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Cisco DNA Center vs Nagios XI 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
13th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
41
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (1st), Network Automation (2nd)
Nagios XI
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
17th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
58
Ranking in other categories
Server Monitoring (9th), IT Infrastructure Monitoring (16th), Cloud Monitoring Software (17th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Cisco DNA Center is 1.4%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Nagios XI is 3.2%, down from 4.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Monitoring Software
 

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.
Amir  Said - PeerSpot reviewer
Effective alerting enhances network monitoring experience with an easy setup
We love Nagios XI due to the fact that JPS Web is very useful. JPS monitors the modem and performs switching, monitoring the computer, and performing switching. We implement some applications and traffic monitoring. The alerting system is very effective. For instance, if we have an alarm on some RAM storage if the traffic is cut or dropped.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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 product offers an intuitive and automated way to manage user networks. It gives me an insight into the network health."
"The solution helps with the management and orchestration of campaigns. It helps with visibility and analytics. I also like its SDA configuration."
"I like the visibility, instant build, network, policies, and the ability to control access. I also like that you can visualize your whole network."
"Has a good processing feature with a high level of accuracy."
"It offers automation, security enforcement, analytics, and integration with other Cisco technologies, making it a key driver for efficient network operations and compliance with security protocols."
"The most valuable features of Cisco DNA Center are wireless assurance and visibility."
"People like to use the dashboards to get an overview of their network."
"Nagios is a custom API manager, and we can expose custom APIs for our integration. This is a great feature."
"The dashboard allows you to see what's going on in the overall system."
"The features I've found the most useful are the plug-ins, the fact that you can connect almost everything to it. That's very useful."
"BPI: It allows defining peripherals to map business criticality for efficient monitoring, as required."
"Nagios XI is a simple monitoring tool with performance management."
"The technical support is good."
"Nagios is stable and it's easy to use the monitoring software, which is why we chose this product."
"Nagios XI simplifies our setup and reduces the time spent configuring monitoring tools."
 

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."
"Technical support could be better. The price could be better, and it could be more stable."
"The features of Cisco DNA Center and Cisco Prime could have more parity."
"Cisco could improve the security side of their solutions."
"An area for improvement in Cisco DNA Center is the latency in data correlation. For example, sometimes, when an issue happens, and I check the logs, I can't find the corresponding log. There's a delay in log replication, so this is what needs improvement in Cisco DNA Center. Reporting in Cisco DNA Center could also be improved because it only has a few templates, and you can't customize it based on your requirements. There aren't many options available in Cisco DNA Center regarding reporting, versus Cisco Prime, which has excellent features for different levels of detailed reports. I'd like to see real-time data replication in the next release of Cisco DNA Center, similar to what's done in Meraki. Data in Meraki is real-time with no delay, so data is immediately replicated in the cloud. Currently, there's a lag in Cisco DNA Center, and addressing that lag is the enhancement I'd like to see in Cisco DNA Center. The solution also needs to be more user-friendly."
"An area that needs improvement is the integration with other vendors."
"The solution's integration feature can be better."
"One area that needs improvement is the upgrade process."
"The reporting structure could be more streamlined."
"The technical support is variable - sometimes I get answers, but most of my tickets go unanswered."
"I would like to see more customization in the network map because it is a bit tricky to use it."
"The user interface needs improvement. Many tools have poor user interfaces, making them hard to manage and navigate."
"The product's stability could be even better."
"I would like to see support for notification via SMS."
"The product does not have SAP monitoring."
"The interface could be more user-friendly."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Cisco DNA Center is expensive."
"We get a yearly license at the time we buy the product."
"I do know that Cisco does offer some really good promotions for DNA Center to bring the costs down."
"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."
"Cisco DNA Center is too expensive."
"The tool is medium-priced."
"It is an expensive solution."
"Licensing costs are reasonable."
"The pricing is high with separate licensing for the product and support."
"Nagios XI is open source."
"The pricing is really cost efficient. The licensing is perpetual and can be renewed very easily."
"It is good to contact experts for advice about what is the best solution for your specific infrastructure and enterprise."
"Nagios XI is an expensive solution."
"The licensing fees for this solution are approximately $3,000 USD per year."
"For the cost of the commercial product and support, and taking into account the open source characteristics of it, I believe it is difficult to a better value."
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Comparison Review

it_user174738 - PeerSpot reviewer
May 31, 2015
Nagios vs. Zabbix vs. PRTG vs. Spiceworks vs. Solarwinds Network Performance Monitor
I have researched a quite a few network monitoring tools which can be used for various monitoring purposes of not only the servers, but the intermediate routers as well. There are majorly three types of these softwares. Ones which are completely open-source, you can do almost anything you want…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Educational Organization
50%
Computer Software Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Manufacturing Company
5%
 

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 Nagios XI?
It is an open-source platform with valuable features for performance and stability.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Nagios XI?
The pricing for the Nagios XI product is good and better than other solutions. I would give it a four or five.
What needs improvement with Nagios XI?
The user interface needs improvement. Many tools have poor user interfaces, making them hard to manage and navigate.
 

Also Known As

DNA Center
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Nagios has over one million users globally, including AOL, DHL, McAfee, MCI, MTV, Yahoo!, Universal, Toshiba, Sony, Siemens, and JPMorgan Chase.
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco DNA Center vs. Nagios XI and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
850,900 professionals have used our research since 2012.