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.

The experience with this vendor has been average. The product itself is strong and technically capable, especially in terms of performance and scalability, but some operational and support-related challenges prevent it from being a top-tier experience. Deployment was generally smooth and once configured the solution is stable and reliable. However, areas such as support responsiveness and advanced configuration flexibility leave room for improvement.