it_user697185 - PeerSpot reviewer
Consultant
Consultant
Management Console and user profiling to define activities are key features
Pros and Cons
  • "Management Console and user profiling to define activities."
  • "As it’s a GenX firewall, expertise for both implementation and troubleshooting the pain points can be a challenge. This could be a concern when companies are thinking about buying this product."

How has it helped my organization?

It’s too early to say anything about this, as it’s still under implementation.

What is most valuable?

Management Console and user profiling to define activities.

What needs improvement?

As it’s a GenX firewall, expertise for both implementation and troubleshooting the pain points can be a challenge. This could be a concern when companies are thinking about buying this product.

For how long have I used the solution?

Still implementing.
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Yes, unexpected failure and no RCA provided by the OEM.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Still working on this.

How are customer service and support?

Technical support from OEM is a six out 10, as RCA report has still not been shared to date.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Check Point. We moved to Firepower as an internal firewall to manage internal access and other network load.

How was the initial setup?

Straightforward, two-tire setup.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

All our requirements which we need performed by the firewall (e.g. VPN, URL white-listing, or IP based white-listing, etc.) have separate licenses and costs.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Yes, a couple of other of OEMs: Fortinet, Barracuda, etc.

What other advice do I have?

I rate it an eight out of 10, as it’s a new platform. Compared to Cisco ASA, it’s far better, per my usage to date.

Make sure you have an expert resource or subscribe to OEM technical support.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
it_user789333 - PeerSpot reviewer
President and CTO with 51-200 employees
User
Very good as a stateful inspection firewall, but weak in all other areas
Pros and Cons
  • "Strong in NAT and access-lists."
  • "Very good as a stateful inspection firewall."
  • "VPNs are weak as this product still does not support route-based VPNs."

What is our primary use case?

Firewall only - no advanced services. 

How has it helped my organization?

In the early days, before UTM and NGFW, this product was awesome. Cisco tried to add Firepower, but it requires a different management interface and is still too expensive.

What is most valuable?

  • Strong in NAT and access-lists 
  • Very good as a stateful inspection firewall, but weak in all other areas. 

What needs improvement?

  • Integrated threat management
  • Route-based VPNs: VPNs are weak as this product still does not support route-based VPNs. 
  • Single management interface
  • Better throughput for price point 

For how long have I used the solution?

More than five years.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Price point is too high for features and throughput available.

What other advice do I have?

Overall, this is a legacy product. 

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
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it_user387540 - PeerSpot reviewer
I.T. Security/Projects Specialist at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Consultant
We wanted a back-end/internal firewall solution, and this provided it for us.

What is most valuable?

Firewalling is the most valuable feature. We wanted a back-end/internal firewall solution, and the Cisco ASA 5525 was great.

How has it helped my organization?

It has taken the pressure off of the IS engineer.

What needs improvement?

  • URL
  • AVC
  • Advanced malware protection

For how long have I used the solution?

We've used it for two years.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

There was an issue, but it was rectified promptly after troubleshooting the device's configuration.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

There were no issues with the scalability.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We've not had any issues scaling yet.

How are customer service and technical support?

Customer Service:

I think it is great but did not use them for this deployment.

Technical Support:

I've not had to use them yet for this deployment.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

There was no other solution in place.

How was the initial setup?

It was straightforward.

What about the implementation team?

I did the implementation with my colleagues.

What was our ROI?

It's not really quantified, but we have not experienced downtime due to attacks.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

There were no other solutions looked at.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: We're a systems integrator and a gold partner.
PeerSpot user
it_user241749 - PeerSpot reviewer
Security Engineer at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Consultant
FirePOWER mobile is good, but they should make the device accesible from the web.

Valuable Features

  • Firewall
  • VPN
  • FirePOWER mobile

Room for Improvement

They should make the ASA accessible via the web instead of ASDM. Also, a big improvement is needed on the transparent mode.

Use of Solution

I've used it for over six months.

Deployment Issues

There were some issues.

Stability Issues

There have been some issues with Java.

Scalability Issues

There were some issues.

Customer Service and Technical Support

Customer Service:

8/10.

Technical Support:

8/10.

Initial Setup

It was straightforward.

