--- title: "Cisco Catalyst Center Overview: Features and Deployment" description: "Cisco Catalyst Center explained: what it does, how it is deployed as an appliance or virtual machine, and how it replaces Cisco Prime Infrastructure." image: https://blog.iptel.com.au/hubfs/Blogs/Catalyst%20Center/cisco-catalyst-center-overview-square.png --- [![IPTellogo-byline-2020-dark-v2-pnd-optimised-500 (1)](https://blog.iptel.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/IPTellogo-byline-2020-dark-v2-pnd-optimised-500%20(1).png?width=200&height=59&name=IPTellogo-byline-2020-dark-v2-pnd-optimised-500%20(1).png "IPTellogo-byline-2020-dark-v2-pnd-optimised-500 (1)")](https://iptel.com.au) - [Home](https://iptel.com.au/) - [Solutions](https://iptel.com.au/solutions) Technologies - [Cisco Access Manager](https://iptel.com.au/technologies/cisco-access-manager) - [Cisco Catalyst Center](https://iptel.com.au/technologies/cisco-catalyst-center) - [Cisco Meraki](https://iptel.com.au/technologies/cisco-meraki) - [Cisco SDA Fabric](https://iptel.com.au/technologies/cisco-sda-fabric) - [Cisco Spaces](https://iptel.com.au/technologies/cisco-spaces) - [Everpure Storage](https://iptel.com.au/technologies/everpure-storage) - [Industrial IoT](https://iptel.com.au/technologies/industrial-iot) - [LAN](https://iptel.com.au/technologies/lan) - [Security and Cisco ISE](https://iptel.com.au/technologies/security-and-cisco-ise) - [ThousandEyes](https://iptel.com.au/technologies/thousandeyes) - [Virtualisation](https://iptel.com.au/technologies/virtualisation) - [Wi-Fi](https://iptel.com.au/services/wi-fi-surveys) Services - [Backup Assure](https://iptel.com.au/services/backup-assure) - [Cisco URWB](https://iptel.com.au/services/cisco-urb) - [Cisco Webex Calling](https://iptel.com.au/services/cisco-webex-calling) - [Eco-Friendly Network Refresh](https://iptel.com.au/services/eco-friendly-network-refresh) - [Network Equipment Supply](https://iptel.com.au/services/network-equipment-supply) - [Splunk](https://iptel.com.au/services/splunk) - [Wi-Fi Assurance Review](https://iptel.com.au/services/wi-fi-assurance-review) - [Wi-Fi Surveys](https://iptel.com.au/services/wi-fi-surveys) - [Industries](https://iptel.com.au/industries) Education and Healthcare - [Education and Campuses](https://iptel.com.au/industries/education) - [Healthcare and Clinical](https://iptel.com.au/industries/healthcare) - [Aged Care](https://iptel.com.au/industries/aged-care) Enterprise - [Enterprise Networks](https://iptel.com.au/industries/enterprise) Industrial - [Mining and Camps](https://iptel.com.au/industries/mines) - [Utilities](https://iptel.com.au/industries/utilities) Retail & Warehousing - [Retail](https://iptel.com.au/industries/retail-and-stores) - [Warehousing](https://iptel.com.au/industries/warehousing) Entertainment - [Stadiums](https://iptel.com.au/industries/stadiums) - [Hospitality](https://iptel.com.au/hospitality-and-hotels) - [MSP](https://iptel.com.au/managed-services) Meraki - [Meraki Access](https://iptel.com.au/managed-services/meraki-access-and-security) - [Meraki Security and SD-WAN](https://iptel.com.au/managed-services/meraki-sd-wan) Cisco - [Cisco Campus Access](https://iptel.com.au/managed-services/cisco-campus-access) - [Cisco SD-WAN](https://iptel.com.au/managed-services/cisco-sd-wan) - [Cisco ISE](https://iptel.com.au/managed-services/cisco-ise) Security and Collaboration - [Security Service Edge](https://iptel.com.au/managed-services/security-service-edge) - [Meeting Rooms](https://iptel.com.au/managed-services/meeting-rooms-as-a-service) Data Centre and More - [AI Infrastructure](https://iptel.com.au/managed-services/ai-infrastructure) - [Non-Cisco Devices](https://iptel.com.au/managed-services/non-cisco-device-management) - [Full Stack Observability](https://iptel.com.au/managed-services/full-stack-observability) Free Assessment - [Managed Services Assessment](https://score.iptel.com.au/managed-network-services) - [Equipment](https://iptel.com.au/services/network-equipment-supply) Equipment Supply - [Network Equipment Supply](https://iptel.com.au/services/network-equipment-supply) - [Buy Cisco Equipment](https://iptel.com.au/services/cisco-equipment-supply) - [Buy Meraki Equipment](https://iptel.com.au/services/meraki-equipment-supply) Get Pricing - [Get a Hardware Quote](https://iptel.com.au/services/network-equipment-supply#hardware-quote) - [Wi-Fi AP Estimator](https://iptel.com.au/resources/wifi-access-point-estimator) - [Blog](https://blog.iptel.com.au) - [Resources](https://iptel.com.au/resources) Free