We performed a comparison between Huawei NGFW and Netgate pfSense based on real PeerSpot user reviews.
Find out in this report how the two Firewalls solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI."It's a user-friendly firewall. Most of the tasks are very simple. It's simple to configure and troubleshoot this firewall."
"Easy to use support and licensing portal as well as activation process."
"It enables our organization to become more productive. Also, it protects our NEtWare from viruses and malware."
"UTM/NGFW features and FortiCloud for logs and backups are awesome."
"I like that they have given me a solution at a fair price."
"We use the FortiGate Sandbox to detect zero-day vulnerabilities, such as anomalies or malware, that are unknown and have not yet been discovered."
"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate are the ability to work in proxy mode, which other solutions, such as Palo Alto cannot. There are some features that are better that come at no extra license or subscriptions cost, such as basic SD-WAN. The DLT is useful, other solutions have the same feature too, such as Palo Alto."
"It's inexpensive compared to some of the other technology out there."
"Huawei was able to assist us in the installation of their product. The installation was very fast."
"We have found the initial setup to be straightforward."
"I am impressed with the product's antivirus features, strong encryption, policy implementation and easier installation."
"The mapping features and traffic logging are good."
"The support for the solution has been excellent. If we ever had an issue they would send an engineer to help us with our problem."
"I had no difficulty using the Huawei NGFW."
"The solution's performance is good with IPSec."
"The UI is quite good."
"I handle the scanning for the finance department. I recently encountered an issue with the PCL bills, our company bills. I resolved the matter, cleared the bill, and received calls regarding it using pfsense.The user interface is extremely user-friendly, which is why we use it across various plant sites. Our IT representatives at the plants find it easy to use and manage because of its straightforward interface."
"What I found most valuable is the cost of the platform, the flexibility of the platform, and the fact that the ongoing fees are not there as they are with the competitor. Some people may think you're taking a risk with using Opensource. I think it just provides the end user, specifically for us small, medium business providers of services, the flexibility we need at the right cost to provide them a higher end, almost enterprise type service."
"A free firewall that is a good network security appliance."
"I have found pfSense to be stable."
"The scalability is very good, where you can do an HA configuration and then bring in another box, if necessary."
"The most valuable features of pfSense are the reports, monitoring, filtration, and blocking incoming and outgoing traffic."
"The most valuable features are the VPN and the capture photo."
"The built-in open VPN and the VPN Client Export are the solution's most valuable aspects."
"There are problems with the custom reporting of the unique traffic. The data is there, but it is too difficult for us to extract."
"The logging details need to be improved."
"Their software support needs improvement. I would prefer to have better support for bug fixes. Sometimes, we open a ticket, and it is very difficult to get a solution. Specifically, we are not at all happy with their support for load balancing."
"Fortinet FortiGate is not very easy to use. The navigation could be improved to make it easier to use."
"A lack of integration between our data centers."
"Currently, without the additional reporting module, we only have access to basic reporting."
"WAN load-balancing could be a lot better at detecting when a link is poor or inconsistent, and not just flat out dead."
"The pricing could be reduced or include the first year warranty."
"The solution does not have sandboxing features."
"Wi-Fi scanning and Wi-Fi analysis would be useful features to include in the future."
"The solution could be cheaper."
"The solution isn't cheap. It's market price."
"With the Huawei firewall, none of the features comes at the top. We found out later that customer support is really not good. For this firewall, because of our customers' routine, for example, every six months they'll do a penetration test to find weaknesses. So whenever they came up with VAPT reports, they are looking to Huawei for help. I think that's basically because it's a different culture. Chinese culture and our culture is different. They have always tried to help find some excuses or say some other things that cannot help you solve the problem immediately."
"The documentation needs to be improved. When they retire old models, they also retire the documentation. However, if you are still using an older model, you still need access to that documentation. And yet, they go ahead and removed it. It's gone. You are therefore stuck with a device with no documentation and technical support that isn't very helpful as they also remove support assistance as well."
"The solution requires a more interactive dashboard. That would make it easier than playing with configurations the way we have to now."
"The solution is scalable but it is difficult because you need to purchase new systems, it is not just one click."
"The usage reports can be better."
"The stability could be improved."
"It's just not listed as FIPS compliant for where we're at now in government, which is an issue."
"Many people have problems setting up the web cache for the web system."
"The GUI. There are TONS of plugins for pfSense, as such, if a user wants to add quite a bit of functionality, the GUI will feel a little congested."
"The solution’s interface must be improved."
"I have been using WireGuard VPN because it is a lot faster and more secure than an open VPN. However, in the latest version of pfSense, they have removed this feature, which is one of the main features that I need. They should include this feature."
"In an upcoming release, the reporting could be more user-friendly. For example, the reporting in graphs and charts for the host can be cumbersome."
Huawei NGFW is ranked 30th in Firewalls with 18 reviews while Netgate pfSense is ranked 1st in Firewalls with 128 reviews. Huawei NGFW is rated 7.2, while Netgate pfSense is rated 8.6. The top reviewer of Huawei NGFW writes "A scalable and easy-to-setup product that can be used to configure different policies for specific users". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Netgate pfSense writes "User-friendly, easy to manage the firewall, rule-wise and interface-wise". Huawei NGFW is most compared with Cisco Secure Firewall, Meraki MX, Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls, Palo Alto Networks VM-Series and Sophos XG, whereas Netgate pfSense is most compared with OPNsense, Sophos XG, Sophos UTM, KerioControl and Cisco Secure Firewall. See our Huawei NGFW vs. Netgate pfSense report.
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