Dell SmartFabric Manager vs Dell Active Fabric Manager

Dell SmartFabric Manager8.8Visit DADell Active Fabric Manager8.7Visit

Higher score Dell SmartFabric Manager #5 in Data Center Fabric Software 8.8/10 Pricing on request ✓ 2 of 4 features Contact Dell

vs

DA Dell Active Fabric Manager #6 in Data Center Fabric Software 8.7/10 Pricing on request ✓ 2 of 4 features Visit Dell

• Dell SmartFabric Manager fits best

  Mid-market and enterprise SONiC fabric operations

• Dell Active Fabric Manager fits best

  Teams deploying Dell VLT fabrics

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Side by side

Feature	Dell SmartFabric Manager 8.8/10 Visit ↗	DADell Active Fabric Manager 8.7/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.8	8.7
Ranking	#5 in Data Center Fabric Software	#6 in Data Center Fabric Software
Best for	Mid-market and enterprise SONiC fabric operations	Teams deploying Dell VLT fabrics
Pricing model	Paid	Paid
Starting price	Pricing on request	Pricing on request
Free plan	—	Not checked yet
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Self-hosted	Self-hosted
Platforms	Web, Linux	Web
Support	Email, Live chat, Phone	Docs
Integrations	1 integrations	1 integrations
Built for	Mid-market, Enterprise	Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Dell SmartFabric Manager 2/4 · Dell Active Fabric Manager 2/4
Fabric automation	✓	✓
Multi-vendor management	—	—
Fabric assurance	✓	✓
API access	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Specs
Supported fabrics	SONiC	Layer 2 VLT; Layer 3 distributed core; Layer 3 Routed VLT
Deployment model	On-premises	On-premises
Our review
Pros	Builds fabric configurations from blueprints or through the UI Configures fabrics, tenants, networks, and routing policies Tracks fabric health, connectivity, bandwidth, and flow metrics	Designs Layer 2 VLT and two Layer 3 fabric types Discovers fabrics, deploys switch configurations, and validates changes Monitors health and performance through network, fabric, switch, and port views
Cons	Supports SONiC rather than multi-vendor fabric management Requires self-hosted deployment on a VM or Linux server Pricing requires contacting Dell sales	Management is limited to Dell Networking switches On-premises, self-hosted deployment requires local infrastructure Pricing is handled through sales
Our verdict	Dell SmartFabric Manager is software for deploying and operating network connectivity for Dell ISG solutions using SONiC. It is aimed at mid-market and enterprise data center teams that need to discover and manage switches, configure… Read the review →	Dell Active Fabric Manager (AFM) is a network automation and orchestration tool for administrators managing Dell data center fabrics. It designs Layer 2 VLT, Layer 3 Routed VLT, and Layer 3 distributed-core fabrics, with discovery and… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Dell SmartFabric Manager — where it wins

  • Builds fabric configurations from blueprints or through the UI
  • Configures fabrics, tenants, networks, and routing policies
  • Tracks fabric health, connectivity, bandwidth, and flow metrics

  Where it doesn't

  • Supports SONiC rather than multi-vendor fabric management
  • Requires self-hosted deployment on a VM or Linux server
  • Pricing requires contacting Dell sales

• Dell Active Fabric Manager — where it wins

  • Designs Layer 2 VLT and two Layer 3 fabric types
  • Discovers fabrics, deploys switch configurations, and validates changes
  • Monitors health and performance through network, fabric, switch, and port views

  Where it doesn't

  • Management is limited to Dell Networking switches
  • On-premises, self-hosted deployment requires local infrastructure
  • Pricing is handled through sales

• Dell SmartFabric Manager8.8/10 · Pricing on request

  A self-hosted SONiC fabric manager for blueprint-based configuration and operational monitoring.

  Contact DellFull verdict →
• DADell Active Fabric Manager8.7/10 · Pricing on request

  A focused lifecycle tool for designing, deploying, and monitoring Dell VLT fabrics.

  Visit DellFull verdict →