Fortinet FortiGate Reviews

We use FortiGate as a firewall. We have a FortiGate 201 model.

It's good that we didn't get hacked or attacked, indicating strong threat prevention.

The reporting on employee behavior and the prevention of new viruses are essential features. Additionally, we have found it convenient for monitoring if users download documents from unknown websites.

The AI part needs improvement to enhance its functionality.

We have been using Fortinet FortiGate IPS for almost three years.

Fortinet FortiGate is very stable. We have not faced any delays or issues.

The scalability is good. We haven't faced any issues, and it supports our organization well.

The technical support is very good.

We use FortiGate for our data center firewall and Sophos for our internet firewall. We find FortiGate to be more stable than Sophos.

The initial setup was straightforward and did not present any issues.

The installation was performed by a product's partner. I supervised the process.

Overall, the stability of FortiGate IPS is impressive, and I would recommend it to others because of its stability.

I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.

Fortinet FortiGate is mainly used for next-generation firewall features.

Most of our customers primarily use FortiGate as a general-purpose firewall and for remote work. During COVID, they needed to enable the SSL VPN licenses, which was a straightforward process, and they benefited greatly from that. However, apart from this, I don’t see a significant differentiator between FortiGate and other firewalls.

Most of our implementations are standalone. We have a few integrations as well with Active Directory and other things. It is pretty straightforward, and we have not had any issues.

The main value comes from the simplicity of the product in terms of configuring and managing. 

Their user interface could be improved from a configuration perspective.

I have personally used it for about five years, but the organization has been using Fortinet FortiGate for the organization and customers for about 10 years.

Stability is excellent. We have not had issues from the product itself.

We have deployed Fortinet FortiGate from 50 user locations to 100-200 user locations. We have not had any issues with any of those models.

I would rate their support an eight out of ten. There's always room for improvement. 

Positive

We are a small system integrator and an authorized partner for Fortinet FortiGate, Cisco, Cisco Meraki, Palo Alto, Sophos, and Check Point. We cater to the SMB and upper SMB market and some enterprise customers. Most customers do not require fully fledged integrated solutions.

In Sri Lanka, there is about 40% market penetration for Fortinet. They have partnerships with two telcos, so most corporates with MPLS links who wanted to move out with the operator are offered managed SD-WAN solutions using Fortinet FortiGate.

We have Cisco customers as well, including local customers and global customers whom we support using Cisco firewalls. Comparing Cisco and Fortinet firewalls is challenging. You cannot compare a Ferrari with a normal Nissan sedan from a product and feature perspective. The SMB market segment and the upper SMB market segment are very price-conscious. Cisco does not offer firewalls that are competitively priced for this market segment, especially compared to Fortinet's offerings. They only recently released the 200 series, which can compete with the FortiGate 50 models that we sell.

Fortinet FortiGate is pretty straightforward compared to Cisco.

It is mostly on-prem. One or two clients are using it on the cloud.

Our customers get their ROIs on the price points that we sell in this market.

For the market and the segment that we cater to, the FortiGate pricing structure is sufficient.

I would rate Fortinet FortiGate a nine out of ten.

We use Fortinet FortiGate for the firewall as well as for the VPN. Any of the users outside the organization use the VPN. Any staff members working outside the office headquarters or our office location use the VPN.

The main aspect that I deal with is URL blocking and web access. I don't work with other aspects of this firewall.

It has upscaled our security posture, especially regarding external connectivity, because any access or connection from the company has to go through the Fortinet FortiGate firewall. It's doing a pretty good job. We do not have any complaints there.

Anything that we don't want to allow is not coming in. Anything we want to allow is not being blocked. We always have the granular control where we can block malicious IPs or subnets if needed.

Geofencing allows us to limit the countries from which we allow IP connections. There are many features that I may not even know or haven't explored, but in general, Fortinet FortiGate is doing a pretty good job for us. 

