Cisco UCS Manager vs Ixia Hawkeye comparison

Cisco and Keysight Technologies are both solutions in the IT Infrastructure Monitoring category. Cisco is ranked #18 with an average rating of 8.8, while Keysight Technologies is ranked #63. Cisco holds a 1.3% mindshare in IM, compared to Keysight Technologies’s 0.5% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Keysight Technologies users who would recommend it.

Cisco UCS Manager

Read 27 Cisco UCS Manager reviews

2,065 Views
1,859 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Ixia Hawkeye

Read 4 Ixia Hawkeye reviews

1,047 Views
544 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Cisco UCS Manager

Ixia Hawkeye

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 9, 2024

Cisco UCS Manager and Ixia Hawkeye compete in IT infrastructure management, each excelling in unique areas. Cisco UCS Manager stands out in hardware integration, while Ixia Hawkeye offers superior network monitoring capabilities, making it preferred for network performance assurance.

Features: Cisco UCS Manager offers centralized management of compute, network, and storage resources, integrated management of Cisco hardware, and streamlined data center operations. Ixia Hawkeye provides comprehensive network monitoring tools, high-level visibility for network status, and advanced testing capabilities ensuring optimal performance.

Room for Improvement: Cisco UCS Manager could enhance its network performance monitoring, provide better integration with non-Cisco hardware, and improve its adaptability to diverse environments. Ixia Hawkeye might benefit from more intuitive user interfaces, reducing initial setup costs, and offering better integration with existing server management systems.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco UCS Manager is known for a straightforward setup within Cisco environments and strong support through various Cisco channels. Ixia Hawkeye features an agile deployment process aimed at swiftly delivering network insights, backed by responsive customer service for diverse network environments.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco UCS Manager is cost-effective for existing Cisco users due to lower initial setup costs and long-term hardware management efficiencies. Ixia Hawkeye, requiring higher initial investment for its sophisticated tools, provides significant ROI by minimizing downtime and improving network performance.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco UCS Manager vs. Ixia Hawkeye Report (Updated: January 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco UCS Manager vs. Ixia Hawkeye

January 2026

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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 UCS Manager

Ranking in IT Infrastructure Monitoring

18th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Ixia Hawkeye

Ranking in IT Infrastructure Monitoring

63rd

Average Rating

9.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Unified Communications Monitoring (6th), Network Monitoring Software (83rd)

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the IT Infrastructure Monitoring category, the mindshare of Cisco UCS Manager is 1.3%, down from 1.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Ixia Hawkeye is 0.5%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

IT Infrastructure Monitoring Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Cisco UCS Manager	1.3%
Ixia Hawkeye	0.5%
Other	98.2%

IT Infrastructure Monitoring

Featured Reviews

Rob-Croxford

Consultant at rcnss

A market leader with an enhanced user interface for seamless experience

There is room for improvement in terms of cost and complexity to set up. It doesn't work straight out of the UCS, so someone who knows what they're doing is needed immediately, and it can be quite confusing. Some settings are still fairly well hidden, even the basic ones. Companies don't really understand how long it takes to set up. Also, when changes are pushed, it can take their phone line off the system for twenty minutes to half an hour. Out-of-the-box functionality is an issue, too. I know that my company is different, however, the basics are always the same. You do your tap lines, zip lines, and stuff like that, then you get your internal phone line system. That can all be automated and scripted, and it's probably part of the automation process. However, I haven't really seen it.

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José Enrique Cano Rodriguez

Assistant Consultant at Tata Consultancy

A valuable tool for optimizing network performance and security with comprehensive network monitoring capabilities, user-friendly interface, and flexibility for scripting

Distinguishing itself from network management systems like SolarWinds Orion and Dataminer, Hawkeye offers a distinctive feature. It empowers network administrators to access specialized and detailed views for specific tests, including video streaming and performance related to specific applications like video games. In contrast, SolarWinds and Dataminer typically offer a more general evaluation of network health. Hawkeye's unique capability enables a detailed analysis of network performance through specific tests, allowing administrators to identify areas in need of improvement and take precise actions to enhance network performance.

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

"One of the valuable features is the user interface base."

"I can deploy something in my 50-odd servers all in one go, in parallel, whereas if I was to do that individually, it could be a nightmare."

"The most valuable features of Cisco UCS Manager include the visibility it provides and the ease of identifying issues within the Cisco environment."

"Cisco Infrastructure is one of the top vendors and no one can beat them in terms of switching and routing."

"The reporting functionality will give you any report you want."

"Creating UCS service profiles for quickly deploying servers and replicating that configuration to another server makes it easier for deployment."

"I can quickly manage the provisioned servers."

"The most valuable features are flexibility and management."

