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Fortinet FortiDDoS vs VMware NSX comparison

 

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

Fortinet FortiDDoS
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection (12th)
VMware NSX
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
106
Ranking in other categories
Network Virtualization (2nd), Cloud and Data Center Security (2nd), Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) (5th), Network Detection and Response (NDR) (6th), Network Automation (3rd), Microsegmentation Software (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

Fortinet FortiDDoS and VMware NSX aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Fortinet FortiDDoS is designed for Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection and holds a mindshare of 2.4%, down 2.9% compared to last year.
VMware NSX, on the other hand, focuses on Network Virtualization, holds 34.1% mindshare, down 46.1% since last year.
Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Fortinet FortiDDoS2.4%
Cloudflare16.7%
Arbor DDoS9.8%
Other71.1%
Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection
Network Virtualization Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
VMware NSX34.1%
Cisco ACI37.8%
Cisco Elastic Services Controller6.5%
Other21.599999999999994%
Network Virtualization
 

Featured Reviews

MO
IT Analyst at Evapco, Inc.
Reliable protection and smooth setup enhance company security
Currently, I have two firewalls, with one located in Sorocaba, model 90D, and the other in São Paulo, model 30D. They are connected by VPN. I use the firewalls for VPN and final protection for my company, and my equipment is maintained by an internet company called Multiprox The equipment works…
TAIYAB HASAN - PeerSpot reviewer
Windows Redhat Linux Vmware & Azure & Cloud & Nutanix Ahv-Vmware & Backup Senior System Administrator at AlDawaa Medical Services
Has improved network visibility and security through micro-segmentation and SDN capabilities
This feature gives us flexibility and allows us to manage everything under one pane. We can see everything on one console, including network operations and behavior. Monitoring and security are among the best features for VMware NSX. For micro-segmentation, it's integrated with our endpoint security. If there are any issues with servers or VMs, it notifies us so we can isolate the servers and investigate. It provides distributed security features such as firewall and intrusion, IDS, IPS. The security level with IPS and IDS in VMware NSX is excellent. It also provides logical switching and routing which gives an extra layer for Layer 2 and Layer 3 switching requirements. The solution provides flexibility, automation, and self-service capabilities, resulting in cost savings as extensive expertise isn't required. Once automation and self-service are implemented, many tasks can be completed automatically. Load balancing is another excellent feature. Multiple servers can run on load balancing features, which is particularly useful since we have many application servers running. Sharing loads between servers provides the best performance.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Among its key features: Detects and mitigates DDoS attacks at L3 to L7; negligible to zero false-positives; Generates and sends reports without the need for an expensive third-party solution."
"The equipment works very well, and I have not encountered any issues with it."
"The product's initial setup phase was really easy."
"We have researched them all, and it's a good solution all around."
"The solution is very user-friendly and very easy to use."
"It allows me to see all the traffic on my network."
"The solution already has security profiles and it can protect from DDoS attacks and other kinds of attacks."
"I find the interface easy to use."
"I have found VMware NSX to be easy to use."
"One significant advantage of VMware NSX is the ability to provide advanced security at the micro-level, focusing on securing applications and workloads rather than just the network structure or virtualization-based network security."
"This feature gives us flexibility and allows us to manage everything under one pane; we can see everything on one console, including network operations and behavior."
"The most valuable features for us at this early stage are the interface and the integration with existing VMware solutions."
"The interface is intuitive enough."
"It has reduced the number of people on the network team along with the system engineer involved in the security process. So, it is valuable."
"NSX gives us the ability to put our network, NSX, onto any network there is, which allows us not to have to go to the network team to create networks our VLANs for networks."
"Overall, for me, it's a good solution and has been working well."
 

Cons

"The main improvement would be to change the firewall model, however, currently, everything is fixed and working well."
"Alerts and reporting features must be improved."
"The challenge lies within the customer environment, particularly in Brazil, where companies have stringent security requirements for implementing solutions."
"The product’s pricing needs improvement."
"I find that there have been issues in the past year with the solution hanging. It freezes often."
"The solution can be a little more user-friendly and it can be more affordable."
"I would like to see analytics, big data."
"The tool needs to focus more on the area of application traffic management, where it currently has some shortcomings."
"I would like to have automating reporting built into common service management platforms, such as JIRA, Serviceaide, and ServiceNow."
"I would like to see automation capabilities in the deployment process."
"In the future, the solution should be compliant with internet NIC."
"It's a good product, but the way that it has got so many multiple levels that need to be purchased makes it expensive and cumbersome."
"An area for improvement in VMware NSX is that it uses up more resources and is heavy on the network. What I'd like to see in the next release of the solution is more automation."
"The network-extending capabilities for the physical environment need improvement."
"I would rate this product an eight because it's a good product but it needs more work. They should fix some of the bugs."
"A room for improvement in VMware NSX is that it has some security vulnerabilities, which means my company has to apply the patches every once in a while."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is reasonably priced."
"It's quite pricey."
"The product’s pricing needs improvement."
"VMware NSX is a cheaper product compared to its competitor, Cisco."
"The licensing is renewed every three years. The cost for implementation and renovation are a huge portion of that price."
"The cost of the solution is a bit high."
"Our customers have definitely complained about its cost. It's expensive. I'd rate it a nine out of ten in terms of pricing where ten represents a high price. There are other products out there that are equally expensive."
"The product pricing ranges from medium to expensive. I rate the pricing a seven out of ten."
"We are using the free version of the solution."
"You can scale NSX if you have the resources, but it's usually expensive and complex to scale up."
"The price of this product is too high."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Large Enterprise6
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business33
Midsize Enterprise23
Large Enterprise69
 

Questions from the Community

Which is the best DDoS protection solution for a big ISP for monitoring and mitigating?
Arbor would be the best bid, apart from Arbor, Palo Alto and Fortinet have good solutions. As this is an ISP, I would prefer Arbor.
What do you like most about Fortinet FortiDDoS?
The product's initial setup phase was really easy.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiDDoS?
Fortinet FortiDDoS offers lower costs compared to other solutions. The licensing costs are annually renewed.
What are the biggest differences between Cisco ACI and VMware NSX?
There are some very major differences between both the Products and to name a few. -Cisco ACI have physical network gear (9K Switches) where the Code runs in ACI Policy Mode & the UCS server wh...
What are the biggest differences between Cisco ACI and VMware NSX?
Once you know your way around the Cisco ecosystem, using Cisco ACI is not so difficult. It is a global product, so when you change one interface, changes are automatically reflected on every switch...
What do you like most about VMware NSX?
The product has valuable features for security and network extension.
 

Also Known As

Fortinet DDoS, FortiDDos
VMware Nicira, Lastline Defender
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
City of Avondale, Lumeta, Kroll Ontrack, Heartland Payment Systems, Baystate Heallth, Exostar, Tribune Media, iGATE, NTT Communications, Synergent, California Natural Resources Agency, Bloomington Public Schools, Columbia Sportswear, Join Experience S.A, Schuberg Philis
Find out what your peers are saying about Cloudflare, Radware, NETSCOUT and others in Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection. Updated: January 2026.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.