The web controls are what I appreciate about Fortinet FortiGate. We have extensive controls over areas where we could block external-facing IPs, external URLs. We can do geo-fencing with the firewalls, which is a good feature. 

There are too many updates coming for VPN, and the VPN keeps disconnecting frequently, which I find problematic. It does what it's supposed to do, but I practically face reconnection issues with the VPN. 

Regarding the Fortinet FortiGate firewall, I don't have any input. My scope is limited.

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for around three years.

Fortinet FortiGate is stable. We haven't seen any latency issues related to it, though we do experience latency from ISPs.

I would rate the scalability as eight out of ten based purely on my exposure to security controls relating to URL blocking and website access. 

I haven't had a chance to work with Fortinet FortiGate technical support, but from my colleagues' experience, they say the Fortinet FortiGate people are easy to reach but hard to schedule time with. It's not as easy as having the Fortinet FortiGate engineer on the call and getting other teams involved; it requires careful arrangements to join in with the Fortinet team. I would give their support a neutral score of maybe five.

Neutral

I don't know why we switched to Fortinet FortiGate from Juniper; it's a management decision.

I was not involved in the deployment. I think it's not that difficult; there's no complexity involved as long as we are clear on what we want to do.

We have it on both cloud and on-premises.

I was not part of the team that implemented it. I don't know how much they invested, but it would be worth the investment.

My overall experience with Fortinet FortiGate rates as eight out of ten. 

I use Fortinet FortiGate IPS for firewall applications, VPNs, dial-up VPNs, and different types of connectivity, specifically on-site to site VPNs and for securing networks. 

It's not just regular firewall applications; I use it on a ship to manage bandwidth by controlling website access and blocking high bandwidth-demanding applications like gaming.

Fortinet FortiGate IPS allows me to block certain applications, which is valuable in managing bandwidth on a ship. The IPS enables controlling and securing networks. I appreciate FortiGate for its reliable, powerful, and flexible setups. Even smaller boxes perform with great power, which is crucial for my operations. FortiGate's chips make it very fast and integrate virtual firewalls, simplifying complex setups.

Fortinet FortiGate could improve their documentation on forward error correction and failover technologies. 

Additionally, better documentation and applications for SD WAN setups, especially for satellite-based internet like Starlink, would be beneficial. This area is vital, and they have not capitalized on it compared to competitors like Peplink.

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate IPS for about five to six years. Before that, I was using WatchGuard.

I would rate the stability as a nine out of ten. There was only one instance where I had to restart FortiGate due to it running out of memory.

FortiGate is easily scalable and I would rate it a nine out of ten. It works well with additional endpoints and global networks.

I have minimal direct experience with Fortinet customer support as I usually find solutions online. However, in my encounters, documentation available is rated an eight out of ten.

Positive

Previously, I used WatchGuard. I switched to Fortinet since WatchGuard was more complicated. Fortinet offered powerful applications and built-in features that made my life easier.

The initial setup was straightforward. Fortinet has thought well of the user experience, making it user-friendly to implement.

I have a few other sites working with me, involving IT technicians to establish connections. It's a collaboration with some remote sites and a handful of people.

FortiGate's ease of implementation relative to WatchGuard saves time and ultimately provides a higher return on investment.

Fortinet is competitively priced. It is neither particularly cheap nor expensive compared to other products like WatchGuard. The pricing and performance are better, making it a viable choice.

I evaluated Peplink for SD WAN solutions that offer more high-tech features than FortiGate.

I would rate FortiGate a nine out of ten overall. To avoid losing market share, Fortinet must focus on satellite-based internet solutions such as Starlink.

For IPS, IDS, traffic management, SDWAN, high availability, we leverage Fortinet FortiGate as a virtual appliance to secure our data center, internal office infrastructure, and site-to-site VPNS Site to client VPNS for our internal lab controls, rather than using physical Fortinet FortiGate hardware.

