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Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs NETSCOUT nGeniusONE comparison

Cisco and NETSCOUT are both solutions in the Network Monitoring Software category. Cisco is ranked #17 with an average rating of 8.0, while NETSCOUT is ranked #15 with an average rating of 8.5. Cisco holds a 0.6% mindshare in NMS, compared to NETSCOUT’s 1.5% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 93% of NETSCOUT users who would recommend it.
Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabri...
Read 25 Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) reviews
  • 891 Views
  • 864 Comparison Views
92% willing to recommend
NETSCOUT nGeniusONE
Read 50 NETSCOUT nGeniusONE reviews
  • 3,252 Views
  • 2,276 Comparison Views
93% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 2024

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller and NETSCOUT nGeniusONE are prominent network management solutions. NETSCOUT nGeniusONE appears to have the upper hand due to its extensive network traffic analysis and packet inspection capabilities.

Features: Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller offers excellent stability, comprehensive automation, and distinct data center visualization and management features. NETSCOUT nGeniusONE provides detailed network traffic analysis, dependency mapping, and extensive data collection across multiple platforms.

Room for Improvement: Cisco Nexus Dashboard requires simplification in setup and better integration with third-party tools like VMware. It could also benefit from enhanced user experience. NETSCOUT nGeniusONE demands a reduced complexity, user experience enhancements, and improvements in GUI and licensing simplicity.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco Nexus Dashboard is mainly on-premises, with good but sometimes lacking support. Cisco offers flexible deployment models. NETSCOUT nGeniusONE supports on-premises and hybrid cloud models with commendable customer service, needing high expertise due to complexity.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco Nexus Dashboard is expensive but offers value and deep integration with Cisco hardware, having a transparent yet restrictive pricing structure. NETSCOUT nGeniusONE, also costly, is valued for reliability and thorough features, with a licensing model embracing multiple platforms yet possibly covering unused functions.

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To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs. NETSCOUT nGeniusONE Report (Updated: September 2025).
Buyer's Guide
Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs. NETSCOUT nGeniusONE
September 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
17th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
NETSCOUT nGeniusONE
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
15th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
50
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, 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 NETSCOUT nGeniusONE is 1.5%, down from 1.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Monitoring Software Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
NETSCOUT nGeniusONE1.5%
Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM)0.6%
Other97.9%
Network Monitoring Software
 

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
Mohammed Hassan - PeerSpot reviewer
Helps us by providing root cause analysis when it comes to latency and performance issues
I would recommend NETSCOUT nGeniusONE to others yet not for small SMBs due to the pricing. It is important to have the necessary NETSCOUT experience for smooth integration. The automated issue detection sometimes has a few false positives but is overall cost-effective for our customers. I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.
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

"You can integrate all the networks into the software."
"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 product makes the management of our environment simpler."
"We use the product to manage access points."
"The monitoring capability is the best in Cisco Data Center Network Manager. It helps me improve network management tasks and optimize processes."
"The tool's most valuable feature is the consolidated dashboard, providing insights into parameters and overall usage of network features. It allows us to easily summarize insights through the dashboards. The solution offers automation capabilities, particularly in the context of connecting LAN sites with websites."
"Fabric suite automation is a great feature."
More Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) pros
"The fact that it's able to capture and store packets from the wires is very useful for troubleshooting with our vendors, when issues do come up. It's valuable that we have that overall data for them."
"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"It's a consolidated, single tool that talks to multiple platforms. It's not vendor-proprietary; it's independent. It provides interoperability with different products, whether they are routing products, switching products, wireless, wired, load balancing, or proxy. It works with anything you can name."
"The system's ability to prevent downtime represents a significant return on investment, but I do not have specific numerical data."
"The most valuable feature of NETSCOUT nGeniusONE is it helps customer to understand what risks are in their network. For example, if a customer has some wrong configurations. It could cost them some critical services to slow down."
"The installation process is straightforward."
"It catches bigger issues on a weekly basis. That's how often we find something big enough that the only reason we know about it is because of the nGeniusONE. The bigger issues are mostly security-type issues: Odd traffic leaving our network or coming into it, that has found its way past a firewall."
"We are using nGeniusONE to run our bandwidth capacity management reports. In the past, we used to be very reactive, we used to depend a lot on suppliers to tell us which sites are our hot sites, meaning, which have high bandwidth utilization. Now we do this in a much more proactive way and we are moving to a more predictive approach in that aspect, thanks to nGeniusONE."
More NETSCOUT nGeniusONE pros
 