More Cisco UCS Manager pros

"The most valuable feature is the deployment because it's very easy to deploy real flow through the network."

"Our customer was happiest with the price of this product."

"The ease of setup is the most valuable aspect of this solution. It's easy to set up and run tests."

"It empowers network administrators to access specialized and detailed views for specific tests, including video streaming and performance related to specific applications like video games."

Cons

"The integration with other solutions could be better. I think Cisco can only integrate using Intersight. There is a second interface available as a SaaS platform, in the cloud, or on-premise. It's based on the Redfish protocol, which is standard for all the B-series servers in the market. We can integrate other solutions using API."

"The primary challenge we face is identifying the correct version to deploy during firmware upgrades or compute updates."

"I found it a bit of a challenge to get training on UCSM. I've been trying to get that for some time now. I feel like I have to figure it out a lot of things myself. For years I've to log calls with support whenever I've got challenges that I cannot resolve. If I had some training or more manuals, I'd be better able to handle more things on my own."

"The installation and upgrade sytems need to be improved."

"The pricing can be better."

"The interface and the way it is constructed is very complex. They should work to simplify it. It's quite difficult for somebody who doesn't know the product very well. Users should be able to get proficient with it faster. There's definitely room for improvement there."

"Cisco UCS Manager is not a scalable solution because once you have 160 blades, it cannot be expanded more."

"Its user interface can be improved. It can be more user-friendly."

More Cisco UCS Manager cons

"Improvements in network performance are essential."

"You can't delete more than one thing at a time. It would be great to be able to highlight three out of five things and delete them, whether it's a test or an actual report."

"Ixia has one flaw, which is that they do not print the license code on the paper licenses that are shipped to the customers."

"The customization of tests and even the results can be improved."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Cisco UCS Manager’s annual licensing fee is expensive."

"The pricing for Cisco UCS Manager is okay for its market, so it's a four out of five for me."

"We need to take a license for each port, which amounts to a big sum."

"You buy the hardware and then you get Cisco UCS Manager for free."

"With product discounts which can be negotiated, the product is a great value."

"Cisco UCS is more expensive than Dell and HP, but it is more reliable. I see less issues and it's quite stable."

"It cost us approximately 25,000 for two years. This is cheaper than ThousandEyes."

"In larger networks, the costs for licenses tend to be more reasonable, but for smaller networks, it appears relatively costly."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

14%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Government

Financial Services Firm

10%

Computer Software Company

Outsourcing Company

University

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	8
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	18

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco UCS Manager?

When one server fails, we can attach the service profile to a new server, which saves a lot of time.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco UCS Manager?

My experience with the pricing of Cisco UCS Manager ( /products/cisco-ucs-manager-reviews ) is that it is reasonable. Recently, we acquired an excellent bundle with significant discounts, with offe...

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What needs improvement with Cisco UCS Manager?

For improvements, while the current graphical user interface is satisfactory, it could be further simplified for different tasks. While it has been improved from using Java to HTML, simplifying the...

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Comparisons

Cisco Intersight vs Cisco UCS Manager

Compared 64% of the time

Nutanix Prism vs Cisco UCS Manager

Compared 5% of the time

HPE OneView vs Cisco UCS Manager

Compared 4% of the time

Splunk Observability Cloud vs Cisco UCS Manager

Compared 4% of the time

Datadog vs Cisco UCS Manager

Compared 3% of the time

More Cisco UCS Manager Competitors

NETSCOUT nGeniusONE vs Ixia Hawkeye

Compared 15% of the time

DX Unified Infrastructure Management vs Ixia Hawkeye

Compared 13% of the time

Aurea CX Monitor vs Ixia Hawkeye

Compared 12% of the time

ThousandEyes vs Ixia Hawkeye

Compared 11% of the time

VMware Aria Operations for Applications vs Ixia Hawkeye

Compared 11% of the time

More Ixia Hawkeye Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco UCS Manager

January 2026

Download Cisco UCS Manager product report

Buyer's Guide

Network Monitoring Software

January 2026

Download Ixia Hawkeye product report

Overview

Cisco UCS Manager helps significantly reduce management and administration expenses by automating routine tasks to increase operational agility. Customers can extend the benefits of Cisco UCS Manager globally across an enterprise to thousands of servers in multiple domains with Cisco UCS Central Software.

Cisco

Hawkeye quickly and effectively validates network performance, isolates problems, and proactively detects issues by running scheduled verification tests. Using a combination of hardware and software agents called Performance Endpoints, Hawkeye simulates application traffic and sends key performance metrics to a central console for fast action.

Keysight Technologies

Sample Customers

Management Science Associates, Peak 10, Virtual Consulting Professionals

EMA

Buyer's Guide

Cisco UCS Manager vs. Ixia Hawkeye

January 2026

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