FortiGate-VM NGFW Reviews & Product Details

What I like most about FortiGate-VM is that it provides the same familiar FortiGate security features in a virtual environment. The interface is straightforward, and having features like firewall policies, VPN, IPS, application control and centralized management makes it easy to integrate into different cloud or virtualized environments. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

One thing I dislike is that sizing and licensing can be a little confusing at first, especially when you're trying to match the VM resources and expected traffic load. Performance can also depend quite a bit on the underlying virtualization or cloud infrastructure, so proper sizing is important. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What I like about FortiGate-VM is its flexibility and the wide range of security features available in a virtual environment. It provides firewalling, NAT, routing, IPS, application control, web filtering, IPsec VPN, SD-WAN, and centralized management through FortiManager. I particularly like its scalability because it can be deployed in cloud or virtualized environments without requiring dedicated hardware. Its CLI troubleshooting capabilities, packet capture, flow debugging, and integration with FortiAnalyzer are also useful for monitoring and troubleshooting network issues. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

One thing I dislike about FortiGate-VM is that its performance depends heavily on the underlying virtual infrastructure, such as CPU, memory, network interfaces, and hypervisor configuration. Licensing can also become a consideration when scaling deployments. In addition, troubleshooting in a complex virtual or cloud environment can sometimes be more challenging because issues may involve the FortiGate configuration as well as the hypervisor, virtual networking, or cloud platform. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Fortinet has done a solid job balancing security, performance, and ease of management, which is something I’ve come to appreciate.

Working with FortiGate-VM NGFW, I especially like the dashboard. It includes both a command line for those (like me) who prefer typing commands, and a UI for when you’d rather work visually. The interface is responsive and works very well, and the real-time logging makes troubleshooting and monitoring much easier.

I also like how well it fits into the broader Fortinet environment, both with other security products and with cloud platforms like Azure, AWS, or Google Cloud, as well as virtualisation platforms. That integration makes it easier to centralise security instead of pulling together different products across different platforms just to make everything work.

When I think about it, I would say that performance has been one of the biggest highlights when using this product. the seamless handling of traffic while providing various features like VPN, web filtering, IPS, etc. has been nothing but top-tier performance for me. With it being a virtual environment, it reduces the need for dedicated hardware although you still have to keep in mind that you provide the VM with sufficient resources to ensure that it runs smoothly.

The deployment is pretty straightforward, with the help of YouTune, I was able to get it up and running. But, it shouldn't be a problem if you have experience in networking and firewalls. I did have to reach out to support when I was stuck trying to troubleshoot, and they were very helpful and responded in reasonable time.

With the world adopting AI more and more, the capabilities that FortiGate-VM NGFW has help to level the playing field because of the provision of AI-assisted detection capabilities detecting threats and malicious activities. It is an added bonus as having an "extra set of eyes" just in case I missed anything. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Although it is a good ROI, I would say that it takes quite a bit for time for you to understand the license structure especially when comparing VMs sizes which could put first-time users off when they have to pick one, so if that could be worked on that would be good. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The biggest advantage of FortiGate-VM is how easy it is to deploy in a virtualized cloud environment, without needing to purchase expensive physical hardware. The FortiOS GUI is very intuitive and feels much cleaner than older Cisco firewalls I’ve worked with. Creating standard IPv4 policies, managing NAT, and setting up SSL VPNs for remote workers can be done in just a few clicks, rather than having to wrestle with complex CLI commands. I also like that routing, SD-WAN features, and deep packet inspection are integrated into a single pane of glass, which makes it easier to monitor threats and investigate logs. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The licensing model for the VM versions can be confusing and expensive, especially when you’re trying to scale CPU or RAM allocations in a virtualized cluster. Another pain point is that firmware upgrades can be buggy at times. It’s a common rule among network engineers to wait for more mature patch releases, since early firmware updates can sometimes break existing VPN or routing configurations. Finally, while the GUI is excellent for day-to-day tasks, it doesn’t expose all of the advanced diagnostic logs. When you need to do deeper troubleshooting for dropped packets or complex IPSec VPN failures, you’re forced to switch to the CLI, which comes with a fairly steep learning curve. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

It delivers high performance while using minimal resources. The flexibility of the FortiOS REST API is also a major advantage when conducting security posture management or continuous threat exposure assessments. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

While the GUI is excellent for day-to-day management and creating policies, deep packet inspection and troubleshooting dropped traffic still require jumping into the CLI. To pinpoint exactly which policy or routing issue is killing a connection, you basically have to master commands like ⁠diag debug flow⁠ and ⁠diag sniffer packet⁠. That reliance on the CLI can slow incident response when the team isn’t heavily Fortinet-trained. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What I like best about FortiGate-VM NGFW is how easy it is to deploy in virtual environments. The setup process is straightforward, and routing configuration is simple and clear compared to other firewalls I’ve used. The user interface is very user-friendly and responsive, which makes daily management and policy changes much faster and less complicated. FortiGate-VM NGFW works well with other tools in our environment. We use it alongside Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Sentinel, and Fortinet FortiAnalyzer. The integration is smooth, especially with logging and monitoring tools, which helps us centralize security visibility and manage policies more efficiently. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

