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Cisco Catalyst Center vs. Cisco Prime LAN Management (discontinued)

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Cisco Catalyst Center

    Score8.5 out of 10
    N/ACisco Catalyst Center provides an intent-based platform for managing enterprise networks across campus, branch, and edge environments. It combines automation, analytics, and assurance to streamline IT operations, improve security posture, and reduce manual tasks. With integratedAI/ML-driven insights, policy-based controls, and end-to-end visibility across wired and wireless infrastructures, Catalyst Center empowers IT teams toproactively detect issues, enforce compliance, and accelerate…N/A

    Cisco Prime LAN Management (discontinued)

    Score7.7 out of 10
    N/ACisco Prime LAN Management Solution is discontinued. Current users are encouraged to explore Cisco Catalyst Center as a modern solution.N/A
    Pricing
    Cisco Catalyst CenterCisco Prime LAN Management (discontinued)
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Cisco Catalyst CenterCisco Prime LAN Management (discontinued)
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Cisco Catalyst CenterCisco Prime LAN Management (discontinued)
    Considered Both Products
    Cisco
    Chose Cisco Catalyst Center
    I think in many ways they are very similar. Cisco Catalyst Center seems more like an evolution of Prime which was already a great solution. Main difference being that Catalyst center is significantly more powerful, with that power though comes complexity and so by extension …
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Catalyst Center
    Excellent evolution of previous systems
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Catalyst Center
    Cisco Catalyst Center is the largest scale product and provides the most functionality that integrates with our entire Cisco fleet. The other products only provide visibility of a narrow aspects of networking while Cisco Catalyst Center has the ability to integrate with the …
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Catalyst Center
    We started out with using Cisco Prime infrastructure and we migrated to DNA center or Catalyst Center from Prime Infrastructure. We found that it wasn't apples to Apples migration. It wasn't exactly, it wasn't a direct upgrade. There were a lot of key differences, but yeah, I …
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Catalyst Center
    It did a lot of good things for us. But the capabilities that we used it for were just probably a lot of what we're using it for right now, which is upgrades and configuration pushes to all of our gear, but it doesn't have quite the robust features that I've learned about this …
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Catalyst Center
    Way more advanced and simpler to use.
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Catalyst Center
    Cisco Catalyst Center replaces Prime in every way and provides more features.
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Catalyst Center
    It's a good evolution.
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Catalyst Center
    Prime was being end of lifed, so the choice was easy. Although it was still very new when we aquired it, we trusted Cisco to deliver a working platform.
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Catalyst Center
    Today we are running Prime along with DNA Center. Thankfully, Cisco does provide automated tools to migrate. however, it does not feel as if the two products have parity at this moment. I've noticed I juggle between the two to troubleshoot wireless issues and configure …
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Catalyst Center
    Another SDN product
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Catalyst Center
    Prime still has some features such as rogue reporting and compliance jobs that DNA does not have.
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Catalyst Center
    DNA Center is Prime on steroids and its logical successor
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Catalyst Center
    We evaluated SolarWinds but stopped the PoC after they got hacked. It wasn't stacking up well against DNAC anyway so it was inevitable that we were going to go with DNAC. DNAC has performed well so we made the right choice.
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Catalyst Center
    I have not used any other products like Cisco DNA Center, as this was really the only SDN product we thought would be worthwhile since we are almost a 100% Cisco shop.
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Catalyst Center
    Cisco Prime Infrastructure is a similar solution to Cisco DNA Center but on Prime we use to management the LAN network for example: monitoring and getting reports of several data, upgrade devices, save configurations, it has API that we use to configure and automate daily work. …
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Catalyst Center
    I was not involved in picking DNA Center as our final solution.
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Catalyst Center
    Cisco DNA Center was easier to deploy, and of course, having all Cisco hardware integrated made it faster. The newer GUI seems to operate smoother than older java based web GUIs.
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Catalyst Center
    Cisco Prime, for example, is similar in that you have information about the network. Both applications can monitor the network, client, issues, etc.
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Catalyst Center
    It's more effective because the information is deeper and uses information directly from the access switch.
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Catalyst Center
    Por la integración general que tiene con diferentes soluciones de seguridad y data center

