SonicWall TZ and WatchGuard Firebox compete in the network security category. WatchGuard Firebox appears to have a slight edge due to its comprehensive security features and high throughput.
Features: SonicWall TZ shines in its ease of configuration, notably for Site-to-Site VPNs and high availability setups. It offers a user-friendly management console and robust security features like deep packet inspection. WatchGuard Firebox is recognized for its comprehensive security, ease of setup, and effective web filtering, with intuitive management tools that enhance user experience.
Room for Improvement: SonicWall TZ users often report dissatisfaction with its user interface and consider its hardware outdated. The lack of some advanced features provided by competitors along with costly licensing for analytics are noted drawbacks. WatchGuard Firebox could improve its reporting capabilities and API accessibility. Integration with third-party tools remains a challenge, and some users find web filtering setup cumbersome.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Both SonicWall TZ and WatchGuard Firebox are primarily deployed on-premises. SonicWall TZ's technical support receives mixed reviews due to long wait times and inconsistent service quality. WatchGuard Firebox generally receives praise for its responsive support, though some users face difficulties navigating the support website.
Pricing and ROI: SonicWall TZ offers a lower initial hardware price yet can incur higher subscription costs over time. It is considered cost-effective for its features, although cumulative licensing costs are a concern. WatchGuard Firebox is initially more expensive but is praised for its competitive pricing, high throughput, and reliable performance, offering a solid ROI. Both solutions offer good value, though WatchGuard Firebox provides more attractive bundled deals and discounts for long-term commitments.
Clients are now comfortable and not wasting productive hours on IT support.
We have experienced a positive return on investment by utilizing Fortinet's products.
There's definitely an ROI. Having a centralized way of managing and applying policies across the entire organization always helps.
That is a reason to buy a firewall, and it is challenging to put a monetary value on security.
He explained that it required a command line configuration, as it couldn't be done through the graphical user interface.
I would rate their support for FortiGate a nine out of ten.
They offer very accurate solutions.
Customer service is excellent.
They scale up really well from smaller models like the FortiGate 40 and 50 to bigger sites with the FortiGate 100 for more throughput - up to enterprise datacenters.
There are many options available, and we can choose the size of the box based on our requirements.
You can choose a cheaper model if you only have 20-30 users, but you will need to spend more money for a FortiGate solution that covers 5,000.
There are no bugs or glitches, and it doesn't crash or freeze.
Improper handling of these can lead to a memory surge, a well-known bug that can cause the entire system to freeze.
It is less stable than Palo Alto Networks and Check Point firewalls because there are lots of bugs in the latest firmware.
In terms of stability, SonicWall doesn't have performance issues.
SonicWall TZ is definitely stable and offers a good value for money.
If I have put 10 GBPS of throughput on a firewall and I enable all of these features available, such as IPS or UTM functionalities, the throughput comes down to 1 GBPS.
By providing an integrated solution, users would have access to all features and functionalities within a single window, eliminating the need to navigate through multiple windows.
Investing in a solution that can accommodate such growth would be more cost-effective than repeatedly purchasing new hardware.
Integration with other vendors, especially with VPNs, can be challenging and requires more effort when configuring.
SonicWall TZ could benefit from newer technology.
The VPN license should be improved by providing more free SSL VPN licenses.
When implementing a rule using a group of IPs, it is not possible to do that directly.
Secure SD-WAN is free of charge.
The most expensive part is the renewal of the license subscription.
FortiGate is priced lower than Palo Alto.
More licenses are required to purchase the perpetual license for SSL VPN and Global VPN.
When comparing similar products across vendors, there may be a small difference in cost.
I would also position its pricing as a three, where one is the lowest price and ten is the highest.
It's easy to monitor the end-to-end network through the firewall.
The firewall, IPS, and VPN functions are the most valuable features.
FortiGate provides solid protection against viruses, malware, and other threats.
For SMB segments, SonicWall performs well.
It was beneficial during COVID for remote work through its VPN functionality.
The advanced gateway security features such as web filter, application control filter, IPS, ideas, gateway antivirus, anti-spyware, and botnet filter are valuable.
The Firebox offers valuable features such as network security, URL filtering, UTM features, intrusion prevention and detection, and authentication.
Fortinet FortiGate offers comprehensive network security and firewall protection across multiple locations. It effectively manages data traffic and secures environments with features like VPN, intrusion prevention, and UTM controls.
Organizations rely on Fortinet FortiGate for its robust integration with advanced security policies, ensuring significant protection for enterprises, cloud environments, and educational sectors. It facilitates network segmentation, application-level security, and authentication management, securing communication within and between locations such as branches and data centers. Its efficient SD-WAN and UTM features enable streamlined data management and enhanced threat protection capabilities. Users appreciate its centralized management, facilitating seamless operations across diverse environments.
What are the key features of Fortinet FortiGate?
What benefits should users expect from Fortinet FortiGate?
Fortinet FortiGate is crucial in sectors like education, offering robust networks for secure data flow between campuses and facilitating remote learning. In enterprise environments, it allows efficient management of application traffic and security across multiple branches, while in the cloud, it seamlessly integrates with diverse platforms to enhance security infrastructure.
WatchGuard Firebox is a versatile security solution primarily used for security purposes such as firewalling, VPN, and protecting networks from outside and inside threats. It is also used for routing, multi-factor authentication, vulnerability management, and segregating industrial networks from corporate networks.
The product is praised for scalability, stability, user-friendliness, reasonable pricing, and good technical support. Some users use it for web filtering and hosting web pages, while others – for remote access connections and mobile VPNs. Firebox offers great protection, good performance, and flexibility without licensing limitations.
WatchGuard Firebox Features
WatchGuard Firebox has many valuable key features, including:
WatchGuard Firebox Benefits
Some of the benefits of using WatchGuard Firebox include:
Reviews from Real Users
Below are some reviews and helpful feedback written by WatchGuard Firebox users.
PeerSpot user Kelly C., IT Manager at a hospitality company, mentions, “One of the most valuable features is the Gateway AntiVirus. We scan all traffic as it's coming through. We also use spamBlocker to scrub spam. We use content filtering, which is critical in any corporate environment to make sure that people don't surf things they're not supposed to. WatchGuard has a very easy VPN and branch office VPN setup, so we use those pretty extensively too.It's very easy to use. In terms of performance, WatchGuard has always worked well for us. Regarding the reporting, I was in the Dimension server earlier today. It's very powerful. I like it. And the management features are easy to use. I like the fact that I can open up the System Manager client or I can just do it through the web if I'm making a quick change.”
A Director of Information Technology at a retailer says, “Among the most valuable features is the ease of use — love the interface — of both the web interface and of the WatchGuard System Manager. It's a stable platform. The devices are pretty rock-solid.”
Jason M., IT Director at a healthcare company, explains, “The policy monitoring and allowing different traffic flows are the most useful features for us; regulating which traffic comes in and out. In terms of the throughput and performance, we don't have a problem or any bottleneck there. We downgraded the size of our appliance because we're a small facility, and what we had before was actually too big. The one we are now going with seems to be doing a great job.” He also adds, “The management feature is pretty nice.”
Steve R., President and Owner at Peak Communication Systems, Inc., comments, "It saves us time in the respect that we now have the template built for it so we can get in and get it done. We've had much less problems supporting Voice over IP technologies from different companies. Because our client base has grown over the years, we're probably saving 20 to 30 man-hours a month now that we've got this on a good stable level."
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