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soundxplorer
soundxplorer
New Member
December 20, 2018
Question

Bandwidth and performance comparisons to Cisco ASA models?

  • December 20, 2018
  • 3 replies
  • 9854 views

Is there any list available that states which FortiGate models offer approximately the same performance as certain ASA models? So far in my search, I've only found posts that suggest FortiGate specs are "truthful" to real-world performance, while Cisco's specs are somewhat inflated.

 

My dilemma: I've been steered toward purchasing a Cisco ASA 5516-X for my company because we are a non-profit and we get a big discount. But personally I'd prefer to go with Fortinet because I've heard the user interface is much better. And I honestly think the 5516-X is overkill for us. We have a 100 Mbp WAN, but use less than 10 Mbp on average, with an occasional peak of 30.

    3 replies

    lobstercreed
    lobstercreed
    New Member
    December 20, 2018

    I'm not aware of anything like this, but I have found that the FortiGate performs exceedingly well.  Still, it's really about how many knobs you turn on either platform.  Doing deep packet inspection is going to give you a massively different result than just basic firewall rules even with IPS turned on. 

     

    I definitely agree that the 5516-X seems overkill, but even a similarly spec'd FortiGate like the 60E maybe is going to be a fraction of the price let alone the fact that I consider Fortinet the superior product.  Based on my experience with the lowest-end models like the 30D, I would recommend going with the 60E if you can afford it (and they do have non-profit discounts also).

     

    I'm sure you've looked at this, but this is what I recommend for FortiGate sizing: https://www.fortinet.com/content/dam/fortinet/assets/data-sheets/Fortinet_Product_Matrix.pdf The Enterprise mix throughput is the one I would focus on.

    Toshi_Esumi
    SuperUser
    Toshi_Esumi
    SuperUser
    December 20, 2018

    I'm not aware of any performance comparison data publicly&easily available model-to-model between different vendors. But based on what you described for the usage, I would recommend FortiGate 60E if you want to go to FortiGate. Sales from Fortinet might have some data comparing to Cisco ASA. You might want to contact them.

    https://www.fortinet.com/content/dam/fortinet/assets/data-sheets/FortiGate_FortiWiFi_60E_Series.pdf

     

    soundxplorer
    soundxplorerAuthor
    New Member
    December 21, 2018

    Thanks for the answers everyone

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