We performed a comparison between Meraki MX and SonicWall TZ based on our users’ reviews in four categories. After reading the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.
Comparison Results: Users consider Meraki MX devices to be part of a comprehensive next-generation firewall solution with all the advanced security services required for today’s IT marketplace. They say it is also a robust dynamic Unified Threat Management (UTM) tool. Meraki MX offers zero-touch installation, is cloud-based, and can seamlessly integrate with most of today’s popular platforms. Many users feel SonicWall TZ can be bulky and slow and is lacking some key features.
"The SD-WAN feature is the most valuable. This feature evolved from link load balancing. It has helped us in terms of our uptime and privatizing applications whenever we experience an outage. The SD-WAN feature has been a plus for us. Two-factor authentication has allowed us to add more users in terms of remote working. We have two-factor authentication for remote workers to authenticate them before they get on the network."
"The stability of the solution is excellent, as it is with other Fortinet products."
"It's great for capturing the traffic and troubleshooting it."
"Fortinet FortiGate's ease of management is the most valuable feature."
"The notable features that I have found most valuable are that it includes the antivirus, and also IPS, and even SD-WAN."
"The email protection and VPN features are the most valuable."
"The features that prevent internet connections, the filtering are the most valuable because we did not have any internet protection before."
"The reporting and monitoring are very good."
"In a week, we can make new policy and view what all our users did."
"The technical support people from Meraki are brilliant."
"It is a robust SD-WAN solution."
"MX is easy to manage, configure and install."
"The features we have found most valuable are the firewall and the monitoring tools."
"The most valuable feature is that we didn't have any problems with Meraki MX."
"Deployment takes no more than one working day."
"Ease of management is the best thing about the solution."
"The solution is stable."
"The product is easy to deploy."
"The best thing about the product is the very good threat prevention output."
"SonicWall TZ is a very cost-effective solution that provides good security."
"With the main firewall routing there, we can do connectivity point-to-point. On the low bandwidth we can connect in all the branches with my corporate office."
"We like the central interface and we like the security features. Additionally, we use SonicWall with VPN connectivity and we have had no problems with SonicWall all these years."
"SonicWall TZ think it's a good, solid, and stable product."
"I find the security we are able to do with the policies to be valuable. The monitoring is valuable as well."
"The support system could be improved."
"Some of the software stability could improve."
"With the addition of some features, it is possible that FortiGate can be used in all verticals."
"Their software support needs improvement. I would prefer to have better support for bug fixes. Sometimes, we open a ticket, and it is very difficult to get a solution. Specifically, we are not at all happy with their support for load balancing."
"There are some cloud-based features that could be much more flexible than they currently are."
"I would like Fortinet to add more automation to FortiGate."
"The support is the main thing that needs to be improved."
"The web-cache feature which was previously on the FortiGate device, but was deleted with the recent upgrade should be returned. It was a very valuable feature for us."
"Direct logging is something that can be introduced. In the absence of cloud management, the possibility of local configurations and on-premise logins becomes restricted. This limitation stands as a primary concern. When it comes to resolving issues, the inability to access login options hampers troubleshooting efforts. The stability is noteworthy; but when compared to alternative products, its stability is comparatively lower. Additionally, certain limitations are observed in terms of remote control. Price-wise, the solution stands out for its competitive and cost-effective nature compared to other alternatives. Operationally, it is user-friendly and requires minimal effort from administrators, making configuration hassle-free."
"We do not have account managers in our region for the solution. Some governments don't use the product since it is attached to the internet."
"What I would like to see in the next version is to have more interfaces for WAN links."
"The solution's pricing should be reduced."
"As far as what needs to be improved — nothing really comes to mind. It does what we need it to do."
"In the next release, because the security is pretty basic, I think they could include additional security features."
"We feel that Cisco provides smaller features, with fewer possibilities versus other solutions out there."
"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."
"I would like to see more integration with other platforms."
"I currently have two of the issues from SonicWall. One issue is that the IP is not the public IP. Sometimes it moves to an alternate source and I have to refresh the new IP then we can go on."
"The technical support has room for improvement."
"They should consider working a bit more on their ransomware application."
"FortiGate has a client DNS in the firewall, but SonicWall doesn't have that. To create or configure a site-to-site VPN tunnel, we have to give a DNS name. Currently, we have to get the DNS name from a third party and then include it in SonicWall, whereas FortiGate has its own client DNS, so it provides a DNS name, and it does not require a third party. There should be a graphical option to view the network utilization and bandwidth usage."
"The reporting analytics could be improved, it is very unstable."
"We would like to improve the rules configuration in SonicWall TZ. Sometimes the rules don't work."
"The interface and technical support are probably the two most important things that I would like SonicWall to improve."
Meraki MX is ranked 2nd in Unified Threat Management (UTM) with 59 reviews while SonicWall TZ is ranked 12th in Firewalls with 78 reviews. Meraki MX is rated 8.2, while SonicWall TZ is rated 8.0. The top reviewer of Meraki MX writes "Cost-effective, simplified, easy to manage, and reliable with advanced security features and granular visibility". On the other hand, the top reviewer of SonicWall TZ writes "Has efficient user access control feature and good technical support services ". Meraki MX is most compared with Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls, Cisco Secure Firewall, Sophos XG, Netgate pfSense and SonicWall NSa, whereas SonicWall TZ is most compared with Sophos XG, Netgate pfSense, SonicWall NSa, WatchGuard Firebox and Cisco Secure Firewall. See our Meraki MX vs. SonicWall TZ report.
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