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Arista Networks Platform vs Cisco Nexus vs ExtremeSwitching comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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
6.8
Arista Networks Platform offers substantial ROI with ease of installation, time savings, and cost-effective support compared to competitors.
Sentiment score
7.1
Cisco Nexus offers stability and efficiency, with long-term cost savings and reliability justifying its initial expense for users.
Sentiment score
4.8
ExtremeSwitching's high licensing costs are offset by zero maintenance and reduced support, with most seeing ROI within three years.
I saved between five to six hours using Arista Networks Platform, as it takes less time to actually add your APs to the dashboard and deployment is quite fast and easy.
Network Engineer at Castlenet Consulting Limited
I have seen a return on investment from using Arista Networks Platform in terms of fewer employees needed during installation and deployment.
Network Engineer at Castlenet Consulting Limited
In the data center, there is no comparison in terms of technicality or return of investment.
A VP Enterprise Sales at Ashtech Infotech (India) Pvt.Ltd.
Speeding up our response times and reducing errors and incidents with automation and available APIs.
Global Head, Network Endpoint Connectivity at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
The return on investment is high.
Engineer at NewLogics
In the future, we can convince the customer to make use of 100G capability to suffice their requirement, but at the moment we are using 40G only.
Sr. Area Technical Manager at tata elxsi
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.7
Arista Networks Platform's customer support is responsive and expert, though some users note documentation and response time issues.
Sentiment score
7.3
Cisco Nexus support is praised for expertise and responsiveness, despite high costs, being favored for reliability and assistance.
Sentiment score
6.8
ExtremeSwitching customer service is praised for expertise and value but needs faster response times and better engineer availability.
They provide instant support and maintain commitments regarding replacement products.
CEO/Consultant at CIL
We would rate the customer support as a nine to 9.5 out of ten.
Technical project manager at Castlenet Consulting Limited
All network engineers from the organization were present in the program, and the Arista engineer provided a solution in less than five minutes.
Network Engineer at Castlenet Consulting Limited
For us, we have a time advantage because we know the solution, and the technological refresh is easier.
Systems Area References Specialist at Fondazione Poliambulanza
I would rate the support of Cisco an eight out of ten.
Sr. Network Administrator at i2c
Typically, cases are handled without needing service escalation, as 90-95% of issues can be resolved by the initial contact.
Director, Solutions at TopTel
Requiring improvement in the technical support provided to customers.
Engineer at NewLogics
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
8.1
Arista Networks Platform is scalable and flexible, supporting diverse environments with low-latency, intuitive interface, and seamless expansion.
Sentiment score
7.6
Cisco Nexus provides robust scalability and versatility for enterprise networks, despite being costly and having some limitations.
Sentiment score
6.8
ExtremeSwitching is highly scalable, adaptable for various organizational sizes, supporting extensive network expansion with effective design and planning.
Scalability is a key feature of Arista, owing to the possibilities to manage the entire data center network from a single console.
A VP Enterprise Sales at Ashtech Infotech (India) Pvt.Ltd.
We can easily scale up with Arista Networks Platform, as it is not difficult, and they have a platform that encourages scalability.
Technical project manager at Castlenet Consulting Limited
In terms of scalability, Arista Networks Platform is very much scalable to the highest level of scalability.
A VP Enterprise Sales at Ashtech Infotech (India) Pvt.Ltd.
ExtremeSwitching is highly scalable, and I would rate it as nine out of ten.
Engineer at NewLogics
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.1
Arista Networks Platform is highly stable and reliable, with minimal downtime and strong customer satisfaction across industries.
Sentiment score
7.9
Cisco Nexus is reliable and high-performing, with minor issues, praised for data center use and stability with updates.
Sentiment score
7.8
ExtremeSwitching offers high reliability and consistent performance, with minor issues resolved quickly by qualified engineers for small to medium businesses.
Arista is the only IT product that has the minimum vulnerabilities, so it is a very stable product.
A VP Enterprise Sales at Ashtech Infotech (India) Pvt.Ltd.
I have not had any downtime using Arista Networks Platform.
Network Engineer at Castlenet Consulting Limited
We have been working with Arista Networks Platform for the past five years, and we can say it is stable.
Technical project manager at Castlenet Consulting Limited
Initially, the stability of Cisco Nexus, particularly with the ACI, was problematic due to unstable codes, requiring replacements.
Global Head, Network Endpoint Connectivity at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
I cannot report any crashes or performance issues with ExtremeSwitching; the stability and scalability have been consistent and reliable.
Director, Solutions at TopTel
The stability for ExtremeSwitching is excellent.
Assistnat Professor in Computer Science and Engineering Department at a educational organization with 201-500 employees
 

