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reviewer1457472 - PeerSpot reviewer
Firewall Engineer at a marketing services firm with 1-10 employees
MSP
Scalable solution with a straightforward setup
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution is scalable."
  • "There are some problems that support cannot give you a logical reason as to why it happened. For example, I had a case where I was dealing with a WhatsApp application that was giving issues. Technical support gave more than one reason it could be giving issues, but none of them solved the problem. Eventually I solved the problem, but it was far from the solutions that support had given."

What is our primary use case?

I use the solution primarily for the VPN connections in local area. In some cases, I use it at universities in order to secure the local network in the university, such as servers and backup devices.

I have also used the solution as a load balancer and the EMS functionality, which I use as a controller for wireless devices.

What needs improvement?

The PPPoE server protocol with a connection to a Radius server is used a lot by ISPs and not so much by the end user. I think it would be great to see this solution with the protocol developed for ISPs.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for more than two or three years.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable.

Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiGate
September 2025
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How are customer service and support?

There are some problems that support cannot give you a logical reason as to why it happened. For example, I had a case where I was dealing with a WhatsApp application that was giving issues. Technical support gave more than one reason it could be giving issues, but none of them solved the problem. Eventually I solved the problem, but it was far from the solutions that support had given.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Before choosing Fortigate, I was using Cisco and pfSense.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was very easy and straightforward.

The time it takes to setup the solution depends on the case. It may take less than a day or more than two months, it depends on the technology that is being used. For example, a hospital I am working with has 20 switches with two firewalls, but there are issues in the physical place and not in Fortinet. In this case, the environment limits the speed of setup.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate FortiGate a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
PeerSpot user
Jeff-S - PeerSpot reviewer
Jeff-SWorks at SRPS, LLC
User

How are these are unbiased reviews?  It's Fortinet Fortinet Fortinet.  There is very little concrete details.  I distrust user reviews in general because they can easily be coaxed / paid.  Most of these supposed reviewers demonstrate they aren't actively involved in using / managing the device.  In the "Sonicwall vs Fortinet" under the guy who chose Sonicwall after looking at Fortinet talks more about what is good about Fortinet than he does about Sonicwall!  It will be interesting to see if my comments here stick.

Ariel Lindenfeld - PeerSpot reviewer
Ariel LindenfeldVP Product at PeerSpot
Real User

@Jeff-S Thanks for commenting. Reviews on IT Central Station are written by users with a varying range of experience, ranging from those who have daily hands-on experience to those that interact with the solution on a less regular basis. We have a strict policy whereby we do not offer gift cards or incentives in return for providing reviews.
Ensuring reviews are only written by real users is a core value of ours. We only publish reviews from users who have used the solution in the past 12 months. We prefer to err on the side of caution and not publish reviews that are suspected of being bogus unless we can confirm that the reviewer has experience with the solution.
You can learn more about our guidelines here: 
www.itcentralstation.com/guidelines

PeerSpot user
reviewer1256787 - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Lead at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Stable with good technical support and very good UI
Pros and Cons
  • "The user interface (UI) is very, very good."
  • "The search tool needs improvement. It's very difficult to search for policies right now."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the solution for the firewall. We use it for a perimeter firewall or access firewall inside the network to allow some zones to be disabled from one zone to another zone. 

What is most valuable?

The stability of the solution is excellent.

The user interface (UI) is very, very good.

What needs improvement?

The search tool needs improvement. It's very difficult to search for policies right now.

When we need to engage with the endpoint or our customer during an investigation, there should be a way to investigate the issues without the need for the customer to be present. It would make it much easier.

For how long have I used the solution?

We've been using the product for the last few years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We find the solution to be quite stable. It's very reliable. We don't have to worry about bugs or glitches on the system. It doesn't crash or freeze.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have more than 7.000 users on the solution right now.

We do plan to continue to use the solution going forward.

How are customer service and technical support?

The technical support is very good. We're quite satisfied with the level of support we receive. We find them to be knowledgeable and responsive when we have issues. 

