Cisco Firepower 4100 Series vs. Fortinet on IBM Cloud

When we are asked by local partners which security equipment we use we always recommend our Cisco security products. The Firepower firewall is no exception and we can easily recommend this to others who need a fast, secure, and well built system that integrates well with all your existing hardware and software.

Incentivized

To protect the local network, [FortiGuard] was utilized. To handle communication between networks, FortiWAN was employed. Wi-Fi communication technology, such as FortiAP, was used. As a result of the solution, different business areas now have wireless connectivity. Because it supports simultaneous connections, it can be easily integrated into small and big solutions.

• Policy management in the GUI. I'm old-school, and still create ACLs in the CLI, but using the GUI for this is very nice.
• Event monitoring and reporting is great, and you can get very granular when it comes to what information you are viewing.
• I really like the troubleshooting features that are built in, especially the packet tracer and the ability to generate and download a troubleshooting package to review or send to TAC.

• Monitoring
• Communication
• Security
• Network

• When deployed as Firepower Threat Defense, configurations cannot be made within the device itself.
• Troubleshooting can be difficult if the Cisco Firepower 4100 Series firewall is managed by the Cisco Firepower Management Center.
• There are two operating systems in Cisco Firepower 4100 Series, firmware upgrade process will take a long time.

• Sales
• ITOPS
• Financial

As I mentioned before, the Fortigates have better failover. I think the Cisco interface is easier to use that that of the FortiGate. My only criticism would be that with multiple CLIs, it can get a bit confusing when you are trying to configure something or troubleshoot from the CLI.

Although prices are not always affordable, it is a very complete choice that may integrate well with other technologies and gives good technical assistance. Fortinet solutions are ideal for businesses with a significant number of users. It is suggested that you acquire their annual maintenance plan.

• Positive impact would be our increased security network wide.
• Another positive would be the increased processing power, saving us time and [from] needing more equipment.
• A negative impact would be the increased need for having to learn a new interface.

Incentivized

• Return on investment that is acceptable
• Operating cost reduction