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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 #28 with an average rating of 8.1, while Broadcom is ranked #37 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
  • 998 Views
  • 958 Comparison Views
92% willing to recommend
vRealize Network Insight
Read 47 vRealize Network Insight reviews
  • 1,826 Views
  • 1,278 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: November 2025).
Buyer's Guide
Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs. vRealize Network Insight
November 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
28th
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
37th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.0
Number of Reviews
47
Ranking in other categories
IT Infrastructure Monitoring (39th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2025, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) is 0.6%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of vRealize Network Insight is 0.6%, down from 0.8% 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

"The monitoring capability is the best in Cisco Data Center Network Manager. It helps me improve network management tasks and optimize processes."
"The product has excellent stability."
"The feature I find most valuable, is the stability of the solution."
"Stability is not an issue."
"Automation of the ILS."
"It uses push technology, which pushes the changes to all relevant devices to ensure they are updated accordingly."
"The most valuable feature is the connectivity monitoring."
"Monitoring system provides a clear indication of what's going on in the network."
More Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) pros
"The gradual way the Network Insight shows you all the relevant information about your networks. It's pretty good. You can really dig deep deep inside and see where the problem is, where it comes from, what you have inside, how did you configure it. Also, it has alerts so you can have pretty much quite a big overview about your network. This is really something good."
"It has enabled us to set up and do application discovery, as far as network traffic is concerned, and set up the appropriate rules that we need to make sure we're compliant with our security frameworks."
"It provides deep visibility into what is happening with traffic and helps us manage our network."
"It allows us to go from virtual through NSX, up to the core, and see all of that in one pane of glass, it's pretty easy."
"The most valuable features are the packet trace flow and that the view of the whole environment is deep."
"The solution helps reduce time to value, increase performance, provide deep visibility, and easily manage networks."
"I like being able to see the flows coming in and out of the product. In terms of monitoring network flows, we use it to verify whether or not different servers/applications should be communicating with each other."
"The solution is extremely intuitive and user-friendly. When you log in to the application you are presented with a dashboard that is very reasonable for an initial user, and you can then customize it to your specific needs. But for all the data that we've found, we've only had to go through two or three drill-downs to get into that information."
More vRealize Network Insight pros
 

Cons

"The visibility of applications is not great."
"Automation for the RMA process can be added."
"If the customer thinks about using additional solutions, Cisco should make sure they are not left out."
"The solution needs to improve reports."
"The initial setup is challenging."
"Could integrate better with VMware products."
"API lacks robustness."
"The reporting is not very intuitive and has room for improvement."
More Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) cons
"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."
"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."
"There is room for improvement when it comes to pricing because we pay here in Brazil, and all the costs are based on the dollar."
"The solution can be improved by making it more compatible with other brands, allowing for better integration."
"If it were more application-aware, more descriptive; if it were able to determine the application that is actually doing the communication, that would be easier. More application information: which user or account it's accessing, is it accessing this application, doing these calls, if it is accessing a script, what script is it accessing. Things like that would provide deeper analytics so I can track what's going on. It would not just be, "These people shouldn't be talking," but who is actually doing these calls."
"It just needs to be more reliable and more accurate. At some point, there are some things where it does not match properly."
"The compatibility with each and every component of the infrastructure is the main thing that I am looking for. I would like them to make sure that it's compatible with different kinds of storage systems, etc. I have seen the compatibility list. I feel it can be more compatible than it is right now."
"While it's not exactly a feature, what normally happens when we are trying to look at the VM flow portion is - although Network Insight does have options to integrate a few physical switches into it - we can't really get an end-to-end flow of the network. We might be using a few switches that are not supported by Network Insight. That is where they can improve, in the support for more physical switches and network devices."
More vRealize Network Insight cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I would say that the pricing offers great value for the money."
"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 product is licensed with contracts that work on a yearly basis rather than a monthly model."
"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."
"The solution is very expensive."
"The price of Cisco Data Center Network Manager is expensive compared to other vendors on the market."
"When we purchase a Nexus box, the MDS CM license comes with it."
"On average, Data Center Network Manager's pricing isn't too costly unless you choose a premier license."
"vRealize Network Insight is expensive."
"I rate vRealize Network Insight's pricing a seven point five out of ten."
"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."
"They should include the product in NSX because it's important to have it for deployment."
"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."
"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 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 has brought more money into our company."
More vRealize Network Insight pricing and cost advice
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
13%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Healthcare Company
7%
 

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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SolarWinds Network Automation Manager vs Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM)
Compared 13% 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 11% of the time
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Icinga vs Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM)
Compared 8% of the time
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Alluvio AppResponse vs vRealize Network Insight Logo
Alluvio AppResponse vs vRealize Network Insight
Compared 25% of the time
VMware Aria Operations for Applications vs vRealize Network Insight Logo
VMware Aria Operations for Applications vs vRealize Network Insight
Compared 16% of the time
DX NetOps vs vRealize Network Insight Logo
DX NetOps vs vRealize Network Insight
Compared 13% of the time
Goliath Performance Monitor vs vRealize Network Insight Logo
Goliath Performance Monitor 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)
November 2025
Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) reportDownload Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) product report
Buyer's Guide
vRealize Network Insight
October 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
November 2025
Free Report: Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs. vRealize Network Insight
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