Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) vs. Nmap

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)
Score 8.9 out of 10
N/A
The Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) offers a network-based approach for adaptable, trusted access everywhere, based on context. It gives the user intelligent, integrated protection through intent-based policy and compliance solutions.N/A
Nmap
Score 8.7 out of 10
N/A
Nmap is a free, open source network discovery, mapper, and security auditing software. Its core features include port scanning identifying unknown devices, testing for security vulnerabilities, and identifying network issues.
$49,980
one-time fee
Pricing
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)Nmap
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Nmap OEM Small/Startup Company Redistribution License - Quarterly Term Maintenance Fee
$7,980
Every Three Months per license
Nmap OEM Mid-Sized Company Redistribution License - Quarterly Term Maintenance Fee
$11,980
Every Three Months per license
Nmap OEM Enterprise Redistribution License - Quarterly Term Maintenance Fee
$13,980
Every Three Months per license
Nmap OEM Small/Startup Company Redistribution License - Annual Maintenance Fee
$14,980
per year per license
Nmap OEM Mid-Sized Company Redistribution License - Annual Maintenance Fee
$19,980
per year per license
Nmap OEM Enterprise Redistribution License - Annual Maintenance Fee
$23,980
per year per license
Nmap OEM Small/Startup Company Redistribution License - Perpetual License
$49,980
one-time fee per license
Nmap OEM Small/Startup Company Redistribution License - 5 year prepay Maintenance Fee
$59,920
Every Five Years per license
Nmap OEM Mid-Sized Company Redistribution License - 5 year prepay Maintenance Fee
$79,920
Every Five Years per license
Nmap OEM Mid-Sized Company Redistribution License - Perpetual License
$79,980
one-time fee per license
Nmap OEM Enterprise Redistribution License - 5 year prepay Maintenance Fee
$95,920
Every Five Years per license
Nmap OEM Enterprise Redistribution License - Perpetual License
$98,980
one-time fee per license
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)Nmap
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsAll perpetual licenses include a six-month trial period during which you can cancel for any reason and receive a full refund of all money paid (including maintenance). The term license is only a 3-month commitment and cal also be terminated with full refund during the first 30 days of the initial quarter.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)Nmap
Features
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)Nmap
Network Performance Monitoring
Comparison of Network Performance Monitoring features of Product A and Product B
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)
-
Ratings
Nmap
5.3
17 Ratings
40% below category average
Automated network device discovery00 Ratings5.011 Ratings
Network monitoring00 Ratings10.012 Ratings
Baseline threshold calculation00 Ratings9.06 Ratings
Alerts00 Ratings3.04 Ratings
Network capacity planning00 Ratings6.07 Ratings
Packet capture analysis00 Ratings2.07 Ratings
Network mapping00 Ratings10.016 Ratings
Customizable reports00 Ratings1.010 Ratings
Wireless infrastructure monitoring00 Ratings2.08 Ratings
Hardware health monitoring00 Ratings5.06 Ratings
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Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)Nmap
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User Ratings
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)Nmap
Likelihood to Recommend
8.8
(119 ratings)
10.0
(18 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.6
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
7.0
(3 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Availability
9.3
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
7.0
(6 ratings)
8.4
(7 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.3
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Contract Terms and Pricing Model
8.1
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
5.6
(3 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
10.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
9.0
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)Nmap
Likelihood to Recommend
Cisco
Cisco ISE integrates will with a Cisco solution such as firewalls, network switches and routers. It does an incredible job of granting access based on the role that an individual or groups have, and the ability to remove access to that individual or group is also east. In our environment ISE is used to authenticate external users that have access by vpn, and also to manage access to the large network infrastructure
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Open Source
If you're a sysadmin, or anyone who's had to deploy network services, you've almost certainly had to use Nmap at some point or other. Need to see what devices are on your LAN? Nmap can tell you that. Want to check which ports your web server has open to the internet? Nmap is your friend.
Nmap is a powerful command-line tool and has many options that require some reading of documentation to get the best out of (although generally straightforward). If the thought of working at the command-line scares you (presumably not if you're reading this review), then you may want a much simpler tool, or at least check out Zenmap GUI.
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Pros
Cisco
  • The most beneficial thing that I love about it, there are tons of things that I love about ISE and that it does well, but the most fascinating that I feel about is its integration with DNA center or Catalyst Center using PX Grid as the protocol wherein ISE acts as a policy server for the entire campus hand in hand with Catalyst Center to make sure that the policy policy follows the user and also in the background hand in hand with DNA Center or Catalyst Center makes sure microsegmentation is implemented so that east west traffic is blocked and takes care of the campus.
