Team Leader support at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Top 20
2024-08-13T14:07:11Z
Aug 13, 2024
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 issue for customers who cannot afford such long downtime. Improvements in reducing upgrade time would greatly enhance the user experience.
An area that needs improvement is the integration with other vendors. I think this is a missing point. If we focus on improving integration, many new features could evolve from this solution. Integration with other network admission control devices and vendors beyond just Cisco would be particularly beneficial.
In terms of the clustering part, there are some concerns. I feel like the clustering part is there because it is built on microservices architecture, so by default it is there in the tool. It is not complex to deploy, and it is easy, to be honest. The open APIs are there in the tool, which is fine.
Consultant - Enterprise Managed Services Centre Of Excellence (EMS-COE) at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
Consultant
Top 20
2023-11-22T14:03:37Z
Nov 22, 2023
The product doesn’t have good monitoring capabilities. It should be improved. The data has a lot of inconsistencies. We cannot trust it or rely on it. The solution has a lot of bugs in assurance and provisioning. Sometimes, in the inventory, the devices are out of sync. The AI features are very basic.
Cisco DNA Center is costly for Ukrainian customers. The functionality and connections are excellent. If the price decreases, it should become more accessible.
As a user, it would be good if I could plug in controllers, suites, and devices from other vendors to Cisco DNA Center. Users could use the intelligence in Cisco DNA Center for the entire environment.
The weaknesses primarily involve pricing and the ongoing need for increased bandwidth and data throughput. These aspects are interconnected with the lifecycle management of the network. Security is also a concern, even though is somewhat implemented. There are no specific requirements except for user-friendly dashboards, but the definition of "user-friendly" can vary from person to person, making it challenging to define a universal standard.
They can improve the network visibility. Licensing and its maintenance are also needed. We are trying to reduce the company's and employees' assets and give it extra features. We are also separating the wireless SSI test network and trying to manage all the company properties through it.
An area for improvement in Cisco DNA Center is the latency in data correlation. For example, sometimes, when an issue happens, and I check the logs, I can't find the corresponding log. There's a delay in log replication, so this is what needs improvement in Cisco DNA Center. Reporting in Cisco DNA Center could also be improved because it only has a few templates, and you can't customize it based on your requirements. There aren't many options available in Cisco DNA Center regarding reporting, versus Cisco Prime, which has excellent features for different levels of detailed reports. I'd like to see real-time data replication in the next release of Cisco DNA Center, similar to what's done in Meraki. Data in Meraki is real-time with no delay, so data is immediately replicated in the cloud. Currently, there's a lag in Cisco DNA Center, and addressing that lag is the enhancement I'd like to see in Cisco DNA Center. The solution also needs to be more user-friendly.
Cloud and Digital Transformation Architect at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Top 20
2022-04-27T08:19:11Z
Apr 27, 2022
There should be an option for automation of template deployment by using the stored data. It is not easy to save configuration information for lots of devices without using other tools. There should be a tighter, better repository of information that can be merged with the templates.
Consultant - Enterprise Network at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Consultant
2022-03-05T04:19:15Z
Mar 5, 2022
It would be helpful if it could be integrated with a variety of solutions, such as Meraki. Cisco does not support other OEMs for analytics software integration. Integration with analytic tools and API integrations would be ideal.
The architecture should not be limited only to the USXC as a platform. Let's say if I'm referring to the Catalyst 1000 Series or an MB Series of an SG or FX. Due to the fact that there are mid-market and commercial customers who are using such kinds of product lines apart from the Catalyst 9000 or Cisco UCS architecture, they should all come under a single pane of glass. Any new product should be added right from Cisco itself. The network automation should not be limited only to Cisco, as there may be customers who are using Palo Alto firewalls, or they might be using Ruckus for wireless. There has to be some sort of integration with a third party. The integration of Cisco DNA with a couple of leading CRMs or ticketing solutions would be ideal. The solution can be quite pricey.
