Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center Reviews

We use the product for SD-WAN features.

SD-WAN and the security fabric are essential features of the product.

The UI of the firewall and reporting could be improved.

I have been using Fortinet FortiSwitch Data Center for three years.

The product is stable.

The product's scalability is good. We have more than 1400 users using it. The current infrastructure can handle 2,000 users.

I've used Sophos before. 

The initial setup is simple. To deploy a switch, we have to configure it in the headquarters, ship it to the branch, plug it in, and start using it.

Implementation is the responsibility of the vendor from where we bought the product. They are the ones assisting us until the implementation is done.

Overall, I rate Fortinet FortiSwitch Data Center an eight out of ten.

The tool is not easy to use. 

I have been working with the product for a year. 

The product is stable. 

Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center is scalable. My company has 40-50 users for the product. 

Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center's installation is straightforward. 

The tool's deployment was done in-house. 

Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center is expensive. 

I rate the solution a seven out of ten. 

On-premises

The product's most valuable feature is its ability to manage switches from one central point.

There could be more porting software options for easy deployment in the product.

It is a stable product.

I rate Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center's scalability a nine out of ten.

The technical support team provides services for both pre and post-implementation phases.

Positive

The initial setup process is easy.

The product is less expensive than Cisco.

I rate Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center a nine out of ten.

Based on my use cases, Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center was a great product that was easy to manage and work with while being a powerful tool.

Identifying devices and managing VLAN routing are areas where the solution has improved the functioning of my organization. It was easy to work in the aforementioned areas.

The solution's valuable feature was to have the possibility to manage it with a central point which means that from FortiGate, it was really easy to manage with FortiSwitch management.

Managing the VLANs is an area where the solution lacks and needs to improve.

Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center is a complete product with everything. It would be good if the solution could be easier for its users to manage.

I have been using Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center for a year. I use the solution's latest version.

The solution's stability is awesome. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

The solution's technical support can be described as a complete one. The solution has a lot of documentation, and it is really easy to go through it.

The solution is deployed on-premises.

The solution's initial setup was pretty straightforward.

I have experienced an ROI using the solution.

The solution's pricing is a little high. The solution deserves the current price it receives from its users.

I would suggest others take time to learn the product before using it, and it can help a lot of people. You can know your product if you take the time to learn and read.

Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

On-premises

The product is used mostly as an integration within Fortinet Security Fabric. It is a combination of security and switching.

The single pane of glass that helps us manage everything through FortiManager is the most important feature.

The product must improve the latency in the management center. We experience latency when we make changes on a number of ports.

I have been using the solution for 12 years.

I rate the product’s stability an eight out of ten.

I rate the tool’s scalability an eight out of ten. Around 15,000 people are using the solution in our clients’ organizations. Our customers are enterprise-level businesses.

I rate the ease of setup a seven out of ten. When we were installing the solution for the very first time, we had to introduce a bug to ensure everything was working. We encountered some issues. We did overcome those issues in the end, but it took some time.

I rate the solution’s pricing a three on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive. There are no additional costs associated with the product.

I'm not a technical person. I have a high-level overview of the architecture. People considering the solution must create a benchmark with different solutions. We get a broader picture by integrating it into Fortinet Security Fabric and managing it through FortiManager as a central hub. Overall, I rate the tool an eight out of ten.

The FortiSwitches together with FortiGate give users more visibility into the network. It also offers up straight intelligence when paired with FortiGate when it's connected through the security fabric, which helps improve security. For example, if you've got your FortiSwitches in place, you can actually control FortiSwitch using FortiGate.

The solution has the switch controller built into FortiGate, which is a bonus. From there you are able to see, for example, the number of switches that you actually have. You have logical topology of the switches that are interconnected into your environment. From that logical topology, you're able to drill down into each switch and see what devices are connected to what, within which port. Together with Fortinet in the security fabric with Forticlient, you'll be able to see the clients that are of high risk within the network.

If you've got a server that has got a vulnerable application, that information can be shared through the switch. It also has the functionality whereby if one machine within the network tries to send infected information or is infected itself, it will result in traffic being blocked. That way, the spreading of viruses is drastically reduced.

The solution has made configuration and setup very, very easy.

In terms of usability, they give us very good visibility.

The device, when using it with FortiGate, is seamless.

