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Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services vs. SonicWall TZ

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    Overview
    ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price

    Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services

    Score7.3 out of 10
    N/ACisco offers a threat-focused next-generation firewall (NGFW), the ASA 5500-X Series. The ASA 5500 Series platforms can run either the Cisco ASA Firewall or Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD). The series features appliances in a variety of form factors, including standalone options for small and midsize businesses, ruggedized appliances for extreme environments, midsize appliances for security at the Internet edge, and high-performance appliances for enterprise data centers.N/A

    SonicWall TZ

    Score7.2 out of 10
    N/ASonicWall TZ is an entry to mid-tier NGFW for small to mid-sized companies. It is a Unified Threat Management solution, with additional native decryption and deep-packet inspection capabilities.

    $399

    one-time fee

    Pricing
    Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER ServicesSonicWall TZ
    Editions & Modules
    No answers on this topic
    SonicWall TZ270 High Availability
    $329.60
    SonicWall TZ270 (hardware only)
    $414.04
    SonicWall TZ370 High Availability
    $493.04
    SonicWall TZ270 Wireless-AC (hardware only)
    $502.57
    SonicWall TZ370 (hardware only)
    $618.34
    SonicWall TZ270 TotalSecure - Essential Edition (1 Year)
    $689.16
    SonicWall TZ370 Wireless-AC (hardware only)
    $708.23
    SonicWall TZ270 TotalSecure - Advanced Edition (1 Year)
    $769.52
    SonicWall TZ470 High Availability
    $776.33
    SonicWall TZ270 Wireless-AC TotalSecure - Essential Edition (1 Year)
    $796.76
    SonicWall TZ270 Wireless-AC TotalSecure - Advanced Edition (1 Year)
    $930.24
    SonicWall TZ370 TotalSecure - Essential Edition (1 Year)
    $973.82
    SonicWall TZ470 (hardware only)
    $973.82
    SonicWall TZ570 High Availability (HA) Unit
    $988.80
    SonicWall TZ470 Wireless-AC (hardware only)
    $1063.71
    SonicWall TZ370 TotalSecure - Advanced Edition (1 Year)
    $1085.50
    SonicWall TZ370 Wireless-AC TotalSecure - Essential Edition (1 Year)
    $1107.29
    SonicWall TZ370 Wireless-AC TotalSecure - Advanced Edition (1 Year)
    $1232.60
    SonicWall TZ570
    $1240.77
    SonicWall TZ670 High Availability (HA) Unit
    $1273.46
    SonicWall TZ570 Wireless-AC
    $1356.54
    SonicWall TZ570 with 8x5 Support (1 Year)
    $1450.51
    SonicWall TZ570 Wireless-AC with 8x5 Support (1 Year)
    $1588.07
    SonicWall TZ470 TotalSecure - Essential Edition (1 Year)
    $1596.25
    SonicWall TZ670
    $1596.25
    SonicWall TZ470 Wireless-AC TotalSecure - Essential Edition (1 Year)
    $1729.72
    SonicWall TZ470 TotalSecure - Advanced Edition (1 Year)
    $1805.99
    SonicWall TZ670 with 8x5 Support (1 Year)
    $1867.28
    SonicWall TZ470 Wireless-AC TotalSecure - Advanced Edition (1 Year)
    $1876.82
    SonicWall TZ570 TotalSecure - Essential Edition (1 Year)
    $2006.20
    SonicWall TZ570 Wireless-AC TotalSecure - Essential Edition (1 Year)
    $2192.80
    SonicWall TZ570 TotalSecure - Advanced Edition (1 Year)
    $2200.97
    SonicWall TZ570 Wireless-AC TotalSecure - Advanced Edition (1 Year)
    $2442.04
    SonicWall TZ670 TotalSecure - Essential Edition (1 Year)
    $2574.15
    SonicWall TZ670 TotalSecure - Advanced Edition (1 Year)
    $2868.34
    Offerings
    Pricing Offerings
    Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER ServicesSonicWall TZ
    Free Trial
    NoYes
    Free/Freemium Version
    NoNo
    Premium Consulting/Integration Services
    NoNo
    Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
    Additional DetailsCisco ASA 5500-X pricing starts at ~$400 and scales up to $20,000 for higher capacity appliances.See pricing link for TZ Series (Gen6) editions. All prices have been converted from pounds. Conversion rates may change.
    More Pricing Information
    Community Pulse
    Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER ServicesSonicWall TZ
    Considered Both Products
    Cisco
    No answer on this topic
    SonicWall
    No answer on this topic
    Key User Insights
    Would buy again
    78%
    Would buy again
    18 Answers
    93%
    Would buy again
    13 Answers
    Delivers good value for the price
    100%
    Delivers good value for the price
    23 Answers
    93%
    Delivers good value for the price
    13 Answers
    Happy with the feature set
    96%
    Happy with the feature set
    22 Answers
    100%
    Happy with the feature set
    14 Answers
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    95%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    19 Answers
    100%
    Lived up to sales and marketing promises
    12 Answers
    Implementation went as expected
    85%
    Implementation went as expected
    17 Answers
    100%
    Implementation went as expected
    14 Answers
