Fortinet FortiGate Reviews

In our current data center, we use eight Fortinet firewalls. These firewalls serve multiple tiers of the network, including internet users, server farms, and DMZ ports. This gives us multiple approaches to our system and network. As a result, we are able to receive all reports before the analyzer.

In 2011, we were using a Cisco ASA 5540 fixed firewall. We moved to Fortinet because their UTM appliance was a next-generation firewall that offered more than one solution in a single box. This meant that we could handle the network, server, and client parts of our infrastructure with a single device. We also chose Fortinet because of the ease of its GUI and its ease of implementation in multiple locations. Currently, I have three data centers. We are using a consolidated console with a broader view of the network traffic. This is why we moved to Fortinet. We had previously used Juniper and Cisco, but we found that Fortinet offered a better solution for our needs.

We deployed the solution on-premises because, while the private sector in Kuwait has begun to move to the cloud, government entities are not permitted to do so.

I started with the firewall module, and we were using multiple boxes for multiple functions. I was using a Juniper SSL VPN. They came to us with a single-box solution that included SSL VPN, so we moved to that. Then they came up with client endpoint security, and we moved to that as well. They also introduced web filtering in Fortinet, so we moved to that as well. All of the technology that we were using previously on separate consoles is now consolidated into a single console. I can see the beauty of this product in that it has a single console that manages all of the facilities on one web page.

The firewall is top-notch. We are using SSL VPN.

When we first started, Fortinet was using a single appliance with a firewall module in the region. They later came up with many different solutions. I have also used FortiDB, but it has been discontinued. We have since removed it. We are looking forward to Fortinet considering a sandboxing solution. This would allow us to secure our database at that layer. I see the database area as being weaker. I would suggest that Fortinet add sandboxing to their solution.

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for 12 years.

Fortinet FortiGate is stable which is why we have stuck with it for almost 12 years.

The scalability is good. In 2016, we scaled our system to ensure that we would have enough capacity for the next five to seven years. We are currently only utilizing 25 percent of the hardware processing.

We have around 900 users on our networks per second with a total active directory of 7,000.

The technical support in our region is excellent. There are three levels of support. I remember one time when my problem was not resolved by level one or level two, so it was escalated to level three which was awesome. The level three technician was able to understand the issue quickly by reviewing the chain of email logs and the available information.

We previously used Juniper and Cisco firewalls before switching to Fortinet FortiGate. We were drawn to Fortinet because of its superior control and visibility, as well as its high availability, throughput, and durability. Fortinet's FortiGate firewalls are ASIC-based, which makes them more reliable and efficient than other solutions. As a result, we were able to handle more traffic with Fortinet than with any other vendor.

The initial deployment was complex. We started with a low-level design, discussing with the vendor that we had a certain number of firewalls and concurrent sessions available on the network, and that we had remote sites. We began by implementing the boxes in the data center, then the main data center headquarters, and then the campus network, which has its own data center with a firewall module. We later installed it in one of our accessory branches in their data center. The installation was done in phases.

When the high-level design was in place, we began migrating the configuration. We used a migration tool from Cisco and Juniper, which was very smooth because it was intelligent enough to take all the network IDs, policies, and source destinations, forward based. This meant that we had fewer challenges when we started the migration.

However, we did encounter some challenges during the migration. These were not due to Fortinet, but rather to the configuration that had been migrated from the other vendor. We resolved these challenges by manually checking each policy one by one, and the issue was rectified within a couple of days.

A total of four people were involved in the deployment. Two people from our organization, one from the vendor, and one from the partner. We have to go through our partner to access the vendor.

The implementation was completed by the vendor.

Fortinet FortiGate's features and price have provided a return on investment for our organization.

The pricing is a bit more expensive than the others but Fortinet is the best in the region. They have a good hold on the market because they are everywhere.

We pay for support and licensing fees.

I give the pricing a nine out of ten.

We evaluated Palo Alto Networks, but they did not have a presence in our region, so we did not move forward with them. We also evaluated Check Point, but it is not a government-approved solution in our region.

I give Fortinet FortiGate a nine out of ten. 

