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  1. Home
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  3. Cisco Nexus Switches
Logo of Cisco Nexus Switches

Cisco Nexus Switches

byCisco Systems
in
4.8
Market Presence: Data Center and Cloud Networking (Transitioning to Data Center Switching), Data Center Switching

Overview

Product Information on Cisco Nexus Switches

Updated 13th October 2025

What is Cisco Nexus Switches?

Cisco Nexus Switches are network switching software designed to deliver data center connectivity, supporting functions such as automated provisioning, real-time visibility, and integrated security. The software provides high-bandwidth switching, operational efficiency, and scalability for various network architectures. It enables multitenancy, virtualization support, and advanced traffic management, aiming to address challenges in network agility, resource utilization, and high availability. Cisco Nexus Switches software helps organizations manage workloads, unify networking protocols, and optimize performance across physical and virtual environments, contributing to the reliability and efficiency of data center infrastructure.

Cisco Nexus Switches Pricing

Cisco Nexus Switches use a pricing model based on hardware purchase with varying costs depending on the model and configuration selected additional software licenses and ongoing support services are available for separate fees with pricing influenced by port capacity and network features chosen.

Overall experience with Cisco Nexus Switches

IT MANAGER
<50M USD, Energy and Utilities
FAVORABLE

“Cisco Nexus Switches Offer Advanced Features but Encounter Reliability Concerns”

4.0
Dec 15, 2025
My experience with Cisco as a vendor has been mostly positive. The sales representative has been quite responsive and has responded to my emails within a day or two. We had a series of demonstrations and question and answer sessions with the sales rep as well as a sales engineer (SE). Cisco SEs are one of Cisco's greatest strengths. They know their products very well and can answer any technical questions that my team had for them. They also made sure to highlight many of the "advanced" features of these switches and showed us how they could best be used in our datacenter.
IT Manager
250M - 500M USD, IT Services
CRITICAL

“Cisco Nexus experience”

3.0
Dec 15, 2025
Recently deployed a new networking solution at a hosted data center. Consulting company convinced us to go with Cisco Nexus and Catalyst switches as we had experience with them and have them in our other data centers.

About Company

Company Description

Updated 8th February 2024

Cisco is a company that specializes in networking technologies, particularly Internet Protocol (IP)-based solutions. It was established in 1984 by a group of computer scientists from Stanford University. As of today, Cisco has a global workforce, continuing to innovate in various fields, notably in routing and switching. Adding to its core business, the company also delves into emerging technologies including home networking, IP telephony, optical networking, security features, storage area networking, and wireless technology. Moreover, Cisco extends its expertise to offer a sweeping range of services such as technical support and advanced services. The company sells its products and services on an enterprise level, to commercial businesses, service providers, and end-users.

Company Details

Updated 25th June 2024
Company type
Public
Year Founded
1984
Head office location
San Jose, United States
Number of employees
10001+
Annual Revenue
30B+ USD
Website
http://www.cisco.com

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Key Insights

A Snapshot of What Matters - Based on Validated User Reviews

User Sentiment About Cisco Nexus Switches
Reviewer Insights for: Cisco Nexus Switches
Deciding Factors: Cisco Nexus Switches Vs. Market Average

Cisco Nexus Switches Likes & Dislikes

Like

Our team liked the fact that these switches provide high speed network traffic with a low amount of latency. These switches serve as the core switches in our datacenter and we selected them due to their ability to provide high bandwidth. We also liked the advanced features that the Nexus operating system provides. With the Nexus operating system, we are able to get advanced network traffic analysis as well as advanced troubleshooting information, which makes it easier to identify network traffic issues. Finally, our team loves Cisco support. We have had to contact the Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC) several times, and their technicians have been stellar. They were quick to diagnose the issue and to ship replacement parts.

Like

Integrated well with our existing switching infrastructure. Our staff already had experience with the product.

Like

The scalability and reliability are the real highlights for me. The Nexsus 9k handles increasing workloads without breaking a sweat, and once it is up and running, its extremely stable. Knowing the infrastructure won't become a bottleneck gives a lot of confidence, especially in large or fast-growing environments. Its support for ACI just adds an extra layer of flexibility and future proofing.

