Cisco DNA Center vs Huawei eSight comparison

Cisco and Huawei are both solutions in the Network Management Applications category. Cisco is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.0, while Huawei is ranked #9 with an average rating of 8.7. Cisco holds a 25.1% mindshare in NMA, compared to Huawei’s 5.0% mindshare. Additionally, 89% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 72% of Huawei users who would recommend it.

Cisco DNA Center

Read 41 Cisco DNA Center reviews

6,085 Views
3,733 Comparison Views

89% willing to recommend

Huawei eSight

Read 10 Huawei eSight reviews

990 Views
716 Comparison Views

72% willing to recommend

Cisco DNA Center

Huawei eSight

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 2, 2025

Huawei eSight and Cisco DNA Center are competing in the network management solutions category. Cisco DNA Center appears to have the upper hand with its comprehensive features offering superior functionality at a justified price point.

Features: Huawei eSight provides multi-vendor support and efficient resource management while offering cost-effective solutions. Additional features include hardware alarms and real-time location monitoring. Cisco DNA Center stands out with advanced automation, analytics capabilities, and seamless device management, including a centralized software-defined access network and robust wireless assurance.

Room for Improvement: Huawei eSight could enhance its customer support services and simplify its interface further. Its integration capabilities with non-Huawei products also require improvement. Additionally, expanding its security features would be beneficial. Cisco DNA Center might simplify its configuration options for less experienced users, increase integration with non-Cisco devices, and enhance its training materials to assist new users in mastering its features.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco DNA Center offers a streamlined deployment model and excellent customer service, facilitating smooth implementation and support. Huawei eSight presents competitive deployment options but does not match the level of service experience provided by Cisco, impacting the ease of implementation and ongoing support quality.

Pricing and ROI: Huawei eSight is noted for being cost-effective, providing upfront savings and promising ROI, making it appealing to budget-conscious buyers. Cisco DNA Center, though with higher setup costs, delivers long-term value through its extensive feature set and operational efficiencies, promising better ROI over time based on its comprehensive functionality.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco DNA Center vs. Huawei eSight Report (Updated: April 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco DNA Center vs. Huawei eSight

April 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 DNA Center

Ranking in Network Management Applications

1st

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Monitoring Software (12th), Network Automation (2nd)

Huawei eSight

Ranking in Network Management Applications

9th

Average Rating

7.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

IT Infrastructure Monitoring (34th)

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Network Management Applications category, the mindshare of Cisco DNA Center is 25.1%, down from 29.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Huawei eSight is 5.0%, down from 5.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Management Applications

Featured Reviews

AvrahamSonenthal

Senior Network Engineer at Inside Global

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.

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Gary Strydom

Desktop Analyst at Transnet

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.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution has the capability to scale."

"It gives us automation capabilities for pushing out the configuration to branch networks. It also provides visibility into the health of user network devices."

"The solution helps in user microsegmentation."

"The best feature of Cisco DNA Center is the visibility page, where you can see everything on the dashboard, and you don't have to be a technical person to view the issues."

"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. Cisco DNA Center is suitable for centralized management and lets you deploy switches in a centralized fashion. You can also do multiple switch port configurations simultaneously and segregate your traffic into multiple fabrics. Another valuable feature of Cisco DNA Center is enhanced security through Scalable Group Tags. Cisco DNA Center can be integrated with your Cisco ISE to enhance the port securities, and this paves the way for Software-Defined Networking in the LAN segment, which is the main advantage of Cisco DNA Center. I also like that you can use Cisco DNA Center for data assurance or correlation. The solution shows your network and client health parameters, which I find convenient for troubleshooting."

"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 DNA Center is a user-friendly solution."

"Cisco VXLAN is a protocol that has been around for some time, but the practical implementation and operational capability of Cisco DNA Center bring it to life."

More Cisco DNA Center pros

"The most important features are alarm management and the visualization of the health of our network devices."

"The product is stable."

"We use Huawei eSight to monitor devices like Wi-Fi controllers, LAN switches, and routers."

"I like the real-time location monitor or RTLS feature. It is similar to the monitoring feature in Cisco Prime."

"I like that it supports all our Huawei devices. Unlike other network monitoring tools that monitor Huawei devices, it provides more details when it comes to monitoring or management. We can get complete details about the devices, and management is also simple."

"The solution's most valuable dashboard features include monitoring storage, resource availability, and hardware alarms."

"Huawei eSight provides businesses with monitoring capabilities of network devices across your network."

"eSight allows me to monitor and solve any problem in the backbone and any switch in real-time."

More Huawei eSight pros

Cons

"There should be an option for automation of template deployment by using the stored data. It is not easy to save configuration information for lots of devices without using other tools. There should be a tighter, better repository of information that can be merged with the templates."

"The cost is very high."

"They can improve the network visibility. Licensing and its maintenance are also needed."

"The product has many features that do not work properly."

"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."

"As a user, it would be good if I could plug in controllers, suites, and devices from other vendors to Cisco DNA Center."

"The features of Cisco DNA Center and Cisco Prime could have more parity."

"The solution's integration feature can be better."

More Cisco DNA Center cons

"Huawei eSight should work on the option to have the email notification working on Office 365 Exchange."

"This solution could be improved by offering monitoring for all devices and not only Huawei devices."

"It is not a very flexible product."

