Cisco IOS SSL VPN Reviews

I use Cisco IOS SSL VPN in my company. Though it is a complex product, it is flexible and shares similarities with one of the products I have experience with, so in general, I feel it is a good solution. The tool is very easy and user-friendly to use.

In our company, we saw that clients who use VPNs require almost the same or common functionalities from any product. The use cases are more related to the location of the clients because Cisco is a vendor that serves mostly clients or customers in the USA. In the European market, our company uses more of Fortinet. Our company does many Cisco installations in the USA.

The most valuable features of the solution are not something that the VPN clients of my company simply experience. I appreciate that with Cisco, if you need some documentation, solution, or supply, there are many people who can provide some information.

From my perspective, Cisco has a history of problems with the area of web filtering, because of which my company sometimes had to change the vendor and the appliance. The aforementioned area needs to be considered for improvement in the product. Previously, in our company, we used Trend Micro, and later, we switched to another solution. In our company, we changed many vendors in the last ten years. If you want to implement a solution, you need to follow the new implementation procedure, so from VIX to IM, there are many changes.

In general, the pricing of the product should improve, and it should be made easier to deploy.

I have experience with Cisco IOS SSL VPN.

Stability-wise, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

In terms of stability, the tool doesn't offer users enough reach.

The scalability of the solution is very good.

More than 1,000 people use the solution in my organization as it is a product meant for enterprises.

The solution's technical support is very good. There are no issues with the technical support team. When you want help, you can contact the technical support team, and there are many support team members available to help you.

The product's initial setup phase was complex because of the more granular nature of the process.

The time required to deploy the solution varies because the area involving the deployment of the firewall could be very easy and can be completed in an hour. If you deploy a firewall solution for a big company, maybe you can reach 6,000 rows of configuration, so time is needed. There are some configurations with just 1,000 rows. With Cisco, one may have to take care of just 100 rows of configuration.

The solution is deployed on the cloud and on-premises.

One manager and one engineer are required to take care of the deployment and maintenance of the product.

I used a software extension for the product's deployment.

With Cisco, there is a free solution or a licensed version of the solution with a set of endpoint services.

Those who plan to use the solution should test it before implementing it in their environment. I recommend the product to those who plan to use it.

I rate the overall tool an eight out of ten.

We use the latest version. Even with us using the latest version, the 40, Cisco FirePOWER, is the new generation for ASA, with a set up SSL VPN, as well.

We consider Cisco to be one of the best brands in the network. Many people appreciate the good service of Cisco and we make much use of its router switches.

As there are many people who work with Cisco, this translates into the availability of more engineers to lend support. 

In addition to Cisco, we work with other solutions on behalf of our customers, such as Fortinet for FortiGate, but this latter solution can achieve the same results at a lower price. 

FortiGate does not charge the client a licensing fee, although Cisco charges clients a couple of dollars per year for each license. 

Other brands, such as Fortinet and even Juniper, do not charge a fee for the very good training they provide, but Cisco does. 

Cisco should make itself available at a discount, if not for free. 

I have been using Cisco IOS SSL VPN for more than 10 years.

There are two types of VPN, one of which is SSL and is part of call remote access for users of laptops who wish to connect with the company network. This one is very popular. 

The second we refer to as site-to-site VPN, which is used for connecting one seminar to another. It could involve the branch office connecting to the data center via the internet or one company connecting to another. This would require the setting up of an IP tunnel. We employ this widely, such as in a bank, or financial or government institution. 

Cisco certainly has a really strong support team. 

We are mainly talking about an enterprise level solution, so we do not do too much on the cloud, although I do make use of the new Palo Alto VPN cloud, also known as Prisma VPN. 

There are not too many people involved in the deployment and maintenance. For example, in my previous company in the bank, we had around 80,000 employees. We support six VPN boxes, each capable of supporting this number times 5,000. 

At the time, not everyone was in need of a VPN but, following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have doubled the capacities to accomodate more people. 

