Cisco Nexus vs Dell PowerSwitch N-Series comparison

Cisco and Dell Technologies are both solutions in the LAN Switching category. Cisco is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.2, while Dell Technologies is ranked #12. Cisco holds a 8.5% mindshare in LS, compared to Dell Technologies’s 3.6% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 66% of Dell Technologies users who would recommend it.

Cisco Nexus

Read 106 Cisco Nexus reviews

1,347 Views
491 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Dell PowerSwitch N-Series

Read 3 Dell PowerSwitch N-Series reviews

288 Views
147 Comparison Views

66% willing to recommend

Cisco Nexus

Dell PowerSwitch N-Series

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 6, 2025

Dell PowerSwitch N-Series and Cisco Nexus compete in the networking hardware sector. Dell PowerSwitch N-Series provides competitive pricing and reliable customer support, while Cisco Nexus offers advanced features, making each appealing based on user priorities.

Features: Dell PowerSwitch N-Series provides robust scalability, energy efficiency, and seamless integration with third-party products. Cisco Nexus offers high-performance capabilities, advanced security features, and extensive support for virtualization.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Dell PowerSwitch N-Series is noted for its straightforward deployment and responsive support team, ensuring a smoother installation process. Cisco Nexus, with its more complex setup, benefits from comprehensive documentation and advanced support, aiding large-scale deployments.

Pricing and ROI: Dell PowerSwitch N-Series is preferred for its lower initial setup costs and effective ROI, appealing to budget-conscious buyers. Cisco Nexus requires a larger upfront investment but delivers long-term value through high performance and innovative features.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Nexus vs. Dell PowerSwitch N-Series Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Nexus vs. Dell PowerSwitch N-Series

June 2025

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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 Nexus

Ranking in LAN Switching

3rd

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.6

Number of Reviews

106

Ranking in other categories

Data Center Networking (5th)

Dell PowerSwitch N-Series

Ranking in LAN Switching

12th

Average Rating

7.0

Reviews Sentiment

5.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the LAN Switching category, the mindshare of Cisco Nexus is 8.5%, down from 11.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Dell PowerSwitch N-Series is 3.6%, up from 1.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

LAN Switching

Featured Reviews

Vinayak Lokare

Sr, Manager- Network Solution Architect at Reliance Industries Ltd

Enhancing data center network efficiency with reliable security integrations and good switching

Cisco Nexus provides a reliable switching platform for our data centers. It allows us to run dynamic routing protocols and helps improve network efficiency with features like MPLS. Additionally, it supports integration with third-party security tools, which is advantageous for our network architecture. Security-wise, we utilize Cisco's solutions while exploring other vendor options too.

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Al Vasek

Executive Business Development Manager, Cloud and Managed Services at Presidio Networked Solutions

Performs well, but the support and stability could be improved

There is a lack of support because there is a lack of adoption. Because Cisco switches are so widely used, anyone in the world can support them. It was two Cisco engineers who released Arista's code. In terms of programming functionality, they essentially duplicated the Cisco iOS, so all Cisco commands work on the Arista commands. You can do an Arista if you can do a Cisco. Aruba isn't all that different. It's a little different, but they have all of HPE's money and stuff behind it and things like that. I would say the same thing about Extreme or some of the other switches where it's penny-wise, pound-foolish. You save some money if you are a small shop with only one or two guys, it's understandable. Fortinet is now in the switch business, and they have their FortiSwitch devices, which are controlled by the FortiGate firewalls to do all of the programs. There is a lot to choose from. But, in my opinion, a lot of it is dependent on the use case and the customer type. Meraki is a nice little Cisco product for the right kind of business, but I wouldn't use it in an enterprise setting.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature of this solution is its speed."

"The solution is stable."

"The most valuable features are the access layer security, OpenConfig, and OpenFlow."

"We've found their tech support to be excellent, especially in their willingness to resolve issues promptly."

"The most valuable feature is performance."

"I like the fact that they are a well-supported product."

"The most valuable feature is its reliability."

"Cisco Nexus is a stable solution."

More Cisco Nexus pros

"For a customer, it is easy to configure and to add ports through the LAN the GUI."

"The automated configuration management tools of Dell PowerSwitch N-Series help improve network traffic management."

"Port density and port speed performance are both suitable. It has some appealing intangibles."

Cons

"The cost of the support can be improved. We had critical operations, and we needed 24/7 support for 365 days, which was quite expensive. We had to go for a very costly support contract, which was really a concern. The availability of spare parts, especially in a remote location such as Egypt, can also be improved."

