Best Hardware: Networking Editors' Best
Gold: Cisco routers and switches—Cisco (www.cisco.com)
Silver: NSA series of firewalls—SonicWALL (www.sonicwall.com)
Bronze: Barracuda Link Balancer—Barracuda Networks (www.barracudanetworks.com)
"While not often receiving the tender, loving care that other IT hardware and software does, in today’s Web 2.0 cloud-compelled IT world, the humble Cisco products are the plumbing that keeps most (if not all) of us afloat in some way, shape, or form. I have yet to meet an IT pro who didn’t have some piece of Cisco gear somewhere in their environment." —Michael Dragone, contributing editor,
Windows IT Pro
"My old boss used to tell me, 'Nobody ever got fired for buying Cisco gear'." —Eric B. Rux, contributing editor,
Windows IT ProCommunity Choice
Gold: Cisco routers and switches—Cisco (www.cisco.com)
Silver: ProCurve switches—HP (www.hp.com)
Bronze: EtherFast switches—Linksys (www.linksys.com)
Quotes from the Windows IT Pro
community about Cisco's routers and switches …
"I've never had any problems after implementing Cisco gear."
"Cisco always offers great support—quick, efficient, and generally knowledgeable about their products."
"It simply works."
Best Hardware: Appliance Editors' Best
Gold: Bomgar Box—Bomgar (www.bomgar.com)
Silver: SA 500 Series Security Appliances—Cisco (www.cisco.com)
Bronze: Barracuda Spam Firewall—Barracuda Networks (www.barracudanetworks.com)
"If you need to provide remote support to your users on just about any device and don't want to use a cloud-based solution (such as GoToAssist), it's hard to beat a Bomgar Box. Available in several different affordable configurations, it's an overlooked device that should be considered." —Michael Dragone, contributing editor,
Windows IT Pro
"The Bomgar Box is an appliance preloaded with the latest release of the company’s remote support software. The solution enables attended and unattended remote PC access with multi-platform support."
—Caroline Marwitz, associate editor,
Windows IT ProCommunity Choice
Gold: Cisco ASA 5500 Series—Cisco (www.cisco.com)
Silver: SonicWALL NSA 2400—SonicWALL (www.sonicwall.com)
Bronze: Barracuda Spam Firewall 300—Barracuda Networks (www.barracudanetworks.com)
Quotes from the Windows IT Pro
community about Cisco's ASA 5500 series …
"One device instead of many devices equals lots of extra cash in the budget."
"It performs exquisitely at so many security tasks."
"Robust, stable, easy to use."