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Cisco DNA Virtualization [EOL] vs VMware NSX 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 DNA Virtualization [EOL]
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
VMware NSX
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
107
Ranking in other categories
Network Virtualization (2nd), Cloud and Data Center Security (5th), Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) (7th), Network Detection and Response (NDR) (8th), Network Automation (5th), Microsegmentation Software (3rd)
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer902526 - PeerSpot reviewer
Vice Chairman at a construction company with 11-50 employees
Good support, feature-rich, and works well from a technical perspective
We are a system integrator and we are currently working on a project with a client who is using this solution. It is used for private cloud or data center virtualization We make use of all of the features that are available. It would be helpful to have better information on how to implement this…
Mahesh Bhadoriya - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Manager at Allianz Cloud Private Limited
Micro segmentation has strengthened zero trust security and isolates production from test environments
The advantages of VMware NSX include its micro-segmentation for internal security at the firewall and VM levels, which is very powerful and helps us comply with complete Zero Trust security models. We are able to achieve this and configure network level virtualization with no dependency on VLANs. Micro-segmentation helps improve our security significantly. We are not totally dependent upon our physical upfront firewall, and it makes sense to configure everything using VMware NSX, leading to multiple improvements in our organization. We moved from traditional networking such as VLANs from the firewall and switches to VMware NSX segmentation. We achieve one firewall per VLAN and can stop lateral movement such as ransomware control. The Zero Trust model is the main functionality and architecture it offers, allowing application isolation, such as having a separate production and test environment. Consistent networking and security policies across different environments have a major and very positive impact on our business operations, allowing us to achieve the security posture we want with compliance and regulations.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"Cisco has a good technical support team."
"Overall, from a technical perspective, this product is good, but it could be improved with respect to pricing."
"The management aspect of the solution is its most valuable feature; software-defined issues have been good for us, and it makes the management process easy."
"NSX can reduce costs and has good service. It is easy for you and your users to use."
"We are using VMware NSX for all our network needs."
"It gives more security and micro-segmentation. It helps to set network configurations in an easy way."
"When you're talking about virtual networks, I think NSX is one of the greatest products and will soon be the leader in the market."
"I am impressed with the tool's protection."
"We enjoy the micro-segmentation and the ability to extend the network on Layer Two."
"I have found the system to be very intuitive, functional, and they have great technology."
"During our experience, the solution has been stable."
 

Cons

"It would be helpful to have better information on how to implement this product."
"The stability of the solution isn't ideal. It could be vastly improved."
"The initial setup is not easy."
"I have no complaints regarding the user interface or any technical issues."
"It could be more user-friendly, but it's manageable. When we add a specific node to this particular NSX and the configuration changes, it won't push through the errors where required, but it'll accept it. However, while using it, we will have issues. It can also be more stable."
"However, they should provide better documentation."
"It takes time to do the initial setup. It is a bit slow, which is surprising."
"Sometimes, it can be difficult to get to a higher level engineer if you need to, but it takes some work to make that case."
"Because NSX is software, it cannot match dedicated physical hardware in terms of performance, however this weakness is balanced with flexibility and scale."
"In the future, the solution should be compliant with internet NIC."
"I have concerns on the stability of VMware NSX, because it breaks multiple times in customer environments, especially when you scale it across a big data center."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Cisco products are not cheap."
"It is an expensive product, but cheaper than some competing solutions."
"VMware NSX is a cheaper product compared to its competitor, Cisco."
"The pricing is higher than other options from Palo Alto, Fortinet, and Cisco because it is sold in a bundle."
"The price of VMware NSX is optimal. Additionally, the price of the solution can be negotiated with the vendor. Many areas of the solution can impact the cost, such as features, time for onboarding, and support needed."
"You can scale NSX if you have the resources, but it's usually expensive and complex to scale up."
"We can't go without NSX, so it's invaluable from this perspective."
"VMware NSX is expensive and everything is licensed. We have to pay for each individual feature."
"I was not involved in the purchase of the solution but I hear it is on the expensive side."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Outsourcing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Construction Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business34
Midsize Enterprise23
Large Enterprise70
 

Questions from the Community

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What are the biggest differences between Cisco ACI and VMware NSX?
There are some very major differences between both the Products and to name a few. -Cisco ACI have physical network gear (9K Switches) where the Code runs in ACI Policy Mode & the UCS server wh...
What are the biggest differences between Cisco ACI and VMware NSX?
Once you know your way around the Cisco ecosystem, using Cisco ACI is not so difficult. It is a global product, so when you change one interface, changes are automatically reflected on every switch...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware NSX?
When measuring complexity and costs for our organization, we consider some parameters for effectiveness. In terms of effectiveness in reducing operational complexity, I measure it to be high on the...
 

Also Known As

Cisco Digital Network Architecture (DNA) Virtualization
VMware Nicira, Lastline Defender
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
City of Avondale, Lumeta, Kroll Ontrack, Heartland Payment Systems, Baystate Heallth, Exostar, Tribune Media, iGATE, NTT Communications, Synergent, California Natural Resources Agency, Bloomington Public Schools, Columbia Sportswear, Join Experience S.A, Schuberg Philis
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Broadcom, ZeroTier, Inc. and others in Network Virtualization. Updated: October 2026.
921,523 professionals have used our research since 2012.