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Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs Plixer Scrutinizer comparison

Cisco and Plixer are both solutions in the Network Monitoring Software category. Cisco is ranked #17 with an average rating of 8.0, while Plixer is ranked #52 with an average rating of 8.0. Cisco holds a 0.6% mindshare in NMS, compared to Plixer’s 0.4% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 92% of Plixer 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
Plixer Scrutinizer
Read 15 Plixer Scrutinizer reviews
  • 1,289 Views
  • 877 Comparison Views
92% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 2024

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller and Plixer Scrutinizer are both prominent products in the network management and analysis industry. Cisco appears to have an upper hand in ecosystem integration and stability, while Plixer leads in traffic analysis and data visualization.

Features: Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller provides stability and comprehensive automation features, making it ideal for managing large networks. It supports a wide range of automation tools and integrates efficiently with Cisco products. Plixer Scrutinizer specializes in providing historical network traffic insights. It offers real-time insights and efficient data processing, which are key for detailed network analysis and security integration.

Room for Improvement: Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller could be improved by simplifying configuration processes and enhancing third-party tool integration. There is also a need for better API robustness and a more competitive pricing strategy. Plixer Scrutinizer needs to improve reporting capabilities, user interface complexity, and data storage options. Simplifying the deployment process would also enhance user experience.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller can be deployed in on-premises and private cloud environments, but its technical support varies in quality, with operational support requiring improvement. Plixer Scrutinizer is mainly deployed on-premises, and while it is generally easy to use, the effectiveness of customer support could be improved when required.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller is considered expensive, but its robust features and ecosystem integration offer good ROI over time. Its pricing model supports its extensive functionalities. Plixer Scrutinizer offers a competitive pricing model based on device numbers, which some users find cost-effective. Its pricing reflects its capabilities well, providing solid ROI through efficiency and security focus.

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To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs. Plixer Scrutinizer Report (Updated: September 2025).
Buyer's Guide
Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs. Plixer Scrutinizer
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
Plixer Scrutinizer
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
52nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) (11th)
 

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 Plixer Scrutinizer is 0.4%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Monitoring Software Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM)0.6%
Plixer Scrutinizer0.4%
Other99.0%
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
Ira Mulyanti - PeerSpot reviewer
An affordable product with great integration capabilities
Plixer Core Platform is a valuable feature and a good software. Plixer Scrutinizer uses NetFlow analysis to monitor whatever is there in a network. Price-wise, Plixer Scrutinizer is not an expensive product. Basically, Plixer Scrutinizer is an affordable product. Plixer Scrutinizer is a tool that allows for customization, especially in scenarios where customers need new product features. Plixer Scrutinizer is a tool that can integrate with any other brand or product in the market, so it is not an area of concern.
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

"The interface of this solution is easy to use overall."
"Automation of the ILS."
"I like running the scripts. With the help of a Python script, we deployed within the configuration and built up the code."
"The product makes the management of our environment simpler."
"I like that is easy to work on and straightforward."
"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."
"It has a very nice dashboard so you can see what's currently happening in the network and the performance of the back story."
"After installation, you almost forget that it is working."
More Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) pros
"As a network engineer, the ability to identify what traffic on the link is consuming all the bandwidth at any given time, and provide immediate feedback to the business, is the most valuable feature."
"One of the most valuable features of Plixer Scrutinizer is the reporting, particularly how easy it is to drill down into the reports. Another valuable feature of the solution is its overall visibility. It's great. I also liked Plixer Scrutinizer in terms of deployment time and that it's very simple to set up. Once you get the appliance set up and connected, the customer starts to see results immediately, versus other solutions where that could take a while."
"Plixer Scrutinizer is an affordable product. Plixer Scrutinizer is a tool that allows for customization, especially in scenarios where customers need new product features."
"It's agnostic as far as what your network gear is. As long as it supports an sFlow, JFlow, NetFlow, some kind of flow monitoring, Plixer will support it very well."
"We didn't experience any bugs."
"The most valuable features of the solution are the ability to track what a device is doing and to go back historically. It is also able to go down to, and identify, very low levels of traffic."
"There are other tools out there that will do what Scrutinizer does. But what I have found with Scrutinizer is that it does it very quickly. I've taken 25 million individual data fragments from the different sensors, and it has graphed that and mapped it and presented a picture within 30 seconds. It has a very efficient database algorithm that I am really impressed with."
"It helps us determine what is going on with our Internet and who is hogging it all up. If we get a real high throughput or a throughput that's going over and getting dropped fairly quickly, we can tell who (or what device) is consuming that traffic."
More Plixer Scrutinizer pros
 

