Fortios Handbook 56 PDF
Fortios Handbook 56 PDF
Fortios Handbook 56 PDF
VERSION 5.6.6
FORTINET DOCUMENT LIBRARY
https://docs.fortinet.com
FORTINET VIDEO GUIDE
https://video.fortinet.com
FORTINET KNOWLEDGE BASE
http://kb.fortinet.com
FORTINET BLOG
https://blog.fortinet.com
CUSTOMER SERVICE & SUPPORT
https://support.fortinet.com
FORTINET COOKBOOK
http://cookbook.fortinet.com
NSE INSTITUTE
https://training.fortinet.com/
FORTIGUARD CENTER
https://fortiguard.com
FORTICAST
http://forticast.fortinet.com
FortiOS™ Handbook
01-566-497911-20180913
TABLE OF CONTENTS
The following sections highlight some of the higher profile new FortiOS 5.6 features.
This section lists new features added to FortiOS 5.6.4 with links to the FortiOS Handbook for more information.
FortiOS Handbook chapters will be updated for 5.6.4 only to document new features or to publish corrections or
improvements to the content.
Authentication
l Authentication binds to MAC address on page 377
l New RADIUS accounting start message options, see RADIUS accounting start message options on page 389
l IPv6 TACACS+ server IP address on page 402
l Login credentials for guest users shown in clear text on GUI and voucher on page 424
Firewall
l Using a FortiCache as a cache service on page 1027
FortiView
l Increased visibility of interactivity in FortiView on page 1108
l Automatic synchronization of log display location on page 1108
Hardware acceleration
l Per-session accounting is supported for FortiGates with NP6lite processors, Enabling per-session accounting for
offloaded NP6 or NP6lite sessions on page 1472
High availability
l FGSP configuration synchronization changes, see Synchronizing the configuration on page 1839
l Changes to get system status ha command output, see Viewing cluster status from the CLI on page 1742
IPsec VPN
l Updates to IPsec VPN Wizard options on page 1862
Security profiles
l Configuring the FortiClient offline grace period on page 2760
l Excluding industrial IP signatures on page 2797
SSL VPN
l Changes to Tunnel Mode Client Options logic on page 2871
l Changes to HTTP header information on page 2919
Virtual FortiOS
l SDN connector addressing on page 3256
l Support for KVM-based hypervisor in AWS on page 3257
l HA support for GCP on page 3260
l Other Virtual FortiOS Products on page 3254
This chapter briefly highlights some of the higher profile new FortiOS 5.6 features, some of which have been
enhanced for FortiOS 5.6.1 and FortiOS 5.6.3.
Recipes are now being also published for the cloud-based and SDN environments on the Fortinet Cookbook
website.
l http://cookbook.fortinet.com/amazon-web-services-aws/
l http://cookbook.fortinet.com/cisco-aci/
l http://cookbook.fortinet.com/microsoft-azure/
l http://cookbook.fortinet.com/nuage-vsp/
Re-designed Dashboard
The Dashboard has been enhanced to show more information with greater flexibility and more functionality. See
New Dashboard Features on page 74 for details.
Flow-based inspection with profile-based NGFW mode is the default inspection mode in FortiOS 5.6.
Other highlights
l Application Control is now standard with FortiCare support
l Real time logging to FortiAnalyzer and FortiCloud
l Multiple PSK for WPA Personal (393320)
l VXLAN support (289354)
l NP6 Host Protection Engine (HPE) adds protection for DDoS attacks (363398)
l FortiGate Logs can be sent to syslog servers in Common Event Format (CEF) (300128)
l New PPPoE features
One of the most important functional changes is that FortiAnalyzer is now a required part of the Security Fabric
configuration. Also, two important new features, Security Fabric Audit and Fabric Score, have been added to
provide a method to continually monitor and improve the Security Fabric configuration.
Many changes have been made through FortiView to improve the visibility of the Security Fabric. More
information is now displayed and you can access downstream FortiGates directly from the root FortiGate’s
FortiView display.
Other smaller improvements have been made throughout the Security Fabric, with a focus on improving
communication between devices.
In FortiOS 5.6.1, the new updated GUI design consolidates the Security Fabric features together under a new
menu and has many new topological changes to provide greater visibility into the connectivity of your networked
devices. This includes adding more Fortinet products to the topology and widgets. Other topology improvements
include enhanced IPsec VPN detection (which now includes detection of downstream FortiGates) and support for
SD-WAN. Smaller changes have also been made to add more information to device tooltip alerts in the Physical
and Logical Topology views.
Security Fabric between remote networks by enabling FortiTelemetry for IPsec VPN interfaces
You can now enable FortiTelemetry for IPsec VPN interfaces. The Security Fabric can now detect the
downstream FortiGate through the IPsec VPN interface. This allows you to send FortiTelemetry communication
over a Gateway-to-Gateway IPsec VPN tunnel between two remote networks. One of the networks would contain
the root FortiGate and the network at the other end of the IPsec VPN tunnel can connect to the root FortiGate's
Security Fabric.
Your IPsec VPN interface will automatically be added to the FortiTelemetry enabled interface list under Security
Fabric > Settings.
A new updated GUI menu consolidates the Security Fabric features in one location. This includes Physical
Topology, Logical Topology, Audit, and Settings. For more details, see the illustration below:
The Security Fabric Settings page has been updated to act as a centralized location for you to enable
connectivity to other Fortinet products. Navigate to Security Fabric > Settings.
l The previous Enable Security Fabric option has been replaced with an option to enable FortiGate Telemetry.
l The previous Downstream FortiGates option has been replaced with Topology to show multiple devices.
See the screen shot below:
The FortiGate dashboard widget has been updated to include the following Fortinet products: FortiGate (core),
FortiAnalyzer (core), FortiSwitch, FortiClient, FortiSandbox, and FortiManager. See the screen shot below:
You can hover over the icons along the top of the Security Fabric widget to get a quick view of the status of the
Security Fabric. Available information includes the FortiTelemetry status and the status of various components of
in the Security Fabric.
The Security Fabric Score widget shows the Security Fabric Audit score for the Security Fabric and allows you to
apply recommended changes right from the dashboard.
On the Physical Topology and Logical Topology pages, the Security Fabric legend has been updated. See
the screenshot below:
This new feature allows you to minimize portions of the Physical and Logical Topology. This makes it easy to view
your entire topology, or minimize portions to focus in on a specific area. See the screenshot below:
The enhanced Security Fabric topology now shows CPU Usage and Memory Usage alerts in the device
information tooltip. It also displays a warning if the FortiGate is in conserve mode. Note that the CPU usage,
memory usage and conserve mode data are drawn from the data that was last loaded from the FortiGate, not
real-time data.
You can see the new CPU Usage and Memory Usage fields shown in the tooltip below:
The Security Fabric topology now includes SD-WAN. Enhancements include greater visibility into where the data
comes from and goes to, link saturation indicators, and detailed tooltip explanations.
The following SD-WAN information has been integrated into the Security Fabric topology:
l The tooltip for the SD-WAN interface now includes load balancing settings.
l In the Security Fabric Logical Topology, SD-WAN and its interface members will appear above all interfaces.
l If connected to an upstream FortiGate, one link between the exact SD-WAN member and the upstream FortiGate
will appear.
l If connected to a destination bubble, links between each enabled member and the destination bubble appear.
l Interface bandwidth and link utilization for other interfaces (WAN role interface) have been temporarily removed
and will be added back in later.
l Fixes have been made to show vulnerabilities for multiple MAC addresses (402495) and to show the FortiSwitch
serial and port (389158).
For more details see the screenshot below:
The Security Fabric now retrieves monitor information from all members of the Security Fabric and displays it in
the GUI of the root FortiGate. Support was added for the Routing Monitor, DHCP Monitor and User Quarantine
Monitor.
You can use the new drop down menu shown below to select the Security Fabric members:
2. Set Device Type to FortiCache and add the IP addresses of the FortiCache devices.
3. You can also select Authentication and add a password if required. See the screenshot below:
You can see the new breakdown of pass or fail actions shown below:
In the GUI, follow the steps below to check the status of your FortiGuard licenses:
1. Go to Security Fabric > Audit to check the status of your FortiGuard licenses.
3. Expand Firmware & Subscriptions, and look at the FortiGuard License Subscriptions section to verify
whether any recommended action is required. See the example below:
FortiView Consolidation
Information about the Security Fabric can now be seen throughout the FortiView dashboards on the upstream
FortiGate, when the real-time view is used.
l You can right-click on an entry and select View Aggregated Details to see more information.
l The upstream FortiGate filters information to avoid counting traffic from the same hosts multiple times on each
hop.
The upstream FortiGate also now has the option to end downstream FortiGate sessions or quarantine endpoints
that connect to downstream FortiGates.
By default, all FortiGates in the Security Fabric now send logs to a single FortiAnalyzer. The connection to the
FortiAnalyzer is configured on the upstream FortiGate, then the settings are pushed to all other FortiGates.
In FortiOS 5.6, a FortiAnalyzer is required for the root FortiGate in the Security Fabric; however, downstream
devices can be configured to use other logging methods through the CLI:
config system csf
set logging-mode local
end
The following information about the Security Fabric configuration is now sent to the FortiAnalyzer:
l Topology info
l Interface roles
l LAT / LNG info
l Device asset tags
Monitors on the upstream FortiGate, such as the VPN Monitor, Route Monitor, and User Quarantine, can now
view the information from downstream devices. You can use the button in the top right corner of the screen to
change the FortiGate information that is displayed.
Log Settings
Log statistics for each FortiGate in the Security Fabric are now shown when you go to Log & Report > Log
Settings.
Device Tree
The entire Security Fabric tree is now updated upward, and each node has an updated state of the whole subtree.
The content is saved in the local file and upon request from the GUI or a diagnose command (dia sys csf
downstream) it can be retrieved.
The Security Fabric Audit must be run on the root FortiGate in the Security Fabric.
The Security Fabric Audit can be found by going to Security Fabric > Audit. In the first step, all detected
FortiGates are shown.
In the second step, the audit is performed and a list of recommendations are shown. Two views are available:
Failed or All Results. These views can be further segmented so that you view results from all FortiGates or just
a specific unit.
In each view, a chart appears showing the results of individual checks. The following information is shown: the
name and a description of the check, which FortiGate the check occurred on, the checks result on your overall
security score, and any necessary recommendations.
If you hover the mouse over the Result for a check, you can get a breakdown on how this score was determined.
For more information about this, see "Security Fabric Score" on page 73.
In Step Three of the Audit, Easy Apply recommendations are displayed and can be applied. By using Easy
Apply, you can change the configuration of any FortiGate in the fabric.
For other recommendations, further action is required if you wish to follow the recommendation.
You can also view Audit recommendations for specific devices using the FortiView Topology consoles. If a
recommendation is available for a device, a circle containing a number appears. The number shows how many
recommendations are available, while the color of the circle shows the severity of the highest check that failed
(red is critical, orange is high, yellow is medium, and blue is low).
Syntax
config log eventfilter
Easy
Goal Severity Check Recommendation
Apply?
Easy
Goal Severity Check Recommendation
Apply?
Easy
Goal Severity Check Recommendation
Apply?
Endpoint Compliance
Easy
Goal Severity Check Recommendation
Apply?
Easy
Goal Severity Check Recommendation
Apply?
Score is based on the number of checks failed and the severity of these checks. The weight for each severity
level is as follows:
l Critical: 50 points
l High: 25 points
l Medium: 10 points
l Low: 5 points
You get points for passing a test only when it passes for all FortiGates in your fabric. If this occurs, the score is
calculated using this formula:
If a test fails on any FortiGate in your Fabric, all other FortiGates that passed the check award 0 points. For the
FortiGate the test failed on, the score is calculated using this formula:
For checks that do not apply, your score does not change. For example, if you have no FortiAPs in the fabric, you
will receive no points for the FortiAP Firmware Versions check.
Features that were only visible through old dashboard widgets have been placed elsewhere in the GUI:
l Restore configuration.
l Configuration revisions.
l Firmware management.
l Enabling / disabling VDOMs.
l Changing inspection mode.
l Changing operation mode.
l Shutdown / restart device.
l Changing hostname.
l Changing system time.
The following widgets are displayed by default:
l System Information
l Licenses
l FortiCloud
l Security Fabric
l Administrators
l CPU
l Memory
l Sessions
l Bandwidth
l Virtual Machine (on VMs and new to FortiOS 5.6.1)
The following optional widgets are available:
l Interface Bandwidth
l Disk Usage
l Security Fabric Risk
l Advanced Threat Protection Statistics
l Log Rate
l Session Rate
l Sensor Information
l HA Status
l Host Scan Summary
l Vulnerabilities Summary
l FortiView (new to FortiOS 5.6.1)
The following widgets have been removed:
l CLI Console
l Unit Operation
l Alert Message Console
System Information
The Fortiguard WAN IP blacklist service was not online in FortiOS 5.6.0. In FortiOS 5.6.1, a notification appears
on the Dashboard when WAN IP is blacklisted. Clicking on the notification (bell icon) brings up the blacklist
details.
Licenses
Hovering over the Licenses widget will cause status information (and, where applicable, database information)
on the licenses to be displayed for FortiCare Support, IPS & Application Control, AntiVirus, Web
Filtering, Mobile Malware, and FortiClient. The image below shows FortiCare Support information along
with the registrant's company name and industry.
Clicking in the Licenses widget will provide you with links to other pages, such as System > FortiGuard or
contract renewal pages.
FortiCloud
This widget displays FortiCloud status and provides a link to activate FortiCloud.
Administrators
This widget allows you to view which administrators are logged in and how many sessions are active. The link
directs you to a page displaying active administrator sessions.
CPU
The real-time CPU usage is displayed for different timeframes.
Memory
Real-time memory usage is displayed for different time frames. Hovering over any point on the graph displays
percentage of memory used along with a timestamp.
Sessions
Bandwidth
Virtual Machine
FortExplorer for iOS is compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch and supports configuration via REST API
and display of FortiView and other security fabric components.
You can use FortiExplorer for iOS to perform most FortiOS configuration management tasks.
Advanced features will be available with the purchase of an add-on through the App Store. These paid features
include the adding more than two devices and downloading firmware images from FortiCare.
With the release of FortiOS 5.6.1, FortiOS icons and colors are now exportable in the GUI shared project and
FortiExplorer now uses these icons and colors. This change improves the icon colors only for the FortiExplorer
GUI theme (seen only when accessing a web GUI page from within the FortiExplorer iOS app).
The images below offer a preview of a few of the new FortiExplorer iOS app's screens.
You can use the transparent proxy to apply web authentication to HTTP traffic accepted by a firewall policy. In
previous versions of FortiOS, web authentication required using the explicit proxy.
Normal FortiOS authentication is IP address based. Users are authenticated according to their IP address and
access is allowed or denied based on this IP address. On networks where authentication based on IP address will
not work you can use the Transparent Web proxy to apply web authentication that is based on the user's browser
and not on their IP address. This authentication method allows you to identify individual users even if multiple
users on your network are connecting to the FortiGate from the same IP address.
Then go to Security Profiles > Proxy Options, edit a proxy options profile and under Web Options enable
HTTP Policy Redirect.
Then go to Policy & Objects > IPv4 Policy and create or edit a policy that accepts traffic that you want to
apply web authentication to. This can be a general policy that accepts many different types of traffic as long as it
also accepts the web traffic that you want to apply web authentication to.
Select a Security Profile and select the Proxy Options profile that you enabled HTTP Policy Redirect for.
Then go to Policy & Objects > Proxy Policy create a Transparent Proxy policy to accept the traffic that you
want to apply web authentication to. Set the Proxy Type to Transparent Web. The incoming interface,
outgoing interface, destination address, and schedule should either match or be a subset of the same options
defined in the IPv4 policy. Addresses added to the Source must match or be a subset of the source addresses
added to the IPv4 policy. You can also add the users to be authenticated by the transparent policy to the source
field.
Flat policies
The split policy feature has been removed. This will make the explicit policy more like the firewall policy.
Authentication
The new authentication design is intended to separate authentication from authorization. Authentication has
been moved into a new table in the FortiOS. This leaves the authorization as the domain of the explicit proxy
policy.
If disabled, everything works like before. If enabled, the authentication is triggered differently.
There is a new subcategory of proxy in the proxy policy called Transparent Web. The old Web Proxy is now
referred to as Explicit Web Proxy.
IP pools support
SOCKSv5
To configure:
config authentication rule
edit <name of rule>
set protocol socks
end
Forwarding
Proxies support URL redirect/forwarding. This allows a non-proxy forwarding server to be assigned a rule that will
redirect web traffic from one URL to another, such as redirecting traffic destined for youtube.com to
restrict.youtube.com.
l A new option called "Redirect URL" has been added to the policy
l Traffic forwarding by VIP is supported
Support for explicit proxy address objects & groups into IPv4 firewall policies
This would allow the selection of web filter policy, SSL inspection policy, and proxy policy based on source IP +
destination (address|explicit proxy object|category|group of any of those). This enables things like “do full SSL
interception on www.google.com, but not the rest of the Search Engines category”.
The application service can be configured using the following CLI commands:
config firewall service custom
edit <name of service>
set explicit-proxy enable
set app-service-type <disable|app-id|app-category>
set app-category <application category ID, integer>
set application <application ID, integer>
end
CLI
Changes:
Previous New
Previous New
Removals:
l identity-based
l ip-based
l active-auth-method
l sso-auth-method
l require-tfa
Moves:
Additions:
authentication scheme
config authentication scheme
edit <name>
set method [ntlm|basic|digest|form|negotiate|fsso|rsso|none]
authentication setting
config authentication setting
set active-auth-scheme <string>
set sso-auth-scheme <string>
set captive-portal <string>
set captive-portal-port <integer value from 1 to 65535>
authentication rule
config authentication rule
edit <name of rule>
set status [enable|disable]
set protocol [http|ftp|socks]
set srcaddr <name of address object>
set srcaddr6 <name of address object>
set ip-based [enable|disable]
set active-auth-method <string>
set sso-auth-method <string>
set web-auth-cookie [enable|disable]
set transaction-based [enable|disable]
set comments
You can enable NGFW policy mode by going to System > Settings, setting the Inspection mode to Flow-
based and setting the NGFW mode to Policy-based. When selecting NGFW policy-based mode you also
select the SSL/SSH Inspection mode that is applied to all policies
Flow-based inspection with profile-based NGFW mode is the default in FortiOS 5.6.
A bug that prevented the Dialog and Device Inventory pages from loading when there is a large number of
devices (for example, 10,000) has been fixed.
The default FortiClient profile also allows you to set a general Non-compliance action for endpoints that don't
have FortiClient installed on them. The non-compliance action can be block or warning and is applied by the
FortiGate. Blocked endpoints are quarantined by the FortiGate.
The vulnerability scan Non-compliance action can block or warn endpoints if the vulnerability scan shows they
do not meet the vulnerability quarantine level.
System compliance
FortiOS 5.6 system compliance settings are similar to those in 5.4 with the addition of a non-compliance action.
System compliance checking is performed by FortiClient but the non-compliance action is applied by the
FortiGate.
With the release of FortiOS 5.6.1, the Application Control signature database information is displayed under the
System > FortiGuard page, in the FortiCare section. The botnet category is no longer available when you
search for the Application Signatures list.
To receive updates to the Application Control signature database, you must have a
valid FortiCare support contract.
For FortiCloud:
config log fortiguard setting
set upload-option [realtime/1-minute/5-minute]
FortiGate Logs can be sent to syslog servers in Common Event Format (CEF) (300128)
You can configure FortiOS to send log messages to remote syslog servers in CEF format. CEF is an open log
management standard that provides interoperability of security-related information between different network
devices and applications. CEF data can be collected and aggregated for analysis by enterprise management or
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) systems such as FortiSIEM.
FortiOS supports logging to up to four remote syslog servers. Each server can now be configured separately to
send log messages in CEF or CSV format. Previously only CSV format was supported.
Instances of failover between FortiAP units was too long and lead to extended periods of time where WiFi users
were without network connection. Because WiFi is considered a primary network connection in today's verticals
(including enterprise, retail, education, warehousing, healthcare, government, and more), it is necessary for
successful failover to occur as fast as possible.
You can now define the role of the primary and secondary controllers on the FortiAP unit, allowing the unit to
decide the order in which the FortiAP selects the FortiGate. This process was previously decided on load-based
detection, but can now be defined by each unit's pre-determined priority. In addition, heartbeat intervals have
been lowered to further improve FortiAP awareness and successful failover.
1+1 redundancy
1+1 HA is a form of resilience whereby a component has a backup component to take its place in the event of
component failure, and successfully manage FortiAP without long failover periods.
CLI syntax
config wireless-controller inter-controller
set inter-controller-mode {disable | l2-roaming | 1+1} Default is disable.
set inter-controller-key <password>
set inter-controller-pri {primary | secondary} Default is primary.
set fast-failover-max [3-64] Default is 10.
set fast-failover-wait [10-86400] Default is 10.
config inter-controller-peer
edit <name>
set peer-ip <ip-address>
Note that mpsk-concurrent-clients and the mpsk-key configuration method are only available when
mpsk is set to enable.
CLI syntax
config wireless-controller vap
edit <example>
set mpsk {enable|disable}
set mpsk-concurrent-clients [0-65535] Default is 0.
config mpsk-key
edit <key-name>
set passphrase <wpa-psk>
set concurrent-clients [0-65535] Default is empty.
set comment <comments>
next
end
end
Use the mpsk-concurrent-clients entry to set the maximum number of concurrent connected clients for
each mpsk entry. Use the mpsk-key configuration method to configure multiple mpsk entries.
Syntax
config wireless-controller hotspot20 anqp-3gpp-cellular
edit {name}
config mcc-mnc-list
edit {id}
set id {integer}
set mcc {string}
set mnc {string}
next
next
end
next
end
set up
next
config dscp-range
edit {index}
set index
set up
set low
set high
next
next
end
Syntax
config system vxlan
edit <vxlan1> //VXLAN device name (Unique name in system.interface).
set interface //Local outgoing interface.
set vni //VXLAN network ID.
set ip-version //IP version to use for VXLAN device (4 or 6).
set dstport //VXLAN destination port, default is 4789.
set ttl //VXLAN TTL.
set remote-ip //Remote IP address of VXLAN.
next
end
This will create a VXLAN interface:
show system interface vxlan1
config system interface
edit "vxlan1"
set vdom "root"
set type vxlan
set snmp-index 36
set macaddr 8a:ee:1d:5d:ae:53
set interface "port9"
next
end
From the GUI, go to Network > Interfaces to verify the new VXLAN interface:
To diagnose your VXLAN configuration, from the CLI, use the following command:
diagnose sys vxlan fdb list vxlan1
This command provides information about the VXLAN forwarding data base (fdb) associated to the vxlan1
interface. Below is a sample output:
-----------mac=00:00:00:00:00:00 state=0x0082 flags=0x00-----------
-----------remote_ip=2.2.2.2 remote_port=4789-----------
-----------remote_vni=1 remote_ifindex=19-----------
total fdb num: 1
CLI changes
GUI
CLI
CLI
The related CLI options/syntax are:
config firewall policy
edit 1
set internet-service 1 5 10
set internet-service-custom test
set internet-service-negate [enable|disable]
end
GUI
In the policy listing page you will notice that is an Internet Service object is used, it will be found in both the
Destination and Service column.
In the policy editing page the Destination Address, now Destination field now has two types, Address and
Internet Service.
The reason for making this configuration possible is to allow complex scenarios where multiple sources of traffic
are using multiple services to connect to a single computer, while requiring a combination of source and
destination NAT and not requiring numerous VIPs bundled into VIP groups.
NP6 Host Protection Engine (HPE) adds protection for DDoS attacks (363398)
NP6 processors now include HPE functionality that can protect networks from DoS attacks by categorizing
incoming packets based on packet rate and processing cost and applying packet shaping to packets that can
cause DoS attacks. You can use the options in the following CLI command to limit the number packets per
second received for various packet types by each NP6 processor. This rate limiting is applied very efficiently
because it is done in hardware by the NP6 processor.
HPE protection is disable by default. You can use the following command to enable HPE protection for the NP6_0
NP6 processor:
config system np6
edit np6_0
config hpe
set enable-shaper enable
end
HPE can be enabled and configured separately for each NP6 processor. When enabled, the default configuration
is designed to provide basic DoS protection. You can use the following command to adjust the HPE settings in
real time if you network is experiencing an attack. For example, the following command allows you to configure
HPE settings for np6_0.
config system np6
edit np6_0
config hpe
set tcpsyn-max
set tcp-max
set udp-max
set icmp-max
set sctp-max
set esp-max
set ip-frag-max
set ip-others-max
set arp-max
set l2-others-max
set enable-shaper {disable | enable}
end
Where:
tcpsyn-max applies shaping based on the maximum number of TCP SYN packets received per second. The
range is 10,000 to 4,000,000,000 pps. The default limits the number of packets per second to 5,000,000 pps.
tcp-max applies shaping based on the maximum number of TCP packets received. The range is 10,000 to
4,000,000,000 pps. The default is 5,000,000 pps.
udp-max applies shaping based on the maximum number of UDP packets received. The range is 10,000 to
4,000,000,000 pps. The default is 5,000,000 pps.
icmp-max applies shaping based on the maximum number of ICMP packets received. The range is 10,000 to
4,000,000,000 pps. The default is 1,000,000 pps.
sctp-max applies shaping based on the maximum number of SCTP packets received. The range is 10,000 to
4,000,000,000 pps. The default is 100,000 pps.
esp-max NPU HPE shaping based on the maximum number of IPsec ESP packets received. The range is
10,000 to 4,000,000,000 pps. The default is 100,000 pps.
ip-frag-max applies shaping based on the maximum number of fragmented IP packets received. The range is
10,000 to 4,000,000,000 pps. The default is 100,000 pps.
ip-others-max applies shaping based on the maximum number of other IP packets received. The range is
10,000 to 4,000,000,000 pps. The default is 100,000 pps.
arp-max applies shaping based on the maximum number of ARP packets received. The range is 10,000 to
4,000,000,000 pps. The default is 1,000,000 pps.
l2-others-max applies shaping based on the maximum number of other layer 2 packets received. The range
is 10,000 to 4,000,000,000 pps. The default is 100,000 pps.
l Added inline validation for checking password policy and password reuse
l Changed style to match new login prompt password change
l Fixed issue where fDialog would close slide out on submission failure
Support FortiOS to allow user to select domain when logging a FG into FortiCloud (452350)
Support has been added to show a list of all possible FortiCloud domains that the FortiGate can be served by.
Syntax
execute fortiguard-log domain
This command is typically used for testing purposes, and so it will not appear when entering execute
fortiguard-log ?.
CLI Syntax
config sys admin
edit <name>
config gui-dashboard
edit <1>
set name <name>
config widget
edit <2>
Supported FortiViews include Source, Destination, Application, Country, Interfaces, Policy, Wifi Client, Traffic
Shaper, Endpoint Vulnerability, Cloud User, Threats, VPN, Websites, and Admin and System Events.
Bubble, table, chord chart, and country visualizations are supported in the widget.
Syntax
config system admin
config gui-dashboard
config widget
set type fortiview
set report-by {source | destination | country | intfpair | srcintf | dstintf |
policy | wificlient | shaper | endpoint | application | cloud | web | threat
| system | unauth | admin | vpn}
set timeframe {realtime | 5min | hour | day | week}
set sort-by <string>
set visualization {table | bubble | country | chord}
config filters
set key <filter_key>
set value <filter_value>
end
end
end
end
end
Where:
The following locations were affected: Policy List, Policy Dialogue, Address List, Address Dialogue, Virtual IP list,
Virtual IP Dialogue.
GUI Changes
When you hover over the Licenses widget in the FortiOS 5.6 dashboard, you can see the company and industry
data, provided it has been entered in the FortiCare profile.
CLI Changes
Improved GUI for Mobile Screen Size & Touch Interface (355558)
The FortiOS web GUI on mobile screens and include functionality for touch interfaces like tap to hold are
improved.
Previously, the Setup Wizard could be launched from the web GUI by selecting the button, located in the top
right corner. This button and the wizard in question has been removed.
Authentication (5.6.3)
New authentication features added to FortiOS 5.6.3.
Support FTM Push when FortiAuthenticator is the authentication server (408273, 438314)
FortiGate supports when the FortiAuthenticator initiates FTM Push notifications, for when users are attempting
to authenticate through a VPN and/or RADIUS (with FortiAuthenticator as the RADIUS server).
Support exact match for subject and CN fields in peer user (416359)
Administrators can now specify which way a peer user authenticates, in order to avoid any unintentional admin
access by a regular user. When searching for a matching certificate, use the commands below to control how to
find matches in the certificate subject name (subject-match) or the cn attribute (cn-match) of the certificate
subject name. This match can be any string (substring) or an exact match (value) of the cn attribute value.
Syntax
config vpn certificate setting
edit <name>
set subject-match {substring | value}
set cn-match {substring | value}
next
end
Syntax
execute vpn certificate ca import bundle <file-name.pkg> <ftp/tftp-server-ip>
Syntax
config system global
set ssh-kex-sha1 {enable | disable}
end
Syntax
config firewall proxy-policy
edit {policyid}
set proxy explicit-web
set http-tunnel-auth {enable | disable}
next
end
Authentication (5.6.1)
New authentication features added to FortiOS 5.6.1.
Note that while you can set the primary RADIUS server's IPv6 address, the source IP
address for communications to the RADIUS server cannot be configured as IPv6.
Syntax
New option under user > setting to allow/forbid SSL renegotiation in firewall authentication
(386595)
A new option auth-ssl-allow-renegotiation is now available under config user setting to
allow/forbid renegotiation. The default value is disable, where a session would be terminated by authd once
renegotiation is detected and this login would be recorded as failure. Other behavior follows regular auth settings.
Syntax
config user setting
set auth-ssl-allow-renegotiation {enable | disable}
end
Reverted default DN format to include spaces. Added a new CLI option ike-dn-format to allow the user to
select either with-space or no-space. Customers using the group-authentication option can select
the ike-dn-format setting to match the format used in their RADIUS user database.
Syntax
config user ldap
edit <name>
set group-filter ?
next
end
l group-filter is none by default, where the process is the same as before.
When group-filter is set, the LDAP filter takes effect for retrieving the group information.
In FortiOS 5.6.1, a Refresh button has been added in the LDAP browser. In the LDAP server dialog page, the
user can delete the DN field to browse the root level tree when clicking the Fetch DN button.
l group-member-check user-attr
For user attribute checking, a new attribute group-search-base is added, which indicates the starting point for
the group search. If the group-search-base is not set, binddn is used as the search base. Removed search-
type when group-member-check is user-attr.
l group-member-check group-object
For group object checking, the group names in user group match rule will be picked up as the group search base. If
there are multiple matching rules, each group name will trigger the ldapsearch query once.
l group-member-check posix-group-object
Changed group-object-search-base to group-search-base for posix-group-object group-
member-check.
To support non-blocking LDAP in fnbamd, we stopped using the openLDAP library in fnbamd, instead using only
liblber. Instead of using openLDAP, fnbamd will create its own event-driven connection with LDAP servers over
LDAP/LDAPS/STARTTLS, make it non-blocking, do CRL checking if necessary, and compose all LDAP requests
using liblber (including bind, unbind, search, password renewal, password query, send request and receive
response, and parse response). The whole process is done in one connection.
This doesn't change any openLDAP implementation but moves some data structure definitions and API
definitions from some internal header files to public header files.
Example
FG100D3G12807101 # diagnose test authserver radius-direct
<server_name or IP> <port no(0 default port)> <secret> <user> <password>
Authentication (5.6)
New authentication features added to FortiOS 5.6.
A new command has been added under config system ftm-push allowing you to configure the FortiToken
Mobile Push services server IP address and port number. The Push service is provided by Apple (APNS) and
Google (GCM) for iPhone and Android smartphones respectively. This will help to avoid tokens becoming locked
after an already enabled two-factor authentication user has been disabled.
CLI syntax
config system ftm-push
set server-ip <ip-address>
set server-port [1-65535] Default is 4433.
end
If an SSL VPN user authenticates with their token, then logs out and attempts to reauthenticate again within a
minute, a new message will display showing "Please wait x seconds to login again." This replaces a previous
error/permission denied message.
The "x" value will depend on the calculation of how much time is left in the current time step.
CLI syntax
config system interface
edit <name>
set allowaccess ftm
next
end
l Fortinet_CA
l Fortinet_Sub_CA
l Fortinet_Factory
l Fortinet_CA_Backup
l Fortinet_Factory_Backup
When FortiOS connects to FortiGuard, FortiCloud, FortiManager, FortiAnalyzer, FortiSandbox as a client, the
new BIOS certificate Fortinet_Factory will be the default client certificate. When the server returns its certificate
(chain) back, FortiOS looks up the issuer of the server certificate and either keeps client certificate as is or
switches to the old BIOS certificate Fortinet_Factory_Backup. This process occurs in one handshake.
When FortiOS connects to FortiCare, the new BIOS certificate Fortinet_Factory is the only client certificate and
Server Name Indication (SNI) is set. There is no switchover of certificate during SSL handshake.
When FortiOS acts as a server when connected by FortiExtender, FortiSwitch, FortiAP, etc., Fortinet_Factory is
the default server certificate. FortiOS detects SNI in client hello, and if no SNI is found or if the CN in SNI is
different from the CN of Fortinet_CA, it switches to use the old Fortinet_Factory_Backup.
To implement this, a new CLI command has been added under log fortianalyzer setting to allow you
to specify the certificate used to communicate with FortiAnalyzer.
CLI syntax
config log fortianalyzer setting
set certificate <name>
end
New commands added to config user ldap to set UPN processing method and filter name
(383561)
Added two new commands to config user ldap allowing you to keep or strip domain string of UPN in the
token as well as the search name for this kind of UPN.
CLI syntax:
config user ldap
set account-key-processing
set account-key-name
end
Password for private key configurable in both GUI and CLI (374593)
FortiOS 5.4.1 introduced a feature that allowed you to export a local certificate and its private key in password
protected p12, and later import them to any device. This option to set password for private key was available only
in the CLI (when requesting a new certificate via SCEP or generating a CSR). This feature is now also
configurable through the GUI.
The new Password for private key option is available under System > Certificates when generating a new
CSR.
Certain RADIUS servers use ISO-8859-1 password encoding instead of others such as UTF-8. In these instances,
the server will fail to authenticate the user, if the user's password is using UTF-8.
CLI syntax
config user radius
edit <example>
set password-encoding <auto | ISO-8859-1>
end
This option will be skipped if the auth-type is neither auto nor pap.
Syntax
config gtp message-filter-v0v1
edit <name>
set ?
......
v0-create-aa-pdp--v1-init-pdp-ctx
gtp-enhance-mode
config system npu
set gtp-enhance-mode [enable|disable]
end
gtp-enhance-cpu-range
This is used to set the CPUs which can process the GTP-U packet inspection.
config system npu
set gtp-enhance-cpu-range [0|1|2]
end
Option Description
Used to clear the GTP-U packet counter by all NP or the corresponding np.
Before execute the test or enable/disable the gtp enhance, first check the gtp-enhance-mode status as in the
example below:
config system npu
get
gtp-enhance-mode: disable
gtp-enhance-cpu-range: 0
end
If the gtp-enhance-mode is disable, use the command diagnose npu np6 hbq-stats all.
If the gtp-enhance-mode is enable, use the command diagnose npu np6 hbq-stats all
cpu_16:0
cpu_17:0
cpu_18:0
cpu_19:0
cpu_20:0
cpu_21:0
cpu_22:0
cpu_23:0
cpu_24:0
cpu_25:0
cpu_26:0
cpu_27:0
cpu_28:0
cpu_29:0
cpu_30:0
cpu_31:0
cpu_32:0
cpu_33:0
cpu_34:0
cpu_35:0
cpu_36:0
cpu_37:0
cpu_38:0
cpu_39:0
Total :0
Sometimes, when loading the new configure file, and the new configure file does not match the old configure file,
l Implemented RCU on GTP-U running path. i.e, no locking needed to look up tunnel state when processing GTP-U.
Note the RCU is only applied on GTPv1 and GTPv2 tunnels. It is not used for GTPv0 tunnels, due to the fact
that (1) GTPv0 traffic is relatively minor compared with GTPv1 and GTPv2, and (2) GTPv0 tunnel indexing is
totally different from GTPv1 and GTPv2. GTPv0 tunnel is indexed by [IMSI, NSAPI]. GTPv1 and GTPv2 tunnel
is indexed by [IP, TEID]
CLI Changes:
Option Description
Option Description
list List
Option Description
list List
Option Description
list List
Option Description
Changed commands:
Example:
config firewall gtp
edit <name>
set message-filter-v0v1
New fields have been added to the config firewall gtp command context
Option Description
Example:
config firewall gtp
edit <name>
set half-open-timeout 10
set half-close-timeout 10
l FortiGate 3700D
l FortiGate 3700DX
l FortiGate 3800D
Command:
Example
un-matching failure = 0
ips action failure = 0
ips action permit = 0
ips action deny = 0
ips action bypass = 0
Example output:
This output has been edited down to conserve space. Only the first 5 of each grouping has been included.
diag test app miglogd 106
tcp
port(0), name(NONE)
port(21), name(FTP)
port(22), name(SSH)
port(23), name(TELNET)
port(25), name(SMTP)
udp
port(53), name(DNS)
port(67--68), name(DHCP)
port(69), name(TFTP)
port(88), name(KERBEROS)
Diagnose command to show crash history and adjust crash interval (366691)
In order to alleviate the impact logging put on resources if processes repeatedly crash, limits have been put on
crash logs.
l The default limit is 10 times per 60 minutes for crash logs. This limit can be edited using the command:
diagnose debug crashlog interval <interval>
<interval> is the number of second to log crash logs for a particular process
l The miglogd daemon is the only one to write crash logs directly. Crash logs from other processes are done
through miglogd.
l Crash logs for a single crash are written all at once so that the logs are easier to read if there are crashes of multiple
processes at the same time.
l A diagnose command has been added to show crash history.
# diagnose debug crashlog history
# Crash log interval is 3600 seconds
# reportd crashed 2 times. The latest crash was at 2016-12-01 17:53:45
diagnose switch-controller kick <device-id> <vlan ID> <port ID> <MAC ID>
While not a diagnostic command, the following can also be run from VDOMs
execute replace-device fortiswitch <device-id>
These commands are now longer restricted to being run from the root VLAN and can be run from any VDOM
l Overload
l One-to-one
l Fixed-port-range
l Port-block-allocation.
list
diagnose firewall ippool-all list
Example output:
vdom:root owns 4 ippool(s)
name:Client-IPPool
type:port-block-allocation
nat-ip-range:10.23.75.5-10.23.75.200
name:Fixed Port Range
type:fixed-port-range
nat-ip-range:20.20.20.5-20.20.20.50
name:One to One
type:one-to-one
nat-ip-range:10.10.10.5-10.10.10.50
name:Sales_Team
type:overload
nat-ip-range:10.23.56.18-10.23.56.20
Stats
This option has two methods of being used. By just hitting enter after stats, the output contains the stats for all of
the IP Pools. By putting the name of an IP Pool after stats, the output is filtered so that only stats relating to that
particular IP Pool is included in the output.
Example output #1
# diagnose firewall ippool-all stats
vdom:root owns 5 ippool(s)
name: Client-IPPool
type: port-block-allocation
startip: 10.23.75.5
endip: 10.23.75.200
total ses: 0
tcp ses: 0
udp ses: 0
other ses: 0
name: Fixed Port Range
type: fixed-port-range
startip: 20.20.20.5
endip: 20.20.20.50
total ses: 0
tcp ses: 0
udp ses: 0
other ses: 0
name: One to One
type: one-to-one
startip: 10.10.10.5
endip: 10.10.10.50
total ses: 0
tcp ses: 0
udp ses: 0
other ses: 0
name: Sales_Team
type: overload
startip: 10.23.56.18
endip: 10.23.56.20
total ses: 0
tcp ses: 0
udp ses: 0
other ses: 0
Example #2
# diagnose firewall ippool-all stats “Sales_Team”
name: Sales_Team
type: overload
startip: 10.23.56.18
endip: 10.23.56.20
total ses: 0
tcp ses: 0
udp ses: 0
other ses: 0
Example
Syntax:
Example output
The idea is to check to see if there will be a synchronization issue between the FortiGate and the FortiSwitch
before applying the configuration
1. On fortilink reconnection, FGT reads trunk table of FSW using REST API GET-- Hence FGT gets all the port and
its trunk membership information from FSW
2. FGT then compares its managed FSW trunk information with received FSW information
3. If there is any conflict, FGT will delete extra/conflicted trunk on FSW using REST API POST
4. At the end FGT replays all configuration to FSW as usual
This will help delete the extra trunks, conflicted trunks on the FSW and to make sure in sync
l The FortiGate reboots after a factory reset while there is still a trunk configuration in the FortiSwitch.
l The managed FortiSwitch's trunk table gets edited on the FortiGate while the FortiSwitch is offline.
l A trunk table on the FortiSwitch gets added or the existing one gets modified or deleted by a user.
New diagnose command for the CLI:
diagnose switch-controller dump trunk-switch-config <Managed FortiSwitch device ID>
The <Integer> being the debug level. To get the integer value for the debug level, run the command without the
integer. You will get the following:
# diagnose debug application csfd
csfd debug level is 0 (0x0)
Error 0x01
Warning 0x02
Function trace 0x04
Information 0x08
Detail 0x10
MAC packet encryption debug 0x20
MAC learning debug 0x40
FAZ configuration synchronize debugging 0x0080
FAZ configuration function trace 0x00100
Configuration tree update debug 0x00200
Configuration tree function trace 0x00400
HA Sync plugin debug 0x00800
Convert the value next to the debug level you want to an integer. For example, to set the debug level to
Information, convert 0x08 to 8 and use it for the option at the end of the command.
# diagnose debug application csfd 8
Examples:
The results:
Commands[0]: ips memory track
----< execute "diagnose ips memory track" >----
Commands[1]: ips memory status
----< execute "diagnose ips memory status" >----
Commands[2]: ips session status
----< execute "diagnose ips session status" >----
The command is defined and interpreted by the AV engine. FortiOS just passes the CLI
command into the AV engine and outputs the strings returned by AV engine.
clear checksum log files (diag sys ha checksum log clear) (385905)
There is currently a command, diag sys ha checksum log [enable | disable] that enables a
checksum debug log by saving checksum calculations to a temp file. However, the checksum calculations saved
in this file can be processed by two different functions, cmdbsvr and the CLI.
The function cmf_context-is-server() now enables the determining whether the running process is
cmdbsvr or the CLI and also a diagnose command has been added to clear the contents of the file.
diag sys ha checksum log clear
l If only the FortiClient UID is used, all of the avatars, except those that are currently being used will be deleted.
l If both the FortiClient UID and the username are used, all of the avatars that belong to that combination, except
those being used, will be deleted.
CID signatures have been improved for DHCP and CDP (389350, 409436)
More parameters have been added to make them more specific. This helps to reduce false positives.
l DHCP signatures:
l A new dhcp signature file has been added 'cid.dhcp2' that allows for the class and host name to specified in the
same signature. This is for increased accuracy.
l Relevant signatures from 'cid.dhcp' have been ported to the new signature file 'cid.dhcp2'
l Support DHCP parameter matching in signatures.
l Support DHCP option list matching in signatures.
l CDP mac analyzer now passes all three keys to the OS matcher.
l Tests:
l A number of new tests (including pcaps) have been added to match existing signatures and new signatures.
l Some tests where multiple protocols were present in a single pcap, have been modified. These are now split
into multiple pcaps, each containing a single protocol. This allows FortiOS to fully test a signature, where
previously a single test may have matched multiple signatures.
l CID debug statistics now use shared memory. This prevents the daemon from having to respond to CLI requests
and allows for the stats to persist across daemon restarts.
l A Change has been made to the host ip update priority. IP changes for routers that have had their type set by
heuristic are not allowed to change IPs.
l If it is a Fortinet device, the change is allowed if it comes through a protocol we trust more (CDP, DHCP, LLDP,
or MAC).
Example
FortiGuard can determine a FortiGate's location from its public IP address (393972)
The FortiGate now shows the public IP address and the geographical location (country) in the dashboard. The
FortiGate sends a ping to the FortiCare/FortiGuard network and as a response receives the local WAN IP, or if it
is being NATed the public IP of the network. Using the public IP address a geo-ip Blackpool is done to determine
the country.
In the same location on the Dashboard, it also shows whether or not the listed IP address if a member of the
Fortinet Blacklist.
CLI
Example:
diagnose sys waninfo
Public/WAN IP: 209.87.240.98
Location:
Latitude: 45.250100
Longitude: -75.916100
Accuracy radius: 5
Time zone: America/Toronto
City: Stittsville
Subdivisions:
0: Ontario
Country: Canada
Postal:
Code: K2S
Continent: North America
Registered country: Canada
ISP: Unknown
To get information about the address's inclusion as a member of the Fortinet Blacklist, the command is:
diag fortiguard ipblacklist [db | vr | ip | ctx]
Example:
diagnose fortiguard ipblacklist ip 209.87.240.98
CLI
Example:
diagnose debug aws-bootstrap show
>> FGVM040000066475 $ config sys glo
>> FGVM040000066475 (global) $ set hostname awsondemand
>> FGVM040000066475 (global) $ end
Example
l a = account_id
l A = address
l y = city
l C = company
l c = contract_number
l T = country_code
l e = existing_account
l F = fax
l f = first_name
l h = help
l I = industry
l i = industry_id
l l = last_name
l O = orgsize
l o = orgsize_id
l p = password
l P = phone
l z = postal_code
l R = reseller
l r = reseller_id
l S = state
l s = state_code
l t = title
l v = version
new 'AND' and 'OR' filter capabilities for debug flow addr (398985)
In order to make a more flexible filter for the debug flow address command, the Boolean arguments of 'AND' and
'OR' have been added to the command parser. This will work regardless of whether or not the source or
destination address is being filtered.
Syntax:
diagnose debug flow filter address <IP1|from IP> <IP2|to IP> <ENTER|and/or>
These commands will target the firewall or explicit proxy policies. Using a "-1" as the value will index of that
particular policy type.
diag sys sip-proxy config profile --> diag sys sip-proxy config profiles (404874)
Diagnose command has been changed to make it more consistent with other similar commands.
diagnose sys sip-proxy config profile
In addition the following options have been removed from the diagnose command list:
diag debug flow show console
diag debug flow show console enable
diag debug flow show console disable
CLI additions
CLI additions:
<pid> - Process ID, such as those displayed when using diagnose sys top
l error - error
l warn - warning
l info - information
l verbose - verbose
l connection - connection
l session - session
l protocol - protocol
l io - I/O
l packet - packet
l db - cache database
l cifs - CIFS
l ssl - SSL
l webcache - webcache
l policy - policy matching
l auth - authentication
l scan - UTM scan
l cache - wanopt cache
l tunnel - wanopt tunnel
l bank - bank
l stats - stats
l disk - cache disk
l video - cache video
l rplmsg - replacement message
l ipc - IPC
l bar - Fortinet top bar
l waf - WAF
l memblk - memory block
l all - all catetory
Explicit proxy supports multiple incoming ports and port ranges (402775, 398687)
Explicit proxy can now be configured to listen on multiple ports on the same IP as well as listen for HTTP and
HTTPS on those same (or different) ports.
Define the IP ranges using a hyphen (-). As shown below, port_high is not necessary to specify if port_low is
equal to port_high.
CLI syntax
config web-proxy explicit
set http-incoming-port <port_low> [-<port_high>]
end
CLI syntax
config firewall proxy-policy
edit <example>
set poolname <name>
end
CLI syntax:
config web-proxy profile
edit <example>
set strip-encoding {enable | disable}
end
CLI syntax:
config firewall proxy-policy
edit <example>
set internet-service <application-id>
set internet-service-custom <application-name>
Added application ID and category setting on the explicit proxy enabled service (379330)
This feature introduces support for application ID/category in the service of explicit proxy as one policy selection
factor. The intent is to identify the application type based on the HTTP request with IPS application type
detection function. It is similar to the current firewall explicit address, but it is implemented as a service type, and
you can select the application ID/ category to define explicit service. Of course, now it must be an HTTP-based
application.
CLI syntax
config firewall service custom
edit "name"
set app-service-type [disable|app-id|app-category]
next
end
CLI syntax
config vdom
edit root
config system settings
set opmode transparent
set manageip 192.168.0.34/24
end
config web-proxy explicit
set pac-file-server-status enable
get pac-file-url [url.pac]
end
CLI syntax
config vpn certificate setting
set ssl-ocsp-status [enable|disable]
set ssl-ocsp-option [certificate|server]
end
CLI syntax
config web-proxy explicit
set trace-auth-no-rsp [enable|disable]
end
Firewall (5.6.3)
New firewall features added to FortiOS 5.6.3.
CLI changes:
set http-incoming-port <port_low>[-<port_high>]
Where:
Nturbo support CAPWAP traffic and fix IPsec IPv6 firewall policy code typo (290708) (423323)
NTurbo is used for IPSEC+IPS case. The IPSEC SA info is passed to NTURBO as part of VTAG for control packet
and will be used for the xmit.
If the packets need to go through IPSEC interface, the traffic will be always offloaded
to Nturbo. But for the case that SA has not been installed to NP6 because of hardware
limitation or SA offload disable, the packets will be sent out through raw socket by IPS
instead of Nturbo, since the software encryption is needed in this case.
CLI Changes:
Previously, NTurbo could only be enabled or disabled globally. The setting of np-acceleration has been added to
the firewall policy context instead of just the global context.
Add: Added a CLI command in the firewall policy to enable/disable NTurbo acceleration.
config firewall policy
edit 1
set np-accelation [enable|disable]
end
When IPS is enabled for VPN IPsec traffic, the data can be accelerated by NTurbo now.
l Info messages and redirection links have been added to IPv4 policy list and dialog to indicate the above
l If NGFW mode is policy-based, then it is assumed that central-nat (specifically SNAT) is enabled implicitly
l The option to toggle NAT in central-snat-map policies has been added (previously it was only shown in NGFW
policy-based mode).
l In central-snat policy dialog, the port-mapping fields for the original port have been updated to accept ranges.
l Nat will be skipped in firewall policy if per vdom central nat is enabled.
l "?" character
l "*" character in the middle of a phrase
l The "?*" combination
For example, to create a web proxy address to match the referrer header to block access to the following
YouTube URL http://youtube.com/user/test321. The http request will have the following format:
GET /user/test321 HTTP/1.1
Host: www.youtube.com
User-Agent: curl/7.52.1
Accept: */*
Create the following web proxy addresses to match this page:
config firewall proxy-address
edit youtube
set type host-regex
set host-regex ".*youtube.com"
next
edit test321
set host "youtube"
set path "/user/test321"
set referrer enable
end
Then create two proxy policies, one that allows access to all traffic and a second one that blocks access to the
page that matches the referrer header:
config firewall proxy-policy
edit 1
set uuid 92273e4e-8c53-51e7-a7bd-f26e6e15fc98
set proxy explicit-web
set dstintf "wan2"
set srcaddr "all"
set dstaddr "all"
set service "webproxy-connect"
set action accept
set schedule "always"
set utm-status enable
set profile-protocol-options "test"
set ssl-ssh-profile "test"
next
edit 2
set uuid d35ad06a-8c53-51e7-8511-17200f682a4a
set proxy explicit-web
set dstintf "wan2"
set srcaddr "all"
set dstaddr "test321"
set service "webproxy"
set action accept
set schedule "always"
set utm-status enable
set av-profile "default"
set profile-protocol-options "test"
set ssl-ssh-profile "test"
end
To match the video with URL youtube.com/watch?v=XXXXXXXXX, (where XXXXXXXXX is an example YouTube
query string) you need to match an HTTP request with the following format:
GET /user/watch?v=GLCHldlwQsg HTTP/1.1
Host: www.youtube.com
User-Agent: curl/7.52.1
Accept: */*
Create the following web proxy addresses to match this video or query string:
config firewall proxy-address
edit "youtube"
set uuid 4ad63880-971e-51e7-7b2e-c69423ac6314
set type host-regex
set host-regex ".*youtube.com"
next
edit "query-string"
set uuid 7687a8c0-9727-51e7-5063-05edda03abbf
set host "youtube"
set path "/watch"
set query "v=XXXXXXXXX"
end
Then create two proxy policies, one that allows access to all traffic and a second one that blocks access to the
page that matches the query string
config firewall proxy-policy
edit 1
set uuid 92273e4e-8c53-51e7-a7bd-f26e6e15fc98
set proxy explicit-web
set dstintf "wan2"
set srcaddr "all"
set dstaddr "all"
set service "webproxy-connect"
set action accept
set schedule "always"
set utm-status enable
set profile-protocol-options "test"
set ssl-ssh-profile "test"
next
edit 2
set uuid d35ad06a-8c53-51e7-8511-17200f682a4a
set proxy explicit-web
set dstintf "wan2"
set srcaddr "all"
set dstaddr "query-string"
set service "webproxy"
set action accept
set schedule "always"
set utm-status enable
set av-profile "default"
set profile-protocol-options "test"
set ssl-ssh-profile "test"
next
end
Firewall (5.6.1)
New firewall features added to FortiOS 5.6.1.
Previously the field for the policy in the column only showed whether NAT was Enabled or Disabled.
With the new improvements, not only does the field show the name of the Dynamic Pool, if one is being used, but
the tool-tip feature is engaged if you hover the cursor over the icon in the field and provides even more specific
information.
By choosing an Internet Service object as the Destination, this sets internet-service to enable and
specifying either an Address or IPv6 Address object will set internet-service to disable.
However, now the editing can be done from the list display of policies and clicking on the GRP icon. Right clicking
on the icon will slide a window out from the left and left clicking will give you a drop-down menu.
Firewall (5.6)
New firewall features added to FortiOS 5.6.
l The logic behind the structure of the cache has been simplified. Instead of storing ranges of port numbers, we store
each individual port number in the cache
l Separate caches are created for each VDOM so that cache searches are faster.
l The performance of more frequently used cases has been increased
l Hash tables are used to improve the performance of complex cases. These could include such instances as:
l service names tied to specific IP Ranges
l redefinition (one port number with multiple service names)
New CLI option to prevent packet order problems for sessions offloaded to NP4 or NP6
(365497)
In order to prevent the issue of a packet, on FortiGate processing a heavy load of traffic, from being processed
out of order, a new setting has been added to better control the timing of pushing the packets being sent to NP
units.
The new option, delay-tcp-npc-session, has been added into the context of config firewall policy within the CLI
config firewall policy
edit <Integer for policy ID>
set delay-tcp-npc-session
end
Policy may not be available on units not using NP units.
CLI
The setting SSL-SSH-Profile, is a required option, with the default value being “certificate-inspection”, when it is
applicable in the following tables:
l firewall.profile-group
l firewall.policy
l firewall.policy6,
l firewall.proxy-policy
The following default profiles are read-only:
l certificate-inspection
l deep-ssl-inspection
GUI
l The configuration and display set up for SSL/SSH Inspection is now similar to "profile-protocol-option" option
l The disable/enable toggle button is no longer available for the Profile Protocol Option
l The default profile is set to "certificate-inspection"
IPv4/IPv6 Policy, Explicit Proxy Policy list page
l The only input for default SSL profiles is now download/view trusted certificate links
l To return to the List page from default SSL profiles, the name of the button is now "Return"
Profile Group edit window
Starting in 5.6, the profiles "certificate-inspection" and "deep-inspection" are set up by the firmware as default
read-only profiles. If you have profiles with these names that were configured in a previous version of FortiOS,
rather than overwrite the firmware's default profile, profiles with these names will be upgraded to reflect the
configuration conventions of the new firmware but the profile names will be changed by adding a prefix of "_upg_
".
Syntax
Automatically switching the profile type to single on a policy with Learning mode enabled prevents it from being
affected by the UTM policy groups.
CLI
Examples:
DoS policy
config firewall DoS-policy
edit 1
set comment "you can put a comment here(Max 1023)."
set interface "internal"
set srcaddr "all"
set dstaddr "all"
set service "ALL"
config anomaly
edit "tcp_syn_flood"
set threshold 2000
next
end
end
Interface policy
config firewall interface-policy
edit 1
set comment "you can put a comment here(max 1023)."
set interface "dmz2"
set srcaddr "all"
set dstaddr "all"
set service "ALL"
end
Firewall ACL
config firewall acl
edit 1
set status disable
set comment "you can put a comment here(max 1023)."
Example of internet-service-custom
config firewall internet-service-custom
edit "custom1"
set comment "custom1"
config entry
edit 1
set protocol 6
config port-range
edit 1
set start-port 30
set end-port 33
next
end
set dst "google-drive" "icloud"
next
end
next
end
CLI changes:
In ssl-ssh-profile remove:
l certname-rsa
l certname-dsa
l certname-ecdsa
In vpn certificate setting, add the following options :
l certname-rsa1024
l certname-rsa2048
l certname-dsa1024
l certname-dsa2048
l certname-ecdsa256
l certname-ecdsa384
set vpc-id
set update-interval
The filter can be a combination of any number of conditions, as long as the total length
of filter is less than 2048 bytes. The syntax for the filter is:
<key1=value1> [& <key2=value2>] [| <key3=value3>]
For each condition, it includes a key and value, the supported keys are:
1. instanceId, (e.g. instanceId=i-12345678)
2. instanceType, (e.g. instanceType=t2.micro)
3. imageId, (e.g. imageId=ami-123456)
4. keyName, (e.g. keyName=aws-key-name)
5. architecture, (e.g. architecture=x86)
6. subnetId, (e.g. subnetId=sub-123456)
7. placement.availabilityzone, (e.g. placement.availabilityzone=us-east-1a)
8. placement.groupname, (e.g. placement.groupname=group-name)
9. placement.tenancy, (e.g. placement.tenancy=tenancy-name)
10. privateDnsName, (e.g. privateDnsName=ip-172-31-10-211.us-west-2.compute.internal)
11. publicDnsName, (e.g. publicDnsName=ec2-54-202-168-254.us-west-2.compute.amazonaws.com)
12. AWS instance tag, each tag includes a key and value, the format of tag set is: tag.Name=Value, maximum of 8
tags are supported.
CLI:
next
end
l In order to better identify which clients have caused SSL errors, the WAD SSL log will use the original source
address rather than the source address of packets.
l The return value of wad_ssl_set_cipher is checked.
l The wad_ssl_session_match has been removed because it will add the connection into bypass cache and
bypass further inspection.
l DSA and ECDSA certificates are filtered for admin-server-cert
l cert-inspect is reset after a WAD match to a Layer 7 policy
l An option to disable the use of SSL abbreviate handshake has been added
CLI addition
NGFW mode in the VDOM - NAT & SSL Inspection considerations (407547)
Due to how the NGFW Policy mode works, it can get complicated in the two areas of NAT and SSL Deep
Inspection. To match an application against a policy, some traffic has to pass through the FortiGate in order to be
properly identified. Once that happens may end up getting mapped to a different policy, where the new policy will
be appropriately enforced.
NAT
In the case of NAT being used, the first policy that is triggered to identify the traffic might require NAT enabled for
it to work correctly. i.e., without NAT enabled it may never be identified, and thus not fall through. Let's use a
very simple example:
Any new session established will never be identified immediately as Youtube, so it'll match policy #1 and let some
traffic go to try and identify it. Without NAT enabled to the Internet, the session will never be setup and thus
stuck here.
