Cisco Catalyst Center vs ObservabilityOS
Cisco Catalyst Center
cisco.com
ObservabilityOS
observabilityos.inSide by side
| Figure | Cisco Catalyst Center | ObservabilityOS |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | $29/mo |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 2 | 3 |
| Spec score · Anomaly Detection Software | 7.7 (#7) | 8.0 (#4) |
| Integrations | Cisco documents integrations with ISE, ThousandEyes, Webex, Microsoft Teams, ServiceNow, Infoblox, and BlueCat, plus generic APIs for other ITSM and IPAM systems. | The site lists OpenTelemetry, GitHub, Slack, Discord, Microsoft Teams, Docker, Kubernetes, PostgreSQL, and Redis integrations. |
| Support | Cisco says Catalyst and Cisco DNA software subscriptions include embedded software support and downloads; opening a support case requires a Cisco Service Contract. | The site lists GitHub community support for the self-hosted plan and gives [email protected] as its support contact. |
Plans
Cisco Catalyst Center
- Cisco DNA AdvantagePriced on request
- Cisco DNA EssentialsPriced on request
ObservabilityOS
- Free DeveloperFree
- Self-Host Source-AvailableFree
- Pro Cloud$29 a month
In their own words
Cisco Catalyst Center
Cisco Catalyst Center has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.
ObservabilityOS
ObservabilityOS collects structured logs and supports observability workflows across logs, metrics, and traces. It uses rolling statistical Z-score baselines to flag changes in error rates, latency, and CPU usage, then can use GPT-4 or Claude for incident analysis that describes what happened, why, and a suggested hotfix. Log collection options include a JavaScript/TypeScript SDK and a Docker sidecar for local logs or container output. The ingestion API supports native OTLP HTTP/JSON for existing collectors. Listed integrations include OpenTelemetry, GitHub, Slack, Discord, Microsoft Teams, Docker, Kubernetes, PostgreSQL, and Redis. Incident tools include threaded comments, runbooks, health dashboards, SLOs, and live SSE monitoring. The maker says telemetry is scrubbed before storage and sensitive client data is not sent to external LLMs. Plans include a free developer option, a free source-available self-hosted option, and Pro Cloud at $29/mo. The developer plan allows one service, 500MB of logs monthly, and seven-day retention; Pro Cloud lists 10 services, 10GB monthly, and 30-day retention.