Fortinet FortiGate has good regional support. One of the best things about this solution is that Fortinet doesn't disappear after the sale. They keep engaging us with new technologies. For example, they recently engaged us with a SIEM and SOAR solution that allows me to have a single console for all of my security needs. I have a plan to move to this solution and consolidate all of my firewalls into a single FortiManager. This will allow me to have a more secure and efficient network.

Fortinet is not as focused on cybersecurity as some other companies, but they are very strong in network security. They are constantly coming up with new and innovative solutions that help us to protect our networks. I am very happy with Fortinet FortiGate and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a reliable and secure network solution.

We have deployed the solution in multiple locations.

Our partner is involved in maintenance, especially when a new FortiOS is released. We engage the vendor to understand the maintenance requirements, such as stability and any potential risks. We follow the vendor's recommendations and perform maintenance accordingly. We also use FortiAnalyzer to manage our logs. We delete old logs in accordance with government policy, which requires six months of data to be kept. We take care to ensure that maintenance does not affect these logs.

Fortinet FortiGate is one of the best and most affordable solutions with top-notch technology on the market. We get something that is both cheaper and of good quality with Fortinet FortiGate. Fortinet submitted the lowest-priced bid and met all of our technical requirements.

We are using Fortinet for administration over local users that need to connect with our wireless. We have users that come from different domains, and there are certain limits and restrictions that need to be implemented.

There is not much visible improvement, but it's a stable and reliable environment. We did not see anything critical in the production environment.

Reliability is the best feature. We faced some issues when we were setting it up, but the service, portal, and administration are good.

There is some development gap. We had experienced bugs in their operating system. When we were planning to upgrade it, there was no patch available for a bug, and the support team was saying that they need to work on that. That's the part they should work on.

There are some complex administration tasks in their administration portal. That needs to be improved.

It has been around two years since we set it up.

It's stable.

It's scalable. We have 1,500 to 2,000 people across the world. We have multiple regions and multiple sites.

We contacted them for a few cases. I would rate them a seven out of ten. They could be better at finding solutions.

Neutral

This was the first option, but we'll try Cisco as well for our Wi-Fi setup for the next one to two years. 

It was a management call to go for this. They know what is best for their business.

I was not exactly involved in its initial setup, but at a later stage, I had to jump into that. I was more into Cisco setup.

Overall, the setup was easy. There was a portal, and most of the things were similar to other hardware we use, such as Palo Alto. We found some bugs during the setup, and there was not much support available from the Fortinet support team

In terms of maintenance, there are upgrades available roughly every quarter.

It's worth the money.

The price range is quite acceptable and normal.

It's excellent. The services, administration, and reliability are up to the mark. They just need to improve it a bit. 

I would recommend it if you want to set it up for your business. Overall, I would rate it a nine out of ten.

We're a manufacturing shop. So we have 500-700 users on FortiGate SWG and various devices on the manufacturing floor and inside the warehouse using it. Our ERP is on-premises in the United States, so traffic from Asia to the US passes through it.

Eventually, it's going to be used throughout the enterprise. So we're using the gateways today. We have purchased two access points for wifi. Fortinet's devices all talk to each other and use the same management platform. We're planning to transition to 100 percent Fortinet gradually.

We adopted Fortigate to go to SD-WAN. When I looked at the market, I found Fortigate offered some of the best SD-WAN capabilities, and they're reasonably priced compared to some of their competitors.

We went to SD-WAN because we're moving to Microsoft Dynamics for finance and operations and putting our telephone system into the cloud. As we shift more and more capabilities into the cloud, we need the ability to manage and monitor everything. If we're putting our ERP into the cloud and have performance issues, I need to understand if it's a problem with the internal network, the cloud connection, or Microsoft. Fortinet can pinpoint the source of the problem, so we can work with the right people to get it resolved.

FortiGate is easy to configure. We configured one of the units and sent it to Indiana to be installed. We asked them to give us a call when they got it, so we could help them through the process, but they called us back to tell us it works great. 

Non-IT people could plug it in, connect it to the fiber, and get it running without  IT help. That was fantastic. Fortinet also offers a single pane of glass that we can use to manage our routers with gateways, so that's convenient. We're running a VPN to our remote location, and the performance is good. We're changing all our VPN connectors on our laptops from Cisco's Anywhere to Fortinet's VPN because the performance is just so much better.

