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Cisco Nexus vs Juniper QFabric comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 6, 2025

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
4th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
107
Ranking in other categories
Data Center Networking (4th)
Juniper QFabric
Ranking in LAN Switching
10th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2025, in the LAN Switching category, the mindshare of Cisco Nexus is 8.5%, down from 9.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Juniper QFabric is 4.5%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
LAN Switching Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cisco Nexus8.5%
Juniper QFabric4.5%
Other87.0%
LAN Switching
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2669133 - PeerSpot reviewer
Global Head, Network Endpoint Connectivity at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
Streamlines network operations with automation and visibility while initial setup complexity and code stability improve
When I talk about data centers, which are critical infrastructure and centralized application hubs, the Nexus platforms should be highly stable. Initially, the codes I received through ACI were quite unstable, causing me to frequently replace them, which led to significant issues. However, it is much more stable now. Nonetheless, the initial instability with ACI iOS upgrades was a significant problem.
Suresh Pathipatti - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Information Technology Administrator at Aighospital
Performs well, is easy to set up, and the vendor maintains the product well
QFabric is the core switch. We also have two Brocade switches for the Fibre level The product works fine. It is an excellent product. There are different element systems and different options for each generation of the tool. We maintain the data center and analyze issues. I have no negative…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution has introduced VPC, Virtual Port Channel, which allows for more redundancy and flexibility."
"The redundancy and the vPC are the most valuable features. We can integrate two switches together for file transfers; that is, we can operate two switches as one. This is because the network can be shared via a vPC trunk, particularly for devices that are not critical for redundancy."
"The setup was very easy, but managing it in operations was very complex."
"The most valuable feature is the Bluetooth console."
"The interface is easy to use. It is not much different from iOS, but you can use it on a larger scale in data centers."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is to segregate the network."
"Solid product, communications and support from a well-known dependable company."
"Cisco Nexus and Cisco Catalyst have processing power and offer good utilization of Cisco devices."
"It's user-friendly."
"The vendor maintains the product well."
"The most valuable feature of QFabric for network performance is its stability."
"Juniper QFabric has various advantages including scalability, simplicity, performance, and flexibility."
"QFabric supports redundancy and includes all of the enterprise and service provider features that customers would want in data center or service provider network."
"The most valuable features of this solution are the fabric backplane having upwards of 160 GB of communication. It is a top-of-the-rack solution where you have your directors sitting in the main area and then you have your nodes expanded out to your multiple cabinets. It has a very good design and could be your server backbone."
"The solution is stable."
"The 40 gig backbone InterConneX was valuable for our use case. It is even faster now. QFabric has spine-leaf technology or topology, which basically makes every single hop only one hop away in terms of connecting from one device to another. It is a pretty good and robust solution. It works pretty well in terms of scalability, and their technical support is amazing."
 

Cons

"The product lacks options for integration with other market products that would allow us more flexibility."
"Initially, the codes I received through ACI were quite unstable, causing me to frequently replace them, which led to significant issues."
"The pricing must be improved."
"The licensing is very complicated. They should work to simplify it."
"In my company, we encountered some challenges since the network was not stable. The network is unstable, making it an area where improvements are required."
"I would like to see better monitoring actions supported in the next release of this solution."
"There are too many different model numbers and too much complexity."
"The implementation process could be easier, which is something that should be improved."
"The pricing structure could be more budget-friendly."
"The stability needs to be improved."
"I do not use GUI's very much for switch stacks. I am always in the CLI. However, I do know that Juniper in the past has lacked on their GUI's, but they have been working on it."
"It would be nice if Juniper provided the system integrator with training, similar to that of Cisco."
"It works too much on rebooting and there is some memory leakage."
"Having support for all OpenFlow versions would be beneficial."
"Improvements could be made to QFabric's life cycle management, particularly in maintaining stable versions and extending product support."
"The disruptive upgrade was an issue for us."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing fees for this solution are approximately $800,000 USD annually."
"Our licensing fees are approximately $2,000 USD per year."
"It's worth the money we're paying for Nexus."
"I don't like the Smart Licensing models that Cisco uses."
"The price of this solution is good when compared to others in the market."
"It is very expensive. Its licensing is on a yearly basis."
"In most cases, there is a need to secure perpetual licenses to be able to use the product. When I set up the product, there isn't just a one-time cost that is involved."
"The solution is expensive."
"The price is relatively high, but it offers an advantage over its competitors by providing better performance and functionality."
"The pricing is high and it is possible to find better pricing option solutions on the market, but the licensing model is quite flexible."
"In terms of price, the QFabric solution is going to be probably in the middle of the road for a fabric solution."
"The price for Juniper QFabric could improve. There are subscription, maintenance, and add-on feature fees."
"Juniper QFabric is a high-level solution but it could be less expensive."
"The pricing is high."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Performing Arts
6%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise17
Large Enterprise82
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise5
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco Nexus?
The product's initial setup phase is very easy.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Nexus?
We are a reseller, and we sell products to our customers.
What needs improvement with Cisco Nexus?
Cisco Nexus may not be very popular because of the requirements that we come across, as it will go into the core data centers, whereas we work with most of the corporate sectors, so Cisco Nexus is ...
What do you like most about Juniper QFabric?
The most valuable feature of QFabric for network performance is its stability.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Juniper QFabric?
Juniper QFabric is not overly expensive. Licensing is required for certain features like vRRP, but setting up a virtual chassis does not necessitate a separate license.
What needs improvement with Juniper QFabric?
Improvements could be made to QFabric's lifecycle management, particularly in maintaining stable versions and extending product support. The rapid release cycle and short life span compared to comp...
 

Also Known As

No data available
QFabric
 

Overview

 

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
MCB Bank
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Nexus vs. Juniper QFabric and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
879,259 professionals have used our research since 2012.