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Before using FortiGate, we used Cisco. However, we found the Cisco solutions to be unstable and we needed to move away from them. We do still have some legacy Cisco solutions, however. We find they work better now, with FortiGate.

How was the initial setup?

We didn't have a problem with the installation. It wasn't complex in any way. We found it to be quite straightforward.

The deployment process was very fast. It took less than a day for us to do everything we needed to do.

In terms of maintenance, we have eight people taking care of the troubleshooting of tickets.

What about the implementation team?

An integrator helped us with the implementation process they were very helpful and extremely knowledgable. We had them in case something we wrong, however, nothing has gone wrong so far.

What other advice do I have?

We're a service provider. We work with clients that use the solution.

We utilize both the 1500 and 3000 series of the product.

I would definitely recommend this solution to other companies to use. We've had a good experience overall.

In general, I would rate the solution a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiGate
September 2025
Learn what your peers think about Fortinet FortiGate. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: September 2025.
867,497 professionals have used our research since 2012.
it_user1199040 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior solution architect at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
Real User
Flexible to use and easy to set up
Pros and Cons
  • "It is very flexible to use."
  • "It is stable, but its stability can be improved."

What is our primary use case?

The typical next-generation firewall use case is to restrict access to the users by using a firewall.

What is most valuable?

It is very flexible to use.

What needs improvement?

It is stable, but its stability can be improved. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for maybe four or five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Its stability is just okay. It should be better.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability of the device is limited.

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support is okay. They could be more knowledgeable and faster.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I was using Sophos. We switched because it was very unstable in terms of both software and hardware. I found a lot of vulnerabilities. Even though they provide a lot of features for a minimum cost, these features don't do what they are supposed to do.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was easy. The deployment duration depends on the situation. I have done the installation in one to three days.

What about the implementation team?

I installed it myself. You just need one technical guy to maintain and manage the firewall. It is a small product for 200 to 500 users.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

It has a competitive price. 

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend this solution. We plan to continue using it. Even though it has a few stability issues, its price is competitive. 

I would rate Fortinet FortiGate an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
PeerSpot user
it_user1383504 - PeerSpot reviewer
Information Security at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees
Real User
Great web tutor and automated rules by schedule features
Pros and Cons
  • "The web tutor and automatic rules by schedule are good features."
  • "They've become quite expensive."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary use case of this solution is for the UTM it offers and the access to VPN. We have branches in Rio, Singapore and the UK. I'm an information security manager and we are customers of Fortinet. 

What is most valuable?

The most valuable features for me are the web tutor and the automated rules by schedule - the VPN itself. 

What needs improvement?

Fortinet is huge in today's market and they've become quite expensive. I think there are products at the same level as Fortinet, but with better prices. They've changed their subscription plan and are now forcing companies to subscribe 24/7. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for around five years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We never had any issues or problems related to stability. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

There are other products on the market that are a little better than FortiGate in terms of scalability, but in general it's a good solution. We have about 200 users in the company. 

How are customer service and technical support?

We didn't need to contact technical support very much. We had a local partner and if there were problems we contacted them directly.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was straightforward. We were implementing on a large project and it took a weekend to completely deploy with all the features, connections and everything. 

What other advice do I have?

They have very good documentation and if you've had experience with other products I'm pretty sure that you'd be able to deploy just by reading the documentation.

I would rate this solution an eight out of 10. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
it_user1311831 - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Services Manager at ProComm technologies
Real User
Helpful SD-WAN feature for uptime and privatizing applications, but needs better stability and integration
Pros and Cons
  • "The SD-WAN feature is the most valuable. This feature evolved from link load balancing. It has helped us in terms of our uptime and privatizing applications whenever we experience an outage. The SD-WAN feature has been a plus for us. Two-factor authentication has allowed us to add more users in terms of remote working. We have two-factor authentication for remote workers to authenticate them before they get on the network."
  • "It should be more stable. There should be full integration within Fortinet products themselves as well as with other third-party products. Especially when you're not dealing with SIEM and the correlation of the security box, we want Fortinet to be able to share that information with as many other products as it can."

