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Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access vs Ruckus Wireless comparison

 

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 FortiSwitch - Secu...
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
47
Ranking in other categories
Ethernet Switches (5th)
Ruckus Wireless
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
103
Ranking in other categories
Wireless LAN (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Enterprise Networking solutions, they serve different purposes. Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access is designed for Ethernet Switches and holds a mindshare of 5.5%, down 5.9% compared to last year.
Ruckus Wireless, on the other hand, focuses on Wireless LAN, holds 14.2% mindshare, up 12.0% since last year.
Ethernet Switches
Wireless LAN
 

Featured Reviews

SherifAbdelrahman - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficient integration allows streamlined network management with a straightforward setup
I use it for retail business. We are using the FortiSwitch solution for our voice switches and access points as well It has helped us by providing easy management from a single platform through the firewall interface. It's very easy to manage and provides all the insights and vulnerabilities,…
Xander Janse Van Rensburg - PeerSpot reviewer
Reliable and high-performance wireless networking with exceptional stability, scalability, and robust feature set
One of the most valuable features I appreciate is auto channelization, facilitated by a proprietary product called ChannelFly. This feature enables APs in a specific zone to automatically adjust their channels, optimizing performance. Additionally, Ruckus Wireless stands out for its ability to reuse certain beams, resulting in smaller data spots. In my experience with various products, Ruckus Wireless consistently delivers unparalleled throughput, coverage, and reliability in wireless networking across different environments. As a noteworthy point, the newly launched WiFi 7 standard is measured against Ruckus's WiFi 7 AP, establishing it as the global benchmark. When it comes to WiFi, Ruckus sets the standard, outperforming competitors with its superior performance and capabilities.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The policies are very good."
"This device is easy to use."
"The product is very secure."
"I can say that the product is easy to use...The initial setup of the product was easy."
"Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access has good scalability."
"The tool's VLAN feature is easy to understand. It was very good."
"It is a cheap and secure solution. The job switching and security features are better than other solutions."
"The technical support has been very good."
"Ruckus Wireless is reliable. The most valuable features are BeamFlex technology, Wi-Fi 6, and channel management."
"I can manage the network through a cell phone, which is a plus from my side. I am also able to visualize the network. I can also check the quality of the signal for different clients that are currently connected and see whether the quality is excellent, moderate, or poor. Sometimes, I can even adjust the signal strength."
"It has one of the smoothest operations."
"The speed between client to client is really nice. It is better than any other vendor, but officially, I cannot say that to people."
"In general, all implementations are standard and pretty straightforward."
"The solution has great network intelligence from applications, clients, access points, and controllers."
"It's easy to install, and the management is flexible."
"Dead zones were immediately eliminated when we deployed these WAPs in all of our locations, plus Ruckus’ analytics on the ZoneDirectors allow us to quickly identify clients that are taking too much bandwidth."
 

