Cisco IOS Security Reviews

The product is quite mature. Cisco is well known within the industry.

The solution's most valuable aspect is that it is extremely integrated. The product basically comes with the firewall features including IPS, URL filtering, malware, et cetera. The integrated features are great.

The functionalities of the product are pretty good.

Cisco has always been a premium product. There's a lot of other entry-level solutions. This is more robust.

The solution offers a good mix of features. You can always add more modules as you need to if you need even more features.

The pricing of the solution can be improved. It's not cheap. It's quite expensive.

The company needs to make its solution more affordable to make it more accessible to larger markets. Otherwise, it's seen as an enterprise-level solution that small or medium-sized organizations can't afford and therefore they won't even look at it.

I've been using the solution for quite a long time. It's been ten or 15 years. I have well over a decade of experience under my belt.

The solution is stable. We find Cisco to be very reliable. It doesn't crash or freeze. There aren't bugs or glitches that disrupt its performance. It's good. There's never been an issue.

The solution can scale. It's designed more as an enterprise-level solution, so it's good for larger companies.

The customer support is great. We're quite satisfied with the level of service Cisco provides. They're knowledgeable and responsive.

Overall, we find that they have the best technical support in the business. Their support is quite competent in terms of their technical skills, more so than other competitors. If you face any issues, you can call them at any time and get the answers you need to resolve whatever is going on.

I've used a variety of other solutions. I've used Check Point, Palo Alto, and Juniper as well.

We primarily like Cisco due to the fact that their technical support is great. By far, it's the best I've ever seen.

The solution's initial setup is very straightforward. It's not complex at all.

The solution's costs are quite high. It's a turn-off in terms of actually using it. It's more of an enterprise-level solution. It's not ideal for smaller organizations as the cost to run it would be out of their budgeting capabilities.

We use a few different Cisco solutions. 

We're a Cisco partner. We have a business relationship with the company.

We're dealing with the latest version of this particular solution.

I'd rate the solution seven out of ten. 

The value for money it should be there. Which means good features, good functioning things are there, but they need to make it more affordable for big market. If they were able to price the solution to make it more affordable for more clients that may not be enterprise-level, they've have a bigger footprint.

We use the product for firewalls. 

We cannot directly upgrade the system. The tool's deployment is also very difficult in legacy environments. The tool needs to have bigger ports as well. 

I have been working with the product for four years. 

The product is stable. 

The tool is scalable. 

The tool's deployment takes around thirty minutes to complete. 

The tool could be priced lower. If you want advanced services, then you need to purchase them. 

Most of our customers are from the banking and financial domain. I have chosen the product after a thorough comparison and reading through whitepapers. 

We're using it for internet traffic security. It's for protection. 

We don't have a problem with the user interface and it is pretty user-friendly.

We don't mind the cost.

The security is very good. 

Cisco is very good, very powerful. 

It's a reliable, stable product in general. It's better than the competition. 

The product is easy to set up. 

It is a stable product.

We find the product to be scalable. 

How to improve the solution depends on the usage. 

Sometimes I find it difficult to manage. Some configurations are difficult for new engineers, for example. 

It could be more flexible. 

I've been using the solution for the last ten years. 

This is a very stable, reliable product. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. 

It's a scalable product. 

We have 500 to 600 people using the solution.

Before, it was very easy to get in touch with support. However, it's become more difficult. It can take a long time to get an answer. We also have to deal with time differences, which can make it harder to get an answer. 

It is very easy for me to implement the solution. It's very good, it's very easy. There are command planning and equations. Cisco is very simple. We don't have issue with Cisco.

The deployment depends on the product you use and the network design. 

You can do it in small batches. It can take some time to refresh. It might take one or two days. 

The cost may be around $5,000 to $10,000 a year. If you want support you have to pay at least this price. 

We are a Cisco customer and end-user. 

We've been using the mid-range version since 2012.

I'd rate the solution around eight out of ten. 

Cisco is great. It's likely number one in the world. I'd recommend the solution as it is a very powerful product. However, it's best to have Cisco experts on staff or available to you to make things easier. 

We use Cisco IOS Security for integration purposes. We have Cisco features and Cisco devices in our organization. We use it as an integration system for Cisco devices.

Cisco products are very secure and integrate easily with other devices.

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.

I have been using Cisco IOS Security for more than three years.

Cisco IOS Security has been stable so far.

