Citrix NetScaler vs Fortinet FortiADC comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Citrix NetScaler and Fortinet FortiADC based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.
To learn more, read our detailed Citrix NetScaler vs. Fortinet FortiADC Report (Updated: March 2024).
765,386 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"The GSLB feature allows us to move services between data centers. We can do this in either a planned or unplanned manner. We have experienced service provider outages at our primary data center and GSLB will kick in to automatically modify DNS records to point to a secondary data center (active/passive). We also make use of GeoIP information to point clients to the closest data center for accessing applications.""Enables a Web service that offers persistent client-server connections, IP restriction, URL rewrite (such as remove "/assets/" path from client-side URL path), and cache for CSS or JS files... You can easily use the GUI to set up all these requirements on the same network device within 20-30 minutes. (If you do the same steps on CLI, it might take less time.)""One feature that works really well is the SSL VPN. It's very easy to set up and you can go very granular with it. You can define what user groups get what kind of access and the management overhead is very low.""It is a very stable solution.""The solution improves security performance.""The load balancing feature and the fact that you can do context switching in the WAF are the most valuable. We majorly use it for load balancing, but we also use it for context switching in the WAF. It is also robust and very easy to work with and manage.""SSL Offload""It is the best product out there."

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"The GSLB, the DR side, is the best part. Because we had our main side in one city, we created another, and we had a complete MPLS over the internet. We used the GSLB and data loss for our business applications.""TSL and SSL offloading are both very good features.""I like the solution's load balance with DNS intelligence.""I am impressed with the product's load-balancing feature.""Fortinet FortiADC is a good product because each and every piece of content is monitored by it.""From a technical perspective, it is the most scalable device from Fortinet.""Content caching and content compression are good features.""The product has flexible and interesting licensing options."

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Cons
"It does not have a sandbox cloud service and antivirus. It should have on-prem or cloud sandboxing and antivirus.""Citrix should improve the documentation. It is not really clear how to set up many features to our advantage. When we setup Citrix NetScaler ADC, we have to figure it out by ourselves without a lot of documentation.""We have issues with the certificates. All authorization processes need certificates, however, every three months we needed to change certificates. This process iss complicated for us because Citrix does not have a not user-friendly interface and does not off user-friendly services. This needs a lot of improvement.""The solution should be able to scale more effectively than it does.""Citrix NetScaler has been recently acquired by another company and the support has been negatively impacted, the solution is at its end of life. The support for the solution could improve. The sales team needs to be improved.""Technical support sometimes takes a little longer because of the multilevel ticket priority.""The interface needs to be improved because the competition is coming up with ones that are more eye-catching, straightforward, and sophisticated.""Too many bugs in the software and it's always difficult when you need to update."

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"The L7 Persistent load-balancing algorithm has not worked for me after having tested it many times with my customer's in-house application. I'd like to suggest that the company make sure that all load-balancing algorithms work properly with most applications, even those that are in-house apps.""The product's stability for VMs could be better.""I think it would be helpful if Fortinet put more video examples on their cookbook site.""The initial setup could be simplified.""Because it is so generic, the documentation requires special attention. A person who has not worked on Fortinet FortiADC or a similar product will struggle to understand what the document is trying to say. The documentation could be more specific, and more detailed.""There is a mismatch between the number of features they are offering and the device capacity on how much it can handle.""I had a terrible experience with Fortinet support. I only used support once when I bought the solution. I got no response for two days. However, I believe that it's no longer the case. Fortinet solutions have problems when they're launched. For example, we had issues with Fortinet's authenticator when it came out. We also had trouble with FortiNAC in the beginning.""Fortinet FortiADC should include an advanced-level SD-WAN."

