WatchGuard Firebox and Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls are leading network security solutions. WatchGuard Firebox is seen as more affordable with strong support, while Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls offer advanced features justifying a higher price.
Features: WatchGuard Firebox is praised for its simple setup and comprehensive security features such as multi-factor authentication, advanced malware protection, and a user-friendly interface. Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls are recognized for their superior threat intelligence, intricate policy management, and detailed threat analysis and automation features.
Room for Improvement: WatchGuard Firebox could improve by offering more granular control options, enhancing integration capabilities, and providing more flexible configuration settings. Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls could benefit from a less complex configuration process, lower resource consumption, and a more intuitive user interface.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: WatchGuard Firebox is often described as easy to deploy with straightforward implementation steps and receives positive feedback for swift and effective customer service. Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls, though more powerful, require more intricate deployment procedures and detailed customer support.
Pricing and ROI: WatchGuard Firebox is generally viewed as cost-effective with a high ROI due to its lower initial setup costs and strong performance. Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls, while more expensive, are considered worth the investment because of their advanced capabilities and long-term benefits.
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.
Their response time is within one hour.
Palo Alto offers multiple tiers of support, including basic, premium, and premium plus.
Support is a challenge as the response time is long
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.
The configuration process is complex and currently incompatible with certain operating systems, such as Linux.
Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls lack built-in multi-factor authentication, requiring the purchase of a third-party tool to implement this essential security feature.
Palo Alto recently introduced a security analyzer in version ten, but this feature could be enhanced.
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.
Cloud deployments benefit from auto-scaling, allowing for automatic adjustments to firewall capacity based on demand.
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.
Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls come at a premium, exceeding the cost of most competitors by 45 percent.
Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls are more expensive than Cisco firewalls, but slightly less expensive than Juniper firewalls.
While Palo Alto Networks Next-Generation Firewalls may be considered expensive, their quality justifies the cost.
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.
Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls are stable and reliable when deployed and configured correctly.
Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls are stable.
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'
The most valuable aspect of Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls is the performance.
These next-generation firewalls are application-centric, identifying specific applications to provide enhanced security against a wider range of attacks.
We utilize nearly all the features of Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls, including threat detection and anti-spyware capabilities.
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?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.
Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls offer comprehensive security, including application control, traffic shaping, threat prevention, and load balancing, designed to secure internal networks, perimeter protection, VPN services, and cloud environments.
Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls are a key choice for managing and protecting data centers, securing remote access, network segmentation, malware prevention, and ensuring high availability and performance for business-critical applications. Known for stability and strong security, these firewalls use application-aware identifiers and IPS/IDS subscriptions to offer advanced threat protection. The unified platform facilitates seamless integration, while GlobalProtect and centralized management via Panorama enhance ease of use. However, there are areas for improvement, including pricing strategies, training, user support, and integration with third-party applications.
What are the essential features?In industries like finance, healthcare, and retail, Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls secure sensitive data and meet regulatory requirements. These firewalls help manage large-scale networks in these sectors, providing essential security features and maintaining high-performance standards. They are implemented to ensure compliance, protect patient information, secure financial transactions, and safeguard customer data.
WatchGuard Firebox is a versatile security solution primarily used for security purposes such as firewalling, VPN, and protecting networks from outside and inside threats. It is also used for routing, multi-factor authentication, vulnerability management, and segregating industrial networks from corporate networks.
The product is praised for scalability, stability, user-friendliness, reasonable pricing, and good technical support. Some users use it for web filtering and hosting web pages, while others – for remote access connections and mobile VPNs. Firebox offers great protection, good performance, and flexibility without licensing limitations.
WatchGuard Firebox Features
WatchGuard Firebox has many valuable key features, including:
WatchGuard Firebox Benefits
Some of the benefits of using WatchGuard Firebox include:
Reviews from Real Users
Below are some reviews and helpful feedback written by WatchGuard Firebox users.
PeerSpot user Kelly C., IT Manager at a hospitality company, mentions, “One of the most valuable features is the Gateway AntiVirus. We scan all traffic as it's coming through. We also use spamBlocker to scrub spam. We use content filtering, which is critical in any corporate environment to make sure that people don't surf things they're not supposed to. WatchGuard has a very easy VPN and branch office VPN setup, so we use those pretty extensively too.It's very easy to use. In terms of performance, WatchGuard has always worked well for us. Regarding the reporting, I was in the Dimension server earlier today. It's very powerful. I like it. And the management features are easy to use. I like the fact that I can open up the System Manager client or I can just do it through the web if I'm making a quick change.”
A Director of Information Technology at a retailer says, “Among the most valuable features is the ease of use — love the interface — of both the web interface and of the WatchGuard System Manager. It's a stable platform. The devices are pretty rock-solid.”
Jason M., IT Director at a healthcare company, explains, “The policy monitoring and allowing different traffic flows are the most useful features for us; regulating which traffic comes in and out. In terms of the throughput and performance, we don't have a problem or any bottleneck there. We downgraded the size of our appliance because we're a small facility, and what we had before was actually too big. The one we are now going with seems to be doing a great job.” He also adds, “The management feature is pretty nice.”
Steve R., President and Owner at Peak Communication Systems, Inc., comments, "It saves us time in the respect that we now have the template built for it so we can get in and get it done. We've had much less problems supporting Voice over IP technologies from different companies. Because our client base has grown over the years, we're probably saving 20 to 30 man-hours a month now that we've got this on a good stable level."
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