I was always a Cisco fan until I came across Netscreen firewall vpn routers. Netscreen was acquired by Juniper networks sometime ago. I was hired to work for a project for Sleep Country Canada, to implement a VPN infrastructure. I did not have a choice but learn how to configure the Netscreen firewall and vpn devices in a few weeks. Since I had a background in Cisco VPN devices such as Pix and routers, it was an easy and short learning curve for me. I just printed out the hundreds of pages of Netscreen examples, manual and read them.
Learning the Netscreen commands was easy in comparison to Cisco commands. Unlike Cisco where you can only use the web interface for basic configuration, the web console for the Netscreen allows for even advance configuration. There are some commands that can only be entered through the command line interface. The Netscreen web interface is very intuitive, easy to use and understand. Setting up site to site VPN and remote access VPN is very easy.
You get more features for the price with a Netscreen vs a Cisco. The product is also very robust and reliable, I have been managing over a 100 VPN sites for the past 3 years and only about 2 appliances broke in the field.
The Netscreen devices are capable of the best and most secure encryption. Some of the models that I have worked with are the Netscreen 5XT, 5GT, 5GT ADSL A, and 204. The 5GT ADSL has a DSL modem built in that is capable of both PPoA and PPoE protocols. The 5 serries are also capable of dial backup, if the primary high speed link is down then it can be configured to automatically dial up a secondary connection via analog modem.
I am now a believer of the Netscreen (Juniper) product line and will recommend it. Cisco is still a good product, but if you are looking for a competitive product check out Juniper.
