Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform vs Citrix SD-WAN [EOL] comparison

Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Citrix are both solutions in the WAN Optimization category. Additionally, 100% of Hewlett Packard Enterprise users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 90% of Citrix users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 6, 2025

Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform and Citrix SD-WAN [EOL] are contenders in the SD-WAN market, with Aruba often seen as having an edge due to its user-friendly interface and seamless security integration.

Features: Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform is known for flexible deployment modes, compatibility with existing routing protocols, next-gen firewall features, and robust security integration via Aruba ClearPass. It also offers a user-friendly single-controller architecture for streamlined management through the Orchestrator. Citrix SD-WAN [EOL] focuses on connectivity between branches, provides load balancing, and enhances application reliability. It's recognized for being cost-effective compared to MPLS, offering seamless load balancing and reliability across applications.

Room for Improvement: Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN needs better documentation, improved security integration, and enhanced firewall features. Citrix SD-WAN [EOL] should refine its licensing models, improve stability, and better its technical documentation. Both platforms face challenges in marketing and integration with other vendors, with Citrix also having issues around transparency in its licensing models.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Aruba EdgeConnect is praised for its simple single-controller deployment and responsive support, though support quality has reportedly declined post-acquisition of Silver Peak, particularly regarding licensing. Citrix SD-WAN is known for dependable technical support and customization services but has faced local support availability issues in some regions.

Pricing and ROI: Aruba EdgeConnect offers competitive pricing with various licensing options, deemed cost-effective through ROI from bandwidth savings and performance improvements over MPLS. Citrix SD-WAN, perceived as costly with its annual subscription model, still brings significant MPLS cost savings. Pricing can differ significantly based on regional and end-user circumstances, appealing particularly to SMBs seeking affordable solutions.

To learn more, read our detailed WAN Optimization Report (Updated: July 2025).

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WAN Optimization

July 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiGate

Featured Reviews

Vasu Gala

Manager, Information Technology Operation/Presales at TechMonarch

A stable solution with an intuitive interface and quick customer service

I have been working with Fortinet FortiGate, WatchGuard, Sophos, and SonicWall. I'm not as comfortable with SonicWall because of their UI and limitations. I prefer Fortinet above all other options. When it comes to configuration, I am confident in my ability to handle various tasks, including creating policies such as firewall rules, web policies, and application policies. Additionally, I can configure VPNs and implement load balancing, among other tasks. Overall, I feel much more comfortable working with Fortinet. Fortinet has made significant improvements by integrating AI with firewalls for threat analysis and prevention. In the past 2-3 years, they have launched FortiSASE and SIEM, and they also provide SOC services. Both Palo Alto and Fortinet FortiGate are excellent. While Fortinet FortiGate comes at higher prices, the functionality and support justify the cost. They promptly resolve firmware issues and inform all support providers about configuration changes.

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JOHN UNAMBA

Lead Regional Engineer at Weco Systems Group

Integrated security features and robust support improve network management

The solution was installed across two branches for a financial institution. One location had a data center, and the other was a branch office. For SaaS applications, traffic broke out from EdgeConnect directly to the cloud. Applications using the data center were channeled through the MPLS link…

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Rohit Ghorpade

Cloud network engineer at Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Co. Ltd.

A scalable solution for MCN controller but lacks technical supports, upgrades

There are a few things that can be improved, are domain-based routing and the slowness of virtual parts, and it may be due to the wrong configuration, which we have been unable to find out. Previously, we faced some issues with the slowness part. Apart from that, feature like end gateway level antivirus. We are currently using a NetFlow proxy to establish a virtual position for the NetFlow. Our current environment has many use cases, but we are not using them on the Citrix SD-WAN. When I navigate the NCL part, it involves configuration. I want to highlight this disadvantage. Sometimes, when we push the configuration, it tries to push it to all branch locations. This process takes a lot of time, nearly 30 minutes, to push a single change from the NCL. Overall, I don't think Citrix meets our use cases what we have. This is based on my feedback after using it for the past year and working on this Citrix SD-WAN. However, from my experience, it is the worst solution I have seen. There's no domain-based routing, which is horrible. That's why we are moving to other products. We have checked our use case requirements with Fortinet, Palo Alto, and they meet them. I will consider the PoC or another OEM. There are many things in the area you need to be prompt, like the automation part. If any link or device goes down, alerting notification, etc. We need to perform and highlight so many things to your management. This should be improved.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"Fortinet FortiGate's reliability is valuable."

"FortiGate's ability to perform as expected and fulfil our needs has been the most compelling feature for network security."

