Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs Pulseway comparison

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabri...

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 2024

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller and Pulseway are network management tools. Cisco stands out with comprehensive networking features, while Pulseway is preferred for ease of use.

Features: Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller delivers stable management with automation, integration with security tools, and detailed graphical network analysis. It effectively manages Nexus devices, ensuring network stability and security. Pulseway provides convenient mobile app functionality for efficient remote monitoring, easy administration for quick IT tasks, and flexible network activity management on-the-go.

Room for Improvement: Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller requires simpler configuration, better integrations with various platforms, and more competitive pricing. Users also express concerns about complex setup processes and a need for user-friendly templates. Pulseway can improve its graphical user interface, add VOIP monitoring capabilities, and enhance response times. Adding a desktop app would offer a more productive experience alongside its mobile functionality.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller is compatible with on-premises and private cloud environments, but has challenges with technical support and setup complexity, though development support receives positive feedback. Pulseway allows hybrid and public cloud deployments, needing minimal technical support due to its straightforward system, effectively catering to users seeking simplicity.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller is often considered expensive, with licenses bundled with hardware purchases. The ROI tends to be positive long-term, attributed to performance gains. Pulseway offers competitive pricing suitable for smaller teams, providing good value against alternatives like Kaseya and SolarWinds. Its flexible licensing ensures satisfactory ROI for ongoing client interactions.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs. Pulseway Report (Updated: March 2026).

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs. Pulseway

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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

28th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Pulseway

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

54th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Server Monitoring (17th), Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) (15th)

Mindshare comparison

As of March 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 Pulseway is 0.5%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Monitoring Software Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM)	0.6%
Pulseway	0.5%
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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Pieter Plas

Owner at Beerepoot Automatisering B.V.

A solution with a great monitoring system and ability to control access remotely

The initial setup was straightforward. Deployment depends on the size of a customer. We make the customer in the enterprise server, and there is a download per customer for the installation package. We can also roll it out very easily, and when we install it on one or two systems, it explores the network for more systems. We can then fire a deployment package on the other systems. So in one hour, we can do a lot. Most of the time, 90% of the work is very easy, and the last 10% are the business-critical systems from a customer. Also, we manually install important customer systems, like special applications where we like to monitor specific services in the server itself.

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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

"We use the product to manage access points."

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

"For our purposes, excellent stability is the most valuable feature because we provide services for clients who need a dependable 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."

"The product has excellent stability."

"The solution is very stable and it has never crashed on us."

"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."

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

More Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) pros

"The solution has great workflow and server modules."

"They provide a lot of features; it's good and easy software."

"It gives you remote control and has a mobile app."

"It has made life a lot easier for the administrators."

"We like the patching of the window updates in the client's systems. You can automatically do updates with a single click."

"It has been very helpful to get notifications about various issues with my servers and network to help me take action to resolve problems before they become major issues."

"So this solution allows for 24/7 support and is very handy."

"One of the applications I have used the most was to troubleshoot users and I've never faced difficulties or issues with the application itself."

More Pulseway pros

Cons

"The visibility of applications is not great."

"The initial setup is challenging."

"The product is good but quite expensive."

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

"The delivery Cisco Data Center Network Manager could improve if it was easier. Additionally, some feature improvement is needed."

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

"One of the biggest challenges is that we aren't always able to push the configuration onto the target device. Whenever this happens, we have to do a factory reset, put on the script, and then reconfigure it again. In the next release, I would like to have a troubleshooting feature."

"The visibility of applications is not great, which is why we study upscalability."

More Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) cons

"The solution does not allow you to make a script for just one customer."

"However, the solution does not allow you to make a script for just one customer, so it would be great if that is improved."

"Sometimes the speed is a problem. When I've been remote controlling people, from time to time, there were some issues with people in Hong Kong."

"It would be nice if it also had a desktop application, similar to the phone app, which would allow me to monitor and control computers from my desktop."

"Remote Desktop Assistance for Mac endpoints - not having this functionality is a major inconvenience in having to have two systems for clients using this platform."

