AA868964 Dell 9 Port Fortinet Fortigate Security Appliance Firewall

Dell AA868964 Fortinet FortiGate Firewall

The Dell AA868964 Fortinet FortiGate security appliance is designed to deliver robust network defense, combining advanced firewall capabilities with intelligent threat management. Built for modern IT environments, this hardware-based firewall helps organizations maintain secure, stable, and high-performance network operations.

Product Details

• Manufacturer: Dell
• Part Number: AA868964
• Product Category: Network Security Appliance
• Device Type: Firewall

Key Security Functions

• Stateful packet inspection for enhanced traffic control
• Real-time threat detection and prevention
• Secure segmentation of internal and external networks
• Policy-based traffic management

Operational Advantages

• Stable performance under high network loads
• Efficient handling of encrypted traffic
• Designed for long-term deployment in enterprise networks

Scalability Highlights

• Adaptable to growing network demands
• Supports evolving security policies
• Suitable for small to large-scale environments

Firewall and Threat Throughput

• Firewall throughput up to 10 GBPS with 1518-byte UDP packets
• Handles 9 million packets per second for high-volume environments
• Threat protection throughput rated at 700 MBPS
• IPS inspection capacity up to 1.4 GBPS

Ethernet and Management Ports

• Multiple 1000Base-T RJ-45 interfaces for LAN, WAN, and DMZ connectivity
• Dedicated RJ-45 console port for administrative access
• USB 3.0 Type-A ports for storage and system operations

Form Factor and Deployment

• Compact desktop form factor suitable for branch or edge deployments
• Fanless design ideal for noise-sensitive environments

Functions of the Dell FortiGate Appliance

At the heart of the AA868964 appliance is Fortinet's proprietary FortiGate operating system and its integration into the broader Security Fabric. This is not just a simple firewall; it's a security processing unit designed for deep packet inspection at wire speed.

FortiGate Operating System (Forti OS)

Forti OS is a consolidated, purpose-built security operating system that provides a single pane of glass for managing all security and networking functions. Its key architectural advantage is the tight integration of security functions, which reduces latency and management complexity compared to running multiple, disparate security products.

Single-Pass Parallel Processing Architecture

This is Fortinet's patented engine where packets are inspected once against all enabled security functions (e.g., firewall, IPS, antivirus, web filtering) simultaneously. This eliminates the performance degradation typically seen when stacking security solutions, allowing the Dell AA868964 to maintain high throughput even with all security features activated. Many Dell FortiGate appliances, especially in this performance tier, incorporate Fortinet's custom ASIC Security Processing Units. These hardware accelerators are dedicated to compute-intensive tasks like IPsec VPN encryption, SSL/TLS inspection, and pattern matching, freeing the main CPUs for other tasks and delivering industry-leading performance per watt.

The Fortinet Security Fabric

The appliance seamlessly integrates into Fortinet's Security Fabric, an ecosystem approach to security that provides broad, integrated, and automated protection across the entire network infrastructure. The Dell AA868964 FortiGate is a true next-generation firewall, offering a comprehensive suite of security services that go far beyond traditional port-based firewalling.

Advanced Threat Protection Suite

This suite is designed to detect, block, and remediate sophisticated, evasive malware and exploits that bypass traditional signature-based defenses.

Intrusion Prevention System (IPS)

The IPS uses a massive, continuously updated signature database to identify and block known vulnerability exploits and malicious activities in network traffic. It includes both signature-based detection and anomaly-based heuristics to catch zero-day threats.

Advanced Malware Protection (Sandboxing)

Suspicious files entering the network can be dynamically detonated in a cloud-based or integrated sandbox—a secure, isolated environment. The appliance analyzes the file's behavior for malicious activity before it reaches the endpoint, providing critical protection against ransomware and targeted attacks.

Web Filtering & Application Control

These features provide granular control over user access to websites and web applications. Administrators can enforce policies based on URL categories, user identity, and even specific applications (like Facebook, Skype, or SaaS tools), regardless of the port or protocol used.

IPsec and SSL VPN

It supports high-performance site-to-site IPsec VPN tunnels for connecting branch offices to headquarters or data centers. For remote users, it offers both client-based (IPsec) and clientless (SSL VPN) secure access to internal network resources via a web portal.

Deep Packet Inspection for SSL/TLS

With most web traffic now encrypted, threats hide within SSL/TLS tunnels. The FortiGate can decrypt this traffic (following corporate policy and compliance regulations), inspect it for malware or policy violations, and then re-encrypt it, preventing threats from using encryption as a cloak.

Network Functionality and Segmentation

Beyond security, the appliance serves as a sophisticated networking device, enabling secure and efficient network architecture. Integrated SD-WAN capabilities allow organizations to intelligently route traffic across multiple WAN links (e.g., MPLS, broadband, LTE) based on application sensitivity, link cost, and performance metrics. This improves application performance and provides built-in WAN redundancy.

Virtual Domains (VDOMs)

A powerful feature for managed service providers (MSPs) or large enterprises, VDOMs allow a single physical Dell FortiGate appliance to be partitioned into multiple, logically separate firewalls. Each VDOM has its own configuration, administrators, and security policies, enabling multi-tenancy on a single hardware platform.

Enterprise Network Perimeter Defense

As a primary or secondary perimeter firewall, it acts as the first line of defense for the entire corporate network. It filters inbound and outbound traffic, blocks intrusion attempts, prevents malware ingress, and enforces internet usage policies for all internal users.

Forti Manager

Fortinet's centralized management platform allows for unified configuration, policy administration, and firmware updates across hundreds of FortiGate devices from a single console, dramatically reducing operational overhead.

Forti Analyzer

This dedicated logging, analysis, and reporting tool aggregates data from the FortiGate appliance. It provides deep analytics, forensic investigation capabilities, automated report generation for compliance (like PCI DSS, HIPAA), and security incident alerts.

Firewall Throughput

The raw speed of the appliance when performing basic layer 3/4 firewalling, measured in gigabits per second (GBPS). The throughput when the Intrusion Prevention System is fully enabled. This is typically lower than firewall throughput and is a more realistic measure of performance in a secured environment. The Dell FortiGate appliance can forward its logs in standard formats (Syslog, CEF) to third-party SIEM solutions such as IBM Q Radar, Splunk, or Arc Sight. This allows security teams to correlate events from the firewall with data from endpoints, servers, and other security tools for a holistic view of the security posture.

Availability (HA) Clustering

Two identical FortiGate appliances can be configured in an active-passive or active-active cluster. If the primary unit fails, the secondary unit immediately takes over with minimal disruption, ensuring business continuity.