I have an overall good experience with the Fortigate NGFW. I like FortiOS because the CLI commands are universal to the entire ecosystem. Fortigates are so easy to use I configured one for my home network/lab. CBTNuggets and other online learning platforms have a lot of good videos on how to build a network of physical and virtual appliances. We've upgraded from 200Ds, to 201e's and now we're looking at the 200g. Converting or migrating to a new firewall typically means getting a forticonverter license. The performance of the SD-WAN has remained reliable across multiple retail locations, campuses, and datacenters. We use SSL deep inspection, advanced threat protection, and application control functions, and the hardware acceleration via Fortinet's Security Processing Units (SPUs) without many conflicting issues with streaming services like VOIP or Teams Meeting calls. Fortinet's TAC support has been useful when troubleshooting our NGFWs. In our experience, TAC provides knowledgeable, responsive assistance, especially when dealing with tough cases or firmware-specific stuff. The fortigate documentation and community resources are available through Fortinet. If you're not sure how to setup something they have 4-hour fast track courses. Overall, FortiGate continues to impress with usability, depth, performance, and ecosystem support. Whether you're deploying a single device or managing a few dozen across branch locations, the platform scales well and provides robust, feature-rich network security.

It's expensive, not very straightforward to learn, and the knowledgebase is not kept up to date or easy to locate tutorials and guides for common issues. We were also told over 5 years into using that we were sold demo equipment by a Fortinet partner and subsequently told we had to buy new hardware because ours was blacklisted by Fortinet. They have a very questionable sales process which did not sit well with us, and it was hard to even find an alternate vendor who was open to a working business relationship versus looking to make a quick commission and move on.