Why Cisco?

The author of this article is Sergey Fedorov, cisco instructor, CCIE Security # 22974. If the article is of interest, the author will receive an invite to Habr. Next - from his face (with my tie-ins).
UPD. The task of the post is to inform those who are interested in the presence of Cisco company, and, perhaps, contemplate the author of the article as an expert in the May reception.
UPD2. Sergey Fedorov is a habraiser, if someone has not noticed :) Here: fedia . Welcome :)

Why Cisco? Such a head begins a course on Cisco sales. I will call it my short essay and me.

So why Cisco? What is it about this magic word of 5 small letters? Is there nothing better?
Ask any administrator, vendor, integrator - everyone will flash because they know a case when there is a solution that is simpler, cheaper, better, more productive than a solution from Cisco ...
That's just a step to the left, a step to the right of this wonderful decision, and it becomes much more difficult to find a replacement ...
I'll try to briefly describe what the strengths of the Cisco solutions are.
')
Coverage. Cisco solutions have no competitors in this parameter. The widest range of all network solutions, from the SOHO market to provider solutions, from small but functional routers to network management systems of large enterprises.

Main directions:

1. Multifunctional routers
2. Powerful, smart switches
3. Active Protection Devices - ASA, ACE
4. Intrusion Prevention Systems - IPS
5. Centralized wireless access systems
6. Unified communications (VoIP, video conferencing, telepresence, call control systems)
7. Host Central Protection Systems (CSA)
8. Access Control System (NAC)
9. And ... everything you can think of yet :)

The main thing is that cisco does not stop at what has been accomplished and “holds its nose in the wind”, investing money in promising areas and inventing new ones, for example, buying promising developments and embedding them in its solutions. In this way, having received the support of such a giant, interesting solutions have a chance to break through "into people."

Reliability. Everything breaks down, the only question is when. Reliability cisco proven years of successful operation. I won’t lie - and Cisco has had bad series, bad releases of operating systems, however, in general, fault tolerance is beyond doubt.

Flexibility. The same hardware, depending on the operating system and module stuffing, can perform completely different functions: protection, gateway of unified communications, service ... And this means that if you want something new, there is a big chance not to buy anything, but just to type several teams.

Interdependence. A curved word, but it captures the essence. Different glands that perform different functions can depend on each other and control each other. This allows you to make the network a living organism, rather than a set of disparate devices.

Debugging It is very important to configure and customize: the broadest troubleshooting capabilities built into almost all Cisco devices.

Intellectuality It is difficult to sell just expensive iron. We must sell the idea and opportunity. All Cisco devices contain a wide range of technologies, protocols, ideologies, both standard and their own, allowing you to expand the capabilities of the network.

Performance. Cisco is a leader in many market segments and must comply with this high rank. Therefore, unique solutions appear, such as CRS (one such piece of hardware is enough to provide, say, the entire UK with communication!). Now top-end solutions with 10-gigabit interfaces are in the firewall segment, in the router segment, and in the segment of intrusion prevention systems ...

Cyrill
Replica from the hall :
A fully populated CRS contains over 1,000 linecards at 40 Gb / s, although it is multichassis systems, it can be rented or shown to public. As of 2009, the CRS-1 system is limited to a total of 10Tbps.
The Fucking Router, or the Huge Fucking Router.

Centralization. Cisco devices can be managed not one by one, but using powerful systems, for example, cisco security manager. Also centrally, you can collect all sorts of statistics and analyze it - MARS. No one has yet proposed such a decision on the centralization of accounting.

Of course, never the solutions of one manufacturer can not be the best everywhere. For example, the favorite task of small offices — limiting the speed and quota to the user — is costly to Cisco. “Why, the simplest free proxy can do it!” The meticulous reader will exclaim and be right. This is just one example of when "there is a much better solution."

Moreover, I will tell sedition: not everyone needs Cisco solutions! Why pay for the simplest solutions that cisco will cost significantly more? Why pay for extra features if you never use them? We need only to think: what if these “excesses” are required?

Well, at the end of the list of typical misconceptions. Rather, it is one thing: Cisco is extremely expensive!
It's a delusion. And it is due to the fact that the customer is offered a solution that is not designed for it! The company cisco has a lot of resources (some of them I explicitly collected on AntiCisco ), allowing you to choose a solution. But the trick is that domestic "medium" companies fall, as a rule, into the lower range of SMB (Small-Medium Business). And they are offered, with an annual turnover of $ 50k, solutions for $ 25k ...

Cyrill : by the way, I used some of the solutions, with the permission of the author, in the article “ Infrastructure of a modern office - 2 ”.

For example, here’s a comparison: the customer needs 10 Mbps of the Internet, 10 encrypted tunnels with stores of 2 megabits each. Formally, the customer must deliver:

1. ASA. We take with reserve - ASA5510, with an extended license ($ 5000)
2. Router at the output to the provider (well, as the Customer then wants 2 providers). It is clear that ISR is better. With a stock of - 2811 ($ 3500)
3. Switchboard inside naturally L2 / L3, 3560 series, with gigabits ($ 6000)
4. Well, set up - 15% minimum.

Total, laying some discount, about 12-13 thousand dollars!
And the customer has a plan to spend 2, maximum 3 thousand dollars. What will the customer say? And then go buy cheap. We will not call the brand :) He will be satisfied: and saved, and solved the problem. Now. And about the extension will think later, if it is.

But it was enough to look more attentively at the task and not stupidly to redraw the recommended pictures!
The solution could be:

1. ASA 5505, unlimited users, plus license - $ 1700
2. If you want 2 providers or a non-Ethernet connection is required - ISR 18xx ($ 1500)
3. Switch to leave the old, if you can VLAN, trunk to ASA, and there to route. If you can not - Catalyst Express - $ 700
4. Setting 15%

Total: a maximum of 3 thousand dollars with discounts, including work. And a bunch of extra amenities that you can customize later and get new functionality.

In general, I don't drag anyone anywhere. My goal is simple - to help make a reasoned and balanced choice :)
All prosperity and success!
If you have any questions or suggestions on cisco, please contact us at AntiCisco : I will be happy to help myself or connect other “heavy artillery” :)

Sincerely, Sergey Fedorov, cisco instructor, CCIE Security # 22974