Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs Fortra's Intermapper comparison

Cisco and Fortra are both solutions in the Network Monitoring Software category. Cisco is ranked #13 with an average rating of 8.1, while Fortra is ranked #84. Cisco holds a 0.7% mindshare in NMS, compared to Fortra’s 0.4% mindshare. Additionally, 92% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Fortra users who would recommend it.

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabri...

Read 26 Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) reviews

1,291 Views
1,239 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

Fortra's Intermapper

Read 4 Fortra's Intermapper reviews

751 Views
706 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabri...

Fortra's Intermapper

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 10, 2024

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller and Fortra's Intermapper are two competing products in the network management and monitoring category. While Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller has the advantage in pricing and support, Fortra's Intermapper's superior features make it a valuable investment.

Features: Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller offers scalable network automation, comprehensive policy management, and a focus on professional support services. Fortra's Intermapper is known for its advanced network visualization, real-time monitoring, and user-friendly interface.

Room for Improvement: Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller could enhance its real-time monitoring and visualization capabilities to further satisfy users preferring detailed network insights, while streamlining the interface could appeal to smaller teams. Fortra's Intermapper could expand its automation features, focus on policy management efficiency, and offer enhanced scalability to cater to larger enterprises.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller provides robust deployment options suited for large-scale networks, emphasizing personalized services for enterprises. Fortra's Intermapper offers straightforward deployment, advantageous for smaller teams, ensuring quick setup and usability without compromising on customer service support.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller is initially costly but promises substantial long-term ROI through its automation and scalability, reducing operational costs over time. Though Fortra's Intermapper comes with a lower initial cost, its user-friendly features deliver satisfactory ROI, appealing to businesses looking for quick deployment without significant upfront investment.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs. Fortra's Intermapper Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs. Fortra's Intermapper

December 2025

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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 Nexus Dashboard Fabri...

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

13th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Fortra's Intermapper

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

84th

Average Rating

8.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) is 0.7%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortra's Intermapper is 0.4%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Monitoring Software Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM)	0.7%
Fortra's Intermapper	0.4%
Other	98.9%

Network Monitoring Software

Featured Reviews

Jagdev Dhaliwal

Network Engineer at a healthcare company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Flow monitoring has improved planning for east-west traffic and real-time capacity decisions

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) helps to understand the flows and data plane capacities, which are the primary use cases. Usually, people struggle with east-west traffic flow when they need to decide on firewalls or products. People typically understand north-south traffic flows but usually miss the east-west traffic flows in data centers. I was focusing more on this so that people can accordingly plan, such as after F5, the number of servers, the number of sessions needed, and whether we need to plan the interface for groups from the line capacity perspective. This kind of information was valuable to us. The real-time telemetry feature was beneficial. When experiencing performance issues, I could determine if there were any issues related to flows or areas where bottlenecks were occurring.

Read full review

Andrian Lubimov

SVP of Networking and Operations at Skywire Networks

It tremendously cuts down our troubleshooting timeframe, but needs advanced SLA monitoring and reporting

They can do a better job with SLA reporting. It does some basic reporting, but it really doesn't offer the ability to monitor devices by groups, customers, or carrier to give an overall health performance of specifically-defined environments. That's where HelpSystems Intermapper could have done a better job. I would love to see advanced SLA monitoring and reporting in this solution. They already have a lot of ingredients. They already have SNMP polling. It is really about what people are looking for from SLA monitoring, especially someone who looks at the network topology. You want to see your endpoints. You want to see half of your endpoints by simply analyzing ICMP or SNMP-based availability of your endpoints. Having an ability to define your group and how you bring devices into your group would be a huge benefit.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Monitoring system provides a clear indication of what's going on in the network."

"I like that is easy to work on and straightforward."

"Data Center Network Manager is absolutely stable."

"The monitoring capability is the best in Cisco Data Center Network Manager. It helps me improve network management tasks and optimize processes."

"The product makes the management of our environment simpler."

"VCNM provides a unique capability of managing the admin VDCs of Nexus boxes."

"The interface of this solution is easy to use overall."

"We use the product to manage access points."

More Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) pros

"It's all today portal-based which is a good feature for us."

"What is really cool about HelpSystems InterMapper is that because of its SNMP base, you can integrate all different makes and models on the same map. You, of course, can have more than one map, but you have an option to have visibility into the entire network from one centralized system. You can monitor IPs, routers, radios, DC power plants, and UPS. You can do it all from one network management and monitoring solution. That's what really makes HelpSystems Intermapper great. Another great thing about HelpSystems InterMapper is that you can really bundle different probes under one device. You can have a bundled device. You can monitor the physical status of a host based on the IP availability. You can also monitor services and actually see if anything happens. You can quickly determine whether it is the application layer, host layer, or network layer. HelpSystems Intermapper gives such a unique representation of a network. Ever since we started using HelpSystems InterMapper, we don't have to document everything in a detailed format and store it somewhere. Right now, it is really a combination of network topology, network monitoring, and network analyzing. So, in my opinion, it is awesome. When you have your SNMP topology defined, you don't require a dedicated NMS engineer to manage your system, which is another great thing about HelpSystems InterMapper. I see how our operators get so excited by having the ability to map a device or interface and connect interfaces together. HelpSystems InterMapper is also very operator friendly; not just user friendly, but also operator friendly. This is a unique feature, and it works really great."

