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Cisco DNA Center vs OmniPeek comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

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)
OmniPeek
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
48th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.0
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability (37th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2026, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Cisco DNA Center is 0.7%, down from 1.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of OmniPeek is 0.6%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Monitoring Software Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco DNA Center0.7%
OmniPeek0.6%
Other98.7%
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.
AK
Senior Software Engineer at Microchip Technology Inc.
Helps analyze network packets effectively and saves time for testers
I have utilized the packet capturing capabilities in OmniPeek. Using the Alpha sniffer and hardware-supported network devices, we can perform sniffer capturing for Wi-Fi wireless packets and router packets. The interface allows us to capture packets and observe connection establishment, data transfer, and the downloading and uploading of packets, such as TCP and UDP packets. The software works for both wireless and wired connections, including Ethernet. As a wireless test engineer in the wireless industry, the features of OmniPeek help me monitor network activity. While there are alternatives such as Wireshark, OmniPeek supports Windows and is particularly helpful for testers, especially for device certification validation. This software enables packet analysis to verify protocol compliance and identify issues. For developers, packet captures from OmniPeek assist in understanding and debugging issues.

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 easier to use than Fortinet FortiManager."
"The monitoring is very valuable to me."
"The advice I would give to other people who want to use Cisco DNA Center is to go for it, particularly if they have Cisco infrastructure, though these days integration could be an issue."
"The most valuable features include AI-driven insights which make troubleshooting much easier."
"The most valuable feature of Cisco DNA Center is the AI (Artificial Intelligence) that provides us with valuable information."
"We can monitor all devices and get the required information using the product."
"The monitoring features are very useful for network engineers."
"OmniPeek's ability to convert application visibility into flow helps me quickly understand application performance over LAN, WAN, or wireless."
"It's a solid piece of software. It's stable."
"OmniPeek is a good product, but you should know its purpose for your organization."
"I believe the most crucial feature of OmniPeek search is the ability to sniff packets based on channel switching."
"The most valuable features are the voice bot, which checks the quality of service for voice, and the expert view that gives me insight on what and where to troubleshoot."
"The most valuable feature is OmniPeek is user-friendly."
"This is a good product; I would recommend and encourage people to use it because it has helped me a lot in the field."
"The most valuable feature of OmniPeek is the ability to assign custom color codes to the different packets easily."
 

Cons

"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."
"Requires more focus on the digital side of things."
"The tool's IoT integration should be better."
"Cisco DNA Center was a new technology for us, at the beginning, it was not easy to do, but Cisco did a lot of training with us to a level we could handle everything. The team is managing itself now without the assistance of Cisco."
"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 pricing, setup cost, and licensing of Cisco DNA Center are expensive."
"The solution's setup process needs enhancement."
"The solution's automation has room for improvement."
"OmniPeek needs to improve its performance level."
"I would like to see the tool work in an open environment the same as how it does in a closed environment."
"I don't see a clear roadmap in the future for improving this software."
"I would like to see the saving feature improved. We have had issues if you do not save your progress then you have to start from the beginning."
"OmniPeek doesn't support Linux or Unix installations, which prompted the shift to Wireshark."
"Making it more clear on how to configure the filters, or really automating them, would be an improvement."
"I am not using OmniPeek for automation, we only do manual testing. Automation testing is tedious to do. The automation should be more user-friendly. I have exposed some APIs but the usage is not user-friendly."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Our licensing agreement is for three years."
"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 price could be better. It's a very expensive tool."
"I do know that Cisco does offer some really good promotions for DNA Center to bring the costs down."
"Cisco DNA Center is expensive."
"The solution is expensive."
"The price of the solution is expensive. The hardware is licensed on the device, but the hardware on the server is expensive."
"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 pricing for this solution could be improved, as it is a very expensive product."
"There are different types of licenses available."
"We have only purchased the add-on once and have not paid for any subsequent versions as it was too costly for us."
report
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
13%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
6%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Construction Company
8%
Healthcare Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise24
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise7
 

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. ...
What needs improvement with OmniPeek?
There isn't anything specific that needs improvement in OmniPeek, as it performs better than Wireshark for our requirements. However, OmniPeek could benefit from supporting different platforms. Pla...
What is your primary use case for OmniPeek?
I have been working with the OmniPeek product for almost two years at the start of my career, primarily using it for wireless 802.11 Wi-Fi packets, sniffer, and analysis. My experience with OmniPee...
What advice do you have for others considering OmniPeek?
I didn't explore much about OmniPeek beyond its basic features. OmniPeek is user-friendly and easy to start working with, especially on the Windows platform. For beginners, it is very easy to handl...
 

Also Known As

DNA Center
Savvius OmniPeek
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Apcon, Aruba Networks, Avaya Inc., Cisco Systems, Ekahau, Gigamon Systems, HP, IBM, IXIA, Meru Networks, Napatech, NextComputing, Procera Networks, Qualcomm Atheros, Ralink Technology Corporation, Telchemy
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco DNA Center vs. OmniPeek and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
902,988 professionals have used our research since 2012.