Fortinet FortiManager Reviews

We had clients that wanted to manage multiple devices such as Fortigate firewalls. The customer had an environment with multiple devices or multiple branches. Now, they can centrally manage everything with this one product.

The features are good.

The reporting functionality is centralized. You can see policies and monitor the entire infrastructure. It makes administration very easy.

I cannot comment on what needs to be improved, although there are always potential areas for improvement in every product.

The Fortinet team is always very responsive and resolves issues quickly. For example, sometimes there may be a communication issue. However, other items may be the culprit, such as network connectivity. It depends on the customer's network. 

I've used the solution for two years.

It is a stable solution. 

The solution is scalable. The solution can be scalable or maybe not scalable enough in some use cases. If you are working with a private or public cloud, it is very scalable. If you go for a hardware-based client, you may need to upgrade the hardware to scale. 

Technical support is very good. They could always be better. Sometimes certain issues take more time, especially in terms of escalation. 

Positive

The installation is very easy. Documentation is very easy to find on the partner portal.

Configuration can be a big task. It depends on the scope of work. However, a fresh install might take about one hour. 

One person can easily deploy the product. That said, it depends on the environment. For example, if some devices are located in another location, another person may need to be there. You might need some credentials for that location as well.

There is some maintenance for proper monitoring and updating to the latest version of firmware. If you get any error messages or alerts, you'll have to action them. One person can handle maintenance tasks. 

The solution is competitive. It's neither cheap nor expensive. The solution can be paid annually. If you use a cloud, you will have to pay for subscription charges. 

I work as a reseller.

I'd advise the solution to users that have a big organization and if they are using Fortigate Firewalls, It helps centralize anything.

I'd rate the solution nine out of ten. They have so many features. It's very feature-rich. From one central location, you can monitor everything. 

We primarily use the solution for management and analysis. We use it for the management of two or three firewalls and the deployment of policies. 

This is quite a convenient solution. We can manage a number of items. The wireless management is easy. 

The VPN is easy. I have the ability to do the proper configuration of each of the firewalls. 

It is easy to deploy to licenses. 

The initial setup is very simple. 

The product is stable.

It is scalable. 

The functionality is very high.

We have found the pricing reasonable.

I'm still exploring the solution. I have not come across any missing features. 

The documentation could be better. Sometimes information seems lacking, however, maybe I'm not sure where to look for the information I need.

I've been using the solution for about six months now. 

The solution is stable and reliable. I'd rate it ten out of ten. It is extremely reliable with no bugs or glitches. 

It is a scalable solution. I'd rate it eight out of ten. I haven't tried to scale to any great extent.

We have around five users that are administrating the solution at the moment.

We have never dealt with technical support yet.

We did use the Cisco FTD Manager. Fortinet is easy to use and deploy. It's also easy to manage. It's a full-fledged integrated solution, unlike Cisco. Cisco also took longer in terms of committing policies. 

The setup process is simple and straightforward. It is not complex. 

We handled the setup in-house ourselves without any outside help. 

The pricing is pretty good. I'd rate the affordability nine out of ten. Compared to Cisco and Palo Alto, it's reasonable. 

I'd rate the solution eight out of ten. It's a very good solution. I'm still working on learning the solution. 

I use this solution to manage my VDOMs and FortiGate policies.

It's very easy to install, and it's easy to discover and communicate with your device. 

We can manage VDOM, backup and restore configurations, and FortiGate. We have ten FortiGate firewalls.

It requires a lot of resources. This is the main challenge.

I've been using this solution for more than ten years.

It's stable. I didn't have any issues with its stability or availability. It's good.

It's scalable. I'd rate it a nine out of ten in terms of scalability.

Fortinet's support is very good. Sometimes, Fortinet's support is better than Cisco's support. They are more talented. I'd rate their support a nine out of ten.

Positive

We had Panorama from Palo Alto. We switched because most of our devices are from Fortinet. FortiManager is also easy to install and set up.

It's very easy to install. This is the main reason why we are using it. It's easy to set up and manage. The only thing I am not happy with is the sizing of the RAM and hardware. The implementation took about two months because we have a big network.

It was implemented in-house. We have a team of three engineers dedicated to installation and maintenance.

If you compare Fortinet and Palo Alto, Fortinet is cheaper, but if you compare Cisco and Fortinet, sometimes Cisco is cheaper because Cisco gives us more discounts because of the size. Cisco isn't cheap, but sometimes, we get a big discount from them. 

