FortiNAC
FortiNAC is a network access control solution that provides visibility, control, and automated response for every device connecting to your multi-vendor network environment.
Forward Networks
Forward Networks provides a digital twin platform that models your entire network infrastructure to prevent outages, verify security policies, and automate complex change management tasks effectively.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | FortiNAC | Forward Networks |
|---|---|---|
| Website | fortinet.com | forwardnetworks.com |
| Pricing Model | Custom | Custom |
| Starting Price | Custom Pricing | Custom Pricing |
| FREE Trial | ✘ No free trial | ✘ No free trial |
| Free Plan | ✘ No free plan | ✘ No free plan |
| Product Demo | ✓ Request demo here | ✓ Request demo here |
| Deployment | ||
| Integrations | ||
| Target Users | ||
| Target Industries | ||
| Customer Count | 0 | 0 |
| Founded Year | 2000 | 2013 |
| Headquarters | Sunnyvale, USA | Santa Clara, USA |
Overview
FortiNAC
FortiNAC gives you complete visibility and control over everything on your network. As your environment grows with IoT devices, BYOD, and guest users, you can automatically identify and profile every single endpoint the moment it tries to connect. You no longer have to wonder what is on your wire or in your air; the system sees it all and applies your security policies instantly.
You can implement micro-segmentation to ensure devices only access the specific resources they need, significantly reducing your attack surface. If a device starts behaving strangely or becomes compromised, the platform can automatically quarantine it or kick it off the network without you lifting a finger. It works across your existing switches and wireless access points, making it a flexible choice for securing complex, multi-vendor infrastructures.
Forward Networks
Forward Networks provides a mathematical model of your entire network, creating a functional digital twin that spans on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments. You can visualize every possible traffic path and verify that your network is behaving exactly as intended. By analyzing your network's state against your specific business policies, the platform identifies misconfigurations and security gaps before they cause outages or breaches.
You can use the platform to perform 'what-if' analysis, allowing you to test changes in the digital twin before deploying them to production. This proactive approach eliminates manual troubleshooting and reduces the risk of human error. Whether you are managing complex data centers or sprawling multi-cloud deployments, you gain a single source of truth that simplifies audits and accelerates digital transformation initiatives.
Overview
FortiNAC Features
- Agentless Visibility Scan and identify every device on your network without installing software on the endpoints themselves.
- Dynamic Segmentation Assign devices to specific network segments automatically based on their role, type, and security posture.
- Automated Response Set up triggers to automatically isolate or quarantine devices that show signs of compromise or policy violations.
- IoT Security Profile and secure headless IoT devices that cannot run traditional security agents or antivirus software.
- Guest Onboarding Provide a secure self-service portal for visitors to access your Wi-Fi without compromising your internal data.
- Multi-Vendor Support Manage security policies across hundreds of different third-party switches and wireless access points from one interface.
Forward Networks Features
- Network Digital Twin. Create a vendor-agnostic mathematical model of your entire network to visualize paths across all devices and cloud instances.
- Path Analysis. Search for any traffic path between two points to see exactly how packets are handled by every hop.
- Intent Verification. Define your network policies and receive instant alerts if a configuration change violates your security or connectivity rules.
- Change Modeling. Predict the impact of planned changes by testing them against the digital twin before touching your production environment.
- Security Posture Blast. Visualize the potential reach of a compromised host to identify and close security holes in your segmentation strategy.
- Automated Documentation. Generate up-to-date network diagrams and configuration state reports automatically for simplified compliance audits and troubleshooting.
Pricing Comparison
FortiNAC Pricing
Forward Networks Pricing
Pros & Cons
FortiNAC
Pros
- Excellent visibility into unmanaged IoT and BYOD devices
- Broad compatibility with diverse third-party networking hardware
- Powerful automation rules for instant threat containment
- Granular control over network access policies and segments
Cons
- Initial configuration and setup can be quite complex
- User interface feels dated compared to modern SaaS tools
- Documentation can be difficult to navigate for new users
Forward Networks
Pros
- Unmatched visibility into complex multi-vendor network environments
- Drastically reduces time spent on manual troubleshooting
- Simplifies complex compliance audits with automated verification
- Prevents costly outages by catching errors before deployment
Cons
- Initial data collection setup requires significant time
- High price point targets large enterprise budgets
- Requires consistent data snapshots for maximum accuracy