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Fortinet FortiGate (BYOL) Next-Generation Firewall

Fortinet Inc. | 7.6.3

Linux/Unix, Other 7.6.3 - 64-bit Amazon Machine Image (AMI)

Reviews from AWS customer

4 AWS reviews
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External reviews

52 reviews
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External reviews are not included in the AWS star rating for the product.


    FeliksChertok

A very user-friendly tool with a good UI that offers speed and comfort to its users

  • July 05, 2023
  • Review provided by PeerSpot

How has it helped my organization?

The solution is used in my company since its management is very comfortable. If we compare Fortinet and Cisco, Fortinet's web interface is more user-friendly and offers speed.

We use the solution's URL filtering, IPS, SSL, and, specifically, SSL encryption. In general, the tool offers a user-friendly interface and pleasant management.

What needs improvement?

I cannot say anything about the product's price, and the tool does not need any customizations.

A firewall has different levels of productivity that its customers can use in their official branches, which can be small offices, big offices, or enterprise-sized organizations. The vendors offer models with different levels of productivity of the product to its users, which is not possible in FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW). It lacks integration options. I would like the tool to offer its users more integration options. Most of the vendors of NGFW offer integrations open with different solutions. FortiGate is able to integrate with Cisco or Microsoft. FortiGate has a lot of possibilities in terms of integration with other vendors, so the integration capabilities of the tool need improvement. FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) has OpenAPI, which gives customers an option to integrate the tool into their custom software.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) for seven to nine months. I use the solution's latest version. My company has a partnership with Fortinet.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

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

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

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

Around 3,000 or more use the solution in our company. We have three appliances in total, each having a thousand users.

How are customer service and support?

I rate the technical support a seven out of ten.

The support does open a case when an issue is raised, but since it is the USA, despite the support hearing our problems, they do get late to respond. We only have issues with the support of low priority. I never open high-priority cases with the support team.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

How was the initial setup?

On a scale of one to ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy, I rate the initial setup an eight or nine. It is easy to install since it can be done with small configuration steps.

The solution is deployed on the cloud. Most of the firewall devices are deployed on the cloud, especially since NGFW of different vendors work on the cloud.

The deployment can be done in just a week since we need to find answers to some questions from our management and our security department. We need to get certain approvals in terms of the security policies before proceeding with the deployment phase.

One or two people are enough for the deployment process.

What other advice do I have?

To those planning to use it, I would suggest that they opt for a pilot offering from FortiGate and try to use it to understand and figure out its advantages and disadvantages.

I like FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) more than Cisco, even though I have worked more with the latter tool than the former.

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


    Alireza Goftari

Scalable and easy-to-manage solution

  • July 05, 2023
  • Review provided by PeerSpot

What is our primary use case?

We use the solution to protect our services published on the internet.

What is most valuable?

The solution is more reliable and easy to manage than Cisco Firewall Solutions. It provides a flexible interface for configuration.

What needs improvement?

The solution's load balancing feature could be easy to configure in terms of interface.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using the solution for 15 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable compared to other vendors.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable for our medium enterprise.

How was the initial setup?

The solution is easy to access and configure in terms of GUI.

What about the implementation team?

The reseller for the solution helped us implement it.

What other advice do I have?

I rate the solution a nine out of ten.


    reviewer1557312

Offers valuable features like IPS and application control, although virtual licenses can be expensive

  • July 04, 2023
  • Review provided by PeerSpot

What is most valuable?

As for us, the IPS and the application control feature are the most valuable.

What needs improvement?

Maybe the room for improvement is to have more flexibility on the virtual machines of their next-generation platforms. 

So far, FortiGate is really pricey and comes with some restrictions. FortiGate NGFW can enhances that to make it easier to be deployed.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the latest version of FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) for eight to ten years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

As for the stability of the FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW), I would rate it a nine out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability of the FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) is good. In our organization, we have our data centers having FortiGate, and our customers are selling FortiGate. So the number of users, you can say 100 in my organization.

I would rate the scalability an eight out of ten.

How are customer service and support?

I don't have premium support or something from their side, but I would like basic support.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

How was the initial setup?

