Fortinet FortiASIC
Engineered for Innovation
Manage security risks with unmatched speed, scale, and performance powered by Fortinet’s AI-driven, ASIC-enhanced technology.
Overview
Fortinet Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFWs) are powered by proprietary Security Processing Units (SPUs) custom-built ASICs designed to deliver exceptional speed, scalability, and efficiency.
Unlike general purpose CPU-based firewalls, FortiGate appliances use SPUs to radically improve performance across all major metrics, enabling organizations to:
Maximize security throughput
Simplify distributed network operations
Accelerate business-critical applications without compromising protection
What is Security Compute Rating?
Security Compute Rating is Fortinet’s unique benchmark for measuring the real-world performance advantage of our ASIC-based NGFWs compared to similarly priced, CPU-driven firewalls.
This rating evaluates and compares performance across key security and networking functions:
Stateful Firewall Throughput
IPsec VPN Performance
Concurrent Sessions
Sessions per Second
Threat Protection Throughput
SSL Inspection Performance
Fortinet’s SPUs consistently deliver the highest Security Compute Ratings in the industry, proving their unmatched ability to handle today’s complex and high-volume traffic environments all while maintaining top-tier protection.
By leveraging purpose-built hardware, Fortinet ensures that your network security doesn’t just keep up it leads.
Investing in Innovation
At Fortinet, innovation isn’t just a buzzword it’s the foundation of our performance leadership. We continue to set industry benchmarks by achieving the highest Security Compute Ratings, ensuring consistent, integrated protection across every layer of the enterprise edge.
Our Security Processing Units (SPUs) are engineered to deliver top-tier security, speed, and scalability from hyperscale data centers to SD-WAN-powered branches and campus environments all without compromising user experience or network performance.
With the Fortinet Secure Networking Framework, organizations gain:
Unified security across all access points and locations
Unmatched throughput and low-latency protection
Scalable performance for evolving digital infrastructures
Fortinet is committed to innovation that drives real-world results enabling secure growth without limits.
Three Families of Fortinet SPUs
Network Processor 7 (NP7)
High-Speed Inline Processing for Hyperscale Networks NP7s operate directly in the data path to deliver ultra low latency and massive throughput. They are optimized for stateful firewall operations and network scalability, making them ideal for core and edge deployments in high-demand environments.
Content Processor 9 (CP9)
Offload & Acceleration for Deep Content Inspection Functioning as a co-processor to the main CPU, CP9 offloads resource-intensive tasks like antivirus scanning, intrusion prevention, and SSL decryption ensuring faster, more efficient content security without slowing down your network.
Security Processing Unit (SP5)
Unified Network + Content Acceleration in One Chip SP5 brings together the strengths of NP and CP families by combining network processing, application identification, and security inspection into a single, integrated engine. The result: high speed performance with intelligent traffic steering and overlay network support ideal for SD-WAN and hybrid environments.
Security Processing Unit 5 (SP5): Engineered for Efficiency
Integrated Performance for the Evolving Infrastructure Edge
The SP5 is Fortinet’s most advanced Security Processing Unit yet delivering the industry’s highest Security Compute Ratings with exceptional power efficiency. It supports the transformation of customer infrastructure at the edge, unifying performance and protection.
By consolidating network and content processing into a single chip, SP5 enables high-speed, Layer 7 firewalling and full-stack security all on a cost-effective, compact platform.
Key Benefits
ntegrated Layer 7 firewall and security features
Accelerates network and security convergence
Supports next-gen infrastructure with low latency and high ROI
Boosts operational efficiency and security posture at scale
Use Cases
✅ Secure Edge Compute & 5G
Protect and optimize performance across edge compute, OT, branch, campus, and 5G environments.✅ Enable Infrastructure Convergence
Simplify and streamline security across networking and infrastructure layers — efficiently and cost-effectively.✅ Enhance User Experience
Deliver consistent, low-latency performance on a sustainable, high-efficiency platform.
