Fortinet FortiGate 40F Next-Generation Firewall vs Cisco Catalyst 1200-24T-4G 24-Port Gigabit Managed Switch
What separates them
These two differ on 5 recorded specifications. The Cisco Catalyst 1200-24T-4G 24-Port Gigabit Managed Switch is $54.00 dearer. They are different kinds of product — network firewall appliance against managed switch — so read the table as two spec sheets rather than a like-for-like.
Fortinet FortiGate 40F Next-Generation Firewall vs Cisco Catalyst 1200-24T-4G 24-Port Gigabit Managed Switch
Fortinet
Fortinet FortiGate 40F Next-Generation Firewall
$495.00
The 5 Gbps firewall figure and the 900 Mbps threat protection figure are the same appliance measured with inspection off and on -- the second number is what a site with security profiles enabled will actually see.
Full details →Cisco
Cisco Catalyst 1200-24T-4G 24-Port Gigabit Managed Switch
$549.00
The 24T in the model number means twenty-four data ports and no PoE at all -- the PoE variants are the 24P and 24FP, and buying this one for access points is the common and expensive mistake.
Full details →Who the Fortinet FortiGate 40F Next-Generation Firewall is for
Buy it if: Branch offices needing SD-WAN, IPS and web filtering under central FortiManager control.
Avoid it if: Anyone budgeting for the appliance alone -- the subscription is the larger recurring cost.
Who the Cisco Catalyst 1200-24T-4G 24-Port Gigabit Managed Switch is for
Buy it if: Sites aggregating several access switches over fiber and wanting Cisco management without licensing.
Avoid it if: Anyone powering access points or cameras, who needs a 24P or 24FP instead.
Specifications, side by side
5 of 16 rows differ. Differences first.
| Specification | Fortinet FortiGate 40F Next-Generation Firewall | Cisco Catalyst 1200-24T-4G 24-Port Gigabit Managed Switch |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $495.00 | $549.00 |
| Annual energy use | About 105 kWh a year running continuously, roughly $18 at $0.17 per kWh | About 166 kWh a year running continuously, roughly $28 at $0.17 per kWh |
| Cooling | Fanless | Fan cooled |
| Port count | 5 x Gigabit Ethernet | 24 x Gigabit Ethernet plus 4 x SFP |
| Rated power | About 12 W typical | About 19 W typical |
| Warranty | 1-year limited hardware warranty | Limited lifetime hardware warranty |
| Concurrent sessions | About 700,000 | not published |
| Firewall throughput | 5 Gbps with inspection disabled | not published |
| Forwarding rate | not published | 41.66 Mpps |
| IPsec VPN throughput | About 4.4 Gbps | not published |
| Layer 3 features | not published | Static routing and inter-VLAN routing |
| Management | not published | Web UI, CLI and Cisco Business Dashboard |
| PoE budget | not published | None -- see the 24P and 24FP variants |
| Rack units | not published | 1U |
| Subscriptions | FortiGuard bundle sold separately and renewed annually | not published |
| Switching capacity | not published | 56 Gbps |
| Threat protection throughput | About 900 Mbps with security profiles enabled | not published |
Every row is a figure one or both products record. A blank is a figure the catalogue does not hold, not a zero.
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