Data center networking · October 2026 Edition
Cisco vs HPE Aruba
Two of fourteen models named Cisco first on the direct prompt; one named HPE Aruba. Cisco was named by fourteen of the fourteen models and HPE Aruba by eight and Cisco carries 28 labels and HPE Aruba 12, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in eighteen categories this edition.
HPE Aruba
accepted challengerNamed in three categories this edition.
First-choice share5%2%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate32%8%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#2#3A position in a field of 7; printed, not drawn.
Labels2812A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Cisco reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.Arista Networks vs Cisco · Arista Networks vs HPE Aruba · Cisco vs Cisco Nexus
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the data center networking page.
By framing
How many of the fourteen models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
CiscoFirst choices, of fourteen modelsHPE ArubaDirect21
Paraphrase001 against Cisco
Comparative30
Budget-constrained001 against Cisco · 1 against HPE Aruba
Scale-constrained002 against Cisco
Negative005 against Cisco
Bars are first choices, 0 to 14 each sideModels that argued againstA model can name both, so the two sides of a row do not sum to fourteen.
Every model, every framing
The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Cisco and HPE Aruba stood in it.
| Model | DirectHA | ParaphraseHA | ComparativeHA | Budget-constrainedHA | Scale-constrainedHA | NegativeHA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | ||||||
| GPT-5.4 mini | | |||||
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | | | | |||
| Perplexity Sonar | HA | HA | | |||
| Grok 4.1 Fast | HA | | ||||
| Mistral Small | | |||||
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | HA | HA | ||||
| Llama 4 Maverick | | |||||
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | HA | HA | ||||
| Kimi K2 | HA | |||||
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | | |||||
| MiniMax M2.5 | HA | | ||||
| GPT-6 Luna | | |||||
| Muse Glimmer 30B | | |
CiscoHA HPE Aruba first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Cisco on the left and HPE Aruba on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Cisco and HPE Aruba stood in it.
Both were the first choice
1 of 14 modelsThe answer named them together, and the judge labeled each a first choice.Qwen 3.7 FlashCisco, HPE Aruba alternatives: Juniper EX Series
Cisco first, HPE Aruba not the choice
1 of 14 modelsHPE Aruba was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.Mistral SmallCisco alternatives: Arista Networks, Huawei Data Center Networking, Juniper Networks
Neither was named
12 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.Claude Haiku 4.5no first choice
GPT-5.4 miniArista Networks alternatives: Cisco Nexus, Juniper QFX
Gemini 3.5 FlashArista Networks alternatives: Dell Technologies, HPE Juniper Networking
Perplexity SonarCisco Nexus alternatives: Arista Networks, HPE Data Center Switches
Grok 4.1 FastHPE Aruba Networking CX Series alternatives: Cisco Nexus, Juniper Networks
DeepSeek V4 FlashHPE Aruba CX Series alternatives: Extreme Networks, Juniper QFX Series
Llama 4 Maverickno first choice
Kimi K2HPE Aruba Networking CX Series alternatives: Cisco Nexus 9000, Juniper QFX Series
GLM 4.7 FlashXHPE Aruba Networking CX Series alternatives: Cisco Catalyst 9200/9300 Series, Cisco Nexus 9300 Series, Dell PowerSwitch S Series
MiniMax M2.5no first choice
GPT-6 LunaArista EOS alternatives: Cisco Nexus 9000, CloudVision, HPE Juniper QFX + Apstra
Muse Glimmer 30BHPE Aruba EdgeConnect alternatives: Arista Networks, Juniper Networks
Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.
By buyer segment
The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment and they are never added together. The figures above are the mid-market standing, which is the one the category orders by.
Small business
Level: the same share of first choices.
Cisco0%#– of 9HPE Aruba0%#– of 9
The full small business standing →Mid-marketThe figures above
Enterprise
What the models said about Cisco
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Five of five in this category shown.
“Some Gartner clients report higher rates of issues compared to other vendors, typically around product complexity, software quality, and support timeliness” MiniMax M2.5 · negative prompt · soft negative
“some platforms that may be worth avoiding or being cautious about include: * Cisco (according to Gartner's Magic Quadrant for Data Center Networking)” Llama 4 Maverick · negative prompt · soft negative
“Cisco: breadth, intent-based ACI, hybrid cloud and optical DCI... enterprises needing a single vendor stack and ACI policy often choose Cisco” Muse Glimmer 30B · comparative prompt · first choice
“Cisco's Nexus platform is often recommended due to its balance of performance, ease of management, and strong ecosystem support” Mistral Small · direct prompt · first choice
“generally considered the top two contenders due to their balance of performance, manageability, and Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)” Qwen 3.7 Flash · direct prompt · first choice
What the models said about HPE Aruba
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Four of four in this category shown.
“HPE Aruba is presented as more budget-friendly, though the result emphasizes campus/edge more than data center.” Perplexity Sonar · budget prompt · soft negative
“HPE Aruba (AOS-CX) and Cisco (Catalyst 9000/Nexus) are generally considered the top two contenders” Qwen 3.7 Flash · direct prompt · first choice
“Good for integrated campus+DC, competitive pricing | Less established in pure data center switching use cases” DeepSeek V4 Flash · scale prompt · alternative
“If you need campus + data center: Consider Aruba for campus and Arista for data center” MiniMax M2.5 · budget prompt · alternative
Also compared
Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category, each against each. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.