Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) Reviews

The .1x authentication schema is the most valuable aspect of the solution. It makes it possible to have multiple policies and it can still adapt to us. We can authenticate and calculate our trajectory and so on. The policy is very easy to put in place. It's got to be easy due to the fact that we have more than 200,000 devices.

The implementation is very simple.

The web interface needs improvement. The new web interface that they have is not as easy to manage and we find it to be very slow.

The solution might require two authentications. They should make a new authentication to authenticate both the device and the users. Right now, we are authenticating the PC, the workstation, but not as a user. A good addition would be to authenticate the user separately to get more information.

I've been using the solution for five years.

The solution is stable. I haven't witnessed bugs or glitches. It doesn't freeze or crash. It's reliable.

The solution is quite scalable.

We started with two clients and we've since scaled up to 20 clients.

Cisco ISE was the first full solution we've used.

The initial setup wasn't complex for us. We found the process of implementing the solution very straightforward.

For our organization, in terms of deployment, the first implementation took one month, and for the global implementation took six months.

For maintenance, a company needs one or two people to handle it, one of which should be full-time.

The pricing is okay. It's reasonable for functionality, however, if you're going to implement it as a full-stack with Cisco Connect, and a work station, and so on, it's very high.

I'd advise other companies to really take care in regards to the network devices that they want to authenticate. 

For most of the cases, the biggest rooms are the easiest to manage, however, the smallest ones require specific implementation in all devices. It is very tricky due to the fact that you are obliged to put in place the rules that are not so secure and that's why it's very important to know what devices are connected on the network.

I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.

We have two servers and they're both VMs. Every network system is issued a certificate and each device coming onto the network has to be on the domain with an active AD user logging into it. It needs an up-to-date AMP, which is our Cisco malware and virus scan product and it also needs to have the most current Microsoft security updates and the three layers that we're using: The core VPN, the Network Access Manager and the ISE profiler. When it goes through all those different things on every port on the switch, there are commands for it to be able to go through an ACL so it knows what users are there, what server, and what devices have been put onto the domain. It can verify all that.

The user can then proceed on to the network. We've set it so that regular users are VLAN'd off and can only see the data network through ISE and are blocked from seeing the rest of the network. Depending on the department needs or other factors, we have cameras for security which are on a different VLAN, and they can see those. We also have something for O&M where the AC guy can see the AC equipment, and we can prevent all the VLAN's from being viewed by everybody.

We are customers of Cisco and I'm the infrastructure and Cyber security manager.

The solution cuts down on the repercussions of getting malware or ransomware which happened to us four years ago. We regularly took very aggressive snapshots and we were able to recover in an hour and 20 minutes without any loss of data.

Because we have a large database and 4,000 network devices, the solution can lag a bit when you're running updates or different things because of the fact that it's so big and it is such a resource hog. But the biggest problem we've encountered is that it finds errors or people are rejected or not authenticated without a clear explanation as to why. A second issue is that we're currently on 2.4 and Cisco's gold standard now is 2.7. They are a little slow with that.

I'd really like the solution to dive down a little deeper when something's not profiling. As it stands now, you have to go through and search what hasn't profiled. Microsoft, for example, gives you a direction to look at and will even be specific sometimes and tell you there is a password error, or the password hasn't been updated, or it's not meeting the policy and that's why it won't let it through. Those are very helpful because you know exactly what's required to solve a problem. 

Cisco is getting better with it, but they fail in some areas because of a network connectivity issue, or it's not getting DCAP quick enough and it fails. Those things would be more helpful to understand when it's going through, so you are able to triage it a little better. I mean, it does point you in a direction, but sometimes you have to dig a lot deeper to find the right direction and figure out what kept it from profiling. One big issue we've discovered is that people are not rebooting their machines or powering them off at night. We're trying to ensure that is done by sticking messages on screens.

I've been using this solution for the past two years. 

ISE is pretty stable. If it does have an issue then you need to call TAC and work through the bug in it. They are very responsive and very quick to help us eliminate the issue and also come up with a plan, such as how to move forward with additional issues or different things that are coming down the pipe with Cisco ISE. When you're talking to them, you feel like they are a partner and not just a disconnected entity.

