We performed a comparison between Netgate pfSense and Sangfor NGAF based on real PeerSpot user reviews.
Find out in this report how the two Firewalls solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI."FortiGate's web and URL filtering are unlike any other firewall I've used. The functionality of URL filtering in those solutions is problematic because everything is encrypted, and firewalls can't break that encryption protocol. Fortinet has an SSL proxy, so the encryption is done before the packet ever leaves the FortiGate. The URL filter is definitely one of the most helpful features."
"The initial installation is very straightforward."
"Fortinet FortiGate appears to be scalable."
"Layer-3 firewall and routing are the most valuable features."
"A strong point of FortiGate is that the graphical interface is complete and easy to use, especially if we think there is a list of operations that we are able to perform inside."
"Fortinet FortiGate is a security device. It can optimize security on the networks of a company. It actually protects the company from attacks from outside. With FortiGate, you can categorize the users. You can create a group of users that can access all of the websites for their work. You can limit other users' access."
"This product is definitely scalable."
"Unified Threat Management (UTM) features."
"The initial setup was straightforward, therefore I wanted to continue using the product."
"I like pfSense's reports and how I can control access to the policies on the firewall."
"The main features of this solution are customization and ease to use."
"We've found the stability to be very good overall."
"It is effective. We have not had any problems."
"The solution has good customization abilities and plenty of features."
"The most valuable features of pfSense are the reports, monitoring, filtration, and blocking incoming and outgoing traffic."
"Super easy to manage. Anyone who has been working with firewalls can handle it."
"The price versus value is good because the solution is less expensive than Sophos, Fortinet, or SonicWall."
"In four steps one can configure the entire firewall."
"SSL VPN is the best feature."
"It offers application control features."
"It seems to be a durable, stable product."
"I think Sangfor NGAF is more valuable than Cisco products because of its simplicity and ease of management. If I compare it with Palo Alto and Cisco, both are quite complex products. And if I compare it with FortiGate firewalls from Fortinet, I have also used all these products. Fortinet and Sangfor NGAF are similar products because the applications behind the application and policy layers are almost identical."
"The most valuable features are the WAN optimization, the internet access gateway (IAG), and the central console, which allows us to implement on their firewall."
"So far, the performance and reliability of the product have supported our company's critical network traffic."
"We'd like more management across other integrations."
"Fortinet needs to overhaul its documentation."
"The firmware needs improvement because there are bugs when a new release comes through. Sometimes, the configuration changes, and it's a bit harder to see where the fail is. The first time that you have the firmware, it tends to have some issues, and it's better to wait a bit to update the equipment."
"They are doing good, but they can improve the distributor assignment. The availability of the product and the timeline of delivery are the main things. The distribution should be swift, and the distributor should not reach out to end customers directly. They should work as a distributor. There should also be one more local distributor. Currently, there is only one distributor in Pakistan, and the rest of them are in UAE. It is difficult to work with only one distributor. Sometimes, you don't get along with the same distributor, and that's why they should have one more distributor. Their licensing should also be improved. The activation or renewal of the product should be done from the date of renewal, not from the date on which the license expired."
"The room for improvement is about the global delivery time period. Usually I need to wait for almost one month to deliver it overseas. So if you can shorten the deliver time it'd be great."
"Fortinet FortiGate needs to improve to be on par with its competitors, such as Palo Alto and Sophos. They are the market leaders. Fortinet FortiGate needs to improve its capabilities. However, we are happy with Fortinet FortiGate."
"Fortinet needs more memory to save the log files. We need it to save the logs on the hardware and not in the cloud. I know this feature is available in FortiCloud, but if we need this log locally, it is not available."
"Maybe they could make some features more accessible, such as a way to translate directions between two networks that share the same subnets."
"Adjustment in the interfaces: I had to adjust those interfaces manually and of course that is a great feature that you can restore it but it is immediately also one point for improvement. If you don't have to adjust, if it's just stamped and it works, that's great."
"Layer 7 advanced firewall features are not included in the solution."
"Web interface could be enhanced and more user friendly."
"It should integrate with LDAP, Active Directory, etc, to improve the way in which the traces and connections of each IP, or user connected through the firewall, are shown."
"It was difficult to configure our web printer through the solution. This process could be easier. Additionally, integration with SD-WAN solution."
"Perhaps the documentation is not clear and because it is supported in the community there is no basic documentation."
"Other solutions provide more scope for growth. For instance, we can have only 10 to 20 employees on VPN, but other solutions can support more users. We also have more capabilities to increase the performance of the solution."
"Needs services on additional features, such as managing inventory and generating reports."
"The interface and user experience are horrible."
"Occasional issues with breaches which are dealt with expediently."
"The solution should be able to work in a hybrid setup."
"The firewall system needs gradual improvements because there are more threats and challenges every day."
"Sangfor need greater exposer in the market because the market is mainly saturated by Fortinet. The user experience of Fortinet is quite different compared to NGAF. If we want to switch our users from Fortinet to NGAF, we have to convince them that the user experience will be much easier once once they start to use it."
"There is room for improvement in dependency on certain infrastructure, like the DNS dependency on the current DNS server that the company has. It should be standalone. It should not depend on any other DNS server."
"The setup phase is quite complex."
"The web interface needs to be improved, making it more user-friendly."
Netgate pfSense is ranked 1st in Firewalls with 128 reviews while Sangfor NGAF is ranked 20th in Firewalls with 31 reviews. Netgate pfSense is rated 8.6, while Sangfor NGAF is rated 8.0. The top reviewer of Netgate pfSense writes "User-friendly, easy to manage the firewall, rule-wise and interface-wise". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Sangfor NGAF writes "Affordable, easy to configure firewall with fast, responsive support". Netgate pfSense is most compared with OPNsense, Sophos XG, KerioControl, Sophos UTM and Cisco Secure Firewall, whereas Sangfor NGAF is most compared with Sophos XG, Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls, Check Point NGFW, Fortinet FortiOS and Huawei NGFW. See our Netgate pfSense vs. Sangfor NGAF report.
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