Solution:
l NAT for NGFW policies must be done via Central SNAT Map
l Central SNAT Map entries now have options for 'srcintf', 'dstintf' and 'action'.
l If no IP-pools are specified in the Central SNAT entry, then the outgoing interface address will be used.
l NGFW policies now must use a single default ssl-ssh-profile. The default ssl-ssh-profile can be configured under
the system settings table.
SSL
In the case of SSL inspection, the issue is a bit simpler. For each policy there are 3 choices:
1. No SSL,
2. Certificate Only
3. Deep Inspection.
For 1. and 2. there is no conflict and the user could enable them inter-changeably and allow policy fallthrough.
Solution:
l Multiple SSL profiles have been replaced with a single page of settings
l The user can setup exemptions for destination web category, source IP or etc.
CLI
Changes
config system settings
set inspection-mode flow
set policy-mode [standard | ngfw]
Additions
GUI
l In NGFW policy-based mode, there are added tool tips under NAT columns/fields to indicate that NAT must be
configured via Central SNAT Map. Additionally, links to redirect to Central SNAT list were added.
l Default ssl-ssh-profile is shown in the policy list and dialog for any policies doing NGFW (`application,
application-categories, url-categories`) or UTM (`av-profile etc.) inspection.
l Default ssl-ssh-profile is disabled from editing in policy list dialog
l In both profile-based & policy-based ngfw-mode, fields for srcintf, dstintf were added to Central
SNAT policies entries.
l In policy-based mode only, a toggle-switch for NAT Action was added in Central SNAT policy dialog. The
action is also configurable from the Action column in Central SNAT policy list.
l In policy-based mode only, the navigation bar link to SSL/SSH Inspection redirects to the profiles list
l In policy-based mode only, the SSL/SSH Inspection list table indicates which profile is the current VDOM default.
Additionally, options are provided in the list menu and context menu to change the current VDOM default.
CA chain downloading is used to improve verification results for certificates that are difficult to verify. The CAs are
kept in the cache to improve performance.
l You must define the port as an edge port with the set edge-port enable command.
l You must enable STP on the switch interface with the set stp-state enabled command.
This prevents the access port from accepting the downstream device, removing it from the receiving switch’s STP
calculations. In order to unblock the port after bpdu guard has triggered, the user must execute a reset command.
After the port is reset, it will resume normal operation and return to a blocking state only if another BPDU is
received.
BPDU guard is typically used in conjunction with Root Guard to enforce a specific network topology.
Syntax
config switch-controller managed-switch
edit <switch SN>
config ports
edit <port>
set stp-bpdu-guard <enable | *disable>
set stp-bpdu-guard-timeout <time> (0-120 in minutes)
next
end
next
end
Added unit in help-text when setting max-rate/min-rate under switch-controller qos queue-
policy (449487) (449869)
Modified the CLI help-text on the FortiGate to show priority under strict schedule when setting max-rate/min-rate
under switch-controller qos queue-policy.
Syntax
set priority-0
queue-0 COS queue 0. (lowest priority)
queue-1 COS queue 1.
queue-2 COS queue 2.
queue-3 COS queue 3.
queue-4 COS queue 4.
queue-5 COS queue 5.
queue-6 COS queue 6.
queue-7 COS queue 7. (highest priority)
Syntax
execute switch-controller factory-rest <switch sn>
You can also add or remove entries from the list of FortiSwitches that have FortiLink auto-discovery disabled
using the following commands:
config switch-controller global
append disable-discovery <switch-id>
unselect disable-discovery <switch-id>
end
Quarantines (410828)
Quarantined MAC addresses are blocked on the connected FortiSwitches from the network and the LAN.
NOTE: You must enable the quarantine feature in the FortiGate CLI using the set quarantine enable
command. You can add MAC addresses to the quarantine list before enabling the quarantine feature, but the
quarantine does not go into effect until enabled.
l Go to Security Fabric > Logical Topology, right-click on a host, and select Quarantine Host on
FortiSwitch.
l Go to FortiView > Sources, right-click on an entry in the Source column, and select Quarantine Host
on FortiSwitch.
2. Click OK to confirm that you want to quarantine the host.
Option Description
Quarantine entries are created on the FortiGate that is managing the FortiSwitch.
Use the following command to view the quarantine list of MAC addresses:
show switch-controller quarantine
When the quarantine feature is enabled on the FortiGate, it creates a quarantine VLAN (qtn.<FortiLink_port_
name>) on the virtual domain. The quarantine VLAN is applied to the allowed and untagged VLANs on all
connected FortiSwitch ports.
Use the following command to view how the quarantine VLAN is applied to the allowed and untagged VLANs on
all connected FortiSwitch ports:
show switch-controller managed-switch
When the quarantine feature is disabled, all quarantined MAC addresses are released from quarantine. Use the
following commands to disable the quarantine feature:
config switch-controller quarantine
set quarantine disable
end
View, create, and assign multiple 802.1X policy definitions (408389 and 403901)
Previously, you could create one 802.1X policy for all managed FortiSwitches in a virtual domain. Now, you can
create multiple 802.1X policies and assign a different 802.1X policy to each managed FortiSwitch port.
You can view security policies for managed FortiSwitches in two places:
Create and assign multiple 802.1X policy definitions for managed FortiSwitches
Previously, you could create one 802.1X policy for all managed FortiSwitches in a virtual domain. Now, you can
create multiple 802.1X policies and assign a different 802.1X policy to each managed FortiSwitch port.
reaches the FortiGate, the FortiGate can then determine whether to allow various levels of access to the client by
shifting the clientʼs network VLAN as appropriate.
Use enable to allow traffic only to and from the FortiGate and to block FortiSwitch port-to-port traffic on the
specified VLAN. Use disable to allow normal traffic on the specified VLAN.
config system interface
edit <VLAN name>
set switch-controller-access-vlan {enable | disable}
next
end
If you had already applied a profile with the override enabled and the password set and then decide to remove the
admin password, you need to apply a profile with the override enabled and use the unset login-passwd
command; otherwise, your previously set password will remain in the FortiSwitch.
1. For each MCLAG peer switch, log into the FortiSwitch to create a LAG:
After the FortiSwitches are configured as MCLAG peer switches, any port that supports advanced features on the
FortiSwitch can become a LAG port. When mclag is enabled and the LAG port names match, an MCLAG peer
set is automatically formed. The member ports for each FortiSwitch in the MCLAG do not need to be identical to
the member ports on the peer FortiSwitch.
set diffserv {CS0 | CS1 | AF11 | AF12 | AF13 | CS2 | AF21 | AF22 | AF23
| CS3 | AF31 | AF32 | AF33 | CS4 | AF41 | AF42 | AF43 | CS5 | EF |
CS6 | CS7}
set ip-precedence {network-control | internetwork-control | critic-ecp
| flashoverride | flash | immediate | priority | routine}
set value <DSCP raw value>
next
end
end
4. Configure the overall policy that will be applied to the switch ports.
You can also go to WiFi & Switch Control > Managed FortiSwitch and click on a port icon for the FortiSwitch
of interest. In the FortiSwitch Ports page, right-click on one or more PoE-enabled ports and select Reset PoE
from the context menu.
To preauthorize a FortiSwitch:
IGMP snooping (387515)
The GUI and CLI support the ability to configure IGMP snooping for managed switch ports.
To enable IGMP snooping from the GUI, go to WiFi & Switch Controller > FortiSwitch VLANs, edit a VLAN
and turn on IGMP Snooping under Networked Devices.
Use the following command to enable IGMP snooping on switch ports, and to override the global parameters for
a specific switch.
config switch-controller managed-switch
edit <switch>
config ports
edit port <number>
set igmp-snooping (enable | disable)
set igmps-flood-reports (enable | disable)
next
config igmp-snooping globals
set aging-time <int>
set flood-unknown-multicast (enable | disable)
end
next
end
DHCP blocking, STP, and loop guard on managed FortiSwitch ports (375860)
The managed FortiSwitch GUI now supports the ability to enable/disable DHCP blocking, STP and loop guard for
FortiSwitch user ports.
Go to to WiFi & Switch Controller > FortiSwitch Ports. For any port you can select DHCP Blocking, STP, or
Loop Guard. STP is enabled on all ports by default. Loop guard is disabled by default on all ports.
FortiGate-300 to 5xx 48
l The default value of edge-port is changed from disabled in FortiOS 5.4 to enabled in FortiOS 5.6.0.
l The default value for DHCP snooping on the FortiLink VLAN (system interface) is changed from “enabled” in
FortiOS 5.6.2 and earlier to “disabled” in FortiOS 5.6.3 and later. Note that, in the GUI, DHCP snooping is
automatically changed to “enable” when the DHCP server is enabled on the interface.
FortiView (5.6.3)
New FortiView features added to FortiOS 5.6.3.
Backend updates the query configure list; GUI updates learning report to use log display device setting.
Added support to FortiView to sort by application risk and browsing time (249666)
Added ability to sort applications by threat level and by browsing time so that admin can quickly see and prioritize
the riskier applications at the top of the list.
FortiView (5.6.1)
New FortiView features added to FortiOS 5.6.1.
Widgets can be saved directly to the Dashboard from a filtered page in FortiView, or configured in the CLI.
FortiView (5.6)
New FortiView features added to FortiOS 5.6.
l Topology
l Traffic from LAN/DMZ
l Traffic from WAN
l All Segments
l WiFi Client Monitor is now in FortiView, but is hidden when there is no managed FortiAP or WiFi Radio.
l Country view has been merged into Destinations view.
l Failed Authentication and Admin Login views have been merged into System Events view.
FortiGate VM enhancements for AWS, Azure, Google, SDN connectors and more (5.6.3)
The realm of virtual computing has become mainstream and not only does this mean that security appliances can
also be virtual, there is also a requirement for security appliances in a virtual environment. These environments
can be the publicly available platforms such as Amazon Web Services, Azure and Google Cloud Platform or they
can be Software Defined Networks (SDN) such as those made by Cisco, HP, Nuage and OpenStack. For that
reason, not only is the number of Virtual FortiOS variations growing along with what they can do, a number of the
new features being introduced deal with integrating FortiOS into these environments.
In some cases the new feature isn't even part of the FortiOS code but a separate piece of software that not only
allows the FortiOS-VM to be part of the virtual environment but allows the management software of the
environment to manage the FortiOS-VM. Previously, these connectors to SDNs have been treated separately as
specialized products with their own documentation. Because they are so integral to FortiOS in a world where
virtual computing is becoming normal, this documentation is going to become more integrated into the normal
FortiOS documentation.
Recipes are now being published for the cloud-based and SDN environments on the Fortinet Cookbook website.
l http://cookbook.fortinet.com/amazon-web-services-aws/
l http://cookbook.fortinet.com/cisco-aci/
l http://cookbook.fortinet.com/microsoft-azure/
l http://cookbook.fortinet.com/nuage-vsp/
l The kernel UDF filesystem is needed to mount the cdrom disc on first boot.
l libmxml is upgraded from v2.9 to v2.10
CLI Changes:
l emergency
l alert
l critical
l error
l warning
l notification
l information
l debug
The filter option is set by included the logid list and/or its level as filters. Possibilities include:
l logid(...)
l traffic-level(...)
l event-level(...)
l virus-level(...)
l webfilter-level(...)
l ips-level(...)
l emailfilter-level(...)
l anomaly-level(...)
l voip-level(...)
l dlp-level(...)
l app-ctrl-level(...)
l waf-level(...)
l gtp-level(...)
l dns-level(...)
Example 1
config log azure-security-center
config setting
set filter "logid(40704,32042)"
Example 2
config log azure-security-center
config setting
set filter "event-level(information)"
The available levels are as the following: emergency, alert, critical, error, warning, notice, information,
debugdebug
Use the following commands to configure interrupt affinity for two 10G interfaces (port2 and port3).
Interrupts from first interface are assigned to core #0 and those from the second interface are assigned to core
#1.
config system affinity-interrupt
edit 1
set interrupt "port2-TxRx-0"
set affinity-cpumask "0x1"
next
edit 2
set interrupt "port2-TxRx-1"
set affinity-cpumask "0x1"
next
edit 3
set interrupt "port3-TxRx-0"
set affinity-cpumask "0x2"
next
edit 4
set interrupt "port3-TxRx-1"
set affinity-cpumask "0x2"
end
Use the following commands to configure packet redistribution to redistribute packets from core #0 and #1 to all
other cores.
l FG-VM01
l FG-VM02
l FG-VM04
l FG-VM08
Since GCP use netmask 32, static route must be configured on GCP VPC, instead of FGT.
Licenses will be interchangeable between platforms. A FG-VM04 license that functions in a VMware or Citrix
environment can be also used in the GCP environment as well.
While an .out file will be necessary for upgrading, full downloadable images will not be needed for initial
installation of the solution. GCP consists of pre-existing images that can be checked out of their library and
deployed instantly. A difference between this environment and enterprise virtualization platforms is that machine
size can never change. An n1-standard-4 has exactly 15 GB of RAM and 4 vCPUs. This can never be changed or
edited by the end user or administrator.
The currently available GCP instances we are looking to support are as follows (these will/could change as vNIC
values reveal themselves):
FG-VMUL-GC any of the above and any new that could be created.
Add:Unicast HA config
config system ha
unicast-hb [enable|disable]
unicast-hb-peerip <Unicast Heartbeat Peer IP>
end
When using the sdn nsx setting, the user should also use the nsx rest-api
password.
l Add back the Enable Service button from SVM Settings page (SVM only)
l Add back VMX Statistics list from SVM Settings page (SVM only)
l Add back api monitor for nsx service (SVM only)
l Remove SVM Settings page
Updates to Address List page
l add tool-tip to name column; show invalid icon for unresolved dynamic address (the same way as FQDN address)
FortiGate VM (5.6.0)
New Virtual FortiOS features added to FortiOS 5.6.0.
There are no changes to the GUI, but there are some changes to the CLI.
A setting has been edited to control the debug level of the XenServer tools daemon
diag debug application xstoolsd <integer>
An additional update has been added to set the update frequency for XenServer tools
config system global
set xstools-update-frequency Xenserver <integer>
end
CLI Changes:
Syntax:
execute nsx group list <name of the filter>
Syntax:
execute nsx group import <vdom> <name of the filter>
Syntax:
execute nsx group delete <vdom> <name of the filter>
nsx.setting.update-period
This is used to set the update period for the NSX security group
Syntax:
config.nsx.setting.update-period <0 - 3600 in seconds>
0 means disabled
Default value: 0
FG-VM01 FG-VM01v
FG-VM02 FG-VM02v
FG-VM04 FG-VM04v
Bandwidth control between the ISF and NP6 XAUI ports (437911)
In some cases, the Internal Switch Fabric (ISF) buffer size may be larger than the buffer size of an NP6 XAUI port
that receives traffic from the ISF. If this happens, burst traffic from the ISF may exceed the capacity of an XAUI
port and sessions may be dropped.
You can use the following command to configure bandwidth control between the ISF and XAUI ports. Enabling
bandwidth control can smooth burst traffic and keep the XAUI ports from getting overwhelmed and dropping
sessions.
SNMP/CLI monitoring capabilities of NP6 session table and session drift (441532)
In some cases sessions processed by NP6 processors may fail to be deleted leading to a large number of idle
sessions. This is called session drift. New monitoring capabilities have been added to allow you to use SNMP to
be alerted when the number of idle sessions becomes high. The SNMP fields allow you to see which NP6
processor has the abnormal number of idle sessions and you can use a diagnose command to delete them.
You can use the following diagnose command to determine of drift is occurring:
diagnose npu np6 sse-drift-summary
NPU drv-drift
----- ---------
np6_0 0
np6_1 0
----- ---------
Sum 0
----- ---------
The command output shows a drift summary for all the NP6 processors in the system, and shows the total drift.
Normally the sum is 0. The previous command output, from a FortiGate-1500D, shows that the 1500D's two NP6
processors are not experiencing any drift.
If the sum is not zero, then extra idle sessions may be accumulating. You can use the following command to
delete those sessions:
diagnose npu np6 sse-purge-drift <np6_id> [<time>]
Where <np6_id> is the number (starting with NP6_0 with a np6_id of 0) of the NP6 processor for which to delete
idle sessions. <time> is the age in seconds of the idle sessions to be deleted. All idle sessions this age and older
are deleted. The default time is 300 seconds.
The diagnose npu np6 sse-stats <np6_id> command output also includes a drv-drift field that
shows the total drift for one NP6 processor.
For SNMP monitoring, the following MIB fields have been added. These fields allow you to use SNMP to monitor
more session table information for NP6 processors including drift for each NP6 processor.
FORTINET-FORTIGATE-MIB::fgNPUNumber.0 = INTEGER: 2
FORTINET-FORTIGATE-MIB::fgNPUName.0 = STRING: NP6
FORTINET-FORTIGATE-MIB::fgNPUDrvDriftSum.0 = INTEGER: 0
FORTINET-FORTIGATE-MIB::fgNPUIndex.0 = INTEGER: 0
FORTINET-FORTIGATE-MIB::fgNPUIndex.1 = INTEGER: 1
FORTINET-FORTIGATE-MIB::fgNPUSessionTblSize.0 = Gauge32: 33554432
FORTINET-FORTIGATE-MIB::fgNPUSessionTblSize.1 = Gauge32: 33554432
FORTINET-FORTIGATE-MIB::fgNPUSessionCount.0 = Gauge32: 0
FORTINET-FORTIGATE-MIB::fgNPUSessionCount.1 = Gauge32: 0
FORTINET-FORTIGATE-MIB::fgNPUDrvDrift.0 = INTEGER: 0
FORTINET-FORTIGATE-MIB::fgNPUDrvDrift.1 = INTEGER: 0
Optionally disable NP6 offloading of traffic passing between 10Gbps and 1Gbps interfaces
(392436)
Due to NP6 internal packet buffer limitations, some offloaded packets received at a 10Gbps interface and
destined for a 1Gbps interface can be dropped, reducing performance for TCP and IP tunnel traffic. If you
experience this performance reduction, you can use the following command to disable offloading sessions
passing from 10Gbps interfaces to 1Gbps interfaces:
config system npu
set host-shortcut-mode host-shortcut
end
Select host-shortcut to stop offloading TCP and IP tunnel packets passing from 10Gbps interfaces to 1Gbps
interfaces. TCP and IP tunnel packets passing from 1Gbps interfaces to 10Gbps interfaces are still offloaded as
normal.
If host-shortcut is set to the default bi-directional setting, packets in both directions are offloaded.
SPU and nTurbo data is now visible in a number of places on the GUI. For example, the Active Sessions column
pop-up in the firewall policy list and the Sessions dashboard widget:
As well, note that when configuring NP6 anomaly protection, the separate options config fp-anomaly-v4
and config fp-anomaly-v6 have been combined under config fp-anomaly.
Stripping clear text padding and IPsec session ESP padding (416950)
In some situations, when clear text or ESP packets in IPsec sessions may have large amounts of layer 2 padding,
the NP6 IPsec engine may not be able to process them and the session may be blocked.
If you notice dropped IPsec sessions, you could try using the following CLI options to cause the NP6 processor to
strip clear text padding and ESP padding before sending the packets to the IPsec engine. With padding stripped,
the session can be processed normally by the IPsec engine.
You can also click on the HA Status dashboard widget to configure HA settings or to get a listing of the most
recent HA events recorded by the cluster.
FGSP with static (non-dialup) IPsec VPN tunnels and controlling IKE routing advertisement
(402295)
Until FortiOS 5.6.1, the FortiGate Session Life Support Protocol (FGSP) only supported IPsec tunnel
synchronization for dialup (or dynamic) IPsec VPN tunnels. FortiOS 5.6.1 now also supports IPsec tunnel
synchronization for static IPsec VPN tunnels. No special FGSP or IPsec VPN configuration is required. You can
configure static IPsec VPN tunnels normally and create a normal FGSP configuration.
An additional feature has been added to support some FGSP configurations that include IPsec VPNs. A new CLI
option allows you to control whether IKE routes are synchronized to all units in the FGSP cluster.
config system cluster-sync
edit 0
set slave-add-ike-routes {enable | disable}
end
Enable to synchronize IKE routes, disable if you do not need to synchronize IKE routes. Enabling routing
synchronization is optional but doing so increases synchronization overhead and bandwidth usage. If you have
problems with IPsec VPN tunnel synchronization you may want to enable synchronizing routes otherwise you
could leave it disabled to improve performance and save bandwidth.
Use the following command to add a proxy ARP address range and a single IP address to a VR added to a
FortiGate`s port5 interface. The address range and single IP address should match the address range or single IP
for VIPs or IP Pools added to the port5 interface:
config system interface
edit port5
config vrrp
edit 1
config proxy-arp
edit 1
set ip 192.168.62.100-192.168.62.200
next
edit 2
set ip 192.168.62.225
end
Performance improvement when shutting down or rebooting the primary unit (380279)
In previous versions of FortiOS, if you entered the execute reboot or execute shutdown command on
the primary unit, a split brain configuration could develop for a few seconds while the primary unit was shutting
down. This would happen because the heartbeat packets would stop being sent by the primary unit, while it was
still able to forward traffic. When the heartbeat packets stop the backup unit becomes the primary unit. The result
was a split brain configuration with two primary units both capable of forwarding traffic.
This wouldn't happen all the time, but when it did network traffic would be delayed until the primary unit shut
down completely. To resolve this issue, in FortiOS 5.6 when you run the execute reboot or execute
shutdown command on the primary unit, the primary unit first becomes the backup unit before shutting down
allowing the backup unit to become the new primary unit and avoiding the split brain scenario. This behavior only
happens when you manually run the execute reboot or execute shutdown command from the primary
unit.
Use the vrdst-priority option to set the lower priority that the master sends to the backup routers. The
following CLI syntax resets the master's priority to 10 if it can no longer connect to its next hop router.
config system interface
edit port10
config vrrp
set vrip 10.31.101.200
set priority 255
set vrdst 10.10.10.1
set vrdst-priority 10
end
Display cluster up time and history (get system ha status command changes)(394745)
The get system HA status command now displays cluster uptime and history:
get system status
Version: FortiGate-5001D v5.6.0,build1413,170121 (interim)
...
Current HA mode: a-p, master
Cluster uptime: 3 days, 4 hours, 3 minutes, 46 seconds
...
The management-ip can be on the same subnet as the interface you are adding it to but cannot be on the
same subnet as other cluster unit interfaces.
This new feature allows you to shut some interfaces down on the failed FortiGate when it is starting up so that it
will not accept packets until session synchronization is complete. Then the interfaces are brought up and traffic
can flow. While the interfaces are down, the FortiGate that had not failed keeps processing traffic.
Use the following command to select the interfaces to shutdown while waiting for session synchronization to
complete:
config system cluster-sync
edit 1
set down-intfs-before-sess-sync port1 port2
end
Heartbeat monitoring
If the FortiGate that was running fails before session synchronization is complete, the FortiGate that is restarting
would not be able to complete session synchronization and would not turn on its shutdown interfaces. To prevent
this from happening FGSP now includes heartbeat monitoring. Using heartbeat monitoring the FortiGate that is
waiting for session synchronization to finish can detect that the other FortiGate is down and turn on its interfaces
even if session synchronization is not complete. You can use the following command to change the heartbeat
interval (hb-interval) and lost heartbeat threshold (hp-lost-threshold) to change heartbeat monitoring
timing.
config system cluster-sync
edit 1
set hb-interval 2
set hb-lost-threshold 3
end
Example CLI:
config system interface
edit port5
set ip 172.16.79.46 255.255.255.0
end
config system ha
set group-name FGT-HA
set mode a-p
set ha-mgmt-status enable
config ha-mgmt-interfaces
edit 1
set interface port5
set gateway 172.16.79.1
end
set ha-direct enable
end
Improved support for dynamic routing over dynamic IPsec interfaces (435152) (446498)
(447569)
Solutions have been introduced to resolve the following issues:
l IPv6 RIP does not successfully exchange routes over ADVPN if the hub has 'set net-device disable'.
l BGP over an IPsec tunnel established by an IKE mode-cfg client connected to IKE mode-cfg server with 'set net-
device disable' cannot establish.
l Multicast traffic does not flow over a 'set type dynamic' IPsec interface with 'set net-device disable'.
For 'set type dynamic' + 'set net-device disable' + 'set mode-cfg enable' + 'set add-route disable' then do _not_
allocate a /30 (/126 for IPv6) as is done when 'set net-device enable', instead allocate a single IP address to the
peer.
When the 'set type dynamic' tunnel negotiates, then add an IPsec peer route with the peer's allocated IP address
pointing at the newly negotiated tunnel. Note this is an IPsec peer route not a regular route. A regular route is not
added (unlike the case of 'set net-device enable').
'Config router static' / 'set device xxx' can now refer to a 'set type dynamic' IPsec interface. This allows the admin
to define a static route covering the address range of the pool from which peer IP addresses will be allocated.
BMRK IPsec UDP performance for AES256GCM drops after AES-NI checked in (452164)
This new feature fixes the aesni-cbc errors and precomputed the per-SA constant elements for aesni-gcm.
1. aesni-cbc
When ECO 106922 was checked in, there was a known issue that the aesni-cbc driver wasn't working. The
solution at that time was aesni plus generic cbc.
With this ECO, we fixed the errors in Intel's aesni-cbc driver so that we can fully leverage the aesni-cbc
benefits. The aesni-cbc is faster than aesni plus generic cbc because:
2. AES fall-back function changed to Intel's x86_64 assembly from C generic function
When fpu is not available, aesni can't be used and must fall back to a generic function. The assembly aes
function should be slightly faster than the C generic one.
This would also slight boost aes throughput for those that don't have aesni but have a x86_64 cpus.
3. aesni-gcm pre-computions
There are some elements in the aesni-gcm algo that maintain constant per-SA. This ECO moves these
calculations to the prepare() function so that these calculations are only done once per-SA instead of per-
packet.
QA's tests show that this helps to stabilize the 1500D aesni-gcm throughput and make it maintain above
1Gbps (packet size 1360).
A new CLI option "net-device [enable|disable]" is added in the phase1-interface command sets. The
default is "disable" so that the new feature kicks in for all the new configurations. An upgrade feature will add a
"set net-device enable" for all the existing configurations so that they will keep the old behavior. Please see the
CLI Syntax section below for more details.
Under the new single-interface scheme, instead of relying on routing to guide traffic to the specific instance as
currently happens, all traffic will flow to the specific device and IPsec will need to take care of locating the correct
instance for outbound traffic. For this purpose, another new CLI option "tunnel-search" is created. The option is
only available when the above "net-device" option is "disable".
There are two options for "tunnel-search", corresponding to the two ways to select the tunnel for outbound traffic.
One is "selectors", meaning selecting a peer using the IPSec selectors (proxy-ids). The other is "nexthop" where
all the peers use the same default selectors (0/0) while using some routing protocols such as BGP, OSPF, RIPng,
etc to resolve the routing. The default for "tunnel-search" is "selectors".
Syntax
config vpn ipsec phase1-interface
edit xxx
set net-device [enable|disable] Enable to create a kernel device for every dialup instance
next
end
config vpn ipsec phase1-interface
edit xxx
set net-device disable
set tunnel-search [selectors|nexthop] Search for tunnel in selectors or using nexthops
next
end
Support for Brainpool curves specified in RFC 6954 for IKE (412795)
Added support for Brainpool curves specified in RFC 6954 (originally RFC 5639) for IKE. Four new values are
added for VPN phase1 and phase2 DH groups.
Syntax
config vpn ipsec phase1/phase1-interface
edit <name>
set dhgrp {1 | 2 | 5 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30}
next
end
config vpn ipsec phase2/phase2-interface
edit <name>
set dhgrp {1 | 2 | 5 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30}
next
end
It should be noted, unlike Xauth or EAP, this feature does not perform individual user authentication, but rather
treats all users on the gateway as a single group, and authenticates that group with RADIUS using a fixed
password. This feature also works with RADIUS accounting, including the phase1 acct-verify option.
Syntax
config vpn ipsec phase1-interface
edit <name>
set mode-cfg enable
set type dynamic
set ike-version 2
IPsec mode-cfg can assign IPs from firewall address and sharing IP pools (393331)
This feature adds the ability for users to configure assign-IPs from firewall addresses/groups.
Previously, different policies accessing the same network needed to ensure that non-overlapping IP-ranges were
assigned to policies to avoid the same IP address being assigned to multiple clients. With this feature, the
address name is used to identify an IP pool and different policies can refer to the same IP pool to check for
available IPs, thus simplifying the task of avoiding IP conflicts.
Syntax
config vpn ipsec phase1-interface
edit <name>
set mode-cfg enable
set type dynamic
set assign-ip-from {range | dhcp | name}
set ipv4-name <name>
set ipv6-name <name>
next
end
A new CLI option net-device is added in the phase1-interface command sets. The default is disable
so that the new feature kicks in for all the new configurations. An upgrade feature will add a set net-device
enable for all the existing configurations so that they will keep the old behavior.
Under the new single-interface scheme, instead of relying on routing to guide traffic to the specific instance, all
traffic will flow to the specific device and IPsec will need to take care of locating the correct instance for outbound
traffic. For this purpose, another new CLI option tunnel-search is created. The option is only available when
the above net-device option is set to disable.
There are two options for tunnel-search, corresponding to the two ways to select the tunnel for outbound
traffic. One is selectors, meaning selecting a peer using the IPsec selectors (proxy-ids). The other is
nexthop where all the peers use the same default selectors (0/0) while using some routing protocols such as
BGP, OSPF, RIPng, etc. to resolve the routing. The default for tunnel-search is selectors.
Syntax
config vpn ipsec phase1-interface
edit <name>
set net-device {enable | disable}
set tunnel-search {selectors | nexthop}
next
end
To prevent psksecret length check running on the configuration end, the psksecret option will be hidden. Prior to
Mantis 397712, the length check passed because it was incorrectly checking the legnth of encrypted password
which is always 204 length long.
Syntax
config vpn l2tp
set eip 50.0.0.100
set sip 50.0.0.1
set status enable
set enforce-ipsec-interface {disable | enable} (default = disable)
set usrgrp <group_name>
end
l (368069) The IPsec VPN wizard now allows users to select members of virtual-wan-link (VWL) as IPsec phase1-
interface. Before saving, if the phase1 interface is a VWL member, then the Wizard automatically sets the virtual-
wan-link as the destination interface in the L2TP policy.
l (246552) List VPN tunnels for VWL members if VWL is set as the destination interface in policy-based IPsec VPN.
Added GUI support for local-gw when configuring custom IPsec tunnels (423786)
Previously, the local-gw option was not available on the GUI when configuring a custom IPsec tunnel. This
feature adds the local-gw setting to the IPsec VPN Edit dialog. The user is able to choose the primary or
secondary IP address from the currently selected interface, or specify an ip address manually. Both local-gw
and local-gw6 are supported.
Moved the dn-format CLI option from phase1 config to vdom settings (435542)
Previous fix for dn-format didn't take into account that, at the time isakmp_set_peer_identifier is used, we
don't have a connection and haven't matched our gateway yet, so we can't use that to determine the dn-format
configuration setting.
The solution was to move the dn-format CLI option from phase1 config to vdom settings. It is renamed to
ike-dn-format.
FGT IKE incorrect NAT detection causes ADVPN hub behind VIP to not generate shortcuts
(416786)
When ADVPN NAT support was added, only spokes behind NAT was considered. No thought was given to a hub
behind a VIP or the problems that occurred due to the way that FortiOS clients behind NAT enable NAT-T even
when it is not required.
l Moved shortcut determination out of the kernel and up to IKE. The shortcut message now contains the ID of both
tunnels so that IKE can check the NAT condition of both.
l Added IKE debug to cover sending the initial shortcut query. The lack of this previously meant it could be awkard to
determine if the offer had been converted into a query correctly.
l Added "nat:" output in diag vpn ike gateway list output to indicate whether this device or the peer is
behind NAT.
l Tweaked the diag vpn tunnel list output so that the auto-discovery information now includes symbolic
as well as numeric values, which makes it easier to see what type of auto-discovery was enabled.
CLI syntax
config vpn certificate setting
set certname-rsa1024 <name>
set certname-rsa2048 <name>
set certname-dsa1024 <name>
With this change, the psksecret and psksecret-remote entries under the IPsec VPN CLI command
config vpn ipsec-phase1-interface have been amended to differentiate user input as either ASCII
string or hex encoded values.
A new command, authmethod-remote, has been added to config vpn ipsec phase1-interface.
For more detailed information on authentication of the IKE SA, see RFC 5996 - Internet Key Exchange Protocol
Version 2 (IKEv2).
Instead of just containing a raw signature value calculated as defined in the original IKE RFCs, the Auth Data now
includes an ASN.1 formatted object that provides details on how the signature was calculated, such as the
signature type, hash algorithm, and signature padding method.
For more detailed information on IKEv2 Digital Signature authentication, see RFC 7427 - Signature
Authentication in the Internet Key Exchange Version 2 (IKEv2).
To allow a finer configuration of the tunnel, the rekey option is removed from config system global and
added to config vpn ipsec phase1-interface.
CLI syntax
config vpn ipsec phase1-interface
edit <example>
With this change, the VPN wizard will create less objects internally, and reduce complexity.
In addition, a blackhole route route will be created by default with a higher distance-weight set than the default
route. This is to prevent traffic from flowing out of another route if the VPN interface goes down. In these
instances, the traffic will instead be silently discarded.
CLI syntax
config vpn ipsec phase1
edit <name>
set enforce-unique-id {keep-new | keep-old | disable} Default is disable.
next
end
Use keep-new to replace the old connection if an ID collision is detected on the gateway.
Use keep-old to reject the new connection if an ID collision is detected.
CLI syntax
config vpn ipsec phase1-interface
edit ike
set ike-version 2
set childless-ike enable
next
end
Allow peertype dialup for IKEv2 pre-shared key dynamic phase1 (378714)
Restored peertype dialup that was removed in a previous build (when IKEv2 PSK gateway re-validation was
not yet supported).
If peertype is dialup, IKEv2 AUTH verify uses user password in the user group "usrgrp" of phase1. The
"psksecret" in phase1 is ignored.
CLI syntax
config vpn ipsec phase1-interface
edit "name"
set type dynamic
set interface "wan1"
set ike-version 2
set peertype dialup
set usrgrp "local-group"
next
end
This patch changes the default peertype to peer now; peertype any is considered non-default and will be printed
out on any config listing. Upgrade code has been written to ensure that any older build that was implicitly using
set peertype any has this setting preserved.
Previously, when sending and IKE packets with IKEv1, the whole packet is sent once, and it is only fragmented if
there is a retransmission. With IKEv2, because RFC 7383 requires each fragment to be individually encrypted
and authenticated, we would have to keep a copy of the unencrypted payloads around for each outgoing packet,
in case the original single packet was never answered and we wanted to retry with fragments. So with this
implementation, if the IKE payloads are greater than a configured threshold, the IKE packets are preemptively
fragmented and encrypted.
CLI syntax
config vpn ipsec phase1-interface
edit ike
set ike-version 2
set fragmentation [enable|disable]
set fragmentation-mtu [500-16000]
next
end
IPsec monitoring pages now based on phase 1 proposals not phase 2 (304246)
The IPsec monitor, found under Monitor > IPsec Monitor, was in some instances showing random uptimes
even if the tunnel was in fact down.
Tunnels are considered as "up" if at least one phase 2 selector is active. To avoid confusion, when a tunnel is
down, IPsec Monitor will keep the Phase 2 Selectors column, but hide it by default and be replaced with
Phase 1 status column.
IPv6 (5.6.3)
New IPv6 features added to FortiOS 5.6.3.
IPv6 (5.6)
New IPv6 features added to FortiOS 5.6.
FortiGate can reply to an anycast probe from the interface’s unicast address (308872)
A new setting has been added within the CLI that can enable the FortiGate to reply to an anycast probe from the
FortiGate’s unicast IP address.
config system global
set ipv6-allow-anycast-probe [enable|disable]
end
Enable: Enable probing of IPv6 address space through Anycast, by responding from the unicast IP address
Disable: Disable probing of IPv6 address space through Anycast
ndmode
nd-cert
n-security-level
nd-timestamp-delta -
nd-timestamp-fuzz
l Range: 1 - 60 sec
l default = 1
Kerenl
l Redirects ICMPv6 packets to user space if they require SEND options verification or build.
Radvd
l Verifies NS/RS SEND options including CGA, RSA, Timestamp, NONCE, etc. Daemon also creates neighbor cache
for future timestamp checking, any entry gets flushed in 4 hours.
l Helps kernel build NA/RA SEND options including CGA, RSA, Timestamp, NONCE, etc. CGA parameters are kept
in cache for each interface. CGA modifier is kept in CMDB.
l Shows statistics
l Toggles message dump
Add multicast-PMTU to allow FGT to send ICMPv6 Too Big Message (373396)
New multicast-PMTU feature added to better comply with RFC 4443.
Normally, a “Packet Too Big” icmp6 message is sent by a routing device in response to a packet that it cannot
forward because the packet is larger than the MTU of the outgoing link. For security reasons, these message may
be disabled because attackers can use the information about a victim's ip address as the source address to do IP
address spoofing.
In FortiOS’s implementation of this function, a setting in the CLI, has been added to make this behavior optional
on the FortiGate.
New connect and disconnect event logs for FSSO server status change (446263)
Connect and disconnect event logs for FSSO server status changes have been added according to the following:
l When FSSO server status changes from disconnected to connected, record one connected event.
l When FSSO server status changes from connected to disconnected, record one disconnected event and send one
FSSO server disconnected alert email when set.
These logs must be enabled in the CLI.
Syntax
config alertemail setting
set FSSO-disconnect-logs
If enabled, every time a user runs the Security Fabric audit test on the FortiGate, the audit result will be sent to
FortiGuard. When disabled, no audit data is sent to FortiGuard.
Security Audit categories have been reorganized and renamed to reflect the categories as they are in the security
audit matrix.
Syntax
config system global
set fortiguard-audit-result-submission [enable | disable]
end
Syntax
config log setting
set log-policy-name [enable | disable]
end
config log custom-field
edit "aaa"
set name "fielda"
set value "111"
next
end
config log setting
set custom-log-fields "aaa"
end
All string values in log messages are enclosed in double quotes (399871)
In previous versions, some string log fields have double quotes and some do not. FortiOS 5.6 adds double-quotes
to all string fields in all log messages.
Client and server certificates included in Application control log messages (406203)
When SSL/TLS traffic triggers an application control signature, the application control log messages now include
information about the signatures used by the session. This includes the client certificate issuer, the name in the
server certificate, and the server certificate issuer.
The detailed DNS logs can be used for low-impact security investigation. Most network activity involves DNS
activity of some kinds. Analyzing DNS logs can provide a lot of details about the activity on your network without
using flow or proxy-based resource intensive techniques.
l The maximum number of SSIDs (CLI command config wireless-controller vap) for FortiGate models
600C, 600D, 800C, 800D, and 900D increased from 356 to 512 (414202).
l The maximum number DLP sensors (CLI command config dlp sensor / config filter) for models
1000C, 1000D, 1200D, 1500D, 1500DT, 3240C, and 3600C decreased from 10,000 to 3,000. (371270)
l The maximum number DLP sensors (CLI command config dlp sensor / config filter) for models
3000D, 3100D, 3200D, 3700D, 3700DX, 3800D, 3810D, 3815D, 5001C, and 5001D decreased from 50,000 to
4,000. (371270)
Maximum values changes in FortiOS 5.6:
l The maximum number of wireless controller QoS Profiles is per VDOM (388070).
Modem (5.6.1)
New modem features added to FortiOS 5.6.1.
l The ability to edit wireless profiles stored on EM7x modems from FortiOS.
l GPS support.
l MIB for internal LTE modems.
l Syslog messages for internal LTE modems.
l More status information displayed by the diagnose sys lte-modem command
l New modem-related MIB entities.
The mode, interface, and holddown-timer options of the config system lte-modem command
have been removed. These options are no longer needed. Instead, use SD-WAN for redundant interfaces.
manual-handover Enable/Disable manual handover from 3G to LTE network. If enabled, the FortiGate
switches the modem firmware to LTE mode if the modem itself fails to do so after 5 loops.
force-wireless-profile Force the modem to use the configured wireless profile index (1 - 16), 0 if don't
force. If your FortiGate includes an LTE modem or if an LTE modem is connected to it you can use the execute
lte-modem command to list the LTE modem profiles. Use this command to select one of these wireless
profiles.
Wireless profiles contain detailed LTE modem data session settings. In each modem, a maximum of 16 wireless
profiles can be stored, any data connections are initiated using settings from one of the stored wireless profiles.
To make a data connection, at least one profile must be defined. Here is a sample wireless profile table stored in
one of the internal modems:
FG30EN3U15000025 # execute lte-modem wireless-profile list
ID Type Name APN PDP_Type Authen Username
*1 0 profile1 vzwims 3 0
2 0 profile2 vzwadmin 3 0
3 0 profile3 VZWINTERNET 3 0
4 0 profile4 vzwapp 3 0
5 0 profile5 vzw800 3 0
9 0 profile9 vzwims 2 0
10 0 profile10 vzwadmin 0 0
11 0 profile11 VZWINTERNET 0 0
12 0 profile12 vzwapp 3 0
13 0 profile13 0 0
Profile Type:
0 ==> QMI_WDS_PROFILE_TYPE_3GPP
1 ==> QMI_WDS_PROFILE_TYPE_3GPP2
* ==> Default 3GPP Profile, # ==> Default 3GPP2 Profile
Profile PDP Type:
0 ==> QMI_WDS_PDP_TYPE_IPV4
1 ==> QMI_WDS_PDP_TYPE_PPP
2 ==> QMI_WDS_PDP_TYPE_IPV6
3 ==> QMI_WDS_PDP_TYPE_IPV4_OR_IPV6
Authentication:
0 ==> QMI_WDS_AUTHENTICATION_NONE
1 ==> QMI_WDS_AUTHENTICATION_PAP
2 ==> QMI_WDS_AUTHENTICATION_CHAP
3 ==> QMI_WDS_AUTHENTICATION_PAP|QMI_WDS_AUTHENTICATION_CHAP
gps-port Modem port index (0 - 20). Specify the index for GPS port, by default it is set to 255 which means to
use the system default.
The following options are available for the execute lte-modem command:
cold-reboot Cold reboot LTE Modem, which means power off the internal modem and power it on again after
1 second.
get-modem-firmware get-modem-firmware
get-pri-firmware get-pri-firmware
wireless-profile wireless-profile
The following options are available for the execute lte-modem wireless-profile command:
create Create a wireless profile. You use the create command to create an LTE modem profile by providing
a name and supplying settings for the profile. The command syntax is:
execute lte-modem wireless-profile create <name> <type> <pdp-type> <apn-name> <auth-type>
[<user> <password>]
<name> Wireless profile name of 1 to 16 characters.
l 0 for IPv4
l 1 for PPP
l 2 for IPv6
l 3 for IPv4v6
<apn-name> Wireless profile APN name, 0 to 32 characters.
l 0 for no authentication.
l 1 for PAP
l 2 for CHAP
l 3 for PAP and CHAP
[<user> <password>] Wireless profile user name and password (1 to 32 characters each). Not required if
<auth-type> is 0.
For example, use the following command to create an LTE modem 3GPP IPv4 profile named myprofile6. This
profile uses the APN profile named p6apn that uses PAP and CHAP authentication.
execute lte-modem wireless-profile create myprofile 0 0 myapn 3 myname mypasswd
delete <profile-number> Delete a wireless profile from the Modem. Speficy profile ID of the profile to
delete.
list List all the wireless profiles stored in the Modem. If the modem is busy the list may not display. If this
happens just repeat the command. It may take a few attempts.
modify Modify a wireless profile using the same settings as the create command except the first option is the
profile ID . You can find the profile ID for each profile by listing the profiles using the execute lte-modem
wireless-profile list command. For example, to modify the profile created above to change it to an
IPv4v6 profile, change the APN proflie to yourapn, and set the authentication type to PAP enter the following
command (assuming the profile ID is 6):
execute lte-modem wireless-profile modify 6 myprofile 0 3 yourapn 1 myname mypasswd
Networking (5.6.3)
New networking features added to FortiOS 5.6.3.
l The IP address of the looback interface would be taken as the source IP for its outgoing VXLAN packets, so that the
peer knows where to reply.
l Among parameters passing to kernel, the ifindex of the loopback interface is not actually passed down to kernel, so
that the kernel can freely choose the physical outgoing interface.
VXLAN traffic can be routed across multiple physical links, providing resistance to single points of failure.
Syntax
config system interface
edit {name}
set dhcp-renew-time <seconds>
next
end
Set the DHCP renew time range between 300-604800 (or five minutes to seven days). You can use the renew
time provided by the server by setting this entry to 0.
Show/add IPv6 address for CLI "get" under interface and CLI "fnsysctl/sysctl ifconfig
interface_id" (442988, 230480)
Client IPv6 DHCP addresses were only available to view in the CLI by using diagnose ipv6 address
list, but are also now available by entering get in the interface (under config system interface).
Similarly, static IPv6 addresses were available to view under diagnose ipv6 address list and by
entering get under the interface, but are also now available by entering fnsysctl/sysctl ifconfig
interface_id.
Syntax
config system interface
edit {name}
set dhcp-relay-agent-option {enable | disable}
next
end
Networking (5.6.1)
New networking features added to FortiOS 5.6.1.
IPv6 Router Advertisement options for DNS enhanced with recursive DNS server option
(399406)
This feature is based on RFC 6106 and it adds the ability to obtain DNS search list options from upstream
DHCPv6 servers and the ability to send them out through either Router Advertisement or FortiGate's DHCP
server.
The new options include rdnss and dnssl in the following syntax:
config system interface
edit port1
config ipv6
config ip6-prefix-list
edit 2001:db8::/64
set autonomous-flag enable
set onlink-flag enable
set rdnss 2001:1470:8000::66 2001:1470:8000::72
set dnssl fortinet.com fortinet.ca
end
When the network path is interrupted, the FortiGate normally declares that the interface is down. All services
using the interface are notified and act accordingly.
This new feature allows the FortiGate interface to temporarily delay detecting that the interface is down. If the
connection is restored during the delay period, the FortiGate ignores the interface down condition and services
using the interface resume without apparent interruption.
Use the following command to enable and configure the down time for a FortiGate interface:
config system interface
edit port1
set disconnect-threshold <delay>
end
<delay> is the time to wait before sending a notification that this interface is down or disconnected (0 - 1000
ms, default = 0).
Using the following command you can control whether FortiOS keeps (preserves) the routing for the sessions that
are using the route or causes the changed routing table to be applied to active sessions, possiby causing their
destinations to change.
config system interface
edit port2
set preserve-session-route {enable | disable}
end
If enabled (the default), all sessions passing through port2 are allowed to finish without being affected by the
routing changes. If disabled, when a route changes the new routing table is applied to the active sessions through
port2 which may cause their destinations to change.
Networking (5.6)
New networking features added to FortiOS 5.6.
The command output lists all of SFP/SFP+ interfaces and if they include a transceiver the output displays
information about it. The command output also includes details about transceiver operation that can be used to
diagnose transmission problems.
get system interface transceiver
...
Interface port14 - Transceiver is not detected.
Interface port15 - SFP/SFP+
Vendor Name : FIBERXON INC.
Part No. : FTM-8012C-SLG
Serial No. : 101680071708917
Interface port16 - SFP/SFP+
Vendor Name : FINISAR CORP.
Part No. : FCLF-8521-3
Serial No. : PS62ENQ
RPF checks can be removed from the state evaluation process (311005)
You can remove stateful firewall RFP state checks without fully enabling asymmetric routing. State checks can be
disabled on specific interfaces. The following command shows how to disable state checks for traffic received by
the wan1 interface.
Disabling state checks makes a FortiGate unit less secure and should only be done
with caution.
If linkdown-failover is enabled for a BGP neighbor, the neighbor will be down when the outgoing interface
is down.
If stale-route is enabled for a BGP neighbor, the route learned from the neighbor will be kept for the
graceful-stalepath-time after the neighbor is down due to hold timer expiration or TCP connection
failure.
config router bgp
set graceful-end-on-timer disable|enable
config neighbor
edit 192.168.1.1
linkdown-failover and stale-route are options to bring down BGP neighbors upon link down and to
keep routes for a period after the neighbor is down.
From the GUI, to add a FQDN firewall address (or any other supported type of firewall address) to a static route in
the firewall address configuration you must enable the Static Route Configuration option. Then when
configuring the static route set Destination to Named Address.
Also SSL-VPN interface can now be set as a source interface for WAN LLB.
CLI
Configuration example:
next
end
To use Routing Advertisement to send the DNS search list:
config system interface
edit port 1
config IPv6
set ip6-address 2001:10::/64
set ip6-mode static
set ip6-send-adv enable
config ip6-delegated-prefix-list
edit 1
set upstream-interface WAN
set subnet 0:0:0:11::/64
set autonomous-flag enable
set onlink-flag enable
next
next
end
end
To use DHCPv6 server to send DNS search list:
config system dhcp6 server
edit 1
set interface port2
set upstream-interface WAN
set ip-mode delegated
set dns-service delegated
set dns-search-list delegated // this is a new command
set subnet 0:0:0:12::/64
next
end
New RFCs
The following RFCs are now supported by FortiOS 5.6.3 or the support for these RFCs has been enhanced in
FortiOS 5.6.3:
l RFC 7627 Transport Layer Security (TLS) Session Hash and Extended Master Secret Extension (443870)
The following RFCs are now supported by FortiOS 5.6.1 or the support for these RFCs has been enhanced in
FortiOS 5.6.1:
l RFC 6954 Using the Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) Brainpool Curves for the Internet Key Exchange Protocol
Version 2 (IKEv2) (412795)
l RFC 6106 IPv6 Router Advertisement Options for DNS Configuration (399406)
l RFC 4787 Network Address Translation (NAT) Behavioral Requirements for Unicast UDP (408875)
l Improved enforced secure-renegotiation checks support for RFC 5746 Transport Layer Security (TLS)
Renegotiation Indication Extension (422133)
l RFC 7627 Transport Layer Security (TLS) Session Hash and Extended Master Secret Extension (422133)
The following RFCs are now supported by FortiOS 5.6 or the support for these RFCs has been enhanced in
FortiOS 5.6:
l RFC 7427 Signature Authentication in the Internet Key Exchange Version 2 (IKEv2) (389001)
l RFC 7348 Virtual eXtensible Local Area Network (VXLAN) or VTEP (289354)
l RFC 5996 (section 2.15) IKEv2 asymmetric authentication (393073)
l RFC 6106 IPv6 Router Advertisement Options for DNS (399406)
l RFC 7383 Internet Key Exchange Protocol Version 2 (IKEv2) Message Fragmentation (371241)
l RFC 3971 IPv6 Secure Neighbor Discovery (SEND) (355946)
l RFC 6023 Childless IKEv2 Initiation (381650)
New file extension lists for determining which file types to send to FortiSandbox (379326)
This feature introduces two new file extension lists:
l File extensions to submit to FortiSandbox even though the AV engine says they are unsupported.
l File extensions to exclude from submitting to FortiSandbox even though the AV engine says they are supported.
These lists are configured on the FortiSandbox, not the FortiGate, and are dynamically loaded on the FortiGate
via quarantine.
These lists are only file extensions and not file types detected by the AV engine using
magic bytes. Pattern matching is done on the extension of the filename only.
Syntax
diag sys scanunit reload-fsa-ext
CLI syntax
Added multiple ports and port range support in the explicit ftp/web proxy (402775)
Added multiple ports and port range support in the explicit ftp/web proxy:
l added new monitor api endpoint for checking whether a list of TCP port ranges is being used, sample usage:
/api/v2/monitor/system/check-port-availability?port_ranges=[{"start":8080,"end":8080},{"start":400,"end":600},
{"start":1,"end":200}]&service=webproxy
l added GUI support for port ranges in web-proxy and ftp-proxy settings
Backend changes
GUI changes
Note that the All Categories selector goes blank when any of theactions to be applied to individual categories is
manually changed to something different than what was selected for all the categories. The Unknown
Application action will match the All Categories action unless that action is Quarantine, which is unsupported
for unknown applications.
GUI updates to reflect package and license changes for IPS, Application Control and
Industrial signatures (397010)
The following changes have been made to the GUI to reflect changes in the signature databases:
l Application Control signature database information is displayed under on the System > FortiGuard page in the
FortiCare section.
l The IPS package version and license status are shown in a separate section in System > FortiGuard page. A link
to manually upload the IPS database signatures has been added.
l The Industrial package version and license status are shown in a separate section in System > FortiGuard page.
A link to manually upload the Industrial database signatures is available. Access to the Industrial database is
provided with the purchase of the FortiGuard Industrial Security Service. The row item for this license will not
appear if you are not subscribed.
l Botnet category is no longer available when searching the Application Signatures list.
l new dropdown option: Online Only or Include Offline. The default is Online Only.
l new dropdown option
l Sending FortiTelemetry Only (default)
l Include All FortiTelemetry States
l Not Sending FortiTelemetry Only
l update: Compliance status for offline device is N/A
l update: offline status indicator to grey
l new compliance status text after the icon in Compliance column
l Moved Compliance column after Status column
l Combined unregistered endpoint devices with not registered devices
CLI syntax
Newly registered domain (NRD) applies to URLs whose domain name was registered in the previous 10 days.
The FortiGate will use the ssl-queue-threshold command to determine the maximum queue size of the
CP SSL queue. In other words, if the SSL encryption/decryption task queue size is larger than the threshold, the
FortiGate will switch to use CPU rather than CP. If less, it will employ CP.
config firewall ssl setting
set ssl-queue-threshold <integer>
end
The integer represents the maximum length of the CP SSL queue. Once the queue is full, the proxy switches
cipher functions to the main CPU. The range is 0 - 512 and the default is 32.
If you are using the ten free licenses for FortiClient, support is provided on the Fortinet Forum
(forum.fortinet.com). Phone support is only available for paid licenses.
VM00 200
Older FortiClient SKUs will still be valid and can be applied to FortiOS 5.4 and 5.6.
If you are using the ten free licenses for FortiClient, support is provided on the Fortinet
Forum (forum.fortinet.com). Phone support is only available for paid licenses.
CLI Syntax
New command to enable/disable compliance exemption for vulnerabilities that cannot be auto patched. Default
is disable.
Application control and Industrial signatures separate from IPS signatures (382053)
IPS, Application control and industrial signatures have been separated. The get system status command shows
the versions of each signature database:
get system status
Version: FortiGate-5001D v5.6.0,build1413,170121 (interim)
Virus-DB: 42.00330(2017-01-23 01:16)
Extended DB: 1.00000(2012-10-17 15:46)
Extreme DB: 1.00000(2012-10-17 15:47)
IPS-DB: 6.00741(2015-12-01 02:30)
IPS-ETDB: 0.00000(2001-01-01 00:00)
APP-DB: 6.00741(2015-12-01 02:30)
GUI Changes
l Updated edit dialogues for IPv4/IPv6 Policy and Explicit Proxy Policy
l SSL/SSH inspection data displayed in muted palette
l disabled the toggle button for this option
CLI changes
CLI Syntax
config application list
edit <profile-name>
set options allow-quic
end
Fortinet Security Fabric audit check for endpoint vulnerability and unauthorized FAP and FSW
(401462)
The new Security Fabric Audit feature allows for the display of endpoint vulnerability status in real-time. Users
can see:
These commands are replaced by config firewall internet-service and config firewall
internet-service-custom.
end
set dst "google-drive" "icloud"
next
end
next
end
l enhance detection of P2P traffic. Efficient detection of P2P is important on hardware accelerated platforms
l ensure that IPS and the kernel use the same ttl
l ensure that IPS sessions time out sooner
GUI Changes
l Toggle option added to quickly filter CASI signatures in the Application Signatures list.
l Application Overrides table now shows any parent-child hierarchy using the --parent metadata on signatures.
Deleting a parent app also deletes its child apps. And conversely, adding a child app will add all its parent apps but
with implicit filter action.
l A policy breakdown is shown on existing application control profiles for policies using the profile. The breakdown
indicates which policies are using a deep inspection.
l A breakdown is shown for application categories and filter overrides to indicate the number of CASI and non-CASI
signatures. A lock icon is shown for applications requiring deep inspection.
CLI Changes
Commands removed:
the two following commands has been added to diagnose endpoint avatar:
l diagnose endpoint avatar delete <ftcl_uid>
l diagnose endpoint avatar delete <ftcl_uid> <username>
The attribute delete did not exist before. The values <fctl_uid> and <user_name> describe a set of
avatars. If only <fctl_uid> is defined, all avatars belonging to this FortiClient UID that are not being used will
be removed. If both values are defined, the avatar belonging to them will be removed unless they are being used
in which case this call will cause an error to user.
Fortinet bar option disabled in profile protocol options when VDOM is in flow-based
inspection mode (384953)
In order to prevent the Fortinet Bar from being enabled and redirecting traffic to proxy (WAD) when a VDOM is in
flow-based mode, the Fortinet Bar option is disabled in profile protocol options.
To select from the list of available certificates in the system, use the CLI below.
edit deep-inspection
set server-cert-mode re-sign
set certname-{rsa | dsa | ecdsa}
Restricting access to YouTube (replacement for the YouTube Education filter feature)
(378277)
Previous versions of FortiOS supported YouTube for Schools (YTfS). As of July 1, 2016 this feature is no longer
supported by YouTube. Instead you can use the information in the YouTube support article Restrict YouTube
content on your network or managed devices to achieve the same result. FortiOS supports applying Strict or
Moderate restrictions using HTTP headers as described in this article.
In FortiOS 5.6 with inspection mode set to proxy-based, in a Web Filter profile under Search Engines you can
select Restrict YouTube Access and select either Strict or Moderate.
CLI Commands:
l Implemented CLI commands to configure extreme, red, and green memory usage thresholds in percentages of
total RAM. Memory used is the criteria for these thresholds, and set at 95% (extreme), 88% (red) and 82% (green).
l Removed structure av_conserve_mode, other changes in kernel to obtain and set memory usage thresholds from
the kernel
l Added conserve mode diagnostic command diag hardware sysinfo conserve, which displays information
about memory conserve mode.
l Fixed conserve mode logs in the kernel
l Added conserve mode stats to the proxy daemon through command diag sys proxy stats all | grep
conserve_mode
l factory default sets the FortiGate to flow-based inspection with VDOM disabled
l whenever a VDOM is created, the default inspection mode is flow-based
You must use the CLI to set the FortiGate to proxy-based inspection. To change the inspection mode back to
flow-based inspection, you may use the GUI or the CLI.
config system settings
edit <name_str>
set inspection-mode {proxy | flow}
end
Add server load balancing real servers on the Virtual Server GUI page (416709)
In previous versions of the FortiOS GUI, after adding a Virtual Server you would go to Policy & Objects > Real
Servers to add real servers and associate each real server with a virtual server.
In FortiOS 5.6.1 you now go to Policy & Objects > Virtual Servers, configure a virtual server and then from
the same GUI page add real servers to the virtual server. In addition, on the Virtual Server GUI page the option
Outgoing Interface is renamed Interface and the load balancing method Source IP Hash has been renamed
Static.
