Understanding the Differences: Network Essentials vs Network Advantage
Welcome back everyone! This blog is going to quickly outline the differences between Network Essentials and Network Advantage to hopefully help you...
Welcome back, everyone! This blog will quickly outline the differences between DNA Essentials and DNA Advantage to hopefully help you choose the best option for you. You really don't have that much of an option since the DNA "level" has to match the IOS "level."
Network Essentials = DNA Essentials
Network Advantage = DNA Advantage
License Type | Quick Description | |
---|---|---|
Network Essentials | Perpetual | Basic L3 Switching |
Network Advantage | Perpetual | Advanced L3 Switching |
DNA Essentials | Subscription (3, 5, 7 year term) | Basic DNA Center Functions |
DNA Advantage | Subscription (3, 5, 7 year term) | Advanced DNA Functions |
DNA Advantage is significantly more expensive than DNA Essentials so if you're not using the full layer 3 functionalities, the DNA attachment will be considerably more. For a C9300-48U-A, a 3-year DNA Essentials subscription lists for $1,325, whereas the same 3-year DNA Advantage lists for $4,460. This is a huge difference spread across hundreds or thousands of access switches.
There are different capabilities tied to the different DNAs that might influence whether you need Essentials or Advantage IOS/DNA, but its likely going to be the IOS requirements that determine the DNA level. So, lets dive in.
DNA (Digital Network Architecture) is Cisco's intent-based networking solution that proposes to simplify operations, enhance security, reduce costs, and enable automation through software-defined technologies.
Both DNA Essentials and DNA Advantage are subscription-based licenses. When purchasing a new switch, Cisco required that a 3-, 5-, or 7-year DNA subscription also be purchased.
Since Chuck Robbins took the helm of Cisco in 2015, his vision was to transform a hardware company into a software company with recurring revenue. Cisco One, Cisco Prime, Smart Licensing, Cisco Spaces, and now DNA licensing are all different efforts trying to achieve the same goal which is grow recurring software revenue.
“We also continued to successfully execute on our strategy driving solid growth in ARR (annual recurring revenue) to nearly $24 billion and posting double-digit growth in subscription and software revenues,” Robbins said in May of 2023.
Unfortunately, DNA licensing doesn't mean that much to most users. End users were forced to purchase DNA subscriptions whether they had a DNA appliance or not. The current generation DNA appliance lists for $125,800, but Cisco is also trying to give it away, assuming you purchase a bunch of other add-ons. There is a virtual DNA appliance that can be used, but you're still looking at approximately $20K per month.
So, long story short, the software adoption strategy probably isn't being adopted like Robbins hoped. In fact, Cisco recently announced that DNA licensing will allow users to "view" certain assets in the Meraki Dashboard. This, to me, is another attempt to make it valuable, but I'm not sure it will be enough.
The table below shows you exactly what each DNA level offers, and again, if you don't have the Catalyst Appliance (or DNA Appliance), the below means nothing to you.
DNA Essentials | DNA Advantage | |
---|---|---|
Full Flexible NetFlow ~ This next generation in flow technology optimizes the network infrastructure, reducing operating costs and improving capacity planning and security incident detection. (License is required for Manual/CLI, WebUI or automated Cisco Catalyst Center configuration). | Yes | Yes |
Cisco IOS Embedded Event Manager (EEM) ~ EEM is a powerful and flexible subsystem that provides real-time network event detection and onboard automation. It gives you the ability to adapt the behavior of your network devices to align with your business needs. | Yes | Yes |
Software Image Management (SWIM) ~ Automate software upgrades and control the consistency of image versions through Cisco Catalyst Center. | Yes | Yes |
Overall health dashboard ~ Gives a high-level overview of the health of every network device/client on the network, wired and wireless, through Cisco Catalyst Center or cloud monitoring for Catalyst. | Yes | Yes |
Overall health dashboard for Device, Network, Application and Client for 24 hours only ~ Gives a high-level overview of the health of wired network devices/clients on the network, managed by Cisco Catalyst Center. | Yes | Yes |
Network Plug and Play (PnP) provisioning application ~ Zero-touch provisioning for new device installation of Cisco devices to be provisioned simply by connecting to the network, managed by Cisco Catalyst Center. | Yes | Yes |
Out of box reports ~ Cisco Catalyst Center pre-built reports that can be consumed directly or exported to third-party tools such as Tableau. | Yes | Yes |
Cloud monitoring for Catalyst ~ Offers cloud monitoring options with Cisco® Catalyst® 9000 switches to deliver visibility and troubleshooting. | Yes | Yes |
