Fortinet FortiGate Reviews and Pricing - page 34 | PeerSpot

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Network Security Infrastructure - Tech Specialist with 10,001+ employees

Apr 29, 2015

It has given me complete oversight of my network in a centralized fashion but certain features need improving.

What is most valuable?

It's version of throughput is good
It has a strong active cluster, as you can have between three and 32 units to a cluster

How has it helped my organization?

Finally there is a UTM Fortinet. It has given me complete oversight of my network in a centralized fashion, so I know what is going on at all times. It provides me with a solution that can automatically take control of situations when they arise, with the most intuitive interface. It stops you needing to be on the phone to tech support, or a local vendor, for days on end.

What needs improvement?

Security
LAN
WAN

For how long have I used the solution?

I've used it for three years.

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What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

No issues encountered.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

No issues encountered.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

No issues encountered.

How are customer service and support?

Customer Service:

8/10.

Technical Support:

8/10.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

No previous solution was used.

How was the initial setup?

It was easy to set up.

What other advice do I have?

The most important factor is that you choose a firewall or UTM solution that fits your organizations security requirements. Begin by determining what business problem you are trying to solve, what technical controls you need to implement (Firewall, IPS, NAC, VPN, endpoint, mobility, web filtering, malware detection, etc.). Then, determine what hardware features you need such as (HA clustering, link aggregation or 10Gb, port sensity), and what kind of throughput, and how many concurrent connections.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

reviewer1255635 - PeerSpot reviewer

reviewer1255635

Head of the Satellite Infrastructure and Operation System Department at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees

Jan 14, 2021

A user-friendly firewall solution with a valuable domains feature

Pros and Cons

"What's most important is the ease of use."

"Backup can be improved."

What is our primary use case?

We use Fortinet FortiGate mainly for firewall and VPN purposes.

What is most valuable?

The virtual domains feature and the ease of use.

What needs improvement?

The Fortinet support needs improvement and also the quality control of the firmware (there are a lot of bugs)

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for about 10 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Fortinet FortiGate offer a good value for money solution

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Fortinet FortiGate is scalable. We don't have any constraints that create a problem for us except the support.

How are customer service and technical support?

The major problem with Fortinet is the support. We have often hardware malfunctions and software bugs and the support is slow.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We also use another firewall vendor product

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was easy.

What about the implementation team?

The implementation was through a international integrator team

What was our ROI?

Fair

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The price is fair compared to the other competitors.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

No

What other advice do I have?

They have many features

On a scale from one to ten, I would give Fortinet FortiGate an eight.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

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Camilo Benavides

System Administrator at Udenar

Mar 12, 2019

A complete solution, but it is very expensive compared with other solutions

What is our primary use case?

We use FortiGate for edge protection by avoiding attacks to the servers of the institution, also, by protecting the LAN network.

How has it helped my organization?

Having FortiGate allowed for easy management of the network, protection from threats by having a very intuitive administration console.

What is most valuable?

The most important feature for me apart from the administrator is the UTM module because it protects the equipment of the entity in a very efficient way.

What needs improvement?

FortiGate is a complete solution, but it is very expensive compared with other solutions. Then actually, we are analyzing other solutions.

For how long have I used the solution?

More than five years.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

Works at El loco hugo

Aug 19, 2018

It has improved our organization with control data

Pros and Cons

"It has improved our organization with control data."

"The reports are very basic."

What is our primary use case?

We use it because it is a good device.

How has it helped my organization?

It has improved our organization with control data.

What is most valuable?

The rules.

What needs improvement?

The reports are very basic.

For how long have I used the solution?

More than five years.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

Senior Consultant at Unify Square

Feb 27, 2018

FortiGate security appliances provide UTM security in a single device with a good administrative interface and performance

Pros and Cons

"A strong point of FortiGate is that the graphical interface is complete and easy to use, especially if we think there is a list of operations that we are able to perform inside."

"With FortiGate, the main complaint that I have heard is about the technical support."

We're discussing a family of UTM (Unified Threat Management) appliances. FortiGate is a term which includes a wide range of products, starting with small ones dedicated to small offices, and developing into devices which are able to grant security and networking for large companies. The family includes physical devices and virtual machines, which grant network security on different layers using a single point of control. FortiGate is optimized to avoid bottlenecks or delays while the various controls are performed. High availability is also part of the available features with various solutions to avoid single points of failure.

In the following short list, I will list some interesting points about the FortiGate solution.

1. Administrative Interface

If you are experienced with network security management, you are aware this activity requires interaction with many different software and hardware solutions from disparate vendors. In the aforementioned scenario, it is normal to have frequent updates to apply on the various products and to watch more than one monitoring tool to keep track of security events. The FortiGate solution includes all the controls you could expect using a patchwork of security products in a single device with a single administrative interface. It is your switch, router, firewall, VPN hub, antivirus, anti-spam, proxy, and endpoint security solution all-in-one.

If you define a network object or group for firewalling purposes, it will be available to define antivirus rules or internet browsing policies. There are two administrative interfaces:

Web-based manager (a graphical interface usable through a web browser);
CLI (a command line interface).

