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Cisco Nexus vs NVIDIA Cumulus Linux comparison

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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 Nexus
Ranking in Data Center Networking
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
108
Ranking in other categories
LAN Switching (2nd)
NVIDIA Cumulus Linux
Ranking in Data Center Networking
13th
Average Rating
5.0
Reviews Sentiment
3.4
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Data Center Networking category, the mindshare of Cisco Nexus is 10.1%, down from 17.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NVIDIA Cumulus Linux is 2.2%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Center Networking Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Nexus10.1%
NVIDIA Cumulus Linux2.2%
Other87.7%
Data Center Networking
 

Featured Reviews

Fakhar Mahmood - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. Network Administrator at i2c
Migration between data centers has strengthened core connectivity and simplified segmentation
The biggest problems during migration were corporate issues, including dependencies on other devices such as F5, HSMs, and firewalls from Palo Alto. Everything was connected over the core switches, which made this a quite difficult part to manage and to onboard the teams and to understand the impact of the migration. We encountered an issue where we have two data centers, and unknowingly we were configuring the devices with the same VPC number on both devices. By doing that, we were not able to terminate the lease lines over those core switches. According to Cisco, we had to change the VPC number of one of the data center's core switches since they are in a VPC. We are still waiting, and it has been more than five to six years just to change the VPC number and migrate back the lease line. Now we are having cabin switches for the lease line and then the core switch. That VPC number issue was quite surprising for us. However, we have a very frequent issue with Cisco Nexus, particularly with the SFPs. Every time a port or the SFP heats up, it gets faulty. We have almost sixteen Nexus switches per data center. In a year, we experience one or two port issues per annum. We have standard Equinix data centers with standard installations, but somehow the temperature is always maintained and there is no ducting, yet the ports and the SFPs heat up or become faulty. This is a very frequent issue with the SFP-based port.
YL
NVIDIA Network Engineer at Snetsystems
Faced challenges with configuration and automation but gained experience in modern data center networking
I usually participate in the initial setup of NVIDIA Cumulus Linux. The usual setup process for me is that NVIDIA Cumulus Linux configuration commands are very complex, more complex than any other network vendors. The Juniper CLI is very similar to NVIDIA Cumulus Linux, but NVIDIA Cumulus Linux is more complex than Juniper. The CLI configuration and commands are very complex. Other network vendors' commands are very simple and direct, so when viewing the configuration, it is clear what it is for. However, NVIDIA Cumulus Linux has very complex configuration, so when viewing the configuration, it is unclear what the configuration is for. There is enough documentation, guides, and manuals for the installation process. NVIDIA provides sufficient information for NVIDIA Cumulus Linux, but this is not standard.

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."
"There are many good things about this product including the reliability, scalability, and of course, security."
"This solution provides our organization with high capacity."
"It is tried and tested in our network, and it works well."
"The most valuable features are the solution is robust, you are able to use it for fabric architecture as well as SPAN on exit with the controller."
"The most valuable feature of the 7700 series is probably the multi-context subset VRS, which lets you use multi-VRS, multi-context, and also VPC setup, where you have two logical devices that are still separate in terms of management planes, but have shared, virtual core channels."
"If you want something that that is rock solid and you don't have to worry about, then go buy yourself some Nexus 9Ks."
"Cisco is refining the features all the time and you can see this in all the different vendors."
"NVIDIA Cumulus Linux has excellent support for EVPN VXLAN."
 

Cons

"Nothing is perfect."
"This solution costs a lot."
"Currently, the switches don't behave like the 4500 switches in terms of acting as one physical chassis. So the multi-chassis PortChannel feature is not applicable in this case. Nevertheless, virtual port-channel feature covers this."
"The product's high price is an area of concern where improvements are required. Cisco Nexus should lower its current prices."
"I would like to see a central management solution in order to have all of the equipment in one place."
"I don't really deal with the pricing but I know that it's not cheap."
"I would like to see Duo directly integrated with the Nexus hardware, instead of it being through the proxies, like how Duo works today."
"It's a stable solution, but there are a few bugs here and there in it and it would be nice if they weren't there."
"Regarding areas where NVIDIA Cumulus Linux could be improved or enhanced, all areas have issues when EVPN and VXLAN are not used."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"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."
"The solution is expensive."
"Our licensing fees are paid annually."
"The price of this solution is good when compared to others in the market."
"I thought that it would be less expensive."
"The problem with Cisco, from what I see, is that their costs are much higher."
"This solution should be made more affordable."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Construction Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
8%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business19
Midsize Enterprise17
Large Enterprise83
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Nexus?
Cisco Nexus switches are generally priced at the higher end of the market, but their performance, scalability, and reliability make them a strong option for enterprise data centers. The overall cos...
What needs improvement with Cisco Nexus?
The biggest problems during migration were corporate issues, including dependencies on other devices such as F5, HSMs, and firewalls from Palo Alto. Everything was connected over the core switches,...
What is your primary use case for Cisco Nexus?
Cisco Nexus is used in data centers with a simple Nexus OS deployment model. In our environment, we do not use programmability with Cisco Nexus. The switches are used very basically in our infrastr...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NVIDIA Cumulus Linux?
In my opinion about the pricing of NVIDIA Cumulus Linux, it is too expensive for its function. It is not worth the money.
What needs improvement with NVIDIA Cumulus Linux?
Regarding areas where NVIDIA Cumulus Linux could be improved or enhanced, all areas have issues when EVPN and VXLAN are not used. NVIDIA Cumulus Linux has a significant problem in that with any oth...
What is your primary use case for NVIDIA Cumulus Linux?
NVIDIA Cumulus Linux is designed for data center networks, so switches running this software cannot be used in other network areas such as campus environments. NVIDIA Cumulus Linux can only be used...
 

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
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