"GUI needs to be improved and the solution lacks a process for monitoring VOIP calls."

"They have good technical support but it's not excellent."

"There are some bugs or glitches."

More Pulseway cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

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

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

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

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

"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."

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Government

10%

Construction Company

Healthcare Company

Computer Software Company

Construction Company

13%

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	10
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	16

No data available

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

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Comparisons

Cisco DNA Center vs Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM)

Compared 24% of the time

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

Compared 12% of the time

Zabbix vs Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM)

Compared 11% of the time

Arista Data ANalyZer vs Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM)

Compared 10% of the time

SolarWinds Network Automation Manager vs Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM)

Compared 10% of the time

More Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) Competitors

Kaseya VSA vs Pulseway

Compared 6% of the time

Zabbix vs Pulseway

Compared 6% of the time

SolarWinds NPM vs Pulseway

Compared 4% of the time

Datto Remote Monitoring and Management vs Pulseway

Compared 4% of the time

Microsoft Configuration Manager vs Pulseway

Compared 4% of the time

More Pulseway Competitors

Product Reports

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM)

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

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) report

Download Pulseway 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

Pulseway is a remote monitoring and management (RMM) platform designed to help MSPs and IT teams manage modern IT networks, reduce downtime, and achieve efficiency through automation, while increasing end-user satisfaction.

Pulseway’s intuitive interface provides real-time actionable detailed information on servers, workstations, and network devices. Using Pulseway’s customizable alerts, you can quickly identify problems, communicate with users, and automatically resolve issues with built-in commands and scripts.

Some of Pulseway’s benefits and features include:

Comprehensive monitoring: Pulseway’s remote monitoring feature provides a complete view of your entire network. Gain visibility into operational data for workstations, servers, virtual machines, network devices, and more. If necessary, resolve issues directly from the same interface.

Remote access: Get a real-time view across your network, receive alerts, and remedy problems from anywhere with any mobile device using Pulseway’s full feature mobile app.

Automation: Automate repetitive tasks and design auto-remediation workflows, ensuring that critical patches are automatically applied.

Quick setup: Get your team up and running in minutes with Pulseway’s simplified deployment and auto-discovery engine. See all the IT endpoints and then rapidly mass deploy Pulseway with pre-configured built-in policies and out-of-the-box scripts.

Patch management: Pulseway automates the discovery and application of operating systems and third-party patches to ensure all your applications are kept up to date.

Reporting: Use custom or ready-made templates to create reports on system status and events. Reports can be sent manually or emailed automatically on schedule.

Backup and recovery: Protect your users’ data wherever it is stored and restore it to anywhere. Pulseway Cloud Backup’s intuitive interface enables you to easily schedule and deploy backups, recover data, and check up on backup status from both the Pulseway web application and the Pulseway mobile application. Quickly deploy backup agents.

Vulnerability scanning: Pulseway’s vulnerability scanner is easy to use and alerts for vulnerabilities in real time. With Pulseway’s vulnerability scanner, organizations can easily perform standard vulnerability scans that are regarded as international best practice.

Eliminate data loss: Prevent data loss and downtime from ransomware attacks with built-in detection and safeguards that allow for fast recovery after an attack.

Service ticket management: Pulseway’s complete help desk and ticketing solution allows you to respond quickly and professionally to user issues.

CRM: Get the information and resources you need to focus on your customers and increase opportunities.

Project management: Receive real-time project status with details on resource usage and tasks.

Finance and billing: Automatically create and post invoices imported from timesheets and expense reports.

Time tracking: Log precise information on time and expenses by company, project, tasks, and employees. Automatically record how much time is spent on a ticket for accurate billing.

Integrations: Integrate with leading solutions, including:

Pulseway PSA
ConnectWise Manage
Autotask
Zendesk
Slack
IT Glue
Kasepersky
Bitdefender
WarrantyMaster

Sample Customers

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

Dell, Canon, Siemens, Harvard University, Northwestern University

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs. Pulseway