How to choose a used FortiGate firewall (without getting burned)
Used enterprise firewalls are one of the best deals in homelab and small-office hardware. A FortiGate 100F that retailed for €4,000 can be had for €400–600 on the secondary market. But unlike a used switch or server, a firewall has pitfalls specific to the platform that can turn a bargain into a headache. This guide focuses on FortiGate because Fortinet dominates the SMB/branch market — which…
FortiGate firewalls are a popular choice for home labs and small businesses due to their affordability and comprehensive feature set. The FortiGate 100F, retailing at around €4,000, can often be found on the secondary market for as low as €400–600. However, potential buyers should be aware of specific pitfalls unique to this platform that could turn a good deal into a problematic situation.
This guide focuses on FortiGate firewalls, as Fortinet dominates the SMB and branch markets, providing the widest supply of used units. Most principles discussed here also apply to other NGFW vendors.
FortiGate firewalls run the FortiOS operating system, which is mature, well-documented, and supports a strong Command-Line Interface (CLI), solid VPN capabilities (IPsec and SSL), Intrusion Prevention System (IPS), web filtering, Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN), and Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) features. Even older models (from the 6.0 era) can run a relatively recent version of FortiOS, making them genuinely useful.
One of the advantages of FortiGate firewalls is their clean management UI, easy-to-learn CLI, and a large community of users and developers. However, Fortinet's subscription model means that some features, such as IPS signatures, web filter categories, and antivirus databases, are tied to a license. Hardware without an active license will still function as a stateful firewall and VPN concentrator, but the signatures will stop updating. For home labs and many SMB use cases, this is acceptable.
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