Cisco Enterprise Routers can be used for network connectivity. You are able to connect two networks together, such as an enterprise to the cloud.
Network Consultant at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
Highly stable, scalable, and great performance
Pros and Cons
- "The solution has great performance."
- "The solution could improve by having multiple features inclusive of the router, such as a free firewall and VPN. Additionally, it should be a generic box that can act as a router, firewall, and switch."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
The solution has great performance.
What needs improvement?
The solution could improve by having multiple features inclusive of the router, such as a free firewall and VPN. Additionally, it should be a generic box that can act as a router, firewall, and switch.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Cisco Enterprise Routers for approximately 12 years.
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Cisco Enterprise Routers
September 2025

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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Stability is one of the strongest elements of Cisco Enterprise Routers, they are highly stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable.
We have approximately 300 users using the Cisco Enterprise Routers.
How are customer service and support?
There have been some challenges with the technical support. The first level of customer support is not good, you need to escalate it to a higher level to get a resolution. The first level of support could be more knowledgeable and faster.
How was the initial setup?
The installation is not easy, it required someone with a lot of expertise.
What about the implementation team?
We use one technician that can manage approximately 10 routers.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There is a license required for the use of this solution.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others.
I rate Cisco Enterprise Routers a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.

Senior Manager, Information Technology at a university with 201-500 employees
Highly stable, excellent technical support, and secure
Pros and Cons
- "The solution has been highly secure."
- "The installation can be difficult, Cisco equipment is professional-grade and it requires someone with the skills and knowledge to do it."
What is our primary use case?
We are using Cisco Enterprise Routers for network switching for an education institute.
What is most valuable?
The solution has been highly secure.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Cisco Enterprise Routers for approximately five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is highly stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable.
We have approximately 700 people using this solution in my organization.
How are customer service and technical support?
We have received high-level support from Cisco, it has been great.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We have previously used other solutions than Cisco but we are getting rid of them.
How was the initial setup?
The installation can be difficult, Cisco equipment is professional-grade and it requires someone with the skills and knowledge to do it.
The installation could be made easier and better documentation is needed.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We are on a three-year license and since we use the solution in an educational institute it is priced reasonably.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend Cisco Enterprise Routers to others. Cisco provides the best network devices.
I rate Cisco Enterprise Routers a ten out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Buyer's Guide
Cisco Enterprise Routers
September 2025