"It's a nice graphical interface, a nice map, that relates Layer 1 to Layer 3, virtually instantly, to the Helpdesk support staff. It provides a default place to get critical information so we can deploy our staff."

"The most valuable features are its: log history, real-time monitoring capabilities, accuracy - the number of false positives is very low, and the mapping features."

Cons

"More integration features would be beneficial."

"Could integrate better with VMware products."

"Automation for the RMA process can be added."

"The initial setup is challenging."

"The automation feature could be improved."

"One of the biggest challenges is that we aren't always able to push the configuration onto the target device. Whenever this happens, we have to do a factory reset, put on the script, and then reconfigure it again. In the next release, I would like to have a troubleshooting feature."

"Data Center Network Manager is a little complex because it includes a lot of hardware to be installed."

"If the customer thinks about using additional solutions, Cisco should make sure they are not left out."

More Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) cons

"It's a smaller solution so tools are not as advanced as you would find in a larger solution"

"They can do a better job with SLA reporting. It does some basic reporting, but it really doesn't offer the ability to monitor devices by groups, customers, or carrier to give an overall health performance of specifically-defined environments. That's where HelpSystems Intermapper could have done a better job. I would love to see advanced SLA monitoring and reporting in this solution. They already have a lot of ingredients. They already have SNMP polling. It is really about what people are looking for from SLA monitoring, especially someone who looks at the network topology. You want to see your endpoints. You want to see half of your endpoints by simply analyzing ICMP or SNMP-based availability of your endpoints. Having an ability to define your group and how you bring devices into your group would be a huge benefit."

"I'd love to see more of the network management side of it coming back into it. If we were able to run scripts to bounce ports on switches, that would be great. It's asking a lot, but it's actually very doable because I do it through scripting into other products. If we could incorporate that directly into Intermapper, that would be fantastic."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"On average, Data Center Network Manager's pricing isn't too costly unless you choose a premier license."

"The price of Cisco Data Center Network Manager is expensive compared to other vendors on the market."

"The product is licensed with contracts that work on a yearly basis rather than a monthly model."

"The tool is always expensive, but their service, product quality, and support are good. We're happy with it, but it's still an expensive solution. There are cheaper alternatives but no similar platform across all domains."

"The solution is very expensive."

"We usually opt for a yearly plan, commonly for three or five years upfront. Some customers may not utilize all the features included in the product, and this can lead to them paying for functionalities they don't need."

"I would say that the pricing offers great value for the money."

"When we purchase a Nexus box, the MDS CM license comes with it."

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Government

13%

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

Healthcare Company

Government

18%

Manufacturing Company

18%

Recreational Facilities/Services Company

University

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	10
Midsize Enterprise	6
Large Enterprise	16

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco Data Center Network Manager?

It uses push technology, which pushes the changes to all relevant devices to ensure they are updated accordingly.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Data Center Network Manager?

The tool is always expensive, but their service, product quality, and support are good. We're happy with it, but it's still an expensive solution. There are cheaper alternatives but no similar plat...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Cisco Data Center Network Manager?

I do not believe it integrated well with different infrastructures for hybrid environments. I am uncertain because we have never attempted that in our environment, so they could perform better in t...

See all answers

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM)

January 2026

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) report

Download Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) product report

Buyer's Guide

Network Monitoring Software

January 2026

Download Fortra's Intermapper product report

Also Known As

Cisco Data Center Network Manager

HelpSystems Intermapper

Overview

The Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (NDFC) offers a comprehensive solution for managing Cisco NX-OS switches in hybrid-cloud environments, providing automation, visibility, and consistent operations. Designed to simplify and enhance data center management, NDFC integrates with Cisco Nexus Dashboard to streamline network connectivity, reduce deployment times, and ensure seamless transitions with minimal disruptions. Its modular architecture, new user interface, and support for non-Nexus OS platforms make it a robust tool for LAN, SAN, and IP Fabric for Media management. Additionally, NDFC enhances fabric reliability, automates workflows, and supports cloud connectivity with AWS and Microsoft Azure, making it ideal for businesses adapting to increasingly complex digital environments.

Cisco

Fortra's software frees you up to focus on what matters most, aligning IT and business goals to help organizations build a competitive edge. Intermapper is network monitoring software for organizations who want to monitor their IT infrastructure in real time.

With Intermapper, you can visualize all your physical and virtual network components on a live map and get up-to-date performance data on its availability. Powerful and user-friendly, Intermapper helps leading businesses prevent costly outages and maximize uptime for 24/7 availability of network resources.

Features include flexible monitoring for anything with an IP address, free probes to monitor different types of equipment from various vendors, dynamic network mapping, bandwidth monitoring, real-time alerts, and remote access. Our add-on integration with Automate allows you to remediate network failures and conduct network self-healing.

Intermapper runs on Mac, Windows, and Linux.

Fortra

Sample Customers

Banco de Guayaquil, Cox Communications, Kuwait Petroleum Italia, Roper St. Francis, University of British Columbia

Greater Media Detroit, University of British Columbia, Don's Farm Supply

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs. Fortra's Intermapper

December 2025

Free Report: Cisco Nexus Dashboard Fabric Controller (Formerly DCNM) vs. Fortra's Intermapper

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