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Brocade Ethernet Switches vs Cisco Nexus 9000 Series comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 1, 2026

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

Brocade Ethernet Switches
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
25th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Cisco Nexus 9000 Series
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
21st
Average Rating
9.4
Reviews Sentiment
4.3
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
Data Center Networking (9th)
 

Featured Reviews

PB
Data Center Admin at Sysnet Global Technologies
Experience seamless configuration with secure and adaptable network solutions
I use Brocade Ethernet Switches because they are scalable. I recommend them since they are easy to configure. They are connected and used every day in our operations It is good and scalable. It is easy to configure and provides good technical support. Brocade Ethernet Switches are good to…
Fakhar Mahmood - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. Network Administrator at i2c
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

"I have not had any issues with our Brocade switches."
"The initial setup was really straightforward and easy."
"I have been using this solution for a long time and kept with it, because everything I need is covered by it."
"I have not had any issues with our Brocade switches."
"It is easy to configure and provides good technical support."
"The switches are very flexible and easy to deploy and manage, are energy-saving and help to effectively reduce costs, perform at great speeds, protect the topology using root guard, and can handle redundancy and failovers automatically."
"The switches last for a very long time; it's stable for doing its functions as a black and gray switch, and it's a very good switch, at least the older ones, which I have been using for ten years and are still in use."
"The switches last for a very long time."
"Cisco Nexus 9000 Series is very durable and very reliable, and there has never been any issue with it."
"RealPresence works effectively."
"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."
 

Cons

"You need skills and knowledge to configure brocade switches."
"It could be made easier to configure with a graphical interface."
"No graphical interface."
"The solution could be more secure."
"Brocade Ethernet Switches could improve by having better compatibility with web management of older versions."
"The solution could be more secure."
"There are some performance issues."
"It should be simpler. There are still some things that can be simpler in the Brocade switches."
"Cost-wise, Cisco Nexus 9000 Series is very expensive."
"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 of Brocade Ethernet Switches is expensive."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
13%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise5
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Brocade Ethernet Switches?
To improve, it could be made easier to configure with a graphical interface.
What is your primary use case for Brocade Ethernet Switches?
I use Brocade Ethernet Switches because they are scalable. I recommend them since they are easy to configure. They are connected and used every day in our operations.
What advice do you have for others considering Brocade Ethernet Switches?
I would recommend Brocade Ethernet Switches because they are easy to configure and have good technical support. I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.
What needs improvement with Cisco Nexus 9000 Series?
After the initial integration, the focus has been on support rather than further development. Cost-wise, Cisco Nexus 9000 Series is very expensive. The pricing could absolutely be improved. So far,...
What is your primary use case for Cisco Nexus 9000 Series?
Cisco Nexus 9000 Series serves as a core router and core switch for users, and provides interconnectivity between the core switch and the access switch, as well as remote access switch for smaller ...
What advice do you have for others considering Cisco Nexus 9000 Series?
I am a customer of this solution and also a distributor. Cisco Nexus 9000 Series is usually integrated with other Cisco tools or third-party tools, including 3750, 3850, 3650, and 3750 as access sw...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Ajubeo, Akquinet AG, Big Data Analytics Provider Boligkontoret Danmark Bristol is Open, CDE Lightband, Cicero School District 99, City and County of San Francisco, Department of Emergency, City of Chattanooga, Cloudscale.sh
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Find out what your peers are saying about Brocade Ethernet Switches vs. Cisco Nexus 9000 Series and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
885,311 professionals have used our research since 2012.