Azure Network Watcher vs Cisco DNA Center comparison

Microsoft and Cisco are both solutions in the Network Monitoring Software category. Microsoft is ranked #42 with an average rating of 8.5, while Cisco is ranked #19 with an average rating of 8.4. Microsoft holds a 0.5% mindshare in NMS, compared to Cisco’s 0.9% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 90% of Cisco users who would recommend it.

Azure Network Watcher

Read 13 Azure Network Watcher reviews

1,082 Views
1,039 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

Cisco DNA Center

Read 43 Cisco DNA Center reviews

7,275 Views
2,328 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

Azure Network Watcher

Cisco DNA Center

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 2024

Cisco DNA Center and Azure Network Watcher are competing in network management and monitoring. Cisco DNA Center seems to have the upper hand due to its comprehensive automation capabilities, while Azure Network Watcher excels in Azure ecosystem integration.

Features: Cisco DNA Center offers network automation, assurance, and segmentation along with integration across multi-vendor devices. It is versatile for diverse network environments. Azure Network Watcher provides in-depth network monitoring, diagnostics, and analytics, seamlessly integrating with Azure services, which benefits cloud-focused infrastructures.

Room for Improvement: Cisco DNA Center could improve its ease of deployment and simplify its extensive integration process. It may also enhance customer support accessibility. Azure Network Watcher can expand its automation capabilities and improve compatibility with non-Azure environments. It might also provide more detailed analytics beyond Azure services.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco DNA Center involves a more complex deployment due to its extensive features, often requiring specialized expertise and support. Azure Network Watcher benefits from straightforward deployment within Azure environments, with integrated customer service enhancement.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco DNA Center generally requires a higher initial setup cost but provides substantial long-term ROI by reducing manual network management efforts. Azure Network Watcher has a lower entry cost, with ROI closely tied to Azure service integration and usage.

To learn more, read our detailed Azure Network Watcher vs. Cisco DNA Center Report (Updated: March 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Azure Network Watcher vs. Cisco DNA Center

March 2026

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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

Azure Network Watcher

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

42nd

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

5.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Cisco DNA Center

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

19th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

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

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Azure Network Watcher is 0.5%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco DNA Center is 0.9%, down from 1.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Monitoring Software Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Cisco DNA Center	0.9%
Azure Network Watcher	0.5%
Other	98.6%

Network Monitoring Software

Featured Reviews

Bijoyendra Roychowdhury

Program Manager at a consultancy with 10,001+ employees

Network monitoring provides comprehensive analytics while the interface requires further development

The quality of Azure Network Watcher is quite good in terms of the in-depth analysis you can create from these matrices. There are other monitoring tools such as New Relic, AppDynamics, and Dynatrace which provide very detailed network tracing. Cloud providers such as Azure or AWS do not have that kind of GUI-based capability at this point, but using PowerShell or Python, you can develop it yourself. From the GUI perspective, it still needs to evolve in terms of quality and standard, though overall, it is quite good for troubleshooting. Regarding areas for improvement, when comparing to other network tools beyond Azure Monitor or Azure Network Watcher, those tools can identify single failed packets. This level of granularity is not currently possible with cloud providers as they only go to a certain level rather than the granular level needed for deep troubleshooting, though they do provide hints with available matrices.

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Mahir Öztürk

Network Engineer at NGN Bilgi ve İletişim Hizmetleri

Client history has helped resolve past network issues more efficiently

I mostly use the client history feature of Cisco DNA Center. I didn't use the real-time monitoring capability of Cisco DNA Center because I primarily used it for client history regarding issues and problems. I don't use it for real-time monitoring. If there is a problem, I can inspect the situation and see what is happening, which is beneficial.

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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

"We use the solution to monitor network services. It helps to capture any network issues."

"The most valuable feature of Azure Network Watcher is using the gateways with the connections. The monitoring is useful for the logs and application insights into the data. The traffic filtering issues when it comes to deploying those applications are helpful."