Fortinet needs to continue to improve network traceability. Other than that, we haven't run into anything that would give me any concern. Their support team has been fantastic. One went down, and they immediately sent me a replacement. Everything that they've done has been great.

I've been using FortiGate SWG for about  six months now.

FortiGate is highly stable.

I was pleased with the scalability.  We have a mid-range appliance in our headquarters and entry-level devices in our remote sites. They all perform extremely well. We did never needed to purchase their largest devices to get the performance we need.

I rate Fortinet support eight out of 10.

Positive

We switched from Cisco to Fortinet for a host of reasons, including price. It's also easier to set up and manage.  Cisco requires you to understand how to configure the bare metal, which requires configuration inside the switch, but Fortinet lets you set up profiles and download them. 

I was hoping FortiGate would be more straightforward to set up than it was, but my team has been working with it for around six months. They're getting up to speed and learning to manage it on their own. I have two people on my infrastructure team working on it part-time as one of their many responsibilities.

We're still deploying it and waiting on equipment in Asia. We just got the United States up and running. It took a couple of months because we have six sites. However, we weren't actively doing things for most of that time. We did the headquarters and two other locations in the same city. Next, we set up our remote sites. 

We did have an integrator come in and help us in the original setup, but now my team is managing it. You could do it in-house, but there's a learning curve. If you're a Cisco shop moving to Fortinet, your team needs to learn Fortinet byou can to do it in-house. 

Fortinet has a good training program, and you can become certified just like Cisco. You mainly need to use an outside provider so you don't have to undergo that learning curve before you can be productive. They're also going to know the tricks of the trade to do it best.

When we were using Cisco, we had a hot fiber connection and a backup in case of issues. One reason we wanted to go to SD-WAN is to be live-live. We wanted to ensure sure that we could use all our internet connections at the same time and not have anything sitting in a backup situation. It's moving traffic much better.

FortiGate is priced reasonably. We bought a spare to have in case of issues.  It was only $500 for the raw hardware and around $2,000 more annually year for the support and subscription.

We looked at four or five different vendors with SD-WAN capabilities, including Fortinet, VMware, and Cisco.  We went with FortiGate because of ease of use and price.

I rate FortiGate SWG eight out of 10. It's a solid product that's easy to install. At the end of the day, there's no reason to use a firewall without SD-WAN capabilities. It brings so many more features to the table.

We primarily use the product to enhance our network security infrastructure. It monitors and investigates inbound and outbound traffic across our organization, ensuring comprehensive security coverage.

one interface to manage all our fortinet product

The product's most valuable feature is the ease of deploying IoT security with a single click. Additionally, the frequent updates to the online database ensure that our security measures are always up to date, enhancing our protection against emerging threats.

One area for improvement is the licensing policy. If support licenses are not renewed, the product's functionality ceases, which can be disruptive. 

Integrating more advanced threat detection capabilities utilizing artificial intelligence would be highly beneficial in future releases.

I have been using FortiGate for around 15 years.

The solution is highly stable, with minimal disruptions. I rate it a ten out of ten for stability.

Once deployed, the product scalability is constrained, requiring appliance upgrades for increased port capacity.

The customer support team is responsive but relies heavily on external partners for frontline assistance, which can lead to delays in critical situations.

Neutral

aruba, cisco

the move was decided for the convinence of the fortinet's management interface

The initial setup is straightforward for those with a technical background in network security. However, configuring the system requires a good understanding of the product.

We implemented FortiGate with our technical team, which has extensive experience with network security solutions.

Since implementing FortiGate IPS, we've seen an approximately ten percent reduction in operational costs, largely due to consolidating security measures onto a single platform.

The platform offers a reasonable price point compared to its competitors.

Before opting for FortiGate, I evaluated several competitors, including Palo Alto, Checkpoint, WatchGuard, Barracuda, SonicWall, and Sophos. 

FortiGate is a solid choice for organizations seeking comprehensive network security. Ensure your team has the technical knowledge required for effective deployment and ongoing management.

I rate it an eight. 

We are currently using Fortinet FortiGate firewall instead of Cisco.

The best features of Fortinet FortiGate include good functionality, though the licensing cost is a bit higher. Their response time and throughput are very good advantages.

