Fortinet FortiGate Reviews

1. The prompt and knowledgeable support behind them. 
2. Their reliability and their policy of pre-shipping replacements when a unit has failed.
3. The simplicity and clarity of their user interface and documentation.
4. Their 'cookbooks' that walk you through the most common installation scenarios.

I am a one-man show, so there is not much that can be done to improve the way that I function. However, these products provide best-in-class security at reasonable prices. 

One of the most helpful features is their VPN, the client could not be any simpler to set up and use.

I can't think of too much which they can improve upon. I just have not come across any situation where they have fallen short of expectations.

I am a consultant who supports these units for my clients who use them. I have had over 10 years of experience with Fortinet products.

The products are extremely stable. I have only had one instance where a unit did not function as expected, and Fortinet replaced the unit, despite the fact that it was still operational.

Scalability is the one area where there is room for some improvement. Currently, customers need to purchase more powerful units as their network traffic and requirements grow. Fortinet will occasionally offer trade-in credits in such situations, but this is not always the case. Their product line allows customers to scale from SoHo through enterprise-level requirements, which is what I like about them so much.

Their tech support is outstanding.

I have sold and supported other solutions in the past. Fortinet is not always the least-cost solution available, but from a value standpoint, I find them hard to beat.

Initial setup complexity will vary with the complexity of the installation. It is relatively straightforward and simple to set up basic configurations. More complex requirements entail reading through a lot of documentation in order to complete the firewall configuration because of the myriad of features and options that are available in their O/S. The 'cookbooks' are a big help in these instances.

Pricing and licensing have to be taken in context with value. Fortinet is usually not the least expensive alternative when considering an upfront investment, but if you take into account the support costs over several years, they are often as cost-effective as the 'cheaper' solutions.

In this particular instance, Fortinet was evaluated against an equivalent solution sourced from D-Link. I also evaluated a solution from Xirrus (now Riverbed) which promised better signal strength. However, when I ran the various WiFi planning tools from each supplier, the coverage differences did not merit the more expensive Xirrus solution.

Anyone evaluating this product should consult the documentation available and plan out their solution before making a decision. From personal experience, I find that I am able to save hours of planning and implementation time because Fortinet's documentation is so helpful.

There is no need to buy physical firewall hardware when you host multiple customers requiring individual secure access to their FW. You just create virtual domains (VDOMs).

You can create multiple Virtual Domains (VDOMs), which are treated as separate firewall instances. The reporting you receive out of this appliance is excellent. You will not need an external management system.

1. sFlow and NetFlow

I could not configure sFlow from the FortiGate graphical user interface. I realized that the sFlow configuration is available only from the CLI, and discovered that sFlow is not supported on virtual interfaces, such as VDOM links, IPsec, or GRE.

NetFlow is a network protocol developed by Cisco for collecting IP traffic information and monitoring network traffic. It is not supported on FortiGate for those who have a NetFlow analyzer/collector already setup in their network.

2. Policies

To control traffic in a firewall, you need to create and apply policies to the FW interfaces. By default, policies are sorted by FW interfaces and this makes FW interfaces an integral part of the policies. Zones provide the option to logically group multiple virtual and physical FortiGate firewall interfaces. Then, you apply security policies to those zones (logical groups of interfaces) to control traffic flow on those interfaces.

In a FortiGate unit with a lot of interfaces (including virtual interfaces), there is a high probability of having duplication of policies.

These devices are very stable.

They are easily scalable with multiple built-in interfaces. It supports a minimum of 10 VDOMs. VDOM supports all dynamic routing protocols like RIP, OSPF, BGP, and IS-IS. You do not need to reboot after enabling the VDOMs.

Area for improvement - there is one big configuration file with no separations for the unique VDOMs. Maybe they could separate individual VDOM configuration files with the root VDOM configuration file referencing the individual VDOM config files.

Customer Service:

Customer service is great, an eight out 10.

Technical Support:

I will give technical support an eight out 10.

We previously used different solutions as well. We did not switch, we have different requirements for different customers.

