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Cisco DNA Center vs Cisco Prime [EOL] comparison

Cisco DNA Center and Cisco Prime [EOL] are both solutions in the Network Management Applications category. Additionally, 89% of Cisco DNA Center users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 91% of Cisco Prime [EOL] users who would recommend it.
Cisco DNA Center
Read 41 Cisco DNA Center reviews
  • 6,085 Views
  • 3,733 Comparison Views
89% willing to recommend
Cisco Prime [EOL]
Read 35 Cisco Prime [EOL] reviews
    91% willing to recommend
     

    Comparison Buyer's Guide

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    Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 12, 2025

    Cisco DNA Center and Cisco Prime are both competing in the network management platform category. Cisco DNA Center has the upper hand with its innovation and integration with new technologies.

    Features: Cisco DNA Center offers modern network automation, policy enforcement, and analytics. Cisco Prime [EOL] provides robust monitoring, configuration, and troubleshooting tools essential for traditional networks.

    Room for Improvement: Cisco DNA Center could enhance its user training to aid those less experienced with advanced technology. Some users find complexity in initial setups. Compatibility with legacy systems might be improved. Cisco Prime [EOL] could benefit from integration with newer technological standards, improved user interface, and enhanced automation capabilities for modern network environments.

    Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco DNA Center focuses on seamless deployment with automation to reduce complexity. Cisco Prime [EOL] might require more manual configuration but is supported by reliable customer service valued for solving connectivity issues.

    Pricing and ROI: Cisco DNA Center involves a higher initial cost but offers long-term ROI benefits through automation reducing operational expenses. Cisco Prime [EOL] appeals to budget-conscious buyers due to its lower upfront costs yet may struggle to provide the same ROI as network technology evolves.

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    Buyer's Guide
    Network Management Applications
    March 2025
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    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 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

    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.
    Read full review
    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.
    Read full review

    Quotes from Members

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

    Pros

    "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."
    "I think that their LAN automation is a very good feature."
    "It is simple to manage and it is all done from a single dashboard."
    "The automation features are significant, reducing configuration time. This means outstanding functionality. By deploying the controller automatically, the rest becomes automated"
    "The product gives a consolidated view."
    "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."
    "It enables monitoring of various components such as access points, switch cards, and other elements within the company's solutions."
    "Has a good processing feature with a high level of accuracy."
    More Cisco DNA Center pros
    "It gives you the ability to upgrade switches remotely, schedule the upgrade time, perform backups, and monitor the health of all networks."
    "The interfaces are a valuable feature."
    "The solution's configuration management tool is amazing because it centralizes and pushes configurations which saves a lot of volume and effort."
    "What I found most beneficial from Cisco Prime is that it gives you an insight into what your network does, even when you're not actively monitoring what's going on with your network."
    "As a large organization, it is difficult to individually monitor every device. Instead, we use Cisco Prime to keep an eye on the network and services. We do not use it as a node tool, as we have other tools for network operation centers. When services go down, it can cause issues, we rely on Cisco Prime to monitor and notify us of any service disruptions. We mainly use Cisco Prime Infrastructure for configuration-level tasks."
    "Cisco Prime has been around for a long time, and it keeps getting better and better."
    "The most valuable is the assistance for network support."
    "I have found the solution to be scalable."
    More Cisco Prime [EOL] pros
     

    Cons

    "What could be improved is the licensing cost of Cisco DNA Center. It's a little bit expensive."
    "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'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 can be quite pricey."
    "The solution needs to improve the dashboard."
    "Cisco could improve the security side of their solutions."
    "Cisco DNA Center was a new technology for us, at the beginning, it was not easy to do, but Cisco did a lot of training with us to a level we could handle everything. The team is managing itself now without the assistance of Cisco."
    "When it comes to deploying wireless fields, integrating defaults into the DNS interface can be challenging."
    More Cisco DNA Center cons
    "The solution can be slow at times."
    "Cisco Prime needs to have lower prices and more customization options."
    "This solution could be improved if it could monitor configuration changes."
    "I would love for Cisco Prime to show bandwidth usage and consumption, but I can't monitor bandwidth usage at a given time."
    "The solution needs to include centralized management that aligns with the Greenfield network and its focus on real-time, scenario-based applications."
    "Cisco Prime could improve the notifications in the system. Having more details about what is happening would be useful, such as traffic numbers or who is connected. We can see them through the firewall controller, but it would be better if you can see them from one place."
    "I would rate the scalability of Cisco Prime a six out of ten. To scale up from a hundred to a thousand devices, the platform needs to be rebuilt logically. This process might require a downtime window and may involve changing the hardware or upgrading to a larger appliance."
    "If you look at some of the wireless site-survey tools that are available in the commercial space, Cisco should include similar solutions, which would help our on-plant engineers when they're doing a site survey."
    More Cisco Prime [EOL] cons
     