A strong point of FortiGate is that the graphical interface is complete and easy to use, especially if we think there is a list of operations that we are able to perform inside.

If you have used appliances or firewalls from other vendors, often you have to use not-so-friendly command lines to obtain the exact result you need. With FortiGate, you will use the CLI seldomly and only for the most “exotic” features.

2. UTM, the Fortinet way

Unified Threat Management may be complex to manage, because you work on different protocols, at different layers and with disparate threats to consider. In FortiGate, you can have three great layers:

Networking services (switching and routing, both static and dynamic);
Network security services (firewalling, secure VPN connection, intrusion detection and endpoint security);
Application security services (spam and virus controls, web filtering, application control and data leak prevention).

As long as you pay (and renew as it expires) the “bundle” license, you have all the aforementioned features available, including the updates for signatures and definitions coming to your appliance directly from Fortinet. You do not have to use all the available controls, but you are able to turn them on and off “On Demand”, so you could start with a simple configuration and add control layers when you feel more comfortable.

3. Virtual Domains

One of the available features include the capability of a FortiGate to support many Virtual Domains (VDOMs). VDOMs enable you to grant access to different companies with different administrators on the same physical unit. Each one will be able to keep their specific configuration with no impact on the others. What you are doing is creating “virtual units”, and keeping on a “root domain” which is used to manage the virtual domains. VDOMs add a lot of flexibility to the solutions that you are able to plan using FortiGate.

4. High Availability and Resiliency

There are four different ways to make a FortiGate unit have high availability. You could use a traditional “cluster” design with two or more units: FortiGate Cluster Protocol (FGCP), a solution with an external load balancer: FortiGate Session Life Support Protocol (FGSP), a Layer 3 resiliency solution like Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP), or a Layer 2 solution like Fortinet Redundant UTM Protocol (FRUP). Again, we have a great deal of flexibility to design the best solution for our company’s needs.

5. The Dark Side of the Moon

It would not be fair to review a product omitting the negative points. With FortiGate, the main complaint that I have heard is about the technical support. My personal experience is the same as many people who are not happy with this aspect of the service offered by Fortinet. Often, your problem is diverted to local partners. I have to say that I have had mixed results with them. While some partners are professional, many are not skilled enough and I have had costs that are not equivalent to their quality. This is the same issue with other vendors, but that is not an excuse. As long as Fortinet support sends me to a local reseller or partner, from my point of view, they are taking responsibility for their capabilities.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

reviewer690582COO/CTO at a pharma/biotech company with 11-50 employees

Report as inappropriate

Aug 3, 2018

I had my data speed compromise confirmed by my paid support subscription.

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it_user454521 - PeerSpot reviewer

Deputy Chief Manager at a newspaper with 5,001-10,000 employees

Jun 26, 2017

It has given us improved security over the internet. It is easy to use with a single console and unified threat management features.

Pros and Cons

"Unified Threat Management (UTM) features."

"NGN, reporting and controls."

How has it helped my organization?

It has given us improved security over the internet.

What is most valuable?

Ease of use, single console, Unified Threat Management (UTM) features.

What needs improvement?

NGN, reporting and controls.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We had some stability issues but we upgraded.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

There was a hardware limitation, affecting scalability.

How are customer service and technical support?

I would rate the technical support as 8/10.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We had a different solution in the organization arising from different OEMs and this solution was chosen with consideration of requirements and costs.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was simple but the DC was complex.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Go for long term pricing negotiated at the time of purchase.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We evaluated Check Point, Cisco ASA.

What other advice do I have?

You should be clear concerning the scope and outcome you are looking for.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.

Arf Wu - PeerSpot reviewer

Manager at Readytech

Mar 23, 2022

Straightforward setup, scalable, and good support

Pros and Cons

"Fortinet FortiGate is a scalable solution."

"The stability of Fortinet FortiGate could improve."

What needs improvement?

In an upcoming release, Fortinet FortiGate should add an SD-WAN feature.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for approximately five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability of Fortinet FortiGate could improve.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Fortinet FortiGate is a scalable solution.

How are customer service and support?

I am satisfied with the technical support from Fortinet FortiGate.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The price of Fortinet FortiGate is reasonable.

What other advice do I have?

I am satisfied with the solution.

I rate Fortinet FortiGate an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer:

Anderson Clivati

Specialist of IT Solutions at INTERNEXA

Dec 6, 2020

Great anti-malware and web filtering features

Pros and Cons

"Good anti-malware and web filtering features."

"The solution could be more evenly structured."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use this solution as a security perimeter and for VPN. We are partners of Fortinet.

What is most valuable?

I like the anti-malware and web filtering features.

What needs improvement?

The solution could be more evenly structured and I'd like to see orchestration in the calls included. The solution currently lacks that feature.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using this solution for 12 months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is great.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable.

How are customer service and technical support?

The technical support is good. We rely a lot on the documentation which is a good standard.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I previously used Meraki but I prefer Fortinet for its value and software capabilities. It's better than any of the other products in this field.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is very easy. Deployment time depends on the complexity of the situation.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

We pay an annual license fee - I get a good price on this product.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate this solution an eight out of 10.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner

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