"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 price could be less costly."

"eSight has many features and options, but sometimes, we feel that it should be more advanced, like Cisco. It would be good if they can enable some automation part in eSight. Most of our customers want automation in their network. They don't want a dependency on everything. That's why the automation part must be improved in Huawei. It will be beneficial for customers. Cisco has different products, and there are multiple products for monitoring, automation, etc. In the software-defined network, Cisco has ACI, and VMware has NSX. Such options must be there in Huawei to move to a software-defined network. Unlike Cisco, in the case of eSight, there is only one product. I am not aware of any other product. It would be good to enhance it with at least some automation options so that we can use it effectively in the campus network or big data center environment. When I implemented this Huawei solution, I faced some limitations in particular areas like wireless scanning. This is another part that they can improve. Wireless reporting option is not as effective as other monitoring solutions. For a particular use case, if a customer is asking for some reports, sometimes they are not 100% satisfactory. The reporting structure must be improved."

"The variety of license types should be made simpler as, at present, it is complex."

"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."

More Huawei eSight cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I do know that Cisco does offer some really good promotions for DNA Center to bring the costs down."

"It is an expensive solution."

"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."

"I would rate the pricing a six out of ten, with ten being expensive."

"Cisco DNA Center is expensive."

"The partnership price is notably high, but it ultimately depends on the chosen business model."

"We have a three-year license with them."

"Licensing for Cisco DNA Center is a little bit expensive, just like any Cisco solution. Its cost could still be improved."

More Cisco DNA Center pricing and cost advice

"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 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."

"The price is very expensive."

"The solution’s pricing is reasonable."

"Pricing depends on the competition. If your competitor is like Cisco, then Huawei is much more competitive when it comes to pricing."

"I would rate this solution a nine out of ten for pricing. The pricing depends on which features you use and can become expensive."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

17%

Government

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

20%

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

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.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco DNA Center?

The cost is very high.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Cisco DNA Center?

The system is working fine for me currently.

See all answers

What do you like most about Huawei eSight?

We use Huawei eSight to monitor devices like Wi-Fi controllers, LAN switches, and routers.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Huawei eSight?

Huawei eSight should work on the option to have the email notification working on Office 365 Exchange.

See all answers

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...

See all answers

Comparisons

Cisco Catalyst Center vs Cisco DNA Center

Compared 11% of the time

Juniper Mist Wired Assurance vs Cisco DNA Center

Compared 7% of the time

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager vs Cisco DNA Center

Compared 6% of the time

Fortinet FortiManager vs Cisco DNA Center

Compared 6% of the time

HPE Intelligent Management Center vs Cisco DNA Center

Compared 4% of the time

More Cisco DNA Center Competitors

Zabbix vs Huawei eSight

Compared 26% of the time

SolarWinds NPM vs Huawei eSight

Compared 9% of the time

PRTG Network Monitor vs Huawei eSight

Compared 7% of the time

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager vs Huawei eSight

Compared 6% of the time

H3C intelligent Management Center vs Huawei eSight

Compared 5% of the time

More Huawei eSight Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco DNA Center

April 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Network Management Applications

April 2025

Download Huawei eSight product report

Also Known As

DNA Center

No data available

Overview

Cisco DNA Center offers a comprehensive platform for network automation and management, providing detailed analytics, enhanced security, and streamlined operations for both wired and wireless networks.

Cisco DNA Center integrates with Cisco infrastructure to deliver efficient network automation and management, helping organizations improve network visibility, security, and control. It supports AI-driven analytics and automated workflows to enhance operational efficiency and reduce errors. Challenges include compatibility with third-party systems, steep learning curve, and complex deployment. Its interface facilitates centralized control, vital for troubleshooting, policy management, and configuration management, with support for zero-touch provisioning and SD-Access.

What are the key features of Cisco DNA Center?

Robust Analytics: Provides detailed insights into network health with AI-driven analytics.
Centralized Security: Integrates with ISE for comprehensive security management.
Automated Device Management: Simplifies device provisioning and configuration transfers.
Wi-Fi Analytics: Offers deep insights into wireless network performance.
Zero-Touch Provisioning: Streamlines new device deployments with minimal human intervention.
Scalable Segmentation: Efficiently segments network traffic ensuring security and performance.

What benefits should users consider?

Operational Efficiency: Automation reduces potential errors and streamlines workflow.
Enhanced Security: Integration with Cisco ISE bolsters security capabilities.
Network Visibility: Comprehensive dashboards and analysis tools enhance monitoring.
Troubleshooting: Real-time monitoring aids in identifying and resolving issues swiftly.

In sectors such as healthcare, finance, and retail, Cisco DNA Center is utilized for its ability to enhance security and compliance, manage large-scale networks, and provide detailed analytics for better operational decision-making. Its support for location tracking and policy automation ensures efficient network management across diverse environments.

Cisco

Huawei's eSight is a unified software suite for planning, operating, and maintaining complex enterprise ICT infrastructure from global, converged networks and data centers to multimedia and video communications that includes the facilities necessary for delivering performance and IT services. eSight provides a platform that supports infrastructure and devices from third-party providers, to develop custom management applications and improves O&M efficiency.

Huawei

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Marina Bay, CITIC Pacific Mining

Buyer's Guide

Cisco DNA Center vs. Huawei eSight

April 2025

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