Fortinet FortiGate-VM Reviews

My company had once deployed multiple firewalls and switches in an organization.

My company uses the firewall capabilities of the product for L1, L2, and L3 switches, along with FortiClient VPN.

My company mostly deals with an organization that works with on-premises software. My company uses the tool to block the traffic from the outside area that may reach our infrastructure or network. My company uses the product as a firewall to create a blockage for outside traffic.

The most likable feature of the firewall functionalities stemmed from the fact that it did not allow anyone from outside the organization to have any kind of access to the company's information, and it ensured that it blocked outside traffic.

The product's setup is quite complex, making it an area where improvements are required.

I have experience with Fortinet FortiGate-VM for four to five years.

Stability-wise, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

My company is involved in research and development activities, and some of our employees or teams are constantly involved in research or development, owing to which some product features are not implemented in our organization. In general, the product is not used to its 100 percent potential.

Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

I have experience with Palo Alto Networks.

The product's initial setup phase is a bit complex.

The solution is deployed on an on-premises model.

The solution can be deployed in three working days.

The deployment process can be carried out with the help of our company's in-house team.

Though I cannot give any numbers, I can say that the product's ROI is good. The tool is able to give good returns considering the amount of money that my company invested in the product for our infrastructure.

I rate the tool's benefits a nine out of ten since the product always helps to maintain security and safety in our company.

There is a need to make payments towards the licensing costs attached to the solution.

The tool improved the security in our company's virtualized environment, as it was helpful in creating an additional layer of security for the organization and for the use of the internet. The tool was the most important product to be implemented in the organization.

To be able for our organization to build our services, we need to operate inside a certain network while ensuring that the outside traffic gets blocked by using the firewall services from the tool, as it helps to create a secure network inside our company. Without the tool in our organization, our network would have been compromised. The aforementioned area consists of details related to how the tool helps with the workload protection aspect.

I recommend the solution to others who plan to use it since it helps in areas where it helps block a particular website with the help of the firewall functionalities that it possesses. The tool also helps block outside traffic, and it is mandatory to implement a firewall as an organization grows for the smooth operations of business.

I rate the tool a ten out of ten.

All firewalls, including Fortinet FortiGate-VM, provide similar features under the sync capability. The differences between them are minimal, with FortiGate-VM offering simplicity in use. It covers aspects such as intrusion prevention, web filtering, application control, routing, virtual domains, policy-based routing, and SSL.

For our customer, this product holds paramount importance. It is critical for them as we collaborate with government agencies, financial institutions, and oil and gas companies. Inspecting and controlling traffic, especially pertaining to credit cards, is crucial for their operations.

GitDM, like FortiGate VM, provides similar features to FortiGate appliances or cloud solutions. However, FortiGate VM is more suitable for heavy traffic and inspection compared to GitDM. Unfortunately, FortiGate VM lacks a dedicated SPU for inspection, and all features rely on CPU and RAM.

I don't have any specific improvements to suggest, but perhaps the pricing could be enhanced. Regarding updates, more frequent updates would be appreciated. FortiGate-VM is currently focused on providing very good firmware updates, automation, and top-notch features. It stands as a great product for now.

Based on our needs and the vulnerabilities we've encountered due to various downloads, I suggest integrating with Kaspersky Gateway. This integration would involve scanning and inspecting both official emails and spam emails. Our customer has successfully worked with Kaspersky Gateway, and overall, the integration has been effective.

I have been working with Fortinet FortiGate-VM for 3 years.

In conjunction with the switch and based on the sizing, it indicates a suitable box or VM for the customer. If the level of mailbox is low, the stability will be good, and the box will not be in conserve mode. Regarding impressions of scalability, I would rate it eight out of ten.

The support team is excellent, providing assistance and resolving issues effectively.

The setup is straightforward for me, but our customers might find it a bit challenging. Overall, following the provided steps and consulting the official materials or documentation makes the FortiGate-VM setup relatively easy.Firstly, we establish a console connection to the firewall and access its default IP. In the second step, we create rules to enable the firewall to access the internet. Following these two steps, we register a rule with Fortinet Broadcom, download the necessary licenses, and upload them. After uploading the license, we set up an interface rule, check the license, and configure interfaces such as LAN, WAN, and VPN. Subsequently, we create profiles, including web filter, application, antivirus, and IPS profiles. The last steps involve configuring interfaces like LAN, WAN, and VPN, as well as attaching profiles to outbound policies. We also consider additional configurations, like server publishing, destination netting, or integrating with PBM for Alibaba Cloud. The final three configurations are optional and depend on the customer's requirements.

