We performed a comparison between Palo Alto Networks PA-Series and WatchGuard Firebox based on real PeerSpot user reviews.
Find out in this report how the two Firewalls solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI."It blocks the vulnerabilities that can negatively impact us."
"The most valuable features are SD-WAN, application control, IPS control, and FortiSandbox."
"The most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiGate is load balancing. It can provide central management and VPNA. Additionally, it has enhanced our security environment."
"I appreciate FortiGate's flexibility, which allows for centralized management through FortiManager."
"What I like the most is the configuration and that it's simple, and straightforward to maintain."
"The usage in general is pretty good."
"Provides good firewall security and has great VPN features."
"Web filtering and two-factor authentication are great features."
"A valuable feature that we can consider is the deployment time, which is significantly reduced, almost 90% faster compared to other solutions. This leads to quicker deployment and less downtime."
"The solution has a three-layer architecture, and it helps customers to deploy the solution quickly."
"It is a stable solution. Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten."
"The product's most valuable feature is web filtering."
"It offers a seamless transition from one option to another, making it exceptionally versatile and user-friendly in an enterprise setting."
"A valuable feature that we can consider is the deployment time, which is significantly reduced. It is almost 90% faster compared to other solutions."
"It is scalable. But that depends on what model you are using."
"Palo Alto Networks firewalls offer single-mode panel processing with live scanning."
"WebBlocker has the best URL category database ever."
"One of the most valuable features is the Geolocation. Because we aren't a multinational corporation, it allows me to look at things which might be suspicious to make sure that they are legitimate transactions rather than people sniffing around the network."
"Firebox's best feature is the access portal."
"There are many fantastic features."
"The features that I have found most valuable are the FireWall features. The management side of WatchGuard is quite easy because it supports two ways to manage it - by the web and the other one they call WatchGuard systems manager. I used to be familiar with WSM only, but they improved their GUI in the web browser and now it is much easier to do it within the web browser."
"I like their management features a lot. Their System Manager server as well the System Manager software make managing them, and tracking changes, very easy and complete."
"The client is easy to use and stable"
"The most valuable features are the VPN and web blocker security."
"The captive portal could be improved."
"One area for improvement is the performance on the bandwidth demands for smaller devices, as well as better web filtering."
"When we cluster the two Fortinet FortiGate boxes together we have some issues."
"The firmware needs improvement because there are bugs when a new release comes through. Sometimes, the configuration changes, and it's a bit harder to see where the fail is. The first time that you have the firmware, it tends to have some issues, and it's better to wait a bit to update the equipment."
"From a reporting perspective, there's room for improvement. They're providing FortiAnalyzer through which one can get some enhancements, but the visibility and reporting still need slight improvement."
"Tunnel flapping was one of the major things I had seen wherein your internet link remains but your VPN tunnel is down. However, since I got a fix from the TAC team, I have not noticed it, but the customer complained a few times that they couldn't access the internet because of this problem."
"It can be a little bit more user-friendly in terms of policy definition and implementation. It seems a little bit complicated, and it could be simplified."
"They need to improve their technical support."
"Compared to other vendors, the solution's community should be strong enough to solve the problems engineers face."
"There is room for improvement in streamlining this process for smoother transitions."
"As we migrate fully into the cloud, additional features like capacity upgrading and improvements to hardware resources will be necessary, especially since our equipment consists of older-generation switches and routers."
"The technical support offered by Palo Alto is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"The UI definitely needs work. In my opinion, the UI could be simpler and more user-friendly for the average user."
"Utilizing these features as a unified solution can require additional setup, particularly when incorporating Panorama for centralized management, which may involve extra costs."
"The pricing of the solution needs improvement."
"I encountered a slight issue with the application portal, which was not functioning correctly."
"Last year, I had an issue with one of the Fireboxes going down. It was overheated, because my server room became overheated and this fried it."
"The scalability of the solution needs improvement."
"The reporting is a little on the weak side. I would like to see a better reporting set and easier drill-down options."
"The software base, the management piece that goes onto a server, is not as user-friendly as I would like. There are three different pieces that you have to manage, so it's a little bit convoluted, in my opinion."
"The VPN aspect of the WatchGuard Firebox is an area that could potentially benefit from improvement. We encountered difficulties while attempting to integrate Windows 11 laptops into the system, which resulted in unreliable connections. After some research, we discovered that this was primarily due to compatibility issues with Windows 11 and required a patch. However, it was still a challenge as it seemed that even when we tried to keep the laptops on Windows 10, they still exhibited the same issues as Windows 11 machines. Despite WatchGuard attributing the problem to Microsoft, we were eventually able to find a solution and all the machines are now functioning seamlessly."
"I believe there is a need for additional measures to connect mobile devices securely to the Firebox router."
"I'd like to have better access to workstation monitoring, connection monitoring, and the amount of time an address is being used, to better gauge proper network utilization. If I knew that something was connected to a particular external location for an extended period that seems abnormal, I'd be able to act upon it."
"Make WatchGuard Firebox capable of integrating with third-party vendors like FireMon, Splunk, Tenable, etc."
Palo Alto Networks PA-Series is ranked 17th in Firewalls with 28 reviews while WatchGuard Firebox is ranked 13th in Firewalls with 78 reviews. Palo Alto Networks PA-Series is rated 8.6, while WatchGuard Firebox is rated 8.6. The top reviewer of Palo Alto Networks PA-Series writes "Offers trained customer support, stability and ease of use ". On the other hand, the top reviewer of WatchGuard Firebox writes "Offers a streamlined deployment, intuitive interface and robust security features". Palo Alto Networks PA-Series is most compared with OPNsense, SonicWall NSa, Juniper SRX Series Firewall and Sophos XG, whereas WatchGuard Firebox is most compared with Netgate pfSense, Sophos XG, OPNsense, SonicWall TZ and Meraki MX. See our Palo Alto Networks PA-Series vs. WatchGuard Firebox report.
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