Fortinet FortiExtender Reviews

Since I was having FortiManager and everything, Fortinet FortiExtender was suggested by the vendor. I went through it and appreciated the product.

There are plenty of things we are using Fortinet FortiExtender for. It is confidential, so I cannot disclose each detail about where exactly it is being used. We have been using this service for a year.

I have used Fortinet FortiExtender's dual SIM support.

I would assess Fortinet FortiExtender's ability to enhance business continuity using cellular networks as a positive feature. Since we have multiple branches, it played a great role in that area. If it was for a single instance, I am not sure about the performance. However, with multiple branches, it played a key role.

Centralized management via FortiManager for my organization is very useful and a must-have. I have used Sophos Central as a manager and Fortinet manager as well. I believe Fortinet Manager has more in-depth features compared to Sophos or some other manager.

The threat intelligence integration in Fortinet FortiExtender helps me to meet my industry's compliance standards.

Fortinet FortiExtender brought many benefits to my organization. It was a very useful solution for us to have such a service.

In future updates of Fortinet FortiExtender, I would definitely want to see AI. They are working on the AI feature, but so far it is a great, amazing product.

We have been using Fortinet FortiExtender for a year.

Regarding routing capabilities, I have not experienced network downtime after having such a robust system. It has been performing great.

The installation of Fortinet FortiExtender was simple, very straightforward.

I worked with a partner. You need to have a partner since we are getting the service from a vendor, and they are the ones who implement it. However, making and generating policies has to be done by ourselves.

Overall, two people were involved in the process of deployment: myself and my partner.

I am using Sophos firewall, Fortinet, CrowdStrike for email security and endpoint security.

I am familiar with Fortinet FortiPortal and FortiExtender.

The deployment of Fortinet FortiExtender took more than one hour, with some other prerequisites taking about two to three hours.

I am using the on-premises version of Fortinet FortiExtender, not the cloud version.

There are no improvements needed for Fortinet FortiExtender.

On a scale of 1-10, I rate Fortinet FortiExtender an 8.

I am still using Fortinet FortiExtender. The solution utilizes LTE data to establish a connection, and if the main line goes down, it switches automatically to the LTE connection. Advanced Antenna Design and Carrier Aggregation features impact data speeds and coverage.

The integration is easy and it works as a normal internet connection. After integrating and configuring it, you can use it as a normal connection without any further modifications. You only need to install the device and then use this connection in SD-WAN for example.

It works effectively and is well integrated. It has improved from previous years when it was more of a standalone product added to the fabric. Now it's more integrated and better to handle.

The solution establishes an LTE data connection, and if the main line goes down, it switches automatically to the LTE connection.

The main reason for using it is protection against outages from the main internet connection. It serves primarily as a backup for problems with the main connection, rather than for speed from data connections, as 5G isn't available everywhere.

The Fortinet FortiExtender should be more suitable for outdoor use. Currently, the vehicle model can be used outdoors, but there are no dedicated outdoor devices. When a location has poor LTE connection, placing it outside could improve connectivity, but the current models lack proper IP certification for environmental protection.

I have been using the solution for around six years as an integrator with Fortinet.

Deployment and everything else is straightforward. The process involves unpacking, inserting the data card, connecting to the network, accepting on the FortiGate, setting the profiles, and checking that the connection works.

There are no known problems regarding stability or other issues.

The solution is sufficiently scalable. Most customers don't require more than one or two LTE connections, and most models have two slots for data cards. Users can utilize one device or use two devices as failover, but under normal circumstances, one device with two slots is adequate for customers.

The quality of customer service varies depending on the department and product. The support is often really good, though sometimes support members may not be as helpful. This variation in service quality depends on the individual providing support.

Positive

This is the only solution I have experience with. I rate Fortinet FortiExtender a nine out of ten.

We use Fortinet FortiExtender for out-of-band management and network continuity because network continuity is very important for us and for mobility. With 3G or 4G, we can put a mobile cellular data line, and we can use wireless without any cable.

This gives us the chance for redundancy line redundancy, and when our main internet line goes down, Fortinet FortiExtender helps to back up this line with a cellular line.

The solution helps to backup the lines and also provides band management.

The line backup feature of Fortinet FortiExtender is very important because sometimes ISP lines go down, and I need to back up this line with another ISP and with cellular lines.

This may improve our resiliency performance.

