Fortinet FortiGate VM Next-Generation Firewall

Our main use case for Fortinet FortiGate  is securing the organization perimeter and branch connectivity, and we use it as a next-generation firewall to protect against cyber threats while providing secure access for users, applications, and remote locations. We also use Fortinet FortiGate  for site-to-site VPN connectivity, IPS, web filtering, application control, and network segmentation.

For remote users and branch offices, Fortinet FortiGate handles those remote connections by providing secure connectivity through both SSL VPN  and IPsec VPN. One thing that stands out is the ability to combine strong security features with good performance on a single platform. From a security perspective, we can apply policies such as IPS, web filtering, application control, and antivirus inspection to VPN traffic, which helps ensure that remote users are protected with the same security standards as users inside the corporate network.

Fortinet FortiGate's best features are its integrated security capability, VPN functionality, and centralized management. What stands out for me is that instead of deploying multiple standalone security solutions, we can manage firewalling, IPS, web filtering, application control, and VPN services from a single platform. The balance between security and performance is most notable, as even with multiple security services enabled, the firewall delivers reliable performance and visibility into network traffic. We also find the VPN feature very useful for securely connecting remote users and branch offices.

After implementing Fortinet FortiGate, I can find the positive impact in our organization from a security perspective. Many employees can now be managed regarding what websites they visit and where the traffic flows. Everything is controlled by Fortinet FortiGate, and we now experience fewer security incidents in our organization, with incidents reduced by approximately 40%.

The 40% reduction in incidents is significant over the period before Fortinet FortiGate was implemented, when we faced many security issues in our organization. After implementing it, we experienced benefits from an audit perspective, with the audit team finding the logs properly organized. From the user perspective, we can also check where users go and what they are doing from home. Through SSL VPN , we can bind the user to what they are accessing.

There needs to be improvement in the reports, as many times without FortiAnalyzer, the reports are not comprehensive.

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for more than two years.

In my experience, Fortinet FortiGate is stable. We have two firewalls in HA mode, so if one firewall is down, the other is working properly, meaning we face no downtime or reliability issues.

As our user base increases, Fortinet FortiGate handles growth and increased demand smoothly. It works properly in our organization with no scalability issues.

Fortinet FortiGate's customer support is knowledgeable but needs to improve in addressing user issues faster.

We did not previously use a different solution before Fortinet FortiGate, as we were dependent on routers only, making Fortinet FortiGate our first firewall.

We have seen a very good return on investment. With the SSL VPN feature, we can save money since we don't need to buy any other tool for SSL VPN. Time is saved as employees can connect from home, saving approximately 50 to 60% from the user perspective.

My experience with the pricing, setup cost, and licensing for Fortinet FortiGate is that the pricing is very reasonable and not very high, which helps medium-sized and small enterprises purchase Fortinet FortiGate.

We evaluated other options such as SonicWall, Sophos, and Palo Alto before choosing Fortinet FortiGate. I found their prices were not too high.

My advice for others looking into using Fortinet FortiGate is that the tool is powerful and I recommend it to all users. However, they should evaluate their needs and plan properly before buying, determining how they want to set policies and implementing SSL VPN after proper planning to ensure a smooth firewall implementation.

Currently, we are not using Fortinet FortiGate's AI capability features because we don't have a license for that. I don't know much about the AI capability, but I can say that the accuracy and reliability come from our use of the application control feature, which allows us to block AI users who can upload data in tools such as ChatGPT or other AI tools. With application control, we can control them from uploading any information from our company, so the AI capability seems accurate and reliable from my end.

I would rate this product a 9 out of 10.

My main use case for Fortinet FortiGate  is as a UTM to distribute our IP DHCP, to segment our VLAN, and to manage our network infrastructure.

I also use Fortinet FortiGate  as a VPN and for site-to-site connection between our multiple sites, such as my head office, our developer office, and data center. It acts as a network security tool where we use an IPS to filter attacks from the outside public to our server.

Regarding my main use cases, I would like to add that it has quite a good GUI and dashboard, making it easy to use. Additionally, we use DNS filtering and application filtering to filter the applications that users can access to the internet.

The best features Fortinet FortiGate offers include reliability and a good user interface and user experience.