What is our primary use case?

We're using it as an edge or a perimeter firewall. We have also used it to segment our LAN in terms of the endpoints and the servers, and we're also using it for remote access using SSL VPN. We have two other sites that we connect through FortiGate by using an IPSec, and we have integrated it with FortiAuthenticator for two-factor authentication and FortiAnalyzer to analyze logs and things like that. We are currently using the FortiGate 1200D series and running the latest software.

What is most valuable?

The SD-WAN feature is the most valuable. This feature evolved from link load balancing. It has helped us in terms of our uptime and privatizing applications whenever we experience an outage. The SD-WAN feature has been a plus for us. 

Two-factor authentication has allowed us to add more users in terms of remote working. We have two-factor authentication for remote workers to authenticate them before they get on the network.

What needs improvement?

It should be more stable. There should be full integration within Fortinet products themselves as well as with other third-party products. Especially when you're not dealing with SIEM and the correlation of the security box, we want Fortinet to be able to share that information with as many other products as it can.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for four years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

In terms of stability, I would rate it a seven out of ten. It should be more stable. Sometimes when you do firmware upgrades, a feature that was previously working is broken. There are things like that, but I guess that can be taken care of by reading the release notes and seeing what changed in the firmware upgrades.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is highly scalable. A customer had about 500 users.

How was the initial setup?

The installation was straightforward.

What about the implementation team?

We deployed it ourselves. You just need one engineer for its deployment and maintenance.

What other advice do I have?

We are skilled in Fortinet and Check Point. For customers who specifically want Fortinet, we will continue to provide this solution. Our first preference is Check Point, but if a customer insists on Fortinet, then we can do a lot of integration there and incorporate other products like FortiNAC, FortiWifi, and so on.

I would recommend this solution to others. I would rate Fortinet FortiGate a seven out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Integrator
PeerSpot user
Mark Moloney - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Network Manager at a non-profit with 51-200 employees
Real User
Easier to configure than other solutions, really reliable, and scalable
Pros and Cons
  • "It is simpler to configure. It is not like Cisco Firepower, where you go crazy trying to follow the Cisco documentation to figure out how to configure one little thing. Unlike Cisco Firepower, where you can't do everything through the web interface and you have got to do some command line stuff, Fortinet FortiGate SWG is simpler. There are four different things in Cisco to get in, which is not the case with Fortinet FortiGate SWG. It is one of my favorite solutions to work with. I would much rather work with it than Cisco Firepower, for example. Even though I've got 20 years of Cisco experience with different firewalls, I would much prefer this solution."
  • "Their technical support could be improved a little bit in terms of responsiveness."

What is our primary use case?

Our clients use it to protect their network. They're into public safety. They're police, fire, and EMS, and they're very concerned about security and what gets in and what doesn't get into their networks. We have got another client for whom we're deploying 30 firewalls in HA pairs over a huge network. That, of course, is a Cisco setup, not FortiGate.

Everybody is cranking up on security to find new ways to block and protect not just the inbound but also the outbound traffic. They want to protect what goes out. They also want to protect DMZs and all that kind of stuff.

What is most valuable?

It is simpler to configure. It is not like Cisco Firepower, where you go crazy trying to follow the Cisco documentation to figure out how to configure one little thing. Unlike Cisco Firepower, where you can't do everything through the web interface and you have got to do some command line stuff, Fortinet FortiGate SWG is simpler. There are four different things in Cisco to get in, which is not the case with Fortinet FortiGate SWG.

It is one of my favorite solutions to work with. I would much rather work with it than Cisco Firepower, for example. Even though I've got 20 years of Cisco experience with different firewalls, I would much prefer this solution.

What needs improvement?

Their technical support could be improved a little bit in terms of responsiveness.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for almost three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

For me, so far, it is fire and forget. You just set it up, and you really don't have to mess with it. It has been really reliable. It hasn't gone down, and I haven't had any outages.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is scalable.