"What I like most about Azure Network Watcher is that it's focused more on the architecture. I also like that it has a packet capture feature that tells you how the packet travels and whether it's exiting Azure, etc."

"The most valuable features I have found are typology, visualization, and capture."

"This is a stable system providing stable performance."

"The most valuable feature of Azure Network Watcher is the cloud-native application firewall, which is helpful for securing databases."

"Azure Network Watcher provides valuable features based on your specific requirements and use cases, helping you monitor network bandwidth, throughput, data flow consumption, and control costs by giving insight into egress and ingress traffic, total input and output operations, bandwidth, and threats through IP identification."

"My advice to others looking into using Azure Network Watcher is to go for it, as you'll have the tool by default when you're subscribed to Azure VNet."

More Azure Network Watcher pros

"The most valuable features include AI-driven insights which make troubleshooting much easier."

"Deployment is easier than it was five or six years ago."

"The price is really high, but it's worth every single dollar you pay."

"It does a lot of things automatically, and that's the big thing with it. They're making the software so that you don't need to be as knowledgeable as me on the switching and routing side to get your work done. If you want, you can have DNA troubleshoot your problem for you and give you solutions or fix it itself, if it was something that's just a configuration issue."

"The monitoring features are very useful for network engineers."

"The product's most valuable feature is the visual representation of the switch's front panel."

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

"The automation features are significant, reducing configuration time. This means outstanding functionality. By deploying the controller automatically, the rest becomes automated"

More Cisco DNA Center pros

Cons

"Azure Network Watcher could improve by having other built-in applications, for example, an application to log activities for inbound and outbound traffic."

"Azure Network Watcher could improve by having other built-in applications. For example, an application to log activities for in and outbound traffic."

"Technical support from Microsoft needs significant improvement compared to other product vendors."

"Sometimes, you encounter a VPN tunnel, network, or routing issue, but finding out more about the blockage is challenging."

"The initial setup and deployment could be improved to be simplified."

"Azure Network Watcher needs to have better documentation and it needs to capture information accurately."

"Azure is good, however, the Fortinet GUI is more intuitive and I like it more than anything else."

"I still use Wireshark and Azure Network Watcher to get the required data. My team captures the traffic from Azure Network Watcher, downloads it, then imports that traffic into Wireshark to get more details on the number of hits and replies, for example. If you can do that on Azure Network Watcher and have Wireshark built-in, that would make Azure Network Watcher better. If Azure Network Watcher has that functionality where you won't need a third-party tool to get what you need, that would be helpful. I'm also expecting more from Azure Network Watcher. It's more complex than knowing how the IP flows from its source to the destination. The tool also needs more open-source features, such as having some built-in Wireshark that improves monitoring for customers. Sometimes, you encounter a VPN tunnel, network, or routing issue, but finding out more about the blockage is challenging. Is it one hundred percent an Azure issue? Is it a peer issue? You don't get complete information from Azure Network Watcher, so you must use other tools and depend on your strategies to resolve a specific issue. If more features could be added in the next release of Azure Network Watcher, specifically ones you can find on open-source tools, then that would be a plus point for the tool."

More Azure Network Watcher cons

"The solution’s security side could be improved."

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

"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."

"I would like is to have a small information pointer available. It could be a plus feature that I want to implement. When I hover my mouse over the user interface, it should provide a brief explanation. It would be helpful to have it incorporated into the UI."

"In my opinion, the client history in Cisco DNA Center can be longer than 10 days, perhaps extending to 15 or 20 days."

"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."

"Technical support could be better. The price could be better, and it could be more stable."

More Cisco DNA Center cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Price-wise, I have no information on how much Azure Network Watcher costs."

"The pricing is good. It's not too expensive."

"Azure Network Watcher is a little bit expensive."

"The price of the solution is reasonable."

"Cisco DNA Center is expensive."

"The price could be better. It's a very expensive tool."

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

"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."

"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."

"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."

"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."

