We compared Meraki Dashboard and Nagios XI across several parameters based on our users' reviews. After reading the collected data, you can find our conclusion below:
Features: Meraki Dashboard users like its centralized console, cable testing, firmware updates, and group policy features. The solution is also praised as user-friendly, stable, and scalable. Nagios XI received positive feedback for its versatility and adaptability. It offers a diverse selection of plugins and scripts for monitoring needs.
Room for Improvement: Users say Meraki Dashboard could improve its client VPN, hardware discovery, and integration with external solutions, Some users mentioned a need for more comprehensive documentation and granular control. Users have suggested Nagios XI could improve integration, simplify configuration, and make the platform more user-friendly. Nagios XI users also suggest improvements to network visibility and cloud discovery.
Service and Support: Meraki Dashboard's customer service receives mixed feedback. Some users spoke fondly of the technical support they received, while others expressed frustration over long wait times and had a hard time finding the right person to help them. Some Nagios XI customers complained about the lack of chat or phone support options.
Ease of Deployment: Users said Meraki Dashboard was effortless and intuitive to set up, noting that features like templates and configuration cloning saved time during deployment. Some Nagios XI users found the setup to be relatively simple, while others considered it challenging. Deployment can take a few months to complete, and there’s a steep learning curve.
Pricing: Opinions on Meraki Dashboard's pricing varied, with some users finding it pricey and others deeming it fair. Nagios XI’s pricing is considered reasonable and transparent, with no extra charges.
ROI: Meraki Dashboard simplifies IT operations, and some users expect returns within a few years. Nagios XI users reported positive outcomes overall, but some said visibility limitations lower the solution’s ROI.
Comparison Results: Meraki Dashboard is a scalable, user-friendly solution with a smooth, painless setup made easy by built-in templates and features like configuration cloning. However, some users complained that the solution is too expensive and needs better integration with non-Cisco platforms. Nagios XI is an affordable, flexible solution with a broad feature set and a selection of helpful plugins. At the same time, users say the setup can be complex, and some expressed a desire for more convenient ways to contact support.
"We can manage the entire system across the network and troubleshoot the pain points."
"The single dashboard is a valuable feature."
"Meraki Dashboard does not require a lot of maintenance. Cisco tells communicates through the Meraki Dashboard web client, it will automatically send updates to the equipment. They will send you an email on what day the updates will take place. If you want to proceed, you can click on accept, or you can decline them and schedule the updates at another time."
"Everything is in a single pane and you can look at your network in one centralized place."
"The most valuable feature is knowing the wireless and switch are healthy."
"I would say the ease of use is the most valuable feature. It's very easy to set up and get up and running."
"We have found the client dashboard to be very simple to use, especially in our Meraki environment."
"We greatly utilize the network because we can plug it into the DNS, VPN, or equipment. It's very good. Meraki Dashboard enhances wireless network management. We appreciate its flexibility, as it allows for easy suite configuration. We can handle everything on there when there's a policy or any other requirement."
"It is very stable and we have been using it for five years."
"The feature I find most valuable is the single pane of glass where you can configure a monitor view, all from one dashboard. For example, on the wireless side, you can configure it under the configuration panel, and then view statistics like location analytics, user analytics, etc."
"The installation is no problem. I've installed Nagios several times."
"Nagios XI is a simple monitoring tool with performance management."
"The solution has a lot of plugins and scripts integrated with it."
"The most useful aspect of this solution is the ability to customize it for the client agent."
"BPI: It allows defining peripherals to map business criticality for efficient monitoring, as required."
"The ability to set up templates and groups of checks, as well as customize the checks themselves."
"The most valuable feature is the dashboard, where I can have a single screen that provides a summary for hundreds of servers."
"Nagios XI helped me to draw the network and check for system failures."
"The technical support needs improvement."
"The Wi-Fi side needs improvement."
"The cost of the solution is high and can be improved."
"Meraki Dashboard could improve integration with non-Cisco platforms."
"The product is missing a VPN and it is a major issue when it comes to deployment."
"When users are trying to roam from one location to another location, geographical tracking would be helpful."
"It would be nicer if the dashboard was lighter."
"I think this product could be improved with a CLI for more directives."
"They can improve the landing page in Meraki Dashboard. When I go into an organization, they can include a lot more infographics. They can also simplify it a bit and consolidate it. For example, if I've got five branches and I go into customer A's profile or organization, I'd like to see an infographic on the landing page providing a snippet of the entire network layout, that is, all branches in one snapshot. From there, I would like to go into the network that I want to work on or view."
"The solution has a limited routing table and needs improvement by increasing the numbers as well as providing a summarization for the table."
"Open-source software is usually not user-friendly."
"The installation and monitoring need improvement."
"The way Nagios displays information isn't easy for a new user to understand. It's not intuitive enough. You need to read some tutorials or be trained to understand what it's displaying. Also, I think it needs more features to improve network visibility because there are some things you can't detect."
"Nagios XI can improve its GUI for users with a new look."
"The product does not have SAP monitoring."
"Nagios XI can improve network and hardware monitoring, these parameters should be simplified to allow usage for monitoring. Additionally, if there was automatic reporting it would be helpful."
"Improve the documentation, examples, and best practices, therefore users can understand how to do things."
"The product could be optimized to improve the administrative user experience via the Nagios Core Configuration (NCC) GUI module."
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Meraki Dashboard is ranked 9th in Network Monitoring Software with 51 reviews while Nagios XI is ranked 8th in Network Monitoring Software with 54 reviews. Meraki Dashboard is rated 8.6, while Nagios XI is rated 8.2. The top reviewer of Meraki Dashboard writes "Incredibly easy to use, great troubleshooting and prevention of malicious events". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Nagios XI writes "Great for monitoring IT services infrastructure with nice tools and helpful notifications". Meraki Dashboard is most compared with Cisco DNA Center, SolarWinds NPM, ThousandEyes, Mist AI and Cloud and PRTG Network Monitor, whereas Nagios XI is most compared with Nagios Core, Zabbix, PRTG Network Monitor, Wireshark and Icinga. See our Meraki Dashboard vs. Nagios XI report.
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