Big Switch Networks vs Cisco ACI comparison

Why PeerSpot?

Arista and Cisco are both solutions in the Software Defined Networking (SDN) category. Arista is ranked #8, while Cisco is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.8. Arista holds a 4.4% mindshare in SDN, compared to Cisco’s 9.1% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Arista users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 85% of Cisco users who would recommend it.

Big Switch Networks

Read 1 Big Switch Networks review

1,238 Views
409 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Cisco ACI

Read 105 Cisco ACI reviews

5,783 Views
2,255 Comparison Views

85% willing to recommend

Big Switch Networks

Cisco ACI

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Big Switch Networks and Cisco ACI based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Aviatrix, Megaport and others in Software Defined Networking (SDN).

To learn more, read our detailed Software Defined Networking (SDN) Report (Updated: September 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Software Defined Networking (SDN)

September 2026

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Helped 914,109 peers since 2012

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)

8th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

8.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Packet Broker (NPB) (4th)

Cisco ACI

Ranking in Software Defined Networking (SDN)

2nd

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.1

Number of Reviews

105

Ranking in other categories

Network Virtualization (1st), Cloud and Data Center Security (7th)

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Software Defined Networking (SDN) category, the mindshare of Big Switch Networks is 4.4%, up from 4.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco ACI is 9.1%, down from 13.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Software Defined Networking (SDN) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Cisco ACI	9.1%
Big Switch Networks	4.4%
Other	86.5%

Software Defined Networking (SDN)

Featured Reviews

Jason Best

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.

Read full review

Sulaiman Olubiyi

Senior Network Automation Engineer at a outsourcing company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Network automation has simplified secure multi-site connectivity and reduced daily operational effort

I believe Cisco ACI could improve by incorporating something related to agentic AI, where it can execute tasks based on particular evaluations or loop engineering, enhancing fault identification or suggestions based on each tenant's configuration. Additionally, I think they should ensure that the documentation is comprehensive. I appreciate that Cisco provides documentation, and their support engineers are helpful in case of any issues. In terms of governance and security regarding Cisco ACI's AI capabilities, I think what we call evals or evaluations is important, whereby the engineer can evaluate the functionalities of the AI in Cisco ACI, preventing it from making deletions or modifications on its own. Therefore, there should be evaluations or guardrails incorporated into the development capabilities. Regarding accuracy and reliability of output for Cisco ACI's AI capabilities, it hasn't met my expectations. What we need is something called RAG, or retrieval-augmented generation. If Cisco can implement that to utilize customer-specific data instead of general knowledge, while ensuring data privacy under GDPR laws, I think that will result in very good, reliable output.

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

"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."

"Before we started using Cisco ACI, everything was essentially flat open access, and by using ACI, we're able to segment out everything and get more visibility into our virtual environment."

"The most valuable features include microsegmentation, L3 Out features, and the common tenant and tenancy model."

"The scalability is perfect, and it is one of the main reasons that we install it."

"Technical support for this solution is great. The ACI guys have been some of the best technical support people that I've worked with at Cisco."

"There are many features which are useful, like the automatic completion of the VXLAN."

"The basic functionality that is the most useful is creating a virtual network on a physical device."

"It is very stable, allowing us to update firmware on the go without any downtime, which we couldn't do before, with everything redundant so if you shut down one system then another one takes over."

"The flexibility of adding new components with minimal impact on existing services running in the data center is a key benefit of this ACI-based solution."

More Cisco ACI pros

Cons

"I think if I was to say something that could be improved, it would be a multi-data center nature of the implementation."

"An area for improvement in Cisco ACI is security, which Cisco needs to enhance in the solution. Though Cisco ACI uses a whitelist model, you must purchase an external product, such as a security firewall solution, to make whitelisting work, which the customer could find expensive. For example, you're a customer who has Cisco ACI, and the solution doesn't have IP-based filtering, so as a customer, you've purchased Cisco ACI. However, you still need to buy another product for security, and some customers wouldn't like that. However, some customers prefer to go with Cisco ACI because of its scalability and flexibility versus other solutions such as Juniper and Aruba. Technical support for Cisco ACI also needs improvement, particularly in product knowledge."

"ACI's blade servers could be more flexible, and its storage interface is a little too complex because they use some third-party storage solution."

"The error messages should be improved. Sometimes we want to remove an error message so we acknowledge an error and we would then like to remove it but there's no real way of doing that. If we need to do it, we need to open a tech case. That could use improvement."

"Deployment could be made a bit simpler and the licensing part could be a bit easier as well, along with improvements on the costing."

"If I lose the connection from one side to the core, I can't use the other side to go to the core. I hope in the future, this will be fixed."

"It needs more features for integrating with third-party vendors."

"Previously, the product was a little tricky to use."

"Its scalability and reliability capabilities should be enhanced."

More Cisco ACI cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing cost depends on the number of switches that are going to be licensed to run the software."

"A big company can automate it themselves or spend a lot of money and buy it."

"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing an eight out of ten."

"It's expensive but the product is very good. I have never found another partner like Cisco with a solution like this and with great support."

"We used Cisco Professional Services for the deployment. They were outstanding, but very expensive."

"The price could be improved. It is expensive, but then again, it is Cisco. The price is worth what you pay for."

