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Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs ExtraHop Reveal(x) for IT Operations comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 2024

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
26
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
ExtraHop Reveal(x) for IT O...
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
73rd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
Network Diagnostics (11th), IT Operations Analytics (14th), Network Packet Capture (6th)
 

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 ExtraHop Reveal(x) for IT Operations is 0.6%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Monitoring Software Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM)0.6%
ExtraHop Reveal(x) for IT Operations0.6%
Other98.8%
Network Monitoring Software
 

Featured Reviews

Jagdev Dhaliwal - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Out West - PeerSpot reviewer
Project Manager and IT Management Consultant at a integrator with 1,001-5,000 employees
Great for identifying application interdependencies with helpful support but needs better visualizations
We're just trying to identify the application interdependencies, which normally reside on different servers, including web servers, database servers, enterprise service bus, et cetera, up to your presentation layer before we start moving stuff around. Normally, the reason why we use these tools is to understand what assets we have, where they're deployed, and how they enter and operate before we decide to go move something from point A to point B. The solution is going to allow me to establish a wave or migration plan where you have different waves of migration and then you actually have move groups to try and get your application moved from A to B seamlessly. A to B could be on-premise to on-premise. It could be on-premise to cloud. Et cetera. The solution can tell me what components can I deploy, for example, into a cloud space, without having to refactor my applications since that can be quite time-consuming and costly.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Cisco's support I would rate as a 10 compared to all other vendors."
"After installation, you almost forget that it is working."
"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 most valuable features of Cisco Data Center Network Manager are consistency and the core server. The teams have had a good experience."
"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."
"We use the product to manage access points."
"More than good enough as we have new clients everyday connected using this product"
"VCNM provides a unique capability of managing the admin VDCs of Nexus boxes."
"There are many valuable features in this product, but probably the biggest is the customization capability it has."
"The most valuable features are security detections, perimeter detection, dashboards, and alerts."
"You cannot hide from the wire; all truth lives in the packets, and ExtraHop gets them to talk!"
"Not only can you look at the protocol import level. It also has a live PCAP analysis."
"ExtraHop came out with the best price, and I think that it gives us a broader view of our network."
"It's a must-have solution for large IT Operations, providing the ability to analyze infrastructure and application-related performance and data from the wire perspective."
"The most valuable feature is the way it handles data, from Layer 2 up to Layer 7. We can see everything that happens in the network."
"ExtraHop is far ahead of anything comparable in the industry."
 

Cons

"The tool's pricing strategy could be improved to compete more effectively in the market, especially against competitors like Huawei, Aruba, and Juniper."
"It would be nice to have the ability to more easily collect information from other software when doing some types of analysis."
"It's a relatively expensive product for some clients so perhaps improvement could be made in that area."
"The automation feature could be improved."
"Automation for the RMA process can be added."
"In the next release, I would like to see it merged with Prime and I think that it should be more unified."
"If the customer thinks about using additional solutions, Cisco should make sure they are not left out."
"More integration features would be beneficial."
"I would improve the Rule-Based Access Control (RBAC) by providing granular access control to the data."
"The improvement that would make the most impact would be expanding on the new EXA big data back end."
"Network visibility is something that needs to be improved."
"There is room for improvement in the security part. They have a new solution, ExtraHop Reveal(x), and I think it needs improvement."
"The solution could get more aggressive in the discounting of the overall cost."
"Additional out-of-the-box solutions and use cases would be nice."
"They have a new solution, ExtraHop Reveal(x), and I think it needs improvement."
"We've had some struggles getting it to see everything that we want to see. Network visibility is something that needs to be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I would say that the pricing offers great value for the money."
"The price of Cisco Data Center Network Manager is expensive compared to other vendors on the market."
"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 solution is very expensive."
"On average, Data Center Network Manager's pricing isn't too costly unless you choose a premier license."
"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 product is licensed with contracts that work on a yearly basis rather than a monthly model."
"The pricing is fair considering the value provided."
"The pricing is higher than other solutions, but with such good features, I think it's worth it."
"The price of this solution for our environment is about £650,000 ($855,000 USD) for three years."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
10%
Construction Company
9%
Healthcare Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
19%
Computer Software Company
11%
Educational Organization
8%
Healthcare Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise16
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise3
 

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.
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...
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...
Ask a question
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Also Known As

Cisco Data Center Network Manager
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Banco de Guayaquil, Cox Communications, Kuwait Petroleum Italia, Roper St. Francis, University of British Columbia
Alaska Airlines, bet365, Concur, McKesson, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, Practice Fusion, Seattle Children's Hospital, Steward Health Care System
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs. ExtraHop Reveal(x) for IT Operations and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
885,376 professionals have used our research since 2012.