ExtremeCloud SD-WAN vs. Fortinet FortiExtender vs. UniFi Cloud Gateways

Aerohive was ahead of the industry when it came to Wireless network hardware and software. Initially, they were one of the first to offer a solution for a busy office environment with a complicated layout and multiple rooms, open areas, and offices that were spread out. The mesh design of the APS was also one of the first of its kind and has proven to be a great solution within our environment.

Incentivized

Fortinet FortiExtender is well suited to delivering fast 5G and LTE service. The cloud-based system is great so that our agency can manage the cloud from anywhere which is great during remote work. The Fortinet FortiExtender was easy to deploy and the system has been easy to manage. The Fortinet FortiExtender is less appropriate when it comes to the cost to implement and the customer support could be improved.

Incentivized

Ubiquiti's wireless WAN solution is suitable for usage in businesses of all sizes. Smaller businesses may not profit as much from the integration of Wi-Fi devices due to the high expense of doing so, hence the cost-benefit analysis favors larger businesses. In big and medium-sized businesses, having access to such tools improves network security and administration by allowing for several, conceptually separate networks to be managed and made available from a single Wi-Fi access point.

Incentivized

• Easy to navigate management GUI
• Intuitive design
• Helpful troubleshooting tools and logging

Incentivized

• Failover protection by supporting multiple bands.
• Cloud based management helping to manage the system from anywhere.
• Integration with the Fortinet firewall.

Incentivized

• Automatically load balances based on band. Makes it simple to spread out users.
• Updates can be set to automatic or manual. Automatic uses rolling updates, happens every time we update the controller.
• Continually add new features and improvements with their FREE software upgrades

Incentivized

• The floor plan design aspect of the software has improved recently and can further be enhanced.
• The software update process for the APs has not always been very straightforward.
• The initial setup and differentiating between the multiple types of APs was a bit confusing.

Incentivized

• It is good when any problem occurred in our fiber cables but when it gets problematic then there isn’t any way out for us and its graphic interface is not helpful.
• Its support team is useless and didn’t help in any regard.
• The price is not in our favor.

Incentivized

• Supply can be a problem, especially for new products. We have had to sometimes wait for months for supply to come in.
• No phone support. Only email/chat. can be frustrating sometimes just texting someone, but have not had to contact them very often.

Incentivized

The interface is user friendly and the ability to access cloud interface from anywhere in the world is a solid plus for UniFi Cloud Gateways.

Incentivized

We have not needed to contact support, except to replace one device that was damaged in shipping. The company immediately issued an RMA without delay, and we had our replacement product within a week

We also considered both Cisco and Juniper, but Extreme Networks Wireless WAN met our budgetary and technology needs the best.

Incentivized

By looking at the market of similar devices, we quickly recognized that Fortinet FortiExtenders are very reasonably priced; however, they provide top-level functionality that even some of the competitors don't have.

Incentivized

In the past, we used D-Link wi-fi devices, where centralized management was not possible, distributing the same SSID through several devices. Which cost configuration time and instability in the use between one point and another, because eventually, this transition between a device and another by a client was not transparent and functional as it is today with the Ubiquiti solution.

Incentivized

• The speed of our Wireless network has significantly improved.
• The range of the network covers our entire user area, simply due to the power and range of the APs as well as the mesh network capabilities.
• The capability of the software to configure, monitor, and alert based on network traffic and user behavior is almost unmatched.

Incentivized

• Backup connectivity is helping us in many ways especially at times when connections run out and we have to perform any action that is essential to be done at times.
• It provides a secure network.
• With direct management, we can monitor and add and remove unwanted devices.

Incentivized

• Huge cost savings. Buy it once and you are done, no annual renewals.
• Extremely reliable and scalable. We went from 0 to 900 Chromebooks in 2 years.
• Very little maintenance, set it and forget it. Allows us to focus on other tasks.

Incentivized