Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance vs DX Unified Infrastructure Management comparison

Cisco and Broadcom are both solutions in the Network Monitoring Software category. Cisco is ranked #43 with an average rating of 8.0, while Broadcom is ranked #70. Cisco holds a 0.7% mindshare in NMS, compared to Broadcom’s 0.7% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 92% of Broadcom users who would recommend it.

Cisco Provider Connectivity...

Read 24 Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance reviews

2,574 Views
1,596 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

DX Unified Infrastructure M...

Read 120 DX Unified Infrastructure Management reviews

2,955 Views
1,507 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

Cisco Provider Connectivity...

DX Unified Infrastructure M...

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 28, 2025

DX Unified Infrastructure Management and Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance are robust tools in networking and infrastructure. DX UIM holds the upper hand due to its scalability, stability, and integration flexibility, while Cisco gains an edge with its strong connectivity features.

Features: DX UIM offers advanced agent-based technology for extensive monitoring, a diverse probe library, and customizable dashboards. It seamlessly integrates various monitoring processes, enhancing management effectiveness. Cisco focuses on connectivity assurance with reliable network performance, seamless integration, and robust diagnostic tools that ensure consistent network operations.

Room for Improvement: DX UIM could enhance customer support, particularly during integration challenges, and address gaps in VMware monitoring. Improved dashboard integration, especially in event correlation, would benefit users. Cisco requires improvements in report generation and flexible integration options for better infrastructure monitoring effectiveness.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: DX UIM is adaptable to hybrid and on-premises environments, though customer service has diminished since CA's acquisition. Cisco offers diverse deployment options with responsive customer service, although users find navigating beyond first-line support challenging for both.

Pricing and ROI: DX UIM is a premium solution, delivering strong ROI through features that enhance automation and operational efficiency. Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance remains competitively priced yet impactful, although recent price increases have been challenging for users. Its value in maintaining network reliability provides noticeable operational cost savings.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance vs. DX Unified Infrastructure Management Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance vs. DX Unified Infrastructure Management

December 2025

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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 Provider Connectivity...

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

43rd

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Performance Monitoring (APM) and Observability (43rd)

DX Unified Infrastructure M...

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

70th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

120

Ranking in other categories

Server Monitoring (23rd), IT Infrastructure Monitoring (49th), Cloud Monitoring Software (42nd), AIOps (25th)

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance is 0.7%, down from 1.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of DX Unified Infrastructure Management is 0.7%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Monitoring Software Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance	0.7%
DX Unified Infrastructure Management	0.7%
Other	98.6%

Network Monitoring Software

Featured Reviews

Sylvain Germe

Application and Network Performance Engineer at a tech services company with 1-10 employees

Highly scalable, responsive support, but lacking new features

This solution is geared towards on-premise setups, and would not be useful if the company plans to move to the cloud within the next two years, such as Google Cloud for example. If the goal is to monitor bandwidth at remote sites and identify performance issues because the network is under the control, this solution is useful. However, if a company primarily uses cloud-based servers and does not manage the internet connection of its remote sites, the solution becomes less useful. I rate Accedian Skylight a seven out of ten. I have a positive opinion of the tool, but it can be challenging to set up. It is also limited in its applicability to certain use cases. I am familiar with the engineers behind the solution and have a good impression of them. However, I am not pleased with the fact that the company removed many features and raised prices after it was acquired by Accedian.

Read full review

Kc Njokuoma

Solution Architect at SA Consulting

Helps us provide visibility into network performance, capacity planning, and cost analysis

Better support and more accessible resources are crucial. Customers have expressed that support is not as flexible, and it is difficult to obtain necessary information quickly. Customers would benefit from improved training material for integration with other products. The solution's pricing is high and needs to be reconsidered, and the technical support should improve to provide more accessible and open information.

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

"This solution has helped to improve the interaction between our network, datacenter, and application teams. I have used other tools, but this tool can pinpoint the root cause of my application or network issue in the majority of the cases. So, it helps different divisions or groups in the IT department to troubleshoot together and get an issue resolved. This tool helps a lot in our day-to-day networking application and IT operations."

"One valuable feature we have is real-time monitoring for connection issues."

"If [the problem] is something related to HTTP or VoIP, then I can have a quick look into the protocols, a process which gives me some good ideas..."

"The feature I used to like the most was its ability to decode layer seven protocols, although this is becoming less useful now that encryption is so widespread."

"The ability to measure performance end-to-end across the cloud data center allows us to take corrective action to keep our channels online."

"Capturing traffic [is very interesting]. Currently, with our configuration, we don't capture the payload of the packets, just the header. But when we want the body, the payload of the packets, we can do a PCAP, and then analyze it within Wireshark."

"What I like most about Accedian Skylight is that it's a UI application, so using it is easy. I also like that the support for Accedian Skylight is helpful."

"The response times, with the performance, are really interesting too, where you can see the packet loss."

More Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance pros

"What I like about DX Unified Infrastructure Management is that it's a very good product. The feature I found most valuable in the solution is the MCS feature, which is the automatic deployment of the objects you want to monitor. You can set up a system, for example, if it's a Windows machine and I want to test specific devices on it, I could do that through DX Unified Infrastructure Management. That type of deployment is very good because it means you won't miss any monitoring aspect on any server."