The deployment depends on the architecture, but simple deployment can take up to five to ten minutes, and you are done. It's an easy deployment when you know what you need, actually. It requires one person to deploy it.

I would rate the initial setup an eight out of ten.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I would rate the pricing of appliances. So, outside appliances are maybe four, but the virtual machine is, like, eight. It is too expensive for virtual licenses.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We evaluated Sophos and WatchGuard in the past. Fortunately, definitely and technically, for the supposed deployments using the platform is much easier and much more efficient.

What other advice do I have?

My advice would be just go for it. It is a really nice solution, scalable and stable, most importantly. It is easy to use, and all the security features are available. Also, it is very flexible for all sorts of deployments. I would recommend it certainly compared to any other firewall providers.

Overall, I would rate the solution a nine out of ten. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises


    Jasmit Singh Juneja

Acts as a gateway-level firewall that secures the office infrastructure against threats

  • July 03, 2023
  • Review provided by PeerSpot

What is our primary use case?

Organizations with about 50 to 100 employees use the solution for VPN, ZTNA, and remote connectivity between branch offices and site-to-site VPN. The solution acts as a gateway-level firewall that secures the office infrastructure against threats in mid-size enterprise organizations.

What is most valuable?

FortiGate Next Generation Firewall is a good solution because it has a range of options and a clear ecosystem. It has good availability of solutions that complement the next-generation firewall. For example, it has a good range of switches and access points. The solution also has a good ecosystem where cloud services like FortiMail complement the whole solution. The solution has a better ecosystem for community support.

What needs improvement?

FortiGate Next Generation Firewall could be made a little less expensive.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) for around three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Bugs appear whenever a new firmware or operating system is uploaded into the device for certain modules. These bugs might cause certain services not to work, which has been the case in the past. There have been certain things that were resolved with the new firmware update. FortiGate Next Generation Firewall comes with a six version or a seven version.

The 6.1, 6.2, and 6.3 versions would have bugs, but the 6.4 version would be pretty stable and precise without any issues. Hence, I generally prefer to go ahead with the later version of a particular generation. For example, instead of going with the first version of the sixth generation, I would go in for a third or a fourth version. These things are there in most vendors, but I've noticed these, particularly in FortiGate Next Generation Firewall.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

FortiGate Next Generation Firewall is a pretty scalable solution, and mostly, small and medium companies use the solution.

How are customer service and support?

Although FortiGate Next Generation Firewall's customer support is spontaneous in responding, their actual responses are a little slow. They take time. When I say spontaneous, I mean the case ticket gets logged immediately, but the response from Fortinet doesn't come so fast. You have to follow up and then get things done.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

How was the initial setup?

FortiGate Next Generation Firewall’s initial setup is straightforward.

What about the implementation team?

The solution’s deployment takes one hour. Two to three engineers are required for the deployment of the solution. One or two people maintain the solution by monitoring and fixing breakdowns, which rarely happens.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

FortiGate Next Generation Firewall is an expensive solution. I rate FortiGate Next Generation Firewall an eight out of ten for pricing. The solution has a yearly license, and you have to pay additionally for the deployment and partner-led services.

FortiGate Next Generation Firewall charges additionally for migration. Suppose you're upgrading from an older appliance to a newer appliance. In that case, the partner has to buy a FortiConverter Service or a FortiConverter tool on a per-incident basis, which is charged. On the other hand, partners can use the tools available in SonicWall. Compared to FortiGate Next Generation Firewall, SonicWall is better in terms of support and pricing.

What other advice do I have?

We work with the latest version of FortiGate Next Generation Firewall.

Overall, I rate FortiGate Next Generation Firewall a nine and a half or ten out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Hybrid Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Microsoft Azure


    Jovan Jovanovic

A highly stable and scalable solution for security with easy setup

  • June 27, 2023
  • Review provided by PeerSpot

What is our primary use case?

We are a distributor of Fortinet products. My role primarily involves importing these products and delivering them to our partners and resellers, who in turn sell them to the end customers.

What is most valuable?

