Alluvio AppResponse vs Cisco DNA Center comparison

Riverbed and Cisco are both solutions in the Network Monitoring Software category. Riverbed is ranked #59 with an average rating of 8.0, while Cisco is ranked #12 with an average rating of 8.0. Riverbed holds a 0.4% mindshare in NMS, compared to Cisco’s 1.4% mindshare. Additionally, 93% of Riverbed users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 89% of Cisco users who would recommend it.

Alluvio AppResponse

Read 17 Alluvio AppResponse reviews

693 Views
297 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

Cisco DNA Center

Read 42 Cisco DNA Center reviews

1,931 Views
974 Comparison Views

89% willing to recommend

Alluvio AppResponse

Cisco DNA Center

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 2024

Alluvio AppResponse and Cisco DNA Center are network management solutions with unique strengths. Alluvio AppResponse has an edge in pricing and customer support, while Cisco DNA Center excels in its feature-rich offering.

Features: Alluvio AppResponse includes deep packet inspection for detailed network analysis, real-time performance monitoring, and efficient troubleshooting. Cisco DNA Center offers advanced automation tools, comprehensive analytics, and robust policy enforcement, enhancing overall network management with its extensive feature set.

Room for Improvement: Alluvio AppResponse could improve by incorporating more automation tools, expanding its analytics capabilities, and enhancing network-wide policy management. Cisco DNA Center can benefit from reducing deployment complexity, improving cost-effectiveness, and making user interfaces more intuitive to streamline operations.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Alluvio AppResponse is known for its straightforward deployment and responsive customer support, allowing for quick setup. Cisco DNA Center, while offering comprehensive tools, requires detailed planning and possibly longer deployment time due to its wide-ranging features, calling for an initial time investment to leverage its functionalities fully.

Pricing and ROI: Alluvio AppResponse provides a cost-effective solution with positive ROI through efficient troubleshooting. Cisco DNA Center, although initially more expensive, offers long-term ROI with extensive automation and management features, making it a strategic investment for maximizing network efficiency.

To learn more, read our detailed Alluvio AppResponse vs. Cisco DNA Center Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Alluvio AppResponse vs. Cisco DNA Center

June 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

Alluvio AppResponse

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

59th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability (48th)

Cisco DNA Center

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

12th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Management Applications (1st), Network Automation (2nd)

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Alluvio AppResponse is 0.4%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco DNA Center is 1.4%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Monitoring Software

Featured Reviews

Ahmet Kilic

Network and Security Unit Manager at Bankalararası Kart Merkezi (BKM)

It's a total solution that gives you end-to-end visibility at all levels

I rate Alluvio AppResponse 10 out of 10. If you work for a financial company especially, you probably face problems on the application side. The problem is easy to identify, but you need to determine the root cause. You can solve issues easily via AppResponse because it shows you all the details of your transactions so you can see the real problem in the database, network, software, etc. For example, you can find the solution easily if you create the right dashboard on your site. If you can't find the problem, you can observe or investigate PCAP.

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Ahmed Helmy

Sr. Director, Business Development & Sales Operations at connect professional services

Experience unified visibility and monitoring for enterprise campus and significant time savings and enhanced troubleshooting with reliable support

We have been working with Cisco DNA Center for ten years. Our clients use Cisco DNA Center for unified visibility/monitoring across Enterprise Campus both LAN & WLAN along with Access and fast technical issues troubleshooting The solution provides fast troubleshooting capabilities and fast…

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Riverbed's product is a superb product."

"With some APM solutions, it can take a long time to check a periodic report, but you can get all the necessary details quickly with AppResponse."

"The most valuable feature is performance monitoring."

"When it comes to the ability to scale up the product, this is suitable for small medium and large environments,"

"It provides us with complete visibility of every packet."

"The most valuable feature of Alluvio AppResponse is the actual response time for measuring performance."

"AppResponse is a total solution that gives you end-to-end visibility into applications at all levels, from Layer 1 to Layer 7. We can trace all those sections: physical, IP, transport, presentation, application, etc. It gives us the full picture."

"I have found the AppResponse, which is a packet capture solution, very good. It gives you the ability to drill down back in time. You've got all the packets there. You can troubleshoot it later, not immediately. It's very interesting."

More Alluvio AppResponse pros

"It is very versatile in terms of analytics."

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

"The most valuable features of the solution are all of its security features...It is a highly scalable solution."

"The most valuable features of Cisco DNA Center are wireless assurance and visibility."

"Application Assurance works very well."