    (We chose Cisco DNA Center) for the overall integration it provides with different security and data center solutions.
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Catalyst Center
    por las ingtegraciones que podemos obtener con cisco dna center // This is good for the input we can get with Cisco DNA Center
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Catalyst Center
    DNA provides the possibility for a much better, more inclusive solution.
    Incentivized
    Chose Cisco Catalyst Center
    At the time of comparison, Juniper's solution was far far away from the capabilities Cisco DNA Center had for Enterprise Networking.
    Incentivized
    Discontinued Products
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    92%
    Would buy again
    306 Answers
    100%
    Would buy again
    7 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    90%
    Delivers good value for the price
    245 Answers
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    7 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    96%
    Happy with the feature set
    319 Answers
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    7 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    83%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    195 Answers
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    5 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    80%
    Implementation went as expected
    229 Answers
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    7 Answers
    Best Alternatives
    Cisco Catalyst CenterCisco Prime LAN Management (discontinued)
    Small Businesses
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Medium-sized Companies
    Cisco Meraki Dashboard
    Score9 out of 10
    Cisco Meraki Dashboard
    Score9 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Cisco Prime LAN Management (discontinued)
    Score7.7 out of 10
    Cisco Meraki Dashboard
    Score9 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Cisco Catalyst CenterCisco Prime LAN Management (discontinued)
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.4
    (343 ratings)
    9.2
    (12 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    8.9
    (9 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Usability
    7.9
    (19 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    8.7
    (33 ratings)
    7.6
    (3 ratings)
    Online Training
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Cisco Catalyst CenterCisco Prime LAN Management (discontinued)
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Cisco
    Would recommend Cisco Catalyst Center to medium to large scale organizations that have many cookie-cutter sites and the resources to properly provision all their devices. I would not recommend to teams that do not have a strong network engineering team that can navigate the various intricacies of the platform.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    Although Cisco Prime [LAN Management Solution] is a nice tool and no other 4rd party tools can match its native monitoring and managing capabilities still i have given less rating and that's because it is only for Cisco vendor Devices. Hence if you have only Cisco infrastructure then go for it or else look for another 4rd party tool in conjunction with Cisco prime.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Cisco
    • Again, the ease of use of the APIs and the API Explorer provides the tools needed to write these custom workflows that allow us to do a lot of the automation we’re doing now, saving hundreds of hours by using those tools.
    • The product is very intuitive, and there is a lot of support out there in the DevNet community to help with that.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    • Wireless file detection and planning mode has helped us expand into new areas of our buildings.
    • Alerting is detailed when we have issues with hardwired and wireless devices, and Rogue Access Points are easily identifiable.
    • Cisco equipment information is much more detailed than other management products' SNMP queries and is an excellent tool for troubleshooting end-device connectivity issues.
    • Our KPI reporting for senior management and centralized management of our WIPS 'Wireless Intrusion Prevention' setup have both benefited significantly from the detailed reporting capabilities.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Cisco
    • Within its Tasks - Audit, it can sometimes allow plaintext data, including passwords, to be seen. There should be functionality to detect password usage and appropriately obfuscate the data.
    • Occasionally, Catalyst Center does not sync changes properly within templates, which requires deleting and reconfiguring the template version. Better processes here would be beneficial.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    • Maps. One thing that I miss is the fact that you can't see both wired and wireless equipment in the same topology map. For visualization and troubleshooting purposes, that would help a lot, and I honestly don' t think it's that much harder to implement.
