Fortinet FortiGate Reviews

Depending on the final cost and any additional costs we deploy Fortinet FortiGate in the cloud or we can deploy on-premises in data centers.

The most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiGate is security. They are known for efficiency and are on the top of Gartner Quadrant reviews. Fortinet FortiGate has an easy-to-use platform with a good graphical interface. The configuration is simple and the solution provides an overall good layer of security.

Fortinet FortiGate could improve by having more storage in the hardware for log data.

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for approximately three years.

Here in Brazil, we're going through difficult economic times and the tax on the dollar is high. All the solutions from minor competitors are growing in the market. The prices have come more competitive.

I rate Fortinet FortiGate a nine out of ten.

We have FortiGate with all the licenses - antivirus, IPS, and advanced threat protection. It's a combination of protection in the perimeter. We have configured some rules for IPS protection in the FortiGate perimeter.

We use it as part of a combination of protections because we have the DMT virus, the IPS, and WOFF option. We protect our services like Apache, our website and the internet.

We configure the rules for the Windows server, the Linux server, and Apache and AIS.

The feature that I find most valuable is its protection of the websites.

I would like to be able to generate reports about the protections that we have. I would like a report feature.

For example, I would like to see that in VPN and FortiGate, that the equipment that connects to the network is evaluated. Right now, FortiGate validates the users in the active directory and the users have the right permissions to connect. I would also add the user and the computers that are allowed in the active directory. It evaluates the actual active directory, and some computers are allowed but not all. Only the computers that are in the active directory. Right now, when you connect to the VPN, FortiGate checks the active directory. They have the check feature but it should be improved.

This solution has records but I would like to see that in IPS you could define your rules - we have almost 10 or 15 rules, and see if these rules provided protections over the month. For example, to track a specific rule across the IPS solution.

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate IPS for five years and Cisco for about eight years.

Yes, it is stable. The solution protects us from attack. We have heard that other companies are being attacked, but we are not since we installed FortiGate.

The way the configuration was supplied was correct and we don't have any events. But we heard about other, similar companies, that do have events, but we don't.

Fortinet FortiGate IPS is scalable.

In our case, we are a company of 100 employees and we selected a solution for 250, so we didn't have the need to scale because we designed it from the beginning for more people. We are still using it after five years. We have to change the equipment because they don't allow us to migrate to a new version. In the renewable licenses, they offered me a trade-in and I returned the last FortiGate and they gave me the new FortiGate. I have the FortiGate 600D model. After five years we had to change the equipment. With Cisco, for example, you can keep going. I have the same model with Cisco for eight years and I didn't have to change it. But in FortiGate, after five years, I had to trade it in.

The technical support is excellent. I prefer to open a case directly to FortiGate because I can have a session with a technical contact, and we can review the case directly with the support. We also have some protocols, like BGP in the perimeter, and in two cases, I needed the support person to connect me to another person for technical support to help me with our special protocol.

The support is 24 hours.

The initial setup us is easy and friendly.

It took almost a month. In a month, we deployed all the FortiGate with the features and the rules.

My advice to anyone considering Fortinet FortiGate IPS is that it is important to set the right rules and set all the configurations to make them preferred for a partner. The partner makes all the rules that the company needs because if you stay the course, although it's easy and friendly in the beginning, some configurations need a common line and require you to design how it works right around the network. So it is important that you take a partner who has experience with designs and can implement the correct solution for your company.

On a scale of one to ten, I would give Fortinet FortiGate IPS a nine

Fortinet FortiGate IPS utilizes the main firewalls.

Fortinet FortiGate IPS is a very good firewall. We don't have any complaints, it is doing its job correctly.

The functionality is good.

It's simple to operate and use.

There are various firewalls on the market, but we found Fortinet to be the most appropriate for the structures we have in place for our company. It is simple to comprehend, run, and maintain. The logging method is effective; it provides us with a clear picture of how threats are deflected or avoided.

When everything is taken into account, the migration is quite painless. I believe that improvements will continue to come from the fact that as threat vectors get more complex around the world, advanced threat protection and deep packet inspection will become increasingly vital. That is where technology needs to advance much more quickly.

