Cisco IOS Security vs. FireMon vs. Symantec Advanced Threat Protection

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Cisco IOS Security
Score 9.2 out of 10
N/A
IOS Security from Cisco is network security technology.N/A
FireMon
Score 7.9 out of 10
Enterprise companies (1,001+ employees)
FireMon is a real-time security policy management solution built for today’s complex multi-vendor, enterprise environments. Supporting the latest firewall and policy enforcement technologies spanning on-premises networks to the cloud, FireMon delivers visibility and control across the entire IT landscape to automate policy changes, meet compliance standards, to minimize policy-related risk. Since creating their policy management solution in 2004, FireMon states they've helped…N/A
Symantec Advanced Threat Protection
Score 6.9 out of 10
N/A
Symantec Advanced Threat Protection is a single unified solution that uncovers, prioritizes, and remediates advanced attacks. The product fuses intelligence from endpoint, network, and email control points, as well as Symantec’s massive global sensor network, to stop threats that evade individual security products. It leverages existing Symantec Endpoint Protection and Symantec Email Security.cloud investments, so it does not require the deployment of any new agents. It includes functionality…N/A
Pricing
Cisco IOS SecurityFireMonSymantec Advanced Threat Protection
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Cisco IOS SecurityFireMonSymantec Advanced Threat Protection
Free Trial
NoYesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoYesNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeOptionalNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Cisco IOS SecurityFireMonSymantec Advanced Threat Protection
Best Alternatives
Cisco IOS SecurityFireMonSymantec Advanced Threat Protection
Small Businesses
NinjaOne
NinjaOne
Score 9.1 out of 10
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Score 9.1 out of 10
NinjaOne
NinjaOne
Score 9.1 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
NinjaOne
NinjaOne
Score 9.1 out of 10
NinjaOne
NinjaOne
Score 9.1 out of 10
NinjaOne
NinjaOne
Score 9.1 out of 10
Enterprises
Cisco Meraki MX
Cisco Meraki MX
Score 9.1 out of 10
Cisco Meraki MX
Cisco Meraki MX
Score 9.1 out of 10
Cisco Meraki MX
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Score 9.1 out of 10
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User Ratings
Cisco IOS SecurityFireMonSymantec Advanced Threat Protection
Likelihood to Recommend
10.0
(5 ratings)
7.9
(69 ratings)
6.7
(14 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
6.8
(7 ratings)
7.0
(2 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(1 ratings)
7.3
(3 ratings)
7.0
(2 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
7.3
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
9.0
(2 ratings)
7.7
(17 ratings)
8.0
(2 ratings)
Implementation Rating
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
8.0
(1 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
7.9
(48 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Cisco IOS SecurityFireMonSymantec Advanced Threat Protection
Likelihood to Recommend
Cisco
We used to access list remote login to the switches for only network admin from specific vlan. And allow some vendor server to connect for snmp messages. This has allowed us to monitor with external vendor while keeping security tight and audit for users. In other hand we had to use external solution for NAC
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FireMon
FireMon is best used in a large environment (for example, I have >100
firewalls in my environment). It's best used when trying to improve
security posture and showing changes in firewall security over time. It
might not be the best choice for smaller environments or those that aren't concerned about security management.
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Broadcom
It is valuable software for when it comes to a large or medium organization, since it helps to protect the endpoints, but as the number of servers increases its value increases. However, it is important to keep in mind that when it comes to low end devices, its protection can affect their performance. This is because it is not a software with a very light agent.
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Pros
Cisco
  • Authentication.
  • Access lists.
  • Port security.
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FireMon
  • Give good real time reporting for anyone making a change to any of our firewalls
  • Provides good reporting tools that are out of box
  • Provide good customization tools that is specific to our needs
  • Upgrades are a simple process and support does relatively well with assisting us.
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Broadcom
  • The incident management piece is the heart and soul of the product. A single area where all data in relation to network and email protection is available.
  • Works well in conjunction with the standard Symantec Endpoint product.
  • URL Protection is advanced and very helpful
  • Technical support is great and definitely the best I have ever seen for a "anti-virus" type product.
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Cons
Cisco
  • Cisco could provide an initial set up script for those are not used to the CLI (Command Line Interface). With that initial script, people could easily deploy the security features instead of having to learn how to use the commands.
  • The web interface that Cisco provides with the routers, although it’s useful to set up the security features, it could also have some sort of tutorials to help people understand the main concepts of iOS security.
  • You have to license iOS security separately from the main OS. For that reason, sometimes it tends to be a little expensive if you have a small business.
