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Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch Ethernet Switches vs Cisco Meraki MX comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

Fortinet FortiGate
Sponsored
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
581
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (2nd), Firewalls (1st), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (1st), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st), ZTNA (1st), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (1st)
Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch E...
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
12
Ranking in other categories
Ethernet Switches (17th)
Cisco Meraki MX
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
69
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (18th), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (6th)
 

Q&A Highlights

it_user689088 - PeerSpot reviewer
Managing Director at a tech company with 51-200 employees
Jul 18, 2017
 

Featured Reviews

Vasu Gala - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager, Information Technology Operation/Presales at TechMonarch
A stable solution with an intuitive interface and quick customer service
I have been working with Fortinet FortiGate, WatchGuard, Sophos, and SonicWall. I'm not as comfortable with SonicWall because of their UI and limitations. I prefer Fortinet above all other options. When it comes to configuration, I am confident in my ability to handle various tasks, including creating policies such as firewall rules, web policies, and application policies. Additionally, I can configure VPNs and implement load balancing, among other tasks. Overall, I feel much more comfortable working with Fortinet. Fortinet has made significant improvements by integrating AI with firewalls for threat analysis and prevention. In the past 2-3 years, they have launched FortiSASE and SIEM, and they also provide SOC services. Both Palo Alto and Fortinet FortiGate are excellent. While Fortinet FortiGate comes at higher prices, the functionality and support justify the cost. They promptly resolve firmware issues and inform all support providers about configuration changes.
MK
Operational Manager at Astrah Technologies
Has enabled reliable access control with good scalability
The primary use case is access control and normal LAN usage, including internet and email. For example, I have deployed the solution in airport scenarios where there are many users The most valuable feature for me is the stability of the switches. They do not hang often and are very reliable,…
MURALI NIDAMANURI - PeerSpot reviewer
Managing Director at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Experience improved network management with flexible and secure connections
I recommend that Meraki MX should improve to be a better solution for the next release by being more competent so that we can offer it as a primary solution among all other brands, although I don't have any specific feedback, while the competitors are also ahead of these solutions. Enhancing user experience is always required. Enhancing the seamless connectivity is crucial and user experience enhancement is needed daily, otherwise people find it outdated. New features should look and be dynamically connected, and users should not be bothered frequently when connectivity issues occur. It should automatically remediate and find out the issue and then resolve it on its own without interrupting the work of the employees.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The product is highly stable."
"The solution is highly scalable because they have devices that can handle a large amount of traffic."
"We use the FortiGate Sandbox to detect zero-day vulnerabilities, such as anomalies or malware, that are unknown and have not yet been discovered."
"Fortinet FortiGate is a simple solution, and the integration with other solutions in the Fortinet portfolio, such as the Security Fabric integration, is competitive."
"FortiGate Next Generation Firewall is a good solution because it has a range of options and a clear ecosystem."
"The pipe filter application is an outstanding feature."
"The reliability of Fortinet FortiGate is through the roof, we're experiencing 99.999% availability consistently."
"The product is scalable."
"The product is stable. It does have only one power supply. They don't have a redundant power supply."
"It's easy to extend the stack, We don't use the smaller switches, but it's going well for the rest."
"The product's initial setup phase is not complex. It is easy to install the tool."
"The most valuable feature for me is the stability of the switches."
"The most valuable feature for me is the stability of the switches."
"Enables direct access to clusters."
"The solution doesn't have many proprietary protocols like Cisco's. It mainly uses standard protocols like VRRP (similar to Cisco's HSRP), Spanning Tree, and Rapid Spanning Tree, which can sometimes cause integration issues."
"The fibre ports that are 10 Gb capacity helped with the travel of a lot of regular as well as video data. Fibre can handle a lot more virtual data than copper twisted-pair, so we got a lot more data and a lot more traffic signals back through the fibre ports, faster, than with copper."
"In terms of WAN optimization, it's completely cloud-controlled. Anyone can manage their network environment from a mobile phone."
"In general, Meraki MX is easy to work with."
"The solution is good for load balancing."
"The dashboard is very intuitive and easy to understand."
"Managed centrally over the web: You can manages all your Meraki devices in a single account."
"It is very easy to use and manage. It is also very easy to scale."
"The simplicity of configuration is the most valuable feature of the solution."
"The technical support people from Meraki are brilliant."
 

