Cisco DNA Center vs NetScaler comparison

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Cisco DNA Center

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 2, 2025

NetScaler and Cisco DNA Center compete in the networking and application optimization space. NetScaler takes the upper hand in deployment flexibility, while Cisco DNA Center excels in network automation and analytics.

Features: NetScaler boasts a flexible deployment model supported by its TriScale architecture, offering excellent load balancing and user access control capabilities. It also provides robust traffic management and single sign-on functionality. Cisco DNA Center is recognized for its integrated network automation, providing real-time insights through its robust analytics and centralized network management solutions. It also offers extensive monitoring features and enhanced automation processes.

Room for Improvement: NetScaler needs better integration and intuitive configuration tools, alongside improvements in template and scripting flexibility to match competitors like F5. Stability issues requiring frequent patches are also noted. Cisco DNA Center should enhance its integration with third-party vendors and improve ease of use, as well as addressing challenges with complex deployments and high costs.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: NetScaler is versatile, supporting deployments across on-premises, public, private, and hybrid clouds, with satisfactory technical support, although support quality varies. Cisco DNA Center offers robust customer support and consistent technical service, primarily for on-premises deployment, but experiences occasional response delays, and its deployment options trail behind NetScaler.

Pricing and ROI: NetScaler is considered expensive, with additional costs for licenses, but customers achieve ROI through its stability and rich features enhancing network performance. Cisco DNA Center, being costlier, often limits accessibility for smaller businesses, yet offers value in centralized network control and is justified by its comprehensive management capabilities and integrations, marking it a worthy investment for larger enterprises.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco DNA Center vs. NetScaler Report (Updated: January 2025).

Cisco DNA Center vs. NetScaler

January 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

Ranking in Network Management Applications

1st

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Monitoring Software (16th), Network Automation (2nd)

NetScaler

Ranking in Network Management Applications

4th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

107

Ranking in other categories

Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) (1st), Web Application Firewall (WAF) (11th)

Featured Reviews

AvrahamSonenthal

Senior Network Engineer at Inside Global

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.

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DEMİRHAN ÇAVUŞOĞLU

Cloud Consultant at Migros Ticaret A.Ş.

A tool for centralized management including inventory and sales tracking

Citrix ADM has the ability to implement policies to tighten security. For instance, you can restrict access to your network from outsiders or lack necessary security measures such as antivirus programs. Additionally, there's the Delivery Controller, which allows for comprehensive monitoring and management tasks such as remote restarts, maintenance, and registration. Another essential component is the Director, which provides detailed insights into sessions, including identifying session failures, connection issues, user lockouts, etc. It presents a list of problems to address, enabling you to click on them and resolve them efficiently.

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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 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."

"We can monitor all devices and get the required information using the product."

"The product offers an intuitive and automated way to manage user networks. It gives me an insight into the network health."

"People like to use the dashboards to get an overview of their network."

"Cisco DNA Center provides operational support, compliance support, security vulnerability detection, and automatic scheduling."

"Cisco DNA Center is a user-friendly solution."

"Has a good processing feature with a high level of accuracy."

More Cisco DNA Center pros

"The most valuable features are for the ADMs and the overall monitoring environment."

"The stability is good. If there is a problem, the load will be shifted to other sites automatically, which has been a good experience for us."

"It's very easy to configure."

"Enables a Web service that offers persistent client-server connections, IP restriction, URL rewrite (such as remove "/assets/" path from client-side URL path), and cache for CSS or JS files... You can easily use the GUI to set up all these requirements on the same network device within 20-30 minutes. (If you do the same steps on CLI, it might take less time.)"

"Citrix Netscaler makes it easy to provide services to end users, offering better visibility into user sessions compared to VMware. However, instability in network or machine can cause headaches as it's hard to pinpoint issues. SSL offload feature enhances security posture by providing secure connectivity between end users and backend systems. We use additional Azure remote security solutions for comprehensive protection."

"It is a stable solution. It crashed only once, four years ago...There is a return on investment using the solution."

