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Cisco FabricPath vs IBM BNT 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

Cisco FabricPath
Ranking in LAN Switching
6th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
31
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
IBM BNT
Ranking in LAN Switching
13th
Average Rating
0.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.1
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the LAN Switching category, the mindshare of Cisco FabricPath is 2.5%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IBM BNT is 0.4%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
LAN Switching
 

Featured Reviews

SanjitAchary - PeerSpot reviewer
Delivers comprehensive assessments and superior post-procurement service
In Southeast Asian countries like Indonesia and Malaysia, and in the Latin America region, delivery times can be quite lengthy. This is challenging in terms of logistics and customs. Additionally, parts availability in these regions needs improvement to address hardware failure situations, such as the availability of parts like a power cable.
VLADIMIR RAMIREZ - PeerSpot reviewer
A low maintenance solution with cybersecurity measures
If we rate the capacity from one to ten, where one is small and ten is big, I will rate it a little more than medium for my customers. In my view, the big ones are the government accounts, but we don't have any because they're too large for us. Our typical customers include pharmacies, for example. These customers vary in size and might need storage solutions of around 50 terabytes. We have a very good relationship with our customers. We provide all the maintenance of our software. For IBM BNT, we and the customer handle all the product analysis, recommendations, and so on. When a customer has an idea or issue, they call us or make a decision and explain the problem. Usually, we have a solution, like making a configuration change—something very simple. If you ask how much time customers spend on maintenance, it's very low because the system is very stable. When advising potential customers about IBM BNT, I often suggest they talk to our current customers. Hearing directly from them about how the solutions work in real-world situations can provide valuable insights. I rate the overall product a nine out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The best features of Cisco FabricPath is performance and reliability."
"We have found the solution to be stable."
"The fact that the solution is on the cloud is its most valuable aspect. If you are on the cloud, you can manage your network from anywhere, any place. It's very good."
"The technical assistance is good."
"The setup is straightforward."
"Cisco is the best choice in terms of cost, quality, and post-procurement services."
"The technical support we get from Cisco is excellent. It's the best in the industry. We're more than satisfied with the level of service they provide."
"It is stable and reliable."
"IBM BNT's latest advancements offer cybersecurity measures for network security. Our customers adapt these solutions to their sites and are very happy with the results."
 

Cons

"In Southeast Asian countries like Indonesia and Malaysia, and in the Latin America region, delivery times can be quite lengthy. This is challenging in terms of logistics and customs."
"If Cisco can include management for this protocol in Layer 3, that would be ideal."
"The management features are in need of improvement."
"In terms of the series, I find that the integration with other teleconferencing applications needs to be more seamless. I have suggested to Cisco that the endpoint device should allow joining calls from Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and other teleconferencing applications. Additionally, I appreciate the recent inclusion of breakout sessions in the Cisco Webex application, which enhances its relevance in the networking field."
"It's important to note that the graphical interface often relies on Java, and compatibility with different versions of Java can be a factor."
"The solution is costly."
"The pricing could be adjusted to make it easier to sell to clients."
"The cloud version of Cisco Fabric Path could be improved."
"In terms of improvement, the price is not an issue; it's very good. However, the range of solutions could be improved. Some of our customers are very small, and the current IBM BNT solutions, such as switches, are too large for them. It would be wonderful if we could have switched with maybe 16 ports instead of the usual 24 ports because they don't use all the ports."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing of Cisco FabricPath can be quite high depending on the architecture, but it's justified by the stability it offers."
"I rate the product's pricing a ten out of ten. Cisco switches cost around 15,000 dollars, and DNS licenses cost around 25,000 dollars. The total amount is 45,000 dollars, which is too expensive."
"The solution falls under the pricier category, but it provides value for the price charged."
"The pricing for this product is good."
"It is very expensive."
"The price of Cisco FabricPath could be reduced, it is expensive in the market here in Sri Lanka. The solution is subscriptions based, if the customer wants any future integrations, or if there are any future enhancements they will have to pay. There are different license options available, such as one or three years purchases."
"I rate it seven out of ten on pricing as it's a bit expensive. It would be better if the price were lower, but we prioritize quality over cost."
"FabricPath is very reasonably priced."
"The solution is cheap. However, I think the price for the final user, who in this case is my customer, might be higher than the usual price. I emphasize the real value of the entire solution, not just the cost of the hardware and software. It's about how the solution helps the customer improve their internal operations."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
19%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
11%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco FabricPath?
The tool makes it easy to manage multi-layer networking and increases network efficiency. I haven't faced any challenges in integrating it into our existing infrastructure.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco FabricPath?
Cisco is somewhat expensive, but it provides good quality products and operations, so I can't complain about licensing cost and setup costs. There is room for improvement in terms of pricing for th...
What needs improvement with Cisco FabricPath?
In future updates, I would prefer to see features such as more AI functionality or better integration added to Cisco FabricPath; more AI would be useful.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM BNT?
The solution is cheap. However, I think the price for the final user, who in this case is my customer, might be higher than the usual price. I emphasize the real value of the entire solution, not j...
What needs improvement with IBM BNT?
In terms of improvement, the price is not an issue; it's very good. However, the range of solutions could be improved. Some of our customers are very small, and the current IBM BNT solutions, such ...
What is your primary use case for IBM BNT?
We create solutions for data protection and redundancy. Sometimes, we have three or four BNT switches backing up one another. We also manage many partitions and operating systems.
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

FabricPath
BNT
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Bellevue, Calligaris, Electricity Authority of Cyprus, Management Science Associates, Multi-Customer, Oediv, Roper St. Francis, SNAM
King's College London
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Netgear and others in LAN Switching. Updated: June 2025.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.