Cons

"An area for improvement would be the segmentation and network in logic networks."
"I feel that the product's stability is an area where improvements are required."
"The product's pricing needs improvement for small and medium businesses."
"In Fortinet, the packet reconstruction in the SD-WAN solution needs a little bit of improvement. When it comes to the Secure Access to the switches or the mix of Fortinet solution, the very small ones do not have the capability to use fiber cables. So, the small FortiGates have to work with the copper cables and cannot use fiber cables. Even though they have the capacity and throughput on all technical connectors, they don't have the interfaces, which is one of the good things with Cisco. They just add models to it. You buy the independent models, and you add them."
"In the next release, I would like to see more outdoor products."
"When we started using the solution, it was quite complex but then it became easier to use. It takes a while to get used to the interface."
"FortiSwitch offers eight and 24-port models. They don't have a 16-port model, which can be an issue for some clients."
"FortiSwitch requires periodic firmware updates. It can be a little difficult because the switches aren't connected to the internet, so you cannot upgrade the firmware remotely. You need to go to the site and do it manually because it's a closed network."
"What would be interesting to see is if they had more of an ability for their customers to capture revenue. They should offer some sort of gateway functionality that you could tie through radius authentication, so you can bill the customers. That way, when you go in, you could just have a device and set up a hotspot, and it's a totally billable tool at that point."
"The solution needs to have some sort of security offering, like a firewall, for example."
"The pricing needs to be more competitive. They need to re-examine their business model and see if there is a way to provide their service at a cheaper cost."
"The solution should have more analytics capabilities."
"Having support available that is more compatible with time zones in the United States would be helpful."
"From my point of view, portal features are something missing in Ruckus Wireless. I want to see Ruckus Wireless integrate a Wi-Fi portal into its product. This would allow for easier user authentication for vendors."
"The solution currently lacks the integration of security services."
"Ruckus should have an option to migrate existing licenses from an old controller to a new purchase; presently, this is not possible."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's affordable and there are no additional costs, just regular support, and license fees."
"Licensing is billed annually and contracts are either one or three years in length."
"Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access requires a license and the price is expensive."
"The solution is cheaper than Cisco but more expensive than Huawei."
"The solution has reasonable pricing. The firewall costs around 500$ annually."
"You can buy this equipment in a multitude of ways. You can buy just the hardware, or you can buy the hardware and the licenses."
"We have an annual licensing cost. There are no additional costs."
"Licensing is easy: FortiCare and that's it."
"It's a lot more expensive."
"I would rate their pricing 3 out of 5. There is no annual licensing cost."
"It is reasonably priced. I would rate the price a three out of five."
"Ruckus Wireless is available at a reasonable price"
"It is decently priced."
"It's definitely a good value. It's more expensive than some of the other offerings out there, but when you compare it to other enterprise-class gear, it's very well priced. And the beauty of it is, because it has better range because of their patented BeamFlex - which is the way they can send and receive and listen to signals - you can actually use fewer access points. That means that it's a cheaper overall project."
"We paid for a three-year contract last year. I am not sure about what we paid. It is certainly less expensive than Meraki."
"It is a good product, but it is pricey. In terms of the pricing, it is a bit expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Educational Organization
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Which would you choose - Fortinet Fortiswitch secure access or Cisco Ethernet Switches?
We researched Cisco but ultimately chose Fortinet FortiSwitch Secure Access, mostly because of the price. Fortinet FortiSwitch is an ethernet switch solution that provides security and performance...
What do you like most about Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access?
With FortiSwitch, you can easily identify who is connected to each port, disable ports as needed, and retrieve configurations from FortiGate when required.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access?
Currently, I don't have an opinion about the price as I focus on implementation and am not informed about pricing in comparison to other vendors.
Aruba Wireless or Ruckus Wireless?
At my organization, we researched Ruckus Wireless among other solutions but ultimately chose Aruba wireless. What did we like about Ruckus? First, it was very easy to use, and anybody with minimal...
Which is better - Ruckus Wireless or Cisco Wireless?
Ruckus Wireless offers users the benefit of being both easy to set up and get running as well as being very user friendly. This user-friendly quality also renders it easy to learn how to use and ma...
How does Ruckus Wireless compare to Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN?
Cisco’s Meraki Virtual MX is a virtual instance of the Meraki SD-WAN appliance. We liked the Meraki. The Wifi APs are a great feature. The dashboard is a simple interface and easy to learn. It feat...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
American University of Sharjah, Baruch College, Centro Escolar Liceo Santo Tomšs, Chevalier College, Chico Unified School District, Colegio de Fomento El Prado, Columbia Public Schools, Delta School District, Dordt College, Douglas County School District, Drew University, Armonea, Central Utah Clinic, Grove Hill Medical Center, Inner South Community Health Service, Midwest Surgical, Satilla Regional Medical Center, Lyndoch Living, Polonus, Roaring Fork School District, Sonora State, Vivid, Sydney, Players Club, Sandals, Scandic Hotels, Sheraton LAX, Sunbird
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Netgear and others in Ethernet Switches. Updated: February 2025.
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