Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) vs. Cisco IOS Security

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)
Score 8.6 out of 10
N/A
The Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) offers a network-based approach for adaptable, trusted access everywhere, based on context. It gives the user intelligent, integrated protection through intent-based policy and compliance solutions.N/A
Cisco IOS Security
Score 7.1 out of 10
N/A
IOS Security from Cisco is network security technology.N/A
Pricing
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)Cisco IOS Security
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)Cisco IOS Security
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)Cisco IOS Security
Considered Both Products
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)
Chose Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)
ISE has multiple cisco servers to provide redundancies to manage whenever a user logs into a cisco system. System administrators can conduct audits in the network to see who logged in and made what changes to the network. Users are granted different network privileges. which …
Chose Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)
We use Cisco Identity Services Engine to complement the products in our security architecture.
Chose Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)
Cisco Secure Network Analytics and Cisco Catalyst Center
Chose Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)
In terms of ease of use, It's such a legacy application that it's pretty well known and well established and so in that sense it's easier to configure it.
Chose Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)
This question is not applicable as Cisco Identity Services Engine is the only product used or tested.
Chose Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)
More-robust device profiling, better TACACS support
Chose Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)
I think all give some visibility of device monitoring and management, but Cisco Identity Services Engine gives a good way to manage more details about the device in a centralized way that gives a wider range of monitoring and control than the other softwares individually. I …
Chose Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)
Cisco Catalyst Center
Chose Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)
Portnox
Chose Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)
Cisco Meraki Dashboard
Chose Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)
Cisco Catalyst Center
Chose Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)
Cisco Catalyst Center, Cisco Catalyst Switches, Cisco Embedded Wireless Controller and Cisco Catalyst 9800 Series Wireless Controllers
Chose Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)
Cisco Catalyst Switches, Cisco Secure Network Analytics, Cisco Meraki Dashboard, Cisco Umbrella and Visual ASA
Chose Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)
Cisco Nexus Series Switches, Cisco Catalyst Switches and Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Software
Chose Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)
Extreme Networks Wired Access - Switches
Chose Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)
We really don't have similar product, but we used SolarWinds for some monitoring purpose but since Cisco Identity Services Engine got pretty good reporting/monitoring component. I personally use Cisco Identity Services Engine more often.
Chose Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)
Works and integrates really well with the secure firewall for RAVPN user authentication
Cisco IOS Security
Chose Cisco IOS Security
IOS Security is a bonus feature when you purchase Cisco devices. It is great to have a vendor provide equipment to go above and beyond the minimal needs for business operation. Having security at the downstream edge of our organization provides a sense of ease from potential …
Chose Cisco IOS Security
Cisco IOS Security is more simple in use than Juniper devices, and they have a lot of documentations and blogs to design, implement and troubleshooting steps to use, also Cisco support keeps communication with us during any problem to fix it and learn the root cause and fix all …
Chose Cisco IOS Security
It’s not a secret for anyone that Cisco provides the best routers with the most reliable software on the market. Although we considered using a PC running Linux for the same purpose, we realized that to keep things simple it would be best if we use a brand that we already know …
Chose Cisco IOS Security
I also like HP Procurve. It is my choice when the customer cannot afford Cisco. Cisco is better all round but HP is the only other [product] I will use if I have a choice.
Best Alternatives
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)Cisco IOS Security
Small Businesses
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Medium-sized Companies
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Score 9.1 out of 10
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Enterprises
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User Ratings
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)Cisco IOS Security
Likelihood to Recommend
8.5
(0 ratings)
9.1
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
7.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Availability
8.9
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
9.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
7.0
(0 ratings)
9.0
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.9
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
8.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
7.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
9.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)Cisco IOS Security
Likelihood to Recommend
Cisco ISE integrates will with a Cisco solution such as firewalls, network switches and routers. It does an incredible job of granting access based on the role that an individual or groups have, and the ability to remove access to that individual or group is also east. In our environment ISE is used to authenticate external users that have access by vpn, and also to manage access to the large network infrastructure
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Cisco IOS Security is great when there isn't enough budget to acquire advanced security solutions like ISE. We can use the Cisco IOS security features to secure our network as much as we can, we can do authentication using Radius, Port Security, and access lists to secure our traffic while eliminating the attacker from accessing our network.
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Pros
