I use the router to connect to the internet.
Excellent stability and reliability with an easy initial setup
Pros and Cons
- "The stability of the solution's router is its most valuable feature."
- "The configuration needs improvement. Most routers, like HP or Aruba, use a UI interface. Those solutions are similar and uniform. It's easier for us compared to Cisco because with Cisco you are not using normal commands. They need to enhance the UI to make it more usable."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
The stability of the solution's router is its most valuable feature.
What needs improvement?
The configuration needs improvement. Most routers, like HP or Aruba, use a UI interface. Those solutions are similar and uniform. It's easier for us compared to Cisco because with Cisco you are not using normal commands. They need to enhance the UI to make it more usable.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for ten years or so.
Buyer's Guide
Cisco Enterprise Routers
December 2024
Learn what your peers think about Cisco Enterprise Routers. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2024.
824,067 professionals have used our research since 2012.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability of the solution is fantastic. We haven't touched it for five years now. You just set it and forget it.
How are customer service and support?
We don't contact Cisco technical support directly. If we have a problem, we can contact any one of the Cisco suppliers and they are able to give good support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I didn't previously use a different solution.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was easy. Deployment only took one day.
What other advice do I have?
I'd recommend the solution. Once you plug it in, you can basically forget about it because there are never any issues. It just works, and that's great. I'd rate it ten out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Chief Information Officer at Dashen Bank SC
An excellent but expensive product that performs well regardless of traffic volume and is better suited to medium to large businesses
Pros and Cons
- "We appreciate that this solution performs well, regardless of the volume of traffic being fed through it."
- "The main area for improvement with this product is with the price, which is currently very high compared to the rest of the market."
What is our primary use case?
We use this solution for communication between banking branches, and connecting those branches to Head Office.
What is most valuable?
We appreciate that this solution performs well, regardless of the volume of traffic being fed through it.
What needs improvement?
The main area for improvement with this product is with the price, which is currently very high compared to the rest of the market.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been working with this solution for more than 20 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This is a very stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have found this to be a scalable solution.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support for this solution is very good.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup for this product is very easy, once some training has taken place.
What about the implementation team?
We implemented this solution using our in-house team.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There is a router-only, perpetual license available for this product, but additional features will mean additional charges.
What other advice do I have?
We recommend this solution for medium to large organizations, as it requires a large financial commitment to work at its best.
We would also advise organizations to be very clear on their requirements. This way they are not paying for features that this product provides, but that they won't use.
I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Buyer's Guide
Cisco Enterprise Routers
December 2024
Learn what your peers think about Cisco Enterprise Routers. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2024.
824,067 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Vice President at Vodafone Idea Ltd.
Reasonably priced, easy to install and deploy, and improves company management
Pros and Cons
- "The commands are easy to understand."
- "While the commands are easy to understand, and you will find a mixture, if you put a question mark on them then it will create problems."
What is most valuable?
Cisco Enterprise Routers are the best. I am satisfied with this product.
The commands are easy to understand.
What needs improvement?
While the commands are easy to understand, and you will find a mixture, if you put a question mark on them then it will create problems.
The improvements will improve our company management and our system compatibility.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with Cisco Enterprise Routers for two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is stable. We have not had any issues with stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It's a scalable product. We have a total of 5,000 employees in our company that we use Cisco Enterprise Routers for.
How are customer service and technical support?
We are troubleshooting for our clients. Our company is a telecom based company. We provide internet data to all of India.
We have three companies on our site with technical issues that require immediate support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We have worked with other routers, but Cisco is the best.
How was the initial setup?
Cisco is easy to deploy and easy to set up.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price is reasonable.
We pay for licensing every year.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate Cisco Enterprise Routers a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Architect at PepsiCo
Scalable, robust, and helpful support
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature of Cisco Enterprise Routers is that they are robust and resilient."
- "The overall price of Cisco Enterprise Routers should be reduced, it is expensive."
What is our primary use case?
We use Cisco Enterprise Routers or WAN connectivity and switching in multiple areas, such as data centers and branch offices.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature of Cisco Enterprise Routers is that they are robust and resilient.
What needs improvement?
The overall price of Cisco Enterprise Routers should be reduced, it is expensive.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Cisco Enterprise Routers for approximately 10 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Cisco Enterprise Routers are stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability of Cisco Enterprise Routers is good.
We have approximately 250,000 users using this solution in my organization. We have an additional 10,000-20,000 contractors and a couple of partners who use the solution.
How are customer service and support?
The support from Cisco Enterprise Routers is good.
How was the initial setup?
Cisco Enterprise Routers has a simple implementation. The timeframe it tale for the implementation depends on the solution we are deploying. It varies up to ten hours. We use Cisco's wireless, routers, switches, and a few firewalls.
What about the implementation team?
We used an integrator to do the implementation.
We have approximately 20 engineers that do the deployment and maintenance.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The license of Cisco Enterprise Routers is too expensive compared to other solutions. As we try to increase the bandwidth, it gets even more expensive. There is an annual license needed to use the solution.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend Cisco Enterprise Routers to others who need an enterprise solution.
I rate Cisco Enterprise Routers an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Senior Consultant at Circles Consulting
The statistics show you a full brief of every user, every type of connection used, and the total bandwidth used
Pros and Cons
- "It has provided us a more secure environment, especially the firewall. We've had multiple attempts of network intrusion which have been defeated due to the firewall rules in place."
- "Their support has room for improvement. The regional agents are not that great."
What is our primary use case?
The statistics show you a full brief of every user, every type of connection used, and the total bandwidth used. We control our VPNs through it and our actual line of defense for our security is the Cisco firewall. We have four different fiber connections and two satellite connections connected to our offices. They all load balance through Cisco and another analytics device. It integrates very well into our network and we find it to be extremely robust and durable.