"We purchased Fortinet because of the pricing, its functionality, because it met our requirements, and the total cost of ownership over five years was quite reasonable. In the market, Fortinet is rated quite well."

"The wireless control is helpful."

"It's user-friendly and easy to operate."

"The primary feature I appreciate about Fortinet FortiGate is the ease of setup."

"Security management tool that's easy to integrate and easy to work with. No issues found with its stability and scalability."

"One of the best features of Fortinet FortiGate is that it's a very powerful equipment that gives many security features in a single box with good performance, and the user interface is friendly to use and configure."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"First and foremost, it enables the customer to deploy high availability connections. This kind of solution enables them to deploy these HA connections for policies mostly automatically. It's a more automated approach than with other vendors."

"The platform is valuable for bandwidth reduction."

"The most valuable features of Silver Peak VX are we can register our customers and they can receive free training and all the solutions features."

"At the moment, for us, it is a very good solution because it has all the features we need and it is not so expensive."

"We had several clients that were paying $7,500 a month for an MPLS line for one single 10 megabit circuit and we were able to take that from $7,500 a month down to $500 a month for two 10 megabits circuits that added redundancy where before they did not have redundancy and it gave them a much better throughput."

"I really love the auto-tunnel creation feature."

"The solution includes features for SD-WAN and WAN such as batch conditioning and optimization."

"The tool is easy to configure due to the existing pre-configured templates. It is easy to manage compared to legacy systems, which takes time. We can complete a site within 30 minutes. The tool's best feature is outdoor onboarding. You need to bring the box to the site with the internet. It is a simple plug-and-play. The solution offers a zero-touch procedure."

More Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform pros

"The most valuable feature of Citrix SD-WAN is customization. You are able to customize the solution to your needs."

"The scalability and stability are quite good in general."

"The solution is brilliant, the way it calculates its paths and trails is great."

"The zero-touch deployment is most valuable for us."

"They have a zero downtime failover mechanism, where, when there's a link failure or a link weakness, or bad link conditions, they provide the ability to fail back seamlessly."

"The most valuable feature is its reliability."

"The VPN and the load balancing are the most valuable features."

"The reliability of connectivity is most valuable."

More Citrix SD-WAN [EOL] pros

Cons

"I would like to see a more intuitive dashboard."

"I need user-behavior analytics, to find threat scenarios from inside the organization, insider attacks. That would be very helpful for us. In addition, I would like next-generation features for small and medium businesses. These businesses require UTM, all in one product. Fortinet must include it."

"I believe there is room for improvement in machine learning and AI in Fortinet FortiGate."

"They've become quite expensive."

"I would like reporting to be improved and should offer a lot more tools to monitor the products."

"A lack of integration between our data centers."

"It would be ideal if they had some sort of GUI interface for troubleshooting and diagnostics."

"Currently, without the additional reporting module, we only have access to basic reporting."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"If compared with Cisco, then Aruba's pricing is very aggressive."

"I would like to have a physical appliance to use with the orchestrator for managing all EdgeConnect appliances."

"Reporting is something that they can improve on."

"I guess the tool should give you a little more flexibility on what you can show on the main window, which can be an area of improvement."

"They have to implement more security with it. The security, mainly their firewall functions, have to be included in the firewall features."

"We would like to have better features for path selection. For example, if we know the network is going to go down then we would like to set up an alternate route for data packets in real-time."

"Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform needs to improve integrations with other vendors."

"Their WAN optimization in terms of wireless connectivity doesn't have a very good cellular capability."

More Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform cons

"The communication around the life cycle would have been really helpful. The main issue we have had is related to the life cycle because some of the things that we are using were discontinued. They were discontinued within a year after we had purchased it, which is a bit painful. If we had known that, we would've made some other decisions."

"Overall, network security and next-generation firewall features are areas that they can improve on."

"I would like to see more customization to adjust for the WAN lock-out due to our unexpected power outages."

"Enhancements are needed to improve the stability."

"The reports need to be improved. We need to have them customized but they don't have that right now. I would like for them to have better system predictions. We don't have that right now. My system may be working fine right now but after making some changes, that can change."

"The initial setup could be a bit easier."

"I would like to either see the price reduced or have it packaged with other products to give better value for the money."

"Citrix SD-WAN does not have the SD-WAN with one optimization in a single license. Other competitors have this option and it should be added to this solution."

More Citrix SD-WAN [EOL] cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"In the Asian economy in which we operate, FortiGate is expensive."

"On a scale of one being cheap and ten being expensive, I rate the tool's price as an eight."

"The license of Fortinet FortiGate should be reduced."

