Architecture

Cisco DNA Center / Catalyst Center: When It Makes Sense and When It Doesn’t Cisco DNA Center — now rebranded as Catalyst Center — is one of those platforms where the marketing story and the field reality diverge significantly. The marketing story is compelling: a single pane of glass for your entire campus network, automated provisioning, AI-driven analytics, intent-based networking. The field reality is that getting to that state requires substantial investment, considerable upfront effort, and an organizational readiness that many companies underestimate. ...

Cisco ISE: Architecture, Licensing, and When to Use It Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) is the policy brain behind enterprise network access control. It’s the platform that answers the question — for every device trying to connect to the network — of who are you, what are you, are you healthy, and what are you allowed to do? If you’ve read the 802.1X field guide, you’ve already seen ISE in action: it’s the RADIUS server that returns dynamic VLAN assignments, the NAC platform that profiles devices, the policy engine that enforces posture compliance. This article steps back from the protocol details and looks at ISE as an architectural and investment decision — how it’s structured, how it’s licensed, and when it’s the right tool. ...