Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall vs OPNsense comparison

Arista and OPNsense are both solutions in the Firewalls category. Arista is ranked #41 with an average rating of 7.0, while OPNsense is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.4. Additionally, 100% of Arista users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 97% of OPNsense users who would recommend it.

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 16, 2024

OPNsense and Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall are both popular firewall solutions. Users are happier with the pricing and support of OPNsense, but Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall seems superior due to its features, and users feel it is worth the price.

Features: According to user reviews, OPNsense is praised for its plugin capabilities, flexibility, and open-source nature, enabling extensive customization. Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall stands out for its comprehensive threat management, ease of policy configuration, and robust security features. The main difference is that while OPNsense offers extensive customization options, Arista provides a more integrated security approach.

Room for Improvement: OPNsense users suggest improvements in documentation, the Web GUI's intuitiveness, and faster response times. Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall users express a desire for better technical support, enhancements in reporting functionalities, and more detailed assistance.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: OPNsense deployment is noted for its straightforward process, but some users find initial configuration challenging without proper documentation. Customer service is generally positive but could benefit from faster response times. Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall has a user-friendly deployment experience, and its customer service is well-regarded, though users suggest more prompt and detailed technical assistance. Arista has an edge in deployment simplicity and overall customer service satisfaction.

Pricing and ROI: OPNsense is appreciated for its low setup costs and excellent return on investment, mainly due to its open-source model. Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall, while having higher initial setup costs, is considered worth the investment due to its all-inclusive feature set and effective threat management. The key difference is OPNsense's cost-effectiveness versus Arista's high-value, feature-rich offering.

To learn more, read our detailed Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall vs. OPNsense Report (Updated: September 2024).

Buyer's Guide

Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall vs. OPNsense

September 2024

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Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiGate

Featured Reviews

Syed Ali Waqas

Head IT at Burraq Cyber Security Solutions

Jan 29, 2024

Provides centralized management, enhanced visibility, and reduces cybersecurity risks

Fortinet FortiGate offers enhanced visibility and segmentation for our industrial devices, a crucial process when some machines utilize systems demanding high-level security. We have implemented Fortinet Security Fabric on our VM infrastructure, and it has provided great service in helping us meet regulations, governance, and compliance requirements. This is important to us because Fortinet Security Fabric connects to our sandbox, allowing us to scan shares across all clusters and enabling FortiGate to resolve any online issues. Fortinet FortiGate has enhanced our organization's security by enabling secure VPN access and restricting access to social media sites, thus ensuring that employees can focus on their work. We saw the benefits of FortiGate within weeks of the deployment. FortiGate helps reduce the risk of cyberattacks that could disrupt our production by isolating the affected traffic and creating a log for us. It also helps to centralize the management of our network and security operations. The centralized management allows us to access all of our firewalls and policies using a single interface. Fortinet provides actionable data to help us make informed decisions about the actions to take. For example, if one of our firewalls goes down, the solution helps us rectify the issue by providing details on the problem and how to address it. By consolidating the numerous individually connected batches, FortiGate helped us reduce operational expenses associated with the extra costs they incurred. Fortinet FortiGate has helped us mature our approach to cybersecurity for protecting our industrial equipment. Their knowledge and daily webinars on email security and virus prevention have empowered us to stop attacks and maximize our efficiency.

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DuncanNdungu

Developer at Savanah

Oct 18, 2023

The solution is stable and affordable, but the documentation is not clear, and it takes a lot of research to implement it

The organization I worked for used the product due to the rising issue of cyber security Phish Blocker is a valuable feature. We had to do a lot of in-built purchases. The documentation is not clear. We have to do a lot of research to implement the product. I used the solution for a few months.…

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YaserAljohani

OT/ICS Information Security Specialist at SANS

Jun 25, 2020

A solution that detects and blocks malicious content with good reporting and visibility, but the reliability needs improvement

