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Cisco Prime [EOL] vs DX Spectrum comparison

Cisco and Broadcom are both solutions in the Network Management Applications category. Additionally, 91% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 89% of Broadcom users who would recommend it.
Cisco Prime [EOL]
Read 35 Cisco Prime [EOL] reviews
    91% willing to recommend
    DX Spectrum
    Read 118 DX Spectrum reviews
    • 9,128 Views
    • 1,460 Comparison Views
    89% willing to recommend
     

    Comparison Buyer's Guide

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    Executive Summary
    We performed a comparison between Cisco Prime [EOL] and DX Spectrum based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

    Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Fortinet, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and others in Network Management Applications.

    DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE REPORT
    To learn more, read our detailed Network Management Applications Report (Updated: May 2026).
    Buyer's Guide
    Network Management Applications
    May 2026
    Download the complete report
    Helped 893,244 peers since 2012

    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 Prime [EOL]
    Average Rating
    7.8
    Reviews Sentiment
    6.5
    Number of Reviews
    35
    Ranking in other categories
    No ranking in other categories
    DX Spectrum
    Average Rating
    8.4
    Reviews Sentiment
    6.7
    Number of Reviews
    118
    Ranking in other categories
    Network Management Applications (8th), Network Monitoring Software (21st), IT Infrastructure Monitoring (20th), Network Troubleshooting (6th), DX NetOps (1st)
     

    Featured Reviews

    ZeeshanAli1 - PeerSpot reviewer
    ZeeshanAli1
    Senior Network Engineer at a healthcare company with 10,001+ employees
    Robust, cost-effective, and provides good visibility, but the scalability could improve
    We are extremely satisfied with the reliability and robustness of Cisco Prime Infrastructure, which we have been using for many years. Compared to newer products such as DNS centers or others, it has proven to be much more stable, which is important for large-scale operations. Stability is a primary concern for us, and we are glad that Cisco Prime Infrastructure meets our expectations in that regard. Furthermore, in regards to Legacy Plus new hardware, Cisco Prime has proven to be a reliable and adaptable solution thus far. Not only can it support older hardware, but it also has the capability to handle new features with the latest updates. If we consider new solutions such as DNS Center, we may have to sacrifice some legacy features that we still rely on. We may need to continue using these legacy features for a few more years due to various reasons such as budget constraints or the site not being a high priority. However, if we switch to a new product at this stage, we may lose a lot of the monitoring and other capabilities that we have with Cisco Prime. We have a close relationship with Cisco and understand that they are not prioritizing investments in Cisco Prime as they are encouraging customers to adopt the Cisco DNA Center. This means that we don't anticipate many new features to be added to the product in the future. While we know that we will eventually have to transition to a new solution, in the meantime, we plan to do a quick refresh of our legacy products.
    Read full review
    PinchasAlbalya - PeerSpot reviewer
    PinchasAlbalya
    Network Engineer at a educational organization with 1,001-5,000 employees
    Monitoring has become centralized and management now sees real‑time health of key network assets
    The time investment required is significant, not because of difficulty but because of the need for free time to invest in it. We need to get the knowledge. We know there are many options, but we took an external vendor to install and make the customization. If we want to make others changes without paying for customization, we need to learn it deeply by ourselves. The tutorials are very complicated. They could work on that area. The tutorial part could be more simplified. I know there are many explanations, and you can get help or documents in one click on the current page in the product, but it is not very clear. If you want to do something new that you did not see from the vendor in the installation, it is not very simple. The documents are good for people that know how to operate the product well, but for new users, it is not simple.
    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 map overview of our campus environment shows the distribution of RF frequency channels and the distribution of a client, providing us with a great idea of where the busier areas are within our environment to allow us to tweak and tune."
    "What attracts customers to Cisco Prime is it is readily available."
    "The most valuable feature of Cisco Prime is the heat map."
    "The VLAN mapping function has been most impactful in simplifying our network management tasks."
    "Cisco Prime has been around for a long time, and it keeps getting better and better."
    "The installation is easy."
    "What I found most beneficial from Cisco Prime is that it gives you an insight into what your network does, even when you're not actively monitoring what's going on with your network."
    "The solution's configuration management tool is amazing because it centralizes and pushes configurations which saves a lot of volume and effort."
    More Cisco Prime [EOL] pros
    "Spectrum is the best."
    "Monitoring window, graphical representation of devices, automatic updating of databases, high scalability, high robustness, and user-friendly options are some of the most valuable features for us."
    "The most valuable feature is the auto-discovery, which is nice because you don't have to do anything to add a new component."
    "Allows us to have a single console/notification point, with the alarms of all the tools that we use for monitoring."
    "By using event rules and procedures, we got an improved event management process, and CA Spectrum is very useful for event handling and brings us a robust manager of managers console."
    "If you like to sleep at night and not be disturbed on the weekends, get Spectrum."
    "Implemented with Enterprise Customers across region, it is a very strong fault management tool with extraordinary correlation and alarming."
    "It allows us to manage alerts, schedule downtime and maintenance, as well as triage documentation for our support teams."
    More DX Spectrum pros
     

