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Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs SonicWall SMA comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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
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), WAN Edge (2nd)
SonicWall SMA
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
8.5
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
Universal Access Gateways (2nd), SSL VPN (8th), Enterprise Infrastructure VPN (19th)
 

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.
Rias_Majeed - PeerSpot reviewer
This is a versatile VPN that saves us from using more difficult security measures
I don't really think that there are many ways that this product can get much better for my purposes. Everything is working fine. I cannot find anything here that really needs to be fixed for my needs and really it is perfect as it is. As a user, you have to decide to use whichever solution is comfortable and that solves your problem — whatever that problem may be. That said, there are some things which can help promote the product and its use. Every customer is influenced by price. They are looking for something to be a lower price as if there is a big competition over only the price and features don't matter because every product is the same. The Dell SSL-VPN product needs to be set at a competitive price or it will lose out to other solutions. Price may be something Dell needs to consider to be competitive in the market. Recommending the right solution all depends on business needs on a client to client basis. But it is not always the best solution that influences a client's choice. Some of the clients want SonicWall because they see it is a Dell product and they are familiar with the brand or they know someone else who uses it. Then there are decision-makers from other companies who see another product advertised and — for whatever attracted them to the product — they want that product and nothing else. Other people might also say they don't want SonicWall because they don't want Dell. The public opinions all depends on how Dell is doing with pitching itself and SonicWall, and how much they are pushing it in the marketing campaigns they are doing. Depending upon that publicity, they are in competition with other products. If there is an actual comparison one-to-one, people will see there are lots of wizards, all those things that make the product easy to use, it looks okay, and that may be an advantage. But the company needs to promote the product to make the comparison desirable. On the client end, whether it is a global VPN client or SSL-VPN client, it does not matter because it can be made to perform okay. The only thing that matters, in the end, is if it is performing well. But creating a positive face for the business community is something to be improved and maintained by Dell so the product is desirable. One problem I saw which happens with the product in some cases is where a client uses a mobile device to connect to the VPN. The connection might be coming from a private address because of the local ISP. In that case, the client can face problems when they try to connect. If they are connecting directly, no problem. But if the network is sitting behind a 3G or 4G network and we have the safety measure for remote connections which requires inserting the SSL-VPN, then the client may face a connection problem. Browsing is not a problem, but the SSL-VPN connection can be. They will blame the services for being unstable or unpredictable instead of the networks they are connecting through. That is maybe not a very common problem, but handling this type of situation might be addressed in the product to provide better general connectivity. An enhancement for the product would be saving configurations to add by drag-and-drop. I don't want it personally but that could be the easiest way to help some kinds of users to deploy the product. For example, there are vendors who specialize in VPN. They install the box, put on the basic API and do the same thing first with all their installations. If they could somehow save this configuration as an object that they can reuse, it would be good for them. They just install the box, drag-and-drop their usual configuration for the box, and it becomes very easy to do deployments. When the vendor says it will take a lot of configuration, it becomes a big pain. Either they or the client may not want a product that is difficult to install and maintain. Implementation improvements would help that perception. There are still areas that are gray in the area of security. If you ask them, most vendors are not able to tell how security threats are coming exactly and where the weak points are. They give a solution like RDP or this thing or that thing. It may work but they still don't know how it is getting done. I also feel like most companies providing security measures are still researching the topic. In my case, I'm looking for how the ransomware made its attack so we can resolve the actual issue. Everybody has a vague idea but still, nobody knows for sure how that particular infection came into the systems. If they did it would have been stopped. It would be good to know more about what is effective in threat protection. When you install too much security, people will start complaining. They won't complain about the security maybe, but they could complain about performance depending on the solution. Complicated security introduces performance issues and other issues like files are not being delivered properly. When it takes time, people don't want to wait. That means creating better security without compromising the performance — whatever it takes. Even a small percentage like 2%, 3%, or five percentage in performance enhancement is welcomed. At the same time, you must not compromise on security. If Dell can enhance performance by just a little, it matters. The last thing is that the knowledge base for the product could be improved for technical users. Again it is not the product that is the problem and it is more like something to do with the technical support and support services.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The scalability is the most valuable feature."
"The most valuable features in Cisco SD-WAN are the QoS, AI, and simple interface for users to access."
"The deployment is quite simple and straightforward."
"It's a scalable solution."
"You get security, all of the service you need, and it's easy to deploy."
"It's a complete solution with many security features."
"Any technical support we needed was great."
"I have found the solution's main features are its ability to be customized, network traffic classification, and has a wide range of features that can be set."
"I like the load balancing capability."
"SonicWall SMA has the most valuable feature of proprietary security technologies like Capture ATP."
"The solution is reliable and has good overall performance."
"SonicWall SMA allows us to provide CML-based access to any user."
"Secure Mobile Access (SMA) is easy to configure and the deployment is straightforward. However, this is mostly because of the AWS setup."
"It is faster than other security options when using remote connections."
"This solution has many options for remote desktop and access."
"I think they ask for a fair price."
 

