Cisco Catalyst Center (formerly Cisco DNA
Center) is a network management system that leverages AI to connect,
secure, and automate customer’s network operations. It harnesses the Catalyst family of switching and wireless through AI-enabled
automation that simplifies the IT experience and streamlines complex network
operations. Offering
operational flexibility, Cisco Catalyst Center can be deployed on-premises on a
physical appliance or in a VMware virtual environment, or in a…
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Cradlepoint NetCloud Engine
Score 9.9 out of 10
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Cradlepoint in Boise offers the all-inclusive NetCloud Solution Packages for branch, mobile, and IoT networks combine tailored NetCloud services with fit-for-purpose hardware and a comprehensive support plan. NetCloud Solution Packages are cloud-managed and deployable anywhere in days, not months. Cradlepoint acquired the NetCloud technology with original developer Pertino in December 2015, and integrated the platform into their own services by early 2016.
Cisco Catalyst Center does a good job configuring the switches and forming the fabric using recommended configuration and specific switch setup. Managing switches through inventory is another job Cisco Catalyst Center does well. On the other hand managing access to infrastructure (host onboarding for example) is one tedious job. To set 48 access ports on a switch takes more time than it would take an engineer connected to a switch using CLI.
The platform and product selection as a whole covers a lot of range. The pricing is low enough and the levels granular enough that even customers that only need the use of a few features of the product can buy into the ecosystem with reasonable investment and grow with confidence without having paid too much. One thing that this enterprise company gets is this: Many small companies need enterprise-class features but don't have the user count to justify purchasing enterprise-class solutions. It is not that they don't need advanced features, it's just that enterprise vendors assume that small companies only have basic needs. It is not true, but you can't buy a solution that is only sold in hundreds of seats if you have 25 users in your company. Cradlepoint NetCloud does a good job of getting this right. You can buy a single seat or hundreds of seats, and the price is truly commensurate with your seat count. Everyone gets the enterprise features, you only pay for the seats you need.
I think it abstracts the technical detail of what actually needs to be configured on the devices. So you can specify the intent and it'll do complex technical commands on the devices. You do not necessarily need to know I'm from a technical background, so I do know that, but on a scale, it's very easy just to click a few buttons and say what you want and it'll just do it for you.
Setting golden images is tricky and cant always get it to work as advertised. Takes a couple times. Having a recent problem where it stopped working and Cisco TAC only explanation is that 3850 is no longer supported.
When I initially set up, couldnt find documentation. I set up a lot of IP addresses and assigned them to DNA. Cant find where these are located.
Troubleshooting with TAC, they always want me to run some scripts that I have no clue how to do.
Ability to be able to access configuration backups would be great.
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.
Device management is nearly the same as if you logged in locally, giving a familiar feel to the interface. Device group management can be cumbersome when pushing firmware updates.
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.
Every time I have engaged support, it has been a satisfying experience. Because they cover such a wide range of applications, I do have to spend more time explaining our intended results and rationale than I would have to do with a more focused vendor, but it's a minor tradeoff for the value of saved time in every other aspect of the solution.
It is much easier to group your devices within NetCloud prior to deployment. We ran into issues of lost/changed settings when grouping devices that had already been deployed
The software upgrades and ability to integrate with the wireless telemetry data set Cisco DNA Center ahead. However the automation with Change Control, Intent and better path mapping (even across MPLS and WAN Circuits) make NetBrain a needed tool to get that gives you that visibility and flexibility. Solarwinds has the ablity to view Netflow which would be an interesting add to DNA Center or an easier path to get or integrate with Stealthwatch.
The cost of equipment, lines, and services was over 1,000 times the five year cost of Cradlepoint (formerly Pertino) when looking for a complete WAN replacement. Using small Linux devices (Intel NUCs) instead of expensive networking hardware provided equal service levels when we needed passthrough site-based access, rather than buying specific hardware from a vendor (including even Cradlepoint, though the integration is great and I do recommend their devices - especially for their cellular data redundancy features)
Initial cost is pricy, but management needs to understand the value this provides so make them aware
Reporting could be improved in more detail in our opinion, but it gives a great overview of your environment. High level overview for managers would be greatly appreciated with as little or much detail as needed for certain Cisco gear.
Does not work as well with some older Cisco equipment because they want you to buy new, again the cost impact comes into play.
