FortiGate IPS
Intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDPS)
Network security software
- Features
- Ease of use
- Ease of management
- Quality of support
- Affordability
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What is FortiGate IPS
FortiGate IPS is an intrusion prevention capability delivered as part of Fortinet FortiGate next-generation firewall platforms, using signature-based detection and protocol decoders to identify and block known exploits and suspicious network traffic. It is used by network and security teams to protect internet edges, data center perimeters, and internal network segments. The IPS is managed through FortiGate policy and security profiles and is typically updated through FortiGuard security services for threat intelligence and signatures.
Inline prevention at network edge
The IPS runs inline on FortiGate appliances and virtual instances, enabling block, reset, or monitor actions as traffic passes through enforcement points. This supports common perimeter and segmentation use cases without requiring a separate IDS sensor stack. Policies can apply IPS profiles to specific firewall rules to control where inspection occurs. For organizations already standardizing on FortiGate, IPS deployment aligns with existing routing, NAT, and firewall change processes.
Frequent signature and decoder updates
FortiGate IPS relies on regularly updated signatures and protocol decoders delivered via FortiGuard subscriptions. This approach is effective for detecting known vulnerabilities and exploit patterns across common protocols. Security teams can tune by severity, target OS/application, and signature categories to reduce unnecessary alerts. Compared with purely behavior-based network detection tools, signature-based IPS provides deterministic blocking for known threats.
Unified management and logging options
IPS configuration is integrated with FortiGate security profiles and can be managed centrally when used with Fortinet management and logging products. Events can be forwarded to SIEM platforms using standard logging mechanisms, supporting correlation with other security telemetry. The unified policy model reduces the need to maintain separate rule sets for firewall and IPS controls. This can simplify operations for teams that want prevention and network access control in one platform.
Subscription dependency for efficacy
Effective IPS coverage depends on active FortiGuard subscriptions for timely signature and engine updates. Without current updates, detection quality degrades for newly disclosed vulnerabilities and emerging exploit techniques. Budgeting and renewal management become part of maintaining baseline security. Some organizations prefer tools that retain more value without ongoing signature feeds.
Tuning required to avoid disruption
Inline IPS can introduce false positives that block legitimate applications if profiles are applied broadly without tuning. Encrypted traffic limits inspection unless TLS/SSL inspection is enabled, which can add operational and privacy considerations. Performance and latency can be affected by deep inspection features depending on hardware sizing and enabled profiles. Change control and staged rollout are often necessary in production networks.
Less suited for deep NDR analytics
FortiGate IPS focuses on signature/decoder-based prevention rather than long-term network behavior analytics and threat hunting. Organizations seeking advanced anomaly detection, asset-centric network visibility, or specialized industrial protocol monitoring may need additional network detection and response tooling. Investigation workflows can be constrained if teams require rich packet-level forensics beyond what is retained in logs. As a result, IPS is typically one layer in a broader detection and response stack.
Plan & Pricing
| Plan | Price | Key features & notes |
|---|---|---|
| FortiGuard IPS (standalone subscription) | Pricing not published on Fortinet official site — contact Fortinet sales or authorized partners | Intrusion Prevention Service for FortiGate: signature database and updates, real-time IPS protections, customizable signature lists. Available a‑la‑carte. See FortiGuard IPS service and FortiGate bundles. |
| Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) bundle (includes IPS) | Pricing not published — contact sales | ATP bundle includes IPS, advanced malware protection (AMP), FortiCare Premium; tailored for enhanced threat protection. |
| Unified Threat Protection (UTP) bundle (includes IPS) | Pricing not published — contact sales | UTP builds on ATP and adds DNS/URL filtering, botnet/C2 protections and other web security services. |
| Enterprise Protection (ENT) bundle (includes IPS) | Pricing not published — contact sales | ENT includes UTP features plus CASB, DLP, attack surface monitoring, IoT detection, AI inline malware prevention; for enterprise environments. |
Notes: Fortinet publishes service descriptions and bundle compositions (FortiGuard IPS and FortiGate Security Bundles) on its official site but does not publish list prices for FortiGuard IPS or the security bundles; Fortinet directs customers to request a quote or contact sales for pricing and quotes. Pricing and subscription term details are typically provided via sales channels or authorized partners.
Seller details
Fortinet, Inc.
Sunnyvale, California, USA
2000
Public
https://www.fortinet.com/
https://x.com/Fortinet
https://www.linkedin.com/company/fortinet/
