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Cisco DNA Center vs ExtraHop Reveal(x) for IT Operations 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 Monitoring Software
19th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.1
Number of Reviews
44
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (1st), Network Automation (2nd)
ExtraHop Reveal(x) for IT O...
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
71st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
Network Diagnostics (11th), IT Operations Analytics (14th), Network Packet Capture (6th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Cisco DNA Center is 0.8%, down from 1.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ExtraHop Reveal(x) for IT Operations is 0.6%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Monitoring Software Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco DNA Center0.8%
ExtraHop Reveal(x) for IT Operations0.6%
Other98.6%
Network Monitoring Software
 

Featured Reviews

Mahir Öztürk - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Engineer at NGN Bilgi ve İletişim Hizmetleri
Client history has helped resolve past network issues more efficiently
I mostly use the client history feature of Cisco DNA Center. I didn't use the real-time monitoring capability of Cisco DNA Center because I primarily used it for client history regarding issues and problems. I don't use it for real-time monitoring. If there is a problem, I can inspect the situation and see what is happening, which is beneficial.
Out West - PeerSpot reviewer
Project Manager and IT Management Consultant at a integrator with 1,001-5,000 employees
Great for identifying application interdependencies with helpful support but needs better visualizations
We're just trying to identify the application interdependencies, which normally reside on different servers, including web servers, database servers, enterprise service bus, et cetera, up to your presentation layer before we start moving stuff around. Normally, the reason why we use these tools is to understand what assets we have, where they're deployed, and how they enter and operate before we decide to go move something from point A to point B. The solution is going to allow me to establish a wave or migration plan where you have different waves of migration and then you actually have move groups to try and get your application moved from A to B seamlessly. A to B could be on-premise to on-premise. It could be on-premise to cloud. Et cetera. The solution can tell me what components can I deploy, for example, into a cloud space, without having to refactor my applications since that can be quite time-consuming and costly.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I like the visibility, instant build, network, policies, and the ability to control access. I also like that you can visualize your whole network."
"In terms of software-defined networking, I think it's an outstanding product."
"Automation is another key highlight. With automation, you can automate everything through a single port."
"The most valuable features were the monitoring, maintenance, and configuration."
"The biggest lesson that I have learned from working with this solution is that this technology is much easier now."
"What I found valuable in Cisco DNA Center is the Software-Defined Access Network, so the entire LAN network can be centralized and managed from a single dashboard."
"The automation features are significant, reducing configuration time. This means outstanding functionality. By deploying the controller automatically, the rest becomes automated"
"The solution has the capability to scale."
"The most valuable features are security detections, perimeter detection, dashboards, and alerts."
"The most valuable feature is the way it handles data, from Layer 2 up to Layer 7. We can see everything that happens in the network."
"It gives you full 360-degree visibility into your entire infrastructure."
"ExtraHop came out with the best price, and I think that it gives us a broader view of our network."
"Not only can you look at the protocol import level. It also has a live PCAP analysis."
"It's a must-have solution for large IT Operations, providing the ability to analyze infrastructure and application-related performance and data from the wire perspective."
"Wire data analytics."
"This solution is more applications reference architecture focused. Its benefit is that it specializes in that space."
 

Cons

"The tool's deployment is complex. It also needs to improve its GUI."
"They should include UTM features in the product."
"It would be helpful if it could be integrated with a variety of solutions, such as Meraki."
"When it comes to deploying wireless fields, integrating defaults into the DNS interface can be challenging."
"The pricing, setup cost, and licensing of Cisco DNA Center are expensive."
"An area that needs improvement is the integration with other vendors."
"What I want to see in Cisco DNA Center in the future is more support for other platforms so that you can manage third-party products, such as Fortinet."
"The solution's integration feature can be better."
"We'd like to see a local presence within the region in order to have seamless service whether it's the support, the implementation, or professional services."
"They either have to go broad or decide what their bread and butter is and get really good at that."
"The improvement that would make the most impact would be expanding on the new EXA big data back end."
"This solution would be improved if it had the ability to retain data longer."
"There is room for improvement in the security part. They have a new solution, ExtraHop Reveal(x), and I think it needs improvement."
"We've had some struggles getting it to see everything that we want to see. Network visibility is something that needs to be improved."
"I would improve the Rule-Based Access Control (RBAC) by providing granular access control to the data."
"The solution could get more aggressive in the discounting of the overall cost."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price could be better. It's a very expensive tool."
"The price of the solution is expensive. The hardware is licensed on the device, but the hardware on the server is expensive."
"The tool's licensing may not come across as something that may be friendly for users."
"Affordability is a problem because it's created for large enterprises only. So, some customers, even if their engineers want the solution, might have problems with budget limitations."
"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 solution is expensive."
"The tool is medium-priced."
"We have a three-year license with them."
"The pricing is higher than other solutions, but with such good features, I think it's worth it."
"The pricing is fair considering the value provided."
"The price of this solution for our environment is about £650,000 ($855,000 USD) for three years."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
13%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
17%
Construction Company
13%
Healthcare Company
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise24
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise3
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco DNA Center?
After evaluating other solutions, we will provide feedback.
What needs improvement with Cisco DNA Center?
The deployment of Cisco DNA Center was complex due to the fact that on the data center side, we have a Juniper infrastructure, which created some complexity, though not significant. The deployment ...
What is your primary use case for Cisco DNA Center?
In my organization, we currently have some Cisco devices such as access switches, and we also have infrastructure, but that is not part of our responsibility. We do not manage that infrastructure. ...
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

Also Known As

DNA Center
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Alaska Airlines, bet365, Concur, McKesson, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, Practice Fusion, Seattle Children's Hospital, Steward Health Care System
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco DNA Center vs. ExtraHop Reveal(x) for IT Operations and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
902,417 professionals have used our research since 2012.