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Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs Cisco Prime [EOL] comparison

The compared Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) and Cisco Prime [EOL] solutions aren't in the same category. Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) is ranked #18 in NMS , with an average rating of 8.2, and holds a 0.6% mindshare in the category. Additionally, 92% of Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 91% of Cisco Prime [EOL] users who would recommend it.
Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabri...
Read 25 Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) reviews
  • 841 Views
  • 824 Comparison Views
92% willing to recommend
Cisco Prime [EOL]
Read 35 Cisco Prime [EOL] reviews
    91% willing to recommend
     

    Comparison Buyer's Guide

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    Executive Summary
    We performed a comparison between Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) and Cisco Prime [EOL] based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

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    Buyer's Guide
    Network Monitoring Software
    August 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 Nexus Dashboard Fabri...
    Average Rating
    8.0
    Reviews Sentiment
    6.8
    Number of Reviews
    25
    Ranking in other categories
    Network Monitoring Software (18th)
    Cisco Prime [EOL]
    Average Rating
    7.8
    Reviews Sentiment
    6.5
    Number of Reviews
    35
    Ranking in other categories
    No ranking in other categories
     

    Featured Reviews

    Upul Abhayasena - PeerSpot reviewer
    Robust management tool with an easy setup and room for more features
    DCNM is used by one of the airline customers in Qatar to manage many data centers and rack switches running on normal Nexus or NX-OS mode. They required a controller platform to manage these Nexus switches, and thus, they utilized DCNM as a Fabric controller. Given that ACI deployment is very low…
    Read full review
    ZeeshanAli1 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Robust, cost-effective, and provides good visibility, but the scalability could improve
    We are extremely satisfied with the reliability and robustness of Cisco Prime Infrastructure, which we have been using for many years. Compared to newer products such as DNS centers or others, it has proven to be much more stable, which is important for large-scale operations. Stability is a primary concern for us, and we are glad that Cisco Prime Infrastructure meets our expectations in that regard. Furthermore, in regards to Legacy Plus new hardware, Cisco Prime has proven to be a reliable and adaptable solution thus far. Not only can it support older hardware, but it also has the capability to handle new features with the latest updates. If we consider new solutions such as DNS Center, we may have to sacrifice some legacy features that we still rely on. We may need to continue using these legacy features for a few more years due to various reasons such as budget constraints or the site not being a high priority. However, if we switch to a new product at this stage, we may lose a lot of the monitoring and other capabilities that we have with Cisco Prime. We have a close relationship with Cisco and understand that they are not prioritizing investments in Cisco Prime as they are encouraging customers to adopt the Cisco DNA Center. This means that we don't anticipate many new features to be added to the product in the future. While we know that we will eventually have to transition to a new solution, in the meantime, we plan to do a quick refresh of our legacy products.
    Read full review

    Quotes from Members

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

    Pros

    "It has a very nice dashboard so you can see what's currently happening in the network and the performance of the back story."
    "Fabric suite automation is a great feature."
    "The product makes the management of our environment simpler."
    "The product has excellent stability."
    "You can integrate all the networks into the software."
    "I like that is easy to work on and straightforward."
    "It uses push technology, which pushes the changes to all relevant devices to ensure they are updated accordingly."
    "The most valuable features of Cisco Data Center Network Manager are consistency and the core server. The teams have had a good experience."
    More Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) pros
    "The hardware Cisco provides is excellent. It's a well-made product."
    "The most valuable feature of Cisco Prime is the heat map."
    "We use the solution to control the physical service station that is part of the SCADA network. We connect and control them remotely."
    "Cisco Prime is a good tool for inventory monitoring and wireless management."
    "It gives you the ability to upgrade switches remotely, schedule the upgrade time, perform backups, and monitor the health of all networks."
    "Cisco Prime is helpful as it provides us with real-time monitoring. This allows us to be proactive in our environment."
    "We use Cisco Prime for network mapping and surveys."
    "Cisco Prime allows us to manage all the wireless controllers and access points."
    More Cisco Prime [EOL] pros
     

    Cons

    "The configuration is too complicated and you have to create templates and use a lot of menus."
    "In the next release, I would like to see it merged with Prime and I think that it should be more unified."
    "It's very costly."
    "Automation for the RMA process can be added."
    "The visibility of applications is not great."
    "One of the biggest challenges is that we aren't always able to push the configuration onto the target device. Whenever this happens, we have to do a factory reset, put on the script, and then reconfigure it again. In the next release, I would like to have a troubleshooting feature."
    "The automation feature could be improved."
    "The initial setup is challenging."
    More Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) cons
    "This solution could be improved if it could monitor configuration changes."
    "The solution is not easy to configure."
    "Lacking in integration with a SIEM tool."
    "Cisco Prime's initial setup is complex."
    "The solution has issues with real time monitoring of devices and NetFlow such as inadequate visualization for reports, sources, and destinations."
    "The solution needs to include centralized management that aligns with the Greenfield network and its focus on real-time, scenario-based applications."
    "We would like to see the inclusion of detailed alerts."
    "The reporting feature of Cisco Prime should be improved."
    More Cisco Prime [EOL] cons
     