I have some issues with OPNsense. I have created a virtual machine that I've lost connection at times and I am not able to connect to the gateway or ping the internet. When I started with OPNsense, it worked right away. It may be an issue with the virtual machine itself. I am currently setting up the protection on all of the virtual machines so they will connect to OPNsense and the internet, or anywhere they need to access. I have tried to download some malicious files or a virus and it should dump the files and prevent the download, but I don't seem to get any notification or warnings. It may be an issue with the configuration but I am not sure. I would like to see improvements made to connectivity and alerting. I wanted to deploy this solution in our organization and some of the workstations from remote sites but it's not reliable enough to do that yet. In the next release, I would like to see real traffic monitoring and more visibility. Also, for the antivirus, I would like to see the files protected by ClamAV. I would like to see intelligence in OPNsense and have the option to apply it or not. They need a threat intelligence tool similar to the one they would find with Cisco. It will show you the file hashes, all of the IFCs, the niches, the address information, and more. With all of this information, you can be proactive and block the malicious file hashes, all of the malicious IP addresses, and the public IP addresses. It should help you be proactive. It would be helpful to have OPNsense be one of the plugins, and they should include traffic capturing. With Palo Alto, you can monitor and specify which interface you want to monitor, the source IP, or you can specify the network and see the traffic that is coming from the VLAN, the destination, and any files being transferred over the network. If you apply security profiles you can see the signatures.

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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

"Fortinet FortiGate is a stable solution."

"The most valuable feature is the interface, which is very user friendly. We are utilizing most of the features, like content filtering. The firewall is powerful."

"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."

"FortiGate is very simple to manage and easy to use."

"The features that prevent internet connections, the filtering are the most valuable because we did not have any internet protection before."

"Fortinet FortiGate has many valuable features, such as IDS, and intrusion detection. It has security features that are in part with the technologies that are available in the market."

"It performs very well."

"Security solution with a straightforward and quick setup. It's a stable and scalable product."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"The product's initial setup phase is easy."

"Phish Blocker is a valuable feature."

"I have found the solution has some great features overall, such as guest access capabilities, dashboards, and ease of use. There is plenty of documentation and support and it has the plugins that I needed."

"The solution is good for a basic firewall for a small business or for home use."

"We have found pretty much all the features of the solution to be valuable."

"OPNsense could improve by making the configuration more web-based rather than shell or command-line-based."

"The graphic user interface is very good and it is user-friendly which makes the product easy-to-use."

"The solution is user-friendly and easy to configure."

"One of the most valuable features is the network checking. Additionally, the firewall and web filtering functionalities are highly useful."

"The tool's integration is more like a button press."

More OPNsense pros

Cons

"WAN load-balancing could be a lot better at detecting when a link is poor or inconsistent, and not just flat out dead."

"They've become quite expensive."

"The captive portal could be improved."

"The central management for the FortiGate Fortinet Firewall needs improvement. They have the manager to do the essential management for both SD-WAN and for the security policy. They should also improve the SD-WAN function."

"In terms of what could be improved, the SD-WAN is quite difficult, because if you install the new box, 15 is okay, but if you change from an old configuration, if there is already configuration and a policy when you change to SD-WAN, you must change the whole policy that you see in the interface."

"They should improve the interface to make it more user-friendly."

"The security of Fortinet FortiGate could improve."

"It needs more available central management."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"The product has a lot to improve in the area of policy implementation."

"The documentation is not clear."

"I would like better documentation concerning the provided packages and their integration."

"pfSense has better performance and quicker updates."

"You will need additional training before you can actually start to use it."

"There are issues with stability and reliability."

"The solution could be more secure."

"The only thing that I would like to see improved is the Insight or the NetFlow analysis part. It would be good to have the possibility to dig down on the Insight platform. Right now, we can easily do only a few analyses. If this page becomes more powerful, it surely will be a well-adopted platform."

"The user interface could be improved, and the DNS section should be more intuitive."

"The solution would not be suitable for anything large-scale."

More OPNsense cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of FortiGate is reasonable as I plan to buy new switches. The initial gadgets are already booted, and the pricing seems normal on the market. As for additional costs, I haven't subscribed to many extra features, so I'm only using what I need. Last year, I renewed the support for three years, which can sometimes be expensive but depends on the security benefits and how it helps us."

