Fortinet Enhances FortiGate Network Security Platform for Mid-Size Enterprises and Small Businesses

SUNNYVALE, Calif., October 26, 2004 – Fortinet – the confirmed market leader in Unified Threat Management and only provider of ASIC-accelerated, network-based antivirus firewall systems for real-time network protection – today announced it has expanded its network security platform with the introduction of five new systems that deliver increased performance, flexibility and security to both medium enterprises and small businesses. The new A-series products include the FortiGate-100A, FortiGate-200A and FortiGate-300A systems, specifically designed for SMBs, and the FortiGate-400A and FortiGate-500A systems for mid-sized enterprises.

The A-series systems expand Fortinet’s FortiGate Antivirus Firewall platform and offer:
” Unparalleled performance and throughput – up to more than twice the performance to enable customers to scale with their Internet bandwidth needs and better leverage real-time Internet applications like voice over IP (VoIP), downloads and Web applications, which require real-time security processing.
” Additional interfaces – which enable more flexible configuration options for securing the “always changing’ perimeter, DMZ and WAN connections, including gigabit Ethernet ports for the FortiGate-300A, FortiGate-400A and FortiGate-500A.
” Next generation security platform – includes the FortiASIC for gigabit speed network content processing, FortiOS 2.8 firmware and next generation system architecture to deliver faster, cutting-edge security to customers.
” Support for high-availability clustering technology – to enable the most reliable and available network protection.

“Network security is crucial to keeping our IT infrastructure protected and we were in need of high-performance antivirus and intrusion detection and protection in addition to firewall and VPN at the gateway to secure our on-campus and remote users,” said Joseph Chua, systems administrator at Regent College. “We selected Fortinet’s new FortiGate-300A system because it provides a best in class integrated network security platform with all of the key security applications we were looking for in a single gateway appliance, as well as the performance requirements necessary to ensure that our network is protected as we continue to grow.”

The FortiGate A-Series systems deliver complete content protection to mid-sized enterprises and small businesses by integrating best in class security services onto a single, affordable and easy-to-manage platform. Unlike leading point product solutions with per user licensing, Fortinet offers per box licensing for its ICSA-certified capabilities and security applications including antivirus, firewall, virtual private networking (VPN), network-based intrusion detection and prevention (IDP), Web content filtering, traffic shaping, anti-spam and grayware blocking, including spyware and adware protection.

Bringing large enterprise and carrier class security features with unparalleled performance to mid-sized enterprises and small businesses

The FortiGate-100A and 200A systems ideally meet the security needs of medium-sized and small businesses, remote offices, retail stores and broadband telecommuter sites. Both systems feature dual WAN link support for redundant Internet connections, and an integrated four-port switch that gives networked devices a direct connection and eliminates the need for an external hub or switch.

Fortinet’s FortiGate-300A systems bring affordable 10/100/1000 Ethernet interfaces to the SME market for the first time, delivering a robust and scalable security platform for medium-sized businesses and enterprise branch offices running at or upgrading to gigabit-speed networks. The systems feature six independent interfaces for flexible deployment scenarios, of which two support gigabit Ethernet, and can support dual WAN link for redundant Internet connections.

The FortiGate-400A and FortiGate-500A systems offer performance and connectivity enhancements to meet the more demanding requirements of mid-sized enterprises. Both systems include two 10/100/1000 Ethernet Copper ports and four 10/100 Fast Ethernet ports. The FortiGate-500A also includes four 10/100 Fast Ethernet Switch ports, to allow more flexibility when designing security topologies for mid-sized enterprise customers.

The FortiGate A-Series systems ship with Fortinet’s latest firmware, FortiOS 2.8, which offers powerful new features such as spyware and antivirus protections combined with IDP and stateful firewall capabilities to deliver Fortinet’s unique Dynamic Threat Prevention. FortiOS 2.8 also includes antivirus heuristic support to help prevent widespread zero-day attacks for previously unknown viruses, new anti-spam capabilities and enhanced Web content filtering through Fortinet’s FortiGuard service. All FortiGate systems from large enterprise to small business units can be updated automatically by Fortinet’s FortiProtectâ„? Network, which provides continuous updates that ensure protection against the latest viruses, worms, Trojans, spyware and other threats – around the clock and around the world.

“Enterprise network bandwidth continues to increase, application servers require real time network performance, and Fortinet continues to ensure security is not the network bottleneck. Fortinet delivers real-time security solutions that enable businesses of all sizes to take full advantage of network-based applications and the Internet by maximizing security performance and minimizing exposure to attack,” said Richard Hanke, vice president of product management for Fortinet. “Our new FortiGate A-series systems raise the in-line network security performance bar and deliver unmatched protection, flexibility and usability for a fraction of the cost of other solutions.”

Distribution and availability
The FortiGate-100A, FortiGate-200A, FortiGate-300A, FortiGate-400A and FortiGate-500A Antivirus Firewall systems are currently available for order and will ship in mid-November.

About Fortinet (www.fortinet.com)
Fortinet is the confirmed leader of the Unified Threat Management market. Its award-winning FortiGateâ„? Series of ASIC-accelerated antivirus firewalls, winner of the 2003 Networking Industry Awards Firewall Product of the Year and the 2004 Security Product of the Year Award from Network Computing Magazine, are the new generation of real-time network protection systems. They detect and eliminate the most damaging, content-based threats from e-mail, Web and file transfer traffic such as viruses, worms, intrusions, inappropriate Web content and more in real time – without degrading network performance. FortiGate systems are the only security products that are quadruple-certified by the ICSA (antivirus, firewall, IPSec, NIDS), and deliver a full range of network-level and application-level services in integrated, easily managed platforms.. Named to the Red Herring Top 100 Private Companies, Fortinet is privately held and based in Sunnyvale, California.