    Cons

    "Cisco Prime could improve the graphical user interface."
    "The overall management capabilities of Prime need to be improved."
    "Cisco Prime needs to have lower prices and more customization options."
    "We would like to see the inclusion of detailed alerts."
    "The product's performance monitoring feature could be more intuitive."
    "There is room for improvement in the Access layer."
    "Now, the complexity has increased, so the quality of work also has taken a slight hit with respect to their TAC support especially."
    "They can also improve the management of more enterprise devices."
    More Cisco Prime [EOL] cons
    "SpectroSERVER and reporting databases can grow quickly if you don't keep track of trap storms; this can cause SpectroSERVER to crash and performance issues with reporting."
    "The CA Technologies sales team destroyed their relationship with our business units."
    "I think they should improve or add advance performance reporting in the reporting part of Spectrum, they have recently replaced CABI with Jaspersoft in new version as a reporting integration."
    "If nobody else has said the documentation needs improvement, let's go there. I understand, you can either write about it or you can do it. And most of us would rather they do it, but now that they've done it, those of us that didn't do it, we need to go and find: "Where did they write about this to tell us how to do it?" That's always lacking."
    "A better integration with the UIM, as far as being able to do root cause analysis and that type of analytics."
    "For us, the implementation was quite complex but it's because of the large number of different environments we're dealing with."
    "OS monitoring needs to be better developed, as well as their services, e.g., cluster monitoring, URLs, etc."
    "CA Spectrum is expensive."
    More DX Spectrum cons
     

    Pricing and Cost Advice

    "The solution is not inexpensive but is worth it for large-scale environments."
    "I would rate the solution's pricing an eight out of ten."
    "The product is expensive compared to other vendors in the market."
    "The cost is quite high."
    "We update the license every five years."
    "You need to get special quotes from the company for each order."
    "I would rate the pricing of Cisco Prime a seven out of ten."
    "Cisco Prime is an expensive solution."
    More Cisco Prime [EOL] pricing and cost advice
    "DX Spectrum's pricing depends on the license number. It is affordable."
    "The price is good enough to expect an ideal solution. It's expensive."
    "The cost of some of these products are a little cost prohibitive, which is unfortunate. We have to find lower cost solutions for some of the things that we have to pull in. For the most part, CA has capabilities in pretty much everything that you would need. You just have to figure out where are you going to spend the most money for what you have to actually get done. You can do all these things but, which ones do you have to do? And that's hard to choose sometimes because you want to do them all."
    "It is expensive compared to other tools in the market."
    "Currently, a perpetual license but some services are moving to a subscription"
    "Since the acquisition by Broadcom, we have not had such a good experience with licensing and pricing. Since they were bought by Broadcom, every sales contract is getting complicated. It's very complicated, and it's much more expensive than before. It's not a good pricing strategy from Broadcom."
    "In general, the license cost will be about 30% of the total TCO for this tool (hardware/support team, OS costs, and OS management)."
    "It’s a great tool, but an expensive one. Learn how to use it properly."
    More DX Spectrum pricing and cost advice
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    Top Industries