    Pricing and Cost Advice

    "Cisco DNA Center is expensive."
    "It is an expensive solution."
    "We get a yearly license at the time we buy the product."
    "Cisco DNA Center is too expensive."
    "The price of the solution is expensive. The hardware is licensed on the device, but the hardware on the server is expensive."
    "The tool is medium-priced."
    "I do know that Cisco does offer some really good promotions for DNA Center to bring the costs down."
    "The tool's licensing may not come across as something that may be friendly for users."
    More Cisco DNA Center pricing and cost advice
    "If we have a license for Cisco DNA, we can use the same license for Cisco Prime."
    "We update the license every five years."
    "The price of Cisco Prime was reasonable because we purchased it as part of a Cisco One package. The package was a bundle of Cisco solutions together, such as Cisco ISE and CMX. The price is reasonable com compared to other solutions."
    "Cisco Prime is an expensive solution."
    "I would rate the pricing of Cisco Prime a seven out of ten."
    "The solution is not inexpensive but is worth it for large-scale environments."
    "I would rate the solution's pricing an eight out of ten."
    "The product is expensive compared to other vendors in the market."
    More Cisco Prime [EOL] pricing and cost advice
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    Top Industries

    By visitors reading reviews
    Computer Software Company
    17%
    Government
    10%
    Manufacturing Company
    9%
    Financial Services Firm
    6%
    Computer Software Company
    16%
    Government
    13%
    Manufacturing Company
    8%
    Healthcare Company
    6%
     

    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.
    See all answers
    What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco DNA Center?
    The cost is very high.
    See all answers
    What needs improvement with Cisco DNA Center?
    The system is working fine for me currently.
    See all answers
    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.
    See all answers
    What needs improvement with Cisco Prime?
    The product's performance monitoring feature could be more intuitive.
    See all answers
    What is your primary use case for Cisco Prime?
    We use Cisco Prime for centralized configuration management backups and monitoring.
    See all answers
     

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    Product Reports

    Buyer's Guide
    Cisco DNA Center
    March 2025
    Cisco DNA Center reportDownload Cisco DNA Center product report
    Buyer's Guide
    Cisco Prime [EOL]
    March 2025
    Cisco Prime [EOL] reportDownload Cisco Prime [EOL] product report
     

    Also Known As

    DNA Center
    Cisco Prime Infrastructure
     

    Overview

    Cisco DNA Center offers a comprehensive platform for network automation and management, providing detailed analytics, enhanced security, and streamlined operations for both wired and wireless networks.

    Cisco DNA Center integrates with Cisco infrastructure to deliver efficient network automation and management, helping organizations improve network visibility, security, and control. It supports AI-driven analytics and automated workflows to enhance operational efficiency and reduce errors. Challenges include compatibility with third-party systems, steep learning curve, and complex deployment. Its interface facilitates centralized control, vital for troubleshooting, policy management, and configuration management, with support for zero-touch provisioning and SD-Access.

    What are the key features of Cisco DNA Center?
    • Robust Analytics: Provides detailed insights into network health with AI-driven analytics.
    • Centralized Security: Integrates with ISE for comprehensive security management.
    • Automated Device Management: Simplifies device provisioning and configuration transfers.
    • Wi-Fi Analytics: Offers deep insights into wireless network performance.
    • Zero-Touch Provisioning: Streamlines new device deployments with minimal human intervention.
    • Scalable Segmentation: Efficiently segments network traffic ensuring security and performance.
    What benefits should users consider?
    • Operational Efficiency: Automation reduces potential errors and streamlines workflow.
    • Enhanced Security: Integration with Cisco ISE bolsters security capabilities.
    • Network Visibility: Comprehensive dashboards and analysis tools enhance monitoring.
    • Troubleshooting: Real-time monitoring aids in identifying and resolving issues swiftly.

    In sectors such as healthcare, finance, and retail, Cisco DNA Center is utilized for its ability to enhance security and compliance, manage large-scale networks, and provide detailed analytics for better operational decision-making. Its support for location tracking and policy automation ensures efficient network management across diverse environments.

    Cisco

    Cisco Prime products deliver next-generation management by supporting an intuitive workflow-oriented user experience and integrated lifecycle operations across Cisco architectures, technologies, and networks.

    Cisco
     

    Sample Customers

    Information Not Available
    Mohawk Industries, Universidad EAFIT, Halton Healthcare
    Buyer's Guide
    Network Management Applications
    March 2025
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