Cisco Nexus Dashboard vs. SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer (NTA)

We used Cisco Nexus Dashboard specifically for automating the creation of networks in our private cloud environment using a VXLAN EVPN multisite environment. It integrates into Infoblox well. It's also very suited in network troubleshooting for past and present issues. Where I don't see it being used much is in the campus but it's nice to know we have the ability to add catalyst if needed.

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We use and depend on it for status state of our network gear, switches and routers. It does an excellent job of getting you the details you need to confirm all devices and products are working at the level needed. At times, it does tend to flag network switch ports and/or switches themselves as exceeding their rated capacity when frequently it was a quick blip of high traffic due to downloads, or uploads causing the max'ing of the device. Again, you can adjust the settings but then you adjust it too high and miss real activity. It can become nuisance alerting when you tend to then ignore

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• It is a flexible tool that helps streamline and facilitate the development of new services.
• Ideal for automating tasks such as network modification, configuration, and removal, which provides great time savings.
• Ensures services without interruption and without difficult scheduling.
• It has a simple user interface and excellent support, made up of several providers.
• It facilitates the administration of managed services.

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• The level of customization possible with Network Bandwidth Analyzer is very valuable. Rather than being stuck with a "one-size-fits-all" presentation, an administrator can easily create customized views, reports, and alerts so that users can have a more tailored view of the data provided by Network Bandwidth Analyzer. This has the effect of making the tool more attractive to the end user.
• The NetFlow Traffic Analyzer piece of Network Bandwidth Analyzer provides the details on bandwidth usage on the network. More than knowing how much bandwidth is being used, one is provided with detailed information on how that bandwidth is being used. This provides invaluable information for capacity planning and even certain forensic tasks faced by the network engineer.
• The ability to produce network maps provides an easy way to create an attractive and functional NOC/SOC view of the entire network. Both technician and the occasional passerby can quickly determine if there are issues to be addressed. The ability to customize a map with background images and custom icons and stencils can make these maps really pop.

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• With the latest version release of Cisco Nexus Dashboard to version 3.0.1 I can say that most of the features have already improved but one of the wishlists that I want for ND is the possibility of extracting lists of Anomaly.
• Include older versions of Firmware in the list of choices when doing the firmware upgrade analysis, currently only the recommended is in the list of choices.
• If possible, include all the prechecks in the Firmware pre-upgrade analysis same in the script provided by Cisco.

• The ability to intuitively and quickly serve up specified information up to a dashboard for general “public” consumption, that cycles through several pages of information.
• The ability to intuitively set up alerting on bandwidth levels, instead of having to dig through all types of alerts available to find the one needed.
• Provide a pricing model based on different support levels: if I want only available update installations, don’t make me pay the same amount as those wanting full support.

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We observe significant product development with each release, along with substantial expansion of functionality. The program code has been consolidated into a single image, which simplifies installation and routine system update operations. Additionally, it is possible to install it outside the production network, which further enhances the solution’s availability.Additionally, the new graphical interface is very simplified and user-friendly.

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For the end user, it is relatively easy to use. However, some training and practice is a must because the NSO is not as straightforward as the traditional router CLI. For the administrator, Cisco Network Service Orchestrator (NSO) is just like another program running on the Linux system--there is no big difference.

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As far as rating for usability is concerned I would give 10/10 as NTA is very easy to use. All you need to do is install that module and ask network Team to configure the Netflow towards Server IP. [The] rest is pre-configured and reports are pre-built. Moment you receive the flows from Network all you will have is information about traffic.

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For us, it's not yet a single pane of glass for the ACI network as Network Assurance Engine is not yet integrated into the [Cisco] Nexus Dashboard. This will be the case after the next update we plan to do. Today it's a tool I use daily to figure out if something unusual or unexpected happened in the SDN part of our network. The legacy network is still monitored with different tools.

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here was never a need to contact support, as the system includes several commands that allow for self-healing. Even if, after the upgrade process, one of the processes was not running, I was able to quickly find the appropriate sequence of commands that definitively resolved the issue. The entire architecture was designed in such a way as to be resilient to the failure of one node in a three-server setup.

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I know we could probably pay for it, but it would be nice if we could get to a tier 2 technician faster. Spending a couple of hours on the phone with the level 1 technician, when we have already tried the troubleshooting they are walking us through, is just a waste of time.

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The training offered by SolarWinds is some of the best out there. They have several different videos that go into great detail from initial setup to advanced configurations. In addition to the view at your own pace video, they also have live training for customers that focus on a single product and you can ask questions with the folks who develop the software. I have had good success with their live sessions and getting questions answered.

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Honestly, the product implementation took 1–2 days to comprehensively manage the client’s entire infrastructure. The delivered on-premise solution, provided as physical servers, quickly builds the required environment in which individual data centers are rapidly added. The data collection process takes some time but also depends on the number of devices in the network.

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The Cisco Nexus Series switches perform admirably in our blended distributed system. We have been dealing with any of these sorts of switches for over 5 years and have been exceptionally happy with their functionality. Several of our other computer networks in our data rooms have proved effective with Cisco equipment. Because of the simplicity of maintenance and the high quality of technical support provided by Cisco representatives, there is a high level of trust in these switches.

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SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer compared to Wireshark and PRTG Network Monitor beats it by just the simple interface. Though all are manual setup, NTA takes it a step further with graphs and reports that analyze the data for you. In comparing to Extrahop from a bandwidth comparison, Extrahop wins but Extrahop is a lot more than just a bandwidth monitoring and cost.

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It's a very secure platform that can manage all the business networks, monitor various network traffic, and is easy project management software. Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller can centralize all the network traffic in one room for easy and secure management and threat detection capability and even the secure channels offered are excellent.

• Bit pricey.
• Need to be purchased with vendor support. As far as I know, now support other vendors.
• It's upgrade from DCNM and worth looking into.
• It's still evolving and may need minor cosmetic adjustment
• Easy to create and maintain vxlan and non vxlan fabrics.

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• Be prepared to answer lots of questions. When people see the data in NTA they are going to want to know why App A is talking to App B. Be ready to explain!
• Hand the keys to the NTA kingdom to the network team. They will thank you. Everyone wants to have friends on the network team, right?
• Be prepared to invest in some significant compute and storage performance to keep up with your NTA monitoring
• Running the latest firmware for your network gear is (often) required to take advantage of all the flow-monitoring. You upgrade regularly, right??

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