Our primary use case is to support a security environment. It has performed well.
Network Engineer at IT Security
Supports a secure environment and has easy administration
Pros and Cons
- "An eight because it's a good security solution. It's more mature than its competitors."
- "The security features in the URL category need more improvement."
What is our primary use case?
How has it helped my organization?
I am a security business of consultant. I deploy this solution for our customers.
What is most valuable?
I like the easy administration.
What needs improvement?
It could use more of a system interface.
The security features in the URL category need more improvement.
Buyer's Guide
Cisco Secure Firewall
March 2025

Learn what your peers think about Cisco Secure Firewall. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2025.
839,319 professionals have used our research since 2012.
For how long have I used the solution?
More than five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It performs very well.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scalability is good.
How are customer service and support?
Cisco has the best technical support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I worked with Check Point, but Cisco Firepower is better. It was an easy transfer to this solution. We chose Cisco because of its trustworthy reputation. They're a big, recognized brand.
The most important criteria that we consider when evaluating a solution are performance, administration, and price.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was easy and simple.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate this solution an eight out of ten. An eight because it's a good security solution. It's more mature than its competitors.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner.

Project Manager with 11-50 employees
It is very robust, trustworthy and highly customizable.
What is most valuable?
It is very robust, trustworthy and highly customizable.
How has it helped my organization?
Solutions using NAT, VPNs, internet and MPLS, are more customizable than other solutions.
What needs improvement?
It could have more functions for load balance on the internet.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using the solution for two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We never had any stability issues. It is the most stable platform that I have used, and I have used several including Fortinet, Sophos, Hillstone, Cisco and D-Link.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We did not encounter any issues with scalability.
How are customer service and technical support?
I would rate the technical support at 10/10. It is the best.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I implement solutions on several clients, Redneet is a technology integration company and I prefer Cisco ASA for my security solutions.
How was the initial setup?
The setup is a little more complex than other solutions.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It is a bit more expensive than other solutions, but offers more customization and security than other solutions.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We evaluated Fortinet, Sophos, Palo Alto.
What other advice do I have?
Use the best practice guides and online documentation. Cisco has more information online free that any other brand, so use it!!!
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: We are a Cisco Partner.
Buyer's Guide
Cisco Secure Firewall
March 2025