How has it helped my organization?
It has provided us a more secure environment, especially the firewall. We've had multiple attempts of network intrusion which have been defeated because of the firewall rules in place.
What needs improvement?
Their support has room for improvement. The regional agents are not that great.
The devices can be a bit of an energy hog. We would like to see a more durable power supply system because being in a third world country we have frequent power outages and it takes a bit of time for our generators and stuff to kick in which then leads to power surges and whatnot. Even with the proper power management system, it can also affect the devices themselves.
For how long have I used the solution?
More than five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We're extremely satisfied with the stability. We've had around two or three outages in the last 18 years.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We are very limited in terms of scalability. We're a small firm, we hardly have 30 people.
Our entire company uses it. We're all on the network. We have 152 users right now and we support about another 135 mobile devices. They're all financial institutions.
How are customer service and technical support?
Cisco support itself is excellent. Some of the resellers are very good but some aren't.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was quite easy. Our employees are Cisco certified so they are familiar with the setup and activities of the products. The very initial setup was in 2001. After that, we just swapped it for the updated rules of the devices. That's all we had to do. It's been a seamless integration and a seamless upgrade with very minimal downtime.
Our implementation strategy was that we had to open an office in 30 days. It took us about two weeks to wire the entire office up and put the hardware in place. It was a total initial build so we had no issues at all. Everything was covered. We did have serious problems where we had the wiring issues and whatnot, but otherwise, it was business as usual.
We have three people in our network department who oversee the devices, maintenance and whatever needs to be done. We have two technicians and one Cisco certified tech.
What about the implementation team?
Our initial setup was done by a Cisco reseller. We had a good experience with them and we had normal issues. We had issues with one of our appliances that had gone down and we couldn't get a replacement but that was an issue on their part.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Our issues are basically currency related. The licensing is in dollars and the dollar is steadily rising. We've had an increase in the licensing fee due to the simple reason that the exchange rate is almost over 40%. That creates a major issue. If the currency devaluation doesn't stabilize, we may have to look at another solution.
What other advice do I have?
I would advise someone outside the US to consider the issues that we're facing right now, the currency devaluation and licensing fees.
I would rate it a nine out of ten because we haven't had any major issues with it.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Network Admin at Naivas Ltd
A solution for networking with easy setup and CLI
Pros and Cons
- "The valuable feature is CLI."
What is most valuable?
The valuable feature is CLI.
What needs improvement?
For deployment, you need a tech-savvy individual with extensive CLI experience. Occasional troubleshooting may require remote access, which could pose a minor challenge. The centralized management system simplifies patching, deployment, and configuration tasks, making it easier for tech-savvy personnel to support and maintain the equipment.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Cisco Enterprise Routers for two or three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
They are stable. We don't have constraints in terms of deployment.
I rate the solution’s stability a nine out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have a team of ten with the main configuration.
I rate the solution’s scalability an eight out of ten.
How are customer service and support?
We need assistance regarding the GUI feature.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup takes around 30 to one hour, depending on the configuration and the person’s technical ability.
I rate the initial setup a five out of ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I rate the product’s pricing a seven out of ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive.
What other advice do I have?
One person is enough for the deployment, depending on the nation and the quantity configured. We don't have a centralized model through which you can deploy configuration.
I would recommend it for security.
Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Senior Security Engineer at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
A scalable solution with great DNS features
Pros and Cons
- "Cisco provides most of the needed features in all the routers."
- "Cisco is not granular if we compare it to Juniper."
What is our primary use case?
It is used for small to medium businesses. Nowadays, there are so many other routers with different operating systems, XR, and DSR that are available for service providers in other data centers.
What is most valuable?
The DNS features are different in the ASR series. Apart from that, Cisco provides most of the needed features in all the routers, except the live local license.
What needs improvement?
In my opinion, Cisco is not granular if we compare it to Juniper. In terms of the access lists and some other parts like if we delete one ACL, most of the parties are gone on the Cisco side. But in Juniper, I can delete fifty access lists.
All the rules and policies are also granular and are based on the UNIX operating system or Linux operating system. Cisco needs to consider those in the market because Juniper is doing well. Some granular functions are required because they have all of the routing protocols with almost all the features.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Cisco Enterprise Routers for 10-12 years, since the company launched the Cisco 1841 router.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
There are no issues with scalability. I rate the scalability a nine out of ten.
How are customer service and support?
I have never contacted customer service apart from once or twice. But it was not regarding the router’s features rather there were some issues in FPD.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward. Most of the people can understand and do it on their own. As far as the management platform is considered, hybrid solutions are being used by large enterprises. Some other enterprises use Meraki-based solutions as well, and some of them use the on-prem solution.
What about the implementation team?
I implemented it myself.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It is quite costly for the same feature as compared to Huawei and Juniper. I rate the pricing an eight out of ten.
What other advice do I have?
I rate the solution a nine out of ten. I recommend Cisco.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Senior Network Engineer at a legal firm with 201-500 employees
Is complete in terms of features and is flexible
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature is the flexibility of the devices. Also, from a feature perspective, Cisco Enterprise Routers are complete."
- "The licensing structure is very convoluted, and the cost of the licenses includes a whole bunch of stuff that you'll never use."
What is our primary use case?
I use this solution for edge connectivity. It provides connectivity between our offices and the cloud.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is the flexibility of the devices. Also, from a feature perspective, Cisco Enterprise Routers are complete.
What needs improvement?
The licensing structure is very convoluted, and the cost of the licenses includes a whole bunch of stuff that you'll never use.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using Cisco Enterprise Routers for 10 years.
What other advice do I have?
Overall, I would rate Cisco Enterprise Routers at nine out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Updated: December 2024
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