Its licensing is monthly. I'd rate it a seven out of ten in terms of pricing.

I'd recommend having a demo of FortiManager before deciding on it. I had a demo to understand how this device will match my profile and my requirements. The demo answered all my questions. 

Overall, I'd rate Fortinet FortiManager a nine out of ten.

Amid a surge in malware threats, including ransomware, heightened awareness about security vulnerabilities has prompted organizations to prioritize robust cybersecurity measures. Fortinet's SD-WAN solutions provide a comprehensive approach to secure and efficient wide-area networking for our customers.

The user interface, along with user-friendly planning features, makes it straightforward to configure desired settings.

Issues arise when customers experience unstable electricity or poor grounding conditions. In such cases, their CPE or other devices on-site may become unreliable, leading to occasional configuration discrepancies. To address this, site visits are necessary, and sometimes manual configuration adjustments are required. In extreme cases, device replacement may be necessary, particularly when inadequate electricity grounding poses a persistent challenge, creating specific conditions for intervention.

Presently, our customers have a limited number of remote sites, numbering in the hundreds, with none exceeding a thousand or more. Fortunately, there haven't been any issues reported with this scale of deployment.

Fortinet's support has proven to be reliable, particularly as we've been engaged with them since the project's initiation. This long-standing collaboration has facilitated effective communication, allowing us to seek advice or receive the correct configurations when encountering issues. Their assistance has been instrumental in problem-solving and troubleshooting. I would rate it eight out of ten.

Positive

Previously, we employed Cisco Catalyst switches, specifically the Catalyst 1100 series. However, during that time, the stability of these switches was not satisfactory, and there were noticeable issues. We transitioned to FortiManager because our customers expressed a preference for enhanced security features in the form of superior Customer Premises Equipment. The local certification standards in Indonesia have played a crucial role in raising awareness among our customers regarding the need for robust security measures.

The initial setup is straightforward.

The installation is very simple, thanks to its use of zero-touch provisioning. With another engineer on hand and static alerts in place, the installation process is hassle-free. Completing the setup typically takes around fifteen minutes.

While I find the pricing somewhat higher compared to other options, it remains acceptable for now. I anticipate a growing demand for SD-WAN security in the future, particularly with Fortinet gaining popularity. I hope that the prices will become more competitive in subsequent releases, as the current pricing is perceived as somewhat elevated.

Overall, I would rate it nine out of ten.

We use FortiManager to manage the roles and policies for all of our edge firewalls.

FortiManager enables us to set unified firewall policies from one centralized dashboard,  reducing human error. If you do not have a central dashboard, there's a chance you might set a policy on one firewall and forget to do it for another. 

The SD-WAN solution is difficult to manage on FortiManager because you need to share some configurations on the firewall side. Sometimes you lose all connectivity with the firewall, so it is challenging to apply the default configuration to the SD-WAN solution.

I have used FortiManager for around two years.

I rate FortiManager nine out of 10 for stability. 

I rate FortiManager eight out of 10 for scalability. It's easy to scale, but you may run into some issues. We have around 4,000 users at my company.

I rate Fortinet support six out of 10. The response time could be better. 

Neutral

Deploying FortiManager is easy, but you may need to reconfigure and restart the appliance during the setup if it loses the connection. This happened once, but it has been working fine since then. 

I rate FortiManager eight out of 10 for affordability. All of the features are included with the basic license. It isn't like other solutions where you need to pay for SD-WAN or additional bandwidth. 

I rate Fortinet FortiManager eight out of 10. 

We had a customer that had about five locations and at each location, they needed a management device. We installed FortiManager at the head office and all locations report back to it. 

Setup, setting policies, and reporting were all very easy. We had no issues whatsoever getting the solution up and running. 

The ability to manage multiple devices is great. We have one set up and one pane of glass for management. The reporting features are customizable for the customer. We would normally just show them some default reports and they would customize them. So far, there are no problems customizing your reports.

I haven't had any issues with the product.

Their EDR products could be better. They need to dedicate more R&D to that area.

I've used the solution for a while. The company I work with now exclusively uses Fortinet products.

Technical support is very good.

Positive

For network monitoring, I've previously used SolarWinds. The major differences are the ease of use of Fortinet and its single pane of glass. It's also easier to get reports. SolarWinds can require a little more technical knowledge. 

The initial setup is very simple. I'd rate the process eight out of ten in terms of ease of setup. The deployment takes, on a complex install, about two days. On a simpler install, it would take less than a day.