The failover capability of Fortinet FortiExtender has impacted my operations positively; this is the main purpose.

I think it's good, but they could improve the remote console server feature and make it more user-friendly for more users.

It has been one year. This is a new solution for me.

There were no challenges, it was very easy to deploy.

The overall stability deserves a perfect rating.

It is scalable; however, scalability is not the main purpose. You can use it for scalability or to extend the network.

Technical support for Fortinet FortiExtender deserves a high rating.

Positive

The setup took me one hour, possibly two hours at most.

I completed the installation independently without any assistance.

Fortinet FortiExtender is a good solution and very cost-effective. For example, our customers had operations in the local data center.

When lines go down and crashes happen, customers need to send an engineer to the data center for support, which is not cost-effective and very time-consuming.

When going to the data center for support, I charge customers maybe $200 or $500 for this support, but when they use this device, we can easily manage remotely and don't need to send any engineer to the data center site.

This is very important, cost-effective, and time-efficient, so we easily return this investment.

The price for Fortinet FortiExtender deserves the highest rating.

I manage and monitor Fortinet FortiExtender devices across multiple sites by using the FortiCloud feature, which allows me to easily manage and monitor everywhere.

I haven't used Fortinet FortiExtender's AI-driven network features for this product.

My advice for those who want to implement Fortinet FortiExtender is that if you use this device as a console server for out-of-band management, it has only one USB port; if you need more than one port, you can use an external USB hub for multiple console cables.

I am maintaining Fortinet FortiExtender for my customers for one year, and I find that to be sufficient.

I rate Fortinet FortiExtender a 10 out of 10.

The main use case is as the branch or SD-WAN, to start with. For example, if you have a branch, for example, for a banking sector, a standalone ADM, for example, and you don't have many options when it comes to connectivity, FortiExtender will help by giving WAN connectivity. 4G, 5G, or 3G, you name it. You just install the SIM card into the device like a hand-sized device. You connect that device, which is the FortiExtender, back to your FortiGate device. 

Afterward, you start dealing with the Extender as a virtual interface. So, for example, installing some ADM inside modes where you don't have proper 4G coverage. For example, you can leverage a FortiExtender by installing it over the ceiling. It's like a copper cable back to your communication cabinet. There are a lot of options, a lot of probabilities that widen the possibility when it comes to SD-WAN scenarios.

Having the FortiExtender as a part of an SD-WAN topology is a major competitive value. You don't need to have two different vendors to interoperate and get into comparability issues or inter-operability issues. FortiExtender is part of what we call the Fortinet Fabric. Once you install it, it's very seamless. When it comes to implementing FortiExtender, it gives you a very major value. With an SD-WAN topology, you overcome a lot of connectivity limitations. With a standalone ADM, for example, in case you don't have the proper NPLS termination ready yet, a lot of approval needs to be in place from the government and so on, so forth. You can launch the service in no time. To make the long story short, the major value we're looking at is the inter-operability and the integration into what we call the Fortinet Fabric. It offers seamless integration and flexibility.

What most of my clients are telling me is the price is a problem. That would be the best thing to start with. They agree on the value, and we have a very solid argument with the clients that proper service and value comes at a proper price. However, we hope to have more flexible pricing. That would be the first point to be mentioned. 

The product management team has asked to have a Multi-SIM device. We've had this for one year. Covid just drove everything towards working from home regarding teleworking and all of that stuff.

The product is mature enough. Mainly, that would be the price. If they could therefore have some more, let's say, enhancements on it, then we can make more of a financial case.

One feature that was discussed with the product management team of Fortinet FortiExtender was to have the ability to have the possibility to upload our own drivers. For example, the Extender itself could be dealing with the SIM card directly, where you install it, and then you're ready to go. Or, you may install a USB dongle into the Extender itself. Some mobile carriers here in Jordan do not allow users to relocate the SIM card from within their biscuit or USB dongle and install it in their own modem or their own Extender. However, with particular scenarios, we would appreciate having the possibility to upload a third-party driver for simplicity, integrating whatever sales provider facility we have into the Fortinet technology.

I've used the solution for six or seven years, more or less. 

I was lucky enough to see the very first portfolios adjusted.