The technical support is excellent, I would rate them very highly.

The initial setup is very complex. You have to go in and manually add in all the network devices, as far as all the switches, access points are concerned. You have to go port by port and add in codes and conditions and you have to go switch by switch and add in codes and conditions. You start out with a monitor mode and then go to an impact mode and then you go towards total lockdown. Implementation took us about 18 months. We rolled it out in short bursts because we have a very small IT team and we had a consultant company come in and work with us on installing it. A lot of it was knowledge transfer from them to us.

Our consultant was Cycorp, their main focus is network security. They are a sister Cisco partner, and we had one of their CCIE's come out and help implement everything. The gentleman at the top of the CCIE, was a former Cisco employee and a beta tester for ISE. Now that we have it in, I feel it's pretty much a game changer on locking down our network so that we're not penetrated from inside or outside because everything going through the VPN has to meet a certain standard.

We did a five year deal and it was very reasonable. I think for the Avast virus scan, I think we were paying $95 a machine for five years, which nobody else could touch. And that includes all updates, technical support, etc. From the ISE side, I'm not really sure what it costs because it was all encompassed in equipment we were buying and the ISE and the AMP and the open DNS. I know that it was not more expensive than any of the things we had looked at with HP or BMC or other places. It was much more cost effective.

We have looked at other products but we are a Cisco shop so having a Cisco product rides very easy on all our switches, our access points, and our Cisco servers. I believe it's the same for other companies such as HP. It's also a priority for them that the solution works better with HP switches. Given that we weren't going to change our switches, we really needed to focus on something that was going to work well with our environment.

The important thing is to have a good game plan going into it. Prep is key for everything going on with ISE. The more stuff you have prepped and the more understanding that you have upfront of how it goes through and how it behaves, the better off you are.

I would rate this solution a nine out of 10. 

We use the solution to secure the endpoint. Before the user connects to the network, it can be investigated whether to connect.

Cisco ISE has a powerful posturing tool with security requirements. This data can be integrated with the device identity and threat intelligence surface, enabling you to create granular policies based on a device's identity. Just like we made policies based on Samsung or Lenovo, you can now do the same based on its compliance posture.

You have to restart the system to change the DNS or NTP server.

I have been using Cisco ISE as a system integrator for three years.

I rate the solution’s stability an eight out of ten.

The solution’s scalability is good. We cater the solution to medium-sized businesses.

I rate the solution’s scalability an eight out of ten.

The initial setup is easy. One engineer can deploy it in three hours.

The product has moderate pricing and comes with a subscription model.

We must check the compatibility with the other device before using Cisco ISE. Fortinet or Palo Alto provides integration to another device.

The solution has medium maintenance.

Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

At first, Cisco ISE was a replacement for only ACS RADIUS. It was mostly for remote access VPNs and Wi-Fi. That was it, and later, it evolved into a complete ACS replacement, so it's for both TACACS and RADIUS. Nowadays, we also deploy .1X quite a lot. 

It was a driver towards .1X. With the features that were there on the network side and the features that were there with Cisco ISE, it was way easier to go to .1X.

It's the brain of many things. It's the brain for VPNs. In Cisco ISE, we control where the users are allowed to go. Customers are able to do that by themselves. It's the same for .1X. It's the heart of security.

Cisco ISE improved our cybersecurity resilience. It enabled features that were not present or possible before.

For customers, it's great. It has a GUI, so the customers themselves can edit ACLs or even modify the policies. It's also an all-in-one solution with RADIUS and TACACS.

I'm frustrated by the resource consumption and how many resources it needs to run. It takes a lot of RAM. It takes a lot of space and a lot of IO power. It's frustrating to do upgrades because it takes a long time. Things are at a much smaller scale where we are than in the US. We even have smaller virtualization farms, so it takes a considerable amount of power and resources.

We've been using this solution since its initial release. It was probably version 1.1 or 1.2.

I don't remember opening a case for Cisco ISE except for the licensing problems, but several years ago, it took some time for people to get to the right way to solve the problem. I am not sure whether it was my inability to clarify the situation or whether it was a matter of poor training, but it was sometimes very painful.

I've been working with this product for a while. It doesn't seem difficult. However, in terms of resources, it takes a while to get it running. I don't think it's necessary to be so resource-consuming and slow. That makes it complicated. 