SP5 Advantage
| Specifications | SP5 | Security Compute Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Firewall | 34 Gbps | 8x |
| IPsec VPN | 30 Gbps | 4x |
| Threat protection | 4.3 Gbps | 9x |
| SSL inspection | 3.3 Gbps | 6x |
Based on the composite average of the FortiGate 90G and FortiGate 200G versus similar competitive products.
Networking Processing Unit 7 (NP7): Engineered for Hyperscale
The NP7 processor boosts performance for routing (IPv4/IPv6), IPsec decryption, VXLAN, NAT, and multicast traffic offloading tasks that slow CPUs. It also supports hardware logging and real-time policy enforcement for high-speed, low-latency security.
Key Benefits
100 Gbps Single-Session Throughput
Supports high-bandwidth environments like Internet 2 and next-gen research networks.Hardware-Level Scalability
Handles millions of connections per second ideal for large scale e-commerce platforms.Ultra-Low Latency
Delivers single digit microsecond latency meeting the demands of real time financial trading.
Use Cases
Minimize Latency for Market Data
Ensure ultra-fast data delivery to prevent revenue loss in time-sensitive trading environments.Handle Traffic Microbursts
Maintain consistent performance with high speed, low-latency packet forwarding.Scale Massive Connection Loads
Accelerate tens of millions of connections per second for high demand applications.
NP7 Advantage
| Specifications | NP7 ASIC | Security Compute Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Firewall | 34 Gbps | 9x |
| IPsec VPN | 30 Gbps | 7x |
| Threat protection | 4.3 Gbps | 2x |
| SSL inspection | 3.3 Gbps | 4x |
| Concurrent Sessions | 3.3 Gbps | 4x |
| Sessions per second | 3.3 Gbps | 4x |
Compared to similarly priced firewalls from other vendors, the FortiGate 1800F Series consistently delivers:
Higher Security Compute Ratings thanks to custom-built SPUs
Faster throughput and lower latency ideal for data centers and core infrastructure
More integrated security features including full SSL inspection, IPS, and application control
Better ROI with higher performance per dollar and reduced operational overhead
FortiGate 1800F outpaces traditional CPU-based firewalls offering unmatched speed, security, and scalability in its class.
Content Processing Unit 9 (CP9): Engineered for Protection
Fortinet’s 9th-gen Content Processor (CP9) acts as a co-processor to offload resource-heavy security tasks like Application Identification, IPS, and Antivirus freeing up the CPU for core operations.
It accelerates pattern matching and enables real-time traffic inspection without impacting performance or user experience.
Key Benefits
Simplifies Security Operations
Manages internal and external threats while reducing operational complexity.Protects Applications Seamlessly
Ensures strong security without compromising user experience.Eliminates Blind Spots
Provides deep visibility with minimal impact on performance.
Use Cases
Deep Traffic Visibility
Inspect clear-text and encrypted traffic to enforce precise web filtering and application policies.Automated Threat Response
Detect and neutralize malware in real time to reduce manual workload and response time.Regulatory Compliance
Support compliance with internet safety mandates like CIPA through advanced content control and monitoring.
CP9 Advantage
| Specifications | CP9 ASIC | Security Compute Rating |
|---|---|---|
| IPsec VPN | 37 Gbps | 12x |
| SSL inspection | 7 Gbps | 4x |
Based on the composite average of the mid-range FortiGate portfolio versus similar competitive products
| Specifications | CP9 ASIC | Security Compute Rating |
|---|---|---|
| IPsec VPN | 223 Gbps | 6x |
| SSL inspection | 71 Gbps | 2x |
Based on a composite average across the FortiGate Data Center Firewall portfolio, Fortinet consistently outperforms similarly priced competitive products in key areas including:
Throughput and connection scalability
Threat protection and SSL inspection performance
Security Compute Ratings and energy efficiency
Fortinet delivers industry-leading performance, scalability, and value setting the benchmark for data center firewall solutions.