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Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall vs Cisco IOS Security comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiGate
Sponsored
Ranking in Firewalls
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
328
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st)
Arista Edge Threat Manageme...
Ranking in Firewalls
40th
Average Rating
7.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
AWS Marketplace (93rd)
Cisco IOS Security
Ranking in Firewalls
21st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
48
Ranking in other categories
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (8th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Firewalls category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate is 21.1%, up from 17.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall is 0.1%, up from 0.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco IOS Security is 0.3%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewalls
 

Featured Reviews

EhabAli - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficient, user-friendly, and affordable
In the past, NSS Labs was utilized to test files and verify the numbers and datasheets. It would be beneficial to have an organization or testing lab that can verify the numbers in our datasheets since changes are frequently made, which can be inconvenient for review. For instance, when comparing different competitors such as Forcepoint, Palo Alto, and Check Point, the throughput or numbers in the datasheet may be lower than the actual numbers. Conversely, Fortinet typically reports very high numbers, but they cannot be replicated in the real world. Therefore, it would be advantageous for them to partner with a neutral testing organization such as NSS Labs to validate these numbers, thus providing more credibility and comfort to everyone regarding the accuracy of the datasheets. For the migration, everyone has a firewall in use and I am selling Fortinet. Typically, I am replacing another firewall. Previously, there was a tool available to convert configurations from one firewall, such as Palo Alto, to Fortinet, but this tool is no longer free. If it could be made free again, it would be very beneficial. This tool shows a lot of promise and is very good. Making it free would help many companies deliver their products in a more efficient and integrated way. It would also be more valuable to include the tool with the firewall package or license instead of having to pay extra for it. Paying extra puts more pressure on small companies to deliver the firewall and complete the configuration, especially if they have hundreds or thousands of policies. It's very painful to move through these policies line by line. The stability has room for improvement. When it comes to Secure SD-WAN, everything is fine. They are going the right way. SD-WAN is very promising. They can provide the SD-WAN solution separately, but they will not take this approach because even the smallest firewall can support the features, so there is no need to have a separate service or appliance. They are following the right steps, and there is nothing to be improved. Feature-wise, I'm really satisfied with the new release, and the features they have added. For now, it's fine.
Nitesh Saxena - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides virus protection but needs improvement in the area of policy implementation
The product has a lot to improve in the area of policy implementation. If our company wants to give a separate policy to a particular client, user or system, it is very difficult to manage it. There is no categorization in the web filter option. If you want to search for a particular content to be blocked in the web filter, the search option is not there. You have to manually choose the option in the tool and then check it.
Karthik Venkataraman - PeerSpot reviewer
User-friendly and excels in documentation, making it easier to resolve issues
Cisco IOS Security is a mature product with extensive capabilities, serving as the base for the defense layer. It offers good network visibility, which helps in rapid response through the Rapid Threat Containment feature. Its deployment and configuration are straightforward. From a networking perspective, for instance, Cisco IOS incorporates time-tested security features. The zone-based firewall feature has significantly influenced our network security management. For instance, when managing multiple geolocations, it's essential to apply geographically appropriate policies. If a customer operates within the UK zone, I need to implement UK-specific policies. This approach is also applicable to customers in the Asia Pacific and UK regions. It enables me to tailor security policies based on the geographical location of my customers, such as adjusting policies for customers in China or Japan. This flexibility helps in creating a comprehensive zone list. Additionally, this feature allows for seamless service agreements between all zones from headquarters, providing access to all zones within the firewall we create. Essentially, it facilitates the creation of zones within the firewall.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"We are very happy with the general bandwidth agility we have seen from one website to another website."
"The email protection and VPN features are the most valuable."
"I like how we can achieve total integration."
"We use the filtering feature the most. It has filtering and inbuilt securities. We can create customized rules to define which users can access a particular type of site. We can create policies inside the firewall."
"The signature database and zero-day detection are Fortinet FortiGate's most valuable features."
"Fortinet FortiGate is good for helping you secure and protect mission-critical data."
"It can expand easily."
"FortiOS is quite good in my experience with Fortinet FortiGate, and it works very effectively and is stable for companies. The customers have given feedback that FortiOS has been very stable for a long time."
"Phish Blocker is a valuable feature."
"The product's initial setup phase is easy."
"The most valuable features are DNS service and shell self-service within a network."
"One of the main features is that the hardware is extremely reliable."
"In Pakistan, we only use Cisco because they have good local support infrastructure. Huawei and Fortinet don't offer direct support in Pakistan."
"Cisco IOS Security increases the overall security of our network, performs authentication, and provides level 15 access and privileges."
"The VPN is the most valuable feature."
"Technical support for this solution is very good."
"The solution is very user-friendly and easy to deal with."
"I recommend Cisco IOS Security for other organizations."
 