Dislike

The primary issue that we have with the Nexus switches is the buggy Nexus operating system. There have been two instances where a bug in the OS has caused the switch to fail, which has resulted in a significant amount of downtime in the datacenter. The Cisco Nexus line of switches has not proven to be as reliable as some of their other product lines. Secondly, Nexus switches are more expensive than many of the other brands of switches on the market. Granted, these switches do come with many advanced features that not every manufacturer can offer, but as a whole, Cisco has typically been one of the most expensive products on the market. Finally, my team had to undergo additional training in order to support the Nexus operating system.

Dislike

DIssapointed that recent Nexus firmware dropped support fabirc extenders (FEX). FEXs were great for reducing hardware costs and distributing density around the data center with less cabling or patch panels. We also encountered interoperability issues between the Catalyst switches and Cisco VPC that required changing the topology. Cisco support for non-critical issues is dissapointing. We found support options become limited if you don't use the over-priced Cisco branded SFPs or Direct attach cables.

Dislike

If there's one downside, it's that the learning curve can be a bit steep ACI and some of the advanced features aren't always straight forward for newcomers. Initial setup and configuration can take time and require solid familiarity with the concepts.

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Peer Discussions

Cisco Nexus Switches Reviews and Ratings

Showing data for 77 ratings and reviews for Data Center Switching market. View all 453 ratings and reviews across markets for a complete picture.

4.8

(77 Ratings)

Rating Distribution

5 Star
81%
4 Star
18%
3 Star
1%
2 Star
0%
1 Star
0%
Why ratings and reviews count differ?

Customer Experience

Evaluation & Contracting

4.6

Integration & Deployment

4.7

Service & Support

4.7

Product Capabilities

4.7

Filter Reviews
Sort By:
Most helpful
Last 12 Months
Star Rating
Reviewer Type
Reviewer's Company Size
Reviewer's Industry
Reviewer's Region
Reviewer's Job Function
  • IT MANAGER
    <50M USD
    Energy and Utilities
    Review Source

    Cisco Nexus Switches Offer Advanced Features but Encounter Reliability Concerns

    4.0
    Dec 15, 2025
    My experience with Cisco as a vendor has been mostly positive. The sales representative has been quite responsive and has responded to my emails within a day or two. We had a series of demonstrations and question and answer sessions with the sales rep as well as a sales engineer (SE). Cisco SEs are one of Cisco's greatest strengths. They know their products very well and can answer any technical questions that my team had for them. They also made sure to highlight many of the "advanced" features of these switches and showed us how they could best be used in our datacenter.
  • IT Manager
    50M-1B USD
    IT Services
    Review Source

    Cisco Nexus experience

    3.0
    Dec 15, 2025
    Recently deployed a new networking solution at a hosted data center. Consulting company convinced us to go with Cisco Nexus and Catalyst switches as we had experience with them and have them in our other data centers.
  • DATA AND ANALYTICS MANAGER
    Gov't/PS/Ed
    Government
    Review Source

    A scalable and reliable networking experience with room for improvement in support.

    4.0
    Nov 17, 2025
    If I had to sum up my experience with the Cisco Nexsus series 9000, I would say it's one of most reliable and scalable switching platforms. I have worked with. The chassis design itself is impressively solid and well-built, and clearly engineered with the long term growth in mind.
  • Network Engineer
    50M-1B USD
    Healthcare and Biotech
    Review Source

    Cisco Nexus Switches Deliver Ultra-Low Latency and High Reliability for Datacenters

    5.0
    Jan 13, 2026
    Cisco Nexus switches are the high-performance, high-density, and reliable switches in the Cisco product line. Nexus switches offer the highest speed and integrity of any datacenter switches. It uses the NX-OS instead of the enterprise IOX-OS and offers speeds starting from 10G, 40G and up to 400G, which is essential for low latency banking transaction operations. We use the 9000 series Nexus switches in our Exadata servers to offer high speed and fast backup storage between the Exadata servers.
  • IT ASSOCIATE
    Gov't/PS/Ed
    Education
    Review Source

    Nexus Switches Offer Stability and Advanced Features Despite Higher Cost and Power Use

    4.0
    Nov 21, 2025
    I truly love the way Nexus switches perform, they are robust and very advanced, they carry out all the hard work that is happening on the core network, yet barely fail. They provide great bandwidth, more advanced features including automation and telemetry and are exceedingly stable as well.
...
Showing Result 1-5 of 97

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