FortiGate is a rapidly growing vendor with a wide range of ready-to-use products. Their delivery time is remarkably quick, usually between two to four weeks. They provide excellent support, especially when it comes to helping resellers who may encounter implementation issues with Fortinet. The technical presales and support teams are readily available to assist them. So, there are definitely several benefits to working with Fortinet.

The interface, pricing, and support are good. FortiGate release new patches and offers regularly. In the integration file, they don't have anything to add because they have a very wide portfolio and models in the next-generation firewalls. FortiGate has a variety of add-on license tools that can be applied to the firewall.

FortiGate should continue to push them to continue to grow up as they've been growing for the last eight years.

What needs improvement?

FortiGate NGFW can improve technical support. The engineer who answers the technical support call, email, or phone call, whatever the medium may be. The response time is very bad.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with FortiGate Next Generation Firewall for eight years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We don't have broken devices to be repaired or replaced with new ones, so they are very stable while working.

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

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

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

We have all types of business models and customers in our portfolio, such as the midsized business, enterprise, entry-level, and small businesses. We are working with all of that with all of the Fortinet solutions.

How are customer service and support?

The customer support is very slow. The engineer who answers the technical support call, email, or phone call, whatever the medium may be. The response time is very bad. 

On the other hand, Cisco takes one or two hours to respond, while Fortinet takes a few days. This is an area that they could improve on a global scale.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup of the solution is easy, which is the most important feature for in-domain-wide resellers, partners, and customers. In the end, if you want to use Fortinet as a firewall administrator in your network, it is highly recommended because it is extremely easy to set up, especially for first-time users.  

Even if you have previous experience with Cisco or Check Point, setting up Fortinet is easy. It is a very user-friendly configuration.

I rate the solution setup a ten out of ten. It is very user-friendly.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall is cheaper than Cisco or CheckPoint or Palo Alto and more expensive than Barracuda or Sophos or any smaller brands. The prices fit right where they are on the global market.

What other advice do I have?

I advise you to buy it ASAP because it's a very good product.

From my experience as a distributor, some customers don't buy technical support on the devices. They buy only devices. I will advise them to buy the technical support of FortiCare service. In that case, they will have technical support by phone call, or by mail. They will have a replacement if anything is broken 24/7.

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

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud


    NdaweduaNeto

Good support and highly stable solution

  • June 27, 2023
  • Review provided by PeerSpot

What is most valuable?

There are numerous features and benefits depending on the specific use case. Fortinet offers comprehensive security solutions for various purposes. I can deploy different solutions and more. 

What needs improvement?

There is room for improvement in pricing. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have almost five years of experience with FortiGate NGFW. I work with the firewall for small businesses and enterprises. Currently, I'm using the enterprise version.

As for the models, I mainly use FortiGate 6800, T, 100C, 200S, and 200P.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I haven't experienced any stability issues with this product so far. It handles everything it needs to, including server requirements, client services, and computing, without any problems. I have deployed numerous firewalls, and until now, they have been incredibly stable. There haven't been any issues related to version compatibility either. So, I would say it's stable for me.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I would rate the scalability a ten out of ten. 

How are customer service and support?

Customer service and support are good. Every time I have reached out to them, they have been responsive and helpful. In fact, I have even shared news and deployment information on my LinkedIn to showcase their excellent support.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was easy. There were no issues during the setup.

The time taken for deployment depends on various factors. For example, if I deploy it today, I might install it the following day. However, if there are any issues with the network architecture provided by the IT vendor, it may take more time to resolve those issues before completing the deployment. But in terms of deployment alone, without considering logistics, it can be done in a day or a few hours.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

In our market, the pricing is a little expensive. While we can acquire a smaller package of Fortinet, it still comes at a high cost. So, I would say the pricing is on the higher side. However, when comparing it with other vendors, it's still more reasonable.

What other advice do I have?

Overall, I would rate the solution an eight out of ten. A rating of ten would require even more efficient reporting and swift resolution of any breakout or resilience attack. If they can provide faster fixes and proactive responses, it would be perfect.


    Anish Bheekoo

Good support and highly scalable solution

  • June 23, 2023
  • Review provided by PeerSpot

What is our primary use case?

