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Cisco’s partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS) empowers customers and partners to leverage the agility and scalability of the cloud by running Cisco DNA Center on AWS. Cisco DNA Center, or DNAC, is a centralized network management tool that provides end-to-end visibility and optimization for network performance and user experience. It can be deployed on AWS, offering customers flexibility, scalability, and cost-efficiency.

Cisco DNA Center on AWS Marketplace: Available as BYOL

Cisco DNA Center on AWS provides the same controls and features as the on-premises version, enabling easy network management from anywhere. This deployment option enables customers to easily deploy, manage, and scale their network infrastructure while reducing complexity and costs. DNAC’s comprehensive user interface simplifies workflows, enables automation, and provides complete network visibility, saving time and improving overall network performance. AWS allows for easy scaling of the software to meet changing business needs, eliminating the need for physical servers to start the Cisco DNA Center deployment. Partners and customers can purchase Cisco DNA Center as usual, as its software procurement model in AWS is via BYOL (Bring Your Own License).

Cisco DNA Center on AWS Marketplace
Figure: Cisco DNA Center on AWS Marketplace

Top 10 Benefits of Running Cisco DNA Center on AWS

1. Cloud Deployment: Cisco DNA Center Virtual Appliance is now available on AWS as an Amazon Machine Image (AMI), which can be easily deployed on an EC2 instance (r5a.8xlarge) in a virtual form factor. This enables customers to quickly get started with Cisco DNAC without any delays. By utilizing the option to leverage Cisco DNAC on AWS Marketplace, customers can enjoy a seamless experience.

2. Zero Capex for DNAC Hardware: Virtual deployment of Cisco DNA Center eliminates the need for physical servers, reducing hardware, data center space, power, and cooling requirements, helping to reduce operational costs. This provides a more cost-effective and sustainable network management solution.

3. High Availability: Customers can achieve high availability of Cisco DNAC VA easily by utilizing AWS native features, such as placing DNAC EC2 instances across multiple availability zones or regions. The DNAC AMI on Amazon EC2 provides various forms of high availability, enabling the software to run globally at all AWS regions, thus easing geographical administration constraints. This ensures customers have high availability and redundancy.

4. Operational Flexibility: Cisco DNAC on AWS can be started quickly. The AWS platform allows for easy scaling of the software to meet changing business needs. This helps customers to scale their network infrastructure as their business grows and adapts to changing demands.

5. Easy Deployment: The software has been optimized for AWS and can be deployed using three deployment options based on customer needs, such as automated deployment using Cisco DNA Center VA Launchpad, manual deployment using AWS CloudFormation, and manual deployment using AWS Marketplace. This makes it easy for customers to deploy Cisco DNA Center on AWS

6. AWS Cloud Optimization: The Cisco DNA Center Virtual Appliance has been optimized for AWS public cloud, providing the same controls and features as the on-premises version. Customers can enjoy high performance and scalability.

7. Consistent Functionality: Cisco DNA Center VA on AWS offers the same software-defined network controller and analytics engine as the on-premises version, ensuring consistent features and controls. This provides a seamless network management experience for customers.

8. Quicker Time to Value: The partnership between Cisco and AWS offers customers and partners the ability to bring DNAC to market more quickly and manage their enterprise network more effectively, securely, and efficiently, improving business agility and innovation. This enhances overall network management and drives business growth.

9. Cost Reduction: Running Cisco DNA Center on AWS can help reduce infrastructure costs and operational complexity, allowing customers to scale their network as needed. This enables cost-effective network management and helps to drive business growth.

10. Location Independence: Deploying Cisco DNA Center Virtual Appliance on AWS provides customers with the flexibility to deploy the software on any preferred supported AWS region based on their preference, enabling location independence. This allows IT team members to log in from any location, providing them with the ability to manage the network from anywhere, anytime.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the partnership between Cisco and AWS presents a multitude of benefits for customers and partners like, including easy deployment, scalability, cost reduction, and location independence. The cloud-based deployment of DNAC on AWS offers a seamless and cost-effective solution to enhance network management capabilities, drive business growth, and provide a more sustainable network management solution. With the ability to deploy DNAC in a few hours, customers and partners can quickly adopt DNAC without hardware dependency, reducing operational complexity and improving network performance.

To learn more, visit AWS and Cisco

 


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Authors

Boominathan Sangapillai

Regional Multi Cloud Architect

APAC Channels Sales