  • The most beneficial thing that I love about it, there are tons of things that I love about ISE and that it does well, but the most fascinating that I feel about is its integration with DNA center or Catalyst Center using PX Grid as the protocol wherein ISE acts as a policy server for the entire campus hand in hand with Catalyst Center to make sure that the policy policy follows the user and also in the background hand in hand with DNA Center or Catalyst Center makes sure microsegmentation is implemented so that east west traffic is blocked and takes care of the campus.
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  • QoS. Cisco Quality of Service is top notch and handles prioritization of voice and video without issue.
  • Ease of implementation and configuration. Once you have a device configured, it is easy to use that configuration as a template for the rest. Export your config, update, the IP Address and Name at a minimum, then deploy to the next device.
  • Longevity! Sometimes it can be difficult to upsell a current Cisco client due to aging hardware. I have gone into a network that has 12 year old switches still running strong. I have only seen this with the Cisco brand. At that point, the upsell is the newer features and not the age of the device.
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Cons
  • I guess the user experience itself, it's sometimes a little bit slow, but this is also dependent on the platform and the scale of the deployment of course. But actually functionality-wise it's really, really good. But yeah, it could sometimes be a little quicker to react on the good front.
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  • Needs many lines to configure a detailed access list.
  • No seamless integration between Cisco IOS and LDAP for authentication and need something in middle like Radius.
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Likelihood to Renew
We are so very reliant on Cisco Identity Services Engine at this point that finding another solution would be a big hassle for us.
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No answers on this topic
Usability
For us the solution is very easily useable on its own. Perhaps that has to do because we started using ISE in the 1.2 days and have seen it grow during the years. Policy creation, etc. is all very visible and thus easy to use. Deployment of multiple nodes is also incredibly easy and flexible. You can easily add or remove nodes as you wish.
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No answers on this topic
Reliability and Availability
We do have to occasionally reboot the servers when they get low on memory, but we're also a few versions behind. Availability has generally been pretty good though with no major outages in the time that we've had it implemented.
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No answers on this topic
Performance
yes it does. depending on where you coming from. Logs are pretty busy same as report. it also depending on devices count and design.
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No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Cisco support is second to none, both in terms of how you access support but also the knowledge of the individual support teams. If you focus on one technology and provide "manufacturer support" then you can rest assured that you are accessing Cisco's top individuals. I feel like this is a USP for Cisco support.
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Cisco has the biggest and most trustful partner network in the world. Besides that, you can buy a service contract with the hardware and use the Cisco TAC to help to solve problems. That’s a key differential for Cisco comparing to other vendors.
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Online Training
Training can only cover certain areas, there are a lot of areas training just can't cover. You have to learn by doing it.
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No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
I did participate in the implementation of Cisco ISE and while there were times when it was confusing and we had a lot of trial and error, overall the experience was fine.
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No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
I think all give some visibility of device monitoring and management, but Cisco Identity Services Engine gives a good way to manage more details about the device in a centralized way that gives a wider range of monitoring and control than the other softwares individually. I don't think Cisco Identity Services Engine eliminates the need for these other software as of now, but there is potential for Cisco Identity Services Engine to be able to take over more of these roles.
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IOS Security is a bonus feature when you purchase Cisco devices. It is great to have a vendor provide equipment to go above and beyond the minimal needs for business operation. Having security at the downstream edge of our organization provides a sense of ease from potential attacks.
Read full review
Scalability
It's fully customised and comprehensive. only thing is you need to know what you want. Proper research and planning would save lots of time and effort .
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No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
  • I don't know about negatives because we haven't seen it right now, but positive impact is one is the roadmap we have. And now since we are going ahead with doing the deployment of Cisco ISE, we see that we are getting closure to, so at the end of the day, we have to make sure that operationally we stay excellent. So that's where operational excellence comes in. Cisco ISE is basically addressing that for us. Right now we are in a situation if there is a WIFI issue or if there is an authentication issue, it gets really difficult to isolate the problem. But with Cisco ISE , this functionality is going to come in. So we believe that it would be a good ROI.
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  • Cisco iOS security helped our business deploy a relatively safe solution for a small amount of money.
  • If you don’t have enough budget to invest in a robust and expensive firewall solution, you can safely use Cisco iOS security to protect your branch or remote office without compromise your network.
  • Because Cisco iOS security uses a simple command-line based interface, you can deploy standardized scripts and keep the operational costs low.
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ScreenShots

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) Screenshots

Screenshot of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)