"It is a good product from a price perspective versus functionality."

"The solution requires a license annually, it is not a user license, you can have as many users as your want. I must renew the license regularly per device."

"Licensing is usually on a three-year period."

"I would say that all things considered, the pricing is pretty good."

"Its licenses cost the same for different subscription plans."

"This is not a cheap solution but it isn't expensive, either. It's a good solution for the right price."

"It has a competitive price."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"The tool is quite cheap."

"I consider it an averagely-priced tool."

"I've used the free version. My computer with two network cards at home allows me to try as many different software options as I want. I did pay for the license, but it was for the Zenarmor license, which is the packet inspection tool. They use AI for packet inspection, which integrates with OPNsense and pfSense."

"It is a free solution, and when you compare it to alternatives like FortiGate, which is quite powerful but also costly, the value becomes evident."

"I'm using the free version of OPNsense. I didn't check the pricing for the solution because I still need to test it before getting the approval to purchase OPNsense, and it isn't easy to get approval from the higher-ups."

"The solution is not expensive."

"It is open source and free."

"It's a free solution."

"The price of OPNsense is good."

"We are using the paid version."

More OPNsense pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Educational Organization

22%

Computer Software Company

15%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

No data available

Computer Software Company

16%

Comms Service Provider

Government

Educational Organization

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

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...

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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...

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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 ...

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What do you like most about Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall?

Phish Blocker is a valuable feature.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall?

I consider it an averagely-priced tool. Adding additional features does not cost extra. My small company pays around ...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall?

The product has a lot to improve in the area of policy implementation. If our company wants to give a separate policy...

See all answers

What is the difference between PfSense and OPNsense?

Two of the most common and well recognized firewalls, PfSense and OPNsense both support site-to-site IPsec VPN and cl...

See all answers

What do you like most about OPNsense?

What I like the most about OPNsense is that it offers an easy-to-use dashboard for device management and control.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for OPNsense?

I've used the free version. My computer with two network cards at home allows me to try as many different software op...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Meraki MX vs Fortinet FortiGate

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Sangfor NGAF vs Fortinet FortiGate

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Netgate pfSense vs Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall

Compared 69% of the time

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Netgate pfSense vs OPNsense

Compared 69% of the time

Sophos XG vs OPNsense

Compared 6% of the time

Untangle NG Firewall vs OPNsense

Compared 3% of the time

IPFire vs OPNsense

Compared 3% of the time

Sophos UTM vs OPNsense

Compared 2% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

September 2024

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Firewalls

August 2024

Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall report

Download Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall product report

Buyer's Guide

OPNsense

August 2024

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Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate

No data available

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Fortinet

Arista

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OPNsense

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate enhances network security, prevents unauthorized access, and offers robust firewall protection. Valued features include advanced threat protection, reliable performance, and a user-friendly interface. It improves efficiency, streamlines processes, and boosts collaboration, providing valuable insights for informed decision-making and growth.

Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall enhances network security by managing threats, providing VPN connectivity, and monitoring network traffic. It simplifies network management and ensures compliance with policies, offering features like load balancing and network reliability.

Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall is known for its robust security, straightforward deployment, and extensive features. It boasts reliable threat detection, flexible policy management, and scalability, catering to different network sizes. Users appreciate the streamlined management console, consistent performance in threat mitigation, and content filtering capabilities. However, customer support response time needs improvement, and software updates sometimes cause issues. The solution has a steep learning curve and requires more intuitive setup processes. Users find the troubleshooting documentation unclear and the reporting features limited, desiring more comprehensive and customizable options.

What are the key features?

Robust Security: Reliable threat detection and content filtering.
Easy Deployment: Straightforward setup process.
Flexible Policy Management: Adaptable to different requirements.
Scalability: Suitable for varying network sizes.
Streamlined Management Console: Simplifies network management.
Consistent Performance: Efficient threat mitigation.

What are the benefits and ROI?

