"Sir, Fortinet lena chahiye ya Huawei?" Should we buy Fortinet or Huawei? It is one of the questions our engineers hear most often from small and medium businesses.
A note before we start: Arqi Networks is an official Fortinet partner and an official HUAWEI eKit partner, and our engineers hold Fortinet NSE certifications. We work with both vendors. Both make capable firewalls, and the right choice depends on your network, your team and your budget.
The short answer
| Fortinet FortiGate | Huawei USG | |
|---|---|---|
| Best suited to | Businesses where security depth is the priority | Budget-conscious sites and Huawei-based networks |
| Security services | Broad, tightly integrated feature set | Solid next-generation firewall features |
| Management | Web interface with strong built-in reporting | Improved web interface, CLI for advanced work |
| Licensing | Hardware plus annual subscription bundle | Hardware plus feature licenses |
| Ecosystem | Manages FortiSwitch and FortiAP from the firewall | Fits naturally with Huawei switches and Wi-Fi |
The rest of this article explains each row.
Security features
Fortinet is a security-focused company, and FortiGate is its core product. One operating system, FortiOS, combines the firewall with intrusion prevention, antivirus, web filtering, application control, VPN and SD-WAN. Threat updates come from Fortinet's own research team through FortiGuard subscriptions, and FortiGate appliances use purpose-built security processors to keep inspection fast.
Huawei USG firewalls provide the features expected of a next-generation firewall: intrusion prevention, antivirus, URL filtering, application control and VPN. They are a sound choice for standard business protection, particularly as part of a wider Huawei network.
For organizations that handle sensitive data, such as financial firms, schools holding student records or businesses that process customer payments, we usually recommend Fortinet for the depth and integration of its security services.
Ease of management
Day-to-day management matters more than most buyers expect, because a firewall that is hard to manage tends to be left alone.
FortiGate's web interface is widely regarded as intuitive. Built-in dashboards show which users and applications are consuming bandwidth and which threats have been blocked, which is useful for an in-house IT person who is not a full-time security specialist.
Huawei's web interface has improved considerably, but advanced configuration is still often done on the command line. Teams that already manage Huawei switches and routers will feel at home. Teams that do not may need a certified engineer for more than the basics.
Licensing and total cost
This is where the two are most different, and where careful comparison pays off.
With Fortinet, you buy the hardware and an annual subscription bundle that provides security updates and vendor support. When the subscription expires, the firewall keeps passing traffic but stops receiving threat updates, so the renewal must be in the budget every year.
Huawei hardware is often priced competitively, and security functions are licensed as separate features or bundles. Check exactly which functions are included in the quotation and for how long.
For either brand:
- Compare the three-year or five-year total, not the purchase price.
- Make sure the quotations cover the same features and the same term.
- Remember that prices in Pakistan move with the exchange rate, so renewal costs can change.
Performance: read the right number
Every firewall datasheet lists several throughput figures, and they are not interchangeable.
"Firewall throughput" is the speed with security inspection switched off. The figure that matters is the throughput with intrusion prevention, application control and malware protection all switched on, usually called threat protection throughput. It is always far lower.
Size the firewall on that figure, for your internet speed today and the speed you expect in three years. Then check two more things: how many VPN users it supports, and how much inspection of encrypted traffic you plan to do, since that reduces performance further.
Your existing network
A firewall does not work alone, so look at what surrounds it.
- If your switches and access points are Huawei, a Huawei firewall keeps everything with one vendor and one set of skills.
- If you want the firewall to manage switches and access points directly, Fortinet's Security Fabric does this with FortiSwitch and FortiAP from a single console.
- If your network is mixed, both work well with standard equipment from Cisco, H3C, MikroTik and others.
Local support and genuine products
Whichever brand you choose, buy it through an official partner. That ensures the unit is genuine, the licenses are valid and registered to your company, and warranty replacement is available if the hardware fails. Grey-market units can be cheaper, but they may not be eligible for updates or support, which defeats the purpose of buying a firewall.
Ask who will configure the device as well. A well-configured mid-range firewall protects better than a premium one left on default settings.
Which one should you choose?
Choose Fortinet FortiGate if:
- Security is your top priority or you handle sensitive data
- You want strong built-in reporting and an interface your own team can manage
- You need SD-WAN across several internet links or branches
- You plan to manage switches and Wi-Fi from the firewall
Choose Huawei USG if:
- Your network already runs on Huawei switches and access points
- Budget is the main constraint and your requirements are standard
- Your team is comfortable with Huawei's command line
- You need a dependable firewall for a branch office or factory site
Still undecided?
Tell us the number of users, your internet links and the features you need. We will assess your requirements and recommend a model and license that fit, with a clear multi-year cost.
See our Fortinet services and network security services, or contact Arqi Networks for a firewall consultation and quotation.
