What is our primary use case?
I did a lot of the ManageEngine tools and have extensive experience with different ManageEngine tools that we used at Mueller Industries for many things. Once you open that can of worms with ManageEngine, you end up using a lot of their tools.
The main use case for the ManageEngine Applications Manager for APM and observability has been to manage and secure applications on site when I was at Mueller. It's been about 2 years now since I used that tool while still investigating it at the airport.
What is most valuable?
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.
What needs improvement?
It's hard for me to say how Linksys could be improved. I can't think of any specific improvements needed.
I believe Cisco could support easier configuration and having tools that allow for easier management and configuration, as Linksys switches are a little bit easier to manage and set up compared to Cisco switches.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have had about two to three years experience with CyberArk. I set up the CyberArk servers at my old job and installed and managed CyberArk for a couple years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
They are not as stable as a full-blown Cisco switch. I believe Linksys is stable depending on the environment.
Linksys can be fairly stable for easy environments, but in more complex network environments, Cisco is definitely a lot more stable.
How are customer service and support?
The support for Linksys has improved and gotten better over the years. When Cisco first took over, it was a bit more difficult to get support, but they now integrate it without differentiating the support for Linksys versus full-blown Cisco switches.
I would rate the support for Linksys an eight.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
When I was at the Memphis Airport, I had more recent experience with a tool that we went to at Mueller Industries when we stopped using CyberArk. The management of CyberArk was a little bit complex compared to other tools keeping it up and running because of the configuration requiring multiple servers to run it, which became too much and too expensive, and there were other tools that were easier to manage.
ManageEngine is one of the tools that I switched over to from CyberArk in the last 12 months.
I did not have experience with any of the ManageEngine products in the last 12 months, as I am with Castilla Loma College now, which doesn't use any of those tools.
How was the initial setup?
Linksys is definitely really easy to set up and get in place.
I find the recovery time on HPE switches is a little bit quicker. They start up and restart faster as far as configurations, and they are a little bit more flexible for transitioning from simple environments to more complex networking.
What other advice do I have?
I have experience with firewalls, and as far as Cisco goes, I'm Cisco certified; however, I didn't really have a lot of experience with Palo Alto, mostly just SonicWall and Cisco.
I mainly used Cisco switching and some routers and firewalls, ASAs, and things like that. I am familiar with the Linksys Ethernet switches.
I have used Linksys switches in the past, but I don't use them in my current environment. At Castilla Loma College, we are using HP switches.
Previously, at Mueller Industries, we had a few Linksys switches, and with some of my small clients in my IT support company, there were a few of those that had Linksys, but it's not a whole lot though.
I don't focus as much on networking as I used to, but I can say that using Linksys is advantageous for environments where you don't have to pay for a full-blown Cisco switch, which is more cost-effective for certain clients and environments.
I would recommend Linksys for simple LAN environments or where there are not many VPN connections or complex networking, while more complex environments should use Cisco.
The energy efficiency of the switches has not been significant or caused any issues, as we've never had any energy issues or failures even during power loss trying to run off of UPS.
Overall rating: 8 out of 10.