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ICT/Presales Manager at Balton Uganda
Real User
A reliable and practical solution that assists us in our day-to-day operations
Pros and Cons
  • "Fortinet FortiGate's reliability is valuable."
  • "I would like some automated custom reporting."

What is our primary use case?

We use Fortinet FortiGate for basic network security and people accessing through VPN.

How has it helped my organization?

Fortinet FortiGate is a reliable and practical solution that assists us in our day-to-day operations.

What is most valuable?

Fortinet FortiGate's reliability is valuable.

What needs improvement?

I would like some automated custom reporting.

Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiGate
April 2025
Learn what your peers think about Fortinet FortiGate. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2025.
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For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for one year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Fortinet FortiGate is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability has met our requirements. We have around 40 users.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We previously used DrayTek before switching to Fortinet FortiGate which has more features.

What about the implementation team?

The implementation was completed in-house.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We evaluated Palo Alto Networks, but the cost of the solution and support were higher than Fortinet FortiGate.

What other advice do I have?

I give Fortinet FortiGate an eight out of ten.

The maintenance requires one person.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Sales project manager at Saraha
Real User
Simple implementation, reliable, but security could improve
Pros and Cons
  • "All of the features of Fortinet FortiGate are useful and the security protection is good."
  • "The security of Fortinet FortiGate could improve."

What is our primary use case?

Fortinet FortiGate is used for the overall protection of companies.

What is most valuable?

All of the features of Fortinet FortiGate are useful and the security protection is good.

What needs improvement?

The security of Fortinet FortiGate could improve.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for approximately one year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Fortinet FortiGate is a stable solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable. We have 11 clients using this solution.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup of Fortinet FortiGate is straightforward.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Fortinet FortiGate allows you to purchase licenses for hardware and software.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I have evaluated Cisco solutions.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend this solution to others, it is a good solution.

I rate Fortinet FortiGate a seven out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Reseller
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiGate
April 2025
Learn what your peers think about Fortinet FortiGate. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2025.
847,625 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Alexandros Tzampazis - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Administrator at a tech company with 1-10 employees
Real User
Top 20
Useful web filtering, beneficial remote access, and straightforward setup
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate are remote access, web filtering, and IPS."
  • "Fortinet FortiGate could improve by having more capabilities for troubleshooting VPN connections. For example, I do get some feedback about the current status, but I could use some history and logging of important events. The information is logged in our Syslog server, but I could use that information from the device. If they could provide a GUI to have some more insight on what's going with my VPN would be useful."

What is our primary use case?

I am using Fortinet FortiGate as a firewall.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate are remote access, web filtering, and IPS.

What needs improvement?

Fortinet FortiGate could improve by having more capabilities for troubleshooting VPN connections. For example, I do get some feedback about the current status, but I could use some history and logging of important events. The information is logged in our Syslog server, but I could use that information from the device. If they could provide a GUI to have some more insight on what's going with my VPN would be useful.

The way Fortinet FortiGate handles the phase two connection of a VPN setup could be better. For example, if I have to make a phase two traffic selector input, I cannot add more ports. For example, on a specific IP address pair, if I have an IP address pair source and destination, then I can only add one port. I'm not sure if I can do that through the command line, but on the GUI, I cannot, and this is a problem. I have to select another IP address pair to allow another port and this means new traffic selectors and a new set of tunnels. This causes more tunnels to need troubleshooting. 

I would like to be able to pass more diverse information through the same tunnel, and it doesn't seem to be possible if you want to limit the traffic through the tunnel and not allow all protocols between the same IP address pair. If we want to limit the ports, then I find there is a problem.

For how long have I used the solution?

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

How are customer service and support?

We have a contract with a Fortinet partner, and they're very good at providing support. We don't have the communication directly with Fortinet.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have previously used a Cisco firewall, the 5520 model. It was not a next-generation firewall and did not have IPS integrated, and it was quite difficult to manage and to find features and implement them. Fortinet FortiGate is very good at this.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup of Fortinet FortiGate is straightforward.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I do not have first-hand experience with the rice of Fortinet FortiGate, but I have heard the price was reasonable.

What other advice do I have?

