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Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center vs Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
1.0
Fortinet FortiSwitch offers cost-effective solutions, though Cisco provides better long-term ROI with superior disaster management and quicker replacement.
Sentiment score
5.8
Fortinet FortiSwitch provides cost-effective security and easy deployment, appealing to users despite potential technological gaps for larger enterprises.
The integration of Fortinet infrastructure, including FortiSwitches, is cost-effective compared to Cisco, especially when paired with Fortinet wireless solutions.
Security Engineer at Super Secure
It allows me to apply Zero Trust technology, which is currently the trend in the world and is needed for security layers.
Cyber Security Manager at Greater Cairo Water Company (GCWC)
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.3
Fortinet FortiSwitch customer service is praised for reliability, though local support issues create mixed user experiences.
Sentiment score
6.4
Fortinet FortiSwitch support is knowledgeable and professional, with room for improvement in response times and initial resolutions.
Technical partners provide responses within a day for any technical queries.
Security Engineer at Super Secure
I gave it eight points because local support is absent.
Information Technology Infrastructure Engineer at REYADA IT SOLUTIONS CO. LLC
Customer support needs improvement in terms of speed and reliability.
senior technical administrator at Ogma Consulting
They are knowledgeable, professional, and assist with any issues.
Technical Presales at A.G.A.S. מחשוב ותקשורת לעסקים
Their expertise is very professional.
Cyber Security Manager at Greater Cairo Water Company (GCWC)
It's a potential area for improvement, possibly in terms of response time or quality.
Senior Consultant at a tech services company with 5,001-10,000 employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.8
Fortinet FortiSwitch is scalable, modular, easily integrates with networks, but could improve SPF model support.
Sentiment score
7.8
Fortinet FortiSwitch offers scalable network solutions, integrating seamlessly with FortiGate, ideal for medium to large enterprise expansions.
When used in a dedicated Fortinet infrastructure, FortiSwitch scalability is better than some other switches, like Cisco, Meraki, or Arista.
Security Engineer at Super Secure
Scalability is generally good, with transitions from gigabit to ten giga, twenty-five giga, and forty giga.
CTO at Exceed NetSec LLC
You just need to connect another switch or replace the current one, and it integrates well with the existing setup.
Senior Consultant at a tech services company with 5,001-10,000 employees
For enterprise solutions, it's extendable easily with options for edge connectivity or stackable devices.
IT Director at Rabbit Mart
With uniform Fortinet FortiGate switches, adding or removing switches without reconfiguring individually is straightforward.
Technical Presales at A.G.A.S. מחשוב ותקשורת לעסקים
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
Fortinet FortiSwitch is stable and reliable, though integration and configuration challenges occasionally affect performance.
Sentiment score
8.7
Fortinet FortiSwitch delivers reliable, stable performance with high user ratings, despite occasional configuration or power challenges during transitions.
There is room for improvement as it sometimes takes over an hour to push configurations onto the devices from the management tool.
senior technical administrator at Ogma Consulting
I have never experienced any crashes, outages, or downtime.
Cyber Security Manager at Greater Cairo Water Company (GCWC)
The tool is robust and lasts for three to four years without needing replacement.
Technical Presales at A.G.A.S. מחשוב ותקשורת לעסקים
I would give it a nine out of ten for stability.
Senior Consultant at a tech services company with 5,001-10,000 employees
 

Room For Improvement

The Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center faces challenges in automation, UI complexity, pricing, and requires better AI and integration features.
Fortinet FortiSwitch faces challenges with pricing, support, complexity, missing features, poor documentation, and a non-competitive warranty.
Sometimes, customer support does not provide prompt assistance, leaving projects hanging.
senior technical administrator at Ogma Consulting
The commercial aspect presents challenges, particularly with pricing, as customers often ask for Juniper or Cisco, brands they are more aware of, which makes awareness about Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center another weak point.
CXO at Aariha Enterprise Private Limited
There is room to improve the integration between FortiSwitch and other third-party solutions, as challenges arise when integrating with different vendors.
CTO at Exceed NetSec LLC
Fortinet needs to perform extensive testing to improve its reliability.
Cyber Security Manager at Greater Cairo Water Company (GCWC)
The machine is robust and lasts for years with rare technical issues.
Technical Presales at A.G.A.S. מחשוב ותקשורת לעסקים
The introduction of AI integration could be valuable for detecting abnormal traffic directly on the switch.
Senior Consultant at a tech services company with 5,001-10,000 employees
 

