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Cisco DNA Center vs Huawei eSight 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco DNA Center
Ranking in Network Management Applications
1st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
43
Ranking in other categories
Network Monitoring Software (19th), Network Automation (2nd)
Huawei eSight
Ranking in Network Management Applications
10th
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
IT Infrastructure Monitoring (34th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Network Management Applications category, the mindshare of Cisco DNA Center is 12.3%, down from 27.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Huawei eSight is 3.6%, down from 5.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Management Applications Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco DNA Center12.3%
Huawei eSight3.6%
Other84.1%
Network Management Applications
 

Featured Reviews

Mahir Öztürk - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Engineer at NGN Bilgi ve İletişim Hizmetleri
Client history has helped resolve past network issues more efficiently
I mostly use the client history feature of Cisco DNA Center. I didn't use the real-time monitoring capability of Cisco DNA Center because I primarily used it for client history regarding issues and problems. I don't use it for real-time monitoring. If there is a problem, I can inspect the situation and see what is happening, which is beneficial.
Gary Strydom - PeerSpot reviewer
Desktop Analyst at Transnet
Used to monitor devices and provides the hardware alarms feature
Huawei eSight has helped me overcome many monitoring aspects of the hardware. From a single view, I can monitor all the hardware. Instead of logging on to each piece of hardware and monitoring it individually, I can monitor them from one single point. I would recommend the solution to other users because it provides a single point of view of the hardware. Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I like that we can easily configure any new hardware. It's also easy to deploy and easy to troubleshoot."
"Cisco is a leading network company."
"It enables monitoring of various components such as access points, switch cards, and other elements within the company's solutions."
"DNA Center is scalable."
"I like the visibility, instant build, network, policies, and the ability to control access. I also like that you can visualize your whole network."
"The solution helps in user microsegmentation."
"It offers automation, security enforcement, analytics, and integration with other Cisco technologies, making it a key driver for efficient network operations and compliance with security protocols."
"We can monitor all devices and get the required information using the product."
"Huawei eSight provides businesses with monitoring capabilities of network devices across your network."
"We use Huawei eSight to monitor devices like Wi-Fi controllers, LAN switches, and routers."
"One of the most beneficial features of Huawei eSight is its simplicity and ease of use."
"I like the real-time location monitor or RTLS feature. It is similar to the monitoring feature in Cisco Prime."
"The product is stable."
"I like that it supports all our Huawei devices. Unlike other network monitoring tools that monitor Huawei devices, it provides more details when it comes to monitoring or management. We can get complete details about the devices, and management is also simple."
"The most important features are alarm management and the visualization of the health of our network devices."
"We can scale the solution."
 

Cons

"The task failure reporting or provisioning failure reporting could be a little bit better in the UI, with more information given to the user."
"What could be improved is the licensing cost of Cisco DNA Center. It's a little bit expensive."
"In terms of the clustering part, there are some concerns."
"Cisco DNA Center was a new technology for us, at the beginning, it was not easy to do, but Cisco did a lot of training with us to a level we could handle everything. The team is managing itself now without the assistance of Cisco."
"DNA Center has been on the market for a few years and they need to update it."
"The product doesn’t have good monitoring capabilities."
"The weaknesses primarily involve pricing and the ongoing need for increased bandwidth and data throughput."
"An area that needs improvement is the integration with other vendors."
"The variety of license types should be made simpler as, at present, it is complex."
"The solution needs to improve it's user interface to make it more modern and stylish. They need to design proper menu positions, features, etc. Right now the layout is complicated."
"It will be better if they can make the simple network topology part more presentable. It would also be better if they had API integration and integration with third-party devices."
"Something that could be improved is the lack of integration with Cisco switches. In the next release, I would like to see better reporting."
"eSight has many features and options, but sometimes, we feel that it should be more advanced, like Cisco. It would be good if they can enable some automation part in eSight. Most of our customers want automation in their network. They don't want a dependency on everything. That's why the automation part must be improved in Huawei. It will be beneficial for customers. Cisco has different products, and there are multiple products for monitoring, automation, etc. In the software-defined network, Cisco has ACI, and VMware has NSX. Such options must be there in Huawei to move to a software-defined network. Unlike Cisco, in the case of eSight, there is only one product. I am not aware of any other product. It would be good to enhance it with at least some automation options so that we can use it effectively in the campus network or big data center environment. When I implemented this Huawei solution, I faced some limitations in particular areas like wireless scanning. This is another part that they can improve. Wireless reporting option is not as effective as other monitoring solutions. For a particular use case, if a customer is asking for some reports, sometimes they are not 100% satisfactory. The reporting structure must be improved."
"Huawei eSight should work on the option to have the email notification working on Office 365 Exchange."
"It is not a very flexible product."
"This solution could be improved by offering monitoring for all devices and not only Huawei devices."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Cisco DNA Center is a licensed product with multiple levels of licensing available such as basic, advanced, and essential. I don't have the exact figure, but Cisco DNA Center is costly. For example, the box has information about the essential license and costs a considerable amount of money. You need to pay extra to use advanced features in Cisco DNA Center. My company sees Cisco DNA Center as a solution that's worth the money, which is why it invested in the solution. If you want centralized management for your network, especially when upgrading it, Cisco DNA Center is perfect, but it's more suitable for a large-scale rather than a small-scale network."
"Cisco DNA Center is expensive."
"The tool's licensing may not come across as something that may be friendly for users."
"I do know that Cisco does offer some really good promotions for DNA Center to bring the costs down."
"The price of the solution is expensive. The hardware is licensed on the device, but the hardware on the server is expensive."
"We have a three-year license with them."
"It is an expensive solution."
"The price could be better. It's a very expensive tool."
"The solution’s pricing is reasonable."
"Its pricing is better than any other Huawei product. Some products are cheaper in Huawei, and some products are cheaper in Cisco. Cisco has more benefits and options than Huawei if you consider different network environments."
"I would rate this solution a nine out of ten for pricing. The pricing depends on which features you use and can become expensive."
"Pricing depends on the competition. If your competitor is like Cisco, then Huawei is much more competitive when it comes to pricing."
"The pricing for Huawei eSight is reasonable, especially with the base license and incremental licenses for additional devices. However, the variety of license types can be a bit complex. We used to sell eSight but switched to another solution, so we're not actively trading it anymore."
"The price is very expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
13%
Government
10%
Computer Software Company
7%
Healthcare Company
6%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise25
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise1
 

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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco DNA Center?
After evaluating other solutions, we will provide feedback.
What needs improvement with Cisco DNA Center?
In my opinion, the client history in Cisco DNA Center can be longer than 10 days, perhaps extending to 15 or 20 days. I am using it in a huge factory in Turkey, and sometimes I need to see what occ...
What needs improvement with Huawei eSight?
Huawei eSight should work on the option to have the email notification working on Office 365 Exchange.
What is your primary use case for Huawei eSight?
We use the solution to monitor the hardware environment of our data center. We mainly use Huawei eSight to monitor the devices. It assists in monitoring our devices in terms of utilization and moni...
What advice do you have for others considering Huawei eSight?
Huawei eSight has helped me overcome many monitoring aspects of the hardware. From a single view, I can monitor all the hardware. Instead of logging on to each piece of hardware and monitoring it i...
 

Also Known As

DNA Center
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Marina Bay, CITIC Pacific Mining
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco DNA Center vs. Huawei eSight and other solutions. Updated: March 2026.
884,933 professionals have used our research since 2012.