A firewall serves as a critical component of your company’s IT security, acting as a barrier against malicious traffic to protect your data and block unwanted access.
Your firewall should form the backbone of your network, actively deciding which traffic to allow and which to block, whether through hardware or software. Therefore, it plays a vital role in maintaining your overall security posture.
What is a FortiGate Firewall?
Fortinet’s next-gen firewall, FortiGate, delivers top-tier threat protection for businesses of all sizes. By leveraging FortiGuard threat intelligence and FortiGate’s purpose-built security processors, these firewalls provide unmatched performance and protection for your network.
For instance, the FortiGate-20 series is perfect for small offices and retail networks, while the FortiGate-1500 series caters to the needs of large enterprises.
How Does FortiGate Firewall Work?
A FortiGate firewall examines data entering your network and determines whether it is safe to transmit to your organization.
Typically, lower-spec firewalls assess this data based on factors like location and origin. Then, they compare it to a list of permissions to decide if it can pass through.
Moreover, a firewall serves as the first line of defense against cyber-attacks. However, as malicious hackers become more skilled, relying solely on a firewall to combat various cybersecurity threats becomes increasingly difficult.
FortiGate firewalls provide advanced protection for your organization, including safeguards against encrypted traffic, thanks to FortiGuard’s dedicated security processors and top-tier threat detection capabilities.
What are the Features of the FortiGate Firewall?
- High-performance threat protection, such as web filtering, antivirus, and application control, prevents cyber threats like malware and social engineering from harming your business. To ensure network segment safety, scalable segmentation and low latency play crucial roles.
- Additionally, automating workflows and auditing features relieve the IT department of some responsibilities. FortiGate provides security ratings based on best-practice security measures.
- Furthermore, independently validated threat information, updated regularly, keeps you safe from both known and undiscovered
- threats. You can also manage security assets from anywhere with enterprise-class security management.
- Finally, Security Fabric integration shares threat information across the entire IT security architecture, delivering speedy and automated protection.
Find Your Next FortiGate Firewall
- Recommended User Counts
The number of users your network must handle is the most critical Installed Plugins factor when purchasing a Fortinet next-generation firewall. An organization’s network defines a user as any computer, tablet, phone, printer, or other device with Internet access.
Get an exact count of every user in your system for maximum security. If your business expands or you need to accommodate visitor users, it’s ideal to leave extra room for them. This also ensures that bandwidth is available for resource-intensive applications.
- Speeds of Throughput
The throughput of a firewall indicates the total Internet traffic it can handle at any given time, depending on the hardware’s processing power. You measure throughput in megabits per second (Mbps) and gigabits per second (Gbps).
Additionally, Fortinet firewall datasheets provide various throughput statistics based on the type of security services, traffic, and protocols the firewall manages.
- Maximum Throughput of a Firewall
Because it reflects the highest feasible processing speed of the hardware when no additional services are deployed, Max Firewall Throughput is the highest throughput metric you’ll read on any datasheet. In most cases, this represents the out-of-the-box speed of a firewall and doesn’t reflect how it would perform in a real-world scenario.
- Throughput of SSL VPN
SSL and VPN are communication protocols that govern how information is encrypted and delivered between a source and a destination.
The safest way for offsite employees, outposts, and branch offices to receive information from the core database is by using SSL VPN tunnels. Since VPNs work by encrypting and decrypting data, the throughput speeds are determined by the type of data and encryption capabilities of the gateway.
- Throughput of IMIX
Simulated data traveling through a firewall is called IMIX, which models how the hardware performs in real-world scenarios. Additionally, IMIX throughputs represent the maximum speeds a firewall can achieve while handling various packet sizes and traffic patterns.
- Form Factor
The overall shape of appliance hardware is known as its form factor. Most firewalls will come in either a desktop or a rackmount configuration.
- Wireless Support
Some businesses prefer wireless firewalls instead of devices that require Cat5E or Cat6 cabling. However, many view wired networking solutions as more dependable and secure because signals remain unaffected by other networks.
Furthermore, data transfer speeds improve thanks to the development of Gigabit connections, making wired devices significantly faster. On the other hand, wireless environments are easier to set up since they require less equipment and planning.
What Threats Does FortiGate Firewall Prevent?
The FortiGate next-generation firewall can defend against a variety of security threats. Including:
- Malware
- Spyware (Grayware)
- Schemes involving phishing and social engineering
- Pharming attacks
- Viruses that infect instant messaging
- Peer-to-Peer networks
- Attacks on many networks at the same time
- Intrusions
Why should you go with the FortiGate Firewall?
IT security risks constantly change, and your company must adapt to keep pace. As we move toward a more connected corporate world than ever before, one data breach can lead to catastrophic consequences for your organization.
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A FortiGate firewall can provide you and your company peace of mind by ensuring that you are protected from the latest dangers.
Author: TechBlonHub
As a passionate blogger, I'm thrilled to share my expertise, insights, and enthusiasm with you. I believe that technical knowledge should be shared, not hoarded. That's why I take the time to craft detailed, well-researched content that's easy to follow, even for non-tech. I love hearing from you, answering your questions, and learning from your experiences. Your feedback helps me create content that's tailored to your needs and interests