Cisco's IPS was a close second among Readers' Choice respondents, who gave it particularly high marks for effectiveness, update frequency, integration with network defense and management tools (no surprise considering Cisco's dominance on the network) and vendor service and support.

Adding Cisco's IPS module to the 5500 series combines signature-based intrusion prevention to a platform known for its top-shelf network firewall/VPN capabilities, built on Cisco PIX. The integration is designed to help organizations make intelligent decisions that allow legitimate traffic while flagging and blocking intrusions, worms, etc.

Organizations can use the IPS risk rating feature to base alerts and automated action on business-specific criteria, such as asset sensitivity.

Cisco-dominated shops benefit from the use of Cisco Security Manager to administer all Cisco security products from a central console. The IPS is often paired with Cisco's MARS SIEM product, enabling enterprises to correlate IPS alerts with information gathered across the network.