Cisco Catalyst Center vs Open Systems SD-WAN
Cisco Catalyst Center
cisco.comOpen Systems SD-WAN
open-systems.comSide by side
| Figure | Cisco Catalyst Center | Open Systems SD-WAN |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | — |
| Free plan | — | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 2 | 1 |
| Spec score · SD-WAN Software | 7.7 (#6) | 6.8 (#17) |
| API | The platform exposes northbound REST APIs for discovery, inventory, topology, provisioning, assurance, and other network operations. | The public REST API uses HTTPS and JSON, documents an OpenAPI 3.1 specification, and uses bearer tokens that expire after 12 hours. |
| Founded | 1984 | 1990 |
| Headquarters | San Jose, California, United States | Zürich, Switzerland |
| Integrations | Cisco documents integrations with ISE, ThousandEyes, Webex, Microsoft Teams, ServiceNow, Infoblox, and BlueCat, plus generic APIs for other ITSM and IPAM systems. | The vendor lists standards-based SSO and provisioning (SAML, SCIM, OIDC), SIEM log export and Logs API, and REST and Ticketing APIs; Terraform is marked coming soon. |
| Purpose | Cisco Catalyst Center is a centralized network controller and management dashboard for enterprise network operations. | SD-WAN prioritizes and accelerates business-critical applications while making use of available bandwidth. |
| Support | Cisco says Catalyst and Cisco DNA software subscriptions include embedded software support and downloads; opening a support case requires a Cisco Service Contract. | Open Systems says existing customers can reach Mission Control support 24/7. |
Plans
Cisco Catalyst Center
- Cisco DNA AdvantagePriced on request
- Cisco DNA EssentialsPriced on request
In their own words
Cisco Catalyst Center
Cisco Catalyst Center has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.
Open Systems SD-WAN
Open Systems SD-WAN is a cloud service for enterprises with global operations that depend on cloud and mobile connectivity. It prioritizes business-critical applications and uses available bandwidth. Application-level policies select network paths, balance traffic, and define fallback order when connections degrade or fail. Administrators can control bandwidth by application, location, and connection. Application Optimization uses caching, compression, and protocol optimization to reduce bandwidth use and improve application performance. Traffic between sites is automatically encrypted and authenticated across public or private networks, including internet and MPLS. A single-pass architecture decrypts and analyzes VPN traffic for per-application visibility and consumption trends. Open Systems describes AI-run automation and Level-3 engineers operating network and security operations. Access is through web and API, with integrated security and cloud on-ramps. Pricing is on request. The service was founded in 1990 and is headquartered in Zürich.