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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 (6th), 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 (20th)
 

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.
Maheshbabu T - PeerSpot reviewer
It allows us to provide CML-based access to any user, but the reporting could be better
I rate SonicWall SMA seven out of 10. If you're planning to implement this solution, I suggest checking the version to ensure it's compatible with your other technology. I say go for it if it's suitable for your use case. Multifactor authentication technologies are built into the product, whereas some products lack multifactor authentication. We need only one or two. They provide authentication, gateway integration, OTP integration, etc.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The integration of Layer 3 and application routing is great."
"The most valuable features are manageability, scalability, and simplicity."
"It is really easy to deploy and use. It is also easy to use for failovers and designing solutions. The rollout is really quick. It is easy to adjust and roll out."
"The regular net routing is a good feature."
"When we have had power outages for a few hours we have had no issue with Cisco SD-WAN coming back online and functioning."
"From my observations, Cisco has been rolling out new features every other day, so I would say their speed of innovation is one of the most valuable aspects for me."
"The most useful feature is centralized telephony."
"It is a very scalable solution."
"This solution has many options for remote desktop and access."
"What I like best about SonicWall SMA is the relationship between its features and its price, because the solution is both affordable and functional."
"I like the load balancing capability."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is they have IT consultants that know SonicWall."
"Blocklisting and allowlisting are the most beneficial features for network security."
"I think they ask for a fair price."
"The management and the dashboard are the solution's most valuable features."
"Secure Mobile Access (SMA) is easy to configure and the deployment is straightforward. However, this is mostly because of the AWS setup."
 

Cons

"This solution could be improved with a simpler implementation process and licensing model."
"It would be better if it provided more visibility. At present, we can't troubleshoot in real time."
"The solution could be more secure. Security is always a priority for us."
"What I find should be improved is the possibility of really separating the software layer from the hardware layer since today the current offer is not well adopted by the service providers"
"The solution is very costly."
"I would like them to add some more SD-WAN ports. We have seen one implementation where there were four ISPs. Currently, we have a maximum of two ports for ISP in this device. Therefore, we cannot connect directly, and we need other switches. There should be some option to have more than two ports for SD-WAN."
"The installation is not easy. If you have experience and it is not your first time doing the installation, it can be easier."
"The security features could be improved."
"SonicWall SMA is difficult to use and it does not provide easy access to different parts of the network."
"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."
"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."
"Enhancing live tracking capabilities could improve the product, particularly in monitoring user activity and request statuses in real-time on the web interface."
"The product's technical support services could be improved."
"The timed synchronization between the network appliance needs improvement."
"This is an expensive solution and I think that the price could be improved."
"User interface could be improved."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is expensive."
"I give the price a seven out of ten."
"It is expensive. The license limitation is there in terms of bandwidth. Basically, Cisco is always good in terms of performance and related things. However, if you want to have a license, for example, for 100 Mbps, they charge you because of their 100 Mbps. If you want to go without the license of 300 Mbps, it is a bandwidth license as well. This is not happening with other vendors. That is the reason why we moved away from Cisco. The bill gets a little bit high. I do remember that one time we were trying to increase the bandwidth for at least five devices, and the license got as high as 20-grand for five devices, only for the license. It was expensive for us at the time. Our company is not a big company, but it is a solid company. The price was very high, and we moved away from Cisco because of the price."
"There is a monthly subscription to use this solution."
"You can get subscriptions for three or five years."
"SD-WAN as a service is probably something in the neighborhood of $100 to $200 a month per location."
"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."
"The platform has medium pricing."
"The cost of the licensing is based on the maximum number of concurrent users, and it costs a lot to add them."
"All the costs are included in a bundled license."
"This solution is priced well and we currently have the maximum number of licenses allowed."
"Our licenses are stackable and can be anywhere from five users to a million users."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
45%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
4%
Computer Software Company
17%
Construction Company
13%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Retailer
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
 

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, NetScaler and others in Network Management Applications. Updated: March 2025.
842,767 professionals have used our research since 2012.