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 meets all the security demands of my industry. It covers endpoint security, including web interface, DNS security, and ELP. I'm currently using the latest version. The features that have most improved our network security are Web Control, filtering, application control, IDS, IPS policies, and Deep SSL inspection."

"Fortinet FortiGate has a very simple configuration, is easy to set up, and includes SD-WAN features at no additional cost."

"You can purchase switches and you don't need to do anything with them. You just put in the firewall and the switches get all the policies and rules that you already have in the firewall. With Fortinet, you just connect the FortiSwitch to the Fortinet and that's it."

"It is useful for protecting and segregating the internal networks from the internet. Most of our customers also use the FortiGate client to connect to their offices by using the VPN client, and of course, they usually activate the antivirus, deep inspection, and intrusion prevention services. They are also using it for web filtering and implementing various policies dealing with forwardings, NAT, etc."

"This version is stable. I don't have any issues with this solution, in our environment, it works well."

"ROI is exceptionally good."

"Their interface is very easy to use, it is without bugs."

"It has upscaled our security posture, especially regarding external connectivity, because any access or connection from the company has to go through the Fortinet FortiGate firewall."

More Fortinet FortiGate pros

"The most valuable feature is the support for asymmetric lines."

"The file and data reduction capabilities are very good. Without it, we have a great deal of network congestion."

"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."

"The Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform is a fantastic solution based on my experience."

"The most valuable feature of Silver Peak Unity EdgeConnect is the boost."

"Many features are valuable for automation, connectivity, and throughput."

"I had to deal with them on a couple of issues, but the tool's technical support is top-notch...The product's initial setup phase is straightforward and the easiest."

"Aruba EdgeConnect has an inbuilt next-generation firewall, advanced routing capabilities, and one compression capacity."

More Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform pros

"The best feature is the backup capability, where all of the users' computers are tied into a central data repository."

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

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

"Downtime for branch offices is now almost zero. We have 100% real-time visibility into all of our lines. MPLS links have been replaced with lower-cost links, saving a larger percentage of line costs. Overall, I see SD-WAN as a must. And the Citrix SD-WAN product has delivered on expectations and exceeded them. (With later firmware updates we now have good firewall capabilities in the product too)."

"The stability is the main feature of Citrix SD-WAN. You can also upgrade the data packages or have less transmission."

"It allows us to use additional VPNs, offering more options compared to other VPN solutions."

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

"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."

More Citrix SD-WAN [EOL] pros

Cons

"The feature which gives us a lot of pain is ASIC architecture."

"Improvement is needed in the Web Filter quotas to restrict users with allocated quotas."

"Scalability is one of the disadvantages. When it comes to scalability, you have to actually change the box. If you want to upgrade it, you need to actually change the existing box and probably you take the system off to other sites."

"For Fortinet FortiGate, their code development would definitely be something they need to improve on to reduce vulnerabilities that need to be patched."

"In the future, I would like to see improvements made to cloud-based management."

"Lacks training for new features."

"There are some license issues. Not every feature must have a separate license. There must be some of kind synergy between the license so we don't have to pay for every individual license that we would like to have."

"The solution could be improved by addressing limited local reporting. It requires obtaining the FortiAnalyzer for proper visibility because you can't do much from a reporting perspective with just the firewall alone."

More Fortinet FortiGate cons

"In future releases, I would like to see security features, so Aruba might need some firewalls, like other vendors."

"When comparing it with Fortinet and Palo Alto, which are top players in the Indian market, we are currently lacking in that aspect."

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

"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. Currently, it's a virtual appliance."

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

"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."

"Reporting is something that they can improve on."

More Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform cons

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

"The only improvement for Citrix SD-WAN would be to lower its cost."

"I am happy with this product. If anything, its price can be reduced. It is a bit expensive."

"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."

"Citrix SD-WAN's knowledge base has a few missing things, so you may need to seek help from support."

"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."

"Enhancements are needed to improve the stability."

"The firewall reporting could be easier to use and filter. (It works well enough, but if I need to give an area for improvement, I think this would be it.). The built-in reporting on the product in this regard is not great."

More Citrix SD-WAN [EOL] cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Fortinet has more device options that are affordable for small businesses than Palo Alto, and its enterprise-level models are also cheaper. Palo Alto also has a separate license for VPN connections and SD-WAN, but FortiGate offers these features standard."

"Each feature costs money, so it is important to study your needs."

"Fortinet FortiGate as a less expensive solution than Palo Alto."

"It is cheaper and more competitive compared to other options. For example, when comparing Palo Alto products to others, Palo Alto tends to be more expensive. If you compare Cisco's platform, including Cisco Meraki, with Fortinet products, you'll notice that Cisco's offerings are generally higher priced than Fortinet's firewall solutions."

"Its pricing is good. The advantages of Fortinet FortiGate over its competitors include good pricing and meeting our requirements at a lower cost."

"It's very affordable."

"The pricing is comprehensive and clear. You can easily understand what you are purchasing, including which features correspond to each license and maintenance contract. Overall, the information is straightforward. Additionally, compared to other vendors, their prices are competitive."

"Fortinet FortiGate is cost-efficient. Palo Alto is expensive, but Fortinet FortiGate is not."

More Fortinet FortiGate pricing and cost advice

"Compared to other solutions, I think it is a cheap product in the market."

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

"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 price of Silver Peak VX is reasonable but could improve."

"The pricing for this product is good."

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

"The price of Silver Peak VX is expensive compared to competitors. There are licenses, renewals, and support that need to be paid."

"The licensing fees depend on the bandwidth. As an example of what we charge our customers, for 100MB without Boost, the price is approximately $2,000. That includes the licensing and the unit."

More Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform pricing and cost advice

"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."

"The price is relatively expensive."

"It's a little bit on the high side compared to the other products."

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

"It would be helpful to have a demo license available for customers who want to prove the concept and conduct a proof of concept (POC) before committing to the solution. This is particularly important for customers in Egypt who often require a demonstration of the solution's features and compatibility with their needs before making any investment or incurring costs. Providing a demo license would allow customers to assess whether the solution would meet their needs or not."

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

"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."

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

13%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

Legal Firm

Computer Software Company

25%

Real Estate/Law Firm

11%

Educational Organization

Financial Services Firm

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...

See all answers

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...

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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 12% of the time

WatchGuard Firebox vs Fortinet FortiGate

Compared 5% of the time

SonicWall TZ 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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