Syntax
config vpn ssl web portal
edit <portal name>
set forticlient-download {enable | disable}
set forticlient-download-method {direct | ssl-vpn}
set customize-forticlient-download-url {enable | disable}
set windows-forticlient-download-url <url>
set macos-forticlient-download-url <url>
end
Added a button to send Ctrl-Alt-Delete to the remote host for VNC and RDP desktop
connections (401807)
Previously, users were unable to send Ctrl-Alt-Delete to the host machine in an SSL VPN remote desktop
connection.
FortiOS 5.6.1 adds a new button that allows users to send Ctrl-Alt-Delete in remote desktop tools (also fixes
412456, preserving the SSL VPN realm after session timeout prompts a logout).
l URL preview uses info message similar to that seen on the SSL VPN settings dialog.
l Virtual-Host input is now visible when set in the CLI.
The added attribute indicates whether to support a customizable download URI for FortiClient. This attribute is
disabled by default. If enabled, two other attributes, windows-forticlient-download-url and macos-
forticlient-download-url, will appear through which the user can customize the download URL for
FortiClient.
Syntax
config vpn ssl web portal
edit <portal>
set customize-forticlient-download-url {enable | disable}
set windows-forticlient-download-url <custom URL for Windows>
set macos-forticlient-download-url <custom URL for Mac OS>
next
end
Syntax
conf vpn ssl web user-bookmark
edit <name>
config bookmarks
edit <name>
set apptype rdp
set host "x.x.x.x"
set port <value>
set sso [disable | auto]
next
end
next
end
Syntax
config firewall policy
edit <example>
set dstintf virtual-wan-link
end
Syntax
config vpn ssl settings
edit <example>
set login-timeout [10-180] Default is 30 seconds.
set dtls-hello-timeout [10-60] Default is 10 seconds.
end
Syntax
config vpn ssl web portal
edit <example>
set os-check enable
config os-check-list windows-10
set action {deny | allow | check-up-to-date}
end
end
This feature also raises bookmark limits and the number of portals that can be supported, depending on what
FortiGate series model is used:
Syntax
config vpn ssl web portal
edit <example>
set dns-suffix <string>
end
Syntax
config vpn ssl settings
set http-request-header-timeout [1-60] (seconds)
set http-request-body-timeout [1-60] (seconds)
end
Syntax
config vpn ssl web user-bookmark
edit 'name'
config bookmarks
move bookmark1 after/before
clone bookmark1 to
next
end
Syntax
config vpn ssl settings
set login-attempt-limit [0-10] Default is 2.
set login-block-time [0-86400] Default is 60 seconds.
end
System (5.6.3)
New system administration features added to FortiOS 5.6.3.
System (5.6.1)
New system administration features added to FortiOS 5.6.1.
Use self-sign as default GUI certificate if BIOS cert is using SHA-1 (403152)
For increased security, SHA-1 certificate has been replaced by self-sign certificate as the default GUI certificate,
if the BIOS certificate is using SHA-1.
Note that this can be achieved on a per-profile basis, to avoid the option from being unintentionally set globally.
An important benefit of this feature is that if the configuration in the script fails (i.e. a syntax error), the system will
revert back to running configurations without interrupting the network.
System (5.6)
New system administration features added to FortiOS 5.6.
Implement SNMP support for NAT Session monitoring which includes new SNMP OIDs
(383661)
FortiOS 5.6 implements a new feature providing SNMP support for NAT session monitoring. The resulting new
SNMP object identifier (OID) is:
FORTINET-FORTIGATE-
MIB:fortinet.fnFortiGateMib.fgFirewall.fgFwIppools.fgFwIppTables.fgFwIppStatsTable.fgFwIppStatsEntry
1.3.6.1.4.1.12356.101.5.3.2.1.1
.fgFwIppStatsName .1
.fgFwIppStatsType .2
.fgFwIppStatsStartIp .3
.fgFwIppStatsEndIp .4
.fgFwIppStatsTotalSessions .5
.fgFwIppStatsTcpSessions .6
.fgFwIppStatsUdpSessions .7
.fgFwIppStatsOtherSessions .8
Downgrades from FortiOS 5.6->5.4->5.2->5.0 will keep the administrator password usable. If you need to
downgrade to FortiOS 4.3, remove the password before the downgrade, then login after the downgrade and re-
set password.
FortiGuard can determine a FortiGate's location from its public IP address (393972)
A new CLI command allows users to determine a FortiGate's location from its public IP address through
FortiGuard .
The deletion of multiple saved configurations is now possible due to changes in the CLI command execute
revision delete config <revision ID>. Where the command only allowed for one revision ID at a
time, it now allows almost ten.
CLI Syntax
CLI Syntax
Default is disable.
CLI Syntax
You can enter alias followed by a ? to view the aliases that you have added.
You can add multiple commands to an alias by pressing Ctrl-Enter after the first line. Press enter at the end of
subsequent lines. And the end of the last line add second quote and press Enter to end the command.
config system alias
edit "debug_flow"
set command "diag debug enable
diag debug flow show console enable"
end
You can include config commands in an alias as well, for example, create the following alias to bring the port1
and port2 interfaces down:
config system alias
edit port12down
set command "config system interface
edit port1
set status down
next
edit port2
set status down
end"
end
You can combine config, execute, get, and diagnose commands in the same alias, for example:
config system alias
edit "show-info"
set command "show full-configuration alertemail setting
get sys status
dia sys top"
end
This feature is currently only available via the CLI, and you can use this feature to apply a reoccurring schedule to
your traffic shaping policies. The default recurring schedule options available are always or none. You can also
create new schedules or schedule groups under Policy & Objects > Schedules. This allows you to create
custom recurring or one-time schedules that can then be applied to your traffic shaping policies using the
commands below.
Syntax
config firewall shaping-policy
edit <shaping policy ID>
set schedule {always | none}
end
VDOMs (5.6.0)
This section describes new VDOM features added to FortiOS 5.6
Dashboard changes
The option to enable VDOMs is no longer part of the System Information widget. To enable VDOMs, you must
now go to System > Settings.
VoIP/SIP (5.6)
This chapter describes new VoIP and SIP features added to FortiOS 5.6.
This creates a security hole since the port is open regardless of the source IP address so an attacker who scans all
the ports by sending REGISTER messages to the external IP of the FortiGate will eventually have one register go
through.
When strict-register is enabled (the new default) the pinhole is smaller because it will only accept packets
from the SIP server.
Enabling strict-register can cause problems when the SIP registrar and SIP proxy server are separate
entities with separate IP addresses.
Example
WiFi (5.6.3)
New WiFi features added to FortiOS 5.6.3.
Allow admin with write permission to see plain text WiFi password (249787, 434513, 452834,
458211, 458285)
Add support for admins with write permission to read plain text password. Admins can view these plain text
passwords (captive-portal-radius-secret and passphrase) under config wireless-
controller vap. Note that security must be set as a WPA-personal setting.
WiFi Health Monitor page updates (392574, 392585, 404341, 417039, 434141, 440709)
The WiFi Health Monitor page list of active clients now shows their MAC address entries (similar to the WiFi
Client Monitor page), making client information easier to view when opening the Active Client widget.
Use the command below (led-schedule) to assign recurring firewall schedules for illuminating LEDs on the
FortiAP. This entry is only available when led-state is enabled, at which point LEDs will be visible when at
least one of the schedules is valid.
Separate multiple schedule names with a space, as configured under config firewall schedule group
and config firewall schedule recurring.
Syntax
config wireless-controller wtp-profile
edit {name}
set led-state {enable | disable}
set led-schedules <name>
next
end
Sharing Tunnel SSIDs within a single managed AP between VDOMs as a Virtual AP for multi-
tenancy (439751)
Support has been added for the ability to move a tunnel mode VAP into a VDOM, similar to an interface/VLAN in
VDOMs.
FortiAP is registered into the root VDOM. Within a customer VDOM, customer VAPs can be created/added. In the
root VDOM, the customer VAP can be added to the registered FortiAP. Any necessary firewall rules and
interfaces can be configured between the two VDOMs.
Syntax
config wireless-controller global
set wtp-share {enable | disable}
end
A new portal type has been added, under config wireless-controller vap, to provide successful MAC
authentication Captive Portal functionality.
Syntax
config wireless-controller vap
edit {name}
set portal-type {cmcc-macauth}
next
end
Various bug fixes (452975, 455218, 453161, 405117, 453533, 453535, 184384)
Various fixes have been implemented to address a variety of issues:
l Removed code to avoid repeated printing "parse dhcp options" after upgrade or reboot.
l Removed code that supported FAP-C221E, C226E, and C21D, as their product names changed.
l Changed the text for incorrect WiFi CLI help descriptions.
l Fixed background scan settings for FAP 222C, 223C, 321C, C220C, C225C, C23JD, and C24JE.
l Set WTP entry with "discovered" state to built-in in order to skip them, as only managed FAPs can be counted
toward FAP capacity.
Configure how a FortiWiFi WiFi interface in client mode selects a WiFi band (455305)
For an FortiWiFi WiFi interface operating in client mode, you can use the following option to configure the WiFi
band that the interface can connect to. You can configure the interface to connect to any band, just to the 5G
band or to prefer connecting to the 5G band.
Syntax
config system interface
edit {name}
set wifi-ap-band {any | 5g-preferred | 5g-only}
next
end
WiFi (5.6.1)
New WiFi features added to FortiOS 5.6.1.
As part of this support, new CLI attributes have been added under config wireless-controller wtp-
profile to manage their profiles.
CLI syntax
config wireless-controller wtp-profile
edit <model>
config platform
set type <model>
end
set ap-country <code>
config radio-1
set band 802.11n
end
config radio-2
set band 802.11ac
end
next
end
In addition, VLANs can be assigned dynamically based on the group which an AP belongs. When defining an
SSID, under WiFi & Switch Controller > SSID , a setting called VLAN Pooling can be enabled where you
can either assign the VLAN ID of the AP group the device is connected to, to each device as it is detected, or to
always assign the same VLAN ID to a specific device. Dynamic VLAN assignment allows the same SSID to be
deployed to many APs, avoiding the need to produce multiple SSIDs.
GUI support for configuring multiple pre-shared keys for SSID interfaces (406321)
Multiple pre-shared keys can be created per SSID. When creating a new SSID, enable Multiple Pre-shared
Keys under WiFi Settings.
Currently, only the FAP-S221E, FAP-S223E, and FAP-222E models support this
feature.
As part of this support, new CLI attributes have been added under config wireless-controller
timers and config wireless-controller wtp-profile, including a new CLI command, config
wireless-controller ble-profile.
Note that txpower determines the transmit power level on a scale of 0-12:
edit <name>
set ble-profile <name>
next
end
WiFi (5.6)
New WiFi features added to FortiOS 5.6.
A new CLI command has been added under config wireless-controller vap to set the captive portal
type to CMCC, a wireless cipher.
CLI syntax
config wireless-controller vap
edit <name>
set portal-type { ... | cmcc}
next
end
CLI syntax
config wireless-controller vap
edit <name>
set voice-enterprise {enable | disable}
set fast-bss-transition {enable | disable}
set ft-mobility-domain
set ft-r0-key-lifetime [1-65535]
set ft-over-ds {enable | disable}
next
end
External Captive Portal authentication with FortiAP in Bridge Mode (403115, 384872)
New CLI commands have been added under config wireless-controller vap to set various options
for external captive portal with FortiAP in Bridge Mode. The commands set the standalone captive portal server
category, the server's domain name or IP address, secret key to access the RADIUS server, and the standalone
captive portal Access Controller (AC) name.
Note that these commands are only available when local-standalone is set to enable and security is set to
captive-portal.
CLI syntax
config wireless-controller vap
edit <name>
set captive-portal-category {FortiCloud | CMCC} Default is FortiCloud.
set captive-portal-radius-server <server>
set captive-portal-radius-secret <password>
set captive-portal-ac-name <name>
next
end
CLI syntax
config wireless-controller wtp-profile
edit <profile-name>
set energy-efficient-ethernet {enable|disable}
end
CLI syntax
config wireless-controller wids-profile
edit <example>
set sensor-mode {disable|foreign|both}
end
Channel utilization, FortiPresence support on AP mode, QoS enhancement for voice (399134,
377562)
A new CLI command has been added, config wireless-controller qos-profile, to configure
quality of service (QoS) profiles where you can add WiFi multi-media (WMM) control and Differentiated Services
Code Point (DSCP) mapping.
Note that:
CLI syntax
config wireless-controller qos-profile
edit <example>
set comment <comment>
set uplink [0-2097152] Default is 0 Kbps.
set downlink [0-2097152] Default is 0 Kbps.
set uplink-sta [0-2097152] Default is 0 Kbps.
set downlink-sta [0-2097152] Default is 0 Kbps.
set burst {enable|disable} Default is disable.
set wmm {enable|disable} Default is enable.
set wmm-uapsd {enable|disable} Default is enable.
set call-admission-control {enable|disable} Default is disable.
set call-capacity [0-60] Default is 10 phones.
set bandwidth-admission-control {enable|disable} Default is disable.
set bandwidth-capacity [1-600000] Default is 2000 Kbps.
set dscp-wmm-mapping {enable|disable} Default is disable.
set dscp-wmm-vo [0-63] Default is 48 56.
set dscp-wmm-vi [0-63] Default is 32 40.
set dscp-wmm-be [0-63] Default is 0 24.
set dscp-wmm-bk [0-63] Default is 8 16.
QoS profiles can be assigned under the config wireless-controller vap command using qos-
profile.
FortiCloud managed APs can now be applied a bandwidth restriction or rate limitation based on SSID. For
instance if guest and employee SSIDs are available, you can rate limit guest access to a certain rate to
accommodate for employees. This feature also applies a rate limit based on the application in use, as APs are
application aware.
CLI syntax
config wireless-controller wtp-profile
edit "FAPU421E-default"
config platform
set type U421E
end
set ap-country US
config radio-1
set band 802.11n
end
config radio-2
set band 802.11ac
end
next
end
Note that, for the following multiple PSK related commands to become available, vdom, ssid, and
passhphrase all have to be set first.
CLI syntax
config wireless-controller vap
edit <example>
set mpsk {enable|disable}
set mpsk-concurrent-clients [0-65535] Default is 0.
config mpsk-key
edit key-name <example>
set passphrase <wpa-psk>
set concurrent-clients [0-65535] Default is empty.
set comment <comments>
next
end
end
Use the mpsk-concurrent-clients entry to set the maximum number of concurrent connected clients for
each mpsk entry. Use the mpsk-key configuration method to configure multiple mpsk entries.
Note that the new command, dhcp-lease-time, is only available when local-standalone is set to
enable, then setting local-standalone-nat to enable.
CLI syntax
config wireless-controller vap
edit <example>
set local-standalone {enable|disable}
set local-standalone-nat {enable|disable}
set dhcp-lease-time [300-8640000] Default is 2400 seconds.
end
CLI Syntax
configure wireless-controller vap
edit 1
set ldpc [enable|rx|tx|disable]
end
CLI Syntax
execute replace-device fortiap <old-fortiap-id> <new-fortiap-id>
If enabled, default FAP-C wtp-profiles will be added. If disabled, FAP-C related CMDB configurations will be
removed: wtp-group in vap's vlan-pool, wtp-group, ws, wtp, wtp-profile.
CLI syntax
config wireless-controller setting
set country CN
set fapc-compatibility [enable|disable]
end
You will receive an error message when trying to change country while fapc-
compatibility is enabled. You need to disable fapc-compatibility before
changing to an FAPC unsupported country.
"AES-256-CBC & SHA256" algorithm and "dh_group 15" are used for both CAPWAP IPsec phase1 and phase 2.
FAP320B will not support this feature due to its limited capacity of free flash.
New option added to support only one IP per one endpoint association (378207)
When users change configuration, the radiusd will reset all configurations and refresh all logons in the kernel. All
these actions are done in the one loop. A CLI option has been added to enable/disable replacement of an old IP
address with a new IP address for the same endpoint on RADIUS accounting start.
CLI Syntax
configure user radius
edit radius-root
set rsso-ep-one-ip-only [enable|disable]
next
end
Note that this FortiAP model has the Korean region code (K), but ap-country under config wireless-
controller wtp-profile still needs to be set to KR.
CLI syntax
config wireless-controller wtp-profile
edit <K-FAP222C>
config platform
set type <222C>
end
set ap-country KR
config radio-2
set band <802.11ac>
set vap-all <disable>
Syntax
config wireless-controller bonjour-profile
edit 0
set comment "comment"
config policy-list
edit 1
set description "description"
set from-vlan [0-4094] Default is 0.
set to-vlan [0-4094|all] Default is all.
set services [all|airplay|afp|bit-
torrent|ftp|ichat|itunes|printers|samba|scanners|ssh|chromecast]
next
end
next
end
CLI syntax
config wireless-controller wtp-profile
edit <example>
config platform
set type <...|421E|423E>
end
end
You can now define the role of the primary and secondary controllers on the FortiAP unit, allowing the unit to
decide the order in which the FortiAP selects the FortiGate. This process was previously decided on load-based
detection, but can now be defined by each unit's pre-determined priority. In addition, heartbeat intervals have
been lowered to further improve FortiAP awareness and successful failover.
Syntax
config wireless-controller inter-controller
set inter-controller-mode {disable | l2-roaming | 1+1} Default is disable.
set inter-controller-key <password>
set inter-controller-pri {primary | secondary} Default is primary.
set fast-failover-max [3-64] Default is 10.
set fast-failover-wait [10-86400] Default is 10.
config inter-controller-peer
edit <name>
set peer-ip <ip-address>
set peer-port [1024-49150] Default is 5246.
set peer-priority {primary | secondary} Default is primary.
next
end
end
Support for duplicate SSID names on tunnel and bridge mode interfaces (278955)
When duplicate-ssid is enabled in the CLI, this feature allows VAPs to use the same SSID name in the
same VDOM. When disabled, all SSIDs in WLAN interface will be checked—if duplicate SSIDs exist, an error
message will be displayed. When duplicate-ssid is enabled in the CLI, duplicate SSID check is removed in
"Edit SSID" GUI page.
Syntax
config wireless-controller setting
set duplicate-ssid [enable|disable]
next
end
Administrators can now define the role of the primary and secondary controllers on the FortiAP unit, allowing the
unit to decide the order in which the FortiAP selects the FortiGate. This process was decided on load-based
detection, but can now be defined by each unit's pre-determined priority. In addition, heartbeat intervals have
been lowered to further improve FortiAP awareness and successful failover.
Before you get started, note that not all FortiGate models have the same features. This is especially true of the
desktop or entry-level models: FortiGate / FortiWiFi models 30 to 90. If you are using one of these FortiGate
models, you may have some difficulties accessing certain features.
The entry-level, or desktop, models can connect to the internet in two simple steps. They also have a number of
features that are only available using the CLI, rather than appearing in the GUI.
Consult your model's Quick Start Guide, hardware manual, or the Feature / Platform
Matrix for further information about features that vary by model.
Fortinet's Cookbook site has a section on hardware that provides how-to recipes and articles on features that are
unique to certain models.
FortiGate models differ principally by the names used and the features available:
l Naming conventions may vary between FortiGate models. For example, on some models the hardware switch
interface used for the local area network is called lan, while on other units it is called internal.
l Certain features are not available on all models. Additionally, a particular feature may be available only through the
CLI on some models, while that same feature may be viewed in the GUI on other models.
If you believe your FortiGate model supports a feature that does not appear in the GUI, go to System
> Feature Visibility and confirm that the feature is enabled. For more information, see Feature Visibility on
page 295.
This chapter describes new features added to FortiOS 5.6.0, 5.6.1, and 5.6.3.
FortiOS 5.6.3
These features first appeared in FortiOS 5.6.3.
l Added inline validation for checking password policy and password reuse
l Changed style to match new login prompt password change
l Fixed issue where fDialog would close slide out on submission failure
Support FortiOS to allow user to select domain when logging a FG into FortiCloud (452350)
Support has been added to show a list of all possible FortiCloud domains that the FortiGate can be served by.
Syntax
execute fortiguard-log domain
This command is typically used for testing purposes, and so it will not appear when entering execute
fortiguard-log ?.
FortiOS 5.6.1
These features first appeared in FortiOS 5.6.1.
CLI Syntax
config sys admin
edit <name>
config gui-dashboard
edit <1>
set name <name>
config widget
edit <2>
set type {vminfo | ...} <- new option
set x-pos <2>
set y-pos <1>
set width <1>
set height <1>
next
end
next
end
next
end
Supported FortiViews include Source, Destination, Application, Country, Interfaces, Policy, Wifi Client, Traffic
Shaper, Endpoint Vulnerability, Cloud User, Threats, VPN, Websites, and Admin and System Events.
Bubble, table, chord chart, and country visualizations are supported in the widget.
Syntax
config system admin
config gui-dashboard
config widget
set type fortiview
set report-by {source | destination | country | intfpair | srcintf | dstintf |
policy | wificlient | shaper | endpoint | application | cloud | web | threat
| system | unauth | admin | vpn}
set timeframe {realtime | 5min | hour | day | week}
set sort-by <string>
set visualization {table | bubble | country | chord}
config filters
set key <filter_key>
set value <filter_value>
end
end
end
end
end
Where:
The following locations were affected: Policy List, Policy Dialogue, Address List, Address Dialogue, Virtual IP list,
Virtual IP Dialogue.
FortiOS 5.6
These features first appeared in FortiOS 5.6.
The FortiOS 5.6 Dashboard has a new layout with a Network Operations Center (NOC) view with a focus on
alerts. Widgets are interactive; by clicking or hovering over most widgets, the user can get additional information
or follow links to other pages.
Features that were only visible through old dashboard widgets have been placed elsewhere in the GUI:
l Restore configuration.
l Configuration revisions.
l Firmware management.
l Enabling / disabling VDOMs.
l Changing inspection mode.
l Changing operation mode.
l Shutdown / restart device.
l Changing hostname.
l Changing system time.
The following widgets are displayed by default:
l System Information
l Licenses
l FortiCloud
l Security Fabric
l Administrators
l CPU
l Memory
l Sessions
l Bandwidth
l Virtual Machine (on VMs and new to FortiOS 5.6.1)
The following optional widgets are available:
l Interface Bandwidth
l Disk Usage
l CLI Console
l Unit Operation
l Alert Message Console
System Information
The Fortiguard WAN IP blacklist service was not online in FortiOS 5.6.0. In FortiOS 5.6.1, a notification appears
on the Dashboard when WAN IP is blacklisted. Clicking on the notification (bell icon) brings up the blacklist
details.
Licenses
Hovering over the Licenses widget will cause status information (and, where applicable, database information)
on the licenses to be displayed for FortiCare Support, IPS & Application Control, AntiVirus, Web
Filtering, Mobile Malware, and FortiClient. The image below shows FortiCare Support information along
with the registrant's company name and industry.
Clicking in the Licenses widget will provide you with links to other pages, such as System > FortiGuard or
contract renewal pages.
FortiCloud
This widget displays FortiCloud status and provides a link to activate FortiCloud.
Administrators
This widget allows you to view which administrators are logged in and how many sessions are active. The link
directs you to a page displaying active administrator sessions.
CPU
The real-time CPU usage is displayed for different timeframes.
Memory
Real-time memory usage is displayed for different time frames. Hovering over any point on the graph displays
percentage of memory used along with a timestamp.
Sessions
Bandwidth
Virtual Machine
When you use flow-based inspection, all proxy mode profiles are converted to flow mode, removing any proxy
settings. And proxy-mode only features (for example, Web Application Profile) are removed from the GUI.
If your FortiGate has multiple VDOMs, you can set the inspection mode independently for each VDOM. Go to
System > VDOM. Click Edit for the VDOM you wish to change and select the Inspection Mode.
CLI syntax
The following CLI commands can be used to configure inspection and policy modes:
config system settings
set inspection-mode {proxy | flow}
set policy-mode {standard | ngfw}
end
GUI Changes
When you hover over the Licenses widget in the FortiOS 5.6 dashboard, you can see the company and industry
data, provided it has been entered in the FortiCare profile.
CLI Changes
industry I:
industry_id i:
last_name l:
orgsize O:
orgsize_id o:
password p:
phone P:
postal_code z:
reseller R:
reseller_id r:
state S:
state_code s:
title t:
version v:
Improved GUI for Mobile Screen Size & Touch Interface (355558)
The FortiOS web GUI on mobile screens and include functionality for touch interfaces like tap to hold are
improved.
Previously, the Setup Wizard could be launched from the web GUI by selecting the button, located in the top
right corner. This button and the wizard in question has been removed.
This section discusses how to install your FortiGate and use it in your network, after completion of the initial setup
outlined in the FortiGate model’s Quick Start Guide.
Note that, in order to use this installation method, your ISP must provide connectivity
with DHCP and accept DHCP requests without authentication. You must also use IPv4
to connect your FortiGate to the Internet.
1. Connect the FortiGate's wan interface to your ISP-supplied equipment, and connect the internal network to the
FortiGate’s default lan interface. Turn on the ISP’s equipment, the FortiGate, and the computers on the internal
network.
2. For computers on the internal network:
a. Windows Vista/7/8/10 users:
i. Go to Network and Sharing Center and select Change adapter settings.
ii. Open the Local Area Connection (Ethernet or Wi-Fi, whichever applies) and select Properties.
iii. Select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and then select Properties.
iv. Select Obtain an IP address automatically and Obtain DNS server address automatically.
v. Click OK.
b. Mac OS X users:
i. Go to System Preferences > Network and select your Ethernet connection.
ii. Set Configure IPv4 to Using DHCP.
Results
From any computer on the internal network, open a web browser and browse to any website to confirm successful
Internet connectivity.
The most common of the two operating modes is NAT/Route mode, where a FortiGate is installed as a gateway
or router between two networks. In most cases, it is used between a private network and the Internet. This allows
the FortiGate to hide the IP addresses of the private network using NAT. NAT/Route mode is also used when two
or more ISPs provide the FortiGate with redundant Internet connections.
A FortiGate in Transparent mode is installed between the internal network and the router. In this mode, the
FortiGate does not make any changes to IP addresses and only applies security scanning to traffic. When a
FortiGate is added to a network in Transparent mode, no network changes are required, except to provide the
FortiGate with a management IP address. Transparent mode is used primarily when there is a need to increase
network protection but changing the configuration of the network itself is impractical.
For more information about Transparent Mode, see the Transparent Mode handbook.
If you have previously configured your FortiGate using the standard installation, you
will have to delete all routes and policies referring to an interface that will be used to
provide redundant Internet. This includes the default Internet access policy that is
included on many FortiGate models.
1. Connect your ISP devices to your FortiGate’s Internet-facing interfaces (typically WAN1 and WAN2).
2. Go to Network > SD-WAN to create a WAN link interface, which is used to group multiple Internet connections
together so that the FortiGate can treat them as a single interface.
3. Set the interface's Status to Enable.
4. Under Interface, select Create New. Add WAN1 and enter the Gateway IP provided by your primary ISP. Do the
same for WAN2, but use the Gateway IP provided by your secondary ISP.
5. Select an appropriate method for the SD-WAN Usage from the following options, and Apply your changes when
finished:
l Bandwidth - A bandwidth cap is defined for active members of the SD WAN link.
l Volume - A volume ratio is set for each active member.
l Sessions - A sessions ratio is set for each active member.
6. Go to Network > Static Routes and create a new default route. Set Interface to the SD-WAN link.
7. Go to Policy & Objects > IPv4 Policy and select Create New to add a security policy that allows users on the
private network to access the Internet.
Virtual wire pairs are useful for atypical topologies where MAC addresses do not behave normally. For example,
port pairing can be used in a Direct Server Return (DSR) topology where the response MAC address pair may not
match the request’s MAC address pair.
Virtual wire pairing replaces the port pairing feature available in earlier firmware versions. Unlike port pairing,
virtual wire pairing can be used for FortiGates in both NAT/Route and Transparent modes.
In the example configuration below, a virtual wire pair (consisting of port3 and port4) makes it easier to protect a
web server that is behind a FortiGate operating as an Internal Segmentation Firewall (ISFW). Users on the
internal network will access the web server through the ISFW over the virtual wire pair.
Interfaces used in a virtual wire pair cannot be used to access the ISFW FortiGate.
Before creating a virtual wire pair, make sure you have a different port configured to
allow admin access using your preferred protocol.
1. Go to Network > Interfaces and select Create New > Virtual Wire Pair.
2. Select the interfaces to add to the virtual wire pair. These interfaces cannot be part of a switch, such as the default
lan/internal interface.
3. (Optional) If desired, enable Wildcard VLAN .
4. Select OK.
5. Go to Policy & Objects > IPv4 Virtual Wire Pair Policy, select the virtual wire pair, and select Create New.
6. Select the direction that traffic is allowed to flow.
7. Configure the other firewall options as desired.
8. Select OK.
9. If necessary, create a second virtual wire pair policy to allow traffic to flow in the opposite direction.
If you have a USB-wan interface, it will not be included in the interface list when
building a wired-pair.
Results
Traffic can now flow through the FortiGate using the virtual wire pair. For more information on this feature, see
the Firewall chapter.
This section presents an introduction to the FortiGate's graphical user interface (GUI), also called the web-based
manager.
The graphical user interface is best displayed using a 1280 x 1024 resolution. Check
the FortiOS Release Notes for information about browser compatibility.
In order to connect to the GUI using a web browser, an interface must be configured to allow administrative
access over HTTPS or over both HTTPS and HTTP. By default, an interface has already been set up that allows
HTTPS access, with the IP address 192.168.1.99.
Browse to https://192.168.1.99 and enter your username and password. If you have not changed the admin
account’s password, use the default user name, admin, and leave the password field blank.
If you wish to use a different interface to access the GUI, do the following:
1. Go to Network > Interfaces and edit the interface you wish to use for access. Take note of its assigned IP
address.
2. Beside Administrative Access, select HTTPS, and any other protocol you require. You can also select HTTP,
although this is not recommended as the connection will be less secure.
3. Select OK.
4. Browse to the IP address using your chosen protocol.
Results
Menus
If you believe your FortiGate model supports a menu that does not appear in the GUI
as expected, go to System > Feature Visibility and ensure the feature is enabled.
For more information, see "Feature Visibility" on page 295.
The GUI contains the following main menus, which provide access to configuration options for most FortiOS
features:
Dashboard The dashboard displays various widgets that display important system
information and allow you to configure some system options.
Security Fabric Access the physical topology, logical topology, audit, and settings features
of the Fortinet Security Fabric.
FortiView A collection of dashboards and logs that give insight into network traffic,
showing which users are creating the most traffic, what sort of traffic it is,
when the traffic occurs, and what kind of threat the traffic may pose to the
network.
Policy & Objects Configure firewall policies, protocol options, and supporting content for
policies, including schedules, firewall addresses, and traffic shapers.
Security Profiles Configure your FortiGate's security features, including AntiVirus, Web
Filtering, and Application Control.
VPN Configure options for IPsec and SSL virtual private networks (VPNs).
For more information, see the IPsec VPN and SSL VPN handbooks.
User & Device Configure user accounts, groups, and authentication methods, including
external authentication and single sign-on (SSO).
WiFi & Switch Controller Configure the unit to act as a wireless network controller, managing the
wireless Access Point (AP) functionality of FortiWiFi and FortiAP units.
For more information, see the FortiWiFi and FortiAP Configuration Guide
handbook.
Monitor View a variety of monitors, including the Routing Monitor, VPN monitors for
both IPsec and SSL, monitors relating to wireless networking, and more.
Dashboard
The FortiOS Dashboard consists of a network operations center (NOC) view with a focus on alerts. Widgets are
interactive; by clicking or hovering over most widgets, the user can get additional information or follow links to
other pages.
Widget Description
System Information The System Information widget lists information relevant to the FortiGate
system, including Hostname, Serial Number, and Firmware.
Security Fabric The Security Fabric widget is documented in the Fortinet Security Fabric guide.
CPU The real-time CPU usage is displayed for different time frames.
Widget Description
License Status Hovering over the Licenses widget will display status information (and, where
applicable, database information) on the licenses for FortiCare Support, IPS &
Application Control, AntiVirus, Web Filtering, Mobile Malware, and
FortiClient.
Clicking in the Licenses widget will provide you with links to other pages, such as
System > FortiGuard or contract renewal pages.
FortiCloud This widget displays FortiCloud status and provides a link to activate FortiCloud.
Administrators This widget allows you to view which administrators are logged in and how many
sessions are active. The link directs you to a page displaying active administrator
sessions.
Memory Real-time memory usage is displayed for different time frames. Hovering over any
point on the graph displays percentage of memory used along with a timestamp.
Sessions Hovering over the Sessions widget allows you to view memory usage data over
time. Click on the down-arrow to change the timeframe displayed.
Bandwidth Hover over the Bandwidth widget to display bandwidth usage data over time.
Click on the down-arrow to change the timeframe displayed.
Virtual Machine The VM widget (shown by default in the dashboard of a FortiOS VM device)
includes:
l FortiView
l Host Scan Summary
l Vulnerabilities Summary
l Botnet Activity
l HA Status
l Log Rate
l Session Rate
l Security Fabric Score
l Advanced Threat Protection Statistics
l Interface Bandwidth
Feature Visibility
Feature Visibility is used to control which features are visible in the GUI. This allows you to hide features that are
not being used. Some features are also disabled by default and must be enabled in order to configure them
through the GUI.
Feature Visibility only alters the visibility of these features, rather than their functionality. For example, disabling
web filtering on the Feature Visibility page does not remove web filtering from the FortiGate, but removes the
option of configuring web filtering from the GUI. Configuration options will still be available using the CLI.
Enabling/disabling features
Feature Visibility can be found at System > Feature Visibility. Ensure that all features you wish to configure in
the GUI are turned on, and that features you wish to hide are turned off. When you have finished, select Apply.
l NGFW should be chosen for networks that require application control and protection from external attacks.
l ATP should be chosen for networks that require protection from viruses and other external threats.
l WF should be chosen for networks that require web filtering.
l NGFW + ATP should be chosen for networks that require protection from external threats and attacks.
l UTM should be chosen for networks that require protection from external threats and wish to use security features
that control network usage. This is the default setting.
l Custom should be chosen for networks that require customization of available features (including the ability to
select all features).
Tables
Many of the GUI pages contain tables of information that you can filter to display specific information.
Administrators with read and write access can define the filters.
Navigation
Some tables contain information and lists that span multiple pages. Navigation controls appear at the bottom of
the page.
Filters
Filters are used to locate a specific set of information or content within multiple pages. These are especially
useful in locating specific log entries. The specific filtering options vary, depending on the type of information in
the log.
To create a filter, select Add Filter at the top of the page. A list of the available fields for filtering will be shown.
Column settings
Column settings are used to select the types of information displayed on a certain page. Some pages have large
amounts of information available and not all content can be displayed on a single screen. Some pages may even
contain content that is irrelevant to you. Using column settings, you can choose to display only relevant content.
To view configure column settings, right-click the header of a column and select the columns you wish to view and
de-select any you wish to hide. After you have finished making your selections, click Apply (you may need to
scroll down the list to do so).
Any changes that you make to the column settings are stored in the unit’s configuration. To return columns to the
default state for any given page, right-click any header and select Reset Table.
Copying objects
In tables containing configuration objects, such as the policy table found at Policy & Objects > IPv4 Policy,
you have the option to copy an object. This allows you to create a copy of that object, which you can then
configure as needed. You can also reverse copy a policy to change the direction of the traffic impacted by that
policy.
To copy an object:
1. Select that object, then right-click to make a menu appear and select the Copy option.
2. Right-click the row in the table that is either above or below where you want the copied object to be placed, select
the Paste option and indicate Above or Below.
Reverse cloning works much the same way. Instead of selecting Copy, you will select Clone Reverse.
Once the policy is copied, you must give it a name, configure as needed, and enable it.
Editing objects
Some tables allow you to edit parts of the configuration directly on the table itself. For example, security features
can be added to an existing firewall policy from the policy list by clicking on the plus sign in the Security Profiles
column and selecting the desired profiles.
If this option is not immediately available, check to see that the column is not hidden (see Column settings).
Otherwise, you must select the object and open the policy by selecting the Edit option found at the top of the
page.
Text Strings
The configuration of a FortiGate is stored in the FortiOS configuration database. To change the configuration,
you can use the GUI or CLI to add, delete, or change configuration settings. These changes are stored in the
database as you make them. Individual settings in the configuration database can be text strings, numeric
values, selections from a list of allowed options, or on/off (enable/disable) settings.
l “ (double quote)
l & (ampersand)
l ' (single quote)
l < (less than)
l > (greater than)
Most GUI text string fields make it easy to add an acceptable number of characters and prevent you from adding
the XSS vulnerability characters.
There is a different character limitation for VDOM names and hostnames. The only
valid characters are numbers (0-9), letters (a-z, A-Z), and special characters - (dash)
and _ (underscore).
From the CLI, you can also use the tree command to view the number of characters that are allowed in a name
field. For example, firewall address names can contain up to 64 characters. When you add a firewall address to
the GUI, you are limited to entering 64 characters in the firewall address name field. From the CLI you can enter
the following tree command to confirm that the firewall address name field allows 64 characters.
config firewall address
tree
-- [address] --*name (64)
|- uuid
|- subnet
|- type
|- start-ip
|- end-ip
|- fqdn (256)
|- country (3)
|- cache-ttl (0,86400)
|- wildcard
|- comment
|- visibility
|- associated-interface (36)
|- color (0,32)
|- [tags] --*name (65)
+- allow-routing
The tree command output also shows the number of characters allowed for other firewall address name
settings. For example, the fully qualified domain name (fqdn) field can contain up to 256 characters.
Most GUI numeric value fields make it easy to add the acceptable number of digits within the allowed range. CLI
help text includes information about allowed numeric value ranges. Both the GUI and the CLI prevent you from
entering invalid numbers.
The command line interface (CLI) is an alternative configuration tool to the GUI or web-based manager. While
the configuration of the GUI uses a point-and-click method, the CLI requires typing commands or uploading
batches of commands from a text file, like a configuration script.
This section explains common CLI tasks that an administrator does on a regular basis and includes the topics:
l Locally with a console cable — Connect your computer directly to the FortiGate unit’s console port. Local access is
required in some cases:
l If you are installing your FortiGate unit for the first time and it is not yet configured to connect to your network,
you may only be able to connect to the CLI using a local serial console connection, unless you reconfigure your
computer’s network settings for a peer connection.
l Restoring the firmware utilizes a boot interrupt. Network access to the CLI is not available until after the boot
process has completed, making local CLI access the only viable option.
l Through the network — Connect your computer through any network attached to one of the FortiGate unit’s
network ports. The network interface must have enabled Telnet or SSH administrative access if you connect using
an SSH/Telnet client, or HTTP/HTTPS administrative access if you connect by accessing the CLI Console in the
GUI. The CLI console can be accessed from the upper-right hand corner of the screen and appears as a slide-out
window.
l Locally with FortiExplorer for iOS — Use the FortiExplorer app on your iOS device to configure, manage, and
monitor your FortiGate.
1. Using the null modem or RJ-45-to-DB-9 cable, connect the FortiGate unit’s console port to the serial
communications (COM) port on your management computer.
Data bits 8
Parity None
Stop bits 1
If you do not want to use an SSH/Telnet client and you have access to the web-based
manager, you can alternatively access the CLI through the network using the CLI
Console widget in the web-based manager.
You must enable SSH and/or Telnet on the network interface associated with that physical network port. If your
computer is not connected directly or through a switch, you must also configure the FortiGate unit with a static
route to a router that can forward packets from the FortiGate unit to your computer. You can do this using either a
local console connection or the web-based manager.
Requirements
l A computer with an available serial communications (COM) port and RJ-45 port
l Terminal emulation software such as HyperTerminal for Microsoft Windows
l The RJ-45-to-DB-9 or null modem cable included in your FortiGate package
l A network cable
l Prior configuration of the operating mode, network interface, and static route.
To enable SSH or Telnet access to the CLI using a local console connection
1. Using the network cable, connect the FortiGate unit’s network port either directly to your computer’s network port,
or to a network through which your computer can reach the FortiGate unit.
2. Note the number of the physical network port.
3. Using a local console connection, connect and log into the CLI.
4. Enter the following command:
config system interface
edit <interface_str>
set allowaccess <protocols_list>
end
where:
l <interface_str> is the name of the network interface associated with the physical network port and
containing its number, such as port1.
l <protocols_list> is the complete, space-delimited list of permitted administrative access protocols, such
as https ssh telnet.
For example, to exclude HTTP, HTTPS, SNMP, and PING, and allow only SSH and Telnet administrative
access on port1, enter the following:
config system interface
edit port1
set allowaccess ssh telnet
end
5. To confirm the configuration, enter the command to display the network interface’s settings.
show system interface <interface_str>
The CLI displays the settings, including the allowed administrative access protocols, for the network
interfaces.
Secure Shell (SSH) provides both secure authentication and secure communications to the CLI. FortiGate units
support 3DES and Blowfish encryption algorithms for SSH.
Before you can connect to the CLI using SSH, you must first configure a network interface to accept SSH
connections. The following procedure uses PuTTY. Steps may vary with other SSH clients.
The SSH client may display a warning if this is the first time you are connecting to the FortiGate unit
and its SSH key is not yet recognized by your SSH client, or if you have previously connected to the
FortiGate unit but used a different IP address or SSH key. This is normal if your management
computer is directly connected to the FortiGate unit with no network hosts between them.
6. Click Yes to verify the fingerprint and accept the FortiGate unit’s SSH key. You will not be able to log in until you
have accepted the key.
7. The CLI displays a login prompt.
8. Type a valid administrator account name (such as admin) and press Enter.
9. Type the password for this administrator account and press Enter.
The FortiGate unit displays a command prompt (its hostname followed by a #). You can now enter
CLI commands.
If three incorrect login or password attempts occur in a row, you will be disconnected.
If this occurs, wait one minute, then reconnect to attempt the login again.
Telnet is not a secure access method. SSH should be used to access the CLI from the
Internet or any other untrusted network.
Before you can connect to the CLI using Telnet, you must first configure a network interface to accept Telnet
connections.
If three incorrect login or password attempts occur in a row, you will be disconnected.
If this occurs, wait one minute, then reconnect to attempt the login again.
You can open the CLI console so that it automatically opens to the object you wish to configure. For example, to
edit a firewall policy, right-click on the policy in the policy list (Policy & Objects > IPv4 Policy) and select Edit
in CLI. The CLI console will appear, with the commands to access this part of the configuration added
automatically.
Once you have access to the CLI, you can enter instructions for specific tasks that can be found throughout the
FortiOS Handbook. Options are also available at the top of the CLI Console to Clear console, Download, and
Copy to clipboard.
Refer to the CLI Reference for a list of the available commands.
Command syntax
When entering a command, the CLI console requires that you use valid syntax and conform to expected input
constraints. It will reject invalid commands.
Fortinet documentation uses the conventions below to describe valid command syntax.
Terminology
Each command line consists of a command word that is usually followed by configuration data or other specific
item that the command uses or affects.
To describe the function of each word in the command line, especially if that nature has changed between
firmware versions, Fortinet uses terms with the following definitions.
l Command — A word that begins the command line and indicates an action that the FortiGate unit should perform
on a part of the configuration or host on the network, such as config or execute. Together with other words,
such as fields or values, that end when you press the Enter key, it forms a command line. Exceptions include multi-
line command lines, which can be entered using an escape sequence.
Valid command lines must be unambiguous if abbreviated. Optional words or other command line permutations are
indicated by syntax notation.
l Sub-command — A kind of command that is available only when nested within the scope of another command.
After entering a command, its applicable sub-commands are available to you until you exit the scope of the
command, or until you descend an additional level into another sub-command. Indentation is used to indicate levels
of nested commands.
Not all top-level commands have sub-commands. Available sub-commands vary by their containing scope.
l Object — A part of the configuration that contains tables and /or fields. Valid command lines must be specific
enough to indicate an individual object.
l Table — A set of fields that is one of possibly multiple similar sets which each have a name or number, such as an
administrator account, policy, or network interface. These named or numbered sets are sometimes referenced by
other parts of the configuration that use them.
l Field — The name of a setting, such as ip or hostname. Fields in some tables must be configured with values.
Failure to configure a required field will result in an invalid object configuration error message, and the FortiGate
unit will discard the invalid table.
l Value — A number, letter, IP address, or other type of input that is usually your configuration setting held by a field.
Some commands, however, require multiple input values which may not be named but are simply entered in
sequential order in the same command line. Valid input types are indicated by constraint notation.
l Option — A kind of value that must be one or more words from of a fixed set of options.
Indentation
Indentation indicates levels of nested commands, which indicate what other sub-commands are available from
within the scope. For example, the edit sub-command is available only within a command that affects tables,
and the next sub-command is available only from within the edit sub-command:
config system interface
edit port1
set status up
next
end
Notation
Brackets, braces, and pipes are used to denote valid permutations of the syntax. Constraint notations, such as
<address_ipv4>, indicate which data types or string patterns are acceptable value input.
Convention Description
[verbose {1 | 2 | 3}]
indicates that you may either omit or type both the verbose word and its
accompanying option, such as verbose 3.
Curly braces { } A word or series of words that is constrained to a set of options delimited by
either vertical bars or spaces. You must enter at least one of the options,
unless the set of options is surrounded by square brackets [ ].
indicates that you must enter either enable or disable, but must not
enter both.
Convention Description
Angle brackets < > A word constrained by data type. The angled brackets contain a
descriptive name followed by an underscore ( _ ) and suffix that indicates
the valid data type. For example, <retries_int>, indicates that you
should enter a number of retries as an integer.
indicates that you may enter all or a subset of those options, in any order,
in a space-delimited list, such as:
Sub-commands
Each command line consists of a command word that is usually followed by configuration data or other specific
item that the command uses or affects:
get system admin
Sub-commands are available from within the scope of some commands. When you enter a sub-command level,
the command prompt changes to indicate the name of the current command scope. For example, after entering:
config system admin
Applicable sub-commands are available to you until you exit the scope of the command, or until you descend an
additional level into another sub-command.
For example, the edit sub-command is available only within a command that affects tables; the next sub-
command is available only from within the edit sub-command:
config system interface
edit port1
set status up
next
end
Available sub-commands vary by command. From a command prompt within config, two types of sub-
commands might become available:
clone <table> Clone (or make a copy of) a table from the current object.
clone 27 to 30
• edit the settings for the default admin administrator account by typing
edit admin.
• add a new administrator account with the name newadmin and edit
newadmin‘s settings by typing edit newadmin.
edit changes the prompt to reflect the table you are currently editing.
Save the changes to the current object and exit the config command.
end
This returns you to the top-level command prompt.
• In objects, get lists the table names (if present), or fields and their
values.
• In a table, get lists the fields and their values.
For example, in config user local, you could type get to see the list
of user names, then type purge and then y to confirm that you want to
delete all users.
The CLI acknowledges the new table, and changes the command prompt to show that you are now within the
admin_1 table:
new entry 'admin_1' added
(admin_1)#
abort Exit both the edit and/or config commands without saving the fields.
end Save the changes made to the current table or object fields, and exit the config
command (to exit without saving, use abort instead).
move Move an object within a list, when list order is important. For example, rearranging
security policies within the policy list.
Save the changes you have made in the current table’s fields, and exit the edit
command to the object prompt (to save and exit completely to the root prompt, use
end instead).
next
next is useful when you want to create or edit several tables in the same object,
without leaving and re-entering the config command each time.
next is only available from a table prompt; it is not available from an object prompt.
For example, if a group contains members A, B, C, and D and you remove all users
except for B, use the command select member B.
For example, in config system admin, after typing edit admin, you could
type set password newpass to change the password of the admin administrator
set <field>
to newpass.
<value>
Note: When using set to change a field containing a space-delimited list, type the
whole new list. For example, set <field> <new-value> will replace the list with
the <new-value> rather than appending <new-value> to the list.
show Display changes to the default configuration. Changes are listed in the form of
configuration commands.
For example, in config system admin, after typing edit admin, typing unset
password resets the password of the admin administrator account to the default (in
this case, no password).
Permissions
Access profiles control which CLI commands an administrator account can access. Access profiles assign either
read, write, or no access to each area of FortiOS. To view configurations, you must have read access. To make
changes, you must have write access. So, depending on the account used to log in to the FortiGate, you may not
have complete access to all CLI commands. For complete access to all commands, you must log in with an
administrator account that has the super_admin access profile. By default the admin administrator account
has the super_admin access profile.
Administrator accounts, with the super_admin access profile are similar to a root administrator account that
always has full permission to view and change all FortiGate configuration options, including viewing and changing
all other administrator accounts and including changing other administrator account passwords.
For more information about increasing the security of administrator accounts, see:
Tips
Basic features and characteristics of the CLI environment provide support and ease of use for many CLI tasks.
Help
To display brief help during command entry, press the question mark (?) key.
l Press the question mark (?) key at the command prompt to display a list of the commands available and a
description of each command.
l Type a word or part of a word, then press the question mark (?) key to display a list of valid word completions or
subsequent words, and to display a description of each.
Keys Action
If multiple words could complete your entry, display all possible completions with
helpful descriptions of each.
Press the Tab key multiple times to cycle through available matches.
Left or Right Move the cursor left or right within the command line.
arrow
Keys Action
Ctrl + C Abort current interactive commands, such as when entering multiple lines.
If you are not currently within an interactive command such as config or edit, this
closes the CLI connection.
\ then Enter Continue typing a command on the next line for a multi-line command.
For each line that you want to continue, terminate it with a backslash ( \ ). To complete
the command line, terminate it by pressing the spacebar and then the Enter key,
without an immediately preceding backslash.
Command abbreviation
You can abbreviate words in the command line to their smallest number of non-ambiguous characters.
For example, the command get system status could be abbreviated to g sy stat.
However, there are additional commands which can be used instead of set for changing options in a list.
For example, append member would add user D to a user group while all previous
group members are retained
For example, if a group contains members A, B, C, and D and you remove all users
except for B, use the command select member B.
For example, unselect member A would remove member A from a group will all
previous group members are retained.
Environment variables
The CLI supports the following environment variables. Variable names are case-sensitive.
Environment variables
$USERFROM The management access type (ssh, telnet, jsconsole for the CLI Console
widget in the web-based manager, and so on) and the IP address of the administrator
that configured the item.
$USERNAME The account name of the administrator that configured the item.
For example, the FortiGate unit’s host name can be set to its serial number:
config system global
set hostname $SerialNum
end
Special characters
The following special characters, also known as reserved characters, are not permitted in most CLI fields:
You may be able to enter special characters as part of a string’s value by using a special command, enclosing it in
quotes, or preceding it with an escape sequence — in this case, a backslash ( \ ) character.
In other cases, different keystrokes are required to input a special character. If you need to enter ? as part of
config, you first need to input CTRL-V. If you enter ? without first using CTRL-V, the question mark has a
different meaning in the CLI; it will show available command options in that section.
Character Keys
? Ctrl + V then ?
Character Keys
' \'
" \"
\ \\
Use the following command to display the MAC address of the FortiGate unit internal interface:
get hardware nic internal | grep Current_HWaddr
Current_HWaddr 00:09:0f:cb:c2:75
Use the following command to display all TCP sessions in the session list and include the session list line number
in the output:
get system session list | grep -n tcp
Use the following command to display all lines in HTTP replacement message commands that contain URL
(upper or lower case):
show system replacemsg http | grep -i url
The option -f is also available to support contextual output, in order to show the complete configuration. The
following example shows the difference in output when -f option is used versus when it is not.
Using -f:
show | grep -f ldap-group1
config user group
edit "ldap-group1"
set member "pc40-LDAP"
next
end
config firewall policy
edit 2
set srcintf "port31"
set dstintf "port32"
set srcaddr "all"
set action accept
set identity-based enable
set nat enable
config identity-based-policy
edit 1
set schedule "always"
set groups "ldap-group1"
set dstaddr "all"
set service "ALL"
next
end
next
end
Input is stored using Unicode UTF-8 encoding but is not normalized from other encodings into UTF-8 before it is
stored. If your input method encodes some characters differently than in UTF-8, your configured items may not
display or operate as expected.
Regular expressions are especially impacted. Matching uses the UTF-8 character values. If you enter a regular
expression using another encoding, or if an HTTP client sends a request in an encoding other than UTF-8,
matches may not be what you expect.
For example, with Shift-JIS, backslashes ( \ ) could be inadvertently interpreted as the symbol for the Japanese
yen ( ¥ ) and vice versa. A regular expression intended to match HTTP requests containing money values with a
yen symbol therefore may not work it if the symbol is entered using the wrong encoding.
HTTP clients may send requests in encodings other than UTF-8. Encodings usually
vary by the client’s operating system or input language. If you cannot predict the
client’s encoding, you may only be able to match any parts of the request that are in
English, because regardless of the encoding, the values for English characters tend to
be encoded identically. For example, English words may be legible regardless of
interpreting a web page as either ISO 8859-1 or as GB2312, whereas simplified
Chinese characters might only be legible if the page is interpreted as GB2312.
If you configure your FortiGate unit using other encodings, you may need to switch language settings on your
management computer, including for your web browser or Telnet/SSH client. For instructions on how to configure
your management computer’s operating system language, locale, or input method, see its documentation.
If you choose to configure parts of the FortiGate unit using non-ASCII characters, verify that all systems
interacting with the FortiGate unit also support the same encodings. You should also use the same encoding
throughout the configuration if possible in order to avoid needing to switch the language settings of the web-
based manager and your web browser or Telnet/SSH client while you work.
Similarly to input, your web browser or CLI client should normally interpret display output as encoded using UTF-
8. If it does not, your configured items may not display correctly in the GUI or CLI. Exceptions include items such
as regular expressions that you may have configured using other encodings in order to match the encoding of
HTTP requests that the FortiGate unit receives.
1. On your management computer, start your web browser and go to the URL for the FortiGate unit’s GUI.
2. Configure your web browser to interpret the page as UTF-8 encoded.
3. Log in to the FortiGate unit.
4. Open the CLI Console from the upper right-hand corner.
5. In the title bar of the CLI Console widget, click Edit (the pencil icon).
6. Enable Use external command input box and select OK.
7. The Command field appears below the usual input and display area of the CLI Console .
8. Type a command in this field and press Enter.
In the display area, the CLI Console widget displays your previous command interpreted into its character
code equivalent, such as:
edit \743\601\613\743\601\652
and the command’s output.
Depending on your Telnet/SSH client’s support for your language’s input methods and for sending
international characters, you may need to interpret them into character codes before pressing Enter.
Screen paging
You can configure the CLI to pause after displaying each page’s worth of text when displaying multiple pages of
output. When the display pauses, the last line displays --More--. You can then either:
To configure the CLI Console to pause display when the screen is full:
config system console
set output more
end
Baud rate
You can change the default baud rate of the local console connection.
Editing the configuration on an external host can be timesaving if you have many changes to make, especially if
your plain text editor provides advanced features such as batch changes.
1. Use execute backup to download the configuration file to a TFTP server, such as your management
computer.
2. Edit the configuration file using a plain text editor that supports Unix-style line endings.
Do not edit the first line. The first line(s) of the configuration file (preceded by a #
character) contains information about the firmware version and FortiGate model. If
you change the model number, the FortiGate unit will reject the configuration file
when you attempt to restore it.
3. Use execute restore to upload the modified configuration file back to the FortiGate unit.
The FortiGate unit downloads the configuration file and checks that the model information is correct. If it is
correct, the FortiGate unit loads the configuration file and checks each command for errors. If a command is
invalid, the FortiGate unit ignores the command. If the configuration file is valid, the FortiGate unit restarts
and loads the new configuration.
FortiExplorer for iOS is a user-friendly application that helps you to quickly and easily configure, manage, and
monitor FortiGate appliances using an iOS device. FortiExplorer lets you rapidly provision, deploy, and monitor
Security Fabric components including FortiGate, FortiWiFi, and FortiAP devices.
FortiExplorer for iOS requires iOS 9.3 or later and is compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. It is
supported by FortiOS 5.6+ and is only available on the App Store for iOS devices.
Advanced features are available with the purchase of FortiExplorer Pro. Paid features include the ability to add
more than two devices and the ability to download firmware images from FortiCare.
Up to six members can use this app with 'Family Sharing' enabled in the App Store.
Return to the internal interface using the < button at the top of the screen.
10. Go to Network > Static Routes and configure the static route to the gateway.
11. Go to Policy & Objects > Policy and edit the Internet access policy. As a best practice, provide a Name for the
policy, enable the desired Security Profiles, and configure Logging Options. Select OK to finalize.
The FortiGate is now configured in a very basic state. Once you've configured the other potential elements of
your network, such as other Interfaces, Schedules, or Managed FortiAPs, it is recommended that you run a
Security Fabric Audit to identify potential vulnerabilities and highlight best practices that could be used to
improve your network’s overall security and performance.
Follow the steps of the Security Fabric Audit (under Security Fabric > Audit) to determine a Security Score
for the selected device(s). The results should identify issues ranging from Medium to Critical importance, and
may provide recommended actions where possible.
1. Open the FortiExplorer app and select Add from the Devices page.
2. Enter the Host information and appropriate Username and Password credentials. If necessary, change the
default Port number, and opt to Remember Password.
3. If the FortiGate device identity cannot be verified, click Connect at the prompt.
FortiExplorer opens the FortiGate management interface to the Device Status page.
l To upgrade to FortiExplorer Pro, open the FortiExplorer app, go to Settings and select Upgrade to FortiExplorer
Pro. Follow the on-screen prompts.
The following section includes information regarding FortiGate LED status indicators.
FortiGate 60C
FortiGate 100D
FortiGate 30E
Flashing Green Booting Up. If the FortiGate has a reset button, Flashing Green also
means that the reset button was used.
Red The FortiGate has a critical alarm (see About Alarm Levels).
l A minor alarm (also called an IPMI non-critical (NC) alarm) indicates a temperature or a power level outside of the
normal operating range that is not considered a problem. In the case of a minor temperature alarm, the system
could respond by increasing fan speed. A non-critical threshold can be an upper non-critical (UNC) threshold (for
example, a high temperature or a high power level) or a lower non-critical (LNC) threshold (for example, a low power
level). The LEDs do not indicate minor alarms since user intervention is not required.
l A major alarm (also called an IPMI critical or critical recoverable (CR) alarm) indicates that the system itself cannot
correct the cause for the alarm and that intervention is required. For example, the cooling system cannot provide
enough cooling to reduce the temperature. It could also mean that conditions (e.g. temperature) are approaching
the outside limit of the allowed operating range. A critical threshold can also be an upper critical (UC) threshold (e.g.
a high temperature or a high power level) or a lower critical (LC) threshold (e.g. a low power level).
l A critical alarm (also called an IPMI non-recoverable (NR) alarm) indicates detection of a temperature or power level
that is outside of the allowed operating range and could potentially cause physical damage.
To control your FortiGate's security profile inspection mode in FortiOS 5.6, you can select Flow-based or Proxy
inspection modes from System > Settings. Having control over flow and proxy mode is helpful if you want to
ensure that only flow inspection mode is used.
In most cases proxy mode is preferred because more security profile features are available along with more
configuration options for these individual features. Some implementations, however, may require all security
profile scanning to only use flow mode. In this case, you can set your FortiGate to flow mode knowing that proxy
mode inspection will not be used.
Setting up the FortiGate to operate in these new modes (or to operate in the other available operating
modes) involves going to System > Settings and changing the Inspection Mode and NGFW Mode.
