Cisco DNA Center
Updated July 25, 2023

Cisco DNA Center

Thomas Osborne | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Modules Used

  • Analytics Assurance

Overall Satisfaction with Cisco DNA Center

We have upgraded our Cisco 3850 switches with the new Cisco catalyst 9K series switches. We bought DNA Center for assurance, to begin with. Maybe later down the road, we will incorporate more automation and all the other features that DNA Center can offer. Assurance is a good tool to use to check the status of your 9K's as well as help with troubleshooting issues if they come up.
  • The ability to view the network as a whole is really nice.
  • The ability troubleshoot faster with DNA center is time-saving.
  • Being able to configure devices from a central UI is very nice.
  • Biggest con is that DNA Center is appliance only. There is no virtual appliance yet.
  • There is a cost associated with these newer features.
  • Upgrading with DNA Center can be a pain sometimes. A lot of things have to align to perform an upgrade.
  • The ability for a full network view and how the networking devices are performing is hard to quantify financially.
  • Saving hours on troubleshooting and upgrades means we can allocate that time to more important issues.
  • Being able to configure devices from a central console, means that I don't have to spend time accessing different devices by jumping on different VPN's. I can access these devices all from one UI.
There are some other products that provide some of the benefits that Cisco DNA center offers, but I haven't found one solution that matches up against Cisco DNA Center. Our organization prefers Cisco products over others due to their resiliency. Since we have Cisco products, it makes sense to have Cisco's DNA Center.
Cisco's customer support is always top-notch. Being able to call in, provide some basic information about the product, then getting on the phone with a tech that knows the product inside and out is a great asset. Many companies fall short in providing excellent customer support. I won't name names, but you can see that many companies struggle with customer support. Cisco has one of the best approaches to customer support in my opinion. After a call with a support representative, I don't find myself wishing something would change for the better.

Do you think Cisco Catalyst Center delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Cisco Catalyst Center's feature set?

Yes

Did Cisco Catalyst Center live up to sales and marketing promises?

I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process

Did implementation of Cisco Catalyst Center go as expected?

I wasn't involved with the implementation phase

Would you buy Cisco Catalyst Center again?

Yes

SolarWinds NetFlow Traffic Analyzer (NTA), SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM), SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor (npm)
Cisco DNA is well suited for those who value time. Cisco DNA cuts out a lot of additional time with troubleshooting, configuration, upgrading, and more. If a company can afford Cisco DNA Center and the devices that are needed, it can make Network Administrators' lives much easier. There will be a learning curve to Cisco DNA Center, but it is worth it.

Cisco Hybrid Work

  • Webex Meetings
  • Webex Calling
  • Cisco Meraki MX
  • Cisco Meraki Z3 Teleworker
  • Cisco AnyConnect
  • Cisco Umbrella
  • Cisco Secure Access by Duo
  • Working from anywhere (e.g., coffee shop, airport)
  • Working from an office or other company space
  • Working from home
We have deployed and operational for a couple of years now. With COVID, we had to kick our hybrid solution into high gear. We quickly deployed a solution, and continued to secure and improve the user experience moving forward. We integrated several Cisco solutions as well as other solutions for authentication, or software.
The complexity. There seems to be dozens of buttons, or options that need to be planned for ahead of time. This slowed down rolling out to production. It would be great if there was a wizard, or some sort of easy rollout solution for quick setup, then the ability to come behind a working solution and customize, or further add features or security.
Cisco's hybrid solution has saved our work place during the time of COVID. There are numerous people who need to be able to log in and manage applications. Without Cisco's hybrid solution, we would have administrators unable to administer their solutions or products they are meant to.
We have seen attempts from attackers trying to gain access to our sensitive data. With opening up remote access to the internet, many attackers will have a free, single entry point into our most secure solutions. This has caused some pause and concern. Cisco adds features and products, like Duo, to help secure the access as well as control who has access to which applications once authenticated.
As I mentioned before, there are a lot of buttons or switches that Cisco offers. We take advantage of many of the products and offerings that Cisco has to offer, but there are so many more. I've used other VPN solutions like Meraki, Palo Alto, etc. Cisco AnyConnect is a great solution.
  • Webex
  • Zoom
  • Google Meet
  • Slack