Other Advice

Make sure to plan your network carefully.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
System Engineer at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Stable, scalable, and flexible, with good support
Pros and Cons
  • "It's a flexible solution."
  • "The configuration is an area that needs improvement."

What is our primary use case?

We use Cisco ASA for traffic control.

What is most valuable?

It's a flexible solution.

What needs improvement?

The configuration is an area that needs improvement.

In the next release, I would like to see the UI include or provide web access, and more integration.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Cisco ASA Firewall for five years.

We are not using the latest version, as it is not available.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's a stable solution and we have not had any issues.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's a scalable product. We have approximately 2,000 users in our organization.

We have plans to continue to use it.

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support provides us with good service.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was straightforward. It was easy for us because we have experience.

It was already deployed when I arrived.

We have two or three guys for deployment and maintenance.

What other advice do I have?

This is a product that I would recommend to others.

I would rate Cisco ASA Firewall a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
it_user916539 - PeerSpot reviewer
Solutions Architect at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Consultant
Allowed us to consolidating multiple security devices into a single appliance
Pros and Cons
  • "It allowed us to consolidating multiple security devices into a single appliance."
  • "We are looking for software taxi capabilities."

What is our primary use case?

  • High-performance intrusion prevention
  • Malware protection
  • Multiple firewalls to control departments on a business by business level (security policies per department).
  • Allowed us to consolidating multiple security devices into a single appliance.

How has it helped my organization?

  • Intrusion protection
  • We were able to determine when we are being attacked.
  • We determine that our inspections were causing latency.

We needed a way to monitor threat protection and not cause latency.

What is most valuable?

It allowed us to consolidating multiple security devices into a single appliance. It consolidated and helped us eliminate firmware upgrade issues across multiple devices. The "Keep It Simple" method.

What needs improvement?

We are looking for software taxi capabilities.   

For how long have I used the solution?

One to three years.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Going forward, we are evaluating Anomali. The founder of ArcSight founded Anomali. The product has the ability to be a consumer of threat intelligence, and be a contributor showing the maturity in threat protection posture.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Network Engineer at IT Security
Real User
Supports a secure environment and has easy administration
Pros and Cons
  • "An eight because it's a good security solution. It's more mature than its competitors."
  • "The security features in the URL category need more improvement."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary use case is to support a security environment. It has performed well.

How has it helped my organization?

I am a security business of consultant. I deploy this solution for our customers. 

What is most valuable?

I like the easy administration.

What needs improvement?

It could use more of a system interface.

The security features in the URL category need more improvement. 

For how long have I used the solution?

More than five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It performs very well. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability is good. 

How are customer service and technical support?

Cisco has the best technical support. 

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I worked with Check Point, but Cisco Firepower is better. It was an easy transfer to this solution. We chose Cisco because of its trustworthy reputation. They're a big, recognized brand.  

The most important criteria that we consider when evaluating a solution are performance, administration, and price.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was easy and simple. 

What other advice do I have?

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten. An eight because it's a good security solution. It's more mature than its competitors. 

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner.
PeerSpot user
it_user456837 - PeerSpot reviewer
Project Manager with 11-50 employees
Vendor
It is very robust, trustworthy and highly customizable.

What is most valuable?

It is very robust, trustworthy and highly customizable.

How has it helped my organization?

Solutions using NAT, VPNs, internet and MPLS, are more customizable than other solutions.

What needs improvement?

It could have more functions for load balance on the internet.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using the solution for two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We never had any stability issues. It is the most stable platform that I have used, and I have used several including Fortinet, Sophos, Hillstone, Cisco and D-Link.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We did not encounter any issues with scalability.

How are customer service and technical support?

I would rate the technical support at 10/10. It is the best.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I implement solutions on several clients, Redneet is a technology integration company and I prefer Cisco ASA for my security solutions.

How was the initial setup?

The setup is a little more complex than other solutions.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

It is a bit more expensive than other solutions, but offers more customization and security than other solutions.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We evaluated Fortinet, Sophos, Palo Alto.

What other advice do I have?

Use the best practice guides and online documentation. Cisco has more information online free that any other brand, so use it!!!

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: We are a Cisco Partner.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Cisco Secure Firewall Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: May 2024
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Cisco Secure Firewall Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.