I rate Fortinet FortiGate a ten out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Network/Systems Administrator at TRSP
Real User
Reliable, simple implementation, and helpful support
Pros and Cons
  • "The scalability is good in Fortinet FortiGate."

    What is our primary use case?

    We are using Fortinet FortiGate for our security needs in an organization. You can have application and transport-based security. It functions according to the needs of the customer and there are additional add-ons that can be provided. Overall it is a good product.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for a few years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Fortinet FortiGate is a stable solution.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    The scalability is good in Fortinet FortiGate.

    We have approximately 2,000 users using Fortinet FortiGate.

    How are customer service and support?

    The solution from Fortinet FortiGate is very good. Our experience has been very good.

    How was the initial setup?

    The implementation of Fortinet FortiGate was simple.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    If the price of the license in Fortinet FortiGate was less expensive it would be better.

    What other advice do I have?

    I would recommend this solution to others.

    I rate Fortinet FortiGate an eight out of ten.

    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    reviewer1448211 - PeerSpot reviewer
    System Administrator at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
    Real User
    Easy to configure and the technical support is good, but the newer versions have issues with stability
    Pros and Cons
    • "The most valuable feature is the ease of configuration."
    • "One of the problems I was having was with user mapping, and it is an issue for which I have escalated tickets with Fortinet support."

    What is our primary use case?

    We use this firewall as part of our security solution.

    What is most valuable?

    The most valuable feature is the ease of configuration.

    What needs improvement?

    There are a lot of known issues in some newer versions of the FortiGate operating system, so there is room for improvement with that. One of the problems I was having was with user mapping, and it is an issue for which I have escalated tickets with Fortinet support.

    Having the newer features work in the older, more stable versions of the product would be great. Some of the new features might really help a lot, but there are problems with stability.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been working with FortiGate for approximately two years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    There are a lot of new features built into newer releases, but there are not very stable. 

    How are customer service and technical support?

    The Fortinet technical support is awesome. They're handling my problem quickly and doing it well.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    The price is okay.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    I have compared solutions from other vendors including Palo Alto.

    What other advice do I have?

    This is a good product, however, there is always room for improvement.

    I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.

    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: partner
    PeerSpot user
    Consultant
    User
    Saved a bundle by not needing past appliances from an NGFW, however it needs better performance on bandwidth demands for smaller devices
    Pros and Cons
    • "Consolidated our network environment at all locations, but mainly at our datacenter."
    • "One area for improvement is the performance on bandwidth demands for smaller devices, as well as better web filtering."

    What is our primary use case?

    Firewall/Web Filter management. We have over 30 sites, and it is imperative that one person (myself) can plan, implement, and deploy these devices to our sites and manage them when finished.

    How has it helped my organization?

    Consolidated our network environment at all locations, but mainly at our datacenter. 

    What is most valuable?

    The web filtering was the most valuable, because at a school board, we need to make sure the students are not tying up our bandwidth and also to keep the bad guys out.

    What needs improvement?

    One area for improvement is the performance on bandwidth demands for smaller devices, as well as better web filtering. Each manufacturer has their own way of filtering and each one needs improvement in categories, URL, and/or application filtering.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    One to three years.

    What was our ROI?

    We saved a bundle by not needing all the past appliances from an NGFW.

    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    PeerSpot user
    Security Consultant at Webernetz.net - Network Security Consulting
    Consultant
    Cisco ASA vs. Fortinet FortiGate vs. Palo Alto vs. Juniper SSG

    Since IPv6 gets more and more important, I am using it by default on all my test firewalls, which of course support IPv6. However, when comparing the different functions and administration capabilities, they vary significantly.

    Here comes my short evaluation of the IPv6 functions on the following four firewalls: Cisco ASA, Fortinet FortiGate, Juniper SSG, and Palo Alto.

    Criteria

    I was merely interested in the basic IPv6 usage and not in the typical firewall categories:

    • Interface: IPv6 address and link-local address configurable?
    • Router Advertisement and DHCPv6: Whether the firewalls support nothing (–), only RA (-), DHCPv6 relay (ο), stateless DHCPv6 (+), or stateful DHCPv6 (++). The existence of stateless DHCPv6 is vital for delivering the DNS server IPv6 addresses to the clients. (The “IPv6 Router Advertisement Options for DNS Configuration”, RFC 6106, is not supported by any of these devices.)
    • Security Policy: Whether IPv4 and IPv6 addresses can be used in the same policy and whether address groups can have objects from both protocols.
    • Administration: How easy are the IPv6 functions to manage? Only via the CLI (–), fifty-fifty (ο), GUI but complicated (+) , or fully via the GUI (++).