Cons

"The tool's pricing strategy could be improved to compete more effectively in the market, especially against competitors like Huawei, Aruba, and Juniper."
"The solution needs to improve reports."
"The automation feature could be improved."
"The visibility of applications is not great."
"The delivery Cisco Data Center Network Manager could improve if it was easier. Additionally, some feature improvement is needed."
"It is not very easy to monitor or to browse."
"Could integrate better with VMware products."
"Sometimes the product gives us problems that require support."
More Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) cons
"Though Plixer Scrutinizer has network detection and response, it's an area that needs just a little more rounding out. Another room for improvement in the solution is its lack of SaaS offering which some customers were looking for. My company deals in small to medium businesses, mid-market, and some customers wanted the SaaS feature which Plixer Scrutinizer doesn't offer. What I'd like to see in the next release of the solution is for it to have a SaaS offering because my company also deals with educational spaces and smaller businesses that just don't have the staff that can implement this. If there's either a managed service or SaaS-based offering to just make it a little easier for those types of customers, it would be a great addition to Plixer Scrutinizer."
"For updating the Scrutinizer platform, when we have the actual data, it never happens in one day. Every time we have the data, we are obliged to install a new server in order to integrate the old data, and every time it has a problem. Most of the time, we were obliged to scrap all the data because we couldn't transfer it to the new server. So, it would be very good if they could improve this part."
"I wish the reporting side was easier to work with, but it does a decent job. I also wish the reporting side was a little more intuitive or they offered more reporting examples."
"The visual acuity of how it presents data can sometimes be confusing. It takes a bit for people to spin up how to look at the graphs."
"Knowing that they're coming out with a new user interface, that is an area where there is room for improvement. There are so many variables. They should limit the variables in the user interface and create some classes, like "simple," "novice," and "expert" to narrow down the variables within it."
"In Plixer Scrutinizer, scalability is an area with minor concerns where improvements are required."
"The reporting structure, the front-end GUI, also needs some work. It needs some getting used to. It works fairly well, but it's a technical tool rather than a user tool. You have to understand the structure of the databases before you can really use it."
"We couldn't get it set up properly."
More Plixer Scrutinizer cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"When we purchase a Nexus box, the MDS CM license comes with it."
"The price of Cisco Data Center Network Manager is expensive compared to other vendors on the market."
"The solution is very expensive."
"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."
"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 product is licensed with contracts that work on a yearly basis rather than a monthly model."
"There are no extra costs. It's about $8,000 a year. The bang for the buck (cost) is definitely a plus."
"Our entire solution, amortized over five years, is in the vicinity of $40,000 to $50,000 a year."
"We just renewed. The pricing is 5,000 euro per year. This is the final price. All tax (20 percent) is included."
"It's about €10,000 a year for initial license and yearly maintenance costs. In addition, the hardware costs are about €10,000 once every five years."
"Currently, the license for Plixer Scrutinizer is subscription-based and at a yearly fee. The price would depend on the amount of traffic you pull in. For example, there are several blocks from a 10K flow, a 40K flow, and a 100K flow, and based on the number of devices that you receive the flows from, that's the license, and it is not a per-interface pricing model, so that is a very strong, very competitive pricing feature of Plixer Scrutinizer. Licensing for the product is also not based on the number of storage, compared to some competing products that are priced based on the amount of storage you need, particularly based on the retention and the amount of data. Plixer Scrutinizer licensing is based on the device, and it's more in the direction of $10,000 because, with just $1,000, you don't have anything."
"The licensing cost for Plixer Scrutinizer is in the middle. It's not the cheapest, but it's not the most expensive. Its licensing model is based on how many exporters, how many devices export information to the system. Plixer Scrutinizer has different modules you could add such as the security module which would cost extra."
"We recently bought a license upgrade, so we will integrate more exporters. We upgraded from a 25 exporter license to a 50 exporter license. Therefore, there will be more flows, and this will be an extension. I don't know when we will purchase a faster server, because the server that we have is quite new."
"We pay our one-off cost for the licenses, per device, in blocks of 50. And then we pay an annual maintenance fee of about $15,000 Australian, which is, at this point in time, about $9,000 US, for those 250 devices. The upfront costs for the 250-license use, were about $50,000 Australian, which is about $32,000 US."
More Plixer Scrutinizer 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
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
9%
Computer Software Company
7%
 

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 Business4
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise8
 

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
What do you like most about Plixer Scrutinizer?
Plixer Scrutinizer is an affordable product. Plixer Scrutinizer is a tool that allows for customization, especially in scenarios where customers need new product features.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Plixer Scrutinizer?
I rate Plixer Scrutinizer's price a three on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price or affordable, and ten is high price or expensive.
See all answers
What needs improvement with Plixer Scrutinizer?
I don't have deep enough knowledge to comment on what requires improvements in Plixer Scrutinizer. In Plixer Scrutinizer, scalability is an area with minor concerns where improvements are required.
See all answers
 

Comparisons

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Compared 16% of the time
SolarWinds Network Automation Manager vs Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) Logo
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) Logo
SolarWinds NPM vs Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM)
Compared 10% of the time
Icinga vs Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) Logo
Icinga vs Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM)
Compared 8% of the time
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SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer vs Plixer Scrutinizer Logo
SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer vs Plixer Scrutinizer
Compared 28% of the time
Cisco Secure Network Analytics vs Plixer Scrutinizer Logo
Cisco Secure Network Analytics vs Plixer Scrutinizer
Compared 27% of the time
Kentik vs Plixer Scrutinizer Logo
Kentik vs Plixer Scrutinizer
Compared 23% of the time
PRTG Network Monitor vs Plixer Scrutinizer Logo
PRTG Network Monitor vs Plixer Scrutinizer
Compared 22% of the time
More Plixer Scrutinizer 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
Plixer Scrutinizer
September 2025
Plixer Scrutinizer reportDownload Plixer Scrutinizer 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

The Scrutinizer incident response system leverages network traffic analytics to provide active monitoring, visualization, and reporting of network and security incidents. The system quickly delivers the rich forensic data needed by IT professionals to support fast and efficient incident response.

Plixer
 

Sample Customers

Banco de Guayaquil, Cox Communications, Kuwait Petroleum Italia, Roper St. Francis, University of British Columbia
Oxford Networks, Squaw Valley Ski Holdings, UltiSat, Wipro, West Aurora School District 129, SUNY Geneseo College, Bloomington Public Schools, First National Bank of Pennsylvania, Kitsap Credit Union, Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County Houston Texas, Carilion Clinic, Banner Health, IDEXX Laboratories, Phibro Animal Health Corporation, Goodwill Industries, Parmalat, Armstrong Coal Company, Flybe, James Walker
Buyer's Guide
Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs. Plixer Scrutinizer
September 2025
Free Report: Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs. Plixer Scrutinizer
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