We implemented Fortinet FortiGate as part of our compliance requirements to address the high volume of intrusion attempts we were experiencing. This solution provides us with a insight on Intrusion to block these attacks and gain insights into who is trying to access our network. Essentially, we aim to understand the nature of incoming and outgoing network traffic.

FortiGate offers visibility into the types, brands, versions, and users of connected devices. This visibility is crucial for our industrial devices, as their reliable operation is essential to our business.

Fortinet Security Fabric empowers us to comply with regulations, governance, and compliance requirements across regions like the US and Europe, ensuring smooth operations for our global business.

FortiGate's built-in APIs enable us to integrate with the vendors of our choice.

Fortinet's FortiGate is easy to deploy in our environment thanks to its well-written and easy-to-follow documentation.

FortiGate is a highly benchmarked product that improves efficiency and adds value to our organization.

Although we don't see a benefit overnight, we gradually see the benefits of FortiGate over the years. It has provided a lot of insight into our organization's activities.

FortiGate significantly helped reduce the risk of cyberattacks that could disrupt our production. This has protected us against financial losses.

Fortinet has its management suite so it helps to centralize the management of network and security operations in our company. This helps us easily manage the issues and solutions that are required.

Fortinet FortiGate provides us with actionable data to inform our decisions about the most appropriate course of action. It delivers insights into resource consumption and compromised hosts, helping us identify the source of unauthorized login attempts. This comprehensive view allows us to understand what's entering our network.

Fortinet Security Fabric improved security across our industrial control systems.

Fortinet FortiGate helped reduce our mean time to remediate.

Fortinet FortiGate helped to mature our approach to cybersecurity for protecting our industrial equipment. The level of detail we can see regarding incoming traffic and ongoing activities is quite high. This detailed visibility extends to host configuration and other such aspects, providing us with valuable insights. As a result, Fortinet can provide a clear understanding of how to manage our network and quickly mitigate any issues that may arise.

The most valuable feature of FortiGate is FortiView which provides proactive monitoring. 

Ideally, I'd like to see most CLI configuration options exposed in the GUI to avoid manual command typing. However, there should be a more user-friendly approach than simply replicating everything in the GUI. Alternatively, some users might prefer scheduling tasks through commands for automation.

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for over 12 years.

I would rate the stability of Fortinet FortiGate ten out of ten. As long as we configure FortiGate properly.

The technical support has improved over the years.

Positive

We previously used an open-source firewall, but we were looking for a solution that was more proactive, easier to manage, and continuously improved. FortiGate was a major competitor at the time and has since become one of the market leaders.

Initially, there was a learning curve during the deployment. We did have the help of local vendors.

If our policies are already in place, we can have the solution up and running in less than a day using a script. However, if we need to determine our policies while implementing the solution, it can take over a month to complete.

Fortinet FortiGate mitigates an excessive amount of manpower requirements because it is easy to manage and this helps contribute to a return on investment.

The price varies yearly and there could be additional costs to help manage the infrastructure. 

In certain markets, if an organization subscribes to their internet service they get a Fortinet firewall included in the cost.

We evaluated some of the leading brands. At the time we found FortiGate easier to administrate and handle. The interface was intuitive and the solution was affordable.

I would rate Fortinet FortiGate nine out of ten.

Fortinet FortiGate is one of the most user-friendly security appliances I've encountered. It has a gentle learning curve, and even beginners can configure it effectively. However, for a successful deployment, it's crucial to have a well-defined network layout, documented initial requirements, and a clear configuration strategy. While physical documentation isn't mandatory, a well-organized approach is essential. This includes using clear and consistent naming conventions for commands and rules, along with detailed descriptions within the configuration itself. This makes it easy for anyone to understand the overall logic and navigate the configuration from start to finish. It's important to note that my approach to policy management might involve unique syntax. This includes how I structure policy sets and identify which ones consume the most resources. Understanding how policies interact with other aspects, like implementation and rule execution, is also crucial. Ultimately, a well-defined naming standard is the foundation for a clear and maintainable configuration.

