Fortinet FortiGate-VM Reviews

We are a service provider. We have the client project, so we are recommending Fortinet FortiGate for this solution. We are not just recommending; we are billing also. It's basically SD-WAN, a software-defined WAN network. On our client side, we are setting up a mini data center, and in that, we are using Fortinet FortiGate.

The best features in Fortinet FortiGate are the VPNs for the outside network and IPsec tunnels between the point-to-point links between their head office and branch offices. Software VPNs provide remote access features and remote access services. Fortinet Unified settings are good for our cloud-based management and centralized management. I think it is a better option for that.

We have not yet tried the Unified Agent. We would need more details to explore how it can be used for our business use cases.

We have been using Fortinet FortiGate for two years.

It is stable. As of now, there are no performance issues.

We have many scalable customers that have scaled in different areas. If we can get proactive support before the issues are identified by the customer itself, we can resolve it easily. We can do some proactive maintenance for that purpose.

We are using AI and ML-enhanced FortiGuard services within Fortinet FortiGate. We do use Fortinet FortiGate's data center solution.

We have Firewalls in our internal network. We have software Firewalls and Fortinet FortiGate Firewalls, which are hardware. We use Sophos and Fortinet FortiGate. We have two Firewalls mainly, for internal and outside networks. The Sophos Firewall is for external networks and Fortinet FortiGate Firewall is for internal networks.

We haven't done the full SD-WAN integration as of now. We have our own software-defined network that is cloud-based. Our customer is preferring the hardware-based solution, so Fortinet FortiGate is under consideration. Currently, we are not using Fortinet FortiGate SD-WAN, but we have a plan for that.

The Fortinet FortiGate solution is affordable and not complex. It can be manageable on private cloud. Most of our customers are government companies, so we are preferring the private cloud. Scalability is very important for us, though it's only scalable on our server.

I have been using Sophos myself from the management side, and our team has hands-on experience with multiple vendors. The only concern is support-related. We have not tried AI and ML integration with Fortinet FortiGate, but we can consider it and will refer it to our clients.

On a scale of 1-10, I rate Fortinet FortiGate a 10.

Our use case for Fortinet FortiGate is that our organization's environment meets specific criteria, which is why we are using the FortiGate, not the other firewalls.

The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate are the web filters, as we are using them mostly; our content is condition-based, so we are accessing the websites by using the web filters. Fortinet FortiGate is a stable solution, as we are using it in our organization for proxies.

I believe that Fortinet FortiGate can be improved, especially in support response times. If you have a critical scenario in your organization, when you email them and call, they ask you to log the ticket first, which takes time.

I have approximately six years of experience working with Fortinet FortiGate.

It's a good solution, and we are using it for almost six years without experiencing any bad scenarios. However, there is an issue with Fortinet support, as we are using the premium support but have not received good results, since they take a long time to resolve queries after we submit them.

Fortinet FortiGate is a scalable solution.

My concern is primarily about the support. The product is good, but my overall concern is about the support.

Before Fortinet FortiGate, I haven't used any other solutions; it was the first one, and I am using it until now.

The initial setup of Fortinet FortiGate was very easy for me.

We have just deployed Fortinet FortiGate in our organization by ourselves, without help from the support or any other vendors.

I just work on Fortinet FortiGate, but I have heard in the market that Fortinet FortiGate is better than others in terms of cost and overall solution. My total experience is only with Fortinet FortiGate, so I am very comfortable with this product.

In my opinion, the price of Fortinet FortiGate is good, as it is a good solution with a good price.

In comparison to other firewalls, it is a good solution with a good price.

I would rate Fortinet FortiGate overall as nine out of ten, as it has made different products for different needs. You cannot get all the solutions in one box, but for dedicated requirements, you need dedicated hardware for other functions. I would rate technical support from Fortinet at a three on a scale of one to ten.

My main use case for Fortinet FortiGate includes deploying all Fortinet solutions, from zero to a complete deployment for infrastructure security. This includes securing the internal network infrastructure, securing the edge network for perimeter protection, and interconnecting sites through site-to-site VPN, multi-site, remote access, and SSL VPN.

Additionally, it includes the protection of DMZ servers through the most advanced UTM security profiles of Fortinet.

The use of Fortinet FortiGate helps me with site-to-site VPN and remote access. The use of Fortinet products occurs in real, professional deployment projects for the clients I work with. The specifications are based on the deployment of SD-WAN, site-to-site VPN, multi-site, hub and spoke, SSL VPN, and many other subjects for securing the infrastructure, whether it involves remote sites with small appliances or a head office site with data center or campus appliances.

For interconnecting remote sites, whether through site-to-site VPN or multi-site, the process is simple. It depends on the context and the client's specifications. For a client who has a site to interconnect, it will be a simple site-to-site deployment with IPsec VPN to allow interconnection of different sites. For a client who has several sites, I propose and deploy a hub and spoke setup with ADVPN for scalable interconnection of multiple sites.

The standout features of Fortinet FortiGate include its ease of use, intuitive interface for implementation, and simplified maintenance, administration, and daily management from deployment to monitoring. The accessible support and documentation that Fortinet makes available to all users is essential.