Room For Improvement

Arista Networks users seek improved integration, security, scalability, features, and interoperability, while addressing high costs and documentation clarity.
Users want Cisco Nexus improvements in GUI, integration, scalability, programmability, cost-efficiency, compatibility, management, and training resources.
ExtremeSwitching needs improvements in interface, support, reliability, documentation, pricing, AI, latency, and entry-level offerings.
Using AI, I can understand how my entire organization operates and what kind of applications are being used, what the peak times are, where there is a bottleneck if any exists.
A VP Enterprise Sales at Ashtech Infotech (India) Pvt.Ltd.
Feature-wise, it addresses most customer requirements.
A VP Enterprise Sales at Ashtech Infotech (India) Pvt.Ltd.
Arista Networks is currently less popular as they were initially more focused on data centers than campus networks.
CEO/Consultant at CIL
When I talk about data centers, which are critical infrastructure and centralized application hubs, the Nexus platforms should be highly stable.
Global Head, Network Endpoint Connectivity at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
The solution is on-premises and stable.
Systems Area References Specialist at Fondazione Poliambulanza
It might be pretty expensive for other companies.
Director at WAJDA GROUP
Unlike Cisco, Aruba, and Huawei, Extreme currently lacks SMB products in the market, but if they produce such offerings, many more customers would engage with Extreme Networks.
Director, Solutions at TopTel
ExtremeSwitching's software stability could be improved, as it sometimes crashes.
Engineer at NewLogics
Because I am not a networking specialist, I do not know much about the things in detail.
Sr. Area Technical Manager at tata elxsi
 

Setup Cost

Arista Networks is seen as expensive, with licensing and support costs, prompting careful comparison with competitors like Cisco.
Cisco Nexus pricing is high but justified by features, with varied licensing options and favorable long-term ownership costs.
ExtremeSwitching offers competitive pricing, with flexible cloud licensing, though rising upgrade costs concern some markets.
Compared to Cisco, Arista routers are significantly cheaper.
CEO/Consultant at CIL
Arista products are perceived as costly, especially compared to competitors like Cisco.
A VP Enterprise Sales at Ashtech Infotech (India) Pvt.Ltd.
The price of Cisco Nexus is on the higher side due to the premium services Cisco offers.
Global Head, Network Endpoint Connectivity at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
All solutions are very expensive and not an economy solution.
Systems Area References Specialist at Fondazione Poliambulanza
Our prices are very competitive when compared to Cisco and Aruba.
Director, Solutions at TopTel
ExtremeSwitching is priced in the mid-range, not too expensive nor too cheap.
Engineer at NewLogics
 

Valuable Features

Arista Networks Platform offers intuitive management, automation, and robust performance with scalable and secure hardware, streamlining network operations.
Cisco Nexus is praised for its performance, scalability, advanced routing, integration, low latency, automation, security, and redundancy.
ExtremeSwitching is favored for its robust performance, intuitive management, security features, scalability, and efficient network administration.
Features include plug-and-play auto-discovery, allowing centralized configuration and management.
CEO/Consultant at CIL
The best features Arista Networks Platform offers are the dashboards where you can see all your APs that have been deployed and installed across all locations, making it quite unique to access, manage, and monitor performance from that dashboard.
Technical project manager at Castlenet Consulting Limited
The most valuable features of Arista include low latency, scalability, and sustainability of the products.
A VP Enterprise Sales at Ashtech Infotech (India) Pvt.Ltd.
The VPC feature of Cisco Nexus is great because it provides an active-active way of forwarding the traffic and avoids blocking any of the links.
Global Head, Network Endpoint Connectivity at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
For us, we have a time advantage because we know the solution, and the technological refresh is easier.
Systems Area References Specialist at Fondazione Poliambulanza
I encountered an issue where different models within the same series, the 95308 DC, do not support VPC between the EX series and FX3 series.
Sr. Network Administrator at i2c
The most valuable feature of ExtremeSwitching is the Extreme Fabric, specifically the switching fabric.
Engineer at NewLogics
The best features in ExtremeSwitching that I appreciate include the technology known as Extreme Fabric, which our customers find miraculous because it enables automated networks.
Director, Solutions at TopTel
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2026, in the Data Center Networking category, the mindshare of Arista Networks Platform is 15.6%, down from 15.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Nexus is 14.1%, down from 18.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ExtremeSwitching is 7.1%, up from 5.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Center Networking Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Nexus14.1%
Arista Networks Platform15.6%
ExtremeSwitching7.1%
Other63.2%
Data Center Networking
 