Some websites or proxies are not embedded in the correct category, and we need to update the Fortinet FortiGate database because numerous websites are appearing every day. Some websites are embedded in the wrong category which we can block, resulting in everything being blocked, so this database needs improvement.

The licensing cost should be more affordable than it is currently. The SD-WAN of Fortinet FortiGate needs improvement; when we create a group address, sometimes the rule doesn't work properly.

Regarding the Fortinet FortiGate database issues, some websites or categories that should be classified as proxy are in different categories. When we open that category due to some other website that needs to be accessed, some proxies are also opened. The FortiGate web filter categories need to improve their database for better control.

I joined the current company two and a half years ago, and we have been using Fortinet FortiGate for about three or four years.

I have only required technical support from Fortinet FortiGate once or twice in two and a half years, and I have had a good experience with them. Their technical team is very knowledgeable. Their response time is very good; whenever we open a case, they respond promptly.

One issue I encountered was with FortiToken, which we configured on the admin profile. While managing four firewalls, I discovered that FortiToken was not enabling due to an issue on one firewall. I opened a case, but it has not been resolved yet. Despite this, my overall experience with them has been very good.

Neutral

In my previous company, we were using Sophos, which had better licensing costs compared to Fortinet FortiGate.

We are not using enhanced SD-WAN Cisco SD-WAN; we are just using the SD-WAN for load balancing.

We are using Ubiquiti for wireless. One drawback about UniFi is that it lacks BeamFlexing, which is available in Ruckus, and the AP radius or Wi-Fi signals are not as strong as Ruckus. However, UniFi is still a good option, though not as robust as Ruckus.

Fortinet FortiGate is quite expensive, but according to the Gartner report, it ranks second or third. My experience with Fortinet FortiGate firewall has been quite good.

I would rate Fortinet FortiGate 9 out of 10 overall.

The main use cases for Fortinet FortiGate are mostly for an industrial company firewall, focusing on firewall, web server, and new-gen, next-gen firewall.

What I appreciate about Fortinet FortiGate is that the UI is easier than what I've previously known from Sophos. Compared to Sophos, I prefer Fortinet, and the system and configuration settings are easier.

The main benefits I have seen from using Fortinet FortiGate for the organization are due to the other branch in another country, as the connection is smoother than the previous firewall.

For Fortinet FortiGate, I am not sure yet what can be improved or enhanced because currently, I am comfortable with this solution.

I have been working with Fortinet FortiGate for less than six months.

I think Fortinet FortiGate is stable because previously it had a hiccup around a bug within the authentication VPN due to the firmware, but after updating, it's easier to control.

In terms of scalability, I find Fortinet FortiGate scalable. There are no issues yet with scalability in Fortinet FortiGate.

Regarding the technical support of Fortinet FortiGate, I have already tried to contact them previously for a problem. I would evaluate the technical support of Fortinet FortiGate as friendly and easily understandable for our problem, as they have a high understanding of the Fortinet FortiGate system.

Positive

I prefer Fortinet FortiGate over Sophos because of the connection system, the web GUI, and I think Fortinet is much more secure than Sophos.

The initial setup of Fortinet FortiGate was easy. The setup needs around a few days to test before deploying to the customer, and while deploying, it's easy to contact customer service to help us with it.

We are utilizing SD-WAN capabilities in Fortinet FortiGate, but not extensively, just a few times. I have not yet seen any impact on the network performance with the SD-WAN, as we're just monitoring it.

My experience with integrating SD-WAN capabilities within Fortinet FortiGate is that the project for SD-WAN is not very long, approximately one month of testing, so for now, the connection is clear with a bit of misconnection. 

I would personally recommend Fortinet FortiGate.

On a scale of one to ten, I rate this solution an eight.

One valuable feature of FortiGate SWG that has significantly enhanced my network security is IPS.

I would rate the technical support of Fortinet a six or seven out of ten. It is not very helpful. I would like to see improvements in their support.

I have used the solution for six to eight months.

Fortinet SWG is a stable solution, and I would rate it eight, indicating it is good.

I think the scalability of FortiGate SWG is okay. It meets the growing demands of my network and goes hand in hand with security.

I find the technical support of Fortinet to be not very helpful.

Neutral

I am working with Fortinet for SASE and am familiar with FortiGate.

