Alcatel-Lucent OmniAccess Enterprise Service Routers vs Fortinet FortiExtender comparison

Alcatel-Lucent OmniAccess Enterprise Service Routers vs. Fortinet FortiExtender

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Alcatel-Lucent OmniAccess E...

Ranking in Wireless WAN

9th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

5.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Fortinet FortiExtender

Ranking in Wireless WAN

8th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Wireless WAN category, the mindshare of Alcatel-Lucent OmniAccess Enterprise Service Routers is 0.1%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiExtender is 1.4%, down from 1.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Wireless WAN

Featured Reviews

OusaidAbaz

Security Network Architect at Inmac

Available to users at a very low price but needs improvement in the firewall area

The product is very easy to install. When it comes to OmniSwitch 6200, OmniSwitch 6300, or OmniSwitch 6600, you can install it in an hour and a half quickly without any problem implementing the configuration, but it's not stable. When it comes to OmniSwitch 6400, OmniSwitch 6800, or OmniSwitch 9700, mostly the tools are limited in terms of the protocol. The switch cannot be managed to manage the power of our ethernet. For example, if we connect an iPhone to the switch, 740 watts will be required, but after six months, someone will discover that the port doesn't work anymore. Even if we configure it to push the power of a port, it will not work. It's not really, it's not, it's not work. At the same time, the problem was that the tool was very old, like Alcatel OmniPCX Enterprise PABX system. In Alcatel, there are only two types of architecture, the old and new ones. For example, on the outside, if there is a need for 24 ports to be implemented on telephony, then we implement less than that number to connect to the end of the phone, which is a very serious problem that is not resolved by the product.

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Mohammad Al-Zard

Technical Manager / Fortinet Product Owner at SPACE DATA SYSTEMS

Seamless with excellent integration capabilities and flexibility

What most of my clients are telling me is the price is a problem. That would be the best thing to start with. They agree on the value, and we have a very solid argument with the clients that proper service and value comes at a proper price. However, we hope to have more flexible pricing. That would be the first point to be mentioned. The product management team has asked to have a Multi-SIM device. We've had this for one year. Covid just drove everything towards working from home regarding teleworking and all of that stuff. The product is mature enough. Mainly, that would be the price. If they could therefore have some more, let's say, enhancements on it, then we can make more of a financial case. One feature that was discussed with the product management team of Fortinet FortiExtender was to have the ability to have the possibility to upload our own drivers. For example, the Extender itself could be dealing with the SIM card directly, where you install it, and then you're ready to go. Or, you may install a USB dongle into the Extender itself. Some mobile carriers here in Jordan do not allow users to relocate the SIM card from within their biscuit or USB dongle and install it in their own modem or their own Extender. However, with particular scenarios, we would appreciate having the possibility to upload a third-party driver for simplicity, integrating whatever sales provider facility we have into the Fortinet technology.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The solution's support is very great."

"You don't need to have two different vendors to interoperate and get into comparability issues or inter-operability issues."

"We appreciate that this solution can be used as an active secondary link as well as a backup."

"The most valuable feature will be that it works."

"The initial setup was was just beautiful. It was straightforward."

"The product is easy to use and easy to integrate."

"The solution is extremely user-friendly."

"Management can be carried out from a central point."

"For me, the best feature of Fortinet FortiExtender is its integration with an external solution such as a 5G LTE broadband modem, wired modem, and cellular network. I also like that the product can be integrated into one device or a unified device, and that is one of its best features because it allows you to manage and centralize the control of every device."

Cons

"The tool's VPN Firewall Brick did not work well since it doesn't have an interface with the cloud to upload the last signature, so it doesn't have this mechanism."

"I would like to see them make it smaller in the next release so that it has a smaller footprint for mobile clients."

"The support could be faster and more responsive."

"The engineering of the solution has some negative points, especially in terms of troubleshooting. It's difficult to troubleshoot when we have a problem. It's not like other products like Cisco or Palo Alto which make troubleshooting much easier."

"What most of my clients are telling me is the price is a problem."

"The solution would be a lot better if it was a little bit more intuitive. Additionally, the help menu would be a lot better if it was easier to identify the items that I was looking for. I find the graphical interface a little bit difficult to navigate. And I find the font that is used on the HTML interface not conducive to being able to be read in low light situations."

"We would like to see some improvement in the price for 5G models, as they are currently very expensive."

"Though Fortinet FortiExtender has some security features, the product could still be improved by adding features similar to those in FortiGuard, such as antivirus, intrusion, prevention, and detection, as well as web filtering features. The product is also not as user-friendly, so that's another area for improvement. In the FortiGate UTM solution of Fortinet, there's software-defined or SD-WAN, and in the next release of Fortinet FortiExtender, I'd like to see SD-WAN embedded in the product. Most of the communication in Fortinet FortiExtender is related to WAN and Edge, so having an SD-WAN function in the product would be useful for integrating and controlling WAN communication."

"There is a huge downside because we need to remove and insert the SIM to get it working."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The tool's price is very low."

"I've only used the open-source version of Fortinet FortiExtender, but I know that it has some features that require you to pay for a license."

"The solution is not that expensive."

"I'm not sure what the cost is. However, I anticipate that the purchase price will range between $2,500 and $5,000."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Computer Software Company

18%

Government

14%

Insurance Company

10%

Media Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Alcatel-Lucent OmniAccess Enterprise Service Routers?

