Fortinet FortiGate-VM Reviews

This firewall appliance is part of our overall security solution.

Using this product protects our company from attacks that come from outside of our network. At the same time, we get better speed and performance when connecting to the internet.

This product is affordable and it's a good, high-performance appliance.

The updates are regular, so we're sure that the attacks are somehow mitigated at the front-end of our gateway.

The technical support is not very responsive and is an area that needs to be improved.

We have been using Fortinet FortiGate-VM for almost two years.

Since we first implemented it about two years ago, we haven't experienced any major problems aside from the firmware that we needed to have upgraded.

I am okay with the scalability, although we had to upgrade the appliance as our requirements increased. We currently have more than 170 users, and we may increase our usage next year.

The technical support is not very responsive. The last time we contacted them was when we encountered slow performance because of the firmware. We needed to upgrade it.

The initial setup is very easy.

We deployed this product with the help of the vendor.

Of all the firewalls that we compared, FortiGate is the cheapest and most affordable, so we are satisfied with the pricing.

Prior to selecting FortiGate-VM, we evaluated Meraki and one other solution.

At this point, aside from technical support, we have no issues with this product. It has everything that we need at the moment, and I cannot think of any other features that should be there.

My advice for anybody who is implementing FortiGate-VM is that they need to understand how their business operates and what their requirements are. They need to understand the technology in terms of security and performance before they purchase any devices.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

From security changes to VPN setup to web filtering, changes happen now more quickly.

The web GUI is easy to use. 

The tech support calls were not the best and could be improved. There have been times when we felt as if we knew more about the device than the support person on the phone. 

No issues.

No issues.

I would rate technical support as a seven out of 10. It is hit or miss. Most hits, but a few tech support calls were not the best.

We used ASA (ASA 5510) before this. You had to have ASDM loaded and fight with different versions of Java just to administer the device.

We needed to do an upgrade, and for the cost of a new ASA, we got two FortiGates which have a web GUI that do not rely on Java.

Initial setup is very straightforward with a wizard, if needed.

Not applicable.

No, we did not evaluate other options. It was the firewall rated numerically behind Palo Alto, and we could afford this one.

It was no different than any other rollout. Do as much configuring before dropping it into your environment (especially if you are using content filtering with multiple groups) and make sure you are able to rollback to the old device, if necessary. 

Originally, I used the solution for a graduation project. I'll soon be using it in a new context.

My favorite feature that I enjoyed using is the SD-WAN, the application control, the IPS&IDS, and Security Fabric (which I enjoyed the most because of the visibility it offers of your whole Network) . 

It's less complicated than other firewalls. FortiGate is less complicated and it's guaranteed. By guarantee I mean better control against the attack surface because no firewall 100% guarantee that you won't be attacked.

With security Fabric, I was able to see everything that was going on. The visibility it provided was excellent. 

The pricing of the solution is good.

We've found the solution to be relatively stable.

There's this command in the email of service policy that you add for the email of service policy. It's hard to do in reality. It could be made easier.

The block, the clarity, the quarantine command, is not very user-friendly. You would have to do everything through the command line and I would have preferred if it wasn't a CLI. 

I used it for a few months to a year ago and am beginning to use it again.

It is stable. In security, we handle shortouts and blackouts. Never in my time have we had a blackout, however, if you lose power, you do lose the whole firewall, which is bad.

I've never dealt with technical support. I cannot speak to how helpful or responsive they are.

I have, however, used their tech demonstrations to learn about the product. That's helpful in terms of understanding, however, dealing with support directly has never come up.

While I typically work with Fortigate, I'm still learning to work with Cisco Firepower.

The pricing is fairly reasonable. Compared to the pricing of other firewalls, it is very good. We have no complaints.

We used to be just a customer, however, it's my understanding that now the company has partnered with Fortinet.

I'd rate the solution at a ten out of ten.

I always recommend Fortigate to other users. It's quite good. As long as you know, or learn the command line, you're probably going to be okay. Any problems we've had have been relatively insignificant in nature. The features, in general, have been so great. It's really been a very good product.

We primarily set up this solution with our large clients.

The solution offers good documentation.

I'm mostly happy with how the solution performs.

The solution works well for large companies. We use it for our bigger clients.

The interface of the solution could be improved. Right now, it's not the best.

In some areas of the solution, it works slowly.

I am currently using the solution. I've been using it for a while now.

We use a variety of different Fortinet solutions.

We deployed the solution locally, to our server.

The solution is FortiGate 60D and FortiGate-VM is FortiOS 5.2.2. I'm not sure which version of the solution we are currently on.

Our company exports this solution to large customers. We're partners with Fortinet.

