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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

"The product's most valuable feature is the visual representation of the switch's front panel."
"The most valuable feature of Cisco DNA Center is the AI (Artificial Intelligence) that provides us with valuable information."
"Automation helps configure devices without manual intervention, enabling zero-touch provisioning."
"The solution helps with the management and orchestration of campaigns. It helps with visibility and analytics. I also like its SDA configuration."
"The monitoring is very valuable to me."
"The most valuable features of Cisco DNA Center are wireless assurance and visibility."
"It is simple to manage and it is all done from a single dashboard."
"It does a lot of things automatically, and that's the big thing with it. They're making the software so that you don't need to be as knowledgeable as me on the switching and routing side to get your work done. If you want, you can have DNA troubleshoot your problem for you and give you solutions or fix it itself, if it was something that's just a configuration issue."
"The most valuable features are the NAC and the bundles that are available with Cisco ISE, such as Cisco ACS being integrated."
"My team has gained a lot from Cisco ISE as it does also provide automation, which is a big asset in the eighth hour. After setting it up, it took a lot of the weight off in many ways. We have a co-worker, who we call the ISE Master because he's in charge of the ISE configurations. He's able to save a lot of time by being able to monitor everything from there. So it did take off a lot of time that we would waste by going individually to that different device and trying to figure out what was wrong."
"The WiFi portal in Cisco ISE is very useful for WiFi customers."
"Member Access Control and the ability to integrate all Cisco wireless, Cisco networking, switches, routers, and firewalls."
"The best feature of the Cisco ISE platform is that it is compatible with Microsoft products."
"The most valuable feature is the provisioning of the device so as to ensure that they are compliant with the security policy that we need to have."
"The solution enables us to do everything from one interface."
"Cisco ISE is a comprehensive solution that allows you to control access to network resources granularly based on policies."
 

Cons

"The solution's technical support is an area with which my company's clients have a problem. Cisco doesn't provide good technical support unless a user has a big account that Cisco wants to retain."
"The solution’s security side could be improved."
"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."
"Cisco could improve the security side of their solutions."
"As a user, it would be good if I could plug in controllers, suites, and devices from other vendors to Cisco DNA Center."
"The solution needs to improve the dashboard."
"The solution's setup process needs enhancement."
"Requires more focus on the digital side of things."
"It would be nice if it could be configured easily by default."
"I'm frustrated by the resource consumption and how many resources it needs to run. It takes a lot of RAM. It takes a lot of space and a lot of IO power. It's frustrating to do upgrades because it takes a long time."
"The Guest Network verification needs to add a QR code option."
"The initial setup process is complex since there are so many big components."
"If I was going to improve anything, it would be the ease of migration. It's really difficult at the moment if you're looking to upgrade ISE 2.1 and you want to go to ISE 3.1 or 3.2, that whole upgrade path and, particularly, the licensing is quite a minefield to sort out."
"There is room for improvement in its ability to allow end users to self-enroll their devices. Instead, you should be able to assign that permission by AD group, which is currently not available."
"Cisco ISE could be simplified somewhat. I would also prefer certificate-based authentication over confirmation-based authentication for all the processes. It's possible for us to do a workaround, but the process needs to be simplified."
"The UI is not as intuitive as some other products, even products inside of Cisco's wheelhouse."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"We get a yearly license at the time we buy the product."
"We have a three-year license with them."
"The solution is a little bit expensive but depends a lot on the customer's usage. If you use it in the right place, you can easily pay for it."
"Cisco DNA Center is expensive."
"I do know that Cisco does offer some really good promotions for DNA Center to bring the costs down."
"Our licensing agreement is for three years."
"I would rate the pricing a six out of ten, with ten being expensive."
"If you consider money only, Cisco ISE is not a cheap solution."
"It is difficult to measure security breaches, but since we have not been attacked so far, it has paid for itself over the years."
"In terms of the licensing and the pricing structure of the Cisco Identity Services Engine, there's been a huge advantage to our clients recently with the advent of the enterprise agreement."
"In general, licensing can be quite complex with Cisco products. It would be nice if it was a bit more intuitive and had fewer "gotchas" in there."
"The price is okay."
"It's an expensive solution when compared to other vendors."
"The pricing is fair for what it does."
"I would rate the pricing an eight out of ten, one being cheap and ten being expensive."
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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
26%
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: March 2025.
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