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Basic security features to protect your business
November 12, 2019

Basic security features to protect your business

Eduardo Viero | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Cisco IOS Security

We use Cisco routers with iOS security in our remote offices around the world. This solves the major problem of having remote sites connected to the Internet: you can protect them from attacks with a simple and easy to deploy a solution like iOS security.
  • Using Cisco IOS security features, you can set up a zone-based firewall to protect the internal network, separating a DMZ if necessary, to deploy services that should face the internet.
  • Because Cisco iOS security is available in different router models, you can apply the same security configuration in each of the remote locations you have. With that, you can basically deploy a configuration template for every remote office or plant, regarding the size of the site.
  • Because Cisco iOS security is embedded in the OS, it doesn’t require too much hardware resources to run effectively. This gives you the opportunity to have the same level of security in a small router as you would have on a big one.
  • 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.
  • Cisco iOS security helped our business deploy a relatively safe solution for a small amount of money.
  • If you don’t have enough budget to invest in a robust and expensive firewall solution, you can safely use Cisco iOS security to protect your branch or remote office without compromise your network.
  • Because Cisco iOS security uses a simple command-line based interface, you can deploy standardized scripts and keep the operational costs low.
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
It’s not a secret for anyone that Cisco provides the best routers with the most reliable software on the market. Although we considered using a PC running Linux for the same purpose, we realized that to keep things simple it would be best if we use a brand that we already know and trust, even though if it’s a little more expensive. Because we usually don’t have any IT personnel at the remote sites, we must keep it as simple as possible.
Cisco has the biggest and most trustful partner network in the world. Besides that, you can buy a service contract with the hardware and use the Cisco TAC to help to solve problems. That’s a key differential for Cisco comparing to other vendors.

Do you think Cisco IOS Security delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Cisco IOS Security's feature set?

Yes

Did Cisco IOS Security live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Cisco IOS Security go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Cisco IOS Security again?

Yes

If your business has branch offices or stores with all the same standards, Cisco iOS security is a good solution to standardize the deployment of those remote sites but if you need a more robust or specialized or customized solution for each branch, remote office or store maybe Cisco iOS security is not for you and you should search for another kind of product.