The only feedback we're getting is that we need to access the unit or basically reboot the unit during the firmware upgrade process. That's the only time you need to touch the unit, to upgrade, even for maintenance, which is done centrally. If you have 1,000 standalone ADMs that you need to manage and you're having a firmware upgrade that affected some security issues, instead of doing the exact same functionality a thousand times, you can do it from within a centralized management console. That would be FortiManager, in the case of affording that technology. The management's very easy, very straightforward. We used to have some complications, some bugs here and there. However, generally speaking, from a management perspective, the calls we'll see from the clients are most likely about firmware upgrades and bug fixes. Maybe a customer cannot plug it in correctly and he's wondering about some options here and there. However, in terms of stability, I can say, 95 to 98% of the time, it's stable. It's a stable product.

You don't have much to do with the 4G. It's all about the physical layout. It's like a modem with a data link or network wire attached. It's a fairly mature product.

For a customer to scale, they just have to buy more hardware. 

However, that shouldn't always be the case. For example, you may have a hundred branches where you only need to implement 4G or 3G connectivity over 20% of those. It's a requirement to have a FortiExtender, or to have an identical physical component set up among all of your branches. If you want to scale, you need to choose a scalable product.

Usually, we don't rely much on the vendor as we heavily invest in our own internal resources. However, when it comes to, for example, firmware bugs, modem drivers, and so on, that is something you have to bounce back to the vendor. Sometimes it takes a while to get feedback.

They themselves don't have a presence in Jordan. They do have some employees, like a sales team and channel team. However, when it comes to a technical team, they have one or two channel system engineers. We need to manage this on the ground as a Fortinet partner.

Neutral

From our perspective, as a Fortinet partner doing business with Fortinet since 2008, it's like a piece of cake. You just put it there and let it work. It's a very stable platform. As with any vendor, we have some bugs here and there. However, if you take care of everything, you need to ensure you consider proper sizing, modeling, implementation, design, and so on, which should be like a piece of cake.

It is a straightforward setup. I'd rate it 4.5 out of five in terms of ease of implementation. It should be pretty straightforward and easy to configure. The only half we're missing here is that sometimes we have some issues with the 3G and 4G modem drivers. That may be the only thing or obstacle that may arise. Aside from that, it's very straightforward.

We have about two or three team members that are the personnel responsible for handling the whole setup. That would be the optimal case. Most likely, it's one or two that a company might need.

We've seen an ROI based on our experience and the client's feedback.

The ROI they have is visibility. What clients used to do is just pay for a 4G subscription for 100 ADM, and just put the money there and install the modem, and everything is running. However, having FortiExtender in place is when they start to have visibility about seeing the quality, the upstream and downstream links, and how many times the connection drops. 

After this solution, a client can say, "Yes, we have this number of services drop per week." So, we start to argue that with the ISP, going for a more committed rate, different SLA conditions, a more strict quality of service, and so on, and so forth. The main driving force is to have visibility. Having the FortiExtender implemented as part of the Fortinet Fabric is where you start getting visibility. 

I'd rate the ROI at a five out of five. It's very good. 

The pricing is based on a perpetual license. For example, if you buy the physical piece and you install it, you're ready to go. The only licensing term that is applicable for the FortiExtender is what we call the FortiCare, which is the hardware warranty. The customer may go for the hardware warranty if he wants a hardware warranty entitlement. He can purchase this yearly so the hardware warranty will be covering devices.

Other customers do a different approach. If they need, for example, 100 pieces, they will get 110 pieces. The ten pieces will be extra so that they have immediate availability ready to go. That way, instead of opening a ticket, confirming the defective device, approving the RMA, shipping the unit, and getting into the custom cycle, they have one on hand.

From a Fortinet perspective, what they do is to send you the product, the hardware. Afterward, FortiCare is optional. Either you go for it, or you just drop it.

The cost per unit is somewhere around $600 and $700 USD. The annual fee, warranty, et cetera, varies and would be discussed with the account manager. They are flexible, typically.

I'd rate it a two out of five in terms of affordability. That said, the client might pay more. However, they're going to get more visibility and control. 

There are other options on the market. The main competition is around the price. However, if we can widen the client's perspective enough to include the technical value, we win the deal. One of the main competitive aspects we have is that the ISPs here in Jordan, for example, offer 3G or 4G sets as a standalone piece of hardware within the package with a very minimal financial charge. 

However, when it comes to the financial sector, a large enterprise where they are more into technical value rather than price offers Fortinet is an easy battle to win. However, for other market segments, considering other competitors, pricing is a major issue that enters the equation.