"The MAS integration for HDX Insight has provided teams with significant visibility into network performance of the user's connection."

"The solution improves security performance."

More NetScaler pros

Cons

"In terms of the clustering part, there are some concerns."

"The product doesn’t have good monitoring capabilities."

"From the recent DNA point of view, there are some stability challenges with Cisco, but very minor."

"The solution can be quite pricey."

"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."

"The cost is very high."

"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."

"One area that needs improvement is the upgrade process."

More Cisco DNA Center cons

"The configuration for its web application firewall is complicated."

"Quality assurance could improve by ironing out security vulnerabilities before releasing upgrades."

"We would like the licensing model for this product to be improved, as it isn't currently very transparent. There isn't a standard package available, and each extra feature creates an additional cost."

"I would like to see multifactor authentication added to this solution to improve the security."

"Their upgrades are not very backward compatible, and sometimes they mess up."

"Some of our customers have questioned the security of this solution lately, wondering whether it is safe or not, so enhancements in this respect would be good."

"Currently, the support team's responsiveness is lacking, and the technical personnel on calls often seem unfamiliar with the issues or inadequately trained."

"Development team's response time could be better."

More NetScaler cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

"Cisco DNA Center is too expensive."

"I would rate the pricing a six out of ten, with ten being expensive."

"The tool is medium-priced."

"The product is very costly."

"The licensing cost for Cisco DNA Center is not more than that of other solutions."

"Our licensing agreement is for three years."

"Licensing for Cisco DNA Center is a little bit expensive, just like any Cisco solution. Its cost could still be improved."

More Cisco DNA Center pricing and cost advice

"After deployment, Citrix Netscaler shifted to a subscription-based license scheme for support, which is slightly more expensive."

"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing an eight or nine out of ten."

"Citrix ADC could improve the price and make it less expensive, other competitors have a better prices. This would allow Citrix ADC to keep dominating the market."

"Licensing is adequate. I wanted to have a more prominent license, but until I do they don't give enough support. The additional cost would be too much."

"I do not have any experience with the pricing of the product."

"The licenses for this product are payable as a yearly subscription, and carry a high price-point. The subscription scheme is quite complicated, and costs will increase with each additional feature that is required, outside of the basic setup."

"Citrix NetScaler's pricing is slightly above average but not overly expensive. I would consider F5 BIG IP to be the most expensive, Citrix NetScaler to be the second most expensive, and then Kemp Load Balancer to be the third."

"It's an expensive product but it works well."

More NetScaler pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

19%

Government

10%

Manufacturing Company

Healthcare Company

Educational Organization

17%

Computer Software Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Government

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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco DNA Center?

I would rate the pricing a six out of ten, with ten being expensive.

What needs improvement with Cisco DNA Center?

One area that needs improvement is the upgrade process. The time required for downloading and installing packages during upgrades is too long, often taking around ten hours. This is a significant i...

What do you like most about Citrix ADC?

The most valuable feature for us is the application firewalling in Citrix NetScaler, ensuring only valid traffic enters our environment.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Citrix ADC?

After deployment, Citrix Netscaler shifted to a subscription-based license scheme for support, which is slightly more expensive.

What needs improvement with Citrix ADC?

Citrix NetScaler is a robust product, but mastering it requires significant learning and training due to its complexity. While it could be easier to manage, it is like transitioning from driving a ...

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Product Reports

Download Cisco DNA Center product report

Cisco DNA Center

January 2025

Download NetScaler product report

December 2024

Also Known As

DNA Center

Citrix ADC, Citrix NetScaler VPX, NetScaler Console, NetScaler Web Application Firewall

Learn More

Cisco

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.

One platform for a consistent application delivery and security experience because nobody has time to learn multiple systems to manage ADC deployments. NetScaler is built with a single code base using a software-based architecture, so no matter which ADC form factor you choose — hardware, virtual machine, bare metal, or container — the behavior will be the same.

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

ABB Schweiz, Aer Lingus, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Amnet Technology Solutions, Aramex International, Ascenty, Atos, Autodesk