Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs DX Performance Management comparison

Cisco and Broadcom are both solutions in the Network Monitoring Software category. Cisco is ranked #13 with an average rating of 8.1, while Broadcom is ranked #52 with an average rating of 8.5. Cisco holds a 0.7% mindshare in NMS, compared to Broadcom’s 0.5% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 96% of Broadcom users who would recommend it.

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabri...

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

1,291 Views
1,239 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

DX Performance Management

Read 32 DX Performance Management reviews

1,172 Views
856 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabri...

DX Performance Management

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 2024

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller and DX Performance Management compete in network management tools. Cisco Nexus Dashboard holds an edge in network integration and stability, while DX Performance Management excels in data visibility and customizable integration.

Features: Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller stands out for managing admin VDCs, integrating with SD-WAN solutions, and providing robust automation. DX Performance Management is strong in integrated performance monitoring, customizable reporting, and its ability to track multiple data sources effectively.

Room for Improvement: Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller could simplify configuration processes, enhance integration with third-party tools, and reduce complexity in setup. DX Performance Management could improve reporting flexibility and scalability, real-time data collection, and cloud-oriented solution integration.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Both Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller and DX Performance Management are primarily deployed on-premises, with Cisco also supporting private cloud setups. Cisco's technical support is generally helpful for development, although operational support can lag. DX Performance Management users generally do well without support, but when needed, it is well-received.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller is considered expensive, with pricing often linked to hardware purchases. Its cost is seen as justified by its features. DX Performance Management offers competitive pricing with scalable licensing options, although prices may rise over contracts.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs. DX Performance Management Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs. DX Performance Management

December 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...

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

13th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

DX Performance Management

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

52nd

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Infrastructure Capacity Planning (2nd), DX NetOps (2nd)

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) is 0.7%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of DX Performance Management is 0.5%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Monitoring Software Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM)	0.7%
DX Performance Management	0.5%
Other	98.8%

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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reviewer1810893

Senior IT Operations Specialist at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees

Flexibility and detailed performance stats enable effective network monitoring

Spectrum is very good at monitoring all network faults and configurations. It enables me to take action based on network issues. The Performance Management provides detailed network performance stats, including CPU, memory, and interface bandwidth. Additionally, Spectrum is flexible and allows me to organize and treat devices uniquely without impacting other devices.

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

"The automation capability is more than enough. It depends on how we consider and integrate the automation engine. We need to ensure the automation engine and then how to perform it. It depends on the policy making, API integration, and other integrations."

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

"It uses push technology, which pushes the changes to all relevant devices to ensure they are updated accordingly."

"Data Center Network Manager is absolutely stable."

"Fabric suite automation is a great feature."

"We use the product to manage access points."

"It has a very nice dashboard so you can see what's currently happening in the network and the performance of the back story."

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

More Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) pros

"Great dashboards and good integration with other solutions."

"We have been able to get a little bit better at seeing more things in real time and more just in time, so we're less reactionary."

"Spectrum is very good at monitoring all network faults and configurations."

"The ability to very quickly and graphically navigate around, being able to zoom in to a timeframe, apply it to all the other panels... are all very intuitive."

"We're able to present data from multiple back-end collection sources into a single dashboard for the users. So they don't have to go to multiple locations to get data about a particular item, or device."

"The tool helps us understand network performance."

"Customer service is top-notch."

"The most valuable feature of DX Performance Management is the quick way we can collect data without putting much effort. They have a lot of customization and features with the solution internally and out of the box. We can discover the device, and start collecting information. For example, if the device is available, we can receive the CPU and memory utilization, and the interface optimization is simple and very fast to implement."

More DX Performance Management pros

Cons

"In the next release, I would like to see it merged with Prime and I think that it should be more unified."

"More integration features would be beneficial."

"The solution needs to improve reports."

"Automation for the RMA process can be added."

"We need better performance and reliability."

"The tool's pricing strategy could be improved to compete more effectively in the market, especially against competitors like Huawei, Aruba, and Juniper."

