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 #18 with an average rating of 8.2, while NETSCOUT is ranked #30 with an average rating of 8.5. Cisco holds a 0.6% mindshare in NMS, compared to NETSCOUT’s 1.6% 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

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824 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

NETSCOUT nGeniusONE

Read 50 NETSCOUT nGeniusONE reviews

3,348 Views
2,344 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabri...

NETSCOUT nGeniusONE

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.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs. NETSCOUT nGeniusONE Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

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

July 2025

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Helped 865,576 peers since 2012

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

18th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

NETSCOUT nGeniusONE

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

30th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) is 0.6%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NETSCOUT nGeniusONE is 1.6%, down from 1.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Monitoring Software

Featured Reviews

Upul Abhayasena

Manager - Technology at a engineering company with 10,001+ employees

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…

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Ruslan Melnyk

Business Unit Manager at BAKOTECH

Useful for network performance monitoring

My manager can explain the use cases attached to the product. I am a unit leader in my company, and I don't sell the product directly to our partners or customers. In my company, I manage certain processes and a team while building, developing, and providing them with a direction for the market. NETSCOUT nGeniusONE is a good solution for network performance monitoring since it is not cloud-based. My company sells NETSCOUT nGeniusONE in eight to ten countries. I think the solution is not good for capacity planning, but it is better to help find problems in applications because not every infrastructure is good at managing working applications. I think it is a solution meant for applications. The tool is useful for solving problems attached to applications. The tool's real-time network monitoring capability was used when the product was more reactive. In our company, if we use real-time monitoring, then we need to deal with raw traffic. In our company, if we don't see any problem in the real-time systems, we have the possibility to rely on the tool since it acts like a time machine for us, which can allow us to get back to the areas of problem and solve them. I recommend the product to those who plan to use it. For many users, it can be a good monitoring system that can be scaled up in the future. I think it is a good product to start with when working systems in an environment. NETSCOUT nGeniusONE is another tool used to manage raw traffic, and I find it to integrate well into our customers' network. I am not using it actively on the system. I use the tool for network packet brokers. I rate the tool a ten out of ten.

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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

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

"The interface of this solution is easy to use overall."

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

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

"I don't have to rely on the on-site engineer who can do the configuration. I can have our team just plug the devices and perform remotely. I can also do the templates."

"I like that is easy to work on and straightforward."

"We use the product to manage access points."

"The product has excellent stability."

More Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) pros

"The packet-based searching capability of NETSCOUT is highly valued as it allows us to better analyze the network."

"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."

"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."

"The most valuable feature of this solution is being able to drill down into any kind of troubles that are reported to us, by use of identifiers."

"The support is good."

"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."

"The most valuable feature is visibility."

"It gives me the MOS, latency, and jitter."

More NETSCOUT nGeniusONE pros

Cons

"The initial setup is challenging."

"Could integrate better with VMware products."

"The automation feature could be improved."

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

"It would be nice to have the ability to more easily collect information from other software when doing some types of analysis."

"If the customer thinks about using additional solutions, Cisco should make sure they are not left out."

"It's very costly."

"Sometimes the product gives us problems that require support."

More Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) cons

"This is a typical thing, but every time they do a major code upgrade, we get hit with some nasty bugs. Some of them literally stop the whole platform from collecting traffic data. They should really do more Q&A on the software stability before release."

"It's not intuitive, it's not simple to use. It is probably the only monitoring tool, out of all the ones that I have, that I really need an expert on, an expert from nGenius, a contractor that I have to pay, to manage the tool. And that's because it's simply not easy to use. Netscout needs to focus on making it easier to use."

"I would recommend enhancing the APM capabilities."

"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."

"Maybe the optics cost could be improved. It's not about the product itself, but the optics cost from other companies is very high, which affects the business. When you buy a $1 million product, you shouldn't be expected to pay $500,000 for support. So, support, operation, and professional services are very expensive. It's the main weakness."

"here is a big issue with the special way they use InfiniStream to store data."

"I'd like to see the nGeniusONE, the nGeniusPULSE, and the OptiView, their three separate products, work a little better together, a little more streamlined."

"NETSCOUT nGeniusONE can improve the detection of what area of the infrastructure could be having an issue, such as an application, server, or network. It needs to find evidence of a fault."

More NETSCOUT nGeniusONE cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

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

"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."

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

"The solution is very expensive."

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

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

"The platform is expensive."

"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."

"The price is only for acquisition; it's not a licence."

"The biggest problem we have with this product is the expense."

"It can be expensive, but if you have a good configuration, based on what you are looking for, it's okay, it's manageable."

"There is a need to make yearly payments towards the licensing charges attached to the product. The product may come across as a cheap tool for some, while it may seem costly for others."

"Make sure you get the low down on your licensing and understand the licensing requirements before making a purchase, especially when it comes to an upgrade. Make sure that it suits your needs before you commit to it. For example, we purchased ATA at version 6.2.1. At that time, the licensing covered everything we need. NETSCOUT comes out with 6.2.2, stating that in order to upgrade, you had to purchase CyberStream licensing. Now that requires some additional funding from both a capital investment and a maintenance cost. That's something that should have been said, "Well, if you want these additional features, you will need to purchase these CyberStreams." Otherwise, we should be allowed to continue on the basic operations as it is now through the newer releases without being stuck."

"It is a little overall pricey and expensive, but 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

12%

Government

12%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

13%

Computer Software Company

13%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

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.

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

Comparisons

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Compared 51% 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

SolarWinds NPM vs Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM)

Compared 8% of the time

Icinga vs Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM)

Compared 8% of the time

More Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) Competitors

Dynatrace vs NETSCOUT nGeniusONE

Compared 10% of the time

Gigamon Deep Observability Pipeline vs NETSCOUT nGeniusONE

Compared 10% of the time

ThousandEyes vs NETSCOUT nGeniusONE

Compared 10% of the time

SolarWinds NPM vs NETSCOUT nGeniusONE

Compared 8% of the time

Ixia Network Packet Brokers vs NETSCOUT nGeniusONE

Compared 5% of the time

More NETSCOUT nGeniusONE Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM)

August 2025

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) report

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

Buyer's Guide

NETSCOUT nGeniusONE

August 2025

Download 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

July 2025

Free Report: Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs. NETSCOUT nGeniusONE

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