We have the solution on a local server.

I'd rate the solution at an eight out of ten.

We are a solution provider and this is one of the products that we implement for our clients.

The most valuables features are the ease of use and deployment. 

It is easy to back up and easy to transport.

This is a flexible solution.

Our customers are happy with the performance and capacity.

The user interface is ok and we haven't had any problems with it.

The price of FortiGate-VM is high and should be more competitive.

In the next release, we would like to see full integration with VMware NSX virtualized networks.

We began working with this appliance about five years ago.

This is a reliable solution and we haven't had any issues with the virtual appliance.

This is a largely scalable and flexible solution.

We have not been in contact with technical support.

I have personal experience with Palo Alto, Check Point, pfSense, and SonicWall.

This solution is very expensive. There are no costs in addition to the standard licensing fees.

I have tested virtual appliances from almost every vendor and the only ones that I can recommend are those from Fortinet. Many do not have the maturity or a proper licensing model, whereas others lack performance optimization for the virtual scenarios, and some vendors lack field engineering experience.

Our customers for this virtual appliance are very happy with their deployments and I recommend it. This is not a perfect solution but we are not seeking one. Every product has room for improvement.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

We use Fortinet FortiGate-VM as a network firewall.

The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate-VM are the servers, analyzer, and track protection.

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate-VM for approximately seven years.

The solution is highly stable.

The solution is not scalable.

We have approximately 7,000 users using this solution in my organization.

The support has been responsive in my experience.

The initial setup is easy and took approximately six months.

We did the implementation with an integrator called Dimension Data and from Fortinet support.

We have a six-person technical team that does the maintenance of the solution.

The price of the solution could be less expensive. There are some features that have to be purchased separately that have their own license.

I rate Fortinet FortiGate-VM a nine out of ten.

We use the solution for creating IPsec tunnels and web and application filters. We use it for monitoring virtual traffic on platforms including VMware solutions. 

I only know a little bit about the solution's firmware.

This said, the solution is stable and user-friendly. 

The solution should provide more useful GUI features. This would prevent us from having to resort to CLI or certain basic commands. 

There should be an IPsec failover. 

We have been using Fortinet FortiGate-VM for around four years.

The solution is stable. 

The technical support is very good. It does not need to be improved. 

The installation is very easy and user-friendly. 

We have two teams, involving PLM managers, whose sole job is to support the customers. 

We pay for a yearly license. 

We deployed the solution in a vCenter, using VMware. We do so solely on cloud. 

We have around 10 clients who are making use of on-premises deployment. 

We usually recommend SonicWall and Sophos in place of the solution since, with this IPsec solution, if one configures to an HPE with the IPsec failover, it fails to work. 

I rate Fortinet FortiGate-VM as a seven out of ten. 

You can use the balance of FortiGate for an HTTP server, for example. It's not a total solution like a firewall, however, you have a lot of structure within it for normal firewalls or next-generation firewalls. FortiGate is the firewall for Fortinet.

Overall, it's an excellent solution.

The solution is largely very stable. 

Technical support has been good.

The firewall capabilities are very good.

The key activation is very complicated at times. For example, when you use it for different customers, due to the fact that they are linked with one customer or another, you need an account. Sometimes the customer doesn't have the account, or they confuse the key. It derails the process a bit. It would be ideal if they could simplify or streamline the process.

The internal logs could be easier to manage. When you handle debugging sometimes you have some trouble seeing the whole of a packet that crossed the firewall. Luckily, I have a lot of expertise and therefore can work within these shortcomings. However, it would be easier if there was more visibility.

I've used the solution for five years at this point. I've used it for a while. 

It's very stable. I remember only one case in which we had issues with a routing protocol. This was the big problem that I had with FortiGate, as they had some issues and they reduced the equipment. However, in the last five years, it was the one lone situation that I opened a case for and they took a lot of time to get to the solution, which was an SBS and BGP routing protocol into the FortiGate. That said, that issue was on an appliance, not a VM solution.

One of the primary clients we have that uses the solution is a bank. They utilize it for internal services.

The technical support is good. For me, it's a simple process in that you open a case, and, depending on your contract, normally they respond quickly and their help normally is good. I would say I am satisfied with the level of support they offer to clients. 

I work with a service provider and he sells service in cloud and FortiGate products, including FortiGate VMs. With this, he sells services, and I work with him on support and initial configurations or deactivations for customers. 

I work with various versions of the solution, the latest being 7.7.

We use a variety of deployments, including on-premise and in public clouds. Not an American public cloud, however. Rather, it's a public cloud here in South America.

I'd rate the solution at a ten out of ten. the product is excellent and I am very happy with it overall.