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Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs SonicWall SMA comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
90
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (4th), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (2nd), WAN Edge (2nd)
SonicWall SMA
Average Rating
8.2
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
Universal Access Gateways (2nd), SSL VPN (7th), Enterprise Infrastructure VPN (18th)
 

Featured Reviews

HN
Aug 17, 2023
A comprehensive solution for simplifying your network and greatly supports network configuration standardization
In the transition from Viptela to Cisco SD-WAN, there have been very huge revision cycles in the last three to four years. This does not happen for a stable product. Still, it is because Cisco has been migrating from one vendor and merging into their own operating system and making a lot of additional development beyond what is required. This has made it tough for enterprise-level integrators cannot find downtime to keep up with the upgrades. Cisco is working to stabilize the product, which will likely be much more stable in the coming years. So, I would like to see revision cycles to be more stable. Another area of improvement is the licensing and pricing model. The Cisco SD-WAN licensing model needs to be simplified. There are currently three types of licenses: enterprise agreements, individual licenses, and DNA subscriptions. This can confuse customers, requiring a dedicated person to determine which type of license is right for their organization. Although Cisco is working on many features, the general usability of the templating mechanism should be improved to make it easier to use and understand. The various GUI elements are different, as in Cisco Vault. If I migrate from a CLI to a GUI model for managing devices, the GUI is still more like Viptela. The GUI should be more aligned with the Cisco CLI regarding terms and concepts. The tools need to be more intuitive to use.
Maheshbabu T - PeerSpot reviewer
May 26, 2022
It allows us to provide CML-based access to any user, but the reporting could be better
We use SonicWall SMA to provide VPN. Our use is limited right now. We only have 200 users.  SonicWall SMA allows us to provide CML-based access to any user. SonicWall's reporting isn't good. Reports should be part of a data plan. The login mechanism should be improved. It would be helpful if the…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"If one of your ISPs goes down or has latency in your environment, Cisco SD-WAN will detect the issue and explain why the ISP is down."
"I like the feature that lets you transfer from old devices to new devices without changing the hardware and subscription."
"The solution's application control and application traffic steering tool are its most valuable aspects in terms of how we utilize the product."
"The cloud environment, including cloud security integration, is very valuable because of the many API integrations with the SD-WAN."
"The solution provides good consolidation, centralization, and manageability for edge routers."
"It has a very good GUI."
"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."
"Initial setup is easy."
"SonicWall SMA allows us to provide CML-based access to any user."
"I like the load balancing capability."
"It is faster than other security options when using remote connections."
"The management and the dashboard are the solution's most valuable features."
"I think they ask for a fair price."
"The performance is good."
"SonicWall SMA has the most valuable feature of proprietary security technologies like Capture ATP."
"Blocklisting and allowlisting are the most beneficial features for network security."
 

Cons

"The Cisco way of thinking is to create umbrella-like solutions. I would prefer it if this solution was separate from the entire monstrous Cisco portfolio."
"When it comes to adding more security features, you need to add more RAM."
"Cisco SD-WAN doesn't have automation capabilities, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and isn't IOT-based."
"The tool is very expensive."
"The solution could have a better web interface to simplify changing configurations."
"The solution needs to be more flexible around legacy devices."
"The product should improve its prices."
"We recently found some bugs."
"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."
"This is an expensive solution and I think that the price could be improved."
"SonicWall's reporting isn't good. Reports should be part of a data plan. The login mechanism should be improved. It would be helpful if the client could use an agent to log in. An agent-server model would improve the performance of the RDB, which consumes a lot of bandwidth."
"The timed synchronization between the network appliance needs improvement."
"The product's technical support services could be improved."
"I'd like to see the product maybe polish keyboards in Bookmark."
"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."
"User interface could be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is quite expensive so it is important to enhance its cost efficiency."
"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 of Cisco SD-WAN is high and has room for improvement compared to competitors such as Fortinet which has similar functionality."
"You can get subscriptions for three or five years."
"The pricing is fair, and it's on par with the market vendors. But based on the competition, Cisco could work on the pricing, go deep on discounts and provide more commercially viable solutions to customers."
"It is much cheaper than other solutions. Most of our clients are the top 500 companies, and they all have a corporate contract."
"Cisco is more expensive than some competing products."
"Cisco's pricing is not entirely satisfactory when you compare the SD-WAN solutions in Asian markets — like the South Asian market in Sri Lanka — because there are several competing brands including Fortinet and Citrix, who provide much the same product for a generally lower price. And when it comes to firewall vendors like Palo Alto and SonicWall, they're also selling here. It's the same with VMware, too; they have much the same features."
"All the costs are included in a bundled license."
"The cost of the licensing is based on the maximum number of concurrent users, and it costs a lot to add them."
"This solution is priced well and we currently have the maximum number of licenses allowed."
"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."
"Our licenses are stackable and can be anywhere from five users to a million users."
"The platform has medium pricing."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
40%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
5%
Computer Software Company
16%
Construction Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Real Estate/Law Firm
6%
 

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 needs improvement with Cisco SD-WAN?
Customers collaborate with ISPs and currently work with three ISPs, using options like LSM VPN and MPLS VPN to reduce line costs. They are considering moving from their current setup to an MPLS VPN...
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, Fortinet, HPE Aruba Networking and others in Network Management Applications. Updated: September 2024.
801,634 professionals have used our research since 2012.