NGFW mode simplifies applying application control and web filtering to traffic by allowing you to add applications
and web filtering profiles directly to policies.
Transparent proxy allows you to apply web authentication to HTTP traffic without using the explicit proxy.
NGFW policy mode
When you select Flow-based as the Inspection Mode, you have the option to select an NGFW Mode. Profile-
based mode works the same as flow-based mode did in FortiOS 5.4.
In Policy-based mode, you add applications and web filtering profiles directly to a policy without having to first
create and configure Application Control or Web Filtering profiles.
When you change to Flow-based inspection, all proxy mode profiles are converted to flow mode, removing any
proxy settings. In addition, proxy-mode only features (for example, Web Application Profile) are removed from the
GUI.
If your FortiGate has multiple VDOMs, you can set the inspection mode independently for each VDOM. Go to
System > VDOM. Click Edit for the VDOM you wish to change and select the Inspection Mode.
CLI syntax
The following CLI command can be used to configure inspection and policy modes:
config system settings
set inspection-mode {proxy | flow}
set policy-mode {standard | ngfw}
end
AntiVirus x x
Web Filter x x
DNS Filter x x
Application Control x x
Intrusion Protection x x
Anti-Spam x
VoIP x
ICAP x
FortiClient Profiles x x
Proxy Options x x
SSL Inspection x x
SSH Inspection x
From the GUI, you can only configure antivirus and web filter security profiles in proxy mode. From the CLI, you
can configure flow-based antivirus profiles, web filter profiles, and DLP profiles and they will appear on the GUI
and include their inspection mode setting. Flow-based profiles created when in flow mode are still available when
you switch to proxy mode.
In flow mode, antivirus and web filter profiles only include flow-mode features. Web filtering and virus scanning is
still done with the same engines and to the same accuracy, but some inspection options are limited or not
available in flow mode. Application control, intrusion protection, and FortiClient profiles are not affected when
switching between flow and proxy mode.
Even though VoIP profiles are not available from the GUI in flow mode, the FortiGate can process VoIP traffic. In
this case the appropriate session helper is used (for example, the SIP session helper).
Setting flow or proxy mode doesn't change the settings available from the CLI. However, when in flow mode you
can't save security profiles that are set to proxy mode.
You can also add proxy-only security profiles to firewall policies from the CLI. So, for example, you can add a
VoIP profile to a security policy that accepts VoIP traffic. This practice isn't recommended because the setting will
not be visible from the GUI.
Proxy mode and flow mode antivirus and web filter profile options
The following tables list the antivirus and web filter profile options available in proxy and flow modes.
Inspection Options x x
(not available for quick scan mode)
Search Engines x
URL Filter x x
Rating Options x x
Proxy Options x
Remove ActiveX x
Remove Cookies x
This section contains information about basic FortiGate administration that can be done after you have installed
the unit in your network.
While this section mainly focuses on accomplishing tasks with the GUI, some tasks include instructions to use the
CLI. You can access the CLI using the GUI or FortiExplorer, or via SSH or Telnet connection. For more
information about the CLI, see Using the CLI.
Registration
In order to have full access to Fortinet Support and FortiGuard Services, you must register your FortiGate.
System Settings
There are several system settings that should be configured once your FortiGate is installed:
It is also recommended to change the user name of this account; however, since you cannot change the user
name of an account that is currently in use, a second administrator account will need to be created in order to do
this. For more information about creating and using administrator accounts, see the Administrators section of the
System Administration chapter.
Settings
Settings can be accessed by going to System > Settings. On this page, you can change the Host name,
designate the centralized security management for your FortiGate in Central Management, set the system time
and identify time zone in System Time, configure HTTP, HTTPS, SSH, and Telnet ports as well as idle timeout
in Administration Settings, designate the Password Policy, and manage display options and designate
inspection mode in View Settings.
The host name of your FortiGate appears in the Hostname row in the System Information widget on the
Dashboard. The host name also appears at the CLI prompt when you are logged in to the CLI, and as the SNMP
system name.
Go to System > Settings and type in the new name in the Host name row. The only administrators that can
change a FortiGate’s host name are administrators whose admin profiles permit system configuration write
access. If the FortiGate is part of an HA cluster, you should use a unique host name to distinguish the FortiGate
from others in the cluster.
Central Management
You can manage any size Fortinet security infrastructure, from a few devices to thousands of appliances, by using
FortiManager or FortiCloud. You can configure your FortiGate for either of these centralized security
management services through Central Management. Be sure that you have registered your device with the
FortiManager appliance or FortiCloud host. For more information on configuring your FortiGate for Central
Management, see Adding a FortiGate to FortiManager or FortiCloud.
System Time
For effective scheduling and logging, the FortiGate system time and date should be accurate. You can either
manually set the system time and date or configure the FortiGate to automatically synchronize with a Network
Time Protocol (NTP) server.
NTP enables you to keep the FortiGate time synchronized with other network systems. By enabling NTP on the
FortiGate, FortiOS will check with the NTP server you select at the configured intervals. This will also ensure that
logs and other time-sensitive settings on the FortiGate are correct.
The FortiGate maintains its internal clock using a built-in battery. At start up, the time reported by the FortiGate
will indicate the hardware clock time, which may not be accurate. When using NTP, the system time might
change after the FortiGate has successfully obtained the time from a configured NTP server.
By default, FortiOS has the daylight savings time configuration enabled. The system
time must be manually adjusted after daylight saving time ends. To disable DST,
enter the following commands in the CLI:
config system global
set dst disable
end
Administration Settings
In order to improve security, you can change the default port configurations for administrative connections to the
FortiGate. When connecting to the FortiGate when the port has changed, the port must be included, such as
https://<ip_address>:<port>. For example, if you are connecting to the FortiGate using port 99, the
URL would be https://192.168.1.99:99.
1. Go to System > Settings.
2. Under Administration Settings, change the port numbers for HTTP, HTTPS, SSH, and/or Telnet as needed.
You can also select Redirect to HTTPS in order to avoid HTTP being used for the administrators.
3. Select Apply.
When you change the default port number for HTTP, HTTPS, SSH, or Telnet, ensure that the port number is
unique. If a conflict exists with a particular port, a warning message will appear.
By default, the GUI disconnects administrative sessions if no activity occurs for five minutes. This prevents
someone from using the GUI if the management PC is left unattended.
1. Go to System > Settings.
2. In the Administration Settings section, enter the time in minutes in the Idle timeout field.
3. Select Apply.
Password Policy
The FortiGate includes the ability to create a password policy for administrators and IPsec pre-shared keys. With
this policy, you can enforce regular changes and specific criteria for a password including:
1. Go to System > Settings.
2. Configure Password Policy settings as required.
3. Click Apply.
If you add a password policy or change the requirements on an existing policy, the next time that administrator
logs into the FortiGate, they are prompted to update their password to meet the new requirements before
proceeding to log in.
For information about recovering a lost password and enhancements to the process, see: Resetting a lost Admin
password on the Fortinet Cookbook site.
View Settings
Three settings can change the presentation of information in the GUI: Language, Lines per page, and Theme.
To change the language, go to System > Settings. Select the language you want from the Language drop-
down list: English (the default), French, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Traditional Chinese, Simplified
Chinese, or Korean. For best results, you should select the language that is used by the management computer.
To change the number of lines per page displayed in the GUI tables, set Lines per page to a value between 20
and 1,000. The default is 50 lines per page.
Five color themes are currently available: Green (the default), Red, Blue, Melongene, and Mariner. To change
your theme, select the color from the Theme drop-down list.
This is also where you select either Flow-based or Proxy Inspection Mode . If you select Flow-based mode,
then you need to specify if it is NGFW Profile-based or NGFW Policy-based inspection.
Both the number of attempts (admin-lockout-threshold) and the wait time before the administrator can
try to enter a password again (admin-lockout-duration) can be configured within the CLI.
The default value of admin-lockout-threshold is 3 and the range of values is between 1 and 10. The
admin-lockout-duration is set to 60 seconds by default and the range of values is between 1 and
4294967295 seconds.
Keep in mind that the higher the lockout threshold, the higher the risk that someone may be able to break into the
FortiGate unit.
Example:
If the time span between the first failed login attempt and the admin-lockout-
threshold failed login attempt is less than admin-lockout-duration, the
lockout will be triggered.
Passwords
Using secure passwords are vital for preventing unauthorized access to your FortiGate. When changing the
password, consider the following to ensure better security:
l Do not make passwords that are obvious, such as the company name, administrator names, or other obvious words
or phrases.
l Use numbers in place of letters, for example, passw0rd.
l Administrator passwords can be up to 64 characters.
l Include a mixture of letters, numbers, and upper and lower case.
l Use multiple words together, or possibly even a sentence, for example keytothehighway.
l Use a password generator.
l Change the password regularly and always make the new password unique and not a variation of the existing
password, such as changing from password to password1.
l Make note of the password and store it in a safe place away from the management computer, in case you forget it
or ensure that at least two people know the password in the event that one person becomes ill, is away on vacation,
or leaves the company. Alternatively, have two different admin logins.
Downgrades will typically maintain the administrator password. If you need to downgrade to FortiOS 4.3, remove
the password before the downgrade, then log in after the downgrade and re-configure the password.
Password policy
The FortiGate includes the ability to create a password policy for administrators and IPsec pre-shared keys. With
this policy, you can enforce regular changes and specific criteria for a password including:
1. Go to System > Settings.
2. Configure Password Policy settings as required.
3. Click Apply.
If you add a password policy or change the requirements on an existing policy, the next time that administrator
logs into the FortiGate, they are prompted to update their password to meet the new requirements before
proceeding to log in.
For information about recovering a lost password and enhancements to the process, see: Resetting a lost Admin
password on the Fortinet Cookbook site.
Firmware
Fortinet periodically updates the FortiGate firmware to include new features and resolve important issues. After
you have registered your FortiGate unit, you can download firmware updates from the support web site,
https://support.fortinet.com.
Before you install any new firmware, be sure to follow the steps below:
Only FortiGate admin users and administrators whose access profiles contain system
read and write privileges can change the FortiGate firmware.
1. Open to the administrator's dropdown menu in the top-right corner of the GUI and select Configuration
> Backup.
2. Choose either Local PC or USB Disk to save the configuration file. The USB option will not be available if there
is no USB drive in the USB port.
3. If desired, select Encryption.
4. Select OK.
For more information, see Configuration Backups.
Downloading firmware
Firmware images for all FortiGate units are available on the Fortinet Customer Support website,
https://support.fortinet.com.
To download firmware:
1. Log into the site using your user name and password.
2. Go to Download > Firmware Images.
3. A list of Release Notes is shown. If you have not already done so, download and review the Release Notes for the
firmware you wish to upgrade your FortiGate unit to.
4. Select Download.
Firmware can also be downloaded using FTP; however, as FTP is not an encrypted file
transferring protocol, HTTPS downloading is recommended.
5. Navigate to the folder for the firmware version you wish to use.
6. Select your FortiGate model from the list. If your unit is a FortiWiFi, the firmware will have a filename starting with
'FWF'.
7. Save the firmware image to your computer.
Image integrity is also verified when the FortiGate is booting up. This integrity check is done through a cyclic
redundancy check (CRC). If the CRC fails, the FortiGate unit will encounter an error during the boot process.
Lastly, firmware images are signed and the signature is attached to the code as it is built. When upgrading an
image, the running OS will generate a signature and compare it with the signature attached to the image. If the
signatures do not match, the new OS will not load.
FortiOS lets you test a new firmware image by installing the firmware image from a system reboot and saving it to
system memory. After completing this procedure, the FortiGate unit operates using the new firmware image with
the current configuration. This new firmware image is not permanently installed. The next time the FortiGate unit
restarts, it operates with the originally installed firmware image using the current configuration. If the new
firmware image operates successfully, you can install it permanently using the procedure explained in Testing
new firmware on page 341.
To use this procedure, you must connect to the CLI using the FortiGate console port and an RJ-45 to DB-9 or null
modem cable. This procedure temporarily installs a new firmware image using your current configuration.
For this procedure, you must install a TFTP server that you can connect to from the FortiGate internal interface.
The TFTP server should be on the same subnet as the internal interface.
You have only three (3) seconds to press any key. If you do not press a key quickly
enough, the FortiGate unit reboots and you must log in and repeat the execute
reboot command.
If you successfully interrupt the startup process, the following messages appears:
[G]: Get firmware image from TFTP server.
[F]: Format boot device.
[B]: Boot with backup firmware and set as default
[C]: Configuration and information
[Q]: Quit menu and continue to boot with default firmware.
[H]: Display this list of options.
Enter G, F, Q, or H:
8. Type G to get the new firmware image from the TFTP server. The following message appears:
Enter TFTP server address [192.168.1.168]:
9. Type the address of the TFTP server and press Enter. The following message appears:
Enter Local Address [192.168.1.188]:
10. Type an IP address of the FortiGate unit to connect to the TFTP server. The IP address must be on the same
network as the TFTP server.
Make sure you do not enter the IP address of another device on this network.
11. Enter the firmware image file name and press Enter. The TFTP server uploads the firmware image file to the
FortiGate unit and the following appears.
Save as Default firmware/Backup firmware/Run image without saving: [D/B/R]
12. Type R. The FortiGate image is installed to system memory and the FortiGate unit starts running the new
firmware image, but with its current configuration.
You can test the new firmware image as required. When done testing, you can reboot the FortiGate unit, and the
FortiGate unit will resume using the firmware that was running before you installed the test firmware.
Always remember to back up your configuration before making any changes to the
firmware.
Be sure to read the topics on downloading and testing firmware before upgrading.
Before you begin, ensure you have a TFTP server running and accessible to the FortiGate unit.
Where <name_str> is the name of the firmware image file and <tftp_ipv4> is the IP address of
the TFTP server. For example, if the firmware image file name is image.out and the IP address of
the TFTP server is 192.168.1.168, enter:
execute restore image tftp image.out 192.168.1.168
Always remember to back up your configuration before making any changes to the
firmware.
To use the following procedure, you must have a TFTP server the FortiGate unit can connect to.
Where <name_str> is the name of the firmware image file and <tftp_ipv4> is the IP address of
the TFTP server. For example, if the firmware image file name is imagev28.out and the IP
address of the TFTP server is 192.168.1.168, enter:
execute restore image tftp image28.out 192.168.1.168
7. Type y. The FortiGate unit reverts to the old firmware version, resets the configuration to factory defaults, and
restarts. This process takes a few minutes.
8. Reconnect to the CLI.
9. To restore your previous configuration, if needed, use the command:
execute restore config <name_str> <tftp_ipv4>
10. Update antivirus and attack definitions using the command:
execute update-now
This procedure installs a firmware image and resets the FortiGate unit to default settings. You can use this
procedure to upgrade to a new firmware version, revert to an older firmware version, or re-install the current
firmware.
To use this procedure, you must connect to the CLI using the FortiGate console port and a RJ-45 to DB-9, or null
modem cable. This procedure reverts the FortiGate unit to its factory default configuration.
For this procedure you install a TFTP server that you can connect to from the FortiGate internal interface. The
TFTP server should be on the same subnet as the internal interface.
Before beginning this procedure, ensure you backup the FortiGate unit configuration.
If you are reverting to a previous FortiOS version, you might not be able to restore the previous configuration from
the backup configuration file.
Installing firmware replaces your current antivirus and attack definitions, along with the definitions included with
the firmware release you are installing. After you install new firmware, make sure that antivirus and attack
definitions are up to date.
1. Connect to the CLI using the RJ-45 to DB-9 or null modem cable.
2. Make sure the TFTP server is running.
3. Copy the new firmware image file to the root directory of the TFTP server.
4. Make sure the internal interface is connected to the same network as the TFTP server.
5. To confirm the FortiGate unit can connect to the TFTP server, use the following command to ping the computer
running the TFTP server. For example, if the IP address of the TFTP server is 192.168.1.168:
execute ping 192.168.1.168
6. Enter the following command to restart the FortiGate unit.
execute reboot
You have only three (3) seconds to press any key. If you do not press a key quickly
enough, the FortiGate unit reboots and you must log in and repeat the execute
reboot command.
If you successfully interrupt the startup process, the following messages appears:
[G]: Get firmware image from TFTP server.
[F]: Format boot device.
Make sure you do not enter the IP address of another device on this network.
Configuration revision
You can manage multiple versions of configuration files on models that have a 512MB flash memory and higher.
Revision control requires either a configured central management server or the local hard drive, if your FortiGate
has this feature. Typically, configuration backup to local drive is not available on lower-end models.
If central management is not configured on your FortiGate unit, a message appears instructing you to either:
Configuration revisions are viewed by clicking on admin in the upper right-hand corner of the screen and
selecting Configuration > Revisions.
Controlled upgrade
Using a controlled upgrade, you can upload a new version of the FortiOS firmware to a separate partition in the
FortiGate memory for later upgrade. The FortiGate unit can also be configured so that when it is rebooted, it will
automatically load the new firmware (CLI only). Using this option, you can stage a number of FortiGate units to
do an upgrade simultaneously to all devices using FortiManager or script.
Configuration Backups
Once you successfully configure the FortiGate, it is extremely important that you backup the configuration. In
some cases, you may need to reset the FortiGate to factory defaults or perform a TFTP upload of the firmware,
which will erase the existing configuration. In these instances, the configuration on the device will have to be
recreated, unless a backup can be used to restore it. You should also backup the local certificates, as the unique
SSL inspection CA and server certificates that are generated by your FortiGate by default are not saved in a
system backup.
It is also recommended that you backup the configuration after any future changes are made, to ensure you have
the most current configuration available. Also, backup the configuration before any upgrades of the FortiGate’s
firmware. Should anything happen to the configuration during the upgrade, you can easily restore the saved
configuration.
Always backup the configuration and store it on the management computer or off-site. You have the option to
save the configuration file to various locations including the local PC, USB key, FTP, and TFTP server. The last
two are configurable through the CLI only.
If you have VDOMs, you can back up the configuration of the entire FortiGate or only a specific VDOM. Note that
if you are using FortiManager or FortiCloud, full backups are performed and the option to backup individual
VDOMs will not appear.
3. If VDOMs are enabled, indicate whether the scope of the backup is for the entire FortiGate configuration (Global)
or only a specific VDOM configuration (VDOM).
4. If backing up a VDOM configuration, select the VDOM name from the list.
5. Select Encryption.
Encryption must be enabled on the backup file to back up VPN certificates.
6. Enter a password and enter it again to confirm it. You will need this password to restore the file.
7. Select OK.
8. The web browser will prompt you for a location to save the configuration file. The configuration file will have a
.conf extension.
or for FTP, note that port number, username are optional depending on the FTP site:
execute backup config ftp <backup_filename> <ftp_server> [<port>] [<user_name>]
[<password>]
or for TFTP:
execute backup config tftp <backup_filename> <tftp_servers> <password>
Use the same commands to backup a VDOM configuration by first entering the commands:
config vdom
edit <vdom_name>
1. Move the output file from the TFTP server location to the management computer.
2. Go to System > Certificates and select Import.
3. Select the appropriate type of certificate from the dropdown menu and fill in any required fields.
4. Select Upload. Browse to the location on the management computer where the exported file has been saved,
select the file and select Open.
5. If required, enter the Password needed to upload the exported file.
6. Select OK.
SCP uses the SSH protocol to provide secure file transfer. The interface you use for administration must allow
SSH access.
1. Go to Network > Interfaces.
2. Select the interface you use for administrative access and select Edit.
3. In the Administrative Access section, select SSH .
4. Select OK.
When adding to, or removing a protocol, you must type the entire list again. For
example, if you have an access list of HTTPS and SSH, and you want to add PING,
you must type:
set allowaccess https ssh ping
The FortiGate downloads the configuration file as sys_conf. Use the following syntax to download the file:
Linux
scp admin@<FortiGate_IP>:fgt-config <location>
Windows
pscp admin@<FortiGate_IP>:fgt-config <location>
The following examples show how to download the configuration file from a FortiGate-100D, at IP address
172.20.120.171, using Linux and Windows SCP clients.
To download the configuration file to a local directory called ~/config, enter the following command:
scp admin@172.20.120.171:fgt-config ~/config
To download the configuration file to a local directory called c:\config, enter the following command in a
Command Prompt window:
pscp admin@172.20.120.171:fgt-config c:\config
SCP authenticates itself to the FortiGate in the same way as an administrator using SSH accesses the CLI.
Instead of using a password, you can configure the SCP client and the FortiGate with a public-private key pair.
1. Create a public-private key pair using a key generator compatible with your SCP client.
2. Save the private key to the location on your computer where your SSH keys are stored.
This step depends on your SCP client. The Secure Shell key generator automatically stores the private key.
3. Copy the public key to the FortiGate using the CLI commands:
config system admin
edit admin
set ssh-public-key1 "<key-type> <key-value>"
end
<key-type> must be the ssh-dss for a DSA key or ssh-rsa for an RSA key. For the <key-value>,
copy the public key data and paste it into the CLI command.
If you are copying the key data from Windows Notepad, copy one line at a time and ensure that you
paste each line of key data at the end of the previously pasted data. Also:
l Do not copy the end-of-line characters that appear as small rectangles in Notepad.
l Do not copy the ---- BEGIN SSH2 PUBLIC KEY ---- or Comment: “[2048-bit dsa,...]”
lines.
l Do not copy the ---- END SSH2 PUBLIC KEY ---- line.
4. Type the closing quotation mark and press Enter.
Your SCP client can now authenticate to the FortiGate based on SSH keys rather than the administrator
password.
Restore a configuration
Should you need to restore a configuration file, use the following steps:
1. Click on admin in the upper right-hand corner of the screen and select Configuration > Restore.
2. Identify the source of the configuration file to be restored : your Local PC or a USB Disk.
The USB Disk option will be grayed out if no USB drive is inserted in the USB port. You can restore from the
FortiManager using the CLI.
3. Enter the path and file name of the configuration file, or select Browse to locate the file.
4. Enter a password if required.
5. Select Restore.
Troubleshooting
During the installation, some possible errors may occur, but the solutions are usually straightforward.
Configuration file error This error occurs when attempting to upload a configuration file that is
incompatible with the device. This may be due to the configuration file being for a
different model or being saved from a different version of firmware.
Solution: Upload a configuration file that is for the correct model of FortiGate
device and the correct version of the firmware.
Invalid password When the configuration file is saved, it can be protected by a password. The
password entered during the upload process is not matching the one associated
with the configuration file.
Configuration revision
You can manage multiple versions of configuration files on models that have a 512MB flash memory and higher.
Revision control requires either a configured central management server or the local hard drive, if your FortiGate
has this feature. Typically, configuration backup to local drive is not available on lower-end models.
If central management is not configured on your FortiGate unit, a message appears instructing you to either:
Configuration revisions are viewed by clicking on admin in the upper right-hand corner of the screen and
selecting Configuration > Revisions.
Alternatively, in the CLI you can reset the factory defaults but retain the interface and VDOM configuration. Use
the following command:
execute factoryreset2
FortiGuard
The FortiGuard Distribution Network (FDN) of servers provides updates to antivirus, antispam, and IPS
definitions to your FortiGate. FortiGuard Subscription Services provides comprehensive Unified Threat
Management (UTM) security solutions to enable protection against content and network level threats.
The FortiGuard team can be found around the globe, monitoring virus, spyware and vulnerability activities. As
vulnerabilities are found, signatures are created and pushed to the subscribed FortiGates. The Global Threat
Research Team enables Fortinet to deliver a combination of multi-layered security intelligence and provide true
zero-day protection from new and emerging threats. The FortiGuard Network has data centers around the world
located in secure, high availability locations that automatically deliver updates to the Fortinet security platforms
to protect the network with the latest information.
FortiGuard provides a number of services to monitor world-wide activity and provide the best possible security,
including:
l Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) - IPS uses a customizable database of more than 4000 known threats to stop
attacks that evade conventional firewall defenses. It also provides behavior-based heuristics, enabling the system
to recognize threats when no signature has yet been developed. It also provides more than 1000 application identity
signatures for complete application control.
l Application Control - Application Control allows you to identify and control applications on networks and
endpoints regardless of port, protocol, and IP address used. It gives you unmatched visibility and control over
application traffic, even traffic from unknown applications and sources. Application Control is a free FortiGuard
service and the database for Application Control signatures is separate from the IPS database (Botnet Application
signatures are still part of the IPS signature database since these are more closely related with security issues and
less about application detection). Application Control signature database information is displayed under the
System > FortiGuard page in the FortiCare section.
Please note that while the Application Control profile can be used for free, signature
database updates require a valid FortiGuard subscription.
l AntiVirus -The FortiGuard AntiVirus Service provides fully automated updates to ensure protection against the
latest content level threats. It employs advanced virus, spyware, and heuristic detection engines to prevent both
new and evolving threats from gaining access to your network and protects against vulnerabilities.
l Web Filtering - Web Filtering provides Web URL filtering to block access to harmful, inappropriate, and dangerous
web sites that may contain phishing/pharming attacks, malware such as spyware, or objectionable content that can
expose your organization to legal liability. Based on automatic research tools and targeted research analysis, real-
time updates enable you to apply highly-granular policies that filter web access based on six major categories and
nearly 80 micro-categories, over 45 million rated web sites, and more than two billion web pages - all continuously
updated.
l Vulnerability Scanning - FortiGuard Services provide comprehensive and continuous updates for vulnerabilities,
remediation, patch scan, and configuration benchmarks.
l Email Filtering - The FortiGuard Antispam Service uses both a sender IP reputation database and a spam
signature database, along with sophisticated spam filtering tools on Fortinet appliances and agents, to detect and
block a wide range of spam messages. Updates to the IP reputation and spam signature databases are provided
continuously via the FDN.
l Messaging Services - Messaging Services allow a secure email server to be automatically enabled on your
FortiGate to send alert email or send email authentication tokens. With the SMS gateway, you can enter phone
numbers where the FortiGate will send the SMS messages. Note that depending on your carrier, there may be a
slight time delay on receiving messages.
l DNS and DDNS - The FortiGuard DNS and DDNS services provide an efficient method of DNS lookups once
subscribed to the FortiGuard network. This is the default option. The FortiGate connects automatically to the
FortiGuard DNS server. If you do not register, you need to configure an alternate DNS server.
Configure the DDNS server settings using the CLI command:
The License Information area displays the status of your FortiGate’s support contract.
You can also manually update the AntiVirus and IPS engines.
Verification - GUI:
The simplest method to check that the FortiGate is communicating with the FDN, is to check the License
Information dashboard widget. Any subscribed services should have a green check mark beside them indicating
that connections are successful. Any other icon indicates a problem with the connection, or you are not
subscribed to the FortiGuard services.
You can also view the FortiGuard connection status by going to System > FortiGuard.
Verification - CLI:
You can also use the CLI to see what FortiGuard servers are available to your FortiGate. Use the following CLI
command to ping the FDN for a connection:
execute ping guard.fortinet.net
You can also use the following diagnose command to find out what FortiGuard servers are available:
diagnose debug rating
From this command, you will see output similar to the following:
Locale : english
License : Contract
Expiration : Sun Jul 24 20:00:00 2011
Hostname : service.fortiguard.net
-=- Server List (Tue Nov 2 11:12:28 2010) -=-
An extensive list of servers are available. Should you see a list of three to five available servers, the FortiGuard
servers are responding to DNS replies to service FortiGuard.net, but the INIT requests are not reaching FDS
services on the servers.
D Indicates the server was found via the DNS lookup of the hostname. If the hostname returns
more than one IP address, all of them will be flagged with 'D' and will be used first for INIT
requests before falling back to the other servers.
I Indicates the server to which the last INIT request was sent.
F The server has not responded to requests and is considered to have failed.
The server list is sorted first by weight and then the server with the smallest RTT is put at the top of the list,
regardless of weight. When a packet is lost, it will be resent to the next server in the list.
The weight for each server increases with failed packets and decreases with successful packets. To lower the
possibility of using a distant server, the weight is not allowed to dip below a base weight, which is calculated as
the difference in hours between the FortiGate and the server, multiplied by 10. The further away the server, the
higher its base weight and the lower in the list it will appear.
Port assignment
The FortiGate contacts FDN for the latest list of FDN servers by sending UDP packets with typical source ports of
1027 or 1031, and destination port 8888. The FDN reply packets have a destination port of 1027 or 1031.
If your ISP blocks UDP packets in this port range, the FortiGate cannot receive the FDN reply packets. As a result,
the FortiGate will not receive the complete FDN server list.
If your ISP blocks the lower range of UDP ports (around 1024), you can configure your FortiGate to use higher-
numbered ports, using the CLI command:
config system global
set ip-src-port-range <start port>-<end port>
end
where the <start port> and <end port> are numbers ranging of 1024 to 25000.
For example, you could configure the FortiGate to not use ports lower than 2048 or ports higher than the
following range:
config system global
set ip-src-port-range 2048-20000
end
Trial and error may be required to select the best source port range. You can also contact your ISP to determine
the best range to use. Push updates might be unavailable if:
l there is a NAT device installed between the unit and the FDN, and/or
l your unit connects to the Internet using a proxy server.
Accept push Select to allow updates to be sent automatically to your FortiGate. New definitions will
updates be added as soon as they are released by FortiGuard.
l Enter the IP address and port of the NAT device in front of your FortiGate. FDS will
connect to this device when attempting to reach the FortiGate.
l The NAT device must be configured to forward the FDS traffic to the FortiGate on
UDP port 9443.
Scheduled Enable for updates to be sent to your FortiGate at a specific time. For example, to
Updates minimize traffic lag times, you can schedule the update to occur on weekends or after
work hours.
Note that a schedule of once a week means any urgent updates will not be pushed
until the scheduled time. However, if there is an urgent update required, select the
Update Now button.
Improve IPS Enable to help Fortinet maintain and improve IPS signatures. The information sent to
quality the FortiGuard servers when an attack occurs can be used to keep the database
current as variants of attacks evolve.
Use extended IPS Regular IPS database protects against the latest common and in-the-wild attacks.
signature Extended IPS database includes protection from legacy attacks.
package
Manual updates
To manually update the signature definitions file, you need to first go to the Support web site at
https://support.fortinet.com. Once logged in, select Download > FortiGuard Service Updates. The browser
will present you the most current IPS and AntiVirus signature definitions which you can download.
Once downloaded to your computer, log into the FortiGate to load the definition file.
1. Go to System > FortiGuard.
2. In the License Information table, select the Upgrade Database link in either the Application Control
Signature, IPS, or AntiVirus row.
3. In the pop-up window, select Upload and locate the downloaded file and select Open.
The upload may take a few minutes to complete.
Automatic updates
The FortiGate can be configured to request updates from FDN on a scheduled basis, or via push notification.
Scheduling updates
Scheduling updates ensures that the virus and IPS definitions are downloaded to your FortiGate on a regular
basis, ensuring that you do not forget to check for the definition files yourself.
Updating definitions can cause a very short disruption in traffic currently being scanned while the FortiGate unit
applies the new signature database, Ideally, schedule updates during off-peak hours, such as evenings or
weekends, when network usage is minimal, to ensure that the network activity will not suffer from the added
traffic of downloading the definition files.
Push updates
Push updates enable you to get immediate updates when new viruses or intrusions have been discovered and
new signatures created. This ensures that the latest signature will be sent to the FortiGate as soon as possible.
When a push notification occurs, the FortiGuard server sends a notice to the FortiGate that there is a new
signature definition file available. The FortiGate then initiates a download of the definition file, similar to the
scheduled update.
To ensure maximum security for your network, you should have a scheduled update as well as enable the push
update, in case an urgent signature is created, and your cycle of the updates only occurs weekly.
Push IP override
If the FortiGate is behind another NAT device (or another FortiGate), to ensure it receives the push update
notifications, you need to use an override IP address for the notifications. To do this, you create a virtual IP to
map to the external port of the NAT device.
Generally speaking, if there are two FortiGate devices, the following steps need to be completed on the
FortiGate NAT device to ensure the FortiGate on the internal network receives the updates:
l Add a port forwarding virtual IP to the FortiGate NAT device that connects to the Internet by going to Policy
& Objects > Virtual IPs.
l Add a security policy to the FortiGate NAT device that connects to the Internet that includes the port forwarding
virtual IP.
l Configure the FortiGate on the internal network with an override push IP and port.
On the FortiGate internal device, the virtual IP is entered as the Use push override IP address.
The statistics include some non-personal information that identifies your FortiGate and its country. The
information is never shared with external parties. You can choose to disable the sharing of this information by
entering the following CLI command:
config system global
set fds-statistics disable
end
Web Filter Cache Set the Time To Live (TTL) value. This is the number of seconds the
FortiGate will store a blocked IP or URL locally, saving time and network
access traffic, checking the FortiGuard server. Once the TTL has expired,
the FortiGate will contact an FDN server to verify a web address. The TTL
must be between 300 and 86400 seconds.
FortiGuard Filtering Port Select the port assignments for contacting the FortiGuard servers.
Filtering Service Indicates the status of the filtering service. Select Check Again if the
Availability filtering service is not available.
Request re-evaluation of a Select to re-evaluate a URL’s category rating on the FortiGuard Web Filter
URL's category service.
Email filtering
The FortiGuard data centers monitor and update email databases of known spam sources. With FortiGuard Anti-
Spam filtering enabled, the FortiGate verifies incoming email sender addresses and IPs against the database,
and takes the necessary actions as defined within the antivirus profiles.
Spam source IP addresses can also be cached locally on the FortiGate, providing a quicker response time, while
easing load on the FortiGuard servers, aiding in a quicker response time for less common email address
requests.
By default, the anti-spam cache is enabled. The cache includes a TTL value, which is the amount of time an
email address will stay in the cache before expiring. You can change this value to shorten or extend the time
between 5 and 1,440 minutes.
1. Go to System > FortiGuard.
2. Under Filtering, enable Anti-Spam Cache.
3. Enter the TTL value in minutes.
4. Select Apply.
Further antispam filtering options can be configured to block, allow, or quarantine specific email addresses.
These configurations are available through the Security Profiles > Anti-Spam menu. For more information,
see the Security Profiles handbook chapter.
l URL lookup — By entering a website address, you can see if it has been rated and what category and
classification it is filed as. If you find your website or a site you commonly go to has been wrongly categorized, you
can use this page to request that the site be re-evaluated.
https://fortiguard.com/webfilter
l Threat Encyclopedia — Browse the Fortiguard Labs extensive encyclopedia of threats. Search for viruses, botnet
C&C, IPS, endpoint vulnerabilities, and mobile malware.
https://www.fortiguard.com/encyclopedia
l Application Control — Browse the Fortiguard Labs extensive encyclopedia of applications.
https://fortiguard.com/appcontrol
FortiCloud
FortiCloud is a hosted security management and log retention service for FortiGate devices. It gives you
centralized reporting, traffic analysis, configuration management, and log retention without the need for
additional hardware or software.
l Simplified central management — FortiCloud provides a central web-based management console to manage
individual or aggregated FortiGate and FortiWiFi devices. Adding a device to the FortiCloud management
subscription is straightforward. FortiCloud has detailed traffic and application visibility across the whole network.
l Hosted log retention with large default storage allocated — Log retention is an integral part of any security
and compliance program but administering a separate storage system is burdensome. FortiCloud takes care of this
automatically and stores the valuable log information in the cloud. Each device is allowed up to 200GB of log
retention storage. Different types of logs can be stored including Traffic, System Events, Web, Applications, and
Security Events.
l Monitoring and alerting in real time — Network availability is critical to a good end-user experience. FortiCloud
enables you to monitor your FortiGate network in real time with different alerting mechanisms to pinpoint potential
issues. Alerting mechanisms can be delivered via email.
l Customized or pre-configured reporting and analysis tools — Reporting and analysis are your eyes and
ears into your network’s health and security. Pre-configured reports are available, as well as custom reports that can
be tailored to your specific reporting and compliance requirements. For example, you may want to look closely at
application usage or website violations. The reports can be emailed as PDFs and can cover different time periods.
l Maintain important configuration information uniformly — The correct configuration of the devices within
your network is essential to maintaining an optimum performance and security posture. In addition, maintaining the
correct firmware (operating system) level allows you to take advantage of the latest features.
l Service security — All communication (including log information) between the devices and the clouds is
encrypted. Redundant data centers are always used to give the service high availability. Operational security
measures have been put in place to make sure your data is secure — only you can view or retrieve it.
Before you can activate a FortiCloud account, you must first register your device.
FortiCloud accounts can be registered manually through the FortiCloud website, https://www.forticloud.com, but
you can easily register and activate your account directly from your FortiGate.
1. On your device’s dashboard, in the FortiCloud widget, select the Activate button in the status field.
2. A dialogue asking you to register your FortiCloud account appears. Select Create Account, enter your
information, view and accept the terms and conditions, and select OK.
3. A second dialogue window appears, asking you to enter your information to confirm your account. This sends a
confirmation email to your registered email. The dashboard widget then updates to show that confirmation is
required.
4. Open your email, and follow the confirmation link it contains.
Results
A FortiCloud page will open, stating that your account has been confirmed. The Activation Pending message on
the dashboard will change to state the type of account you have (‘1GB Free’ or ‘200GB Subscription’), and will
provide a link to the FortiCloud portal.
l If you have direct networked access to the FortiGate, you can simply open your Dashboard and check the License
Information widget. Next to the current FortiCloud connection status will be a link to reach the FortiCloud Portal.
l If you do not currently have access to the FortiGate’s interface, you can visit the FortiCloud website
(https://forticloud.com) and log in remotely, using your email and password. It will ask you to confirm the FortiCloud
account you are connecting to and then you will be granted access. Connected devices can be remotely configured
using the Scripts page in the Management Tab, useful if an administrator may be away from the unit for a long
period of time.
Cloud Sandboxing
FortiCloud can be used for automated sample tracking, or sandboxing, for files from a FortiGate. This allows
suspicious files to be sent to be inspected without risking network security. If the file exhibits risky behavior, or is
found to contain a virus, a new virus signature is created and added to the FortiGuard antivirus signature
database.
Cloud sandboxing is configured by going to Security Fabric > Settings. After enabling Sandbox Inspection,
select the FortiSandbox type.
Sandboxing results are shown in a new tab called AV Submissions in the FortiCloud portal. This tab only
appears after a file has been sent for sandboxing.
If your FortiGate does not function as desired after installation, try the following troubleshooting tips:
If the name cannot be resolved, the FortiGate or PC cannot connect to a DNS server and you should confirm that
the DNS server IP addresses are present and correct.
12. Confirm that the FortiGate can connect to the FortiGuard network
Once registered, the FortiGate obtains AntiVirus and Application Control and other updates from the FortiGuard
network. Once the FortiGate is on your network, you should confirm that it can reach the FortiGuard network.
First, check the License Information widget to make sure that the status of all FortiGuard services matches the
services that you have purchased.
Go to System > FortiGuard. Scroll down to Filtering Services Availability and select Check Again. After a
minute, the GUI should indicate a successful connection.
13. Consider changing the MAC address of your external interface
Some ISPs do not want the MAC address of the device connecting to their network cable to change. If you have
added a FortiGate to your network, you may have to change the MAC address of the Internet-facing interface
using the following CLI command:
config system interface
edit <interface>
set macaddr <xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx>
end
end
14. Either reset the FortiGate to factory defaults or contact Fortinet Support for assistance. See the note below before
contacting support.
To reset the FortiGate to factory defaults, use the CLI command execute factoryreset. When prompted,
type y to confirm the reset.
You can also contact Fortinet Support for assistance. Read the following article found on the Fortinet Cookbook
website: How to work with Fortinet Support to understand what type of support is available and to determine
which level of support is right for you. For further information, go to support.fortinet.com.
Here's a list of some resources you can check out next to help you get the most out of your newly installed and
configured FortiGate.
Best Practices
The Best Practices document is a collection of guidelines to ensure the most secure and reliable operation of
FortiGates in a customer environment. It is updated periodically as new issues are identified.
Using the Cookbook, you can go from idea to execution in simple steps, configuring a secure network for better
productivity with reduced risk.
The Fortinet Video Library can be found at http://video.fortinet.com. You can also subscribe to Fortinet's
YouTube channel.
Authentication servers describes external authentication servers, where a FortiGate unit fits into the topology,
and how to configure a FortiGate unit to work with that type of authentication server.
Users and user groups describes the different types of user accounts and user groups. Authenticated access to
resources is based on user identities and user group membership. Two-factor authentication methods, including
FortiToken, provide additional security.
Managing Guest Access explains how to manage temporary accounts for visitors to your premises.
Configuring authenticated access provides detailed procedures for setting up authenticated access in security
policies and authenticated access to VPNs.
Captive portals describes how to authenticate users through a web page that the FortiGate unit presents in
response to any HTTP request until valid credentials are entered. This can be used for wired or WiFi network
interfaces.
Single Sign-On using a FortiAuthenticator unit describes how to use a FortiAuthenticator unit as an SSO agent
that can integrate with external network authentication systems such as RADIUS and LDAP to gather user logon
information and send it to the FortiGate unit. Users can also log on through a FortiAuthenticator-based web portal
or the FortiClient SSO Mobility Agent.
Single Sign-On to Windows AD describes how to set up Single Sign-On in a Windows AD network by configuring
the FortiGate unit to poll domain controllers for information user logons and user privileges.
Agent-based FSSO describes how to set up Single Sign-On in Windows AD, Citrix, or Novell networks by
installing Fortinet Single Sign On (FSSO) agents on domain controllers. The FortiGate unit receives information
about user logons and allows access to network resources based on user group memberships.
SSO using RADIUS accounting records describes how to set up Single Sign-On in a network that uses RADIUS
authentication. In this configuration, the RADIUS server send RADIUS accounting records to the FortiGate unit
when users log on or off the network. The record includes a user group name that can be used in FortiGate
security policies to determine which resources each user can access.
FortiOS 5.6.4
These features first appeared in FortiOS 5.6.4.
FortiOS 5.6.3
These features first appeared in FortiOS 5.6.3.
Support FTM Push when FortiAuthenticator is the authentication server (408273, 438314)
FortiGate supports when the FortiAuthenticator initiates FTM Push notifications, for when users are attempting
to authenticate through a VPN and/or RADIUS (with FortiAuthenticator as the RADIUS server).
Support exact match for subject and CN fields in peer user (416359)
Administrators can now specify which way a peer user authenticates, in order to avoid any unintentional admin
access by a regular user. When searching for a matching certificate, use the commands below to control how to
find matches in the certificate subject name (subject-match) or the cn attribute (cn-match) of the certificate
subject name. This match can be any string (substring) or an exact match (value) of the cn attribute value.
Syntax
config vpn certificate setting
edit <name>
set subject-match {substring | value}
set cn-match {substring | value}
next
end
Syntax
execute vpn certificate ca import bundle <file-name.pkg> <ftp/tftp-server-ip>
Syntax
config system global
set ssh-kex-sha1 {enable | disable}
end
Syntax
config firewall proxy-policy
edit {policyid}
set proxy explicit-web
set http-tunnel-auth {enable | disable}
next
end
FortiOS 5.6.1
These features first appeared in FortiOS 5.6.1.
Note that while you can set the primary RADIUS server's IPv6 address, the source IP
address for communications to the RADIUS server cannot be configured as IPv6.
Syntax
next
next
end
New option under user > setting to allow/forbid SSL renegotiation in firewall authentication
(386595)
A new option auth-ssl-allow-renegotiation is now available under config user setting to
allow/forbid renegotiation. The default value is disable, where a session would be terminated by authd once
renegotiation is detected and this login would be recorded as failure. Other behavior follows regular auth settings.
Syntax
config user setting
set auth-ssl-allow-renegotiation {enable | disable}
end
Reverted default DN format to include spaces. Added a new CLI option ike-dn-format to allow the user to
select either with-space or no-space. Customers using the group-authentication option can select
the ike-dn-format setting to match the format used in their RADIUS user database.
Syntax
config user ldap
edit <name>
set group-filter ?
next
end
l group-filter is none by default, where the process is the same as before.
When group-filter is set, the LDAP filter takes effect for retrieving the group information.
In FortiOS 5.6.1, a Refresh button has been added in the LDAP browser. In the LDAP server dialog page, the
user can delete the DN field to browse the root level tree when clicking the Fetch DN button.
l group-member-check user-attr
For user attribute checking, a new attribute group-search-base is added, which indicates the starting point for
the group search. If the group-search-base is not set, binddn is used as the search base. Removed search-
type when group-member-check is user-attr.
l group-member-check group-object
For group object checking, the group names in user group match rule will be picked up as the group search base. If
there are multiple matching rules, each group name will trigger the ldapsearch query once.
l group-member-check posix-group-object
Changed group-object-search-base to group-search-base for posix-group-object group-
member-check.
To support non-blocking LDAP in fnbamd, we stopped using the openLDAP library in fnbamd, instead using only
liblber. Instead of using openLDAP, fnbamd will create its own event-driven connection with LDAP servers over
LDAP/LDAPS/STARTTLS, make it non-blocking, do CRL checking if necessary, and compose all LDAP requests
using liblber (including bind, unbind, search, password renewal, password query, send request and receive
response, and parse response). The whole process is done in one connection.
This doesn't change any openLDAP implementation but moves some data structure definitions and API
definitions from some internal header files to public header files.
Example
FG100D3G12807101 # diagnose test authserver radius-direct
<server_name or IP> <port no(0 default port)> <secret> <user> <password>
FortiOS 5.6.0
These features first appeared in FortiOS 5.6.0.
A new command has been added under config system ftm-push allowing you to configure the FortiToken
Mobile Push services server IP address and port number. The Push service is provided by Apple (APNS) and
Google (GCM) for iPhone and Android smartphones respectively. This will help to avoid tokens becoming locked
after an already enabled two-factor authentication user has been disabled.
CLI syntax
config system ftm-push
set server-ip <ip-address>
set server-port [1-65535] Default is 4433.
end
If an SSL VPN user authenticates with their token, then logs out and attempts to reauthenticate again within a
minute, a new message will display showing "Please wait x seconds to login again." This replaces a previous
error/permission denied message.
The "x" value will depend on the calculation of how much time is left in the current time step.
CLI syntax
config system interface
edit <name>
set allowaccess ftm
next
end
l Fortinet_CA
l Fortinet_Sub_CA
l Fortinet_Factory
l Fortinet_CA_Backup
l Fortinet_Factory_Backup
When FortiOS connects to FortiGuard, FortiCloud, FortiManager, FortiAnalyzer, FortiSandbox as a client, the
new BIOS certificate Fortinet_Factory will be the default client certificate. When the server returns its certificate
(chain) back, FortiOS looks up the issuer of the server certificate and either keeps client certificate as is or
switches to the old BIOS certificate Fortinet_Factory_Backup. This process occurs in one handshake.
When FortiOS connects to FortiCare, the new BIOS certificate Fortinet_Factory is the only client certificate and
Server Name Indication (SNI) is set. There is no switchover of certificate during SSL handshake.
When FortiOS acts as a server when connected by FortiExtender, FortiSwitch, FortiAP, etc., Fortinet_Factory is
the default server certificate. FortiOS detects SNI in client hello, and if no SNI is found or if the CN in SNI is
different from the CN of Fortinet_CA, it switches to use the old Fortinet_Factory_Backup.
To implement this, a new CLI command has been added under log fortianalyzer setting to allow you
to specify the certificate used to communicate with FortiAnalyzer.
CLI syntax
config log fortianalyzer setting
set certificate <name>
end
New commands added to config user ldap to set UPN processing method and filter name
(383561)
Added two new commands to config user ldap allowing you to keep or strip domain string of UPN in the
token as well as the search name for this kind of UPN.
CLI syntax:
config user ldap
set account-key-processing
set account-key-name
end
Password for private key configurable in both GUI and CLI (374593)
FortiOS 5.4.1 introduced a feature that allowed you to export a local certificate and its private key in password
protected p12, and later import them to any device. This option to set password for private key was available only
in the CLI (when requesting a new certificate via SCEP or generating a CSR). This feature is now also
configurable through the GUI.
The new Password for private key option is available under System > Certificates when generating a new
CSR.
Certain RADIUS servers use ISO-8859-1 password encoding instead of others such as UTF-8. In these instances,
the server will fail to authenticate the user, if the user's password is using UTF-8.
CLI syntax
config user radius
edit <example>
set password-encoding <auto | ISO-8859-1>
end
This option will be skipped if the auth-type is neither auto nor pap.
Identifying users and other computers—authentication—is a key part of network security. This section describes
some basic elements and concepts of authentication.
l What is authentication?
l Methods of authentication
l Types of authentication
l User’s view of authentication
l FortiGate administrator’s view of authentication
What is authentication?
Businesses need to authenticate people who have access to company resources. In the physical world this may
be a swipe card to enter the building, or a code to enter a locked door. If a person has this swipe card or code,
they have been authenticated as someone allowed in that building or room.
Authentication is the act of confirming the identity of a person or other entity. In the context of a private computer
network, the identities of users or host computers must be established to ensure that only authorized parties can
access the network. The FortiGate unit enables controlled network access and applies authentication to users of
security policies and VPN clients.
Methods of authentication
FortiGate unit authentication is divided into three basic types: password authentication for people, certificate
authentication for hosts or endpoints, and two-factor authentication for additional security beyond just passwords.
An exception to this is that FortiGate units in an HA cluster and FortiManager units use password authentication.
Password authentication verifies individual user identities, but access to network resources is based on
membership in user groups. For example, a security policy can be configured to permit access only to the
members of one or more user groups. Any user who attempts to access the network through that policy is then
authenticated through a request for their username and password.
Local user accounts work well for a single-FortiGate installation. If your network has multiple FortiGate units that
will use the same accounts, the use of an external authentication server can simplify account configuration and
maintenance.
You can create local user accounts in the web-based manager under User & Device > User Definition. This
page is also used to create accounts where an external authentication server stores and verifies the password.
When you use an external authentication server to authenticate users, the FortiGate unit sends the user’s
entered credentials to the external server. The password is encrypted. The server’s response indicates whether
the supplied credentials are valid or not.
You must configure the FortiGate unit to access the external authentication servers that you want to use. The
configuration includes the parameters that authenticate the FortiGate unit to the authentication server.
l Create user accounts on the FortiGate unit, but instead of storing each user’s password, specify the server used to
authenticate that user. As with accounts that store the password locally, you add these users to appropriate user
groups.
l Add the authentication server to user groups. Any user who has an account on the server can be authenticated and
have the access privileges of the FortiGate user group. Optionally, when an LDAP server is a FortiGate user group
member, you can limit access to users who belong to specific groups defined on the LDAP server.
Certificate-based authentication
An RSA X.509 server certificate is a small file issued by a Certificate Authority (CA) that is installed on a computer
or FortiGate unit to authenticate itself to other devices on the network. When one party on a network presents the
certificate as authentication, the other party can validate that the certificate was issued by the CA. The
identification is therefore as trustworthy as the Certificate Authority (CA) that issued the certificate.
To protect against compromised or misused certificates, CAs can revoke any certificate by adding it to a
Certificate Revocation List (CRL). Certificate status can also be checked online using Online Certificate Status
Protocol (OCSP).
RSA X.509 certificates are based on public-key cryptography, in which there are two keys: the private key and the
public key. Data encrypted with the private key can be decrypted only with the public key and vice versa. As the
names suggest, the private key is never revealed to anyone and the public key can be freely distributed.
Encryption with the recipient’s public key creates a message that only the intended recipient can read. Encryption
with the sender’s private key creates a message whose authenticity is proven because it can be decrypted only
with the sender’s public key.
Server certificates contain a signature string encrypted with the CA’s private key. The CA’s public key is contained
in a CA root certificate. If the signature string can be decrypted with the CA’s public key, the certificate is genuine.
Certificate authorities
For administrators and for employee VPN users, the local CA based on a software application provides the
required security at low cost. You can generate and distribute certificates as needed. If an employee leaves the
organization, you can simply revoke their certificate.
FortiGate unit administrators and SSL VPN users can install certificates in their web browsers to authenticate
themselves. If the FortiGate unit uses a CA-issued certificate to authenticate itself to the clients, the browser will
also need the appropriate CA certificate.
FortiGate IPsec VPN users can install server and CA certificates according to the instructions for their IPsec VPN
client software. The FortiClient Endpoint Security application, for example, can import and store the certificates
required by VPN connections.
FortiGate units are also compatible with some Public Key Infrastructure systems. For an example of this type of
system, see RSA ACE (SecurID) servers on page 405.
Two-factor authentication
A user can be required to provide both something they know (their username and password combination) and
something they have (certificate or a random token code). Certificates are installed on the user’s computer.
Two-factor authentication is available for PKI users. For more information, see Certificate on page 415.
Another type of two-factor authentication is to use a randomly generated token (multi-digit number) along with
the username and password combination. One method is a FortiToken — a one time passcode (OTP) generator
that generates a unique code every 60 seconds. Others use email or SMS text messaging to deliver the random
token code to the user or administrator.
When one of these methods is configured, the user enters this code at login after the username and password
have been verified. The FortiGate unit verifies the token code after as well as the password and username. For
more information, see Two-factor authentication on page 414
FortiOS 5.6.4+ solves this issue by binding the MAC address with the user identity (auth logon) so that the MAC
address is matched while matching an auth logon.
Types of authentication
FortiOS supports two different types of authentication based on your situation and needs.
Security policy authentication is easily applied to all users logging on to a network, or network service. For
example if a group of users on your network such as the accounting department who have access to sensitive
data need to access the Internet, it is a good idea to make sure the user is a valid user and not someone trying to
send company secrets to the Internet. Security policy authentication can be applied to as many or as few users as
needed, and it supports a number of authentication protocols to easily fit with your existing network.
Virtual Private Network (VPN) authentication enables secure communication with hosts located outside the
company network, making them part of the company network while the VPN tunnel is operating. Authentication
applies to the devices at both ends of the VPN and optionally VPN users can be authenticated as well.
The user’s authentication expires if the connection is idle for too long, five minutes by default but that can be
customized.
Security policies are the mechanism for FSSO, NTLM, certificate based, and RADIUS SSO authentication.
FSSO
Fortinet Single Sign on (FSSO) provides seamless authentication support for Microsoft Windows Active Directory
(AD) and Novell eDirectory users in a FortiGate environment.
On a Microsoft Windows or Novell network, users authenticate with the Active Directory or Novell eDirectory at
logon. FSSO provides authentication information to the FortiGate unit so that users automatically get access to
permitted resources. See Introduction to agent-based FSSO on page 503.
NTLM
The NT LAN Manager (NTLM) protocol is used when the MS Windows Active Directory (AD) domain controller
can not be contacted. NTLM is a browser-based method of authentication.
The FSSO software is installed on each AD server and the FortiGate unit is configured to communicate with each
FSSO client. When a user successfully logs into their Windows PC (and is authenticated by the AD Server), the
FSSO client communicates the user's name, IP address, and group login information to the FortiGate unit. The
FortiGate unit sets up a temporary access policy for the user, so when they attempt access through the firewall
they do not need to re-authenticate. This model works well in environments where the FSSO client can be
installed on all AD servers.
In system configurations where it is not possible to install FSSO clients on all AD servers, the FortiGate unit must
be able to query the AD servers to find out if a user has been properly authenticated. This is achieved using the
NTLM messaging features of Active Directory and Internet Explorer.
Even when NTLM authentication is used, the user is not asked again for their username and password. Internet
Explorer stores the user’s credentials and the FortiGate unit uses NTLM messaging to validate them in the
Windows AD environment.
Note that if the authentication reaches the timeout period, the NTLM message exchange restarts. For more
information on NTLM, see NTLM authentication on page 445 and FSSO NTLM authentication support on page
509.
Certificates
Certificates can be used as part of a policy. All users being authenticated against the policy are required to have
the proper certificate. See Certificate-based authentication on page 469
RADIUS SSO
RADIUS Single Sign-On (RSSO) is a remote authentication method that does not require any local users to be
configured, and relies on RADIUS Start records to provide the FortiGate unit with authentication information.
That information identifies the user and user group, which is then matched using a security policy. See SSO using
RADIUS accounting records on page 548.
Optionally, users can be allowed the privilege of overriding FortiGuard Web Filtering to view blocked web sites.
Depending on the override settings, the override can apply to the user who requested it, the entire user group to
which the user belongs, or all users who share the same web filter profile. As with other FortiGate features,
access to FortiGuard overrides is controlled through user groups. Firewall and Directory Services user groups are
eligible for the override privilege. For more information about web filtering and overrides, see the UTM chapter of
this FortiOS Handbook.
VPN authentication
Authentication involves authenticating the user. In IPsec VPNs authenticating the user is optional, but
authentication of the peer device is required.
A VPN tunnel has one end on a local trusted network, and the other end is at a remote location. The remote peer
(device) must be authenticated to be able to trust the VPN tunnel. Without that authentication, it is possible for a
malicious hacker to masquerade as a valid VPN tunnel device and gain access to the trusted local network.
The three ways to authenticate VPN peers are with a preshared key, RSA X.509 certificate, or a specific peer ID
value.
The simplest way for IPsec VPN peers to authenticate each other is through the use of a preshared key, also
called a shared secret. The preshared key is a text string used to encrypt the data exchanges that establish the
VPN tunnel. The preshared key must be six or more characters. The VPN tunnel cannot be established if the two
peers do not use the same key. The disadvantage of preshared key authentication is that it can be difficult to
securely distribute and update the preshared keys.
RSA X.509 certificates are a better way for VPN peers to authenticate each other. Each peer offers a certificate
signed by a Certificate Authority (CA) which the other peer can validate with the appropriate CA root certificate.
For more information about certificates, see Certificate-based authentication on page 469.
You can supplement either preshared key or certificate authentication by requiring the other peer to provide a
specific peer ID value. The peer ID is a text string configured on the peer device. On a FortiGate peer or
FortiClient Endpoint Security peer, the peer ID provided to the remote peer is called the Local ID.
An IPsec VPN can be configured to accept connections from multiple dynamically addressed peers. You would do
this to enable employees to connect to the corporate network while traveling or from home. On a FortiGate unit,
you create this configuration by setting the Remote Gateway to Dialup User.
It is possible to have an IPsec VPN in which remote peer devices authenticate using a common preshared key or
a certificate, but there is no attempt to identify the user at the remote peer. To add user authentication, you can
do one of the following:
SSL VPN access requires an SSL VPN security policy that permits access to members of your user group.
PPTP and L2TP are older VPN tunneling protocols that do not provide authentication themselves. FortiGate units
restrict PPTP and L2TP access to users who belong to one specified user group. Users authenticate themselves
to the FortiGate unit by username/password. You can configure PPTP and L2TP VPNs only in the CLI. Before you
configure the VPN, create a firewall user group and add to it the users who are permitted to use the VPN. Users
are authenticated when they attempt to connect to the VPN. For more information about configuring PPTP or
L2TP VPNs, see the FortiGate CLI Reference.
In combination with a FortiAuthenticator unit, the FortiGate unit can provide Single Sign-On capability that
integrates multiple external network authentication systems such as Windows Active Directory, Novell e-
Directory, RADIUS and LDAP. The FortiAuthenticator unit gathers user logon information from all of these
sources and sends it to the FortiGate unit.
Through the SSO feature, the FortiGate unit knows the username, IP address, and external user groups to which
the user belongs. When the user tries to access network resources, the FortiGate unit selects the appropriate
security policy for the destination. If the user belongs to one of the permitted user groups, the connection is
allowed.
