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Cisco Wide Area Application Services vs. Riverbed SteelHead

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Cisco WAAS

    Score8 out of 10
    N/ACisco's Wide Area Application Services (WAAS) is a WAN optimization option.N/A

    Riverbed SteelHead

    Score8.1 out of 10
    N/ASan Francisco based Riverbed Technology offers Steelhead, a WAN optimization solution. The new SteelHead 90 series appliances are designed to provide performance, security, scalability, data movement efficiency, and resilient networking.N/A
    Pricing
    Cisco WAASRiverbed SteelHead
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Cisco WAASRiverbed SteelHead
    Free Trial
    NoNo
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional Details——
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Cisco WAASRiverbed SteelHead
    Considered Both Products
    Cisco
    Chose Cisco WAAS
    We are already a Cisco organization for network and security products. Cisco provided us discounting competitors just couldn't get to. competitors required more hardware and more complex setup requirements over this product due to our network design. The end result when …
    Incentivized
    Riverbed Technology
    Chose Riverbed SteelHead
    We tested Cisco eleven years ago in parallel with Riverbed in a PoC. The Cisco configuration was very complex and sticky based on the location. The Riverbed configuration is flexible based on the whole storage. A software client for devices like laptops or tablets is not …
    Incentivized
    Chose Riverbed SteelHead
    Riverbed Steelhead offers simplicity and fantastic customer support. The performance is a cut above the others as well.
    Incentivized
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Delivers good value for the price
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Happy with the feature set
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    Implementation went as expected
    No answers on this topic
    No answers on this topic
    User Ratings
    Cisco WAASRiverbed SteelHead
    Likelihood to Recommend
    8.0
    (1 ratings)
    10.0
    (6 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Cisco WAASRiverbed SteelHead
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Cisco
    WAAS works best for cookie cutter and some unique network design implementations. is best suited for an all Cisco network infrastructure. however, a number of 3rd party network devices can be used and supported when using this product. it's easier with all Cisco. It is priced pretty high to get into and medium to enterprise organizations is best suited to implement this in
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Riverbed Technology
    If you are dealing with large CAD files on a daily basis "remotely", Riverbed Steelhead makes your home office feel just like the office
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Cisco
    • Network file and application optimization
    • VOIP telephony optimization
    • Citrix application optimization
    • Standardized user experience for networking usage
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Riverbed Technology
    • Effectively improves data throughput over VPN WAN connections.
    • Seamless operation.
    • Optimizes a variety of applications. Including, HTTPS, Citrix, Netapp SM and SV, Exchange, etc.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Cisco
    • Administrator GUI user interface is archaic and very dated
    • Admin GUI lacks a bunch of feature support options you have to do via CLI
    • Some endpoint functionality needs to be done at each site instead of from the central admin tool. so redundant effort and can cause site config drift
    • Admin GUI lacks some monitoring and reporting options that would be helpful for support and trouble resolution
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Riverbed Technology
    • A reduction in price is always welcomed
    • Simplify and streamline advanced features and add-on pieces for more detailed traffic analysis
    • Getting granularity into traffic behavior becomes confusing and very expensive
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Alternatives Considered
    Cisco
    We are already a Cisco organization for network and security products. Cisco provided us discounting competitors just couldn't get to. competitors required more hardware and more complex setup requirements over this product due to our network design. The end result when comparing WAAS to others were going to be the same speed, experience, and pretty much the same administration requirements from IT. The added cost savings won us over.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Riverbed Technology
    We tested Cisco eleven years ago in parallel with Riverbed in a PoC. The Cisco configuration was very complex and sticky based on the location. The Riverbed configuration is flexible based on the whole storage. A software client for devices like laptops or tablets is not available for Cisco WAAS, therefore we selected Riverbed based on a PoC.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Cisco
    • saves monthly internet service costs
    • seamless network experience for all users at all sites
    • ok troubleshooting admin portal so some IT skills are required to manage this
    • is costly to purchase
    • somewhat complex to set up but easy to administer once working
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Riverbed Technology
    • Files now open a lot quicker, at near local speeds.
    • We are able to respond to customers quicker as we can get access quicker.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots