NETWORK SECURITY I ENDPOINT SECURITY I DATA SECURITY
Stormshield Network Security
vs Fortinet
Stormshield Network Security Fortinet
Performance
Protection mechanisms provide an optimal level of security while preserving performance.
Published performance is the result of actual measurements
Published performance becomes a far cry from actual performance once protection
mecha-nisms are enabled
Log management
Long-term log management on the whole range* (thanks to SD card storage for entry-level
appliances) * except SN150
No long-term log management on entry-level appliances
Antivirus
Kaspersky Antivirus whose superior effective-ness has been recognized, especially against
unknown malware
Proprietary antivirus, moderate effectiveness and strong impact on performance
Connectivity
Splitting of network interface between multiple zones, hybrid mode. Up to 12 operator links supported. On appliances higher up in the range, unequaled connectivity: up to 58 interfaces on a
2U appliance
Unable to manage more than two operator links (WAN)
Vulnerability management
Passive vulnerability scanner: constant detec-tion in traffic going through the appliance, with zero impact on teams and resources analyzed
Agent requiring deployment on all workstations or active vulnerability scanner that needs to be operated by the administrator and opens
intrusive connections
Differentiating factors
• Published performance corresponding to use in actual conditions with an optimal level of security
• Storage adapted to long-term log management through the whole range
• Recognized antivirus solution
• Vulnerable management based on an unintrusive risk-free passive scanner without additional administration expenses
• Usable network port density that can be adapted to requirements
• Advanced network features to adapt to all infrastructures
Advantages
Impact of the IPS on
performance
In general, the performance of the Fortinet range appears to be much more affected than the Storm-shield Network Security range once the IPS is enabled.
This is an important parameter to take into account in the comparative study of two appliances which may seem equivalent in terms of their firewall per-formance.
Ratio of IPS performance vs. Firewall performance
Managing
counterarguments
FORTINET APPLIANCES OFFER
BETTER FUNCTIONAL COVERAGE
Fortinet is indeed known for offering many features. However, in reality, it becomes obvious that several of these features do not always offer the expected level of quality and performance.
For example, actual performance observed is not up to par with published performance values and the antivirus is not on the same level as vendors that are references in this field.
Stormshield Network Security appliances offer a level of quality and performance on all features that would allow administrators to use them in a produc-tion environment with total peace of mind.
FORTINET HAS A MUCH RICHER APPLICATIONS
DATABASE THAN STORMSHIELD NETWORK
SECURITY DOES
In terms of quantity, indeed Fortinet has an extre-mely well furnished applications database.
However, Stormshield Network Security favors a qualitative approach. Instead of drowning the admi-nistrator in thousands of applications of little bene-fit, the database offers applications that are truly relevant for monitoring how corporate users use network resources, e.g. bandwidth-hungry strea-ming and TV channel replay sites that seriously threaten productivity or file download sites that may pose a threat to network security.
Administrators may indicate to Stormshield Network Security through a dedicated portal the applications they need and which have not yet been included in the database.
Additional
detailed information
PUBLISHED PERFORMANCE VALUES
FOR ACTUAL TRAFFIC
WITH AN OPTIMAL LEVEL OF SECURITY
According to Gartner, users often report that docu-mentation published by Fortinet publish perfor-mance values higher than those actually observed, especially once the various security processes such as antivirus or URL filtering are enabled.
Stormshield publishes performance values resul-ting from tests conducted with reputed professional devices (Spirent) when the various security mecha-nisms are enabled.
Stormshield Network Security’s proprietary IPS is subtly integrated into the core of the operating sys-tem. This enables it to perform all security processes – even complex ones – by reducing the latency caused by such processes on network packets. Likewise, Extended Web Control URL filtering gua-rantees high-quality website filtering in real time while keeping throughput high (even on entry-level appliances).
LONG-TERM LOGS AND REPORTS
ON THE WHOLE RANGE
Entry-level Fortinet appliances do not have any sto-rage peripherals, and are therefore unable to archive logs over an extended period: auditing a past event, reading reports over a long period or archiving all logs to meet legal requirements is impossible on these appliances.
The only solution lies therefore in the addition of external components (server, storage peripheral), which increases the overall acquisition and opera-ting cost of the solution.
Stormshield Network Security appliances offer, from the SN200 product upwards, the possibility of mee-ting storage and log reading requirements over time. Even on the smallest models (except SN150) wit-hout high-capacity hard disks, the addition of a simple SD card allows extending storage capacity.
The entire range therefore allows meeting all au-diting needs without any additional server or ap-pliance. Legal requirements governing the retention of logs over time will also be met.
AN ANTIVIRUS SOLUTION RECOGNIZED
FOR ITS EFFECTIVENESS
Stormshield Network Security appliances build in Kaspersky’s antivirus technology, which is a reco-gnized name on the market and outperforms Forti-net’s proprietary antivirus, as shown in independent tests http://av-comparatives.org.
Thanks to its code emulation technology, Kaspers-ky protects against viruses, malware and known and unknown attacks on programs.
UNINTRUSIVE VULNERABILITY MANAGEMENT
WITH NO ADDITIONAL ADMINISTRATION COST
Security involves the availability of as many protec-tion measures as possible, as well as proper visi-bility over the status of protected resources. Forti-net appliances offer a vulnerability scanner based either on an agent to be deployed on all machines to be monitored, or on scans performed by the Fortinet appliance to these resources.
These techniques are highly intrusive as it is as-sumed that they modify or actively draw on the network’s resources. It is therefore likely that these actions adversely affect performance or even cause malfunctions on monitored resources!
The deployment of agents or the activation (manual or programmed) of scans therefore involves both a greater administration load for operations teams as well as a significant risk to the proper operation of the fleet.
Stormshield Network Vulnerability Management technology automatically gathers information from network traffic that passes through the analysis and filtering engine. This information allows it to deter-mine the risks each user and each host represents. Reports then allow the administrator to estimate the greatest risks and then guide him through remedia-tion soluremedia-tions by indicating the necessary security
WWW.STORMSHIELD.EU
Netasq
Parc Scientifique Haute Borne - Parc Horizon, Bat 6, Avenue de l’Horizon 59650 Villeneuve d’Ascq - FRANCE
updates. These reports also allow the administrator to quickly modify the security policy applied to these resources in order to contain risks while awaiting their updates.
This unique and innovative technology does not rely on any agent or any active scan of network resources. It allows gaining greater control over the network and in-creasing its security in an unintrusive risk-free manner.
FOCUS ON…
ADVANCED NETWORK FEATURES
TO FIT INTO ALL TOPOLOGIES
On Stormshield Network Security appliances, every interface can be associated with a dif-ferent network zone, or grouped with other inter-faces (bridge) to attach several hosts belonging to the same network zone.
The appliance can therefore easily keep up with changes to the protected network. Models higher up in the range offer greater scalability thanks to extension modules that increase connectivity on appliances.
An unrivalled port density of up to 58 individual interfaces can therefore be attained on a 2U ap-pliance.
Our appliances also allow protecting networks with more specific requirements, such as mana-ging up to 12 operator links for a single appliance.
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Netasq
Parc Scientifique Haute Borne - Parc Horizon, Bat 6, Avenue de l’Horizon 59650 Villeneuve d’Ascq - FRANCE
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