The user interface is the most valuable to me because it is easy to use, easy to manage, and quite easy for a newcomer to operate. The features are quite good for filtering applications and for addressing our needs, such as blocking social media or other unwanted content.

Fortinet FortiGate has positively impacted our organization by improving our security workflow and network security, as it is quite reliable compared to traditional routers or traditional switch cores from MikroTik or Cisco.

A specific example of how my workflow and network security has improved is that because we have multiple sites, Fortinet FortiGate has a multitude of signature-based features and multiple default policies, so we only have to add that to the profile. It is quite simple and easy to manage.

I think Fortinet FortiGate is quite good for now, though it could improve with the virtual IP, as it occasionally has a bug. They have a lot of CVE and updates to their system, and they need to be more concerned about their security.

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for about one year.

In my experience, Fortinet FortiGate is quite stable.

When the RAM or memory reaches 70% or 80%, the firewall is more likely unstable and may struggle to forward traffic. I think that is one of the areas where Fortinet FortiGate has room for improvement.

Fortinet FortiGate's scalability is limited because it is on-premises, so we would have to change the type of Fortinet FortiGate as we grow.

The customer support is really helpful for their principle, but they lack technical competency at layer one, as they tend to only look for logs before promoting issues to layer two for resolution.

Previously, we used Aruba as a firewall and switch core, but it lacked security features, so we had to move to the next-generation firewall.

I am afraid I cannot say that I have seen a return on investment.

My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing is that I think the price is quite good besides the leader in Gartner's next-generation firewall.

Before choosing Fortinet FortiGate, we evaluated a lot of competitors at that moment, and we chose Fortinet FortiGate.

My advice to others looking into using Fortinet FortiGate is that you need to think carefully about your usage and calculate your business needs. If you miscalculate, you might end up buying a Fortinet FortiGate that cannot meet your needs, leading to potential downtimes or failures.

I have no additional thoughts about Fortinet FortiGate except that I mentioned the easy user interface and experience for beginners. However, I noted that when the memory reaches up to 80%, the firewall does not function as well. I would rate this product a 9 out of 10.

My main use case for Fortinet FortiGate  is content filtering, and content filtering is the primary function. I am also doing East and West traffic filtering.

I use content filtering and East-West traffic filtering by creating groups based on separate projects in Active Directory, and on the firewall side, I create policies, web application profiles, and category-based profiles tailored to each project's requirements.

We have separate projects, and I isolate those subnets from one subnet to another so that both subnets do not communicate directly and only communicate via Fortinet FortiGate  itself, with policies created to manage the East and West traffic.

Some of the best features of Fortinet FortiGate are its ease of use compared to other vendors, and from a troubleshooting point of view, it is also very useful and easy to troubleshoot. It stands out as easy to use and troubleshoot because I do not need to create separate NAT policies; with Fortinet FortiGate, I align my NAT policies and content filtering within a single policy, making management straightforward, and the logs are clearly visible, making troubleshooting much easier.

Compared to other firewalls, Fortinet FortiGate offers easily manageable features such as vulnerability profiles and threat profiles, which I believe is one of its main advantages.

Fortinet FortiGate has positively impacted my organization with its cost-effectiveness because it provides features that are very similar to others, but at a much lower cost, and everything my organization needs is available with Fortinet FortiGate.

Being cost-effective has allowed us to save a lot of money, which is particularly useful since I was exploring firewalls to secure my internal labs, and finding Fortinet FortiGate was a revelation as I could achieve my requirements without the additional costs of other firewalls.

I wish Fortinet would explore SASE  solutions more, as it has become very popular and people are increasingly using it.

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for around the last seven years.

Fortinet FortiGate is stable, and I have never experienced issues similar to those from the ASA .

Fortinet FortiGate's scalability is very good, and I believe there are no issues.

I have faced challenges related to support, as I have encountered issues where support engineers are not aligned within the time frame, and sometimes they request multiple logs unnecessarily, causing delays and leaving a bad impression on my end users.

I have had a bad experience with customer support many times.

I previously used a Cisco ASA  but switched due to certain performance-related issues.

My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing went smoothly, with no issues related to licensing or installation, and the overall cost is definitely cheaper than other prominent firewalls along with phenomenal features.

