Blog

FortiGate-VM Next Generation Firewall on Microsoft Azure

A good way to connect on premises infrastructure to Windows Azure through Site-to-Site VPNs without using Azure Gateway is to use FortiGate Next -Generation Firewall which can be deployed as a virtual appliance in Microsoft Azure cloud (IaaS).

The FortiGate-VM on Azure delivers next generation firewall capabilities for organizations of all sizes, with the flexibility to be deployed with role of firewall and/or VPN gateway, in basic words a virtual infrastructure will be under the security and monitoring of a next generation firewall.

FortiGate-VM for Microsoft Azure supports both bring-your-own-license (BYOL) and on-demand pay-as-you-go (PAYG) licensing models.

Find below some of the main features of Fortigate-VM on Azure:

Networking:

• Delivers extensive routing, switching, firewall policies, and VPN capabilities to consolidate networking and security functionality

Security:

• Protects against known exploits and malware using continuous threat intelligence provided by FortiGuard Labs security services.
• Application Control
• Web Filtering
• Protects against unknown attacks using dynamic analysis

Additionally, FortiGate on Azure supports an active/passive high availability (HA) configuration. This means that when FortiGate detects a failure, the passive firewall instance become active and uses Azure API calls to switch its interfaces/ports. Moreover, FortiGate on Azure delivers comprehensive IPS technology, which protects against current and emerging network-level threats. It performs signature-based threat detection and anomaly-based detection, which alerts users to any traffic that matches attach behaviour profiles.

FortiGate on Azure is a solution that provides advanced security capabilities for organisations of all sizes. It helps them secure their cloud infrastructure, applications and data from cyber threats, while leveraging Azure native services, such as Azure Sentinel, Azure Monitor, Azure Security Centre and Azure Application Gateway, for enhanced visibility, analytics and protection across the cloud environment. FortiGate on Azure also offers various deployment options, such as single VM, auto scaling, load balancing and hybrid cloud, to meet different business requirements and use cases. Furthermore, FortiGate on Azure is part of the Fortinet Security Fabric, which enables consistent security policies and centralized management across multiple clouds, on-premises and edge devices.

Achilleas Eleftheriou, partner and Team Leader of Support Services at IBSCY Ltd. He is a dedicated member of the IBSCY team since 2013 and he holds a BSc degree in Computer Science from Frederick University. He holds various certifications from renowned vendors like Microsoft, AWS, Fortinet and HPE, enhancing his expertise in on premises and Cloud infrastructure, Microsoft products and cybersecurity.