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Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance pros and cons

Vendor: Cisco
4.5 out of 5
2,459 followers
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Pros & Cons summary

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Prominent pros & cons

PROS

Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance enables measurement of performance end-to-end across cloud data centers, facilitating corrective actions to maintain channel operations.
Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance enhances collaboration among network, datacenter, and application teams by pinpointing root causes, aiding in issue resolution across IT divisions.
Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance includes features like TWAMP that allow real-time traffic monitoring with sub-millisecond accuracy and improved Quality of Service task segregation.
With Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance, operational problems like site outages can be swiftly analyzed to ascertain responsibility and initiate fixes, reducing mean time to resolution.
The analytics capabilities of Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance are appreciated by users for their efficiency in operational management and problem-solving.

CONS

This is expensive compared to some others.
It needs the possibility to export data because it is not easy to see larger data sets, e.g., for one month.
For the PVX, they are in the process of getting the results to export to cloud and SaaS for analytics.
Because of the policies in Vietnam, users cannot connect the system to the Accedian cloud. It would be good if Accedian could provide a local cloud.
There should be an option to update and upgrade to the new version without having to re-buy it.
 

Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance Pros review quotes

MO
Mar 11, 2019
If [the problem] is something related to HTTP or VoIP, then I can have a quick look into the protocols, a process which gives me some good ideas...
DF
Nov 4, 2020
It is about finding operational problems. When sites go down, we try to determine who is at fault. While there is not much finger-pointing, the solution is just trying to analyse when there is an outage and where do we start looking to fix it. The very nature of why organization chooses to use the solution is to accelerate the meantime to resolution and find where problems lie to get them rectified as quickly as possible.
reviewer1447356 - PeerSpot reviewer
May 4, 2022
For us, the most valuable feature is something called TWAMP that allows for real-time traffic in a way that is 10 times lighter than things like SolarWinds. It's in the sub-milliseconds of accuracy, and you can divide tasks so that you can literally see things like the tagging for Quality of Service. That had been incorrect with the carrier, but there was no way on this planet you'd be able to tell a carrier that they're wrong. I have dozens of scenarios where we found "No, that's not right," and got it resolved instantly.
Learn what your peers think about Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: November 2024.
815,854 professionals have used our research since 2012.
MW
Aug 2, 2020
This solution has helped to improve the interaction between our network, datacenter, and application teams. I have used other tools, but this tool can pinpoint the root cause of my application or network issue in the majority of the cases. So, it helps different divisions or groups in the IT department to troubleshoot together and get an issue resolved. This tool helps a lot in our day-to-day networking application and IT operations.
Freelanc5c8d - PeerSpot reviewer
Mar 13, 2019
Capturing traffic [is very interesting]. Currently, with our configuration, we don't capture the payload of the packets, just the header. But when we want the body, the payload of the packets, we can do a PCAP, and then analyze it within Wireshark.
JB
Mar 13, 2019
I always have the Skylight dashboard on one of my screens... Now you can create your own dashboard, specific to an application, specific to a server, or to something else.
reviewer1371603 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jun 17, 2020
The solution’s UI and single pane of glass is good. The new dashboard is modern with its new design. The look of it is not pretty, but it is efficient, which is good. It is user-friendly; you can find what you need on the interface quickly.
Sylvain Germe - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 9, 2023
The feature I used to like the most was its ability to decode layer seven protocols, although this is becoming less useful now that encryption is so widespread.
reviewer2067840 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 9, 2023
What I like most about Accedian Skylight is that it's a UI application, so using it is easy. I also like that the support for Accedian Skylight is helpful.
reviewer1188207 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sep 12, 2019
The ability to measure performance end-to-end across the cloud data center allows us to take corrective action to keep our channels online.
 

Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance Cons review quotes

MO
Mar 11, 2019
If you want a new version, you go to the website. The hardest part is finding the link, where is that .bin file? Sometimes it's pretty hidden in a document... it's hidden in the release notes or in another file somewhere. And it's usually not on the first page either.
DF
Nov 4, 2020
I would like to see some improvements in parts of their synthetic transactions, which includes all the latency, jitter, and throughput. I would like to see some Layer 7 analytics in there. I want to be able to do a DNS request, HTTP GET request, or even SIP call point-to-point or via registration.
reviewer1447356 - PeerSpot reviewer
May 4, 2022
Some of the Skylight applications are a little newer, and they're still moving through initial revs. There are certain bugs, but nothing is insurmountable... It will just take a little bit of time for their user interface to get a little bit better.
Learn what your peers think about Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: November 2024.
815,854 professionals have used our research since 2012.
MW
Aug 2, 2020
For the PVX, they are in the process of getting the results to export to cloud and SaaS for analytics. They told me that this will happen later this year. Right now, for the most part, I create that data myself.
Freelanc5c8d - PeerSpot reviewer
Mar 13, 2019
It's a bit slow. When I execute a query, something general with a short timeframe that covers one month, for instance, and I do not specify the IP source or IP destination, it can take ages because it has to query the whole database.
reviewer1371603 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jun 17, 2020
It needs the possibility to export data because it is not easy to see larger data sets, e.g., for one month. It would be interesting to export data into a PDF or dashboard to keep a history of the situation.
Sylvain Germe - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 9, 2023
There should be an option to update and upgrade the solution to the new version without having to re-buy it. I have clients switching to other solutions. The old solution is great, but if you change your license to a new one, you have to almost re-buy it completely.
reviewer2067840 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 9, 2023
The Accedian Skylight user interface still has room for improvement.
reviewer1188207 - PeerSpot reviewer
Sep 12, 2019
This solution is expensive compared to some others.
reviewer2067840 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 23, 2023
The UI interface of Accedian Skylight could improve.