I do not have a business relationship with the vendor other than being a customer, but I do have partners to buy network equipment such as firewalls and switches.

I cannot share exact numbers for ROI, but I saved a lot of money, which made management very happy, especially knowing that I achieved my functional goals with Fortinet FortiGate that might have incurred more costs with other firewalls.

Fortinet FortiGate has positively impacted my organization with its cost-effectiveness because it provides features that are very similar to others, but at a much lower cost, and everything my organization needs is available with Fortinet FortiGate.

My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing went smoothly, with no issues related to licensing or installation, and the overall cost is definitely cheaper than other prominent firewalls along with phenomenal features.

I evaluated options including Palo Alto, Cisco, and other products before choosing Fortinet FortiGate.

I would rate Fortinet FortiGate a nine overall, as I only deduct one point for the support issues I have experienced.

I selected nine because, feature-wise, the product is excellent and cost-effective compared to others, but I deducted a point due to the disappointing support from Fortinet.

I advise others looking into using Fortinet FortiGate to check their requirements first, as it provides all kinds of services other firewalls do and is very cost-effective.

People looking for a firewall should definitely evaluate Fortinet FortiGate, as it is very cost-effective and offers all the features they are likely looking for. I gave this review a rating of nine out of ten.

Fortinet FortiGate  serves as my gateway device where I manage all my security. I use Fortinet FortiGate  as a gateway for the NATing part for LAN to WAN communication. Along with that, I manage security profiles from the gateway only, and all my switches and Wi-Fi also work with Fortinet FortiGate.

I work on RE VPN and SSL RE VPN on Fortinet FortiGate.

In my opinion, the best features Fortinet FortiGate offers are monitoring and troubleshooting. Along with that, its security services are also a key point for me. For example, I need to manage features including IPS, antivirus, web filtering, and application control via Fortinet FortiGate only.

I appreciate the security feature of Fortinet FortiGate. For example, I can take real-time logs and session monitoring along with VPN, event logs, data usage monitoring, and related features.

I have noticed faster troubleshooting and reduced downtime of around fifty percent. My operational efficiency has improved. For a real example, a client experienced frequent internet drops, and this was resolved more efficiently.

One suggested improvement I would recommend is more simplified troubleshooting. Although logs are powerful, troubleshooting can sometimes be complex for new users. A more guided or AI-based troubleshooting feature would help reduce resolution time. Fortinet FortiGate should incorporate AI-based solutions to improve the troubleshooting experience.

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for two years.

Fortinet FortiGate is stable. It demonstrates excellent stability in various terms including network utilization.

Fortinet FortiGate offers strong scalability and can support environments ranging from small businesses to large businesses. There is a wide range of models from entry level to high end levels. Flexible deployment options include physical appliances, virtual, and cloud deployments, which is beneficial.

Customer support needs improvement. I have had to take the direct internal sources, such as sales contacts, and after that I rarely see support response.

I would rate the customer support at a six out of ten.

I have used Sophos before, and several of my criteria were missing with that solution. Fortinet FortiGate achieved the features I was looking for, which is why I shifted to Fortinet FortiGate firewall.

My experience is very positive regarding pricing, setup cost, and licensing for Fortinet FortiGate. The pricing is also competitive compared to other vendors in the market. Along with that, setup is very easy. I implemented it in my network myself. For the licensing part, it is somewhat confusing, but overall it is good.

Fortinet FortiGate has saved me both money and time. It is easy to manage and the troubleshooting part is also very easy, making it more time-saving than money-saving.

In terms of cost savings, it has reduced the need for multiple tools. Fortinet FortiGate combines firewall, VPN, IPS, web filtering, and SD-WAN into a single device, which has given me lower operational overhead.

Before choosing Fortinet FortiGate, I tried various options. I obtained the POC from Palo Alto as well as Check Point. After that, I switched to Fortinet FortiGate because it was the best option for my network.

My advice for others looking into using Fortinet FortiGate is that focusing on proper planning, sizing, and understanding of features before deployment will be a good approach.

Integrating SD-WAN with Fortinet FortiGate has allowed me to create an SLA according to which my ISPs define the traffic and the best path utilized.

I would rate this product a ten out of ten overall.