One thing I dislike is that the HA setup can be a bit complicated, especially when configuring it for the first time in a virtual environment. Some advanced features also take time to fully understand. Additionally, the licensing and feature activation process could be more straightforward, and the documentation for certain HA and virtual deployment scenarios is not always clear enough. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

FortiGate-VM NGFW stands out for its comprehensive security features, intuitive management interface, and flexibility in virtualized and cloud environments. The UI makes it convenient to configure firewall policies, manage objects, monitor traffic, and review security logs. Its integrations with FortiManager, FortiAnalyzer, FortiClient, and the Fortinet Security Fabric enable centralized management, detailed reporting, endpoint visibility, and coordinated threat response.

In terms of performance, it provides efficient traffic inspection, application control, IPS, antivirus, web and DNS filtering, SSL/TLS inspection, VPN, NAT, routing, SD-WAN, and high availability, depending on the deployment and licensing. Its scalability allows organizations to adapt security resources to changing workloads. FortiGuard threat AI/intelligence help identify and respond to emerging threats.

The flexible virtual deployment options and licensing models can provide good ROI by consolidating multiple security functions into one platform and reducing hardware dependency. Fortinet's documentation, training resources, and technical support help teams with onboarding and troubleshooting. Overall, FortiGate-VM NGFW offers a strong combination of security, visibility, integration, and operational flexibility for organizations protecting virtualized and cloud-based infrastructure. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Troubleshooting can sometimes be challenging, and performance depends on the underlying virtual infrastructure and resource allocation. Some advanced features also require additional licensing and expertise. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What I like best about FortiGate-VM NGFW is how easy it is to deploy and test in a virtual environment. I installed it on a Proxmox server to learn firewall administration and evaluate its security features. I particularly liked the web interface for managing firewall policies, network interfaces, and NAT rules from a single dashboard. The real-time logs and traffic monitoring also made it easier to understand how security policies affect network traffic during testing. Even in a lab environment, the performance was smooth and responsive, making it a good platform for learning and evaluating enterprise network security. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

One thing I found challenging with FortiGate-VM NGFW is that the number of available configuration options can be overwhelming at first, especially for new administrators. During my initial setup in a Proxmox virtual environment, understanding the different firewall policies, interfaces, and security settings required some time to become familiar with the platform. However, the documentation and the organization of the interface helped make the learning process easier. Once the basic concepts are understood, managing the solution becomes much more straightforward. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

outstanding security solution that seamlessly brings enterprise-grade threat protection to virtual and cloud environments. It stands out thanks to its intuitive, "single pane of glass" user interface, which simplifies complex network management by centralizing all security policies and monitoring into one easy-to-navigate dashboard. Furthermore, its excellent readability features—such as clearly structured logs, real-time traffic visualizers, and interactive topology maps—allow administrators to quickly parse complex data, effortlessly troubleshoot issues, and instantly identify threats without being overwhelmed by dense information. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

One pain point is the inconsistency between what you can do in the graphical user interface (GUI) and what still requires the command-line interface (CLI). Specifically, when you need to configure multiple Syslog servers for logging, you quickly hit a wall in the GUI: the web interface only lets you set up a single remote Syslog server. If you want to integrate more than one FortiOS supports up to four Syslog servers in total—you have to switch over to the CLI to configure the second, third, and fourth instances (using commands like config log syslogd2 setting, config log syslogd3 setting, and so on). Having to bounce back and forth between the intuitive GUI and the CLI just to add additional logging endpoints is an annoying interruption to the workflow. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I love FortiGate-VM NGFW because it offers comprehensive security features and decentralized management, giving me strong visibility and control over the network traffic. It's easy to configure security policies and VPNs, and I appreciate its application controls. The solution can be deployed in virtual and cloud environments without needing specific physical hardware, which I find really valuable. I also like its centralized management and traffic visibility, allowing me to understand network activities while preventing unauthorized access and security risks. The VPN capability provides secure remote connectivity, and since it's virtual, it's flexible to deploy across different environments. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I find most things about FortiGate-VM NGFW impressive, but if I had to change something, it would be the user interface and the ease of configuration. As a first-time user, some advanced features and security policies are a bit challenging to understand. Although the documentation is comprehensive, having more straightforward guides and clearer explanations for complex configurations would be helpful. Making the interface more user-friendly with a simple initial setup could guide new users like me through the configuration process more smoothly. Some advanced security policies and settings also require additional technical knowledge, so providing step-by-step guidance in those areas would be beneficial. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.