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Cisco DNA Center vs SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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
6.1
Number of Reviews
44
Ranking in other categories
Network Monitoring Software (17th), Network Automation (2nd)
SolarWinds Network Topology...
Ranking in Network Management Applications
13th
Average Rating
9.6
Reviews Sentiment
2.7
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Network Management Applications category, the mindshare of Cisco DNA Center is 9.4%, down from 25.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper is 2.5%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Network Management Applications Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Cisco DNA Center9.4%
SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper2.5%
Other88.1%
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.
reviewer2687874 - PeerSpot reviewer
Design Engineer at a wholesaler/distributor with 501-1,000 employees
Effective tools simplify network mapping and analysis
I can't really articulate any areas that could be improved with the product right offhand. Just as long as they keep it around, since I know things are going into subscription models. One thing we do appreciate about the tool is that it's essentially a perpetual tool. Once you purchase it and the Engineer's ToolBox, it's been beneficial, serving as another utility tool on the network. I can't think of anything specific offhand for how SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper could improve, because I treat it as a simple utility tool that serves those needs. It scans the network for SNMP and ICMP echoes to map the topologies of the existing network. It's a small utility tool that's very helpful and beneficial, another option for us to utilize, and while there's always room for more features, that typically comes with a cost that we have to weigh.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"In terms of software-defined networking, I think it's an outstanding product."
"I like the visibility, instant build, network, policies, and the ability to control access; I also like that you can visualize your whole network."
"It is simple to manage and it is all done from a single dashboard."
"Cisco DNA Center is something that I recommend."
"One of the advantages is Cisco support."
"We can monitor all devices and get the required information using the product."
"Technical support is excellent. We have pretty good technical support."
"It is very versatile in terms of analytics."
"It's user-friendly."
"One of the best features of SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper is that it has over 60 utility tools to utilize, so it offers a lot of different features, more than I have time to discuss at this moment, making it a good extra set of utility tools that we can incorporate onto our network."
 

Cons

"Cisco could improve the security side of their solutions."
"What I want to see in Cisco DNA Center in the future is more support for other platforms so that you can manage third-party products, such as Fortinet."
"Cisco DNA Center isn't as stable, particularly with the logs, because it doesn't replicate the exact logs."
"The task failure reporting or provisioning failure reporting could be a little bit better in the UI, with more information given to the user."
"The solution needs to improve the dashboard."
"There are some software problems from version to version. It takes a long time for DNA Center to recognize the video and control access devices."
"Better compatibility with third parties and to other Cisco products because if versions are not perfectly matching requirements, it gives a lot of problems."
"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."
"This is a relatively expensive product."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The tool's licensing may not come across as something that may be friendly for users."
"The price of the solution is expensive. The hardware is licensed on the device, but the hardware on the server is expensive."
"The price could be better. It's a very expensive tool."
"We have a three-year license with them."
"The licensing cost for Cisco DNA Center is not more than that of other solutions."
"The solution is expensive."
"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."
"Our licensing agreement is for three years."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
13%
Government
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
6%
Educational Organization
13%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Government
9%
Construction Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise24
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?
The deployment of Cisco DNA Center was complex due to the fact that on the data center side, we have a Juniper infrastructure, which created some complexity, though not significant. The deployment ...
What needs improvement with SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper?
I can't really articulate any areas that could be improved with the product right offhand. Just as long as they keep it around, since I know things are going into subscription models. One thing we ...
What is your primary use case for SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper?
In general, I use it for scanning IT and OT devices for networks and laying out their topology mapping. The industry I use it for is manufacturing. We specifically don't use it as our network manag...
What advice do you have for others considering SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper?
The Engineer's Toolset is something I use hand-in-hand with the Topology Mapper, and it complements it well. Regarding pricing and licensing with SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper, I haven't faced...
 

Also Known As

DNA Center
SolarWinds NTM
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco DNA Center vs. SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.
893,244 professionals have used our research since 2012.