    Features
    Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER ServicesSonicWall TZ
    Firewall
    Comparison of Firewall features of Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services and SonicWall TZ
    Feature
    Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services
    9.0
    30 Ratings
    4% above category average
    SonicWall TZ
    5.6
    11 Ratings
    43% below category average
    Identification Technologies8.428 Ratings7.011 Ratings
    Visualization Tools9.324 Ratings7.010 Ratings
    Content Inspection8.429 Ratings6.011 Ratings
    Policy-based Controls10.028 Ratings4.511 Ratings
    Active Directory and LDAP10.029 Ratings5.511 Ratings
    Firewall Management Console9.830 Ratings5.011 Ratings
    Reporting and Logging7.629 Ratings5.511 Ratings
    VPN10.030 Ratings5.511 Ratings
    High Availability10.028 Ratings5.010 Ratings
    Stateful Inspection8.14 Ratings6.011 Ratings
    Proxy Server7.23 Ratings5.08 Ratings
    Best Alternatives
    Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER ServicesSonicWall TZ
    Small Businesses
    SonicWall NSA Series
    Score8.5 out of 10
    SonicWall NSA Series
    Score8.5 out of 10
    Medium-sized Companies
    Barracuda CloudGen Firewall
    Score9.4 out of 10
    Barracuda CloudGen Firewall
    Score9.4 out of 10
    Enterprises
    Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
    Score9 out of 10
    Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
    Score9 out of 10
    All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
    User Ratings
    Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER ServicesSonicWall TZ
    Likelihood to Recommend
    9.2
    (30 ratings)
    7.0
    (18 ratings)
    Likelihood to Renew
    9.7
    (3 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Usability
    7.2
    (2 ratings)
    6.0
    (2 ratings)
    Availability
    10.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Performance
    9.2
    (26 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Support Rating
    9.9
    (29 ratings)
    6.0
    (8 ratings)
    Implementation Rating
    10.0
    (2 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    Ease of integration
    9.0
    (1 ratings)
    -
    (0 ratings)
    User Testimonials
    Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER ServicesSonicWall TZ
    Likelihood to Recommend
    Cisco
    This firewall is best suited for the network edge/perimeter deployment. The next gen features works very well and the remote access VPN is also very much suitable for the organizations which have a huge user base working remotely. The Remote Access VPN is very much customizable and the authentication integration option like LDAP and RADIUS provides and addon.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SonicWall
    Based on my experience, this is a solid platform for a small to mid sized company, especially when there is someone who has IT experience, or can get outsourced IT help. I would not recommend for someone who is a technology novice. Also, this is a competent device for someone who is looking to add VPN services for remote workers.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Pros
    Cisco
    • The Cisco ASA with FirePOWER Services model works perfectly for network edge protection scenarios.
    • It allows for the creation and connection of sites through site-to-site VPN configuration.
    • It enables remote connection and home office with remote SSL or IPSEC VPN.
    • It has layer 7 traffic protection and visibility.
    • It has anti-malware protection from start to finish.
    • The configuration is easy to perform.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SonicWall
    • If you have multiple sites and you want the connect the sites through secure medium this is best firewall for you.
    • There are very advanced features helps you to connect the device easily and securely.
    • Easy to connect the sites through advanced routing protocols.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Cons
    Cisco
    • URL Filtering feature could be easier to utilize for beginners
    • I'd like to see a visual of VPN networks setup and show the functioning or malfunctioning status to assist in making troubleshooting easier
    • Recommendations on ACLs for beginners based on their account creation date
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SonicWall
    • There are Service Bundles in SonicWall TZ that are Unlicensed and do not know why they have not be Activated - would need help to further understand benefits
    • Do not know why Standard Support is Unlicensed
    • WiFi range of TZ270W is very limited - need to add Access Points or Extended to obtain adequate coverage
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Likelihood to Renew
    Cisco
    Ever since we installed Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services we have never had to deal with an attack. We can see in the logs almost every day hackers attempting to break into our networks and failing. We also have the ability to blacklist every IP address that attempts to break into our firewalls
