Fortinet FortiWLM Reviews

We use it for a very large K-12 environment servicing 80,000 concurrent users.

Being able to leverage Virtual Cell in our environment has been a major advantage. Creating small cells of APs using Single Channel Architecture has improved roaming of our more mobile clients and provided stable and fast network connections to our stationary clients.

The Fortinet product is intuitive, scalable, stable, and easy to manage. Seamless roaming by leveraging Virtual Cell is a major advantage which reduces roam times and issues related to roaming. Code stability has been excellent and the hardware quality is second to none.

We leverage Fortinet WLM (formerly EzRF) as a single pane of glass to view all controllers and access points. We use WLM to deploy all of our wireless service profiles, collect analytics, deploy upgrades, etc. This is our primary way to manage all of our equipment. This makes it really easy to replace equipment if needed because there is no locally stored configuration (for the most part).

There is very little publicly available information about Virtual Cell and Single Channel Architecture. Promotion of the overall technology is limited as well. Being more vocal about a product that has many advantages would go a long way to eliminating a lot of the confusion and negative perception about Virtual Cell and Single Channel Architecture.

Stability issues are very infrequent. If an issue is encountered, a temporary solution is quickly found while a permanent fix is developed.

With roughly 100 schools and over 6,200 access points servicing 80,000 concurrent users, we have not run into scalability issues. We still primarily use Single Channel Architecture across all of our schools but employ variations of Virtual Cell in special situations.

The technical support is great. I have not had any issues with it. The support staff knows the product well and responds to support requests in a timely manner.

Although I have worked with Fortinet (Meru) for several years, my current employer chose Meru prior to my employment.

The initial setup is straightforward and intuitive. A simple and reliable network can be set up very quickly using Fortinet wireless equipment. Using Fortinet Single Channel Architecture is not a replacement for having solid wireless network fundamentals. Wireless network knowledge is critical for deploying any wireless equipment.

Licensing has become easier. There is no longer a per-AP license needed on the controller.

This is a very viable solution for all verticals. Do not discount the technology based on what was said several years ago. Just like any other wireless solution out there, a wireless network can be set up incorrectly without the proper wireless networking knowledge. Proper wireless network fundamentals are critical for all wireless network solutions. Combining a solid wireless network foundation with Fortinet will provide a very good experience for several years to come.

We use it for wireless at our remote locations.

We're using SD-WAN at all of our locations now, which helps increase and aggregate and lower response time and improve application performance.

Another thing we have seen is increased security awareness.

• UTM (Unified Threat Management)
• Centralized management
• Cost
• Ease of use

Manageability is a key.

The centralized management features could be improved. I think they're good, but I think they could be better.

I can't recall any stability issues.

Scalability is fine.

Their tech support is average. Their response time is average. Their first-level support is okay, but it's not terrific. The few times we've had to open tickets, we've had to escalate to get to an engineer who could help. Usually, when we call, there is something really wrong and the front-liners are not geared toward high-end support.

We switched primarily due to feature functionality and cost. It offered a lot more value.

It was fairly straightforward. With any new product you need training because it's different.  We needed a little bit of training but it wasn't anything that was difficult.

The product's pricing is a good value. 

Licensing is the only area where I think they are below average. They need enterprise licensing, an all-encompassing license to cover all products for a company.

We evaluated a lot of different solutions including Palo Alto, Cisco, SonicWall.

Overall, putting it in place was fairly straightforward. As with anything, I would plan it and test it before implementing. That's for any product, it's not specific to Fortinet.

I give it a nine out of 10. The price performance is unmatched. If they came out with enterprise licensing, I would give it a 10.

The most valuable features are the roaming profile, the mesh, and the performance.

Areas for improvement would be the compatibility with Apple products and cross-platform integration. In the next release, I would like them to include accessibility authentication for user authentication.

I've been using this solution for two and a half years.

The technical support is good.

The initial setup was easy.

I implemented using an in-house team.

Once you install this solution, it just runs properly and gets the job done. I would rate it as ten out of ten.

We had many blind spots at one point, so we changed the whole leverage. Under the new leverage and the FortiATs, we have our base.

The security is a valuable feature. 

The range needs some improvement and also the stability. 

I have been using Fortinet FortiWLM for two years.

The rate the stability an eight out of ten. 

I rate the scalability a seven out of ten. 

The initial setup is straightforward. 

I have seen a return on investment.

The solution is fairly priced. 

I rate the overall solution a nine out of ten. 

Our primary use case revolves around network security, particularly in environments where FortiGate firewall integration is essential.

The central configuration possibility on the FortiGate firewall is a particularly good feature.

The platform's pricing needs improvement.

We've been utilizing FortiWLM for approximately three to five years.

The solution is very stable. I rate the stability a ten.

The scalability of this solution is comparable to competitor products like Cisco or Aruba.

The setup was easy. Only one part was a little difficult when we connected the FortiWLM network to the network access control and had to use RADIUS authentication. This issue is more related to network access control rather than Wi-Fi. I rate the process a ten.

The deployment time depends on the size of the network and the number of devices. It can range from a few hours to up to two weeks.

The product is highly expensive. I rate the pricing a ten.

When used in conjunction with FortiGate, FortiWLM proves to be more effective. I would rate it a ten.