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Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs TruView 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
TruView
Ranking in Network Monitoring Software
78th
Average Rating
9.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
17
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 TruView is 0.5%, up from 0.1% 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%
TruView0.5%
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.
MM
Network Engineer at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees
Monitors traffic, analyzes flows, tracks packets, and measures bandwidth across our network
We use TruView primarily for network performance analysis and monitoring. It helps us track traffic, flows, packets, and bandwidth to understand our network's condition and detect any anomalies or attacks. However, the product's age limits its advanced features for performance analysis. The main advantage lies in its low cost and reliable functionality, as we have a permanent license and do not require support. Real-time monitoring in TruView is somewhat limited, as there is a delay of about five minutes in data updates, making it less effective for immediate insights.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"There are many valuable features in this solution: The automation of the ILS, the automation of the small changes, the lands updates, scheduling, integration - basically, the pushing of features that we used to do manually."
"The product has excellent stability."
"Fabric suite automation is a great feature."
"VCNM provides a unique capability of managing the admin VDCs of Nexus boxes."
"The interface of this solution is easy to use overall."
"This solution is the easiest and most straightforward."
"For our purposes, excellent stability is the most valuable feature because we provide services for clients who need a dependable solution."
"We use the product to manage access points."
"The most valuable feature for us was the ability to monitor sites and get a nice overview of all the data in a single view."
"We use TruView primarily for network performance analysis and monitoring. It helps us track traffic, flows, packets, and bandwidth to understand our network's condition and detect any anomalies or attacks. However, the product's age limits its advanced features for performance analysis. The main advantage lies in its low cost and reliable functionality, as we have a permanent license and do not require support. Real-time monitoring in TruView is somewhat limited, as there is a delay of about five minutes in data updates, making it less effective for immediate insights."
"Visual TruView helped our network team respond to potential issues before they became larger ones."
"It gives us the ability to determine the root of a problem or a network, whether it's on the network side, the database, application server, or server infrastructure."
"TruView takes only minutes to install."
 

Cons

"More integration features would be beneficial."
"If the customer thinks about using additional solutions, Cisco should make sure they are not left out."
"It's very costly."
"The product is good but quite expensive."
"I would like to see improved integration with other tools."
"Automation for the RMA process can be added."
"It would be nice to have the ability to more easily collect information from other software when doing some types of analysis."
"Could integrate better with VMware products."
"I can't give them quite a 10, because from time to time, I'll work with the folks who, not that they're not good, but there are some who are just phenomenal."
"Whilst Citrix could be handled better like their nGenius product line (which does an excellent job) it copes with the centralised type of deployment TruView covers."
"We have faced delays in data retrieval and the lack of support due to the product being out of service."
"One area that could be improved is the reporting features. In the version transformation from ten to eleven, the platform changed from a Windows-based platform to a Linux-based platform. As a result, the previous reporting feature using Crystal Reports was no longer available. Instead, we had to generate PDF dashboard reports, which were not as flexible."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product is licensed with contracts that work on a yearly basis rather than a monthly model."
"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."
"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 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."
Information not available
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902,988 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Healthcare Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
19%
Construction Company
17%
Transportation Company
6%
Healthcare Company
6%
 

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 Enterprise6
Large Enterprise7
 

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 needs improvement with TruView?
We have faced delays in data retrieval and the lack of support due to the product being out of service.
What is your primary use case for TruView?
We use TruView to monitor traffic, analyze flows, track packets, and measure bandwidth across our network. This helps us gain insights into our network's performance, detect any anomalies or attack...
What advice do you have for others considering TruView?
Overall, I would rate TruView a nine out of ten. I would recommend it for mid-sized organizations, particularly those with fewer than two thousand people, as it offers flexible licensing without de...
 

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
FloraHolland, Miami-Dade Public Library System, Southeastern Freight Lines, Valdosta State University, Everett Clinic, Bioreference, Key Information Systems, ACER, Odeabank A.S.
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs. TruView and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.
902,988 professionals have used our research since 2012.