Fortinet FortiGate Reviews

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for the past six years.

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate to provide security for network and perimeter networks and gateways, and I rely on Fortinet FortiGate to protect my applications from various Layer 4 and Layer 7 attacks and traffic from malicious IPs while blocking traffic from unwanted IPs.

Fortinet FortiGate is also mainly used to establish IPsec tunnel connectivity with other networks, and users from outside the office network can connect to resources via IPsec VPN as well as site-to-site and client-to-site VPN, which leverages access and resource availability across various networks and simplifies resource accessibility worldwide.

One of the main features that I use in real time with Fortinet FortiGate is web filtering and App IDs based on application control. Previously, I allowed application access policies based on ports, but it could not prevent traffic based on the same application port with different use cases. For example, port 443 can be used for various purposes, but it could not restrict access for some specific applications. The App ID based control is useful for me to restrict traffic based on application usage and user access, which is the primary purpose of Fortinet FortiGate in real time.

Fortinet FortiGate offers next-generation firewall features and security features that restrict access for malicious traffic, URLs, and IPs, which is a major feature that Fortinet FortiGate offers.

The next-generation firewall capabilities including deep packet inspection and application controls via App IDs, Intrusion Prevention Systems, web filtering, URL filtering, and anti-malware protections are essential features that are present in Fortinet FortiGate to prevent various cyber attacks and threats in the network.

Fortinet FortiGate is also mainly used to establish IPsec tunnel connectivity with other networks, and users from outside the office network can connect to resources via IPsec VPN as well as site-to-site and client-to-site VPN, which leverages access and resource availability across various networks and simplifies resource accessibility worldwide.

The security features could have been more similar to those in the Palo Alto firewall with major data protections and WildFire, and deeper inspection capabilities, which Fortinet FortiGate lacks. Additionally, I notice that Fortinet FortiGate often experiences resource utilization problems where memory is heavily occupied regularly, necessitating cleanup tasks.

During firmware upgrades, the process is not smooth; one of the VMs often goes out of sync and exits the HA cluster. Therefore, I separate the HA between the firewalls and perform upgrade activities one by one manually. The graphical dashboard representation of the data is frequently inaccurate, leading me to rely on syslogs for more dependable information. The log retention period on the device seems too short despite having ample memory and disk capacity, which is a major issue.

I have been working in my current field for the past seven years.

The scalability experience indicates that if I need additional features or security capabilities, such as sandbox features, I can add them by opting for separate licenses, making it convenient for me.

Fortinet FortiGate customer support appears somewhat good, but for complex cases or major incidents, I often do not receive prompt support from the OEM, resulting in multiple follow-ups to get the necessary assistance.

Previously, I used to have a Cisco ASA firewall, which had fewer security features for protecting the network from day-to-day attacks and threats. Fortinet FortiGate firewall has next-generation capabilities with various security features including deep inspections, filters, URL filters, URL categories, and IPS protections while controlling application access based on application IDs, along with anti-malware protections to safeguard applications from malicious threats and attacks. By using Fortinet FortiGate, I significantly reduced major attacks that could exploit my network.

I would advise others considering Fortinet FortiGate, particularly those concerned about budget and pricing with decent performance and support, to proceed with Fortinet FortiGate, as compared to other next-generation firewall products, Fortinet FortiGate has lower license support costs, which is a significant advantage. Moreover, from my experience, it performs its job effectively with no major issues related to performance or functionalities including policy control, VPN, and security features. I would rate this product a 7 out of 10.

Fortinet FortiGate serves as our perimeter network firewall for our internal needs, and we also use SD-WAN to combine several internet service providers. I have experience with integration of SD-WAN capabilities, and I can explain my feedback on this.

The impact of SD-WAN on my network performance is clear, and if we speak about Fortinet Unified SASE, it is effective for me. My experience with this unified agent brings some examples to mind.

There are some areas for improvement in Fortinet FortiGate, including some small challenges I have faced.

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for about two years.

I do not work with Fortinet FortiGate Data Center solution, and in general, Fortinet FortiGate is stable. I never see any crashes or downtime; it performs fine overall, but I wonder if it is also scalable or if there may be some limitations, possibly regarding cost to scale.

I never see any crashes or downtime; it performs fine overall, but I wonder if it is also scalable or if there may be some limitations, possibly regarding cost to scale.

I would give technical support from Fortinet nine points as well, noting that only the licensing model could be a bit improved, and all the rest is fine.

