We performed a comparison between Arista Networks Platform and Cisco Catalyst Switches based on our users’ reviews in five categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.
Comparison Results: Arista comes out on top in this comparison. According to reviews, it is easier to set up and has better support than Cisco.
"What we like most is its performance to price ratio."
"I like the spine as a leaf model and low latency. The hardware is robust and meets expected latency in all environments, mainly if you belong to the media or trading industry. For multicast-based solutions, Arista is number one."
"The solution is scalable."
"The best part is the single operating system that they have. Regardless of your model, it's the same operating system functioning across the board, which means you don't have to worry about backward compatibilities between your older switches and the new ones that you deploy."
"It's an extremely reliable platform for the network switches we use."
"The user-friendly policy manager lets us apply different controls for various user groups easily."
"It is very stable. It has good hardware and very stable code. It provides good value for its price. They are a very lean type of organization, so they are very responsive, and they're able to focus more on their platform versus having multiple products out there."
"It provides telemetry and visibility for many metrics that are not supported by most of the other vendors. Out of the box, no third party solutions are needed."
"Cisco Catalyst Switches are very stable."
"The solution is good for computation and backup."
"The hardware and the security are the product's valuable features"
"The solution is reliable."
"I think it is a reliable and scalable solution."
"Cisco offers DNS features over other vendors."
"Easy to manage, with a long lifespan."
"The scalability is excellent."
"Arista Networks Platform should focus on improving the compatibility or integration with Cisco solutions."
"Something that you will often hear about Arista products is that the price is a bit too high and, like with Cisco, we sometimes have problems with our customers because of its pricing."
"They need to enhance their code and their EOS. They need to improve some security features, and there are quite a number of bugs in their system. So, they need to work on that piece. In the next release, we need to have a modular feature. Instead of providing an integrated solution, they should go for something modular. They need to come up with modular highly scalable models. Even at the chassis layer, I want to see some improvement."
"An area for improvement in Arista Networks Platform is its integration, e.g. it needs to have more integration with its new products. Incorporating more security and cloud is also another area for improvement in the platform."
"The solution is a bit pricey."
"The community is good but is not good enough. It still needs to grow more."
"The CVP management platform needs to be improved."
"The intent-based networking management, together with the provider of these solutions that are already free, would be beneficial."
"For the time being, Cisco Catalyst Switches are working well, but they are not PoE switches, which is why we would consider replacing them."
"The licensing process could be a bit less complex."
"The product's high price is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"We need to rely on other devices to provide management features."
"Price could be lower."
"The pricing needs improvement."
"Cisco switches are expensive."
"The solution is expensive."
Arista Networks Platform is ranked 2nd in Data Center Networking with 21 reviews while Cisco Catalyst Switches is ranked 1st in Data Center Networking with 171 reviews. Arista Networks Platform is rated 8.6, while Cisco Catalyst Switches is rated 8.6. The top reviewer of Arista Networks Platform writes "Affordable for enterprise-sized companies". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Cisco Catalyst Switches writes "Reliable and stable catalyst switch; can be easily installed". Arista Networks Platform is most compared with Cisco Nexus, Juniper EX Series Ethernet Switches, Aruba Switches, Cisco Ethernet Switches and Meraki MS Switches, whereas Cisco Catalyst Switches is most compared with Dell PowerConnect Switches, Cisco Nexus, HPE ProCurve, ExtremeSwitching and Aruba Instant On Switches. See our Arista Networks Platform vs. Cisco Catalyst Switches report.
See our list of best Data Center Networking vendors.
We monitor all Data Center Networking reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.