"I am looking for a GUI that goes alongside them and more SD-WAN built to their core switches."

"One of the problems we have is that there is no confirmation for when you try to test a system command."

"There are limitations on some of the lower level 9K solutions where you can't do the same things that you would normally be able to do, like for instance the number of static maps that you can configure on it."

"The solution has room for improvement in terms of the learning curve."

"One improvement needed is support for Multi-CAD scale that we were concerned about. We're not hitting any limits at this point."

"Cisco Nexus still needs more stability."

"Our only complaint is about the licensing because it can always be a little more cost-effective."

More Cisco Nexus cons

"Instead of competing at the enterprise level with that product, they should probably scale it. With all of the ports, they should develop a good mid-level business to truly scale it and gain adoption before attempting to go after the enterprise."

"Customers do not prefer this to connect to multiple cities."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution should be more cost-effective in general."

"It is very expensive. Its licensing is on a yearly basis."

"Costs more than most, but the reliability pays for the difference."

"We have a virtual license."

"The subscription model and price could be better."

"Every Cisco product is more expensive than competitors on the market, which is just a fact, but from my perspective, it is worth it."

"Cisco Nexus is not a cheaply priced product."

"If you compare Cisco hardware to any other vendors, such as HPE, they are more expensive. There is a license to use the solution. If my customer's licenses are about to expire I receive notification from Cisco, this is very helpful."

More Cisco Nexus pricing and cost advice

"You are selling it to larger customers and in larger environments, where it's a less expensive model than Cisco, which is attempting to use the same approach Arista did, but with a completely different programming language."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

21%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

21%

Comms Service Provider

11%

Educational Organization

Healthcare Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco Nexus?

The product's initial setup phase is very easy.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Nexus?

All solutions are very expensive and not an economy solution.

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What needs improvement with Cisco Nexus?

All solutions are very expensive and not an economy solution. The solution is on-premises and stable. We haven't tried integration with the network software.

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Comparisons

Juniper QFX Series Switches vs Cisco Nexus

Compared 42% of the time

Arista Networks Platform vs Cisco Nexus

Compared 18% of the time

Cisco Catalyst Switches vs Cisco Nexus

Compared 8% of the time

Juniper QFabric vs Cisco Nexus

Compared 5% of the time

VMware NSX vs Cisco Nexus

Compared 4% of the time

More Cisco Nexus Competitors

Cisco Catalyst Switches vs Dell PowerSwitch N-Series

Compared 66% of the time

More Dell PowerSwitch N-Series Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Nexus

July 2025

Download Cisco Nexus product report

Buyer's Guide

Dell PowerSwitch N-Series

July 2025

Download Dell PowerSwitch N-Series product report

Overview

The Cisco Nexus family of switches is designed to meet the stringent requirements of the next-generation data center. Not simply bigger or faster, these switches offer the following characteristics: infrastructure that can be scaled cost-effectively and that helps you increase energy, budget, and resource efficiency, transport that can navigate the transition to 10 Gigabit Ethernet and unified fabric and can also handle architectural changes such as virtualization, Web 2.0 applications, and cloud computing and operational continuity to meet your need for an environment where system availability is assumed and maintenance windows are rare if not totally extinct.

Cisco

Dell PowerSwitch N-Series bring users efficient connections to the network with highly functional access and aggregation switching. Products consist of: Dell EMC Networking N1100 Series, Dell Networking N1500 Switches, Dell Networking N2000 Series, Dell Networking N3000 Series and Dell Networking N4000 Series.

Dell Technologies

Sample Customers

Advanced Medical Transport, Banco de Guayaquil, Baylor Scott & White Health, BH Telecom, Bowling Green State University, Calligaris, Children's Hospital Colorado, City of Biel, Del Papa Distributing, Department of Justice, Dimension Data, Dualtec Cloud Builders, Electricity Authority of Cyprus, Grupo Industrial Saltillo (GIS), Hertz, K&L Gates , LightEdge, Lone Star College System, Management Science Associates, Mindtree, NBC Olympics, Quest, Sony Corporation, The Department of Education in Western Australia, Valley Proteins

Norwich University of the Arts, Shelby American, City and Islington College

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Nexus vs. Dell PowerSwitch N-Series

June 2025

Free Report: Cisco Nexus vs. Dell PowerSwitch N-Series

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