We performed a comparison between Cisco IOS Security and Netgate pfSense based on real PeerSpot user reviews.
Find out in this report how the two Firewalls solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI."User-friendly and affordable security solution that's recommended for SMB customers. This solution has good technical support."
"The UTM feature is quite good. FortiAP is easy to deploy because both Fortigate and FortiAP are under the same brand. Otherwise, you need to do more work on the configuration."
"FortiGate Secure SD-WAN includes best-of-breed next-generation firewall (NGFW) security, SD-WAN, advanced routing, and WAN optimization capabilities, delivering a security-driven networking WAN edge transformation in a unified offering."
"Fortinet FortiGate appears to be scalable."
"The VPN is the most valuable feature."
"You can create multiple Virtual Domains (VDOMs), which are treated as separate firewall instances."
"The ability to set up remote systems is the most valuable feature."
"Our security improved from being able to put in rules and close off unwanted traffic."
"The solution is very user-friendly and easy to deal with."
"I'm able to transfer data over internet network security. With the GRE I'm able to transfer data within one bunch to another bunch in a public way, like the internet. The communication is encrypted and is private. It gives me added privacy."
"Technical support for this solution is very good."
"The stability of this solution is excellent."
"The VPN was valuable for us because more people are working from home. It has a lot of reporting and easy-to-use management tools."
"We use Cisco IOS Security mostly for routers to route off the firewall. It's a next-generation device."
"The product has valuable features for business intelligence."
"Cisco IOS allows us to keep the same security features as our principal offices."
"Its features rival many of the high cost solutions out there."
"Easy to deploy and easy to use."
"It is very easy to use. The interface is quite understandable. There is a good community, and I can take over at any time I want. If there is anything wrong with it, I could just reinstall the whole thing and start all over again, and I'll be up again in less than a few minutes"
"pfSense is a nice product, and I find that there's a lot of information out there. There are some good tutorials on YouTube and other websites with helpful information."
"I have found pfSense to be stable."
"It works. I put pfSense in, and it works. I can't think of any trouble I ever had with it. It runs on heat-sensitive appliances. They don't need a fan, so they don't overheat. It is affordable, fast, and very high-speed. It is built on BSD Unix, and it pretty much runs on any Intel processor."
"The solution is fairly scalable when it comes to integrating with other applications and data sets."
"Some of the terminologies were more familiar to me than it was when I first encountered Cisco."
"The price of FortiGate should be reduced because there are some other leading products that are cheaper."
"It could use better throughput on some of the smaller boxes for the branch offices."
"The user interface could be improved."
"Fortinet doesn't provide multiple virtual firewalls which would facilitate end users and customers."
"Fortinet FortiGate could improve by having better visibility. Palo Alto has better visibility."
"There is a lot of improvement needed with SSL-VPN."
"Their software support needs improvement. I would prefer to have better support for bug fixes. Sometimes, we open a ticket, and it is very difficult to get a solution. Specifically, we are not at all happy with their support for load balancing."
"It would be nice if backups could more easily migrate between different models."
"The configuration and reporting interfaces need a lot of improvement. It needs to be more accessible forsolide without a strong technical background. If you had a simplified dashboard, the lower-level techs could manage the solution and provide services. Cisco IOS Security requires someone who is highly trained to operate it."
"The user interface needs to be improved."
"It takes too much time to deploy a policy to FMC. It takes around eight minutes. You can't afford any downtime when you're changing policies."
"Cisco is a scalable product, but it is expensive compared to other vendors."
"Sometimes I find it difficult to manage. Some configurations are difficult for new engineers, for example."
"Most of their features are meant for Cisco. You cannot integrate them with any other vendor."
"There could be a bit more functions on offer that could make it easier to use."
"We cannot directly upgrade the system. The tool's deployment is also very difficult in legacy environments. The tool needs to have bigger ports as well."
"It is not centrally managed, where you log into the website and can see all your services there. We would like to be able to see is all the configurations from a central interface on all our pfSenses."
"The VPN feature of the solution could improve by adding better functionality and providing easier configure ability."
"The solution could always work at being more secure. It's a good idea to continue to work on security features and capabilities in order to ensure they can keep clients safe."
"We have not had any problems with it, and we also do not have a need for any new features. If anything, its reporting can be better. Sophos has better reporting than pfSense. Sophos has more detailed information. pfSense is not as detailed. It is summarized."
"It should integrate with LDAP, Active Directory, etc, to improve the way in which the traces and connections of each IP, or user connected through the firewall, are shown."
"Ultimately, we'd like something stronger, and something that can handle threats better in real-time."
"It's just not listed as FIPS compliant for where we're at now in government, which is an issue."
"One concern I have with Netgate pfSense is related to packet filtering. Specifically, issues can arise with certain functionalities like GP, and, at times, there may be bugs."
Cisco IOS Security is ranked 22nd in Firewalls with 47 reviews while Netgate pfSense is ranked 1st in Firewalls with 128 reviews. Cisco IOS Security is rated 8.0, while Netgate pfSense is rated 8.6. The top reviewer of Cisco IOS Security writes "User-friendly and excels in documentation, making it easier to resolve issues". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Netgate pfSense writes "User-friendly, easy to manage the firewall, rule-wise and interface-wise". Cisco IOS Security is most compared with Cisco Secure Firewall, Fortinet FortiOS, Meraki MX, OPNsense and Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls, whereas Netgate pfSense is most compared with OPNsense, Sophos XG, KerioControl, Sophos UTM and Cisco Secure Firewall. See our Cisco IOS Security vs. Netgate pfSense report.
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