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Cisco Catalyst Center vs Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN 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

Cisco Catalyst Center
Ranking in Network Management Applications
7th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN
Ranking in Network Management Applications
5th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
92
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (2nd), WAN Edge (2nd)
 

Featured Reviews

Ahmad Attal - PeerSpot reviewer
Delivers strong analytics and integration capabilities but requires regular updates and training
My customers often complain about numerous software bugs requiring frequent software patches and updates to resolve these issues. Furthermore, the complexity of the solution can be challenging for some customers as they often require extensive training to fully understand and utilize the product. They have concerns about the high number of software bugs and the need for regular updates to address these bugs.
Igor Van Den Ouden - PeerSpot reviewer
Enables secure and flexible branch connectivity with application-aware routing
The valuable features of Cisco SD-WAN include its security policies and zone-based firewall that are applied to every site, as well as application-aware routing. Security is standard compliant, eliminating config drift that was prevalent before manual configurations. Application-aware routing offers flexibility in using different lines for traffic, depending on the policy implemented.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Cisco Catalyst Center was flexible in terms of scalability, offering advanced security features and reliable performance."
"The customer service is very good. They are excellent and efficient."
"Cisco Catalyst Center allows me to manage all the fabric SD Access from one location."
"The architecture and the way Cisco designs it, VXLAN and Cisco Express Forwarding are some of the features I like."
"Cisco Catalyst switches are reliable and stable."
"Cisco Catalyst Center allows me to manage all the fabric SD Access from one location."
"There is a lot of documentation for the platform, which is an advantage."
"The best feature is its availability, easy deployment, and the good support for the solution."
"I have found the solution's main features are its ability to be customized, network traffic classification, and has a wide range of features that can be set."
"The most valuable feature is the application-level routing."
"The deployment is quite simple and straightforward."
"Initial setup is easy."
"Huge companies use SD-WAN. It is largely scalable."
"Cisco SD-WAN's best features are the development of network links, application control, and bandwidth monitoring."
"It is very stable with very good firmware."
"Application-aware routing offers flexibility in using different lines for traffic, depending on the policy implemented."
 

Cons

"The deployment process is pretty complex"
"The only limitation is when integrating with other products due to Cisco's proprietary protocols."
"Regarding the cons of Catalyst, it is a little more expensive. With other vendors, you have one license for all features. In the case of Catalyst, there are many licensing options."
"Some documentation or use cases are not clear enough."
"My customers often complain about numerous software bugs requiring frequent software patches and updates to resolve these issues."
"My customers often complain about numerous software bugs requiring frequent software patches and updates to resolve these issues."
"The retention period of data could be improved from seven days to 30 days. This change would help in cases where users are on leave for extended periods."
"The price to get in the door is quite high."
"Better pricing and greater security would be nice to see."
"Cisco SD-WAN could improve the integration with the cloud."
"We need them to start focusing on the SD-WAN compatibility with other environments and not being so vendor locked with Cisco environments."
"I would like them to add some more SD-WAN ports. We have seen one implementation where there were four ISPs. Currently, we have a maximum of two ports for ISP in this device. Therefore, we cannot connect directly, and we need other switches. There should be some option to have more than two ports for SD-WAN."
"The initial setup could be a bit less complex."
"This solution could be improved with a simpler implementation process and licensing model."
"The integration of Cisco SD-WAN with cloud solutions could improve. For example, if any of the applications are hosted in the Amazon AWS cloud we can use a virtual transit gateway for integrating Cisco SD-WAN."
"The deployment is complex."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The license consists of an annual fee."
"The product's license is expensive."
"There is a monthly subscription to use this solution."
"The price of the solution is the only negative factor, it is much more expensive compared with the Cisco Meraki SD-WAN solution."
"You have to pay between 3000 and 10,000 euros, or something in that range. The core switches Nexus cost me between 10,000 and 20,000 euros."
"It's costly. The cost is high compared to competitors."
"There is no license required for this solution."
"The cost is reasonable. I would rate the price as seven out of ten."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
18%
Manufacturing Company
16%
Energy/Utilities Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Educational Organization
46%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
4%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Cisco Catalyst Center?
Regarding the cons of Catalyst, it is a little more expensive. With other vendors, you have one license for all features. In the case of Catalyst, there are many licensing options.
What is your primary use case for Cisco Catalyst Center?
I am working with some product lines from Cisco, focusing on routing platforms, Catalyst, and firewalls. I also work with access points and wireless controllers. I can work with any product from Ci...
What do you like most about Cisco SD-WAN?
When considering the most valuable features of Cisco SD-WAN, the decoupling of self-monitoring stands out significantly.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco SD-WAN?
The pricing for Cisco SD-WAN is rated eight out of ten, with some variability depending on the reseller discounts and the size of the enterprise. It is also relatively cost-effective for smaller bu...
What needs improvement with Cisco SD-WAN?
The main area for improvement in Cisco SD-WAN is the lack of documentation, which often lags behind the software releases. This is especially notable since Cisco acquired the solution and is still ...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Cisco SD-WAN
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Doyle Research, Ashton Metzler & Associates
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Catalyst Center vs. Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
841,004 professionals have used our research since 2012.