Usually, we have one solution implementation engineer managing the deployment. 

Once we have implemented it, it goes over to our support center and they handle it under a managed service.

Fortinet has the best pricing currently on the market. They are very competitive, especially if you are a preferred partner (which we are). 

I'd advise others to use it. It's a powerful tool. It makes managing multiple Fortinet products very easy. You can tie in FortiSwitches, Fortigates, et cetera, and gain one central point of management with great reporting functionality.

I'd rate the solution an eight out of ten. It's best of breed and always on the cutting edge of security technologies. they keep abreast of upcoming trends and emerging technologies. 

We primarily use the solution for managing firewalls. 

We enjoy the centralization of all roles and objects and so on.

As a manager, you can manage 50 or 40 firewalls with only one product.

The initial setup is easy.

It is stable. 

The solution should be more open to other products. FortiManager must be able to manage other products from other vendors. While it's perfect for other Forti products, it's not ideal for everything.

This is not available to work with many other vendors in the cloud. In the end, you want only one view of your own security view of everything, which is impossible with FortiManager.

Of course, this is the case with Palo Alto as well.

I've been using the solution for seven or eight years. 

It is a stable, reliable product. The solution has good performance. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash. 

The product is likely scalable, however, we haven't pushed it. 

We have no experience with many numbers, such as 200 or 600 devices. We scale up to 60 firewalls. 

Forti support is quite good.

We work with Fortinet and Palo Alto.

The initial setup was not complex. However, we did the initial setup seven years ago.

We are Fortinet partners at this moment.

I'm not sure of the exact version we are on. I'm more on the sales side. 

We manage from Spain many firewalls around the world, and at this moment, it's very necessary to have FortiManager. It's just too bad we can't manage other vendors. 

I'd rate the solution at an eight out of ten. I'd rate it higher if it offered more outside-brand integrations. 

FortiManager
Automation-Driven Centralized Management
Manage all your Fortinet devices in a singleconsole
central management system.
FortiManager provides full visibility of your
network, offering streamlined provisioning and
innovative automation tools.
Integrated with Fortinet’s Security Fabric, the
security architecture and FortiManager’s
Automation Driven Network Operations
capabilities provide a foundation to secure and
optimize network security, such as
provisioning and monitoring SD-WAN.

FortiManager VM-S
The new FortiManager Subscription license model consolidates the VM product SKU and the FortiCare Support SKU into one single SKU,
to simplify the product purchase, upgrade and renewal.
The FortiManager S-Series SKUs come in stackable subscriptions to manager 10, 100 and 1000 devices/vdoms, so that multiple units of
this SKU can be purchased at a time to increase the number of devices/vdoms as needed. This SKU can also be purchased together with
other FMG VM-S SKUs to expand the total number of devices/vdoms.

FortiManager VM
Fortinet offers the FortiManager VM in a stackable license model. This software-based version of the FortiManager hardware appliance
allows you to expand your virtual solution as your environment expands and is designed to run on many virtualization platforms. The
FortiManager virtual appliance family minimizes the effort required to monitor and maintain your network and offers all the features of the
FortiManager hardware appliance.

Key Features

Single console management

§ Manage all Fortinet products, including firewalls,

FortiAnalyzers, switches, wireless infrastructure and Endpoints

Security automation

§ Reduces complexity and costs by leveraging automated REST

API, scripts, connectors, and automation stitches

Centralized policy and device management

§ Centrally manage up to 100,000+ devices and policies such as

firewalls, switches, and access points

Zero-touch provisioning

§ Automate workflows and configurations for Fortinet firewalls,

switches and wireless infrastructure

Secure SD-WAN provisioning and monitoring

§ Provision and monitor Secure SD-WAN from one console

across your network, branch offices or campuses

Multi-tenancy and administrative domains (ADOMs)

§ Separate customer data and manage domains leveraging

ADOMs to be compliant and operationally effective

Enterprise-grade high availability and integration

§ Automated backups to up to 5 nodes (1 Primary, and 4

secondary) with streamlined software and security updates for

all managed devices

Feature Highlights

Single Pane Automation and Orchestration

FortiManager provides insight into network traffic and threats through a single-pane-of-glass and offers enterprise-class features and

sophisticated security management for unified, end-to-end protection to contain advanced threats. FortiManager also delivers the industry’s

best scalability to manage up to 100,000 Fortinet devices. FortiManager, coupled with the FortiAnalyzer family of centralized logging and

reporting appliances, provides a comprehensive and powerful centralized management solution for your organization.