We can tailor the suitable license for the customer, whether they require UTB or enterprise features. The options are flexible based on their needs.

I would recommend Fortinet for large-scale companies and Sophos for medium or small enterprises. I would rate it 8 out of 10.

Fortinet FortiGate-VM is used for the firewall. Some clients would like to go for the solution because of pricing. They feel they can run it on their own hardware, cut down costs, and manage it.

I can vouch for the security aspect of Fortinet FortiGate-VM. It's a value-for-money appliance. Fortinet has always been our number one firewall appliance regarding recommendations to customers. The solution is very secure, and its technical support is on point.

I like Fortinet FortiGate-VM for tutorial purposes. You can set up the solution on your personal computer for apps and teaching.

Fortinet FortiGate-VM should improve its asset identification, wherein the device can identify assets on the network, like computers. We should be able to identify a device and the user account used to log on to that device.

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate-VM for more than five to six years.

Since it is a VM, the solution runs on a client-provided host machine. Most of the time, the host machine gives issues that affect the VM.

I rate the solution a five out of ten for stability.

Around 20 users are using Fortinet FortiGate-VM in our organization.

I rate the solution an eight out of ten for scalability.

The solution's technical support is responsive, but the only issue is you need to be specific with your problem. If you are not specific with your problem, it will take longer to resolve the issue because of time zone differences. All the engineers would like to know exactly the problem before they offer solutions.

Positive

We previously worked with pfSense. We switched to Fortinet FortiGate-VM because pfSense was giving us issues.

Fortinet FortiGate-VM is easy to implement, provided you know your network architecture and the basics.

On a scale from one to ten, where one is complex and ten is easy, I rate the solution's initial setup a nine out of ten.

The solution can be deployed in less than ten minutes.

Fortinet FortiGate-VM is a very expensive solution. It's a value-for-money appliance. You don't have every client going in for the solution unless there are some specific points.

You need to know exactly what you need at the point of purchase. That will guide you in purchasing the required license. If you miss and purchase the wrong license, you can wait and purchase another license during renewal. You can also negotiate with Fortinet to have your license changed to get the feature you want.

On a scale from one to ten, where one is expensive and ten is cheap, I rate the solution's pricing a three out of ten.

We used to troubleshoot for Fortinet FortiGate-VM, but now the new firmware doesn't really give issues. We do maintain the solution by checking on devices and updating the firmware. We have seven engineers in our technical team to deploy and maintain the solution.

I would not recommend Fortinet FortiGate-VM to other users because most users don't have the infrastructure. They will tell you they want to cut down costs. You get them the solution, and at the end of the day, as a technical person, you will be bothered by the solution.

Regarding the upgrade, the only time we've had an issue is when the customer gave the wrong information. The utilization exceeded what they actually needed. Aside from that, Fortinet FortiGate-VM is a good appliance for us.

Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

We deploy the tool for customers who want a firewall in front of their cloud environment. We can use it for anything they want to protect in their data center or private cloud.

The solution has given us a good revenue stream and a better solution for our customers for network security. The product can take our customer’s basic firewall and take it to the next level and give them much more visibility and control over the traffic.

All the security features that are built into the product are valuable. It includes web filtering, DNS filtering, and intrusion prevention. FortiGate is the best firewall in the market. It pretty much does most things.

Support could be improved a little.

I have been using the solution for four and a half years.

I rate the solution’s stability a ten out of ten.

I rate the tool’s scalability a ten out of ten.

Sometimes, we get really good, knowledgeable engineers. At other times, it feels like we got somebody who started that day. We have to go through the wringer with them.

Neutral

The initial setup was very easy.

I have seen an ROI on the product.

The price is pretty decent compared to other products. The product’s licensing must be a little cheaper.

If you're looking for an enterprise-level next-generation firewall, go with FortiGate. It’s hands down the best value for what you pay. Overall, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

We use the product primarily in environments requiring robust network security and compliance, especially in the banking and enterprise sectors.

The platform has enhanced our organization's security posture by providing effective threat protection, bandwidth management, and SDN capabilities.

They could enhance the product's functionality for more comprehensive threat detection and mitigation, especially for large-scale deployments.

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate-VM for several years. 

The product is stable. 

