Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Aruba Switches vs Cisco Nexus 9000 Series comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 20, 2025

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 Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
86
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Cisco Nexus 9000 Series
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
26th
Average Rating
9.6
Reviews Sentiment
3.6
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
Data Center Networking (9th)
 

Featured Reviews

Eunice Thirikwa - PeerSpot reviewer
Stable hotel networking enhances return on investment with valuable modular features
There are issues with the distribution side of Aruba Switches. For instance, the distributor in our country cannot sell to neighboring countries, creating complications in project execution. Improving the distribution network across regions would be beneficial. Also, the SFP modules are significantly more expensive than industry peers, which affects cost-effectiveness.
Fakhar Mahmood - PeerSpot reviewer
Has consistently supported high availability with reliable performance and minimal disruption
Cisco Nexus 9000 Series and the routers are good, but the FMC or FTDs still need some improvement. We have Palo Alto firewalls and Next-Generation Firewalls in our environment. In comparison to the main firewall, we moved from Cisco FTDs to Palo Alto. We still have FTDs in our environment, but the majority of the firewalls have been moved to Palo Alto. They are more user-friendly, give more visibility, and are more efficient. The performance is better than Cisco. With the new features, Cisco is having some improvement for the FTD. I am currently evaluating the FTDs. The new version has better features like the encrypted visibility engine and user-based changes in FMCs, and other things are quite useful for us. FTDs do have limitations and other issues. We communicated that limitation and feature support to the Cisco account manager. We do have support for the devices. We currently have a weekly call with Cisco and they are making progress regarding new versions of the FMCs and introducing new features. The performance of deployment has improved quite a bit compared to four or five years ago.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is very easy to set up."
"The most valuable features of Aruba Switches are the use of use and user-friendliness."
"The solution is scalable."
"All of the networking products that we use are Aruba, so we use Aruba Central to manage them."
"Aruba Central is very valuable to us."
"We can scale as needed."
"It's an excellent product. They're high-quality switches, and nothing has failed in the time that we've had them."
"It is slightly more price effective than Juniper and it has a slightly larger range."
"Performance has been great with no abnormal behaviors detected, and the network remains stable even in failover scenarios, supporting vast environments with high availability."
"Cisco Nexus 9000 Series is quite a complex machine, but we are using a very simple configuration with basic Nexus switching, and we don't have many issues with Cisco Nexus 9000 Series at the moment in our present infrastructure."
"RealPresence works effectively."
 

Cons

"The delivery time for this product is slow and is something that needs to be improved."
"There are issues with the distribution side of Aruba Switches."
"I would like to see a lower price on the device."
"The initial setup is not easy."
"I do not have any significant suggestions for improvement from my use."
"I don't think there is much to improve. I have seen that Aruba releases the patches on time, and it keeps upgrading the firmware. I have configured this device on an active basis. I don't think I have any bad reviews about the device's overall performance. In the next release, I would like Aruba to incorporate wireless controllers and build them into the chassis.If we can integrate a wireless module, we can have a segment dedicated to wireless infrastructure."
"The port flexibility on the 54 series, specifically the 5406 for core usage, could be improved. When I want to upgrade to 10G, I don't have many options to choose from."
"The written documentation, all the available documentation, is often a little bit hard to find. The solution lacks documentation, especially on recent features. We have access directly to Aruba, Germany, so they are always helpful, but if you start, for instance, with something a little bit more complex like zero-touch provisioning, that would require a more comprehensive written piece."
"The SFP modules we are using have had issues. We have Cisco modules, but they frequently heat up or there are packet error issues."
"We find that Cisco has been left behind by the other vendors. The other vendors have adopted new technology, and we find Cisco lagging behind."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price for Aruba is quite a bit cheaper than it is for similar products by Cisco."
"The license is annual. If you purchase a switch, you get a one-year free subscription."
"The product is a bit expensive."
"The price is reasonable."
"There are no licensing costs for the Aruba Switches."
"It is a little bit expensive. It can be cheaper."
"There is a license required if you want to use wireless controls for micro-segmentation. However, for Aruba Switches there is no license required."
"The price point was a big consideration for us and it is reasonable enough that we're able to standardize on Aruba for the networking pieces in our organization."
Information not available
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Ethernet Switches solutions are best for your needs.
873,003 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Educational Organization
7%
Government
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business50
Midsize Enterprise17
Large Enterprise21
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Aruba Switches?
Aruba lives up to the expectations of the tech giant hewlett packard enterprise providing excellent networking capabilities at a very affordable price compared to the equivalent from another tech g...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Aruba Switches?
The cost of Aruba Switches is based on the price per device. The cost depends on the model. We have 24-port switches, PoE 12-port switches, and bigger switches, so the price varies depending on the...
What needs improvement with Aruba Switches?
We are not using all the features as we actually have multiple vendors, and I'm not an expert technically for Aruba Switches, so I'm not in a position to give detailed feedback on improvements. I w...
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

Also Known As

8400 Series, 8320 Series, 5400R Series, 3810 Series, 2930M Series, 2930F Series, 2920 Series, 2540 Series, 2530 Series
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Purdue University
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Netgear and others in Ethernet Switches. Updated: October 2025.
873,003 professionals have used our research since 2012.