Positive

In terms of pricing, the solution is a bit expensive, but I think it was a better option than Checkpoint, which is why I replaced it.

Since implementing Fortinet FortiGate, I have not seen significant changes in ROI, but what I can share about deployment is that Fortinet FortiGate is easy to deploy.

I deploy the solution on the cloud.

Since implementing Fortinet FortiGate, I have not seen significant changes in ROI.

In terms of pricing, the solution is a bit expensive, but I think it was a better option than Checkpoint, which is why I replaced it.

In terms of pricing, the solution is a bit expensive, but I think it was a better option than Checkpoint, which is why I replaced it.

I am working with Fortinet FortiGate as a customer. I purchased the product from Fortinet directly, and if we speak about integration of SD-WAN with Fortinet FortiSASE, it has a positive impact on application performance in my case. For SD-WAN, I am not using it, so I would rate my overall experience with Fortinet FortiGate as nine out of ten points. I don't want to see new features included or new integrations for now.

We are using Fortinet FortiGate for the SD-WAN solution between our branches. We also started using Fortinet's access points, wireless solution, and full fabric with switching. We are using many products from Fortinet.

We don't use Fortinet FortiGate for data center solutions; we just use Fortinet FortiGate for perimeter firewalls and wireless and switching.

The main benefits that Fortinet FortiGate provides is the security of the network.

Fortinet FortiGate has many functions, and it is one of the best next-generation firewalls with an affordable cost than other vendors. 

Fortinet FortiGate is useful for network performance, and it helps to optimize the links between branches and the applications that are used from the data center to other branches. 

The integration between SD-WAN and FortiGate is easy. It accommodates our needs.

They can add automation for monitoring and policy optimization on the firewall. I think using AI to do some optimization on the policies would be beneficial, such as providing alerts about policies that haven't been used for a long time or identifying overlapping policies.

I have been working with Fortinet FortiGate for at least six to seven years.

I would rate the stability of Fortinet FortiGate as eight out of ten.

I would rate the scalability of Fortinet FortiGate as eight out of ten.

I would rate technical support from Fortinet as seven out of ten. While there are no issues, there is improvement needed for fast response and clear response from Fortinet's technical support.

Positive

The initial setup for Fortinet FortiGate is very simple.

Palo Alto is the main competitor in the market. Fortinet FortiGate provides a simple solution. It is less expensive than Palo Alto and meets our requirements. 

We do the exercise from designing and planning with Fortinet FortiGate, and then we purchase through a partner.

My overall rating for Fortinet FortiGate is eight out of ten.

My main use case for this product is a firewall.

I appreciate the ease of use, ease of setup, and the different abilities it has. I have been very pleased with it over SonicWall. The interface of Fortinet FortiGate is a lot easier to use and more robust, plus their VPN option is much better; SonicWall is ridiculously slow. I have been very happy with the effectiveness of the unified SASE for providing consistent security policies across multiple locations. It has positively impacted my organization by freeing me up regarding administration; I spend a lot less time on administration. It probably saves me about 30 to 45 minutes a week.

They could continuously focus their improvements on network perimeter security, as that's what they're best at.

I have had four years of experience with Fortinet FortiGate, going on four, possibly five. I cannot remember if we switched over to them in 2020 or 2021, but I think it was 2020.

Fortinet FortiGate is very stable. I don't have any issues with Fortinet FortiGate freezing up or needing frequent restarts. The firmware updates are automatic, and I have just been really happy.

While we're a single office with a single server, I can say that it can definitely be scaled up.

I had a little help from Fortinet FortiGate support, but other than that, it was just me deploying it. I would rate their support a 10; they're fantastic. Their knowledge makes them fantastic; if they had to research something and get back to me, it was very quick, and usually I get an answer right away.

The unit itself is probably comparable in price, maybe a little more expensive than SonicWall; however, the yearly maintenance is quite a bit more, but it is more robust and worth it.

For a firewall, the initial setup was pretty straightforward for us.

I had a little help from Fortinet FortiGate support, but other than that, it was just me deploying it.

I believe all use cases could work for this solution. For us, Fortinet FortiGate is deployed on-premises. We purchased Fortinet FortiGate through a Fortinet reseller. Their knowledge makes them fantastic; if they had to research something and get back to me, it was very quick, and usually I get an answer right away.

I would rate Fortinet FortiGate an 8 or a 9 overall; everything always has room for improvement, but I'm pretty pleased with it.

My use cases for Fortinet FortiGate mostly involve perimeter-based security and fire-walling.

