FortiGate FortiWiFi 40F Series: A Comprehensive Overview for Small Businesses and Remote Offices
The FortiGate FortiWiFi 40F series is a compact, high-performance next-generation firewall (NGFW) and wireless access point (for FortiWiFi models) designed for small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), remote offices, and retail locations, offering integrated security, networking, and SD-WAN capabilities.
Key Features and Capabilities
The FortiGate FortiWiFi 40F series is engineered to provide a secure and efficient network environment. Its core strength lies in its ability to consolidate multiple security functions into a single, easy-to-manage device.
Security Fabric Integration
A cornerstone of Fortinet's offerings, the Security Fabric provides broad visibility, integrated AI-driven threat prevention, and automated operations. The 40F series seamlessly integrates into this fabric, allowing for centralized management and synchronized security across the entire network infrastructure. This integration ensures consistent security policies and threat intelligence sharing.
High Performance with SPU Acceleration
The inclusion of Fortinet's custom-built Security Processing Units (SPUs) is a significant differentiator. The NP6Lite network processor and CP9 content processor offload security-intensive tasks, leading to significantly higher throughput for threat protection, SSL inspection, and VPN traffic compared to general-purpose CPUs. This hardware acceleration is crucial for maintaining performance even under heavy security loads.
- Threat Protection Throughput: Up to 600 Mbps
- SSL Inspection Throughput: Up to 310 Mbps
- IPsec VPN Throughput: Up to 4.4 Gbps
Integrated SD-WAN Capabilities
The 40F series offers robust Secure SD-WAN functionality, enabling organizations to achieve better application performance, reduce WAN costs, and simplify branch office networking. It intelligently steers traffic across multiple WAN links based on application requirements and link quality, ensuring optimal user experience for critical business applications.
Wireless Connectivity (FortiWiFi Models)
For models designated as FortiWiFi (e.g., FortiWiFi 40F), integrated 802.11ac Wave 2 wireless LAN (WLAN) capabilities are included. This eliminates the need for a separate wireless access point, simplifying deployment and management for smaller environments. These models support 2x2 MIMO technology, providing reliable and high-speed wireless access.
Comprehensive Security Services
The FortiGate 40F series provides a full suite of security services, often referred to as a Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW). These include:
- Intrusion Prevention System (IPS): Protects against known and unknown threats by detecting and blocking malicious network traffic.
- Application Control: Granular control over thousands of applications, allowing administrators to define policies based on application type, user, and schedule.
- Web Filtering: Blocks access to malicious, inappropriate, or unproductive websites based on categories and reputation.
- Antivirus/Anti-Malware: Scans files and traffic for viruses, spyware, and other malware.
- SSL Inspection: Decrypts and inspects encrypted traffic (HTTPS) to detect hidden threats, a critical capability given the increasing prevalence of encrypted attacks.
- VPN (IPsec and SSL): Securely connects remote users and branch offices to the corporate network.
Hardware Specifications
The FortiGate FortiWiFi 40F series features a compact desktop form factor with fanless operation, making it suitable for quiet office environments.
- Interfaces: Typically includes multiple GE RJ45 ports (e.g., 1x WAN, 1x FortiLink, 3x Internal/Customizable) and 1x USB port. Some models may also include a console port.
- Storage: Often includes internal storage (e.g., 128 GB SSD) for logging and other functions.
- Dimensions: Compact, designed for desktop placement.
- Power: External power adapter.
Use Cases
The FortiGate FortiWiFi 40F series is ideally suited for:
- Small to Medium-sized Businesses (SMBs): Providing all-in-one security and networking for their primary office.
- Remote and Branch Offices: Extending enterprise-grade security to distributed locations with limited IT staff.
- Retail Locations: Securing point-of-sale (POS) systems and customer Wi-Fi networks.
- Home Offices/Teleworkers: Offering a secure and high-performance connection for remote employees.
Licensing and Services
Fortinet offers various subscription services to enhance the security capabilities of the 40F series. These typically include:
- FortiGuard Security Services: Provides real-time threat intelligence updates for antivirus, IPS, web filtering, and other security features.
- FortiCare Support Services: Offers technical support, hardware replacement, and firmware updates.
- Unified Threat Management (UTM) Bundles: Combine multiple FortiGuard services into a single, cost-effective package.
Conclusion
The FortiGate FortiWiFi 40F series stands out as a powerful and versatile security appliance for environments requiring robust protection without complexity. Its integration of Fortinet's Security Fabric, SPU-accelerated performance, and comprehensive security features, including SD-WAN and optional integrated Wi-Fi, make it an excellent choice for organizations looking to secure their networks effectively and efficiently.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is the main difference between FortiGate 40F and FortiWiFi 40F?
The main difference is that the FortiWiFi 40F models include integrated 802.11ac Wave 2 wireless LAN (WLAN) capabilities, while the FortiGate 40F models do not.
What kind of performance can I expect from the FortiGate 40F series?
The FortiGate 40F series offers high performance due to its SPU acceleration. Key performance metrics include 600 Mbps threat protection throughput, 310 Mbps SSL inspection throughput, and 4.4 Gbps IPsec VPN throughput.
Is the FortiGate 40F suitable for small businesses?
Yes, the FortiGate 40F series is specifically designed for small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), remote offices, and retail locations, providing enterprise-grade security in a compact and easy-to-manage form factor.
Does the FortiGate 40F support SD-WAN?
Yes, the FortiGate 40F series includes robust Secure SD-WAN capabilities, allowing for optimized application performance, reduced WAN costs, and simplified branch office networking.
What security features are included with the FortiGate 40F?
The FortiGate 40F provides a comprehensive suite of security features, including Intrusion Prevention System (IPS), Application Control, Web Filtering, Antivirus/Anti-Malware, SSL Inspection, and VPN capabilities.
Does the FortiGate 40F require a subscription?
While the device functions as a firewall out of the box, to unlock its full security capabilities and receive real-time threat intelligence updates, FortiGuard Security Services subscriptions (e.g., UTM bundles) and FortiCare support services are highly recommended.
Can the FortiGate 40F be managed centrally?
Yes, the FortiGate 40F integrates into Fortinet's Security Fabric, allowing for centralized management through FortiManager and synchronized security across your entire network infrastructure.