The firewall system we have implemented in my company serves as the gateway to access the internet. We have different VLANs set up on the firewall for various networks. 

We enforce security measures based on policies. When it comes to security, we have web monitoring, application filtering, and MAC address filtering implemented on the firewall. We also utilize VPN and SD-WAN architecture. Everything is functioning well. 

Additionally, we have two ISPs connected for load balancing. We send the logs, and audit logs to FortiCloud for analytics and statistics. 

Moreover, we have an alerting system for FortiGate, which is also functioning properly. The firewall operates in question mode, using round-robin connections, and handles routing as well.

What is most valuable?

FortiGate is a very good product. It offers a wide range of features, and its availability is almost everywhere. The support, both local and international, is good. Also, they provide certification programs for the next-generation firewalls, which is beneficial. 

The product speaks for itself and holds a strong position in the market. In our company, we highly recommend FortiGate to our colleagues and other IT professionals. Furthermore, it offers cost advantages compared to other products.

What needs improvement?

The improvement that I would like to see is in the licensing. The licensing process is a bit high. 

Additionally, there have been several vulnerabilities in the firewall. It is hackable, some of the images are hackable. So, upgrading to the latest patch, but these improvements would be more profitable for companies like ours.

I would like to see improvements in license costs and the handling of vulnerabilities.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with FortiGate NGFW for ten years. I currently use the FortiGate 101E model at a customer site.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I would rate the stability a nine out of ten. It provides a stable network, and I can connect to remote sites as well. I find it reliable because we use SD-WAN. There are no major issues, except when there is an Internet outage. But overall, no significant problems.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability is very good. I would rate the scalability of the solution a nine out of ten because I have encountered no issues so far with the product. The scalability is excellent, very good.

We have 150 users using this solution. Moreover, we have plans to increase the usage. Maybe next year, I plan to upgrade to a newer version of FortiGate, and we have a plan to increase our user count by ten percent by next year. So I'm considering a more powerful firewall for better performance. That's the plan.

How are customer service and support?

In terms of support, they are very responsive. If you reach out to them, they will contact you within 15 minutes. Managing FortiGate is easy and simple compared to other products. It's not too complex. 

Even if we miss renewing our licenses, FortiGate provides a grace period of 90 days, which is exceptional. Most products only offer 30 days. That's the best part, in my opinion.

The support is excellent. I've had very positive experiences with FortiGate's support team. They are friendly and always available. Their support is available 24/7 via phone, email, or chat. 

They even offer remote access if we need help with configuration or auditing logs. Their support is reliable both locally and internationally.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

The availability of product support and its manageability were important factors for me. I found it easy to manage, not too complex. 

Additionally, the product is readily available in my country. Based on the information I found on the Internet, FortiGate seemed to meet my requirements.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward. The setup is pretty simple. However, it acts as an authentic gateway between my routers and the internal network. All the traffic goes through the firewall in cluster mode. If one firewall goes down, the other one takes over until we have time to replace the faulty one. We typically use the firewall for a period of five years before considering a replacement. 

The device is connected to the server room on-premises. We configure it locally, but we utilize FortiCloud for logging and analytics. We manage the number of assets (FortiGate assets) we have, which is manageable through the cloud. That's all.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I have used Barracuda, Sophos, Palo Alto, and more.

What other advice do I have?

My advice would be to start by conducting a Proof of Concept (POC) and test FortiGate NGFW in your own environment. Go through all the necessary configurations and spend around one or two weeks to become familiar with the solution.

After that, you can proceed with the purchase. But if I were to advise someone instantly, I would simply say, go ahead and give it a try.

Overall, I would rate the solution a nine out of ten. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises


    Horacio L. Mille

Helps secure the network and connect remote sites but vulnerability management could be enhanced

  • June 22, 2023
  • Review provided by PeerSpot

What is our primary use case?

The primary use case is branch network security.

How has it helped my organization?

The solution has helped our organization to secure a network and connect remote sites. 

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature is the technical support by FortiGate.

What needs improvement?

There is an area of improvement in the pricing model and vulnerability management. 

In future releases, I would like to see partnering with cloud suppliers. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for less than a year. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I would rate the stability a seven out of ten. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I would rate the scalability of this solution a seven out of ten. 

