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Cisco Catalyst Center vs ExtremeManagement comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 2, 2025

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 Catalyst Center
Ranking in Network Management Applications
3rd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
ExtremeManagement
Ranking in Network Management Applications
22nd
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Featured Reviews

Ahmad Attal - PeerSpot reviewer
Delivers strong analytics and integration capabilities but requires regular updates and training
My customers often complain about numerous software bugs requiring frequent software patches and updates to resolve these issues. Furthermore, the complexity of the solution can be challenging for some customers as they often require extensive training to fully understand and utilize the product. They have concerns about the high number of software bugs and the need for regular updates to address these bugs.
LuisBrown - PeerSpot reviewer
Mature and robust platform; can be used to manage Cisco switches
ExtremeManagement is excellent. It is a very mature platform and robust in that it covers most of the functionality of the devices. One of ExtremeManagement's advantages over its competitors is that it is capable of managing Cisco switches if you have their on-prem manager. So you can take your legacy Cisco switches and manage them directly in the Extreme platform.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Cisco Catalyst Center was flexible in terms of scalability, offering advanced security features and reliable performance."
"The most valuable feature of Cisco Catalyst Center is automation."
"Cisco's technical support is excellent."
"There is a lot of documentation for the platform, which is an advantage."
"The best feature of Cisco is its industry-standard nature."
"Customer service has been excellent."
"Cisco Catalyst Center allows me to manage all the fabric SD Access from one location."
"The best feature is its availability, easy deployment, and the good support for the solution."
"The technical support services are good."
"The best thing about the solution is that it is all managed from just a single application window. We call this feature a single pane of glass due to the fact that almost all the features are all managed within a single application, or a browser, to be more specific."
"The report model is one of the valuable models. We are able to see all the information concentrated in reports, which is very useful. We are able to get the information about the performance of the equipment and check that everything is okay. You can get very useful information across applications, so we have very good experience with their management solutions. It has many functionalities to simplify the administration and monitor the development of the switches or AP. It is easy to deploy, easy to configure. and easy to develop. Its price is also good."
"ExtremeManagement brings in the most value by reducing the technical debt to the organization in terms of having to hire personnel to maintain it or contract it."
"I need fewer people to do implementation and support, and I don't have to go on-site to change the configuration or otherwise support the switch."
 

Cons

"Cisco Catalyst Center could improve its graphical user interface. Currently, it is CLI-based, which makes it challenging for those without Cisco training."
"The main drawback of Cisco Catalyst Center is that it can only manage and monitor Cisco devices with a DNA license, specifically the Catalyst 9000 series."
"For someone new, the documentation is not very clear."
"The only limitation is when integrating with other products due to Cisco's proprietary protocols."
"Some features in terms of security should be there, especially in threat detection. Cisco Catalyst Center lacked intelligence in this area and required reliance on third-party appliances like firewalls or threat protection devices."
"My customers often complain about numerous software bugs requiring frequent software patches and updates to resolve these issues."
"Regarding the cons of Catalyst, it is a little more expensive. With other vendors, you have one license for all features. In the case of Catalyst, there are many licensing options."
"The initial setup of Cisco Catalyst Center is complex."
"There could be better integration with third-party equipment and vendors."
"It would be helpful if this solution had support for configuring and managing third-party hardware devices."
"It would be great to not need an on-premises SiteIQ license for running a Fabric OS cloud or managing third-party devices."
"They can improve the information period. Currently, we are able to have information for only 14 or 15 days, but we would like to have information for an extended period of maybe 30 days. Their technical support can also be improved in terms of the response time to the tickets."
"Some features are quite difficult to configure and they are very complicated to figure out. Maybe the vendors should introduce a more driven configuration that can clarify the processes a bit more to make the processes more clearly defined."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"While they don't consider it affordable, they don't find it overly expensive."
"The support is billed on a yearly basis, and there are no additional costs."
"It has a good price. There is a good relationship between the cost and the performance."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
15%
Government
13%
Energy/Utilities Company
10%
Healthcare Company
8%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Non Profit
13%
Comms Service Provider
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Catalyst Center?
The cost is relative and depends on the market and one's budget provision. While Cisco provides a good return on investment, they are also facing competitive pricing challenges from Huawei.
What needs improvement with Cisco Catalyst Center?
If they can add a layer of portable hotspots with some licensing flexibility for 20 to 50 users, it would be a great feature.
What is your primary use case for Cisco Catalyst Center?
We use Cisco Catalyst Center ( /products/cisco-catalyst-center-reviews ) for managing switches in our IT infrastructure. Our primary focus has been on utilizing Catalyst ( /products/cisco-catalyst-...
What do you like most about ExtremeManagement?
The technical support services are good.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ExtremeManagement?
I don't know the exact pricing or licensing details. However, based on feedback from our customers, they haven't raised significant complaints about the cost. While they don't consider it affordabl...
What needs improvement with ExtremeManagement?
There could be better integration with third-party equipment and vendors. While ExtremeManagement technically supports monitoring various devices like firewalls, the integration may not be as seaml...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Henry Ford Health System, Baltimore Ravens, Brandili, Federal University of Alagoas, CEDAE, Caxias do Sul, UNISC Concurrency, CenturyLink Field, Louisiana College, Cricket Tasmania Stadium, Moscow Internet Exchange
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Catalyst Center vs. ExtremeManagement and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
859,129 professionals have used our research since 2012.