

Arista Networks Platform and Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center are direct competitors in data center networking. Arista tends to lead in scalability and flexibility, while Fortinet is prominent for its strong security features.
Features: Arista Networks Platform stands out for its outstanding automation capabilities, offering high flexibility for scalable networks. Its programmability and seamless integration are key advantages. Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center is unparalleled in its robust security features, ensuring access control and comprehensive protection. It integrates well with FortiGate for enhanced security management.
Room for Improvement: Arista Networks Platform could benefit from refining its integration process, which can occasionally be tricky, as well as expanding its telemetry capabilities for even broader metrics. Users may also desire a more intuitive interface. Fortinet FortiSwitch may need improvements in its configuration complexity compared to other vendors and optimizing usability in standalone mode. Maximizing SD-WAN integration could also enhance its offerings. Additionally, broadening compatibility with diverse non-Fortinet products can be valuable.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Arista offers straightforward deployment with a focus on automation, simplifying processes and enabling efficient management. It provides reliable customer support with quick responses to issues. In contrast, Fortinet prioritizes security-focused deployment with detailed steps that could take longer but ensure extensive protection. Fortinet's customer service is specialized, addressing specific technical inquiries effectively.
Pricing and ROI: Arista Networks Platform usually involves a higher upfront investment but delivers a significant ROI by enabling scalability and long-term benefits. Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center is more cost-effective initially, appealing to budget-conscious buyers, with ROI driven by its security features and resilience. Arista is perceived as a strategic long-term investment, while Fortinet offers immediate cost savings focusing on security ROI.
We save on employees and also save time because it is easy to install.
I saved between five to six hours using Arista Networks Platform, as it takes less time to actually add your APs to the dashboard and deployment is quite fast and easy.
The integration of Fortinet infrastructure, including FortiSwitches, is cost-effective compared to Cisco, especially when paired with Fortinet wireless solutions.
All network engineers from the organization were present in the program, and the Arista engineer provided a solution in less than five minutes.
They provide instant support and maintain commitments regarding replacement products.
We would rate the customer support as a nine to 9.5 out of ten.
Technical partners provide responses within a day for any technical queries.
I gave it eight points because local support is absent.
Customer support needs improvement in terms of speed and reliability.
Scalability is a key feature of Arista, owing to the possibilities to manage the entire data center network from a single console.
We can easily scale up with Arista Networks Platform, as it is not difficult, and they have a platform that encourages scalability.
When used in a dedicated Fortinet infrastructure, FortiSwitch scalability is better than some other switches, like Cisco, Meraki, or Arista.
Scalability is generally good, with transitions from gigabit to ten giga, twenty-five giga, and forty giga.
I have not had any downtime using Arista Networks Platform.
We have been working with Arista Networks Platform for the past five years, and we can say it is stable.
There is room for improvement as it sometimes takes over an hour to push configurations onto the devices from the management tool.
Feature-wise, it addresses most customer requirements.
Arista Networks is currently less popular as they were initially more focused on data centers than campus networks.
The commercial aspect presents challenges, particularly with pricing, as customers often ask for Juniper or Cisco, brands they are more aware of, which makes awareness about Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center another weak point.
There is room to improve the integration between FortiSwitch and other third-party solutions, as challenges arise when integrating with different vendors.
Sometimes, customer support does not provide prompt assistance, leaving projects hanging.
The customer price for an Arista router is approximately $7,000 USD, while Cisco's is around $18,000.
Arista products are perceived as costly, especially compared to competitors like Cisco.
The Fortinet switches come with no additional cost as they are open source, with only hardware warranties applicable.
Pricing is competitive, although it's not the cheapest option.
The best features Arista Networks Platform offers are the dashboards where you can see all your APs that have been deployed and installed across all locations, making it quite unique to access, manage, and monitor performance from that dashboard.
Features include plug-and-play auto-discovery, allowing centralized configuration and management.
The access points are easy to install and the switches are easy to install. I can install seven or eight access points in less than two hours.
The main actual benefit that Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center brought to my customer's environment is secure connectivity while minimizing downtime from unexpected traffic or broadcasting.
This feature allows the switch's ports to be used as firewall ports, enhancing network security by enabling IPS and network profiling directly on the ports.
It allows me to create VLANs, implement security measures, and push configurations using a single tool.
| Product | Market Share (%) |
|---|---|
| Arista Networks Platform | 3.2% |
| Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center | 2.3% |
| Other | 94.5% |


| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 15 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 4 |
| Large Enterprise | 12 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 17 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 5 |
| Large Enterprise | 4 |
Arista Networks Platform is a stable and reliable solution for data center features, specifically for non-blocking switches used for spine-leaf connectivity with servers hooked to these switches. It also provides multi-layer switches for client networks, particularly in the banking sector.
Arista products are preferred for their stability, good hardware, ease of adoption and configuration, responsive and helpful support, and high throughput ratings. The solution has helped prevent screen loss and business outages in the media industry and is designed for next-generation data centers.
With 10 or 40 GE access ports and a high-throughput backbone, FortiSwitch Data Center Switches are ideal for the top-of-rack (ToR) server or firewall-aggregation applications. The high-speed switching fabric is also well suited for enterprise network core or backbone network installations.
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