DX Spectrum vs Icinga comparison

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DX Spectrum

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 9, 2024

DX Spectrum, CA Spectrum, and Icinga compete in the network management and monitoring category. DX Spectrum appears to have the upper hand in scalability and comprehensive management, while Icinga stands out in automation and flexibility.

Features: DX Spectrum provides extensive network topology views, effective alerting systems, and support for diverse device types. CA Spectrum offers reliable incident and event management and deep integration with CA products. Icinga is strong in automation, features numerous plugins, and its open-source nature offers significant flexibility.

Room for Improvement: DX Spectrum could enhance its configuration simplicity and update its MIB databases, tackling Java dependency and integration complexity. Icinga would benefit from better dashboard capabilities and more structured designs, with improvements in clustering and multi-tenancy being crucial.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Both DX Spectrum and Icinga are primarily deployed on-premises. DX Spectrum receives average to exceptional customer service ratings, although some users note issues post-acquisition. Icinga's support is average but is bolstered by a strong community and self-support systems.

Pricing and ROI: DX Spectrum's pricing model suits larger enterprises due to its extensive features, with ROI being driven by lower operational costs. Icinga offers a low-cost entry as an open-source solution, with optional paid support, making it cost-effective for smaller organizations.

To learn more, read our detailed DX Spectrum vs. Icinga Report (Updated: June 2026).

DX Spectrum vs. Icinga

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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

DX Spectrum

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

17th

Ranking in IT Infrastructure Monitoring

20th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

118

Ranking in other categories

Network Management Applications (8th), Network Troubleshooting (6th), DX NetOps (1st)

Icinga

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

37th

Ranking in IT Infrastructure Monitoring

48th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Server Monitoring (16th), Cloud Monitoring Software (34th)

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Network Monitoring Software category, the mindshare of DX Spectrum is 1.6%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Icinga is 1.2%, down from 3.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Monitoring Software Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
DX Spectrum	1.6%
Icinga	1.2%
Other	97.2%

Network Monitoring Software

Featured Reviews

PinchasAlbalya

Network Engineer at a educational organization with 1,001-5,000 employees

Monitoring has become centralized and management now sees real‑time health of key network assets

The time investment required is significant, not because of difficulty but because of the need for free time to invest in it. We need to get the knowledge. We know there are many options, but we took an external vendor to install and make the customization. If we want to make others changes without paying for customization, we need to learn it deeply by ourselves. The tutorials are very complicated. They could work on that area. The tutorial part could be more simplified. I know there are many explanations, and you can get help or documents in one click on the current page in the product, but it is not very clear. If you want to do something new that you did not see from the vendor in the installation, it is not very simple. The documents are good for people that know how to operate the product well, but for new users, it is not simple.

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reviewer2292201

Innovation Service Manager at a tech services company with 201-500 employees

Easy to use, and it's possible to customize the product as per the needs we may have but average multi-tenancy aspect

It's supported by the community. We use Icinga, which is not part of the Open-Source platform but is wrapped into a commercial solution from another provider, a local provider in Italy. Icinga is an open-source platform, so it is supported by the community. It's quite easy to use, and it's possible to customize the product as per the needs we may have. So it's not expensive, and it's quite a general purpose. We can easily monitor any kind of infrastructure we encounter. The ability to customize scripts and build your own queries to request information from the infrastructure elements you want to monitor. This level of personalization and customization is highly appreciated. The alerting is the same as any other monitoring platform. It's not a "wow" feature that has changed our lives, but it's perfectly adequate.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It's a mature product and has been around for a long time."

"I must say, CA is an excellent company and their client always comes first."

"From the business perspective, they have improved MTTR significantly, creating an elevated ROI ratio."

"It is easy to navigate."

"Spectrum is a very stable product."

"Spectrum is designed for large infrastructures, anything less than 4000 devices and it is probably a waste of money"

"It was used as a tool to observe critical alarms on network nodes and act immediately."