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Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "It's not for startups or SOHO."
  • "Costly product and complicated licensing."
  • "It all depends on the features that will be used and the number of accesses."
  • "It is true that it is a bit pricey compared to newer technologies coming to the market. For example, A10 is a load balancer that does everything that Citrix can and it does a lot more than what NetScaler does when it comes to the security space, and their prices are so cheap. Every box comes with its own license and support built into it. When you compare that with NetScaler, you have to buy licenses separately, you have to buy a support agreement that is going to be separate. A small NetScaler, even if it is a VPX which is a virtual server, could cost you close to $150,000 to $200,000 dollars. So the pricing is really high."
  • "We have been evaluating F5, Citrix, and other ADC products. Citrix is the most expense of all of them."
  • "We are quite happy with price. It's not too high."
  • "I do not have any experience with the pricing of the product."
  • "You get the value for your money. There aren't any hidden fees."
  • More Citrix NetScaler Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "The price is competitive"
  • "Compared to F5, FortiADC pricing is better."
  • "The solution could be more cost-effective."
  • "They offer a perpetual license."
  • "The solution is less expensive than F5 or Imperva and is the most reasonably priced option available."
  • "I believe the price is good. It's fair. There are no extra costs."
  • "The product has affordable pricing."
  • "The solution's pricing is an issue and should be improved."
  • More Fortinet FortiADC Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:From a security standpoint, It is a comprehensive solution in a single box.
    Top Answer:For the specific use case that my customers primarily engage with, I would give the pricing a rating of seven out of ten. However, if you're exploring the full range of NetScaler's capabilities, my… more »
    Top Answer:In the latest version of Citrix NetScaler, there are specific improvements in the appliances, particularly in the management interfaces, which were not available in previous versions. If one device or… more »
    Top Answer:For ADC, any ADC can do a good job. But in case if you want to add WAF functionality to the same ADC hardware you have to look for other ADC's like F5, Imperva, Radware, Fortinet, etc. 
    Top Answer:I recommend Fortinet FortiADC. My experience with Fortinet has been very positive. Our company has been using it for around five years. We mainly use FortiADC for the load balancing of application… more »
    Top Answer:The product has flexible and interesting licensing options.
    Ranking
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    8.2
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    Rating
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    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    Citrix ADC, NetScaler, Citrix NetScaler VPX
    FortiADC Application Delivery Controller, FortiADC
    Learn More
    Overview

    Citrix NetScaler is an application delivery controller (ADC) and load-balancing solution for multi-cloud environments. Because its software and hardware form factors are all built on a single code base, Citrix NetScaler provides operational and feature consistency with comprehensive security for monolithic and microservices-based applications on-premises and in the cloud. The solution is designed to optimize, manage, and secure network traffic. Switching features, security and protection features, and network integration efficiency capabilities are all part of its feature set.

    Citrix NetScaler Features

    Citrix NetScaler has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:

    • Citrix Gateway
    • Secure Access
    • Layer 7 content switching
    • Database load balancing
    • Triscale clustering
    • E-based policy enforcement
    • Surge protection and priority queuing
    • Application acceleration
    • Application security, including DoS attack defense, content rewriting and response control, SSL encryption, and more.
    • Network Integration

    Citrix NetScaler Benefits

    There are many benefits to implementing Citrix NetScaler. Some of the biggest advantages the solution offers include:

    • Improved Application Performance: Citrix NetScaler optimizes the delivery of applications, reducing latency and improving the user experience.
    • Scalability: The solution can scale to handle large amounts of traffic, ensuring that applications are available even during periods of high demand.
    • Advanced Security: Citrix NetScaler includes a range of security features, such as SSL offloading, to help secure applications and protect against threats.
    • Availability: Load balancing and failover capabilities ensure that applications are always available, even in the event of a failure.
    • Good user experience: The solution’s Global Server Load Balancing (GSLB) ensures that users are directed to the nearest available application, reducing latency and improving the user experience.
    • Reduced costs: By improving application performance and reducing downtime, Citrix NetScaler can help organizations reduce costs associated with application delivery.
    • Agility: Citrix NetScaler makes it easier for organizations to deploy and manage applications, helping to increase the speed and efficiency of IT operations.
    • Analytics and monitoring: Provides insight into network and application performance, helping organizations to identify and resolve issues quickly.

    Reviews from Real Users

    Citrix NetScaler is a solution that stands out when compared to many of its competitors. Some of its major advantages are that it is easy to use, is robust, and has good load balancing.

    A Senior Citrix Engineer at Troye, says, “The web application firewalling component is probably the most powerful feature as it can identify attacks on the network at an application level which is quite important. There is also good functionality where we use IP reputation and geofencing to mitigate threats from the outside world.”

    “The feature that I have found most valuable is its load balancing,” explains a Security Consultant at a tech services company.

    Timur G., Team Head of Network Security at DOM.RF, writes, “The most valuable feature of Citrix ADC is its ease of use.” 

    Another PeerSpot reviewer, Nirav S., Technical Solutions Architect at MindTree, mentions, "Compared to other solutions, Citrix ADC is much more robust in terms of the native integration to cloud platforms. It is far more robust from an operational point of view as well."

    Fortinet FortiADC is a robust application delivery controller (ADC) that delivers application optimization, application security, and application availability. FortiADC is a valued offering from Fortinet, which is widely recognized as a trusted supplier of dynamic security solutions worldwide. FortiADC offers dynamic security functions (AV, DDoS, and WAF) in addition to advanced application connectors for a simplified deployment and complete transparency to an organization's networks and applications. FortiADC offers three primary deployment options: physical machine, virtual machine, (VM) and cloud solution options.

    Fortinet FortiADC Benefits

    • FortiADC security protocol: FortiADC integrates with FortiSandbox to improve the overall antivirus security protections where every file is scanned for known and unknown malicious risks. If a file is identified as malicious or problematic, it will be blocked in the future.