Cons

"One area for improvement in Cisco SD-WAN is reporting. The report needs to give more visibility to the customer. The security feature in Cisco SD-WAN also needs improvement, particularly if Cisco wants to challenge other brands, such as Fortinet."
"The tool is very expensive."
"The cost is too high for certain countries, for example, those in Africa. The solution needs to be more cost-effective."
"Cisco SD-WAN doesn't have automation capabilities, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and isn't IOT-based."
"Its license model needs to be improved. They always make the license model too complex. There are too many license models and too many options. They should have a flexible license model. They can improve a lot of things in terms of scalability, templates, and automation, mainly automation for onboarding a number of sites. If you want some new features, it can take quite a long time. If you want a feature and it is not yet developed, you need to have the support of the business units to have the feature developed. If the feature is not on their roadmap, it can take quite some time before you get the feature."
"It should also be much more affordable for a larger number of customers."
"The bandwidth limitations would be good to remove, but it is a policy and license situation for Cisco because the cost is very high. It would be good to have OTP implemented with VRF. It can have support for EIGRP Over the Top (OTP) VRF. I saw some limitations in regards to the VRF protocol and the advertisement between VRF configuration. EIGRP Over the Top basically was quite limited with the VRF configuration. If you wanted to do rollback in VRF by using the EIGRP OTP protocol, the formation was not populated across. Cisco got back and confirmed that it is a configuration that I need to wait for until the next release, which is going to happen in one year. Cisco documentation is not the way it used to be before. It just gives an easy way to configure, but it doesn't go into the details of the configuration. The information that you need is there, but sometimes you want to go further and get more information, but the information is quite limited. It would be good to cover a few business cases or configuration cases. They used to be there in the past."
"The main area for improvement in Cisco SD-WAN is the lack of documentation, which often lags behind the software releases."
"The only thing that they could try to improve is the support for enterprise customers. Normally enterprises and SMBs can create a ticket, but for enterprises, SonicWall SMA needs to provide a global view, and this is what's currently missing. It's not even a question of timing. It's a question of the global vision because currently, it's lacking. They concentrate on the topic, but not on the means and not on the global picture. In most cases, there's something wrong with the integration of SonicWall SMA with other products, so that could also be improved."
"The timed synchronization between the network appliance needs improvement."
"The product's technical support services could be improved."
"User interface could be improved."
"I'd like to see the product maybe polish keyboards in Bookmark."
"The solution has 2FA, it will generate a token and send it to an email, but multifactor authentication is not available. I would suggest that there should be MFA integration and provided with the appliance."
"The problem is that when combined with what the client already has, there are two different logins and two different management systems, and these should be consolidated into a single interface."
"Enhancing live tracking capabilities could improve the product, particularly in monitoring user activity and request statuses in real-time on the web interface."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The license consists of an annual fee."
"The license model is too complex with too many flavors and options. You might not be able to see it from an end user's point of view, but from a telco point of view, their license model is too complex. They should have a flexible license model. If you want to have good pricing, you need to buy it for a two-year, four-year, or five-year license immediately. Some other vendors have much more flexible license models."
"The cost is reasonable. I would rate the price as seven out of ten."
"We pay for the Cisco Customer Care support, which is a couple of hundred dollars."
"There is a monthly subscription to use this solution."
"It is much cheaper than other solutions. Most of our clients are the top 500 companies, and they all have a corporate contract."
"The price is high."
"It is going to be on a yearly basis. There are no additional costs."
"The platform has medium pricing."
"This solution is priced well and we currently have the maximum number of licenses allowed."
"All the costs are included in a bundled license."
"I don't know about the pricing of the SSL-VPN box. I know the SSL-VPN software is free. Global VPN client, by comparison, is licensed for around $150 or something like that. But the SSL-VPN software is free. It is already built-in with the box."
"The cost of the licensing is based on the maximum number of concurrent users, and it costs a lot to add them."
"Our licenses are stackable and can be anywhere from five users to a million users."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
45%
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Manufacturing Company
4%
Computer Software Company
15%
Construction Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Real Estate/Law Firm
7%
 

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 SonicWall SMA?
Blocklisting and allowlisting are the most beneficial features for network security.
What needs improvement with SonicWall SMA?
Enhancing live tracking capabilities could improve the product, particularly in monitoring user activity and request statuses in real-time on the web interface.
 

Also Known As

Cisco SD-WAN
SonicWall Aventail, SonicWall SMA SSL-VPN, SonicWall Secure Mobile Access
 

Learn More

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Doyle Research, Ashton Metzler & Associates
UnitedStack, Newport City Homes, Faith Lutheran College Redlands, PRIME aerostructures GmbH, Celtic Manor Resort
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Fortinet and others in Network Management Applications. Updated: December 2024.
831,158 professionals have used our research since 2012.