Learn what your peers think about Cisco Secure Firewall. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2025.
839,319 professionals have used our research since 2012.
ICT Manager with 1-10 employees
A stable, reliable solution used to protect the network's perimeter
Pros and Cons
- "A stable, reliable solution used to protect the network's perimeter."
- "it is not very user-friendly for the administration."
What is our primary use case?
We use it to protect the perimeter of the network.
How has it helped my organization?
It is reliable, and does the job that it is supposed to be doing.
What is most valuable?
- IPS
- Antivirus
- IP filtering
What needs improvement?
it is not very user-friendly for the administration.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The Cisco solution that we have now is very stable. That is why we are interested in continuing with the Cisco solution and upgrading to the next generation.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It can be used by multiple users.
How are customer service and technical support?
We use the technical support of Cisco through a partner, so I do not have direct access to the Cisco IT technical support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We just shortlisted Cisco and Fortinet.
What about the implementation team?
We needed a Cisco technician to do the initial setup. We had to outsource the implementation.
What other advice do I have?
We need to upgrade our security requirements due to the new security requirement applicable in Europe (from GDPR) and the cyber security guidelines for our vessel (we are a US shipping company).
Most important criteria when selecting a vendor: familiarity, reliability, and price.
Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
Solutions Architect at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
A multitude of valuable features but a little pricey
Pros and Cons
- "Signature-based detection; user-defined signatures with regular expressions; integrated URL and content filtering; custom URL categories filtering."
How has it helped my organization?
Secured our network from outside and inside intruders.
What is most valuable?
- Network attack detection
- DoS and DDoS attack prevention
- Signature-based detection
- User-defined signatures with regular expressions
- Integrated URL and content filtering
- Custom URL categories filtering
- Integarted antrivirus
- Protocols scanning
What needs improvement?
License capacity needs to be extended and the vendor needs to work on the pricing.
For how long have I used the solution?
Three to five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
No stability issues.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
No scalability issues.
How are customer service and technical support?
10 out of 10.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
No, Cisco was part of our solution from the start.
How was the initial setup?
Straightforward.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Value for your money, but bit a costly.
What other advice do I have?
Good product, give it a chance.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Solution Partner.
Senior Network Manager with 51-200 employees
Easy to deploy in a working environment between servers and users
Pros and Cons
- "Logging is great. It will show when it reaches its capacity before it is too late, unless you have bursts of traffic."
- "Easy to deploy in a working environment between servers and users."
- "HTTPs inspection and higher throughput/spec would be good."
What is our primary use case?
- Datacenter and edge firewalls
- Used in central and remote sites.
- Used in datacenter production sites.
How has it helped my organization?
- Deployed between users and servers transparently.
- Easy to deploy in a working environment between servers and users.
- Improved security and visibility.
What is most valuable?
- Failover
- Transparent firewall
- Multi-context
- Logging is great. It will show when it reaches its capacity before it is too late, unless you have bursts of traffic.
What needs improvement?
HTTPs inspection and higher throughput/spec would be good. Now, it has been replace by Firepower, which is a lot faster.
For how long have I used the solution?
More than five years.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Network System Engineer with 51-200 employees
The filter with NAT mode is valuable but the security options needs to be improved.
What is most valuable?
The filter with NAT mode is valuable.
How has it helped my organization?
Not really, as we are a subcontractor we install and configure it for other companies.
What needs improvement?
Speed of execution and security options needs to be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used the devices for, more or less, one year.
What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
No issues so far.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
No issues so far.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
No issues so far.
How are customer service and technical support?
Customer Service:
3.5/5.
Technical Support:3/5.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Yes we did, but we switched due to Ciscos ASA's ability to support big data stream in some networks.
How was the initial setup?
It's not too complex, but it depends on the customers' network architecture.
What about the implementation team?
As a vendor, we find IT experts with CCIE certifications.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I haven't, and my first experience working with ASA, was a project with the specifications already defined
What other advice do I have?
You must specify your needs and choose the right options depending on the network requirements.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Vendor.
Security Consultant at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Quite stable with good technical support, but the reporting should be improved
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature is the access control list (ACL)."
- "Report generation is an area that should be improved."
What is our primary use case?
We are a service provider and we work on a variety of different projects for many customers. We do not use this product ourselves. Rather, we deploy it for different customers.
The primary use case is to protect the organization from unauthorized use.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is the access control list (ACL).
What needs improvement?
Report generation is an area that should be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with this product for two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This firewall is quite stable and we use it on a daily basis.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability is good.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have not worked with equipment from OEMs other than Cisco. It's the only vendor I use.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward. The length of time for deployment depends on whether it is the entire setup or just the basic installation.
What about the implementation team?
I deployed this product myself.
What other advice do I have?
This is a product that I can recommend for an internal firewall. It's good enough.
I would rate this solution a seven 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: partner
Technical Administrator at a tech services company
Since deployment, we have not encountered the attacks we had before
Pros and Cons
- "Manageability of Cisco ASA. It has a GUI interface, unlike the most of Cisco IOS. For beginners they can "sneak in" and apply the command and see the actual commands that the GUI launches. In addition, Cisco has the reputation regarding security."
What is our primary use case?
We have been using this model for three years, to place a firewall between ISPs and our corporate network. As of now, we have configured some SSL VPNs on our end for our convenience.
How has it helped my organization?
Three years ago we encountered malicious attacks from the internet, most of which were Chinese attackers, so we deployed Cisco ASA to strengthen our network. Since the deployment, we haven't seen the risk we encountered before.
What is most valuable?
Manageability of Cisco ASA. It has a GUI interface, unlike the most of Cisco IOS. For beginners they can "sneak in" and apply the command and see the actual commands that the GUI launches. In addition, Cisco has the reputation regarding security.
What needs improvement?
There are more powerful firewalls, other than the Cisco NGFW, like Fortinet, Palo Alto and so on. I can't say Cisco is the leading firewall brand as of now, as the technology innovates.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
No stability issues yet.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
No scalability issues yet.
How is customer service and technical support?
Awesome.
What other advice do I have?
I rate it an eight out of 10.
I am only handling or supporting the ASA 5520 model in our company.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

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Updated: March 2025
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