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Exinda vs Fortinet FortiWLC comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Exinda
Average Rating
8.8
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
WAN Optimization (5th)
Fortinet FortiWLC
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
8.4
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
Wireless LAN (27th)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Enterprise Networking solutions, they serve different purposes. Exinda is designed for WAN Optimization and holds a mindshare of 6.7%, up 5.9% compared to last year.
Fortinet FortiWLC, on the other hand, focuses on Wireless LAN, holds 1.1% mindshare, up 0.3% since last year.
WAN Optimization Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Exinda6.7%
Steelhead15.5%
Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform14.2%
Other63.6%
WAN Optimization
Wireless LAN Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiWLC1.1%
Aruba Wireless12.7%
Ruckus Wireless10.1%
Other76.1%
Wireless LAN
 

Featured Reviews

MJ
Senior Engineer, Team Lead, Network Operations at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees
Allows us to have better control over our network by shaping traffic more gently
There might be room for improvement in the speed and throughput of some of their devices. They're getting a bit slow on some of the bigger devices. It would be helpful if there were some sort of an ISP model. Also, while I don't think it would be possible for them to do, it would be better if they had the Citrix support and the visualization to visualize your network. Besides that, it fits its purpose as a shaper and accelerator. Some people would say things like, "Add a firewall to it," but I disagree. I think a firewall's a firewall, and Exinda's a shaper and accelerator.
Md.Mehedi Hassan - PeerSpot reviewer
Team Lead Manager at Blue Pill Ltd
Offers a seamless and secure WiFi experience with outstanding customer support
FortiWLC is valuable due to its security features and the seamless WiFi experience it provides. Our customers benefit greatly from the security aspect, especially since they are already using Fortinet for Firewall services. The security features are crucial for their requirements. The stability and ease of use of FortiWLC also add to its effectiveness.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"You can use Exinda as a network orchestrator so you can be sure that the throughput is managed well and everything gets what it needs."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to provide very granular classes of service. That's important because it allows us to prioritize certain traffic types over others, to a very granular level."
"Customer Service: Top notchTechnical Support: Top notch"
"The most valuable feature is the ability to manage the traffic at the application layer. It makes things a lot easier. We're not digging for port numbers and IP addresses and different services... It makes us far more responsive in our ability to do things and speed up the process. We're a very small shop, so having something that's straightforward and easy to use is a big help."
"The most valuable feature is the ability to create policies where we can tailor them to the customer. It enables us to prioritize apps and users for bandwidth."
"Compared to some of the stuff that I've used a decade ago, the Exinda solution is night and day."
"The most valuable features are the shaper, accelerator, and the reporting... it will shape the traffic better than, for example, a Cisco, because it's more gentle on the shaping side of things. Suppose you were selling a 20-meg link. Because you can shape to the nth degree of traffic, the 20-meg link feels like about a 30 to 40-meg link."
"One of the great things for us is that the solution works, and it works whether you're looking at it or not."
"The security within the access point and the controller is the solution's most valuable aspect."
"I rate the overall solution a ten out of ten."
"FortiWLC is valuable due to its security features and the seamless WiFi experience it provides."
"The most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiWLC is the overall high quality."
"It's easy to set everything up during implementation."
 

Cons

"A lot of working with this solution is really intuitive. I have picked it up mostly on my own. I'm sure that there are some things that maybe I hadn't thought of or really hadn't considered, and I think it would be good just to promote some day courses. I don't really see a whole lot that comes out for Exinda as far as training or informational sessions through our normal resellers. It would be cool to know more about the solution by utilizing educational resources or even have Exinda promoted a bit better."
"There might be room for improvement in the speed and throughput of some of their devices. They're getting a bit slow on some of the bigger devices. It would be helpful if there were some sort of an ISP model."
"More free training on the website for those just getting started."
"The areas for improvement would be around the support service that GFI provides."
"One of the concerns that we've had with Exinda is the fact that ever since GFI took over Exinda, they haven't really put in much time into actually developing the product."
"What I don't like is the fact that I haven't purchased the overall management interface. That is the interface that allows you to manage multiple Exindas. Personally, I think Exinda should provide that for free. I think that if you buy more and more Exinda boxes, you shouldn't then have to incur a charge for the overall management software. While I can manage each Exinda separately, if they provided me with the overall management platform for free that would probably encourage me to buy more appliances."
"Fundamentally sound with WAN acceleration, but needs to expand the range of accelerated applications."
"It should improve the quality of service. It can improve their connection to the internet and your IP."
"One thing that is lacking is, compared with some other brands, the signal is a bit weaker. Ruckus has much wider signal coverage."
"Fortinet FortiWLC is not simple to configure when compared to other solutions. The design could be better."
"However, for massive implementations, Fortinet should consider reducing the price to make it more affordable."
"The price of Fortinet FortiWLC is high. The solution will be out of the market for us because the price is too high for the features it provides."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing and licensing are pretty fair and really competitive. There are other SD-WAN solutions that are pretty costly because they build in a service where they'll manage it for you, which is really great. I don't know if Exinda has that option as well. However, we are a small shop and cost-conscious. For things like this, we are accustomed to self-managing and this solution suits us just fine. For a tool that gives you, like the graphs and reporting, it has a fair price point."
"It is priced well for the market, for what it needs to do."
"The price of Fortinet FortiWLC is high. The solution will be out of the market for us because the price is too high for the features it provides."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
16%
Computer Software Company
15%
Construction Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
8%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business1
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise4
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiWLC?
I cannot disclose the license price, however, I recommend Fortinet reduce its pricing for massive implementations.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiWLC?
Until now, I have not observed any issues. However, for massive implementations, Fortinet should consider reducing the price to make it more affordable.
What is your primary use case for Fortinet FortiWLC?
We are resellers of FortiWLC, and our customers mainly use it in enterprise settings, particularly for chemical companies.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

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