The device is not scalable because the device was manufactured with a specific product specification. To scale, you have to plan and add more devices. We have about 12,000 users.

They are supportive and have the technical skills to support us. If I have challenges with a Cisco product, they help me based on their subscription fee.

On a scale from one to five, I would give Cisco technical support a five.

Positive

The initial setup is straightforward for IT users. It takes about one hour to implement this solution because we have to upgrade the framework on some of the devices. 

On a scale from one to five, I would give the initial setup a five. 

Cisco IOS Security is not very expensive, and pricing depends on where you live. It's affordable for both individuals and institutions.

On a scale from one to five, I would give Cisco's pricing a four.

We chose Cisco because the company has an excellent market rating, users are familiar with Cisco, and they can deploy Cisco products. Using Cisco also improves the security mechanism of all devices from end to end.

On a scale from one to ten, I would give Cisco IOS Security an eight.

Our primary use is just as a firewall. That is pretty much it.  

We are able to filter a lot of traffic. The is especially effective when a lot of the traffic is in layer 7 — the internet aspect of security for application services.  

I think the multi-layered approach is valuable. Just the fact that it covers everything on the LSA (Local Security Authority) right up to layer 7, in-depth packet analysis, and all that. It covers everything we need it to without looking to secondary solutions.  

I think the user interface for IOS Security needs to be improved.  

I think the signature updates and all the other critical definitions need to be updated more frequently.  

We have only been using IOS (Internetwork Operating System) Security since about 2016. So we have worked with it for about four years.  

The stability of the product is okay. There were not really any bugs or glitches that I can remember.  

The scalability aspect of it is that it is one of those products where you have to incorporate additional hardware. It is a vertical scale, so you add on the boxes you need and bond them together. Of course, it costs more to scale that way than something that would be a software upgrade. You have got to pay to scale and to get more features.  

Our clients are generally small to medium-sized businesses. Cisco IOS is a pretty good fit for that range of clients.  

I have used the Cisco technical support and they were okay. Rating them out of ten, I would give them an eight or nine-out-of-ten. They have a pretty good system with decent response time and accuracy. They are good overall and in comparison to other services. They offer 24/7 service, which is a benefit.  

I was actually using Cisco products more in the past and use them as a consultant. Right now, Sophos is the only one I have been using. It just came about through one of those situations where we were able to partner up with Sophos. That is really the reason for the change.  

Setup and installation are pretty much straightforward. Comparing the installation to Fortinet or Sophos they are all the same.  

The pricing for IOS Security is okay. It is competitive. It costs more when you have got the need to pay for more features. You have to buy more boxes and tie them together to upgrade to the next level.  

I have used Fortinet in the past too as well as Sophos and other Cisco products. They are all similar and if you know how to use them they are virtually all the same.  

The advice that I would give to others looking into implementing this product is that I think they need to do their benchmarking. They should do due diligence beforehand in terms of their traffic.  

On a scale from one to ten (where one is the worst and ten is the best), I would rate this product overall as about an eight-out-of-ten. I do not know how they could realistically improve on that much. You never keep up with the hackers, they are always a step ahead of us when it comes to security.  

We use the solution to secure data centres for clients.

The solution has the best features for routers embedded with firewall capabilities. It helps us protect the network.

The solution’s setup process could be better. It is complex regarding troubleshooting, and only highly skilled engineers can resolve it.

We have been using the solution for 15 years.

The solution is stable.

It is a scalable solution. We have more than 100 clients using the solution.

The solution's technical support is excellent. The team includes certified engineers.

The solution's initial setup process is easy if you are highly skilled in handling the troubleshooting part. The deployment takes around two to three weeks, depending on the requirements.

We can purchase the solution's licenses as per specific business requirements.

The solution provides a robust system. I advise others to understand the technology to use the system with ease.

I rate it a ten out of ten.

We can use iOS security for a variety of security features. We can use it to run DPM. We run encrypted data and can use it for zone-based firewalls, to a zone-based firewall.

I use VPN solutions such as site-to-site or user-site VPN, and some do not require a firewall.

It is less expensive than alternative firewalls.

While Cisco IOS Security is stable and scalable, I would like to see it improved to be even better.

I have been working with Cisco IOS Security for three months.

I use version 12.4 and I use 15 and above for the router.

Cisco IOS Security is very stable.

Cisco IOS Security is a scalable solution.

