Cisco.
We need to pay for the subscription, as there are extra expenses after purchasing the product.
Cisco Ethernet switches are priced at a rating of nine, indicating they are expensive.
The tool is quite expensive.
 

Valuable Features

Arista Networks Platform is praised for its reliability, scalability, Linux shell, efficient management, automation, and unmatched monitoring capabilities.
Cisco Ethernet Switches provide reliable performance, ease of management, advanced security features, scalability, and excellent support for diverse networking needs.
Features include plug-and-play auto-discovery, allowing centralized configuration and management.
The most valuable features of Arista include low latency, scalability, and sustainability of the products.
The Cisco Ethernet switches are sturdy products that do not require any kind of maintenance.
The most valuable features of Cisco Ethernet switches include plug-and-play capabilities.
Cisco is mainly known for its security, patch management, hardware reliability, durability, scalability, and security features which support my organization's expansion.
 

Categories and Ranking

Arista Networks Platform
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
10th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
27
Ranking in other categories
Data Center Networking (4th)
Cisco Ethernet Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
135
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of Arista Networks Platform is 3.0%, down from 4.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Ethernet Switches is 14.0%, down from 19.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Ethernet Switches
 

Featured Reviews

Md. Ashraf-Ud-Dowla - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhances network security and reliability, but the cost is too high
In Arista Networks Platform, the network building is very good. It is also a wireless network tool, so it can be easily made available for our customers in hours for multiple data centers. For network scaling, it is very easy to adhere to and configure the benefits in the network insights. There is nothing complex since you just add the node and upload the profile, so it is very simplified. Integration process. The integration on a new host is sometimes tricky, but Arista Networks Platform's integration is straightforward.
Myint Aung - PeerSpot reviewer
Exceptional network support and AI integration drive performance while suggesting enhancements for future use cases
I work with both HyperFlex and other Cisco products. I prefer to make online support available because I can utilize my CCIE architect, solution consultant, and engineer team along with our account manager and product sales team. We can clarify requirements and decide how to support you. We should arrange a conference call about Cisco Ethernet Switches where I can invite my architect and consultant to clarify more about the features that are most beneficial for improving network efficiency. Today is AI day, and all the new firmware includes AI to optimize the performance, traffic, and security of Cisco Ethernet Switches. It's performing very well. With many solutions and vendors available, you have to decide on one. I am extremely satisfied with the licensing cost for Cisco Ethernet Switches. For the price of Cisco Ethernet Switches, I would rate it a 7. My overall rating for Cisco Ethernet Switches is 10 out of 10.
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Comparison Review

it_user82779 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 29, 2014
Benefits of Juniper vs Cisco
Both are decent products. I prefer Juniper for the following reasons: 1) Cleaner separation of data plane from control plane. Higher end Cisco devices are better at this but most of the lower end products still seem to be more integrated than I like. 2) The Hierarchical config design means I can…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
University
6%
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Arista Networks Platform?
Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Arista Networks Platform?
Arista products are perceived as costly, especially compared to competitors like Cisco.
What needs improvement with Arista Networks Platform?
Currently, Arista is too costly for its customers. Feature-wise, it addresses most customer requirements. However, we sometimes face challenges when integrating with proprietary protocols and solut...
Would you recommend replacing a Cisco Catalyst Switch by a D-link one?
Hello Mesfin It depends on the real scenario, the cisco 2960 is a very good device and they usually have routing functions but there are many different models within the same 2960 line, and on the ...
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...
In terms of ethernet switches, would you go with Cisco or Juniper?
Our organization ran comparison tests to determine whether Cisco or Juniper Ethernet switches were the better fit for us. We decided to go with Juniper. Juniper ethernet switches are a lesser-known...
 

Also Known As

7000 Series
Cisco Industrial Ethernet Switches
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

American Internet Services
Linz AG
Find out what your peers are saying about Arista Networks Platform vs. Cisco Ethernet Switches and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
857,162 professionals have used our research since 2012.