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Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access pros and cons

Vendor: Fortinet

4.1 out of 5

46 reviews
88% willing to recommend

413 followers

Pros & Cons summary

Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access offers high scalability and stability with seamless integration into Fortinet environments, supporting FortiGate, FortiAP, and FortiClient centralized management. It is recognized for strong security and network management but lacks SDN support. While technical support is prompt, some users find troubleshooting difficult. The initial cost is low with no extra licensing, yet pricing affects small and medium businesses. Firmware requires manual updates, and third-party integration is limited.

Buyer's Guide

Get pricing advice, tips, use cases and valuable features from real users of this product.

Prominent pros & cons

PROS

Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access allows centralized management of multiple components such as FortiAP, FortiClient, and FortiGate through one console reducing the need for additional licenses.

It offers high scalability, easy setup and deployment which can usually be completed within minutes.

Fortinet support for FortiSwitch - Secure Access is rated highly for its efficiency and effectiveness.

The tool has good integration abilities with FortiGate, providing unified management and enhanced security.

Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access is acknowledged for its strong security capabilities, ensuring robust network protection.

CONS

Fortinet's technical support can be improved, as it often requires manual troubleshooting with limited direct assistance.

The feature set could be expanded, including enhancements in security features, support for SDN, and better segmentation.

There are limitations in network infrastructure capabilities, such as the inability to use fiber cables in smaller models and the lack of stackability.

Pricing and cost can appear high, especially for renewals and licensing, and this can be an obstacle for small and medium-sized businesses.

Improving Fortinet FortiSwitch's integration capabilities with other platforms and devices would increase usability and interoperability in various environments.

Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access Pros review quotes

DP

vice president at IMP Solutions

Aug 4, 2022

I like that everything flows back to FortiGate, which is the controller, management console, and firewall. There's one central point for the entire network, so the security, switching, wireless, etc., flows back to the FortiGate. The ease of management is what customers like. They don't need separate solutions like Cisco.

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WB

IT consulant at a healthcare company with 11-50 employees

Jan 10, 2021

It works really well, I think the equipment is solid, and the help is great.

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BA

Systems Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

Nov 28, 2019

The most valuable feature is that I can completely isolate devices that are compromising the network.

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Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access

Free Report: Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access Reviews and More

Learn what your peers think about Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2024.

823,795 professionals have used our research since 2012.

SC

Regional IT at PMGL

Oct 10, 2023

The product is very secure.

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Ofelia Madriz V.

General Manager at Continex S.A.

Mar 3, 2021

It is very user-friendly. There is no need to use command lines to configure it or to do anything in it. You hardly use command lines, which makes it different from Cisco. In Cisco, the CLI is your best friend. Fortinet has the lowest TCO, so you can use its integrated components without having to buy additional licenses. They provide centralized management without needing to buy or acquire additional licenses. You have an integral or complete vision through a single pane of glass, and you can see everything from one single console without having to buy additional licenses, which is a plus. It works the same way when you add wireless. You can see everything from FortiGate. It has a security processor, which is another plus. It does not have a standard desktop processor. It has a multi-threat security processor, and it is built by Fortinet. So, all the components that you include in a Fortinet solution are proprietary and work in an integral way. It has one single solution, whereas other brands, such as Palo Alto and Check Point, have been acquiring certain solutions, and they're not fully integrated. With Fortinet, everything is integrated. If you start building on Fortinet, everything that you expand to the local LAN or WAN is integrated. You don't have to pay for professional services and other things to do that. Their technical information is also very good. Most of their information is based on how-to, and it can be found online, which is something my clients like.

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JM

IT Manager at Gandia Consulting Group

Jan 25, 2024

With FortiSwitch, you can easily identify who is connected to each port, disable ports as needed, and retrieve configurations from FortiGate when required.

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JA

Jenesty Alissoutin

Project Manager at Expertsys Technologies Inc.

Jul 31, 2024

You can hook all the other components to be monitored. You can create policies and block certain people from accessing the Internet.

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MR

Mohamed Rashwan

CEO at C-Selection Technologies

Oct 13, 2019

One of the most feature-packed switching solutions you can implement.

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DD

Network Security Engineer at Technicom Mali

Oct 4, 2022

It is easy to set up.

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Volodymyr Khorenzhyi

Network Engineer at Thunder Software Technology Co., Ltd.

Feb 2, 2024

What I actually use in this deployment are Forti APs (Fortinet Access Points). So, I can see all my office infrastructure from a single console, which is handy. One FortiGate, one FortiSwitch, and five access points, everything under good control. It's really nice to see it all together like this.

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Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access Cons review quotes

DP

vice president at IMP Solutions

Aug 4, 2022

While Fortinet is good for school boards and mid-sized businesses, enterprise-class networks require a zero-trust solution. If you're building a zero-trust network with end-to-end security, that's where Fortinet falls behind Cisco, HPE, and Aruba.

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WB

IT consulant at a healthcare company with 11-50 employees

Jan 10, 2021

It would also help if they lowered the cost of their service.

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BA

Systems Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

Nov 28, 2019

I don't like the way it's managed.

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Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access

Free Report: Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access Reviews and More

Learn what your peers think about Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2024.

823,795 professionals have used our research since 2012.

SC

Regional IT at PMGL

Oct 10, 2023

The pricing could be improved, and it could be easier to configure.

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Ofelia Madriz V.

General Manager at Continex S.A.

Mar 3, 2021

In Fortinet, the packet reconstruction in the SD-WAN solution needs a little bit of improvement. When it comes to the Secure Access to the switches or the mix of Fortinet solution, the very small ones do not have the capability to use fiber cables. So, the small FortiGates have to work with the copper cables and cannot use fiber cables. Even though they have the capacity and throughput on all technical connectors, they don't have the interfaces, which is one of the good things with Cisco. They just add models to it. You buy the independent models, and you add them.

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JM

IT Manager at Gandia Consulting Group

Jan 25, 2024

Renewing the annual licenses for Secure the Switch FortiSwitch can be cumbersome, especially considering the relatively high cost of Fortinet licenses.

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JA

Jenesty Alissoutin

Project Manager at Expertsys Technologies Inc.

Jul 31, 2024

FortiSwitch offers eight and 24-port models. They don't have a 16-port model, which can be an issue for some clients.

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MR

Mohamed Rashwan

CEO at C-Selection Technologies

Oct 13, 2019

Technical support needs to take a different approach and pricing should appear more competitive.

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DD

Network Security Engineer at Technicom Mali

Oct 4, 2022

I'd like to see more integration with different platforms.

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Volodymyr Khorenzhyi

Network Engineer at Thunder Software Technology Co., Ltd.

Feb 2, 2024

It is always nice when something is cheaper.

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Show 10 more reviews (out of 45)

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