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Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs Huawei eSight 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 SD-WAN
Ranking in Network Management Applications
4th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
96
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (2nd), WAN Edge (2nd)
Huawei eSight
Ranking in Network Management Applications
9th
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
IT Infrastructure Monitoring (40th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Network Management Applications category, the mindshare of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN is 2.6%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Huawei eSight is 4.7%, down from 5.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Management Applications
 

Featured Reviews

Henry Rosenstiehl - PeerSpot reviewer
Comprehensive support and ease of implementation enhance operational efficiency
With Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN, I have centralized orchestration and management. The transport independence of MPLS or connectivity and internet connectivity is another excellent feature. End-to-end segmentation is also provided. I use the application-aware routing feature. Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN supports dynamic police-based routing decisions based on application type or different performance metrics such as jitter or latency. The benefit of that feature is that it improves user experience. The principal benefit of application-aware routing is that critical applications are prioritized or routed over the best performing paths to reduce outages and service degradation. There is full visibility of applications. Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN has integrated security features which include base firewall, URL filtering, IPS, and secure segmentation, and it supports integration with other Cisco products such as Umbrella or Snort. This feature is beneficial for the client because the information is secure. It is important that Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN supports cloud, on-premises, and hybrid environments for my organization because it allows for scalability and faster deployment in the cloud. It reduces operational needs because I don't need to manage physical controller hardware, and updates and maintenance can be centralized and automated. The zero-touch provisioning feature is very important for the speed of deploying new branch locations. I can deliver the device to the branch, and it is important because simplified deployment makes the implementation start more easily since devices are auto-configured and authenticate without manual intervention.
Gary Strydom - PeerSpot reviewer
Used to monitor devices and provides the hardware alarms feature
Huawei eSight has helped me overcome many monitoring aspects of the hardware. From a single view, I can monitor all the hardware. Instead of logging on to each piece of hardware and monitoring it individually, I can monitor them from one single point. I would recommend the solution to other users because it provides a single point of view of the hardware. Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution provides good consolidation, centralization, and manageability for edge routers."
"It is very stable."
"The scalability is the most valuable feature."
"Cisco SD-WAN is a highly stable solution."
"So far, the feature that I like best is the policy configuration manager."
"If one of your ISPs goes down or has latency in your environment, Cisco SD-WAN will detect the issue and explain why the ISP is down."
"The deployment is quite simple and straightforward."
"The primary advantage we've observed is the simplification of deployment, leading to decreased IT costs and enhanced operational efficiency."
"One of the most beneficial features of Huawei eSight is its simplicity and ease of use."
"eSight allows me to monitor and solve any problem in the backbone and any switch in real-time."
"I like the real-time location monitor or RTLS feature. It is similar to the monitoring feature in Cisco Prime."
"The product is stable."
"We use Huawei eSight to monitor devices like Wi-Fi controllers, LAN switches, and routers."
"We can scale the solution."
"Huawei eSight provides businesses with monitoring capabilities of network devices across your network."
"The most important features are alarm management and the visualization of the health of our network devices."
 

Cons

"Since Cisco acquired Viptela, the stability of this solution has given problems since it is quite new."
"Some competitors are much faster in providing out-of-the-box solutions, more innovative solutions. In terms of innovation, in many cases, they're lagging behind."
"The product's application delivery feature needs improvement."
"The client portal needs to be improved in order to make the solution much better."
"The solution should be more user-friendly."
"We had some issues with Cisco SD-WAN but somehow we troubleshot it and things are going well. The issues have not been a large problem."
"Cisco could do more to offer bundling of the SD-WAN and other solutions."
"If you don't have an in-house design team or outsource to a third party with expertise, the setup will be difficult."
"It is not a very flexible product."
"This solution could be improved by offering monitoring for all devices and not only Huawei devices."
"It will be better if they can make the simple network topology part more presentable. It would also be better if they had API integration and integration with third-party devices."
"The solution and the operating system come separately. It would be easier if we did not have to deploy anything. A bundle feature would be better."
"Something that could be improved is the lack of integration with Cisco switches. In the next release, I would like to see better reporting."
"Huawei eSight should work on the option to have the email notification working on Office 365 Exchange."
"The solution needs to improve it's user interface to make it more modern and stylish. They need to design proper menu positions, features, etc. Right now the layout is complicated."
"The variety of license types should be made simpler as, at present, it is complex."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is fair, and it's on par with the market vendors. But based on the competition, Cisco could work on the pricing, go deep on discounts and provide more commercially viable solutions to customers."
"The solution is quite expensive so it is important to enhance its cost efficiency."
"For 600 links, the license for Cisco SD-WAN costs us US$250k a year."
"Cisco's pricing is not entirely satisfactory when you compare the SD-WAN solutions in Asian markets — like the South Asian market in Sri Lanka — because there are several competing brands including Fortinet and Citrix, who provide much the same product for a generally lower price. And when it comes to firewall vendors like Palo Alto and SonicWall, they're also selling here. It's the same with VMware, too; they have much the same features."
"Cloud subscription management must be paid for, although this does not incur a perpetual fee."
"I give the price a seven out of ten."
"Cisco is more expensive than some competing products."
"The initial cost is quite significant, but the investment is worthwhile."
"The pricing for Huawei eSight is reasonable, especially with the base license and incremental licenses for additional devices. However, the variety of license types can be a bit complex. We used to sell eSight but switched to another solution, so we're not actively trading it anymore."
"Pricing depends on the competition. If your competitor is like Cisco, then Huawei is much more competitive when it comes to pricing."
"The solution’s pricing is reasonable."
"I would rate this solution a nine out of ten for pricing. The pricing depends on which features you use and can become expensive."
"Its pricing is better than any other Huawei product. Some products are cheaper in Huawei, and some products are cheaper in Cisco. Cisco has more benefits and options than Huawei if you consider different network environments."
"The price is very expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Computer Software Company
19%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco SD-WAN?
When considering the most valuable features of Cisco SD-WAN, the decoupling of self-monitoring stands out significantly.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco SD-WAN?
The pricing of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN is rated between eight and nine out of ten, where ten is the most expensive.
What needs improvement with Cisco SD-WAN?
Cisco can improve Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN by simplifying licensing and platform integration with other Cisco products such as Catalyst Center or solutions with Meraki. A license needs to be permanent...
What do you like most about Huawei eSight?
We use Huawei eSight to monitor devices like Wi-Fi controllers, LAN switches, and routers.
What needs improvement with Huawei eSight?
Huawei eSight should work on the option to have the email notification working on Office 365 Exchange.
What is your primary use case for Huawei eSight?
We use the solution to monitor the hardware environment of our data center. We mainly use Huawei eSight to monitor the devices. It assists in monitoring our devices in terms of utilization and moni...
 

Also Known As

Cisco SD-WAN
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Doyle Research, Ashton Metzler & Associates
Marina Bay, CITIC Pacific Mining
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs. Huawei eSight and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.