Cisco Catalyst Center vs virt-manager
Cisco Catalyst Center
cisco.comvirt-manager
virt-manager.orgSide by side
| Figure | Cisco Catalyst Center | virt-manager |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 2 | 1 |
| Spec score · Virtualization Management Software | 7.9 (#10) | 7.8 (#13) |
| Purpose | Cisco Catalyst Center is a centralized network controller and management dashboard for enterprise network operations. | virt-manager is a desktop interface for managing virtual machines through libvirt, primarily targeting KVM and also supporting Xen and LXC. |
| 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 user and support questions to GitHub Discussions and provides documentation and a FAQ. |
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.
virt-manager
virt-manager is a desktop interface for managing virtual machines through libvirt, chiefly for KVM, with support for Xen and LXC as well. It connects to local and remote hosts and displays live performance and resource-use statistics for running domains. Setup wizards help create domains and assign resources and virtual hardware, while an embedded VNC and SPICE viewer provides a graphical guest console. The interface also manages host virtual networks, storage pools, and network interfaces. Companion command-line tools handle provisioning, cloning, and editing virtual machines. virt-manager runs on Linux and OpenBSD hosts, supports both guest architectures, and includes snapshots and GPU acceleration. Installation options listed include Fedora, Debian, Gentoo, and OpenBSD packages, plus a source release. It is distributed under the GNU General Public License; current releases are GPG signed, with verification instructions. Documentation and a FAQ are available, support questions go to GitHub Discussions, and bug tracking is on GitHub.