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Cisco DNA Center vs ExtremeCloud IQ comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 2, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
6.5
Cisco DNA Center enhances efficiency by reducing configuration time, despite licensing costs, with positive but varied ROI evaluations.
Sentiment score
6.8
ExtremeCloud IQ enhances productivity by simplifying management, stabilizing Wi-Fi, reducing costs, and offering quick deployment for business growth.
Although Cisco DNA Center is expensive, we have seen a return on investment in terms of time savings.
I managed to support and deploy ExtremeCloud IQ and handle network management without requiring external staffing, thus saving on external hiring costs.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.2
Cisco's DNA Center support is praised for responsiveness but criticized for slow responses and challenges with complex issues.
Sentiment score
7.8
ExtremeCloud IQ offers efficient, responsive customer service with knowledgeable support, though some find documentation and resources lacking compared to competitors.
Overall, Cisco DNA Center rates eight out of ten as a complete solution.
I experienced effective help mainly remotely, though for some issues, a technical person had to assist on-site.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
Cisco DNA Center is highly scalable, effectively supports small to large networks, but licensing costs can be high.
Sentiment score
8.0
ExtremeCloud IQ offers scalable, seamless network expansion with cloud-based architecture, supporting high-density and smaller-scale applications efficiently.
The solution is designed for large enterprise companies.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
Cisco DNA Center is generally stable, with some users reporting occasional bugs and needed updates affecting stability.
Sentiment score
7.6
ExtremeCloud IQ is stable, with minor firmware issues; updates improve reliability, with newer bands performing well and occasional reboots needed.
It requires some time to update, which affects real-time management.
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco DNA Center needs better integration, user-friendliness, and support, with pricing, scalability, and compatibility issues impacting its effectiveness.
ExtremeCloud IQ needs improvements in UI, stability, performance, security, support, and pricing to meet user and market expectations.
The AI-driven insights have contributed significantly to faster troubleshooting and predictive analytics.
I needed deep details and more thorough resources.
 

Setup Cost

Cisco DNA Center is costly, justified for enterprises, challenging for mid-market, with SaaS and promotions occasionally aiding affordability.
ExtremeCloud IQ is competitively priced, offering flexible licensing and reasonable support costs, especially advantageous for educational institutions.
The licensing was a challenge due to budget constraints, and I used ExtremeCloud IQ without a license for a period.
 

Valuable Features

Cisco DNA Center provides centralized management, security, AI-driven insights, and automation, enhancing network control and operational efficiency.
ExtremeCloud IQ excels with centralized management, AI analytics, seamless scalability, and integration with planning tools for efficient networking.
The most valuable features include AI-driven insights which make troubleshooting much easier.
The automation and information provided by ExtremeCloud IQ, such as connection status and logs, were very beneficial.
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco DNA Center
Ranking in Network Management Applications
1st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
42
Ranking in other categories
Network Monitoring Software (12th), Network Automation (2nd)
ExtremeCloud IQ
Ranking in Network Management Applications
11th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
76
Ranking in other categories
Network Access Control (NAC) (12th), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (20th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Network Management Applications category, the mindshare of Cisco DNA Center is 24.0%, down from 29.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of ExtremeCloud IQ is 2.8%, down from 2.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Management Applications
 

Featured Reviews

Ahmed  Helmy - PeerSpot reviewer
Experience unified visibility and monitoring for enterprise campus and significant time savings and enhanced troubleshooting with reliable support
We have been working with Cisco DNA Center for ten years. Our clients use Cisco DNA Center for unified visibility/monitoring across Enterprise Campus both LAN & WLAN along with Access and fast technical issues troubleshooting The solution provides fast troubleshooting capabilities and fast…
KristianLarsen - PeerSpot reviewer
Helps resolve network-related issues quickly and is reasonably priced
The tool has both advantages and weaknesses because it has several pieces of software on which it has been working because of buyouts. The tool has several branches of software versions, and you can consolidate it into ExtremeCloud, but it also has the disadvantage that sometimes people can get issues because the software on the hardware is different than they expected, especially if it is not converted to the tool used. The tool has simplified things, but it also adds a complexity that sometimes stumps some users. In the future, I think the tool’s onboarding setup of a new tenant could be smoother or faster. I also think that they could provide a simpler setup for first-level support so that it can be easier for them to have a support dashboard that would help them. I am talking about customer support organizations, so you usually have a high turnaround, but you need to have something that is easier to use and where you don't need so much training.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Computer Software Company
13%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Educational Organization
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco DNA Center?
The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that it gives some kind of ease in operations, especially since our company is moving from CLI to GUI-based configuration.
What needs improvement with Cisco DNA Center?
The system is working fine for me currently.
What are pros and cons of Aruba 515 Series AP vs. Cisco Meraki or Extreme Networks?
Depends. I have personally used both Cisco and Aruba so I am familiar with them. Extreme I am not, so unless they have some feature that I need or want, I wouldn't consider them. Do you have expe...
What do you like most about ExtremeCloud IQ?
The Client 360 feature provides a comprehensive view of your clients and their activities, including the devices they use. Additionally, a feature called Network 360 offers a 360-degree view of the...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for ExtremeCloud IQ?
The licensing was a challenge due to budget constraints, and I used ExtremeCloud IQ without a license for a period. The documentation and training courses were also costly, impacting how easily I c...
 

Also Known As

DNA Center
Aerohive Networks, Aerohive HiveManager, HiveManager, ExtremeCloud , ExtremeSecurity
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Henry Ford Health System, Baltimore Ravens, Brandili, Federal University of Alagoas, CEDAE, Caxias do Sul, UNISC Concurrency, CenturyLink Field, Louisiana College, Cricket Tasmania Stadium, Moscow Internet Exchange
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco DNA Center vs. ExtremeCloud IQ and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
860,592 professionals have used our research since 2012.