The 70F supports FortiLink, allowing you to use the firewall to manage FortiSwitch devices. This turns the firewall into a switch controller. If you have FortiAPs (Access Points), the 70F can manage your Wi-Fi as well. For a small office, this creates a "single pane of glass" management experience for switching, Wi-Fi, and security.
An interesting criticism—and feature—of the "new" FortiGate experience is the out-of-the-box configuration. Historically, firewalls shipped with default policies like "Allow All from Internal to WAN." fortigate 709 new
Newer FortiGate 70F units often ship with a "deny all" or minimal default configuration. While this ensures security, it places a higher burden on the administrator. The device forces a departure from the "set it and forget it" mentality. The GUI (FortiOS) has evolved to guide users through this setup wizard, emphasizing "Zero Trust" principles. The 70F supports FortiLink , allowing you to
However, the complexity has also increased. The sheer volume of features—IoT detection, SASE integration, ZTNA proxies—can overwhelm a solo IT admin at a branch office. The 70F is a sophisticated tool that arguably requires a higher skill floor to operate safely than its predecessors. For a small office, this creates a "single
Let’s establish the context. The previous 700 series (FortiGate 700D/E) was often seen as a "tweener"—too powerful for a branch office, but lacking the interface density for a small data center. The new FortiGate 709 obliterates this distinction.
Fortinet has positioned the 709 as the ideal "campus hub" appliance. It sits perfectly between the desktop-sized 200F series (for large branches) and the chassis-based 1000F series (for core data centers). With the 709, Fortinet targets enterprises with 1,500 to 5,000 users who require full SSL inspection without compromising gigabit speeds.
This is where the 70F distinguishes itself from the smaller 60F.