Fortinet Unveils SD-WAN ASIC to Accelerate and Secure the WAN Edge

As organizations adopt SD-WAN for faster and more cost-effective connectivity, security remains their top challenge. Fortinet unveils new secure SD-WAN offerings, including the industry’s first SD-WAN ASIC, to further enable organizations to implement security-driven networking.

In a recent Gartner report, “72% of the respondents said that security was their topmost concern when it comes to their WAN. In response, Fortinet continues to empower customers to deploy security-driven networking with the following new innovations:

These innovations support the most pressing customer challenges by addressing the following use cases:

Use Case #1: Digital Transformation at the Enterprise WAN Edge

SaaS and multi-cloud application usage is increasing and with it the need to make the WAN Edge “application aware.” In response, Fortinet is introducing the industry’s first SoC4 SD-WAN ASIC, which delivers the industry’s fastest application identification and steering for more than 5,000 applications. This allows users to avoid delays in accessing their applications and accelerates overlay performance, providing low latency and the best possible user experience for business-critical applications.

Also announced today, FortiGate 100F Next-Generation Firewall powered by the new SoC4 SD-WAN ASIC combines SD-WAN functionalities with advanced security into one single offering. FortiGate 100F delivers 10 times faster performance when compared with competitors. It also comes with integrated 10G interfaces to accommodate for future expansion without needing another device.

Use Case #2: Reduce WAN Opex Without Compromising Application Performance

Organizations are transitioning from MPLS to broadband in order to achieve higher bandwidth requirements with lower WAN cost, but this shift often degrades the quality of experience for unified communication applications. New SD-WAN features within FortiOS 6.2 allow customers to leverage new WAN Link remediation to handle even the most volatile WAN connections and deliver superior application performance for unified communication. New SD-WAN features also allow customers to measure WAN bandwidth on-demand and can aggregate overlay bandwidth for packet-based steering to ensure the end user receives the best possible user experience and application performance at all times.

Use Case #3: Simplify WAN Edge Operations and Consolidate with SD-Branch

Many customers are currently forced to use multiple point products and management consoles to achieve a WAN Edge. In response, Fortinet is announcing new Fortinet 360 Protection Services to offer SD-WAN management and orchestration to simplify even the most complex deployments. The Fortinet 360 Protection Services include overlay controller orchestration to simplify VPN deployment at-scale through a single-pane-of-glass for improved management. Additionally, Fortinet’s FortiManager is now available in all environments, including on-premises and multi-cloud, to provide centralized management for the WAN Edge.

To further simplify WAN Edge operations, Fortinet continues to expand deeper integration between SD-WAN and the branch access layer. Fortinet’s new SoC4 SD-WAN ASIC accelerates security extension throughout WAN Edge, access points and switches to enable SD-Branch transformation.