The most important feature to have is zero trust, which is lacking in Fortinet FortiGate IPS.

Zero trust is something that has to be embedded and I would still like to see how Fortinet approaches it.

I have been working with Fortinet FortiGate IPS for a couple of years.

This solution is updated on a regular basis.

The Fortinet FortiGate IPS is an extremely stable product.

I can't speak to scalability because we are getting started with virtual machine-based firewalls. We are transitioning to FortiGate VM.

In our organization, we have 3,000 users.

The technical support is good. They are made up of experienced professionals.

The initial setup is very straightforward.

This solution is maintained by one person. We are using AMC services, which includes multiple people, but we have only chosen one.

During the deployment phase, we always utilize the assistance of an integrator. Working with them was a good experience for us.

The licensing costs are very competitive.

There are no fees in addition to the licensing costs.

When evaluating the solution, we wanted to make sure that it was simple to use, operate, and simple to maintain.

We have done a lot of research because we're bringing in the cloud version. We considered other vendors, but because we already had an on-premises Fortinet with a robust backend monitoring system, we decided that extending Fortinet into the Cloud was the best solution.

Gaining a good understanding of the simplicity of cloud migration will take about two months. It's not so much the implementation as it is the services that support it.

Before proposing a solution, it was critical that they have a progressive awareness of what we have and that they comprehend our requirements.

Because Fortinet was involved, we were reassured that they were acting in our best interests.

We also utilize the VPN with Fortinet, but we intend to go to zero trust in the future, eliminating the need for this dependency.

We are expanding our Fortinet for our cloud security. The VM will be implemented in our public cloud, which is where we operate.

I wouldn't say it's specific to FortiGate; it applies to all firewalls. You should consider the simplicity of the task at hand, as well as the convenience of deployment, maintenance, and, most crucially, the availability of qualified personnel to carry it out. These are the reasons we chose Fortinet.

I would rate Fortinet FortiGate IPS an eight out of ten.

We use this solution for different reasons.

We use it for the firewall with SDWAN functionality

We use it in some use cases as a VPN Server.

 We use it as a Wi-Fi controller on some sites.

We use if for internal network segregation and routing

Fortinet FortiGate has improved the way our organization functions.

Versatile with a lot of controls and expert level customizations for advanced users

NGFW features seems to be effective are relatively easy to implement. 

Fortigate DC Agent is a useful free feature to automatically detect logged on users and implement user based access policy

Basic VPN is included without extra charges

The Wi-Fi controller feature needs a lot of improvement. The function itself is not as stable as it should be in our use case which might be a problem in either the APs or the controller.

Would like to see more wizards and automation for more features such as virtual servers, SSL VPN, and others where policies, rules entries are created automatically form wizard input.

Some of the features related to load-balancing and traffic shaping are not as straightforward as they need to be. 

The VPN functionality needs low-level debugging get what really going on. Log level is too detailed and requires someone who is quite experienced to analyze and solve those issues. 

Zero-trust base features are lagging behind the other competition, based on what I have read. Would like to see those features in a clearly in the UI.

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for four years.

We are not using the latest version, but close to it.

There are some stability issues when move to a newer version. It's always good to be a couple of steps behind when you upgrade as usually the latest major releases are a not stable. We are quite cautious to update.

The stability of VPN connection phase is can be enhanced

Wifi AP/Controller stability is an issue for us

It's quite scalable. The scalability and the migration are okay as well. Licensing model is also stright forword and certain features such as basic SSL VPN requires no to min additional cost per user.

Their technical service is quite good. The application notes and the help on the web are quite good.

I would rate technical support an eight out of ten.

By the time I joined a Fortigate was selected against pfsense.

The initial setup is intermediate in complexity but support and online documentation covers for it.

If you're a small-medium size business:

- Size your use case carefully as licensing price jumps significantly with HW changes. 