We are a Fortinet partner, an expert partner with the highest partnership level with Fortinet. 

Along with the technical partnership, we are an authorized trading center for Fortinet. Basically, we're mastering the two parts of the technology, the education, and the practice.

We, as an SDS, are more into the large enterprise carrier market segment. That's where we built our service catalog. For the SMB, it would be tough for them to understand the value. They are not that interested in critical business availability, so you cannot justify the investment that needs to be made. It doesn't make sense to them. They go, "I'm not running a rocket science facility. I can live with a couple of hours in a service outage. I can restart my 4G router every two or three days. I can live with that."  For them, it will not make that much sense to invest $500 or $600 into a device when something with lower technical capabilities will meet their needs.

I'd rate the solution nine out of ten. It's not a perfect ten out of ten. However, the price is high.

I use Fortinet FortiExtender for my cellular network, broadband, wired modem, 5G, and LTE. I also use it for connectivity to my dial up modem. The product also works as a public modem, router, even a small firewall.

Fortinet FortiExtender is usually used for small to medium networks, though it's also more commonly used for edge connectivity.

For me, the best feature of Fortinet FortiExtender is its integration with an external solution such as a 5G LTE broadband modem, wired modem, and cellular network. I also like that the product can be integrated into one device or a unified device, and that is one of its best features because it allows you to manage and centralize the control of every device.

Though Fortinet FortiExtender has some security features, the product could still be improved by adding features similar to those in FortiGuard, such as antivirus, intrusion, prevention, and detection, as well as web filtering features.

The product is also not as user-friendly, so that's another area for improvement.

In the FortiGate UTM solution of Fortinet, there's software-defined or SD-WAN, and in the next release of Fortinet FortiExtender, I'd like to see SD-WAN embedded in the product. Most of the communication in Fortinet FortiExtender is related to WAN and Edge, so having an SD-WAN function in the product would be useful for integrating and controlling WAN communication.

As a freelancer, I've been working for multiple companies for twelve years, with five years of experience in Fortinet FortiExtender.

Fortinet FortiExtender is a stable product. It was up for one to two years for my client, and as an external device, it was awesome.

Fortinet FortiExtender is a scalable product, and it could be used on every scale, but it's commonly used in small networks.

I've never contacted technical support for Fortinet FortiExtender because I have a lot of experience in the product, and I've read the Fortinet eBook to solve problems. In most cases, I've handled every problem with Fortinet FortiExtender myself through the Fortinet knowledge base and blog.

I have no idea how easy or complex the initial setup for Fortinet FortiExtender is, but every device has a specific configuration, and everyone can learn it fast.

I've only used the open-source version of Fortinet FortiExtender, but I know that it has some features that require you to pay for a license.

I can't remember the exact version of Fortinet FortiExtender that I'm using, but my experience is with the physical appliance or on-premises, not the cloud version.

My advice to anyone who wants to use Fortinet FortiExtender for the first time is to plan first before configuring the device. You should have a plan for every device you need to connect to Fortinet FortiExtender. You should have a configuration, for example, the username and password of every modem, every 5G solution, and LTE. You should also have the details on every communication system, for example, dial-up, broadband, and cellular networks. Once you have all the information, that's the time you can start configuring Fortinet FortiExtender.

I'd give Fortinet FortiExtender a rating of eight. For me to give it a ten, it should have an improved GUI for the design and CLI for configuration.

Our primary use case is that we use it to get a GSM connection every time the vessel arrives at the port.

The most valuable feature is that management can be carried out from a central point. As a result, the Fortinet Firewall's management is centralized, making things easier.

The product or service could be improved by ensuring the current firmware works as well as the one in the old model. For example, with the old model, we only needed to restart it once in a while. However, with the new model and the new firmware, there is a huge downside because we need to remove and insert the SIM to get it working.

I'm unsure what additional features could be included in the next release because we manage it quite well from the current systems and can reset it as needed.

We have been using this solution for about five years. We currently have two different versions, 40D and 201E, which are deployed on-premises. Our organization consists of vessels and ships and is a standard installation.

Regarding stability, it is very strong and stable, and there are no crashes.

We have no issues with scalability. Our office uses a different concept than a typical office, with 20 units per vessel and about 25 vessels. We also have nearly 500 users and an individual extender on each vessel.