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FireMon
  • Some features could be added to the existing functionality which include NAT rules usage
  • Rule expiration normalization from firewalls rather than entering them in rule documentation
  • .csv exports of the files from the firewall pane only gives usage for 30 days by default and that should be increased
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Broadcom
  • I don't like that I have to maintain the client and keep it up to date. Updating the client is not a very easy process.
  • Deploying the client could be easier. They have a deployment tool, but it doesn't really get to all PCs, which means I still have to manually deploy it.
  • Because the product has so much customization, it can also be very difficult to set up and understand.
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Likelihood to Renew
Cisco
No answers on this topic
FireMon
The shell is locked out and we can't run any general centos commands. The implementation and maintainence of the arch is very complex. Even with the right identifiers on log messages the log collection keeps failing. The warning messages on the device are ambiguous. The log messages on firemon are a bit confusing and don't show the exact issue.
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Broadcom
Symantec Advanced Threat Protection has done a sufficient job at identifying true positives. However, the UI could be improved and the amount of false positives is a little too frequent for my liking
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Usability
Cisco
Cisco IOS Security usibility require a network administrator or an engineer with CCNA knowledge to know how to handle and configure Cisco IOS Security. The Cisco IOS Security usability once you know your way is smooth and very helpful. Even for new commands you can just type question mark and the new commands will pop on the screen.
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FireMon
It save me time and I'm able to have the review - review the rule independently with using my time.
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Broadcom
There is a small learning curve, but compared to other AV products it is fairly simple and easy to catch onto
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Reliability and Availability
Cisco
No answers on this topic
FireMon
FireMon has been relatively stable overall. However, there have been a handful of times where we had issues with the console. For example, we couldn't update which devices to include in a security assessment. The initial suggestion from support was to just reboot it. It seems like there weren't many other options available such as to restart services before going to the extreme of a complete reboot.
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Broadcom
No answers on this topic
Performance
Cisco
No answers on this topic
FireMon
I'm not sure we have the largest implementation of FireMon out there but we do have a few 1000 devices being probed by FireMon. Overall, the system's performance has been rock solid. The console refreshes quickly and reports are generated within an expected timeframe.
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Broadcom
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Cisco
Cisco has the best Support team that gives us 24/7 support as we need. Cisco has huge detailed documentation for design, implementation, and troubleshooting all areas of the IOS security. There are many communities discussing all Cisco devices and solutions for studying groups and for customers to share their stories, technical problem and solutions.
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FireMon
FireMon technical support is awesome! They respond quickly to our requests and they are well trained and very knowledgeable about the tool. Some issues have to be referred to the development team, but technical support largely provides solutions for any issues that we may have.
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Broadcom
Support responds fast for higher priority issues, they have always been good at solving the problems we encounter.
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Implementation Rating
Cisco
No answers on this topic
FireMon
Implementation is fairly simple. Most issues can be resolved by referencing manuals.
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Broadcom
No, besides to review documentation prior to beginning. That is what helped lead to a smooth implementation
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Alternatives Considered
Cisco
IOS Security is a bonus feature when you purchase Cisco devices. It is great to have a vendor provide equipment to go above and beyond the minimal needs for business operation. Having security at the downstream edge of our organization provides a sense of ease from potential attacks.
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FireMon
I has worked with AlgoSec and while they are very similar product, I find the FireMon is easier to understand and get rolling with. While both require some learning, FireMon is by far the easier one. Once you have an understanding of how things are arranged and labeled you can easily import firewalls and begin to work on them to improve them
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Broadcom
Frankly, the other products were too expensive to make the change from Symantec so we continued with the tried and true protection. We don't have the funding to move to a more expensive product and the manpower that it would take to implement a new solution.
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Scalability
Cisco
No answers on this topic
FireMon
Firemon Is easily scalable and maintainable with any size team. Although it requires some tech debt, it is well worth the time to invest to ensure compliance is visible and reports are accurate. Although our environment is very large we do not fully utilize the scalability of the Firemon product.
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Broadcom
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Cisco
  • There are no negative impacts. ROI Is great as hardware lasts for ever.
  • Never needs a reboot for standard maintenance. Less downtime
  • Less downtime means better customer service. Our customers reach us without difficulty
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FireMon
  • FireMon's Compliance Reporting provided an immediate and tangible benefit
  • FireMon helps identify egregious or erroneous rules quickly across multiple platforms
  • FireMon took our audit process from an Excel spreadsheet into a far more advanced process with readily available context for reviewers
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Broadcom
  • Some digital assets were lost due to failures to detect various threats.
  • We had to use other products in combination in order to trust that all threats were actually detected, taking extra time. We couldn't use just SATP.
  • Ability to quickly manage/deploy via AD made maintenance of the application itself quick and easy.
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