How are customer service and support?

Customer service and support are good. 

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was complex. 

What was our ROI?

I have not seen an ROI yet. We do have plans to increase the usage in near future.

What other advice do I have?

I would suggest not to look for a single solution for all your security requirements and compare the pricing. 

Overall, I would rate the solution a seven out of ten. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises


    Georges FONGANG

Product offers good stability and easy initial setup

  • June 19, 2023
  • Review provided by PeerSpot

What needs improvement?

In order to make it even better in the future, improved integration with other vendors' solutions could be beneficial.

FortiGate is compatible enough with other infrastructures, but I encountered difficulties when attempting integration with other infrastructures. So, better compatibility could be an area for improvement.

Another area of improvement could be in terms of changing passwords. For instance, when using FortiGate firewall, you can have the option to set up SSL VPN, allowing users to connect to the network externally. It's like using FortiClient software. But here's the thing, when you have a local account on FortiGate, and you use it to access the network, there is no option to change your password, and that becomes a problem. Especially when you are not using Active Directory and instead relying on the local FortiGate database to create accounts. 

The admin creates the account for you with credentials and a password. But when you try to access using the VPN client software, you have the ability to change your password, and that's not ideal. It's quite challenging. So, if you need to change your password, you have to contact the administrator to change it on the equipment, and that's not convenient, especially in large environments. So, that could be the only solution.

For how long have I used the solution?

In terms of personal experience, I've been using the product for about seven years. In my current company, it has been three years.

I'm using version 7 for the majority of my equipment, and for some products, it's version 6.6 or something similar.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The product is stable. It offers good stability.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is a scalable solution. 

How are customer service and support?

The customer service and support have been satisfactory so far.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) is easy to deploy. The deployment process is smooth and straightforward.

What was our ROI?

In my experience, the ROI has been positive.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The price of FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) is affordable. I believe it offers reasonable value for the features it provides.

If you're using the IPS version, particularly for ATP, the price is higher due to the IP functionality. However, for other features like web filtering, the price is reasonable. For a year, the license cost for ATP is around $8000. 

So far, I haven't had to pay separately for maintenance or support. It's usually included in the support package, including software support.

What other advice do I have?

Overall, I am satisfied with the product. I would rate it a nine out of ten. 

If you are using it in a small environment, you can go for the FortiGate product. However, if you are implementing it in a very large environment or have specific needs, it's recommended to couple FortiGate with another vendor's solution, like Cisco or Palo Alto. 


    Eswara Rao Pitaka

Highly scalable, user-friendly interface and ease of operation

  • June 14, 2023
  • Review provided by PeerSpot

What is our primary use case?

It is a firewall solution, so we utilize it regarding policies and security.

What is most valuable?

The solution is user-friendly and easy to operate.

What needs improvement?

The solution should have more security features and come with VPN authentication and multi-virus authentication.

For how long have I used the solution?

We used the previous model, FortiGate 600D. So, I worked with that. I have been using the solution for three years.  We just procured the new solution, but we need to install it right away.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable. I would rate the stability of the solution an eight out of ten because there are some issues with security features and aspects like logs not being up to the mark, as well as some challenges with VPN and multiple functionalities.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's a scalable solution. I would rate the scalability a nine out of ten. There are around 600 users in our organization using this solution. We have plans to increase the usage up to 2000 users. 

How are customer service and support?

The customer service and support team is good. Their response time was great.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward. It has been in use for three years. It may take around four days to make it functional.

Typically, it can be up and running in just one day. However, due to a lack of expertise, it took a bit longer.

What about the implementation team?

I got a consultant to help with the deployment process. One person is enough for the solution; it can be an admin. 

What was our ROI?

I have definitely seen an ROI. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I don't want to get the full license as the technology is changing day by day. So, I have I prefer to procure a five-year license, and that's it.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We have used Microsoft Office and Cisco Switches. We have been using the FortiGate firewall.

What other advice do I have?

I advise the users to compare the solution with existing versions before using it.

Overall I would rate the solution an eight out of ten. I would like add more security features to the solution.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises