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Cisco DNA Center vs DX Spectrum comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 2024

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 DNA Center
Ranking in Network Management Applications
1st
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
13th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
41
Ranking in other categories
Network Automation (2nd)
DX Spectrum
Ranking in Network Management Applications
7th
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
20th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
117
Ranking in other categories
IT Infrastructure Monitoring (18th), Network Troubleshooting (6th), DX NetOps (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Network Management Applications category, the mindshare of Cisco DNA Center is 24.5%, down from 29.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of DX Spectrum is 2.8%, up from 2.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Management Applications
 

Featured Reviews

AvrahamSonenthal - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficiently manages our wireless network and provides valuable monitoring features
The platform's biggest benefit has been in managing our wireless network. Having a single pane of glass to control all wireless controllers and access points and to monitor activity has been a significant advantage. We're a small federal agency with around 300 network devices, so automation is a minor focus. It's more relevant for larger networks. The main benefits we've seen are in inventory management and the potential for configuration automation. However, I recommend using the DNA Centre only for larger networks with over a thousand devices; otherwise, it may not be cost-effective. Before proceeding, ensure that your devices are compatible with DNA Center, as not all Cisco devices are supported. Also, investing in proper training is different from plug-and-play. I rate it an eight.
DickBaker - PeerSpot reviewer
An all-inclusive monitoring solution that adapts to emerging technologies
The product helps to correlate events.  The solution's most valuable features are its integration with Broadcom tools and scalability. DX Spectrum needs better documentation on its complex features.  I have been using the product since 2005.  I rate DX Spectrum's stability an eight point five…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"People like to use the dashboards to get an overview of their network."
"It is simple to manage and it is all done from a single dashboard."
"Automation is another key highlight. With automation, you can automate everything through a single port."
"The most valuable features of the solution are all of its security features...It is a highly scalable solution."
"Cisco DNA Center provides operational support, compliance support, security vulnerability detection, and automatic scheduling."
"We have many people from the team who manage a lot of devices. By using Cisco DNA Center, it has taken some of that burden away, we are impressed with it. We did the investment in CAPEX, but in the OPEX was very low."
"Cisco is a leading network company."
"I think that their LAN automation is a very good feature."
"The integration point."
"The Global Collections are what I found to be most valuable. With the Global Collections, you're able to organize and categorize devices into "folders," or functional groups and categories, so that it doesn't matter which SpectroSERVER those devices are on."
"All networks (or network equipment) are monitored through CA Spectrum."
"The most valuable feature is the event correlation mechanism."
"Generally, I would recommend DX Spectrum because, despite its pricing issue, it is a valuable solution."
"It has a high-quality graphical interface."
"We can plan changes and replacement of end-of-life products in our environment very well because it's very accurate."
"​The stability of the product is key. It never breaks, really. The stability and reliability of the Spectrum product have been top-notch.​"
 

Cons

"The product has many features that do not work properly."
"The tool's deployment is complex. It also needs to improve its GUI."
"Requires more focus on the digital side of things."
"The product doesn’t have good monitoring capabilities."
"The task failure reporting or provisioning failure reporting could be a little bit better in the UI, with more information given to the user."
"The solution's setup process needs enhancement."
"We encountered issues with their response times, which had a big impact on our workflow."
"When it comes to deploying wireless fields, integrating defaults into the DNS interface can be challenging."
"It takes some time to learn how to use this solution."
"DX Spectrum should have an automatic ticketing mechanism with ServiceNow."
"We want to make our own choice for the AIOps solution and do not want to be forced to use the Broadcom OI solution by default."
"DX Spectrum needs to incorporate faster support."
"The solution could improve by allowing the ability to monitor the network shortly after installing the software and adding an auto-discovery function."
"The upgrade process could be smoother. More of the steps around upgrading could be automated."
"We have a lot of different monitoring tools in the background, so orchestration has been a little bit of a challenge."
"Its visualization can be improved. It doesn't have a very advanced GUI. It is very basic and simple, but it does work."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We have a three-year license with them."
"The solution is a little bit expensive but depends a lot on the customer's usage. If you use it in the right place, you can easily pay for it."
"The licensing cost for Cisco DNA Center is not more than that of other solutions."
"The price of the solution is expensive. The hardware is licensed on the device, but the hardware on the server is expensive."
"It is an expensive solution."
"Our licensing agreement is for three years."
"The price could be better. It's a very expensive tool."
"Licensing for Cisco DNA Center is a little bit expensive, just like any Cisco solution. Its cost could still be improved."
"Since the acquisition by Broadcom, we have not had such a good experience with licensing and pricing. Since they were bought by Broadcom, every sales contract is getting complicated. It's very complicated, and it's much more expensive than before. It's not a good pricing strategy from Broadcom."
"The product, support, and maintenance are all expensive, which is another reason that we are switching to another solution."
"In general, the license cost will be about 30% of the total TCO for this tool (hardware/support team, OS costs, and OS management)."
"DX Spectrum's pricing depends on the license number. It is affordable."
"DX Spectrum's pricing is neither expensive nor cheap."
"The solution's pricing could be better."
"The price is good enough to expect an ideal solution. It's expensive."
"The price is very high."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Financial Services Firm
20%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco DNA Center?
The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that it gives some kind of ease in operations, especially since our company is moving from CLI to GUI-based configuration.
What needs improvement with Cisco DNA Center?
The system is working fine for me currently.
What do you like most about DX Spectrum?
The solution's most valuable features are its integration with Broadcom tools and scalability.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for DX Spectrum?
The price of DX Spectrum is not competitive when compared to other solutions, such as SolarWinds. The high price has caused us to lose many deals.
What needs improvement with DX Spectrum?
I would like to see improvements in making the interface more user-friendly. Many people find it not simple to use. One of the common customer complaints is about the alarm notifications. Currently...
 

Also Known As

DNA Center
CA Spectrum
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
National Informatics Centre India, Banese, Olympus, AlphaServe Technologies, Sicredi
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco DNA Center vs. DX Spectrum and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
856,873 professionals have used our research since 2012.