"Latest version of tool comes integrated with Jaspersoft reporting solution, giving excellent reports."

"Monitoring infrastructure and business applications are the most valuable features."

"I would recommend DX Unified Infrastructure Management to others as it is a good and reliable solution."

"MultiWAN and Balance service"

"You can integrate clouds, hybrid infrastructure, and on-premise infrastructure into one product."

"DX Unified Infrastructure Management offers visibility into network activities, integration capacity, and enhances monitoring at the core and application levels."

"Great customized dashboards and drill down reports with auto serve analytics."

More DX Unified Infrastructure Management pros

Cons

"This solution is expensive compared to some others."

"Some of the Skylight applications are a little newer, and they're still moving through initial revs. There are certain bugs, but nothing is insurmountable... It will just take a little bit of time for their user interface to get a little bit better."

"Because of the policies in Vietnam, we cannot connect the system to the Accedian cloud. It would be good if Accedian could provide a local cloud. In the next release, I would like them to focus on improving and adding more reporting features. This will help the operations teams."

"If you want a new version, you go to the website. The hardest part is finding the link, where is that .bin file? Sometimes it's pretty hidden in a document... it's hidden in the release notes or in another file somewhere. And it's usually not on the first page either."

"Human resource costs can be high when dealing with connection issues."

"There should be an option to update and upgrade the solution to the new version without having to re-buy it. I have clients switching to other solutions. The old solution is great, but if you change your license to a new one, you have to almost re-buy it completely."

"For the PVX, they are in the process of getting the results to export to cloud and SaaS for analytics. They told me that this will happen later this year. Right now, for the most part, I create that data myself."

"It's a bit slow. When I execute a query, something general with a short timeframe that covers one month, for instance, and I do not specify the IP source or IP destination, it can take ages because it has to query the whole database."

More Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance cons

"They need to continue to advance the filter capabilities, and provide more input fields."

"Currently lacks a mobile application which would be helpful."

"It needs a little bit more functionality in the Admin Console."

"I would like to see auditability. We've built our own audit functionality to ensure that every CI has the desired model configuration applied to it. And we run that on a daily basis. If that became part of the product, I think it might be a little bit less intensive in terms of resource, because we're doing it with scripts."

"Within this product there are individual probes, and each of these probes doesn't always necessarily output the same kind of information into our database. So when we try to collect what's called QoS data, from one probe we might get a ton of information, lots of good stuff that we can use in our database, but then from another probe, we might not get so much or we might not be able to pull the things that we want to."

"We had to do some work to make what was more of a business class solution work at an enterprise level."

"We've had issues with pulling reports."

"A useful feature to have would be automatic configuration per standard by new robots that check in for any particular customer."

More DX Unified Infrastructure Management cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Pricing is a little bit expensive."

"If you look into Riverbed, it's a licensing nightmare. You need to pay for every type of analysis... If you don't look into licensing, Riverbed and SolarWinds are pretty comparable. But if you look into licensing it would not be smart to go for either of them. On the pure, bare-metal basis, it's the same. But when you get the bare metal and a few basic licenses, then you need all those other licenses just to be sure that there's no issue... One of the great things about Skylight is you have them all, and you actually need them all."

"It's not for free, clearly. But on the other hand, it offers very interesting functionality. We pay around €100,000."

"We understand there's a significant cost difference, but have yet to investigate fully."

"The pricing is cheaper than other competing products, which is better for our budgets."

"The price is competitive overall, depending on the type of customer."

"The pricing of Accedian Skylight is really good. The sensors are low cost. Their model to analytics for sensors is by license, endpoint, or session. With the probes for their analytics, if they get deployed virtually, they are free. The licensing is only based on flows. So, you can effectively deploy probes everywhere in your network. Then, if you want to look at a specific type of traffic, you can enter into it with a very low cost license. You can just use things like spam ports, mirrors, TAPs, and aggregators to optimize what sort of traffic you send to these analysis tools. Then, if you want to start looking at more, you can up your licensed as you go. You are not getting forced into expensive appliances or subscription models."

"The solution was previously well-regarded, but after being acquired by Accedian, the prices have significantly increased. This has made it challenging to sell the product due to its high cost. It is an expensive solution."

More Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance pricing and cost advice

"Pricing for DX Unified Infrastructure Management isn't cheap at all. It's a complex tool, so you have to pay more. No one is happy with a large bill to pay, but if it's a complex product and you designed a complex solution to be monitored, it'll be your fault that you need to buy an expensive product, and that would be implicit in the design of DX Unified Infrastructure Management. Monitoring is just a small part of it. Sometimes you have to pay a significant amount of money for a complex yet very good solution."

"The product-price ratio is better than other brands such as Fortinet or SonicWall."

"The license cost depends on the number of probes and robots."

"This product is expensive compared to other vendors (SolarWinds, ManageEngine)."

"Reasonable setup cost and licensing prices."