Resources - [Top Wi-Fi Secrets](https://iptel.com.au/top-8-wi-fi-secrets) - [Cisco SDA Fabric](https://iptel.com.au/the-cios-guide-to-sda-fabric) - [Catalyst Center Enablement](https://iptel.com.au/cisco-catalyst-center-enablement) Assessments - [Cloud AI Assessment](https://score.iptel.com.au/cloud-ai-assessment) - [Collaboration Assessment](https://score.iptel.com.au/collaboration-assessment) - [Managed Services Assessment](https://score.iptel.com.au/managed-network-services) - [Network Assessment](https://score.iptel.com.au/network-assessment) - [Security Assessment](https://score.iptel.com.au/security-assessment) - [Splunk Assessment](https://score.iptel.com.au/splunk-assessment) Tools - [Automating Meraki](https://www.automatingmeraki.com) - [MAC Address Converter](https://iptel.com.au/resources/mac-address-converter) - [ThousandEyes Option Tool](https://score.iptel.com.au/thousandeyes) - [Wi-Fi AP Estimator](https://iptel.com.au/resources/wifi-access-point-estimator) Demos and Design - [Request a Meraki Demo](https://iptel.com.au/free-meraki-demo) - [FREE Meeting Room Design](https://iptel.com.au/schedule-meeting-room-design-session) - [Catalyst Center Enablement](https://iptel.com.au/cisco-catalyst-center-enablement) - [About](https://iptel.com.au/about-us) IPTel Solutions - [About us](https://iptel.com.au/about-us) - [Job Applications](https://careers.iptel.com.au/job-application) - [Privacy Policy](https://iptel.com.au/privacy-policy) - [Careers Blog](https://careers.iptel.com.au) Contact Us - [Contact Us Form](https://iptel.com.au/contact-us) - [Email Us](mailto:sales@iptel.com.au) Customer - [Customer Feedback](https://iptel.com.au/customer-feedback) - [Customer Referral](https://iptel.com.au/customer-referral) - [Terms and Conditions](https://iptel.com.au/terms-and-conditions) News Stories - [Project Guardian uses Networking Infrastructure as a Sensor](https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/transport-for-nsw-launches-worldfirst-sensor-trial-to-stop-rail-and-bridge-trespassers/news-story/8dc52e8fbca4c471da408e670cf0163e) - [IPTel partners for monitoring for Meeting Rooms as a Service](https://www.commsbusiness.co.uk/content/news/highlight-partners-with-iptel-solutions) - [Webex Monitoring with Highlight](https://itbrief.co.uk/story/highlight-iptel-add-webex-monitoring-for-meeting-rooms) - [ITBrief with Meeting Room Monitoring](https://itbrief.com.au/story/highlight-iptel-add-webex-monitoring-for-meeting-rooms) - [Cisco Webex Meeting Rooms Monitoring](https://telconews.co.uk/story/highlight-iptel-add-webex-monitoring-for-meeting-rooms) - [IPTel adopts Highlight](https://itbrief.com.au/story/iptel-adopts-highlight-to-enhance-managed-services) - [Highlight MSP Upgrade](https://datacentre.solutions/news/71753/iptel-solutions-upgrade-with-highlights-service-platform) - [Cisco 360](https://www.crn.com.au/news/2026/networking/aussie-partners-react-cisco-360) - [DP World Transformation](https://www.cisco.com/site/us/en/about/case-studies-customer-stories/dp-world.html) - [Cisco Managed Services](https://www.arnnet.com.au/article/1251771/how-partners-can-take-a-leap-of-faith-with-managed-services.html) - [Project Delivery Excellence](https://channellife.com.au/story/cisco-honours-top-nz-partners-cisco-live) - [Great Place to Work](https://greatplacetowork.com.au/companies/iptel-solutions/) - [Wi-Fi Doesn't have to be Unreliable](https://www.techpartner.news/feature/iptel-wi-fi-doesnt-have-to-be-unreliable-494069) Buying from IPTel - [Buying Panels](https://iptel.com.au/professional-supply-panels) - [IPTel Store](https://store.iptel.com.au) - [Request a Quote](https://iptel.com.au/request-a-quote) - [Managed Services](https://iptel.com.au/managed-services-enquiry) Case Studies - [DP World Video](https://blog.iptel.com.au/hubfs/Case%20Studies/DP%20World_Case_Study.mp4) - [DP World](https://blog.iptel.com.au/dp-world-case-study) - [Backup Assure](https://blog.iptel.com.au/backup-assure-a-disaster-recovery-case-study) [Contact Us](https://iptel.com.au/contact-us) This is a search field with an auto-suggest feature attached. - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. ## Cisco Catalyst Center Overview Sept 5, 2025 Cisco's Catalyst Center is at the forefront of network [assurance and automation](https://blog.iptel.com.au/blog/cisco-dna-center-assurance) and is a key element of Cisco's SD-Access ecosystem. Interested to get some first insights into Catalyst Center? Here's our quick overview! ![Cisco DNA Center First Look](https://blog.iptel.