Pricing is where things got a bit more complicated. Previously, it was a one-time purchase and we just had to renew support. These days, there's a subscription model, which is supposed to be easier and cheaper as well, but it's more pricey. Customers are aware of that, and many vendors are going the same way. They are trying to go along with the new model.

We did consider other products, but it didn't make sense to go for any competing vendor because of the integration with other Cisco products. AnyConnect is the best VPN product I am aware of, and that's usually why we stick with Cisco.

We also sell HPE products. We've deployed some HPE RADIUS solutions, but we prefer Cisco these days.

To someone researching this solution who wants to improve the cybersecurity in their organization, I would tell them to first think about what they are trying to achieve and then think about Cisco ISE as a tool. It isn't a turnkey solution.

It hasn't saved our IT staff's time. It was something that wasn't present before. It's an evolution that is necessary, but I wouldn't say it saves time.

It did help us consolidate any tools or applications. It was either a replacement of some legacy products or it was an improvement where it introduced new features that were not present before, but it didn't help get rid of some of the other products. It was a new thing to place into the network.

Overall, I'd rate Cisco ISE a six out of ten.

I'm an engineering student, studying smart information and communication technology.

The product has many useful features. It enhances compliance and security posture. It provides client provisions and profiling as well as guest access, features not available in other solutions. The product can be customized. 

Although the solution is easy to implement it's not so easy to understand. You need to be able to figure out the protocols, the nodes, and the personals of the nodes in order to implement correctly and make good use of it. Because it's a Cisco product, if you're not in a Cisco environment, it's difficult to integrate with anything else, so the big concern is its interoperability with other technologies and other vendors. 

I've been using this solution for two months. 

The solution is stable. 

ISE is extensible. It can be deployed for small and large organizations, and can even be distributed and centralized. 

We haven't used the customer support but if I do need some assistance my supervisor and the manager I'm working with can help. 

I've looked at other network access control solutions and ISE is among the leading technologies. I recommend it but suggest taking a close look at the technology before implementing it. Try to really understand it, because if you miss anything and don't configure correctly, it's going to be awful and you'll lose the benefits that the solution provides. Even if you only need one or two of the features that the solution provides, I would recommend using it. 

I rate this solution nine out of 10. 

We use it for SDA infrastructure. We have a challenge in recognizing different kinds of devices and that's what we are using ISE for in the SDA fabric.

We can better recognize our endpoints and we know whether they are allowed to access our network. That's really important for us.

It has also eliminated some rogue devices from accessing our network.

The integration with Active Directory is the most valuable feature for us.

The admin interface is really slow. It's horrible.

I have been using Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine) for five years.

It's really stable.

It's scalable, but we need to upgrade some of our hardware to support more users.

Our SDA fabric has about 1,500 users that we are authenticating. We have plans to use it throughout the City of Helsinki, which has about 38,000 personnel whom we will need to authenticate in the future.

I haven't used the tech support.

We also currently have Microsoft RADIUS, but we are planning to move away from it and use ISE as our only authentication solution.

Other than the slow admin interface, it's an excellent product.

Our clients use Cisco ISE for security, especially in the finance industry.

Our clients like Cisco ISE because they already use various Cisco solutions. It's easy for them to use this solution because they have an engineer with Cisco certifications.

The price could be better. I would like to see more integration with third-party solutions in the next release. This is because many of my clients don't have Cisco.

We have been a partner dealing with Cisco ISE for about 14 years.

Cisco ISE is very stable.

Scalability is good.

I think Cisco has already improved its support for this solution.

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

Neutral

The initial setup is easy. We have two engineers who implement this solution.

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

Cisco is expensive, but it's the cost for all the functions and value it brings. Functions like internet solutions, integrations, security, and many more features are important, but it's expensive for some clients.

I would tell potential users that this is a good solution.

On a scale from one to ten, I would give  Cisco ISE a ten.

I use it for licensing and profiling. It's like a "traffic cop." It's an endpoint user migration tool. It's also a TACACS server. It depends on what I'm using it for at the moment.