I handled the installation myself, and it can be installed by one person.

It is too early to discuss any financial benefits or cost savings from using FortiGate SWG.

On a scale from one to ten, I would rate the pricing for FortiGate AWG as nine, which is perfect.

I am working with Fortinet and another vendor simultaneously.

I rate this solution a nine out of ten. 

The solution’s initial setup is very easy.

The solution's real-time connection with the cloud could be improved.

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate IPS for four years.

Fortinet FortiGate IPS is a very stable product.

I rate the solution’s stability ten out of ten.

Fortinet FortiGate IPS is a very scalable solution.

I rate the solution’s scalability an eight or nine out of ten.

I have previously used Cisco.

The solution’s initial setup is very easy. The solution was deployed by a network engineer or security engineer.

On a scale from one to ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy, I rate the solution’s initial setup a nine out of ten.

Fortinet FortiGate IPS is cheaper than other solutions like Cisco or Check Point.

I would recommend the solution to other users.

Overall, I rate the solution a seven out of ten.

Conventionally, the solution is used for perimeter security. Whenever we find our organization's customer without an existing firewall, we use FortiGate Next Generation Firewall both for perimeter security as a firewall and as a VPN appliance to allow work-from-home employees at the VPN end. In the aforementioned instance, our company also uses the solution to connect different branches.

If our organization is establishing the network for a company with different branches spread geographically, we will use the VPN in IP set and FortiGate. The solution is highly flexible and is available at a cost-effective price. 

When using FortiGate Next Generation Firewall, availing the FortiGuard subscription is very important due to the vast threat intelligence with an international network.

Using the aforementioned network, FortiGate has been able to procure intelligence about the threats and incorporate the mitigation and protection against those threats in FortiGuard. So when you have FortiGuard integrated with the firewall, you have a robust perimeter solution to protect against malware. 

The pricing of the solution should be more affordable. 

I have been working with FortiGate Next Generation Firewall for seven years. 

FortiGate Next Generation Firewall has excellent stability. Fortinet is a top-tier IT security infrastructure company. 

I would rate the scalability a nine out of ten. The solution exhibits impressive stability. Once the solution is installed, it's used 24/7. 

We never had to rely on or communicate much with the tech support. The free resources, documentation, training, and community feedback have been enough to resolve 99% of our company's issues with the product. In our organization, we directly interacted with the support team once or twice and had a positive experience. I would rate the tech support eight out of ten. 

Positive

We used Cisco previously, but it was too expensive for our company. FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall was available at a better price and performance; it was a better fit for our company as a networking vendor. 

I would rate the initial setup an eight out of ten. Our company deals with only the on-premise version of FortiGate Next Generation Firewall. It took about half a day in our organization to deploy the solution. 

Our company has several firewall projects. When our organization identifies a company that needs a firewall but doesn't have one, we contact them. Our company strongly advises potential customers to adopt a firewall, and we provide reasons why the company shouldn't operate without a firewall today, we try to sell them the FortiGate Next Generation Firewall and FortiGuard solutions.

If the potential customer doesn't have access points or the latest switches, our company tries to sell that as well in the form of an integrated solution. 

Our company prefers to program solutions as much as possible in-house before approaching the customers. 

FortiGate Next Generation Firewall has a very high ROI. A customer can realize nearly 100% ROI when it is used along with FortiGuard to establish a robust perimeter firewall based on an international vendor with a global-level threat intelligence network. 

I would rate the pricing a seven out of ten. There are penalties if you don't renew the FortiGuard subscription, and I think the vendor should've refrained from imposing such penalties. If a customer fails to renew for a year, there shouldn't be any penalties on Fortinet solutions, the vendor should eradicate such policies. 

We evaluated Palo Alto, but we still chose Fortinet because, as per our company's evaluation, Palo Alto doesn't offer switches or access points. Before adopting FortiGate Next Generation Firewall, we also concluded that Fortinet offered everything for networking infrastructure, including switches, access points, antivirus, and firewalls. 

FortiGate has end-to-end solutions, they have switches, access points, and a native antivirus and threat management solution. When you onboard FortiGate Next Generation Firewall, you choose a vendor that covers every aspect of the IT infrastructure.