We use Fortinet FortiGate to safeguard our online users, who are primarily students, around the clock.

Over the past seven years, we've utilized Fortinet FortiGate to address a wide range of security challenges. Initially, we implemented a firewall to secure our network perimeter. Subsequently, we sought to protect internal network segments. Next, we implemented application-level security measures. And most recently, we've implemented selective service controls to manage access to applications like Google services, WhatsApp, and video conferencing platforms. These measures have addressed evolving security needs over time. Currently, we're focused on enhancing authentication and remote access security. To achieve this, we're implementing security tokens to verify user identities and ensure authorized access.

Fortinet FortiGate enables us to comply with regulatory governance and compliance requirements.

FortiGate is one of the security solutions we have implemented to enhance and protect our network infrastructure, including devices, across the campus for all users. Specifically, FortiGate has shielded us from Internet security threats, application threats, and unwanted websites or access to unauthorized web services. For instance, access to classified websites is restricted based on user permissions. This has resulted in a cleaner network environment, not just from a security standpoint but also in terms of overall network performance. Secondly, FortiGate has significantly alleviated the burden on network administrators and server managers. The product has proven to be highly reliable.

It has effectively reduced our risk of cyberattacks. We have experienced a very small number of incidents, primarily due to configuration loopholes. However, FortiGate has been successful in preventing intrusions from the Internet. It has effectively thwarted hacking attempts, making it a valuable tool for our computer and network security.

We operate in an educational setting and do not rely solely on online connectivity. Therefore, an internet outage would only impact academic activities. While some internet services are utilized within our campus primarily for business purposes, they are not entirely internet-dependent. Consequently, the impact of equipment failure is minimal. In the event of equipment malfunction, we have established contingency plans and alternative facilitating services in place. Additionally, our devices are designed for high availability, with two devices functioning as a backup in case one fails. We have not experienced any device failures to date.

It has streamlined the management of our network and security operations. While the machine itself doesn't provide an out-of-the-box solution, its effectiveness hinges on the expertise and security knowledge of its users. Therefore, engineering and security proficiency are paramount to maximizing the benefits of FortiGate.

FortiGate offers a lot of reporting logs and reports. By continuously monitoring these resources, we can gather sufficient information to take immediate action and implement necessary changes. However, the effectiveness of this approach hinges on having dedicated personnel to review and respond to the provided insights. The device itself cannot act autonomously without human intervention and analysis.

FortiGate has helped us reduce our mean time to remediation by 60 percent. Its user-friendly interface facilitates rapid issue resolution.

Fortinet FortiGate is an extremely user-friendly product. In terms of security, we have not experienced any security flaws or loopholes, and it has proven to be quite stable. Additionally, we have not experienced any downtime, which is of utmost importance.

The log analyzer, for instance, is a product being developed as a common solution for multiple FortiGate devices. Consequently, the log analyzer's functionalities are not fully integrated into the individual FortiGate products. I would prefer to have more detailed logs within the FortiGate products themselves rather than relying on a separate tool.

While Fortinet claims to offer a comprehensive network solution, it falls short in addressing computer application issues, particularly server security. Fortinet's capabilities are primarily focused on network security.

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for over seven years.

I rate the stability of Fortinet FortiGate ten out of ten.

Fortinet FortiGate is a fixed configuration that depends on the number of nodes and devices.

The support from Fortinet and its vendors is good.

Positive

The initial deployment can be completed in a few days. Two to three people are involved in the deployment.

In the Asian economy in which we operate, FortiGate is expensive.

I would rate Fortinet FortiGate eight out of ten.

I'm not involved in the operation of industrial devices. We do, however, have devices that are part of laboratories, and they may be flagged during searches because we belong to the education sector. In any case, FortiGate provides protection, and I wouldn't know the extent of visibility there because it's primarily concerned with providing security for those devices. If they are connected to the network, alright.