Cons

"If the customer thinks about using additional solutions, Cisco should make sure they are not left out."
"Data Center Network Manager is a little complex because it includes a lot of hardware to be installed."
"We need better performance and reliability."
"It's very costly."
"The initial setup is challenging."
"In the next release, I would like to see it merged with Prime and I think that it should be more unified."
"Could integrate better with VMware products."
"It's a relatively expensive product for some clients."
More Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) cons
"There are so many pieces of their product that integrate with one another that perhaps a recommendation for improvement would be some sort of bigger overview and map to help understand how all their pieces integrate together."
"They can improve still on the workflows, document their workflows that are commonly used... We don't know some of the workflows yet, and it's not something that you can just read up in the manual. There is some stuff in the help manual and online, but it's to a point where you need to purchase extra training and services from them. You can't just go and read up on it yourself and learn from A to Z..."
"here is a big issue with the special way they use InfiniStream to store data."
"The GUI has gotten better over time but there could be some improvement in how the GUI is built."
"The single pane of glass view is a challenge. I like the graphics, they're easy to understand, but when more digging is required, it's more complicated to get what I'm expecting."
"nGeniusONE could be improved by reducing the number of bare metal servers required to run it. Currently, you need a separate bare metal server for each of the following: Xfinity, ISNG, nGeniusONE, and CFS. It would be more cost-effective and less complex if all of these functionalities could be combined into a single bare metal server."
"Trying to set up dashboards is hard to figure out at times, if you don't do it every day. It's not really intuitive to set them all up... If there were a wizard to take us through, step-by-step, creating dashboards and the like, that would be really helpful."
"There is currently less visibility or GUI to analyse the packet for troubleshooting purposes."
More NETSCOUT nGeniusONE cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is very expensive."
"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."
"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 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."
"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 biggest problem we have with this product is the expense."
"The platform is expensive."
"This solution has saved us more than $50,000 a month and freed up 30 percent of our bandwidth."
"The scalability becomes very expensive quickly."
"The license becomes cost prohibitive very quickly."
"Their pricing is very competitive with other solutions... But what I like about NETSCOUT's licensing is that it's shared across all their platforms. They don't create a new licensing scheme for every one of their products. So for nGeniusONE, you buy a certain license level, and it works on all of their products."
"The product is too expensive compared to other products."
"Licensing is flexible, it's not tied to anything else. We can easily switch up the licensing piece... Obviously, NETSCOUT is a little bit in the higher range, but it gives you value for money. You get what you pay for."
More NETSCOUT nGeniusONE pricing and cost advice
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise15
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business14
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise37
 

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
Which is the best DDoS protection solution for a big ISP for monitoring and mitigating?
I would say if it’s an ISP that will build a scrubbing center, Netscout/Arbor is a good solution. In all other solutions, Imperva is a great choice.
See all answers
What do you like most about NETSCOUT nGeniusONE?
Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NETSCOUT nGeniusONE?
The pricing is a bit high yet not overly expensive. The cost depends on the size of the customer, as sizing controls the pricing.
See all answers
 

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Compared 10% of the time
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Compared 8% of the time
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Compared 10% of the time
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Compared 9% of the time
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Compared 9% of the time
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SolarWinds NPM vs NETSCOUT nGeniusONE
Compared 8% of the time
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Compared 4% of the time
More NETSCOUT nGeniusONE Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM)
October 2025
Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) reportDownload Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) product report
Buyer's Guide
NETSCOUT nGeniusONE
September 2025
NETSCOUT nGeniusONE reportDownload NETSCOUT nGeniusONE product report
 

Also Known As

Cisco Data Center Network Manager
NETSCOUT nGenius, nGeniusONE
 

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
The nGenius Real-Time Monitor software provides you with tools to monitor and display information about your network both historically and in real time. The nGenius Real-Time Monitor software allows you to understand your current network usage and to plan for future needs. It also allows you to proactively troubleshoot problem areas in your network.
NETSCOUT
 

Sample Customers

Banco de Guayaquil, Cox Communications, Kuwait Petroleum Italia, Roper St. Francis, University of British Columbia
Cerner Corporation
Buyer's Guide
Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs. NETSCOUT nGeniusONE
September 2025
Free Report: Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs. NETSCOUT nGeniusONE
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs. NETSCOUT nGeniusONE and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
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