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Cisco Catalyst Center Reviews & Insights

Score8.7 out of 10

442 Reviews and Ratings

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Insights from Cisco Catalyst Center Reviewers

Based on 48 verified reviews published in the last 18 months

Overview

Synthesised from 48 reviews | Last Published May 27, 2026

Cisco Catalyst Center is primarily used for comprehensive network infrastructure management, addressing device deployment, monitoring, and automation challenges. Organizations leverage it for streamlining device provisioning and deployment, as well as for centralized network management and automation. In TrustRadius reviews, its Software and Image Management (SWIM) functionality is a significant strength, facilitating automated IOS XE upgrades and firmware tracking across devices, a capability highlighted by 29% of reviewers. It also provides critical insights into network health and connectivity through its Assurance and Monitoring features.

Reviewers also noted its positive impact on operational efficiencies, particularly through time savings from automating repetitive tasks and faster troubleshooting. However, areas for improvement include challenges with integrating Catalyst Center with other tools and mixed sentiments regarding configuration templates. System stability and the presence of bugs, especially after upgrades, are also concerns, with 13% of feedback mentioning these issues. Overall, reviewers find the platform valuable for network operations, despite some complexities and reliability issues that require attention.

Pros

  • Automated Software and Image Management (SWIM) for IOS XE upgrades and firmware tracking.
  • Comprehensive network Assurance and Monitoring with detailed health insights.
  • Standardized Configuration Management via templates and automated pushing.
  • Centralized Inventory Management for tracking network devices and endpoints.
  • Streamlined LAN automation and template-based configuration rollout.

Cons

  • Challenges integrating with other Cisco tools and third-party solutions.
  • Configuration template management requires better examples and tutorials.
  • System stability issues and bugs, particularly after upgrades.
  • Lack of native support for Nexus devices, requiring separate management tools.
  • User interface and navigation can be difficult to understand, leading to a steep learning curve.
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Cisco Catalyst Center Reviews

247 Reviews

Videos

Cisco Catalyst Center is the future of Networking

Rating: 10 out of 10

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

It provide Network Management and Automation.

Pros

  • Lan Automation new switches
  • Inventory all devices and endpoints
  • Pushing configuration to switches
  • backup all configurations.

Cons

  • bugs comes up on different versions.
  • Streamline some of the tasks. like new config when insert new modules.
  • more log coming from the ise auth result in Cat Center

Likelihood to Recommend

It is the future of Cisco switch and networking platform. It simplify onboarding new device, and provide consistency for the whole network. Troubleshoot network issue is a lot more earlier than before as it provides more details in the log. It also provides a lot of insight to the network which tradition switches doesn't have.
VU
Verified User
Engineer in Information Technology (51-200 employees)
Vetted Review
Cisco Catalyst Center
4 years of experience

Cisco Catalyst Center formerly DNA

Rating: 8 out of 10
Incentivized

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

I use Client 360 for troubleshooting wireless client issues. We utilize a script to backup router and switch configs. I monitor the health of wired and wireless networks. We have been looking into the AI assisted RRM.

Pros

  • Client troubleshooting
  • Topology
  • Network device inventory

Cons

  • device configuration backup should be built in and do a larger history
  • client locations on maps not always accurate

Likelihood to Recommend

Client 360 is good for wireless client troubleshooting.
VU
Verified User
Engineer in Information Technology (1001-5000 employees)
Vetted Review
Cisco Catalyst Center
5 years of experience

Do yourself a favour use the Cisco Catalyst Center

Rating: 9 out of 10
Incentivized

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Cisco Catalyst Center allows even tier 1 technicians to adjust switches and other network equipment. It cuts down on ticket escalation and aids greatly in making adjustments to the network easily. The speed and efficiency that we can make changes allows for more time to do larger projects. It also aids in making sure all pieces of the network are uniformly configured.

Pros

  • Tier 1 tech usage
  • Uniform changes
  • Quick and easy changes without CLI

Cons

  • Steep learning curve to find what you need
  • Some things are not where you might expect

Likelihood to Recommend

Great for deployments with multiple tiers of support as it allows lower tier to troubleshoot and make changes without learning CLI. Also great as a pane of glass to see what is happening in your network and be notified when things go down or have issues. It's difficult to imagine a situation where it would not be of value.
VU
Verified User
Administrator in Information Technology (501-1000 employees)
Vetted Review
Cisco Catalyst Center
2 years of experience

Cisco Catalyst Center is solid

Rating: 10 out of 10
Incentivized

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use Cisco Catalyst Center to manage our network environment, provision switches using Plug and Play, provision sites, access points. We also use it to provision our Wifi, and it does a great job. It cuts down the time that it takes to provision a device once it's fresh out of the box from a couple of hours to 20 minutes. I would say that it's got an unlimited use of potential, especially when you start getting into templated CLI. That cuts down on tedious tasks that we have to do, leaving us time to go and deal with more layer 8 issues.

Pros

  • Provisions SD-Access really well
  • Heat maps for wifi are really useful
  • Keeps a tab on device reachability

Cons

  • Bugs. Cisco always rushes to get out features and ends up creating bugs. For example, we had a stack that we added a switch to temporarily and removed and now that switch won't get out. TAC was not able to help.
  • Scalability. Currently we have an appliance for running DNA Center. I think that it could be virtualized.
  • Integration with Nexus switches

Likelihood to Recommend

Cisco Catalyst Center is well suited for SD Access, but less so for ruggedized environments and for data center environments.
AD
Andrew Dima
Network Engineer in Information Technology at City of Carlsbad (501-1000 employees)
Vetted Review
Cisco Catalyst Center
3 years of experience

Catalyst Center with small It teams

Rating: 7 out of 10
Incentivized

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We utilize catalyst center to assist with network assurance and firmware management

Pros

  • Assurance
  • Firmware management centralization
  • Wireless heat mapping.