Learn what your peers think about Cisco Enterprise Routers. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: September 2025.
867,497 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Senior System Engineer at Itworks srl
Easy to use, stable, and simple CLI configuration
Pros and Cons
- "Cisco Enterprise Routers are easy to use and configure through the CLI."
- "The solution is not easy to manage for people that do not have the experience."
What is our primary use case?
We are using Cisco Enterprise Routers as a network gateway, PBX, and firewall.
What is most valuable?
Cisco Enterprise Routers are easy to use and configure through the CLI.
What needs improvement?
The solution is not easy to manage for people that do not have the experience.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Cisco Enterprise Routers for approximately 15 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable and reliable.
How are customer service and technical support?
The support from Cisco has been satisfactory.
How was the initial setup?
The installation can be difficult and skilled individuals, such as technicians, are required.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Cisco policy is to limit the features and performance through their license.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I have evaluated other solutions.
What other advice do I have?
I would not recommend this solution.
I rate Cisco Enterprise Routers an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Integrator
DevOps System Engineer at Monash University
Easily installable, scalable and stable
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is easy to use, stable and scalable."
- "The price could be better."
What is our primary use case?
I use the solution for internet access.
What is most valuable?
The solution is easy to use, stable and scalable.
What needs improvement?
The price could be better.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Cisco Enterprise Routers for years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable.
How are customer service and technical support?
We are satisfied with the technical support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Prior to using the solution, I made use of Juniper routers.
How was the initial setup?
The installation was easy.
It's length of time varies with the environment, but is mostly fast, between 10 and 15 minutes.
What about the implementation team?
One can handle the installation on his own.
A technical team is not required.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution could be cheaper.
There is no licensing cost.
What other advice do I have?
I am impressed by the solution and would recommend it to others.
We have many users making use of the solution. I believe there to be 1,000.
I rate Cisco Enterprise Routers as a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Information Security and Compliance Manager at RSwitch
Highly scalable, helpful technical support, and reliable
Pros and Cons
- "One of the most valuable features of this solution is performance."
- "Cisco Enterprise Routers could improve by making their solution more user-friendly. Currently, users need to have extensive knowledge of networking to use them because there is only a command-line interface for the configuration. They should add a graphical interface to allow junior users guidance and more flexibility when doing the configuration."
What is our primary use case?
We are a payment gateway company and we use Cisco Enterprise Routers primarily for connecting with our partners outside on the point-to-point fiber VPN IPsec.
What is most valuable?
One of the most valuable features of this solution is performance.
What needs improvement?
Cisco Enterprise Routers could improve by making their solution more user-friendly. Currently, users need to have extensive knowledge of networking to use them because there is only a command-line interface for the configuration. They should add a graphical interface to allow junior users guidance and more flexibility when doing the configuration.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for approximately six years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable compared to others, such as FortiGate.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Cisco Enterprise Routers is highly scalable.
We are payment gateway company that tracks accepting transactions and all the traffic coming from our partners or people outside that want to do a transaction, such as online or ATM on POS, are using the Cisco Enterprise Router. Additionally, the internal staff of 50 are using it.
We do not have plans to increase usage at this time.
How are customer service and technical support?
We did not have any issues with the technical support. However, there could be better documentation for the solution.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup for our Cisco Enterprise Router was complex because of our environment. Before deploying it, we had to comply with some security standards that was a bit difficult.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
This solution is expensive compared to competitors. There are additional costs if you want to have their support.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I have evaluated other solutions, such as FortiGate.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others in certain situations, it depends on the company and their use case. If the company has a critical environment, I would recommend Cisco Enterprise Routers. The solution is stable and the support is very good.
I rate Cisco Enterprise Routers an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Senior Solution Architect at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Great performance, reliable, and requires minimal maintenance
Pros and Cons
- "Its performance and stability are most valuable. We are using it for the last five years, and it is constantly up. It didn't create any problems for us."
- "If Cisco can give you one license and allow you to use all the features, that would be the best thing. We are using it only as a voice gateway, and there are other options available, but we need to procure licenses to use those options. We can use it as a security device, or we can use it for connecting the LAN side, but for that, we need all those licenses. They can provide one license and allow you to use all the features. This is my recommendation for Cisco."
What is our primary use case?
We are using it as a voice gateway. We need to connect with PSTN, and we are communicating with the outside world through this router.
What is most valuable?
Its performance and stability are most valuable. We are using it for the last five years, and it is constantly up. It didn't create any problems for us.
It is very easy to use. The handling of the device is very easy. It doesn't require any maintenance. After many months in a year, we bring it down, and we just do the normal cleaning and maintenance of the device.
What needs improvement?
If Cisco can give you one license and allow you to use all the features, that would be the best thing. We are using it only as a voice gateway, and there are other options available, but we need to procure licenses to use those options. We can use it as a security device, or we can use it for connecting the LAN side, but for that, we need all those licenses. They can provide one license and allow you to use all the features. This is my recommendation for Cisco.
It is quite costly. It would be great if they can reduce its price.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is very stable.
How are customer service and technical support?
We didn't contact them so far.
How was the initial setup?
Its installation is quite straightforward. Cisco provides plenty of helpful documents. There are many videos available on YouTube and Cisco's site to provide us the required information. So, it was not a problem for us.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It is quite costly. Its price should be reduced.
What other advice do I have?
I would highly recommend this solution to other users. It is very reliable, and its performance is good.
I would rate Cisco Enterprise Routers a 10 out of 10.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
ATM Systems Expert at a aerospace/defense firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
An easy solution to configure with much relevant documentation
Pros and Cons
- "Something I like about the solution is all the options it offers and ways it can be configured."
- "While scalability is available, it must be paid for."
What is most valuable?
Something I like about the solution is all the options it offers and ways it can be configured. I can do things with ease and find the relevant documentation to assist me. I believe that the reason the company chose to go with Cisco products is because they offer everything needed.
What needs improvement?
While scalability is available, it must be paid for. The licensing and price could be improved as the equipment purchased may come with very basic commands that require the consumer to pay for a more expensive license for a greater array of functions. The licensing policy can sometimes be very complicated.
All other aspects of the solution are fine, as in the past it was only possible to use certain commands to configure the solution, but now there is also the option of using a graphical interface.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Cisco Enterprise Routers for around 10 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is very stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
While scalability is available, this option costs money.
How are customer service and technical support?
We do not have experience with technical support for the simple reason that we did not purchase it. As such, we must rely on ourselves for this or read the relevant documentation.
What other advice do I have?
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Electronic Engineer at SkyNet Colombia
Is stable, scalable, and easy to problem solve without a support contract
Pros and Cons
- "It's a sound solution, so it's very easy to solve problems without a support contract, as mainly the problems we have related to the equipment can be solved by doing a Google search."
- "It can be very expensive, sometimes, to do the jump to the next router for your needs."
What is our primary use case?
We use Cisco Enterprise Routers mostly for the core network and in a satellite network. We use the equipment to connect our equipment to the internet and provide a robust infrastructure to satellite equipment.
It's a complement of the satellite network, and mostly all the switches and routers that we use are from Cisco. Only the permanent equipment for our modems and the modulators are satellite equipment.
What is most valuable?
It's a sound solution, so it's very easy to solve problems without a support contract, as mainly the problems we have related to the equipment can be solved by doing a Google search. Because it's a very well known solution, there are books on problems. It's a solution that fits us, as we probably can't afford a very expensive contract.
It is stable and scalable, and it can be set up fast.
What needs improvement?
It can be very expensive, sometimes, to do the jump to the next router for your needs. It will be great if you can buy a variable router and then upgrade or enable features as you grow. Otherwise, it can become very expensive to have robust equipment.
In the next release, I would like to see more free SD-WAN features and vertical solutions.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using this solution for more than 10 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's a pretty stable solution. We have not had to reboot in a couple of years. It's very rare that we need to reboot a router or a switch.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is a scalable solution.
How was the initial setup?
The basic configuration can be setup in a day.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It's not probably the best solution if you have a very limited budget, as it can become very expensive to have robust equipment.
What other advice do I have?
If you want an easy solution to keep your network running in a very short time, Cisco Enterprise Routers is a good option. It's not probably the best solution if you have a very limited budget.
On a scale from one to ten, I would rate Cisco Enterprise Routers at nine.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.

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Updated: September 2025
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