The user interface is relatively easy. The devices are easy to deploy and figure out if you have experience with other security appliances.

It was an in-house installation.

The ROI is great. These boxes are not that expensive compared to what they can do, their functionality, and the reporting you receive.

Fortinet licensing is straightforward and less confusing compared to Cisco. Fortinet has one or two license types, and the VPN numbers are only limited by the hardware chassis make.

I already have experience with Cisco ASA, so it was simply a customer preference and well within the budget.

Great appliances, and it is affordable.

Fortinet FortiGate is used for the overall protection of companies.

All of the features of Fortinet FortiGate are useful and the security protection is good.

The security of Fortinet FortiGate could improve.

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for approximately one year.

Fortinet FortiGate is a stable solution.

The solution is scalable. We have 11 clients using this solution.

The initial setup of Fortinet FortiGate is straightforward.

Fortinet FortiGate allows you to purchase licenses for hardware and software.

I have evaluated Cisco solutions.

I would recommend this solution to others, it is a good solution.

I rate Fortinet FortiGate a seven out of ten.

Our use case for Fortinet FortiGate is that it's a firewall for managing our security.

What I found most valuable in Fortinet FortiGate is its easy integration.

It's also able to individually manage users.

I also like the VPN aspect of this solution.

It's a product that's easy to work with, especially when you work from home, e.g. you're able to integrate it easily with the users.

Bandwidth usage in reporting could be improved. There's an aspect in reporting that I'm trying, but what I noticed is if you logged into the VPN, there's an effect on the reporting in terms of bandwidth, that needs improvement.

We've dealt with Fortinet FortiGate for the last four years.

We didn't have any issues with the stability of Fortinet FortiGate.

We find Fortinet FortiGate scalable, because currently, we have 150 users of it, and it could handle up to 1,000 users. It's good for growth.

Technical support for this solution is really good.

The first time we were using it, we called support and reported an issue, and saw that support was really good. There's nothing I can complain about regarding technical support for Fortinet FortiGate.

The setup for Fortinet FortiGate was easy, because we had it done by another company. It was a construction company that we had this set up for, but I can't remember their name.

Another company implemented this solution for us, and they also took us through the training and it was okay.

If you compare Fortinet FortiGate with Sophos and other firewall products available in the market, this solution is affordable. If you really want to use Fortinet FortiGate, you'll find that it's affordable.

Fortinet FortiGate works well for me. I have not encountered any issues that required me to recommend an action or request if this solution could be improved. It suited the needs of the organization I'm using it in, so I didn't really find an area that needs to be improved, because this solution works very well for us.

My advice to others looking into implementing Fortinet FortiGate is that they need to do their research. They need to find out exactly why they need to use this product and for what purposes, because there are so many options for users. They really need to know what they want for their organization before they implement Fortinet FortiGate. They also need to think about the type of files they require, how many users will use this product, and what they intend to do with it.

If I could give Fortinet FortiGate a score of 11 out of 10, I would. It's very good. It's a ten out of ten for me. It's a really good solution.

It gives a good overview of the security posture

The dashboard I have found the most valuable in Fortinet FortiGate.

Fortinet FortiGate is not very easy to use. The navigation could be improved to make it easier to use. Instead of double clicking the items FortiGate needs to click the "details" button to get the configurations or record details

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for approximately four years.

So far the solution is quite stable 

They provide different products and features and can be added if you needed 

This is the first solution we used since we moved to Cloud 

We used a partner to do the implementation of the solution.

The price of Fortinet FortiGate is reasonable for an SME.

No

I rate Fortinet FortiGate an eight out of ten.

We are a sister company of Fortinet FortiGate. Our organization has more than 3,000 users.

I would like to see improvements with the antivirus and IPS as they are not working properly all the time.

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for twelve years.

Fortinet FortiGate is a stable solution.

This solution is very scalable.

Prior to choosing Fortinet FortiGate you should make sure you select the right box. Be sure of the capacity and have a capacity plan before installation. I suggest you do a failover and redundant together, compact boxes together.

I would rate this solution an 8 out of 10.