Cisco DNA Center vs DX Spectrum (formerly CA Spectrum)

Likelihood to Recommend

When you have relaxed calendar for migrating to [Cisco] DNA Center, it perfectly do the automation job. As setting it up very time consuming, it requires flexibility on operations. In a tight calendar, [Cisco] DNA Center migration is a stressful process.While it is the perfect tool as a network automation product with various vendor support, you may also need to consider is it fully compatible with your current devices on your network. As we were setting up a new infrastructure, we purchased all equipment compatible with Cisco's solution.

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Verified User

Analyst in Research & Development

Research Company, 10,001+ employees

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As I said before, not only for Spectrum, but for any monitoring tool, you need to know what is critical in your environment and think about how exactly you should monitor and treat it. If you have done that, everything will work just fine.

Well Suited - Networking Monitoring
Less Appropriate - When you need to customize some monitoring and to update the version

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Leandro Daniel Pacheco

IT Manager

CapgeminiInformation Technology and Services, 10,001+ employees

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Pros

Ease of automation and configuration templates make the future you very glad you did it!
The PnP for switches that allow to boot up and contact the network with a pre-configuration is so amazing. Makes life easy!
Integrates well with our ISE platform, they have really made it well worth the cost to have everything with the name CISCO on your equipment. All of their devices work so well with this software.

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Verified User

Professional in Information Technology

Oil & Energy Company, 1001-5000 employees

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Polling and traps can be configured to take heartbeats at specified intervals and notify on an event in real-time, respectively.
Topology of devices gives a high-level overview of network architecture.
Discovery of devices is simple and secure with the use of community strings.
Details can be added per device or alarm type for actions to be taken to make troubleshooting easier.

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Verified User

Employee in Information Technology

Aviation & Aerospace Company, 5001-10,000 employees

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Cons

En el data Center, integrando los equipos que se encuentra en el corazon de la red y previniendo que esten actualizados // For Data Centers, integrating equipment that is the core of a network, and preventing them from being updated
En las diferentes areas del campus para poder monitorizar el funcionamiento de los dispositivos // Improving remote monitoring of devices
En la identificacion de problemas de seguridad de los dispositivos de red // Improving identification of network security issues

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Verified User

Consultant in Information Technology

Education Management Company, 201-500 employees

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NOC
Data Center/Telecom

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Leandro Daniel Pacheco

IT Manager

CapgeminiInformation Technology and Services, 10,001+ employees

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Pricing Details

General

Free Trial

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Free/Freemium Version

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Premium Consulting/Integration Services

—

Entry-level set up fee?

No

Starting Price

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General

Free Trial

—

Free/Freemium Version

—

Premium Consulting/Integration Services

—

Entry-level set up fee?

No

Starting Price

—

Usability

Cisco DNA Center 8.3

Based on 7 answers

Yes, it did make tasks simplified in many ways. We can check all the network requirements and even check statistics in a single place, which makes the overall process fast and efficient. Also, it helps in minimizing configuration errors; the processes which used to take days can be done in hours.

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Pranjal Mittal

Business Development Associate

BYJU'SE-Learning, 5001-10,000 employees

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No score

No answers yet

No answers on this topic

Support Rating

Cisco DNA Center 8.8

Based on 41 answers

Overall support for Cisco DNA Software is fairly good. Whenever we have a question that needs an answer and we are unable to figure out, we reach out to the support team. They are able to figure out our needs and provide the proper support. They are always available via email or phone call.

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Verified User

Manager in Sales

Hospitality Company, 1001-5000 employees

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No score

No answers yet

No answers on this topic

Alternatives Considered

Meraki does what should be expected at it's price point, but it is geared to SMB. When it comes to enterprise networks, DNA Center is the clear path forward. It allows for more devices than just the ones it configures, it provides more customization and on boarding options, and the control stays within the organization. The DNA Center telemetry provides a more robust reporting than the Meraki dashboard, and again, the data stays on site. I see both being important in their own ways, but Meraki falls short in larger enterprises, and that is where DNA Center shines the most.

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Verified User

Team Lead in Professional Services

Information Technology and Services Company, 201-500 employees

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Other tools I have used are more server/application-centric. CA Spectrum seems to work effectively and efficiently for network devices. Notification delays can be set to grant grace periods in case of network blips or false positives, which occur ALL the time. Other monitoring tools send event notifications immediately and would clear instantly, which while on-call can wake a technician for no reason.

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Verified User

Employee in Information Technology

Aviation & Aerospace Company, 5001-10,000 employees

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Return on Investment

Efficient time spent elsewhere. I can spend my time troubleshooting other portions of the network instead of housekeeping current gear.
Assistance with inventory; it keeps an inventory of all the devices you add to it, so it can serve as an inventory of equipment if that's what you'd like from it.
Visibility; we can see more of the status of our gear, if it's unreachable, or if things are misbehaving the dashboard shows that there are irregularities.

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Verified User

Analyst in Information Technology

Hospital & Health Care Company, 1001-5000 employees

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Proactive monitoring for networking
To many times to plan an update

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Leandro Daniel Pacheco

IT Manager

CapgeminiInformation Technology and Services, 10,001+ employees

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Cisco DNA Center vs DX Spectrum (formerly CA Spectrum)

Cisco DNA Center

DX Spectrum (formerly CA Spectrum)

Attribute Ratings

Likelihood to Recommend

Cisco DNA Center

DX Spectrum (formerly CA Spectrum)

Usability

Cisco DNA Center

DX Spectrum (formerly CA Spectrum)

Support Rating

Cisco DNA Center

DX Spectrum (formerly CA Spectrum)

Pros

Cons

Pricing Details

General

Free Trial

Free/Freemium Version

Premium Consulting/Integration Services

Entry-level set up fee?

Starting Price

General

Free Trial

Free/Freemium Version

Premium Consulting/Integration Services

Entry-level set up fee?

Starting Price

Usability

Support Rating

Alternatives Considered

Return on Investment

Add comparison