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Cisco Catalyst Center 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

Cisco Catalyst Center
Ranking in Network Management Applications
15th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
5
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 (16th), Network Automation (2nd)
 

Featured Reviews

Daniel Garcia Montes - PeerSpot reviewer
Comprehensive features enable universal platform access that's easy to use
I can work with the typical configuration involving VLANs and authentication with RADIUS. I can utilize the most popular features in Catalyst. Prox platform is a universal platform. 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.
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

"The best feature is its availability, easy deployment, and the good support for the solution."
"The integration of Cisco Catalyst Center is fine"
"The best feature of Cisco is its industry-standard nature."
"The architecture and the way Cisco designs it, VXLAN and Cisco Express Forwarding are some of the features I like."
"There is a lot of documentation for the platform, which is an advantage."
"The best feature of Cisco is its industry-standard nature."
"Cisco performs well in the network space, especially in areas like switching, DNA Center, and wireless, where it is known for its stability."
"It enables monitoring of various components such as access points, switch cards, and other elements within the company's solutions."
"The product offers an intuitive and automated way to manage user networks. It gives me an insight into the network health."
"Automation is another key highlight. With automation, you can automate everything through a single port."
"Cisco is a leading network company."
"It is a stable solution."
"What's most valuable in Cisco DNA Center is the ability to manage any Cisco infrastructure and device through it. Setup was straightforward."
"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."
"The monitoring is very valuable to me."
 

Cons

"The main drawback of Cisco Catalyst Center is that it can only manage and monitor Cisco devices with a DNA license, specifically the Catalyst 9000 series."
"The price to get in the door is quite high."
"The deployment process is pretty complex"
"It is a little more expensive."
"There should be tighter cohesion between the web-based GUI and the command line configuration."
"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."
"Integration with analytic tools and API integrations would be ideal."
"The solution's integration feature can be better."
"One area that needs improvement is the upgrade process."
"An area for improvement in Cisco DNA Center is the latency in data correlation. For example, sometimes, when an issue happens, and I check the logs, I can't find the corresponding log. There's a delay in log replication, so this is what needs improvement in Cisco DNA Center. Reporting in Cisco DNA Center could also be improved because it only has a few templates, and you can't customize it based on your requirements. There aren't many options available in Cisco DNA Center regarding reporting, versus Cisco Prime, which has excellent features for different levels of detailed reports. I'd like to see real-time data replication in the next release of Cisco DNA Center, similar to what's done in Meraki. Data in Meraki is real-time with no delay, so data is immediately replicated in the cloud. Currently, there's a lag in Cisco DNA Center, and addressing that lag is the enhancement I'd like to see in Cisco DNA Center. The solution also needs to be more user-friendly."
"What I want to see in Cisco DNA Center in the future is more support for other platforms so that you can manage third-party products, such as Fortinet."
"They should include UTM features in the product."
"From the recent DNA point of view, there are some stability challenges with Cisco, but very minor."
"Requires more focus on the digital side of things."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"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."
"The tool is medium-priced."
"We have a three-year license with them."
"The solution is expensive."
"I do know that Cisco does offer some really good promotions for DNA Center to bring the costs down."
"The licensing cost for Cisco DNA Center is not more than that of other solutions."
"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."
"Our licensing agreement is for three years."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Computer Software Company
19%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
University
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Catalyst Center?
Cisco is average in pricing, neither too costly nor too cheap. It's like the iPhone of the networking industry.
What needs improvement with Cisco Catalyst Center?
Catalyst is a very mature product. The only limitation is when integrating with other products due to Cisco's proprietary protocols.
What is your primary use case for Cisco Catalyst Center?
I work primarily for Catalyst, mainly in data center networks.
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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco DNA Center?
I would rate the pricing a six out of ten, with ten being expensive.
What needs improvement with Cisco DNA Center?
One area that needs improvement is the upgrade process. The time required for downloading and installing packages during upgrades is too long, often taking around ten hours. This is a significant i...
 

Also Known As

No data available
DNA Center
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Catalyst Center vs. Cisco DNA Center and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
832,138 professionals have used our research since 2012.