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Cisco DNA Center vs Nagios XI 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)
Nagios XI
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
15th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
58
Ranking in other categories
Server Monitoring (8th), IT Infrastructure Monitoring (15th), Cloud Monitoring Software (16th)
 

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 Nagios XI is 3.3%, down from 4.2% 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.
Amir  Said - PeerSpot reviewer
Effective alerting enhances network monitoring experience with an easy setup
We love Nagios XI due to the fact that JPS Web is very useful. JPS monitors the modem and performs switching, monitoring the computer, and performing switching. We implement some applications and traffic monitoring. The alerting system is very effective. For instance, if we have an alarm on some RAM storage if the traffic is cut or dropped.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Cisco DNA Center provides operational support, compliance support, security vulnerability detection, and automatic scheduling."
"It is simple to manage and it is all done from a single dashboard."
"Automation helps configure devices without manual intervention, enabling zero-touch provisioning."
"The product's most valuable feature is the visual representation of the switch's front panel."
"We can monitor all devices and get the required information using the product."
"Automation is another key highlight. With automation, you can automate everything through a single port."
"The solution has the capability to scale."
"I like the visibility, instant build, network, policies, and the ability to control access. I also like that you can visualize your whole network."
"Nagios is stable and it's easy to use the monitoring software, which is why we chose this product."
"Nagios allows us to configure any device so that we can send pager alerts when people don't have access to emails. It also allows us to schedule downtime and maintenance."
"BPI: It allows defining peripherals to map business criticality for efficient monitoring, as required."
"The most valuable feature of Nagios XI is customization. We can customize based on our requirements. We can do modifications and implement a lot of scripts. Additionally, it is easy to use."
"The solution is pretty stable."
"The most valuable feature is the monitoring of processes."
"The most valuable feature is the dashboard, where I can have a single screen that provides a summary for hundreds of servers."
"Nagios XI simplifies our setup and reduces the time spent configuring monitoring tools."
 

Cons

"The solution's integration feature can be better."
"There are some software problems from version to version. It takes a long time for DNA Center to recognize the video and control access devices."
"Cisco DNA Center should improve its configuration management. It is better to have a dev version before pushing it."
"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."
"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."
"Requires more focus on the digital side of things."
"The tool's deployment is complex. It also needs to improve its GUI."
"The GUI could be improved."
"Nagios XI can improve network and hardware monitoring, these parameters should be simplified to allow usage for monitoring. Additionally, if there was automatic reporting it would be helpful."
"The user interface needs improvement."
"The pricing has recently risen. I know they've changed what is covered under the license, however, it doesn't change the way we use it and adds nothing to our experience, and yet we now have to pay more."
"The Configuration Wizard needs improvement, because not all vendors are present."
"The user interface needs improvement. Many tools have poor user interfaces, making them hard to manage and navigate."
"There's room for improvement in the visibility, and in the ability to extract information. Stuff like this should be more simple."
"I would like a much easier GUI so that I can delete events and logs, which will free up a lot of space."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The tool's licensing may not come across as something that may be friendly for users."
"Cisco DNA Center is too expensive."
"Cisco DNA Center is expensive."
"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 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."
"I do know that Cisco does offer some really good promotions for DNA Center to bring the costs down."
"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."
"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."
"The pricing is really cost efficient. The licensing is perpetual and can be renewed very easily."
"We are using the free version of this solution."
"Nagios XI is an expensive solution."
"As it is not an agentless tool, I think it is expensive."
"It is good to contact experts for advice about what is the best solution for your specific infrastructure and enterprise."
"You can grow into the higher-priced scale as they learn how to utilize the features for Nagios XI."
"For the cost of the commercial product and support, and taking into account the open source characteristics of it, I believe it is difficult to a better value."
"Licensing costs are reasonable."
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Comparison Review

it_user174738 - PeerSpot reviewer
May 31, 2015
Nagios vs. Zabbix vs. PRTG vs. Spiceworks vs. Solarwinds Network Performance Monitor
I have researched a quite a few network monitoring tools which can be used for various monitoring purposes of not only the servers, but the intermediate routers as well. There are majorly three types of these softwares. Ones which are completely open-source, you can do almost anything you want…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Educational Organization
53%
Computer Software Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Manufacturing Company
5%
 

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 Nagios XI?
It is an open-source platform with valuable features for performance and stability.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Nagios XI?
The pricing for the Nagios XI product is good and better than other solutions. I would give it a four or five.
What needs improvement with Nagios XI?
The user interface needs improvement. Many tools have poor user interfaces, making them hard to manage and navigate.
 

Also Known As

DNA Center
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Nagios has over one million users globally, including AOL, DHL, McAfee, MCI, MTV, Yahoo!, Universal, Toshiba, Sony, Siemens, and JPMorgan Chase.
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco DNA Center vs. Nagios XI and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
849,190 professionals have used our research since 2012.