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Alcatel-Lucent OmniVista 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 OmniVista
Ranking in Network Management Applications
13th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
8.2
Number of Reviews
9
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 (15th), Network Automation (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Network Management Applications category, the mindshare of Alcatel-Lucent OmniVista is 1.7%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco DNA Center is 28.1%, up from 28.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Management Applications
 

Featured Reviews

Nachoba  Ivan - PeerSpot reviewer
Easily manage configurations and monitor networks with enhanced reporting capabilities
In version 8.7.70, I am not able to change a user from administrative to room once the user is created. This limitation is challenging and was confirmed by Alcatel as not possible in the 8.7.70 version under the user section. The option of changing from administrative to room should be available in the user section.
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

"It is a good investment for features."
"The most valuable feature of Alcatel-Lucent OmniVista is the monitoring of wired and wireless equipment."
"The solution is easy to manage."
"The command line is very user-friendly, making it easy to implement the network."
"I really like Visual RAF. I use that a lot and then I use the up and down status reports because it'll send me emails and text messages when access points go up or down. That way, I'm aware of what's going on."
"OmniVista is a unified solution. It makes management easier in case the router, switch and the WiFi are of the same brand. It also allows us to monitor the WiFi signal strength, switch speed, and bandwidth consumption, and easily block users. We also use the analytics feature, which provides a dashboard showing the number of users per WiFi access point, signal strength, and internet performance. It also monitors the temperature of the equipment."
"Being able to see the health of the network is most valuable. It is very strong in terms of stability and scalability. Their technical support is also good."
"The reports are good."
"Cisco is a leading network company."
"I like that we can easily configure any new hardware. It's also easy to deploy and easy to troubleshoot."
"The product offers an intuitive and automated way to manage user networks. It gives me an insight into the network health."
"The monitoring is very valuable to me."
"We can monitor all devices and get the required information using the product."
"The best feature of Cisco DNA Center is the visibility page, where you can see everything on the dashboard, and you don't have to be a technical person to view the issues."
"The most valuable features were the monitoring, maintenance, and configuration."
"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."
 

Cons

"It needs to be infused with more artificial intelligence and machine learning."
"They should add more security features."
"Adding a reliable and proper heatmap for the access points would make this solution better."
"The support of Omnivista could be better. It's very expensive because it requires a subscription for support, and the licenses are proprietary. If you want to scale or expand your operation by adding more WiFi access points, you have to buy another license."
"The location of the WiFi connection should be available to all users."
"The support of Omnivista could be better. It's very expensive because it requires a subscription for support, and the licenses are proprietary. If you want to scale or expand your operation by adding more WiFi access points, you have to buy another license for that. The web-based interface of OmniVista is user-friendly, but for some administrative tasks and functions, you have to use the CLI, which is difficult if you don't have enough training. It relies heavily on CLI guides and manuals. For improvements, I'd suggest making the WiFi access points lighter.. Lighter access points like those from TP-Link or Ubiquiti would be better. Additionally, the switches struggle with heat in our environment. They can get very hot and damage the electrical components due to inadequate cooling."
"One feature that is missing is the netting feature, which allows for public-to-private network transitions and vice versa."
"Alcatel-Lucent OmniVista could improve by adding more cybersecurity features."
"The cost is very high."
"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 product doesn’t have good monitoring capabilities."
"When it comes to deploying wireless fields, integrating defaults into the DNS interface can be challenging."
"The network, data center, and SD-WAN are all being treated as different services, but I would like to have only one solution to manage all of them."
"The solution's setup process needs enhancement."
"I would like is to have a small information pointer available. It could be a plus feature that I want to implement. When I hover my mouse over the user interface, it should provide a brief explanation. It would be helpful to have it incorporated into the UI."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Its price is reasonable."
"The price of Alcatel-Lucent OmniVista is cheaper compared to other tools on the market. The license for this software is a one-time license only, so there is no renewal needed. It's a perpetual license."
"This is an open-source solution, we do not pay any money to use it."
"I would rate OmniVista's pricing seven out of ten since it is expensive."
"Cisco DNA Center is too expensive."
"The price of the solution is expensive. The hardware is licensed on the device, but the hardware on the server is expensive."
"The tool is medium-priced."
"I would rate the pricing a six out of ten, with ten being expensive."
"It is an expensive solution."
"The tool's licensing may not come across as something that may be friendly for users."
"Affordability is a problem because it's created for large enterprises only. So, some customers, even if their engineers want the solution, might have problems with budget limitations."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
14%
Government
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
Computer Software Company
19%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
University
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Alcatel-Lucent OmniVista?
In version 8.7.70, I am not able to change a user from administrative to room once the user is created. This limitation is challenging and was confirmed by Alcatel as not possible in the 8.7.70 ver...
What is your primary use case for Alcatel-Lucent OmniVista?
The solution is used for auditing and providing audit reports, sending mails, and notifications.
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 OmniVista 8770, OmniVista 8770, OmniVista 2500, OmniVista Cirrus, Alcatel-Lucent OmniVista 2500, Alcatel-Lucent OmniVista Cirrus, OmniVista 2500 NMS, OmniVista 2500 VMM, OmniVista 3600,
DNA Center
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Blickle and Scherer, Loughborough University, CSF Inox, Caritas Speyer
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Find out what your peers are saying about Alcatel-Lucent OmniVista vs. Cisco DNA Center and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
838,640 professionals have used our research since 2012.