As security architects consider how to provide comprehensive threat protection for their enterprises, including firewalling, intrusion prevention, antivirus, secure sockets layer (SSL) inspection, and application control, they face a confusing array of feature sets and vendor claims. It becomes even more difficult to make apples-to-apples comparisons when vendors don’t publish complete specifications or standards-based performance metrics. Amid the pressing need to thwart increasing SSL-based attacks without hampering the pace of business, security architects can’t dither in their technology selection. This document provides a comprehensive, standards-aligned overview and competitive comparison of the FortiGate 6000F series next-generation compact firewall (NGFW) with other leading offerings. The objective of this solution brief is to help security architects approach their CISOs with a well-informed and compelling threat-protection recommendation.