Netgate pfSense and Juniper vSRX are both robust firewall solutions with distinct strengths. Users express a preference for Netgate pfSense in terms of cost-effectiveness and customer support, yet Juniper vSRX stands out with its advanced features, making it a potentially more worthwhile investment despite the higher price.
Features: Netgate pfSense is praised for its comprehensive open-source platform, flexibility, and wide range of plugins. Juniper vSRX excels with its strong security features, advanced threat protection, and scalability.
Room for Improvement: Users of Netgate pfSense have highlighted areas such as the lack of commercial-grade support and occasional performance issues under heavy load. For Juniper vSRX, users point out the need for a more intuitive setup and the high learning curve.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Netgate pfSense is often noted for its straightforward setup and robust community support, though it can be complex for less technical users. In contrast, Juniper vSRX deployment can be more challenging due to its complexity but benefits from professional support services.
Pricing and ROI: Netgate pfSense offers an attractive pricing model with a high return on investment due to lower upfront costs and no ongoing license fees. Juniper vSRX is more expensive with higher setup costs but delivers strong ROI through enhanced security and reduced operational risks.
They have good integration if you have multiple firewalls and it allows you to be able to push out policies to all of them at the same time.
Clients are now comfortable and not wasting productive hours on IT support.
If we used a similar solution that required a 'per seat' license per VPN, we would have literally spent over 100x what the solution cost us.
I have also created networks that are far more complex than any of those are capable of handling without some sort of annual license costing thousands of dollars.
If they can save their data from attackers then it would save them at least two days of not working plus the cost of recovery, which would be much more than the cost of the system and maintenance.
So ROI = use some cheap hardware with 2 NICs and you will get a professional firewall/router.
The response time for a critical priority one issue was over four hours and they only responded because we threatened legal action for them violating our support contract.
They say they will respond in 24 hours, but I have received responses in a maximum of one hour, which is impressive.
The technical support from Fortinet FortiGate is 24 hours a day seven days a week, and 365 days a year.
I would rate their support a ten out of ten.
When I provide detailed information about the problem, they've been able to reply quickly with a solution or go research the problem and get back to us quickly with a fix.
They are highly responsive.
I couldn't imagine having better support.
The devices will usually fail way before reaching the capacity advertised in the data sheets, especially when you activate several of the features the device can handle.
The solution is working and it is still stable even across all of these devices and servers.
We have over 10,000 users behind it.
Juniper vSRX is a highly scalable solution, and I would rate its scalability a nine out of ten.
It will run on anything and maintain its high performance.
If I put things into a certain context and say that we have a network that has around 100 people, then you don't put up a device that can manage 100 people. Instead, you need to get a device that can manage 150 to 200 people, and then you can create room for growth.
I don't think Netgate pfSense can offer much scalability for big enterprises.
All of these issues were resolved in v5.2.
Stability has dramatically improved over the previous main version branch of FortiOS; 5.2.x and 5.4.x are stable enough for critical environments.
Overall, the devices have been very stable.
It doesn't crash or freeze.
I've had no issues with stability whatsoever.
It doesn't crash or freeze.
FortiWAN supports OSPF but does not support the BGP protocol.
Fortinet VPN and DDoS capabilities are great, yet we need to provide a solution that enables CASB and integration to the cloud.
The relationship between their accounts team and my leadership team seems to be the reason for phasing out FortiGate.
I would suggest improving the pricing, particularly the licensing model.
If the WLAN functions work properly, pfSense makes a perfect 'repeater' or controlled and robust accessed point with built-in QoS and firewall.
They need to make it easier to understand and give users the ability to customize them.
There is some trade-off between having a certain level of security and maintaining acceptable performance.
The cost of the original deployment fell below £5,000, and licenses are priced at around £3,000.
Every time you upgrade your license, you also get insurance for the equipment.
Overall, FortiGate is affordable.
The pricing is competitive, being neither the most expensive nor the cheapest option.
Maybe not more than 200 Euros per machine.
It's absolutely free, no pricing and no licensing.
pfSense is free and open source software.
The two most valuable features are VPN and firewalling.
WiFi network for visitors isolated from our corporate WiFi network using only one unit
Allows for firewall rules to be programmed and named in a way that makes it 'readable'
These features are crucial for our network security.
Strong community support
Firewall
Virtual Private Network (VPN)
Fortinet FortiGate offers comprehensive network security and firewall protection across multiple locations. It effectively manages data traffic and secures environments with features like VPN, intrusion prevention, and UTM controls.
Organizations rely on Fortinet FortiGate for its robust integration with advanced security policies, ensuring significant protection for enterprises, cloud environments, and educational sectors. It facilitates network segmentation, application-level security, and authentication management, securing communication within and between locations such as branches and data centers. Its efficient SD-WAN and UTM features enable streamlined data management and enhanced threat protection capabilities. Users appreciate its centralized management, facilitating seamless operations across diverse environments.
What are the key features of Fortinet FortiGate?
What benefits should users expect from Fortinet FortiGate?
Fortinet FortiGate is crucial in sectors like education, offering robust networks for secure data flow between campuses and facilitating remote learning. In enterprise environments, it allows efficient management of application traffic and security across multiple branches, while in the cloud, it seamlessly integrates with diverse platforms to enhance security infrastructure.
Juniper vSRX is a virtualized security platform that provides advanced threat protection for virtualized and cloud environments. It offers a comprehensive set of security features, including firewall, VPN, intrusion prevention system (IPS), and unified threat management (UTM).
With its scalable architecture, the vSRX can be easily deployed and managed across multiple virtual machines, making it ideal for organizations with dynamic and distributed networks. It also supports high-performance data processing, ensuring minimal impact on network performance.
vSRX is designed to integrate seamlessly with Juniper's broader security ecosystem, enabling centralized management and visibility across the entire network.
Netgate pfSense is widely leveraged by organizations for its comprehensive capabilities in firewalls, VPN servers, and bandwidth management. It suits LAN, WAN, and DMZ networks, offering secure, scalable, and efficient networking solutions.
Netgate pfSense stands out in diverse environments with its enterprise-grade features and cost-effective operations compared to competitors like Cisco. Deployed as an edge device, it optimizes routing, ad-blocking, content filtering, and traffic shaping. Users benefit from its versatile configurations, robust firewall protection, VPN functionality, and ISP load balancing. The open-source nature allows for extensive customization, integrating plugins like Snort and pfBlockerNG, and compatibility with third-party tools enhances its utility. The intuitive GUI combined with detailed logging and centralized management fortifies network security.
What features define Netgate pfSense?
What benefits should be considered for ROI?
Organizations in industries such as finance, healthcare, and education find Netgate pfSense integral due to its advanced security features and cost benefits. Its scalable architecture and strong VPN support are crucial for industries requiring stringent data protection and reliable remote access. The adaptability of pfSense makes it suitable for dynamic environments seeking comprehensive, secure networking solutions.
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