NETGEAR Switches and Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center both compete in the network switches category targeting enterprises seeking reliable and efficient networking solutions. Fortinet FortiSwitch appears to have an upper hand due to its extensive security features and integration with Fortinet's security ecosystem.
Features: NETGEAR Switches offer affordability with low power consumption and easy setup, ideal for small to medium enterprises. They provide both managed and unmanaged options with automatic full duplex sensing and noise reduction. Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center excels in integrating seamlessly with Fortinet's security solutions, offering robust security features, advanced management, and efficient network utilization.
Room for Improvement: NETGEAR Switches need to improve traffic management and incorporate advanced security features. Their compatibility with more virtual stacking and cloud configurations needs enhancement. Fortinet FortiSwitch requires simplification in VLAN management and user interface stability, along with improved scalability to support a larger number of switches.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: NETGEAR Switches are easy to deploy with intuitive on-premise management, although their customer support could be faster in resolving issues. Fortinet FortiSwitch supports hybrid deployments and offers strong customer service but could benefit from simplified configuration processes and enhanced support documentation.
Pricing and ROI: NETGEAR Switches are competitively priced, boasting a favorable price-to-performance ratio and lifetime warranty, making them cost-effective for budget-conscious enterprises. Fortinet FortiSwitch is more expensive but justifies the cost with superior security features and integration within Fortinet's ecosystem, focusing on security and network efficiency for a good ROI.
The integration of Fortinet infrastructure, including FortiSwitches, is cost-effective compared to Cisco, especially when paired with Fortinet wireless solutions.
Technical partners provide responses within a day for any technical queries.
Customer support needs improvement in terms of speed and reliability.
On a scale from one to 10, I would rate the technical support of Fortinet an eight.
There are issues distinguishing which switches support cloud features.
When used in a dedicated Fortinet infrastructure, FortiSwitch scalability is better than some other switches, like Cisco, Meraki, or Arista.
Scalability is generally good, with transitions from gigabit to ten giga, twenty-five giga, and forty giga.
The scalability of NETGEAR Switches is easy and very beneficial for us.
NETGEAR's scalability through its Insight Cloud system is on par with Ubiquiti's, although it must offer features beyond its competitors.
There is room for improvement as it sometimes takes over an hour to push configurations onto the devices from the management tool.
We've experienced failures such as a 16-port dying after three to four years.
Sometimes, customer support does not provide prompt assistance, leaving projects hanging.
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.
There is room to improve the integration between FortiSwitch and other third-party solutions, as challenges arise when integrating with different vendors.
They should introduce features like dual firmware or dual boot that allow systems to be updated without downtime.
They can improve on the commercial part, specifically the cost, as it is higher than other brands.
The Fortinet switches come with no additional cost as they are open source, with only hardware warranties applicable.
Pricing is competitive, although it's not the cheapest option.
Some high-end switches required for specific advanced features, like precision time protocols, can be more expensive.
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.
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.
It allows me to create VLANs, implement security measures, and push configurations using a single tool.
The precision time protocol feature caught our interest for future use in specific settings like churches, where low latency is required.
The most valuable features are routing and access control.
With 10 or 40 GE access ports and a high-throughput backbone, FortiSwitch Data Center Switches are ideal for the top-of-rack (ToR) server or firewall-aggregation applications. The high-speed switching fabric is also well suited for enterprise network core or backbone network installations.
NETGEAR Ethernet Switches is an Ethernet solution that offers businesses of all sizes the ability to easily set up secure and highly scalable networks. Small to medium-sized companies have the option to choose from three different switching options. The three options that are most appropriate for businesses of this size are the NETGEAR Unmanaged, Plus, and Smart Switch solutions. If you're managing a large enterprise network or a campus network, then NETGEAR Fully Managed Infrastructures is the solution for you. All the NETGEAR Ethernet Switches and solutions are innovative, easy to install and use, reliable, and very cost-effective.
NETGEAR Ethernet Switches have many features that make them a most effective product. Included in these is the ability to virtually stack IP addresses in such a way that users can scale their network up with ease. These IP addresses are grouped together. Once additional data ports are connected, you have only a single switch to manage and you gain both a much higher level availability of data and a greater level of network resilience.
Benefits of NETGEAR Ethernet Switches
Some of the benefits of using NETGEAR Ethernet Switches include:
Reviews from Real Users
There are a number of characteristics that make NETGEAR Ethernet Switches extremely effective. Two major ones are its inherent flexibility and its user-friendly nature.
PeerSpot user Kevin W., a network delivery architect at a tech-services company, notes that NETGEAR Ethernet Switches gives users the ability to tailor the switches to fit their needs. He writes, "The big winner for NETGEAR is their modular switch: the 96X version. That is something that you don't see in the market anywhere else, except for Cisco who has it at a high level for a high expense. The ability to customize your own switch with their modules is a big plus for what we do in the market right now. Instead of having to piece together standardized switches, trying to make something work, or fitting the design into the mold, the modular switches are aware that you can make a mark in the industry because you purchased one switch and design with different modules added and removed later on for functionality."
PeerSpot user Chris W., a system engineer at Diversified, notes just how easy they are to use when he writes, "The ease of use of these switches is very good because of the Cisco CLI. If you are familiar with CLI, then you can configure the switch that way. It also has a relatively straightforward web interface. Using the web interface is good for beginners or people who aren't familiar with Cisco CLI. However, having a common command line interface method is great for some of our more advanced guys who are familiar with it."
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