Senior Network Engineer at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Real User
2021-03-18T23:01:42Z
Mar 18, 2021
With their provisioning status, if there's a failure in provisioning or in some type of task that DNA is trying to push out to a switch or whatever device, sometimes the task status errors or the provision errors are a little bit big. I think they could provide a little more detail to someone when a task fails. It's an error code that tells you that this task has failed, but it doesn't get too deep into why it failed. The task failure reporting or provisioning failure reporting could be a little bit better in the UI, with more information given to the user. From the CLI you can get much more information from MagLevs. Also, the UI could use a little bit of improvement. I know that things have gotten a lot better in version 2, but I haven't worked with version 2 yet. A feature that I would like to have seen is the true debt disaster recovery, which is now available in the 2.2.1 version. More detailed information would be helpful, but you can get that information from the CLI but not everyone is comfortable working in the Linux shell.
We have had a lot of problems with the Cisco switches and have needed to upgrade the operating systems, which means that we have to upgrade the DNA. When we upgrade the DNA it means that we have to upgrade the ISE, also. If it is a large cluster then this process is painful. DNA Center has been on the market for a few years and they need to update it.
Group Technology Services Senior Manager at a hospitality company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Real User
Top 20
2020-01-12T12:03:00Z
Jan 12, 2020
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. Data is traveling from the inside to the outside layer, and I want to be able to fully control all of the data going in and out. It should not be set up as multi-service, but rather a single one. If you have old Cisco hardware such as switches or access points, or they are from another vendor, then they will not work with this solution. The hardware will still function but you will not be able to control it with DNA.
Solution Selector Communication and IT Security at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Reseller
2019-12-19T06:32:00Z
Dec 19, 2019
The pricing of this solution could be improved. 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. This solution does not support IP version 6. I would like to see better integration with Cisco Meraki.
Better compatibility with third parties and to other Cisco products because if versions are not perfectly matching requirements, it gives a lot of problems.
Cisco DNA Center is a robust, intuitive network controller and management platform that provides secure, safe access to applications and networks. Cisco DNA Center allows you to take control of your network to increase the effectiveness of your Cisco products, lower your TCO, and improve your ROI.
Your organization’s network is an integral part of your business’s success. In today’s aggressive marketplace, organizations need a network management system in place that can effectively automate...
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 issue for customers who cannot afford such long downtime. Improvements in reducing upgrade time would greatly enhance the user experience.
The solution's setup process needs enhancement.
An area that needs improvement is the integration with other vendors. I think this is a missing point. If we focus on improving integration, many new features could evolve from this solution. Integration with other network admission control devices and vendors beyond just Cisco would be particularly beneficial.
In terms of the clustering part, there are some concerns. I feel like the clustering part is there because it is built on microservices architecture, so by default it is there in the tool. It is not complex to deploy, and it is easy, to be honest. The open APIs are there in the tool, which is fine.
When it comes to deploying wireless fields, integrating defaults into the DNS interface can be challenging.
The product doesn’t have good monitoring capabilities. It should be improved. The data has a lot of inconsistencies. We cannot trust it or rely on it. The solution has a lot of bugs in assurance and provisioning. Sometimes, in the inventory, the devices are out of sync. The AI features are very basic.
Cisco DNA Center is costly for Ukrainian customers. The functionality and connections are excellent. If the price decreases, it should become more accessible.
As a user, it would be good if I could plug in controllers, suites, and devices from other vendors to Cisco DNA Center. Users could use the intelligence in Cisco DNA Center for the entire environment.
We encountered issues with their response times, which had a big impact on our workflow.
They should include UTM features in the product.
The weaknesses primarily involve pricing and the ongoing need for increased bandwidth and data throughput. These aspects are interconnected with the lifecycle management of the network. Security is also a concern, even though is somewhat implemented. There are no specific requirements except for user-friendly dashboards, but the definition of "user-friendly" can vary from person to person, making it challenging to define a universal standard.