- Customizable Forticilent SW can be downloaded for free with FNDN membership

- If you have multi sites and require Fortigate based 2FA then consider getting a dedicated fortiauthenticator (VM) with fortiokens acting a central RADIUS server which can be cheaper than cloud tokens an with additional authentication flexibilities.

pfsense; was decided against based required features (mainly VPN which is based in OpenVPN)

Paloalto; is a more expensive with comparable security features based on a recent NSS LABs report

Follow the instructions on the application manual carefully. Otherwise, certain features would not be running quite as they need them to without clear errors reported. 

Contact technical support, they're responsive and have solutions for most of the problems.

Chose/size the HW carefully based on your use case as certain features are HW accelerated  in higher variants but takes a huge toll on CPU/ memory when running on lower variants.

Consider using Fortigate DC Agent which is  useful free feature to automatically detect logged on users and implement user based access policy

Consider segregating functions on different units instead of having all features on a Fortigate (i.e avoid having wifi controller + firewall + VPN on a single unit specially for lower variants)

Because of the flexibility, the advanced user features, the high level of security controls, and the tweaks that are available for the user, I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

We primarily use the solution for security, including threat prevention.

The threat prevention is the solution's most valuable aspect.

The solution's initial setup is very simple and straightforward. It's not hard to implement it.

The stability if the product is very good so far. We haven't had any issues.

The pricing of the product is reasonable.

The logs need to be better. They need to be more visible and easier to access.

The VPN features could use some improvement.

I've been using the solution for about two years at this point. It hasn't been too long.

The stability is excellent. We haven't had any issues in that sense. It's not buggy and there aren't glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. We find it reliable.

I do not foresee the product being easy to scale. We find it so hard. It does not seem to be possible.

Currently, we have around 15 users and there are five to ten people handling the management aspect of the product.

Over the past two years, we really haven't had any issues that would require us to reach out to technical support. The user experience has been good. If we run into little issues, we may reach out directly to the vendors, however, I can't say that I've spoken with technical support. I wouldn't be able to evaluate their services or speak to their level of knowledge or responsiveness for that reason.

I've used other solutions in the past, including, for example, Sophos. However, I have found Fortigate to be more reasonably priced and generally much better as a product.

The initial setup is very easy. It's straightforward. We didn't run into any complexities. We were able to set it up without any issues at all.

The initial implementation was handled by the vendors. They were great at assisting us with the process.

We've found that the cost of the product isn't too high. They are a bit higher than other options, such as Meraki, however, it's still not so bad.

You need to pay for the hardware and then you need to pay for the licensing as well.

We are just a customer. We don't have a business relationship with Fortinet.

We are using the latest version of the solution at this point.

Overall, we've been pretty happy with the solution. I would rate it at an eight out of ten.

We are basically system integrators. We design and implement firewall solutions for our customers. We also provide after-sales services. 

We have deployed this firewall for different types of clients. We are providing solutions starting with FG-30E, which is the lowest model in the FortiGate series, and up to 1000 series.

We understand a customer's requirement of current internet users. After that, we design a perfect solution through which they can not only protect their network but also have load balancing between multiple internet service providers. They can also have secure connectivity from a remote office by using a single box device.

The web filtering facility and application control are the most valuable features from the point of view of our clients. The VPN feature is also quite popular amongst our clients. Two-factor authentication is one of the good features in Fortinet. These features are important for the current scenario of security. Security has become a necessity nowadays. With cyber-attacks becoming more common, protecting an organization's data is one of the major tasks. 

It is also very stable and scalable, and it is very straightforward to configure. Their technical support is also good.

Security is a continuous process. In every product, there is a requirement for improvement. Its pricing should also be improved according to Indian market requirements.

They must also improve on the reporting part. Its reporting can be more precise. If we can get a real-time report in a specific format, it will be helpful for customers to know about the current status of their security.

I have been working with this solution for the last 12 to 13 years.

It is very stable. We have been working with this solution for a long time, and we found it to be stable.

It is a scalable solution, and you can also upgrade. They come up with a new feature every time. Whenever you're updating your firewall firmware, it is ready to mitigate threats available in the fiber scenario.