Enhanced Cybersecurity: Blocks malicious activity and ensures compliance.
Simplified Network Management: Eases the complexity of managing networks.
Improved Network Reliability: Ensures dependable performance.
Efficient Deployment: Reduces setup time and effort.
Comprehensive Threat Protection: Monitors and addresses potential threats.

Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall is widely adopted in industries requiring stringent network security and efficient management, including finance, healthcare, and education. Organizations use it for load balancing, ensuring network reliability, and maintaining compliance with strict security standards. Its ability to manage policies and scale according to different network sizes makes it a versatile tool for businesses with complex security demands.

OPNsense is a user-friendly, fast-track, open-source FreeBSD-based firewall and routing platform. This software offers features that are generally available from costly commercial firewalls, with the added benefit of open and verifiable sources. The firewall provides users, developers, and organizations with an advantageous environment through transparency. The development of this project is driven by a strong focus on security and code quality.

The solution offers a variety of components, such as:

Weekly security updates. These updates provide the user with the ability to reach new emerging threats in a timely manner through small increments.
Two major releases every year. These yearly releases are on a fixed release cycle and provide organizations with the ability to plan ahead of an upcoming upgrade.
A roadmap of instructions. Each major release provides a guide and a set of clear goals.

A team of professionals developed OPNsense. Other professional and experienced software architects, engineers, and developers are encouraged to join in the development of the solution to make it as successful as possible. OPNsense offers a variety of rich features with each release. Each upgrade is based on FreeBSD for continual, long-term support and utilizes a freshly advanced MVC framework based on Phalcon. OPNsense is committed to helping businesses, school networks, remote offices, hotels, and other markets in keeping their data protected.

OPNsense Core Features

OPNsense continually offers a free, complete, high-end security platform with new releases and features. With each release, OPNsense focuses on providing more unique and better security features in a timely manner. These features include:

Captive Portal
Built-in reporting and monitoring tools including RRD Graphs
Network Flow Monitoring
Traffic Shaper
Support for Plugins
Granular Control Over State Table
Dynamic DNS
Two-factor authentication throughout the system
Netflow Exporter
Encrypted Configuration Backup to Google Drive
Forward Caching Proxy (transparent) with Blacklist Support
Stateful inspection firewall
DNS Server & DNS Forwarder
High Availability & Hardware Failover (with configuration synchronization & synchronized state tables)
DHCP Server and Relay
Virtual Private Network (site to site & road warrior, IPsec, OpenVPN & legacy PPTP support)
Intrusion Detection and Prevention
802.1Q VLAN support

Reviews from Real Users

OPNsense is a favorite security solution among reviewers for a number of reasons. Two of those reasons include the user-friendliness of the solution, which makes it easy to use, and its ability to easily scale.

For many, a user-friendly solution is essential. FiorindoDi A., a system administration specialist at a tech vendor, says, "The graphic user interface is very good and it is user-friendly, which makes the product easy-to-use."

Peerspot reviewers speak of the scalability of the solution. For example, an anonymous cloud and infrastructure manager at a venture capital and private equity firm reviewer notes, "OPNsense is easy to scale when running on the hardware."

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

Information Not Available

1. Deciso B.V. 2. iXsystems, Inc. 3. EuroBSDCon 4. Netgate 5. Claranet 6. Voleatech 7. Open Systems AG 8. Securebit AG 9. Proxmox Server Solutions GmbH 10. AVM Computersysteme Vertriebs GmbH Additional customers include: T-Systems International GmbH, Deutsche Telekom AG, Vodafone GmbH, 1&1 IONOS SE, OVHcloud, Hetzner Online GmbH, Strato AG, PlusServer GmbH, Host Europe GmbH, United Internet AG, 1&1 Versatel Deutschland GmbH, QSC AG, Bechtle AG, Cancom SE, Computacenter AG & Co. oHG, T-Systems Multimedia Solutions GmbH, Atos SE, Capgemini SE, Accenture plc, IBM Corporation, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company, Cisco Systems, Inc.

Buyer's Guide

Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall vs. OPNsense

September 2024

Free Report: Arista Edge Threat Management NG Firewall vs. OPNsense

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