The Solution is robust as it is currently but there is room to added more automated responses on the fortigate such that if vulnerability is picked by the forticlient it can auto-remediate example is that when Forticlient picks that a software on an endpoint is not patched you will have manually allow forticlient to patch it but in future if this can be automated for the fortigate or forticlient to automatically patch such vulnerability it will be of great help to keep the network secure all times.

In terms of stability, the switches are very stable. We haven't had any issues since we started deploying them.

In terms of scalability, I think it's very scalable. If implemented properly, in most cases, it's all about the number of ports that you've got and the speed that you expect from them.

We've been in touch with Fortinet's technical support. We haven't been in touch in terms of the deployment of the switches, but, in general, I'd rate them nine out of ten. Most of the time, when we work with them, they find a solution to our issues. On very rare occasions, when we open a ticket, there may be a slight delay in response, which is why I didn't give them a full ten out of ten. However, we've found them to be very good and very reliable.

FortiSwitch implementation is quite straightforward and very simple, unlike other products. It's easy in part because we already have FortiGate in our environment and the integration is seamless. It's just a matter of enabling FortiSwitch. It's like dedicating an interface on FortiGate. You simply dedicate that FortiGate interface for FortiSwitches and FortiSwitch will automatically connect to FortiGate.

Instantly, you've got visibility to that switch, which you can manage everything through FortiGate. 

You can also use FortiGate as a standalone unit. However, we mostly work with FortiSwitch through FortiGate. The beauty of that is that you don't have to log in to several switches if you've got FortiGate to manage them. You can simply manage them from one interface through FortiGate.

We use FortiSwitch together with the FortiGate. So there wasn't any licensing that was required on our unit.

We partnered with a company called Maxtech, which has a direct partnership with Fortinet.

The integration that Fortinet has is what we call Forti security fabric. When you've got your FortiGate and you've got your FortiSwitches, this device communicates that intelligence. To add to that, you can get Forticlient. Forticlient is responsible for sharing information about the vulnerabilities on any particular machine. If there is any vulnerability, that information is shared with FortiGate. You don't really have to guess which devices are connected to your network and what they're doing on the network. 

The security fabric of Fortinet is really a game-changer for us. When you have your switches in that security fabric, the solution is quite good.

Overall, I'd rate the solution eight out of ten. We had a slight issue with the device when it was working as a standalone product in an environment where there wasn't any FortiGate in place. In this case, half the time most of the clients would say they wouldn't really benefit much in terms of visibility unless when they logged in. However, when it's incorporated with FortiGate, I'd easily rate it a full 10 out of 10.

We use it as an API, as our last solution.

The main feature is that we can manage all the network's rules for FortiGate, it's the main added value for us.

The integration of wireless products could be improved.

I've been using FortiSwitch for the last six months.

The product has a good stability.

Initial setup was simple and done by our company. Deployment took from one to two hours.

The cost of FortiNet is affordable and good for price-sensitive accounts.

The main difference between FortiSwitch and Aruba Switches is the price. The prices of Aruba are higher and they have unlimited features that FortiSwitch does not, like segmentation and analytics engines. Fortinet offers a simpler product. So if the network is simple, I would recommend Fortinet, but if we're dealing with a large network with mini customization and mini requirements, then I'd recommend Aruba and Chorley.

I would give FortiSwitch a seven out of ten. I also want to add that this solution would work best in small-medium companies. 

On-premises

We are using FortiSwitch at our factory. We are using both the Firewall and Wi-Fi devices with this device.

We are able to monitor everything that is happening on our network.

This solution is very easy to configure and use.

The level of security that is provided is good.

The support for this product is good.

With IT products, there is always room for improvement.

We are currently evaluating this product and have been using it for two or three months.

We have not faced any issues with respect to stability.

I have not been in contact with technical support regarding this solution. However, I have spoken with them about issues related to a Fortinet Firewall and a VPN configuration. I found that the support was good and we were happy with it. The engineer brought us to a good resolution and it was on-time.

We also have experience with similar solutions by Cisco.

The initial setup is easy and did not present any difficulties.

Cost-wise, Fortinet solutions are cheaper than those offered by Cisco.

We are in the process of evaluating this solution and so far, it is good.

This is a product that I would recommend. It is very consistent, and its upgrade and updates are current. The support is good, and the pricing is also good.

Overall, our experience with this product is good.

I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.