Our clients are small, medium, and large businesses. We have deployed it for small offices or retail stores as well as for big manufacturing units. We also have clients from Education and Healthcare. Some of the large companies have between 800 to 1,000-plus devices protected through this firewall.

Their technical support is good.

I have a little bit of experience with other firewalls such as Sophos and Check Point. There are some basic differences in the features and their functionality, but I cannot say that this one is the best, or this one is not good. I have more confidence in Fortinet FortiGate, so we are focusing only on this.

In terms of support, we had purchased a Check Point product for a customer, and we were trying to get support from the team, but it was very difficult. Sophos is okay in terms of support.

Its initial setup is very straightforward. It is very easy if one knows the basic concepts. It has a graphical user interface, which makes it straightforward to configure. You can configure it step by step. The basic implementation of this firewall can be done in a very simple way. There could be some complexity at the Enterprise level, but at a basic level, it is very straightforward.

The deployment duration depends on the complexity level. A simple deployment can be completed in a few hours. A complex deployment can take one to two days depending upon the requirements. This is because, in addition to implementation, we also have to test the solution as per a customer's requirements to see whether it is fulfilling the given task or not.

We are a very small company with seven to eight people. We have a total of three people working with firewalls. They're network and support engineers.

Our clients definitely get a return on investment. It is a really good product, and the stability of the product is a very important factor for our clients.

Pricing and licensing is a little bit complicated in FortiGate. They are always on the higher side. This is one issue that we always raise with the company that they should reduce the price according to Indian market requirements. There are no costs in addition to the standard licensing fees.

It is a good product, but I would always recommend selecting an implementer partner carefully. The implementor should be able to implement all the features so that you get the best benefits of the firewall. An implementation partner is very important. If you don't have a proper partner, you will probably end up with a mashup, and you won't be able to use all the features. Your performance might also not get optimized.

I would rate Fortinet FortiGate an eight out of ten.

We primarily use the solution as a hardware firewall. In China, there's a lot of content that would be available in the West that isn't allowed here. We're able to block certain content from getting through filters.

The solution offers a very good package for all kinds of virtual appliances, subscriptions, and so on. It's a reasonable price. It's not too much.

The services on offer are just superb. 

The way it can block certain content is very useful for us. It gives you a good heads up as to what streams are being blocked from the network, which helps with visibility.

The simplicity of the product is great. It's very easy to use, which is a compliment we get all the time in terms of feedback.

There seems to be good reporting features. 

The scalability is there. If you need to expand the product, you can.

The menu structure is more logical than, for example, Cisco or SonicWall. I find that the Fortinet is easier to understand in terms of the installation process and setup. 

The only problem that we have here in China is that the whole subscription process on Fortinet is a little bit difficult if you are doing it from China. China has kind of a firewall around the country, and we sometimes have complications due to that aspect.

As a whole, I don't think that the product is actually missing any features.

You do need some IT knowledge in order to effectively work with the solution.

I've been working with the solution since about 2016. It's been a few years at this point.

The solution is very stable. There aren't issues with bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's very reliable.

The scalability is good. You can expand it as needed and add on extra apps to add in extra functionality if you want to.

We mostly deal with mid-range companies. 

I only talk with people here in China that are the Chinese sellers or distributors from Fortinet. They are Chinese and I don't speak or understand one single character Chinese. So for me, it's very difficult to communicate with technical support. Most of the time, I let them talk with one of the people who I know who is fluent in English and Chinese. That's what I do. 

Most of the time, I can do all the research on the internet to see what kind of device I need and then I get a translator and we figure it out.

We only use Fortinet's FortiGate for our hardware firewall protection.

However, if our clients need extra security, we may add other brands and security layers. We also work with SonicWall, Checkpoint, and Barracuda, for example.

I've also worked with pfSense, which is free, however, it has much more of a do-it-yourself approach. It's also quite different from other solutions. If you have Cisco experience, you'll be able to navigate Fortinet, whereas pfSense requires much more in-depth study. It has its own language, basically. That's one of the reasons you won't find too many of its configurations in China.

