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Cisco IOS Security vs Cisco Sourcefire SNORT comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 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 IOS Security
Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
9th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
48
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (21st)
Cisco Sourcefire SNORT
Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
15th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
19
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) category, the mindshare of Cisco IOS Security is 1.0%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Sourcefire SNORT is 3.1%, down from 4.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
 

Featured Reviews

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.
Syed Shahnawaz Hussain - PeerSpot reviewer
An IPS solution for security and protection but lacks stability
We assess the client's environment, including the size of the workforce responsible for firewall management. Sourcefire can be effective despite its complexity if you have a capable team. Sourcefire might not be more appropriate if you lack a strong IT team. When it comes to real-time traffic analysis, the requirements can vary significantly. Discussing an organization's or individual user's security posture adds another layer of complexity. It's important to note that there isn't a single device that can fully meet the demands of real-time traffic analysis for security purposes. Multiple appliances and solutions are often necessary to achieve comprehensive real-time visibility. We've successfully integrated Sourcefire into various environments, making the process relatively straightforward. We've incorporated it with certain NMS, so I foresee no significant challenges in integrating the Sourcefire. Cisco Sourcefire SNORT offers visibility and robust support. Its resource management documentation is notably extensive, enhancing usability. However, its complexity may pose challenges, especially as the market trends toward simpler solutions for intricate issues. While concerns regarding maturity and stability exist, the development team has actively addressed these issues, requiring ongoing scrutiny to ensure complete resolution. Overall, I rate the solution a 7 out of 10.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature is the scalability. The nice thing with the bigger vendors is that they're very good at scale."
"The product is easy to use."
"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."
"The product has valuable features for business intelligence."
"The most valuable features are DNS service and shell self-service within a network."
"I recommend Cisco IOS Security for other organizations."
"The stability of this solution is excellent."
"We are able to filter a lot of traffic especially when a lot of the traffic is in layer 7."
"The most valuable features of Cisco Sourcefire SNORT are the dashboard for monitoring events."
"Cisco technical support is unbeatable. It offers a premium service every time."
"Solid intrusion detection and prevention that scales easily in very large environments."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the filtering."
"In general, the features are all great. However, if I need to take hardware for ASA, because they need to upgrade to Firepower, we want to create rules. For that, most of the time we go to the command line. Right now Firepower is working really hard on the grid. You can apply all those rules to the grid. Even if you want to monitor the logs, for example, the activity will tell you which particular user has been blocked because of that rule. Firepower's monitoring interface is very good, because you can see each and every piece. ASA also had it, but there you needed to type the command and be under the server to see all that stuff. In Firepower you have the possibility to go directly to the firewall. The way the monitoring is displayed is also very nice. The feature I appreciate most in Firepower is actually the grid. The grid has worked very well."
"Cisco Sourcefire SNORT is easy to configure and the reporting is great. It's also very user-friendly."
"I like most of Cisco's features, like malware detection and URL filtering."
"The whole solution is very good, and stable."
 

Cons

"There are the usual bugs that are inherent to some software upgrades. Sometimes this provides some unexpected issues, however, it happens with all brands all the time."
"We need to pay for the license and it is expensive."
"Cisco IOS Security could improve by having more compatibility with other Cisco solutions."
"We faced significant challenges related to licensing issues, particularly when licenses expire."
"Cisco IOS Security's monitoring is rather rudimentary and could be improved."
"We have a very bad experience on the support. They take too much time requesting logs, and they are not coming directly online to resolve the issues."
"The solution is not user friendly and it is hard to manage the GUI interface."
"Cisco is an expensive firewall, so the pricing can be improved."
"The pricing needs to be improved. We have lots of low-budget clients around us. Budget constraints are always a deterrent in our market."
"If the price is brought down then everybody will be happy."
"Performance needs improvement."
"While the alerts they offer are good, it could improve it in the sense that they should be more detailed to make the alerts more useful to us in general. Sometimes the solution will offer up false positives. Due to the fact that the alerts aren't detailed, we have to go dig around to see why is it being blocked. The solution would be infinitely better if there was just a bit more detail in the alert information and logging we receive."
"The main dashboard of Cisco Sourcefire SNORT could improve."
"I don't think this solution is a time-based control system, because one cannot filter traffic based on time."
"There are problems setting up VPNs for some regions."
"The implementation could be a bit easier."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product is expensive."
"You can get a better price if you commit to a longer-term license. Three years, five years, or even seven or ten years will be cheaper than a three-month or one-year term."
"The pricing is average and includes all features with support."
"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."
"Palo Alto networks are more expensive than this solution and this is why you will see more products like this one in Mexico."
"Cisco IOS Security is not very expensive, and pricing depends on where you live. It's affordable for both individuals and institutions. On a scale from one to five, I would give Cisco's pricing a four."
"The price of the solution should be cheaper, and the license is purchase annually."
"I don't know the exact amount, but most of the time when I go to a company with a proposition, they will say, "This thing that you are selling is good, but it's expensive. Why don't you propose something like FortiGate, Check Point, or Palo Alto?" Cisco device are expensive compared to other devices."
"We have a three-year license for this solution."
"The cost is per port and can be expensive but it does include training and support for three years."
"If one is an extremely expensive product, and ten is cheap, I rate the tool's price as a five."
"Licensing for this solution is paid on a yearly basis."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
30%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
20%
Financial Services Firm
10%
University
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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 offers good network visibility, which helps in rapid response through the Rapid Thr...
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.
What do you like most about Cisco Sourcefire SNORT?
The product is inexpensive compared to leading brands such as Palo Alto or Fortinet.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Sourcefire SNORT?
If one is an extremely expensive product, and ten is cheap, I rate the tool's price as a five. There are some other tools in the market that are more expensive than Cisco. There are no additional c...
What needs improvement with Cisco Sourcefire SNORT?
Cisco offers the Cisco DNA Center, which is a source that provides crucial information for us to monitor performance, and see whether there is any trouble. We are using Cisco DNA center, but again,...
 

Also Known As

IOS Security
Sourcefire SNORT
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

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
CareCore, City of Biel, Dimension Data, LightEdge, Lone Star College System, National Rugby League, Port Aventura, Smart City Networks, Telecom Italia, The Department of Education in Western Australia
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco IOS Security vs. Cisco Sourcefire SNORT and other solutions. Updated: January 2025.
838,640 professionals have used our research since 2012.