The user types a username and password and then selects Continue or Login. If the credentials are incorrect,
the authentication screen is redisplayed with blank fields so that the user can try again. When the user enters
valid credentials, access is granted to the required resource. In some cases, if a user tries to authenticate several
times without success, a message appears, such as: “Too many bad login attempts. Please try again in a few
minutes.” This indicates the user is locked out for a period of time. This prevents automated brute force password
hacking attempts. The administrator can customize these settings if required.
After a defined period of user inactivity (the authentication timeout, defined by the
FortiGate administrator), the user’s access expires. The default is 5 minutes. To
access the resource, the user will have to authenticate again.
FortiClient can store the username and password for a VPN as part of the configuration for the VPN connection
and pass them to the FortiGate unit as needed. Or, FortiClient can request the username and password from the
user when the FortiGate unit requests them.
SSL VPN is a form of VPN that can be used with a standard Web browser. There are two modes of SSL VPN
operation (supported in NAT/Route mode only):
After a defined period of user inactivity on the VPN connection (the idle timeout,
defined by the FortiGate administrator), the user’s access expires. The default is 30
minutes. To access the resource, the user will have to authenticate again.
l a user whose username and password are stored on the FortiGate unit
l a user whose name is stored on the FortiGate unit and whose password is stored on a remote or external
authentication server
l a remote or external authentication server with a database that contains the username and password of each
person who is permitted access
The general process of setting up authentication is as follows:
When user authentication is enabled within a security policy, the authentication challenge is normally issued for
any of the four protocols (depending on the connection protocol):
When you enable user authentication within a security policy, the security policy user will be challenged to
authenticate. For user ID and password authentication, users must provide their user names and passwords. For
certificate authentication (HTTPS or HTTP redirected to HTTPS only), you can install customized certificates on
the unit and the users can also have customized certificates installed on their browsers. Otherwise, users will see
a warning message and have to accept a default Fortinet certificate.
Authentication Timeout Enter a length of time in minutes, from 1 to 4320 (72 hours). Authentication
timeout controls how long an authenticated firewall connection can be idle
before the user must authenticate again. The default value is 5.
Protocol Support Select the protocols to challenge during firewall user authentication.
Certificate If using HTTPS protocol support, select the local certificate to use for
authentication. Available only if HTTPS protocol support is selected.
FortiGate units support the use of external authentication servers. An authentication server can provide password
checking for selected FortiGate users or it can be added as a member of a FortiGate user group.
If you are going to use authentication servers, you must configure the servers before you configure FortiGate
users or user groups that require them.
l FortiAuthenticator servers
l RADIUS servers
l LDAP servers
l TACACS+ servers
l POP3 servers
l SSO servers
l RSA ACE (SecurID) servers
FortiAuthenticator servers
FortiAuthenticator is an Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting (AAA) server, that includes a RADIUS
server, an LDAP server, and can replace the FSSO Collector Agent on a Windows AD network. Multiple FortiGate
units can use a single FortiAuthenticator for FSSO, remote authentication, and FortiToken management.
RADIUS servers
Remote Authentication and Dial-in User Service (RADIUS) is a broadly supported client-server protocol that
provides centralized authentication, authorization, and accounting functions. RADIUS clients are built into
gateways that allow access to networks such as Virtual Private Network servers, Network Access Servers (NAS),
as well as network switches and firewalls that use authentication. FortiGate units fall into the last category.
RADIUS servers use UDP packets to communicate with the RADIUS clients on the network to authenticate users
before allowing them access to the network, to authorize access to resources by appropriate users, and to
account or bill for those resources that are used. RADIUS servers are currently defined by RFC 2865 (RADIUS)
and RFC 2866 (Accounting), and listen on either UDP ports 1812 (authentication) and 1813 (accounting) or ports
1645 (authentication) and 1646 (accounting) requests. RADIUS servers exist for all major operating systems.
You must configure the RADIUS server to accept the FortiGate unit as a client. FortiGate units use the
authentication and accounting functions of the RADIUS server.
FortiOS does not accept all characters from auto generated keys from MS Windows
2008. These keys are very long and as a result RADIUS authentication will not work.
Maximum key length for MS Windows 2008 is 128 bytes. In older versions of FSAE, it
was 40 bytes.
The RADIUS user database is commonly an SQL or LDAP database, but can also be any combination of:
The RADIUS server uses a “shared secret” key along with MD5 hashing to encrypt information passed between
RADIUS servers and clients, including the FortiGate unit. Typically only user credentials are encrypted. Additional
security can be configured through IPsec tunnels by placing the RADIUS server behind another VPN gateway.
RADIUS packets include a set of attribute value pairs (AVP) to identify information about the user, their location
and other information. The FortiGate unit sends the following RADIUS attributes.
RADIUS AVP
Name Description
Attribute type
1 Acct-Session-ID Unique number assigned to each start and stop record to make 44
it easy to match them, and to eliminate duplicate records.
RADIUS AVP
Name Description
Attribute type
Number of octets received from the port over the course of this
service being provided.
6 Acct-Input-Octets 42
Used to charge the user for the amount of traffic they used.
7 Acct-Output-Octets Number of octets sent to the port while delivering this service. 43
Used to charge the user for the amount of traffic they used.
9 Called-Station-Id Used to send the telephone number the user called as part of 30
the Access-Request packet.
11 Event-Timestamp Records the time that the event occurred on the NAS. The 55
timestamp is measured in seconds since January 1, 1970
00:00 UTC.
The following table describes the supported authentication events and the RADIUS attributes that are sent in the
RADIUS accounting message.
RADIUS Attributes
Authentication Method 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Web X X X X
SSL-VPN X X X X X
In external RADIUS captive portal, the captive portal web page is a script that gathers the user’s logon credentials
and sends it back to the FortiGate as a POST message. Session URL parameters are sent from the client in a
POST messages, and in the redirect. These parameters are separated by & characters (see examples below):
http://<redirectserver>/index2.php/?login&post=http://192.168.200.1:1000/fgtau
th&magic=02050f889bc21644&usermac=54:26:96:16:a2:45&apmac=00:09:0f:b9:f4:c0&ap
ip=127.0.0.1&userip=192.168.200.2
http://FGT_IP_addr:1000/fgtauth
The magic text data, provided in the initial FortiGate request to the web server, contains the username, password
paramaters:
magic=00050c839182f095&username=<username>&password=<password>
Vendor-specific attributes
Vendor specific attributes (VSA) are the method RADIUS servers and client companies use to extend the basic
functionality of RADIUS. Some major vendors, such as Microsoft, have published their VSAs, however many do
not.
In order to support vendor-specific attributes (VSA), the RADIUS server requires a dictionary to define which VSAs
to support. This dictionary is typically supplied by the client or server vendor.
The FortiGate unit RADIUS VSA dictionary is supplied by Fortinet and is available through the Fortinet
Knowledge Base (http://kb.forticare.com) or through Technical Support. Fortinet’s dictionary for FortiOS 4.0 and
up is configured this way:
##
Fortinet’s VSA’s
#
VENDOR fortinet 12356
BEGIN-VENDOR fortinet
ATTRIBUTE Fortinet-Group-Name 1 string
ATTRIBUTE Fortinet-Client-IP-Address 2 ipaddr
ATTRIBUTE Fortinet-Vdom-Name 3 string
ATTRIBUTE Fortinet-Client-IPv6-Address 4 octets
ATTRIBUTE Fortinet-Interface-Name 5 string
ATTRIBUTE Fortinet-Access-Profile 6 string
#
# Integer Translations
#
END-VENDOR Fortinet
Note that using the Fortinet-Vdom-Name, users can be tied to a specific VDOM on the FortiGate unit. See the
documentation provided with your RADIUS server for configuration details.
As of FortiOS 5.4, RADIUS Change of Authorization (CoA) settings can be configured via the CLI. CoA is a
common feature in user authentication that provides the ability to change authentication attributes for sessions
even after they have authenticated.
User, user group, and captive portal authentication supports RADIUS CoA, when the back end authentication
server is RADIUS. The main use case of this feature is with external captive portal, where it can be used to
disconnect hotspot users when their time, credit, or bandwidth has been used up.
1. Set the name of the FortiAP connected to the FortiGate as a location identifier.
config system global
set alias <name>
In Role Based Access Control (RBAC), network administrators and users have varying levels of access to network
resources based on their role, and that role’s requirement for access specific resources. For example, a junior
accountant does not require access to the sales presentations, or network user account information.
There are three main parts to RBAC: role assignment, role authorization, and transaction authorization. Role
assignment is accomplished when someone in an organization is assigned a specific role by a manager or HR.
Role authorization is accomplished when a network administrator creates that user’s RADIUS account and
assigns them to the required groups for that role. Transaction authorization occurs when that user logs on and
authenticates before performing a task.
RBAC is enforced when FortiOS network users are remotely authenticated via a RADIUS server. For users to
authenticate, a security policy must be matched. That policy only matches a specific group of users. If VDOMs
are enabled, the matched group will be limited to a specific VDOM. Using this method network administrators can
separate users into groups that match resources, protocols, or VDOMs. It is even possible to limit users to
specific FortiGate units if the RADIUS servers serve multiple FortiOS units.
For more information on security policies, see Authentication in security policies on page 440.
Certain RADIUS servers use ISO-8859-1 password encoding instead of others such as UTF-8. In these instances,
the server will fail to authenticate the user, if the user's password is using UTF-8.
CLI syntax
config user radius
edit <example>
set password-encoding <auto | ISO-8859-1>
end
This option will be skipped if the auth-type is neither auto nor pap.
Administrators can now choose between sending accounting start messages to all configured accounting servers,
or just the one server that was previously connected.
Syntax
config user radius
edit <name>
set acct-interim-interval <seconds>
set acct-all-servers {enable | disable}
next
end
You can optionally specify the NAS IP or Called Station ID. When configuring the FortiGate to use a RADIUS
server, the FortiGate is a Network Access Server (NAS). If the FortiGate interface has multiple IP addresses, or
you want the RADIUS requests to come from a different address you can specify it here. Called Station ID applies
to carrier networks. However, if the NAS IP is not included in the RADIUS configuration, the IP of the FortiGate
unit interface that communicates with the RADIUS server is used instead.
A maximum of 10 remote RADIUS servers can be configured on the FortiGate unit. One or more servers must be
configured on FortiGate before remote users can be configured. To configure remote users, see Local and
remote users on page 411.
On the FortiGate unit, the default port for RADIUS traffic is 1812. Some RADIUS servers use port 1645. If this is
the case with your server, you can either:
l Re-configure the RADIUS server to use port 1812. See your RADIUS server documentation for more information on
this procedure.
or
l Change the FortiGate unit default RADIUS port to 1645 using the CLI:
config system global
set radius-port 1645
end
One wildcard admin account can be added to the FortiGate unit when using RADIUS authentication. This uses
the wildcard character to allow multiple admin accounts on RADIUS to use a single account on the FortiGate unit.
See Example — wildcard admin accounts - CLI on page 397.
Primary Server Name/IP Enter the domain name (such as fgt.exmaple.com) or the IP address of the
RADIUS server.
Primary Server Secret Enter the server secret key, such as radiusSecret. This can be a maximum
of 16 characters long.
Secondary Server Name/IP Optionally enter the domain name (such as fgt.exmaple.com) or the IP
address of the secondary RADIUS server.
Secondary Server Secret Optionally, enter the secondary server secret key, such as radiusSecret2.
This can be a maximum of 16 characters long.
Authentication Scheme If you know the RADIUS server uses a specific authentication protocol,
select it from the list. Otherwise select Use Default Authentication
Scheme. The Default option will usually work.
NAS IP/ Called Enter the IP address to be used as an attribute in RADIUS access requests.
Station ID
NAS-IP-Address is RADIUS setting or IP address of FortiGate interface
used to talk to RADIUS server, if not configured.
Include in every User When enabled this RADIUS server will automatically be included in all user
Group groups. This is useful if all users will be authenticating with the remote
RADIUS server.
For MAC OS and iOS devices to authenticate, you must use MS-CHAP-v2
authentication. In the CLI, the command is set auth-type ms_chap_v2.
3. Select OK.
For more information about RADIUS server options, refer to the FortiGate CLI Reference.
Troubleshooting RADIUS
To test the connection to the RADIUS server use the following command:
diagnose test authserver radius-direct <server_name or IP> <port number> <secret>
For the port number, enter -1 to use the default port. Otherwise enter the port number to check.
Test results show RADIUS server reachability, NAS client rejection, and invalid User/Password. Test also shows
RADIUS Attributes returned from the RADIUS server.
LDAP servers
Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) is an Internet protocol used to maintain authentication data that
may include departments, people, groups of people, passwords, email addresses, and printers. LDAP consists of
a data-representation scheme, a set of defined operations, and a request/response network.
The scale of LDAP servers range from big public servers such as BigFoot and Infospace, to large organizational
servers at universities and corporations, to small LDAP servers for workgroups that may be using OpenLDAP.
This document focuses on the institutional and workgroup applications of LDAP.
When LDAP is configured and a user is required to authenticate the general steps are:
Binding
Binding is the step where the LDAP server authenticates the user. If the user is successfully authenticated,
binding allows the user access to the LDAP server based on that user’s permissions.
The FortiGate unit can be configured to use one of three types of binding:
If your LDAP server requires authentication to perform searches, use the regular type and provide values for
username and password.
Supported versions
The FortiGate unit supports LDAP protocol functionality defined in RFC 2251: Lightweight Directory Access
Protocol v3, for looking up and validating user names and passwords. FortiGate LDAP supports all LDAP servers
compliant with LDAP v3, including FortiAuthenticator. In addition, FortiGate LDAP supports LDAP over SSL/TLS,
which can be configured only in the CLI.
FortiGate LDAP does not support proprietary functionality, such as notification of password expiration, which is
available from some LDAP servers. FortiGate LDAP does not supply information to the user about why
authentication failed.
LDAP user authentication is supported for PPTP, L2TP, IPsec VPN, and firewall
authentication.
However, with PPTP, L2TP, and IPsec VPN, PAP (Packet Authentication Protocol) is
supported, while CHAP (Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol) is not.
The top of the hierarchy is the organization itself. Usually this is defined as Domain Component (DC), a DNS
domain. If the name contains a dot, such as example.com, it is written as two parts separated by a comma:
dc=example,dc=com.
In this example, Common Name (CN) identifiers reside at the Organization Unit (OU) level, just below DC. The
Distinguished Name (DN) is ou=People,dc=example,dc=com.
In addition to the DN, the FortiGate unit needs an identifier for the individual person. Although the FortiGate unit
GUI calls this the Common Name (CN), the identifier you use is not necessarily CN. On some servers, CN is the
full name of a person. It might be more convenient to use the same identifier used on the local computer network.
In this example, User ID (UID) is used.
You need to determine the levels of the hierarchy from the top to the level that contain the identifier you want to
use. This defines the DN that the FortiGate unit uses to search the LDAP database. Frequently used
distinguished name elements include:
One way to test this is with a text-based LDAP client program. For example, OpenLDAP includes a client,
ldapsearch, that you can use for this purpose.
The output is lengthy, but the information you need is in the first few lines:
version: 2
#
# filter: (objectclass=*)
# requesting: ALL
dn: dc=example,dc=com
dc: example
objectClass: top
objectClass: domain
dn: ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
ou: People
objectClass: top
objectClass: organizationalUnit
...
dn: uid=tbrown,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
uid: tbrown
cn: Tom Brown
In the output above, you can see tbrown (uid) and Tom Brown(cn). Also note the dn is ou=People,
dc=example, dc=com.
One or more servers must be configured on FortiGate before remote users can be configured. To configure
remote users, see Local and remote users on page 411.
7. In the Distinguished Name field, enter the base distinguished name for the server using the correct X.500 or
LDAP format.
The FortiGate unit passes this distinguished name unchanged to the server. The maximum number of characters
is 512.
If you don’t know the distinguished name, leave the field blank and select the Query icon to the right of the field.
See Using the Query icon on page 396.
8. In Bind Type, select Regular.
9. In User DN, enter the LDAP administrator’s distinguished name.
10. In Password, enter the LDAP administrator’s password.
11. Select OK.
To verify your Distinguished Name field is correct, you can select the Test button. If
your DN field entry is valid, you will see the part of the LDAP database it defines. If
your DN field entry is not valid, it will display an error message and return no
information.
For detailed information about configuration options for LDAP servers, see the Online Help on your FortiGate unit
or the FortiGate CLI Reference.
In SSLVPN, when an LDAP user is connecting to the LDAP server it is possible for them to receive any pending
password expiry or renewal warnings. When the password renewal or expiry warning exists, SSLVPN users will
see a prompt allowing them to change their password.
password-expiry-warning allows FortiOS to detect from the OpenLDAP server when a password is
expiring or has expired using server controls or error codes. Please note that this is currently not supported for
Windows AD LDAP.
password-renewal allows FortiOS to perform the online LDAP password renewal operations the LDAP server
expects.
On an OpenLDAP server, when a user attempts to logon with an expired password they are allowed to logon but
only to change their password.
When changing passwords on a Windows AD system, the connection must be SSL-protected.
The following CLI commands available under config user ldap allow you to keep or strip the domain string
of UPN in the token as well as the search name for this kind of UPN.
CLI syntax:
config user ldap
set account-key-processing
set account-key-name
end
The LDAP Distinguished Name Query list displays the LDAP directory tree for the LDAP server connected to the
FortiGate unit. This helps you to determine the appropriate entry for the DN field. To see the distinguished name
associated with the Common Name identifier, select the Expand icon next to the CN identifier. Select the DN
from the list. The DN you select is displayed in the Distinguished Name field. Select OK and the Distinguished
Name you selected will be saved in the Distinguished Name field of the LDAP Server configuration.
To see the users within the LDAP Server user group for the selected Distinguished Name, expand the
Distinguished Name in the LDAP Distinguished Name Query tree.
Non-blocking LDAP authentication
To support non-blocking LDAP authentication, fnbamd will create its own event-driven connection with LDAP
servers over LDAP/LDAPS/STARTTLS, make it non-blocking, do CRL checking if necessary, and compose all
LDAP requests using liblber (including bind, unbind, search, password renewal, password query, send request
and receive response, and parse response). The whole process is done in one connection.
This doesn't change any openLDAP implementation but moves some data structure definitions and API
definitions from some internal header files to public header files.
The initial benefit of wildcard admin accounts is fast configuration of the FortiGate unit’s administration account
to work with your LDAP network. The many to one ratio saves on effort, and potential errors.
The ongoing benefit is that as long as the users on the LDAP system belong to that group, and the test admin
user settings don’t change on the FortiGate unit, no other work is required. This point is important as it can help
avoid system updates or changes that would otherwise require changes to the LDAP administrator account
configuration. Even if a user is added to or removed from the LDAP group, no changes are required on the
FortiGate unit.
Two potential issues with wildcard admin accounts are that multiple users may be logged on to the same account
at the same time. This becomes an issue if they are changing the same information at the same time. The other
potential issue is that security is reduced because multiple people have login access for the same account. If
each user was assigned their own account, a hijacking of one account would not affect the other users.
Note that wildcard admin configuration also applies to RADIUS. When configuring for RADIUS, configure the
RADIUS server, and RADIUS user group instead of LDAP. When using web-based management, wildcard admin
is the only type of remote administrator account that does not require you to enter a password on account
creation. That password is normally used when the remote authentication server is unavailable during
authentication.
In this example, default values are used where possible. If a specific value is not mentioned, it is set to its default
value.
The important parts of this configuration are the username and group lines. The username is the domain
administrator account. The group binding allows only the group with the name GRP to access.
The dn used here is as an example only. On your network use your own domain name.
To configure the user group and add the LDAP server - CLI:
config user group
edit "ldap_grp"
set member "ldap"
config match
edit 1
set server-name "ldap_server"
set group-name "CN=GRP,OU=training,DC=example,DC=COM"
next
end
next
end
The wildcard part of this example is only available in the CLI for admin configuration. When enabled, this allows
all LDAP group members to login to the FortiGate unit without the need to create a separate admin account for
each user. In effect the members of that group will each be able to login as “test”.
For troubleshooting, test that the admin account is operational, and see Troubleshooting LDAP on page 399.
In AD, the “Allow Dial-In” property is activated in the user properties, and this sets the msNPAllowDialin
attribute to “TRUE”.
This same procedure can be used for other member attributes, as your system requires.
To accomplish this with a FortiGate unit, the member attribute must be set. Setting member attributes can only
be accomplished through the CLI using the member-attr keyword - the option is not available through the web-
based manager.
Before configuring the FortiGate unit, the AD server must be configured and have the msNPAllowDialin
attribute set to “TRUE” for the users in question. If not, those users will not be able to properly authenticate.
The dn used here is as an example only. On your network use your own domain name.
A user group that will use LDAP must be configured. This example adds the member ldap to the group which is
the LDAP server name that was configured earlier.
Troubleshooting LDAP
The examples in this section use the values from the previous example.
A quick way to see if the LDAP configuration is correct is to run a diagnose CLI command with LDAP user
information. The following command tests with a user called netAdmin and a password of fortinet. If the
configuration is correct the test will be successful.
FGT# diag test authserver ldap ldap_server netAdmin fortinet
'ldap_server' is not a valid ldap server name — an LDAP server by that name has not been
configured on the FortiGate unit, check your spelling.
authenticate 'netAdmin' against 'ldap_server' failed! — the user netAdmin does not
exist on ldap_server, check your spelling of both the user and sever and ensure the user has been configured
on the FortiGate unit.
For a more in-depth test, you can use a diag debug command. The sample output from a shows more
information about the authentication process that may prove useful if there are any problems.
Ensure the “Allow Dial-in” attribute is still set to “TRUE” and run the following CLI command. fnbamd is the
Fortinet non-blocking authentication daemon.
FGT# diag debug enable
FGT# diag debug reset
FGT# diag debug application fnbamd –1
FGT# diag debug enable
If the “Allow Dial-in” attribute is not set but it is expected, the last line of the above output will instead be:
fnbamd_auth_poll_ldap-Failed group matching
TACACS+ servers
When users connect to their corporate network remotely, they do so through a remote access server. As remote
access technology has evolved, the need for security when accessing networks has become increasingly
important. This need can be filled using a Terminal Access Controller Access-Control System (TACACS+) server.
TACACS+ is a remote authentication protocol that provides access control for routers, network access servers,
and other networked computing devices via one or more centralized servers. TACACS+ allows a client to accept a
username and password and send a query to a TACACS+ authentication server. The server host determines
whether to accept or deny the request and sends a response back that allows or denies the user access to the
network.
TACACS+ offers fully encrypted packet bodies, and supports both IP and AppleTalk protocols. TACACS+ uses
TCP port 49, which is seen as more reliable than RADIUS’s UDP protocol.
There are several different authentication protocols that TACACS+ can use during the authentication process:
Authentication protocols
Protocol Definition
default The default protocol configuration, Auto, uses PAP, MS-CHAP, and CHAP, in that
order.
FortiGate sends the following proprietary TACACS+ attributes to the TACACS+ server during authorization
requests:
One or more servers must be configured on FortiGate before remote users can be configured. To configure
remote users, see Local and remote users on page 411.
The TACACS+ page in the web-based manager (User & Device >
TACACS+ Servers) is not available until a TACACS+ server has been configured in
the CLI. For more information see the CLI Reference.
Server Name/IP Enter the server domain name or IP address of the TACACS+ server.
Authentication Type Select the authentication type to use for the TACACS+ server. Auto tries
PAP, MSCHAP, and CHAP (in that order).
Syntax
config user tacacs+
edit <name>
set server <ipv6 address>
set source-ipv6 <ipv6 address>
next
end
POP3 servers
FortiOS can authenticate users who have accounts on POP3 or POP3s email servers. POP3 authentication can
be configured only in the CLI.
SSO servers
Novell and Microsoft Windows networks provide user authentication based on directory services: eDirectory for
Novell, Active Directory for Windows. Users can log on at any computer in the domain and have access to
resources as defined in their user account. The Fortinet Single Sign On (FSSO) agent enables FortiGate units to
authenticate these network users for security policy or VPN access without asking them again for their username
and password.
When a user logs in to the Windows or Novell domain, the FSSO agent sends to the FortiGate unit the user’s IP
address and the names of the user groups to which the user belongs. The FortiGate unit uses this information to
maintain a copy of the domain controller user group database. Because the domain controller authenticates
users, the FortiGate unit does not perform authentication. It recognizes group members by their IP address.
In the FortiOS FSSO configuration, you specify the server where the FSSO Collector agent is installed. The
Collector agent retrieves the names of the Novell or Active Directory user groups from the domain controllers on
the domains, and then the FortiGate unit gets them from the Collector agent. You cannot use these groups
directly. You must define FSSO type user groups on your FortiGate unit and then add the Novell or Active
Directory user groups to them. The FSSO user groups that you created are used in security policies and VPN
configurations to provide access to different services and resources.
FortiAuthenticator servers can replace the Collector agent when FSSO is using polling mode. The benefits of this
is that FortiAuthenticator is a stand-alone server that has the necessary FSSO software pre-installed. For more
information, see the FortiAuthenticator Administration Guide.
The following are SSO configuration settings in User & Device > Single Sign-On.
Lists all the collector agents’ lists that you have configured. On this page, you can create, edit or delete FSSO
agents. There are different types of FSSO agents, each with its own settings.
You can create a redundant configuration on your unit if you install a collector agent on
two or more domain controllers. If the current (or first) collector agent fails, the Fortinet
unit switches to the next one in its list of up to five collector agents.
Create New Creates a new agent. When you select Create New, you are automatically redirected
to the New page.
To remove multiple entries from the list, for each servers you want removed, select the
check box and then select Delete.
To remove all agents from the list, on the FSSO Agent page, select the check box at
the top of the check box column and then select Delete.
Password Enter the password for the account used to access the DC.
LDAP Server Select the check box and select an LDAP server to access the Directory Service.
Enable Polling Enable to allow the FortiGate unit to poll this DC.
Users/Groups A list of user and user group names retrieved from the DC.
Primary Agent
IP/Name
Enter the IP address or name of the Directory Service server where this SSO agent is
installed. The maximum number of characters is 63.
Secondary Agent
IP/Name
Password Enter the password for the collector agent. This is required only if you configured your
Fortinet Single Sign On Agent collector agent to require authenticated access.
LDAP Server Select the check box and select an LDAP server to access the Directory Service.
Users/Groups A list of user and user group names retrieved from the server.
Components
When using SecurID, users carry a small device or “token” that generates and displays a pseudo-random
password. According to RSA, each SecurID authenticator token has a unique 64-bit symmetric key that is
combined with a powerful algorithm to generate a new code every 60 seconds. The token is time-synchronized
with the SecurID RSA ACE/Server.
The RSA ACE/Server is the management component of the SecurID system. It stores and validates the
information about the SecurID tokens allowed on your network. Alternately the server could be an RSA SecurID
130 Appliance.
The Agent Host is the server on your network, in this case it is the FortiGate unit, that intercepts user logon
attempts. The Agent Host gathers the user ID and password entered from their SecurID token, and sends that
information to the RSA ACE/Server to be validated. If valid, a reply comes back indicating it is a valid logon and
the FortiGate unit allows the user access to the network resources specified in the associated security policy.
l to configure the RSA server and the RADIUS server to work with each other (see RSA server documentation)
l to configure the RSA SecurID 130 Appliance
or
l to configure the FortiGate unit as an Agent Host on the RSA ACE/Server
l to configure the FortiGate unit to use the RADIUS server
l to create a SecurID user group
l to configure a security policy with SecurID authentication
The following instructions are based on RSA ACE/Server version 5.1, or RSA SecurID 130 Appliance, and assume
that you have successfully completed all the external RSA and RADIUS server configuration steps listed above.
For this example, the RSA server is on the internal network, with an IP address of 192.128.100.100. The
FortiGate unit internal interface address is 192.168.100.3, RADIUS shared secret is fortinet123, RADIUS server
is at IP address 192.168.100.102.
IP Address 192.168.100.3
1. On the RSA ACE/Server computer, go to Start > Programs > RSA ACE/Server, and then Database
Administration - Host Mode.
2. On the Agent Host menu, select Add Agent Host.
3. Enter and save the following information.
Name FortiGate
Secondary Nodes Optionally enter other IP addresses that resolve to the FortiGate unit.
Name RSA
Name RSA_group
Type Firewall
To test this configuration, on your FortiGate unit use the CLI command:
diagnose test authserver radius RSA auto wloman 111111111
The series of 1s is the one time password that your RSA SecurID token generates and you enter.
You can use the SecurID user group in several FortiOS features that authenticate by user group including
l Security policy
l IPsec VPN XAuth
l PPTP VPN
l SSL VPN
The following sections assume the SecurID user group is called securIDgrp and has already been configured.
Unless otherwise states, default values are used.
Security policy
To use SecurID in a security policy, you must include the SecurID user group in a security policy. This procedure
will create a security policy that allows HTTP, FTP, and POP3 traffic from the internal interface to wan1. If
these interfaces are not available on your FortiGate unit, substitute other similar interfaces.
Schedule always
Action ACCEPT
NAT On
Shared Shaper On, if you want to either limit traffic or guarantee minimum bandwidth for
traffic that uses the SecurID security policy. Use the default shaper
guarantee-100kbps.
Log Allowed Traffic On, if you want to generate usage reports on traffic authenticated with this
policy.
4. Select OK.
The SecurID security policy is configured.
For more detail on configuring security policies, see the FortiOS Handbook FortiGate Fundamentals guide.
Extended Authentication (XAuth) increases security by requiring user authentication in addition to the preshared
key.
When creating an IPsec VPN using the wizard, under VPN > IPsec Wizard, select the SecurID User Group on
the Authentication page. Members of the SecurID group are required to enter their SecureID code to
authenticate.
PPTP VPN
PPTP VPN is configured in the CLI. In the PPTP configuration (config vpn pptp), set usrgrp to the
SecurID user group.
SSL VPN
You need to map the SecurID user group to the portal that will serve SecurID users and include the SecurID user
group in the Source User(s) field in the security policy.
1. Go to VPN > SSL-VPN Settings.
2. In Authentication/Portal Mapping, select Create New.
3. Enter
Users/Groups securIDgrp
4. Select OK.
FortiGate authentication controls system access by user group. By assigning individual users to the appropriate
user groups you can control each user’s access to network resources. The members of user groups are user
accounts, of which there are several types. Local users and peer users are defined on the FortiGate unit. User
accounts can also be defined on remote authentication servers.
This section describes how to configure local users and peer users and then how to configure user groups. For
information about configuration of authentication servers see Authentication servers on page 384.
l Users
l User groups
Users
A user is a user account consisting of username, password, and in some cases other information, configured on
the FortiGate unit or on an external authentication server. Users can access resources that require authentication
only if they are members of an allowed user group. There are several different types of user accounts with slightly
different methods of authentication:
Local user The username and password must match a user account stored on the FortiGate unit.
Authentication by FortiGate security policy.
The username must match a user account stored on the FortiGate unit and the
Remote user username and password must match a user account stored on the remote
authentication server. FortiOS supports LDAP, RADIUS, and TACACS+ servers.
Authentication A FortiGate user group can include user accounts or groups that exist on a remote
server user authentication server.
With Fortinet Single Sign On (FSSO), users on a Microsoft Windows or Novell network
can use their network authentication to access resources through the FortiGate unit.
FSSO user
Access is controlled through FSSO user groups which contain Windows or Novell user
groups as their members.
PKI or Peer user A Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) or peer user is a digital certificate holder who
authenticates using a client certificate. No password is required, unless two-factor
authentication is enabled.
IM users are not authenticated. The FortiGate unit can allow or block each IM user
IM Users name from accessing the IM protocols. A global policy for each IM protocol governs
access to these protocols by unknown users.
Guest Users Guest user accounts are temporary. The account expires after a selected period of
time.
Create New Creates a new user account. When you select Create New, you are automatically
redirected to the User Creation Wizard.
Modifies a user’s account settings. When you select Edit, you are automatically
Edit User
redirected to the Edit User page.
Delete Removes a user from the list. Removing the user name removes the authentication
configured for the user.
The Delete icon is not available if the user belongs to a user group.
To remove multiple local user accounts from within the list, on the User page, in each
of the rows of user accounts you want removed, select the check box and then select
Delete.
To remove all local user accounts from the list, on the User page, select the check box
in the check box column and then select Delete.
The user name. For a remote user, this username must be identical to the username
User Name
on the authentication server.
Type Local indicates a local user authenticated on the FortiGate unit. For remote users, the
type of authentication server is shown: LDAP, RADIUS, or TACACS+.
Two-factor
Indicates whether two-factor authentication is configured for the user.
Authentication
Ref. Displays the number of times this object is referenced by other objects. Select the
number to open the Object Usage window and view the list of referring objects. The
list is grouped into expandable categories, such as Firewall Policy. Numbers of objects
are shown in parentheses.
To view more information about the referring object, use the icons:
l View the list page for these objects – available for object categories. Goes
to the page where the object is listed. For example, if the category is User
Groups, opens User Groups list.
l Edit this object – opens the object for editing.
l View the details for this object – displays current settings for the object.
Local User Select to authenticate this user using a password stored on the FortiGate
unit.
Remote RADIUS User To authenticate this user using a password stored on an authentication
Remote TACACS+ User server, select the type of server and then select the server from the list. You
Remote LDAP User can select only a server that has already been added to the FortiGate unit
configuration.
Two-factor Authentication Select to enable two-factor authentication. Then select the Token
(FortiToken or FortiToken Mobile) for this user account. See Associating
FortiTokens with accounts on page 420.
User Group Select the user groups to which this user belongs.
6. Select Create.
edit user5
set type password
set passwd ljt_pj2gpepfdw
set two_factor fortitoken
set fortitoken 182937197
end
To create a user with SMS two-factor authentication using FortiGuard messaging Service - CLI example:
config user local
edit user6
set type password
set passwd 3ww_pjt68dw
set two_factor sms
set sms-server fortiguard
set sms-phone 1365984521
end
Removing users
Best practices dictate that when a user account is no longer in use, it should be deleted. Removing local and
remote users from FortiOS involve the same steps.
If the user account is referenced by any configuration objects, those references must be removed before the user
can be deleted. See Removing references to users on page 413.
You cannot remove a user that belongs to a user group. Remove the user from the user group first, and then
delete the user.
l a peer username
l the text from the subject field of the user’s certificate, or the name of the CA certificate used to validate the user’s
certificate
There are other configuration settings that can be added or modified for PKI authentication. For example, you
can configure the use of an LDAP server to check access rights for client certificates. For information about the
detailed PKI configuration settings, see the FortiGate CLI Reference.
Two-factor authentication
The standard logon requires a username and password. This is one factor authentication—your password is one
piece of information you need to know to gain access to the system.
Two factor authentication adds the requirement for another piece of information for your logon. Generally the two
factors are something you know (password) and something you have (certificate, token, etc.). This makes it
harder for a hacker to steal your logon information. For example if you have a FortiToken device, the hacker
would need to both use it and know your password to gain entry to your account.
Two-factor authentication is available on both user and admin accounts. But before you enable two-factor
authentication on an administrator account, you need to ensure you have a second administrator account
configured to guarantee administrator access to the FortiGate unit if you are unable to authenticate on the main
admin account for some reason.
l Certificate
l Email
l SMS
l FortiToken
Certificate
You can increase security by requiring both certificate and password authentication for PKI users. Certificates are
installed on the user’s computer. Requiring a password also protects against unauthorized use of that computer.
Optionally peer users can enter the code from their FortiToken instead of the certificate.
Two-factor email authentication sends a randomly generated six digit numeric code to the specified email
address. Enter that code when prompted at logon. This token code is valid for 60 seconds. If you enter this code
after that time,it will not be accepted.
A benefit is that you do not require mobile service to authenticate. However, a potential issue is if your email
server does not deliver the email before the 60 second life of the token expires.
The code will be generated and emailed at the time of logon, so you must have email access at that time to be
able to receive the code.
1. Go to System > Advanced and enable Use Custom Eamil Server under Email Service.
2. Enter SMTP Server and Default Reply To address.
3. If applicable, enable Authentication and enter the SMTP User and Password to use.
4. Select a Security Mode, options are: None, SMTPS or STARTTLS.
5. Enter the Port number, the default is 25.
6. Select Apply.
1. To modify an administrator account, go to System > Administrators. To modify a user account go to User
& Device > User Definition.
SMS
SMS two-factor authentication sends the token code in an SMS text message to the mobile device indicated
when this user attempts to logon. This token code is valid for 60 seconds. If you enter this code after that time, it
will not be accepted. Enter this code when prompted at logon to be authenticated.
SMS two-factor authentication has the benefit that you do not require email service before logging on. A potential
issue is if the mobile service provider does not send the SMS text message before the 60 second life of the token
expires.
FortiGuard Messaging Service include four SMS Messages at no cost. If you need more, you should acquire a
license through support.fortinet.com or via customer service.
If you do not use the FortiGuard Messaging Service, you need to configure an SMS service.
1. To modify an:
l administrator account, go to System > Administrators, or
l user account go to User & Device > User Definition.
2. Edit the user account.
3. Select SMS and enter the Country Dial Code and Phone Number.
4. Select Enable Two-factor Authentication. and select the correct Token.
5. Select OK.
If you have problems receiving the token codes via SMS messaging, contact your mobile provider to ensure you
are using the correct phone number format to receive text messages and that your current mobile plan allows text
messages.
FortiToken
FortiToken is a disconnected one-time password (OTP) generator. It is a small physical device with a button that
when pressed displays a six digit authentication code. This code is entered with a user’s username and password
as two-factor authentication. The code displayed changes every 60 seconds, and when not in use the LCD screen
is blanked to extend the battery life.
There is also a mobile phone application, FortiToken Mobile, that performs much the same function.
FortiTokens have a small hole in one end. This is intended for a lanyard to be inserted so the device can be worn
around the neck, or easily stored with other electronic devices. Do not put the FortiToken on a key ring as the
metal ring and other metal objects can damage it. The FortiToken is an electronic device like a cell phone and
must be treated with similar care.
Any time information about the FortiToken is transmitted, it is encrypted. When the FortiGate unit receives the
code that matches the serial number for a particular FortiToken, it is delivered and stored encrypted. This is in
keeping with the Fortinet’s commitment to keeping your network highly secured.
FortiTokens can be added to user accounts that are local, IPsec VPN, SSL VPN, and even Administrators. See
Associating FortiTokens with accounts on page 420.
A FortiToken can be associated with only one account on one FortiGate unit.
If a user loses their FortiToken, it can be locked out using the FortiGate so it will not be used to falsely access the
network. Later if found, that FortiToken can be unlocked on the FortiGate to allow access once again. See
FortiToken maintenance on page 422.
There are three tasks to complete before FortiTokens can be used to authenticate accounts:
l FortiToken maintenance
l FortiToken Mobile Push
The following steps are needed only if the time on the FortiToken has drifted and needs to be re-synchronized with
the time on the FortiGate unit.
8. If time on FortiToken has drifted, FortiGate unit will prompt user to enter a second code to confirm.
9. User gets the next code from their FortiToken device
10. User enters the second code at the prompt.
11. FortiGate unit uses both codes to update its clock to match the FortiToken and then proceeds as in step "Users
and user groups" on page 410.
The FortiToken authentication process is illustrated below:
When configured the FortiGate unit accepts the username and password, authenticates them either locally or
remotely, and prompts the user for the FortiToken code. The FortiGate then authenticates the FortiToken code.
When FortiToken authentication is enabled, the prompt field for entering the FortiToken code is automatically
added to the authentication screens.
Even when an Administrator is logging in through a serial or Telnet connection and their account is linked to a
FortiToken, that Administrator will be prompted for the token’s code at each login.
If you have attempted to add invalid FortiToken serial numbers, there will be no error
message. The serial numbers will simply not be added to the list.
Before one or more FortiTokens can be used to authenticate logons, they must be added to the FortiGate. The
import feature is used to enter many FortiToken serial numbers at one time. The serial number file must be a text
file with one FortiToken serial number per line.
Both FortiToken Mobile and physical FortiTokens store their encryption seeds on the
cloud, therefore you will only be able to register them to a single FortiGate or
FortiAuthenticator.
Because FortiToken-200CD seed files are stored on the CD, these tokens can be
registered on multiple FortiGates and/or FortiAuthenticators, but not simultaneously.
For mobile token, you receive the activation code in the license certificate once you
purchase a license. FortiOS include a license for two mobile token at no cost.
FortiToken seed files (both physical and mobile versions) can be imported from either FTP or TFTP servers, or a
USB drive, allowing seed files to be imported from an external source more easily:
execute fortitoken import ftp <file name> <ip>[:ftp port] <Enter> <user> <password>
execute fortitoken import tftp <file name> <ip>
execute fortitoken import usb <file name>
Once one or more FortiTokens have been added to the FortiGate unit, they must be activated before being
available to be associated with accounts.The process of activation involves the FortiGate querying FortiGuard
servers about the validity of each FortiToken. The serial number and information is encrypted before it is sent for
added security.
The final step before using the FortiTokens to authenticate logons is associating a FortiToken with an account.
The accounts can be local user or administrator accounts.
1. Ensure that your FortiToken serial number has been added to the FortiGate successfully, and its status is
Available.
2. Go to User & Device > User Definition, and edit the user account.
For mobile token, click on Send Activation Code to be sent to the email address
configured previously. The user will use this code to activate his mobile token. An
Email Service has to be set under System > Advanced in order to send the
activation code.
1. Ensure that your FortiToken serial number has been added to the FortiGate successfully, and its status is
Available.
2. Go to System > Administrators, and edit the admin account.
This account is assumed to be configured except for two-factor authentication.
3. Enter admin's Email Address.
4. Enable Two-factor Authentication.
5. Select the user's FortiToken serial number from the Token list.
6. Select OK.
For mobile token, click on Send Activation Code to be sent to the email address
configured previously. The admin will use this code to activate his mobile token. An
Email Service has to be set under System > Advanced in order to send the
activation code.
The fortitoken keyword will not be visible until fortitoken is selected for the two-factor option.
Before a new FortiToken can be used, it may need to be synchronized due to clock
drift.
FortiToken maintenance
Once FortiTokens are entered into the FortiGate unit, there are only two tasks to maintain them — changing the
status,
Any user attempting to login using this FortiToken will not be able to authenticate.
To list the drift on all FortiTokens configured on this FortiGate unit - CLI:
# diag fortitoken info
FORTITOKEN DRIFT STATUS
FTK2000BHV1KRZCC 0 token already activated, and seed won't be returned
FTK2001C5YCRRVEE 0 token already activated, and seed won't be returned
FTKMOB4B94972FBA 0 provisioned
FTKMOB4BA4BE9B84 0 new
Total activated token: 0
Total global activated token: 0
Token server status: reachable
This command lists the serial number and drift for each FortiToken configured on this FortiGate unit. This
command is useful to check if it is necessary to synchronize the FortiGate and any particular FortiTokens.
FortiToken Mobile Push
A command under config system ftm-push allows you to configure the FortiToken Mobile Push services
server IP address and port number. The Push service is provided by Apple (APNS) and Google (GCM) for iPhone
and Android smartphones respectively. This will help to avoid tokens becoming locked after an already enabled
two-factor authentication user has been disabled.
CLI syntax
config system ftm-push
set server-ip <ip-address>
set server-port [1-65535] Default is 4433.
end
Note that the server-ip is the public IP address of the FortiGate interface that the FTM will call back to; it is
the IP address used by the FortiGate for incoming FTM calls.
If an SSL VPN user authenticates with their token, then logs out and attempts to reauthenticate again within a
minte, a new message will display showing "Please wait x seconds to login again." This replaces a previous
error/permission denied message.
The "x" value will depend on the calculation of how much time is left in the current time step.
CLI syntax
config system interface
edit <name>
set allowaccess ftm
next
end
FortiGate supports when the FortiAuthenticator initiates FTM Push notifications, for
when users are attempting to authenticate through a VPN and/or RADIUS (with
FortiAuthenticator as the RADIUS server).
Monitoring users
To monitor user activity in the web-based manager, go to Monitor > Firewall User Monitor. The list of users
who are logged on is displayed with some information about them such as their user group, security policy ID,
how long they have been logged on, their IP address, traffic volume, and their authentication method as one of
FSSO, NTLM, or firewall (FW-auth).
From this screen you can de-authenticate all users who are logged on. The de-authenticate button is at the top
left of this screen.
To see information about banned users go to Monitor > Quarantine Monitor. Displayed information about
users who have been banned includes what application the triggered the ban (Application Protocol), the reason
for the ban (Cause or rule), Created, and when the ban expires.
When there are many users logged on, it can be difficult to locate a specific user or multiple users to analyze.
Applying filters to the list allows you to organize the user list to meet your needs, or only display some the users
that meet your current requirements.
Select settings bottom at the top right of the screen to adjust columns that are displayed for users, including what
order they are displayed in. This can be very helpful in locating information you are looking for.
Each column heading has a grey filter icon. Click on the filter icon to configure a filter for the data displayed in that
column. Each column has similar options including a field to enter the filtering information, a check box to select
the negative of the text in the field, and the options to add more fields, apply the filter, clear all filters, or cancel
without saving. To enter multiple terms in the field, separate each of them with a comma. To filter entries that
contain a specific prefix, use an * (asterisk).
For example, to create a filter to display only users with an IP address of 10.11.101.x who authenticated using
one of security policies five through eight, and who belong to the user group Accounting.
Login credentials for guest users shown in clear text on GUI and voucher
In FortiOS 5.6.4, login credentials for guest users is displayed/printed in clear text on
the GUI and in the voucher. It is also sent in clear text by SMS and email.
User groups
A user group is a list of user identities. An identity can be:
In most cases, the FortiGate unit authenticates users by requesting their username and password. The FortiGate
unit checks local user accounts first. If a match is not found, the FortiGate unit checks the RADIUS, LDAP, or
TACACS+ servers that belong to the user group. Authentication succeeds when a matching username and
password are found. If the user belongs to multiple groups on a server, those groups will be matched as well.
FortiOS does not allow username overlaps between RADIUS, LDAP, or TACACS+
servers.
There are four types of FortiGate user groups: Firewall, Fortinet Single Sign-On (FSSO), Guest, and RADIUS
Single Sign-On (RSSO) user groups.
SSL VPN settings include a list of the firewall user groups that can access the SSL VPN and the SSL VPN portal
that each group will use. When the user connects to the FortiGate unit via HTTPS on the SSL VPN port (default
10443), the FortiGate unit requests a username and password.
SSL VPN access also requires a security policy where the destination is the SSL interface. For more information,
see the FortiOS Handbook SSL VPN guide.
A firewall user group can provide access for dialup users of an IPsec VPN. In this case, the IPsec VPN phase 1
configuration uses the Accept peer ID in dialup group peer option. The user’s VPN client is configured with
the username as peer ID and the password as pre-shared key. The user can connect successfully to the IPsec
VPN only if the username is a member of the allowed user group and the password matches the one stored on
the FortiGate unit.
A user group cannot be used as a dialup group if any member of the group is
authenticated using an external authentication server.
For more information, see the FortiOS Handbook IPsec VPN guide.
In this example, the members of accounting_group are User1 and all of the members of rad_
accounting_group on myRADIUS external RADIUS server.
config user group
edit accounting_group
set group-type firewall
set member User1 myRADIUS
config match
edit 0
set server-name myRADIUS
set group-name rad_accounting_group
end
end
Matching user group names from an external authentication server might not work if
the list of group memberships for the user is longer than 8000 bytes. Group names
beyond this limit are ignored.
server_name is the name of the RADIUS, LDAP, or TACACS+ server, but it must be a member of this group
first and must also be a configured remote server on the FortiGate unit.
group_name is the name of the group on the RADIUS, LDAP, or TACACS+ server such as “engineering” or
“cn=users,dc=test,dc=com”.
Before using group matching with TACACS+, you must first enable authentication. For example if you have a
configured TACACS+ server called myTACS, use the following CLI commands.
config user tacacs+
edit myTACS
set authorization enable
next
end
For more information about user group CLI commands, see the Fortinet CLI Reference.
User groups can have timeout values per group in addition to FortiGate-wide timeouts. There are essentially
three different types of timeouts that are configurable for user authentication on the FortiGate unit — idle
timeout, hard timeout, and session timeout. These are in addition to any external timeouts such as those
associated with RADIUS servers.
If VDOMs are enabled, the global level user setting authtimeout is the default all VDOMs inherit. If VDOMs
are not enabled, user settings authtimeout is the default. The default timeout value is used when the
authtimeout keyword for a user group is set to zero.
Each type of timeout will be demonstrated using the existing user group example_group. Timeout units are
minutes. A value of zero indicates the global timeout is used.
When a user belongs to multiple groups in RADIUS groups, the group auth-timeout values are ignored. Instead
the global timeout value is used. The default value is 5 minutes, but it can be set from 1 to 43200 minutes (30
days).
config user setting
set auth-timeout-type idle-timeout
set auth-timeout 300
end
Idle timeout
The default type of timeout is idle timeout. When a user initiates a session, it starts a timer. As long as data is
transferred in this session, the timer continually resets. If data flow stops, the timer is allowed to advance until it
reaches its limit. At that time the user has been idle for too long, and the user is forced to re-authenticate before
traffic is allowed to continue in that session.
Hard timeout
Where the idle timeout is reset with traffic, the hard timeout is absolute. From the time the first session a user
establishes starts, the hard timeout counter starts. When the timeout is reached, all the sessions for that user
must be re-authenticated. This timeout is not affected by any event.
Session timeout
The session timeout works much like the hard timeout in that its an absolute timer that can not be affected by
events. However, when the timeout is reached existing sessions may continue but new sessions are not allowed
until re-authentication takes place.
You can specify FSSO user groups in security policies in the same way as you specify firewall user groups. FSSO
user groups cannot have SSL VPN or dialup IPsec VPN access.
For information about configuring FSSO user groups, see Creating Fortinet Single Sign-On (FSSO) user groups
on page 540. For complete information about installing and configuring FSSO, see Agent-based FSSO on page
503.
When editing a user group in the CLI you must set the type of group this will be — either a firewall group, a
Fortinet Single Sign-On Service group (FSSO), a Radius based Single Sign-On Service group (RSSO), or a guest
group. Once the type of group is set, and members are added you cannot change the group type without
removing the members.
In the web-based manager, if you change the type of the group any members will be removed automatically.
This example adds user3 to Group1. Note that you must re-specify the full list of users:
config user group
edit Group1
set group-type firewall
Before you delete a user group, you must ensure there are no objects referring to, it such as security policies. If
there are, you must remove those references before you are able to delete the user group.
Visitors to your premises might need user accounts on your network for the duration of their stay. If you are
hosting a large event such as a conference, you might need to create many such temporary accounts. The
FortiOS Guest Management feature is designed for this purpose.
A guest user account User ID can be the user’s email address, a randomly generated string, or an ID that the
administrator assigns. Similarly, the password can be administrator-assigned or randomly generated.
You can create many guest accounts at once using randomly-generated User IDs and passwords. This reduces
administrator workload for large events.
Type Guest
Enable Batch Account Create multiple accounts automatically. When this is enabled:
Creation l User ID and Password are set to Auto-Generate.
l The user accounts have only User ID, Password, and Expiration
fields. Only the Expiration field is editable. If the expiry time is a
duration, such as “8 hours”, this is the time after first login.
lYou can print the account information. Users do not receive email
or SMS notification.
See To create multiple guest user accounts automatically on page 432.
Default Expire Time Set the expire time. The administrator can change this for individual users.
Enable Sponsor If enabled, user form has Sponsor field. Select Required if required.
Enable Company If enabled, user form has Company field. Select Requiredif required.
Enable SMS If enabled, user is notified by SMS. Select whether FortiGuard Messaging
Service or a another SMS provider is used.
Fields marked Optional can be left blank. The guest group configuration determines the fields that are available.
4. Select OK.
Go to User & Device > Guest Management to create, view, edit or delete guest user accounts.
Send Send the user account information to a printer or to the guest. Depending on the group
settings and user information, the information can be sent to the user by email or
SMS.
Guest Groups Select the guest group to list. New accounts are added to this group.
The user ID. Depending on the guest group settings, this can be the user’s email
User ID
address, an ID that the administrator specified, or a randomly-generated ID.
Expires Indicates a duration such as “3 hours”. A duration on its own is relative to the present
time. Or, the duration is listed as “after first login.”
The first time a customer’s device attempts to use the Wi-Fi connection, FortiOS requests an email address,
which it validates. The customer’s subsequent connections go directly to the Internet without interruption.
In this example the freewifi Wi-Fi interface is modified to present an email collection captive portal.
config wireless-controller vap
edit freewifi
set security captive-portal
set portal-type email-collect
end
Schedule always
Service ALL
Action ACCEPT
NAT On
3. Select OK.
In the web-based manager, go to User & Device > Device Inventory. In the CLI you can use the diagnose
user device list command. For example,
FGT-100D # diagnose user device list
hosts
vd 0 d8:d1:cb:ab:61:0f gen 35 req 30 redir 1 last 43634s 7-11_2-int
ip 10.0.2.101 ip6 fe80::dad1:cbff:feab:610f
type 2 'iPhone' src http c 1 gen 29
os 'iPhone' version 'iOS 6.0.1' src http id 358 c 1
email 'yo@yourdomain.com'
vd 0 74:e1:b6:dd:69:f9 gen 36 req 20 redir 0 last 39369s 7-11_2-int
ip 10.0.2.100 ip6 fe80::76e1:b6ff:fedd:69f9
type 1 'iPad' src http c 1 gen 5
os 'iPad' version 'iOS 6.0' src http id 293 c 1
host 'Joes’s-iPad' src dhcp
email 'you@fortinet.com'
Fall-through is intended to match users in different user groups with different policies. For example, consider an
organization with two user groups where one group requires a web filtering profile, while the other requires virus
scanning. In this example, you would edit two basic Internet access policies: policy 1 assigning User Group A
with a Web Filtering profile, and policy 2 assigning User Group B with an AntiVirus profile. Both policies are
also assigned to the same internal subnet, named subnet1.
In this configuration, all users from subnet1 will see an authentication prompt. If the user is found in User
Group A, the traffic is accepted by policy 1 and is filtered by the Web Filtering profile. If the user is found in
User Group B, the traffic is accepted by policy 2 and is virus scanned.
The fall-through feature is required for users to be matched with policy 2. Without the fall-through feature, traffic
would never be matched with policy 2.
When you have configured authentication servers, users, and user groups, you are ready to configure security
policies and certain types of VPNs to require user authentication.
l Authentication timeout
l Password policy
l Authentication protocols
l Authentication in Captive Portals
l Authentication in security policies
l Authentication replacement messages
l VPN authentication
Authentication timeout
An important feature of the security provided by authentication is that it is temporary—a user must re-
authenticate after logging out. Also if a user is logged on and authenticated for an extended period of time, it is a
good policy to have them re-authenticate at set periods. This ensures a user’s session is cannot be spoofed and
used maliciously for extended periods of time — re-authentication will cut any spoof attempts short. Shorter
timeout values are more secure.
1. Go to VPN > SSL-VPN Settings.
2. Under Idle Logout, make sure that Logout users when inactive for specified period is enabled and enter
the Inactive For value (seconds).
3. Select Apply.
Password policy
Password authentication is effective only if the password is sufficiently strong and is changed periodically. By
default, the FortiGate unit requires only that passwords be at least eight characters in length, but up to 128
characters is permitted. You can set a password policy to enforce higher standards for both length and complexity
of passwords. Password policies can apply to administrator passwords or IPsec VPN preshared keys.
To set a password policy in the web-based manager, go to System > Settings. In the CLI, use the config
system password-policy command.
Users usually create passwords composed of alphabetic characters and perhaps some numbers. Password policy
can require the inclusion of uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numerals or punctuation characters.
The following procedures show how to force administrator passwords to contain at least two uppercase, four
lower care, two digits, and one special character. Leave the minimum length at the default of eight characters.
1. Go to System > Settings.
2. Select Enable Password Policy.
3. Select Must Contain at Least.
4. Enter the following information:
Numbers 2
Special Characters 1
set min-number 2
set min-non-alphanumeric 1
set change-4-characters enable
end
The change-4-characters option forces new passwords to change a minimum of four characters in the old
password. Changing fewer characters results in the new password being rejected. This option is only available in
the CLI.
As of FortiOS 5.4, a password policy can also be created for guest administrators. The following command shows
all possible commands, which are also available under config system password-policy.
config system password-policy
set status {enable | disable} Enable/disable password policy.
set apply-to {guest-admin-password} Guest admin to which this password policy applies.
set minimum-length <8-128> Minimum password length.
set min-lower-case-letter <0-128> Min. lowercase characters in password.
set min-upper-case-letter <0-128> Min. uppercase characters in password.
set min-non-alphanumeric <0-128> Min. non-alphanumeric characters in password.
set min-number <0-128> Min. numeric characters in password.
set change-4-characters {enable | disable} Enable/disable changing at least 4 characters for
new password.
set expire-status {enable | disable} Enable/disable password expiration.
set expire-day <1-999> Number of days before password expires.
set reuse-password {enable | disable} Enable/disable reuse of password.
end
Best practices dictate that password expiration also be enabled. This forces passwords to be changed on a
regular basis. You can set the interval in days. The more sensitive the information this account has access to, the
shorter the password expiration interval should be. For example 180 days for guest accounts, 90 days for users,
and 60 days for administrators.
Avoid:
To set a maximum of five failed authentication attempts before the blackout, using the following CLI command:
config user setting
set auth-invalid-max 5
end
To set the length of the blackout period to five minutes, or 300 seconds, once the maximum number of failed
logon attempts has been reached, use the following CLI command:
config user setting
set auth-blackout-time 300
end
Authentication protocols
When user authentication is enabled on a security policy, the authentication challenge is normally issued for any
of the four protocols, HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, and Telnet, which are dependent on the connection protocol. By
making selections in the Protocol Support list, the user controls which protocols support the authentication
challenge. The user must connect with a supported protocol first, so that they can subsequently connect with
other protocols.
For example, if you have selected HTTP, FTP, or Telnet, a username and password-based authentication occurs.
The FortiGate unit then prompts network users to input their security username and password. If you have
selected HTTPS, certificate-based authentication (HTTPS, or HTTP redirected to HTTPS only) occurs.
For certificate-based authentication, you must install customized certificates on the FortiGate unit and on the
browsers of network users. If you do not install certificates on the network user’s web browser, the network users
may see an SSL certificate warning message and have to manually accept the default FortiGate certificate. The
network user’s web browser may deem the default certificate as invalid.
When you use certificate authentication, if you do not specify any certificate when you create the security policy,
the global settings are used. If you specify a certificate, the per-policy setting will overwrite the global setting. For
more information about the use of certification authentication see Certificate-based authentication on page 469.
A user who has not already been authenticated by a captive portal, FSSO, or RSSO can match only policies
where no user or user group is specified. If no such policy exists, the firewall requests authentication. If the user
can authenticate and the session can be matched to a policy, the user connects to the requested destination,
otherwise, the user is denied access.
Another authentication option is to redirect any attempts to authenticate using HTTP to a more secure channel
that uses HTTPS. This forces users to a more secure connection before entering their user credentials.
Authentication replacement messages are the prompts a user sees during the security authentication process
such as login page, disclaimer page, and login success or failure pages. These are different from most
replacement messages because they are interactive requiring a user to enter information, instead of simply
informing the user of some event as other replacement messages do.
