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Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs OptiView XG [EOL] 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 Nexus Dashboard Fabri...
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
Network Monitoring Software (18th)
OptiView XG [EOL]
Average Rating
8.6
Number of Reviews
38
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Featured Reviews

OusaidAbaz - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides spine-leaf architecture and support integration with programming languages
Configuring Cisco Nexus switches is relatively straightforward, especially if you're familiar with configuring Catalyst switches. The primary differences between Catalyst and Nexus switches lie in their system architecture and CLI commands. Nexus configurations can differ by about 20-30% from Catalyst configurations. For instance, while certain features may be enabled by default on Catalyst switches, they need to be explicitly enabled on Nexus switches. Maintaining a solution like this involves several support options, such as Cisco Smart Net. Smart Net is a support program that provides SLAs if the Nexus switches go down. With Smart Net, you can choose different levels of support, such as 2-hour, 4-hour, or 2-business-day response times. This ensures that Cisco will provide a replacement switch as quickly as possible if a Nexus switch fails or is out of service. The Nexus switches are known for their stability and high performance, so they have a higher price tag. Due to their cost, they are typically suited for large enterprises rather than small or medium-sized businesses. Major corporations, such as banks, multinational companies, and large industrial firms, have the budget for these high-end switches. The investment is justified by their advanced features and reliability, making them ideal for large-scale environments. Overall, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.
AA
We use it for network discovery, fiber testing, and checking the packet status. It scans the network for problems.
* Make sure that you know what you're doing. * Make sure you know where to do the plugins. There are multiple Ethernet ports. Know which one you want to be part of the network, which one you want for management, etc. Sometimes they interchange those things if they don't pay attention. They just plug everything in there, and then you get screwed up. * You need to know what SFP you're going to use for a 10-Gigabit and a 1-Gigabit port. Those are important things. But again, you have to pay particular attention to those things, or else you will not get any results.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The product has excellent stability."
"We use the product to manage access points."
"Monitoring system provides a clear indication of what's going on in the network."
"VCNM provides a unique capability of managing the admin VDCs of Nexus boxes."
"The feature I find most valuable, is the stability of the solution."
"It has a very nice dashboard so you can see what's currently happening in the network and the performance of the back story."
"Fabric suite automation is a great feature."
"It uses push technology, which pushes the changes to all relevant devices to ensure they are updated accordingly."
"Gives us the ability to see our network."
"It is a very valuable tool. It goes out and does a discovery, which is a great process of it. You could have something like a rogue DHCP server, and it will identify it, and then you can see to which switch port it is connected. It is quite an impressive tool. I really liked it because you didn't have to install an agent on anything. It would just go out and do its discovery. For me, that's great."
 

Cons

"The tool should be more user-friendly and improve AI integration."
"Could integrate better with VMware products."
"Data Center Network Manager is a little complex because it includes a lot of hardware to be installed."
"It is not very easy to monitor or to browse."
"The configuration is too complicated and you have to create templates and use a lot of menus."
"More integration features would be beneficial."
"In the next release, I would like to see it merged with Prime and I think that it should be more unified."
"It's very costly."
"I would like a built-in tap feature which doesn't interfere with the network, and it allows you to see what is happening there."
"Its price can be improved. Their support can also be improved a little bit. In terms of features, it did everything I wanted it to do. With more features, I would have to start installing network agents or something else, and I don't want to have to install anything. This was the value for me about this device."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product is licensed with contracts that work on a yearly basis rather than a monthly model."
"The solution is very expensive."
"On average, Data Center Network Manager's pricing isn't too costly unless you choose a premier license."
"I would say that the pricing offers great value for the money."
"The price of Cisco Data Center Network Manager is expensive compared to other vendors on the market."
"We usually opt for a yearly plan, commonly for three or five years upfront. Some customers may not utilize all the features included in the product, and this can lead to them paying for functionalities they don't need."
"When we purchase a Nexus box, the MDS CM license comes with it."
"The tool is always expensive, but their service, product quality, and support are good. We're happy with it, but it's still an expensive solution. There are cheaper alternatives but no similar platform across all domains."
"Its price was a bit excessive. The device that I had died. It is under warranty, and they want $20,000 for another one. I just don't want to spend that kind of money, so I'm trying to find an alternate solution. They have annual maintenance on it, which probably was 10% a year, so it all starts to add up."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
21%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Government
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
19%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Comms Service Provider
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco Data Center Network Manager?
It uses push technology, which pushes the changes to all relevant devices to ensure they are updated accordingly.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Data Center Network Manager?
The tool is always expensive, but their service, product quality, and support are good. We're happy with it, but it's still an expensive solution. There are cheaper alternatives but no similar plat...
What needs improvement with Cisco Data Center Network Manager?
In a mixed architecture where Nexus switches are used as border devices and are connected to a Palo Alto firewall (e.g., version 9.1 or 10.1), you might encounter issues with BGP peering. For insta...
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Also Known As

Cisco Data Center Network Manager
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Overview

 

Sample Customers

Banco de Guayaquil, Cox Communications, Kuwait Petroleum Italia, Roper St. Francis, University of British Columbia
XG is used in all industries. Example customers include: Republic National Distributing Company, Titelive, CitiGroup, Los Angeles Unified School District, Saudi German Hospital, DeKalb County Schools, Valdosta State University, The Everett Clinic, Bio-Reference, Miami-Dade Library, Mitel, Borsa Istanbul, Cimarex, Air National Guard Lowndes County, High Point City, Carrollton City Schools, Kern County, Pruitt Communications and Bosch Group.
Find out what your peers are saying about Zabbix, Auvik, Datadog and others in Network Monitoring Software. Updated: March 2025.
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