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Cisco Catalyst Center vs NetMaster Network Intelligence comparison

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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
1st
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.0
Number of Reviews
29
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
NetMaster Network Intelligence
Ranking in Network Management Applications
18th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
8.8
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Network Management Applications category, the mindshare of Cisco Catalyst Center is 3.9%, down from 9.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetMaster Network Intelligence is 3.1%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Management Applications Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Catalyst Center3.9%
NetMaster Network Intelligence3.1%
Other93.0%
Network Management Applications
 

Featured Reviews

AadishBahati - PeerSpot reviewer
Principal Solution Architect at EchoStor
Unified automation has transformed network operations and simplifies multi‑site management
The learning curve is better with Cisco compared to other products. Everyone has a learning curve because everyone is bringing new technologies, new interfaces, and new ways of doing things. The other products have a steeper learning curve. When comparing Cisco with VMware, I am not comparing Cisco with Arista, Juniper, or HP because those are companies which are doing a very basic level of automation. Cisco is doing way more advanced things. In terms of advanced handling and the advanced orchestration and advanced management plane control that Cisco is delivering, the only competitiveness in advancement is VMware NSX. However, it is really complex. Cisco's platforms are much easier to understand and learn compared to VMware.The only disadvantage with Cisco would be their services and licensing, which is a bit complex and a bit too expensive. Because their services are so expensive, companies end up buying Cisco, but they end up not buying Cisco services to do it. When they turn to external partners, not many people outside know the technology as well as Cisco does. People deploy it, but they do not get the right resources to deploy it.
it_user558525 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Systems Analyst at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Streamlines quick and effective drill-down into the network stack for better troubleshooting
I would like to see a web-based interface that mimics the ease of doing data traces, similar to something like a Wireshark which is a Windows-based network monitoring tool. Wireshark is fast. I'm an old Windows guy, it's what I know. I think the liability of NetMaster is having to do things through the panels. It's slow to generate traces, and when you're doing a real-time troubleshooting call - when you have to wait 30 seconds for a process to spawn and fire up in order to give data back - 30 seconds is a long time when there's an issue. The user interface is probably the biggest impediment to my success with it.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Catalyst provides a reliable and mature network solution, which has stabilized all features and improved productivity."
"The features I appreciate most about Cisco Catalyst Center are user accessibility."
"The customer service is very good. They are excellent and efficient."
"The integration of Cisco Catalyst Center is fine"
"The best feature is its availability, easy deployment, and the good support for the solution."
"There is a lot of documentation for the platform, which is an advantage."
"The most valuable feature of Cisco Catalyst Center is automation."
"Storing the configs with Cisco Catalyst Center benefits my organization because if there is a failure, I can restore directly from it."
"I consider NetMaster to be the best-of-breed for network."
"Stability-wise, the whole product runs great, especially with the automation; that's where it really shines."
"The most valuable features are SNA and IP monitoring, and it has been very easy to define many thresholds, including self-defining baselines."
"Otherwise, I think it is one of the better network products out there."
"The support has been excellent. It is far and away the best among the products that our team supports."
 

Cons

"The initial setup of Cisco Catalyst Center is complex."
"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."
"It is a little more expensive."
"When I first installed Cisco Catalyst Center, it required a lot of hardware resources during the installation process."
"There should be tighter cohesion between the web-based GUI and the command line configuration."
"I have not seen ROI at all."
"There are areas for improvement with Cisco Catalyst Center, and I can discuss what could be improved."
"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."
"I would like to see a web-based UI (major effort now in progress)."
"I would like to see new release migrations made easier."
"The automation part could use improvement, but I do not do that much with it."
"I think the liability of NetMaster is having to do things through the panels."
"I didn't think the SNMP function was easy to set up. That caused some problems with the address space."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
15%
Government
11%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise19
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Catalyst Center?
Cisco is always expensive. Cisco Catalyst Center's price rating is eight.
What needs improvement with Cisco Catalyst Center?
There are areas for improvement with Cisco Catalyst Center, and I can discuss what could be improved. Additional features could be added to Cisco Catalyst Center in the future, and it is unclear wh...
What is your primary use case for Cisco Catalyst Center?
As a customer, the major use case for Cisco Catalyst Center is that it is easy to configure and troubleshoot, which are definitely the advantages of the product. If there are any specific challenge...
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Also Known As

No data available
CA NetMaster Network Management. CA NetMaster, CA NetMaster Network Management for TCP/IP, CA NetMaster Network Management for SNA, CA NetMaster Network Management for TCP/IP
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Tieto
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Catalyst Center vs. NetMaster Network Intelligence and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
915,341 professionals have used our research since 2012.