Cisco Nexus Series Switches vs. Ruckus ICX Switches

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Cisco Nexus Series Switches
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
Cisco Nexus is a series of network switches.
$49
Ruckus ICX Switches
Score 9.4 out of 10
N/A
Ruckus acquired the ICX series of campus switches, and in turn Ruckus was acquired by ARRIS in December 2017.
$835
Pricing
Cisco Nexus Series SwitchesRuckus ICX Switches
Editions & Modules
Starting Price
$49.00
Maximum Price
$200,000.00
Compact Switch
$835.00
Port Switch
$1,000.00
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Cisco Nexus Series SwitchesRuckus ICX Switches
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details——
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Cisco Nexus Series SwitchesRuckus ICX Switches
Considered Both Products
Cisco Nexus Series Switches
Chose Cisco Nexus Series Switches
Cisco Nexus Series Switches are reliable and scalable for data and security center operation. Cisco Nexus Series Switches give competition to other sw vendor on feature and continuous functionality like VPN feature, High Data Bandwidth, required less maintenance over year.
Ruckus ICX Switches

No answer on this topic

Top Pros
Top Cons
Best Alternatives
Cisco Nexus Series SwitchesRuckus ICX Switches
Small Businesses

No answers on this topic

No answers on this topic

Medium-sized Companies
Extreme Networks Wired Access - Switches
Extreme Networks Wired Access - Switches
Score 9.1 out of 10
Extreme Networks Wired Access - Switches
Extreme Networks Wired Access - Switches
Score 9.1 out of 10
Enterprises
Cisco Catalyst Switches
Cisco Catalyst Switches
Score 9.0 out of 10
Cisco Catalyst Switches
Cisco Catalyst Switches
Score 9.0 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
Cisco Nexus Series SwitchesRuckus ICX Switches
Likelihood to Recommend
8.6
(74 ratings)
10.0
(4 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
8.5
(6 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.2
(5 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Availability
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
9.2
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.7
(10 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
In-Person Training
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.9
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
9.2
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Cisco Nexus Series SwitchesRuckus ICX Switches
Likelihood to Recommend
Cisco
Fairly stable and easy to operate - but I haven't any experience with other brands, so I don't have anything to compare with. Fairly fast in the OS. Easy to upgrade - but with some SW issues. Sometimes clearing of log folders is needed. Access to bash is cool. Tips & cool tricks for operations could be nice to share.
Read full review
ARRIS
I love this switch for access and aggregate, especially due to the lack of needing reboots. [Other systems require this] reliable and stable platform.
Read full review
Pros
Cisco
  • Continuous system operation:
  • Maintenance, upgrades, and software certification can be performed without service interruptions because of the modular nature of NX-OS and features such as In-Service Software Upgrade (ISSU) and the capability for processes to restart dynamically
  • FabricPath:
  • Enables each device to build an overall view of the topology; this is similar to other link state routing protocols. Each device in the FabricPath topology is identified by a switch-id. The Layer 2 forwarding tables are built based on reachability to each switch-id, not by the MAC address. Eliminates spanning-tree to maximize network bandwidth and flexibility in topological configurations, as well as simplify operational support and configuration. This enables a tremendous amount of flexibility on the topology because you can now build FabricPath topologies for Layer 2-based networks the same as for Layer 3-based networks
  • Overlay Transport Virtualization (OTV): Enables the Layer 2 extension between distributed data centers over any transport Layer 3 network
Read full review
ARRIS
  • They are relatively easy to configure and to maintain.
  • They have all of the high-end configuration capabilities as Cisco switches.
  • The switches have excellent performance and reliability.
Read full review
Cons
Cisco
  • Implementing jumbo frames on interfaces of its fabric extender series (N2k, etc.) by editing the network QoS does not have to be a global configuration that would affect all its interfaces. It can be improved to become just an interface configuration.
  • Licensing on the NXOS is a bit complicated and expensive. I understand that the Nexus is made for core data center switching but it does not have to break the bank.
  • OTV technology is for Nexus only. Based on the advantage of the technology, it should be made vendor-neutral to accommodate other vendor devices.
Read full review
ARRIS
  • Licensing for the 10GB ports is a bit pricey, but that was 5 years ago, so things may have changed
  • The CLI commands are slightly different than typical Cisco commands
  • Their rack mounting was not the prettiest in the world
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Cisco
We will use it for a long time, since they are switches with great capacity and positive results, they promote the perfect operation of our data center, I always recommend them, because they are switches with good results.
Read full review
ARRIS
No answers on this topic
Usability
Cisco
In our environment (and especially during COVID and the Work From Home era), I would really like our network devices to be more resilient [against} errors in remote configuration. Having a standard, easy to use, configure, commit/deploy, rollback system should be installed, but it's not there. Other companies have been providing this for over 20 years, and Cisco does this on some of their devices. Why not all?
Read full review
ARRIS
No answers on this topic
Reliability and Availability
Cisco
Our network is very well design. Any components or device failure. Doesn't affect network availability
Read full review
ARRIS
No answers on this topic
Performance
Cisco
These switches are very fast. They've been designed to work within the data center. We connect them to Cisco UCS-B Mini servers with the storage being directly attached. They are able to handle the data traffic pretty easily. We can also move servers pretty fast from data center to data center without overloading them. This has allowed our company to stay running during any kind of conditional outage. We have come to really rely on them for business continuity.
Read full review
ARRIS
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Cisco
Overall, Cisco has great products and I believe that they believe in the philosophy of a great customer experience. Although there have been a few technical support issues that caused a lot of company anxiety, in most cases, Cisco has gone above and beyond in making a valiant effort to help the customer solve any issues.
Read full review
ARRIS
No answers on this topic
In-Person Training
Cisco
Trainer didn't has good handon experience.. he was bookish trainer.
Read full review
ARRIS
No answers on this topic
Online Training
Cisco
Never had it
Read full review
ARRIS
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Cisco
It is reliable and working as expected
Read full review
ARRIS
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Cisco
The Cisco 9000 stacks up quite well against the Cisco Catalyst 3850 switches. The additional features available in the Nexus 9000, such as VPN, FCoE, 40 gigabits, give us the ability to support the future needs of the company in our data center. The Nexus 9000 allowed us to condense our core and aggregation environment that comprised of 2 Catalyst 6504 and 2 Catalyst 6509 to a port of Nexus 9000. Although the Catalyst 3850 would be sufficient to handle routing, those features in the Nexus 9000 made it the clear choice for us.
Read full review
ARRIS
The switching holds up well against HP, Extreme, Juniper, et. al at the edge. Cost is also a huge factor, and played a part in the purchase. Not just for the switches themselves, but also optics can be purchased at a discount. Service delivery has been fantastic, and in 3 years I've not had to replace any of the brocade switches I've purchased.
Read full review
Scalability
Cisco
The Nexus 3000 series switches are data center switches, so I would say they have similar security ability to other switches in this segment. I don't have a lot of experience doing more than basic ACL security on switches, but I know these can be integrated into other security solutions like Cisco ISE and 802.1x authentication. It could also be integrated into an ACI solution to add micro segmentation, which would bring in other security functions.
Read full review
ARRIS
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Cisco
  • We expected the switches to provide ROI and they did as advertised.
  • NX-OS was pretty similar to IOS so the learning curve was pretty low.
  • Being a Non-Profit we need to be extremely cost conscience and buy gear that has a long shelf life. Nexus line of switches met this objective.
Read full review
ARRIS
  • Equipment just runs
  • Sometimes past EOL/EOS
  • Firmwares just work
Read full review
ScreenShots