Cisco Ethernet Switches and Fortinet FortiSwitch Secure Access compete in the network management category. Cisco appears to have the upper hand due to its excellent technical support and robust features, although Fortinet offers more cost-effective solutions.
Features: Cisco Ethernet Switches are known for their power-saving design, enhanced confidentiality through MACSec encryption, and efficient management with CDP and Smartports. They support various dynamic IP protocols and have robust QoS and hot swap capabilities. Fortinet FortiSwitch Secure Access integrates seamlessly with FortiGate, offering a straightforward management interface and strong security features. It also provides centralized management of several devices, allowing easy control of FortiAP, FortiClient, and FortiGate from a single console.
Room for Improvement: Cisco Ethernet Switches could improve by adopting a more competitive pricing strategy, simplifying GUI, and reducing setup complexity. They also need to address IGMP snooping issues. Fortinet FortiSwitch should enhance technical support responsiveness, develop SDN capabilities, and create independent management features from FortiGate to broaden its use and appeal.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco Ethernet Switches primarily operate on-premises, offering excellent technical support noted for swift response and expertise, although user experiences can vary. Fortinet FortiSwitch also supports on-premises deployment with competitive customer service, yet it often receives less praise than Cisco, indicating potential improvements in response time and complexity.
Pricing and ROI: Cisco Ethernet Switches are priced at a premium justified by their functionality and reliability, ensuring a high ROI due to durable hardware and extensive support, though cost may deter smaller enterprises. Fortinet FortiSwitch is cheaper yet still expensive; its pricing is balanced by strong feature sets that justify the cost. Bundled licensing with hardware enhances ROI by lowering operational costs via centralized management and efficient resource use.
Cisco support is quick and responsive, often answering within an hour.
Currently, we don't have any technical support because our license doesn't allow for direct support.
It takes two to three days for Cisco support to address issues.
They are knowledgeable, professional, and assist with any issues.
It's a potential area for improvement, possibly in terms of response time or quality.
My local support is working fine, and I have my connection with my account manager in the public company of Fortinet.
Cisco mainly provides security, patch management, hardware reliability, durability, scalability, and security features supporting my organization's expansion.
The latest products do not allow integration with the earlier environment.
The scalability depends on the model.
With uniform Fortinet FortiGate switches, adding or removing switches without reconfiguring individually is straightforward.
You just need to connect another switch or replace the current one, and it integrates well with the existing setup.
For enterprise solutions, it's extendable easily with options for edge connectivity or stackable devices.
The switches are very stable, rated ten out of ten.
The tool is robust and lasts for three to four years without needing replacement.
I would give it a nine out of ten for stability.
The stability has been good overall.
In the data center portion, we need to provide the fiber channel and Nexus switch to use a more reliable solution.
For example, on switches, filtering specific sections isn't supported, whereas, on routers, you can do 'show run' with additional commands to filter.
FortiGate switches are considered more valuable because they have firewall capabilities.
The introduction of AI integration could be valuable for detecting abnormal traffic directly on the switch.
The machine is robust and lasts for years with rare technical issues.
Cisco Ethernet switches are priced at a rating of nine, indicating they are expensive.
We need to pay for the subscription, as there are extra expenses after purchasing the product.
The tool is quite expensive.
It has increased by about two hundred percent over the past three years.
The initial cost of Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access is high compared to other options.
The Cisco Ethernet switches are sturdy products that do not require any kind of maintenance.
Cisco Duo is a great tool for increasing security within our company, making resources more protected.
Cisco is mainly known for its security, patch management, hardware reliability, durability, scalability, and security features which support my organization's expansion.
This centralized management saves time and ensures seamless scalability.
The powerful integration capabilities allow us to manage all devices from a single interface through the firewall.
One of the main features is the integration with FortiGate.
Fortinet FortiSwitch Secure Access is a secure, high-performance, and easy-to-manage switch. Fortinet FortiSwitch is the best solution for threat-conscious enterprises of all sizes because it is secure, simple, and scalable. Secure Access, which is tightly integrated into the Fortinet Security Fabric via FortiLink, may be handled directly from the FortiGate interface.
Regardless of how people and devices connect to the network, this single-pane-of-glass administration provides total visibility and control. This makes the Fortinet FortiSwitch perfect for SD-Branch and campus deployments, allowing enterprises to combine their security and network access with applications ranging from desktop to data center aggregation. Fortinet FortiSwitch's Secure Access is the most adaptable security platform with end-to-end protection in the industry.
Switches for Secure Access: Small to medium-sized businesses, scattered organizations, branch offices, and industrial control systems can all benefit.
Switches for Data Centers: Ideal for users requiring high-performance 10 GE or 40 GE.
Fortinet FortiSwitch Secure Access Features
Fortinet FortiSwitch has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:
Fortinet FortiSwitch Secure Access Benefits
There are many benefits to implementing Fortinet FortiSwitch. Some of the biggest advantages the solution offers include:
Reviews from Real Users
Fortinet FortiSwitch stands out among its competitors for a number of reasons. Two major ones are its stability and its VLAN setup. PeerSpot users take note of the advantages of these features in their reviews:
Rutul S., CXO at Aariha Enterprise Private Limited, writes of the product, “The most valuable feature is the SD-WAN support. This device is easy to use.” He adds, “Stability-wise, this product is better than others that are on the market.”
Emil V., System Consultant at I team, notes, “I like the VLAN setup of Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access. Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access has very good scalability.” He adds, “Fortinet FortiSwitch - Secure Access is easy to set up. It only takes minutes to deploy this product, because it is mostly boxes.”
We monitor all Ethernet Switches reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.