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SonicWall
    No answers on this topic
    Usability
    Cisco
    Cisco firepower provides automatation for an organisations security operations to detect and stop the most advanced threats fast. It also assists in preventing attacks in using intelligence and innovative solutions.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SonicWall
    Overall the new interface is very logical and easy to navigate. We did struggle at first coming from the older interface and finding our way around the new. But our new users found it very simple to find what they were looking for. One negative we do all struggle with is packet cpature not always being clear how its set/what is being monitored. this could do with more information on teh intial page instead of having to look for it
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    Reliability and Availability
    Cisco
    We have never had an outage caused by firewall failure. We have had a few outages caused by the internet failing or cloud applications going offline but never a firewall breaking down. When making changes we have a very strong change control, major software updates are always carried out out of working hours. At places where we have two firewalls in HA, we are able to do upgrades in working ours and the users will never know that an upgrade is taking place, that how great these firewalls are
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SonicWall
    No answers on this topic
    Performance
    Cisco
    The Cisco ASA 5500X with Firepower performance needs consideration before deploying. Although the solution is Pay as you grow, adding additional features to the system has a negative impact on overall throughput. I would more like now only to deploy the Cisco FPR units as they have better performance and will last the test of time.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SonicWall
    No answers on this topic
    Support Rating
    Cisco
    I would recommend the purchase of the Smartnet 24x7 service in the case of a unit and the Smartnet 8x5NBD in the case of only one appliance installed on site. This service is important to always have the latest firmware updates, corrective updates and especially the hardware warranty and maintenance service in case of problems. The service is done by phone or on the official Cisco website and I can say that it is very good and efficient.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SonicWall
    Once you get to a competent technician the support experience is better. But I have found that the lower tiers of support are very slow to respond (like 1 email per day) and you typically have to re-explain yourself a couple times before they get it. I have not used Phone support, and that may be a better experience.
    Incentivized
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    Implementation Rating
    Cisco
    We implemented a centralized management of all our Cisco ASA 5500-x with FirePOWER Services so that we can have a holistic view of all our sites in London and other European countries. This also helps when making changes, instead of login on to each firewall we can use Firepower Management Center (FMC) to central deploy changes across all devices
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SonicWall
    No answers on this topic
    Alternatives Considered
    Cisco
    Previous],] I was using the [pfSense] in my organization but when i switched to [Cisco ASA 5500-X with FirePOWER Services] I realized there are lots of issue and missing security features in [pfSense]. The deployment and configuration is very easy as compare to [pfSense]. I highly recommend this product to everyone.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SonicWall
    SonicWall and WatchGuard are both fine appliances, but I am accustomed to the Barracuda NG. The Barracuda Control Center is so powerful and useful that it beats out the other two. SonicWall does a great job of dividing up firewall rules and NAT policies, but this is a preference among engineers.
    Read full review
    Return on Investment
    Cisco
    • Working of remote workforce made easy
    • Security was enhanced on the data traffic shared with the vendors due to the use of VPNs
    • Inbound attacks were mostly blocked on the edge and saved a lot of resources (which could had been used in case of attacks getting successful on the application servers)
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    SonicWall
    • We have three SonicWall TZ devices and they are very helpful in a VPN set up.
    • The subscription costs for the different features has a great return on investment. It is very well worth the money.
    • The antivirus component has been very effective on the computers and servers the SonicWall TZ device protects.
    Incentivized
    Read full review
    ScreenShots

    SonicWall TZ Screenshots

    Screenshot of the SonicWall TZ 570 applianceScreenshot of the SonicWall TZ 370W appliance