We have around 1,500 users and over 3,000 devices that utilize FortiGate.

I handle solutions architecture for security and systems design. I have customers who use Fortinet FortiGate. 

All the features of Fortinet FortiGate are good. When customers have issues, it's very easy to talk them through the interface, and when they've got any support issues and they want to figure them out themselves, it's very easy for them to contact the FortiGate support. All the knowledge bases have various information and knowledge articles to assist them in getting solutions as quickly as possible.

We use SASE, and it's a great product; I wish FortiGate had come out with it sooner because it helps significantly.

Fortinet FortiGate stands out due to its functionality and longevity. It's stable once you've completed the setup.

In Fortinet FortiGate, they've already improved many areas and built in new features. When considering what can be improved in Fortinet FortiGate, more competitive pricing is needed more than anything else. Fortinet FortiGate is a very good product, but when we look at the South African market, they just need to relook at the pricing because it's a bit pricey for some of the local government organizations.

I've been using Fortinet FortiGate for the last 15 years.

The stability of Fortinet FortiGate rates as a nine out of ten.

It is scalable. I would rate it a nine out of ten for scalability.

Our clients range from across the board.

It's easy for customers to get assistance with the product.

I would rate their support a nine out of ten. I don't have any problems with the vendors.

Positive

It's mostly on prem. I'm going to do data center solutions and cloud deployment.

It's very easy to do the implementations. Even training the customers on how to do their own rules and whitelists is very easy. On average, it takes me about two and a half hours with all the customization for the clients.

Fortinet FortiGate does not require any maintenance. Once it's done, the only times we do maintenance is if the customer wants something or there are updates.

I've shown them how it works with FortiSIEM, so now I can get them to actually do inspections on their infrastructures every six months, do penetration testing, and see that their environments are secure.

When you look at certain sectors of the market, the pricing is a little high. 

We are implementing FortiGate's data center solution now because I'm starting to let local government sites work through one data center. 

With FortiGate SD-WAN, the impact has been very little on the network performance because we've done certain things at night and certain things during the day, so the impact on the network is very low. In my organization, there are about three Fortinet specialists focusing on FortiGate.

I'd recommend Fortinet FortiGate to other users. Overall, I'd give Fortinet FortiGate an eight out of ten, with pricing being the main factor preventing a higher score.

The solution is used for protecting offices for outbound traffic.

To be brutally honest, it wasn't my choice of vendor, but it seems to be able to do everything, though its configurations have to be quite specific. This is neither a positive nor a negative aspect, it is simply how the solution functions.

The operational logic is not as straightforward as a Sophos XGS device. When creating rules in the Sophos firewall, they are more intuitive than in the Fortinet FortiGate IPS device. The Fortinet FortiGate IPS device is more complicated.

The solution needs to be simplified.

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate IPS for six months.

The initial setups are acceptable, though I have not been the one implementing them.

The solution is stable.

It is crucial to size your hardware correctly to avoid problems.

The solution serves about five users.

The support package being an additional extra, even with an enterprise package purchase, is pathetic.

Though I haven't had direct experience with support, the fact that it doesn't come by default, which is very misleading compared to other brands, warrants a rating of two out of ten.

Negative

A basic setup can be accomplished in a few hours, but significant customization is required to achieve the desired configuration.

I view it from the perspective that making an investment in the product prevents potentially larger costs when something goes wrong.

The solution is more affordable compared to alternatives.

The solution is suitable for small-medium customers, provided they have the ability to set it up.

The implementation has been successful so far.

On a scale of 1-10, I rate Fortinet FortiGate IPS a seven.

Mostly firewalls.