Cisco Spaces Extend ~ A powerful end-to-end, indoor location services cloud platform that extends platform capabilities via integrations and partner applications. Includes Cisco Spaces See.Available for Cisco Catalyst 9300 and 9400 Series Switches. | - | Yes |
Cisco ThousandEyes Network and Application Synthetics** ~ Deliver superior network and application experience with Cisco ThousandEyes, now integrated into Cisco Catalyst 9300 and 9400 Series switches. | - | Yes |
ISE Advantage Licenses (included in Catalyst software subscription only)**** ~ Achieve faster deployment of zero-trust network security solutions such as SD-Access, Client Assurance, and network authentication/authorization. ISE license quantity depends on switch model. | - | Yes |
Controller Orchestrated Fabric Management and Configuration ~ Any Cisco or a third-party controller orchestrating a Fabric like EVPN, MPLS etc. | - | Yes |
Fabric, Segmentation, and eWC ~ Enables policy-based automation with secure segmentation, complete visibility, and delivery of new services quickly on SD-Access devices, managed by Cisco Catalyst Center only. | - | Yes |
Cisco AI Network Analytics ~ AI and machine learning technologies are implemented on Cisco Catalyst Center and in the AI Network Analytics cloud to enhance the insight and remediation capabilities of Cisco Assurance. | - | Yes |
AI Endpoint Analytics ~ Identify and check compliance of endpoints, and use AI/ML techniques to classify them into groups. | - | Yes |
Group-Based Policy Analytics ~ Makes segmentation policy simpler by discovering traffic flows between scalable groups to determine the right policies. | - | Yes |
AI Trust Analytics ~ Verifies that connected endpoints are legitimate. Use this information to define security policies that isolate rogue or compromised endpoints to reduce threat proliferation. | - | Yes |
LAN automation ~ Automate configurations and deployment of networks with Cisco Catalyst Center. | - | Yes |
Patch/SMU lifecycle management ~ Automated management of SMU/Patches patching by Cisco Catalyst Center. | - | Yes |
Compliance ~ Compliance reports managed by Cisco Catalyst Center. | - | Yes |
IPsec ~ Supports 100G+ HW encryption for high-bandwidth secure L3 transport between sites or from cloud to site. | - | Yes |
Device 360, Client 360, and Network Health Insights ~ Display devices and client connectivity from any angle or context, providing for very granular troubleshooting in seconds. | - | Yes |
Application policy creation ~ Assign policies to applications based on business relevance and business-critical QoS priority for life-saving devices, manual through CLI or automation through Cisco Catalyst Center. | - | Yes |
Application hosting ~ Allows third-party applications to be hosted in a secure container environment on the switch. License is required for both manual/CLI configuration or automation through Cisco Catalyst Center. | - | Yes |
Third-party API integration ~ A flexible framework is provided to integrate third-party application software. | - | Yes |
Encrypted Traffic Analytics (ETA)*: (No Stealthwatch License Included) ~ Detect malware within encrypted traffic. License is required for both manual/CLI configuration or automation through Cisco Catalyst Center. | - | Yes |
Cisco DNA Service for Bonjour ~ This software-defined, controller-based solution enables Bonjour services discovery and advertisement at scale across multiple domains. License is required for both manual/CLI configuration or automation through Cisco Catalyst Center. | - | Yes |
ERSPAN* ~ Monitor and re-direct traffic. License is required for both manual/CLI configuration or automation through Cisco Catalyst Center. | - | Yes |
Wireshark* ~ Packet capture for analysis. License is required for both manual/CLI configuration or automation through Cisco Catalyst Center. | - | Yes |
AVC (NBAR2)* ~ Gain application visibility and control through Next-Generation Network-Based Application Recognition. License is required for both manual/CLI configuration or automation through Cisco Catalyst Center. | - | Yes |
* Not supported on all platforms.
** Cisco ThousandEyes Network and Application Synthetics entitlements will be provided as described in ThousandEyes with Cisco Catalyst 9000 Switches.
*** Supported on Network Advantage from Cisco IOS XE Fuji 16.9.7 onwards. Prior to Cisco IOS Fuji XE 16.9.7, Cisco Catalyst or Cisco DNA Advantage is also required.
We hope this comparison between DNA Essentials and DNA Advantage has clarified the options available and helped you determine which might be the best fit for your network needs.
As you consider your next steps, remember that choosing the right license can greatly influence your network's efficiency and capabilities. Whether you opt for the basic layer-3 routing of Network Essentials or the comprehensive protocol support of Network Advantage, Edgeium is here to support your journey toward a more dynamic network infrastructure.
For any further details or personalized advice, don't hesitate to contact us.
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