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support is okay. It, of course, depends on the kind of contract that you have. I've had better support from Cisco than from Fortinet when I'm having a problem that I can't figure out. Fortinet support is not bad, and they do get to the solution. However, they can be a little bit more responsive. That's the nice thing with Cisco. When you've got a network down issue, and they can get people on the phone immediately, and they stay with you until it is done. I find Fortinet's documentation better than Cisco's documentation.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We didn't have anything before, so this was brand new.

How was the initial setup?

It is fairly straightforward. The only complexity to it is that it has a little bit longer setup than the old generation firewall thing, where you slap an IP address on the outside and the inside interface and turn it on, and you're going to have a basic firewall. You have got to go through several configuration steps to get it to a good base setup.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

It is less expensive than a Cisco solution.

What other advice do I have?

If you are brand new to this solution, you're going to want to read the documentation and follow it while setting it up because otherwise, you will miss something. To use this solution, you've got to know what you're doing. You can't just take someone who is a decent network guy and expect him to figure out what he has to do. It isn't that simple.

I would rate Fortinet FortiGate SWG an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1441512 - PeerSpot reviewer
Deputy General Manager Information Technology at a media company with 201-500 employees
Real User
Good filtering, ROI, and technical support
Pros and Cons
  • "We use the filtering feature the most. It has filtering and inbuilt securities. We can create customized rules to define which users can access a particular type of site. We can create policies inside the firewall."
  • "The visibility of the network can be better. The GUI can be improved for better visibility of the network flow. Other solutions have better GUI in terms of network visibility."

What is our primary use case?

We use it for routing and restricting user access.

What is most valuable?

We use the filtering feature the most. It has filtering and inbuilt securities. We can create customized rules to define which users can access a particular type of site. We can create policies inside the firewall.

What needs improvement?

The visibility of the network can be better. The GUI can be improved for better visibility of the network flow. Other solutions have better GUI in terms of network visibility.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for maybe five or six years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

You can have the availability features. All the traffic goes through this firewall for access to the outside world.

How are customer service and technical support?

Their technical support is good.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We were using some open-source solutions, and then we directly moved to firewalls.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was straightforward. It was completed in a month or so.

What about the implementation team?

We implemented it on our own. We are a small team, so a person with a few other duties also manages this solution.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

It is not a very costly product if you compare it with other products. The return on investment is also good. If you compare the return of investment and money that you are spending on this product with Palo Alto, Cisco, Check Point, and other solutions, the investment is very less. We are happy with this solution.

The optional licenses are there, and you can choose which one you want and which one to avoid.

What other advice do I have?

It is a fine solution. We have been using this solution for some years, and we are happy with it. We will continue using it unless the FortiGate solution is running itself in some other ways with new features.

I would recommend this solution. It is working fine for us. 

I would rate Fortinet FortiGate an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1448211 - PeerSpot reviewer
System Administrator at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Easy to configure and the technical support is good, but the newer versions have issues with stability
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature is the ease of configuration."
  • "One of the problems I was having was with user mapping, and it is an issue for which I have escalated tickets with Fortinet support."

What is our primary use case?

We use this firewall as part of our security solution.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature is the ease of configuration.

What needs improvement?

There are a lot of known issues in some newer versions of the FortiGate operating system, so there is room for improvement with that. One of the problems I was having was with user mapping, and it is an issue for which I have escalated tickets with Fortinet support.

Having the newer features work in the older, more stable versions of the product would be great. Some of the new features might really help a lot, but there are problems with stability.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with FortiGate for approximately two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

There are a lot of new features built into newer releases, but there are not very stable. 

How are customer service and technical support?

The Fortinet technical support is awesome. They're handling my problem quickly and doing it well.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The price is okay.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I have compared solutions from other vendors including Palo Alto.

What other advice do I have?

This is a good product, however, there is always room for improvement.

I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. partner
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Fortinet FortiGate Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: September 2025
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Fortinet FortiGate Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.