Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center Reviews

Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center needs to improve its UI and stability. 

I have been working with the solution for three years. 

Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center's scalability is good. 

The solution's technical support is good. 

The tool's installation is easy and takes about one to two hours to complete. 

The solution is not expensive. 

I rate the product a seven out of ten. 

The FortiSwitches together with FortiGate give users more visibility into the network. It also offers up straight intelligence when paired with FortiGate when it's connected through the security fabric, which helps improve security. For example, if you've got your FortiSwitches in place, you can actually control FortiSwitch using FortiGate.

The solution has the switch controller built into FortiGate, which is a bonus. From there you are able to see, for example, the number of switches that you actually have. You have logical topology of the switches that are interconnected into your environment. From that logical topology, you're able to drill down into each switch and see what devices are connected to what, within which port. Together with Fortinet in the security fabric with Forticlient, you'll be able to see the clients that are of high risk within the network.

If you've got a server that has got a vulnerable application, that information can be shared through the switch. It also has the functionality whereby if one machine within the network tries to send infected information or is infected itself, it will result in traffic being blocked. That way, the spreading of viruses is drastically reduced.

The solution has made configuration and setup very, very easy.

In terms of usability, they give us very good visibility.

The device, when using it with FortiGate, is seamless.

The Solution is robust as it is currently but there is room to added more automated responses on the fortigate such that if vulnerability is picked by the forticlient it can auto-remediate example is that when Forticlient picks that a software on an endpoint is not patched you will have manually allow forticlient to patch it but in future if this can be automated for the fortigate or forticlient to automatically patch such vulnerability it will be of great help to keep the network secure all times.

In terms of stability, the switches are very stable. We haven't had any issues since we started deploying them.

In terms of scalability, I think it's very scalable. If implemented properly, in most cases, it's all about the number of ports that you've got and the speed that you expect from them.

We've been in touch with Fortinet's technical support. We haven't been in touch in terms of the deployment of the switches, but, in general, I'd rate them nine out of ten. Most of the time, when we work with them, they find a solution to our issues. On very rare occasions, when we open a ticket, there may be a slight delay in response, which is why I didn't give them a full ten out of ten. However, we've found them to be very good and very reliable.

FortiSwitch implementation is quite straightforward and very simple, unlike other products. It's easy in part because we already have FortiGate in our environment and the integration is seamless. It's just a matter of enabling FortiSwitch. It's like dedicating an interface on FortiGate. You simply dedicate that FortiGate interface for FortiSwitches and FortiSwitch will automatically connect to FortiGate.

Instantly, you've got visibility to that switch, which you can manage everything through FortiGate. 

You can also use FortiGate as a standalone unit. However, we mostly work with FortiSwitch through FortiGate. The beauty of that is that you don't have to log in to several switches if you've got FortiGate to manage them. You can simply manage them from one interface through FortiGate.

We use FortiSwitch together with the FortiGate. So there wasn't any licensing that was required on our unit.

We partnered with a company called Maxtech, which has a direct partnership with Fortinet.

The integration that Fortinet has is what we call Forti security fabric. When you've got your FortiGate and you've got your FortiSwitches, this device communicates that intelligence. To add to that, you can get Forticlient. Forticlient is responsible for sharing information about the vulnerabilities on any particular machine. If there is any vulnerability, that information is shared with FortiGate. You don't really have to guess which devices are connected to your network and what they're doing on the network. 

The security fabric of Fortinet is really a game-changer for us. When you have your switches in that security fabric, the solution is quite good.

Overall, I'd rate the solution eight out of ten. We had a slight issue with the device when it was working as a standalone product in an environment where there wasn't any FortiGate in place. In this case, half the time most of the clients would say they wouldn't really benefit much in terms of visibility unless when they logged in. However, when it's incorporated with FortiGate, I'd easily rate it a full 10 out of 10.

We use it as an API, as our last solution.

The main feature is that we can manage all the network's rules for FortiGate, it's the main added value for us.

The integration of wireless products could be improved.

I've been using FortiSwitch for the last six months.

The product has a good stability.

Initial setup was simple and done by our company. Deployment took from one to two hours.

The cost of FortiNet is affordable and good for price-sensitive accounts.

The main difference between FortiSwitch and Aruba Switches is the price. The prices of Aruba are higher and they have unlimited features that FortiSwitch does not, like segmentation and analytics engines. Fortinet offers a simpler product. So if the network is simple, I would recommend Fortinet, but if we're dealing with a large network with mini customization and mini requirements, then I'd recommend Aruba and Chorley.

I would give FortiSwitch a seven out of ten. I also want to add that this solution would work best in small-medium companies. 

On-premises

We are using FortiSwitch at our factory. We are using both the Firewall and Wi-Fi devices with this device.

We are able to monitor everything that is happening on our network.

This solution is very easy to configure and use.

The level of security that is provided is good.

The support for this product is good.

With IT products, there is always room for improvement.

We are currently evaluating this product and have been using it for two or three months.

We have not faced any issues with respect to stability.

I have not been in contact with technical support regarding this solution. However, I have spoken with them about issues related to a Fortinet Firewall and a VPN configuration. I found that the support was good and we were happy with it. The engineer brought us to a good resolution and it was on-time.

We also have experience with similar solutions by Cisco.

The initial setup is easy and did not present any difficulties.