So, if you avail yourself of other products from the same vendor later on, it makes the management processes easier, as the command interface is similar across all the products from Fortinet, including switches, access points, and firewalls. The aforementioned benefit removes the need for training your team when a new solution is onboarded in the organization. 

I would advise others to do a proper assessment in terms of the sizing before onboarding FortiGate Next Generation Firewall. Before adopting the solution, one should know how many users need access to the Internet so that the firewall can be sized or scaled ideally.

A sizing chart is available online to assist users in procuring the correct firewall size. FortiGate Next Generation Firewall offers comprehensive reports on user activity; potential customers should also analyze the reporting aspect before choosing the solution.  

FortiGate Next Generation Firewall handles new and latest security threats satisfyingly. FortiGuard has some AI influence in its threat intelligence features in its international network. I would overall rate FortiGate Next Generation Firewall an eight out of ten. 

The solution is used as a perimeter firewall, and all traffic is routed through the appliances before accessing the Internet. FortiGate Next Generation Firewall is also used in policy-based routing. The solution has features such as IPS  and web filtering. 

Presently I am carrying out a POC to evaluate where the SD-WAN functionality of the solution can be utilized by our company. 

It's an out-of-the-box solution with impressive ratings. FortiGate Next Generation Firewall has a stateless balance proposition. The updates from the vendor ensure that the product remains up to date in terms of threat intelligence capabilities. 

I personally go through reports on utilizing FortiGate Next Generation Firewall resources, bandwidth and applications that are present in the company's environment. The product has been capable of providing the aforementioned reports for the last 280 days, and such features are highly valuable for reporting purposes. The reports provided by FortiGate Next Generation Firewall also help in analyzing the traffic condition in a network. 

When the SD-WAN is integrated with solutions like Citrix, it can appear complicated, which only tech professionals can implement. The solution should allow more user-friendly integrations or deployment. 

I have been working with FortiGate Next Generation Firewall for five years. 

I would rate the stability an eight out of ten. But recently, we needed to undergo regular patching of the network in our company, but that's probably due to increased hacking activities or attacks. At our company, we are still confident with the solution in spite of the recent breaches. 

The solution is highly scalable. I would rate the scalability a nine out of ten. At our company, we can scale the solution effortlessly for enterprise networks. There are two professional users of FortiGate Next Generation Firewall in our company. The other solutions which are being evaluated in our company are FortiNAC and Fortinet SD-WAN. 

I have received satisfying support for every issue I raised with the team. The support team is responsive and helpful in resolving issues. I would rate the customer support an eight out of ten. 

Positive

Previously, Cyberoam was used in our organization. Our company has also used Check Point to deploy a multi-layered firewall solution. Check Point has numerous partners and offers satisfying support, which makes it a formidable competitor of FortiGate Next Generation Firewall. 

There are various local partners of FortiGate Next Generation Firewall who offer effective support for the solution. 

While integrating FortiGate Next Generation Firewall in our company's infrastructure I faced an error while implementing a secure LDAP server. I had to roll back for the aforementioned issue and review the authentication certificates. 

The learning curve of the solution varies depending on the use cases and the different features the user starts interacting with within a specific environment. The initial setup of the FortiGate Next Generation Firewall can be claimed to be straightforward. I would rate the setup a six out of ten. The deployer's CLI understanding will also be a major factor in the deployment process of the solution. 

The solution's initial setup can be completed in a few days, but much more time is required to learn about the environment, evaluate the policies' interference with the services, and implement optimizations based on the insights. In total, the complete deployment takes a few weeks. 

It's an expensive solution. FortiGate Next Generation Firewall costs our company around $12000 per year. There are no additional costs involved with the product. 

I have confidence in the threat detection capabilities of FortiGate Next Generation Firewall. I haven't witnessed any downtime in the solution, even after using it for multiple years. 

An automation API integration is available with FortiGate Next Generation Firewall. For instance, the solution allows integration with CrowdStrike and Darktrace to enhance the threat intelligence capabilities. I would recommend others to use FortiGate Next Generation Firewall.

It's a reliable solution for real-time threat intelligence. In the security industry, FortiGate Next Generation Firewall is a highly praised product and I am able to embed policies for effective operation. I would rate FortiGate Next Generation Firewall an eight out of ten.