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Cisco Nexus vs NVIDIA Cumulus Linux 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 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 (3rd)
NVIDIA Cumulus Linux
Ranking in Data Center Networking
11th
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 March 2026, in the Data Center Networking category, the mindshare of Cisco Nexus is 14.1%, down from 18.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NVIDIA Cumulus Linux is 1.5%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Center Networking Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Nexus14.1%
NVIDIA Cumulus Linux1.5%
Other84.4%
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

"Cisco is refining the features all the time and you can see this in all the different vendors."
"The most valuable features are extensions and recorded scalability."
"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 scalability of the solution is well beyond anything I would ever need."
"The ability to tenant-out the traffic and segment it, without having to get into separate physical hardware or trying to figure out VDCs manually, has been really powerful and extremely useful for us."
"The flexibility, how accurately the VPCs operate as well as the redundancy built into it with the VPCs are the most valuable features."
"We have continuity with Cisco, which provides a very high-end solution."
"The most valuable features of the solution are capacity and scalability."
"NVIDIA Cumulus Linux has excellent support for EVPN VXLAN."
 

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."
"Multi contexts would be nice to have to separate different tenants logically and securely."
"The product lacks options for integration with other market products that would allow us more flexibility."
"I feel that this solution should be more flexible and scalable."
"In the next release of this solution, I would like to see a focus on backplane deployment, so you can stack more."
"The only thing to improve is to continue to get better."
"It would be nice if the solution offered multiple types of port support."
"The initial setup of the Cisco Nexus platform takes a long time. It's a complex system because we have a lot of security layers."
"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

"It's worth the money we're paying for Nexus."
"Our licensing fees are approximately $2,000 USD per year."
"It's around $160K a year for our license."
"Our licensing costs for this solution are approximately $100K a year for the switching part."
"It is very expensive. Its licensing is on a yearly basis."
"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."
"Every Cisco product is more expensive than competitors on the market, which is just a fact, but from my perspective, it is worth it."
"I don't like the Smart Licensing models that Cisco uses."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Marketing Services Firm
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
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 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?
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 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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