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Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs vRealize Network Insight comparison

Cisco and Broadcom are both solutions in the Network Monitoring Software category. Cisco is ranked #18 with an average rating of 8.2, while Broadcom is ranked #40 with an average rating of 8.3. Cisco holds a 0.6% mindshare in NMS, compared to Broadcom’s 0.6% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 89% of Broadcom users who would recommend it.
Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabri...
Read 25 Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) reviews
  • 887 Views
  • 860 Comparison Views
92% willing to recommend
vRealize Network Insight
Read 47 vRealize Network Insight reviews
  • 1,764 Views
  • 1,270 Comparison Views
89% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 2024

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller and vRealize Network Insight are network management solutions. Cisco is favored for its pricing and support, while vRealize is noted for its robust features.

Features: Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller includes stability and automation capabilities, offering efficient management of Nexus networks. It integrates with security tools and provides graphical connectivity views. Automation is supported through multiple programming tools. vRealize Network Insight is valued for its network flow visualization and troubleshooting ease. Users find its dashboards user-friendly, allowing exploration of network interactions.

Room for Improvement: Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller users seek easier configurations and better integration with third-party tools. There is feedback on technical complexity and a need for stronger reporting features. API robustness is also mentioned. vRealize Network Insight could improve on integration with physical hardware and third-party systems. Users also indicate a need for better user education to utilize its full capabilities.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Deployment for both focuses on on-premises environments, with Cisco offering private cloud options. Cisco’s support is generally positive, though there's feedback requesting improved operational support. User experiences with Cisco support vary. vRealize Network Insight offers strong technical support but could improve support for complex third-party integrations.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller is considered expensive but offers significant ROI, appreciated for its transparent cost structure. vRealize Network Insight faces critiques on high costs due to per device pricing but is valued for its visualization capabilities and operational insights.

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To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs. vRealize Network Insight Report (Updated: September 2025).
Buyer's Guide
Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs. vRealize Network Insight
September 2025
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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

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabri...
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
18th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
vRealize Network Insight
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
40th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.0
Number of Reviews
47
Ranking in other categories
IT Infrastructure Monitoring (41st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) is 0.6%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of vRealize Network Insight is 0.6%, down from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Monitoring Software Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM)0.6%
vRealize Network Insight0.6%
Other98.8%
Network Monitoring Software
 

Featured Reviews

Upul Abhayasena - PeerSpot reviewer
Robust management tool with an easy setup and room for more features
DCNM is used by one of the airline customers in Qatar to manage many data centers and rack switches running on normal Nexus or NX-OS mode. They required a controller platform to manage these Nexus switches, and thus, they utilized DCNM as a Fabric controller. Given that ACI deployment is very low…
Read full review
Shaijith KB - PeerSpot reviewer
Comprehensive management and detailed reports benefit operations while improvements are needed in support and maintenance
We have Tanzu and OpenShift. We have OpenShift, Canonical, and the Tanzu one. The Tanzu platform from VMware is a Kubernetes platform. We haven't completely installed Tanzu yet; we installed the vROps part. vRealize Network Insight is beneficial because you can control the East-West traffic. vRealize has a component called NSX, which has East-West traffic controlling and micro-segmentation, that is one of the best options, and we have the layer extension, layer 2 extension possible through NSX. If you have anything accountable in any business, even in a candy business, having proper accountability on what you are selling and buying will save a lot. If you don't know what you're selling and buying, you will end up with a loss. My team does not use the flow analytics feature; we have a security and network monitoring team, which is a different SOC team. I am using it as an administrator internally. We perform different tasks including costing analysis, capacity management, and many other things. vRealize Network Insight has a concern about the maintenance part, as it requires a person to monitor it completely. It's not something you install and your report will be generated automatically. You have to work on this properly to get the insights. vRealize Network Automation, vRealize Operations, and vRealize Network Insight are completely related to the network. I cannot say much about these network aspects because I am on the operations side, but overall, the vRealize suite is good for reporting perspective or any ISO-related documentation; this is very helpful. The product is called vRealize Operations Manager, and now it is referred to as Aria or vAria. I am now a Senior System Specialist. We use different metrics because we have multiple departments, and we can monitor utilization and comparisons with the previous year. On a scale of one to ten, I rate this solution a seven.
Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Stability is not an issue."
"The interface of this solution is easy to use overall."
"The feature I find most valuable, is the stability of the solution."
"It has a very nice dashboard so you can see what's currently happening in the network and the performance of the back story."
"You can integrate all the networks into the software."
"I like that is easy to work on and straightforward."
"I like running the scripts. With the help of a Python script, we deployed within the configuration and built up the code."
"Fabric suite automation is a great feature."
More Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) pros
"By doing dependency mapping, it makes migrations more efficient. There are less outages that require engineers to spend additional hours troubleshooting the migration failures."
"It's a very powerful, very manageable product."
"The tool's ease of configuration and use and the availability of information and artifacts through professional services and the web are key factors that customers find valuable."
"What's valuable to us is the ability to get a view into the virtual space, which is something we haven't had before. Before, it was done by collecting from network endpoints and extrapolating into the virtual environment. Now it's coming directly from the virtual environment."
"A lot of time is saved when you use this type of software solution for the network. We have moved systems into the new data center and the servers and systems are much faster because of the very low latency between virtual machines."
"The most valuable features are the monitoring and tracking. It's also intuitive and user-friendly. The screen looks exactly the same as the other appliances for VMware, so it's easy to navigate."
"The solution has helped improve our organization by directing the network traffic using SDN."
"If we deploy NSX it shows us how the workflow will flow in the organization, what the roadblocks are, and what we need to do to overcome those hurdles. When we run this product, it gives us reports which describe problems with physical switches. We work with the network team to get them all resolved."
More vRealize Network Insight pros
 

