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Aruba Instant On Switches vs Cisco Nexus comparison

Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Cisco are both solutions in the LAN Switching category. Hewlett Packard Enterprise is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.2, while Cisco is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.6. Hewlett Packard Enterprise holds a 10.2% mindshare in LS, compared to Cisco’s 8.9% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of Hewlett Packard Enterprise users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Cisco users who would recommend it.
Aruba Instant On Switches
Read 29 Aruba Instant On Switches reviews
  • 1,910 Views
  • 965 Comparison Views
95% willing to recommend
Cisco Nexus
Read 105 Cisco Nexus reviews
  • 1,564 Views
  • 1,090 Comparison Views
96% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 6, 2025

Cisco Nexus and Aruba Instant On Switches cater to different market segments within network infrastructure. Cisco Nexus offers more advanced features tailored for data centers, whereas Aruba Instant On targets small to medium businesses. Cisco stands out for data center optimization, while Aruba offers simplicity in deployment.

Features: Cisco Nexus excels with its advanced features like VDCs, VPCs, and superior hardware engineering for data center environments. Its high scalability and stability make it ideal for complex configurations. Aruba Instant On, although less feature-rich, is favored for its easy deployment, affordability, and capabilities such as centralized management through Aruba Central, making it appealing to SMBs.

Room for Improvement: Cisco Nexus can improve by enhancing cost-effectiveness and simplifying the licensing process. Users have reported stability issues with software updates. Aruba Instant On can benefit from more robust features, improved stability, and quicker boot-up times. Expanding its scalability and management capabilities would also enhance its appeal to larger networks.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco Nexus requires sophisticated technical expertise for deployment, praised for robust support despite inconsistent experiences. In contrast, Aruba Instant On is noted for its simple and fast deployment process, well-received customer service, ensuring a smooth onboarding experience for SMBs.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco Nexus is higher-priced due to its enterprise capabilities, justified by the ROI from system stability. However, its complex licensing can be a drawback. Aruba Instant On offers a cost-effective alternative with competitive pricing and low ongoing fees, attracting budget-conscious buyers with a balanced feature set.

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To learn more, read our detailed Aruba Instant On Switches vs. Cisco Nexus Report (Updated: April 2025).
Buyer's Guide
Aruba Instant On Switches vs. Cisco Nexus
April 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

Aruba Instant On Switches
Ranking in LAN Switching
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
29
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Cisco Nexus
Ranking in LAN Switching
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
105
Ranking in other categories
Data Center Networking (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the LAN Switching category, the mindshare of Aruba Instant On Switches is 10.2%, up from 9.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Nexus is 8.9%, down from 11.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
LAN Switching
 

Featured Reviews

MashukThakur - PeerSpot reviewer
A centrally managed switches ideal for small and medium businesses but does not have any console access
The solution does not have any console access. For example, if you do not have internet access on your side and you need to configure anything, you should at least have CLI access to do something or manage the solution to put to some IP. It will only work if we have a TSCT on the network. We can port and configure the initial settings before we get the Instant On Switches. I am not working deeply on Instant On devices. I have only installed it in a couple of accommodation sites. Even today, one customer has ordered to install 80 pieces of Instant On. I’ve to order additional 94 access points. I was confused about whether to go with Aruba Instant On or AP-505. Instant On has limited accessibility but AP-505 have cloud or local access on normal infrastructure. This would be better and easier to configure. So, there are further improvements in regard to console access and some limitations with access.
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Joe Benítez - PeerSpot reviewer
Offer high performance capabilities and enables efficient data transmission and processing
Before Nexus, I used to have Catalyst 6500 switches. Those 6500 series chassis gave us a lot of problems. Too many problems, actually. And we had a Cisco ASA firewall blade within those chassis. And they were running outdated software. So, in fact, it was the firewall blade that caused us too many problems instead of the chassis. The chassis itself was working well and performing fine, but the firewall card was not suitable for our needs. That was one aspect. Additionally, those chassis had been in operation for more than five years. As we are a local government, we have a policy to renew hardware every five years. That's because we need to maintain all the hardware and software in the latest versions and keep up with the technology lifecycle of the technology we use.
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

"I have enjoyed the switches. They are fairly easy to use."
"The stability is fine. I would rate the stability a nine out of ten. Almost a ten on a ten."
"The solution provides GUI control, making it particularly suitable for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and small office/home office (SOHO) networks."
"The tool's best part is the commercials. Its pricing is lower compared to other enterprise products. We pitch the product to customers who have budget constraints. Its implementation is plug-and-play."
"The most valuable features I find in Aruba Instant On switches include the access list and VLANs, along with other features such as security and cloud capabilities."
"Aruba's management solutions, like Aruba Central are valuable."
"Setup is easy."
"The solution's most beneficial feature is that you obtain A-class equipment for the lowest price."
More Aruba Instant On Switches pros
"It has improved our organization because we have aggregated ports, we're able to put multiple agencies on the multiple different interfaces that we have going there. We're able to separate them out with the use of VLANs and whatnot."
"Nexus provides inner redundancy. It allows us to perform updates on individual switches, while still maintaining reliability and uptime on the server."
"From a data center implementation, with respect to competition from your data, there isn't really a product recovery for the different tests other than Cisco Nexus. For example, if you take Multi-tenancy for the data center, it's something which, I think, only Cisco has. There are some implementation from HP, but I think it's limited there."
"The most valuable feature is the automation that we can do with it."
"Technical support has been very, very helpful and they offer good SLAs."
"It gives me an unparalleled ability to build out my environment differently than I would have if I was going with another vendor."
"Tech support is good."
"We have continuity with Cisco, which provides a very high-end solution."
More Cisco Nexus pros
 