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/Blogs/Cisco%20Catalyst%20Center%20Overview/Cisco%20DNA%20Center%20First%20Look-still.jpg?width=1680&height=945&name=Cisco%20DNA%20Center%20First%20Look-still.jpg) --- ## What is Cisco Catalyst Center? Cisco Catalyst Center allows network administrators to receive advanced insights into network performance. No more guesswork as to the root cause of slow downs, or issues - Catalyst provides analytics to troubleshoot as the network environment changes. The concept of a network Health Score allows Catalyst to provide a useful answer to alarm blight. When you get hit with thousands of alarms, it's almost impossible to determine a root cause. Catalyst does something different - it determines which issues actually impact the end user experience and reports on those. So, what is Catalyst Center? It is typically first deployed to monitor your network. You move to automation mode, where you can start to deploy configurations and finally full SDA Fabric mode, where Catalyst Center is used to fully configure the network. Related reading - [Cisco Catalyst Center Assurance](https://blog.iptel.com.au/blog/cisco-dna-center-assurance) - [Cisco Catalyst Center](https://iptel.com.au/technologies/cisco-catalyst-center) - [5 Ways Catalyst Center Solves your Challenges](https://info.iptel.com.au/cisco-dna) - [Cisco Smart Licensing](https://blog.iptel.com.au/introduction-to-cisco-smart-licensing) - [Wi-Fi Predictive Designs](https://blog.iptel.com.au/wifi-predictive-survey-wifi-heatmaps) - [The Top 8 Secrets to Great Wi-Fi](https://blog.iptel.com.au/top-8-secrets-to-great-wi-fi) --- ## Cisco Catalyst Center - Deployment Models Cisco Catalyst Center is deployed either as a single node or as a three-node cluster for high availability. In a three-node cluster the nodes take a majority vote, so the cluster can keep operating if one node fails. For resilience across sites, Catalyst Center also supports a disaster recovery setup. [![DNAC Enablement](https://blog.iptel.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/DNACenterConsiderations1.png?width=429&height=735&name=DNACenterConsiderations1.png)](https://blog.iptel.com.au/cisco-catalyst-center-enablement)   There are three main areas to consider in Catalyst Center: Design: How the devices should look once they are configured Provision: How Catalyst will configure these devices Policy: What policy is applied in the configuration of devices     Related reading - [ThousandEyes vs Catalyst Center](https://blog.iptel.com.au/thousandeyes-vs-catalyst-center) - [Wi-Fi Design: Business Requirements](https://blog.iptel.com.au/wi-fi-design-business-requirements) - [Wi-Fi Design: Technical Requirements](https://blog.iptel.com.au/wi-fi-design-technical-requirements) --- ## Cisco Catalyst Center and Cisco Prime Cisco has announced the end of life of Prime Infrastructure, and Catalyst Center is its replacement. Catalyst Center works in a fundamentally different way from Prime, built around automation, assurance and intent-based networking rather than device-by-device management. If you're still running Prime, the migration path is well established, and it's worth planning now rather than waiting for support to run out. Related reading - [Cisco Catalyst Center Beginners Guide](https://blog.iptel.com.au/cisco-catalyst-center-beginners-guide) - [Troubleshooting with Catalyst Center](https://blog.iptel.com.au/troubleshooting-with-cisco-catalyst-center) --- ## Cisco Catalyst Center Migration For the migration, the maps in Prime are exported to Catalyst Center and the Prime templates converted to Catalyst Center templates. [![DNA Center Beginners Guide](https://blog.iptel.