"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

17%

Government

University

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

13%

Government

10%

Computer Software Company

Healthcare Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	6
Large Enterprise	7

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	10
Midsize Enterprise	9
Large Enterprise	25

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Network Watcher?

I do not have the exact setup cost information on hand, but it is available in the public Azure portal. You can access the calculator there to get detailed pricing information.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Azure Network Watcher?

The main area for improvement is AI-based features. Currently, many intelligent tools are coming from third parties, and Azure Network Watcher needs to improve in this area. The focus should be on ...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Azure Network Watcher?

Azure Network Watcher is used for monitoring network traffic. It provides insight into egress and ingress traffic, which helps determine whether consumption can be controlled. Most Azure services c...

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?

After evaluating other solutions, we will provide feedback.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Cisco DNA Center?

In my opinion, the client history in Cisco DNA Center can be longer than 10 days, perhaps extending to 15 or 20 days. I am using it in a huge factory in Turkey, and sometimes I need to see what occ...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 23% of the time

Nmap vs Azure Network Watcher

Compared 17% of the time

ExtraHop Reveal(x) for IT Operations vs Azure Network Watcher

Compared 8% of the time

Ixia Network Taps vs Azure Network Watcher

Compared 7% of the time

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Cisco Catalyst Center vs Cisco DNA Center

Compared 9% of the time

Juniper Mist Wired Assurance vs Cisco DNA Center

Compared 5% of the time

Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform vs Cisco DNA Center

Compared 5% of the time

Fortinet FortiManager vs Cisco DNA Center

Compared 4% of the time

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager vs Cisco DNA Center

Compared 4% of the time

More Cisco DNA Center Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Azure Network Watcher

March 2026

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Buyer's Guide

Cisco DNA Center

March 2026

Download Cisco DNA Center product report

Also Known As

No data available

DNA Center

Overview

Azure Network Watcher is a comprehensive network monitoring and diagnostic service offered by Microsoft Azure. It provides a range of tools and capabilities to help users monitor, diagnose, and gain insights into their Azure network infrastructure. With Network Watcher, users can capture and analyze network traffic, monitor network performance, troubleshoot connectivity issues, and gain visibility into network topology. It also offers features like packet capture, flow logs, connection monitoring, and VPN diagnostics to ensure the smooth operation of Azure networks. Network Watcher enables users to proactively identify and resolve network issues, optimize network performance, and enhance the overall reliability and security of their Azure network environment.

Microsoft

Cisco DNA Center delivers powerful centralized security, automation, and comprehensive analytics for enhanced network management. With an intuitive dashboard and integration with Cisco devices, it reduces errors, boosts efficiency, and ensures seamless wired and wireless network operations.

Organizations leverage Cisco DNA Center for network management and automation, offering increased visibility into traffic flows and efficient device provisioning. It supports real-time data transmission, network segmentation, and integrates with ISE. Features like wireless assurance, centralized management, and AI-driven insights into network health promote an efficient network environment while addressing compliance issues. However, improvements are necessary for better third-party integration, affordability, and more user-friendly documentation.

What are the solution's most important features?

Comprehensive Analytics: Provides in-depth network insights through real-time data.
Centralized Security: Unifies security management, offering enhanced protection.
Network Management: Simplifies device configuration and policy compliance.
Automation Capabilities: Reduces human error and facilitates efficient network operations.
AI-Driven Assurance: Delivers insights into network health for proactive management.

What benefits and ROI should users look for?

Increased Efficiency: Streamlines operations by reducing manual tasks.
Improved Security: Enhances protection through centralized policies.
Cost Effective: Simplifies management, potentially lowering operating costs.
Enhanced Visibility: Offers comprehensive data for better decision-making.

In industries like healthcare, finance, and education, Cisco DNA Center's advanced features facilitate the management of complex network infrastructures and aid in achieving compliance efficiently. Its ability to manage LANs and WLANs supports diverse networking environments including greenfield projects and SPN setups.

Cisco

Buyer's Guide

Azure Network Watcher vs. Cisco DNA Center

March 2026

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