As such, one can say that there are only a few people who comprise the support team, the number consisting of three or four. Not too many people are needed since it will not break easily. 

We are talking about monitoring capacity and some regular maintenance, such as the OS upgrade. RMA is the prescribed response in the event of device failure. Not much is needed besides this and it is reflected in the size of the teams. 

As there are many who are familiar with these solutions and use them, this translates into more engineers working on them, thus making it easy to get support. 

In addition to Cisco, we work with other solutions on behalf of our customers, such as Fortinet for FortiGate, but this latter solution can achieve the same results at a lower price.

FortiGate does not charge the client a licensing fee, although Cisco charges clients a couple of dollars per year for each license.

Other brands, such as Fortinet and even Juniper, do not charge a fee for the very good training they provide, but Cisco does.

Cisco should make itself available at a discount, if not for free.

In addition to Cisco, we work with other solutions on behalf of our customers, such as Fortinet for FortiGate, but this latter solution can achieve the same results at a lower price.

FortiGate does not charge the client a licensing fee, although Cisco charges clients a couple of dollars per year for each license.

Other brands, such as Fortinet and even Juniper, do not charge a fee for the very good training they provide, but Cisco does.

Cisco is a well known brand which provides good service and many people have familiarity with it, including businesses. 

As Cisco IOS SSL VPN is a good solution, but comes with a cost that is higher than all others, I rate it as a nine out of ten. 

I am a researcher, and I am doing my master's in administration. To do the research on the web, I need to get into the database of some sites. As a researcher, to get the most content or see all of the content of the sites, I need to access these sites through my university's network. That's why I use this VPN. If I use my internet connection at home, I would have different access to the data.

It allows me to use and access the entire content of the site. I can access any kind of content from home for my research. Before the pandemic, I used to use the VPN in my house just at night, but now, I am only working from home, and I use it every day for eight to ten hours a day. It has allowed me to work from home.

It is very simple to use, and it allows me to get into the university's network from my home, which is very useful for me.

When many people are using the internet at home, which is usually right after dinner, this type of service is a little bit hard to use. The internet becomes quite slow, and sometimes, I have to stop using this application. I am not sure if this issue is because of the application or my internet provider.

I have been using this solution for two years.

It is stable.

We have an internal IT support team. I contacted them just once in two years. They were very helpful and great. They are doing a great job. They have an internal site with all the information, which was very useful in resolving the issues on my own.

It is very easy to install. I used the information available on the university's site to get it working on my machine. It took 10 to 15 minutes.

I am completely satisfied with the solution. I would rate Cisco IOS SSL VPN an eight out of ten. It is a good solution.

We use the solution for mobility and remote access. 

Cisco IOS SSL VPN is integrated with domain controller, SSO and MFA. 

The solution needs to integrate password-less technology so that you don't have to remember passwords each time that you log in, which is otherwise tedious. We should be able to log in as long as our system is connected to the internet. 

I have been using the solution for five years. 

Cisco IOS SSL VPN is stable but takes time to troubleshoot. 

The tool is scalable, but scalability depends on your licensing. My company has about 10,000 users for Cisco IOS SSL VPN. 

We work closely with the tech support team whenever there is an issue. They are very supportive and cooperative. They are fantastic in terms of skill. 

Positive

The tool's installation is complicated and depends on how you want to do it. Our environment needs to support a large number of users. We had a complicated design. Product troubleshooting is difficult. The overall deployment took three to five months to complete. 

You need a stable infrastructure for the tool's deployment if you have many users. You need reports to be ready before the deployment. I rate the solution a ten out of ten.  

We're using it as part of the RingCentral solution with the Firepower 4000 firewall.

I appreciate the security, performance, and integration with the VyOS BYOD (bring your own device) solution.

The Secure Plus Connect product could be improved with many enhancements in any price license, especially for licensing. Cisco could simplify the licensing; it could make it easier to order and use the features.

The UI could be improved for the licensing part. 