    • SSL protocol: FortiADC securely uses the most up-to-date cryptography to provide exceptional encryption and decryption using a hardware-based SSL ASIC. FortiADC offers complete transparency to inspect all traffic for threats, improves server response time, and reduces backend server load, SSL inspection and SSL offloading. FortiADC integrates seamlessly with Gemalto’s SafeNet Hardware Security Module (HSM).

    • FortiADC connectors: FortiADC Fabric Connectors offer open API-based integration and coordination with numerous software-defined networks (SDNs), third-party partners, and cloud management providers. Fortinet Fabric Connectors provide deep open and turnkey integration with recognized third-party vendors such as AWS, K8s, OCI, and SAP, in multi-vendor solutions, improving scalability, simplified management, and automation.

    • Business stability: FortiADC load balancing for on-premise global server load balancing (GSBL) and in the cloud (FortiGSBL Cloud) will ensure users can maintain a reliable and available network by improving the ability of scaling applications throughout numerous data centers to reduce application response times and enhance disaster recovery. Users are able to define protocols based on network latency concerns, overall data performance, and site availability.

    Fortinet FortiADC Features

    • Application availability

      • 4-7 application load balancing: DNS, HTTPS, RTMP, RADIUS, MySQL and more

      • External fabric connectors: Splunk Integration, AWS/OCI Connector, Kubernetes Service.

      • Security fabric connectors: FortiSIEM, Fortigate BanIP Integration, FortiAnalyzer, and more.

      • Deployment modes: High availability (AA/AP Failover), Router mode, transparent mode (switch), one-arm mode (proxy with X-forwarded for support.

    • Web application firewall (WAF)

      • Security services: Captcha support, cookie support, HTTP header security, XML/SOAP/JSON validation, CSRF protection, API gateway, and more.

      • Application security: Web attack signature, bot detection, web vulnerability scanner, OWASP Top-10 Wizard, API protection and more.
    • Application enhancement

      • HTTP and TCP improvement: TCP buffering, HTTP compressions/decompression, HTTP caching (dynamic and static objects), Bandwidth monitoring using quality of service (QoS), TCP buffering, and more.

      • Authentication offloading: Two-factor authentication (Fortitoken/Fortitoken Cloud and Google Authentication), NTLM, AUTH2.0, SAML 2.0 (SP and Idp) RADIUS, LDAP, Kerbos, and local.

      • Networking: Integration with Ansible, Cisco ACI, OpenStack and Nutanix, NVGRE and VXLAN support, VLAN and port trunking support, IPv6 Support (SLB, firewall, routing and interfaces), Dynamic NAT, Hide NAT, Static NAT for added scalability and flexibility.

      • Management: Syslog support, SNMP using private MIBs with threshold-based traps. REST APIs, VDOMS, data analytics, real-time monitoring graphs, role-based monitoring, intuitive reporting, FortiView integration, and more.

    Sample Customers
    ABB Schweiz, Aer Lingus, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Amnet Technology Solutions, Aramex International, Ascenty, Atos, Autodesk
    Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Computer Software Company25%
    Financial Services Firm15%
    Manufacturing Company12%
    Healthcare Company8%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company15%
    Financial Services Firm13%
    Government9%
    Healthcare Company5%
    REVIEWERS
    Non Tech Company14%
    Government14%
    Comms Service Provider14%
    Educational Organization14%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company20%
    Comms Service Provider9%
    Government9%
    Financial Services Firm9%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business36%
    Midsize Enterprise18%
    Large Enterprise46%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business22%
    Midsize Enterprise15%
    Large Enterprise63%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business47%
    Midsize Enterprise24%
    Large Enterprise29%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business27%
    Midsize Enterprise18%
    Large Enterprise55%
    Buyer's Guide
    Citrix NetScaler vs. Fortinet FortiADC
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about Citrix NetScaler vs. Fortinet FortiADC and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.
    765,386 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Citrix NetScaler is ranked 2nd in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) with 85 reviews while Fortinet FortiADC is ranked 8th in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) with 19 reviews. Citrix NetScaler is rated 8.4, while Fortinet FortiADC is rated 7.8. The top reviewer of Citrix NetScaler writes "Simple implementation, reliable, and good dashboards". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Fortinet FortiADC writes "High-level load balancing and routing protocols but scalability is limited to 200 gigabits". Citrix NetScaler is most compared with F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM), Microsoft Azure Application Gateway, HAProxy, Loadbalancer.org and A10 Networks Thunder ADC, whereas Fortinet FortiADC is most compared with F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM), Fortinet FortiWeb, Kemp LoadMaster, HAProxy and A10 Networks Thunder ADC. See our Citrix NetScaler vs. Fortinet FortiADC report.

    See our list of best Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) vendors.

    We monitor all Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) 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.