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Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs Huawei Enterprise Routers comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 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

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN
Ranking in WAN Edge
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
94
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (6th), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (2nd)
Huawei Enterprise Routers
Ranking in WAN Edge
11th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
Routers (4th)
 

Featured Reviews

Igor Van Den Ouden - PeerSpot reviewer
Enables secure and flexible branch connectivity with application-aware routing
The valuable features of Cisco SD-WAN include its security policies and zone-based firewall that are applied to every site, as well as application-aware routing. Security is standard compliant, eliminating config drift that was prevalent before manual configurations. Application-aware routing offers flexibility in using different lines for traffic, depending on the policy implemented.
Udochi Ododo - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy to configure and troubleshoot, but they need more visibility in the licensing model
Huawei needs to be a bit more open with their licensing model. What I find is that when you buy equipment, you expect that you have a particular feature. By the time you want to use that feature, you realize that you need to acquire a license for it. That is the one thing that I think they need to improve on. Essentially, they need to open their licensing model such that when a customer buys a device, they have a full view of all of the available licenses for it. It's not at the time of use that the customer will now be informed that they need to purchase an additional license.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The best feature of this technology that is available to us is the ability to do better load-balancing."
"The reliability is high and we have only had to restart it once or twice over the years."
"Application-aware routing offers flexibility in using different lines for traffic, depending on the policy implemented."
"The product helps to aggregate network links. The tool increases security and makes it possible for you to have remote workers."
"The most valuable feature is the ease of central management."
"The product's brand recognition is one of the most valuable aspects of the solution."
"The centralized management is the most important feature. We can monitor what is going on at every location in our network with just one center."
"There is minimum blind space in this solution."
"This product uses a non-proprietary command line, which makes it compatible across many different systems."
"The routers have mainstream features that fulfill our needs."
"The initial setup is easy."
"When we started, the connection was amazing for the 100G between the switches and the co-switch. What the students typically use for school is a maximum is 40 so they now have faster technology."
"The solution offers good customer support and good performance."
"We use the solution for point-to-point connectivity, aggregation, and radio connectivity on mTLS."
"The setup is simple."
"The most valuable features for us are NAT, ATS, server capabilities, VPN tunneling, and management."
 

Cons

"The installation is not easy. If you have experience and it is not your first time doing the installation, it can be easier."
"Cisco SD-WAN could improve the integration with the cloud."
"The main area for improvement in Cisco SD-WAN is the lack of documentation, which often lags behind the software releases."
"Cisco products are a little bit complicated, so making them a little bit easier would be an improvement."
"We have found that their SD-WAN has a lot of scope for improvement."
"Technical support could be more helpful and responsive."
"It's an expensive solution."
"The initial setup is really complex."
"The product's pricing could be better."
"Essentially, they need to open their licensing model such that when a customer buys a device, they have a full view of all of the available licenses for it."
"The internet service for enterprise bundle should be improved."
"There isn't really any scalability potential."
"It would be better if the vendor provided support for small enterprises."
"The configuration is complex and should be simplified."
"There is not much of a technical team for Huawei available in Pakistan as compared to Cisco with respect to very complex networks."
"The solution's technical support could be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is expensive."
"The price of Cisco SD-WAN could improve, it is expensive. The cost of the solution is approximately 30 percent higher than competitors."
"On a scale of one to five, I would rate Cisco's pricing as a three."
"Cisco is more expensive than some competing products."
"There is a monthly subscription to use this solution."
"Cost-wise, Cisco SD-WAN is comparatively high."
"The Cisco SD-WAN licensing model needs to be simplified. There are currently three types of licenses: enterprise agreements, individual licenses, and DNA subscriptions. This can confuse customers, requiring a dedicated person to determine which type of license is right for their organization."
"The license model is too complex with too many flavors and options. You might not be able to see it from an end user's point of view, but from a telco point of view, their license model is too complex. They should have a flexible license model. If you want to have good pricing, you need to buy it for a two-year, four-year, or five-year license immediately. Some other vendors have much more flexible license models."
"The price is reasonable compared to Cisco's."
"These routers are not too expensive."
"There is no licence for this solution, but the solution could be cheaper."
"Huawei Enterprise Routers’s cost is average. I rate its pricing a five out of ten."
"The product is expensive."
"Huawei offers a cheaper enterprise router solution than Cisco."
"The price of the solution is fair."
"The tool's licensing is yearly."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
43%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
4%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Educational Organization
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco SD-WAN?
When considering the most valuable features of Cisco SD-WAN, the decoupling of self-monitoring stands out significantly.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco SD-WAN?
The pricing of Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN is rated between eight and nine out of ten, where ten is the most expensive.
What needs improvement with Cisco SD-WAN?
The durability of the switches could be improved. In the past, Cisco devices had a longer lifespan. Now, they change frequently, making it difficult to obtain long-term support.
What do you like most about Huawei Enterprise Routers?
The solution provides support for 5G connectivity.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Huawei Enterprise Routers?
The product is very cheap and offers a huge discount as they are trying to enter the market. However, you have to pay extra for some services and support.
What needs improvement with Huawei Enterprise Routers?
The documentation is somewhat lacking and not easy to navigate. There are some errors and misleading information. The general appearance of the company site is also not user-friendly for downloadin...
 

Also Known As

Cisco SD-WAN
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Doyle Research, Ashton Metzler & Associates
Bus Online, VisionChina Media Inc. (VisionChina), China Network Television (CNTV), Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport, ABC, BovenIJ hospital
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs. Huawei Enterprise Routers and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
850,747 professionals have used our research since 2012.