Comparing Cisco Tetration with VMware NSX

Cisco Secure Workload (formerly Tetration) and VMware NSX Distributed Firewall (now rebranded as Broadcom vDefend) remain the two most recognised platforms for workload microsegmentation. Both have undergone significant changes since their original releases. This updated comparison reflects the current state of both products as of 2025.

Disclaimer: This post is based on publicly available documentation and professional experience. Validate all capabilities and pricing directly with the respective vendors before making purchasing decisions. Network Bachelor is not responsible for any decisions made based on this content

What Has Changed

Cisco Tetration is now Cisco Secure Workload, currently at version 3.9. In Q3 2024, Forrester recognised it as a Leader in the Microsegmentation Solutions Wave

VMware NSX has been restructured under Broadcom

Following the $69 billion acquisition of VMware in November 2023, NSX is no longer sold as a standalone product. The Distributed Firewall has been rebranded as VMware vDefend and bundled into the VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) subscription — where it is now a paid add-on rather than a default inclusion. Organisations approaching NSX renewal should obtain updated pricing from Broadcom directly, as costs have increased materially for many existing customers.

How Each Solution Works

Cisco Secure Workload deploys a lightweight agent on every protected workload — physical server, virtual machine, or container. The agent collects network flows, running processes, software packages, and system telemetry. An AI and machine learning engine analyses this data, automatically generates microsegmentation policy recommendations based on observed application behaviour, and enforces policy through the native OS firewall. Because enforcement lives inside the operating system, policy follows the workload wherever it runs — on-premise, in AWS, Azure, or any private cloud

VMware NSX / vDefend embeds the firewall directly at the virtual NIC level on the ESXi hypervisor. For VMware-native environments this is operationally efficient — no agent installation is needed on individual VMs for basic Layer 4 enforcement, and the firewall cannot be bypassed from within the guest OS. NSX also delivers a full software-defined networking stack including overlay networks, distributed routing, NAT, and load balancing — capabilities that Cisco Secure Workload does not offer

Comparison Table – Cisco Secure Workload with VMware NSX

Assessment Criterion Explanation

This section covers the use cases and their reasoning, reference hyperlink for each of the use cases

Summary and Next Steps

Microsegmentation has moved from a nice-to-have to a core requirement for any organisation serious about Zero Trust. But the two platforms that dominate this space — Cisco Secure Workload and VMware NSX — look very different in 2025 than they did two years ago. Both Cisco secure workload and Broadcom NSX-based solutions come with their pros and cons. Also, note that Broadcom generally positions VMware VRNI as part of NSX deal even though it is licensed separately. For more information and reading on the related solutions please refer to the Cyber Security section and reach-us