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Cisco Catalyst Center vs NetMaster Network Intelligence 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
2nd
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
NetMaster Network Intelligence
Ranking in Network Management Applications
21st
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 May 2026, in the Network Management Applications category, the mindshare of Cisco Catalyst Center is 5.1%, down from 6.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetMaster Network Intelligence is 2.9%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Management Applications Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Catalyst Center5.1%
NetMaster Network Intelligence2.9%
Other92.0%
Network Management Applications
 

Featured Reviews

AR
Network Engineer at Edmonton Catholic School Board
Has improved infrastructure management with customizable reporting and automated deployment
Cisco Catalyst Center's reporting is one of the best features, providing graphs and quick hit analysis in one place instead of having to search elsewhere. Historical data can be stored in Cisco Catalyst Center, and dashboards and widgets can be configured to personal preference. Device deployment can be automated to the point where all someone needs to do is plug it in. Zero Touch Provisioning, while requiring some initial work to set up properly, provides significant benefits. Once configured, it reduces the need for travel by specific network personnel, allowing on-site or other staff to handle device deployment by simply plugging in the cable.
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

"The integration of Cisco Catalyst Center is fine"
"Cisco Catalyst Center was flexible in terms of scalability, offering advanced security features and reliable performance."
"Cisco's technical support is excellent."
"Cisco Catalyst Center's reporting is one of the best features, providing graphs and quick hit analysis in one place instead of having to search elsewhere."
"Cisco Catalyst Center has greatly enhanced the user-friendliness of configuring Catalyst switches."
"Cisco Catalyst switches are reliable and stable."
"There is a lot of documentation for the platform, which is an advantage."
"I find Cisco Catalyst Center to be a great solution because their hardware is strong, and the platform is reliable."
"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."
"Otherwise, I think it is one of the better network products out there."
"The most valuable features are SNA and IP monitoring, and it has been very easy to define many thresholds, including self-defining baselines."
"The support has been excellent. It is far and away the best among the products that our team supports."
 

Cons

"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."
"It is a little more expensive."
"Current pricing is too expensive for features that users may not be sure they will use, pricing the company out of the market."
"The deployment process is pretty complex"
"Advanced hardware replacement services have seen a degradation in quality, with delays in replacement parts."
"The initial setup for Cisco Catalyst Center is not a simple process."
"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."
"There should be tighter cohesion between the web-based GUI and the command line configuration."
"The automation part could use improvement, but I do not do that much with it."
"I would like to see new release migrations made easier."
"I didn't think the SNMP function was easy to set up. That caused some problems with the address space."
"I think the liability of NetMaster is having to do things through the panels."
"I would like to see a web-based UI (major effort now in progress)."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
14%
Government
13%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Energy/Utilities Company
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise13
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Catalyst Center?
I am totally satisfied with the functionality, but we cannot discuss prices with Cisco.
What needs improvement with Cisco Catalyst Center?
My feedback about the web-based interface of Cisco Catalyst Center is that it is very good with no issues, but for some reasons, it is working poorly in Google Chrome, so I must use Firefox for bet...
What is your primary use case for Cisco Catalyst Center?
Cisco Catalyst Center is used for monitoring, troubleshooting, and management as the core of the network, and everything we do is in Catalyst.
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

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: April 2026.
894,738 professionals have used our research since 2012.