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Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs Huawei Enterprise Routers comparison

 

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

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN
Ranking in WAN Edge
2nd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
92
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (5th), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (2nd)
Huawei Enterprise Routers
Ranking in WAN Edge
8th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
Routers (4th)
 

Featured Reviews

Igor Van Den Ouden - PeerSpot reviewer
Enables secure and flexible branch connectivity with application-aware routing
The valuable features of Cisco SD-WAN include its security policies and zone-based firewall that are applied to every site, as well as application-aware routing. Security is standard compliant, eliminating config drift that was prevalent before manual configurations. Application-aware routing offers flexibility in using different lines for traffic, depending on the policy implemented.
Udochi Ododo - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy to configure and troubleshoot, but they need more visibility in the licensing model
Huawei needs to be a bit more open with their licensing model. What I find is that when you buy equipment, you expect that you have a particular feature. By the time you want to use that feature, you realize that you need to acquire a license for it. That is the one thing that I think they need to improve on. Essentially, they need to open their licensing model such that when a customer buys a device, they have a full view of all of the available licenses for it. It's not at the time of use that the customer will now be informed that they need to purchase an additional license.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"I like creating policies. This way, we can better utilize our WAN circuit and get better rates. Its GUI is user-friendly, and the CLI is also great."
"The product is stable."
"There have been no issues with stability."
"The primary advantage we've observed is the simplification of deployment, leading to decreased IT costs and enhanced operational efficiency."
"The solution provides good consolidation, centralization, and manageability for edge routers."
"The first part that we like is that we can reuse certain hardware, which is a valuable asset. You can use hardware SKUs that already exist in the network. The second part that we like is the integration with the cloud and the measurement of the cloud's quality. These are the two values that this solution gives as compared to other implementations that we have seen."
"Customizing SD-WAN is very easy because you can define two colors. You can define two different operators. You can deploy a partial mesh, a full mesh, or hub-and-spoke totally differently. If you want to do this on a DMVPN solution, that's really hard."
"It is very simple and easy to manage, compared to other methods."
"The product’s technical support team is responsive."
"The product is good, easy to manage , and works fine."
"The most valuable feature of Huawei Enterprise Routers is if have two networks at different geographical locations with a great deal of distance they work together as if they are on the same cloud network."
"The solution provides support for 5G connectivity."
"I use the product to connect to various access points to extend my network."
"The product has valuable support services."
"The initial setup is easy."
"Overall we have found the solution to be satisfactory."
 

Cons

"We don't have any issues with this solution other than the price."
"Some configurations or procedures could be more user-friendly. Adding a bandwidth management feature would make Cisco SD-WAN more scalable and less resource-intensive."
"The main area for improvement in Cisco SD-WAN is the lack of documentation, which often lags behind the software releases."
"When it comes to adding more security features, you need to add more RAM."
"The inexpensive Viptela hardware may be replaced with overpriced Cisco routers. This would be a tragic mistake for Cisco as the lightweight commodity platform built by Viptela is the reason to own this solution."
"We had some issues with Cisco SD-WAN but somehow we troubleshot it and things are going well. The issues have not been a large problem."
"The main area for improvement in Cisco SD-WAN is the lack of documentation, which often lags behind the software releases."
"The initial setup was not very straightforward, but it gets easier the more deployments you complete."
"There is not much of a technical team for Huawei available in Pakistan as compared to Cisco with respect to very complex networks."
"Lacks sufficient market availability."
"The product's pricing could be better."
"In the next release of this solution, I would like to see better bandwidth management, more granular web filtering, and portal authentication."
"The solution's technical support could be improved."
"We'd like the product to be more flexible so that we could more easily manipulate some of the features."
"The product’s performance could be better."
"We have found we have to restart the routers or reconfigured them a lot of the time, this issue should improve. The quality of the hardware needs to be more durable."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I give the price a seven out of ten."
"We can only buy three-year licenses, not monthly. The cost seems high for us, especially since we're in Vietnam, which isn't a rich country. But we still like the product because it is good."
"Cisco SD-WAN is more expensive than its competitors."
"Cisco is more expensive than some competing products."
"Licensing is on a subscription basis."
"For 600 links, the license for Cisco SD-WAN costs us US$250k a year."
"On a scale of one to five, I would rate Cisco's pricing as a three."
"The price of Cisco SD-WAN could improve, it is expensive. The cost of the solution is approximately 30 percent higher than competitors."
"The product is expensive."
"These routers are not too expensive."
"There are additional licensing costs. I am aware of additional licenses and which services are added to the router."
"Huawei offers a cheaper enterprise router solution than Cisco."
"Huawei Enterprise Routers’s cost is average. I rate its pricing a five out of ten."
"The product is inexpensive, but there is an extra cost for replacement of the device."
"The price of the solution is fair."
"The solution's price is reasonable."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
46%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Manufacturing Company
4%
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
12%
University
8%
Comms Service Provider
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco SD-WAN?
When considering the most valuable features of Cisco SD-WAN, the decoupling of self-monitoring stands out significantly.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco SD-WAN?
The pricing for Cisco SD-WAN is rated eight out of ten, with some variability depending on the reseller discounts and the size of the enterprise. It is also relatively cost-effective for smaller bu...
What needs improvement with Cisco SD-WAN?
The main area for improvement in Cisco SD-WAN is the lack of documentation, which often lags behind the software releases. This is especially notable since Cisco acquired the solution and is still ...
What do you like most about Huawei Enterprise Routers?
The solution provides support for 5G connectivity.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Huawei Enterprise Routers?
The product is very cheap and offers a huge discount as they are trying to enter the market. However, you have to pay extra for some services and support.
What needs improvement with Huawei Enterprise Routers?
The documentation is somewhat lacking and not easy to navigate. There are some errors and misleading information. The general appearance of the company site is also not user-friendly for downloadin...
 

Also Known As

Cisco SD-WAN
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Doyle Research, Ashton Metzler & Associates
Bus Online, VisionChina Media Inc. (VisionChina), China Network Television (CNTV), Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport, ABC, BovenIJ hospital
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs. Huawei Enterprise Routers and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
838,713 professionals have used our research since 2012.