Cisco DNA Center vs NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE comparison

Cisco and NETSCOUT are both solutions in the Network Monitoring Software category. Cisco is ranked #13 with an average rating of 8.0, while NETSCOUT is ranked #31 with an average rating of 10.0. Cisco holds a 1.4% mindshare in NMS, compared to NETSCOUT’s 0.4% mindshare. Additionally, 89% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of NETSCOUT users who would recommend it.

Cisco DNA Center

Read 41 Cisco DNA Center reviews

1,823 Views
1,148 Comparison Views

89% willing to recommend

NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE

Read 6 NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE reviews

636 Views
401 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Cisco DNA Center

NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 2024

Cisco DNA Center and NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE are network management products that focus on optimizing network performance. NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE seems to have the upper hand due to its extensive monitoring capabilities and focus on real-time service assurance.

Features: Cisco DNA Center enhances network visibility and reduces troubleshooting time with its advanced network automation and analytics. It provides seamless integration capabilities and centralized control. NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE offers deep insights into network performance with real-time service assurance, comprehensive monitoring features, and network-wide visibility.

Room for Improvement: Cisco DNA Center could improve in reducing initial setup costs, expanding its service assurance capabilities, and enhancing real-time monitoring. NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE may benefit from further automation features, wider integration possibilities, and more robust analytics.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco DNA Center is known for its intuitive deployment with strong integration, focusing on streamlined automation. Its customer service provides effective support for setup and troubleshooting. NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE offers a straightforward deployment process and responsive customer service with valuable insights, making a notable difference in post-deployment assistance.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco DNA Center requires substantial initial setup costs but offers a significant ROI by reducing network downtime and improving operational efficiency. NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE, with a competitive price point, delivers ROI by enhancing network performance and minimizing service interruptions. The key distinction lies in the substantial initial investment with Cisco DNA Center compared to the cost-effectiveness and service enhancements of NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE.

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

Buyer's Guide

Cisco DNA Center vs. NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE

April 2025

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Helped 850,236 peers since 2012

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

Ranking in other categories

Network Management Applications (1st), Network Automation (2nd)

NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

31st

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

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 NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE is 0.4%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Monitoring Software

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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Leandro Di Maria

Gerente De Ventas at internet winds ag

Offers real-time monitoring capabilities, which help businesses optimize their operations

The tools are part of managed environments, but when the capabilities of the routers need to be increased, we use NETSCOUT to manage things at an international level. The tool's user interface is okay. It would be great if the tool could provide alerts during attacks in Spanish. In the next release, if the traffic analysis could send our company an alert before an attack starts, it would be even better. Before an attack starts, seeing the traffic behavior and activities would be great. The tool should also share alerts since it is an area where the product has certain shortcomings.

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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

"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."

"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."

"Automation is another key highlight. With automation, you can automate everything through a single port."

"What's most valuable in Cisco DNA Center is the ability to manage any Cisco infrastructure and device through it. Setup was straightforward."

"It does a lot of things automatically, and that's the big thing with it. They're making the software so that you don't need to be as knowledgeable as me on the switching and routing side to get your work done. If you want, you can have DNA troubleshoot your problem for you and give you solutions or fix it itself, if it was something that's just a configuration issue."

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

"It enables monitoring of various components such as access points, switch cards, and other elements within the company's solutions."

"People like to use the dashboards to get an overview of their network."

More Cisco DNA Center pros

"The solution's technical support team consists of good engineers and technicians."

"The most valuable features of this solution are monitoring and maintaining traffic queuing, as well as seeing who is using the bandwidth."

"The most valuable feature of NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE is the network troubleshooting analysis. You can pinpoint an issue before it could shut down the network."

"This is a very reliable and complete solution for troubleshooting and monitoring environments."

"I like the single pane of glass view. I like being able to go to one place instead of having to hunt around for everything."

"I like the single pane of glass view because it presents everything in one window, obviously. You can see it all. With a quick glance, you get a pretty good snapshot of what's going on in a particular situation."

Cons

"Cisco could improve the security side of their solutions."

"The tool's deployment is complex. It also needs to improve its GUI."

"Cisco DNA Center should improve its configuration management. It is better to have a dev version before pushing it."

"The solution's technical support is an area with which my company's clients have a problem. Cisco doesn't provide good technical support unless a user has a big account that Cisco wants to retain."

"The solution’s security side could be improved."

"Integration with analytic tools and API integrations would be ideal."

"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."

"It seems to be a little bit more centered toward wireless than wired. You've got more options you can do wirelessly than you can with the wired switches, but it works for what we need it to do. We would like to see a little bit more about the traffic, and we're looking at what's out there to see about that. We are looking at something that might give us a bit more insight into the actual traffic. If they had the full functionality on the wired side, as they do on the wireless side in terms of being able to view traffic and everything, it would be good."

More Cisco DNA Center cons

"Before an attack starts, seeing the traffic behavior and activities would be great. The tool should also share alerts since it is an area where the product has certain shortcomings."

"Usability is the area with the biggest room for improvement. We've found that with NETSCOUT, while it's a fantastic product, the usability is a major factor because there are just way too many clicks. It's obvious, from our experience, that the people who are developing the product aren't using it."

"In terms of additional features, I would like to see better event notification. Right now, we put in an email address to receive an alert and it receives every event and every alert that comes out. We need something a little more granular."

"The price of the solution could be reduced."

"The GUI interface and dashboards could be more attractive to the customer."

"They require a lot of manual effort as traffic flows, networks, and formal times change."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We get a yearly license at the time we buy the product."

"It is an expensive solution."

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

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

"Our licensing agreement is for three years."

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

"The price of the solution is expensive. The hardware is licensed on the device, but the hardware on the server is expensive."

"Cisco DNA Center is too expensive."

More Cisco DNA Center pricing and cost advice

"Cost is contracted on a yearly basis. There is no additional cost beyond the standard licensing."

"The tool's price is okay. On a scale of one to ten, I rate it as a five, where one means it is not expensive, and ten means it is the most expensive."

"The price of NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE is high. The other solutions are less expensive but we cannot depend on the other solutions, they are not as stable."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

16%

Government

10%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

Government

16%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Computer Software Company

10%

Insurance Company

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.

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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE?

The tool's price is okay. On a scale of one to ten, I rate it as a five, where one means it is not expensive, and ten means it is the most expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE?

See all answers

What is your primary use case for NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE?

I use the solution in my company to analyze international traffic.

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 11% of the time

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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

Meraki Dashboard vs Cisco DNA Center

Compared 5% of the time

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Compared 34% of the time

ThousandEyes vs NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE

Compared 28% of the time

Flowmon vs NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE

Compared 23% of the time

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Compared 15% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco DNA Center

May 2025

Download Cisco DNA Center product report

Buyer's Guide

NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE

April 2025

Download NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE product report

Also Known As

DNA Center

nGeniusPULSE

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

NETSCOUT’s nGeniusPULSE delivers the visibility needed into today’s evolving IT eco-system to ensure the availability, reliability, and performance of your mission-critical business services across your multi-cloud environment, from wherever users need access.

NETSCOUT

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Banco Votorantim

Buyer's Guide

Cisco DNA Center vs. NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE

April 2025

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