We have approximately 50 users.

We have not contacted technical support.

I don't have any critical issues, and I haven't had any open technical tickets with support. Everything is fine, but I work in security with multi-media solutions. We haven't had any problems.

The installation is straightforward. It's easy, we didn't have any problems with the installation of Cisco IOS Security.

I have three or four technical teams to help me work on publishing.

Cisco IOS Security requires a license.

With Cisco, we have a variety of licenses. They have smart licenses that can be provided for one year, two years, three years, five years, and seven years. Alternatively, they have perpetual licenses available. I am working with a perpetual license, but not a smart license.

Before we can use any security feature on the Cisco router, we must first purchase an iOS security license.

Yes, I would recommend this solution. It is more stable and less expensive than other firewalls. In some cases, it saves money for the project or the companies that work with it.

I would rate Cisco IOS Security an eight out of ten.

The solution is used for enterprise and NAC connectivity.

This kind of technology has the advantage of being very flexible to any size organization. It is a cornerstone as a part of the basic network infrastructure.

It can be used as a simple switch to connect your network devices with security features embedded - such as port security, for example. This allows companies to limit to a fixed address per port, avoiding external or malicious assets for accessing the network.

For example, if you have a retail business, and you have a lot of small stores spread nationwide, you just need to connect some cameras and sales points to the network. iOS security solutions allow you to have a secure LAN and you could add a secure WAN connection through your Internet provider with LTE links as backups. You can set up on-demand VPN connections from store to store for voice/video calls, or do inventory queries direct to the HQ database.

As a Cisco partner/reseller, security has been a concern for many years. Cisco has a security concept that begins right when you try to connect to the network. Security is a complete system and is not just put on security devices at the perimeter or between tiers inside a data center.

iOS on routers is a mature solution, allowing easy setup of a traditional ISAKMP V1 or V2 VPN, and a very mature proprietary VPN flavor called DMVPN. DMVPN allows on-demand VPN establishment with minimal setup configuration and creates a pseudo full mesh avoiding bottlenecks. 

Cisco Technical Assistance Center works on a follow-the-sun concept and gives real 24x7 customer support, which is a great advantage when you have a service contract with them.

The best features include the Auto Secure script, port security, spanning-tree root and loop guard, 802.1x, DMVPN, GET VPN, SD-Access, and Secure SD-WAN.

The software offers plenty of security solutions that can work in the most sophisticated enterprise but also works well for small/mid-range enterprises.

A simple switch is able to run basic security as port security, limiting the MAC addresses allowed on a port, or by running a script you can set up ACL and some control plane policies to protect control and management planes and basic DoS protection.

The same software is able to work with sophisticated security options going from the basic 802.1x to MACSEC, NAC, and trustsec, and can be integrated with automation tools in order to do auto onboarding tasks (for wired devices), profiling, and more interesting security tasks.

It allows for easy traditional ISAKMP V1 or V2 VPN setups and has a very mature proprietary VPN flavor called DMVPN. DMVPN allows on-demand VPN establishment with minimal setup configuration involved and creates a pseudo full mesh (avoiding bottlenecks as a hub-spoke topology does). Dynamic VPN establishment allows spoke-to-spoke traffic flow on-demand, optimizing VoIP/SIP calls setting up direct tunnels among spokes, reducing latency compared with a hub/spoke topology.

Switch and router iOS can be automated and orchestrated with secure SD-WAN and SD-Access Cisco solutions. Having the iOS software is relevant for small and large enterprises; it works fine for all size networks.

There are the usual bugs that are inherent to some software upgrades. Sometimes this provides some unexpected issues, however, it happens with all brands all the time.

Some additional features could be improved. For example, the licensing for DNA environments could be better. In some countries, the end-user does not want to go to orchestration/automation environments. They just want to have a small network for their small budget and they never will go to these environments. They consider it unfair that they have to pay for a license/subscription that will never be used.

I've used the solution for ten or more years.

It is very stable.

The product is very scalable.

Technical support is great.

Positive

My customers have used other brands that just gave connectivity and did not offer security over LAN switches. The VPN scheme was limited to site-to-site over hub-and-spoke topologies.

The initial setup is straightforward.

We are the vendor team that handles implementations.

Cisco is not a cost-effective brand, however, in the end, you get what you pay for. Regarding licensing, some customers will not use automation/orchestration environments and do not like to pay a subscription for something they will never use.