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

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 28, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
1.0
Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller delivers consistent connections and high ROI, benefiting diverse sectors over a decade.
Sentiment score
6.6
PRTG Network Monitor provides cost-effective returns by enhancing efficiency, reducing downtime, and minimizing staffing needs through proactive monitoring.
It provides accurate data for utilization, allowing us to monitor and optimize our investments in WAN connection capacity.
Network Manager at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
After introducing PRTG Network Monitor, we have saved time, and it's easy for everybody to monitor everything.
Architect at a consultancy with 1-10 employees
The implementation reduced our employee resources from 20-25 to 5-6 employees.
Senior consultant at Cambridge Institute of Technology
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.4
Customer service is praised for responsiveness and expertise, though some operational cases take longer to resolve.
Sentiment score
6.7
PRTG Network Monitor support is generally effective, but time zone issues and complex queries can delay responses.
Cisco's support I would rate as a 10 compared to all other vendors.
Network Engineer at a healthcare company with 1,001-5,000 employees
They resolve our queries 24/7.
software engineer at Capgemini
The setup process is well-documented, making it easy to deploy.
Solutions Architect at Boch Systems Company Limited
Tutorials are available so I can manage any issue with PRTG Network Monitor easily.
IT Infrastructure Engineer at Atlas
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller is scalable, supporting integration and expansion, with varied user experiences on upgrading and compatibility.
Sentiment score
7.4
PRTG Network Monitor is scalable and flexible for varying deployments but requires extra licenses and hardware for growth.
On a scale of one to ten, scalability is rated as 9.5.
Solutions Architect at Boch Systems Company Limited
PRTG Network Monitor has the ability to scale and add new devices.
IT Infrastructure Engineer at Atlas
You can install them in each network, even if they are not connected, and it works.
IT Consultant at M-COM s.r.o
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.8
The Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller is praised for its stable performance and reliability, especially in managing data centers.
Sentiment score
7.9
PRTG Network Monitor is highly stable with reliable performance, minimal downtime, and robust updates, despite minor external issues.
We haven't needed vendor support for the last three years, which demonstrates the product's stability.
Network Manager at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
PRTG Network Monitor is stable in my experience, and I have not encountered issues with crashes or downtime.
Associates at Mphasis
PRTG Network Monitor is very stable and requires low maintenance.
Software Engineer at Asahi Beverages
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco Nexus Dashboard needs easier configuration, better integration, improved performance, intuitive reporting, and competitive pricing to enhance user experience.
PRTG Network Monitor needs improvements in customization, performance, support, integration, analytics, and cost-efficiency for enhanced usability and flexibility.
I do not believe it integrated well with different infrastructures for hybrid environments.
Network Engineer at a healthcare company with 1,001-5,000 employees
The initial auto-discovery added too many unnecessary sensors, so auto-discovery should only take the necessary sensors into consideration.
Senior consultant at Cambridge Institute of Technology
They need to improve application performance monitoring, error tracing mechanisms, and log management.
Solutions Architect at Boch Systems Company Limited
PRTG Network Monitor should provide syslog monitoring since it is not available at this time.
IT Infrastructure Engineer at Atlas
 

Setup Cost

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller is costly but offers high value, transparent pricing, and excellent support and service.
PRTG Network Monitor is cost-effective for enterprises, but costs may rise; offers flexible licensing with annual support.
The licensing part is a recurring license for every year, which is very affordable, making PRTG Network Monitor budget-friendly.
software engineer at Capgemini
Pricing is by the number of devices, not by sensor.
Solutions Architect at Boch Systems Company Limited
The prices are very high for PRTG Network Monitor.
IT Infrastructure Engineer at Atlas
 

Valuable Features

The Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller offers stability, ease of use, integration, and real-time insights for optimized network management.
PRTG Network Monitor is valued for its rapid deployment, intuitive interface, scalability, reliability, and comprehensive monitoring features.
People typically understand north-south traffic flows but usually miss the east-west traffic flows in data centers.
Network Engineer at a healthcare company with 1,001-5,000 employees
PRTG Network Monitor already provided me with 100 free sensors, which is enough for my network monitoring.
IT Infrastructure Engineer at Atlas
PRTG Network Monitor has a good dashboard that shows each and every piece of information, so we can easily find out what is happening with the systems.
Architect at a consultancy with 1-10 employees
These reports help me in my day-to-day work, and I rely on them because they provide proof during escalation, with exact downtime logs and related information.
Software engineer at Bosch
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabri...
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
13th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
26
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
PRTG Network Monitor
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
5th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
112
Ranking in other categories
IT Infrastructure Monitoring (4th), Cloud Monitoring Software (9th)
 

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 PRTG Network Monitor is 3.3%, down from 4.0% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Monitoring Software Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
PRTG Network Monitor3.3%
Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM)0.7%
Other96.0%
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.
madhan kumar hs - PeerSpot reviewer
software engineer at Capgemini
Alerting precision has reduced incident response times and improved department-level network visibility
The auto-pause sensor during the maintenance window is good without any false alerts, and it prevents me from getting flooded with alerts during planned maintenance, helping department heads understand their own network usage better. It has reduced incident response time by giving clearer ownership of each alert, ensuring alerts go to the proper recipient. SNMP testers and auto-pause are among the best features of PRTG Network Monitor, which is particularly useful for different departments such as HR and finance, where alerts can be filtered accordingly. The alerting features and dashboard of PRTG Network Monitor are very helpful, especially in our industry. However, the dashboard can look cluttered on smaller screens, which is one negative aspect. PRTG Network Monitor has impacted us positively; we have stopped getting flooded with alerts during planned maintenance or unplanned outages. Compared to others, this gives specific alerts very quickly and helps department heads understand their own network usage better, thus reducing incident response time so that each alert has clear ownership.
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Comparison Review

it_user174738 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Developer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
May 31, 2015
Nagios vs. Zabbix vs. PRTG vs. Spiceworks vs. Solarwinds Network Performance Monitor
I have researched a quite a few network monitoring tools which can be used for various monitoring purposes of not only the servers, but the intermediate routers as well. There are majorly three types of these softwares. Ones which are completely open-source, you can do almost anything you want…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
13%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Healthcare Company
6%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Government
8%
 

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 Business59
Midsize Enterprise19
Large Enterprise47
 

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.
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 the best network monitoring software for large enterprises?
PRTG network monitor is one of the best tool i have ever used for the monitoring. It have auto discovery option. it avoid the configuring the device in PRTG. It automatically discover the device an...
What do you like most about PRTG Network Monitor?
The tool is integrated with our email for the alerts.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for PRTG Network Monitor?
The pricing was higher at the beginning, but the recurring licensing cost is affordable and reasonable. Overall, the pricing, setup cost, and licensing is fair for our industry. They have quoted us...
 

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
Jameson Bank, Sidnix, RungeICT, MedicalAnimal, Truck-lite, GamingGrids, The Covell Group, Forsythn County Schools, NetMass, Musgrove Park Hospital, Lanes Health, Columbia Southern University, Vodafone, Intrust Bank
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs. PRTG Network Monitor and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
879,853 professionals have used our research since 2012.