


SonicWall TZ and Fortinet FortiGate-VM are contenders in network security solutions. SonicWall TZ stands out for its affordability and configuration ease, while Fortinet FortiGate-VM leverages its extensive threat database and traffic inspection capabilities to offer robust security.
Features: SonicWall TZ is recognized for its ease of configuration, making it user-friendly for setting up firewall policies and VPNs. It provides site-to-site VPN, content filtering, and intrusion prevention, catering well to SMBs. Fortinet FortiGate-VM is highlighted for its comprehensive security features, including extensive traffic inspection and filtering categories, backed by a broad threat database, ensuring strong protection.
Room for Improvement:SonicWall TZ users cite the need for a more modern design and simplified interface, alongside enhanced reporting features. There are concerns over limited antivirus pricing options and unsatisfactory technical support. Fortinet FortiGate-VM is criticized for its complex deployment and expensive licensing. Users seek improvements in firewall performance and integration documentation.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: SonicWall TZ is mostly deployed on-premises with mixed reviews on technical support due to language barriers. Fortinet FortiGate-VM offers flexible deployment options across various cloud environments. Users report satisfactory experiences with Fortinet’s proactive problem resolution, despite some deployment complexities.
Pricing and ROI: SonicWall TZ is perceived as cost-effective for SMBs, with a pricing model that offers good ROI despite potentially accumulating costs from additional features. Fortinet FortiGate-VM is slightly expensive in comparison, yet it justifies its cost through competitive security features and robust performance, ensuring a solid ROI.
Clients are now comfortable and not wasting productive hours on IT support.
The automation part is giving us a cost benefit and speed; we can react faster.
It's a very useful tool to mitigate and protect your enterprise.
I observed a fifty to sixty percent reduction in operational costs after migrating to FortiGate VM.
They have a platform that organizes their networks and access effectively.
We haven't used MPLS for over five years now, and it was extremely beneficial to see the changes from MPLS to SD-WAN using Fortinet FortiGate.
That is a reason to buy a firewall, and it is challenging to put a monetary value on security.
The quick resolution of issues with Fortinet FortiGate is due to the support of the company and the fact that the equipment is easy to work with.
I would rate the technical support for Fortinet FortiGate a ten out of ten.
As a solution provider, when I encounter problems, I connect directly with Fortinet support, and they provide solutions within a very short time.
I would rate the technical support by Fortinet at a 10.
You can open a ticket and expect a reply and problem-solving from effective engineers in just one hour, which no other vendor can offer.
Their support is helpful and effective.
Customer service is excellent.
For support, I would rate SonicWall TZ five out of 10.
They scale up really well from smaller models like the FortiGate 40 and 50 to bigger sites with the FortiGate 100 for more throughput - up to enterprise datacenters.
The variation comes in terms of the interfaces and throughputs, but from a security perspective, you get the same benefit, irrespective of whether you have an entry-level unit or an enterprise.
We determine sizing based on multiple factors: number of users, available links, traffic types, server count, services in use, and whether services will be published.
Fortinet FortiGate-VM adapts effectively; for example, you have a limited number of VPN connections on VM01, accommodating around 1,000 remote users, and if the customer needs another endpoint, we can deploy VM02 and manage that transition effectively.
Scalability is well-supported, with the notable ability to implement features easily.
It can start with a single core and scale up to a 32-core license for a robust deployment.
We're experiencing 99.999% availability consistently.
I would rate the stability of Fortinet FortiGate a ten out of ten.
Currently, we are experiencing a general outage of one of the main internet service providers of the Dominican Republic, and we have not been impacted in our operations because with SD-WAN, we have another internet service provider and we are working with the second WAN connection without any disruption.
The stability of Fortinet FortiGate is excellent.
The product has been very stable, based on my ten to eleven years of experience.
In the past couple of years, they started releasing numerous new features, and things have become somewhat unstable.
In terms of stability, SonicWall doesn't have performance issues.
SonicWall TZ rates 10 out of 10 for stability.
SonicWall TZ is definitely stable and offers a good value for money.
These sessions should be around five to ten minutes long, allowing users and partners to quickly grasp the information without disrupting their daily tasks.