Cons

"I would like to see more advanced developments of a wireless controller in the future."
"I would suggest that Fortinet add sandboxing to their solution."
"I believe one area that could be improved in Fortinet FortiGate is posturing, specifically for remote VPN users, as there are OS-based limitations I encountered with only Windows; adding domain restrictions for VPN access would make it more competitive and useful."
"In the balance between links feature normally you can just choose one option to balance. It would be better for the solution to have more than one option, preferably three."
"They can add automation for monitoring and policy optimization on the firewall. I think using AI to do some optimization on the policies would be beneficial, such as providing alerts about policies that haven't been used for a long time or identifying overlapping policies."
"The support package being an additional extra, even with an enterprise package purchase, is pathetic. Though I haven't had direct experience with support, the fact that it doesn't come by default, which is very misleading compared to other brands, warrants a rating of two out of ten."
"Fortinet FortiGate SWG's costs need improvement."
"The solution’s stability could be improved because we sometimes faced some drops."
"There needs to be better integration with the interface."
"I find the CLI hard to use. I wish we could do more in the GUI interface."
"OmniSwitch Ethernet Switches would be improved if cloud-based technology was provided in the Gulf region."
"In future versions, I would like to see improvements in networking speed."
"I could see them possibly creating a more intuitive software. It's very user-friendly, but there are some things that aren't very intuitive when programming the switches."
"technical support response time is sometimes very slow."
"We had stability issues with Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch Ethernet Switches 6250. One issue is with licensing. When migrating from TDM to VoIP/ToIP solutions integrated on the same architecture, Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch Ethernet Switches don't have the same skill level or follow the same development path as companies like Cisco. They started integrating these solutions later, which is why there's a noticeable difference in advancement."
"The commands for the switches could be easier as I find them more complex compared to those of Cisco."
"The product doesn't support route summarization and BGP dynamic routing protocol."
"The problem is that the two licenses do not currently integrate. We have to create separate companies and do an interconnection."
"Scalability is an obvious concern with Meraki MX. You can't scale beyond some value. They are not highly enterprise grade, when you have hundreds of thousands of people it is very difficult to scale in Meraki."
"When we do API integrations with Meraki, they have always been hard as well as tedious to build. The data that we want out of the API integrations has been only recently available. Six months ago, it was hard to get someone to build something correctly or useful with Meraki APIs. Recently, they have made more data available on the API, but it is just a start. They need to do more."
"For our use case, there is not anything specific that needs to change."
"Load balancing options and ability to manage a couple of Internet connections."
"Right now, you can postpone the update but eventually, if you don't do the update, it will install the updates automatically for you and that's something that is not working for me."
"The solution's pricing should be reduced."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's one of the more expensive brands. The 100 series costs around $4,000. They are similar in pricing to what you might get from Cisco solutions and probably other similar ones. They're not more expensive than other similar solutions, but they're certainly not cheaper either."
"I rate FortiGate's pricing a five out of ten."
"I think price-wise, the solution is totally reasonable since it has many products to serve, starting from small homes to massive scale sites."
"They are more expensive than others."
"Fortinet bundles FortiGate with other products and because of this, the price is a little expensive to some SMB enterprises."
"No comment."
"Fortinet is reasonable in pricing and licensing. Overall, FortiGate is affordable. The licensing fee can be a little high, depending on the budget for your project."
"These boxes are not that expensive compared to what they can do, their functionality, and the reporting you receive. Fortinet licensing is straightforward and less confusing compared to Cisco."
"Pricing is cheap compared to other vendors. When we benchmark the tool against Meraki, Cisco, and others, it is usually more affordable."
"The licensing for OmniSwitch Ethernet Switches is a one-time purchase with no additional costs."
"It is an expensive solution."
"The pricing is reasonable compared to Aruba and HPE."
"The price varies depending on the hardware platform as well as the type of license and whether you're adding security or not."
"The license cost depends on the box. We acquired a different product line. We are dealing with MX appliance now, that is, MX6, MX54, MX100, MX250, MX450. Every box has got an identity, and it has got its own specification. Every box has got a different license fee. We deployed Meraki MX in UAE when it was not a mature product. We took a risk, but we were successful. We saved a huge amount of money after implementing and removing all the MPLS and leased lines. We got a broadband connection because Meraki MX could work on a broadband connection. We have drastically saved a very good amount of money, which was one of the successful things apart from the successful solution."
"Meraki is the best option — based on the price and the features available."
"In my country, the product is cheap compared to the UK because of the differences in taxes."
"The product’s price is reasonable."
"Its licensing cost could be better."
"Meraki MX is an expensive solution."
"Meraki MX's pricing is cheaper as compared to Cisco's standalone products."
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Answers from the Community