Central Management of Network Infrastructure
Centrally manage FortiGate, FortiSwitch, FortiExtender & FortiAP.
The VPN manager simplifies the deployment and enables centrallyprovisioned
VPN community and connection monitoring. FortiAP
Manager allows configuring, deploying and monitoring FortiAPs
from a single console.

Configuration and Settings Management
Collectively configure the device settings - using the provisioning
templates and advance CLI templates improves management of a
large number of devices. Automatic device configuration backup
with revision control and change audit make it easier for daily
administrative tasks. Use Management extensions to add SD-WAN
Orchestrator, Wireless Manager and other modules.

API for Automation and Orchestration
RESTful API allows MSSPs/large enterprises to create customized,
branded web portals for policy and object administration. Automate
common tasks such as provisioning FortiGates and configuring
existing devices. Join Fortinet Developer Network (FNDN) to
access exclusive articles, how-to content for automation and
customization, community-built tools, scripts and sample code.

Management Extensions
FortiManager’s management extensions allow rapid expansion of
Single Pane to manage more Security Fabric products. The built-in
engine runs containerized extensions to support trusted containers,
which are pulled from the FortiGuard. FortiManager is notified when
new containers are made available and users can easily choose to
opt in our out of each of the management extensions. It includes
modules like SD-WAN Orchestrator, Wireless Manager and more.

Security Policy Management
Per Policy Lock has been added to 6.4, which allows admins to
control the policy change by implicitly lock a policy rule when he/
she does the change to the policy. Group commonly used security
policies in a policy block and insert as needed in different Policy
Packages. Global policy feature that allows companies such as:
Telecom, MSSP and SAAS providers to apply a header/footer
policy at the ADOM level to all policy packages or select packages.

SD-WAN Orchestration & Analytics
Powerful SD-WAN management capabilities using intuitive
workflow and simplified provisioning at scale. Enhanced SD-WAN
analytics to monitor application performance and bandwidth
utilization per WAN link. Leverage application centric SD-WAN
business policies to fine-tune traffic steering decisions based on
performance SLA targets for each WAN provider. Provide flexible
deployment options for SD-WAN orchestrator, an add-on to

Multi-Tenancy & Role Based Administration
FortiManager equips admins with granular device and role based
administration for deploying zero-trust, multi-tenancy architecture
to large enterprises, with a hierarchical objects database to
facilitate re-use of common configurations and serve multiple
customers. ADOMs are used to manage independent security
environments, each with its own security policies and configuration
database, and the intuitive GUI makes it easy to view, create, clone
and manage ADOMs. The zero-touch deployment uses templates
to provision devices for quick mass deployment, and also supports
firmware version enforcement. Define global objects such as
Firewall Objects, Policies and Security Profiles to share across
multiple ADOMs. Granular permissions allow assigning ADOMs,
devices and policies to users based on role and responsibilities.
FortiManager’s new IPS admin is a restricted user role for
performing only IPS related object configuration and install.

The solution is very good; I'm not sure if I can think of any features that are lacking.

The GUI could be updated. It's not as good as it could be and is something the solution should improve in an upcoming release.

It would be nice if there could be more reporting included in the solution so that we could get more details about an individual user's profile.

I've been working with the solution for about six years now.

In terms of stability, the solution is very good. We haven't faced any bugs or glitches. It's quite reliable.

The licensing is very easy, which makes it quite scalable. A company shouldn't have any trouble expanding the solution. If they have, for example, 50 devices and suddenly need 100, they just need to scale up.

Whether the solution is used regularly depends on the organization. 

We've been in touch with technical support on the past. In India, they're quite good. We've found them to be very helpful and have been satisfied with their level of support.

The solution is easy to set up. Users shouldn't have any problems doing so.

FortiManager is for the syncing of devices. Therefore, when companies are using multiple devices from Fortinet, such as FortiGate, FortiSwitches, FortiAP, etc., then it's required to have FortiManager. That way, companies can manage central lines in all of the devices via a single person. It's a very useful application.

I'd rate the solution ten out of ten. It's got all of the features we need to manage our FortiGate products and doesn't seem to be lacking anything. It does exactly what we need it to do and we find it quite easy to use.

We're a Fortinet distributor. My clients are the ones that actually use the product. Most of our clients are SMEs or large businesses. This solution, however, is more suited to large and medium-sized businesses.