    By visitors reading reviews
    Government
    12%
    Construction Company
    9%
    Manufacturing Company
    8%
    Comms Service Provider
    7%
    Financial Services Firm
    17%
    Construction Company
    9%
    Comms Service Provider
    8%
    Manufacturing Company
    7%
     

    Company Size

    By reviewers
    Large Enterprise
    Midsize Enterprise
    Small Business
    By reviewers
    Company SizeCount
    Small Business9
    Midsize Enterprise4
    Large Enterprise24
    By reviewers
    Company SizeCount
    Small Business25
    Midsize Enterprise19
    Large Enterprise90
     

    Questions from the Community

    Ask a question
    Earn 20 points
    What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for DX Spectrum?
    The price is very, very high.
    See all answers
    What needs improvement with DX Spectrum?
    The time investment required is significant, not because of difficulty but because of the need for free time to invest in it. We need to get the knowledge. We know there are many options, but we to...
    See all answers
    What is your primary use case for DX Spectrum?
    The university purchased DX Spectrum, called ICE. DX Spectrum NAC is working for us only on Cisco 9200 switches. It is not working on any other switch like C1000 or HG or any 2960X. Even other Cisc...
    See all answers
     

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    Product Reports

    Buyer's Guide
    Cisco Prime [EOL]
    May 2026
    Cisco Prime [EOL] reportDownload Cisco Prime [EOL] product report
    Buyer's Guide
    DX Spectrum
    May 2026
    DX Spectrum reportDownload DX Spectrum product report
     

    Also Known As

    Cisco Prime Infrastructure
    CA Spectrum
     

    Overview

    Cisco Prime products deliver next-generation management by supporting an intuitive workflow-oriented user experience and integrated lifecycle operations across Cisco architectures, technologies, and networks.

    Cisco

    DX Spectrum is a comprehensive network monitoring tool designed for scalability and accuracy. With features like fault management, topological mapping, and customizability, it addresses network issues effectively while ensuring reliable infrastructure oversight.

    Known for its robust capabilities, DX Spectrum excels in fault management and network monitoring, offering features such as Global Collections and Event Correlation for precise issue detection. This scalability allows it to monitor large infrastructures efficiently using SNMP traps. Automated device discovery and seamless integrations with tools like SOI and Zabbix enhance its functionality, providing users with a streamlined experience. The interface allows for deep visibility and is supported by REST API for improved integration and automation.

    What are the key features of DX Spectrum?
    • Fault Management: Identifies and manages network faults efficiently.
    • Topological Mapping: Offers a graphical representation of network topology.
    • Customizability: Provides extensive options to tailor the tool to specific needs.
    • Global Collections: Enhances issue detection across networks.
    • Event Correlation: Reduces false alerts by correlating network events.
    • Scalability: Manages large networks with SNMP traps.
    • Automated Discovery: Automatically identifies and integrates devices into monitoring.
    • REST API: Facilitates seamless integration and automation.
    Why should users consider DX Spectrum in reviews?
    • Operational Efficiency: Increases efficiency through automation and integration.
    • Deep Visibility: Provides comprehensive network visibility and control.
    • Reliability: Ensures stable and reliable network operations.
    • Integration Capabilities: Works seamlessly with multiple external tools.
    • Customizability: Allows customization to meet specific monitoring needs.
    • Proactive Management: Supports proactive issue resolution with accurate notifications.

    DX Spectrum finds extensive applications across industries for network infrastructure monitoring. It is vital in sectors where maintaining service uptime and quickly resolving network faults is critical. Organizations leverage its configuration management, alarm/event management, and integration capabilities to maintain smooth network operations, especially in environments with large and complex network infrastructures.

    Broadcom
     

    Sample Customers

    Mohawk Industries, Universidad EAFIT, Halton Healthcare
    National Informatics Centre India, Banese, Olympus, AlphaServe Technologies, Sicredi
    Buyer's Guide
    Network Management Applications
    May 2026
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