it_user689088 - PeerSpot reviewer
Managing Director at a tech company with 51-200 employees
Jul 18, 2017
Jul 18, 2017
With a good diagram and keeping in mind the whole routing part, it is really simple configuration, I have no knowledge on Alcatel switches but you will not have any problems for compatibility ...
2 out of 13 answers
AB
Founder and Lead Network Consultant at Airowire Networks
Jul 12, 2017
Hi, Could you elaborate on your requirement. What do you mean by "integrate" ? What do you intend to do ?
AS
Deputy Manager at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
Jul 12, 2017
The Meraki MX100 is an enterprise security appliance designed for distributed deployments that require remote administration. It is ideal for network administrators who demand both ease of deployment and a state-of-the-art feature set. This security appliance provides the following new features: Two GbE SFP connections (requires optional Meraki SFP-1GB-SX transceiver). USB port, to support approved 3G/4G cards for failover to cellular networks. 1TByte cache storage for WAN acceleration. LAN 2 port can be configured to be a LAN or WAN connection, allowing support up to 2 WAN connections. Dedicated management port. Front-panel rack mounts. Now want to know about your issues. Is it a deployment factor with Alcatel switches ?
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
6%
University
9%
Construction Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Retailer
5%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Construction Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business357
Midsize Enterprise133
Large Enterprise189
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise3
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business42
Midsize Enterprise20
Large Enterprise16
 

Questions from the Community

Which is the better NGFW: Fortinet Fortigate or Cisco Firepower?
When you compare these firewalls you can identify them with different features, advantages, practices and usage a...
What is the biggest difference between Sophos XG and FortiGate?
From my experience regarding both the Sophos and FortiGate firewalls, I personally would rather use FortiGate. I know...
What are the biggest technical differences between Sophos UTM and Fortinet FortiGate?
As a solution, Sophos UTM offers a lot of functionality, it scales well, and the stability and performance are quite ...
What do you like most about Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch Ethernet Switches?
The new web graphical interface is much better than before. We now have easy access to the command lines. They're all...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch Ethernet Switches?
In terms of pricing, Alcatel is cheaper than Cisco, however, MikroTik is the cheapest. I cannot comment on the pricin...
What needs improvement with Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch Ethernet Switches?
The commands for the switches could be easier as I find them more complex compared to those of Cisco.
Fortigate 60d vs. Meraki MX67 for a small company without a dedicated IT Department
We have Meraki Mx devices now, we are looking to replace them. But that is because the Meraki MX platform lacks SSL I...
Which is better - Meraki MX or Cisco ASA Firewall?
Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) software is the operating software for the Cisco ASA suite. It supports netw...
What do you like most about Meraki MX?
I am happy with the technical support for the solution. I rate the technical support a ten out of ten.
 

Also Known As

Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall
Alcatel-Lucent Ethernet Switches, OmniSwitch Ethernet Switches
MX64, MX64W, MX84, MX100, MX400, MX600
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Dell, HP, Oracle, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Vodafone, Orange, BT Group, Telstra, Deutsche Telekom, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, CenturyLink, NTT Communications, Tata Communications, SoftBank, China Mobile, Singtel, Telus, Rogers Communications, Bell Canada, Telkom Indonesia, Telkom South Africa, Telmex, Telia Company, Telkom Kenya
Bayonette, California State University (CSU), Centre Hospitalier Carcassonne, Centro Universitšrio de Brasilia (UniCEUB), China Tianchen Engineering Corporation Co. LTD, Citta Della Speranza, City of Frankfurt, City of Ogden, City of Vila Franca de Xira
Hyatt, ONS
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