Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs Observer GigaStor comparison

Cisco and Viavi Solutions are both solutions in the Network Monitoring Software category. Cisco is ranked #13 with an average rating of 8.1, while Viavi Solutions is ranked #89. Cisco holds a 0.7% mindshare in NMS, compared to Viavi Solutions’s 0.4% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Viavi Solutions 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

Observer GigaStor

Read 7 Observer GigaStor reviews

964 Views
588 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabri...

Observer GigaStor

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 2024

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller and Observer GigaStor compete in network management and monitoring. Cisco Nexus appears to have the upper hand in network fabric management due to its strong automation capabilities, whereas Observer GigaStor excels in detailed traffic analysis.

Features: Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller provides network automation, orchestration, and advanced management of network fabrics. It offers a centralized dashboard for network policy and device lifecycle management, boosting operational efficiency. Observer GigaStor specializes in real-time network monitoring, in-depth forensic analysis, and long-term traffic data retention, enabling precise troubleshooting.

Room for Improvement: Cisco Nexus could benefit from enhanced integration with third-party services, more user-friendly interfaces, and better documentation for beginners. Observer GigaStor might improve by increasing its data processing speed, offering more scalability options, and integrating more seamlessly with existing infrastructures.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco Nexus benefits from integration within Cisco ecosystems, ensuring streamlined deployment and cohesive customer service, with robust support derived from Cisco's expertise. Observer GigaStor offers flexible deployment options for diverse environments and provides specialized support for monitoring issues.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller typically involves higher initial costs but provides significant ROI with automation benefits, reducing manual configuration efforts. Observer GigaStor's pricing is variable, aligning with its specialized monitoring capabilities, making it a cost-effective solution for traffic analysis needs.

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

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs. Observer GigaStor

December 2025

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Helped 881,114 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

13th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Observer GigaStor

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

89th

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

8.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Troubleshooting (14th), Network Packet Broker (NPB) (11th)

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 Observer GigaStor is 0.4%, up from 0.2% 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%
Observer GigaStor	0.4%
Other	98.9%

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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Jeroen-Dubbelman

Director at Bitrate

Aids significantly in the threat-hunting process and provides a score-based evaluation of user experience

There are many valuable features, but understanding end-user response times stands out. It provides a score-based evaluation of user experience, helping customers quickly pinpoint whether issues originate from the network, server, client, or application. Additionally, it facilitates in-depth analysis of application dependencies. The retrospective network analysis capability of Observer GigaStor has been beneficial. It's a pivotal feature for network performance solutions. However, I prefer to consider the entire solution suite - GigaStor, along with GigaFlow and Apex - for comprehensive network visibility and monitoring. So, I prefer to integrate all three solutions to provide the best visibility. They complement each other well, with Apex aggregating and correlating data from both GigaStor and GigaFlow to enhance environmental understanding and troubleshooting efficiency.

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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

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

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

"The product makes the management of our environment simpler."

"Data Center Network Manager is absolutely stable."

"Automation of the ILS."

"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."

"Monitoring system provides a clear indication of what's going on in the network."

"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."

More Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) pros

"This solution allows us to see exactly what is going on in the network and we can very quickly solve issues with users."

"I also have the ability to see an application's performance, to see what's going on, why a network is slow, why this program for this user is experiencing a delay or some network issue"

"There are many valuable features, but understanding end-user response times stands out. It provides a score-based evaluation of user experience, helping customers quickly pinpoint whether issues originate from the network, server, client, or application. Additionally, it facilitates in-depth analysis of application dependencies."

"It's able to capture packets and, after a long time, you can come and use that information; to check, to analyze - everything you would want to do. So it's very good and helpful if you want to protect your data. It is stored in a certain place where you can access it every time you want to analyze it."

"It can help to write your rules, organize firewalls, your block, and also your protocols and IP address to come in or out of your network."

"The ability to capture packets. It is not only for monitoring. That is very important for a company that wants to keep an eye on the packets, the transactions, the flows..."

Cons

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

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

"Data Center Network Manager is a little complex because it includes a lot of hardware to be installed."

"The visibility of applications is not great."

"The initial setup is challenging."

"It's a relatively expensive product for some clients."

"I do not believe it integrated well with different infrastructures for hybrid environments."

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

More Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) cons

"GigaStor feeds into Apex. So, the area where there could be improvement would be in artificial intelligence. For example, the incorporation of more advanced machine learning or AI capabilities could enhance its functionality."

"Graphics need improvement. Because a lot of the information there you have to input first in some case to have full potential. It could be more automated."

"I would like to have more than 4TB of storage available in the portable version of this solution."

"Maybe the graphical user interface could be simplified to allow people to use it more easily. It's already good, but they can work more on it to make it even easier."

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."

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

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

"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."

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

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

"It's quite expensive."

"It depends on the requirements you have. There are three types of license. There's the updates license, the work group license, and the workstation license."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Government

13%

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

Healthcare Company

Financial Services Firm

17%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

Wholesaler/Distributor

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	3

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 do you like most about Observer GigaStor?

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Observer GigaStor?

I would rate the pricing a ten out of ten. It's quite expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Observer GigaStor?

GigaStor feeds into Apex. So, the area where there could be improvement would be in artificial intelligence. For example, the incorporation of more advanced machine learning or AI capabilities coul...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 45% of the time

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

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

More Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) Competitors

Wireshark vs Observer GigaStor

Compared 16% of the time

Gigamon Deep Observability Pipeline vs Observer GigaStor

Compared 14% of the time

Viavi Observer Platform vs Observer GigaStor

Compared 10% of the time

Fortinet FortiSIEM vs Observer GigaStor

Compared 8% of the time

AppNeta by Broadcom vs Observer GigaStor

Compared 8% of the time

More Observer GigaStor 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

Observer GigaStor

January 2026

Download Observer GigaStor product report

Also Known As

Cisco Data Center Network Manager

No data available

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

Observer GigaStor is a network analysis tool that comes in a variety of form factors, including rack mount, portable, and virtual. Capable of storing up to a petabyte of traffic for later analysis, GigaStor helps ensure optimal network and application performance.

Viavi Solutions

Sample Customers

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

Cisco Systems, Hawaiian Telecom, Renown Health, State of Nevada, U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, Allstate Insurance, Jack Henry & Associates, United States Airforce, US Bank, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Chicago Board Options Exchange

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs. Observer GigaStor

December 2025

Free Report: Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs. Observer GigaStor

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