Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs ClearSight Analyzer comparison

Cisco and NETSCOUT are both solutions in the Network Monitoring Software category. Cisco is ranked #28 with an average rating of 8.3, while NETSCOUT is ranked #90. Cisco holds a 0.6% mindshare in NMS, compared to NETSCOUT’s 0.4% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of NETSCOUT users who would recommend it.

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabri...

Read 26 Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) reviews

1,625 Views
1,560 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

ClearSight Analyzer

Read 2 ClearSight Analyzer reviews

808 Views
719 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabri...

ClearSight Analyzer

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 2024

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller and ClearSight Analyzer compete in network management and analysis. Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller has the upper hand in integrating complex network environments, while ClearSight Analyzer leads in detailed traffic analysis due to its robust packet capabilities.

Features: Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller provides advanced network orchestration, automation, and management features, ensuring comprehensive visibility and control. It integrates complex network environments effectively and offers extensive network fabrics management. ClearSight Analyzer is known for its in-depth packet analysis and protocol decoding, offering insights into traffic data, making it suitable for environments focusing on data analysis.

Room for Improvement: Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller could enhance simplicity in initial deployment and improve usability for less complex network environments. Their user interface could also benefit from a more intuitive design. Enhancing support documentation would be beneficial. ClearSight Analyzer might improve its capability to handle larger network infrastructures. It could also benefit from more integration options with other network management tools and enhance customization options for detailed reports.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller employs a model supporting complex infrastructures but requires extensive setup and provides robust support. ClearSight Analyzer offers quicker deployment suitable for data analysis environments with an emphasis on ease of use. It favors an easy setup and operational focus, specifically for environments prioritizing data analysis.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller involves a higher initial setup cost due to its extensive integration capabilities but offers a significant ROI through enhanced network efficiency and reduced downtimes. ClearSight Analyzer is more affordable, offering ROI through its traffic analysis capabilities, which proves cost-effective for deep packet inspection demands.

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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...

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

28th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

ClearSight Analyzer

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

90th

Average Rating

10.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) is 0.6%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ClearSight Analyzer is 0.4%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Monitoring Software Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM)	0.6%
ClearSight Analyzer	0.4%
Other	99.0%

Network Monitoring Software

Featured Reviews

Jagdev Dhaliwal

Network Engineer at a healthcare company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Flow monitoring has improved planning for east-west traffic and real-time capacity decisions

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) helps to understand the flows and data plane capacities, which are the primary use cases. Usually, people struggle with east-west traffic flow when they need to decide on firewalls or products. People typically understand north-south traffic flows but usually miss the east-west traffic flows in data centers. I was focusing more on this so that people can accordingly plan, such as after F5, the number of servers, the number of sessions needed, and whether we need to plan the interface for groups from the line capacity perspective. This kind of information was valuable to us. The real-time telemetry feature was beneficial. When experiencing performance issues, I could determine if there were any issues related to flows or areas where bottlenecks were occurring.

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DAVID-TAYLOR

Senior Network Engineer at Montgomery College

Shows question being asked, breaks it down and it'll just show you who's not answering

I wouldn't want the interface to go towards the web because they did have a version that was inside of the TruView product. It was more web-based and, to me, the web-based applications lose the robustness of the intimacy of a true character interface. I liked that they were on that path and I hope that they stay on that path because it just looks like it's a better product. I would like to see a multi-user version where you can have a launch platform and, potentially, instead of buying six licenses you buy 12 seats or something like that. From a centralized platform, you could have multiple users using that particular product in a series of different ways. That's what I'd like to see, rather than having everybody running a standalone one on their own workstation.

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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

"More than good enough as we have new clients everyday connected using this product"

"We use the product to manage access points."

"The feature I find most valuable, is the stability of the solution."

"The most valuable features of Cisco Data Center Network Manager are consistency and the core server. The teams have had a good experience."

"The monitoring capability is the best in Cisco Data Center Network Manager. It helps me improve network management tasks and optimize processes."

"After installation, you almost forget that it is working."

"This solution is the easiest and most straightforward."

"Fabric suite automation is a great feature."

More Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) pros

"What ClearSight will do is it actually maps out the conversation for you."

"This is the best protocol analyzer I've used and I've used some from WildPackets and quite a few other places."

Cons

"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."

"I would like to see improved integration with other tools."

"The configuration is too complicated and you have to create templates and use a lot of menus."

"We need better performance and reliability."

"It's a relatively expensive product for some clients so perhaps improvement could be made in that area."

"Could integrate better with VMware products."

"The visibility of applications is not great."

"The initial setup is challenging."

More Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) cons

"I would like to see a multi-user version where you can have a launch platform and, potentially, instead of buying six licenses you buy 12 seats or something like that."

"I was upset when they sold the product to NETSCOUT."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I would say that the pricing offers great value for the money."

"On average, Data Center Network Manager's pricing isn't too costly unless you choose a premier license."

"The product is licensed with contracts that work on a yearly basis rather than a monthly model."

"The solution is very expensive."

"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."

"When we purchase a Nexus box, the MDS CM license comes with it."

"The price of Cisco Data Center Network Manager is expensive compared to other vendors on the market."

"It was pretty modest because you could get it in different ways. I think the six licenses, at that time, were about $1,000 each. But then again, I work for a school and educators tend to get discounts on things. So maybe it cost us about five or six hundred a copy."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Government

10%

Construction Company

Healthcare Company

Computer Software Company

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	10
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	16

No data available

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?

I do not believe it integrated well with different infrastructures for hybrid environments. I am uncertain because we have never attempted that in our environment, so they could perform better in t...

See all answers

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Comparisons

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Compared 24% of the time

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Zabbix vs Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM)

Compared 11% of the time

Arista Data ANalyZer vs Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM)

Compared 10% of the time

SolarWinds Network Automation Manager vs Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM)

Compared 10% of the time

More Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) Competitors

NETSCOUT nGeniusONE vs ClearSight Analyzer

Compared 31% of the time

TruView vs ClearSight Analyzer

Compared 26% of the time

Wireshark vs ClearSight Analyzer

Compared 20% of the time

Cisco Secure Network Analytics vs ClearSight Analyzer

Compared 12% of the time

Observium vs ClearSight Analyzer

Compared 11% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM)

March 2026

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) report

Download Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) product report

Buyer's Guide

Network Monitoring Software

March 2026

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Also Known As

Cisco Data Center Network Manager

No data available

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

Protocol analysis tool for application performance analysis and monitoring. Provides real-time problem identification and statistics.

NETSCOUT

Sample Customers

Banco de Guayaquil, Cox Communications, Kuwait Petroleum Italia, Roper St. Francis, University of British Columbia

Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute

Buyer's Guide

Network Monitoring Software

March 2026

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