    • I'd love to see an option to show 'live dashboards,' maps, or other visual tools to publish in a NOC room, or even just to broadcast in a big monitor to allow multiple workmates to check that information. Again, I don't think that would be too hard to implement. I remember a similar feature was available in the first versions of the product, way back in the 90's (yes, I'm that old :-) )
    • Sometimes, depending on what screen you are, the solution can be a little slow. I'm not saying the whole system is slow, but sometimes that slowness can bother a little.
    • Talking about areas for improvement, one area I think can be improved is the upgrade process. Even for not so large deployments, it can take a lot of time. Having this time decreased would be the right thing to do.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Cisco
    I think new products are often "half-baked" or over hyped when they release, as was the case with DNAC. We were well ahead of the curve in acquiring it. But as it has matured it is now a fantastic addition to our infrastructure. I think we are easing into a stage where it is hard to envision a large organization NOT having Catalyst Center in place. If for nothing outside of the mapping and troubleshooting aspects; using it as a "source of truth".
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    No answers on this topic
    Usability
    Cisco
    Cisco DNA Center is going to help us in security, simplicity and ease of administration. Cisco DNA Center is complete management and control platform that simplifies and streamlines network operations. Cisco DNA Center offers a single dashboard for every core function in your network. With this platform, IT can become more nimble and respond to changes and challenges faster and more intelligently.
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    Cisco
    El soporte de CISCO DNA Center es muy bueno, responden a mis dudas pero no he tenido oportunidad de reportar un incidente o determinar un tiempo de respuesta critico. The support of CISCO DNA Center is very good, they answer my questions, but I have not had the opportunity to report an incident or determine a critical response time.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    We are very happy using Cisco Prime LAN Management Solution for the following reason: 1- Ease of use with the GUI. 2- Very well organized dashboard which can view many statistics on your devices. 3- Customized dashboard for different views ( for technical team and executives ) 4- Schedule configuration templates to use whenever we need on whatever device we want.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Online Training
    Cisco
    It was informative, but the labs were not available long enough for us to get intimately familiar with CCNA before it was closed. The course instructor was well informed and got us as close to ready as she could.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    Cisco
    Cisco Catalyst Centeris basic zero-touch provisioning out of the box. You just rack and stack the switches, patch 'em in, and the controller pushes the config automatically. No need to console into every single box or spend hours script-running over CLI.The AI-driven assurance and telemetry are top-tier. Instead of getting flooded with useless syslog alerts when a link drops, it correlates the telemetry data to give you proactive health checks. It literally pinpoints wireless anomalies and bandwidth chokepoints before the users even start opening tickets.It handles fabric microsegmentation like a boss through SD-Access and TrustSec. You can easily enforce group-based policies right at the hardware level. It drops IoT gear, guests, and corporate traffic into their own secure buckets dynamically, without you having to manage a trillion messy VLANs and ACLs.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    There are various 3rd party tools available in the market which not only supports monitoring of cisco devices but also supports non-cisco devices, even with these capabilities in these 3rd party tools Cisco Prime has maintained a uniqueness in its products being the native tool from Cisco. The uniqueness is about product supportability for given devices and some of the edge features such as configuration management, detailed heatmaps etc
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Cisco
    • I have used it for upgrading devices, and it's does a great job at that, however out operations team for whatever reason has not adopted the feature.
    • Overall it feels like Cisco Catalyst Center has been huge waste of time. I feel like my time would be better spent on other projects and looking at other products and tools
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Discontinued Products
    • It has helped us with our quarterly wireless security testing by pinpointing the location of non-approved access points vs. hunting for them via signal strength.
    • Saves time by helping to identify network health issues before they become a definitive problem causing downtime.
    • With errors detected early, we have noticed our wi-fi network is much more stable thus freeing up our engineer's time elsewhere.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    Cisco Catalyst Center Screenshots

    Screenshot of AIOpsScreenshot of BaselinesScreenshot of PoliciesScreenshot of HealthScreenshot of Network HierarchyScreenshot of PoE