"The Fortinet FortiGate security features cost approximately $1,500 a year. The firewall itself doesn't have a recurring cost. It's the security features on top of that that you pay for."

"Fortinet has one or two license types, and the VPN numbers are only limited by the hardware chassis make."

"I find it quite reasonable."

"The price is fair for what we get with FortiGate."

"The price of Fortinet FortiGate is better than Cisco, Check Point, and Palo Alto. In terms of pricing, it's probably a better-priced firewall solution overall."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"You can get both yearly and monthly options in licensing. It is not expensive."

"You typically will license the hardware and you license the software to access the hardware capabilities. The price will range anywhere from a hundred to $300 a month. There are no additional costs."

"The license for Silver Peak Unity EdgeConnect is paid annually."

"On a scale of one to ten, where one is low, and ten is high, I rate the pricing around five to six."

"You have to negotiate when it comes to pricing and licensing."

"The license could improve for Silver Peak VX."

"The licensing would be cheap if we compare it with the others, like Cisco."

"The pricing for this product is good."

More Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform pricing and cost advice

"As NetScaler is now, I find it quite pricey."

"The price of the subscription should be cheaper."

"I'm not quite sure of the price ranges. Roughly, the hidden devices can scale up to $20K for one appliance. However, the branch CPs are USD $1,000 to $2,500."

"It is a bit expensive. A cheaper product would be good, but everybody likes things to be cheaper. We bought the devices up front, and then we pay for the annual support."

"Citrix SD-WAN is quite an affordable product."

"The price is relatively expensive."

"The license was a one-time purchase. It's expensive."

"It depends on the scale. In our case, it would have been better if we had known about the life cycling steps, but otherwise, it is worth the money."

More Citrix SD-WAN [EOL] pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Educational Organization

10%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

Legal Firm

Computer Software Company

25%

Real Estate/Law Firm

11%

Educational Organization

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

Which is the better NGFW: Fortinet Fortigate or Cisco Firepower?

When you compare these firewalls you can identify them with different features, advantages, practices and usage a...

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What is the biggest difference between Sophos XG and FortiGate?

From my experience regarding both the Sophos and FortiGate firewalls, I personally would rather use FortiGate. I know...

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What are the biggest technical differences between Sophos UTM and Fortinet FortiGate?

As a solution, Sophos UTM offers a lot of functionality, it scales well, and the stability and performance are quite ...

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What do you like most about Silver Peak NX?

The tool's most valuable feature is bandwidth optimization.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Silver Peak NX?

It is an affordable product and yet still a bit expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Silver Peak NX?

One area for improvement is the Intel support integration. The security could also improve.

See all answers

What do you like most about Citrix SD-WAN?

It lowered our Internet costs and gave me the flexibility to choose providers based on each location's connectivity.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Citrix SD-WAN?

It is on the expensive side. I would give it an eight out of ten in terms of costliness. In my region, the approximat...

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What needs improvement with Citrix SD-WAN?

The solution's licensing model could be improved. Citrix SD-WAN is a good product from a technical point of view. How...

See all answers

Comparisons

Sophos XG vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 20% of the time

Netgate pfSense vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 12% of the time

Cisco Secure Firewall vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 11% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

Meraki MX vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate Competitors

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform

Compared 19% of the time

Cato SASE Cloud Platform vs Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform

Compared 10% of the time

Prisma SD-WAN vs Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform

Compared 9% of the time

VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN vs Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform

Compared 7% of the time

Versa Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platform vs Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform

Compared 6% of the time

More Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform Competitors

Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN vs Citrix SD-WAN [EOL]

Compared 32% of the time

More Citrix SD-WAN [EOL] Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate

July 2025

Download Fortinet FortiGate product report

Buyer's Guide

Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform

July 2025

Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform report

Download Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform product report

Buyer's Guide

Citrix SD-WAN [EOL]

July 2025

Download Citrix SD-WAN [EOL] product report

Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall

Silver Peak NX, Silver Peak VX, Silver Peak Unity EdgeConnect

Citrix CloudBridge, WOC, NetScaler SD-WAN

Overview

Fortinet FortiGate offers comprehensive network security and firewall protection across multiple locations. It effectively manages data traffic and secures environments with features like VPN, intrusion prevention, and UTM controls.

Organizations rely on Fortinet FortiGate for its robust integration with advanced security policies, ensuring significant protection for enterprises, cloud environments, and educational sectors. It facilitates network segmentation, application-level security, and authentication management, securing communication within and between locations such as branches and data centers. Its efficient SD-WAN and UTM features enable streamlined data management and enhanced threat protection capabilities. Users appreciate its centralized management, facilitating seamless operations across diverse environments.

