Cisco Catalyst Center vs TeraFlowSDN
Cisco Catalyst Center
cisco.comTeraFlowSDN
tfs.etsi.orgSide by side
| Figure | Cisco Catalyst Center | TeraFlowSDN |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | — |
| Free plan | — | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 2 | 0 |
| Spec score · Software-Defined Networking Software | 7.8 (#4) | 7.1 (#18) |
| API | The platform exposes northbound REST APIs for discovery, inventory, topology, provisioning, assurance, and other network operations. | The TFS API exposes gRPC methods for managing contexts, topologies, devices, links, services, slices, connections, and policies. |
| Deployment | Cisco describes hardware and virtual appliance deployments, including current guides for VMware ESXi and Ubuntu KVM. | The deployment guide runs TeraFlowSDN on MicroK8s Kubernetes and documents physical or virtual machine deployment. |
| Deployment requirements | The Ubuntu KVM virtual appliance minimums include 32 vCPUs, 256 GiB of memory, and a 3-TB SSD. | The documentation assumes a physical server or virtual machine with at least 4 cores, 8 GB RAM, 60 GB disk, and one NIC, running Ubuntu Server and MicroK8s. |
| Integrations | Cisco documents integrations with ISE, ThousandEyes, Webex, Microsoft Teams, ServiceNow, Infoblox, and BlueCat, plus generic APIs for other ITSM and IPAM systems. | The project says TeraFlowSDN can integrate with ETSI Open Source MANO and ETSI OpenSlice. |
| Purpose | Cisco Catalyst Center is a centralized network controller and management dashboard for enterprise network operations. | TeraFlowSDN is an open-source, cloud-native SDN controller for smart connectivity services in networks beyond 5G. |
| Security | Catalyst Center supports FIPS 140-2-compliant cryptography modules, and Cisco recommends deploying it behind a firewall on a private internal network. | The site describes AI and ML-based security and forensic evidence for multi-tenancy as areas the project toolbox supports experimentation in. |
| 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 project directs users who encounter deployment issues to contact its SDG team through Slack, and lists [email protected] for help. |
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.
TeraFlowSDN
TeraFlowSDN is an open-source, cloud-native software-defined networking controller for smart connectivity services and networks beyond 5G. Its microservices architecture orchestrates and controls networks end to end. The toolbox supports experiments in flow aggregation, network-equipment integration, AI and machine-learning security, and forensic evidence for multi-tenancy. Southbound drivers cover NetConf/OpenConfig, gNMI/OpenConfig, ONF Transport API, P4, IETF L2VPN and ACTN, optical interfaces, microwave, and related protocols. Northbound connectors include the TFS API, bandwidth management, L2VPN and L3VPN service delivery, topology, and network slices. The API exposes gRPC methods for contexts, topologies, devices, links, services, slices, connections, and policies. Release 7 highlights P4 integration and optical-network automation with telemetry, KPI management, analytics, and self-healing. Deployment is on-premises through MicroK8s on Ubuntu Server, with a documented minimum of 4 CPU cores, 8 GB RAM, 60 GB disk, and one 1 GbE NIC. It is licensed under Apache 2.0 and free to use.