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AWS Direct Connect vs Cisco IOS SSL VPN comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 6, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

AWS Direct Connect
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
10th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.2
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Cisco IOS SSL VPN
Ranking in Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
14th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
50
Ranking in other categories
SSL VPN (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Enterprise Infrastructure VPN category, the mindshare of AWS Direct Connect is 1.8%, up from 1.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco IOS SSL VPN is 3.2%, up from 1.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
AWS Direct Connect1.8%
Cisco IOS SSL VPN3.2%
Other95.0%
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2231871 - PeerSpot reviewer
Product Manager at a comms service provider with 201-500 employees
Offers secure high-bandwidth connectivity without internet-related risks
Regarding the benefits from the multiple virtual interfaces in the product, there is no interface for the product; it is just a connection that we have. It is an ethernet connection we offer. The customer, from the customer side to AWS, receives an ethernet point-to-point connection, and that is it. The interface and everything along with the communication with AWS, the customer has to do by themselves to build the routes and everything. The connection speed that our clients are using ranges from 100 megabits up to 10 gigabits. The main concern is the port costs. Clients do not report technical problems, so it is mainly always an issue of money. The solution is nice, but sometimes they avoid it because the port costs are high. This is not a problem AWS has exclusively; Azure has the same costs, and these port costs are quite expensive. I would rate this review as an 8 out of 10.
VM
student at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Cost efficiency and ease of setup define network management while potential improvements in complexity handling are noted
Optimizing and configuring for network segmentation is the biggest thing for helping with segmenting traffic management. Configuring QoS on Linksys is pretty easy, especially compared to Cisco QoS, which I am certified in, as it helps ensure that the bandwidth for voice or other applications doesn't bleed over into the data links. In the past, Linksys has been pretty good at network protection, segmenting off that protection for unauthorized access or cyber threats. Cost savings and ease of use are the benefits I've seen from Linksys. It's a little bit less complex to set up and configure compared to Cisco switching. I utilized the VLAN support feature in the Linksys switches. A lot of the networks I have were broken up by VLAN, and I definitely configured them for different VLANs. The best feature of Linksys in my opinion is cost, as they tend to be more cost-effective compared to larger switches or Cisco switches.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"Direct Connect provides an improved connection quality and a diversified link, which contributes to high availability and failover capabilities."
"AWS Direct Connect is highly secure and much faster compared to normal network infrastructure."
"Overall, I rate the solution ten out of ten."
"The platform's most valuable feature for us is its robust network performance."
"It is a stable solution."
"AWS Direct Connect provides a secure and encrypted connection over the internet."
"It is a highly scalable solution."
"The most valuable feature of Direct Connect is its low latency to the users."
"Overall performance and features of the device are great."
"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."
"The split panel functionality is much better in the Cisco IOS SSL VPN than in the Aruba VPN."
"Cisco support has been very helpful."
"Cisco VPN is easy to connect."
"We provide remote access solutions, internet access, and Voice over IP for our customers, as well as IT operational support."
"The product is very stable."
"Stability-wise, it is a very good solution."
 

Cons

"The platform's stability needs improvement."
"There is no room for improvement in Direct Connect right now."
"It can be difficult to configure compared to cloud-based GUIs."
"One area that needs improvement is the cost of the ports, which is a concern as these charges are quite high."
"Having more locations could improve the convenience of using the service."
"We encountered issues with the connection. The VPN was not connecting on multiple occasions."
"It would be good if we could connect AWS Direct Connect from different networks."
"AWS Direct Connect should support cross-cloud connections, such as migrations between Azure and AWS, for disaster recovery purposes on different cloud platforms."
"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."
"Cisco IOS SSL VPN should add a sensor that can authenticate with a fingerprint instead of having to type the username and password every time."
"The only issue with Cisco IOS SSL VPN is on the price point. Price is an area of the solution where improvements are required."
"The configuration is critical and complex."
"The administration should be improved."
"Enhancing the client certificate deployment process could be a valuable improvement, ensuring smoother and more reliable certificate renewal experiences in the future."
"The solution's graphical user interface is not very user-friendly."
"The solution's configuration could be made easier."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is an expensive solution."
"It has reasonable pricing in terms of the features offered."
"With Cisco, there is a free solution or a licensed version of the solution with a set of endpoint services."
"The licensing cost of the solution is on a yearly basis, and it is expensive compared to other solutions in the market."
"I would say it is a bit expensive, but I think it is worth the price."
"The solution is reasonably priced, and we have around 50% to 60% discounts from Cisco."
"Users have to pay a yearly licensing fee for Cisco IOS SSL VPN."
"My company makes payments on a quarterly basis to the vendor to cover the licensing costs attached to the product. Cisco IOS SSL VPN is an expensive product. There are no additional costs apart from the licensing costs attached to the product."
"Cisco IOS SSL VPN comes with a cost-effective subscription."
"There are no pricing programs for non-profit organizations and the product is otherwise expensive by comparison."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
19%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
9%
Healthcare Company
8%
Construction Company
18%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise3
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business23
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise26
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with AWS Direct Connect?
One area that needs improvement is the cost of the ports, which is a concern as these charges are quite high. It is primarily a budget issue because while the solution is effective, the port costs ...
What is your primary use case for AWS Direct Connect?
Our customers primarily use AWS Direct Connect for hybrid cloud solutions. They have parts of their equipment in their on-premise data center, while also using AWS infrastructure for backups, datab...
What advice do you have for others considering AWS Direct Connect?
Regarding the benefits from the multiple virtual interfaces in the product, there is no interface for the product; it is just a connection that we have. It is an ethernet connection we offer. The c...
What needs improvement with Cisco IOS SSL VPN?
I have not found any areas that could be improved so far. I am not sure how Cisco IOS SSL VPN can continue their improvements for the future, but I think it is a great product. To stay on top, they...
What is your primary use case for Cisco IOS SSL VPN?
Currently, I use Cisco IOS SSL VPN to VPN in, but not with high frequency. We use Cisco IOS SSL VPN as our VPN client to connect to our network. This is for health.
 

Also Known As

No data available
Cisco SSL VPN
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Expedia, Intuit, Royal Dutch Shell, Brooks Brothers
MST Systems
Find out what your peers are saying about AWS Direct Connect vs. Cisco IOS SSL VPN and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
920,929 professionals have used our research since 2012.