"The tool should be more user-friendly and improve AI integration."

"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."

More Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) cons

"It could be a little easier to integrate new metrics."

"Spectrum's topology view sometimes does not rebuild automatically when a device is shut down and reconnected."

"Even though we can see when something is not available, it would also be it would be nice if some sort of alerting took place to that you could know immediately if something went down."

"There are some areas in the technology right now, like with VMs, where we are lacking with our abilities to get inside the VM to monitor traffic within the machine."

"I have mixed feeling about the scalability. I feel like there are things which are being put into UIM right now that are not being included in Performance Center that we need to see in Performance Center. We are kind of being driven to buy UIM, and I can't justify it."

"It needs role-based administration."

"I think it would be helpful having a more comprehensive set of certifications so that I could natively deploy devices to my environment and the tool would immediately recognize and immediately be able to provide relevant performance information without a lot of tuning on my part."

"Product has issue collecting IP SLA data."

More DX Performance Management cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

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

"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."

"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."

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

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

"We were looking at other vendors in the marketplace for NetFlow, and CA just beat everybody else in price, cost, and the size to implement. "

"They should provide more scalable licensing for the product."

"Do your homework and know how many devices you will be managing out of the gate. Be sure to project what your growth will be each year."

"The tool's pricing is based on the number of network devices."

"We purchase a license to use the solution every three years and we have multiple contracts. They have been increasing the price annually. We have a baseline for three years and then we need to pay the difference from the baseline, and we are in the process of negotiating a new price for all the licenses we need. The price overall is affordable."

"I like the licensing model because it's device-based."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Government

13%

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

Healthcare Company

Manufacturing Company

15%

Educational Organization

11%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Healthcare Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	5
Large Enterprise	25

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

What needs improvement with DX Performance Management?

Spectrum's topology view sometimes does not rebuild automatically when a device is shut down and reconnected. It requires manual discovery and rebuilding of the topology, which I hope can be improved.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for DX Performance Management?

I have used Spectrum for monitoring all network faults, configurations, and troubleshooting network issues. It provides network performance stats, such as CPU, memory, and interface bandwidth detai...

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering DX Performance Management?

I would recommend this solution based on its functionality, flexibility, customizability, and ease of use. Overall, I would rate the solution an eight out of ten. I am just a customer and not a par...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 14% of the time

Zabbix vs Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM)

Compared 14% of the time

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

Compared 12% of the time

Cisco Secure Network Analytics vs Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM)

Compared 8% of the time

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IBM SevOne Network Performance Management (NPM) vs DX Performance Management

Compared 12% of the time

Datadog vs DX Performance Management

Compared 12% of the time

WhatsUp Gold vs DX Performance Management

Compared 11% of the time

DX Spectrum vs DX Performance Management

Compared 8% of the time

SolarWinds AppOptics vs DX Performance Management

Compared 8% of the time

More DX Performance Management Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM)

January 2026

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) report

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

Buyer's Guide

DX Performance Management

January 2026

Download DX Performance Management product report

Also Known As

Cisco Data Center Network Manager

CA Performance Management

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

CA Performance Management is a comprehensive and highly scalable network performance monitoring and analytics platform. It was built to meet the unique demands of big data and modern networks architectures, including highly dynamic and complex hybrid cloud and software-defined networks (SDN).

The platform is design to reduce complexity inherent in modern networks built across numerous technology stacks through advanced network performance monitoring and relationship mapping for improved operational assurance.

Combined with CA Virtual Network Assurance, the platform extends operator visibility through advanced discovery and network performance monitoring of highly sensitive cloud and multi-layered SDN networks and service chains.

Broadcom

Sample Customers

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

Jack Henry & Assoc, Target, CenturyLink, Bell Canada, BrightHouse Networks, Telus, Unisys, Verizon, Southern California Edison, GEICO, Fidelity Investments, Wells Fargo, American Family Insurance Group, Deutsche Telekom AG

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs. DX Performance Management

December 2025

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