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Cisco DNA Center vs Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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 DNA Center
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
41
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (1st), Network Monitoring Software (12th), Network Automation (2nd)
Cisco Identity Services Eng...
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
142
Ranking in other categories
Network Access Control (NAC) (1st), Cisco Security Portfolio (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

Cisco DNA Center and Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Cisco DNA Center is designed for Network Management Applications and holds a mindshare of 26.9%, down 29.2% compared to last year.
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE), on the other hand, focuses on Network Access Control (NAC), holds 26.3% mindshare, down 31.4% since last year.
Network Management Applications
Network Access Control (NAC)
 

Q&A Highlights

Aymen FHOULA - PeerSpot reviewer
Jul 07, 2023
 

Featured Reviews

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.
SunilkumarNaganuri - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhanced device administration hindered by complex deployment and security limitations
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) needs to improve the profiling preauthentication. They are very poor in asset classification and should focus on improving the preauthentication profiling, especially for NAC use cases. This will give them a roadmap for software-defined access (SDA) use cases and network segmentation. Threat detection capabilities are very weak. Additionally, the product is vulnerable and has many bugs.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Cisco is a leading network company."
"The most valuable features of the solution are all of its security features...It is a highly scalable solution."
"It is a stable solution."
"The product gives a consolidated view."
"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."
"It enables monitoring of various components such as access points, switch cards, and other elements within the company's solutions."
"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."
"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."
"It's easy to change and add policies."
"When we use ISE, one of the helpful things is that I can go through the dashboard and get every step along the way of how a device was authenticated. If it's failing, why did it fail? Why is it unauthorized? If there's an error, what is the error and how can I fix that error? If it's something that, if they should be passing, why are they failing?"
"It is stable and easy to use."
"Using this solution gives us the ability to allow proper access to the network."
"The solution is integrated with other Cisco devices and can offer automation for an organization, making deployments more dynamic and providing real-time visibility."
"The most important feature for us is visibility in terms of user connections. It's the ability to see what devices are online for a particular user that helps a lot with our troubleshooting."
"Easy to use and provides good support"
"[One of the most valuable features] is just the ease of use. It's pretty simple to set up certs that we can add to our clients to make sure that they connect properly, [as is] whitelisting Mac addresses."
 

Cons

"Cisco could improve the security side of their solutions."
"An area that needs improvement is the integration with other vendors."
"The product has many features that do not work properly."
"Integration with analytic tools and API integrations would be ideal."
"We encountered issues with their response times, which had a big impact on our workflow."
"Cisco DNA Center should improve its configuration management. It is better to have a dev version before pushing it."
"Technical support could be better. The price could be better, and it could be more stable."
"The weaknesses primarily involve pricing and the ongoing need for increased bandwidth and data throughput."
"It is too complex. It should be easy to use. We are not such a big team. We only have three engineers to work with this, and we don't use all of the functionality of the product. Its range of functionality is too wide for us, and this is the reason why we are thinking of switching to a more simple product. We have shortlisted a Microsoft solution. We have a big footprint for Microsoft products, especially in security. As a global strategy, we try to leverage to the maximum what is possible around Microsoft."
"I don't like the fact that we can see the logs only for 24 hours. Maybe that happens because of the way we set it up."
"The price could be better. I would like to see more integration with third-party solutions in the next release. This is because many of my clients don't have Cisco."
"The upgrades could be better. Every time we try to do an upgrade, we have problems. It's a pain."
"Segmentation can be improved."
"Troubleshooting and multi-ISE can be challenging with the solution."
"Deploying to a machine, as opposed to a dedicated appliance, can be a bit difficult."
"The knocks I have against the product are the number of bugs that we encounter, constantly, and the amount of upgrading that we have to do."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The partnership price is notably high, but it ultimately depends on the chosen business model."
"The tool is medium-priced."
"The solution is expensive."
"The price could be better. It's a very expensive tool."
"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."
"I do know that Cisco does offer some really good promotions for DNA Center to bring the costs down."
"Cisco DNA Center is expensive."
"The technology is good, but to use some of the other features, and capabilities, they request that we purchase the Cisco DNA Center. As a result, the bundled price is a little high."
"It costs around 50,000 baht in the first year, but I'm unsure about the second year."
"That's where things got a bit more complicated. Previously, it was a one-time purchase and we just had to renew support. These days, there's a subscription model, which is supposed to be easier and cheaper as well, but it's more pricey"
"For the Avast virus scan, we pay around USD $95 per machine for five years which includes all updates and technical support."
"Licensing has got much simpler since Cisco moved to the DNA model because we just have the three tiers, but it could always stand to be improved upon."
"It is fair."
"If you go directly with Cisco for the implementation it's very, very expensive."
"If you consider money only, Cisco ISE is not a cheap solution."
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Answers from the Community

Aymen FHOULA - PeerSpot reviewer
Jul 7, 2023
Jul 7, 2023
Prerequisite: 1) ISE and Cisco DNAC are compatible versions. 2) ISE GUI password matches ISE CLI password. 3) ISE and DNAC should have full privilege Credential. 4) Enable pxGride Service. 5) Enable ERS Read/Write service. 6) ISE and DNA Should be reachable.
See 2 answers
MOHAMEDELSHERIF - PeerSpot reviewer
Mar 9, 2023
Hi Anyman 1- first you need to enable pixgrid setting at CIsco ISE at Admin setting. 2- You Need to activate ISE as Radius in DNA Setting tab at the left corner (user name and password is any ISE administrator user ). 3- From Network Hierarchy Tab in DNA Cisco  choose ISE as your AAA server. 4- You need to create STG  group at policy tab to create the proper user grouping. 4-Then go to provision / fabric / switch interface then apply ISE as your authentication profile. Most Importantly you need to ensure that your fabric switch has DNA advantage license
VK
Jul 7, 2023
Prerequisite: 1) ISE and Cisco DNAC are compatible versions. 2) ISE GUI password matches ISE CLI password. 3) ISE and DNAC should have full privilege Credential. 4) Enable pxGride Service. 5) Enable ERS Read/Write service. 6) ISE and DNA Should be reachable.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Educational Organization
25%
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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.
Which is better - Aruba Clearpass or Cisco ISE?
Aruba ClearPass is a Network Access Control tool that gives secure network access to multiple device types. You can adapt the policies to VPN access, wired, or wireless access. You can securely ...
What are the main differences between Cisco ISE and Forescout Platform?
OK, so Cisco ISE uses 802.1X to secure switchports against unauthorized access. The drawback of this is that ISE cannot secure the port if a device does not support 802.1x. Cameras, badge readers, ...
How does Cisco ISE compare with Fortinet FortiNAC?
Cisco ISE uses AI endpoint analytics to identify new devices based on their behavior. It will also notify you if someone plugs in with a device that is not allowed and will block it. The user exper...
 

Also Known As

DNA Center
Cisco ISE
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Aegean Motorway, BC Hydro, Beachbody, Bucks County Intermediate Unit , Cisco IT, Derby City Council, Global Banking Customer, Gobierno de Castilla-La Mancha, Houston Methodist, Linz AG, London Hydro, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Molina Healthcare, MST Systems, New South Wales Rural Fire Service, Reykjavik University, Wildau University
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, NetScaler and others in Network Management Applications. Updated: April 2025.
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