Replacement messages have a system-wide default configuration, a per-VDOM configuration, and disclaimers
can be customized for multiple security policies within a VDOM.
These replacement messages are used for authentication using HTTP and HTTPS. Authentication replacement
messages are HTML messages. You cannot customize the security authentication messages for FTP and Telnet.
The authentication login page and the authentication disclaimer include replacement tags and controls not found
on other replacement messages.
More information about replacement messages can be found in the config system replacemsg section of
the FortiOS CLI Reference.
Replacement message
Description
name (CLI name)
Login challenge page This HTML page is displayed if security users are required to answer a
(auth-challenge-page) question to complete authentication. The page displays the question and
includes a field in which to type the answer. This feature is supported by
RADIUS and uses the generic RADIUS challenge-access auth response.
Usually, challenge-access responses contain a Reply-Message attribute
that contains a message for the user (for example, “Please enter new
PIN”). This message is displayed on the login challenge page. The user
enters a response that is sent back to the RADIUS server to be verified.
The Login challenge page is most often used with RSA RADIUS server for
RSA SecurID authentication. The login challenge appears when the server
needs the user to enter a new PIN. You can customize the replacement
message to ask the user for a SecurID PIN.
Replacement message
Description
name (CLI name)
This page prompts user to accept the displayed disclaimer when leaving
the captive portal to access Internet resources. It is displayed when the
captive portal type is Authentication and Disclaimer or Disclaimer
Disclaimer page Only.
Email token page The page prompting a user to enter their email token. See Email on page
(auth-email-token-page) 1.
FortiToken page The page prompting a user to enter their FortiToken code. See FortiToken
(auth-fortitoken-page) on page 417.
Keepalive page The HTML page displayed with security authentication keepalive is
(auth-keepalive-page) enabled using the following CLI command:
The Disclaimer page replacement message does not re-direct the user to a
Login failed page redirect URL or the security policy does not include a redirect URL. When a
(auth-login-failed-page) user selects the button on the disclaimer page to decline access through
the FortiGate unit, the Declined disclaimer page is displayed.
Login page The authentication HTML page displayed when users who are required to
(auth-login-page) authenticate connect through the FortiGate unit using HTTP or HTTPS.
Declined disclaimer page The page displayed if a user declines the disclaimer page. See Disclaimer
(auth-reject-page) on page 444.
Replacement message
Description
name (CLI name)
SMS Token page The page prompting a user to enter their SMS token. See SMS on page
(auth-sms-token-page) 416.
Access to HTTP, HTTPS, FTP and Telnet sites may require access to a domain name service. DNS requests do
not trigger authentication. You must configure a policy to permit unauthenticated access to the appropriate DNS
server, and this policy must precede the policy for Internet access. Failure to do this will result in the lack of a
DNS connection and a corresponding lack of access to the Internet.
Before creating a security policy, you need to configure one or more users or user groups. For more information,
see Users and user groups on page 410.
Creating the security policy is the same as a regular security policy except you must select the action specific to
your authentication method:
ACCEPT FSSO Agent or a security policy that specifies an Agent-based FSSO on page 503.
FSSO user group
Disclaimer
A WiFi or SSL captive portal can include a disclaimer message presented after the user authenticates. The user
must agree to the terms of the disclaimer to access network resources.
Customizing disclaimers or other authentication replacement messages involves changing the text of the
disclaimer message, and possibly the overall appearance of the message.
Changing the disclaimer in System > Replacement Messages is not the same as selecting to customize a
disclaimer used in a captive portal. The captive portal location is a customized disclaimer that inherits the default
format for the disclaimer message, but then can be customized for this portal.
There are two types of logging that relate to authentication — event logging, and security logging.
When enabled, event logging records system events such as configuration changes, and authentication. To
configure event logging, go to Log & Report > Log Settings and enable Event Logging. Select the events
you want to log, such as User activity event.
When enabled, security logging will log security profile and security policy traffic.
You must enable logging within a security policy, as well as the options that are applied to a security policy, such
as security profiles features. Event logs are enabled within the Event Log page.
For more information on logging, see the FortiOS Log and Reporting guide.
For more information on specific types of log messages, see the FortiOS Log Message Reference.
You need to set the logging severity level to Notification when configuring a logging
location to record traffic log messages.
Identity-based policy
An identity-based policy (IBP) performs user authentication in addition to the normal security policy duties. If the
user does not authenticate, access to network resources is refused. This enforces Role Based Access Control
(RBAC) to your organization’s network and resources.
Identity-based policies also support Single Sign-On operation. The user groups selected in the policy are of the
Fortinet Single Sign-On (FSSO) type.
User authentication can occur through any of the following supported protocols, including: HTTP, HTTPS, FTP,
and Telnet. The authentication style depends on which of these protocols is included in the selected security
services group and which of those enabled protocols the network user applies to trigger the authentication
challenge.
For username and password-based authentication (HTTP, FTP, and Telnet) the FortiGate unit prompts network
users to enter their username, password, and token code if two-factor authentication is selected for that user
account. For certificate-based authentication, including HTTPS or HTTP redirected to HTTPS only, see
Certificate authentication on page 455.
With identity-based policies, the FortiGate unit allows traffic that matches the source and destination addresses,
device types, and so on. This means specific security policies must be placed before more general ones to be
effective.
When the identity-based policy has been configured, the option to customize authentication messages is
available. This allows you to change the text, style, layout, and graphics of the replacement messages associated
with this firewall policy. When enabled, customizing these messages follows the same method as changing the
disclaimer. See Disclaimer on page 444.
l NTLM authentication
l Certificate authentication
NTLM authentication
NT LAN Manager (NTLM) protocol can be used as a fallback for authentication when the Active Directory (AD)
domain controller is unreachable. NTLM uses the web browser to send and receive authentication information.
See "NTLM" and "FSSO NTLM authentication support".
To enable NTLM
1. Edit the policy in the CLI to enable NTLM. For example, if the policy ID is 4:
2. Go to Policy & Objects > IPv4 Policy and note the ID number of your FSSO policy.
3. The policy must have an FSSO user group as Source User(s). There must be at least one FSSO Collector agent
configured on the FortiGate unit.
config firewall policy
edit 4
set ntlm enable
end
Guest profile access may be granted to users who fail NTLM authentication, such as visitors who have no user
credentials on the network. To allow guest user access, edit the FSSO security policy in the CLI, like this:
User agent strings for NTLM enabled browsers allow the inspection of initial HTTP-User-Agent values, so that
non-supported browsers are able to go straight to guest access without needlessly prompting the user for
credentials that will fail. ntlm-guest must be enabled to use this option.
config firewall policy
edit 4
set ntlm enable
set ntlm-guest enable
set ntlm-enabled-browsers <user_agent_string>
next
end
<user_agent_string> is the name of the browser that is NTLM enabled. Examples of these values include
“MSIE”, “Mozilla” (which includes FireFox), and “Opera”.
Value strings can be up to 63 characters in length, and may not contain cross site scripting (XSS) vulnerability
characters such as brackets. The FortiGate unit prevents use of these characters to prevent exploit of cross site
scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities.
Kerberos authentication for explicit web and transparent web proxy users
Kerberos authentication is a method for authenticating both explicit web proxy and transparent web proxy users.
It has several advantages over NTLM challenge response:
CLI commands (config authentication rule, scheme, and setting) allow explicit proxy rules and
schemes to be created to separate user authentication (e.g. authentication rules and schemes used to match
conditions in order to identify users) from user authorization (proxy-based policies with users and/or user groups).
edit <name>
set name <ipv4-policy-name>
next
end
config srcaddr6 <addr-name or addrgrp-name>
edit <name>
set name <ipv6-policy-name>
next
end
set ip-based {enable|disable}
set active-auth-method <scheme-name>
set sso-auth-method <scheme-name>
set transaction-based {enable|disable} - basic scheme + session-based
set web-auth-cookie {enable|disable}
set comments <comments>
next
end
Note: As shown above, HTTP, FTP, and SOCKSv5 authentication protocols are supported for explicit proxy.
Authentication rules are used to receive user-identity, based on the values set for protocol and source address.
Having said this, if a rule fails to match based on source address, there will be no other attempt to match the rule,
however the next policy will be attempted. This occurs only when:
l there is an authentication rule, but no authentication method has been set (under config authentication
scheme; see below), so user identity cannot be found.
l the user is successfully matched in the rule, but fails to match the current policy.
Once a rule is positively matched through protocol and/or source address, it must also match the authentication
method specified (active-auth-method and sso-auth-method). These methods point to schemes, as
defined under config authentication scheme.
Combining authentication rules and schemes, granular control can be exerted over users and IPs, creating an
efficient process for users to successfully match a criteria before matching the policy.
A CLI command, under config firewall profile-protocol-options, allows HTTP policy checking
to be enable or disabled. When enabled, transparent traffic can be matched in a firewall policy and policy user
authentication can occur. In addition, separate SSL inspection policies can be created:
config firewall profile-protocol-options
edit <name>
set http-policy {enable|disable}
end
CLI commands, under config firewall proxy-policy, implement the Internet Service Database (ISDB)
as the webproxy matching factor, and override IP pool is also support:
config firewall proxy-policy
edit <name>
set proxy {explicit-web|transparent-web|ftp|wanopt}
set dstintf <dst-name>
set poolname <ip-pool-name>
end
Multiple port/port range support for explicit web and explicit FTP proxy
Multiple port numbers and/or ranges can be set for explicit proxy, specifically for HTTP/HTTPS and FTP. Go to
Network > Explicit Proxy and configure settings under Explicit Web Proxy and Explicit FTP Proxy, or
under config web-proxy explicit in the CLI Console.
1. General configuration
Add the FortiGate FQDN in to the Windows DNS domain, as well as in-addr.arpa
For Lab/Testing add the FortiGate Domain name and IP mapping in the hosts file
(windows/system32/drivers/etc/hosts). e.g., TESTFGT.TEST.COM 10.10.1.10
Use the ktpass command (found on Windows Servers and many domain workstations) to generate the Kerberos
keytab.
Example:
ktpass -princ HTTP/<domain name of test fgt>@realm -mapuser testfgt -pass <password> -
crypto all -ptype KRB5_NT_PRINCIPAL -out fgt.keytab
The ktpass on older Windows servers (i.e. 2003) may not support the “all” crypto
option.
Example:
ktpass -princ HTTP/testfgt.test.com@TEST.COM -mapuser testfgt -pass 12345678 -crypto all -
ptype KRB5_NT_PRINCIPAL -out fgt.keytab
The realm name is always presented in uppercase, and prefixed with the “@”
character.
Use the base64 command (available in most Linux distros) command to encode the fgt.keytab file. Any LF (Line
Feed) need to be deleted from the file.
Example:
base64 fgt.keytab > fgt.txt
Use Notepad++ or some native Linux text editor. Windows Notepad and Wordpad are
likely to introduce errors.
2. FortiGate configuration
2.5 Diagnostics
Once the keytab is imported, check that it has been properly decoded. The filename generated will be relatively
random, but should be clearly visible.
Artoo-Deetoo (root) # fnsysctl ls -la /tmp/kt
drwxr--r-- 2 0 0 Fri Dec 2 10:06:43 2016 60 .
drwxrwxrwt 22 0 0 Tue Dec 6 14:28:29 2016 3280 ..
-rw-r--r-- 1 0 0 Fri Dec 2 10:06:43 2016 392 1.0.89.keytab
If there is no file present, then the file hasn’t decoded. Check the file for line feeds and
try again.
Log on to the domain by using testuser, created in 1.2. Use the klist command to list ticket information. In the
below example, the client has received krbtgt, CIFS, and LDAP tickets. As there has been no interaction with the
FortiGate, there are no references to it.
C:\Users\glenk>klist Cached Tickets: (5)
C:\Users\glenk>klist
Cached Tickets: (5)
#0> Client: glenk @ home.local
Server: krbtgt/HOME.LOCAL @ HOME.LOCAL
KerbTicket Encryption Type: AES-256-CTS-HMAC-SHA1-96
Ticket Flags 0x60a00000 -> forwardable forwarded renewable pre_authent
Start Time: 12/6/2016 14:58:06 (local)
End Time: 12/7/2016 0:58:04 (local)
Renew Time: 12/13/2016 14:58:04 (local)
Session Key Type: AES-256-CTS-HMAC-SHA1-96
Set up web-proxy in browser through the FortiGate. This can be achieved via a PAC file or direct browser
configuration.
1. The client accesses the explicit proxy, but a HTTP 407 Proxy Authentication Required is returned.
2. As “Negotiate” is set, the client has knowledge of the KRBTGT, it requests a ticket from the KDC with a krb-tgs-
req message. This includes the REALM (HOME.LOCAL) in the reg-body section, and the provided instances
SNAME and service (in this case, HTTP/artoo-deetoo.home.local).
3. The KDC responds with a next KRB-TGS-REP.
This ticket is then available on the client.
4. The conversation between the client and the proxy continues, as the client responds with the Kerberos ticket in the
response.
The whole process takes less than a second to complete. The user should be visible as a FSSO logon in the
Web UI.
In the firewall policy level, transparent web-proxy is regarded as a special UTM. The HTTP/HTTPS traffic
matches the firewall policy first, then traffic is redirected to the web-proxy daemon. If the trasnparent web-proxy
feature is disabled, http-policy options in profile-protocol-options is used to enable transparent web-proxy feature.
IP-based
1. Captive portal and the captive portal port must be configured in transparent web-proxy for support of Kerberos
authentication:
config authentication setting
set captive-portal <fqdn-name>
set captive-portal-port "9998"
end
2. Authentication rule, scheme, and krb-keytab need to be configured for Kerberos authentication (note the
active-auth-method scheme referenced in the rule):
config authentication scheme
edit <kerberos-scheme>
set method negotiate
set negotiate-ntlm <enable>
set fsso-guest <disable>
next
end
unset options
set http-policy enable
unset post-lang
end
...
next
end
The web-auth-cookie feature is necessary for session-based authentication under transparent web-proxy.
The configuration is the same as for IP-based authentication, except ip-based is disabled in the authentication
rule:
config authentication rule
edit "kerberos-rules"
set status <enable>
set protocol <http>
set srcadrr "all"
set ip-based <disable>
set active-auth-method <kerberos-scheme>
next
HTTP tunnel authentication
You can trigger user authentication on HTTP CONNECT request at the policy level. A new CLI entry has been
added under config firewall proxy-policy which will trigger the authentication process get-user, even
when there is no user or group configured.
Syntax
config firewall proxy-policy
edit {policyid}
set proxy explicit-web
set http-tunnel-auth {enable | disable}
next
end
Certificate authentication
You can configure certificate-based authentication for FortiGate administrators, SSL VPN users, and IPsec VPN
users. See Configuring certificate-based authentication on page 482.
Certificates are also inherent to the HTTPS protocol, where the browser validates the server’s identity using
certificates. A site certificate must be installed on the FortiGate unit and the corresponding Certificate Authority
(CA) certificate installed in the web browser.
To force the use of HTTPS, go to User & Device > Authentication Settings and select Redirect HTTP
Challenge to a Secure Channel (HTTPS).
While there are valid reasons for having multiple concurrent sessions open, hackers also do this to speed up their
malicious work. Often a hacker is making multiple attempts to gain access to the internal network or the admin
interface of the FortiGate unit, usually from different IP addresses to appear to the FortiGate unit as legitimate
users. For this reason, the more concurrent sessions a hacker has open at once, the faster they will achieve their
goal.
To help prevent this, you can disallow concurrent administrative access using the same administrator user name.
This allows only one session with the same username even if it is from the same IP.
VPN authentication
All VPN configurations require users to authenticate. Authentication based on user groups applies to:
l SSL VPNs
l PPTP and L2TP VPNs
l an IPsec VPN that authenticates users using dialup groups
l a dialup IPsec VPN that uses XAUTH authentication (Phase 1)
You must create user accounts and user groups before performing the procedures in this section. If you create a
user group for dialup IPsec clients or peers that have unique peer IDs, their user accounts must be stored locally
on the FortiGate unit. You cannot authenticate these types of users using a RADIUS or LDAP server.
If you set the authentication timeout (auth-timeout) to 0 when you configure the timeout settings, the remote
client does not have to re-authenticate unless they log out of the system. To fully take advantage of this setting,
the value for idle-timeout has to be set to 0 also, so that the client does not time out if the maximum idle
time is reached. If the idle-timeout is not set to the infinite value, the system will log out if it reaches the
limit set, regardless of the auth-timeout setting.
Authentication through user groups is supported for groups containing only local users. To authenticate users
using a RADIUS or LDAP server, you must configure XAUTH settings. See Configuring XAuth authentication.
1. Configure the dialup users who are permitted to use this VPN. Create a user group with Type:Firewall and add
them to it.
For more information, see Users and user groups on page 410
2. Go to VPN > IPsec Wizard, select Remote Access, choose a name for the VPN, and enter the following
information.
Authentication Method List of authentication methods available for users. Select Preshared Key
and enter the preshared key.
User Group Select the user group that is to be allowed access to the VPN. The listed
user groups contain only users with passwords on the FortiGate unit.
Extended Authentication (XAuth) increases security by requiring additional user authentication information in a
separate exchange at the end of the VPN Phase 1 negotiation. The FortiGate unit asks the user for a username
and password. It then forwards the user’s credentials (the password is encrypted) to an external RADIUS or LDAP
server for verification.
XAuth can be used in addition to or in place of IPsec phase 1 peer options to provide access security through an
LDAP or RADIUS authentication server. You must configure a dialup user group whose members are all
externally authenticated.
1. Configure the users who are permitted to use this VPN. Create a user group and add the users to the group.
For more information, see "Users and user groups" on page 410.
2. Go to VPN > IPsec Wizard, select Remote Access, choose a name for the VPN, and enter the following
information.
Authentication Method List of authentication methods available for users. Select Preshared Key
and enter the preshared key.
User Group Select the user group that is to be allowed access to the VPN. The listed
user groups contain only users with passwords on the FortiGate unit.
Type Select PAP, CHAP, or AUTO. Use CHAP whenever possible. Use PAP
with all implementations of LDAP and with other authentication servers
that do not support CHAP, including some implementations of Microsoft
RADIUS. Use AUTO with the Fortinet Remote VPN Client and where the
authentication server supports CHAP but the XAuth client does not.
User Group Select the user group that is to have access to the VPN. The list of user
groups does not include any group that has members whose password is
stored on the FortiGate unit.
6. Select OK.
For more information about XAUTH configuration, see the IPsec VPN chapter of the FortiOS Handbook.
Some parameters specific to setting up the VPN itself are not shown here. For detailed information about
configuring IPsec VPNs, see the FortiOS Handbook IPsec VPN guide.
LDAP user authentication is supported for PPTP, L2TP, IPsec VPN, and firewall
authentication.
However, with PPTP, L2TP, and IPsec VPN, PAP (Packet Authentication Protocol) is
supported, while CHAP (Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol) is not.
1. Configure the users who are permitted to use this VPN. Create a security user group and add them to it.
For more information, see Users and user groups on page 410.
2. Configure the PPTP VPN in the CLI as in this example.
config vpn pptp
set status enable
set sip 192.168.0.100
set eip 192.168.0.110
set usrgrp PPTP_Group
end
The sip and eip fields define a range of virtual IP addresses assigned to PPTP clients.
Configure a security policy. The source interface is the one through which the clients will connect. The source
address is the PPTP virtual IP address range. The destination interface and address depend on the network to
which the clients will connect. The policy action is ACCEPT.
LDAP user authentication is supported for PPTP, L2TP, IPsec VPN, and firewall
authentication.
However, with PPTP, L2TP, and IPsec VPN, PAP (Packet Authentication Protocol) is
supported, while CHAP (Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol) is not.
1. Configure the users who are permitted to use this VPN. Create a user group and add them to it.
For more information, see Users and user groups on page 410.
2. Configure the L2TP VPN in the CLI as in this example.
config vpn l2tp
set status enable
set sip 192.168.0.100
set eip 192.168.0.110
set usrgrp L2TP_Group
end
The sip and eip fields define a range of virtual IP addresses assigned to L2TP clients.
3. Configure a security policy. The source interface is the one through which the clients will connect. The source
address is the L2TP virtual IP address range. The destination interface and address depend on the network to
which the clients will connect. The policy action is ACCEPT.
A captive portal is a convenient way to authenticate web users on wired or WiFi networks.
After successful authentication, the user accesses the requested URL and can access other web resources, as
permitted by security policies. Optionally, the captive portal itself can allow web access to only the members of
specified user group.
The captive portal can be hosted on the FortiGate unit or on an external authentication server. You can configure
captive portal authentication on any network interface, including WiFi and VLAN interfaces.
When a captive portal is configured on a WiFi interface, the access point initially appears open. The wireless
client can connect to the access point with no security credentials, but sees only the captive portal authentication
page.
l Authentication — until the user enters valid credentials, no communication beyond the AP is permitted.
l Disclaimer + Authentication — immediately after successful authentication, the portal presents the disclaimer
page—an acceptable use policy or other legal statement—to which the user must agree before proceeding.
l Disclaimer Only — the portal presents the disclaimer page—an acceptable use policy or other legal statement—
to which the user must agree before proceeding. The authentication page is not presented.
l Email Collection — the portal presents a page requesting the user’s email address, for the purpose of contacting
the person in future. This is often used by businesses who provide free WiFi access to their customers. The
authentication page is not presented.
1. Go to Network > Interfaces and edit the interface to which the users connect.
2. In Security Mode select Captive Portal.
3. Enter
User Groups Select permitted user groups or select Use Groups from Policies, which
permits the groups specified in the security policy.
Exempt List Select exempt lists whose members will not be subject to captive portal
authentication.
Customize Portal Enable, then select Edit. See Customizing captive portal pages on page
Messages 463.
4. Select OK.
3. Enter
Portal Type The portal can provide authentication and/or disclaimer, or perform user
email address collection. See Introduction to Captive portals on page 461.
Exempt List Select exempt lists whose members will not be subject to captive portal
authentication.
Customize Portal Messages Click the link of the portal page that you want to modify. See "Captive
portals" on page 463.
4. Select OK.
Typical modifications for this page would be to change the logo and modify some of the text.
You can change any text that is not part of the HTML code nor a special tag enclosed in double percent (%)
characters.
There is an exception to this rule. The line “Please enter your credentials to continue” is provided by the
%%QUESTION%% tag. You can replace this tag with text of your choice. Except for this item, you should not
remove any tags because they may carry information that the FortiGate unit needs.
l Login failed page—reports that the entered credentials were incorrect and enables the user to try again.
The Login failed page is similar to the Login page. It even contains the same login form. You can change any text
that is not part of the HTML code nor a special tag enclosed in double percent (%) characters.
There is an exception to this rule. The line “Firewall authentication failed. Please try again.” is provided by the
%%FAILED_MESSAGE%% tag. You can replace this tag with text of your choice. Except for this item, you should
not remove any tags because they may carry information that the FortiGate unit needs.
l Disclaimer page—is a statement of the legal responsibilities of the user and the host organization to which the
user must agree before proceeding.(WiFi or SSL VPN only)
l Declined disclaimer page—is displayed if the user does not agree to the statement on the Disclaimer page.
Access is denied until the user agrees to the disclaimer.
When configuring a captive portal through the CLI, you may set security-groups to a specific user group.
The result of this configuration will show an authentication form to users who wish to log in to the captive portal—
not a disclaimer page. If you do not set any security-groups in your configuration, an "Allow all" status will
be in effect, and the disclaimer page will be displayed for users.
The example CLI configuration below shows setting up a captive portal interface without setting security-groups,
resulting in a disclaimer page for users:
config system interface
edit "port1"
set vdom "root"
set ip 172.16.101.1 255.255.255.0
set allowaccess ping https ssh snmp http
set type physical
set explicit-web-proxy enable
set alias "LAN"
set security-mode captive-portal
set snmp-index 1
next
end
This section provides an overview of how the FortiGate unit verifies the identities of administrators, SSL VPN
users, or IPsec VPN peers using X.509 security certificates.
A certificate includes identifying information such as the company and location information for the web site, as
well as the third-party company name, the expiry date of the certificate, and the public key.
FortiGate units use X.509 certificates to authenticate single sign-on (SSO) for users. The X.509 standard has
been in use since before 2000, but has gained popularity with the Internet’s increased popularity. X.509 v3 is
defined in RFC 5280 and specifies standard formats for public key certificates, certificate revocation lists, and a
certification path validation algorithm. The unused earlier X.509 version 1 was defined in RFC 1422.
The main difference between X.509 and PGP certificates is that where in PGP anyone can sign a certificate, for
X.509 only a trusted authority can sign certificates. This limits the source of certificates to well known and
trustworthy sources. Where PGP is well suited for one-to-one communications, the X.509 infrastructure is
intended to be used in many different situations including one-to-many communications. Some common
filename extensions for X.509 certificates are listed below.
.pem Privacy Enhanced Mail (PEM) Base64 encoded DER certificate, that uses:
“-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----” and
“-----END CERTIFICATE-----”
.cer
Usually binary DER form, but Base64-encoded
.crt Security CERtificate
certificates are common too.
.der
.pfx personal information exchange (PFX) Older format. Came before PKCS#12. Usually today
data is in PKCS#12 format.
Certificates overview
Certificates play a major role in authentication of clients connecting to network services via HTTPS, both for
administrators and SSL VPN users. Certificate authentication is optional for IPsec VPN peers.
Public CA certificates found on the FortiGate are provided through firmware upgrades
and installations.
The secure HTTP (HTTPS) protocol uses SSL. Certificates are an integral part of SSL. When a web browser
connects to the FortiGate unit via HTTPS, a certificate is used to verify the FortiGate unit’s identity to the client.
Optionally, the FortiGate unit can require the client to authenticate itself in return.
By default, the FortiGate unit uses a self-signed security certificate to authenticate itself to HTTPS clients. When
the certificate is offered, the client browser displays two security messages.
l The first message prompts users to accept and optionally install the FortiGate unit’s self-signed security certificate.
If the user does not accept the certificate, the FortiGate unit refuses the connection. When the user accepts the
certificate, the FortiGate login page is displayed, and the credentials entered by the user are encrypted before they
are sent to the FortiGate unit. If the user chooses to install the certificate, the prompt is not displayed again.
l Just before the FortiGate login page is displayed, a second message informs users that the FortiGate certificate
distinguished name differs from the original request. This message is displayed because the FortiGate unit
redirects the connection (away from the distinguished name recorded in the self-signed certificate) and can be
ignored.
Optionally, you can install an X.509 server certificate issued by a certificate authority (CA) on the FortiGate unit.
You can then configure the FortiGate unit to identify itself using the server certificate instead of the self-signed
certificate.
For more information, see the FortiOS Handbook SSL VPN guide.
After successful certificate authentication, communication between the client browser and the FortiGate unit is
encrypted using SSL over the HTTPS link.
Certificate-related protocols
There are multiple protocols that are required for handling certificates. These include the Online Certificate
Status Protocol (OCSP), Secure Certificate Enrollment Protocol (SCEP), and Server-based Certificate Validation
Protocol (SCVP).
Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) allows the verification of X.509 certificate expiration dates. This is
important to prevent hackers from changing the expiry date on an old certificate to a future date.
Normally certificate revocation lists (CRLs) are used, but OCSP is an alternate method available. However a CRL
is a public list, and some companies may want to avoid the public exposure of their certificate structure even if it
is only invalid certificates.
The OSCP check on the certificate’s revocation status is typically carried out over HTTP with a request-response
format. The authority responding can reply with a status of good, revoked, or unknown for the certificate in
question.
Secure Certificate Enrollment Protocol (SCEP) is an automated method of signing up for certificates. Typically
this involves generating a request you send directly to the SCEP service, instead of generating a file request that
may or may not be signed locally.
Server-based Certificate Validation Protocol (SCVP) is used to trace a certificate back to a valid root level
certificate. This ensures that each step along the path is valid and trustworthy.
permits an IPsec tunnel to be established. See Authenticating IPsec VPN users with security certificates on page
484 .
Local certificates
Local certificates are issued for a specific server, or web site. Generally they are very specific, and often for an
internal enterprise network. For example a personal web site for John Smith at www.example.com (such as
http://www.example.com/home/jsmith) would have its own local certificate.
These can optionally be just the certificate file, or also include a private key file and PEM passphrase for added
security.
For information about generating a certificate request, see Generating a certificate signing request on page 474.
For information about installing a local certificate, see Obtaining and installing a signed server certificate from an
external CA on page 476
Remote certificates
Remote certificates are public certificates without a private key. For dynamic certificate revocation, you need to
use an Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP) server. The OCSP is configured in the CLI only. Installed
Remote (OCSP) certificates are displayed in the Remote Certificates list. You can select Import to install a
certificate from the management PC.
CA root certificates
CA root certificates are similar to local certificates, however they apply to a broader range of addresses or to
whole company; they are one step higher up in the organizational chain. Using the local certificate example, a CA
root certificate would be issued for all of www.example.com instead of just the smaller single web page.
Certificate revocation list (CRL) is a list of certificates that have been revoked and are no longer usable. This list
includes certificates that have expired, been stolen, or otherwise compromised. If your certificate is on this list, it
will not be accepted. CRLs are maintained by the CA that issues the certificates and includes the date and time
when the next CRL will be issued as well as a sequence number to help ensure you have the most current version
of the CRL.
Certificate signing
The trust in a certificate comes from the authority that signs it. For example if VeriSign signs your CA root
certificate, it is trusted by everyone. While these certificates are universally accepted, it is cumbersome and
expensive to have all certificates on a corporate network signed with this level of trust.
With self-signed certificates nobody, except the other end of your communication, knows who you are and
therefore they do not trust you as an authority. However this level is useful for encryption between two points —
neither point may care about who signed the certificate, just that it allows both points to communicate. This is
very useful for internal networks and communications.
A general rule is that CA signed certificates are accepted and sometimes required, but it is easier to self-sign
certificates when you are able.
For more on the methods of certificate signing see Generating a certificate signing request on page 474.
BIOS V4 certificates:
l Fortinet_CA
l Fortinet_Sub_CA
l Fortinet_Factory
BIOS V3 certificates:
l Fortinet_CA_Backup
l Fortinet_Factory_Backup
When FortiOS connects to FortiGuard, FortiCloud, FortiManager, FortiAnalyzer, FortiSandbox as a client, the
BIOS certificate Fortinet_Factory will be the default client certificate. When the server returns its certificate
(chain) back, FortiOS looks up the issuer of the server certificate and either keeps client certificate as is or
switches to the BIOS certificate Fortinet_Factory_Backup. This process occurs in one handshake.
When FortiOS connects to FortiCare, the BIOS certificate Fortinet_Factory is the only client certificate and
Server Name Indication (SNI) is set. There is no switchover of certificate during SSL handshake.
When FortiOS acts as a server when connected by FortiExtender, FortiSwitch, FortiAP, etc., Fortinet_Factory is
the default server certificate. FortiOS detects SNI in client hello, and if no SNI is found or if the CN in SNI is
different from the CN of Fortinet_CA, it switches to use the Fortinet_Factory_Backup.
You use the FortiGate unit or CA software such as OpenSSL to generate a certificate request. That request is a
text file that you send to the CA for verification, or alternately you use CA software to self-validate. Once
validated, the certificate file is generated and must be imported to the FortiGate unit before it can be used. These
steps are explained in more detail later in this section.
This section provides procedures for generating certificate requests, installing signed server certificates, and
importing CA root certificates and CRLs to the FortiGate unit.
For information about how to install root certificates, CRLs, and personal or group certificates on a remote client
browser, refer to your browser’s documentation.
When you generate a CSR, a private and public key pair is created for the FortiGate unit. The generated request
includes the public key of the FortiGate unit and information such as the FortiGate unit’s public static IP address,
domain name, or email address. The FortiGate unit’s private key remains confidential on the FortiGate unit.
After you submit the request to a CA, the CA will verify the information and register the contact information on a
digital certificate that contains a serial number, an expiration date, and the public key of the CA. The CA will then
sign the certificate, and you install the certificate on the FortiGate unit.
The Certificate Request Standard is a public key cryptography standard (PKCS) published by RSA, specifically
PKCS10 which defines the format for CSRs. This is defined in RFC 2986.
1. Go to System > Certificates.
2. Select Generate.
3. In the Certificate Name field, enter a unique meaningful name for the certificate request. Typically, this would be
the hostname or serial number of the FortiGate unit or the domain of the FortiGate unit such as example.com.
Do not include spaces in the certificate name. This will ensure compatibility of
a signed certificate as a PKCS12 file to be exported later on if required.
Prior to FortiOS 5.4, passwords for local certificates that were generated via either
SCEP or CLI could not have their passwords reset. Passwords can be set in the CLI
using the following command:
config vpn certificate local
edit <name>
set password <password>
next
end
4. Enter values in the Subject Information area to identify the FortiGate unit:
l If the FortiGate unit has a static IP address, select Host IPand enter the public IP address of the FortiGate
unit. If the FortiGate unit does not have a public IP address, use an email address (or fully qualified domain
name (FQDN) if available) instead.
l If the FortiGate unit has a dynamic IP address and subscribes to a dynamic DNS service, use a FQDN if
available to identify the FortiGate unit. If you select Domain Name, enter the FQDN of the FortiGate unit. Do
not include the protocol specification (http://) or any port number or path names.
l If you select E-Mail, enter the email address of the owner of the FortiGate unit.
5. Enter values in the Optional Information area to further identify the FortiGate unit.
Organization Unit Name of your department. You can enter a series of OUs up to a maximum
of 5. To add or remove an OU, use the plus (+) or minus (-) icon.
Locality (City) Name of the city or town where the FortiGate unit is installed.
State/Province Name of the state or province where the FortiGate unit is installed.
Subject Alternative Name Optionally, enter one or more alternative names for which the certificate is
also valid. Separate names with a comma. A name can be:
l e-mail address
l IP address
l URI
l DNS name (alternatives to the Common Name)
l directory name (alternatives to the Distinguished Name)
You must precede the name with the name type. Examples:
IP:1.1.1.1
email:test@fortinet.com
email:my@other.address
URI:http://my.url.here/
Password for private key Option to export local certificate and its private key in password protected
p12.
10. The request is generated and displayed in the Local Certificates list with a status of PENDING.
11. Select the Download button to download the request to the management computer.
12. In the File Download dialog box, select Save and save the Certificate Signing Request on the local file system of
the management computer.
13. Name the file and save it on the local file system of the management computer.
The certificate request is ready for the certificate authority to be signed.
Server certificate
CA certificate
PKI certificate
1. Using the web browser on the management computer, browse to the CA web site.
2. Follow the CA instructions for a base-64 encoded PKCS#10 certificate request and upload your certificate request.
3. Follow the CA instructions to download their root certificate and CRL.
When you receive the signed server certificate from the CA, install the certificate on the FortiGate unit.
1. On the FortiGate unit, go to System > Certificates and select Import > Local Certificates.
2. From Type, select Local Certificate.
3. Select Browse, browse to the location on the management computer where the certificate was saved, select the
certificate, and then select Open.
4. Select OK, and then select Return.
1. After you download the root certificate of the CA, save the certificate on the management computer. Or, you can
use online SCEP to retrieve the certificate.
2. On the FortiGate unit, go to System > Certificates and select Import > CA Certificates.
3. Do one of the following:
l To import using SCEP, select SCEP. Enter the URL of the SCEP server from which to retrieve the CA
certificate. Optionally, enter identifying information of the CA, such as the filename.
l To import from a file, select Local PC , then select Browse and find the location on the management
computer where the certificate has been saved. Select the certificate, and then select Open.
5. Select OK, and then select Return.
The system assigns a unique name to each CA certificate. The names are numbered consecutively (CA_Cert_1,
CA_Cert_2, CA_Cert_3, and so on).
A Certificate Revocation List (CRL) is a list of the CA certificate subscribers paired with certificate status
information. The list contains the revoked certificates and the reason(s) for revocation. It also records the
certificate issue dates and the CAs that issued them.
When configured to support SSL VPNs, the FortiGate unit uses the CRL to ensure that the certificates belonging
to the CA and remote peers or clients are valid. The CRL has an “effective date” and a “next update” date. The
interval is typically 7 days (for Microsoft CA). FortiOS will update the CRL automatically. Also, there is a CLI
command to specify an “update-interval” in seconds. Recommendation should be 24 hours (86400 seconds) but
depends on company security policy.
1. After you download the CRL from the CA web site, save the CRL on the management computer.
2. Go to System > Certificates and select Import > CRL.
3. Do one of the following:
l To import using an HTTP server, select HTTP and enter the URL of the HTTP server.
l To import using an LDAP server see this KB article.
l To import using an SCEP server, select SCEP and select the Local Certificate from the list. Enter the URL of
the SCEP server from which the CRL can be retrieved.
l To import from a file, select Local PC , then select Browse and find the location on the management
computer where the CRL has been saved. Select the CRL and then select Open.
5. Select OK, and then select Return.
The following CLI syntax can be entered to import a local certificate file:
execute vpn certificate local import tftp <file name> <tftp ip address> <file type> <Enter
for 'cer'>|<password for 'p12'>
For example:
execute vpn certificate local import tftp FGTF-extern.p12 10.1.100.253 p12 123456
In addition, the following CLI syntax can be entered to update certificate bundles from an FTP or TFTP server:
execute vpn certificate ca import bundle <file-name.pkg> <ftp/tftp-server-ip>
The following CLI command is available under log fortianalyzer setting to allow you to specify the
certificate used to communicate with FortiAnalyzer.
CLI syntax
config log fortianalyzer setting
set certificate <name>
end
Troubleshooting certificates
There are times when there are problems with certificates — a certificate is seen as expired when its not, or it
can’t be found. Often the problem is with a third party web site, and not FortiOS. However, some problems can
be traced back to FortiOS such as DNS or routing issues.
Syntax
config system global
set ssh-key-sha1 {enable | disable}
end
l It really has expired based on the “best before” date in the certificate
l The FortiGate unit clock is not properly set. If the FortiGate clock is fast, it will see a certificate as expired before
the expiry date is really here.
l The requesting server clock is not properly set. A valid example is if your certificate is 2 hours from expiring, a server
more than two time zones away would see the certificate as expired. Otherwise, if the server’s clock is set wrongly it
will also have the same effect.
l The certificate was revoked by the issuer before the expiry date. This may happen if the issuer believes a certificate
was either stolen or misused. Its possible it is due to reasons on the issuer’s side, such as a system change or such.
In either case it is best to contact the certificate issuer to determine what is happening and why.
l The web site uses an unrecognized self-signed certificate. These are not secure because anyone can sign them. If
you accept self-signed certificates you do so at your own risk. Best practices dictate that you must confirm the ID of
the web site using some other method before you accept the certificate.
l The certificate is valid for a different domain. A certificate is valid for a specific location, domain, or sub-section of a
domain such as one certificate for support.example.com that is not valid for marketing.example.com. If
you encounter this problem, contact the webmaster for the web site to inform them of the problem.
l There is a DNS or routing problem. If the web site’s certificate cannot be verified, it will not be accepted. Generally
to be verified, your system checks with the third party certificate signing authority to verify the certificate is valid. If
you cannot reach that third party due to some DNS or routing error, the certificate will not be verified.
l Firewall is blocking required ports. Ensure that any firewalls between the requesting computer and the web site
allow the secure traffic through the firewall. Otherwise a hole must be opened to allow it through. This includes
ports such as 443 (HTTPS) and 22 (SSH).
Local certificates
In the config vpn certificate local command, you can specify automatic certificate renewal. The
relevant fields are:
scep-url <URL_str> The URL of the SCEP server. This can be HTTP or HTTPS. The
following options appear after you add the <URL_str>.
auto-regenerate-days <days_ How many days before expiry the FortiGate unit requests an
int> updated local certificate. The default is 0, no auto-update.
auto-regenerate-days-warning How many days before local certificate expiry the FortiGate
<days_int> generates a warning message. The default is 0, no warning.
CA certificates
In the config vpn certificate ca command, you can specify automatic certificate renewal. The
relevant fields are:
Variable Description
scep-url <URL_str> The URL of the SCEP server. This can be HTTP or HTTPS.
If you obtained your CRL using SCEP, you can configure online updates to the CRL using the config vpn
certificate crl command. The relevant fields are:
Variable Description
http-url <http_url> URL of the server used for automatic CRL certificate updates.
This can be HTTP or HTTPS.
scep-url <scep_url> URL of the SCEP CA server used for automatic CRL certificate
updates. This can be HTTP or HTTPS.
update-vdom <update_vdom> VDOM used to communicate with remote SCEP server for CRL
auto-update.
As an alternative, you can back up and restore the entire FortiGate configuration
through the System Information widget on the Dashboard of the web-based
manager. Look for [Backup] and [Restore] in the System Configuration row. The
backup file is created in a FortiGate-proprietary format.
This procedure exports a server (local) certificate and private key together as a password protected PKCS12 file.
The export file is created through a customer-supplied TFTP server. Ensure that your TFTP server is running and
accessible to the FortiGate unit before you enter the command.
l <cert_name> is the name of the server certificate; typing ? displays a list of installed server certificates.
l <exp_filename> is a name for the output file.
l <tftp_ip> is the IP address assigned to the TFTP server host interface.
3. Move the output file from the TFTP server location to the management computer for future reference.
execute vpn certificate local import tftp <file_name> <tftp_ip_address> <file_type> <Enter
for 'cer'>|<password for 'p12'>
For example:
execute vpn certificate local import tftp FGTF-extern.p12 10.1.100.253 p12 123456
To import separate server certificate and private key files - web-based manager
Use the following procedure to import a server certificate and the associated private key file when the server
certificate request and private key were not generated by the FortiGate unit. The two files to import must be
available on the management computer.
In Microsoft Windows 7, you can use the certificate manager to keep track of all the different certificates on your
local computer. To access certificate manager, in Windows 7 press the Windows key, enter “certmgr.msc” at the
search prompt, and select the displayed match. Remember that in addition to these system certificates, many
applications require you to register certificates with them directly.
To see FortiClient certificates, open the FortiClient Console, and select VPN. The VPN menu has options for My
Certificates (local or client) and CA Certificates (root or intermediary certificate authorities). Use Import on those
screens to import certificate files from other sources.
l Obtain a signed personal certificate for the administrator from a CA and load the signed personal certificate into the
web browser on the management computer according to the browser documentation.
l Install the root certificate and the CRL from the issuing CA on the FortiGate unit (see Installing a CA root certificate
and CRL to authenticate remote clients on page 477 ).
l Create a PKI user account for the administrator.
l Add the PKI user account to a firewall user group dedicated to PKI-authenticated administrators.
l In the administrator account configuration, select PKI as the account Type and select the User Group to which
the administrator belongs.
In order to avoid any unintentional admin access by regular users, administrators can specify which way a peer
user authenticates.
When searching for a matching certificate, use the commands below to control how to find matches in the
certificate subject name (subject-match) or the cn attribute (cn-match) of the certificate subject name. This
match can be any string (substring) or an exact match (value) of the cn attribute value.
X.509 certificates can be used to authenticate IPsec VPN peers or clients, or SSL VPN clients. When configured
to authenticate a VPN peer or client, the FortiGate unit prompts the VPN peer or client to authenticate itself using
the X.509 certificate. The certificate supplied by the VPN peer or client must be verifiable using the root CA
certificate installed on the FortiGate unit in order for a VPN tunnel to be established.
1. Install a signed server certificate on the FortiGate unit and install the corresponding root certificate (and CRL)
from the issuing CA on the remote peer or client.
2. Obtain a signed group certificate from a CA and load the signed group certificate into the web browser used by
each user. Follow the browser documentation to load the certificates.
3. Install the root certificate and the CRL from the issuing CA on the FortiGate unit (see Installing a CA root
certificate and CRL to authenticate remote clients on page 477).
4. Create a PKI user for each SSL VPN user. For each user, specify the text string that appears in the Subject field of
the user’s certificate and then select the corresponding CA certificate.
5. Use the config user peergrp CLI command to create a peer user group. Add to this group all of the SSL
VPN users who are authenticated by certificate.
6. Go to Policy & Objects > IPv4 Policy.
7. Edit the SSL-VPN security policy.
8. Select the user group created earlier in the Source User(s) field.
9. Select OK.
There are factory default certificates such as Fortinet_CA_SSL, Fortinet_SSL, Fortinet_Wifi, and Fortinet_
Factory. These certificates are moved to per-VDOM and automatically generated when a new VDOM is created.
The Fortinet_Firmware certificate has been removed and all the attributes that use
Fortinet_Firmware now use Fortinet_Factory.
CLI Changes
range can be global or per-VDOM, if the certificate file is imported from global, it is a global certificate. If the
certificate file is imported from a VDOM, it is VDOM certificate.
l factory: The factory certificate file with FortiOS version, this includes: Fortinet_CA_SSL, Fortinet_SSL,
PositiveSSL_CA, Fortinet_Wifi, Fortinet_Factory.
l user: Certificate file imported by the user.
l fortiguard: Certificate file imported from FortiGuard.
config certificate local
edit Fortinet_Factory
set range {global | vdom}
set source {factory | user | fortiguard}
end
end
GUI Changes
Global and new VDOMs have the following factory default certificates:
These certificates are created automatically when a new VDOM is created, with every VDOM having its own
versions of these certificates.
The FortiGate unit is called myFortiGate60, and is located at 10.11.101.101 (a private IP address) and
http://myfortigate.example.com. Mr. John Smith (john.smith@myfortigate.example.com) is the IT administrator
for this FortiGate unit, and the unit belongs to the Sales department located in Greenwich, London, England.
1. Go to System > Certificates.
2. Select Generate.
3. In the Certificate Name field, enter myFortiGate60.
Do not include spaces in the certificate name. This will ensure compatibility of a
signed certificate as a PKCS12 file to be exported later on if required.
Organization Example.com
State/Province London
Country England
e-mail john.smith@myfortigate.example.com
Example — Generate and Import CA certificate with private key pair on OpenSSL
This example explains how to generate a certificate using OpenSSL on MS Windows. OpenSSL is available for
Linux and Mac OS as well, however their terminology will vary slightly from what is presented here.
Assumptions
Before starting this procedure, ensure that you have downloaded and installed OpenSSL on Windows. One
source is: http://www.slproweb.com/products/Win32OpenSSL.html.
1. At the Windows command prompt, go to the OpenSSL bin directory. If you installed to the default location this will
be the command:
cd c:\OpenSSL-Win32\bin
2. Enter the following command to generate the private key. You will be prompted to enter your PEM pass phrase.
Choose something easy to remember such as fortinet123.
3. The following command will generate the certificate using the key from the previous step.
openssl req -new -x509 -days 3650 -extensions v3_ca -key fgtcapriv.key -out
fgtca.crt
This step generates an X509 CA certificate good for 10 years that uses the key generated in the
previous step. The certificate filename is fgtca.crt.
You will be prompted to enter information such as PEM Pass Phrase from the previous step, Country
Name, State, Organization Name, Organizational Unit (such as department name), Common Name
(the FQDN), and Email Address.
1. Go to System > Certificates.
2. Select Import > Local Certificate.
3. Select Certificate for Type.
Fields for Certificate file, Key file, and Password are displayed.
4. For Certificate file, enter c:\OpenSSL-Win32\bin\fgtca.crt.
5. For Key file, enter c:\OpenSSL-Win32\bin\fgtcapriv.key.
6. For Password, enter the PEM Pass Phrase you entered earlier, such as fortinet123.
7. Select OK.
The Certificate will be added to the list of Local Certificates and be ready for use. It will appear in the list as the
filename you uploaded — fgtca.You can add comments to this certificate to make it clear where its from and
how it is intended to be used. If you download the certificate from FortiOS, it is a .CER file.
It can now be used in Authenticating IPsec VPN users with security certificates on page 484, and Authenticating
SSL VPN users with security certificates on page 483.
Assumptions
l Before starting this procedure, ensure that you have downloaded and installed OpenSSL on MS Windows. One
download source is http://www.slproweb.com/products/Win32OpenSSL.html.
1. At the Windows command prompt, go to the OpenSSL bin directory. If you installed to the default location this will
be the following command:
cd c:\OpenSSL-Win32\bin
2. Enter the following command to generate the private key. You will be prompted to enter your PEM pass phrase.
Choose something easy to remember such as fortinet.
3. Create a certificate signing request for the SSL certificate. This step requires you to enter the information listed in
step 3 of the previous example — To generate the private key and certificate. You can leave the Challenge
Password blank.
Most Certificate Authorities will ignore the value that is set in the CSR and use
whatever value they are set to use in their configuration. This means that the client will
likely need to modify their openssl.conf file to use SHA-256 (or another SHA-2 variant).
4. Using the CSR from the previous step, you can now create the SSL certificate using the CA certificate that was
created in Example — Generate and Import CA certificate with private key pair on OpenSSL.
openssl x509 -req -days 365 -in fgtssl.csr -CA fgtca.crt -CAkey fgtcapriv.key -set_
serial 01 -out fgtssl.crt
This will generate an X.509 certificate good for 365 days signed by the CA certificate fgtca.crt.
1. At the Windows command prompt, go to the OpenSSL bin directory. If you installed to the default location this will
be the following command:
cd c:\OpenSSL-Win32\bin
2. Enter the following command to generate the private key. You will be prompted to enter your PEM pass phrase.
Choose something easy to remember such as fortinet.
These commands:
1. Go to System > Certificates.
2. Select Import > Local Certificate.
3. Select Certificate for Type.
Fields for Certificate file, Key file, and Password are displayed.
4. For Certificate file, enter c:\OpenSSL-Win32\bin\fgtssl.crt.
5. For Key file, enter c:\OpenSSL-Win32\bin\fgtssl.key.
6. For Password, enter the PEM Pass Phrase you entered, such as fortinet.
7. Select OK.
The SSL certificate you just uploaded can be found under System > Certificates under the name of the file you
uploaded — fgtssl.
The get command will display all the certificate’s information. If it is not there or the information is not correct,
you will need to remove the corrupted certificate (if it is there) and upload it again from your PC.
This assigns the fgtssl certificate as the SSL server certificate. For more information see the FortiOS Handbook
SSL VPN guide.
User not logged in. Click Login to go to the FortiAuthenticator login page.
The SSO widget sets a cookie on the user’s browser. When the user browses to a page containing the login
widget, the FortiAuthenticator unit recognizes the user and updates its database if the user’s IP address has
changed. The user will not need to re-authenticate until the login timeout expires, which can be up to 30 days.
The FortiClient SSO Mobility Agent, a feature of FortiClient Endpoint Security v5.0, must be configured to
communicate with the appropriate FortiAuthenticator unit. After that, the agent automatically provides user name
and IP address information to the FortiAuthenticator unit for transparent authentication.
SSO widget
You need to configure the Single Sign-On portal on the FortiAuthenticator unit. Go to Fortinet SSO Methods >
SSO > Portal Services to do this. Copy the Embeddable login widget code for use on your organization’s
home page. Identity-based security policies on the FortiGate unit determine which users or groups of users can
access which network resources.
On the FortiAuthenticator unit, you need to select Enable FortiClient SSO Mobility Agent Service, optionally
select Enable Authentication and choose a Secret key. Go to Fortinet SSO Methods > SSO > General.
You need to provide your users the FortiAuthenticator IP address and secret key so that they can configure the
FortiClient SSO Mobility Agent on their computers. See Configuring the FortiGate unit on page 493.
Enable Windows Active Select for integration with Windows Active Directory.
Directory domain
controllers
Enable Radius accounting Select if you want to use a Remote Radius server.
SSO clients
Enable FortiClient SSO Select both options to enable single sign-on by clients running FortiClient
Mobility Agent service Endpoint Security. Enter the Secret key. Be sure to use the same secret
key in the FortiClient Single Sign-On Mobility Agent settings.
Enable Authentication
5. Select OK.
For more information, see the FortiAuthenticator Administration Guide.
When you open the server, you can see the list of groups. You can use the groups in identity-based security
policies.
The user needs to know the FortiAuthenticator IP address and preshared secret to set up the SSO Mobility Agent.
Or, you could preconfigure FortiClient.
The FortiGate unit can authenticate users transparently and allow them network access based on their privileges
in Windows AD. This means that users who have logged on to the network are not asked again for their
credentials to access network resources through the FortiGate unit, hence the term “Single Sign-On”.
When a Windows AD user logs on at a workstation in a monitored domain, the FortiGate unit
l detects the logon event in the domain controller’s event log and records the workstation name, domain, and user,
l resolves the workstation name to an IP address,
l uses the domain controller’s LDAP server to determine which groups the user belongs to,
l creates one or more log entries on the FortiGate unit for this logon event as appropriate.
When the user tries to access network resources, the FortiGate unit selects the appropriate security policy for the
destination. The selection consist of matching the FSSO group or groups the user belongs to with the security
policy or policies that match that group. If the user belongs to one of the permitted user groups associated with
that policy, the connection is allowed. Otherwise the connection is denied.
Fortinet Single Sign On sends information about Windows user logons to FortiGate units. If there are many users
on your Windows AD domains, the large amount of information might affect the performance of the FortiGate
unit.
To configure your FortiGate unit to operate with either a Windows AD or a Novell eDirectory FSSO install, you
l Configure LDAP access to the Windows AD global catalog. See Configuring LDAP server access on page 496.
l Configure the LDAP Server as a Single Sign-On server. See Configuring the LDAP Server as a Single Sign-On
server on page 497.
l Add Active Directory user groups to FortiGate FSSO user groups. See Creating Fortinet Single Sign-On (FSSO)
user groups on page 498.
l Create security policies for FSSO-authenticated groups. See Creating security policies on page 498.
l Optionally, specify a guest protection profile to allow guest access. See Enabling guest access through FSSO
security policies on page 500
The LDAP configuration on the FortiGate unit not only provides access to the LDAP server, it sets up the retrieval
of Windows AD user groups for you to select in FSSO. The LDAP Server configuration, found under User
& Device > LDAP Servers, includes a function to preview the LDAP server’s response to your distinguished
name query. If you already know the appropriate Distinguished Name (DN) and User DN settings, you may be
able to skip some of the following steps.
3. Select OK.
SSO_Guest_users is a default user group enabled when FSSO is configured. It allows guest users on the
network who do not have an FSSO account to authenticate and have access to network resources. See Enabling
guest access through FSSO security policies on page 500.
In this situation, Example.com is a company that has its employees and authentication servers on an internal
network. The FortiGate unit intercepts all traffic leaving the internal network and requires FSSO authentication to
access network resources on the Internet. The following procedure configures the security policy for FSSO
authentication. FSSO is installed and configured including the RADIUS server, FSSO Collector agent, and user
groups on the FortiGate
For the following procedure, the internal interface is port1 and the external interface connected to the Internet
is port2. There is an address group for the internal network called company_network. The FSSO user group
is called fsso_group, and the FSSO RADIUS server is fsso_rad_server.
Schedule always
Action ACCEPT
NAT ON
UTM Security Profiles ON for AntiVirus, IPS, Web Filter, and Email Filter, all using default
profiles.
3. Select OK.
4. Ensure the FSSO authentication policy is higher in the policy list than more general policies for the same
interfaces.
Here is an example of how this FSSO authentication policy is used. Example.com employee on the internal
company network logs on to the internal network using their RADIUS username and password. When that user
attempts to access the Internet, which requires FSSO authentication, the FortiGate authentication security policy
intercepts the session, checks with the FSSO Collector agent to verify the user’s identity and credentials, and
then if everything is verified the user is allowed access to the Internet.
To enable guest access in your FSSO security policy, add an identity-based policy assigned to the built-in user
group SSO_Guest_Users. Specify the services, schedule and UTM profiles that apply to guest users —
typically guests have access to a reduced set of services. See Creating security policies on page 498.
When VDOMs are enabled certain options may not be available, such as CPU and memory usage events. You
can enable event logs only when you are logged on to a VDOM; you cannot enable event logs globally.
To ensure you log all the events needed, set the minimum log level to Notification or Information. Firewall
logging requires Notification as a minimum. The closer to Debug level, the more information will be logged.
System activity event All system-related events, such as ping server failure and gateway status.
User activity event All administration events, such as user logins, resets, and configuration
updates.
3. Select Apply.
List of FSSO related log messages
For more information on logging, see the FortiOS Handbook Logging and Reporting guide.
Logon events are detected by the FSSO CA by monitoring the Security Event logs. Additional logon event filters,
such as ServiceName and ServiceID, have been implemented so as to avoid instances of conflicting security
events, where existing user information could be overwritten.
Testing FSSO
Once FSSO is configured, you can easily test to ensure your configuration is working as expected. For additional
FSSO testing, see Troubleshooting FSSO on page 501.
1. Logon to one of the stations on the FSSO domain, and access an Internet resource.
2. Connect to the CLI of the FortiGate unit, and if possible log the output.
3. Enter the following command:diagnose debug authd fsso list
4. Check the output. If FSSO is functioning properly you will see something similar to the following:
----FSSO logons----
IP: 192.168.1.230 User: ADMINISTRATOR Groups: VLAD-AD/DOMAIN USERS
IP: 192.168.1.240 User: ADMINISTRATOR Groups: VLAD-AD/DOMAIN USERS
Total number of users logged on: 2
----end of FSSO logons----
The exact information will vary based on your installation.
5. Check the FortiGate event log, for FSSO-auth action or other FSSO related events with FSSO information in the
message field.
6. To check server connectivity, run the following commands from the CLI:
FGT# diagnose debug enable
FGT# diagnose debug authd fsso server-status
FGT# Server Name Connection Status
----------- -----------------
SBS-2003 connected
Troubleshooting FSSO
When installing, configuring, and working with FSSO some problems are quite common. A selection of these
problems follows including explanations and solutions.
l Ensure all firewalls are allowing the FSSO required ports through.
FSSO has a number of required ports that must be allowed through all firewalls or connections will fail. These include:
ports 139, 389 (LDAP), 445, 636 (LDAP).
l Ensure there is at least 64kbps bandwidth between the FortiGate unit and domain controllers. If there is insufficient
bandwidth, some FSSO information might not reach the FortiGate unit. The best solution is to configure traffic
shaping between the FortiGate unit and the domain controllers to ensure that the minimum bandwidth is always
available.
Users on a particular computer (IP address) can not access the network
Windows AD Domain Controller agent gets the username and workstation where the logon attempt is coming
from. If there are two computers with the same IP address and the same user trying to logon, it is possible for the
authentication system to become confused and believe that the user on computer_1 is actually trying to access
computer_2.
Windows AD does not track when a user logs out. It is possible that a user logs out on one computer, and
immediate logs onto a second computer while the system still believes the user is logged on the original
computer. While this is allowed, information that is intended for the session on one computer may mistakenly end
up going to the other computer instead. The result would look similar to a hijacked session.
Solutions
Solution
The group of the guest users was not included in a policy, so they do not fall under the guest account. To give
them access, associate their group with a security policy.
Additionally, there is a default group called SSO_Guest_Users. Ensure that group is part of an identity-based
security policy to allow traffic.
FortiOS can provide single sign-on capabilities to Windows AD, Citrix, Novell eDirectory, or, as of FortiOS 5.4,
Microsoft Exchange users with the help of agent software installed on these networks. The agent software sends
information about user logons to the FortiGate unit. With user information such as IP address and user group
memberships from the network, FortiGate security policies can allow authenticated network access to users who
belong to the appropriate user groups without requesting their credentials again.