The technical support team has been helpful. Unfortunately, we used them for the issue of removing a SIM card multiple times and have been going back and forth to find a solution over several months. At this time, we still don't have an answer to this issue. I rate the technical support an eight out of ten.

Our company chose to use Fortinet Forti Extender because we inherited it from the previous IT systems.

The initial setup was straightforward, and it took us approximately ten minutes to configure everything.

My advice to others using Fortinet Forti Extender for the first time is to ensure they use the equipment that came with it because it makes a big difference. The antennas provided are specific for the device and enable it to work better.

I rate this solution an eight out of ten because it is stable enough and doesn't crash. However, when it comes to our environment, which is global, there is an issue with the device not correctly registering the SIM card on the new GSM network. Additionally, the new version has more issues than the old one.

This solution provides secure WAN connectivity to the internet through the mobile network, while maximizing signal strength.

The port extenders provided by this solution allow us to reach the network through a mobile solution where, normally, access would be limited or unavailable.

We appreciate that this solution can be used as an active secondary link as well as a backup.

We would like to see some improvement in the price for 5G models, as they are currently very expensive.

We have been using this solution for two years.

We have found this solution to be mostly stable during our time using it.

This is not a very easily scalable solution in our experience.

The initial setup for this solution is very straightforward.

We would recommend that any organization considering this solution, makes sure that they have a good mobile coverage in the area.

We would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

Fortinet FortiExtender helps facilitate Fortinet connectivity. When it comes to cell phone towers, you never know what you'll get with global configurations. We use this solution to mitigate switching cell phone towers.

The most valuable feature will be that it works.

I would like to see them make it smaller in the next release so that it has a smaller footprint for mobile clients.

The scalability is limitless based on your cell and your internet or your cloud connectivity. 

It's similar to any other VPN in terms of how simple it is to set up in a global or extended environment with a large number of clients.

The technical support is good.

I make use of the entire spectrum. Fortinet was used, as well as FortiClient and Fortinet Signal Extender. They also provide a SIM port for purchase to all customers.

We have a government client who is interested in the entire FortiSystem, for SSL VPNs.

The ease of the setup and integration into the entire Fortinet solution is seamless.

Fortinet offers assistance with the initial setup.

I'm not sure what the cost is. However, I anticipate that the purchase price will range between $2,500 and $5,000.

I believe the Fortinet Extender should be considered alongside other network extension devices. Their solution was pretty good. If you're looking for a reasonably priced solution, Fortinet's solution might be the one for you.

I would rate  Fortinet FortiExtender a nine out of ten.

We use the solution for SD-WAN failover. So, even if the regular Internet connection drops or has problems, the projects never lose the connection, allowing customers to work without interruptions.

The product integrates with Fortinet products. The product is easy to use and easy to integrate. It is also easy to implement.

The support could be faster and more responsive.

I have been using the solution for around three to four years.

The stability is good. I rate the product’s stability a nine out of ten.

I rate the solution’s scalability a seven or an eight out of ten. Our customers are small and medium enterprises.

The support is really good, but it depends on the product we need support for. For ticket priority levels three and four, support has 24 hours to react. They react much faster for such priority levels.

Positive

The initial setup was not complex. It is easy to integrate and configure the solution.

It takes us one day to deploy the product. The deployment process is not that hard. We need one person to deploy and maintain the product. It is easy to maintain the product.

The solution is not that expensive. I rate pricing a six out of ten. The product has a yearly subscription. The clients must pay only for the license. They need not pay any additional costs.

I am using the latest version of the solution. Integrations were more difficult with the older version. Now it is easier. I would recommend people to use the product. Overall, I would rate the product an eight out of ten.

We use it in our head office.

We haven't implemented all of the features. We are just about to implement the captive portal and the edit to 1X authentication. It's taken us a little bit of time to get there. At the moment we are just using it as an open wireless access point.

The solution would be a lot better if it was a little bit more intuitive.

Additionally, the help menu would be a lot better if it was easier to identify the items that I was looking for. I find the graphical interface a little bit difficult to navigate. And I find the font that is used on the HTML interface not conducive to being able to be read in low light situations.

I have been working with Fortinet for around two years.

The stability is beautiful.

The scalability is beautiful.

The initial setup was was just beautiful. It was straightforward.

I'm happy with the price.

My advice to people looking at the solution is that I think they should buy it.

On a scale of one to ten I would give Fortinet FortiExtender a seven.