The initial setup, for me, at least, is very straightforward. It's just a few clicks and you're set up. It may be a bit more complex for someone else who may not be as familiar with the product.

I have partners that assist with the initial setup and I have network engineers who are doing the job for me. They are working for me as they are my employees. As their boss, of course, I have to know a little bit about how to handle it as well. We handle the implementation process for our clients. We implement it according to ISO and Chinese security standards.

The solution is pretty affordable. It's not overly expensive. It's not like Cisco where you pay an awful lot of money mostly for the name.

There are extra apps you can add to the product, however, those come with an extra price tag as well. That said, it allows you to do more things and expands its capabilities.

I like to use Fortinet due to the fact that with the device you can do so much more, it's not only web filtering. If you decide to use it for something else, you just pay some money to Fortinet for another package and you are good to go. It makes it a little bit easier for small or large companies as it's so flexible in its offering. 

In China, due to business constraints, licensing is quite complicated here.

I'm a service provider in China. Basically, I'm connecting companies, foreign companies or Chinese companies, or even foreign public services to business VPNs or business cross border interconnections.

Whether we use the latest version of the solution or not depends on the client, their needs, and the environment. If a client needs more security, we may even layer in other brands to help with that.

We tend to keep deployments on-premises as you can run into issues with using the cloud in China. We prefer to have it on-premises and then bring lines in to hook everything up. It's simpler and there are fewer issues.

In general, I would rate the solution at a ten out of ten. We've just been pleased with the product and the ease of use.

We have created a virtual cloud on-prem, providing services to our different IT domains in terms of software, database and ERP. We've also created a virtual firewall handling the security and protecting servers in the network. No unwanted or unauthorized user can access the servers. That's a good sign of security and the handling of the network. It provides us with oversight. I'm a senior network engineer and we are customers of Fortinet. 

With the Covid pandemic, the VPN has become the most valuable feature. With the majority of traffic connecting from remote locations, the VPN provides stability and reliability. The antivirus and its IPS, intrusion prevention system, also helps with stability.

In our environment, we need multiple virtual firewalls to facilitate end users and customers. Fortinet doesn't provide that but they really should include that feature. 

I've been using this solution for three years. 

Overall stability of the solution is good. I am totally dependent on this device. Basically, it's deployed on the edge of our network. All the software and HR, admin, every department is behind this network. And every user connects their internet services via the VPN. 

Scalability of this solution is good, we can add devices whenever we like. 

Whenever there's an issue and we contact support, the response is positive. The support is impressive. 

We previously used Cisco ASA but that model didn't support the latest technology, and was also very expensive. The main issue that caused us to switch solutions was the throughput of the interface. Cisco was providing us with one gig interface. Because of our gradually increasing bandwidth and network requirements, we had to move to more bandwidth and a 10 gig interface, which Fortinet provides. Although Cisco provides the same on a different model, that model was very expensive. That's why we chose to switch to Fortinet Firewall.

The initial setup is simple. It's only complex if the design hasn't been sorted or tested. If we're deploying, we study the network, traffic patterns, and traffic path, which is, I think, the most important thing about deploying any network device. We can easily create or delete, modify or customize and optimize the feature, the network, the routing, the policy, and the different features of this device. Most of the time we carry out the implementation ourselves, deploying in different phases; firstly connecting the network, and then partially shifting the traffic phase by phase. When we removed ASA and shifted all the traffic to Fortinet, the overall performance and overall working was very impressive. Downtime probably came to a total of 15 to 20 hours. We have multiple groups using this product - I would estimate somewhere between 12,000 to 13,000 users and the solution is used continuously. 

I think the licensing of Fortinet is in the middle range. We also had a demonstration from the vendor that gave us the confidence to work with these devices. We purchased the solution on a bundle basis which the vendor offered us. There are additional costs if we enable a new feature not included in the bundle.

I think Fortinet is a cheaper, stable, scalable, and reliable device. 

From my experience, I would rate this solution a nine out of 10.