For the applications it's authentication and then authorization into the network. It's the networks you're on and what AD gives you. Your profile is based in AD or an LDAP server. ISE talks to those two servers and says, "What groups do you belong to, and should you have access to those roles?" With ISE, if AD says you can have it, then go for it.

I use it in big campus environments, anywhere that needs authentication and authorization to work with AD. It's a great tool for that, if you want to profile your network and you want to secure your network inside. We're not talking about firewalls but about what the tool can do for you, what it's designed for.

It has improved internal security, in-to-out, out-to-in. Without ISE, you can't posture or profile your network. Authorizations, authentications. ISE is not the only product that can do it, but it's a great tool.

Among the most valuable features is TACACS. Also, the rules and logging, but TAC is just as easy. Cisco TAC is great.

The area where things could be improved is education. It's complicated to deploy initially because you have to know what you're getting into. That's true with any customer. I don't know them so I have to learn about them. I have to figure it out, but there are very limited windows to do that. If a customer's going to hire you, you are the professional. You should know this already. You should come in with a base knowledge of what you need to do and, after that, grow with the customer. More education is how it can be improved.

I have been using Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine) since 2016. I usually come into an environment after everything is there already. Customers bring me in to fix things that are broken.

The stability of the solution depends on how you scale it. If you have set it up properly, it will be great. If you put all your eggs in one basket, in one part of the network, and that goes down, then you have lost everything.

It's scalable. It can grow with your network. You can create new nodes or move everything from local to the cloud. It's easy to spin up a VM, so you can put it on a VM real quick and be done within a couple of days. But you have to know what you're doing. You can't just do it with the assumption that you can copy and just redeploy it. ISE doesn't work like that. It has to be done properly.

Cisco's TAC is excellent. Cisco always has great support.

Positive

I previously used the older versions of the hardware that were the original predecessors to ISE.

The deployment model for ISE depends on the customer: where their data centers are, what they can afford, and what type of maintenance agreements they have with Cisco's support. Are they on a VM or a physical device? Deployment depends on what we are trying to do and the environment.

In terms of establishing trust for every access request, trust is only as good as the rules and definitions you build. Without that, you need not only to trust the device, you need the trust of the customer too. That's important.

Trust is only eliminated when a customer wants the rules loosened. When the customer says, "This is too difficult, you're making it too hard," that is when exposure happens, things start collapsing, and there are breaches. You can't give the customer everything they want, because they don't know the consequences. You have to educate them. They need to know that the inconvenience of hitting "enter" to log in, and having it take three seconds or five seconds is because you'd rather have the machine and the network think before they let you on the network. A lot of times a customer will say, "If I'm hitting enter and it's not bringing me to where I need to be, then this is not a good solution." You have to educate them.

The solution is like an iPad that someone set up for you. If they didn't do a good job setting it up, you're going to rate the tool as bad. A lot of times, I come in and it's already done and I have to fix the problems. There are times that I do create it from scratch and it works really well. 

I primarily use ISE for segregating identities, IP addresses, and ports.

ISE's most valuable feature is integration between IT and OTs.

There are still some bugs in ISE that need to be worked out.

I've been working with Cisco ISE for three years.

ISE is stable.

ISE is scalable.

Cisco's tech support could be improved.

The initial setup was straightforward.

Regardless of your industry, I would recommend Cisco ISE if you want good identity management. I would rate this solution seven out of ten.

We are a partner with Cisco and am a part of an information security team that uses Cisco to provide security policy management via network, device and wireless access. 

Cisco offers automation, visibility, and control as well as third party integration capabilities.

I would like for the next release to be easier to implement and to limit its dependencies around ISE, Windows, the network as a whole, etc.

I have been using Cisco ISE for over six years.

This is a very stable solution with many integrations.

Cisco's scalability depends on the design - small deployments are not scalable.

Cisco support is good.

This solution is a bit more complex to set up than in comparison to other options - it can take anywhere from two to five months depending on the use case.

The price for Cisco ISE itself is very low, however, Cisco professional services are quite expensive. Subscription amount is dependent on number of users.

We looked at Forescout which is more user-friendly but they have a very vulnerable network.

This is a good solution for security teams. If you do not have a security team, I would not recommend this product. 

Overall, I would rate Cisco a seven out of ten.