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Peplink SpeedFusion 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

Peplink SpeedFusion
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
8
Ranking in other categories
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (9th), WAN Edge (10th)
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)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Enterprise Networking solutions, they serve different purposes. Peplink SpeedFusion is designed for Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions and holds a mindshare of 8.0%, up 7.6% compared to last year.
SonicWall SMA, on the other hand, focuses on Universal Access Gateways, holds 45.2% mindshare, up 35.9% since last year.
Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
Universal Access Gateways
 

Featured Reviews

Samuel Romero - PeerSpot reviewer
User-friendly, easy to install, and scalable
Peplink SpeedFusion needs a thin rail model for industrial solutions. The stability has room for improvement. Peplink SpeedFusion needs to have a heavy-duty heat sink on the case to perform better. Generally, what I found is that devices that have a heat sink on a case or, more weight on a case to absorb the heat, perform a little better. I get some areas where I'm right at the hundred and fifty degrees. So I've had a few failures not many, but I found more failures than a Cisco ISO eleven or a Moxa router. Those solutions have more mass to absorb the heat. Most failures have a lot to do with the case. That's why a lot of people have a hard time pushing Peplink SpeedFusion, and they want to move to Cradlepoint because they have a much more ruggedized case.
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

"It is a very stable product."
"The SpeedFusion feature is good. It allowed us to move away from IPsec between the sites. It is also a really easy product to deploy."
"Our customers find it to be an interesting and tempting solution."
"The most valuable feature is the virtual VPN concentrator."
"The SpeedFusion feature is the most valuable."
"The valuable feature is that, after reading about its capabilities and using it for a while, Peplink SpeedFusion employs eight technologies within its SD-WAN profile, addressing issues like packet loss and latency. The solution is highly stable. I rate it a nine out of ten. The support team gives quick response and efficient local support."
"In the Philippines, VPN usage may not be widely known, but we leverage VPN effectively within my organization. I've shared our in-house systems with other district offices, as I cover fifteen municipalities and cater to the entire province. This platform is a valuable tool for us, enabling collaborative work, and allowing us to update our services remotely."
"It is faster than other security options when using remote connections."
"The management and the dashboard are the solution's most valuable features."
"I like the load balancing capability."
"SonicWall SMA allows us to provide CML-based access to any user."
"What I like best about SonicWall SMA is the relationship between its features and its price, because the solution is both affordable and functional."
"Secure Mobile Access (SMA) is easy to configure and the deployment is straightforward. However, this is mostly because of the AWS setup."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is they have IT consultants that know SonicWall."
"The solution is reliable and has good overall performance."
 

Cons

"Their hardware support isn't the greatest. We've had one unit go down, and it took a while for them to replace it. It was in the Caribbeans, so it might be a location-related issue."
"The stability has room for improvement."
"Its pricing is the main issue. The pricing could be improved. I would like to see an outbound policy based on the application. It is a very good feature, and most of the customers are looking for that. They can also include stronger firewall features. This would help the customers in choosing this product as the only device for the SD network."
"There is room for improvement in enhancing security features, such as incorporating intrusion detection blocking capabilities and integrating artificial intelligence to bolster security aspects on the device."
"I believe there could be some enhancements in the enterprise segment, offering greater options or something similar."
"They don't have next generation firewall, UTM, like the other competitors."
"The product needs to aggregate the bandwidth of different ISPs. It needs to improve scalability as well."
"The product's technical support services could be improved."
"Enhancing live tracking capabilities could improve the product, particularly in monitoring user activity and request statuses in real-time on the web interface."
"I'd like to see the product maybe polish keyboards in Bookmark."
"The product itself is very good, but Dell needs to work on product visibility in their advertising."
"The timed synchronization between the network appliance needs improvement."
"The overall menu is not very user-friendly and it could be easier."
"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."
"SonicWall SMA is difficult to use and it does not provide easy access to different parts of the network."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I rate Peplink SpeedFusion's pricing an eight out of ten."
"It's not cheap, but it is highly competitive."
"The cost is in the middle, a five out of ten."
"Perpetual licensing, which is good for customers that don't want any annual or subscription based license."
"It has lifetime licensing. Its pricing is high for most of the markets."
"Its licensing fee is on a yearly basis. For the price, it is actually pretty good value."
"Our licenses are stackable and can be anywhere from five users to a million users."
"The platform has medium pricing."
"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."
"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."
"This solution is priced well and we currently have the maximum number of licenses allowed."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
University
8%
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
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Peplink SpeedFusion?
In the Philippines, VPN usage may not be widely known, but we leverage VPN effectively within my organization. I've shared our in-house systems with other district offices, as I cover fifteen munic...
What needs improvement with Peplink SpeedFusion?
The product needs to aggregate the bandwidth of different ISPs. It needs to improve scalability as well.
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

No data available
SonicWall Aventail, SonicWall SMA SSL-VPN, SonicWall Secure Mobile Access
 

Learn More

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

MIT Robotics Team, Intel, Apple, Google, Hootsuite, Northrop Gruman, Alcatel-Lucent, Motorola, Avocent, GE, VW, Marriott, Renaissance, WSI, Union /Pacific
UnitedStack, Newport City Homes, Faith Lutheran College Redlands, PRIME aerostructures GmbH, Celtic Manor Resort
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet, Cisco, Check Point Software Technologies and others in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions. Updated: January 2025.
831,158 professionals have used our research since 2012.