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Big Switch Networks vs Cisco ACI 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Big Switch Networks
Ranking in Software Defined Networking (SDN)
9th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.6
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
Network Packet Broker (NPB) (4th)
Cisco ACI
Ranking in Software Defined Networking (SDN)
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
104
Ranking in other categories
Network Virtualization (2nd), Cloud and Data Center Security (9th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Software Defined Networking (SDN) category, the mindshare of Big Switch Networks is 4.2%, down from 4.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco ACI is 9.1%, down from 15.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Software Defined Networking (SDN) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco ACI9.1%
Big Switch Networks4.2%
Other86.7%
Software Defined Networking (SDN)
 

Featured Reviews

Jason Best - PeerSpot reviewer
Data center network architect at Cloudwire
A flexible solution that can be integrated with third-party solutions whilst maintaining its automated nature
I think if I was to say something that could be improved, it would be a multi-data center nature of the implementation. Meaning, having an active-active data center with multiple entrance-exit points. I think that feature could be improved to provide a kind of anycast gateway solution into the functionality that would make it a lot more flexible and versatile. Maybe also making the solution a bit more like the NSX-T from VMware, more on the logical part of the solution, like micro-segmentation and the ability to have a distributed firewall across the whole solution, to implement it in an easier way than they currently do with the security aspect of the solution.
Rahul Khandelwal - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Technical Manager at KPMG
Enables streamlined data center management with automation and application-centric design
The main features of Cisco ACI that I really appreciate are the application-centric and network-centric designs, allowing you to create your network according to your application. That's helpful, and it's good for one-time implementation. The automation capabilities are really helpful. We deployed one data center using Terraform, and after deployment, many automation features are available, which can be very helpful. Based on my experience, Cisco ACI provides substantial capability; you can design your network accordingly and it's part of the SDN family, providing many benefits to the organization, especially when moving from traditional network infrastructure. Many organizations are actually using the old traditional Nexus infrastructure or some old data center devices. It gives you significant control and one-time implementation capabilities, and it also provides better performance and security. Functionality-wise, Cisco ACI provides integration using automation. We implemented it through Terraform, which was easy. Those features are available, so I don't think any new features are needed right now; something new could come up, but they have implemented many improvements over the years.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"What I liked about the solution is the quick and easy way you can build a network data center fabric."
"I think it's an easy, versatile solution to implement."
"Cisco ACI is highly stable; I've deployed it at six or seven data centers, and we've never had any issues with stability."
"Because of its automation feature, when you configure scripts for Cisco ACI, it reduces human error."
"There are many features which are useful, like the automatic completion of the VXLAN."
"The main benefit is the simplicity of the deployment."
"In a very general way, the ease of access, ease of use, and ease of connecting the system is a valuable feature in itself. The solution doesn't really increase detection rates as that is not what it was created for. Threat prevention comes in from other devices that might be connected into the Cisco ACI that monitors external traffic. It maintains what end-of-life products would be doing and offers other opportunities to unify solutions."
"It offers multitenancy. The opportunity to install it on the same platform with a huge amount of customers."
"Their technical support has been great, and they have a great partner, so there is nothing to comment on regarding the service."
"Building the ACI Fabric is its most valuable feature."
 

Cons

"I think if I was to say something that could be improved, it would be a multi-data center nature of the implementation."
"It's a very complex system, as it should be. It's a new way of thinking about networking. Cisco ACI adds complexity. Cisco ACI is extremely complex. That's not necessarily a complaint, as much as it is a fact."
"Cisco ACI is a highly complex solution. The initial deployment is just a few clicks, but understanding how an ACI works and interacts with routing, switching, and virtualization takes a lot of knowledge. The interface isn't necessarily hard to use, but the technology is complicated. If you want to understand how it works and how to configure it, you should study hard."
"There is quite a learning curve at the beginning."
"The ACI user interface is complex and Cisco should improve it."
"If everything works, it should be fine but if any issues come up, a lot of Cisco services will be needed."
"The initial setup of this solution is complex. Our environment is not very complex, but the product itself is very complex."
"It would be good if Cisco ACI had some cross-domain orchestrator that could rule all the pillars in the customer network or interconnect more easily with the compass environment."
"It is challenging for people who don't understand the programming language, making it difficult to migrate. With technology, there are two verticals. One is hardware driven and the other is software driven. Most people in our domain understand networking, but they don't understand programming. When we migrate, some programming is required."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing cost depends on the number of switches that are going to be licensed to run the software."
"We bought a package for hardware, software, and support. At that time, Cisco was simply selling that package to distributors, then we opted for it directly."
"There are no additional costs. We only have to pay for a support contract apart from the license."
"The thing that I like the most from Cisco is the support and all the documentation that they have. We do have to pay for it though."
"The product is not cheap."
"Price is always an issue."
"Cisco's pricing is very expensive."
"I don't believe there is any licensing required."
"We have saved time on the provisioning and configuration."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Construction Company
12%
Healthcare Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Construction Company
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business20
Midsize Enterprise20
Large Enterprise88
 

Questions from the Community

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What are the biggest differences between Cisco ACI and VMware NSX?
There are some very major differences between both the Products and to name a few. -Cisco ACI have physical network gear (9K Switches) where the Code runs in ACI Policy Mode & the UCS server wh...
What are the biggest differences between Cisco ACI and VMware NSX?
Once you know your way around the Cisco ecosystem, using Cisco ACI is not so difficult. It is a global product, so when you change one interface, changes are automatically reflected on every switch...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco ACI?
Cost is one thing that could be improved, as it is heavy for an emerging market like ours.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

A10 Networks, Edge-Core Networks, Blue Coat Systems, BlueData, Broadcom Corporation, Canonical, Check Point Software Technologies, Citrix, Dell, FireEye, Garland, Hortonworks, Mirantis, Nexenta, Riverbed
Bowling Green State University, du, Qatar University
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Aviatrix, Megaport and others in Software Defined Networking (SDN). Updated: May 2026.
902,270 professionals have used our research since 2012.