The tool's price is very low. The tool doesn't have a license for switches. The tool has a license for a stack of racks, especially in the case of Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch 9900 model, it has a lic...

What needs improvement with Alcatel-Lucent OmniAccess Enterprise Service Routers?

Alcatel-Lucent had a VPN Firewall Brick, but it did not work very well like Palo Alto or Cisco. The tool is not classified under Gartner. The tool's VPN Firewall Brick did not work well since it do...

What is your primary use case for Alcatel-Lucent OmniAccess Enterprise Service Routers?

I use the solution in my company to implement and integrate it into the campus network on a connected mode or dual core, but the routers, like Alcatel-Lucent OmniAccess Enterprise Service Routers, ...

What do you like most about Fortinet FortiExtender?

The product is easy to use and easy to integrate.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiExtender?

The solution is not that expensive. I rate pricing a six out of ten. The product has a yearly subscription. The clients must pay only for the license. They need not pay any additional costs.

What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiExtender?

The support could be faster and more responsive.

Comparisons

No data available

Product Reports

Wireless WAN

Download Alcatel-Lucent OmniAccess Enterprise Service Routers product report

Alcatel-Lucent OmniAccess Enterprise Service Routers report

Fortinet FortiExtender

Download Fortinet FortiExtender product report

Also Known As

Alcatel-Lucent OmniAccess ESRs, OmniAccess ESRs, OmniAccess Compact ESRs, OmniAccess Ruggedized ESRs

No data available

Overview

Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise Routers OmniAccess 5800 ESR can simultaneously operate as a router and server with its powerful internal dual core architecture. It can provide a server for files, printers, or scanners; IP telephony; energy management; an LDAP backup server; document management. Additionally, as it is based on accepted international standards, any application based on the Linux operating system can be easily and quickly migrated, making the OmniAccess 5800 series an integrated solution that reduces dedicated server maintenance costs. The OmniAccess 5800 ESR is also a professional router with features and routing capacity over 100 Mb/s. It has a full operating system in addition to LAN and WAN connectivity capabilities.

Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise

Fortinet FortiExtender is a cost-effective hardware WAN device that is robust, easily scales, and delivers 5G, LTE, and Ethernet options. FortiExtender is designed using Fortinet’s trademark security-focused networking. The solution enables organizations to have enhanced secure network connectivity with cellular and wired broadband network options.

FortiExtender can be used for secure point of sale (POS) systems to transport fleet communications. The device delivers dependable broadband access to the internet and increases the usefulness of the Fortinet Security Fabric integration to enhance seamless business processes that rely heavily on remote device connectivity to get the job done.

FortiExtender delivers super-fast 5G and LTE wireless to connect and quickly scale any WAN edge. Users get 5G/LTE cellular, out-of-band management (OBM), high availability (HA), and dynamic risk security in one comprehensive, reliable solution.

Fortinet FortiExtender Benefits

Failover protection: Users get secure network failover protection with dual SIM, dual modem, and out of band management (OBM) functionalities.
Cloud-based processes: Organizations with a global reach can easily manage processes in the cloud from anywhere. Users can use FortiGate, FortiManager, or FortiExtender Cloud Dashboard to view and easily manage security controls, network changes, and policy and protocol automation.
Integration: Seamlessly integrates with Fortinet Secure SD-WAN for simplified deployment, security, and management.
Improves TCO: FortiExtender is a very cost-effective option when integrated with FortiGate Network Security Platform. FortiExtender implements processes that save money and improve connectivity, functionality, and profitability.

Fortinet FortiExtender Features

Plug-and-play: Out of the box and ready to go, once FortiExtenders are connected to the FortiGate, they are available on the FortiOS management platform. Additionally, FortiOS provides complete visibility, monitoring data usage to ensure limits are not exceeded, resulting in significant cost savings.
Flexible connectivity options:
- LTE/5G : The FortiExtender devices provide dual SIM and dual modem options for four different ISPs. Dual SIM allows for active/passive cellular link for fast failover. Dual modem options provide two active/passive links for super-fast failover and disaster recovery. ISPs can be set for data usage limits and seamlessly switch to other ISPs to balance connectivity and reduce costs.
- WAN connectivity: Using an Ethernet WAN port, users can connect cable, DSL, or another modem. Load balancing and failover options available.
- Hybrid WAN-LAN connectivity: Four LAN ethernet ports enable users to have numerous connections to the LTE connection. Works well for high availability (HA) pairs of FortiGates to connect to FortiExtender. FortiGates then will run in failover or load balancing mode and receive WAN connectivity from the FortiExtender device.

Reviews from Real Users

“Fortinet FortiExtender helps facilitate Fortinet connectivity. When it comes to cell phone towers, you never know what you'll get with global configurations. We use this solution to mitigate switching cell phone towers. The scalability is limitless based on your cell and your internet or your cloud connectivity. It's similar to any other VPN in terms of how simple it is to set up in a global or extended environment with a large number of clients.” - Clement J., Chief Executive Officer at Clemtech LLC

Fortinet

Sample Customers

Advocate Health Care, Al Rayyan Hospitality, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Americana, Ankabut, ASL Milano 2, Atlasonline, Ayuntamiento de Arroyomolinos, Azienda Ospedaliera della Provincia di Lodi, Azmeel Contracting & Construction Corporation

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data

Alcatel-Lucent OmniAccess Enterprise Service Routers vs. Fortinet FortiExtender