Cons

"The feedback that I have received is that the performance could be better, and the user experience is not as good compared to a previous solution we used. It could be more user-friendly. Of course, it still works fine for our operations."
"It would be nice if FortiGate incorporated some built-in endpoint protection features. I would also like a built-in SOC dashboard for managing multiple Fortinet firewalls."
"In the future, I would like to see improvements made to cloud-based management."
"If they had better integration with security products, such as Cisco ISE or Rapid Threat Containment, then it would be an improvement."
"The updates Fortinet provides are sometimes unstable."
"It could use better throughput on some of the smaller boxes for the branch offices."
"There are a lot of bugs I have found in the solution and it is difficult to upgrade. These areas need improvement."
"Some features of Fortinet FortiGate are actually fee enabled that are inconvenient for deploying in production. Other issues relate to isolation with Cisco products and your server."
"The product has a lot to improve in the area of policy implementation."
"The documentation is not clear."
"The solution is complex and can be more user-friendly."
"The company needs to make its solution more affordable to make it more accessible to larger markets. Otherwise, it's seen as an enterprise-level solution that small or medium-sized organizations can't afford and therefore they won't even look at it."
"I would like to see much more embedded security that works and that isn't a bolt-on."
"I would love it if it has a link-by-link feature, integration with Unified Threat Management (UTM), and load balancers. They haven't got any link-by-link feature right now, which can be a very attractive option. This link-by-link feature can also be made available for Cisco's UTM firewalls. The link-by-link feature is available in some of the other firewalls. Currently, integration with UTM is missing. Cisco IOS Security also doesn't have the load balancers and a few things that need to be done to get a good UTM firewall. Normally, other firewalls have UTM. As a next-generation firewall, it's good, but as a UTM, it has to do some work."
"With respect to user-friendliness, it is a command-line interface and those with such experience will get along just fine, whereas others may struggle."
"Sometimes I find it difficult to manage. Some configurations are difficult for new engineers, for example."
"The routers, don't have like long-term tendency features, or higher availability features available for the IOS. It could also use a better user interface."
"Cisco IOS Security's monitoring is rather rudimentary and could be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Fortinet is reasonable in pricing and licensing. Overall, FortiGate is affordable. The licensing fee can be a little high, depending on the budget for your project."
"The pricing for this solution is good."
"We have the full license that included all of the features and support."
"The support subscription for the solution is annual. You are paying for support and there are two levels of support, professional and advanced."
"Licensing is usually on a three-year period."
"Pricing is good. They offer a lot of things, the most important is the support. Every time you upgrade your license, you also get insurance for the equipment. If you have any problem with equipment, they send in new equipment."
"Pricing for this product is comparatively lower than other products. It's an affordable solution, but when expanding the number of users, they'll ask you to replace the model, so that's an added cost."
"The Indian market is different than the European and American markets. When you compare they need to be a bit more aggressive on pricing."
"I consider it an averagely-priced tool."
"The tool is quite cheap."
"The pricing for Cisco IOS Security is reasonable compared to other Cisco products."
"We need to pay for the license and it is expensive."
"The pricing is okay. It is competitive. It costs more when you need get more features."
"Price is certainly something that the IOS technology has fallen behind the competition on."
"Cisco IOS Security price could be reduced, it is more expensive than many of the other solutions, such as Sophos and Fortinet FortiGate."
"The product is expensive."
"The cost may be around $5,000 to $10,000 a year. If you want support you have to pay at least this price."
"I rate Cisco IOS Security's pricing a ten out of ten."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
21%
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
No data available
Computer Software Company
29%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

Which is the better NGFW: Fortinet Fortigate or Cisco Firepower?
When you compare these firewalls you can identify them with different features, advantages, practices and usage a...
What is the biggest difference between Sophos XG and FortiGate?
From my experience regarding both the Sophos and FortiGate firewalls, I personally would rather use FortiGate. I know...
What are the biggest technical differences between Sophos UTM and Fortinet FortiGate?
As a solution, Sophos UTM offers a lot of functionality, it scales well, and the stability and performance are quite ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall?
I consider it an averagely-priced tool. Adding additional features does not cost extra. My small company pays around ...
What needs improvement with Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall?
The product has a lot to improve in the area of policy implementation. If our company wants to give a separate policy...
What do you like most about Cisco IOS Security?
Cisco IOS Security is a mature product with extensive capabilities, serving as the base for the defense layer. It off...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco IOS Security?
Pricing can be reduced. I rate the current price for the product a four out of ten.
What needs improvement with Cisco IOS Security?
While I do not have specific recommendations for improvement, pricing can be reduced.
 

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall
No data available
IOS Security
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Dell, HP, Oracle, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Vodafone, Orange, BT Group, Telstra, Deutsche Telekom, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, CenturyLink, NTT Communications, Tata Communications, SoftBank, China Mobile, Singtel, Telus, Rogers Communications, Bell Canada, Telkom Indonesia, Telkom South Africa, Telmex, Telia Company, Telkom Kenya
Information Not Available
Arup Group, Brunel University London, City of Biel, Gobierno de Castilla-La Mancha, K&L Gates , New South Wales Rural Fire Service, Offshore Northern Seas, Transplace
Find out what your peers are saying about Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall vs. Cisco IOS Security and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
848,476 professionals have used our research since 2012.