Cons

"You cannot use many VLANs, like VLAN 10, VLAN 20, VLAN 30, and VLAN 100 on Aruba Instant On AP."
"The price has room for improvement."
"Its scalability needs improvement."
"It is not a very scalable solution."
"Instant On Switches' layer 3 and visibility could be improved."
"The pricing is competitive but could be improved."
"In general, mostly in Instant On series, if we could have much more control on the switches, at least. We'd like a CLI access so that, when we want to do some advanced configurations we could."
"Some L3 features could be included in the solution."
More Aruba Instant On Switches cons
"The cost of the support can be improved. We had critical operations, and we needed 24/7 support for 365 days, which was quite expensive. We had to go for a very costly support contract, which was really a concern. The availability of spare parts, especially in a remote location such as Egypt, can also be improved."
"The product lacks options for integration with other market products that would allow us more flexibility."
"Stability is not really up to the mark."
"If I call during a high volume, I might get someone that just doesn't know as much or it takes a little bit of time and they put us on hold more. Otherwise, it's good."
"One of the problems we have is that there is no confirmation for when you try to test a system command."
"The initial setup is always complex."
"The code quality for this solution has gotten worse and needs improvement."
"My only complaint is that not all of the ports on it are enabled from the start."
More Cisco Nexus cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The license for Instant On Switches is free."
"The product is not cheaply priced, especially when compared to the other vendors in the market."
"The solution is the cheapest A-class switch."
"It is an expensive solution."
"Aruba Instant On Switches is slightly cheaper than Cisco."
"Aruba Instant On Switches is cheaper than Cisco and expensive compared to some Chinese brand products."
"Aruba Instant On Switches is not expensive."
"Pricing is competitive, and there are no supplementary fees."
More Aruba Instant On Switches pricing and cost advice
"I thought that it would be less expensive."
"It's worth the money we're paying for Nexus."
"It is very expensive. Its licensing is on a yearly basis."
"All of our costs including subscription, licensing, and support services are bundled together, and the cost is approximately $100,000 USD per year."
"Cisco Nexus is not cheap compared to Fortinet, Palo Alto, and Check Point."
"The licensing fees for this solution are approximately $800,000 USD annually."
"We have a virtual license."
"This solution should be made more affordable."
More Cisco Nexus pricing and cost advice
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
8%
University
6%
Computer Software Company
24%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Aruba Instant On Switches?
The solution has a simple deployment and zero border.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Aruba Instant On Switches?
I think the pricing for the switches is reasonable.
See all answers
What needs improvement with Aruba Instant On Switches?
I have run into a couple of problems with the switches. Recently, one of the newer stacks stopped working and had to be rebooted individually. They don't have a lot of diagnostics tools, which coul...
See all answers
What do you like most about Cisco Nexus?
The product's initial setup phase is very easy.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Nexus?
The price of Cisco Nexus is on the higher side due to the premium services Cisco offers. Despite the cost, it offers valuable features and services.
See all answers
What needs improvement with Cisco Nexus?
When I talk about data centers, which are critical infrastructure and centralized application hubs, the Nexus platforms should be highly stable. Initially, the codes I received through ACI were qui...
See all answers
 

Comparisons

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Compared 48% of the time
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Cisco Catalyst Switches vs Aruba Instant On Switches
Compared 38% of the time
NETGEAR Switches vs Aruba Instant On Switches Logo
NETGEAR Switches vs Aruba Instant On Switches
Compared 13% of the time
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Juniper QFX Series Switches vs Cisco Nexus Logo
Juniper QFX Series Switches vs Cisco Nexus
Compared 44% of the time
Arista Networks Platform vs Cisco Nexus Logo
Arista Networks Platform vs Cisco Nexus
Compared 20% of the time
Cisco Catalyst Switches vs Cisco Nexus Logo
Cisco Catalyst Switches vs Cisco Nexus
Compared 11% of the time
ExtremeSwitching vs Cisco Nexus Logo
ExtremeSwitching vs Cisco Nexus
Compared 5% of the time
Juniper QFabric vs Cisco Nexus Logo
Juniper QFabric vs Cisco Nexus
Compared 4% of the time
More Cisco Nexus Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Aruba Instant On Switches
April 2025
Aruba Instant On Switches reportDownload Aruba Instant On Switches product report
Buyer's Guide
Cisco Nexus
April 2025
Cisco Nexus reportDownload Cisco Nexus product report
 

Also Known As

Aruba Instant On 1930 Switches
No data available
 

Overview

The Aruba Instant On 1930 switches features advanced, smart-managed, fixed configuration Gigabit switches designed for small businesses that are easy-to-deploy and affordable. They’re made to handle today’s bandwidth-heavy applications like voice and video conferencing, enabling consistent connectivity to enhance performance. Using either the Instant On mobile app or the cloud-based web portal, you can quickly set up, monitor and manage the 1930 switch series from anywhere at any time. What’s more, up to 30 W PoE power delivery is available out-of-the-box for your class 4 PoE devices, like access points, surveillance cameras and VoIP phones, all easily managed from the same platform.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise
The Cisco Nexus family of switches is designed to meet the stringent requirements of the next-generation data center. Not simply bigger or faster, these switches offer the following characteristics: infrastructure that can be scaled cost-effectively and that helps you increase energy, budget, and resource efficiency, transport that can navigate the transition to 10 Gigabit Ethernet and unified fabric and can also handle architectural changes such as virtualization, Web 2.0 applications, and cloud computing and operational continuity to meet your need for an environment where system availability is assumed and maintenance windows are rare if not totally extinct.
Cisco
 

Sample Customers

KEMET, Vestavia Hills City Schools, Dropbox
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
Buyer's Guide
Aruba Instant On Switches vs. Cisco Nexus
April 2025
Free Report: Aruba Instant On Switches vs. Cisco Nexus
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