For Windows AD networks, FortiGate units can provide SSO capability without agent software by directly polling
the Windows AD domain controllers. For information about this type of SSO, seeSingle Sign-On to Windows AD
on page 495.
l detects the logon event and records the workstation name, domain, and user,
l resolves the workstation name to an IP address,
l determines which user groups the user belongs to,
l sends the user logon information, including IP address and groups list, to the FortiGate unit
l creates one or more log entries on the FortiGate unit for this logon event as appropriate.
When the user tries to access network resources, the FortiGate unit selects the appropriate security policy for the
destination. If the user belongs to one of the permitted user groups associated with that policy, the connection is
allowed. Otherwise the connection is denied.
FSSO can also provide NTLM authentication service for requests coming from
FortiGate. SSO is very convenient for users, but may not be supported across all
platforms. NTLM is not as convenient, but it enjoys wider support. See FSSO NTLM
authentication support on page 509.
The Domain Controller (DC) agent must be installed on every domain controller if you will use DC Agent mode,
but is not required if you use Polling mode. See FSSO for Windows AD on page 505.
eDirectory agent
The eDirectory agent is installed on a Novell network to monitor user logons and send the required information to
the FortiGate unit. It functions much like the Collector agent on a Windows AD domain controller.The agent can
obtain information from the Novell eDirectory using either the Novell API or LDAP.
The Citrix/Terminal Server (TS) agent is installed on a Citrix terminal server to monitor user logons in real time. It
functions much like the DC Agent on a Windows AD domain controller.
This agent is installed as a service on a server in the Windows AD network to monitor user logons and send the
required information to the FortiGate unit. The Collector agent can collect information from
The Collector can obtain user group information from the DC agent or optionally, a FortiGate unit can obtain
group information directly from AD using Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP).
On a Windows AD network, the FSSO software can also serve NT LAN Manager (NTLM) requests coming from
client browsers (forwarded by the FortiGate unit) with only one or more Collector agents installed. See FSSO
NTLM authentication support on page 509.
The CA is responsible for DNS lookups, group verification, workstation checks, and as mentioned FortiGate
updates of logon records. The FSSO Collector Agent sends Domain Local Security Group and Global Security
Group information to FortiGate units. The CA communicates with the FortiGate over TCP port 8000 and it listens
on UDP port 8002 for updates from the DC agents.
The FortiGate unit can have up to five CAs configured for redundancy. If the first on the list is unreachable, the
next is attempted, and so on down the list until one is contacted. See Configuring FSSO on FortiGate units on
page 537.
All DC agents must point to the correct Collector agent port number and IP address on domains with multiple
DCs.
A FortiAuthenticator unit can act much like a Collector agent, collecting Windows AD
user logon information and sending it to the FortiGate unit. It is particularly useful in
large installations with several FortiGate units. For more information, see the
FortiAuthenticator Administration Guide.
Support for the Exchange server is configured on the Back-end FSSO collector agent. For more information on
the collector agent, see Collector agent installation:
Server IP/Hostname Enter the IP address or the hostname of your exchange server.
Polling forwarded This option for scenarios when you do not want that CA polls the Exchange
event log Server logs directly. In this case you need to configure event log forwarding on
the Exchange server. Exchange event logs can be forwarded to any member
server. If you enable this, instead of the IP of the Exchange server configured in
the previous step, you must then configure the IP of this member server. CA will
then contact the member server.
Ignore Name Because CA will also check Windows log files for logon events and when a user
authenticates to Exchange Server there is also a logon event in Windows event
log, which CA will read and this will overwrite the Exchange Server logon event
(ESEventLog) on CA. So it is recommended to set the ignore list to the domain
the user belongs to.
To do so, enter the domain name in the Ignore Name field and select Add.
Installation Complex — Multiple installations: one Easy — Only Collector agent installation,
agent per DC plus Collector agent, no reboot required
requires a reboot
Network load Each DC agent requires minimum 64kpbs Increase polling period during busy period
bandwidth, adding to network load to reduce network load
DC Agent mode
DC Agent mode is the standard mode for FSSO. In DC Agent mode, a Fortinet authentication agent is installed
on each domain controller. These DC agents monitor user logon events and pass the information to the Collector
agent, which stores the information and sends it to the FortiGate unit.
The DC agent installed on the domain controllers is not a service like the Collector agent — it is a DLL file called
dcagent.dll and is installed in the Windows\system32 directory. It must be installed on all domain
controllers of the domains that are being monitored.
DC Agent mode provides reliable user logon information, however you must install a DC agent on every domain
controller. A reboot is needed after the agent is installed. Each installation requires some maintenance as well.
For these reasons it may not be possible to use the DC Agent mode.
Each domain controller connection needs a minimum guaranteed 64kpbs bandwidth to ensure proper FSSO
functionality. You can optionally configure traffic shapers on the FortiGate unit to ensure this minimum bandwidth
is guaranteed for the domain controller connections.
Polling mode
In Polling mode there are three options — NetAPI polling, Event log polling, and Event log using WMI. All share
the advantages of being transparent and agentless.
NetAPI polling is used to retrieve server logon sessions. This includes the logon event information for the
Controller agent. NetAPI runs faster than Event log polling but it may miss some user logon events under heavy
system load. It requires a query round trip time of less than 10 seconds.
Event log polling may run a bit slower, but will not miss events, even when the installation site has many users
that require authentication. It does not have the 10 second limit on NetAPI polling. Event log polling requires fast
network links. Event log polling is required if there are Mac OS users logging into Windows AD.
Event log using WMI polling: WMI is a Windows API to get system information from a Windows server, CA is a
WMI client and sends WMI queries for user logon events to DC, which in this case is a WMI server. Main
advantage in this mode is that CA does not need to search security event logs on DC for user logon events,
instead, DC returns all requested logon events via WMI. This also reduces network load between CA and DC.
In Polling mode, the Collector agent polls port 445 of each domain controller for user logon information every few
seconds and forwards it to the FortiGate unit. There are no DC Agents installed, so the Collector agent polls the
domain controllers directly.
A major benefit of Polling mode is that no FSSO DC Agents are required. If it is not possible to install FSSO DC
Agents on your domain controllers, this is the alternate configuration available to you. Polling mode results in a
less complex install, and reduces ongoing maintenance. The minimum permissions required in Polling mode are
to read the event log or call NetAPI.
The Collector agent has two ways to access Active Directory user information. The main difference between
Standard and Advanced mode is the naming convention used when referring to username information.
Standard mode uses regular Windows convention: Domain\Username. Advanced mode uses LDAP convention:
CN=User, OU=Name, DC=Domain.
If there is no special requirement to use LDAP— best practices suggest you set up FSSO in Standard mode. This
mode is easier to set up, and is usually easier to maintain and troubleshoot.
Standard and advanced modes have the same level of functionality with the following exceptions:
l Users have to create Group filters on the Collector agent. This differs from Advanced mode where Group filters are
configured from the FortiGate unit. Fortinet strongly encourages users to create filters from CA.
l Advanced mode supports nested or inherited groups. This means that users may be a member of multiple
monitored groups. Standard mode does not support nested groups so a user must be a direct member of the group
being monitored.
Citrix users do not have unique IP addresses. When a Citrix user logs on, the TS agent assigns that user a range
of ports. By default each user has a range of 200 ports.
l detects the logon event by polling the eDirectory server and records the IP address and user ID,
l looks up in the eDirectory which groups this user belongs to,
l sends the IP address and user groups information to the FortiGate unit.
When the user tries to access network resources, the FortiGate unit selects the appropriate security policy for the
destination. If the user belongs to one of the permitted user groups, the connection is allowed.
For a Novell network, there is only one FSSO component to install — the eDirectory agent. In some cases, you
also need to install the Novell Client.
FSSO installation requires an account with network admin privileges. The security inherent in these types of
accounts helps ensure access to FSSO configurations is not tampered with.
User passwords are never sent between FSSO components. The information that is sent is information to identify
a user including the username, group or groups, and IP address.
NTLM uses base-64 encoded packets, and uses a unique randomly generated challenge nonce to avoid sending
user information and password between the client and the server.
NTLM has the benefit of not requiring an FSSO agent, but it is not transparent to users, and the user’s web
browser must support NTLM.
The NTLM protocol protects the user’s password by not sending it over the network. Instead, the server sends the
client a random number that the client must encrypt with the hash value of the user's password. The server
compares the result of the client's encryption with the result of its own encryption. The two will match only if both
parties used the same password.
NTLM authentication
If the NTLM authentication with the Windows AD network is successful, and the user belongs to one of the groups
permitted in the applicable security policy, the FortiGate unit allows the connection but will require authentication
again in the future when the current authentication expires.
Fortinet has tested NTLM authentication with Internet Explorer and Firefox browsers.
But in case of multiple domains that are not in a forest, you need to create a trust relation between the domains.
If you do not want to have a trust relation between your multiple domains, you need to use FSAE 4.0 MR1 and
the DC agent needs to be installed once on each domain. Then you can use security policies to configure server
access.
In the figure below, three domains are shown connected to the FSSO Collector agent server. The Client logs on
to their local Domain Controller, which then sends the user logon event information to the Collector Agent. When
the Client attempts to access the Internet, the FortiGate unit contacts the Collector Agent for the logon
information, sees the Client is authenticated, and allows access to the Internet. There are multiple domains each
with a domain controller agent (DCagent) that sends logon information to the Collector agent. If the multiple
domains have a trust relationship, only one DCagent is required instead of one per domain.
1. The user attempts to connect to an external (internet) HTTP resource. The client application (browser) on the
user’s computer issues an unauthenticated request through the FortiGate unit.
2. The FortiGate is aware that this client has not authenticated previously, so responds with a 401
Unauthenticated status code, and tells the client which authentication method to reply with in the header:
Proxy-Authenticated: NTLM. Then the initial session is dismantled.
3. The client application connects again to the FortiGate, and issues a GET-request, with a
Proxy-Authorization: NTLM <negotiate string> header. <negotiate-string> is a base64-
encoded NTLM Type 1 negotiation packet.
4. The FortiGate unit replies with a 401 “proxy auth required” status code, and a
Proxy-Authenticate: NTLM <challenge string> (a base 64-encoded NTLM Type 2 challenge
packet). In this packet is the challenge nonce, a random number chosen for this negotiation that is used once and
prevents replay attacks.
5. The client sends a new GET-request with a header: Proxy-Authenticate: NTLM <authenticate
string>, where <authenticate string> is a NTLM Type 3 Authentication packet that contains:
If the authentication policy reaches the authentication timeout period, a new NTLM
handshake occurs.
Note that this authentication method is only supported for proxy policies.
Syntax
Note that domain-controller is only available when method is set to ntlm and/or negotiate-ntlm is
set to enable.
config authentication scheme
edit <name>
set method ntlm
set domain-controller <dc-setting>
next
end
Agent installation
After reading the appropriate sections of Introduction to agent-based FSSO on page 503 to determine which
FSSO agents you need, you can proceed to perform the necessary installations.
Ensure you have administrative rights on the servers where you are installing FSSO agents. It is best practice to
install FSSO agents using the built-in local administrator account. Optionally, you can install FSSO without an
admin account. See Installing FSSO without using an administrator account on page 515.
In Windows 2008 by default, you do not have administrative user rights if you are
logged on as a user other than as the built-in administrator, even if you were added to
the local Administrators group on the computer.
The FSSO installer first installs the Collector agent. You can then continue with installation of the DC agent, or
you can install it later by going to Start > Programs > Fortinet > Fortinet Single Sign On Agent >
Install DC Agent. The installer will install a DC agent on the domain controllers of all of the trusted domains in
your network.
1. Create an account with administrator privileges and a password that does not expire. See Microsoft Advanced
Server documentation for help with this task.
To use a non-admin read only account, see Installing FSSO without using an administrator account on page 515.
2. Log on to the account that you created in Step 1.
3. Double-click the FSSOSetup.exe file.
The Fortinet SSO Collector Agent Setup Wizard starts.
4. Select Next.
5. Read and accept the license agreement. Select Next.
6. Optionally, you can change the installation location. Select Next.
7. Optionally, change the User Name.
8. By default, the agent is installed using the currently running account. If you want FSSO to use another existing
admin account, change the User Name using the format DomainName \ UserName. For example if the account
is jsmith and the domain is example_corp you would enter example_corp\jsmith.
9. In the Password field, enter the password for the account listed in the User Name field.
10. Select Next.
11. Enable as needed:
l Monitor user logon events and send the information to the FortiGate unit
l Serve NTLM authentication requests coming from FortiGate
By default, both methods are enabled. You can change these options after installation.
12. Select the access method to use for Windows Directory:
13. Select Standard to use Windows domain and username credentials.
14. Select Advanced if you will set up LDAP access to Windows Directory.
See Collector agent AD Access mode - Standard versus Advanced on page 507.
If you see an error such as Service Fortinet Single Sign On agent (service_FSAE)
failed to start, there are two possible reasons for this. Verify the user account you
selected has sufficient privileges to run the FSSO service. Also verify the computer
system you are attempting to install on is a supported operating system and version.
DC agent installation
The FSSO_Setup file contains both the Collector agent and DC Agent installers, but the DC Agent installer is also
available separately as either a .exe or .msi file named DCAgent_Setup.
1. If you have just installed the Collector agent, the FSSO - Install DC Agent wizard starts automatically. Otherwise,
go to Start > Programs > Fortinet > Fortinet Single Sign On Agent > Install DC Agent.
2. Select Next.
3. Read and accept the license agreement. Select Next.
4. Optionally, you can change the installation location. Select Next.
5. Enter the Collector agent IP address.
6. If the Collector agent computer has multiple network interfaces, ensure that the one that is listed is on your
network. The listed Collector agent listening port is the default. Only change this if the port is already used by
another service.
7. Select Next.
8. Select the domains to monitor and select Next.
9. If any of your required domains are not listed, cancel the wizard and set up the proper trusted relationship with the
domain controller. Then run the wizard again by going to Start > Programs > Fortinet >
Fortinet Single Sign On Agent > Install DC Agent.
10. Optionally, select users that you do not want monitored. These users will not be able to authenticate to FortiGate
units using FSSO. You can also do this later. See Configuring the FSSO Collector agent for Windows AD on page
517.
11. Select Next.
12. Optionally, clear the check boxes of domain controllers on which you do not want to install the DC Agent.
13. Select the Working Mode as DC Agent Mode. While you can select Polling Mode here, in that situation you
would not be installing a DC Agent. For more information, see DC Agent mode on page 506 and Polling mode on
page 506.
14. Select Next.
15. Select Yes when the wizard requests that you reboot the computer.
If you reinstall the FSSO software on this computer, your FSSO configuration is
replaced with default settings.
If you want to create a redundant configuration, repeat the Collector agent installation procedure on at least one
other Windows AD server.
When you start to install a second Collector agent, cancel the Install Wizard dialog
appears the second time. From the configuration GUI, the monitored domain
controller list will show your domain controllers un-selected. Select the ones you wish
to monitor with this Collector agent, and select Apply.
Before you can use FSSO, you need to configure it on both Windows AD and on the FortiGate units. Configuring
FSSO on FortiGate units on page 537 will help you accomplish these two tasks.
Normally when installing services in Windows, it is best to use the Domain Admin account, as stated earlier. This
ensures installation goes smoothly and uninterrupted, and when using the FSSO agent there will be no
permissions issues. However, it is possible to install FSSO with a non-admin account in Windows 2003 or 2008
AD.
The following instructions for Windows 2003 are specific to the event log polling mode
only. Do not use this procedure with other FSSO configurations.
Windows 2003
There are two methods in Windows 2003 AD for installing FSSO without an admin account — add the non-admin
user to the security log list, and use a non-admin account with read-only permissions. A problem with the first
method is that full rights (read, write, and clear) are provided to the event log. This can be a problem when audits
require limited or no write access to logs. In those situations, the non-admin account with read-only permissions
is the solution.
To add the non-admin user account to the Windows 2003 security log list :
1. Go to Default Domain Controller Security Settings > Security Settings > User Rights Assignment >
Manage auditing and security log.
2. Add the user account to this list.
3. Repeat these steps on every domain controller in Windows 2003 AD.
A reboot is required.
To use a non-admin account with read-only permissions to install FSSO on Windows 2003:
The following procedure provides the user account specified with read only access to the Windows 2003 AD
Domain Controller Security Event Log which allows FSSO to function.
Windows 2008
In Windows 2008 AD, if you do not want to use the Domain Admin account then the user account that starts the
FSSO agent needs to be added to the Event Log Readers group.
When the user is added to the Event Log Readers group, that user is now allowed to have read only access to the
event log and this is the minimal rights required for FSSO to work.
1. On the Citrix server, create an account with administrator privileges and a password that does not expire. See
Citrix documentation for more information.
2. Log on to the account that you created in step 1.
3. Double-click the TSAgent_Setup installation file.
The Fortinet SSO Terminal Server Agent Setup Wizard starts.
4. Select Next.
5. Read and accept the license agreement. Select Next.
6. Optionally, you can change the installation location. Select Next.
7. Verify that This Host IP Address is correct.
8. In the FSSO Collector Agent List, enter the IP address(es) of your Collector Agents.
9. Select Next and then select Install.
The TS agent is installed.
10. Select Finish.
1. Create an account with administrator privileges and a password that does not expire. See Novell documentation
for more information.
2. Log on to the account that you created in step 1.
3. Double-click the FSSO_Setup_edirectory file to start the installation wizard.
4. Select Next.
eDirectory Server
Use secure connection (SSL) Select to connect to the eDirectory server using SSL security.
Search Base DN Enter the base Distinguished Name for the user search.
eDirectory Authentication
Username Enter a username that has access to the eDirectory, using LDAP format.
8. Select Next.
9. Select Install. When the installation completes, select Finish.
For polling mode, since there are no DC agents you only need to upgrade the Collector. However in DCAgent
mode, each DC Agent must be updated as well.
1. Go to the system32 directory on all DC's and rename the dcagent.dll file to dcagent.dll.old.
This ensures the when the upgrade is pushed to the DC it does not overwrite the old file. If there are any problems
this makes it easy to revert to the old version.
2. Run the FSSO setup .exe file to update the collector. When this is completed, ignore any reboot message.
3. Go to Programs > Fortinet > Fortinet Single Sign On Agent > Install DC Agent and push the DC agent
out to all servers. All DC's will now need to be rebooted so that the new DLL file is loaded.
4. After the reboot, go to all DC’s and delete the dcagent.dll.old files.
Fortinet Single Sign On sends information about Windows user logons to FortiGate units. If there are many users
on your Windows AD domains, the large amount of information might affect the performance of the FortiGate
units.
To avoid this problem, you can configure the Fortinet Single Sign On Collector agent to send logon information
only for groups named in the FortiGate unit’s security policies. See Configuring FortiGate group filters on page
524.
You can use existing Windows AD user groups for authentication to FortiGate units if you intend that all members
within each group have the same network access privileges.
Otherwise, you need to create new user groups for this purpose.
If you change a user’s group membership, the change does not take effect until the
user logs off and then logs on again.
The FSSO Agent sends only Domain Local Security Group and Global Security Group
information to FortiGate units. You cannot use Distribution group types for FortiGate
access. No information is sent for empty groups.
Refer to Microsoft documentation for information about creating and managing Windows AD user groups.
1. From the Start menu, select Programs > Fortinet > Fortinet Single Sign-On Agent >
Configure Fortinet Single Sign-On Agent.
2. Enter the following information.
Monitoring user logon events By default, this is enabled to automatically authenticate users as they
log on to the Windows domain. Disable the Monitor feature only if you
have a large network where this feature will slow responses too much.
Support NTLM authentication By default, this is enabled to facilitate logon of users who are
connected to a domain that does not have the FSSO DC Agent
installed. Disable NTLM authentication only if your network does not
support NTLM authentication for security or other reasons.
Listening ports You can change FSSO Collector Agent related port numbers if
necessary.
Logging
Log file size limit Enter the maximum size for the log file in MB. Default is 10.
(MB)
Log logon events in Record user login-related information separately from other
separate logs logs. The information in this log includes:
View Logon Events If Log logon events in separate logs is enabled, you can view user
login-related information.
Authentication
Require authenticated Select to require the FortiGate unit to authenticate before connecting
connection from to the Collector agent.
FortiGate
Password Enter the password that FortiGate units must use to authenticate. The
maximum password length is 15 characters. The default password is
“fortinetcanada”. It is highly recommended to modify this password.
Timers
Workstation verify Enter the interval in minutes at which the Fortinet Single Sign On
interval (minutes) Collector agent connects to client computers to determine whether the
user is still logged on. The default is every 5 minutes. The interval may
be increased if your network has too much traffic.
Note: This verification process creates security log entries on the client
computer.
If ports 139 or 445 cannot be opened on your network, set the interval
to 0 to prevent checking. See Configuring FSSO ports on page 526.
Dead entry timeout Enter the interval in minutes after which Fortinet Single Sign On Agent
interval purges information for user logons that it cannot verify. The default is
480 minutes (8 hours).
You can also prevent dead entry checking by setting the interval to 0.
IP address change Fortinet Single Sign On Agent periodically checks the IP addresses of
verify interval logged-in users and updates the FortiGate unit when user IP
addresses change. IP address verification prevents users from being
locked out if they change IP addresses, as may happen with DHCP
assigned addresses.
Cache expire in Fortinet Single Sign On Agent caches group information for logged-in
(minutes) users.
Enter the duration in minutes after which the cache entry expires. If
you enter 0, the cache never expires.
A long cache expire interval may result in more stale user group
information. This can be an issue when a user’s group information is
changed.
This affects all logged-in users, and may force them to re-logon.
3. You can select Save&Close now or leave the agent configuration window open to complete additional
configuration in the following sections.
To view the version and build number information for your FSSO Collector Agent
configuration, selecting the Fortinet icon in the upper left corner of the Collector agent
Configuration screen and select About Fortinet Single Sign On Agent
configuration.
When polling mode is selected, it will poll port 445 of the domain controller every few seconds to see who is
logged on.
1. From the Start menu select Programs > Fortinet Fortinet Single Sign-On Agent > Configure Fortinet
Single Sign On Agent.
2. In the Common Tasks section, select Show Monitored DCs.
3. Select Select DC to Monitor.
6. Select OK.
7. Select Close.
8. Select Save & Close.
l Standard — the FSSO Collector Agent receives group information from the Collector agent in the domain\user
format. This option is available on FortiOS 3.0 and later.
l Advanced — the FSSO Collector Agent obtains user group information using LDAP. The benefit of this method is
that it is possible to nest groups within groups. This is option is available on FortiOS 3.0 MR6 and later. The group
information is in standard LDAP format.
If you change AD access mode, you must reconfigure your group filters to ensure that
the group information is in the correct format.
1. From the Start menu select Programs > Fortinet > Fortinet Single Sign On Agent > Configure Fortinet
Single Sign On Agent.
2. In the Common Tasks section, select Set Directory Access Information.
The Set Directory Access Information dialog box opens.
3. From the AD access mode list, select either Standard or Advanced.
4. If you selected Advanced AD access mode, select Advanced Setting and configure the following settings and
then select OK:
AD server address Enter the address of your network’s global catalog server.
AD server port The default AD server port is 3268. This must match your server port.
BaseDN Enter the Base distinguished name for the global catalog. This is the point
in the tree that will be considered the starting point by default-See following
example.
Username If the global catalog accepts your Fortinet Single Sign On Agent agent’s
credentials, you can leave these fields blank. Otherwise, enter credentials
Password for an account that can access the global catalog.
BaseDN example
However, you may have problems if you narrow the BaseDN too much when you have international employees
from the company visiting different offices. If someone from Fortinet Japan is visiting the Canada office in the
example above, their account credentials will not be matched because they are in ou=japan,
dc=fortinet, dc=com instead of the BaseDN ou=canada, dc=fortinet, dc=com. The easy solution
is to change the BaseDN to simply be dc=fortinet, dc=com. Then any search will check all the users in the
company.
1. From the Start menu select Programs > Fortinet > Fortinet Single Sign On Agent > Configure Fortinet
Single Sign On Agent.
The maximum number of Windows AD user groups allowed on a FortiGate depends on the model. Low end
models support 256 Windows AD user groups, where mid and high end models support 1024 groups. This is per
VDOM if VDOMs are enabled on the FortiGate unit.
You do not need to configure a group filter on the Collector agent if the FortiGate unit retrieves group information
from Windows AD using LDAP. In that case, the Collector agent uses the list of groups you selected on the
FortiGate unit as its group filter.
The filter list is initially empty. You need to configure filters for your FortiGate units using the Add function. At a
minimum, create a default filter that applies to all FortiGate units without a defined filter.
If no filter is defined for a FortiGate unit and there is no default filter, the Collector
agent sends all Windows AD group and user logon events to the FortiGate unit. While
this normally is not a problem, limiting the amount of data sent to the FortiGate unit
improves performance by reducing the amount of memory the unit uses to store the
group list and resulting logs.
1. From the Start menu select Programs > Fortinet > Fortinet Single Sign On Agent > Configure Fortinet
Single Sign On Agent.
2. In the Common Tasks section, select Set Group Filters.
The FortiGate Filter List opens. It has the following columns:
FortiGate SN The serial number of the FortiGate unit to which this filter applies.
Monitored Groups The Windows AD user groups that are relevant to the security policies on
this FortiGate unit.
3. Select Add to create a new filter. If you want to modify an existing filter, select it in the list and then select Edit.
4. Enter the following information and then select OK.
Default filter Select to create the default filter. The default filter applies to any FortiGate
unit that does not have a specific filter defined in the list.
FortiGate Serial Number Enter the serial number of the FortiGate unit to which this filter applies.
This field is not available if Default is selected.
Description Enter a description of this FortiGate unit’s role in your network. For
example, you could list the resources accessed through this unit. This field
is not available if Default is selected.
Monitor the following The Collector agent sends to the FortiGate unit the user logon information
groups for the Windows AD user groups in this list. Edit this list using the Add,
Advanced and Remove buttons.
Add In the preceding single-line field, enter the Windows AD domain name and
user group name, and then select Add. If you don’t know the exact name,
use the Advanced button instead.
The format of the entry depends on the AD access mode (see Configuring
Directory Access settings on page 522):
Standard: Domain\Group
Advanced Select Advanced, select the user groups from the list, and then select
Add.
Windows AD records when users log on but not when they log off. For best performance, Fortinet Single Sign On
Agent monitors when users log off. To do this, Fortinet Single Sign On Agent needs read-only access to each
client computer’s registry over TCP port 139 or 445. Open at least one of these ports — ensure it is not blocked by
firewalls.
If it is not feasible or acceptable to open TCP port 139 or 445, you can turn off Fortinet Single Sign On Agent
logoff detection. To do this, set the Collector agent workstation verify interval to 0. The FSSO Collector Agent
assumes that the logged on computer remains logged on for the duration of the Collector agent dead entry
timeout interval — by default this is eight hours.
On the computer where you install the Collector agent, you must make sure that the firewall does not block the
listening ports for the FortiGate unit and the DC Agent. By default, these are TCP port 8000 and UDP port 8002.
For more information about setting these ports, see Configuring FSSO Advanced Settings on page 532.
This feature requires FSAE version 3.5.27 or later, Fortinet Single Sign On Agent any version, and FortiOS 3.0
MR7 or later.
1. On the computer where the Collector agent is installed, go to Start > Run.
2. Enter regedit or regedt32 and select OK.
The Registry Editor opens.
3. Find the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Fortinet\FSAE\collectoragent.
4. Set the supportFSAEauth value (dword) to 00000001.
If needed, create this new dword.
5. Close the Registry Editor.
6. From the Start menu select Programs > Fortinet > Fortinet Single Sign On Agent > Configure Fortinet
Single Sign On Agent.
7. Select Apply.
The Fortinet Single Sign On Agent service restarts with the updated registry settings.
Use the Show Service Status to view your Collector agent information in the Status window. The Status
window displays:
1. From the Start menu select Programs > Fortinet > Fortinet Single Sign On Agent > Configure Fortinet
Single Sign On Agent.
2. In the Common Tasks section, select Show Service Status.
The Fortinet Single Sign On Collector agent Status window opens.
3. Optionally select Get NTLM statistics in the Status window to display NTLM information such as number of
messages received, processed, failed, in the queue.
1. From the Start menu select Programs > Fortinet > Fortinet Single Sign On Agent > Configure Fortinet
Single Sign On Agent.
2. In the Common Tasks section, select Show Monitored DCs.
For each DC Agent, the following information is displayed:
l IP address
l number of logon events received
l the last logon event
l when last logon was received
To change which DC agents are monitored or change the working mode for logon event monitoring, select Select
DC to Monitor
Fortinet SSO Collector Agent IP and Port needs to point to the current configured
listening port on the collector which is port 8002 by default. Though it may be
configured to a custom port.
1. From the Start menu select Programs > Fortinet > eDirectory Agent > eDirectory Config Utility.
2. The eDirectory Agent Configuration Utility dialog opens. Enter the following information and select OK.
eDirectory Authentication
Username Enter a username that has access to the eDirectory, using LDAP format.
Listening port Enter the TCP port on which Fortinet Single Sign On Agent listens for
connections from FortiGate units. The default is 8000. You can change the
port if necessary.
Refresh interval Enter the interval in seconds between polls of the eDirectory server to
check for new logons. The default is 30 seconds.
Require authenticated Select to require the FortiGate unit to authenticate before connecting to
connection from FortiGate the eDirectory Agent.
Password Enter the password that FortiGate units must use to authenticate. The
maximum password length is 15 characters. The default password is
“FortinetCanada”.
User logon Info Search Select how the eDirectory agent accesses user logon information: LDAP or
Method Native (Novell API). LDAP is the default.
If you select Native, you must also have the Novell Client installed on the
PC.
Logging
Log file size limit (MB) Enter the maximum size for the log file in MB.
Dump Session List the currently logged-on users in the log file. This can be useful for
troubleshooting.
Log level Select Debug, Info, Warning or Error as the minimum severity level of
message to log or select None to disable logging.
Add Add an eDirectory server. See Adding an eDirectory server on page 532.
Set Group Filters... Select the user groups whose user logons will be reported to the FortiGate
unit. This is used only if user groups are not selected on the FortiGate unit.
1. In the eDirectory Agent Configuration Utility dialog box (see the preceding procedure, Configuring the eDirectory
agent), select Add.
2. The eDirectory Setup dialog box opens. Enter the following information and select OK:
Port If the eDirectory server does not use the default port 389, clear the
Default check box and enter the port number.
Use default credential Select to use the credentials specified in the eDirectory Configuration
Utility. See Configuring the eDirectory agent on page 530. Otherwise,
leave the check box clear and enter a username and Password below.
User name Enter a username that has access to the eDirectory, using LDAP format.
Use secure connection (SSL) Select to connect to the eDirectory server using SSL security.
Search Base DN Enter the base Distinguished Name for the user search.
If both the FortiGate LDAP configuration and the eDirectory agent group filter are present, the FortiGate user
group selections are used.
1. From the Start menu select Programs > Fortinet > eDirectory Agent > eDirectory Config Utility.
2. Select Set Group Filters.
3. Do one of the following:
l Enter group names, then select Add.
l Select Advanced, select groups, and then select Add.
4. Select OK.
l General Settings
l Citrix/Terminal Server
l Exchange Server
l RADIUS Accounting
General Settings
In the General tab, enter the following information and select OK.
Worker thread count Number of threads started in the CA process. Default is128 on CA version
5.0.0241.
Maximum FortiGate
Number of FortiGates can be connected to the CA. Default is 64.
connections
Group look-up interval The interval in seconds to lookup users/groups. If an AD group membership
of currently logged on user, CA can detect this and update information on the
FortiGate. Enter 0 for no checking.
Event IDs to poll 0:Default set, it includes Kerberos authentication event logs : 672 for
Windows server 2003, 4768 for Windows server 2008 and 2012 and NTLM
authentication event logs : 680 for Windows server 2003, 4776 for Windows
server 2008 and 2012. 1: Extended set, it includes Kerberos service ticket
event logs : 673 for Windows server 2003, 4769 for Windows server 2008 and
2012. Service tickets are obtained whenever a user or computer accesses a
server on the network.
List the event ids separated by ";".
Optionally enable Use WMI to check user logoff for the collector agent to
Workstation Check
query whether users is still logged on.
Citrix/Terminal Server
In the Citrix/Terminal Server tab, enter the following information and select OK.
Support Citrix/Terminal Server When Citrix server are configured with VIP, CA can get user logon events
Virtual IP Environment from theses server. Citrix changed their interface and data format so version
of Citrix server is important.
Exchange Server
FSSO supports monitoring Microsoft Exchange Server. This is useful for situation that the user use the domain
account to access their email, but client device might or might not be in the domain. Support for Exchange server
is configured on the Back-end FSSO collector agent under Advanced Settings > Exchange Server.
Select Add and enter the following information and select OK.
Server IP/Hostname Enter the IP address or the hostname of your exchange server.
Polling forwarded event This option for scenarios when you do not want that CA polls the Exchange Server
log logs directly. In this case you need to configure event log forwarding on the
Exchange server. Exchange event logs can be forwarded to any member server.
If you enable this, instead of the IP of the Exchange server configured in the
previous step, you must then configure the IP of this member server. CA will then
contact the member server.
Because CA will also check Windows log files for logon events and when a user
authenticates to Exchange Server there is also a logon event in Windows event log,
which CA will read and this will overwrite the Exchange Server logon event (ES-
Ignore Name
EventLog) on CA. So it is recommended to set the ignore list to the domain the user
belongs to.
To do so, enter the domain name in the Ignore Name field and select Add.
RADIUS Accounting
A RADIUS server must be configured in your network to send accounting messages to the Collector Agent which
can be configured to work with most RADIUS-based accounting systems. In most cases, you only need to do the
following to your RADIUS accounting system:
l Add a user group name field to customer accounts on the RADIUS server so that the name is added to the RADIUS
Start record sent by the accounting system to the Collector Agent. User group names do not need to be added for
all users, only to the accounts of users who will use RADIUS Accounting feature on the Collector Agent.
l Configure your accounting system to send RADIUS Start records to the Collector Agent.
The Collocter Agent should be configured to listen for RADIUS accounting messages as following.
Listen port The port on which CA listens for RADIUS accounting messages. Default
RADIUS accounting is 1813, but if RADIUS server sends accounting
messages on different port, value can be configured here.
Default domain name This should be the AD domain for which this CA is configured. In this case
user name in RADIUS accounting message can be in simple format like
user1.
If this value is empty, then user name in RADIUS accounting message must
be in one of these formats user1@domain, Domain\user1 or
domain/user1.
CA will use user name and domain to query group membership of user. Client
IP address (Framed IP) should also be in RADIUS accounting message, so
that CA can forward user name, IP address and groups to the FortiGate.
l Configure any access to LDAP servers that might be necessary. Skip this step if you are using FSSO Standard
mode. See Configuring LDAP server access on page 537.
l Specify the Collector agent or Novell eDirectory agent that will provide user logon information. See Specifying your
Collector agents or Novell eDirectory agents on page 539.
l Add Active Directory user groups to FortiGate user groups. See Creating Fortinet Single Sign-On (FSSO) user
groups on page 540.
l Create security policies for FSSO-authenticated groups. See Creating security policies on page 541.
l Optionally, specify a guest security policy to allow guest access. See Enabling guest access through FSSO security
policies on page 542.
4. In the Distinguished Name field, enter your organization distinguished name. In this example, Distinguished
Name is dc=techdoc,dc=local
5. Select Fetch DN, this will fetch the Windows AD directory.
Agent IP/Name Enter the IP address or the name of the server where this agent is installed.
Maximum name length is 63 characters.
If the TCP port used for FSSO is not the default, 8000, you can change the
setting in the CLI using the config user fsso command.
Password Enter the password for the Collector agent or eDirectory agent. For the
Collector agent, this is required only if you configured the agent to require
authenticated access.
5. For Novell eDirectory or Windows AD with Collector agent in Advanced AD access mode select the LDAP Server
you configured previously. See Configuring LDAP server access on page 537.
6. In Users/Groups, select the Users or Groups or Organizational Units tab and then select the users or groups
or OU that you want to monitor.
7. Select OK.
In this example, the SSO server name is techdoc and the LDAP server is LDAP.
config user fsso
edit techdoc
set ldap-server LDAP
set password <your_password>
set server 10.10.20.3
set port 8000
end
In this situation, Example.com is a company that has its employees and authentication servers on an internal
network. The FortiGate unit intercepts all traffic leaving the internal network and requires FSSO authentication to
access network resources on the Internet. The following procedure configures the security policy for FSSO
authentication. FSSO is installed and configured including the RADIUS server, FSSO Collector agent, and user
groups on the FortiGate
For the following procedure, the internal interface is port1 and the external interface connected to the Internet
is port2. There is an address group for the internal network called company_network. The FSSO user group
is called fsso_group, and the FSSO RADIUS server is fsso_rad_server.
Schedule always
Action ACCEPT
NAT ON
UTM Security Profiles ON for AntiVirus, IPS, Web Filter, and Email Filter, all using default
profiles.
3. Select OK.
4. Ensure the FSSO authentication policy is higher in the policy list than more general policies for the same
interfaces.
Here is an example of how this FSSO authentication policy is used. Example.com employee on the internal
company network logs on to the internal network using their RADIUS username and password. When that user
attempts to access the Internet, which requires FSSO authentication, the FortiGate authentication security policy
intercepts the session, checks with the FSSO Collector agent to verify the user’s identity and credentials, and
then if everything is verified the user is allowed access to the Internet.
Before FSSO 4.0 MR3, if a user belonged to multiple user groups, the first security policy to match any group that
user belonged too was the only security policy applied. If that specific group did not have access to this protocol or
resource where another group did, the user was still denied access. For example, test_user belongs to
group1 and group2. There are two FSSO authentication policies — one matches group1 to authenticate FTP
traffic and one matches group2 to authenticate email traffic. The group1 policy is at the top of the list of
policies. If test_user wants to access an email server, the first policy encountered for a group test_user
belongs to is the group1 policy which does not allow email access and test_user is denied access. This is
despite the next policy allowing access to email. If the order was reversed in this case, the traffic would be
matched and the user’s traffic would be allowed through the firewall. However if the policy order was reversed,
FTP traffic would not be matched.
As of FSSO 4.0 MR3, if a user belongs to multiple groups multiple then attempts to match the group are
attempted if applicable. Using the above example, when the attempt to match the group1 policy is made and
fails, the next policy with a group that test_user is a member of is attempted. In this case, the next policy is
matched and access is granted to the email server.
When configuring this example the only difference between the policies is the services that are listed and the
FSSO user group name.
Authenticating through multiple groups allows administrators to assign groups for specific services, and users
who are members of each group have access to those services. For example there could be an FTP group, an
email group, and a Telnet group.
To enable guest access in your FSSO security policy, add an identity-based policy assigned to the built-in user
group SSO_Guest_Users. Specify the services, schedule and protection profile that apply to guest users —
typically guests receive reduced access to a reduced set of services.
Syntax
config user fsso
edit <fsso agent name>
set source-ip6 <IPv6 address for source>
end
When VDOMs are enabled certain options may not be available, such as CPU and memory usage events. You
can enable event logs only when you are logged on to a VDOM; you cannot enable event logs globally.
To ensure you log all the events need, set the minimum log level to Notification or Information. Firewall logging
requires Notification as a minimum. The closer to Debug level, the more information will be logged. While this
extra information is useful, you must
System activity event All system-related events, such as ping server failure and gateway status.
User activity event All administration events, such as user logins, resets, and configuration
updates.
3. Optionally you can enable any or all of the other logging event options.
4. Select Apply.
For more information on logging, see the FortiOS Handbook Log and Reporting guide.
Using filters
Logon events are detected by the FSSO CA by monitoring the Security Event logs. Additional logon event filters,
such as ServiceName and ServiceID, have been implemented so as to avoid instances of conflicting security
events, where existing FSSO logon user information could be overwritten and impact user connectivity.
1. User1 logs on to PC1 on 1.1.1.1, which is logged as a successful Kerberos logon event with an ID of 4769.
2. The FortiGate creates an authenticated FSSO user log entry for User1/1.1.1.1.
3. User1 then maps a network drive and uses credentials for User2 to logon to the same PC (PC1).
4. The FortiGate sees this as a separate logon to PC1 by a new user, User2. As a result, the log entry is updated to
User2/1.1.1.1.
5. If User2 is a member of a different user group to User1 (i.e. has different access permissions), User1 could lose
access to their network resources.
The new filter makes the CA ignore the event log created when User1 mapped a network drive, meaning that the
original entry for User1 will not be changed.
Testing FSSO
Once FSSO is configured, you can easily test to ensure your configuration is working as expected. For additional
FSSO testing, see Troubleshooting FSSO on page 545.
1. Logon to one of the stations on the FSSO domain, and access an Internet resource.
2. Connect to the CLI of the FortiGate unit, and if possible log the output.
3. Enter the following command:
diagnose debug authd fsso list
4. Check the output. If FSSO is functioning properly you will see something similar to the following:
----FSSO logons----
IP: 10.10.20.3 User: ADMINISTRATOR Groups: CN=FORTIOS WRITERS,CN=USERS,DC=TECHDOC,DC=LOCAL
Workstation: WIN2K8R2.TECHDOC.LOCAL MemberOf: FortiOS_Writers
IP: 10.10.20.7 User: TELBAR Groups: CN=FORTIOS WRITERS,CN=USERS,DC=TECHDOC,DC=LOCAL
Workstation: TELBAR-PC7.TECHDOC.LOCAL
Total number of logons listed: 2, filtered: 0
----end of FSSO logons----
The exact information will vary based on your installation.
5. Check the FortiGate event log, for FSSO-auth action or other FSSO related events with FSSO information in the
message field.
6. To check server connectivity, run the following commands from the CLI:
FGT# diagnose debug enable
FGT# diagnose debug authd fsso server-status
FGT# Server Name Connection Status Version
----------- ----------------- -------
techdoc connected FSSO 5.0.0241
Troubleshooting FSSO
When installing, configuring, and working with FSSO some problems are quite common. A selection of these
problems follows including explanations and solutions.
l Ensure all firewalls are allowing the FSSO required ports through.
FSSO has a number of required ports that must be allowed through all firewalls or connections will fail. These
include: ports 139, 389 (LDAP), 445, 636 (LDAP) 8000, and 8002.
l Ensure the Collector agent has at least 64kbps bandwidth to the FortiGate unit.
If not the Collector agent does not have this amount of bandwidth, information FSSO information may not reach
the FortiGate unit resulting in outages. The best solution is to configure traffic shaping between the FortiGate unit
and the Collector agent to ensure that minimum bandwidth is always available.
Windows AD does not track when a user logs out. It is possible that a user logs out on one computer, and
immediate logs onto a second computer while the system still believes the user is logged on the original
computer. While this is allowed, information that is intended for the session on one computer may mistakenly end
up going to the other computer instead. The result would look similar to a hijacked session.
Solutions
Solution
The group of the guest users was not included in a policy, so they do not fall under the guest account. To give
them access, associate their group with a security policy.
Additionally, there is a default group called SSO_Guest_Users. Ensure that group is part of an identity-based
security policy to allow traffic.
Instead DCagent is really dcagent.dll and is located in the Windows\system32 folder. This DLL file is
loaded when windows boots up and it intercepts all logon events processed by the domain controller to send
these events to the Collector agent (CA).
Solution
If polling mode is enabled, it is possible the polling interval is too large. Use a shorter polling interval to ensure the
collector agent is capturing all logon events.
The polling interval can only be adjusted using the firewall-embedded agent itself, not
on agents deployed to member servers.
If NetAPI polling mode is enabled, consider switching to Event logs or Event Logs using WMI polling as it provides
better accuracy.
Mac OS X users can’t access external resources after waking from sleep mode
When client computers running Mac OS X (10.6.X and higher) wake up from sleep mode, the user must
authenticate again to be able to access external resources. If the user does not re-authenticate, the user will
maintain access to internal web sites, but will be unable to access any external resources.
This issue is caused by Mac OS X not providing sufficient information to the FSSO. This results in the FortiGate
blocking access to the user because they cannot be authenticated.
Solution
The security settings on client computer(s) must be configured to require that a username and password be
entered when exiting sleep mode or screen saver. With this feature enabled in Mac OS X, the FortiGate will
receive the authentication information it requires to authenticate the user and allow them access.
Note that if the user reverts their settings to disable the password requirement, this will cause the issue to
reappear.
A FortiGate unit can authenticate users transparently who have already authenticated on an external RADIUS
server. Based on the user group to which the user belongs, the security policy applies the appropriate UTM
profiles. RADIUS SSO is relatively simple because the FortiGate unit does not interact with the RADIUS server, it
only monitors RADIUS accounting records that the server forwards (originating from the RADIUS client). These
records include the user’s IP address and user group.
After the initial set-up, changes to the user database, including changes to user group memberships, are made
on the external RADIUS server, not on the FortiGate unit.
Configuration Overview
The general steps to implement RADIUS Single Sign-On are:
1. If necessary, configure your RADIUS server. The user database needs to include user group information and the
server needs to send accounting messages.
2. Create the FortiGate RADIUS SSO agent.
3. Define local user groups that map to RADIUS groups.
4. Create a security policy which specifies the user groups that are permitted access.
l Add a user group name field to customer accounts on the RADIUS server so that the name is added to the RADIUS
Start record sent by the accounting system to the FortiOS unit. User group names do not need to be added for all
users, only to the accounts of users who will use RSSO feature on the FortiGate unit.
l Configure your accounting system to send RADIUS Start records to the FortiOS unit. You can send the RADIUS
Start records to any FortiGate network interface. If your FortiGate unit is operating with virtual domains (VDOMs)
enabled, the RADIUS Start records must be sent to a network interface in the management VDOM.
Note that while you can set the primary RADIUS server's IPv6 address, the source IP
address for communications to the RADIUS server cannot be configured as IPv6.
Syntax
Before you create the RSSO agent, you need to allow RADIUS accounting information on the interface that
connects to the RADIUS server.
1. Go to Network > Interfaces and edit the interface to which the RADIUS server connected.
2. Select Listen for RADIUS Accounting Messages.
3. Select OK.
The Endpoint block attribute can be used to block or allow a user. If the attribute value is set to the name of an
attribute that indicates whether to block or allow, FortiOS blocks or allows respectively all traffic from that user’s
IP address. The RSSO fields are visible only when rsso is set to enable.
The Prefix attributes allow for RSSO to provide a /56 prefix for DSL customers. All devices connected from the
same location (/56 per subscriber) can be mapped to the same profile without the need to create multiple /64 or
smaller entries.
Override SSO attribute
Prior to FortiOS 5.4, when receiving a new start message with a different group name for the same user, and a
different IP address such as for a roaming mobile device, the original process was to override all group name
information to the latest group name received from the latest start message.
You can disable this override when needed. The default behavior keeps the original design.
This example creates an RSSO user group called RSSO-1 that is associated with RADIUS user group “student”.
config user group
edit RSSO-1
Source User(s) Select the user groups you created for RSSO. See Defining local user
groups for RADIUS SSO on page 551.
Schedule as needed
Service as needed
Action ACCEPT
Security Profiles Select security profiles appropriate for the user group.
4. Select OK.
To ensure an RSSO-related policy is matched first, the policy should be placed higher in the security policy list
than more general policies for the same interfaces.
5. Select OK.
In this example, an internal network to Internet policy enables web access for members of a student group and
activates the appropriate UTM profiles.
config firewall policy
edit 0
set srcintf internal
set dstintf wan1
set srcaddr all
set dstaddr "all"
1. Go to Security Profiles > Web Filter and select Create New (the “+” button).
2. Enter the following and select OK.
Name student
FortiGuard Categories Enable. Right-click the Potentially Liable category and select Block.
Repeat for Adult/Mature Content and Security Risk.
Define local user groups associated with the RADIUS SSO user groups:
Name RSSO-students
Name RSSO-teachers
Schedule always
Action ACCEPT
NAT ON
3. Select OK.
Schedule always
Service ALL
Action ACCEPT
NAT ON
3. Select OK.
This section describes how to view lists of currently logged-in firewall and VPN users. It also describes how to
disconnect users.
You can de-authenticate a user by selecting the Delete icon for that entry.
You can filter the list of displayed users by selecting the funnel icon for one of the column titles or selecting Filter
Settings.
Optionally, you can de-authenticate multiple users by selecting them and then selecting De-authenticate.
To monitor SSL VPN users, go to Monitor > SSL-VPN Monitor. To disconnect a user, select the user and then
select the Delete icon.
The first line, listing the username and IP address, is present for a user with either a web-mode or tunnel-mode
connection. The Subsession line is present only if the user has a tunnel mode connection. The Description
column displays the virtual IP address assigned to the user’s tunnel-mode connection.
For more information about SSL VPN, see the FortiOS Handbook SSL VPN guide.
To list all of the SSL VPN sessions and their index numbers:
execute vpn sslvpn list
SSL-VPN sessions:
Index User Source IP Tunnel/Dest IP
0 user2 172.20.120.51 10.0.0.1
You can use the Index value in the following commands to disconnect user sessions:
You can close a tunnel by selecting the tunnel and right click to select Bring Down.
For more information, see the FortiOS Handbook IPsec VPN guide.
All sessions started by users or IP addresses on the User Quarantine list are blocked until the user or IP address is
removed from the list. All sessions to an interface on the list are blocked until the interface is removed from the
list.
You can configure NAC quarantine to add users or IP addresses to the User Quarantine list under the following
conditions:
l Users or IP addresses that originate attacks detected by IPS - To quarantine users or IP addresses that
originate attacks, enable and configure Quarantine in an IPS Filter.
l Users or IP addresses that are quarantined by Data Leak Prevention - In a DLP sensor select Quarantine
IP Address as the action to take.
For more information, see FortiOS Handbook Security Profiles guide.
Delete Removes the selected user or IP address from the User Quarantine list.
Remove All Removes all users and IP addresses from the User Quarantine list.
The FortiGate function that caused the user or IP address to be added to the User
Source
Quarantine list: IPS or Data Leak Prevention.
Created The date and time the user or IP address was added to the Banned User list.
The date and time the user or IP address will be automatically removed from the User
Expires Quarantine list. If Expires is Indefinite, you must manually remove the user or host
from the list.
This chapter provides an example of a FortiGate unit providing authenticated access to the Internet for both
Windows network users and local users.
Example configuration
Overview
In this example, there is a Windows network connected to Port 2 on the FortiGate unit and another LAN,
Network_1, connected to Port 3.
All Windows network users authenticate when they logon to their network. Members of the Engineering and Sales
groups can access the Internet without entering their authentication credentials again. The example assumes
that the Fortinet Single Sign On (FSSO) has already been installed and configured on the domain controller.
LAN users who belong to the Internet_users group can access the Internet after entering their username and
password to authenticate. This example shows only two users, User1 is authenticated by a password stored on
the FortiGate unit, User2 is authenticated on an external authentication server. Both of these users are referred
to as local users because the user account is created on the FortiGate unit.
Password hardtoguess
Enable Select.
Name OurRADIUSsrv
Enable Select
For this example, assume that FSSO has already been set up on the Windows network and that it uses Advanced
mode, meaning that it uses LDAP to access user group information. You need to
Name ADserver
User DN cn=FSSO_Admin,cn=users,dc=office,dc=example,dc=com
Password set_a_secure_password
Name WinGroups
Password fortinet_canada
3. Select Apply & Refresh.
In a few minutes, the FortiGate unit downloads the list of user groups from the server.
Name FSSO_Internet_users
The non-FSSO users need a user group too. In this example, only two users are shown, but additional members
can be added easily.
Name Internet_users
Type Firewall
Type Subnet
Interface Port 3
Type Subnet
Interface Port 2
Schedule always
Service ALL
NAT ON
3. Select OK.
Schedule always
Service ALL
NAT ON
3. Select OK.
This same procedure can be used for other member attributes, as your system requires.
To accomplish this with a FortiGate unit, member-attribute must be set. This can only be accomplished through
the CLI - the option is not available through the web-based manager.
Before configuring the FortiGate unit, ensure the AD server has the msNPAllowDialin attribute set to "TRUE"
for the users in question. If not, those users will not be able to authenticate.
Once these settings are in place, users that are a member of the ldap user group will be able to authenticate.
To ensure your settings are correct, here is the sample output from a diag debug command that shows the
authentication process.
When the "Allow Dial-in" attribute is set to "TRUE" the following will likely be in the output:
get_member_of_groups-Get the memberOf groups.
get_member_of_groups- attr='msNPAllowDialin', found 1 values
get_member_of_groups-val[0]='TRUE'
fnbamd_ldap_get_result-Auth accepted
fnbamd_ldap_get_result-Going to DONE state res=0
fnbamd_auth_poll_ldap-Result for ldap svr 192.168.201.3 is SUCCESS
fnbamd_auth_poll_ldap-Passed group matching
If the attribute is not set but it is expected, the following will likely be in the output:
get_member_of_groups-Get the memberOf groups.
get_member_of_groups- attr='msNPAllowDialin', found 1 values
get_member_of_groups-val[0]='FALSE'
fnbamd_ldap_get_result-Auth accepted
fnbamd_ldap_get_result-Going to DONE state res=0
fnbamd_auth_poll_ldap-Result for ldap svr 192.168.201.3 is SUCCESS
fnbamd_auth_poll_ldap-Failed group matching
The only difference between these two outputs is the last line which is either passed or failed based on if the
member-attribute is set to the expected value or not.
l Assumptions
l Topology
l Configuring RADIUS
l Configuring FortiGate regular and RADIUS SSO security policies
l Testing
Assumptions
l VDOMs are not enabled
l The admin super_admin administrator account will be used for all FortiGate unit configuration.
l Any other devices on the network do not affect the topology of this example, and therefore are not included.
l Anywhere settings are not described, they are assumed to be default values.
l A RADIUS server is installed on a server or FortiAuthenticator unit and uses default attributes.
l BGP is used for any dynamic routing.
l Authentication event logging under Log&Report has been configured.
Topology
Example.com has an office with 20 users on the internal network. These users need access to the Internet to do
their jobs. The office network is protected by a FortiGate-60C unit with access to the Internet through the wan1
interface, the user network on the internal interface, and all the servers are on the DMZ interface. This includes
an Ubuntu Linux server running FreeRADIUS. For this example only two users will be configured — Pat Lee with
an account name plee, or plee@example.com, and Kelly Green with an account name kgreen, or
kgreen@example.com.
Configuring RADIUS
Configuring RADIUS includes configuring the RADIUS server such as FreeRADIUS, a radius client on user’s
computers, and configuring users in the system. For this example the two users will be Pat Lee, and Kelly Green.
They belong to a group called exampledotcom_employees. When it is all configured, the RADIUS daemon
needs to started.
The users have a RADIUS client installed on their PCs that allows them to authenticate through the RADIUS
server.
FreeRADIUS can be found on the freeradius.org website. For any problems installing FreeRADIUS, see the
FreeRADIUS documentation.
Before configuring the RADIUS SSO security policy, configure FortiGate interfaces. This includes defining a
DHCP server for the internal network as this type of network typically uses DHCP. The wan1 and dmz interfaces
are assigned static IP addresses and do not need a DHCP server.
1. Go to Network > Interfaces.
2. Select wan1 to edit.
3. Enter the following information and select OK.
Alias Internet
Comments Internet
Administrative Status Up
Alias Servers
Comments Servers
Administrative Status Up
Netmask 255.255.255.0
Administrative Status Up
Seq.
From -> To Type Schedule Description
No.
1 internal -> RADIUS SSO business hours Authenticate outgoing user traffic.
wan1
internal ->
4 regular always Allow users to access servers.
dmz
5 any -> any deny always Implicit policy denying all traffic that
hasn’t been matched.
The RADIUS SSO policy must be placed at the top of the policy list so it is matched
first. The only exception to this is if you have a policy to deny access to a list of banned
users. In this case, that policy must go at the top so the RADIUS SSO does not
mistakenly match a banned user or IP address.
This section lists the lists that need to be configured before security policies are created. Creating these lists is
straight forward, so the essential information has been provided here but not step by step instructions. For more
Schedules
Only one schedule needs to be configured — business_hours. This is a fairly standard Monday to Friday 8am
to 5pm schedule, or whatever days and hours covers standard work hours at the company.
Address groups
The following address groups need to be configured before the security policies.
Service groups
The following service groups need to be configured before the security policies. Note that the services listed are
suggestions and may include more or less as required.
The following security policy configurations are basic and only include logging, and default AV and IPS.
Regular security policies allow or deny access for non-RADIUS SSO traffic. This is essential as there are network
services—such as DNS, NTP, and FortiGuard—that require access to the Internet.
Schedule always
Service essential_network_services
Action ACCEPT
NAT ON
3. Select Create New, enter the following information, and select OK.
Schedule always
Service essential_server_services
Action ACCEPT
NAT ON
4. Select Create New, enter the following information, and select OK.
Schedule always
Service all
Action ACCEPT
NAT ON
The RADIUS SSO policy allows access for members of specific RADIUS groups.
Source User(s) Select the user groups you created for RSSO.
Schedule business_hours
Service ALL
Action ACCEPT
NAT ON
Security Profiles ON: AntiVirus, WebFilter, IPS, and Email Filter. In each case, select the
default profile.
4. Select OK.
5. To ensure an RSSO-related policy is matched first, the policy should be placed higher in the security policy list
than more general policies for the same interfaces.
6. Select OK.
Testing
Once configured, a user only needs to log on to their PC using their RADIUS account. After that when they
attempt to access an Internet website, the FortiGate unit will use their session information to get their RADIUS
information. Once the user is verified, they are allowed access to the website.
1. Have user 'plee' logon to their PC, and try to access an Internet website.
2. The FortiGate unit will contact the RADUS server for user plee’s information.
Once confirmed, plee will have access to the website.
Each step generates log entries that enable you to verify that each step was successful.
3. If a step is unsuccessful, confirm that your configuration is correct.
Troubleshooting
In the web-based manager, a good tool for troubleshooting is the packet counter column on the security policy
page at Policy & Objects > IPv4 Policy. This column displays the number of packets that have passed
through this security policy. Its value when you are troubleshooting is that when you are testing your configuration
(end to end connectivity, user authentication, policy use) watching the packet count for an increase confirms any
other methods you may be using for troubleshooting. It provides the key of which policy is allowing the traffic,
useful information if you expect a user to require authentication and it never happens.
This section addresses how to get more information from the CLI about users and user authentication attempts
to help troubleshoot failed authentication attempts.
diag firewall iprope list
Shows the IP that the computer connected from. This is useful to confirm authorization and VPN settings.
For more information on troubleshooting specific features, go to that section of this document. Most sections
have troubleshooting information at the end of the section. In addition to that information, see the FortiOS
Handbook Troubleshooting guide for general troubleshooting information.
Introduction
This FortiGate Best Practices document is a collection of guidelines to ensure the most secure and reliable
operation of FortiGate units in a customer environment. It is updated periodically as new issues are identified.
General Considerations
1. For security purposes, NAT mode is preferred because all of the internal or DMZ networks can have secure private
addresses. NAT mode policies use network address translation to hide the addresses in a more secure zone from
users in a less secure zone.
2. Use virtual domains (VDOMs) to group related interfaces or VLAN subinterfaces. Using VDOMs will partition
networks and create added security by limiting the scope of threats.
3. Use Transparent mode when a network is complex and does not allow for changes in the IP addressing scheme.
You can also register Fortinet products and service contracts from http://support.fortinet.com and change your
registration information at any time.
