Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Cisco DNA Center vs Junos Space Network Director 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 (18th), Network Automation (2nd)
Junos Space Network Director
Ranking in Network Management Applications
20th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Network Management Applications category, the mindshare of Cisco DNA Center is 14.4%, down from 28.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Junos Space Network Director is 2.5%, down from 3.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Management Applications Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cisco DNA Center14.4%
Junos Space Network Director2.5%
Other83.1%
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.
Ibrahim Reda - PeerSpot reviewer
Network and Security Engineer at CITG - Continental Information and Telecom Group
High scalability network management with centralized control and an intuitive interface that provides efficient monitoring and configuration capabilities
A centralized platform is crucial for efficiently managing all of our switches, which were previously handled individually, leading to significant challenges. This unified dashboard simplifies tasks like simultaneous switch upgrades, streamlining the process. It enables us to create reports that monitor site statuses, including uptime and downtime, which helps us evaluate each site's monthly uptime and assess its revenue potential based on operational time.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Automation helps configure devices without manual intervention, enabling zero-touch provisioning."
"Cisco is a leading network company."
"The product's most valuable feature is the visual representation of the switch's front panel."
"The solution has the capability to scale."
"The monitoring is very valuable to me."
"It gives us automation capabilities for pushing out the configuration to branch networks. It also provides visibility into the health of user network devices."
"DNA Center is scalable."
"Automation is another key highlight. With automation, you can automate everything through a single port."
"It allows me to do more of the basic firewall features, like traffic management and others, in a single pane of glass."
"The most valuable feature is the management from a single pane of glass."
"The most valuable feature is the technical support, as it is better than others."
"A centralized platform is crucial for efficiently managing all of our switches, which were previously handled individually, leading to significant challenges."
 

Cons

"An area that needs improvement is the integration with other vendors."
"The task failure reporting or provisioning failure reporting could be a little bit better in the UI, with more information given to the user."
"It seems to be a little bit more centered toward wireless than wired. You've got more options you can do wirelessly than you can with the wired switches, but it works for what we need it to do. We would like to see a little bit more about the traffic, and we're looking at what's out there to see about that. We are looking at something that might give us a bit more insight into the actual traffic. If they had the full functionality on the wired side, as they do on the wireless side in terms of being able to view traffic and everything, it would be good."
"In terms of the clustering part, there are some concerns."
"There should be an option for automation of template deployment by using the stored data. It is not easy to save configuration information for lots of devices without using other tools. There should be a tighter, better repository of information that can be merged with the templates."
"In my opinion, the client history in Cisco DNA Center can be longer than 10 days, perhaps extending to 15 or 20 days."
"There is a limitation with the number of VRFs that you can have in your network, and this has caused us problems with some customers."
"What could be improved is the licensing cost of Cisco DNA Center. It's a little bit expensive."
"I would like to see Space created to fully functional, where it's got multiple modules, particularly SD-WAN working on Corporate, or maybe become part of the Orchestrator portion."
"The upgrades are very time-consuming and difficult, and they often have to rebuild the product."
"I would like to them include network real-time performance and come up with a dashboard report."
"Its interface should be improved and enhanced to offer various functions, with flexible pricing"
 

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."
"The partnership price is notably high, but it ultimately depends on the chosen business model."
"The tool's licensing may not come across as something that may be friendly for users."
"The solution is a little bit expensive but depends a lot on the customer's usage. If you use it in the right place, you can easily pay for it."
"We get a yearly license at the time we buy the product."
"We have a three-year license with them."
"Affordability is a problem because it's created for large enterprises only. So, some customers, even if their engineers want the solution, might have problems with budget limitations."
"The solution is expensive."
"Typically, Juniper is more expensive than Cisco in initial costs, but overall, the long-term licensing fees that you're going to pay for Juniper versus Cisco is going to be less."
"This product is set at a good price point."
"We would like the price to be reduced."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Network Management Applications solutions are best for your needs.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
13%
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
10%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Government
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Outsourcing Company
7%
Retailer
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise25
No data available
 

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...
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

Also Known As

DNA Center
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
St. Catherine's University, OneNet, University of New Haven, Frederick County Public Schools (Maryland), America's Test Kitchen
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco DNA Center vs. Junos Space Network Director and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.