2021-01-19T00:09:00Z

What are the main differences between Palo Alto and Cisco firewalls ?

FU
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SZ
Real User
2021-01-20T19:48:46Z
Jan 20, 2021

There are some major differentiators that make Palo Alto more preferable. First of all Palo Alto's Hardware is FPGA based, which has no parallel. Due to this capability it supports SP3 technology which provides single pass parallel processing architecture. This means PA processes traffic through all the engines i.e. application, IPS and others simultaneously. This improves resiliency and provides exactly the same throughput which committed in PA data sheet. PA has been in the leaders magic quadrant of Gartner for the 7th consecutive time in a row, which shows its block capability is above power. Moreover, it is very user friendly and easy for configure. Palo  Alto provides all routing features plus IPsec tunnels without any license - license subscriptions are only required for security bundles. Palo Alto has on-box (without any additional license or cost) reporting capability that no other firewall has at the moment.


On the contrary, Cisco Firewall and its management center is not stable and lacks user friendly operations.

Product comparison that may be of interest to you
PP
Real User
2021-01-21T12:58:10Z
Jan 21, 2021

Well they are two leaders, one from US, another from Israel.


Checkpoint is the first well known firm to launch firewalls.


Palo Alto is certainly now the leader, but could be expensive in strong configurations. It supports virtualization very well and is number one for reporting.

Checkpoint NGFW is strong but under competition for high volumes when compared referred to a comparable appliance (Fortinet for instance). It needs perhaps more technical knowledge to administrate, in spite of an amazing choice of blades in the NGFW offering.


The reliability depends on your partner or integrator and a good definition of needs to have a proper sizing of your equipment.

VV
Real User
2021-01-27T16:46:22Z
Jan 27, 2021

Ease of Use


- GUI familiarities  and adoption level can differ from user to user.


- Personally I found CISCO  ASA interface is hard to comprehend compare to Palo Alto


- Command line interface is good, only challenge is past experience and correctness of commands to get error free results! 


Performance of the Appliance


- Palo Alto VS CISCO - Palo Alto is better performing appliance.


UW
Real User
2021-01-22T10:04:54Z
Jan 22, 2021

Palo Alto is the market leader and a company with a very holistic approach to security. Firewalls are its mainstream business, whereas Cisco basically known as a networking company is trying to be one of the major players in providing security solutions. Things like advantages, disadvantages, usage and practices is a very vast topic. Generally companies already having Cisco infrastructure tend to choose Cisco firewalls from the integration point of view. Palo Alto firewalls could be more expensive. 

KP
Real User
2021-01-22T08:57:32Z
Jan 22, 2021

Palo Alto has more visibilities and control instead of Cisco Firewall.

SK
Real User
2021-09-08T04:10:09Z
Sep 8, 2021

Pick a product model for both vendors: Cisco & Palo Alto (refer to technical data sheets and whitepapers --)  See the key differences on your target or specific needs).


Practical evaluation by a person who has both products under the belt and can share their experiences... 


Anyone inputs, please?

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Secure Firewall vs. Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.
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Cisco Secure Firewall vs. Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls comparison
We performed a comparison between Cisco Secure Firewall and Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls based on our users’ reviews in four categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below. Features: Cisco Secure Firewall is commended for its threat defense, dashboard visibility, seamless integration with other Cisco products, and ease of use. Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls are highly regarded for their embedded machine learning, robust security capabilities, and...
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