"Pricing for Cisco ACI could be expensive if you're not a gold partner. If you're a gold partner, you'll get reasonable pricing, but to become a gold partner, you must cross several layers. For example, at least twenty engineers within your organization have to be certified, with each certification priced at £2,000 minimum, so this would make some companies think twice about the product. If you're going for Aruba and Juniper products, on the other hand, you can quickly get the partner status, and you can start selling the product. As a gold partner, you can get up to seventy percent discount on Cisco ACI, for example, while an ordinary partner gets ten percent off. Cisco ACI is expensive for both customers and partners, but I'm rating pricing for the product as four out of five because even if the price is costly, you get a lot of benefits from the product. Cisco ACI isn't the best, price-wise, but it's still a good solution. If you're in a small organization, you may be unable to afford it. Cisco ACI is best for enterprises but not SMBs because Cisco ACI and its required resources are expensive."

"This is an expensive solution."

"Once you sign for the start kit implementation, you have to go all the way through to the implementation, even if you are experiences issues."

More Cisco ACI pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Construction Company

13%

Healthcare Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Outsourcing Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

Construction Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	21
Midsize Enterprise	19
Large Enterprise	89

Questions from the Community

Ask a question

Earn 20 points

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...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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.

See all answers

Comparisons

Gigamon Deep Observability Pipeline vs Big Switch Networks

Compared 18% of the time

Ixia Network Packet Brokers vs Big Switch Networks

Compared 11% of the time

Niagara Packet Brokers vs Big Switch Networks

Compared 11% of the time

cPacket cVu vs Big Switch Networks

Compared 10% of the time

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Data Broker vs Big Switch Networks

Compared 5% of the time

More Big Switch Networks Competitors

VMware NSX vs Cisco ACI

Compared 15% of the time

Cisco Secure Workload vs Cisco ACI

Compared 9% of the time

TrendAI Deep Security vs Cisco ACI

Compared 7% of the time

Juniper Contrail Networking vs Cisco ACI

Compared 7% of the time

More Cisco ACI Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Software Defined Networking (SDN)

September 2026

Download Big Switch Networks product report

Buyer's Guide

Cisco ACI

September 2026

Download Cisco ACI product report

Overview

Big Switch Networks specializes in network management solutions designed to optimize and streamline data center operations, leveraging advanced SDN technology for increased efficiency and scalability.

Big Switch Networks harnesses the power of software-defined networking (SDN) to transform traditional network infrastructures. By providing innovative, agile, and adaptable solutions, it enhances data center performance, supports dynamic workloads, and ensures seamless integration with existing systems. Users experience enhanced control and visibility over network resources, facilitating faster deployment and reduced complexity.

What are the key features of Big Switch Networks?

SDN Technology: Enables centralized management and automation, reducing manual configurations.
Network Virtualization: Allows flexible resource allocation for dynamic traffic adjustment.
Application Visibility: Provides detailed insights into application performance and traffic flows.
Security Features: Incorporates advanced security protocols to protect data integrity and privacy.
Cloud Integration: Supports seamless connection with public and private cloud environments.

What benefits should users expect from Big Switch Networks?

Cost Reduction: Lowers operating expenses through automated management and reduced hardware dependencies.
Improved Performance: Enhances data flow efficiency and network speed, leading to increased productivity.
Scalability: Offers flexible growth options to accommodate expanding business needs.
Increased Reliability: Minimizes downtime with robust failover mechanisms.

Big Switch Networks finds application across multiple industries, tailoring its capabilities to meet the demands of sectors such as finance, healthcare, and telecommunications. In finance, it optimizes high-frequency trading networks, while in healthcare, it ensures secure and efficient data management. Telecommunications benefit from its advanced traffic routing and load balancing features.

Arista

Cisco ACI provides advanced capabilities with features like seamless integration with VMware and APIs for programmability. It offers centralized management for streamlined operations, efficient micro-segmentation, and robust security, addressing modern data center needs.

Cisco ACI brings automation to data center infrastructure, enabling transitions from legacy to modern environments with centralized management. Organizations benefit from optimized server farms, seamless integration with VMware, and support for Kubernetes, making it suitable for large-scale environments. Offering support for healthcare, finance, and public sectors, Cisco ACI facilitates tasks such as virtual networking and multi-site connectivity with application-centric and network-centric designs.

What are the key features of Cisco ACI?

Seamless Integration with VMware: Ensures smooth operation with existing virtualized environments.
Programmability via APIs: Offers flexibility in network configuration and management through APIs.
Centralized Management: Provides a unified view of the network, simplifying oversight.
Automation: Reduces manual configuration workload, speeding up deployment.
Scalability: Adapts to growing network demands with ease.
Robust Security: Enhances protection against threats with comprehensive security measures.
Efficient Micro-Segmentation: Improves network segmentation for security and efficiency.

What benefits or ROI should users look for when evaluating Cisco ACI?

Streamlined Operation: Reduced complexity in network management.
Enhanced Performance: Improved network and application efficiency.
Cost Efficiency: Better resource allocation reduces operational costs.
Improved Security: Advanced features for increased protection.
Scalability: Allows growth without significant redesigns.

In the healthcare industry, Cisco ACI supports secure and efficient data management, accommodating regulatory needs and enhancing patient data handling. Financial institutions benefit from robust security and seamless integration with existing infrastructures, facilitating smooth transaction processing. In the public sector, it's utilized for reliable network management and servicing a diverse range of applications.

Cisco

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

Buyer's Guide

Software Defined Networking (SDN)

September 2026

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