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Alcatel-Lucent OmniVista vs Cisco Prime [EOL] comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

Alcatel-Lucent OmniVista
Average Rating
8.8
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (15th)
Cisco Prime [EOL]
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
35
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Featured Reviews

John Mark - PeerSpot reviewer
An unified solution best suited for network management and connectivity
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 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.
ZeeshanAli1 - PeerSpot reviewer
Robust, cost-effective, and provides good visibility, but the scalability could improve
We are extremely satisfied with the reliability and robustness of Cisco Prime Infrastructure, which we have been using for many years. Compared to newer products such as DNS centers or others, it has proven to be much more stable, which is important for large-scale operations. Stability is a primary concern for us, and we are glad that Cisco Prime Infrastructure meets our expectations in that regard. Furthermore, in regards to Legacy Plus new hardware, Cisco Prime has proven to be a reliable and adaptable solution thus far. Not only can it support older hardware, but it also has the capability to handle new features with the latest updates. If we consider new solutions such as DNS Center, we may have to sacrifice some legacy features that we still rely on. We may need to continue using these legacy features for a few more years due to various reasons such as budget constraints or the site not being a high priority. However, if we switch to a new product at this stage, we may lose a lot of the monitoring and other capabilities that we have with Cisco Prime. We have a close relationship with Cisco and understand that they are not prioritizing investments in Cisco Prime as they are encouraging customers to adopt the Cisco DNA Center. This means that we don't anticipate many new features to be added to the product in the future. While we know that we will eventually have to transition to a new solution, in the meantime, we plan to do a quick refresh of our legacy products.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."
"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."
"Network management solution that's very stable and scalable. It has a straightforward installation, fast technical support, and multiple features such as reporting, network health analysis, etc."
"The reports are good."
"It is a good investment for features."
"The command line is very user-friendly, making it easy to implement the network."
"The most valuable feature of Alcatel-Lucent OmniVista is the monitoring of wired and wireless equipment."
"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."
"The hardware Cisco provides is excellent. It's a well-made product."
"Cisco Prime is a good tool for inventory monitoring and wireless management."
"Cisco Prime allows us to do a lot of functions with the users and it is flexible."
"The technical support team is very good."
"Cisco Prime allows us to manage all the wireless controllers and access points."
"I have found the solution to be scalable."
"The interfaces are a valuable feature."
"The VLAN mapping function has been most impactful in simplifying our network management tasks."
 

Cons

"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."
"It needs to be infused with more artificial intelligence and machine learning."
"The location of the WiFi connection should be available to all users."
"I would like to see a little better reporting, not reporting features, the report maker to be a little better."
"In version 8.7.70, I am not able to change a user from administrative to room once the user is created."
"Adding a reliable and proper heatmap for the access points would make this solution better."
"One feature that is missing is the netting feature, which allows for public-to-private network transitions and vice versa."
"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."
"The product needs to improve its stability."
"The solution needs to include centralized management that aligns with the Greenfield network and its focus on real-time, scenario-based applications."
"Some improvements are needed, specifically in the form of more updates and enhancements."
"Cisco Prime's initial setup is complex."
"I want the tool to improve data visibility."
"Maybe it could be a little cheaper."
"This solution could be improved if it could monitor configuration changes."
"The product's pricing can be cheaper."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"This is an open-source solution, we do not pay any money to use it."
"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."
"I would rate OmniVista's pricing seven out of ten since it is expensive."
"If we have a license for Cisco DNA, we can use the same license for Cisco Prime."
"The solution is not inexpensive but is worth it for large-scale environments."
"The product is expensive compared to other vendors in the market."
"We update the license every five years."
"I rate the solution's pricing an eight out of ten."
"You need to get special quotes from the company for each order."
"The cost is quite high."
"I would rate the solution's pricing an eight out of ten."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
15%
Government
10%
Educational Organization
8%
Computer Software Company
6%
Computer Software Company
17%
Government
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Educational Organization
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Alcatel-Lucent OmniVista?
One feature that is missing is the netting feature, which allows for public-to-private network transitions and vice versa. The implementation process itself might benefit from simplification.
What is your primary use case for Alcatel-Lucent OmniVista?
I am working with Alcatel-Lucent OmniVista, dealing with switches, such as the OmniSwitch and OmniAccess Stellar. I am also involved in working with ePBX and OmniBasics Enterprise.
What do you like most about Cisco Prime?
The most valuable features of Cisco Prime include its comprehensive functionality as a one-stop solution for basic SNMP port management.
What needs improvement with Cisco Prime?
The product's performance monitoring feature could be more intuitive.
What is your primary use case for Cisco Prime?
We use Cisco Prime for centralized configuration management backups and monitoring.
 

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,
Cisco Prime Infrastructure
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Blickle and Scherer, Loughborough University, CSF Inox, Caritas Speyer
Mohawk Industries, Universidad EAFIT, Halton Healthcare
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Fortinet, HPE Aruba Networking and others in Network Management Applications. Updated: November 2024.
824,067 professionals have used our research since 2012.