    Results

    These are the results. They range from — via ο to ++.


    Cisco ASA
    Fortinet FortiGate
     Juniper ScreenOS
    Palo Alto
    Version
    9.2(3)
    5.2.2
    6.3.0r18.0
    6.1.3
    Interface
    ++
    +
    ++
    ++
    RA, DHCPv6
    -
    ++
    +
    0
    Security Policy
    ++
    -
    -
    ++
    Administration + - + ++

    Details

    Cisco ASA

    The Cisco ASA has no DHCPv6 instance running. That is: there is no way to run an IPv6-only network because clients won’t get the DNS server. The security policy is capable of both protocols. Everything is configurable via the GUI, which is not the best at all.

    Fortinet FortiGate

    The FortiGate is the only firewall with a stateful DHCPv6 server. Great. However, two distinct security policies must be used and nothing of the IPv6 settings are configurable via the GUI. WHAT???

    Juniper SSG (ScreenOS)

    ScreenOS is dead. However, most of the IPv6 functions are working quite good, except the protocol dependent security policies. Everything is accessible via the GUI, but sometimes on confusing positions.

    Palo Alto

    Palo Alto did a good job on the IPv6 interfaces and security policies. The GUI is quite intuitive and the policy accepts both protocols at the same time. Unluckily, there is no DHCPv6 server which makes it impossible to operate an IPv6-only client network behind a Palo Alto (without further servers).

    Conclusion

    It’s interesting to see the differences between those firewalls. While the Fortinet und Juniper firewalls support the whole SLAAC process incl. DNS servers, they have no single security policy for both protocols and are horrable to configure.

    The Palo Alto is quite good to configure but lacks the DHCPv6 server. Same for the Cisco.

    In summary, all firewalls position in the middle of my scale. From an IPv6-only view, I cannot say which one is the best. It depends….

    Originally published on blog.webernetz.net

    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    it_user234777 - PeerSpot reviewer
    IP Senior Engineer at a comms service provider with 501-1,000 employees
    Vendor
    It offers stability, scalability and plenty of security features. Enjoy fast and effective troubleshooting as everything is organized in a very understandable way.

    What is most valuable?

    • High Availability clustering
    • SNAT/DNAT
    • Policies section view
    • Virtual Domains
    • Logging and Reporting
    • IPS

    How has it helped my organization?

    It has made our daily operations easier, as well as adding security, and stability to them. Adding or removing security policies is simplified through its web interface, or CLI. Additionally, troubleshooting is fast and effective, as everything is organized in a very understandable way.

    What needs improvement?

    Its web interface needs to be more stable, and more functional, through the variety of browsers. Additionally a nice add-on would be a “diagnostic sniffer” capability in the web interface.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I've used it for six years.

    What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

    With different browsers, the web interface crashes. On newer versions of Fortios the problem has been minimized.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Not at all, it is as stable as it should be.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    I believe that it is a little complex adding new firewalls in an existing cluster.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    Customer Service:

    8/10.

    Technical Support:

    9/10.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    We are using different firewall solutions, in parallel with the Fortigate ones.

    How was the initial setup?

    It was straightforward. Taking control of the device for first time is easy, and the cookbook manual is very helpful.

    What about the implementation team?

    A vendor team offered five day training but the implementation was in-house.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    We evaluated other solutions, but I was not responsible for taking the final decision.

    What other advice do I have?

    Throughout the last six years we have been using Fortigate firewalls, and the experience we gained is only positive. These devices are easy to manage, operate and troubleshoot any issues that might rise. The use of virtual domains has added more security presence by only having one physical device, and it’s easy to create them. Also, by enabling other security features on the VDoms, the physical performance will not be affected.

    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Buyer's Guide
    Download our free Fortinet FortiGate Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
    Updated: April 2025
    Buyer's Guide
    Download our free Fortinet FortiGate Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.