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Fortinet FortiDDoS vs VMware NSX comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiDDoS
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection (15th)
VMware NSX
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
107
Ranking in other categories
Network Virtualization (1st), Cloud and Data Center Security (6th), Network Traffic Analysis (NTA) (6th), Network Detection and Response (NDR) (8th), Network Automation (3rd), Microsegmentation Software (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

Fortinet FortiDDoS and VMware NSX aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Fortinet FortiDDoS is designed for Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection and holds a mindshare of 2.0%, down 2.5% compared to last year.
VMware NSX, on the other hand, focuses on Network Virtualization, holds 27.9% mindshare, down 40.7% since last year.
Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiDDoS2.0%
Cloudflare11.7%
Imperva Application Security Platform7.6%
Other78.7%
Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection
Network Virtualization Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
VMware NSX27.9%
Cisco ACI25.6%
Cisco Enterprise Network Functions Virtualization9.5%
Other37.0%
Network Virtualization
 

Featured Reviews

MO
IT Analyst at Evapco, Inc.
Reliable protection and smooth setup enhance company security
Currently, I have two firewalls, with one located in Sorocaba, model 90D, and the other in São Paulo, model 30D. They are connected by VPN. I use the firewalls for VPN and final protection for my company, and my equipment is maintained by an internet company called Multiprox The equipment works…
Mahesh Bhadoriya - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Manager at Allianz Cloud Private Limited
Micro segmentation has strengthened zero trust security and isolates production from test environments
The advantages of VMware NSX include its micro-segmentation for internal security at the firewall and VM levels, which is very powerful and helps us comply with complete Zero Trust security models. We are able to achieve this and configure network level virtualization with no dependency on VLANs. Micro-segmentation helps improve our security significantly. We are not totally dependent upon our physical upfront firewall, and it makes sense to configure everything using VMware NSX, leading to multiple improvements in our organization. We moved from traditional networking such as VLANs from the firewall and switches to VMware NSX segmentation. We achieve one firewall per VLAN and can stop lateral movement such as ransomware control. The Zero Trust model is the main functionality and architecture it offers, allowing application isolation, such as having a separate production and test environment. Consistent networking and security policies across different environments have a major and very positive impact on our business operations, allowing us to achieve the security posture we want with compliance and regulations.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"Compared to other DDoS mitigation solutions with similar deployment, FortiDDoS does not require a 24x7 NOC and has lower TCO."
"The solution already has security profiles and it can protect from DDoS attacks and other kinds of attacks."
"The equipment works very well, and I have not encountered any issues with it. It is a good solution for my company."
"The pricing of this solution is better than that of Cisco and other software on the market, which are very expensive."
"I find the interface easy to use."
"Packet inspection has been effective for mitigating DDoS attacks."
"We use it to protect our users and their data."
"We have researched them all, and it's a good solution all around."
"I have found some of the major features of this solution to be its ease of use, flexibility, and reliability."
"When using for K8s container platforms or a networking backed for on premises cloud using a CMP(VRA, VIO) then VMware NSX is the best SDN solution."
"VMware NSX has improved our customers' organizations through its automation of security policies, delivery of policy by intent, rapid provisioning, and removing security as being a blocker."
"We are using VMware NSX for all our network needs."
"Overall, I would say the solution has been quite stable."
"The initial setup is straightforward."
"Has a great firewall."
"We are happy with the scalability."
 

Cons

"Technical support isn't too good with Fortinet. They could be more responsive and helpful overall."
"The solution can be a little more user-friendly and it can be more affordable."
"The main improvement would be to change the firewall model, however, currently, everything is fixed and working well."
"All those thresholds that need to be configured should be included in the default so that user will not forget or misconfigure."
"I would like to see analytics, big data."
"The challenge lies within the customer environment, particularly in Brazil, where companies have stringent security requirements for implementing solutions."
"I find that there have been issues in the past year with the solution hanging. It freezes often."
"Earlier versions of firmware had bugs that limit my options."
"VMware NSX can improve the migration tools from the older environments to the new environment. For example, the NSX-V has become a legacy solution, it's out of support, but customers are able to keep using it. For migration purposes, it's better for them to provide a proper tool. It will be easy to migrate from an old environment to a new one."
"However, they should provide better documentation."
"The product is quite complex and that could be an area where improvements could be made."
"Occasionally the licensing is not very clear. They should make it easier to understand."
"I would like to have automating reporting built into common service management platforms, such as JIRA, Serviceaide, and ServiceNow."
"To those who say this solution is complex, I would say it is but not for the key user."
"Tech support is nice. It could be a little bit better."
"It's a good product, but the way that it has got so many multiple levels that need to be purchased makes it expensive and cumbersome."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's quite pricey."
"The product’s pricing needs improvement."
"The solution is reasonably priced."
"We are using a perpetual license to use the solution and we have support."
"I was not involved in the purchase of the solution but I hear it is on the expensive side."
"There is a license required for this solution and there is also a support license available. The price of the solution could be better."
"The licensing is renewed every three years. The cost for implementation and renovation are a huge portion of that price."
"We haven't had to hire a dedicated network engineer because NSX handles 90 percent of it. The reduced overhead in terms of managing networks has been the biggest plus."
"The implementation of VMware NSX can be cost-intensive, especially if an organization is looking for a comprehensive solution. The costs can vary based on factors like the level of conversation and discounts obtained during negotiations. Some government organizations, for instance, may find the prices relatively high, leading to concerns about budget hikes, especially when deploying the solution across the entire organization. Regarding maintenance and support, they are typically included in the standard licensing costs for enterprise-level businesses. While these costs can be significant, many companies opt for standard licensing to ensure they have access to necessary support and maintenance services."
"We have saved man-hours and decreased our security exposure."
"The price is based on the virtual desktop infrastructure(VDI) side and also is dependant on the size of the environment. The price is expensive and it could attract more purchasers in smaller organisations if it was reduced."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Comms Service Provider
12%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Construction Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Large Enterprise6
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business34
Midsize Enterprise23
Large Enterprise70
 

Questions from the Community

Which is the best DDoS protection solution for a big ISP for monitoring and mitigating?
Arbor would be the best bid, apart from Arbor, Palo Alto and Fortinet have good solutions. As this is an ISP, I would prefer Arbor.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiDDoS?
Fortinet FortiDDoS offers lower costs compared to other solutions. The licensing costs are annually renewed.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiDDoS?
There is a need for more features that protect personal information, especially given the PDP issue in Indonesia.
What are the biggest differences between Cisco ACI and VMware NSX?
There are some very major differences between both the Products and to name a few. -Cisco ACI have physical network gear (9K Switches) where the Code runs in ACI Policy Mode & the UCS server wh...
What are the biggest differences between Cisco ACI and VMware NSX?
Once you know your way around the Cisco ecosystem, using Cisco ACI is not so difficult. It is a global product, so when you change one interface, changes are automatically reflected on every switch...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for VMware NSX?
When measuring complexity and costs for our organization, we consider some parameters for effectiveness. In terms of effectiveness in reducing operational complexity, I measure it to be high on the...
 

Also Known As

Fortinet DDoS, FortiDDos
VMware Nicira, Lastline Defender
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
City of Avondale, Lumeta, Kroll Ontrack, Heartland Payment Systems, Baystate Heallth, Exostar, Tribune Media, iGATE, NTT Communications, Synergent, California Natural Resources Agency, Bloomington Public Schools, Columbia Sportswear, Join Experience S.A, Schuberg Philis
Find out what your peers are saying about Radware, Cloudflare, Imperva and others in Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection. Updated: October 2026.
917,433 professionals have used our research since 2012.