Setup Cost

Fortinet FortiSwitch is competitively priced compared to Cisco, with no licensing needed for some FortiGate users.
Fortinet FortiSwitch offers robust functionality with high pricing, seen as affordable compared to competitors despite exchange rate impacts.
The Fortinet switches come with no additional cost as they are open source, with only hardware warranties applicable.
Security Engineer at Super Secure
Pricing is competitive, although it's not the cheapest option.
CTO at Exceed NetSec LLC
It has increased by about two hundred percent over the past three years.
IT Director at Rabbit Mart
The initial cost of Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access is high compared to other options.
Technical Presales at A.G.A.S. מחשוב ותקשורת לעסקים
The price is very affordable.
Cyber Security Manager at Greater Cairo Water Company (GCWC)
 

Valuable Features

Fortinet FortiSwitch offers centralized management, intuitive UI, security enhancements, and control over network traffic and security.
Fortinet FortiSwitch offers enhanced security, centralized management, and seamless integration, valued for performance, reliability, and ease of use.
It allows me to create VLANs, implement security measures, and push configurations using a single tool.
senior technical administrator at Ogma Consulting
The main actual benefit that Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center brought to my customer's environment is secure connectivity while minimizing downtime from unexpected traffic or broadcasting.
CXO at Aariha Enterprise Private Limited
This feature allows the switch's ports to be used as firewall ports, enhancing network security by enabling IPS and network profiling directly on the ports.
Security Engineer at Super Secure
This centralized management saves time and ensures seamless scalability.
Technical Presales at A.G.A.S. מחשוב ותקשורת לעסקים
The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access are inspection capabilities for endpoints in the same VLAN and in the same subnet, which are unique to Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access.
Cyber Security Manager at Greater Cairo Water Company (GCWC)
The powerful integration capabilities allow us to manage all devices from a single interface through the firewall.
IT Director at Rabbit Mart
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data...
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
15th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.4
Number of Reviews
26
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secu...
Ranking in Ethernet Switches
9th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
49
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Ethernet Switches category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center is 2.9%, up from 1.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access is 3.6%, down from 4.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Ethernet Switches Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access3.6%
Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center2.9%
Other93.5%
Ethernet Switches
 

Featured Reviews

Rutul SHah - PeerSpot reviewer
CXO at Aariha Enterprise Private Limited
Provides seamless traffic control and secure connectivity while minimizing downtime and optimizing resource allocation
There is always room for improvement in Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center because with this switch, they can reduce downtime due to broadcasting issues by denying specific traffic on particular ports. Currently, I am not identifying any weak points of Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center because it meets the customer's use case. However, the commercial aspect presents challenges, particularly with pricing, as customers often ask for Juniper or Cisco, brands they are more aware of, which makes awareness about Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center another weak point.
HM
Cyber Security Manager at Greater Cairo Water Company (GCWC)
Zero Trust access has improved branch security and provides granular visibility for all devices
Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access has substantial automation because the configuration is managed from FortiGate dashboard. Automation increases performance and decreases installation time. I mentioned the unique specifications of the switch and the solution at the start. Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access granular visibility features have helped me manage IoT devices. I can see every device in the network and the details about each device because FortiGate has an inventory of every device, making the integration between Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access and FortiGate unique. The deep integration with Fortinet's Security Fabric is very important for threat intelligence in my organization. Reliability is key, and automation contributes significantly to network performance optimization in my organization. I have to use FortiLink for automatic UTM extension, as it is a unique proprietary protocol to manage Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access through FortiGate. Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access is a switch that is related to its Secure Access feature. I gave this review a rating of 9.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
15%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Construction Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Outsourcing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business17
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise4
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business39
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise7
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center?
The Fortinet switches come with no additional cost as they are open source, with only hardware warranties applicable.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center?
The performance is basic only, and we cannot compare Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center with Aruba or Cisco switches. Regarding security policies, I did not configure that many policies in Fortinet...
What is your primary use case for Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center?
Currently, we are mostly working with Sophos and Fortinet. Before, we worked with XG, but now they have upgraded to the XGS series, and in Fortinet, we are working with FortiGate Firewall. In some ...
Which would you choose - Fortinet Fortiswitch secure access or Cisco Ethernet Switches?
We researched Cisco but ultimately chose Fortinet FortiSwitch Secure Access, mostly because of the price. Fortinet FortiSwitch is an ethernet switch solution that provides security and performance...
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access?
I believe enhancement in security is essential for Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access. Fortinet needs to perform extensive testing to improve its reliability. If they achieve that, I think it wil...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center vs. Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
908,858 professionals have used our research since 2012.