# Cisco vs HPE Aruba: which do AI models recommend for data center networking, October 2026

IT AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition, Data center networking. Two of fourteen models named Cisco first on the direct prompt; one named HPE Aruba. Page: https://it-ai-index.com/network/data-center-networking/cisco-vs-hpe-aruba/

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cisco | 5% | #2 of 7 | 32% | 28 | 14 of 14 |
| HPE Aruba | 2% | #3 of 7 | 8% | 12 | 8 of 14 |

## The direct prompt, model by model

- Qwen 3.7 Flash: both first (first choices: Cisco, HPE Aruba) (alternatives: Juniper EX Series)
- Mistral Small: cisco first (first choices: Cisco) (alternatives: Arista Networks, Huawei Data Center Networking, Juniper Networks)
- Claude Haiku 4.5: neither named
- GPT-5.4 mini: neither named (first choices: Arista Networks) (alternatives: Cisco Nexus, Juniper QFX)
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: neither named (first choices: Arista Networks) (alternatives: Dell Technologies, HPE Juniper Networking)
- Perplexity Sonar: neither named (first choices: Cisco Nexus) (alternatives: Arista Networks, HPE Data Center Switches)
- Grok 4.1 Fast: neither named (first choices: HPE Aruba Networking CX Series) (alternatives: Cisco Nexus, Juniper Networks)
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: neither named (first choices: HPE Aruba CX Series) (alternatives: Extreme Networks, Juniper QFX Series)
- Llama 4 Maverick: neither named
- Kimi K2: neither named (first choices: HPE Aruba Networking CX Series) (alternatives: Cisco Nexus 9000, Juniper QFX Series)
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: neither named (first choices: HPE Aruba Networking CX Series) (alternatives: Cisco Catalyst 9200/9300 Series, Cisco Nexus 9300 Series, Dell PowerSwitch S Series)
- MiniMax M2.5: neither named
- GPT-6 Luna: neither named (first choices: Arista EOS) (alternatives: Cisco Nexus 9000, CloudVision, HPE Juniper QFX + Apstra)
- Muse Glimmer 30B: neither named (first choices: HPE Aruba EdgeConnect) (alternatives: Arista Networks, Juniper Networks)

## What the models said about Cisco

- "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

- "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)

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. Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category. Published under CC BY 4.0; the output is the models' output, and nothing here is a recommendation by the index.