Featured Reviews

Nimit Puvar - PeerSpot reviewer
A VP Enterprise Sales at Ashtech Infotech (India) Pvt.Ltd.
Automation and visibility have simplified data center operations and improved network control
I see some areas for improvement, particularly with pricing. I think that not all features that are needed are already in Arista. AI power is required nowadays. AI would be needed for understanding data traffic flowing in my network. Sometimes I have a vision of what data traffic is flowing in my network and I want to capture that data. Using AI, I can understand how my entire organization operates and what kind of applications are being used, what the peak times are, where there is a bottleneck if any exists. This kind of report should automatically generate and provide clear-cut visibility.
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.
Meric-Dinc - PeerSpot reviewer
Director, Solutions at TopTel
Automated fabric networking has simplified large deployments and now streamlines complex operations
The best features in ExtremeSwitching that I appreciate include the technology known as Extreme Fabric, which our customers find miraculous because it enables automated networks. With fabric technology, customers are very happy since they don't need to perform new configurations in the core, distribution, or access site, but only some configuration in access switch ports, as the network automatically knows where services start and end. It is definitely secure and very easy to install. We are utilizing ExtremeSwitching's automated network management feature, and when we sell our products to clients, we always offer Extreme Site Engine or now Platform One for cloud. Having this automated network management helps streamline operations by requiring less manpower, as infrastructure is hard to manage, but with the visualization provided by network management systems, clients only need to use a few clicks to deploy new services. There is no need to create multiple ports or VLANs, allowing even one or two individuals to operate very large networks. ExtremeSwitching's intuitive management interface has improved network performance significantly. For instance, Extreme Networks currently utilizes a very good AI system. When users need to perform configurations like MLAG, they can simply log in, ask for the configuration, and receive recommendations. This capability makes clients very happy because the management software inspects the entire network and provides valuable recommendations that lead to significant improvements.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Marketing Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Computer Software Company
6%
Manufacturing Company
16%
Construction Company
13%
University
8%
Energy/Utilities Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise12
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise17
Large Enterprise83
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise7
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Arista Networks Platform?
I do not handle the pricing for Arista Networks Platform as other departments handle the costing. I am a network engi...
What needs improvement with Arista Networks Platform?
I see some areas for improvement, particularly with pricing. I think that not all features that are needed are alread...
What is your primary use case for Arista Networks Platform?
We are still using Arista Networks Platform as system integrators. We sold the product and my customer is using this ...
What do you like most about Cisco Nexus?
The product's initial setup phase is very easy.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Nexus?
We are a reseller, and we sell products to our customers.
What needs improvement with Cisco Nexus?
The biggest problems during migration were corporate issues, including dependencies on other devices such as F5, HSMs...
What do you like most about ExtremeSwitching?
The product offers a single management platform for multiple models of switches. The tool also allows users to manage...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ExtremeSwitching?
Regarding pricing, I find it very competitive, especially in Turkey, where markets in the Middle East and Africa tend...
What needs improvement with ExtremeSwitching?
From a marketing perspective, I would like to see Extreme Networks expand its product line to include small and mediu...
 

Also Known As

7000 Series
No data available
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

American Internet Services
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
Blue Waters
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Dell Technologies, Juniper and others in Data Center Networking. Updated: March 2026.
885,728 professionals have used our research since 2012.