"We were able to clearly identify the root cause of incidents visually and with specimen alerts with the topology design."

More DX Spectrum pros

"Icinga2 was designed to delegate, distribute and balance tasks between several nodes."

"We have found the solution to be stable."

"If you have a small infrastructure or a small number of devices that you want to monitor, then I think it's a good solution."

"The drafts are easy but what I like about Icinga is that there are many add-ons that you can download."

"It is really easy in Icinga to create your own plugin and integrate it without any fuss. And it works just perfectly fine."

"We monitor all, starting from UPS to international mail chains."

"Icinga has multiple automation and integration features. There is an API for everything and a web UI for configurations. The APIs enable you to automate tasks in Icinga. We can also use plugins to talk to the API. The Icinga Director talks to a database in the background, and you can import settings from the CMDB to all systems in Icinga."

"There's a module called Icinga Director, which helps us configure the product using an intuitive interface through clicks instead of creating a text configuration. It's very helpful for us."

More Icinga pros

Cons

"Currently, it's using BOXI/CABI, which is terrible as it’s unclear and I don’t like this."

"The product should provide performance management features."

"A big problem for us now is the Java requirement for the console."

"It doesn't really allow for multi-tenancy. If you're an ISP or an MSP and you want to use this tool to provide these types of fault management services to your customers, you would need a separate SpectroSERVER for each customer..."

"The price is high enough to expect an ideal solution."

"It does crash sometimes."

"CA Broadcom support is very bad—one of the worst."

"OS monitoring needs to be better developed, as well as their services, e.g., cluster monitoring, URLs, etc."

More DX Spectrum cons

"There is room for improvement in multi-tenancy. It's not perfect, not even really good. It's average, but it should be improved."

"The installation and configuration are very complex."

"It is not really adequate for our current needs. It causes additional issues which we have to work around and takes us time that a better solution would not."

"Network Discovery capabilities would be extremely helpful."

"In general, the product does not look good. However, it does what it is supposed to do. So, the improvements should focus on usability and UI."

"The user interface should be improved."

"One thing that Icinga lacks is the capability to create advanced and customized dashboards within the tool itself."

"We have found some problems with Nagios, and support isn't very responsive."

More Icinga cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It’s a great tool, but an expensive one. Learn how to use it properly."

"DX Spectrum's pricing depends on the license number. It is affordable."

"The solution's pricing could be better."

"Currently, a perpetual license but some services are moving to a subscription"

"Spectrum is expensive."

"The cost of some of these products are a little cost prohibitive, which is unfortunate. We have to find lower cost solutions for some of the things that we have to pull in. For the most part, CA has capabilities in pretty much everything that you would need. You just have to figure out where are you going to spend the most money for what you have to actually get done. You can do all these things but, which ones do you have to do? And that's hard to choose sometimes because you want to do them all."

"In general, the license cost will be about 30% of the total TCO for this tool (hardware/support team, OS costs, and OS management)."

"Since the acquisition by Broadcom, we have not had such a good experience with licensing and pricing. Since they were bought by Broadcom, every sales contract is getting complicated. It's very complicated, and it's much more expensive than before. It's not a good pricing strategy from Broadcom."

More DX Spectrum pricing and cost advice

"The product is inexpensive compared to other DBM products."

"It is cost-effective, and the return on investment can be very interesting because the price is low."

"The solution is cheap."

"Even though Icinga's financial cost is low, it is an expensive product regarding the resources required to maintain and operate it."

"It's an open-source solution."

"This is an open-source solution with paid support."

"We're using the free version of Icinga."

"The solution is free to use."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

16%

Construction Company

12%

Manufacturing Company

Outsourcing Company

Educational Organization

14%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Comms Service Provider

11%

University

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	25
Midsize Enterprise	19
Large Enterprise	90

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	9
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	8

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for DX Spectrum?

The price is very, very high.

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What needs improvement with DX Spectrum?

See all answers

What is your primary use case for DX Spectrum?

