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Cisco ACI vs Nuage Networks vs VMware NSX 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
6.7
Cisco ACI enhances efficiency with cost savings and stable performance, though some face challenges and unutilized features.
Sentiment score
8.5
Nuage Networks improved efficiency, scalability, and automation, reducing costs and complexity, while enhancing control, performance, and adaptability.
Sentiment score
6.8
VMware NSX enhances infrastructure efficiency, CAPEX savings, cybersecurity, and ROI, but initial costs and security effectiveness have mixed reviews.
Efficient utilization leads to cost savings and efficiency gains.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.1
Cisco ACI's customer support is mixed, with responsive staff but inconsistent expertise and room for improvement in newer versions.
Sentiment score
6.7
Nuage Networks' customer service is responsive and knowledgeable, providing quick issue resolution, effective troubleshooting, and personalized assistance.
Sentiment score
6.6
VMware NSX customer service is praised for efficiency and expertise, but improvements in accessibility and responsiveness are desired.
The technical support from Cisco is satisfactory.
When issues occur, the TAC is not able to provide much support, leading to difficulties in finding RCAs.
They were always helpful.
Our technicians have a good support experience from the company.
The technical support from VMware NSX deserves a rating of seven out of ten.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
Cisco ACI excels in scalability and flexibility, supporting integration across environments with strong automation and plug-and-play features.
Sentiment score
7.2
Users laud Nuage Networks for its seamless scalability, flexible network management, and efficient performance in cloud and SD-WAN environments.
Sentiment score
7.7
VMware NSX is praised for its scalability, robust performance, and efficient network integration, despite some complexity in scaling.
The scalability of Cisco ACI supports our organization's growth effectively.
You can use the multi-site and multi-pod features, which help you scale the data center over the WAN and create large sites.
The solution offers high performance and scalability with connectivity options up to 100 GS.
There is a high level of satisfaction with its ability to scale.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
Cisco ACI is now stable and reliable, with high availability, effective support, and improvements enhancing performance for data centers.
Sentiment score
9.0
Users praise Nuage Networks for reliability, strong features, seamless integration, scalability, minimal issues, and responsive support.
Sentiment score
8.1
VMware NSX is highly stable, with strong performance, scalability, and frequent updates addressing most bugs and integration concerns.
For stability, Cisco ACI rates a nine or 9.5 because I've seen three customers using Cisco ACI and once deployed, the solution is very stable.
For stability, I would rate VMware NSX as a nine out of ten.
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco ACI users seek improved usability, integration, documentation, deployment, automation, security, and support for a more efficient experience.
Nuage Networks could improve documentation, simplify setup, enhance customer support responsiveness, offer better training, and improve system integration.
VMware NSX faces challenges in costs, complexity, and user satisfaction, needing enhancements in automation, scalability, and security features.
Their lack of on-ground offices can result in business losses.
The pricing for the product is another area for improvement as I'm not satisfied nowadays.
The initial configuration and integration within our existing environment were not easy.
The licensing model is expensive and could be more flexible, especially after Broadcom bought VMware.
 

Setup Cost

Cisco ACI's high costs are justified by its quality and capabilities, making it a valued investment for large enterprises.
Nuage Networks provides customizable and competitive pricing for scalable solutions, appealing to enterprises with detailed, requirement-based quotes.
VMware NSX is viewed as costly, with complex licensing and high initial costs, particularly impacting smaller organizations.
In general, Cisco ACI is on the higher side; it's not a cheap solution.
Cisco's pricing tends to be on the higher end compared to other vendors.
The cost of VMware NSX is considered high.
VMware NSX is a little higher in price compared to the competition.
There is room for improvement in terms of pricing.
 

Valuable Features

Cisco ACI centralizes management, enhances security, scalability, and automation, simplifying network operations, improving efficiency, and integrating with VMware.
Users praised Nuage Networks for its automation, integration, scalability, and security, valuing deployment simplicity, cost efficiency, and technical support.
VMware NSX offers enhanced security, seamless management, and flexibility with automation, scalability, and integration for cloud and on-premises solutions.
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.
Its features, like easy application deployment, short deployment time for new applications or software, and eliminating the hassle of STP, are appreciated.
It is essential for growing our data center connectivity and enablement for our customers.
Micro-segmentation enhances security and provides more secure data in your data center.
It's robust, stable, and easy to use.
The micro-segmentation feature is beneficial for adhering to strict security regulations from our security department.
 

Mindshare comparison

Network Virtualization
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
Network Virtualization
 

Featured Reviews

Rahul Khandelwal - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Kristof Spriet - PeerSpot reviewer
Great multi-tenancy and routing functionalities but needs more security capabilities
We primarily use the solution for connectivity to the majority of our customers, for national and international deployments.  Their multi-tenancy and routing functionalities are both great. It is stable and reliable. The solution can scale. Technical support has been fine. Security needs to be…
MagdyRaafat - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhanced security and streamlined management drive efficient connectivity
Open source is a standard solution where you take a gray box or white box and put the software from your end. You can do programming with Ansible and make the network work in the software-defined mode, providing automation and management capabilities. I am currently working with VMware. It integrates easily with everything and can work with any system. When discussing micro-segmentation, it enhances security, providing more secure data in your data center while allowing for extra layers of security outside your data center. If you have an ACI, there is communication between locations, keeping your data secure in your data center and throughout the path it takes, such as to SD-WAN or the cloud. I work with cloud solutions including AWS, Azure, GCP, and private cloud. My overall rating for VMware NSX is 8.5 out of 10.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
20%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Healthcare Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
Government
9%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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 g...
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 wh...
What do you like most about Cisco ACI?
The flexibility of adding new components with minimal impact on existing services running in the data center is a key...
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What do you like most about VMware NSX?
The product has valuable features for security and network extension.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware NSX?
I'm not satisfied nowadays. There is room for improvement in terms of pricing.
What needs improvement with VMware NSX?
A basic load balancer feature was present in a previous version, but the latest version only has an advanced load bal...
 

Also Known As

No data available
No data available
VMware Nicira, Lastline Defender
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Bowling Green State University, du, Qatar University
Produban
City of Avondale, Lumeta, Kroll Ontrack, Heartland Payment Systems, Baystate Heallth, Exostar, Tribune Media, iGATE, NTT Communications, Synergent, California Natural Resources Agency, Bloomington Public Schools, Columbia Sportswear, Join Experience S.A, Schuberg Philis
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, VMware, Array Networks and others in Network Virtualization. Updated: August 2025.
864,574 professionals have used our research since 2012.