Cons

  • Ease of Configuration
  • Ease of use and learning use cases
  • More guided configuration assistance.

Likelihood to Recommend

Overall the thoughts on the product are good but the execution and ease of use lacks. We need to be able to stand up the product for basic functionality faster and easier.
VU
Verified User
Engineer in Information Technology (501-1000 employees)
Vetted Review
Cisco Catalyst Center
20 years of experience

CCC Review

Rating: 6 out of 10
Incentivized

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We currently used CCC for monitoring and troubleshooting our WiFi network. The wireless client stats it provides helps with determining problem time-frames when troubleshooting.

Pros

  • Collecting data for wireless clients.
  • The heatmap feature works reasonably well for determining coverage.

Cons

  • The inventory page is difficult to use for filtering out devices.

Likelihood to Recommend

We use the product every day to monitor WiFi client performance. However, while we do use it for troubleshooting, we find it to be slow to update when trying to determine critical issues.
VU
Verified User
Technician in Information Technology (5001-10,000 employees)
Vetted Review
Cisco Catalyst Center
3 years of experience

Cisco Catalyst Center is a Great Product

Rating: 8 out of 10
Incentivized

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We currently use it for SWIM and management features of Cisco Devices. Currently we use it to solve issues surrounding Upgrades of hundreds of switches that would be very tedious to do manually.

Pros

  • SWIM
  • LAN Automation
  • Device Management
  • Integration with existing systems such as ISE

Cons

  • More scripting capabailties
  • Better analytics

Likelihood to Recommend

Environments that contain large amounts of Cisco devices you need to manage and update. As well as upgrading legacy networks to modern SDA networks
VU
Verified User
Employee in Engineering (11-50 employees)
Vetted Review
Cisco Catalyst Center
4 years of experience

Cisco Catalyst Center

Rating: 8 out of 10
Incentivized

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Cisco Catalyst Center is deployed in our environment for Assurance and software image management for our switches, routers, and wireless LAN controller. We are the process of evaluating SD-Access using Cisco ISE and Cisco Catalyst Center.

Pros

  • Software image management, allowing a centralized automation for device IOS upgrades and tracking.

Cons

  • Virtual appliance does not have feature potty with hardware appliance. Some commands that are needed for troubleshooting are available in Virtualize Catalyst center
  • Unable to integrate SD-WAN into Cisco Catalyst Center
  • Unable to integrate Nexus dashboard or ACI managem to to Cisco Catalyst Center. Would be really nice to have a simple pane of glass for all.

Likelihood to Recommend

Great for managing device imaging, configurations, vulnerabilities, and health monitoring.
VU
Verified User
Administrator in Information Technology (1001-5000 employees)
Vetted Review
Cisco Catalyst Center
4 years of experience

Cisco Catalyst Center old DNA Center

Rating: 9 out of 10
Incentivized

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use the Cisco Catalyst Center for assurance, troublesooting and to program our switches We are also intgrating it with our WLC-9800-80. We have about 600 switch stacjs and about 3500 AP's Our campus includes about 100 buildings that have network coverage as well as multiple remote sites. We have a DR configuration with 2 units - located in different campuses

Pros

  • Baseline loading of new switches
  • Control of Multiple WLC's allowing sync of configs between them
  • Problem identifcation
  • network hardware idenification

Cons

  • Network Mapping functons
  • Trunk traffic identifacrtion
  • dashboards for multiple views

Likelihood to Recommend

Large enterprise networks with high ap counts large switch stacks, initial configuratuin of new or replacement switches. Assurance of wireless networks and problem identification and resolution system and network design, version control for switches automated pushing of images to switches configuation backups connectivity to ISE to allow for security integration
TP
Tony Page
manager network infrastructure in Information Technology at sacred heart university (1001-5000 employees)
Vetted Review
Cisco Catalyst Center
5 years of experience

Cisco Catalyst Center Review

Rating: 9 out of 10
Incentivized

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We upgrade the iOS and everything from the DC itself so we don't have to log into individual device and upgrade the iOS and distribute and update all the software.

Pros

  • We saw that all the non access devices, it can easily manage, pull up the config, upgrade the iOS, pushing the template and everything it can do even it can manage all the access points for the wireless controller as well. And you can upgrade the wireless controller as well.

Cons

  • We should able to add Nexus device because we have to purchase a separate tool. So if Cisco can add the Nexus device also in DA, that will be a one common tool for our entire organization. It would be easier not to manage two separate tools other than manually 1D.

Likelihood to Recommend

We can schedule any iOS upgrade and we don't have to wake up in the night. It'll auto reload and upgrade the IS. In other case around in a Nexus device, I have to manually do or buy the other tools to upgrade the IS. So for Catalyst device, this tool is the best we can schedule all the process basically rather than waking up in the night and messing off your nights.
PP
Paresh Patel
Senior Network Engineer in Information Technology at HDR (10,001+ employees)
Vetted Review
Cisco Catalyst Center
2 years of experience

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