Additionally, Cisco could integrate global traffic balancing features into the new firmware for the firewall, which would be beneficial for administrators.

I've been working with it for the past three years.

I would rate the stability a nine out of ten.

I would rate the ability to expand at seven out of ten because it's mainly the pricing and licensing during large deployments. In some cases, scalability may lead to a higher cost, which can be challenging in my country.

The customer service and support are the best. When it comes to support, Cisco is the best vendor ever. 

Positive

I have used two other vendors during my experience and work: SFI and Forcepoint.

Cisco is better from a technical standpoint, but Forcepoint is less expensive and is currently penetrating the Egyptian market. 

Forcepoint One is a cloud-hosted product that includes a DNS layer, cloud firewall, and all the features of Cisco VPN. 

When I compared the two products, I found that Forcepoint is a good value for the price, considering the resources it offers.

If I'm setting up the branch firewall and managing connections, devices, or VPN, it's quite simple. Especially for me, with 20 years of experience, it's straightforward.

My experience makes it easy for me. I'm already an expert engineer.

So, if you're familiar with the product, it's pretty simple to use.

The deployment model depends on the case. The government and public sector often prefer on-prem solutions to maintain complete control.

Price flexibility could be improved in comparison to other vendors. 

Although the cost may be higher, the value is high with this solution.

I would recommend this solution for enterprise businesses. Overall, I would rate the solution an eight out of ten. 

I use the solution for remote access to the company’s resources.

Overall, Cisco IOS is a great solution.

The product’s dashboard is not good enough.

I have been using the solution for years.

The solution is very stable.

The scalability is great. Almost 500 people in our organization are using the solution.

The initial setup is not very complicated for people who are familiar with the solution.

To deploy the product, we must acquire the equipment and have the license to use it. We need one IT engineer to deploy and maintain the solution.

We pay a yearly licensing fee for the product. The licensing fee is expensive.

Overall, I rate the product an eight out of ten.

Currently, we are working from home, so we don't need to go to the office. Therefore, we need a way to connect to the company and for that, we need to use Cisco VPNs.

From a data security point of view, the solution is very good. We get good connectivity. Our privacy is protected. No one can come in and disturb the data.

The product has been easy to install. The process is very quick. You just enter your username and password in order to connect and start using it. It's very user-friendly. 

It is stable. 

I'm not well-versed in VPNs. However, this solution does make me feel like I am secure. 

The product costs a lot of money.

I've been using the solution for the past two and a half years. 

It's quite stable. We haven't come across many glitches on the system. 

I've never had to contact technical support. I can't speak to how helpful or responsive they would be.

I'm not sure if the company has ever used a different VPN previously. 

The implementation process is very simple and straightforward. We just downloaded a script. The standard operating procedure was all there, and we just followed the steps. It was easy to download to our machines to begin using it. 

The deployment and fast. Downloading and installing it takes about 45 minutes. 

My understanding is that this product is a bit more expensive. 

We're customers and end-users. 

I'm not sure which version of the solution I'm using. 

I'd recommend the solution to others as it is safe and secure and makes it easy to connect. Even in environments that have low data or slower internet connection, it works well. 

I'd rat the solution nine out of ten. 

I use it for dialing into the corporate network.

I have found that it works well. I am able to connect it to the corporate network. I can also access it outside of my corporate network, so it does both.

The company sets the policies for the default location, and destination, which the VPN connects. If there is a problem with one of those locations, which happens sometimes when I travel I need to have an option to select a different available location. Currently, I am unable to see that from a user's point of view.

I have been using this virtual private network for the past six months.

I have found that Cisco IOS SSL VPN is stable.

Cisco IOS SSL VPN is scalable and we have more than one thousand users.

I have not had to use technical support.

The initial setup was easy and straightforward. They give you a link to download the application.  You download from the link and installation takes place immediately.

Cisco IOS SSL VPN Is a good solution. They use an open SSL framework and VPN. The software is excellent. I would rate Cisco IOS SSL VPN a nine out of ten.