I find that Fortinet FortiGate is pretty easy to use and integrated, offering many features in one box at a decent price compared to other enterprise vendors. When I first used it as a one-for-one replacement, the functionality was basically the same, but the ease of use compared to the old solution increased, so I definitely saw benefits immediately.

Fortinet FortiGate could improve by enhancing FortiManager, which is the centralized management system. It has many inconsistencies and errors with respect to pushing policies, especially when we have a large network team that needs to push different rules. Improving the consistency and allowing proper stability with many users managing hundreds of firewalls would be beneficial. Regarding cloud deployment in public cloud, it is less flexible and scalable, and customers need to provide and take care of resiliency, scalability, and redundancy. This could be a future improvement for Fortinet FortiGate to better adhere to cloud philosophies.

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for approximately 10 years.

The stability and performance of Fortinet FortiGate have been good, as it has been running at the company for quite a few years since we first implemented it.

Regarding scalability, we have hundreds of physical appliances deployed, which are running adequately. However, in cloud deployment such as public cloud, it is less flexible and scalable. Customers need to provide and take care of resiliency, scalability, and redundancy, which could be a future improvement for Fortinet FortiGate to better adhere to cloud philosophies.

I have contacted technical support regarding FortiSwitch integration issues with Fortinet FortiGate. They are good at responding, though I don't need to call support often. For myself, the experience has been good. On a scale from 1 to 10, I would give Fortinet FortiGate's support an eight. I did have some minor issues with the person I talked to, but overall, they were able to resolve the issue.

Positive

I have used alternatives to Fortinet FortiGate.

For someone with a network background deploying Fortinet FortiGate for the first time, the switch is very easy and the UI is easy to navigate. However, their CLI is very difficult to learn, though changes and configurations in the UI are very understandable.

For the deployment of Fortinet FortiGate, it depends on the project, but for smaller or even bigger deployments, one person can easily handle it, excluding data center rack installation.

Fortinet FortiGate requires maintenance, including updates and firmware updates to fix bugs and security vulnerabilities. Overall, it runs fine, but it has security vulnerabilities with respect to some features that may have affected its reputation. Keeping up to date is a normal part of having any product vendor, and their upgrade process has been smooth.

I don't necessarily know directly about their pricing, but Fortinet tends to be lower than Cisco based on the separate projects I've been involved with. In general, Fortinet FortiGate has very competitive pricing.

Cisco Firepower is one alternative to Fortinet FortiGate. Comparing both, ease of use is a major difference. Cisco Firepower's ease of use is very poor, with many bugs and issues that made it non-functional - some things break and pushing policies is very slow.

Previously, I was a customer of Fortinet, but now I am also a reseller partner. I rate Fortinet FortiGate 8 out of 10.

There are many main use cases for Fortinet FortiGate for my clients, including network firewall, VPN, ZTNA, and SD-WAN. The firewall is basically the primary function and one of the best features in Fortinet FortiGate.

The AI aspect has helped to protect data centers at scale by improving the reduction of false positive errors and handling unknown threats.

I have hands-on experience with demos and implementation of Fortinet FortiGate. The AI and ML enhanced FortiGuard services are quite new, and I have some experience but not much since they are a new feature.

The stability and performance of Fortinet FortiGate are mixed, as some features are quite good and very stable while others are quite new and very buggy.

There are quite a lot of bugs in Fortinet FortiGate, and they introduce new features every day that come with problems. I think they introduce them too fast.

Fortinet brings in new products every year and acquires new companies while inventing new products, which is good but also bad because they introduce a lot of workload and problems or bugs onto the table.

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for almost three years.

The stability and performance of Fortinet FortiGate are mixed, as some features are quite good and very stable while others are quite new and very buggy.

Scalability highly depends on the purchase decision. If the user bought the appliance, then it is not scalable, but for the VM on the software side, it can expand.

I have some experience with Fortinet's customer service and technical support. I would rate the technical support of Fortinet on a scale of 1 to 10 around a 7 or 8, primarily because they have local operations in Thailand, so they have at least some people who can speak Thai.

Positive

I do have experience in working with technologies other than email security solutions.

If talking about the general product, the initial setup of Fortinet FortiGate is quite straightforward, simple, and easy. However, it depends on the DNA of the product. If the Fortinet product was acquired from another company, that is a different story.

My role is usually on the pre-sales and the POC role in integrating SD-WAN capabilities with Fortinet FortiGate. I am not involved in the implementation side and cannot tell much about it.

