Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users
Cisco Secure Firewall Logo

Cisco Secure Firewall pros and cons

Vendor: Cisco
4.1 out of 5

Pros & Cons summary

Buyer's Guide

Get pricing advice, tips, use cases and valuable features from real users of this product.
Get the report

Prominent pros & cons

PROS

Cisco Secure Firewall is highly stable and offers comprehensive VPN solutions.
The Firepower IPS detection engine enhances threat investigation with historical analysis capabilities.
Cisco Secure Firewall provides robust clustering architecture, enabling zero downtime upgrades and maintaining high uptime.
The ASA range is reliable for protecting normal traffic purposes and offers detailed NAT and access-list features.
Advanced Malware Protection and Application Visibility provide robust security and segmented network options for better control.

CONS

Cisco Secure Firewall integration with third-party devices is inadequate, focusing more on Cisco devices and lacking compatibility with other platforms.
Setting up VPNs and SSL configurations is complex and prone to issues, requiring extensive manual intervention and troubleshooting.
Initial setup and ongoing maintenance are difficult and time-consuming, due to the complexity of configurations and lack of straightforward procedures.
Cisco Secure Firewall's performance is often misaligned with datasheets and struggles with throughput in real-world scenarios, particularly with complex configurations.
Upgrading Cisco Secure Firewall is a cumbersome process, involving lengthy procedures that are not straightforward and require extensive planning.
 

Cisco Secure Firewall Pros review quotes

it_user3483 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Consultant at Unify Square
Dec 11, 2017
ASA is stable and with a low level of work required on the maintenance side.
it_user380502 - PeerSpot reviewer
Principal Network Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Jun 20, 2017
It makes it very easy to have delineated roles and responsibilities between network engineering and network security.
it_user242523 - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Security Administrator at a tech company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Jun 28, 2017
The most valuables feature of this product are given by the comprehensive VPN solutions it offers and its tools for troubleshooting and debugging.
Learn what your peers think about Cisco Secure Firewall. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2025.
879,422 professionals have used our research since 2012.
GS
Security Consultant at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Jul 5, 2017
The Firepower IPS, based on Snort technology, has an amazing detection engine and historical analysis capability of files that eases threat investigations a lot.
it_user700158 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Network Security Engineer at a university
Jul 10, 2017
The AnyConnect remote access VPN gives us an easy way to deploy remote working for our users.
DA
Computer Networking Consultant and Contractor at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Jul 12, 2017
Stability, high availability of services, and very high MTBU were the most valuable features for me.
NetworkE721d - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Engineer with 201-500 employees
Jul 12, 2017
IPSec Tunnel and AnyConnect (of course), the context awareness was a good feature, but clumsy at the beginning. I think it's better now.
FT
IT Adviser/Manager with 51-200 employees
Jul 21, 2017
The ASA 55-x range is a solid and reliable firewall. It secures the traffic for normal purposes.
it_user789333 - PeerSpot reviewer
President and CTO with 51-200 employees
Dec 14, 2017
Strong in NAT and access-lists.
ipmplspr538920 - PeerSpot reviewer
Security Governance at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees
Dec 18, 2017
We have been using a 5520 for seven years in our datacenter and we are satisfied by this version.
 

Cisco Secure Firewall Cons review quotes

it_user3483 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Consultant at Unify Square
Dec 11, 2017
You have to know the ASA command line very well because not all operations are available in the graphical interface
it_user380502 - PeerSpot reviewer
Principal Network Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Jun 20, 2017
In my experience, a number of engineers get tunnel vision with devices. This is exacerbated by vendors fostering a silo mentality in disciplines.
it_user242523 - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Security Administrator at a tech company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Jun 28, 2017
It should have an additional “operating mode”, like a “candidate configuration mode”, where you would have the possibility to test the changes you are going to implement and also the possibility to validate these changes.
Learn what your peers think about Cisco Secure Firewall. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2025.
879,422 professionals have used our research since 2012.
GS
Security Consultant at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Jul 5, 2017
I would like to see more integration with third-party devices in general. There is great integration with Cisco devices, but there's not much integration with third-party devices.
it_user700158 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Network Security Engineer at a university
Jul 10, 2017
The SSL VPN is, and always has been, painful to configure and the Java plugin does not guarantee a uniform deployment.
DA
Computer Networking Consultant and Contractor at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Jul 12, 2017
The ability to integrate (as options) all-in-one features -- like anti-spam, anti-virus, etc.
NetworkE721d - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Engineer with 201-500 employees
Jul 12, 2017
ASDM can be improved.
FT
IT Adviser/Manager with 51-200 employees
Jul 21, 2017
Firewalls, in general, were not really designed for normal IT personnel, but for firewall and network experts. Therefore, they missed a lot of options and did not provide any good reporting or improvement options.
it_user789333 - PeerSpot reviewer
President and CTO with 51-200 employees
Dec 14, 2017
VPNs are weak as this product still does not support route-based VPNs.
ipmplspr538920 - PeerSpot reviewer
Security Governance at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees
Dec 18, 2017
The throughput highlighted on the datasheet (10Gbps) should be reviewed. This throughput is only for a UDP running environment, which you will never find in the real world. Rather consider a multiprotocol throughput.