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Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN 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
7.4
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN delivers cost-effective operations and flexibility, with significant ROI from reduced MPLS and WAN expenses.
Sentiment score
7.4
VMware NSX enhances infrastructure efficiency, saving costs and resources, with returns in 1-2 years despite initial expenses.
They are now back to do that with the remainder of their company, so they've realized the value in 12 months and are willing to invest in the remainder of their organization.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.5
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN support is renowned for expertise and responsiveness but faces delays and outsourcing concerns, overall highly rated.
Sentiment score
6.7
VMware NSX customer service is praised for expertise and efficiency, but consistency and higher-level support accessibility need improvement.
I would consider Cisco support a 10 out of 10.
The principal third-level support is very good.
Cisco's ongoing reorganizations have affected the quality of technical support, which varies depending on the engineer handling cases.
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
7.6
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN excels in scalability, adaptability, and seamless Cisco integration, despite initial setup challenges, supporting diverse enterprises.
Sentiment score
7.7
VMware NSX is highly scalable, integrating easily with infrastructure, despite challenges, and scores 7-10 in diverse deployments.
The ease of configuration and features like zero-touch provisioning enhance the scalability of Cisco SD-WAN, especially in disaster recovery situations.
Cisco SD-WAN is highly scalable and can be expanded to more than 10,000 sites.
There is a high level of satisfaction with its ability to scale.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN is stable and reliable, with minor bugs, requiring regular updates for optimal performance in complex environments.
Sentiment score
8.0
VMware NSX is highly regarded for stability, reliability, and performance, despite minor upgrade issues, with strong user recommendations.
While some software-related issues and bugs were encountered, they did not cause the whole environment to crash.
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN needs simpler management, enhanced security, better scalability, improved support, and more flexible pricing and integration.
VMware NSX faces challenges with complex setup, integration issues, and costly licensing, despite recent improvements in features and support.
Now, they change frequently, making it difficult to obtain long-term support.
The negative, or the downside of Cisco is the knowledge base; you need to be a little bit more tech-savvy and network-savvy to work with Cisco, while Juniper is a lot more user-friendly from what I can see, especially in terms of configuration and any kind of roll back.
Including more features like integrating with Splunk for monitoring vulnerabilities would help eliminate the need for other SOC solutions.
The initial configuration and integration within our existing environment were not easy.
I would like to improve VMware NSX, particularly on the visualization side, aiming for improved visibility in the environment.
 

Setup Cost

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN is costly, with complex licensing, but offers robust features; users seek discounts or OPEX models.
VMware NSX pricing is seen as high due to licensing complexity, infrastructure needs, and potential costs for unused features.
The pricing of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN is rated between eight and nine out of ten, where ten is the most expensive.
It is also relatively cost-effective for smaller businesses when using the Meraki version.
Its pricing is justifiable due to the comprehensive solution it offers.
The cost of VMware NSX is considered high.
VMware NSX is a little higher in price compared to the competition.
 

Valuable Features

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN offers centralized management, robust security, scalability, and superior connectivity with load balancing and excellent support.
VMware NSX excels in scalability, compatibility, and security with features like micro-segmentation and seamless network management across clouds.
It also provides robust security features, including port security, analysis, mirroring, and multiple other security solutions.
Security is standard compliant, eliminating config drift that was prevalent before manual configurations.
The most useful feature for Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN is the single pane of glass management because we also use Meraki onsite.
I value the ability to dynamically configure our network on the fly using VMware NSX.
The most powerful feature of VMware NSX is the micro-segmentation that allows us to separate the different protocols our application works with.
The functions of VMware NSX that I find most valuable include configuration management, which helps in optimizing workload and reducing costs.
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
95
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (6th), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (2nd), WAN Edge (2nd)
VMware NSX
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
103
Ranking in other categories
Network Virtualization (2nd), Cloud and Data Center Security (2nd), Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) (8th), Network Detection and Response (NDR) (9th), Network Automation (6th), Microsegmentation Software (1st)
 

Featured Reviews

Igor Van Den Ouden - PeerSpot reviewer
Enables secure and flexible branch connectivity with application-aware routing
The valuable features of Cisco SD-WAN include its security policies and zone-based firewall that are applied to every site, as well as application-aware routing. Security is standard compliant, eliminating config drift that was prevalent before manual configurations. Application-aware routing offers flexibility in using different lines for traffic, depending on the policy implemented.
DanielBass - PeerSpot reviewer
Improves network security with micro-segmentation but setup is complex
I value the ability to dynamically configure our network on the fly using VMware NSX. This flexibility is a huge advantage because it allows us to avoid static configurations that come with traditional hardware setups. Additionally, the micro-segmentation feature is beneficial for adhering to strict security regulations from our security department.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
36%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
5%
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco SD-WAN?
When considering the most valuable features of Cisco SD-WAN, the decoupling of self-monitoring stands out significantly.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco SD-WAN?
The pricing of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN is rated between eight and nine out of ten, where ten is the most expensive.
What needs improvement with Cisco SD-WAN?
There's nothing I could put my finger on right away for improvements in Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN. There is definitely nothing that Juniper does that Cisco doesn't do. Cisco will do everything Juniper ...
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 do you like most about VMware NSX?
The product has valuable features for security and network extension.
 

Also Known As

Cisco SD-WAN
VMware Nicira, Lastline Defender
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Doyle Research, Ashton Metzler & Associates
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, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Fortinet and others in Network Management Applications. Updated: May 2025.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.