The solution should be able to implement machine learning and analytics of all the logs for threat detection and protection.
It would be better for customers to get immediate replacements even with a standard subscription.
The API needs better integration to match accounts and objects more effectively.
Now, these features require separate products like FortiManager, FortiAnalyzer, and a FortiCloud subscription for reporting.
They lack a post-sale process; once the sale happens, they just vanish, and then you're on your own.
Integration with other vendors, especially with VPNs, can be challenging and requires more effort when configuring.
SonicWall TZ could benefit from newer technology.
The VPN license should be improved by providing more free SSL VPN licenses.
Last year, I renewed the support for three years, which can sometimes be expensive but depends on the security benefits and how it helps us.
It offers cost savings as it is generally cheaper than the competition.
It is about 20% cheaper.
The license for Fortinet FortiGate-VM costs 100K to 150K Philippine pesos per year for VM1 or VM2.
I don't have this experience with Fortinet FortiGate-VM because my colleagues in Germany are reaching better prices than me.
We have a licensing module along with a next-generation firewall module, and its pricing compared to other vendors is one of the best features of Fortinet as it is cheaper than any vendor.
More licenses are required to purchase the perpetual license for SSL VPN and Global VPN.
When comparing similar products across vendors, there may be a small difference in cost.
I would also position its pricing as a three, where one is the lowest price and ten is the highest.
These features help reduce our downtime, manage the ISPs, and deploy SLAs for all the website traffic.
The most valuable feature of FortiGate is FortiView which provides proactive monitoring.
We got a firewall and gave an SSL VPN to my client to connect to their servers, after which, such kind of activities involving ransomware attacks stopped.
The more integrated we become, the less we spend on solving bugs and issues, allowing us to reduce time focusing on understanding and improving our network.
Fortinet is the only provider to have successfully set up a unified operating system on all its products in the network security ecosystem.
For what we need to do, which is setting up a VPN connection between both sides and using it for SSL VPN connections for remote users, it works effectively and we haven't encountered vulnerabilities.
For SMB segments, SonicWall performs well.
It was beneficial during COVID for remote work through its VPN functionality.
The advanced gateway security features such as web filter, application control filter, IPS, ideas, gateway antivirus, anti-spyware, and botnet filter are valuable.
| Product | Market Share (%) |
|---|---|
| Fortinet FortiGate | 18.7% |
| Fortinet FortiGate-VM | 1.9% |
| SonicWall TZ | 2.4% |
| Other | 77.0% |


| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 357 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 133 |
| Large Enterprise | 188 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 71 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 33 |
| Large Enterprise | 36 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 62 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 16 |
| Large Enterprise | 13 |
Fortinet FortiGate is a versatile network security tool offering features like VPN, firewall, web filtering, intrusion prevention, and scalability. It is known for its performance and integration with other Fortinet products, making it a preferred choice for robust cybersecurity.
Fortinet FortiGate stands out as a comprehensive cybersecurity solution with strong performance and ease of configuration. It delivers unified threat management, integrating features such as dynamic routing, SD-WAN support, and centralized management. Despite its strengths, improvements in the web interface's stability, pricing structures, and reporting capabilities are needed. Users seek better integration with third-party tools and automation advancements to enhance the experience further. These enhancements, alongside improvements in bandwidth management and the reduction of licensing costs, are points of interest for users looking to capitalize on FortiGate's extensive capabilities.
What are Fortinet FortiGate's key features?Fortinet FortiGate is widely implemented across industries as a primary firewall system for securing internet gateways and safeguarding data centers. It supports businesses in achieving SD-WAN integration and enhances cybersecurity by providing essential features like antivirus, web filtering, and application control. Enterprises utilize FortiGate for securing remote connections and ensuring compliance with security standards, making it adaptable for different network sizes and industries.
FortiGate Virtual Appliances allow you to mitigate blind spots by implementing critical security controls within your virtual infrastructure. They also allow you to rapidly provision security infrastructure whenever and wherever it is needed. FortiGate virtual appliances feature all of the security and networking services common to traditional hardware-based FortiGate appliances. With the addition of virtual appliances from Fortinet, you can deploy a mix of hardware and virtual appliances, operating together and managed from a common centralized management platform.
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