Price : Too low to display
Cisco SA 540 Security Appliance SA540-K9 Network Security & Firewalls
This review is from : Cisco SA540 Security Appliance
Verisign VIP One-Time-Password Support on the Cisco SA-500 Series Appliances . We purchased a pair of these security appliances to control VPN access to our main company HQ and a remote office. One of the big attractions of using this device over the IOS-based firewall included in our standard Cisco router is that the security appliance supports Verisign's VIP (Verisign Identity Protection) one-time password authentication protocol. The Verisign VIP system uses a physical token (similar to an RSA SecureID token) to generate time-tagged one-time passwords. Alternatively, the VIP system also supports a small application that can run on smart phones (Blackberry, iPhone, or Windows Mobile phones). This is a nice system, but I've found that Verisign is very difficult to work with. First, it's almost impossible to find pricing information for the Verisign tokens on the web, and it took almost a week of leaving messages at the Verisign customer site to get anyone to return a sales call. Second, this product is meant for larger businesses as they require you to purchase support for a minimum of 100 tokens. I believe each one costs about $13/yr in support costs. This is reasonable if you actually have 100 or more VPN users, but may be prohibitive for small businesses that have only a few VPN users.
I realize this review has more to do with the Verisign product than the Cisco fireall appliance, but wanted to relay my experience for others who might be purchasing the Cisco SA-500/520/540 product with the intention of using Versign's VIP service to perform the authentication function.
Verisign VIP One-Time-Password Support on the Cisco SA-500 Series Appliances . We purchased a pair of these security appliances to control VPN access to our main company HQ and a remote office. One of the big attractions of using this device over the IOS-based firewall included in our standard Cisco router is that the security appliance supports Verisign's VIP (Verisign Identity Protection) one-time password authentication protocol. The Verisign VIP system uses a physical token (similar to an RSA SecureID token) to generate time-tagged one-time passwords. Alternatively, the VIP system also supports a small application that can run on smart phones (Blackberry, iPhone, or Windows Mobile phones). This is a nice system, but I've found that Verisign is very difficult to work with. First, it's almost impossible to find pricing information for the Verisign tokens on the web, and it took almost a week of leaving messages at the Verisign customer site to get anyone to return a sales call. Second, this product is meant for larger businesses as they require you to purchase support for a minimum of 100 tokens. I believe each one costs about $13/yr in support costs. This is reasonable if you actually have 100 or more VPN users, but may be prohibitive for small businesses that have only a few VPN users.
I realize this review has more to do with the Verisign product than the Cisco fireall appliance, but wanted to relay my experience for others who might be purchasing the Cisco SA-500/520/540 product with the intention of using Versign's VIP service to perform the authentication function.
Cisco SA540 Security Appliance Reviews
Great Price Point for a flexible SMB Firewall . Selected this based that is has Cisco on the box. But what i found out was that they took the Linksys SMB line and improved it. Works great and couldn't expect more for the price. Beware, there is no CLI interface with this appliance.
Great Price Point for a flexible SMB Firewall . Selected this based that is has Cisco on the box. But what i found out was that they took the Linksys SMB line and improved it. Works great and couldn't expect more for the price. Beware, there is no CLI interface with this appliance.
Cisco SA540 Security Appliance Opinions
Cisco Security Appliance . It was tricky to get this to work with our network that was built on a shoestring, but after a couple support calls to Cisco and bringing in a specialist, it works just fine. It seems that Cisco doesn't offer the support for this type of product until you start spending lots and lots of money. You just have to figure it out on your own.
Cisco Security Appliance . It was tricky to get this to work with our network that was built on a shoestring, but after a couple support calls to Cisco and bringing in a specialist, it works just fine. It seems that Cisco doesn't offer the support for this type of product until you start spending lots and lots of money. You just have to figure it out on your own.
Cons Review
Unstable and Unresponsive . Had these in two offices (West Coast/NYC) for a little over a week. The firmware is highly unstable, even after being upgraded to the latest version from Cisco. These were installed by a highly-rated Cisco partner firm for our offices, and after trying to get the most basic features to stick we've all simply given up. The VPN is extremely slow and volatile, settings do not stick in the firmware ("Hey, didn't I just make that a UDP port forward? Why does it default to TCP when the setting is applied and saved?"), DNS errors (that Cisco acknowledged and "fixed") caused unpredictable browsing and Web services for users, there's no command-line interface only GUI, and port forwarding simply does not (even when Cisco support tried to fix it). Terrible routers that it turns out are re-branded Linksys (remember, Cisco bought Linksys not too long ago). Save yourself a headache and start with a 5505 if you're looking at this price point.
Clearly not a Cisco Product worth owning . This device was a complete disaster in my application.
Among various issues;
- VLAN support was unstable
- The device crashed at least once a week
- Both memory and CPU usage remained very high without complex features enabled
- There is no command line interface.
- Commercial SSL Certificate purchased from GeoTrust did not work.
- Device crashed so badly one time that the Unit needed to be factory reset and reconfigured.
- Telephone / Small Business support was verging on useless for issues.
In short, don't waste your money on this. Spend a bit more and buy a SonicWall TZ200 or TZ210. You'll save in the long run.
Among various issues;
- VLAN support was unstable
- The device crashed at least once a week
- Both memory and CPU usage remained very high without complex features enabled
- There is no command line interface.
- Commercial SSL Certificate purchased from GeoTrust did not work.
- Device crashed so badly one time that the Unit needed to be factory reset and reconfigured.
- Telephone / Small Business support was verging on useless for issues.
In short, don't waste your money on this. Spend a bit more and buy a SonicWall TZ200 or TZ210. You'll save in the long run.
Feature Cisco SA540 Security Appliance
- Firewall: 300 Mbps
- IPsec VPN: 85 Mbps
- 8 LAN ports
- 50 SSL VPN seats (included)
- 100 IPsec VPN tunnels
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Product Details
EAN : 5052217154491UPC : 882658266768
MPN : 0882658266768
Brand : Cisco
Weight : 6 pounds
Height : 4 inches
Length : 16 inches
Width : 14 inches
Binding : Personal Computers
Format : CD-ROM
Hardware Platform : Pc
ItemPartNumber : SA540K9
Manufacturer : CISCO SYSTEMS - ENTERPRISE
Model : SA540-K9
Operating System : Windows
Platform : Windows
Publisher : CISCO SYSTEMS - ENTERPRISE
Size : 300 Mbps
SKU : 218111
Studio : CISCO SYSTEMS - ENTERPRISE
Where To Buy
You can buy Cisco SA540 Security Appliance on Amazon . Click here to Read More