The product is scalable. 

The initial setup of FortiGate was straightforward. It involved detailed planning for appliance selection based on user numbers, throughput requirements, firewall, IPS capacity, and VPN needs. 

We managed the implementation in-house, leveraging our expertise in network configuration.

FortiGate offers a favorable ROI due to its competitive pricing structure and effective network security capabilities, making it a cost-effective choice for our organization.

We evaluated alternatives like Checkpoint and Palo Alto. We chose FortiGate for its cost-effectiveness, robust performance in our specific use cases, and the comprehensive support provided by Fortinet.

The product's threat protection features have been instrumental in managing subscription-based licensing and ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements, especially in banking environments.

I rate Fortinet FortiGate-VM an eight out of ten. 

It's crucial for protecting my internet network. It works well internally.

Fortinet FortiGate-VM improved security within our virtualized environment.

However, I would rate the ease of management a seven out of ten, with ten being the best. 

The policies are very valuable. They allow me to secure and manage future traffic effectively.

The biggest area for improvement is storage configuration. It could be smoother.

I have been using it for four years. 

When it comes to stability, various factors are involved, including partners, configurations, and third-party integrations. 

However, we do use it, and it seems reliable and secure for most situations.

The company that acquired us already had similar technology in place, so there wasn't a significant change when they integrated FortiGate-VM.

We have around 60 end users in our company using this solution. It is a very scalable solution.

It's a new technology, and we're still learning. Support is crucial.

Neutral

The initial setup is straightforward and quick.  

We moved the equipment to the site, connected it to the internet, and configured it through the console.

I took a consultant's help.  

It improved security a lot.

My recommendation is: If you use FortiGate-VM, make sure your infrastructure is good first and that power generation is very stable. 

We use the solution for our private cloud.

We use Fortinet for everything in our organization. Our organization has Fortinet experts. The virtualized network features work fine. The flexibility is fine. It’s easy to integrate the solution with our network infrastructure.

We face some issues with the IPsec connection during replication. It must be improved.

I have been using the solution for six months.

The stability is fine.

I rate the tool’s scalability an eight out of ten. We have many users in our organization.

The initial setup is complex because we use CLI. The solution is cloud-based. We have moved our on-premise VM to a private VM.

I have used Netgate. I prefer Fortinet FortiGate-VM.

Overall, I rate the product a nine out of ten.

I use the solution in my company mostly as a firewall product.

The strong point of the solution is that Fortinet FortiGate-VM is a good tool to spend money on, as its price is not as high as the ones offered by Palo Alto. Compared to Palo Alto's performance, most people like Fortinet FortiGate-VM. In general, Fortinet FortiGate-VM is a tool that is available for a good price, and its performance is comparable to that of Palo Alto and Check Point.

I believe that Fortinet FortiGate-VM makes improvements on a quarterly or yearly basis.

In Fortinet FortiGate-VM, the area around the configuration, performance monitoring, and GUI are not as easy as in Palo Alto. Fortinet FortiGate-VM's configuration part, performance monitoring, and GUI are areas where improvements are required.

The scalability feature of the solution has certain shortcomings, making it an area where improvements are required.

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate-VM for more than ten years. I work as the solution's system integrator. I use the solution's latest version.

It is a very stable solution. Stability-wise, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a six or seven out of ten.

My company deals with customers with various ranges regarding the number of users who use the solution. Some of the customers I deal with and who use the solution have around 500 users.

My company plans to increase the number of users of the solution in our company.

I am not about the online support services offered by Fortinet FortiGate-VM, but our company deals with local support for the solution, which is very good.

I rate the technical support a ten out of ten.

Positive

As a system integrator, my company not only provides services for Fortinet FortiGate-VM but also for products like Palo Alto and Check Point.

The product's initial setup phase was easy.

The solution is deployed on an on-premises model.

The product's installation phase takes three hours if our company's customers provide us with all the prerequisites required for the deployment.

Cost-wise, I would describe Fortinet FortiGate-VM as a tool that is available for a good price.

Two years ago, the price for the license of the product was affordable, but I think that in the present time, there has been an increase in the price of the product by around 30 percent, making it an expensive tool in the process. I rate the product price a three on a scale of one to ten, where one is a high price, and ten is a low price.

My team consists of around 15 engineers who help me take care of the technical aspects of the product.

I recommend the product to those who plan to use it. I rate the overall tool an eight and a half to nine out of ten.