Cisco Secure IPS vs. Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Cisco Secure IPS
Score 10.0 out of 10
N/A
Cisco Secure IPS (formerly Firepower Next-Generation Intrusion Prevention System, or NGIPS) is an intrusion detection response system that produces security data and enhances the analysis by InsightOps. The technology replaces the former Sourcefire 3D IPS. Cisco acquired Sourcefire in 2013.N/A
Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series
Score 9.3 out of 10
N/A
Palo Alto next-generation firewalls classify all traffic, including encrypted and internal traffic, based on application, application function, user and content. Users can create security policies to enable only authorized users to run sanctioned applications.N/A
Pricing
Cisco Secure IPSPalo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Cisco Secure IPSPalo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsPalo Alto Networks offers two pricing models: one based on usage hour in each available zone and another based on total traffic secured. Pricing for use with AWS is as follows: $1.50 /hr for up to 3 Available Zones $.50/ hr for each additional AZ OR $.065/GB for the first 15 TB $.045/GB for the next 15 TB $.03/GB for above 30 TB
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Cisco Secure IPSPalo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series
Considered Both Products
Cisco Secure IPS
Chose Cisco Secure IPS
Cisco Firepower is as well positioned in the Gartner magic quadrant as the others I mentioned and not just because of that, but the product is really good, delivers what it's intended to deliver. For us, the main strategy is to simplify administration and operation and as we're …
Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series

No answer on this topic

Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
Cisco Secure IPSPalo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series
Firewall
Comparison of Firewall features of Product A and Product B
Cisco Secure IPS
-
Ratings
Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series
8.7
23 Ratings
1% above category average
Identification Technologies00 Ratings9.523 Ratings
Visualization Tools00 Ratings7.523 Ratings
Content Inspection00 Ratings10.023 Ratings
Policy-based Controls00 Ratings10.023 Ratings
Active Directory and LDAP00 Ratings9.522 Ratings
Firewall Management Console00 Ratings9.023 Ratings
Reporting and Logging00 Ratings8.023 Ratings
VPN00 Ratings9.023 Ratings
High Availability00 Ratings9.522 Ratings
Stateful Inspection00 Ratings9.022 Ratings
Proxy Server00 Ratings5.011 Ratings
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User Ratings
Cisco Secure IPSPalo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series
Likelihood to Recommend
9.1
(6 ratings)
9.5
(39 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.0
(1 ratings)
10.0
(1 ratings)
Usability
10.0
(1 ratings)
9.0
(4 ratings)
Support Rating
9.0
(2 ratings)
8.4
(9 ratings)
User Testimonials
Cisco Secure IPSPalo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series
Likelihood to Recommend
Cisco
Cisco Secure IPS is required for every organization and it gives us all the advanced security features for more visibility and control on our incoming and outgoing network traffic. We can easy to configure and management is also very easy. You can deploy in the existing network very easily. The price is very low and performance is very high and it works very quickly on threats and takes the necessary action.
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Palo Alto Networks
Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series are extremely versatile. Whether it be a one office location or multiple sites, the Panorama interface allows centralized management. I've found Palo Alto does a great job with their updates and supporting customers. As a cybersecurity professional, I like that Palo Alto's products offer a wide range of controls to support defense in depth. It is easy for security and network infrastructure teams to use the same consoles to deliver performance with security built in.
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Pros
Cisco
  • The option to deploy it as a virtual machine in a UCS-E inside a Cisco Router is something to consider a lot. It simplifies a lot the deployment in places where you need to optimize resources and keep things simple. It also saves some money on unnecessary hardware.
  • Having the most complete license, we can have in the same box IPS, inspection for malware and URL filtering. As Cisco uses Talos Intelligence network to mitigate and evaluate risks, having this complete set of security features turns the box into a powerful resource to protect our remote locations. Considering the hyper-connected business we have today, it's almost impossible to think that we can run a business without this kind of protection.
  • The integration between Firepower NGIPS and other products, like Cisco ISE and Splunk, is also a key feature for this solution. In both cases, you can integrate the product to have the best of both. As a security appliance, it's very important for us to have all the logs centralized in Splunk and this is done simply connecting FMC (Firepower Management Console) to the Splunk collector.
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Palo Alto Networks
  • The PA handles VPN connectivity without missing a beat. We have multiple VPN tunnels in use for redundancy to cloud-based services.
  • The PA has great functionality in supporting failover internet connections, again with the ability to have multiple paths out to our cloud-based services.
  • The PA is updated on the regular with various security updates, we are not concerned with the firewall's ability to see what packets are really flowing across the network. Being able to see beyond just IP and port requests lets you know things are locked down better than traditional firewalls.
  • It is a great overall kit, with URL filtering and other services that fill in the gaps between other solutions without breaking the bank.
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Cons
Cisco
  • Wish additional modules were included such as FireAmp.
  • Wish it was easier to include customized signatures if needed. Required to know how to code with Snort in order to add real customization.
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Palo Alto Networks
  • Our specific model is a bit slow and outdated and takes up to 10 minutes to commit a configuration change.
  • Nested security rules would be helpful instead of a linear approach. But rule creation in general is very simple.
  • Documentation gives a very straight forward answer to some items but is very vague in others.
  • Support could be a little better. An issue we had a tech was insistent it was the "other guy" and it ended up being the very latest PAN OS upgrade.
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Likelihood to Renew
Cisco
We are in the middle of outsourcing and may not be able to keep this product.
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Palo Alto Networks
The PA5220s have far exceeded what we have expected out of them. It was a bit of a learning curve coming from another vendor, but everything falls into place now with ease. The capabilities of the solution still surprise us, allowing us to remove other costly hardware and providing a single point of management needed
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Usability
Cisco
Very easy to navigate GUI in the FMC and very effective at performing the intending duties.
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Palo Alto Networks
The few aspects of the Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series that could use improvement - such as slow commit times, which I hear they have improved on in the newest models - are vastly outshined by everything else these appliances provide. We have been using the Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls - PA Series appliances for more than 10 years and plan to continue using them for the foreseeable future.
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Support Rating
Cisco
We didn't have any major issues that let us need support. Only, for this reason, I think Cisco Firepower deserves the rating. Even for small issues, the partner that helped us during the project could solve it quickly. There are also tons of documents and other online resources to help maintain, administer and support the product.
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Palo Alto Networks
We've run into a couple undocumented bugs, but that seems to happen with every brand and technology. Any time we've had to engage Palo Alto support they've always been professional, knowledgeable and prompt. In almost all cases we've been able to resolve our issues without having to escalate our tickets.
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Alternatives Considered
Cisco
Cisco Secure IPS is our first product. We were not using any other tools before. We are very happy with the Cisco Secure IPS features and customer support
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Palo Alto Networks
We are using Cisco ASA before in our environment but when it comes to deep scanning & layer 7 security it doesn't have that capability. After using Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewall we are using sandboxing & advance malware protection that provides high-level end-user security. Also after implementing it we can easily monitor user-level traffic.
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Return on Investment
Cisco
  • Has made it much easier to determine when incidents have occurred
  • Has been effective in reducing false positives and making solution management more efficient and cost effective
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Palo Alto Networks
  • Overall, even though the device is very expensive (both hardware and licensing), the product does produce a decent ROI, given that one (or HA pair) of devices can do so many things, such as anti-virus, anti-malware, URL filtering, SSL decryption, SSL VPN, routing, etc.
  • There will definitely be sticker shock when you're renewal comes up annually (or after 3 years), so be sure to look very carefully at the recurring costs of this product, with respect to licensing and hardware/software maintenance.
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