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Cisco DNA Center vs Cisco Secure Network Analytics comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 2024

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
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
12th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
41
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (1st), Network Automation (2nd)
Cisco Secure Network Analytics
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
22nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
60
Ranking in other categories
Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) (3rd), Network Detection and Response (NDR) (5th), Cisco Security Portfolio (7th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Cisco DNA Center is 1.4%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Secure Network Analytics is 1.2%, down from 1.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Monitoring Software
 

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.
Sudhakar T - PeerSpot reviewer
Strong network security analytics with excellent encrypted traffic analysis features
Improvements are needed on the application layer for complete security analysis. The solution should have the ability to analyze security events not only at the network layer but also at the application and OS layers. There's a need for a more comprehensive licensing model where all necessary licenses are included by default.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The monitoring is very valuable to me."
"Automation helps configure devices without manual intervention, enabling zero-touch provisioning."
"Cisco is a leading network company."
"The product offers an intuitive and automated way to manage user networks. It gives me an insight into the network health."
"It is a stable solution."
"It is very versatile in terms of analytics."
"What's most valuable in Cisco DNA Center is the ability to manage any Cisco infrastructure and device through it. Setup was straightforward."
"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."
"The most valuable feature about this solution is that it gives me insight of my network."
"Using this solution has helped us to detect and identify viruses or malicious activity in the network early on."
"From a security standpoint, it is just seeing pockets as well. Visibility is very key for us."
"Provides easily identifiable anomalies that you can't see with signature detections."
"The solution has increased our threat detection rate. Cisco Stealthwatch has not reduced our incident response times. It has not reduced the amount of time it takes us to detect immediate threats. It has reduced false positives."
"I believe this solution has reduced our incident response time."
"The feature most valuable for us is to gain visibility of what is actually floating through, so we can stop it based on whether it's good or bad traffic."
"It has definitely helped us improve our mean time to resolution on network issues."
 

Cons

"The product has many features that do not work properly."
"The tool's IoT integration should be better."
"The solution can be quite pricey."
"The solution's setup process needs enhancement."
"I would like is to have a small information pointer available. It could be a plus feature that I want to implement. When I hover my mouse over the user interface, it should provide a brief explanation. It would be helpful to have it incorporated into the UI."
"The solution’s security side could be improved."
"The features of Cisco DNA Center and Cisco Prime could have more parity."
"There is a limitation with the number of VRFs that you can have in your network, and this has caused us problems with some customers."
"We had some trouble with the installation as we migrated from our previous solution."
"Cisco could improve the administration for the customers."
"Cisco Stealthwatch can improve by having bundled packages for popular add-ons. It would be a lot easier for people implementing it, have let's say a better way to use the product."
"Cisco Stealthwatch needs more integration with device discovery. We have to do a lot of hard work to figure out what things are. Better service integration is required."
"If they can make this product more web-based, that would be amazing."
"We determined that Stealthwatch wouldn't provide the machine learning model that we required."
"I would like to see some improvement when it comes to reporting."
"Improvements are needed on the application layer for complete security analysis."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The tool is medium-priced."
"It is an expensive solution."
"The tool's licensing may not come across as something that may be friendly for users."
"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."
"The solution is expensive."
"The partnership price is notably high, but it ultimately depends on the chosen business model."
"The licensing cost for Cisco DNA Center is not more than that of other solutions."
"The price of the solution is expensive. The hardware is licensed on the device, but the hardware on the server is expensive."
"It has a subscription model. There is yearly support, and there is also three-year support. It depends on what the customers want."
"​Licensing is done by flows per second, not including outside (in traffic)."
"The tool is not cheaply priced."
"Pricing is much higher compared to other solutions."
"On a yearly basis, licensing is somewhere around $30,000."
"The yearly licensing cost is about $50,000."
"Our fees are approximately $3,000 USD."
"Licensing is done by flows per second, not including outside>in traffic."
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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
28%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
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.
What do you like most about Cisco Stealthwatch?
The most valuable feature of Cisco Secure Network Analytics is the Threat Intelligence integration.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Stealthwatch?
The organization experienced challenges with licensing as Cisco has multiple licensing factors, and there are concerns about the price. Cisco solutions are considered to be very expensive.
What needs improvement with Cisco Stealthwatch?
Improvements are needed on the application layer for complete security analysis. The solution should have the ability to analyze security events not only at the network layer but also at the applic...
 

Also Known As

DNA Center
Cisco Stealthwatch, Cisco Stealthwatch Enterprise, Lancope StealthWatch
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Edge Web Hosting, Telenor Norway, Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, Webster Financial Corporation, Westinghouse Electric, VMware, TIAA-CREF
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco DNA Center vs. Cisco Secure Network Analytics and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
848,989 professionals have used our research since 2012.