Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access Reviews

When our clients integrate FortiSwitches with FortiGate, they can centrally manage their whole network from FortiGate. That's why it's called Secure Access.

The versions of FortiOS that are being used right now are 6.24 and 6.4. These are the two current versions. If we're talking about the models of FortiSwitches, I usually work on 100 to 400 series.

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.

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.

I have been using this solution for five years.

It is very stable.

It is very scalable. Our clients are small, medium, and large businesses. Fortinet has been traditionally more into the small and medium sizes, but in the last two years, that has changed. We can see Fortinet switches in corporates and large enterprises, including banks.

Their technical support is very good.

It is very easy. The deployment duration depends on the size of the solution. Usually, if clients already have FortiGate and it is a pure Fortinet network, it is very easy with FortiLink, which is the technology that they use. It gets a little bit more complex if we have to migrate from a non-Fortinet network to a Fortinet network and coexist with other brands. It is doable, but it gets a little bit complicated to switch from traditional networking to FortiLink and coexist with traditional networking.

When we talk about Fortinet networking, we compete a lot with Cisco on the high end, such as Cisco Meraki. The biggest benefit with Fortinet is that you can extend the security to the access point and integrate Secure Access. With other vendors, you need to acquire additional licenses, which becomes a cost issue. With Cisco Meraki, the issue is the licenses that you need to maintain.

The management part is also there. In Cisco, you need specialized technical people to support and maintain, whereas Fortinet is very easy to learn if you have basic networking knowledge.

I would 100% recommend it because you can extend the security, and you can optimize the SD-WAN or the traffic at the application level and not only at the traditional VLAN level.

I would rate Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access a nine out of ten.

My son owns three healthcare facilities, and two of them are in the same building. That's why I went to VLANs to separate the data to satisfy HIPAA requirements. The other facility is in another town. I'm using them to manage the data and communication through VoIP phones in both locations.

They have a server for the whole practice, and so everybody in the building is operating off that server. When they go to the other facility, they use a VPN and connect to the same server.

It works really well, I think the equipment is solid, and the help is great. When I buy equipment, even though I'm buying a service in addition to the equipment to have them help me, it's worth paying for that. The service is amazing, and their marketing department should promote it.

I can tell you from personal experience, while the interface is clear for somebody in the IT business, it really isn't clear for a novice. It would also help if they lowered the cost of their service.

Their terminology could be better. The terminology is all IT. It's an IT dictionary, and I believe that there has to be a way to state things in clear, plain old English, and I would like to see more of that.

I have been using Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access for about five months.

I would say that it's fantastic. Once you get the handle of how FortiGate is designed, their interface, how they think, that's the part that's scalable. When I shift from the 60 up to something far more sophisticated and faster, I don't have to go through a horrific learning experience. In other words, it's an easy shift, and I think that's the part that's useful. I'm counting on that as this business grows.

I would say I get extraordinary service from FortiGate. If I call them up and say, "help," they not only make it happen, but they educate me to the best of their ability and the best of my ability to absorb.

It isn't so much the hardware that I appreciate at this point. It's the service. Amazing service. You have to understand that you're going to get people from Bangladesh, India, and around Asia. You're going to get people helping you on the phone that are from far away, but they really know their stuff, and it's worth the struggle to work through the language barrier. 

Because I'm sure some people will complain about that, but first of all you have to realize you're there to solve a technical problem, so forget all the other stuff. If you can't understand them, you got to stop them and say, "go slowly, speak more clearly." If you can find different words, you have to work the language gap. If you're willing to do that, the payoff is immense. I found that these people who are serving me from these faraway places really know their stuff. I'm willing to pay whatever price for their service. 

The initial setup is very straight forward. I didn't really know anything, I just set it up, and it ran. It didn't run as a firewall, and it didn't run as an L3 mode, but it ran.

The implementation and deployment were phased. The first phase was a few minutes. But the reality was that it took about two months, not because of the hardware, but because of issues like my ISP, which is Comcast.

You can't get a static IP from them without using their cable modem. But I learned that you have to put it in pass-through mode and stick your firewall router right behind it, and you're all set. But all that for a novice like myself takes time to understand. 

I implemented Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access by myself. 

Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access isn't cheap. They're about $1000 each or something like that. I had to pay for all these licenses. I paid for them, having no idea what they were going to do, but I got enough of a sense that they were important. 