Cons

"Automation for the RMA process can be added."
"The automation feature could be improved."
"The reporting is not very intuitive and has room for improvement."
"Could integrate better with VMware products."
"More integration features would be beneficial."
"If the customer thinks about using additional solutions, Cisco should make sure they are not left out."
"It's very costly."
"One of the biggest challenges is that we aren't always able to push the configuration onto the target device. Whenever this happens, we have to do a factory reset, put on the script, and then reconfigure it again. In the next release, I would like to have a troubleshooting feature."
More Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) cons
"I'd like to see better support for being able to search the hardware NetFlow data. It ingests fairly well, but you can't tell, in a lot of cases, what source the data came from. I'd like to see more support for picking specific sources. That way you could really make a compelling use case. There are also some difficulties where it can't exactly trace the path between source and destination but if you hit the reverse flow on the same search it shows the entire path."
"The UI, even though once you get to know it, it's easier, still it's hard to figure out by yourself. You have to go read, watch videos. It has a lot of data on it. So that is an issue."
"The IT infrastructure industry is expected to evolve towards a hybrid cloud model in the next five to ten years. In this model, most of the customer's resources reside on-premise within a private cloud setup, such as VMware. Another segment operates within public cloud environments like Azure and AWS, and a portion remains in traditional data centers. There should be seamless interoperability between public and private clouds. AWS and VMware need to work together to make it possible. Whether users interact with on-premise infrastructure or configure resources in the public cloud, the user experience must be seamless."
"The solution can be improved by making it more compatible with other brands, allowing for better integration."
"vRNI needs more remediation where it hooks into NSX."
"I would like to see more reporting features, more dashboards."
"There is room for improvement as not all cases are getting resolved, and we often do not get L3 support directly, having to go through L1 and L2, resulting in delays that usually are a headache for us."
"It needs to be a little easier to use and to understand the information it's putting out. That would make it more helpful. If you're not a network person you need to understand things like network policies and concepts. If you gave it to a regular admin, it would be nice if it were easier for them to pick up what is going on, understand the flows and whether or not stuff should be talking to each other, as opposed to just port groups and IP addresses."
More vRealize Network Insight cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"When we purchase a Nexus box, the MDS CM license comes with it."
"I would say that the pricing offers great value for the money."
"On average, Data Center Network Manager's pricing isn't too costly unless you choose a premier license."
"The tool is always expensive, but their service, product quality, and support are good. We're happy with it, but it's still an expensive solution. There are cheaper alternatives but no similar platform across all domains."
"We usually opt for a yearly plan, commonly for three or five years upfront. Some customers may not utilize all the features included in the product, and this can lead to them paying for functionalities they don't need."
"The price of Cisco Data Center Network Manager is expensive compared to other vendors on the market."
"The product is licensed with contracts that work on a yearly basis rather than a monthly model."
"The solution is very expensive."
"It reduces costs. It takes something that may be challenging and makes it more usable and visual by being able to bring in tools, seeing what their impact is, such as microsegmentation and application rationalization, and seeing it quickly."
"It's an expensive product because we have a lot of nodes."
"The solution has reduced the time that we spend on other products. For example, with NSX, we were able to quickly find things that we would normally spend days trying to figure out."
"We have spent less time investigating network flows, so it is absolutely cost-effective."
"The solution has helped us to reduce time, increase performance, reduce costs, and even easily manage networks. We are probably seeing 10 to 20 percent labor savings because we are able to be very specific and focused on what we want to do. It ends up saving the customer money and makes us be more efficient on our cost deliveries."
"Cost always has room for improvement, you could always make it cheaper. But I think it's a good value for what you pay for it."
"It's a little expensive, but for what you're getting out of the product, you often see the trade-off. It depends on the type of licensing you have. It might be a little too pricey for some."
"vRealize Network Insight is expensive."
More vRealize Network Insight pricing and cost advice
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Healthcare Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise15
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise41
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco Data Center Network Manager?
It uses push technology, which pushes the changes to all relevant devices to ensure they are updated accordingly.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Data Center Network Manager?
The tool is always expensive, but their service, product quality, and support are good. We're happy with it, but it's still an expensive solution. There are cheaper alternatives but no similar plat...
See all answers
What needs improvement with Cisco Data Center Network Manager?
In a mixed architecture where Nexus switches are used as border devices and are connected to a Palo Alto firewall (e.g., version 9.1 or 10.1), you might encounter issues with BGP peering. For insta...
See all answers
What do you like most about vRealize Network Insight?
The tool's ease of configuration and use and the availability of information and artifacts through professional services and the web are key factors that customers find valuable.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for vRealize Network Insight?
In VMware you have to buy a separate license for it. We have VVF and VCF-type of licenses, and if you want to go with this NSX and sort of higher-end professional services, you need to go with VCF....
See all answers
What needs improvement with vRealize Network Insight?
There is room for improvement as not all cases are getting resolved, and we often do not get L3 support directly, having to go through L1 and L2, resulting in delays that usually are a headache for...
See all answers
 