One of the advantages of using Fortinet is that it uses an identical FortiOS system for all Fortinet products. They all have an intuitive interface that is easy to use and learn, even for novices. They can easily integrate and adapt to use Fortinet in different use cases. In my experience with products from other providers such as Palo Alto, Cisco, and Check Point, Fortinet is the only provider to have successfully set up a unified operating system on all its products in the network security ecosystem.

Through a Fortinet FortiGate, you have the ability to manage the entire ecosystem of your network through a simple management system. The Security Fabric of FortiGate allows you to simplify management and threat response from all security equipment that can collaborate and be used together. Additionally, FortiManager accompanies this solution to unify the centralized management of all Fortinet products, using the same FortiOS system.

The use of Fortinet FortiGate in an infrastructure saves time, reduces costs, improves the security of users and resources, and prevents data leakage. When deployed properly to secure the infrastructure, there is increased productivity, improved user performance, and reduction in bandwidth consumption.

I think Fortinet FortiGate can be improved as Fortinet must address significant points of evolution. When I mention points of evolution at Fortinet, I mean they must implement simplified processes for deployment scenarios and enhance their ability to support customers, despite existing documentation and support access.

I started using Fortinet FortiGate over six years ago. In the last three years, the use of FortiGate and many other Fortinet products has become intense and regular.

In my experience, Fortinet FortiGate is not stable at all.

Fortinet FortiGate's scalability is good.

Most of the clients I support technically with their Fortinet products appreciate the service. They don't have any problems, so there is no significant negative feedback.

Before using Fortinet FortiGate, I used Cisco ASA. We switched to Fortinet because they provided much more concrete solutions, were more up-to-date, and focused on network security as their core business.

On the cloud side, purchasing Fortinet FortiGate through the AWS Marketplace is very simple to deploy and easy to set up. My experience with the configuration process in AWS has been globally simple.

I have not seen a return on investment since using Fortinet FortiGate.

My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for Fortinet FortiGate is that the licensing and hardware pricing is reasonable compared to other security solution providers. However, Fortinet must review the access to these licenses at reduced prices, and the appliance prices must be reviewed to allow access to all organizations, including small, medium, and large-sized businesses.

I would add that all of Fortinet's UTM protection solutions are solutions that respond to the current ecosystem for the protection of critical infrastructures. My advice to others looking into using Fortinet FortiGate would be that while recommendations are great, they should ask more questions. I rate Fortinet FortiGate an eight out of ten.

We're working with Fortinet FortiGate firewalls, network devices, and Wi-Fi, specifically for Wi-Fi and networking.

The best features of Fortinet FortiGate include the flexibility of hybrid cloud capabilities and the way they are structuring their multi-tenancy and for managed services, along with manageability. The services have improved data center protection at scale because we have standardized, and it's all more manageable.

Technical support would probably be an area for improvement, particularly around the extensibility of hybrid multi-cloud integration with AI. I have faced some issues with technical support, particularly with the speed of response not being so quick at times. We also want to improve the partnership program, as it is not flexible enough for global companies. The partner program's level of certification and commercial commitment is not really well-suited for global partners.

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for many years now.

I would rate their technical support as a six.

The implementation and initial setup of Fortinet FortiGate depends on various factors and is not straightforward. The person who implements it needs to know what they are doing and should be certified on how to implement it. However, if you know what you're doing, it's more straightforward than most other products.

Fortinet provides training as part of our partner program.

I have seen a return on investment, more or less.

My experience with pricing is good; we're sorting out our global partnerships. Before I joined the company, we had a pricing problem because the partnership was not set up correctly, but now I've managed to get that sorted out and hopefully, that will resolve the issue and lead to better pricing globally.

For a firewall perspective, your next option would probably be Palo Alto or Check Point, but Fortinet has made significant improvements to go ahead in that space. I think your closest contender right now is probably Palo Alto.

I would recommend Fortinet FortiGate to most organizations. I would rate Fortinet FortiGate overall as an eight.

Our use cases include link aggregation with core switches and WAN switches solutions when having multiple ISPs to reduce the number of utilization ports in the Fortinet FortiGate firewall. We can provide link aggregation bandwidth and throughput of 1GB and create LACP for their traffic. The solution includes LACP link aggregation solutions, LDAP integrations, and read-write profiles for L1 and L2 access integrations. It also includes dial-up VPN, hub-and-spoke setup, IPsec tunnels setups, and automation features where administrators receive notifications for any changes in the firewall. Currently, in India, approximately 30 to 40% of organizations utilize these devices.

The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate include web filtering and application category functionality. The application category allows web filtering based on categories, which is one of the strengths of the Fortinet FortiGate firewall. The traffic is stable and seamless. We have found minimal bugs in the firmware, and when issues are discovered, they are immediately rectified with TAC engineers.

Fortinet FortiGate can be deployed in both large and small organizations. The solution can be implemented in organizations with 150, 60, or 100 users. We can provide solutions based on their throughput requirements, which is a significant advantage of the firewall.