Cost-wise, Fortinet solutions are cheaper than those offered by Cisco.

We are in the process of evaluating this solution and so far, it is good.

This is a product that I would recommend. It is very consistent, and its upgrade and updates are current. The support is good, and the pricing is also good.

Overall, our experience with this product is good.

I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.

This is a solution that we use in our company and we also provide services to our clients.

The FortiSwitch is used to manage traffic between our VMs and physical hosts across multiple data centers. It is part of our network fabric and it can support the amount of throughput that we need to provide HA to service our clients.

The most valuable feature is the port analytics. When you start getting into FortiManager and some of their analytics tools, that's the stuff I'm more interested in.

Before using FortiSwitch, you need several certifications.

The price could be improved.

I have been using this Fortinet solution for five years.

We have not had any issues with stability. It's fine.

The scalability is fine. Our clients range in size from small businesses to large entities.

I have been in contact with Fortinet technical support several times and they seem to be good. We have had no issues with them.

We have experience with similar products from Ubiquiti and the biggest difference between them is the price. It is a significant difference. I can get the same sort of information out of the Ubiquiti suite, but I have to do it differently.

The initial setup is straightforward.

Every product has a thousand features and we're probably using 10% of them. So, it's more about certifications and knowledge for understanding capabilities.

My advice for anybody who is implementing this solution is to spend some time to get to learn it. Once you do, using it is pretty straightforward.

I would recommend the FortiSwitch Data Center, for sure, although there is always room for improvement.

I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.

A valuable feature of FortiGate is its management integrity. FortiSwitch has two modes, one standalone and the other managed. The standalone mode cannot be managed from FortiGate, although the managed mode allows one to manage FortiSwitch from FortiGate. This includes the making or assigning of virtual LAN, interfacing, enabling and disabling and patching of upgrades. This can be done from FortiGate to every other FortiSwitch. 

It would be great were FortiGate to allow for the management of many switches, such as 50 or 60 FortiSwitches. The managed display is very low. It takes a long time for the view to become visible, two or three minutes, perhaps. This is irritating. When there are many switches being used, the speed declines noticeably. 

When it comes to stability and use of the managed feature, FortiSwitch does not consume many resources, such as CPU and memory. Yet, occasionally, we cannot understand the managed feature of the FortiLink platform. Stability is not really the issue. Troubleshooting is.

While the installation process is not complicated, the need to do regional configuration of FortiSwitch can be a bit on the tricky side. 

We have a singular project on the FortiSwitch and this solution does not have many features when it comes to modular installation. One can move from one port to another on the same switch. Since the FortiSwitches do not move, this resulted in a person being unable to move his personal configuration from the same switches. This is a very important feature which our customers require, as they need to have switching abilities, such as in the event that they will move to the conference room. FortiSwitches now offers this important feature. 

As Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center is a very young product, we have been distributing it for two or three years. 

Stability is not an issue, although troubleshooting can present a challenge. 

FortiSwitch makes it easy to deal with many switches. It allows a person to install all of the switches on a single special FortiGate button. When it comes to the configuration of one's network, this is important, since it spares a person from the need to individually integrate each switch in the event that there are many involved. 

Overall, Fortinet has good support, although this can vary depending on the engineer involved. 

While the FortiSwitch setup process is not very involved, the need to do regional configuration can be a tricky issue. There is a learning process. 

I rate Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center as a nine out of ten. 

We have physical hosts across multiple data centers and primarily use the solution to lay network fabric that can support the amount of throughput that we need to our HA and service ports.

The port analytics are the most valuable aspect of the solution for our organization. When we start getting into the FortiManagers and some of their analytics tools, it becomes very interesting for us.

The product's got a thousand features, and we're probably using only 10% of them.

The interface is very straightforward.

We need to understand a bit more about certifications and knowledge for understanding capabilities. The solution should make that more clear to its users.

I've been using the solution for five years.

We haven't had any issues with stability. There haven't been bugs or glitches that I've seen. I haven't witnessed a crash. It's been good.

The scalability of the solution is fine for our organization's purposes. Those companies that need to expand it should have not problem doing so.

We've contacted technical support on several occasions. They've been fine. We have no complaints. We're satisfied with their level of service.

We also currently use Cisco and Ubiquiti solutions alongside Fortiswitch. The main difference between the three is the pricing. It's all worlds apart. The features, on the other hand, are pretty much the same. On Ubiquiti, however, we just have to get to the information a bit differently.

The initial setup was straightforward. It wasn't complex at all. We found it to be relatively painless.

We're Fortinet partners.

We are both using the solution and providing it to our customers.

The size of the clients we deal with vary. Some are small. Some are mining entities.

I'd recommend the solution. I'd rate it seven out of ten.

Hybrid Cloud

The solution can improve by upgrading QSFP+, it is very limited and must be supported more than it is now. If we need FortiSwitches to support all the QSFP ports our budgets would have to be very large.

I have been using Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center for approximately three years.

The solution is stable.

I have found the solution to be scalable.

We have thousands of users using this solution.

The technical support has been very good. They are responsive and helpful. I would recommend this support to anyone using their solutions.

The installation is not difficult.

We did the implementation of the solution. For typical installations, we use one technician and if we need to link other devices, such as Fortinet firewalls, then we use two technicians.

This solution is expensive but it does not require a license.

I rate Fortinet FortiSwitch - Data Center a nine out of ten.

On-premises