The best features of Fortinet FortiGate include everything about networking, such as routing and VPNs. Fortinet FortiGate is specifically user-friendly with an easy guide. It is easy to follow and learn about and work with. It has resources available all over the internet with an extensive database. It is very popular, so every community discusses Fortinet FortiGate. Every problem has been solved at some point.

Without a license, it becomes difficult to implement static DNS. The FortiDDNS.com functionality is particularly challenging to access without a license.

I have been working with Fortinet FortiGate for approximately a year and a half.

Fortinet FortiGate is quite stable. The main problem occurs when customers do not update their Fortinet FortiGate properly and regularly. Most issues stem from firewalls not being updated. I have not encountered any problems with Fortinet FortiGate devices.

I have not opened many cases due to lack of need. When we do open cases, we receive fast and friendly replies. The support has been good, though I have not experienced significant issues to fully evaluate this aspect.

I have worked with other firewalls including Palo Alto, specifically their Prisma Access SASE solution. I have also briefly worked with Cisco systems.

I am not in that field, but it is quite expensive, especially for personal or home use.

We recommend it primarily because we have more knowledge in the Fortinet FortiGate field. Customers ultimately choose what they prefer. We work better with Fortinet FortiGate due to our extensive experience with it.

I have not used FortiGuard extensively as it is not in my field. The only SASE solution I have used is Prisma Access from Palo Alto, not the Fortinet FortiGate SASE. The interface is very user-friendly and easy to use, though knowledge of networking aspects, VPNs, and protocols is necessary. Fortinet FortiGate offers great compatibility with other Fortinet FortiGate functions such as IDS, antivirus, and sandbox features.

All problems we have encountered have had straightforward solutions. Throughout my year and a half working with Fortinet FortiGate, I have not found myself needing additional features.

I rate this solution 8 out of 10.

We are using Fortinet FortiGate to block or deny malware and to administrate the network to control the traffic inside and outside.

It has significantly contributed to the effective control and monitoring of the network infrastructure. We could see its benefits immediately after the implementation.

It is complemented by other equipment, such as the Fortinet switch, and it is integrated with other tools that help to prevent cyberattacks, including a web filter, IPS, and application control. 

The user interface of the Fortinet FortiGate management console could be more intuitive and user-friendly, and the log analysis and reporting features could be enhanced to provide more flexibility and customizable insights.

I have had experience with Fortinet FortiGate for one year so far.

Fortinet FortiGate is very stable. I would rate its stability a ten out of ten.

It is scalable. I would rate the scalability of Fortinet FortiGate a ten out of ten.

We are a medium-sized organization.

I would rate Fortinet's customer service as very good. They are good because they provide solutions to problems that we encounter and help us make new changes or meet requirements, and they have the ability to work with us to make the changes that we want.

Positive

We previously used Sophos for web filtering. We now use Fortinet FortiGate for web filtering as well. We switched from Sophos to Fortinet FortiGate because we chose to adopt a Fortinet ecosystem to achieve better centralized control. We wanted to streamline security management while integrating firewalls, switches, endpoint protections, and wireless. 

We used Sophos only for web filtering control applications, but when we switched to Fortinet FortiGate, we achieved better integration with other devices in the security management.

I was involved with the initial setup and deployment of Fortinet FortiGate. It was of medium complexity. It was easy because the tools we were integrating were well-documented, but somewhat difficult due to the learning curve and the need to adapt our legacy system to the new environment.

It took four technical people to deploy Fortinet FortiGate. 

Only two people maintain it; for implementation, we used four people, but to maintain it, it is just two. 

It doesn't require a lot of maintenance. The job roles of those who maintain it include making changes, adjusting web filter configurations, and switching ports. The people who maintain it are network administrators.

I would advise people considering using Fortinet FortiGate to carefully plan the network structure and train the team; Fortinet is powerful, but its full potential comes with understanding the platform. I would recommend starting small, documenting everything, and using its centralized tools to stay secure and efficient.

Overall, I would rate Fortinet FortiGate a ten out of ten.