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Cisco DNA Center vs Junos Space Network Director comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 2, 2025

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
42
Ranking in other categories
Network Monitoring Software (12th), Network Automation (2nd)
Junos Space Network Director
Ranking in Network Management Applications
12th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Network Management Applications category, the mindshare of Cisco DNA Center is 24.0%, down from 29.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Junos Space Network Director is 3.3%, down from 3.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Management Applications
 

Featured Reviews

Ahmed  Helmy - PeerSpot reviewer
Experience unified visibility and monitoring for enterprise campus and significant time savings and enhanced troubleshooting with reliable support
We have been working with Cisco DNA Center for ten years. Our clients use Cisco DNA Center for unified visibility/monitoring across Enterprise Campus both LAN & WLAN along with Access and fast technical issues troubleshooting The solution provides fast troubleshooting capabilities and fast…
Ibrahim Reda - PeerSpot reviewer
High scalability network management with centralized control and an intuitive interface that provides efficient monitoring and configuration capabilities
A centralized platform is crucial for efficiently managing all of our switches, which were previously handled individually, leading to significant challenges. This unified dashboard simplifies tasks like simultaneous switch upgrades, streamlining the process. It enables us to create reports that monitor site statuses, including uptime and downtime, which helps us evaluate each site's monthly uptime and assess its revenue potential based on operational time.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Application Assurance works very well."
"The most valuable features include AI-driven insights which make troubleshooting much easier."
"The product's most valuable feature is the visual representation of the switch's front panel."
"Automation helps configure devices without manual intervention, enabling zero-touch provisioning."
"The most valuable features of Cisco DNA Center are wireless assurance and visibility."
"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."
"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."
"The most valuable feature of Cisco DNA Center is the AI (Artificial Intelligence) that provides us with valuable information."
"A centralized platform is crucial for efficiently managing all of our switches, which were previously handled individually, leading to significant challenges."
"It allows me to do more of the basic firewall features, like traffic management and others, in a single pane of glass."
"The most valuable feature is the management from a single pane of glass."
"The most valuable feature is the technical support, as it is better than others."
 

Cons

"The pricing, setup cost, and licensing of Cisco DNA Center are expensive."
"From the recent DNA point of view, there are some stability challenges with Cisco, but very minor."
"DNA Center has been on the market for a few years and they need to update it."
"As a user, it would be good if I could plug in controllers, suites, and devices from other vendors to Cisco DNA Center."
"An area that needs improvement is the integration with other vendors."
"In terms of the clustering part, there are some concerns."
"The tool's IoT integration should be better."
"We encountered issues with their response times, which had a big impact on our workflow."
"The upgrades are very time-consuming and difficult, and they often have to rebuild the product."
"I would like to them include network real-time performance and come up with a dashboard report."
"I would like to see Space created to fully functional, where it's got multiple modules, particularly SD-WAN working on Corporate, or maybe become part of the Orchestrator portion."
"Its interface should be improved and enhanced to offer various functions, with flexible pricing"
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Cisco DNA Center is too expensive."
"The product is very costly."
"The solution is expensive."
"Cisco DNA Center is expensive."
"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 tool's licensing may not come across as something that may be friendly for users."
"I would rate the pricing a six out of ten, with ten being expensive."
"I rate the product's pricing an eight on a scale of one to ten, where one is very cheap, and ten is very expensive."
"We would like the price to be reduced."
"Typically, Juniper is more expensive than Cisco in initial costs, but overall, the long-term licensing fees that you're going to pay for Juniper versus Cisco is going to be less."
"This product is set at a good price point."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Computer Software Company
20%
Government
8%
University
7%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

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 Junos Space Network Director?
A centralized platform is crucial for efficiently managing all of our switches, which were previously handled individually, leading to significant challenges.
What needs improvement with Junos Space Network Director?
Its interface should be improved and enhanced to offer various functions, with flexible pricing. It should provide the ability to modify interfaces, enabling actions like shutting them down, adding...
What is your primary use case for Junos Space Network Director?
It served as my main point of contact for banking and the central tool for managing a large network of switches across multiple locations. The network consisted of about 3,300 switches, with roughl...
 

Also Known As

DNA Center
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
St. Catherine's University, OneNet, University of New Haven, Frederick County Public Schools (Maryland), America's Test Kitchen
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco DNA Center vs. Junos Space Network Director and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
860,632 professionals have used our research since 2012.