Easy-to-use firewall
January 15, 2020

Easy-to-use firewall

Anonymous | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Overall Satisfaction with Fortinet FortiGate

FortiGate devices are used in our organization as firewalls and VPN servers. Main internet connections used Palo Alo firewalls, FortiGates are used on the secondary ones, as the cost of the FortiGates is significantly lower. SSL client-server VPN is used with Fortinet's Forticlient software as a client piece on PC and Mac computers. Fortinet subscription services are used for web filtering.

Pros

  • Compared to Palo Alto, FortiGates are significantly less expensive. I would advise organizations to use them in cases where funds are limited.
  • FortiGates are easy to configure via GUI - it is very simple and logical. Compared to Palo Alto or Cisco ASAs, Fortinet products are easier to work with for less experienced admins.

Cons

  • Web filtering subscription services are not as good as Palo Alto's. Palos had a smaller number of false negatives in my experience.
  • Log filtering is better on Palo Altos. It is easier to find log entries for particular events on the Palo Altos.
  • FortiGates allowed for installing relatively robust firewall solutions for secondary network connections.
  • Money were saved, as compared to Palo Alto-based solution.
FortiGates are cheaper than most alternatives (except solutions like pfSense, of course.). They are also very easy to configure and have affordable security subscription options.
As devices proved very reliable, the configuration process was easy, and Fortinet's documentation is very robust, I had no need to contact Fortinet's support. All in all, it is a pleasure to work with these devices.

Do you think Fortinet FortiGate delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with Fortinet FortiGate's feature set?

Yes

Did Fortinet FortiGate live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of Fortinet FortiGate go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy Fortinet FortiGate again?

Yes

I haven't worked with a higher-end offering from Fortinet, so my experience can only apply to smaller devices (80E and 60E). These units are less expensive than similar offerings from Palo Alto, making them a good choice for small businesses and branch offices. Also, FortiGate is the easiest firewall to configure, in my experience (among Cisco ASA, Palo Alto, pfSense, etc.). Ease of configuration is also a big advantage for organizations with limited resources. Palo Alto firewalls have better filtering and logging capabilities, though, so organizations with complicated requirements should consider investing in Palo Alto NGFW instead of FortiGate.

FortiGate Feature Ratings

Identification Technologies
7
Visualization Tools
10
Content Inspection
8
Policy-based Controls
9
Active Directory and LDAP
10
Firewall Management Console
10
Reporting and Logging
7
VPN
9
High Availability
Not Rated
Stateful Inspection
7
Proxy Server
Not Rated

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