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Open Source
  • NMap provides a very fast and a very thorough network "sweep" that allows you to quickly map out exactly what's on your network.
  • NMap is highly configurable. The "canned" choices are very good in most instances, but using various switches and options, you can create a very specific scan and get exactly the results you're looking for.
  • NMap is easy to use. Even a new administrator will be able to use the graphical version (Zenmap) with efficiency right away.
Read full review
Cons
Cisco
  • Trustsec needs more documentation and configuration best practice examples
  • The licensing model can be difficult to explain and understand for customers
  • Difficult to get an accurate benchmark to know exactly how many Cisco Identity Services Engine nodes and the size of the deployment should be
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Open Source
  • The GUI version on Nmap could use some improvement with the options that are available to do scans. For example, they could make it easier to select options for the different types of scanning for people who are beginners
  • There are no abilities to schedule a scan in the Nmap tool.
  • An intensive scan sometimes takes too much time to complete.
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Likelihood to Renew
Cisco
We are so very reliant on Cisco Identity Services Engine at this point that finding another solution would be a big hassle for us.
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Open Source
No answers on this topic
Usability
Cisco
For us the solution is very easily useable on its own. Perhaps that has to do because we started using ISE in the 1.2 days and have seen it grow during the years. Policy creation, etc. is all very visible and thus easy to use. Deployment of multiple nodes is also incredibly easy and flexible. You can easily add or remove nodes as you wish.
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Open Source
Nmap uses are very practical and I don't think there is a better tools for what Nmap does. It is open-sources that therefore there is no cost to use it. It offers a number of benefits, including but not limited to network mapping, port scanning and more. It is very reliable as a network scanning tool.
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Reliability and Availability
Cisco
We do have to occasionally reboot the servers when they get low on memory, but we're also a few versions behind. Availability has generally been pretty good though with no major outages in the time that we've had it implemented.
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Open Source
No answers on this topic
Performance
Cisco
yes it does. depending on where you coming from. Logs are pretty busy same as report. it also depending on devices count and design.
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Open Source
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Cisco
Cisco support is second to none, both in terms of how you access support but also the knowledge of the individual support teams. If you focus on one technology and provide "manufacturer support" then you can rest assured that you are accessing Cisco's top individuals. I feel like this is a USP for Cisco support.
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Open Source
There is a very large support community and a robust selection of add-ons and scripts. Once you get the use down this is one of the most powerful tools and you can find anything you are looking for as far as examples on the web. While not having official support its not lacking by any means.
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Online Training
Cisco
Training can only cover certain areas, there are a lot of areas training just can't cover. You have to learn by doing it.
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Open Source
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Cisco
I did participate in the implementation of Cisco ISE and while there were times when it was confusing and we had a lot of trial and error, overall the experience was fine.
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Open Source
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Cisco
I think all give some visibility of device monitoring and management, but Cisco Identity Services Engine gives a good way to manage more details about the device in a centralized way that gives a wider range of monitoring and control than the other softwares individually. I don't think Cisco Identity Services Engine eliminates the need for these other software as of now, but there is potential for Cisco Identity Services Engine to be able to take over more of these roles.
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Open Source
Alternatives to Nmap (other IP scanners) are often much more limited in what they can do; They often only allow you to scan a specific subset of ports or a limited number of IP addresses in one command. Nmap is unrestricted in that regard. What makes Nmap stand out above the rest, is the complete network analysis package you get with it. It allows IP scanner, network deep-dives, hardware analysis, vulnerability analysis, encryption detailing, and so much more, in one free application
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Contract Terms and Pricing Model
Cisco
Cisco ISE was competitively priced and Cisco was able to leverage some of our existing contracts to help ease the purchase.
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Open Source
No answers on this topic
Scalability
Cisco
It's fully customised and comprehensive. only thing is you need to know what you want. Proper research and planning would save lots of time and effort .
Read full review
Open Source
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Cisco
  • I don't know about negatives because we haven't seen it right now, but positive impact is one is the roadmap we have. And now since we are going ahead with doing the deployment of Cisco ISE, we see that we are getting closure to, so at the end of the day, we have to make sure that operationally we stay excellent. So that's where operational excellence comes in. Cisco ISE is basically addressing that for us. Right now we are in a situation if there is a WIFI issue or if there is an authentication issue, it gets really difficult to isolate the problem. But with Cisco ISE , this functionality is going to come in. So we believe that it would be a good ROI.
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Open Source
  • Nmap with Wireshark is free, so it's been a great combo team to gather info and test.
  • It's allowed us to avoid fines from false positives and to fix actual issues ourselves.
  • Great for finding hosts, helps keep the network secure.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) Screenshots

Screenshot of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)