PACKETPERF

Primary Device

Fortinet FortiGate 40F
Fortinet FortiGate 40F
★ 3.4 Value Score

Technical Specifications

  • Firewall Throughput: 5 Gbps (1518/512/64-byte UDP)
  • Threat Prevention Throughput: 600 Mbps (enterprise mix; NGFW throughput 800 Mbps, IPS 1 Gbps)
  • IPsec VPN Throughput: 4.4 Gbps (512-byte); 200 gateway-to-gateway and 250 client-to-gateway tunnels; SSL-VPN 490 Mbps
  • Max Sessions: 700,000 concurrent TCP sessions
  • New Sessions/sec: 35,000 TCP (one reseller lists 37,000)
  • Interfaces: 3 x GE RJ45 internal, 1 x GE RJ45 WAN/DMZ, 1 x GE RJ45 FortiLink, 1 x console RJ45, 1 x USB 3.0 Type-A (FortiWiFi variant adds Wi-Fi)
  • Form Factor: Desktop

Curation Review

  • ✔ Pros: Strong 5 Gbps firewall throughput for its size; 4.4 Gbps IPsec VPN throughput; Low hardware-only price for a FortiOS firewall; Supports 200 gateway and 250 client VPN tunnels; FortiLink support for managing FortiSwitch units; 700,000 concurrent sessions suits small offices
  • ✘ Cons: Threat prevention throughput of 600 Mbps is low for security-heavy traffic; Only four RJ45 Gigabit ports, with no multi-gigabit or SFP uplink; Full security features require paid FortiGuard licensing, which raises total cost well above hardware price; Desktop form factor with no built-in Wi-Fi on the base model; Specs and prices come from reseller listings, not an official Fortinet datasheet I could access
  • Est. Price: $350 - $417

Compare Against

Ubiquiti UniFi Dream Machine Pro Max
Ubiquiti UniFi Dream Machine Pro Max
★ 5.0 Value Score

Technical Specifications

  • Firewall Throughput: Not published by Ubiquiti. Third-party tests: about 3.8-4.7 Gbps internet (WAN) throughput; about 3.0 Gbps inter-VLAN routing
  • Threat Prevention Throughput: 5 Gbps IDS/IPS (Ubiquiti spec)
  • IPsec VPN Throughput: Not published by Ubiquiti. Unverified third-party estimate of about 1.8-2.2 Gbps
  • Max Sessions: Not published
  • New Sessions/sec: Not published
  • Interfaces: 2x 10G SFP+ ports; 8x 1GbE RJ45 LAN ports; 1x 2.5GbE RJ45 WAN port (sources conflict on WAN; one lists a 25GbE WAN port)
  • Form Factor: 1U rackmount

Curation Review

  • ✔ Pros: 5 Gbps IDS/IPS rating from Ubiquiti; 10G SFP+ ports for fast uplinks or LAN; Multi-WAN support with 2.5GbE WAN; Integrated UniFi Network controller and UniFi OS for centralized management; Built-in NVR bay for UniFi Protect cameras; Rackmount 1U form factor suited to server racks
  • ✘ Cons: Ubiquiti does not publish firewall, VPN, or session-rate figures; Real-world WAN throughput in independent tests is about 3-4.7 Gbps, below the 5 Gbps IDS/IPS rating; Port layout and WAN specs differ between sources; Costs about 2x the UDM Pro (about $220 more) for a modest throughput gain; Limited 1GbE LAN port count compared with dedicated switches; Requires UniFi ecosystem for full feature set
  • Est. Price: $599 - $660

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