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Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall vs Hillstone S-Series Network Intrusion Prevention System comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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
Sponsored
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
419
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (1st), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st)
Forcepoint Next Generation ...
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
44
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (31st), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (13th), WAN Edge (13th)
Hillstone S-Series Network ...
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (24th)
 

Mindshare comparison

Firewalls Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall0.5%
Fortinet FortiGate20.1%
Netgate pfSense11.1%
Other68.3%
Firewalls
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Hillstone S-Series Network Intrusion Prevention System1.3%
Darktrace18.0%
Vectra AI10.6%
Other70.1%
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
 

Featured Reviews

Vasu Gala - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
OusaidAbaz - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides decent protection for the LAN but complicated interface
We had some licensing issues with its web filtering capabilities. That's why we migrated our web filtering to Cisco Umbrella. Moreover, the interface is complicated. It's difficult to locate all the necessary menus and functions. For example, one of the many issues is with SSH. Even now, we haven't successfully opened the port to connect using SSH mode when we want to change the configuration. It's like a black box—not very open to changes and customization. It's simply not easy to configure. There are other problems, too. For example regarding Forcepoint's Websense component. We had a lot of problems managing the web settings within Websense. That's why we migrated to Cisco Umbrella for cloud-based web filtering. It's not that Forcepoint is inherently bad. The issue is that it's not user-friendly. It is not easy to use. The developers need to redesign the interface (GUI) for better management. It is very difficult to manage. For example, simple actions require too many clicks compared to FortiGate or Palo Alto. That's the main problem.
reviewer1080873 - PeerSpot reviewer
Complements any firewall
The core processors are there and it's able to generate reports for that. It also complements any kind of firewall. For example, if an end user is using Palo Alto as a firewall, they'd need another layer of firewall like the S-Series that will protect internal servers. It's something that complements any firewall in the market.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It's super reliable. I don't think I've ever had a reliability issue with it."
"It has a good UI and overall integration, including FortiGate Manager for controlling all firewalls from a single place."
"We are using the FortiGate 100D series. VPN, firewall, anti-malware, OTM, and intrusion prevention are useful features."
"The solution can scale well."
"Fortinet FortiGate brings numerous benefits to my company."
"I'm pretty happy with its reliability. It is also very scalable."
"The solution has improved my organization significantly, with impactful capabilities such as sandboxing and cloud solutions, such as XDR, MDR, and EDR."
"SD-WAN has had a positive impact by reducing the operational costs in terms of headcount and management."
"The most valuable feature is SD-WAN."
"The solution offers sandboxing, which can be integrated at any time."
"The most valuable feature is controlling the traffic and the logging. They have real-time logins for traffic logs. Troubleshooting was very easy for me."
"The support is great. They also have very good categorization. It's very good. It captures a lot of threats."
"It is a scalable product. I know a customer who has deployed more than 4,000 firewalls in a single deployment."
"One of the most valuable features is having the ability to cluster multiple firewalls even if they are different versions."
"Next Generation Firewall's best feature is that it can be managed on one platform."
"The most valuable features of Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall are the advanced threat protection, including features like IPS and DDoS prevention, which help avoid internal DDoS attacks."
"Setup is straightforward with the same reliability and scalability as the firewall series."
 

Cons

"I believe one area that could be improved in Fortinet FortiGate is posturing, specifically for remote VPN users, as there are OS-based limitations I encountered with only Windows; adding domain restrictions for VPN access would make it more competitive and useful."
"I have to say that the initial setup was complex. The deployment took a few days to get set up. Initially, we were using an IPVanish. We switched to this tool since we thought it would be easier. But it turns out it wasn't easier to set up and run."
"There are too many updates coming for VPN, and the VPN keeps disconnecting frequently, which I find problematic. It does what it's supposed to do, but I practically face reconnection issues with the VPN."
"The things we require are already sorted out, so there isn't any scope for improvement as far as our requirements go. However, its price can be better."
"Fortinet FortiGate could improve by adding FortiAnalyzer to its solution, we should not have to use another solution. FortiAnalyzer can provide more detailed information."
"I would like to have logs, monitoring, and reporting for a month without extra fees."
"In the past six to seven years with the Fortinet FortiGate, we've had two major downtimes, both caused by firmware upgrades."
"I cannot say definitively about the return on investment with Fortinet FortiGate because I have always been in the technical field, but most of our clients are very happy since threats were stopped, generating confidence in the Fortinet brand among our clients."
"I would like to see more sizing in the next release, and the roadmap should be clear."
"The solution needs to build upon its network functionality. It needs to be a bit smarter."
"When it comes to a complex deployment, the rules, firewall features, SD-WAN core features, and auto-scaling can cause the device to be not quite stable."
"The interface is complicated. It's difficult to locate all the necessary menus and functions."
"My experience with this Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall wasn't very pleasant due to its complexity. For example, the firewall loses some features when working in a cluster, which is a huge challenge. It caused me several weeks to solve an issue to make the VPN work, even after opening several cases with support. Also, the debug, which should provide essential knowledge about everything going on, the flow of traffic, and how the engine works, wasn't very informative in identifying the issue."
"It is really hard to work with their customer support. For example, unlike Fortinet where you can escalate an issue and quickly get responses from the development team, Forcepoint's process seems slow and challenging."
"The network interface could be better, and it could be cheaper."
"They should have a local vendor who can provide support. Most of the support is overseas, so the time zones can be a problem."
"Lack of tools to help educate end users"
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I would say that all things considered, the pricing is pretty good."
"Its price is good."
"Pricing and licensing is a little bit complicated in FortiGate. They are always on the higher side. This is one issue that we always raise with the company that they should reduce the price according to Indian market requirements. There are no costs in addition to the standard licensing fees."
"Each feature costs money, so it is important to study your needs."
"It's very affordable."
"In the Asian economy in which we operate, FortiGate is expensive."
"While Fortinet FortiGate has a higher price point compared to Sophos XG, its user-friendly interface justifies the cost."
"No comment."
"It is expensive."
"I consider Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall's price to be good."
"The training that they offer to their end-customers. It's quite expensive, I believe it costs roughly $11,000"
"There is a license required to use this solution and we can purchase it for one, two, three, or five years."
"It is an affordable product. We purchase its yearly license."
"The big advantage of this solution is that we can select the right model for our requirements, which is not too expensive."
"Everything in Forcepoint comes with an individual license, which is kind of a problem. In our last meeting, they said that it may change at the beginning of 2021, and they will try to merge some licenses together. Customers will get more features than what they got previously. We will wait and see."
"Forcepoint is very expensive but it's really secure."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Computer Software Company
15%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business264
Midsize Enterprise102
Large Enterprise145
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business25
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise11
No data available
 

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...
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...
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 ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall?
The licensing model is dependent on negotiation skills, but there is room for improvement. The costs can be high sinc...
What needs improvement with Forcepoint Next Generation Firewall?
The licensing model should be more flexible. I recommend that additional features be included in a single license to ...
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Also Known As

FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall
Forcepoint NGFW, Stonesoft Next Generation Firewall, McAfee Network Security Platform, Intel Security Network Security Platform
Hillstone S-Series NIPS
 

Overview

 

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
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR)
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