"CAD $400,000 annually."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

27%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Government

Financial Services Firm

16%

Performing Arts

13%

Manufacturing Company

Media Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	14
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	9

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	29
Midsize Enterprise	20
Large Enterprise	80

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with Accedian Skylight?

Human resource costs can be high when dealing with connection issues. I require more tools to file and resolve these issues efficiently.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Accedian Skylight?

I had prepared for COC and the client. I work as a vendor for a client using Flow Mount for network performance monitoring. I focus on resolving client-side issues related to Packy Performance and ...

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Accedian Skylight?

I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for DX Infrastructure Manager?

We are an integrating company that offers DX Unified Infrastructure Management to customers. We help them set it up, do the integration, and provide support. Our end customers include financial ins...

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering DX Infrastructure Manager?

I would recommend DX Unified Infrastructure Management to others as it is a good and reliable solution. I would rate it nine out of ten due to its robust functionality and capability to support inf...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for DX Infrastructure Manager?

The pricing of DX Unified Infrastructure Management is high and often a concern for customers. The cost is higher compared to other Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), which is feedback we hav...

See all answers

Comparisons

ThousandEyes vs Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance

Compared 16% of the time

Dynatrace vs Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance

Compared 7% of the time

Zabbix vs Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance

Compared 6% of the time

LiveNX vs Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance

Compared 6% of the time

AWS X-Ray vs Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance

Compared 5% of the time

More Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance Competitors

Fortra's Network Server Suite vs DX Unified Infrastructure Management

Compared 8% of the time

NetCrunch vs DX Unified Infrastructure Management

Compared 5% of the time

Goliath Performance Monitor vs DX Unified Infrastructure Management

Compared 5% of the time

Ixia Hawkeye vs DX Unified Infrastructure Management

Compared 4% of the time

SelectStar vs DX Unified Infrastructure Management

Compared 4% of the time

More DX Unified Infrastructure Management Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance

January 2026

Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance report

Download Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance product report

Buyer's Guide

DX Unified Infrastructure Management

January 2026

DX Unified Infrastructure Management report

Download DX Unified Infrastructure Management product report

Also Known As

Accedian Skylight, Accedian SkyLIGHT PVX, SkyLIGHT PVX, SecurActive, Performance Vision

DX Infrastructure Manager, DX Infrastructure Manager for Z Systems and CA UIM for zSystems, CA UIM (DX Infrastructure Manager), CA Nimsoft Monitor, CA UIM, DX Infrastructure Manager

Overview

Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance is known for its user-friendly approach to network analysis and performance monitoring. It excels in real-time diagnostics, helping organizations quickly resolve network issues and optimize performance effortlessly.

Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance focuses on comprehensive network troubleshooting and performance monitoring, assisting in identifying bottlenecks and analyzing applications. Real-time data collection and evaluation ensure IT infrastructure efficiency. With active monitoring of latency, jitter, and throughput, users maintain smooth operations across multiple sites and applications. While highly effective, improvements in data handling, protocol support, and dashboard aesthetics are suggested to enhance user experience.

What are the key features of Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance?

Flow Matrices: Advanced analysis of network paths and traffic distribution.
SQL and DNS Analysis: In-depth insights into database and domain queries for troubleshooting.
Bandwidth Assessment: Evaluation of network capacity and utilization for performance optimization.
Real-time TWAMP Monitoring: Tracks network performance using Two-Way Active Measurement Protocol.
Application Performance Modules: Monitors the performance of various applications and services.
Customizable Dashboards: Personalized views for tracking critical network metrics and trends.
PCAP Capturing: Detailed packet analysis using tools like Wireshark for deeper insights.

What benefits and ROI should users look for in reviews?

Ease of Use: Intuitive design allowing users to swiftly diagnose network issues.
Comprehensive Monitoring: Enhanced visibility of network activity for better control.
Performance Efficiency: Optimization of throughput, reducing downtimes and improving service delivery.
Cost-Effectiveness: Balances features and functionality with competitive pricing for better ROI.

In industries such as telecommunications and finance, where network reliability is crucial, Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance offers critical network performance insights. It supports high-demand environments by providing data-driven decisions, ensuring infrastructures handle increased loads efficiently.

Cisco

DX Unified Infrastructure Management is the only solution that provides an open architecture, full-stack observability and zero-touch configuration for monitoring traditional data center, public cloud, and hybrid infrastructure environments.

Designed to ensure an optimal end-user experience, this solution provides a modern HTML5 operations console that makes it easy and fast for today’s IT teams to implement, use, and scale – leading to faster time to value.

Broadcom

Sample Customers

T-Systems, Thomson Reuters, Bordeaux Metropole, CGI, Citadelle Regional Hospital Center, Lorraine Institute of Oncology, Luxembourg Institute of Health, Groupe BPCE, Group S, Splitpoint, Horus-Net, Audatex, Indexis, Province de Liège, EASI, Spie Batignolles, Faymonville

CBNCloud, IIJ Global Singapore, AT&S, AXSOS, Aozora Bank, HCL Technologies, IntelliNet, Securex

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Provider Connectivity Assurance vs. DX Unified Infrastructure Management

December 2025

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