In Thailand, the concept of unified SASE is not very popular because the traffic has to go through the cloud, and they are not very afraid of the cloud or highly adopting it at this time. 

I know about dynamic segmentation in Fortinet FortiGate from the book and theory side, but on the implementation side, there are not many projects that implement it that way. It is probably never done.

There are several benefits that Fortinet FortiGate brings to the table, and I cannot speak of only one or two as it is too extensive. It highly depends on the use case, and the only word I can tell is that it is very multi-purpose or all-purpose and highly usable in many use cases. 

Fortinet FortiGate is quite a mix for organizations considering it, as some products are very easy and straightforward to start, making it easy to sell, and then they can expand to other more complex and advanced products.

The main use cases for Fortinet FortiGate usually include security to filter traffic to inside the network, load balancing and QoS for the user side, as well as Zero Trust Network Access, allowing users outside and inside the network fabric to connect to our application that is under the firewall.

The most useful features in Fortinet FortiGate are the security features, where we can analyze what kind of traffic is inside our network, and we also utilize ZTNA for limiting and managing our network access. 

The issue with Fortinet FortiGate is the many security CVEs around; I have read there are probably multiple critical CVEs above 9.0 in Fortinet FortiGate products. There appear to be fewer issues with other brands such as Palo Alto or Check Point, but especially with Fortinet FortiGate, there are many vulnerabilities that can be found. The way we manage this is by applying updates whenever new ones are available, but the high critical CVEs generate concern, as we buy security products for our safety and when we find that attackers can easily breach them, it makes us question the safety of the product itself. 

I hope we can deploy the product in an active-active configuration since we currently have two units in an active and passive setup. There are limitations when trying to install it with active-active, but we hope to run it that way.

I have been working with the Fortinet FortiGate firewall for two years.

Stability wise, Fortinet FortiGate is quite good; we rarely have issues with stability, and compared to the previous solution we had, which was much worse, Fortinet FortiGate has had no issues so far.

Fortinet FortiGate is not very scalable. We use the appliance, and once we are out of capacity, we have to buy a new one, as there is no way through scalability. I would rate scalability as a seven out of ten.

I rarely use customer support, but there are a few cases where I tried to reach out before, and it was handled and closed properly, so I had no issues. I would rate the support as nine, based on my experience.

The previous solution we used was Sophos. Sophos had stability problems.

The setup is not complex. It's quite straightforward.

The return on investment after implementing Fortinet FortiGate has been quite okay, allowing us to get the value of what we paid for.

The benefit is more like we are buying insurance. All of the security products may be optional, but having them helps us feel safer and assures us that our network is protected from attackers.

It's affordable. We usually pay about 10K USD annually for the license on a yearly basis.

We have experience with integrating SD-WAN capabilities in Fortinet FortiGate. It is only useful if we have multiple internet operators; if we use a one-to-one connection, there are no benefits. Some of our sites do have multiple internet access, allowing us to use SD-WAN to manage the connection, making it easier to treat it as a single connection while SD-WAN helps manage and load balance between those two.

We do not use Fortinet Unified SASE now, but we are considering implementing it. In the data center, we actually have another solution, but Fortinet FortiGate is used only for our customer-facing side.

My advice to those planning to use Fortinet FortiGate is to check for updates often. We had several issues before due to the firmware we used, but after upgrading to the 7.4 firmware, a lot of issues were resolved just by applying the update regularly. Actually, compared to other firewalls, it is on the very affordable side.

I would rate Fortinet FortiGate an eight out of ten.

We are using it for security purposes. We have deployed it across multiple locations where we are already using it.

The security features are valuable, particularly the ransomware attack protection features. Fortinet FortiGate provides excellent security against ransomware attacks.

It contains every feature that is required. 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.

We have been using it for more than one and a half months.

It's stable. I would rate it an eight out of ten for stability.

It's scalable. I would rate it a nine out of ten for scalability.

I am handling all the operations. We have multiple staff members at multiple locations.

Coming from a technical background, there hasn't been any requirement to speak with customer care representatives. The manual provided covers everything comprehensively.

Neutral

I have experience with Sophos, Fortinet FortiGate, and SonicWall.

We purchased it through our vendor. Our company doesn't prefer to make purchases through online shopping platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart.

We have seen a return on investment of more than 20%.

It is somewhat expensive compared to other solutions such as Sophos.

I would recommend it to others. I would rate Fortinet FortiGate a nine out of ten. There isn't a need to compare it with anyone else because Fortinet FortiGate is at the top of the market.