I have to pay for it annually or yearly. You can buy this equipment in a multitude of ways. You can buy just the hardware, or you can buy the hardware and the licenses. That's how I bought it, but you don't get a discount for that. 

I think the license costs me anywhere between $100 and $300. I can't really remember, but it wasn't so much money that it made me stop and think twice. 

I researched brands from Cisco all the way down, and there were some cheaper options than FortiGate. I think I kept on reading reviews that mentioned something about the interface being easy to use. That eventually sold me on FortiGate. 

I really hated how Cisco wasn't clear what their costs were. I'm sure they're technically very competent because the technical papers that come out of Cisco are really great, but in terms of selling, it's almost deceptive, but not FortiGate.

On a scale from one to ten, I would give Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access a nine.

They don't get a 10 because I think there's a way to work around terminology.

The solution is good for the SMB side when they want to expand the firewall's ability.

The most valuable feature of the solution is the MAC feature. The monitoring from the firewall management can also handle the workstations in the organization.

The solution doesn't support other switches.

I have been using the solution for six years.

I rate the solution’s stability a nine out of ten.

Fortinet FortiSwitch is a scalable solution. Our clients for the solution are small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).

The solution’s initial setup is easy.

Fortinet FortiSwitch is a pricey solution.

On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a seven out of ten.

In every project, we need one person who knows how to deploy the tool. One network administrator can easily maintain the solution. The solution has AI features embedded in itself. Since each company has different needs, users should carefully plan the project.

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

The tool provides a firewall and good performance.

The solution could provide an active VPN.

I have been using Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access for around two months.

Fortinet provides high quality at a reasonable price whereas Cisco is expensive.

The initial setup takes two years of support.

We have support from a local company.

The solution has reasonable pricing. The firewall costs around 500$ annually.

I recommend the solution.

Overall, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

The product is a total solution with the FortiGate, switch, and access point. It is integrated with FortiGate, allowing us to manage all the equipment through it. You can handle everything from a single point. 

Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access is confusing with too many add-ons. 

I have been using the product for two years. 

I rate the product's stability a ten out of ten. 

My biggest client has around 4000 users. I rate the tool's scalability a seven out of ten. 

I rate the tool's deployment a seven out of ten. It can take around four hours to complete. 

I do the deployment myself. 

I rate the product's pricing an eight out of ten. 

We have small, medium, and enterprise customers for Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access. I rate it a nine out of ten. 

We are using the product to set up a security environment for a pilot project.

The product's end-user protection feature needs improvement.

We have been using Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access for eight months.

The software is very stable.

We have 40 Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access users working on a pilot project for our organization. In comparison, Cisco is a more scalable product.

We are working with Fortinet's gold partner. We can easily communicate with them to raise tickets. The consultants and Fortinet's support team helped us during the setup process as well.

I prefer using Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access for small or medium businesses due to affordable pricing, ease of installation, and support. However, I recommend Cisco for enterprises as it is more trustworthy.

The initial setup is very simple, with an easy graphical interface. However, they could provide a more effective and secure command line interface.

The product's pricing is less compared to other enterprise solutions.

I recommend Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access to others and rate it an eight out of ten.

The tool should improve its CLI. 

I have been working with the product for three months. 

I rate the solution an eight out of ten. 

I rate the product a nine out of ten. 

The tool's setup was very easy. 

We have seen ROI with the tool's use. 

The tool's pricing is fine. 

I rate Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access a nine out of ten. 

Usually, our customers have security devices for the network. We always suggest Fortinet to them, and depending on the number of users, we suggest different versions. If it's a new setup, then we provide FortiAP and FortiSwitch.

We don't need a controller to control the access points. The solution is very simple, and it's very easily available. It has simple configurations and is easy to use. It is easy to set it up.

The product must improve its prices.

I have been using the solution for three and a half years.

The solution’s stability is great. Since Fortinet is a security product, any Fortinet device is secured well. I rate the stability an eight out of ten.

The tool is very scalable. I rate the scalability an eight out of ten. Our customers are SMBs.

Technical support is perfect. The technical team is good.

Positive

The initial setup is very easy and straightforward. It takes around half an hour to deploy the solution.

I rate the pricing a seven out of ten on a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive.

Sophos is a competitor. However, we mainly use Fortinet.

The tool has high availability and easy configurations. It has multiple features and is a secure product. Overall, I rate the product an eight out of ten.