I require many more features as of now.

I've been working with Fortinet FortiGate for four years.

The traffic is stable and seamless. We have found minimal bugs in the firmware, and when issues are discovered, they are immediately rectified with TAC engineers.

I have not gone in-depth regarding scalability, but from economic, financial, and security level perspectives, everything is manageable and better understood. We also receive support from the TAC team.

Support services are excellent, deserving a rating of 8.5 to 9. Technical support provides better clarity about issues. Only two or three cases rarely remained unresolved by TAC engineers.

When comparing with other OEM levels, we can provide better solutions.

The complexity level is not significant.

When using another OEM firewall, we can provide alternative solutions.

The solution is very easy to understand and handy. We have customers deployed both on-premises and in the cloud. Our main focus is on monitoring bandwidth utilization and identifying which applications are used most frequently and which IPs are affected. We have separate monitoring tools to identify malware or malicious content downloads, providing additional benefits. 

For data center solutions, we provide solutions based on throughput, number of users, and traffic routing from hubs to DC. The application utilization tracking allows us to see bandwidth usage per IP and MAC address, helping allocate traffic shaping for particular departments.

I would rate it a nine out of 10

I mostly use FortiGate VM for securing cloud databases or internal in-house databases. It serves as the main perimeter firewall in our data centers.

FortiGate VM allows me to avoid the hardware lease recycle every five to eight years. I can purchase the VM, lock the hardware cost, and simply pay for licensing each year. This saves on capital expenditures in the long run. It can be upgraded or downgraded as needed. If the organization grows, a partial license can increase the device's capacity.

The previous version 5.6 had integrated features for logging, monitoring, and management. Now, these features require separate products like FortiManager, FortiAnalyzer, and a FortiCloud subscription for reporting. Many users are now turning to Sophos for the integrated features that were once part of Fortinet but are now separate.

I have been working with FortiGate VM for three to four years.

I would rate the stability as eight out of ten. Previously, patches had fewer bugs, however, recently they have had more, requiring internal testing to ensure deployment stability.

Scalability is an excellent selling point for FortiGate VM. It can start with a single core and scale up to a 32-core license for a robust deployment.

The partner support is quite low, and the end-user support is delayed at levels L2 and L3. L1 support is quick.

Neutral

Many users have shifted to Sophos due to changes in Fortinet's logging and monitoring features.

The initial setup depends on the hardware. It should be compatible with supported drivers for optimal performance.

I often customize the hardware and drivers based on client needs to deploy FortiGate VM.

FortiGate VM is considered a premium product, which can be costly, especially in regions with low budgets for IT infrastructure like Pakistan.

I evaluated Sangfor and MikroTik as the main competitors in Pakistan.

The solution rates as an eight out of ten. 

It is essential for the best solution to be properly deployed with appropriate policies, and users must be trained; otherwise, it might fail.

I primarily use it for the Nextiva SIM firewall and the website application firewall. We strive to serve our customers, including utilizing the SD-WAN feature in FortiGate in our office.

The features that are beneficial for failure mitigation and security include PPN and firewall security. The integration of multiple networks, especially in complex environments such as the finance and manufacturing industries, makes FortiGate valuable. In these industries, it can be difficult to implement and integrate several applications.

Currently, I am working on improvements. One of the main areas is the processing and integration of new features. In my opinion, refreshing the CPM technology with zero-trust access could enhance its performance.

I have used the solution mostly for maybe ten years.

The product has been very stable, based on my ten to eleven years of experience. When I propose FortiGate to customers, hardware problems have been minimal, which suggests a reliable performance.

Scalability is well-supported, with the notable ability to implement features easily. FortiGate offers robust scalability options.

I find the customer service to be good.

Positive

The initial setup typically takes three to five days.

Sometimes, questions arise about the backup position, especially regarding firewall operations. FortiGate, placed next to Nextiva SIM, excels in terms of pricing and operational efficiency. Customers can easily troubleshoot with great technical support. I would rate it nine out of ten.

The main use is for clients who are migrating to the cloud. We started this journey during the pandemic, and the main case is with clients who are moving to either a private or a public cloud.

The solution allows us to organize our networks and access within one vendor, using an integrated platform. The more integrated we become, the less we spend on solving bugs and issues, allowing us to reduce time focusing on understanding and improving our network. We value the reliability and versatility.

I have used the solution for two years.

Fortinet offers stability with fewer fixes and adjustments needed compared to other solutions like SonicWall.

Customer service and support are very good. I would rate them a nine on a scale of one to ten.

Positive

I had a small experience with SonicWall. The main difference is Fortinet's stability, requiring fewer adjustments.

The initial setup is easy.

We have three people specialized in Fortinet. One person can handle a normal project with one or two VMs. They are SOC engineers providing support.

Clients receive operational impacts through improved reliability. They have a platform that organizes their networks and access effectively.

Pricing is complex. They could be slightly cheaper, however, Fortinet offers a good cost-benefit ratio. They are above average.

I evaluated SonicWall.

I would recommend Fortinet FortiGate-VM as a very good solution.

I'd rate the solution nine out of ten.