We performed a comparison between Cisco IOS Security and SonicWall NSa based on real PeerSpot user reviews.
Find out in this report how the two Firewalls solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI."The security on offer is very good."
"Our project needs to link two sides through the internet. One of these was in Cairo and the other in another city. We used FortiGate as the integrating solution between the two locations, i.e. the Fortinet 30E & 100E."
"The ease of setting the solution up is a valuable aspect for us."
"It's user-friendly and easy to operate."
"What's most important is the ease of use."
"FortiGate has a very strong unified threat management system."
"It's very easy to configure."
"Advanced routing (RIP, OSPF, BGP, PBR). It gives you a seamless and simple integration into a large network."
"It is less expensive than alternative firewalls."
"The solution is very user-friendly and easy to deal with."
"Cisco IOS Security has many good features, but compared to other solutions, it has a more user-friendly interface with steps to apply and manage rules. Another good part of the solution is that it's more straightforward."
"What I have used the most and received the most benefit from is the IPsec technology."
"One of the main features is that the hardware is extremely reliable."
"It covers everything we need it to without looking to secondary solutions."
"Cisco is head-and-shoulders above all of the competition when it comes to technical support."
"We use Cisco IOS Security mostly for routers to route off the firewall. It's a next-generation device."
"The stability is better than other products."
"The product is working okay. The product is working feature-wise."
"SonicWall's sales support is much better than other vendors'."
"The most valuable feature of SonicWall NSa is the control aspect of the solution."
"We have not found any vulnerabilities since implementing the solution."
"Valuable features include a web filter, DHCP, and monitoring capabilities."
"Content filtering reduces the load on the available bandwidth and restricts employees from using distracting websites on the job, which leads to more productive hours."
"The product is simple to manage."
"The scalability could be better."
"Fortinet FortiGate can be integrated with different platforms. They have integrations in place, but I can't say they're 100%."
"The UTM filtering needs improvement."
"Price, of course, can always be more competitive or better."
"Cisco Meraki products are rising very quickly in the cloud and the connected era. Meraki products offer much better ROI, upgradability, and manageability."
"It would be good if they had fewer updates."
"The reporting in Fortinet FortiGate could improve. Customers are having to purchase additional reporting components. When I have used the Sophos solution it is a complete solution, in Fortinet FortiGate you have to use additional tools to have the features needed."
"Compared to some other products, the DLP is not at par for the moment."
"While Cisco IOS Security is stable and scalable, I would like to see it improved to be even better."
"It takes too much time to deploy a policy to FMC. It takes around eight minutes. You can't afford any downtime when you're changing policies."
"Cisco is a scalable product, but it is expensive compared to other vendors."
"The routers, don't have like long-term tendency features, or higher availability features available for the IOS. It could also use a better user interface."
"I wish it would be more like the next generation firewall technology. There should be more selection between the application and filtering."
"The configuration and reporting interfaces need a lot of improvement. It needs to be more accessible forsolide without a strong technical background. If you had a simplified dashboard, the lower-level techs could manage the solution and provide services. Cisco IOS Security requires someone who is highly trained to operate it."
"The graphical user interface or the GUI could be better. Beginners can use some devices with the GUI, but some security devices are configured using CLI. It would also be better if it had its own Intrusion Protection Service and Intrusion Detection Service on the server."
"The configuration should be easier in the solution."
"It is not scalable. If your enterprise is growing hard then you have to buy another, bigger product. Maybe if you use it virtually it is more scalable."
"The content ID needs to be improved."
"I'd like to see integration with Microsoft 365 for authentication."
"The thing main thing is that there's no user admin and in other firewalls, we can enable the scalable features, but SonicWall doesn't have that feature."
"I would like to see better integration."
"Customer support is severely lacking with very slow response times."
"You can do zero-trust networking with them, but it's not easy."
"The problem primarily with SonicWall is it's a Unix box. And it's all software, all the activities, blocking, censoring, everything has to happen in the software. If you start hitting the box with a lot of sessions it slows down and that's not what I expect from a firewall."
Cisco IOS Security is ranked 22nd in Firewalls with 47 reviews while SonicWall NSa is ranked 20th in Firewalls with 77 reviews. Cisco IOS Security is rated 8.0, while SonicWall NSa is rated 7.8. The top reviewer of Cisco IOS Security writes "User-friendly and excels in documentation, making it easier to resolve issues". On the other hand, the top reviewer of SonicWall NSa writes "Great performance and security with reasonable pricing". Cisco IOS Security is most compared with Cisco Secure Firewall, Meraki MX, Fortinet FortiOS, Netgate pfSense and OPNsense, whereas SonicWall NSa is most compared with SonicWall TZ, Meraki MX, Sophos XG, Cisco Secure Firewall and Netgate pfSense. See our Cisco IOS Security vs. SonicWall NSa report.
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