    Pricing and Cost Advice

    "On average, Data Center Network Manager's pricing isn't too costly unless you choose a premier license."
    "The solution is very expensive."
    "The price of Cisco Data Center Network Manager is expensive compared to other vendors on the market."
    "I would say that the pricing offers great value for the money."
    "The product is licensed with contracts that work on a yearly basis rather than a monthly model."
    "When we purchase a Nexus box, the MDS CM license comes with it."
    "We usually opt for a yearly plan, commonly for three or five years upfront. Some customers may not utilize all the features included in the product, and this can lead to them paying for functionalities they don't need."
    "The tool is always expensive, but their service, product quality, and support are good. We're happy with it, but it's still an expensive solution. There are cheaper alternatives but no similar platform across all domains."
    "If we have a license for Cisco DNA, we can use the same license for Cisco Prime."
    "The solution is not inexpensive but is worth it for large-scale environments."
    "I would rate the pricing of Cisco Prime a seven out of ten."
    "I rate the solution's pricing an eight out of ten."
    "The product is expensive compared to other vendors in the market."
    "The cost is quite high."
    "You need to get special quotes from the company for each order."
    "The price of Cisco Prime was reasonable because we purchased it as part of a Cisco One package. The package was a bundle of Cisco solutions together, such as Cisco ISE and CMX. The price is reasonable com compared to other solutions."
    More Cisco Prime [EOL] pricing and cost advice
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    Answers from the Community

    ChrisPoe - PeerSpot reviewer
    Mar 2, 2023
    Mar 2, 2023
    What are the overall differences between Cisco Prime and Cisco DNAC?
    Two major differences: 1. The actual models that they manage, the p-dart Cisco migration report will tell you where you stand on this issue. Not all CPI models are supported on DNA. 2. Installation and maintenance automation of connected devices. A modern must-have for device deployment and maintenance. Having said these two points, DNA is and will be the integration point for a whole suit...
    See 2 answers
    Olajide Olusegun - PeerSpot reviewer
    Mar 1, 2023
    We use both Cisco DNAC and Cisco Prime (PI). Actually, you can easily use the migration tool on Cisco PI 3.10 to migrate your data and integrate it with DNAC. DNAC is more dynamic and robust than PI supporting intent-based networking, analytics and assurance, and many automated operations.  Best suited for enterprise environments with many Cisco platforms and multiple managed devices where automated operations are highly required. If we didn't have PI before, we would have just settled for DNAC because DNAC can do a lot more and better.
    Read full answer
    RM
    Mar 2, 2023
    Two major differences: 1. The actual models that they manage, the p-dart Cisco migration report will tell you where you stand on this issue. Not all CPI models are supported on DNA.   2. Installation and maintenance automation of connected devices. A modern must-have for device deployment and maintenance.   Having said these two points, DNA is and will be the integration point for a whole suite of products like CPO which will become a DNA module and tighter integration with ICE. Furthermore, the new automation feature is really a prequel to the more interesting self-diagnosis and self-correction of device operations. Hope this answers your question, but install the PDART migration report to really understand the ROI of DNA.
    Read full answer
     

    Top Industries

    By visitors reading reviews
    Government
    12%
    Computer Software Company
    12%
    Manufacturing Company
    9%
    Financial Services Firm
    8%
    Computer Software Company
    16%
    Government
    14%
    Manufacturing Company
    7%
    Healthcare Company
    6%
     

    Company Size

    By reviewers
    Large Enterprise
    Midsize Enterprise
    Small Business
     

    Questions from the Community

    What do you like most about Cisco Data Center Network Manager?
    It uses push technology, which pushes the changes to all relevant devices to ensure they are updated accordingly.
    See all answers
    What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Data Center Network Manager?
    The tool is always expensive, but their service, product quality, and support are good. We're happy with it, but it's still an expensive solution. There are cheaper alternatives but no similar plat...
    See all answers
    What needs improvement with Cisco Data Center Network Manager?
    In a mixed architecture where Nexus switches are used as border devices and are connected to a Palo Alto firewall (e.g., version 9.1 or 10.1), you might encounter issues with BGP peering. For insta...
    See all answers
    What do you like most about Cisco Prime?
    The most valuable features of Cisco Prime include its comprehensive functionality as a one-stop solution for basic SNMP port management.
    See all answers
    What needs improvement with Cisco Prime?
    The product's performance monitoring feature could be more intuitive.
    See all answers
    What is your primary use case for Cisco Prime?
    We use Cisco Prime for centralized configuration management backups and monitoring.
    See all answers
     

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    Compared 12% of the time
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    Compared 8% of the time
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    Compared 48% of the time
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    Product Reports

    Buyer's Guide
    Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM)
    August 2025
    Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) reportDownload Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) product report
    Buyer's Guide
    Cisco Prime [EOL]
    August 2025
    Cisco Prime [EOL] reportDownload Cisco Prime [EOL] product report
     

    Also Known As

    Cisco Data Center Network Manager
    Cisco Prime Infrastructure
     

    Overview

    The Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (NDFC) offers a comprehensive solution for managing Cisco NX-OS switches in hybrid-cloud environments, providing automation, visibility, and consistent operations. Designed to simplify and enhance data center management, NDFC integrates with Cisco Nexus Dashboard to streamline network connectivity, reduce deployment times, and ensure seamless transitions with minimal disruptions. Its modular architecture, new user interface, and support for non-Nexus OS platforms make it a robust tool for LAN, SAN, and IP Fabric for Media management. Additionally, NDFC enhances fabric reliability, automates workflows, and supports cloud connectivity with AWS and Microsoft Azure, making it ideal for businesses adapting to increasingly complex digital environments.

    Cisco

    Cisco Prime products deliver next-generation management by supporting an intuitive workflow-oriented user experience and integrated lifecycle operations across Cisco architectures, technologies, and networks.

    Cisco
     

    Sample Customers

    Banco de Guayaquil, Cox Communications, Kuwait Petroleum Italia, Roper St. Francis, University of British Columbia
    Mohawk Industries, Universidad EAFIT, Halton Healthcare
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    August 2025
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