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Alcatel-Lucent ClearPass vs Cisco DNA Center comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 2, 2025

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

Alcatel-Lucent ClearPass
Ranking in Network Management Applications
18th
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.1
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Cisco DNA Center
Ranking in Network Management Applications
1st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
41
Ranking in other categories
Network Monitoring Software (12th), Network Automation (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Network Management Applications category, the mindshare of Alcatel-Lucent ClearPass is 1.0%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco DNA Center is 26.9%, down from 29.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Management Applications
 

Featured Reviews

Karthikeyan Ravi - PeerSpot reviewer
Has an automated feature for user onboarding and supports heterogeneous devices
We use the product for the automated onboarding of corporate users with secure network access. It helps secure IoT endpoints for specific networks. It allows us to control the devices, including posture, endpoint verification, validation, latest patching, and signatures The product’s most…
AvrahamSonenthal - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficiently manages our wireless network and provides valuable monitoring features
The platform's biggest benefit has been in managing our wireless network. Having a single pane of glass to control all wireless controllers and access points and to monitor activity has been a significant advantage. We're a small federal agency with around 300 network devices, so automation is a minor focus. It's more relevant for larger networks. The main benefits we've seen are in inventory management and the potential for configuration automation. However, I recommend using the DNA Centre only for larger networks with over a thousand devices; otherwise, it may not be cost-effective. Before proceeding, ensure that your devices are compatible with DNA Center, as not all Cisco devices are supported. Also, investing in proper training is different from plug-and-play. I rate it an eight.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Good user profiling and BYOD facilities."
"It helps secure IoT endpoints for specific networks."
"The most valuable features of the solution are all of its security features...It is a highly scalable solution."
"Cisco is a leading network company."
"Cisco VXLAN is a protocol that has been around for some time, but the practical implementation and operational capability of Cisco DNA Center bring it to life."
"Cisco DNA Center is a user-friendly solution."
"The product offers an intuitive and automated way to manage user networks. It gives me an insight into the network health."
"The solution helps in user microsegmentation."
"What I found valuable in Cisco DNA Center is the Software-Defined Access Network, so the entire LAN network can be centralized and managed from a single dashboard. Cisco DNA Center is suitable for centralized management and lets you deploy switches in a centralized fashion. You can also do multiple switch port configurations simultaneously and segregate your traffic into multiple fabrics. Another valuable feature of Cisco DNA Center is enhanced security through Scalable Group Tags. Cisco DNA Center can be integrated with your Cisco ISE to enhance the port securities, and this paves the way for Software-Defined Networking in the LAN segment, which is the main advantage of Cisco DNA Center. I also like that you can use Cisco DNA Center for data assurance or correlation. The solution shows your network and client health parameters, which I find convenient for troubleshooting."
"The monitoring is very valuable to me."
 

Cons

"Lacks application level visibility on the dashboard."
"There could be in-built end-to-end map integration features for IoT devices instead of using third-party tools."
"The product has many features that do not work properly."
"The tool's IoT integration should be better."
"The solution's integration feature can be better."
"The solution needs to improve the dashboard."
"There are some software problems from version to version. It takes a long time for DNA Center to recognize the video and control access devices."
"There should be an option for automation of template deployment by using the stored data. It is not easy to save configuration information for lots of devices without using other tools. There should be a tighter, better repository of information that can be merged with the templates."
"The task failure reporting or provisioning failure reporting could be a little bit better in the UI, with more information given to the user."
"The weaknesses primarily involve pricing and the ongoing need for increased bandwidth and data throughput."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Alcatel-Lucent ClearPass is an expensive product compared to other vendors."
"The price of the solution is expensive. The hardware is licensed on the device, but the hardware on the server is expensive."
"I rate the product's pricing an eight on a scale of one to ten, where one is very cheap, and ten is very expensive."
"The tool is medium-priced."
"I would rate the pricing a six out of ten, with ten being expensive."
"We get a yearly license at the time we buy the product."
"The tool's licensing may not come across as something that may be friendly for users."
"We have a three-year license with them."
"Cisco DNA Center is a licensed product with multiple levels of licensing available such as basic, advanced, and essential. I don't have the exact figure, but Cisco DNA Center is costly. For example, the box has information about the essential license and costs a considerable amount of money. You need to pay extra to use advanced features in Cisco DNA Center. My company sees Cisco DNA Center as a solution that's worth the money, which is why it invested in the solution. If you want centralized management for your network, especially when upgrading it, Cisco DNA Center is perfect, but it's more suitable for a large-scale rather than a small-scale network."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Computer Software Company
17%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Alcatel-Lucent ClearPass?
It helps secure IoT endpoints for specific networks.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Alcatel-Lucent ClearPass?
Alcatel-Lucent ClearPass is an expensive product compared to other vendors. We have to buy different licenses for specific use cases and support services. I rate its pricing a six to seven.
What needs improvement with Alcatel-Lucent ClearPass?
There could be in-built end-to-end map integration features for IoT devices instead of using third-party tools. They should add a location-tracking feature to the product as well.
What do you like most about Cisco DNA Center?
The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that it gives some kind of ease in operations, especially since our company is moving from CLI to GUI-based configuration.
What needs improvement with Cisco DNA Center?
The system is working fine for me currently.
 

Also Known As

Alcatel Lucent ClearPass, ClearPass Policy Management System, ClearPass
DNA Center
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Blickle and Scherer, Loughborough University, CSF Inox, Caritas Speyer
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Alcatel-Lucent ClearPass vs. Cisco DNA Center and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
844,944 professionals have used our research since 2012.