Fortinet launches new WAN and edge security platform

Fortinet has launched the Secure SD-Branch platform, designed to secure the WAN and access edge, as well as enable security-driven networking for distributed enterprises.

The Secure SD-Branch platform extends Fortinet Security Fabric, and according to Fortinet, it converges WAN and security into an integrated platform. Fortinet claims this increases security and visibility, while reducing complexity, to improve performance and lower overall IT costs.

The intention of the Secure SD-Branch platform, according to Fortinet, is to provide adequate, easy-to-manage security of an organization's ever-increasing number of edges. Fortinet's Secure SD-Branch platform is composed of the FortiGate next-generation firewall, FortiNAC network access control, FortiSwitch and FortiAP access points.

The two main protections that Fortinet claims the Secure SD-Branch platform provides are network edge protection and device edge protection.

The FortiGate next-generation firewall extends through the access layer with FortiSwitch and FortiAP to consolidate security and network access. According to Fortinet, this is the architecture ideal for Secure SD-Branch deployments. New Wi-Fi 6 FortiAP access points enable greater capacity and throughput to keep up with expanding bandwidth needs, and FortiSwitch switches offer higher power to run power-hungry IoT devices, Fortinet claims.

The FortiNAC network access controller provides automatic discovery, classification and security of IoT devices as they enter the network. It uses FortiGate as a sensor to detect anomalies via traffic.

Fortinet claims Secure SD-Branch delivers the following customer benefits:

• Integrated security: FortiGate extends next-generation firewall services to the network access layer through the integration of wireless and switch management.
• Simplified management: Zero-touch deployment and integrated management via a single pane of glass simplify enterprise branch deployments. The architecture scales to support a variety of branch sizes and growth.
• Lower cost of ownership: According to Fortinet, it does not charge licensing fees, and network traffic sensors do not have to be purchased. Simplified management operations require fewer interfaces to learn and manage daily and less time to deploy, saving organizations time and money, Fortinet claims.