Cisco Secure Firewall Reviews

Remote network access: We primarily use ASA for VPN, NAT, PAT routing, SLA, and multiple ISP providers.

Ease of configuration: It has gotten a lot easier to configure compared to the original Cisco Pix.

ASDM provides GUI for configurations. ASDM has made configuring ASA easy. No need to memorize CLI commands.

• UTM features would be nice or some NextGen features. 
• The ASA has become a bit old and needs updating.

The primary use case is for edge firewall at multiple locations and remote access VPN. We use these for security and have them integrated with Splunk/QRadar.  

Edge security and Sourcefire have been nice. Sourcefire was a major improvement over the legacy IDS that it previously had. 

Sourcefire has been a great addition. The visibility and control have been nice. 

I also like the active/standby HA. 

The solution has two separate GUIs and at least three different CLIs (ASA CLI, Sourcefire CLI, and Firepower Management Center CLI). In addition, ASDM plus Firepower Management Center GUIs. If Cisco could stop rebranding, combine all the CLIs/GUIs, and give a consistent experience, this would be great. 

Also, AnyConnect is very difficult to manage and use. 

The gateway firewall is where we use it the most.  

The firewall and policy side are easy to use. 

IDS.

Make the IPS baked-in. It is a good firewall, though not NextGen.

We use it to protect the perimeter of the network.

It is reliable, and does the job that it is supposed to be doing.

• IPS
• Antivirus
• IP filtering

it is not very user-friendly for the administration.

The Cisco solution that we have now is very stable. That is why we are interested in continuing with the Cisco solution and upgrading to the next generation.

It can be used by multiple users.

We use the technical support of Cisco through a partner, so I do not have direct access to the Cisco IT technical support.

We just shortlisted Cisco and Fortinet.

We needed a Cisco technician to do the initial setup. We had to outsource the implementation.

We need to upgrade our security requirements due to the new security requirement applicable in Europe (from GDPR) and the cyber security guidelines for our vessel (we are a US shipping company). 

Most important criteria when selecting a vendor: familiarity, reliability, and price.

I have been using the 5510 a lot, and have been working with it for many years. I have also used the 5505 and other firewalls.

It is much better than most of the other firewalls that I have worked with.

It needs more tunneling capabilities. 

It is worth every penny that we have invested in it.

• VPN services
• IDS/IPS services using Firepower
• Provides perimeter and internal firewall services.

We provide managed services based on the Cisco ASA product. The brand is reassuring to customers when procuring our services.

• VPN
• Firewall
• IDS/IPS

These features allow us to deliver services to meet client needs across various industry verticals.

MSSP oriented interface: I would like a single console which would allow me to manage settings creating consistency across all customers.

We use it as a perimiter firewall and do VPNs and filtering.

As a reseller, because Cisco includes different companies like Sourcefire, Meraki, and Talos, I think Cisco has a good portfolio for the security business, with their own devices too. For example, we have our firewall, we have a Web security appliance, things like OpenDNS with Umbrella. I think Cisco can cover with all the platforms.

All the visibility the device gives us as well as management and administration facilities.

It needs better documentation for when we present solutions to non-technical people. They need to bring together all the information, across the various firewalls, so that we can more clearly explain them.

Also, pricing could be better.

It's very stable. 

When we implement a firewall we need to be aware of whether it is growing over a short time period or a long time period. I think the scalability, from our implementation, is good because you can use the same configuration for another platform. If you implement on a small platform, it It is easy to implement the same configuration to another, bigger device.

I think tech support is a large part of Cisco. It's good, it provides support around the clock, answers problems. I would rate it nine out of 10.

SonicWall.

For some things it is very easy, but configuring other things is a little complex. It depends on the use case.

Cisco may be a little expensive but it has everything, and they support very well.

Juniper, Fortinet.

I think Cisco has all the solutions: switching, routing, security, they have wireless. You can cover all the devices with Cisco. They have all the network and engineered tools to help resolve the issues that we have. They are really very good devices.

In terms of advice, I would say Cisco is the best company. They're very stable, there aren't too many issues. And when there is an issue they have many engineers who can solve the problem.

We use it for security of branch offices and data centers. 

It works like a firewall for security reasons. 

Filtering is the best feature, as I have gotten used to using it.                               .

The IPS and GUI are outdated. It is finally getting IPS inside, which will be a big improvement. The GUI is outdated, and they are slowly improving it. We will see if they go in the correct direction. Unfortunately, they usually just follow other vendors.

It is slowly not supported and other vendors are a few years ahead of Cisco in development.  

Configuration on Firepower is currently madness as you have to redeploy it again with all its configurations if you use it as a module.