Comparisons

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Zabbix vs Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM)
Compared 15% of the time
SolarWinds Network Automation Manager vs Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) Logo
SolarWinds Network Automation Manager vs Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM)
Compared 12% of the time
SolarWinds NPM vs Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) Logo
SolarWinds NPM vs Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM)
Compared 9% of the time
Icinga vs Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) Logo
Icinga vs Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM)
Compared 9% of the time
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Alluvio AppResponse vs vRealize Network Insight Logo
Alluvio AppResponse vs vRealize Network Insight
Compared 22% of the time
VMware Aria Operations for Applications vs vRealize Network Insight Logo
VMware Aria Operations for Applications vs vRealize Network Insight
Compared 13% of the time
DX NetOps vs vRealize Network Insight Logo
DX NetOps vs vRealize Network Insight
Compared 13% of the time
SolarWinds NPM vs vRealize Network Insight Logo
SolarWinds NPM vs vRealize Network Insight
Compared 12% of the time
Cisco Intersight vs vRealize Network Insight Logo
Cisco Intersight vs vRealize Network Insight
Compared 9% of the time
More vRealize Network Insight Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM)
September 2025
Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) reportDownload Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) product report
Buyer's Guide
vRealize Network Insight
August 2025
vRealize Network Insight reportDownload vRealize Network Insight product report
 

Also Known As

Cisco Data Center Network Manager
Arkin
 

Overview

The Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (NDFC) offers a comprehensive solution for managing Cisco NX-OS switches in hybrid-cloud environments, providing automation, visibility, and consistent operations. Designed to simplify and enhance data center management, NDFC integrates with Cisco Nexus Dashboard to streamline network connectivity, reduce deployment times, and ensure seamless transitions with minimal disruptions. Its modular architecture, new user interface, and support for non-Nexus OS platforms make it a robust tool for LAN, SAN, and IP Fabric for Media management. Additionally, NDFC enhances fabric reliability, automates workflows, and supports cloud connectivity with AWS and Microsoft Azure, making it ideal for businesses adapting to increasingly complex digital environments.

Cisco

VMware vRealize Network Insight delivers intelligent operations for software-defined networking and security. It helps customers build an optimized, highly-available and secure network infrastructure across multi-cloud environments. It accelerates micro-segmentation planning and deployment, enables visibility across virtual and physical networks and provides operational views to manage and scale VMware NSX deployments.

Broadcom
 

Sample Customers

Banco de Guayaquil, Cox Communications, Kuwait Petroleum Italia, Roper St. Francis, University of British Columbia
NTTi3, VCIX-NV, VMware Networking and Security Business Unit, Illumio, CompuNet
Buyer's Guide
Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs. vRealize Network Insight
September 2025
Free Report: Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs. vRealize Network Insight
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