The university purchased DX Spectrum, called ICE. DX Spectrum NAC is working for us only on Cisco 9200 switches. It is not working on any other switch like C1000 or HG or any 2960X. Even other Cisc...

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Product Reports

DX Spectrum

Download DX Spectrum product report

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Also Known As

CA Spectrum

Icinga Cloud Monitoring

Overview

DX Spectrum is a comprehensive network monitoring tool designed for scalability and accuracy. With features like fault management, topological mapping, and customizability, it addresses network issues effectively while ensuring reliable infrastructure oversight.

Known for its robust capabilities, DX Spectrum excels in fault management and network monitoring, offering features such as Global Collections and Event Correlation for precise issue detection. This scalability allows it to monitor large infrastructures efficiently using SNMP traps. Automated device discovery and seamless integrations with tools like SOI and Zabbix enhance its functionality, providing users with a streamlined experience. The interface allows for deep visibility and is supported by REST API for improved integration and automation.

What are the key features of DX Spectrum?

Fault Management: Identifies and manages network faults efficiently.
Topological Mapping: Offers a graphical representation of network topology.
Customizability: Provides extensive options to tailor the tool to specific needs.
Global Collections: Enhances issue detection across networks.
Event Correlation: Reduces false alerts by correlating network events.
Scalability: Manages large networks with SNMP traps.
Automated Discovery: Automatically identifies and integrates devices into monitoring.
REST API: Facilitates seamless integration and automation.

Why should users consider DX Spectrum in reviews?

Operational Efficiency: Increases efficiency through automation and integration.
Deep Visibility: Provides comprehensive network visibility and control.
Reliability: Ensures stable and reliable network operations.
Integration Capabilities: Works seamlessly with multiple external tools.
Customizability: Allows customization to meet specific monitoring needs.
Proactive Management: Supports proactive issue resolution with accurate notifications.

DX Spectrum finds extensive applications across industries for network infrastructure monitoring. It is vital in sectors where maintaining service uptime and quickly resolving network faults is critical. Organizations leverage its configuration management, alarm/event management, and integration capabilities to maintain smooth network operations, especially in environments with large and complex network infrastructures.

Broadcom

Icinga is a robust tool for monitoring IT infrastructure, known for its distributed monitoring capabilities and seamless integration with multiple platforms. It efficiently observes servers, network devices, and environments like Linux and Windows, enabling proactive issue identification and resource management.

With a focus on task delegation and clustering, Icinga offers an intuitive interface through its GUI and Icinga Director, simplifying configuration. The extensive plugin library supports diverse technologies, while the API allows automation with tools like Terraform and Ansible. Despite its strengths, users report challenges with data display in the GUI, a need for improved dashboards, and complex configuration processes. Users benefit from its SNMP alerts, email notifications, and automated incident handling, making it essential for managed service environments and enterprises.

What are the key features of Icinga?

Task Delegation: Streamlines monitoring tasks across distributed systems.
Event Handler: Enables automatic service recovery with minimal intervention.
Plugin Library: Offers extensive support for integrating diverse technologies.
API Accessibility: Facilitates automation with popular tools like Terraform.
Custom Plugins: Allows easy creation and personalization for monitoring needs.

What benefits should you consider in Icinga reviews?

Flexibility: Tailors monitoring to specific requirements with community support.
Scalability: Successfully manages growing infrastructure demands.
Proactivity: Enhances issue identification and resource allocation.
Integration: Seamlessly works with existing IT operations platforms.

Icinga is widely adopted in IT environments for monitoring servers, networks, and applications across industries such as finance, healthcare, and technology. Its ability to integrate with various operating systems and automation platforms makes it a versatile choice for industries prioritizing comprehensive surveillance and proactive management of their infrastructure.

Sample Customers

National Informatics Centre India, Banese, Olympus, AlphaServe Technologies, Sicredi

Puppet Labs, Audi, Spacex, Debian, Snapdeal, McGill, RIPE Network Coordination Centre

DX Spectrum vs. Icinga