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Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs PRTG Enterprise Monitor comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 2024

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
24th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
26
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
PRTG Enterprise Monitor
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
29th
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2026, 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 PRTG Enterprise Monitor is 0.5%, down from 0.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Monitoring Software Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM)0.6%
PRTG Enterprise Monitor0.5%
Other98.9%
Network Monitoring Software
 

Featured Reviews

Jagdev Dhaliwal - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
Emmanuel Appiah Boateng - PeerSpot reviewer
Network and Security Engineer at a educational organization with 1,001-5,000 employees
Proactive monitoring has reduced network downtime and enables rapid incident response
The main benefits PRTG Enterprise Monitor provides for us include helping us respond quickly to network problems. For our virtualization switches, we normally use a different vendor, but I am not in charge of that particular system. I have not really used the pre-configured sensors feature in PRTG. A different team handles reporting. For now, nothing really comes to mind regarding additional functions for PRTG. I think it is good for what we use it for. I cannot really say much about technical support because I have never had a situation where I have to reach out. I would give PRTG Enterprise Monitor a final rating of eight. I would definitely recommend PRTG Enterprise Monitor to other users. I am an end user of the product. I am quite satisfied with the alerting part of PRTG, as it is quite good.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"More than good enough as we have new clients everyday connected using this product"
"After installation, you almost forget that it is working."
"Fabric suite automation is a great feature."
"For our purposes, excellent stability is the most valuable feature because we provide services for clients who need a dependable solution."
"The monitoring system in this product is valuable, providing a clear indication of what's going on in the network and the server processing, power, etc., and the user interface is also very good and very informative."
"Stability is not an issue."
"We have had a good ROI from Data Center Network Manager, and there is also a facility on Cisco's website to calculate the ROI from adopting this solution."
"The most valuable feature is the connectivity monitoring."
"What I really appreciate about PRTG Enterprise Monitor is that it is very easy to set up, especially the configuration, which is not complicated, and it is very straightforward to go in and change things."
"The solution's ability to monitor each and every aspect of our devices, such as memory utilization and port connectivity, is valuable."
"It can identify downtimes and disruptions."
"The product's most valuable feature is network analysis."
"From a technical perspective, the product's most valuable feature is SNMP, an open standard monitoring protocol that works across various network devices and operating systems, including UNIX and Windows."
"It provides a vast array of options for dashboard creation and monitoring of the activities within the environment."
"The product is easy to understand."
"The solution offers perfect real-time bandwidth monitoring and SNMP functionality."
 

Cons

"The automation feature could be improved."
"It's very costly."
"I would like to see improved integration with other tools."
"The solution needs to improve reports."
"More integration features would be beneficial."
"Could integrate better with VMware products."
"It's a relatively expensive product for some clients so perhaps improvement could be made in that area."
"It is not very easy to monitor or to browse."
"PRTG Enterprise Monitor should include more functionalities and features that are similar to SolarWinds."
"In my opinion, one area that could be improved in PRTG Enterprise Monitor is the capability to send SMS notifications. Notifications are crucial for alerting us to areas that require attention."
"They should work on minimizing false positives by sending alerts promptly and confirming errors with minimal troubleshooting requirements."
"There is no unified monitoring in PRTG. It needs a lot of improvement in terms of integration."
"Regarding the pricing aspect, we used to pay 5,000 dollars for PRTG Enterprise Monitor. Given that we scaled it up and there's a new pricing model, it increased to 14,000 dollars."
"The licensing policy needs to change. The current model requires customers to purchase a minimum of two thousand licenses, which is not flexible for all customers."
"The licensing policy needs to change."
"The solution could be improved by including a processing monitor, possibly with a language interface like Lua, allowing for writing custom sensors and processing outcomes of inputs."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"On average, Data Center Network Manager's pricing isn't too costly unless you choose a premier license."
"The solution is very expensive."
"The product is licensed with contracts that work on a yearly basis rather than a monthly model."
"The price of Cisco Data Center Network Manager is expensive compared to other vendors on the market."
"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 solution is affordable."
"PRTG Enterprise Monitor is an expensive product."
"PRTG Enterprise Monitor's pricing is reasonable."
"I rate the product's pricing an eight to seven out of ten."
"The pricing is $2,149 for software without maintenance, and licenses are sold in the minimum bundle of 500 interfaces."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Healthcare Company
7%
Healthcare Company
11%
Educational Organization
9%
University
9%
Comms Service Provider
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise16
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise2
 

Questions from the Community

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?
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...
What is your primary use case for Cisco Data Center Network Manager?
The main use case for URL filtering with PAN-DB is that it performs quite well. Earlier, when I started in 2012, there was a Blue Coat product available during that period. I am not certain whether...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for PRTG Enterprise Monitor?
I would rate the pricing of PRTG Enterprise Monitor maybe a six. I think a six is fine, as it is reasonable and not expensive.
What needs improvement with PRTG Enterprise Monitor?
When it comes to dashboard customization in PRTG Enterprise Monitor, there are not too many options, and I think that would not be a strong point for PRTG, but for our use cases, we do not really n...
What is your primary use case for PRTG Enterprise Monitor?
I mainly use PRTG Enterprise Monitor for network infrastructure monitoring. I am currently working as a Network and Security Engineer.
 

Also Known As

Cisco Data Center Network Manager
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Banco de Guayaquil, Cox Communications, Kuwait Petroleum Italia, Roper St. Francis, University of British Columbia
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs. PRTG Enterprise Monitor and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
902,988 professionals have used our research since 2012.