What are the key features of Fortinet FortiGate?

VPN Capabilities: Ensure secure remote access for users and seamless site-to-site connections.
Intrusion Prevention System (IPS): Detect and prevent security threats and vulnerabilities.
Advanced Firewall: Offers robust firewalling with application control and web filtering.
SD-WAN: Optimizes application performance and enhances bandwidth management.
SSL VPN: Provides reliable and secure access for remote workers.

What benefits should users expect from Fortinet FortiGate?

High-performance Security: Delivers effective threat mitigation with high availability.
Centralized Management: Simplifies network operations with cloud-based management tools.
Detailed Analytics: Provides comprehensive insights into network activity and security threats.
Load Balancing: Ensures optimal resource distribution and traffic management.

Fortinet FortiGate is crucial in sectors like education, offering robust networks for secure data flow between campuses and facilitating remote learning. In enterprise environments, it allows efficient management of application traffic and security across multiple branches, while in the cloud, it seamlessly integrates with diverse platforms to enhance security infrastructure.

Fortinet

The EdgeConnect SD-WAN platform secures and powers a self-driving wide area network for cloud-first enterprises.

In today’s edge-to-cloud enterprise, user experience and security are not optional

Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN provides a secure network foundation for Zero Trust and SASE. It includes a first-class SD-WAN paired with a next-generation firewall delivering unmatched quality of experience and advanced security.

Best-of-breed SASE with no compromise

EdgeConnect SD-WAN enables a best-of-breed SASE architecture that meets the security requirements of today’s digital organizations. It provides comprehensive SD-WAN and security services including next-generation firewall, fine-grained segmentation, IDS/IPS, and tightly integrates with many SSE (Security Service Edge) solutions.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Citrix SD-WAN [EOL] enhances network stability, redundancy, and reliability, supporting connectivity between branches, optimizing internet access, and enabling secure, redundant networks, both on-premises and cloud-based.

Corporations utilize Citrix SD-WAN [EOL] to improve network performance, minimize downtime, and ensure high availability. Combining communication methods and supporting interbranch internet routing, it assists businesses in transitioning from MPLS, centralizing monitoring, and optimizing bandwidth use. Its functionality includes secure connections, cost reductions, and effective management of internet access. The support for multiple communication methods, application reliability, and ease of implementation make it a valuable tool for modern network management.

What key features does Citrix SD-WAN [EOL] offer?

Security: Enhanced protection to safeguard network data
IPv6 layering over IPv4: Ensures compatibility and future-proofing
Active-Active bandwidth use: Maximizes bandwidth utilization
Zero downtime failover: Maintains continuous operation during failures
Zero-touch deployment: Simplifies the installation process
Application reliability: Ensures high performance for critical applications
Cost-effectiveness: Reduces overall networking expenses
Central deployment: Facilitates easy configuration updates and management

What benefits should users look for in Citrix SD-WAN [EOL] reviews?

Enhanced performance: Improved application and connectivity speed
Increased reliability: Minimized network downtime and interruptions
Centralized monitoring: Streamlined network oversight and control
Scalable security: Adaptable protection for evolving network needs
Cost savings: Lower operational costs compared to traditional MPLS
Flexibility: Ability to handle multiple network functions effectively

Industries implement Citrix SD-WAN [EOL] to replace costly MPLS setups with more flexible VPN and NetScaler options, benefiting sectors like finance, healthcare, and retail that require robust, secure, and scalable network solutions. Organizations achieve better device management and efficient connectivity across multiple branches, enhancing their operational effectiveness.

Citrix

Sample Customers

Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Dell, HP, Oracle, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Vodafone, Orange, BT Group, Telstra, Deutsche Telekom, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, CenturyLink, NTT Communications, Tata Communications, SoftBank, China Mobile, Singtel, Telus, Rogers Communications, Bell Canada, Telkom Indonesia, Telkom South Africa, Telmex, Telia Company, Telkom Kenya

Group Dekko, Kingston Technology, American Student Assistance, Ares Management, Charlotte Metro Credit Union, Colonial Savings, Community Bank, Denali Credit Union, Bed Bath & Beyond, Breweries of Cameroon, Carnival Australia, Coastal Beverages, Toshiba Electronics, Tru Blu Beverages, WAXIE Sanitary Supply, Charleston Area Medical Center, Community Health Plan, Healthcare Company, Mercy Health, Linklaters, Miles & Stockbridge, Thomson Snell & Passmore

AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Cornerstone Home Lending Inc., Dallara, ecVision, Essar, Eurofred, Groupe Promutuel, HMSHost Corporation, Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines Ltd, Royal Caribbean International

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