Cisco DNA Center should improve its configuration management. It is better to have a dev version before pushing it.
They can improve the network visibility. Licensing and its maintenance are also needed. We are trying to reduce the company's and employees' assets and give it extra features. We are also separating the wireless SSI test network and trying to manage all the company properties through it.
The solution's integration feature needs improvement. It could be integrated more and more into the traditional environments.
Technical support could be better. The price could be better, and it could be more stable.
I'd like to see them focus more on the digital side of things.
An area for improvement in Cisco DNA Center is the latency in data correlation. For example, sometimes, when an issue happens, and I check the logs, I can't find the corresponding log. There's a delay in log replication, so this is what needs improvement in Cisco DNA Center. Reporting in Cisco DNA Center could also be improved because it only has a few templates, and you can't customize it based on your requirements. There aren't many options available in Cisco DNA Center regarding reporting, versus Cisco Prime, which has excellent features for different levels of detailed reports. I'd like to see real-time data replication in the next release of Cisco DNA Center, similar to what's done in Meraki. Data in Meraki is real-time with no delay, so data is immediately replicated in the cloud. Currently, there's a lag in Cisco DNA Center, and addressing that lag is the enhancement I'd like to see in Cisco DNA Center. The solution also needs to be more user-friendly.
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.
There should be an option for automation of template deployment by using the stored data. It is not easy to save configuration information for lots of devices without using other tools. There should be a tighter, better repository of information that can be merged with the templates.
Cisco could improve the security side of their solutions.
It would be helpful if it could be integrated with a variety of solutions, such as Meraki. Cisco does not support other OEMs for analytics software integration. Integration with analytic tools and API integrations would be ideal.
The architecture should not be limited only to the USXC as a platform. Let's say if I'm referring to the Catalyst 1000 Series or an MB Series of an SG or FX. Due to the fact that there are mid-market and commercial customers who are using such kinds of product lines apart from the Catalyst 9000 or Cisco UCS architecture, they should all come under a single pane of glass. Any new product should be added right from Cisco itself. The network automation should not be limited only to Cisco, as there may be customers who are using Palo Alto firewalls, or they might be using Ruckus for wireless. There has to be some sort of integration with a third party. The integration of Cisco DNA with a couple of leading CRMs or ticketing solutions would be ideal. The solution can be quite pricey.
With their provisioning status, if there's a failure in provisioning or in some type of task that DNA is trying to push out to a switch or whatever device, sometimes the task status errors or the provision errors are a little bit big. I think they could provide a little more detail to someone when a task fails. It's an error code that tells you that this task has failed, but it doesn't get too deep into why it failed. The task failure reporting or provisioning failure reporting could be a little bit better in the UI, with more information given to the user. From the CLI you can get much more information from MagLevs. Also, the UI could use a little bit of improvement. I know that things have gotten a lot better in version 2, but I haven't worked with version 2 yet. A feature that I would like to have seen is the true debt disaster recovery, which is now available in the 2.2.1 version. More detailed information would be helpful, but you can get that information from the CLI but not everyone is comfortable working in the Linux shell.
We have had a lot of problems with the Cisco switches and have needed to upgrade the operating systems, which means that we have to upgrade the DNA. When we upgrade the DNA it means that we have to upgrade the ISE, also. If it is a large cluster then this process is painful. DNA Center has been on the market for a few years and they need to update it.
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. Data is traveling from the inside to the outside layer, and I want to be able to fully control all of the data going in and out. It should not be set up as multi-service, but rather a single one. If you have old Cisco hardware such as switches or access points, or they are from another vendor, then they will not work with this solution. The hardware will still function but you will not be able to control it with DNA.
The pricing of this solution could be improved. 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. This solution does not support IP version 6. I would like to see better integration with Cisco Meraki.
Better compatibility with third parties and to other Cisco products because if versions are not perfectly matching requirements, it gives a lot of problems.