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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Kaseya VSA
Score 8.2 out of 10
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Kaseya Virtual System Administrator (VSA) is a cloud-based Remote Monitoring and Management software. VSA unifies the monitoring of system infrastructure and endpoints and is designed for use by IT teams and MSP’s. It offers a robust crowd-source automation scripts library, as well as antivirus and malware capabilities with real-time threat alerts.
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.
If the software functioned as it was intended, it would be probably a 7 out of 10. It lacks the majority of customization that SolarWinds N-central supplies, but also supports some customization that other solutions we have tried do not. Again, if the software didn't consistently break, the ability to implement automated scripting via PowerShell and the capacity to manage 10+ endpoints at once in different windows is great.
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.
Being able to see systems that are not within the local network allows us to be able to troubleshoot and work with the end users no matter where they are or where we are as it is cloud based.
Several functions can be "automated" so staff do not have to keep going back and scanning for updates, push Windows updates and or push sensor updates.
VSA offers a variety of system information about all of the assets that have the endpoints installed on them so we can easily see the system specs without having to actually connect to them and pull up the SysInfo on each unit.
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.
Support - Like all other competitors support is OK but the product is robust enough to reduce support requirements.
Customer Service - another team that is a bit poor especially when the issue involves multiple departments. Otherwise, the direct rep is very friendly and professional.
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.
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.
It was lots of back and forth email communication whenever I tried to solve my connection issues. I would send them detailed logs of the date, time, computer, and more of when I was experiencing connection issues. All I would get is an email back a few days later saying that they didn't find an issue in the service
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.
There are other products that do some of what Kaseya does, but I've not personally worked with another product that does everything Kaseya does. Sure there are plenty of remote control products, but products that do as much as Kaseya are few and far between. Hard to go wrong with the sheer scope of functionality!
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.
