Cisco UCS Manager vs Ixia Hawkeye comparison

Why PeerSpot?

Cisco and Keysight Technologies are both solutions in the IT Infrastructure Monitoring category. Cisco is ranked #29 with an average rating of 8.8, while Keysight Technologies is ranked #66. Cisco holds a 1.4% mindshare in IM, compared to Keysight Technologies’s 0.6% 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

5,370 Views
5,102 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Ixia Hawkeye

Read 4 Ixia Hawkeye reviews

3,141 Views
1,759 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: September 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco UCS Manager vs. Ixia Hawkeye

September 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

29th

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

66th

Average Rating

9.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Unified Communications Monitoring (5th), Network Monitoring Software (83rd)

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the IT Infrastructure Monitoring category, the mindshare of Cisco UCS Manager is 1.4%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Ixia Hawkeye is 0.6%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

IT Infrastructure Monitoring Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Cisco UCS Manager	1.4%
Ixia Hawkeye	0.6%
Other	98.0%

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.

Read full review

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

"The interface is ergonomic and native. We can use UCS Manager to do all the configurations for the servers, including storage, networking, and all the other components we need inside the fabric. It's simple and flexible."

"Ease of management is certainly the most valuable feature in this product."

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

"From a usability and functionality perspective, Cisco UCS Manager is very good."

"The solution is highly scalable, mainly because of the templates that make it easy for you to actually edit on the system."

"It's robust."

"A main feature of Cisco UCS Manager is its reliability, as all of the computing blades are in cluster mode, so we experience high availability and can easily add compute resources and beef up the computing solution."

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

More Cisco UCS Manager pros

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

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

"I would recommend Ixia Hawkeye because there are some KPIs that are very useful."

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

"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."

"So far, this product is doing exactly what it is promised to do."

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."

"Upgrading the firmware is a difficult procedure."

"We faced issue with Nexus vem licensing issue which makes our complete DC went isolated in connect"

"What's lacking in Cisco UCS Manager is the performance dashboard. If a blade has any performance issues, you should be able to create a dashboard on Cisco UCS Manager. Currently, this feature isn't present."

"I would like to see Cisco UCS optionally work as a hyper-converged system because right now, it only operates as a converged system."

"Cisco depends on other vendors like IBM and HP for the hardware. Cisco should improve its hardware manufacturing in regards to the UCS and the use of other vendor's hardware."

"But the GUI needs some work."

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

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

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

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

"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."

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

"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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915,341 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

13%

Outsourcing Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Comms Service Provider

Outsourcing Company

18%

Comms Service Provider

12%

Construction Company

11%

University

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	8
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	19

No data available

Questions from the Community

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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What is your primary use case for Cisco UCS Manager?

Our primary use case involves working with Cisco UCS B-Series ( /products/cisco-ucs-b-series-reviews ), specifically the UCS X modular deployment. We are setting up a new deployment shortly.

See all answers

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Comparisons

Cisco Intersight vs Cisco UCS Manager

Compared 58% of the time

HPE OneView vs Cisco UCS Manager

Compared 4% of the time

SolarWinds NPM vs Cisco UCS Manager

Compared 4% of the time

Nutanix Prism vs Cisco UCS Manager

Compared 3% of the time

Splunk Observability Cloud vs Cisco UCS Manager

Compared 3% of the time

More Cisco UCS Manager Competitors

NETSCOUT nGeniusONE vs Ixia Hawkeye

Compared 7% of the time

Aurea CX Monitor vs Ixia Hawkeye

Compared 7% of the time

SolarWinds NPM vs Ixia Hawkeye

Compared 6% of the time

ThousandEyes vs Ixia Hawkeye

Compared 5% of the time

Zabbix vs Ixia Hawkeye

Compared 5% of the time

More Ixia Hawkeye Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco UCS Manager

October 2026

Download Cisco UCS Manager product report

Buyer's Guide

Network Monitoring Software

September 2026

Download Ixia Hawkeye product report

Overview

Cisco UCS Manager enables streamlined operations through unified storage, networking, and computing management, offering enhanced reliability and flexibility.

Cisco UCS Manager provides enhanced management capabilities for infrastructures, simplifying server deployment and operations. Its user-friendly interface aids in easy configuration and visibility, including robust reporting. UCS Manager supports efficient firmware and OS updates for large deployments, ensuring smooth operations across physical and virtual environments.

What key features does Cisco UCS Manager offer?

Hardware Profile Association: Ensures seamless hardware configurations.
Unified Management: Centralizes control of storage, networking, and computing resources.
Service Profiles: Simplifies server deployment and management.
User-Friendly Dashboards: Provides intuitive interface and strong reporting.
High Availability: Facilitates resource expansion and stability.

What benefits are important when considering Cisco UCS Manager?

Operational Efficiency: Reduces downtime and enhances deployment speed.
Centralized Control: Streamlines management across blades and configurations.
Scalability: Supports mass deployments and expansion.
Visibility and Reporting: Improves infrastructure monitoring and analytics.

In industries managing extensive IT infrastructures, such as healthcare and finance, Cisco UCS Manager is crucial for optimizing server and network operations. It enables efficient creation of server profiles, integration with networking systems, and comprehensive monitoring, ensuring high availability and reduced setup time for complex environments.

Cisco

Ixia Hawkeye provides network administrators with specialized tools for video streaming and application performance analysis, offering a straightforward deployment with efficient test scheduling and performance insights.

Ixia Hawkeye is a powerful tool for detailed network performance analysis, focusing on GPON and DOCSIS networks. It facilitates tests like traceroute, STP, and video streaming assessments crucial for proof of concept and service validation in industries such as telecom. Though cost-effective, there is potential for improving test customization, graph features, and making license codes more accessible. Users leverage its throughput test to gain insights into bandwidth, latency, and packet loss while also identifying areas needing improvements such as customizable outputs and enhanced comparison tools.

What are the most important features?

Specialized Views: Offers insights into video streaming and applications.
Performance Analysis: Provides detailed results on bandwidth, latency, and packet loss.
Graph Clarity: Easy-to-read visual data representations.
Cost-Effectiveness: Competitive pricing.

What benefits or ROI should be considered?

Efficiency: Simplifies test scheduling and execution.
Visibility: Enhances network and application performance insights.
Accessibility: Streamlined network performance assessments.
Verification: Validates internet services with real-world applications.

In the telecom industry, solution providers employ Ixia Hawkeye for enhanced network visibility and proof of concept. Network engineers and IT specialists utilize it for conducting performance tests and generating traffic, aiding clients in sectors like telecom with comprehensive performance assessments.

Keysight Technologies

Sample Customers

Management Science Associates, Peak 10, Virtual Consulting Professionals

EMA

Buyer's Guide

Cisco UCS Manager vs. Ixia Hawkeye

September 2026

Free Report: Cisco UCS Manager vs. Ixia Hawkeye

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