"What I found valuable in Cisco DNA Center is the Software-Defined Access Network, so the entire LAN network can be centralized and managed from a single dashboard. Cisco DNA Center is suitable for centralized management and lets you deploy switches in a centralized fashion. You can also do multiple switch port configurations simultaneously and segregate your traffic into multiple fabrics. Another valuable feature of Cisco DNA Center is enhanced security through Scalable Group Tags. Cisco DNA Center can be integrated with your Cisco ISE to enhance the port securities, and this paves the way for Software-Defined Networking in the LAN segment, which is the main advantage of Cisco DNA Center. I also like that you can use Cisco DNA Center for data assurance or correlation. The solution shows your network and client health parameters, which I find convenient for troubleshooting."

"The best feature of Cisco DNA Center is the visibility page, where you can see everything on the dashboard, and you don't have to be a technical person to view the issues."

"We have many people from the team who manage a lot of devices. By using Cisco DNA Center, it has taken some of that burden away, we are impressed with it. We did the investment in CAPEX, but in the OPEX was very low."

More Cisco DNA Center pros

Cons

"Integration between NPM and APM solutions would improve efficiency. There is no agent on the server site related to AppResponse."

"The recent changes in corporate structure may have caused some decrease in support quality."

"Alluvio AppResponse should improve its ability to expand across multiple operating systems."

"The AI features should be addressed in respect of the analysis and intelligence that must be supported and delivered in the tool to predigest the large amounts of data."

"If Alluvio AppResponse reduces its cost, it will be more beneficial for customers to monitor their application and network performance."

"The initial setup is straightforward, but you have to know a little about the product. It's not for everybody to just plug and play. If you know how the solution is implemented then it is straightforward."

"The pricing is on the higher side of things. If they could lower it, that would be ideal."

More Alluvio AppResponse cons

"The product has many features that do not work properly."

"We encountered issues with their response times, which had a big impact on our workflow."

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

"Cisco DNA Center should improve its configuration management. It is better to have a dev version before pushing it."

"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."

"The tool's deployment is complex. It also needs to improve its GUI."

"The weaknesses primarily involve pricing and the ongoing need for increased bandwidth and data throughput."

More Cisco DNA Center cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is costly for small and medium businesses."

"The price is a little bit high, especially because we have to pay an import tax."

"The solution is no more expensive than other products."

"The licensing model is expensive compared to its competitors, but the service it gives to your business, and the data quality, means that it's worth it."

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

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

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

"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."

"Our licensing agreement is for three years."

"The solution is expensive."

"I do know that Cisco does offer some really good promotions for DNA Center to bring the costs down."

"The tool is medium-priced."

More Cisco DNA Center pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

20%

Computer Software Company

13%

Energy/Utilities Company

Performing Arts

Computer Software Company

15%

Government

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Riverbed SteelCentral AppResponse?

The most valuable feature of Alluvio AppResponse is the actual response time for measuring performance.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Riverbed SteelCentral AppResponse?

The pricing of Riverbed Alluvio AppResponse is really high. Very few customers buy Riverbed because many do not have the sufficient budget. Its pricing is comparatively higher than SolarWinds. Rive...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Riverbed SteelCentral AppResponse?

The reporting models need improvement as most of the time, we have to customize the reports manually. Additionally, a feature similar to SolarWinds AppStack, which provides a holistic view of the i...

See all answers

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.

See all answers

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

The cost is very high.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Cisco DNA Center?

The system is working fine for me currently.

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 17% of the time

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Compared 17% of the time

NETSCOUT nGeniusONE vs Alluvio AppResponse

Compared 16% of the time

OP5 Monitor vs Alluvio AppResponse

Compared 15% of the time

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Cisco Catalyst Center vs Cisco DNA Center

Compared 13% of the time

Juniper Mist Wired Assurance vs Cisco DNA Center

Compared 7% of the time

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager vs Cisco DNA Center

Compared 6% of the time

Fortinet FortiManager vs Cisco DNA Center

Compared 6% of the time

HPE Intelligent Management Center vs Cisco DNA Center

Compared 5% of the time

More Cisco DNA Center Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability

June 2025

Download Alluvio AppResponse product report

Buyer's Guide

Cisco DNA Center

June 2025

Download Cisco DNA Center product report

Also Known As

Riverbed AppResponse, OPNET SteelCentral AppResponse, ACE Live, OPNET, AppResponse Xpert

DNA Center

Overview

Alluvio AppResponse provides fast packet capture and storage that feeds intelligent network and application analysis with fast troubleshooting workflows to speed problem diagnosis and resolution. AppResponse delivers full stack application analysis—from packets to web pages - enabling you observe all network and application interactions as they cross the wire, whether they are encrypted or not. Using powerful, flexible network and application analytics and workflows, AppResponse speeds problem diagnosis and resolution, helping you get to answers fast

Riverbed

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.

Cisco

Sample Customers

N11.com, OneMain Financial, China Bank, Halkbank, Kaust

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Alluvio AppResponse vs. Cisco DNA Center

June 2025

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