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/DNAMigration.png?width=126&height=426&name=DNAMigration.png)](https://blog.iptel.com.au/cisco-catalyst-center-beginners-guide) Catalyst migration will operate with the following three steps: Convert Config to Intent: The configuration will be learnt from the devices being managed, and will be added to Catalyst Center in order to be able to automate future deployments Import Maps and AP Location: Simplified import of Prime maps and AP locations to Catalyst Center Migration: Migrate the services surrounding Prime to Catalyst - including CMX and Cisco ISE Cisco ISE integrates quite tightly with Cisco Catalyst Center - so you can pull information from ISE to show why and how a client has failed to authenticate (no more fishing around through AAA logs - Catalyst Center does all the hard work and correlates this for you). Once you've migrated you can start to get to grips with things like [Catalyst Assurance (this is the 'monitoring' mode)](https://blog.iptel.com.au/blog/cisco-dna-center-assurance) and advanced topics, such as [network machine learning and AI.](https://blog.iptel.com.au/cisco-ai-analytics-in-operation) Related reading - [Cisco AI Analytics in operation](https://blog.iptel.com.au/cisco-ai-analytics-in-operation) - [Cisco Machine Learning and AI](https://blog.iptel.com.au/cisco-machine-learning-and-ai) --- ## Cisco Catalyst Center: FAQs ### What Is Cisco Catalyst Center? Cisco Catalyst Center is Cisco's management, automation and assurance platform for campus and branch networks. It discovers and provisions switches, wireless and routers, upgrades software, and shows network and client health in one place. ### Is Catalyst Center the Same as DNA Center? Yes. Cisco renamed DNA Center to Catalyst Center in 2023. The platform, features and upgrade path carried over, so older documentation that mentions DNA Center still applies. ### Does Catalyst Center Replace Cisco Prime Infrastructure? Yes. Catalyst Center is Cisco's replacement for Prime Infrastructure, which has reached end of life. Inventory, templates and wireless maps can be migrated, though most teams use the move to tidy up their configuration. ### Can Catalyst Center Run as a Virtual Machine? Yes. As well as physical appliances, Catalyst Center is available as a virtual appliance, which suits smaller or lab environments. Sizing depends on the number of devices and clients you manage. --- ## Cisco Catalyst Center Overview: Summary ![5 Ways Cisco Catalyst Center Solves Your Challenges](https://blog.iptel.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/Campaigns/Cisco%20DNA%20Center/Cisco%20DNA%20Center%205%20Ways%20Banner-1.jpeg?width=147&height=147&name=Cisco%20DNA%20Center%205%20Ways%20Banner-1.jpeg)Catalyst Center is how Cisco networks are managed today. It's the direct replacement for Cisco Prime, which many customers still have installed, so if you haven't migrated yet, now is the time to plan it. In this overview, we've looked at what Catalyst Center is, how it compares to Prime and how you can migrate. The whole point of that migration though is to improve the way in which you manage, maintain - and deploy - your network.   Related reading - [Cisco Catalyst Center Assurance](https://blog.iptel.com.au/blog/cisco-dna-center-assurance) - [Catalyst Center Enablement](https://blog.iptel.com.au/cisco-catalyst-center-enablement) - [5 ways Catalyst Center solves your challenges](https://info.iptel.com.au/cisco-dna) - [Cisco Spaces Introduction](https://blog.iptel.com.au/cisco-spaces-introduction) - [Zero Trust Architecture](https://blog.iptel.com.au/zero-trust-architecture) - [Deploying Zero Trust Architecture](https://blog.iptel.com.au/zero-trust-deployment) ### Need Help With Cisco Catalyst Center? IPTel deploys, migrates and supports [Cisco Catalyst Center](https://iptel.com.au/technologies/cisco-catalyst-center) for Australian organisations, including Prime migrations. If that would be useful, [get in touch with the IPTel team](https://iptel.com.au/contact-us) or email [sales@iptel.com.au](mailto:sales@iptel.com.au). #### Related Articles ###### [ThousandEyes](https://blog.iptel.com.au/thousandeyes) Mar 31, 2026 ###### [Cisco Catalyst Center Assurance](https://blog.iptel.com.au/blog/cisco-catalyst-center-assurance) Sept 5, 2025 ###### [Cisco Spaces Introduction](https://blog.iptel.com.au/cisco-spaces-introduction) Sept 21, 2026 ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "IPTel Solutions", "url" : "https://blog.iptel.com.au/author/iptel-solutions" }, "dateModified" : "2026-10-03T07:48:58.418Z", "datePublished" : "2025-09-05T04:34:01.000Z", "headline" : "Cisco Catalyst Center Overview: Features and Deployment", "image" : [ "https://blog.iptel.com.au/hubfs/Blogs/Catalyst%20Center/cisco-catalyst-center-overview-square.png" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://blog.iptel.com.au/cisco-catalyst-center-overview", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://blog.iptel.com.au/hubfs/IPTel_Solutions_February2020%20-%20Header%20SiteMap/Images/IPTellogo-byline-2020-dark-v2.png" }, "name" : "IPTel Solutions Pty Ltd" } } ```