Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs Fortinet FortiSIEM comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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 (16th)
Fortinet FortiSIEM
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
74
Ranking in other categories
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) (7th)
 

Mindshare comparison

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) and Fortinet FortiSIEM aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) is designed for Network Monitoring Software and holds a mindshare of 0.5%, up 0.4% compared to last year.
Fortinet FortiSIEM, on the other hand, focuses on Security Information and Event Management (SIEM), holds 3.3% mindshare, up 3.0% since last year.
Network Monitoring Software
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)
 

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…
Oliver Jackson - PeerSpot reviewer
Systems monitoring enhanced by firewall and intrusion detection features
My primary use case for Fortinet FortiSIEM is systems monitoring and alerting. I use it for standard functions like log monitoring, incident detection, and notification.  My customers are mostly medium-sized enterprises ranging from engineering companies, mining companies, independent schools, and…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Monitoring system provides a clear indication of what's going on in the network."
"The feature I find most valuable, is the stability of the solution."
"The interface of this solution is easy to use overall."
"Automation of the ILS."
"It has a very nice dashboard so you can see what's currently happening in the network and the performance of the back story."
"VCNM provides a unique capability of managing the admin VDCs of Nexus boxes."
"The most valuable feature is the connectivity monitoring."
"The product has excellent stability."
"FortiSIEM provides a single PIN to monitor SOC and NOC. It's a nice tool for integration and monitoring. It provides multiple categories for monitoring based on security designations like low, medium, and high."
"The solution’s IP database is awesome."
"Both the collecting logs and duo correlation are valuable features for us."
"FortiSIEM sends an email or SMS notifications to admins when there are significant incidents. It's a highly efficient way of responding to incidents."
"We're able to get real-timec as well as our customer networks that we're monitoring at all times."
"The primary valuable feature is that it has replaced a whole lot of other products with one platform."
"The seamless integration with FortiGate is the solution's most valuable aspect."
"Fortinet FortiSIEM is less costly than other products and is available 24/7."
 

Cons

"The configuration is too complicated and you have to create templates and use a lot of menus."
"The initial setup is challenging."
"If the customer thinks about using additional solutions, Cisco should make sure they are not left out."
"It would be nice to have the ability to more easily collect information from other software when doing some types of analysis."
"Automation for the RMA process can be added."
"API lacks robustness."
"The delivery Cisco Data Center Network Manager could improve if it was easier. Additionally, some feature improvement is needed."
"The automation feature could be improved."
"The dashboards need to be improved. It gives you so much detail, but sometimes too much detail, especially to an executive, it's too much."
"FortiSIEM is not a market leader in the SIEM space."
"Customer support service could be better."
"If there is a configuration on the wrong side of the network or there are changes that result in harm to our IT infrastructure, the solution should immediately fix it."
"The process of installing Fortinet FortiSIEM and the customization of the alerts take too long."
"The support of the product changed recently, and I don't think it's for the better. They should work to improve the support they offer to clients."
"Our team tried configuring MS SQL database logs with Fortinet FortiSIEM, but it did not work for some time."
"Fortinet FortiSIEM needs to provide better API integrations to users."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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 solution is very expensive."
"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."
"The product is licensed with contracts that work on a yearly basis rather than a monthly model."
"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."
"Fortinet's products are not expensive, it is less than the competition."
"They have a yearly subscription."
"Manageable, however would be better as pay as you go versus CapEX."
"The price of the solution is expensive. The license is scalable. If there are 10 devices it is simple to license."
"Pricing is determined based on the customer's budget."
"Fortinet FortiSIEM is very cost-efficient compared to other SIEM solutions."
"The price of Fortinet FortiSIEM is a lot less when compared to other solutions."
"Pricing is acceptable for more than 90% of our customers, as they normally get discounts."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Network Monitoring Software solutions are best for your needs.
861,390 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Government
12%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Real Estate/Law Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Government
7%
 

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.
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?
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...
What do you like most about Fortinet FortiSIEM?
Fortinet FortiSIEM needs to provide better API integrations to users.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiSIEM?
The pricing is reasonable, which is why it is preferred by government customers. Windows agent licenses cost around 3,000 Rupees per device per year.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiSIEM?
Fortinet FortiSIEM should broaden its remediation part to include more features for incident management. Currently, to manage repetitive incidents or for remediation, I need to use a separate softw...
 

Also Known As

Cisco Data Center Network Manager
FortiSIEM, AccelOps
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Banco de Guayaquil, Cox Communications, Kuwait Petroleum Italia, Roper St. Francis, University of British Columbia
FortiSIEM has hundreds of customers worldwide in markets including managed services, technology, financial services, healthcare, and government. Customers include Aruba Networks, Compushare, Port of San Diego, Cleveland Indians, Infoblox, Healthways, and Referentia.
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs. Fortinet FortiSIEM and other solutions. Updated: May 2020.
861,390 professionals have used our research since 2012.