For information about our priority support hotline (live support), see http://support.fortinet.com.
By implementing the following best practices for system and performance, you will ensure maximum efficiency of
your FortiGate device. Be sure to read everything carefully, particularly the section that concerns shutting down
the FortiGate system, in order to avoid potential hardware issues.
Performance
l Disable any management features you do not need. If you don’t need SSH or SNMP, disable them. SSH also
provides another possibility for would-be hackers to infiltrate your FortiGate unit.
l Put the most used firewall rules to the top of the interface list.
l Log only necessary traffic. The writing of logs, especially if to an internal hard disk, slows down performance.
l Enable only the required application inspections.
l Keep alert systems to a minimum. If you send logs to a syslog server, you may not need SNMP or email alerts,
making for redundant processing.
l Establish scheduled FortiGuard updates at a reasonable rate. Daily updates occurring every 4-5 hours are sufficient
for most situations. In more heavy-traffic situations, schedule updates for the evening when more bandwidth can be
available.
l Keep security profiles to a minimum. If you do not need a profile on a firewall rule, do not include it.
l Keep VDOMs to a minimum. On low-end FortiGate units, avoid using them if possible.
l Avoid traffic shaping if you need maximum performance. Traffic shaping, by definition, slows down traffic.
Shutting down
Always shut down the FortiGate operating system properly before turning off the power switch to avoid potentially
catastrophic hardware problems.
1. Go to Dashboard.
2. In the System Resources widget, select Shutdown.
Once this has been done, you can safely turn off the power switch or disconnect the power cables from the power
supply.
Migration
Network administrators are often reluctant to change firewall vendors due to the perception that the migration
process is difficult. Indeed, there is no point hiding the fact that moving to a new vendor requires careful
consideration. But concern over the potential pain of migration should not stand in the way of adopting new
security technologies. The purpose of this chapter is to describe the best practices for performing such migrations
and ultimately to ease the migration process itself.
Information gathering
It is always best practice to perform a full network audit prior to any migration. This should include:
l Full back up of all security systems (including switches, routers) in case a back-out needs to be performed.
l Physical and logical network diagram with visual audit
Understanding exactly where cables run in the network and verifying they are all correctly labeled is essential to
avoid mistakes and unnecessary downtime during the upgrade. Don’t overlook simple things such as:
Environmental specifications
Keep the following environmental specifications in mind when installing and setting up your FortiGate unit.
l Operating temperature: 32 to 104°F (0 to 40°C). Temperatures may vary, depending on the FortiGate model.
l If you install the FortiGate unit in a closed or multi-unit rack assembly, the operating ambient temperature of the
rack environment may be greater than room ambient temperature.
Therefore, make sure to install the equipment in an environment compatible with the manufacturer's maximum
rated ambient temperature.
l Storage temperature: -13 to 158°F (-25 to 70°C). Temperatures may vary, depending on the FortiGate model.
l Humidity: 5 to 90% non-condensing.
l Air flow - For rack installation, make sure that the amount of air flow required for safe operation of the equipment is
not compromised.
l For free-standing installation, make sure that the appliance has at least 1.5 in. (3.75 cm) of clearance on each side
to allow for adequate air flow and cooling.
Depending on your device, the FortiGate may generate, use, and even radiate radio frequency energy and, if not
installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications.
However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If the equipment does
cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off
and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:
Grounding
l Ensure the FortiGate unit is connected and properly grounded to a lightning and surge protector. WAN or LAN
connections that enter the premises from outside the building should be connected to an Ethernet CAT5 (10/100
Mb/s) surge protector.
l Shielded Twisted Pair (STP) Ethernet cables should be used whenever possible rather than Unshielded Twisted
Pair (UTP).
l Do not connect or disconnect cables during lightning activity to avoid damage to the FortiGate unit or personal
injury.
Rack mounting
l Elevated Operating Ambient - If installed in a closed or multi-unit rack assembly, the operating ambient
temperature of the rack environment may be greater than room ambient.
Therefore, consideration should be given to installing the equipment in an environment compatible with the
maximum ambient temperature (Tmax) specified by the manufacturer.
l Reduced Air Flow - Installation of the equipment in a rack should be such that the amount of air flow required for
safe operation of the equipment is not compromised.
l Mechanical Loading - Mounting of the equipment in the rack should be such that a hazardous condition is not
achieved due to uneven mechanical loading.
l Circuit Overloading - Consideration should be given to the connection of the equipment to the supply circuit and
the effect that overloading of the circuits might have on overcurrent protection and supply wiring. Appropriate
consideration of equipment nameplate ratings should be used when addressing this concern.
l Reliable Earthing - Reliable earthing of rack-mounted equipment should be maintained.
Particular attention should be given to supply connections other than direct connections to the branch circuit (e.g.
use of power strips).
Firmware
Firmware upgrading and downgrading sounds pretty simple, anyone can do it, right? The mark of a professional
is not that they can do something correctly, or even do it correctly over and over again. A professional works in
such a way that, if anything goes wrong they are prepared and able to quickly get things back to normal. Firmware
updates can go wrong just like anything else. So a real professional does things in a way that minimizes their risk
and follows some best practices, as listed below.
You are ready to explain the need for an upgrade once you understand:
l The differences and the enhancements between the new version and the previous version(s).
l The impact of the upgrade on customers and the users of the operating platform.
l The known limitations that might affect your environment.
l The potential risks when performing the upgrade.
l The licensing changes that may apply.
Never attempt to upgrade to a version you don't fully understand (both on features and
known limitations), and on which you have no operational experience.
l Does the new version have a feature that helps to ensure compliance?
l Does the new version have an enhancement that allows 40% decrease (40% improvement) on the time to perform
a certain operation?
l Does the new feature correct a known defect/bug found on a previous version that affects the company
business/operations?
l Will the new version allow your organization to deploy new services that will help to gain new customers or increase
loyalty of existing ones?
l Is the vendor cutting support for the version your organization is currently using?
If the best reason to upgrade is “Because the new features seem to be cool” or “Because I want to have the latest
version”, a little more understanding and planning may be necessary.
Business:
Proper planning and justification for an upgrade should be proportional to how critical the system is to the
business.
l Make sure you can clearly articulate the benefits of the upgrade in business terms (time, money, and efficiency).
l Understand the business processes that will be affected by the change.
l Make sure the upgrade maintenance window is not close to a business-critical process (such as quarterly or monthly
business closure).
l Obtain executive and operational approval for the maintenance window. The approval must come from the owners
of ALL the systems/information affected by the upgrade, not only from those that own the system being upgraded.
The approval must be done in a formal (written or e-mail) form.
l Re-read the Release Notes for the technology you are upgrading. Supported hardware models, upgrade paths, and
known limitations should be clearly understood.
l Make sure your upgrade maintenance window does not overlap with any other maintenance window on your
infrastructure.
l If you have any premium support offer (such as TAM, Premium Support), do a capacity planning exercise to ensure
the new firmware/software version does not take more hardware resources than you currently have.
l Create a backup, whether or not you have scheduled backups. Create a new fresh backup.
l Obtain offline copies of both the currently installed firmware and the new version.
l Create a list of systems with inter-dependencies to the system you are upgrading. For example, if you are
upgrading a FortiGate; understand the impact on any FortiAP, FortiAuthenticator, FortiToken, FortiManager, or
FortiAnalyzer you have on your environment.
l Ensure you have a list of adjacent devices to the upgrading platform and have administrative access to them, just in
case you need to do some troubleshooting. Are you upgrading FortiWeb? Make sure you can administratively
access the Web Applications. Are you upgrading a FortiGate? Make sure you can administratively access the
surrounding switches and routers.
l Have a step-by-step plan on how to perform and test the upgrade. You want to make sure you think of the worst
situation before it happens, and have predefined courses of action, instead of thinking under pressure when
something already went wrong.
l Define a set of tests (that include critical business applications that should be working) to make sure the upgrade
went fine. If any test does not go well, define which ones mandate a rollback and which ones can be tolerated for
further troubleshooting. This set of tests should be run before and after the upgrade to compare results, and they
should be the same.
l Define a clear rollback plan. If something goes wrong with the upgrade or the tests, the rollback plan will help you
get your environment back to a known and operational status. The plan must clearly state the conditions under
which the rollback will be started.
l Declare configuration freezes. A little bit before and after the upgrade. The idea is to reduce the amount of
variables to take into consideration if something goes wrong.
l Perform a “Quality Assurance” upgrade. Grab a copy of the production configuration, load it on a non-production
box and execute the upgrade there to see if there are any issues on the process. Then adjust your plan according to
the results you obtained.
l Have a list of information elements to be gathered if something goes wrong. This ensures that, even if the upgrade
fails, you will collect enough information so you can troubleshoot the issue without needing to repeat the problem.
Get help from TAC/Support departments if you need to check what else could be missing on your list.
l Define a test monitoring period after the change was completed. Even if the upgrade went smoothly, something
could still go wrong. Make sure you monitor the upgraded system for at least one business cycle. Business cycles
may be a week, a month, or a quarter, depending on your organization’s business priorities.
Once you are performing the upgrade, the pressure will rise and stress might peak. This is why you should stick to
the plan you created with a cool head.
Resist the temptation to take decisions while performing the upgrade, as your judgment will be clouded by the
stress of the moment, even if a new decision seems to be “obvious” at such time. If your plan says you should
rollback, then execute the rollback despite the potential “We-can-fix-this-very-quickly” mentality.
While performing the upgrade, make sure all the involved components are permanently monitored before, during,
and after the upgrade, either via monitoring systems, SNMP alerts, or at least with tools like a ping. Critical
resources like CPU, memory, network, and/or disk utilization must also be constantly monitored.
To avoid misunderstandings, when performing the tests for each critical application defined on the planning,
make sure there are formal notifications on the results for each user area, service, system, and/or application
tested.
Regardless if you have to rollback or not, if a problem occurs, make sure you gather as much information about
the problem as possible, so you can later place a support ticket to find a solution.
l Enable your terminal emulation program to leave trace of all the commands executed and all the output generated.
If you are performing steps via GUI, consider using a video capture tool to document it.
l Document any command or change performed over the adjacent/interdependent systems. Make sure they are
acknowledged by the relevant administrators
l Document any deviations performed over the upgrade plan. This is planned-versus-actual.
This document is by no means a comprehensive list on what you should do when performing an upgrade, with
either Fortinet or any other technology. It is merely a list of important things you should take into consideration
when performing upgrades which are the result of years of experience dealing with changes on critical
environments, as it is common that security devices are protecting critical applications and processes.
There are vast resources on the topic: books, public white papers, blog entries, etc. If you search the Internet for
the “Change Control Best Practices” or “Change Management Best Practices” you will get many interesting
documents.
Changes on production IT infrastructure are critical to the business. Make sure they
play in your favor and not against you.
1. Backup and store old configuration (full configuration backup from CLI).
Digging into this a little, step 1 is easy to understand. Do a full backup of your old configuration. This is all part of
your disaster recovery plan. If the upgrade fails in some way you need to make sure you can get the Firewall back
up and running. The best way to do this is to get it back to a state where you know what the behavior was. For
more information, refer to "Performing a configuration backup" on page 587.
2. Have copy of old firmware available.
Step 2, is also part of your disaster recovery. If the upgrade fails you might be able to switch the active partition.
But as a Professional, you need to be prepared for the worst case scenario where you can’t do that. Which means
you’ll need your old firmware.
3. Have disaster recovery option on standby -- especially if remote.
Step 3, is your plan for what to do in the event of a critical failure. As we’re talking FortiGate this means that your
firewall doesn’t come back after the upgrade. What this means is that you need to be able to get to the console
port in order to find out why. Maybe it’s DHCP and the IP changed, maybe the OS is corrupt, who knows? Get to
the console and find out.
There could be a simple fix. If there’s not, then be prepared for a format and TFTP reload.
4. Read the release notes, including the upgrade path and bug information.
Step 4, READ THE RELEASE NOTES. They contain all kinds of information, known bugs, fixed bugs even
upgrade issues like lost configuration settings. Not all upgrade information is ever contained in any products
release notes. That does not mean they are devoid of good/useful information. Read them, digest them, then a
few days later read them again.
5. Double check everything.
Step 5, do a double check of everything. Is your TFTP server working, does your console connection function, is
there anything in the release notes that could impact your upgrade procedure, do you have your configuration
backed up? Make sure you’ve done everything.
6. Upgrade.
Step 6, do the upgrade. Doing an upgrade doesn’t take very long, a few minutes (less a lot of times) but make sure
you schedule enough time for it. At the end of the day an upgrade can succeed or fail. If it succeeds you want
some time to check/confirm that any important features you have are working (VPNs etc). If it fails you’ll need time
to sort things out.
It is also recommended that once any further changes are made that you backup the configuration immediately,
to ensure you have the most current configuration available. Also, ensure you backup the configuration before
upgrading the FortiGate unit’s firmware. Should anything happen during the upgrade that changes the
configuration, you can easily restore the saved configuration.
Always backup the configuration and store it on the management computer or off-site. You have the option to
save the configuration file to various locations including the local PC, USB key, FTP and TFTP site.The latter two
are configurable through the CLI only.
If you have VDOMs, you can back up the configuration of the entire FortiGate unit or only a specific VDOM. Note
that if you are using FortiManager or FortiCloud, full backups are performed and the option to backup individual
VDOMs will not appear.
1. Go to Dashboard.
2. On the System Information widget, select Backup next to System Configuration.
3. Select to backup to your Local PC or to a USB Disk.
The USB Disk option will be grayed out if no USB drive is inserted in the USB port. You can also backup to the
FortiManager using the CLI.
4. If VDOMs are enabled, select to backup the entire FortiGate configuration (Full Config) or only a specific VDOM
configuration (VDOM Config).
5. If backing up a VDOM configuration, select the VDOM name from the list.
6. Select Encrypt configuration file.
Encryption must be enabled on the backup file to back up VPN certificates.
7. Enter a password and enter it again to confirm it. You will need this password to restore the file.
8. Select Backup.
9. The web browser will prompt you for a location to save the configuration file. The configuration file will have a
.conf extension.
… or …
execute backup config usb <backup_filename> [<backup_password>]
… or for FTP (note that port number, username are optional depending on the FTP site)…
execute backup config ftp <backup_filename> <ftp_server> [<port>] [<user_name>]
[<password>]
… or for TFTP …
execute backup config tftp <backup_filename> <tftp_servers> <password>
Use the same commands to backup a VDOM configuration by first entering the commands:
config vdom
edit <vdom_name>
Use the same commands to backup a VDOM configuration by first entering the commands:
config global
set admin-scp enable
end
config vdom
edit <vdom_name>
Infection can come from many sources and have many different effects. Because of this, there is no single means
to effectively protect your network. Instead, you can best protect your network with the various UTM tools your
FortiGate unit offers.
Firewall
l Be careful when disabling or deleting firewall settings. Changes that you make to the firewall configuration using
the GUI or CLI are saved and activated immediately.
l Arrange firewall policies in the policy list from more specific to more general. The firewall searches for a matching
policy starting from the top of the policy list and working down. For example, a very general policy matches all
connection attempts. When you create exceptions to a general policy, you must add them to the policy list above
the general policy.
l Avoid using the All selection for the source and destination addresses. Use addresses or address groups.
l If you remove all policies from the firewall, there are no policy matches and all connections are dropped.
l If possible, avoid port ranges on services for security reasons.
l The settings for a firewall policy should be as specific as possible. Do not use 0.0.0.0 as an address. Do not use Any
as a service. Use subnets or specific IP addresses for source and destination addresses and use individual services
or service groups.
l Use a 32-bit subnet mask when creating a single host address (for example, 255.255.255.255).
l Use logging on a policy only when necessary and be aware of the performance impact. For example, you may want
to log all dropped connections but can choose to use this sparingly by sampling traffic data rather than have it
continually storing log information you may not use.
l It is possible to use security policies based on 'any' interface. However, for better granularity and stricter security,
explicit interfaces are recommended.
l Use the comment field to input management data, for example: who requested the rule, who authorized it, etc.
l Avoid FQDN addresses if possible, unless they are internal. It can cause a performance impact on DNS queries and
security impact from DNS spoofing.
l For non vlan interfaces, use zones (even if you have only one single interface for members) to allow:
l An explicit name of the interface to use in security policies ('internal' is more explicit than 'port10').
l A split between the physical port and its function to allow port remapping (for instance moving from a 1G
interface to a 10G interface) or to facilitate configuration translation, as performed during hardware upgrades.
Security
l Use NTP to synchronize time on the FortiGate and the core network systems, such as email servers, web servers,
and logging services.
l Enable log rules to match corporate policy. For example, log administration authentication events and access to
systems from untrusted interfaces.
l Minimize adhoc changes to live systems, if possible, to minimize interruptions to the network. When not possible,
create backup configurations and implement sound audit systems using FortiAnalyzer and FortiManager.
l If you only need to allow access to a system on a specific port, limit the access by creating the strictest rule
possible.
Authentication
l You must add a valid user group to activate the Authentication check box on the firewall policy configuration page.
l Users can authenticate with the firewall using HTTP or FTP. For users to be able to authenticate, you must add an
HTTP or FTP policy that is configured for authentication.
Antivirus
l Enable antivirus scanning at the network edge for all services.
l Use FortiClient endpoint antivirus scanning for protection against threats that get into your network.
l Subscribe to FortiGuard AntiVirus Updates and configure your FortiGate unit to receive push updates. This will
ensure you receive antivirus signature updates as soon as they are available.
l To ensure that all AV push updates occur, ensure you have an AV profile enabled in a security policy.
l Enable only the protocols you need to scan. If you have antivirus scans occurring on the SMTP server, or use
FortiMail, it is redundant to have scanning occur on the FortiGate unit as well.
l Reduce the maximum file size to be scanned. Viruses usually travel in small files of around 1 to 2 megabytes.
l Do not quarantine files unless you regularly monitor and review them. This is otherwise a waste of space and
impacts performance.
l Examine antivirus reports and log messages periodically. Take particular notice of repeated detections. For
example, repeated virus detection in SMTP traffic could indicate a system on your network is infected and is
attempting to contact other systems to spread the infection using a mass mailer.
Antispam
l If possible use, a FortiMail unit. The antispam engines are more robust.
l Use fast DNS servers.
l Use specific security profiles for the rule that will use antispam.
l DNS checks may cause false positive with HELO DNS lookup.
l Content analysis (banned words) may impose performance overhead.
l If you do use the default profiles, reduce the IPS signatures/anomalies enabled in the profile to conserve processing
time and memory.
l If you are going to enable anomalies, make sure you tune thresholds according to your environment.
l If you need protection, but not audit information, disable the logging option.
l Tune the IP-protocol parameter accordingly.
Note that the above syntax is configured using multiple public IP addresses, where a single public IP address may
suffice depending on your network configuration.
Email filter
Spam is a common means by which attacks are delivered. Users often open email attachments they should not,
and infect their own machine.
l Enable email filtering at the network edge for all types of email traffic.
l Use FortiClient endpoint IPS scanning for protection against threats that get into your network.
l Subscribe to the FortiGuard AntiSpam Service.
amURL filtering
Best practices for URL filtering can be divided into four categories: flow-based versus proxy based filtering; local
category/rating feature; URL filter ‘Exempt’ action; and Deep Scan.
Configuration notes: You need to configure ‘Exempt’ actions in the URL filter if you want to bypass the
FortiGuard Web Filter.You can configure which particular inspection(s) you want to bypass using the set
exempt command in config webfilter urlfilter.
Deep Scan
The ‘Deep Scan’ feature is much heavier on resources than ‘HTTPS URL Scan Only’. Deep Scan is much more
accurate, since many sites (such as various Google applications) cannot be scanned separately without deep
scanning enabled.
Note: If you configure Deep Scan in the SSL profile and then configure ‘Enable HTTPS URL Scan Only’ in the
web filter profile, then Deep Scan is not performed.
Web filtering
FortiGuard Web Filtering can help stop infections from malware sites and help prevent communication if an
infection occurs.
Patch management
When vulnerabilities are discovered in software, the software vendors release updates that fix these problems.
Keeping your software and operating system up-to-date is a vital step to prevent infection and defend against
attacks.
Policy configuration
Configuring the FortiGate unit with an ‘allow all’ traffic policy is very undesirable. While this does greatly simplify
the configuration, it is less secure. As a security measure, it is best practice for the policy rulebase to ‘deny’ by
default, and not the other way around.
On a heavy-loaded system, plan configuration changes during low usage periods in order to minimize impact on
CPU usage and established sessions. In this scenario, it is considered a best practice to de-accelerate the
hardware-accelerated sessions.
You can configure de-accelerated behaviour on hardware-accelerated sessions using CLI commands to control
how the processor manages policy configuration changes. The following CLI commands are to be used:
config system settings
set firewall-session-dirty { check-all | check-new | check-policy-option }
end
check-all CPU flushes all current sessions and re-evaluates them. This is the default
option.
CPU keeps existing sessions and applies policy changes to new sessions
check-new
only. This reduces CPU load and the possibility of packet loss.
Policy whitelisting
l Because it is critical to guard against attacks on services that you make available to the public, configure IPS
signatures to block matching signatures. For example, if you have a web server, configure the action of web server
signatures to Block.
l Your FortiGate unit includes IPS signatures written to protect specific software titles from DoS attacks. Enable the
signatures for the software you have installed and set the signature action to Block.
l DoS attacks are launched against vulnerabilities. Maintain a FortiGuard IPS subscription to ensure your FortiGate
unit automatically receives new and updated IPS signatures as they are released.
l Use and configure DoS policies to appropriate levels based on your network traffic and topology. This will help drop
traffic if an abnormal amount is received. The key is to set a good threshold. The threshold defines the maximum
number of sessions/packets per second of normal traffic. If the threshold is exceeded, the action is triggered.
Threshold defaults are general recommendations, but your network may require very different values. One way to
find the correct values for your environment is to set the action to Pass and enable logging. Observe the logs and
adjust the threshold values until you can determine the value at which normal traffic begins to generate attack
reports. Set the threshold above this value with the margin you want. Note that the smaller the margin, the more
protected your system will be from DoS attacks, but your system will also be more likely to generate false alarms.
Networking
When configuring your network, ensure that there is no ‘back door’ access to the protected network. For example,
if there is a wireless access point, it must be appropriately protected with password and encryption.
Be sure to also maintain an up-to-date network diagram which includes IP addressing, cabling, and network
elements.
Routing configuration
l Always configure a default route.
l Add blackhole routes for subnets reachable using VPN tunnels. This ensures that if a VPN tunnel goes down, traffic
is not mistakingly routed to the Internet unencrypted.
Policy routing
Keep the number of policy routes to a minimum to optimize performance in route lookup and to simplify
troubleshooting.
Dynamic routing
l Select a Router ID that matches an IP assigned to an interface. This avoids the likelihood of having two devices
with the same router ID.
l For routing over an IPsec tunnel, assign IP addresses to both ends of the tunnel.
Advanced routing
Use the following best practices for advanced routing when dealing with Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) and
Open Shortest Path First (OSPF).
l It allows you to perform ‘soft clear’ of peers after a change is made to a BGP policy.
l It provides greater visibility into the specific prefixes learned from each neighbor.
Leave soft-reconfiguration disabled if your FortiGate does not have much unused memory. Soft-reconfiguration
requires keeping separate copies of prefixes received and advertised, in addition to the local BGP database.
Configuring NAT
Do not enable NAT for inbound traffic unless it is required by an application. If, for example, NAT is enabled for
inbound SMTP traffic, the SMTP server might act as an open relay.
Transparent Mode
l Do not connect two ports to the same VLAN on a switch or to the same hub. Some Layer 2 switches become
unstable when they detect the same MAC address originating on more than one switch interface or from more than
one VLAN.
l If you operate multiple VLANs on your FortiGate unit, assign each VLAN id to its own forwarding domain to ensure
that the scope of the broadcast does not extend beyond the VLAN it originated in.
l Use Active-Active HA to distribute TCP and UTM sessions among multiple cluster units. An active-active cluster
may have higher throughput than a standalone FortiGate unit or than an active-passive cluster.
l Use a different host name on each FortiGate unit when configuring an HA cluster. Fewer steps are required to add
host names to each cluster unit before configuring HA and forming a cluster.
l Consider adding an Alias to the interfaces used for the HA heartbeat so that you always get a reminder about what
these interfaces are being used for.
l Enabling load-balance-all can increase device and network load since more traffic is load-balanced. This
may be appropriate for use in a deployment using the firewall capabilities of the FortiGate unit and IPS but no other
content inspection.
l An advantage of using session pickup is that non-content inspection sessions will be picked up by the new primary
unit after a failover. The disadvantage is that the cluster generates more heartbeat traffic to support session pickup
as a larger portion of the session table must be synchronized. Session pickup should be configured only when
required and is not recommended for use with SOHO FortiGate models. Session pickup should only be used if the
primary heartbeat link is dedicated (otherwise the additional HA heartbeat traffic could affect network performance).
l If session pickup is not selected, after a device or link failover all sessions are briefly interrupted and must be re-
established at the application level after the cluster renegotiates. For example, after a failover, users browsing the
web can just refresh their browsers to resume browsing. Users downloading large files may have to restart their
download after a failover. Other protocols may experience data loss and some protocols may require sessions to be
manually restarted. For example, a user downloading files with FTP may have to either restart downloads or restart
their FTP client.
l If you need to enable session pickup, consider enabling session-pickup-delay to improve performance by
reducing the number of sessions that are synchronized. See Improving session synchronization performance on
page 1.
l Consider using the session-sync-dev option to move session synchronization traffic off the HA heartbeat link
to one or more dedicated session synchronization interfaces. See Improving session synchronization performance
on page 1.
l To avoid unpredictable results, when you connect a switch to multiple redundant or aggregate interfaces in an
active-passive cluster you should configure separate redundant or aggregate interfaces on the switch; one for each
cluster unit.
l Use SNMP, syslog, or email alerts to monitor a cluster for failover messages. Alert messages about cluster failovers
may help find and diagnose network problems quickly and efficiently.
Heartbeat interfaces
Fortinet suggests the following practices related to heartbeat interfaces:
Do not use a FortiGate switch port for the HA heartbeat traffic. This configuration is
not supported.
l Configure at least two heartbeat interfaces and set these interfaces to have different priorities.
l For clusters of two FortiGate units, as much as possible, heartbeat interfaces should be directly connected using
patch cables (without involving other network equipment such as switches). If switches have to be used they should
not be used for other network traffic that could flood the switches and cause heartbeat delays.
l If you cannot use a dedicated switch, the use of a dedicated VLAN can help limit the broadcast domain to
protect the heartbeat traffic and the bandwidth it creates.
l For clusters of three or four FortiGate units, use switches to connect heartbeat interfaces. The corresponding
heartbeat interface of each FortiGate unit in the cluster must be connected to the same switch. For improved
redundancy use a different switch for each heartbeat interface. In that way if the switch connecting one of the
heartbeat interfaces fails or is unplugged, heartbeat traffic can continue on the other heartbeat interfaces and
switch.
l Isolate heartbeat interfaces from user networks. Heartbeat packets contain sensitive cluster configuration
information and can consume a considerable amount of network bandwidth. If the cluster consists of two FortiGate
units, connect the heartbeat interfaces directly using a crossover cable or a regular Ethernet cable. For clusters with
more than two units, connect heartbeat interfaces to a separate switch that is not connected to any network.
l If heartbeat traffic cannot be isolated from user networks, enable heartbeat message encryption and authentication
to protect cluster information. See Enabling or disabling HA heartbeat encryption and authentication on page 1761.
l Configure and connect redundant heartbeat interfaces so that if one heartbeat interface fails or becomes
disconnected, HA heartbeat traffic can continue to be transmitted using the backup heartbeat interface. If heartbeat
communication fails, all cluster members will think they are the primary unit resulting in multiple devices on the
network with the same IP addresses and MAC addresses (condition referred to as Split Brain) and communication
will be disrupted until heartbeat communication can be reestablished.
l Do not monitor dedicated heartbeat interfaces; monitor those interfaces whose failure should trigger a device
failover.
l Where possible at least one heartbeat interface should not be connected to an NP4 or NP6 processor to avoid NP4
or NP6-related problems from affecting heartbeat traffic.
l Where possible, the heartbeat interfaces should not be connected to an NP4 or NP6 processor that is also
processing network traffic.
l Where possible, each heartbeat interface should be connected to a different NP4 or NP6 processor.
l Any FortiGate interface can be used as a heartbeat interface including 10/100/1000Base-T, SFP, QSFP fiber and
copper, and so on. If you set up two or more interfaces as heartbeat interfaces each interface can be a different
type and speed.
l Wait until a cluster is up and running and all interfaces are connected before enabling interface monitoring. A
monitored interface can easily become disconnected during initial setup and cause failovers to occur before the
cluster is fully configured and tested.
l Monitor interfaces connected to networks that process high priority traffic so that the cluster maintains connections
to these networks if a failure occurs.
l Avoid configuring interface monitoring for all interfaces.
l Supplement interface monitoring with remote link failover. Configure remote link failover to maintain packet flow if
a link not directly connected to a cluster unit (for example, between a switch connected to a cluster interface and the
network) fails. See Remote link failover on page 1787.
WAN Optimization
WAN Optimization features require significant memory resources and generate a high amount of I/O on disk.
Before enabling WAN Optimization, ensure that the memory usage is not too high. If possible, avoid other disk-
intensive features such as heavy traffic logging on the same disk as the one configured for WAN Optimization
needs.
In general, it is preferable to enable the Transparent Mode checkbox and ensure that routing between the two
endpoints is acceptable. Some protocols may not work well without enabling Transparent Mode.
Other best practices for utilizing the WAN Optimization feature follow.
Sharing the WAN Opt. tunnel for traffic of the same nature
WAN optimization tunnel sharing is recommended for similar types of WAN optimization traffic (such as CIFS
traffic from different servers). However, tunnel sharing for different types of traffic is not recommended. For
example, aggressive and non-aggressive protocols should not share the same tunnel.
High Availability
There is no benefit to using active-active mode, so for pure WAN Optimization needs, use active-passive mode.
Refer to the FGCP High Availability section for other best practices related to HA.
VDOMs can provide separate firewall policies and, in NAT/Route mode, completely separate configurations for
routing and VPN services for each connected network or organization. This section provides a list of best practices
for configuring VDOMs.
By default all the per-VDOM resource settings are set to no limits. This means that any single VDOM can use up
all the resources of the entire FortiGate unit if it needs to do so. This would starve the other VDOMs for resources
to the point where they would be unable to function. For this reason, it is recommended that you set some
maximums on resources that are most vital to your customers.
Virtual clustering
If you decide to disable override for clurstering, as a result of persistent renegotiating, you should disable it for
both cluster units.
Explicit proxy
l For explicit proxies, when configuring limits on the number of concurrent users, you need to allow for the number of
users based on their authentication method. Otherwise you may run out of user resources prematurely.
l Each session-based authenticated user is counted as a single user using their authentication membership
(RADIUS, LDAP, FSSO, local database etc.) to match users in other sessions. So one authenticated user in
multiple sessions is still one user.
l For all other situations, the source IP address is used to determine a user. All sessions from a single source address
are assumed to be from the same user.
l Set the explicit web proxy and explicit FTP proxy Default Firewall Policy Action to Deny. This means that a firewall
policy is required to use these explicit proxies, allowing you to control access and impose security features.
l Do not enable the explicit web or FTP proxy on an interface connected to the Internet. This is a security risk
because anyone on the Internet who finds the proxy could use it to hide their source address. If you must enable the
proxy on such an interface make sure authentication is required to use the proxy.
Wireless
The following section contains a list of best practices for wireless network configurations with regard to encryption
and authentication, geographic location, network planning, power usage, client load balancing, local bridging,
SSIDs, and the use of static IPs.
Geographic location
Ensure that the FortiGate wireless controller is configured for your geographic location. This ensures that the
available radio channels and radio power are in compliance with the regulations in your region.
The maximum allowed transmitter power and permitted radio channels for Wi-Fi networks depend on the region
in which the network is located. By default, the WiFi controller is configured for the United States. If you are
located in any other region, you need to set your location before you begin configuring wireless networks.
The location setting can only be changed from CLI. To change the country to France, for example, enter the
following:
config wireless-controller setting
set country FR
end
To see the list of country codes, enter a question mark (‘?’) in place of the country code.
Using an incorrect geographic location is a common error that can lead to unpredicable results on the client side.
Network planning
It is recommended that you perform a proper site survey prior positioning the wireless access point. In order to
evaluate the coverage area environment, the following criteria must be taken into account:
However, prior to installing the access points, be sure to determine the RF channel(s) you plan to use. This will
ensure that users can roam throughout the facility with substantial performance.
To avoid co-channel interference, adjacent Wi-Fi APs must be configured to use non-overlapping channels.
Otherwise, you’ll find poor performance will degrade because of interference between access points.
It is recommended to statically configure the non-overlapping channels on every access point, using one Custom
AP profile per AP (or group of APs). If static configuration cannot be used, the FortiOS Wi-Fi Controller includes
the Automatic Radio Resource Provisioning (ARRP) feature.
In cases where customers complain about slow wireless traffic through a FortiAP, it might be necessary to try to
reduce the possibility of RF interference. It is best practice not to locate FortiAPs near steel beams or other
interfering materials. You can try using a wireless sniffer tool to collect the wireless packets and then analyze the
extent of air interference.
A common mistake is spacing FortiAPs based upon the 5Ghz radio frequency. The 2.4Ghz signal travels further.
You have two options when confronted with slow wireless traffic through a FortiAP:
Option #2: Ensuring that VAPs are distributed over the available channels
No built-in tools are available to measure RF interference directly. However, FortiOS 5.0 does allow for automatic
power adjustment, which should minimize the occurrence of RF interference.
l Access Point Hand-off - The wireless controller signals a client to switch to another access point.
l Frequency Hand-off - The wireless controller monitors the usage of 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, and signals clients
to switch to the lesser-used frequency.
Local bridging
Whenever possible, use local bridging to offload the CAPWAP tunnel. Note that in this case, Wi-Fi client devices
obtain IP addresses from the same DHCP server as wired devices on the LAN. The vlan ID can only be configured
Advertising SSIDs
l It is highly recommended to advertise the SSID. It makes it easier for customers and wireless clients. Also, if you
'hide' the SSID (known as ‘network cloaking’), then clients will always look for it when they're outside the coverage
area, which searches for known SSIDs, in effect leaking the SSID anyway. Refer to RFC 3370. Furthermore, many
of the latest Broadcom drivers do not support hidden SSID for WPA2.
l For security reason, you might want to prevent direct communication between your wireless clients. In this case,
enable Block Intra-SSID Traffic (in the SSID configuration).
l In a network with multiple wireless controllers, you need to change the mesh SSID so that each mesh root has a
unique SSID. Other controllers using the same mesh root SSID might be detected as fake or rogue APs. Go to WiFi
& Switch Controller > SSID to change the SSID. Fortinet also recommends that you create a new preshared key
instead of using the default.
This makes management of the APs easier since you know the exact IP of each access point. Troubleshooting
also becomes easier as the debug of the AC controller won’t continuously attempt the different discovery
methods in sequence (broadcast > multicast > static).
The default log device settings must be modified so that system performance is not compromised. The FortiGate
unit, by default, has all logging of FortiGate features enabled, except for traffic logging. The default logging
location will be either the FortiGate unit’s system memory or hard disk, depending on the model. Units with a
flash disk are not recommended for disk logging.
Log management
When the FortiGate unit records FortiGate activity, valuable information is collected that provides insight into
how to better protect network traffic against attacks, including misuse and abuse. There is a lot to consider before
enabling logging on a FortiGate unit, such as what FortiGate activities to enable and which log device is best
suited for your network’s logging needs. A plan can help you in deciding the FortiGate activities to log, a log
device, as well as a backup solution in the event the log device fails.
This plan should provide you with an outline, similar to the following:
l What FortiGate activities you want and/or need logged (for example, security features).
l The logging device best suited for your network structure.
l If you want or require archiving of log files.
l Ensuring logs are not lost in the event a failure occurs.
After the plan is implemented, you need to manage the logs and be prepared to expand on your log setup when
the current logging requirements are outgrown. Good log management practices help you with these tasks.
Log management practices help you to improve and manage logging requirements. Logging is an ever-expanding
tool that can seem to be a daunting task to manage. The following management practices will help you when
issues arise, or your logging setup needs to be expanded.
l Revisit your plan on a yearly basis to verify that your logging needs are being met by your current log setup. For
example, your company or organization may require archival logging, but not at the beginning of your network’s
lifespan. Archival logs are stored on a FortiGate unit’s local hard drive, a FortiAnalyzer unit, or a FortiCloud server,
in increasing order of size.
l Configure an alert message that will notify you of activities that are important to be aware about. For example: if a
branch office does not have a FortiGate administrator, you will need to know at all times that the IPsec VPN tunnel
is still up and running. An alert email notification message can be configured to send only if IPsec tunnel errors
occur.
l If your organization or company uses peer-to-peer programs such as Skype or other instant messaging software,
use the IM usage dashboard widget or the Executive Summary’s report widget (Top 10 Application Bandwidth
Usage Per Hour Summary) to help you monitor the usage of these types of instant messaging software. These
widgets can help you in determining how these applications are being used, including if there is any misuse and
abuse. Their information is taken from application log messages; however, application log messages should be
viewed as well since they contain the most detailed information.
l Ensure that your backup solution is up-to-date. If you have recently expanded your log setup, you should also review
your backup solution. The backup solution provides a way to ensure that all logs are not lost in the event that the log
device fails or issues arise with the log device itself.
l When downloading log messages and viewing them on a computer, the log file will be downloaded like any other
file. Log file names contain their log type and date in the name, so it is recommended to create a folder in which to
archive your log messages, as they can be sorted easily.
If the FortiGate unit has only flash memory, disk logging is disabled by default, as it is not recommended.
Constant rewrites to flash drives can reduce the lifetime and efficiency of the memory. It must be enabled in the
CLI under config log disk setting.
For some low-end models, disk logging is unavailable. Check a product’s Feature Matrix for more information. In
either case, Fortinet recommends using either a FortiAnalyzer unit or the FortiCloud service.
Syntax
config gtp message-filter-v0v1
edit <name>
set ?
......
v0-create-aa-pdp--v1-init-pdp-ctx
gtp-enhance-mode
config system npu
set gtp-enhance-mode [enable|disable]
end
gtp-enhance-cpu-range
This is used to set the CPUs which can process the GTP-U packet inspection.
config system npu
set gtp-enhance-cpu-range [0|1|2]
end
Option Description
Used to clear the GTP-U packet counter by all NP or the corresponding np.
Before execute the test or enable/disable the gtp enhance, first check the gtp-enhance-mode status as in the
example below:
config system npu
get
gtp-enhance-mode: disable
gtp-enhance-cpu-range: 0
end
If the gtp-enhance-mode is disable, use the command diagnose npu np6 hbq-stats all.
If the gtp-enhance-mode is enable, use the command diagnose npu np6 hbq-stats all
Sometimes, when loading the new configure file, and the new configure file does not match the old configure file,
l Implemented RCU on GTP-U running path. i.e, no locking needed to look up tunnel state when processing GTP-U.
Note the RCU is only applied on GTPv1 and GTPv2 tunnels. It is not used for GTPv0 tunnels, due to the fact
that (1) GTPv0 traffic is relatively minor compared with GTPv1 and GTPv2, and (2) GTPv0 tunnel indexing is
totally different from GTPv1 and GTPv2. GTPv0 tunnel is indexed by [IMSI, NSAPI]. GTPv1 and GTPv2 tunnel
is indexed by [IP, TEID]
CLI Changes:
Option Description
Option Description
list List
Option Description
list List
Option Description
list List
Option Description
Changed commands:
Example:
config firewall gtp
edit <name>
set message-filter-v0v1
New fields have been added to the config firewall gtp command context
Option Description
Example:
config firewall gtp
edit <name>
set half-open-timeout 10
set half-close-timeout 10
l FortiGate 3700D
l FortiGate 3700DX
l FortiGate 3800D
FortiOS Carrier specific features include Multimedia messaging service (MMS) protection, and GPRS Tunneling
Protocol (GTP) protection.
All FortiGate units, carrier-enabled or not, are capable of handling Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP)
traffic, which is a protocol designed for and primarily used in Carrier networks.
Overview
FortiOS Carrier provides all the features found on FortiGate units plus added features specific to carrier networks:
MMS and GTP.
MMS
MMS is a standard for sending messages that include multimedia content between mobile phones. MMS is also
popular as a method of delivering news and entertainment content including videos, pictures, and text. Carrier
networks include four different MMS types of messages — MM1, MM3, MM4, and MM7.
GTP
The GPRS Tunneling Protocol (GTP) runs on GPRS carrier networks. GPRS is a GSM packet radio standard. It
provides more efficient usage of the radio interface so that mobile devices can share the same radio channel.
FortiOS supports GTPv1 and GTPv2.
GPRS provides direct connections to the Internet (TCP/IP) and X.25 networks for point-to-point services
(connection-less/connection oriented) and point-to-multipoint services (broadcast).
GPRS currently supports data rates from 9.6 kbps to more than 100 kbps, and it is best suited for burst forms of
traffic. GPRS involves both radio and wired components. The mobile phone sends the message to a base station
unit (radio based) that converts the message from radio to wired, and sends the message to the carrier network
and eventually the Internet (wired carrier network). See GTP.
MMS Concepts
MMS background
MMS is a common method for mobile users to send and receive multimedia content. A Carrier network supports
MMS across its network. This makes up the MMS Service Provider Network (MSPN).
Messages can be sent or received between the MMSC and a number of other services including the Internet,
content providers, or other carriers. Each of these different service connections uses different MMS formats
including MM1 and MM7 messages (essentially HTTP format), and MM3 and MM4 messages (SMTP formatted).
These different formats reflect the different purposes and content for each type of MMS message.
There are eight interfaces defined for the MMS standard, referred to as MM1 through MM8. The most important
of these interfaces for the transfer of data is the MM1 interface, as this defines how mobile users communicate
from the mobile network to the Multimedia Message Service Center (MMSC). MMS content to be monitored and
controlled comes from these mobile users and is going to the provider network.
Other MMS content interfaces that connect a service provider network to other external sources can pose threats
as well. MM3 handles communication between the Internet and the MMSC and is a possible source of viruses
and other content problems from the Internet. MM4 handles communication between different content provider
MMSCs. Filtering MM4 content protects the service provider network from content sent from foreign service
providers and their subscribers. Finally MM7 is used for communication between content providers and the
MMSC. Filtering MM3 content can also keep harmful content off of the service provider network.
5. WSP/HTTP GET.req
(Requests the MM.content)
If the recipient is on another carrier, the MMSC forwards the message to the recipient's carrier. This forwarding
uses the MM4 content interface for forwarding content between operator MMSCs (see the figure below).
Before the MMSC can forward the message to the final recipient, it must first determine if the receiver’s handset
can receive MMS messages using the MM1 content interface. If the recipient can use the MM1 content interface,
the content is extracted and sent to a temporary storage server with an HTTP front-end.
To retrieve the message, the receiver’s handset establishes a connection with the MMSC. An HTTP get request
is then sent from the recipient to the MMSC. This message contains the URL where the content of the message
is stored. The MMSC responds with a retrieve confirmation (m-retrieve.conf) HTTP response that contains
the message.
3. MM4-delivery-report.req (feedback
required by UA pr VASP)
This causes the receiver’s handset to retrieve the content from the embedded URL. Several messages are
exchanged to indicate status of the delivery attempt. Before delivering content, some MMSCs also include a
content adaptation service that attempts to modify the multimedia content into a format suitable for the
recipient’s handset.
If the receiver’s handset is not MM1 capable, the message can be delivered to a web based service and the
receiver can view the content from a normal Internet browser. The URL for the content can be sent to the receiver
in an SMS text message. Using this method, non-MM1 capable recipients can still receive MMS content.
The method for determining whether a handset is MMS capable is not specified by the standards. A database is
usually maintained by the operator, and in it each mobile phone number is marked as being associated with a
legacy handset or not. It can be a bit hit and miss since customers can change their handset at will and this
database is not usually updated dynamically.
Email and web-based gateways from MMSC to the Internet use the MM3 content interface. On the receiving
side, the content servers can typically receive service requests both from WAP and normal HTTP browsers, so
delivery via the web is simple. For sending from external sources to handsets, most carriers allow MIME encoded
message to be sent to the receiver's phone number with a special domain.
FortiOS Carrier can send MMS messages to senders informing those senders that their devices are infected.
FortiOS Carrier can also send MMS notifications to administrators to inform them of suspicious activity on their
networks.
For message floods and duplicate messages, FortiOS Carrier does not send notifications to message senders but
does send notifications to administrators and sends messages to sender handsets to complete MM1 and MM4
sessions.
Where MMS messaging uses the TCP/IP set of protocols, SMS text messaging uses the Signaling System
Number 7 (SS7) set of protocols, which is not supported by FortiOS.
During MM1 content scanning a message is first transmitted from the sender, establishing a connection with the
MMSC. FortiOS Carrier intercepts this connection and acts as the endpoint. FortiOS Carrier then establishes its
own connection to the MMSC. Once connected, the client transmits its m-send.req HTTP post request to
FortiOS Carrier which scans it according to the MMS protection profile settings. If the content is clean, the
message is forwarded to the MMSC. The MMSC returns m-send.conf HTTP response through FortiOS Carrier
to the sender.
If FortiOS Carrier blocks the message (for example because a virus was found, see the figure below), FortiOS
Carrier resets the connection to the MMSC and sends m-send.conf HTTP response back to the sender. The
response message can be customized using replacement messages. FortiOS Carrier then terminates the
connection. Sending back an m-send.conf message prevents the sender from trying to send the message
again.
3. m-send.req
5. Reset TCP session
4. Content blocked
6. m-send.conf replacement
message
9. Notification message to
administrators (various protocols)
Sent once per notification period,
regardless of how many messages
are blocked
FortiOS Carrier also sends m-send.rec notifications messages to the MMSC that are then forwarded to the
sender to notify them of blocked messages.
FortiOS Carrier intercepts the connection to the MMSC, and the m-retrieve.conf HTTP response from the MMSC
is scanned according to the MMS content scanning settings. If the content is clean, the response is forwarded
back to the client. If the content is blocked, FortiOS Carrier drops the connection to the MMSC. It then builds an
m-retrieve.conf message from the associated replacement message and transmits this back to the client.
FortiOS Carrier also sends m-send.rec notifications messages to the MMSC that are then forwarded to the
receiver to notify them of blocked messages.
3. m-retrieve.conf mesage
5. m-retrieve.conf replacement
message
4. Content blocked
7. Notification message to
administrators (various protocols)
Sent once per notification period,
regardless of how many messages
are blocked
Filtering MM3 and MM4 messages works in an similar way to MM1 (see the figures below). FortiOS Carrier
intercepts connections to the MMSC, and scans messages as configured. When messages are blocked, FortiOS
Carrier closes sessions as required, sends confirmation messages to the sender, notifies administrators, and
notifies senders and receivers of messages.
MM3 MMS scanning of messages sent from a sender on the Internet to an MMSC
Internet
3. submit.req or delivery.req
6. submit.resp/delivery.resp
replacement message
8. submit.req/delivery.req
notification message
Sent once per notification period, 9. Notification message to
regardless of how many messages administrators (various protocols)
are blocked
Sent once per notification period,
regardless of how many messages
are blocked
For message floods and duplicate messages, the sender does not receive notifications about floods or duplicate
messages, as if the sender is an attacker they can gain useful information about flood and duplicate thresholds.
Plus, duplicate messages and message floods are usually a result of a large amount of messaging activity and
filtering of these messages is designed to reduce the amount of unwanted messaging traffic. Adding to the traffic
by sending notifications to senders and receivers could result in an increase in message traffic.
You can create up to three thresholds for detecting duplicate messages and message floods. For each threshold
you can configure the FortiOS Carrier unit to respond by logging the activity, archiving or quarantining the
messages, notifying administrators of the activity, and by blocking the messages. In many cases you may only
want to configure blocking for higher activity thresholds, and to just monitor and send administrator notifications
at lower activity thresholds.
When a block threshold is reached for MM1 messages, FortiOS Carrier sends m-send.conf or m-retrieve.conf
messages to the originator of the activity. These messages are sent to end the MM1 sessions, otherwise the
originator would continue to re-send the blocked message. When a block threshold is reached for MM4, FortiOS
Carrier sends a MM4-forward.res message to close the MM4 session. An MM4 message is sent only if
initiated by the originating MM4-forward.req message.
3. m-send.req
5. Reset TCP session
4. Flood or duplicate blocked
6. m-send.conf replacement
message
3. m-retrieve.conf mesage
5. m-retrieve.conf replacement
message
4. Flood or duplicate blocked
6. Notification message to
administrators (various protocols)
Sent once per notification period,
regardless of how many messages
are blocked
MMS protection profiles are easy to configure and can be used by more than one security policy. You can
configure a single MMS protection profile for the different traffic types handled by a set of security policies that
require identical protection levels and types. This eliminates the need to repeatedly configure those same MMS
protection profile settings for each individual security policy.
For example, while traffic between trusted and untrusted networks might need strict protection, traffic between
trusted internal addresses might need only moderate protection. You would configure two separate MMS
protection profiles to provide the different levels of protection: one for traffic between trusted networks, and one
for traffic between trusted and untrusted networks.
Once you have configured the MMS Protection Profile, you need to add it to a security policy to apply the profile
to MMS traffic.
MMS protection profiles can contain settings relevant to many different services. Each security policy uses the
subset of the MMS protection profile settings that apply to the sessions accepted by the security policy. In this
way, you might define just one MMS protection profile that can be used by many security policies, each policy
using a different or overlapping subset of the MMS protection profile.
MMS Configuration
MMS profiles
Since MMS profiles can be used by more than one security policy, you can configure one profile for the traffic
types handled by a set of security policies requiring identical protection levels and types, rather than repeatedly
configuring those same profile settings for each individual security policy.
If the security policy requires authentication, do not select the MMS profile in the
security policy. This type of profile is specific to the authenticating user group. For
details on configuring the profile associated with the user group, see User Groups in
the Authentication guide.
For example, while traffic between trusted and untrusted networks might need strict protection, traffic between
trusted internal addresses might need moderate protection. To provide the different levels of protection, you
might configure two separate protection profiles: one for traffic between trusted networks, and one for traffic
between trusted and untrusted networks.
Once you have configured the MMS profile, you can then apply the profile to MMS traffic by applying it to a
security policy.
MMS profiles can contain settings relevant to many different services. Each security policy uses the subset of the
MMS profile settings that apply to the sessions accepted by the security policy. In this way, you might define just
one MMS profile that can be used by many security policies, each policy using a different or overlapping subset of
the MMS profile.
The MMS Profile page contains options for each of the following:
l MMS scanning
l MMS Bulk Email Filtering Detection
l MMS Address Translation
l MMS Notifications
l DLP Archive
l Logging
The following are MMS profile configuration settings in Security Profiles > MMS Profile.
Lists each individual MMS profile that you created. On this page, you can edit, delete or create an MMS
profile.
Creates a new MMS profile. When you select Create New, you are
Create New
automatically redirected to the New MMS Profile page.
Edit Modifies settings within an MMS profile. When you select Edit, you are
automatically redirected to the Edit MMS Profile.
Removes an MMS profile from the list on the MMS Profile page.
To remove multiple MMS profiles from within the list, on the MMS Profile
page, in each of the rows of the profiles you want removed, select the
Delete
check box and then select Delete.
To remove all MMS profiles from the list, on the MMS Profile page, select
the check box in the check box column, and then select Delete.
Displays the number of times the object is referenced to other objects. For
example, av_1 profile is applied to a security policy; on the Profile page
(Security Profiles > Antivirus), 1 appears in Ref. .
To view the location of the referenced object, select the number in Ref.,
and the Object Usage window appears displaying the various locations of
the referenced object.
To view more information about how the object is being used, use one of
the following icons that is avialable within the Object Usage window:
View the list page for these objects – automatically redirects you to the
Ref.
list page where the object is referenced at.
Edit this object – modifies settings within that particular setting that the
object is referenced with. For example, av_1 profile is referenced with a
security policy and so, when this icon is selected, the user is redirected to
the Edit Policy page.
View the details for this object – table, similar to the log viewer table,
contains information about what settings are configured within that
particular setting that the object is referenced with. For example, av_1
profile is referenced with a security policy, and that security policy’s settings
appear within the table.
Provides settings for configuring an MMS profile. This page also provides settings for configuring DLP
archives and logging.
MM7 protocols.
The following are the MMS Scanning options that are available within an MMS profile. You can create an MMS
profile in Security Profiles > MMS Profile or edit an existing one. You must expand MMS Scanning to access
the following options.
Monitor Only Select to cause the unit to record log messages when MMS scanning
options find a virus, match a file name, or match content using any of
the other MMS scanning options. Select this option to be able to report
on viruses and other problems in MMS traffic without affecting users.
Tip: Select Remove Blocked if you want the unit to actually remove
content intercepted by MMS scanning options.
Since MM1 and MM7 use HTTP, the oversize limits for HTTP and the
HTTP antivirus port configuration also applies to MM1 and MM7
Virus Scan scanning.
MM3 and MM4 use SMTP and the oversize limits for SMTP and the
SMTP antivirus port configuration also applies to MM3 and MM4
scanning.
Scan MM1 message retrieval Select to scan message retrievals that use MM1. If you enable Virus
Scan for all MMS interfaces, messages are also scanned while being
sent. In this case, you can disable MM1 message retrieval scanning to
improve performance.
Select to remove blocked content from each protocol and replace it with
the replacement message.
Tip: If you only want to monitor blocked content, select Monitor Only.
Content Filter Select to filter messages based on matching the content of the
message with the words or patterns in the selected web content filter
list.
For information about adding a web content filter list, see the FortiGate
CLI Reference.
MMS Content Checksum Select to add MMS Content Checksum in this MMS profile. Select the
MMS content checksum list to apply it to the profile.
Comfort Clients Select client comforting for MM1 and MM7 sessions.
Since MM1 and MM7 messages use HTTP, MM1 and MM7 client
comforting operates like HTTP client comforting.
Comfort Servers Similar to client comforting, you can use server comforting to prevent
server connection timeouts that can occur while waiting for the unit to
buffer and scan large POST requests from slow clients.
Interval (1-900 Enter the time in seconds before client and server comforting starts
seconds) after the download has begun, and the time between sending
subsequent data.
Amount (1-10240
The number of bytes sent by client or server comforting at each interval.
bytes)
Oversized MMS Message Select Block or Pass for files and email messages exceeding
configured thresholds for each protocol.
The oversize threshold refers to the final size of the message, including
attachments, after encoding by the client. Clients can use a variety of
encoding types; some result in larger file sizes than the original
attachment. As a result, a file may be blocked or logged as oversized
even if the attachment is several megabytes smaller than the oversize
threshold.
Enter the oversized file threshold and select KB or MB. If a file is larger
than the threshold the file is passed or blocked depending on the
Threshold (1KB - 800
Oversized MMS Message setting. The web-based manager displays
MB)
the allowed threshold range. The threshold maximum is 10% of the
unit’s RAM.
The configurable thresholds for each of the flood and duplicate sensors and must be enabled in sequence. For
example, you can enable Flood Threshold 1 and Flood Threshold 2, but you cannot disable Flood Threshold 1
and enable Flood Threshold 2.
You can also add MSISDN to the bulk email filtering configuration and select a subset of the bulk email filtering
options to applied to these individual MSISDNs.
You must first select MM1 and/or MM4 to detect excessive message duplicates. If excessive message duplicates
are detected, the unit will perform the Duplicate Message Action for the specified duration.
You can configure three duplicate message thresholds and enable them with separate values and actions. They
are labeled Duplicate Threshold 1 through 3 and must be enabled in sequence. For example, you can enable
Duplicate Threshold 1 and Duplicate Threshold 2, but you cannot disable Duplicate Threshold 1 and enable
Duplicate Threshold 2.
When traffic accepted by a security policy that contains an MMS profile with duplicate message configured
receives MM1 or MM4 duplicate messages that match a threshold configured in the MMS protection profile, the
unit performs the duplicate message action configured for the matching threshold.
You can configure three message flood thresholds and enable them with separate values and actions. They are
labeled Flood Threshold 1 through 3 and must be enabled in sequence. For example, you can enable Flood
Threshold 1 and Flood Threshold 2, but you cannot disable Flood Threshold 1 and enable Flood Threshold 2.
When traffic accepted by a security policy that contains an MMS protection profile with message flooding
configured experiences MM1 or MM4 message flooding that matches a threshold configured in the MMS profile,
the unit performs the message flood action configured for the matching threshold.
This section of the New MMS Profile page contains numerous sections where you can configure specific
settings for flood threshold, duplicate threshold and recipient MSISDNs.
Message Flood
The message flood settings for each flood threshold. Expand each to configure settings for a threshold.
Flood Threshold 1 Expand to reveal the flood threshold settings for Flood Threshold 1. The
settings for Flood Threshold 1 are the same for Flood Threshold 2 and 3.
Message Flood Enter the period of time during which a message flood will be detected if
Window the Message Flood Limit is exceeded. The message flood window can
be 1 to 2880 minutes (48 hours).
Message Flood Block Enter the amount of time during which the unit performs the Message
Time Flood Action after a message flood is detected.
Message Flood Select one or more actions that the unit is to perform when a message
Action flood is detected.
Flood Threshold 3
Duplicate Message
The duplicate message threshold settings. Expand each to configure settings for a threshold.
MM1 Retrieve Duplicate Select to scan MM1 mm1-retr messages for duplicates. By default,
Enable mm1-retr messages are not scanned for duplicates as they may often
be the same without necessarily being bulk or spam.
Duplicate Message Enter the period of time during which excessive message duplicates will
Window be detected if the Duplicate message Limit it exceeded. The duplicate
message window can be 1 to 2880 minutes (48 hours).
Duplicate Message Enter the number of messages which signifies excessive message
Limit duplicates if exceeded within the Duplicate Message Window.
Duplicate Message Enter the amount of time during which the unit will perform the Duplicate
Block Time Message Action after a message flood is detected.
Duplicate Message Select one or more actions that the unit is to perform when excessive
Action message duplication is detected.
Duplicate Threshold 3
Recipient MSISDN
The recipient Mobile Subscriber Integrated Services Digital Network Number (MSISDN) settings for each
recipient MSISDN. When you select Create New, you are automatically redirected to the New MSISDN
page.
You need to save the profile before you can add MSISDNs.
Flood Threshold 1 Check to enable Flood Threshold 1 settings for this MSISDN.
Flood Threshold 2 Check to enable Flood Threshold 2 settings for this MSISDN.
Flood Threshold 3 Check to enable Flood Threshold 3 settings for this MSISDN..
Duplicate Threshold 1 Check to enable Duplicate Threshold 1 settings for this MSISDN.
Duplicate Threshold 2 Check to enable Duplicate Threshold 2 settings for this MSISDN..
Duplicate Threshold 3 Check to enable Duplicate Threshold 3 settings for this MSISDN..
Delete Removes a Recipient MSISDN in the Recipient MSISDN list within the
Recipient MSISDN section of the page.
Create New Creates a new Recipient MSISDN. When you select Create New, you
are automatically redirected to the New MSISDN page.
When MMS messages are transmitted, the From field may or may not contain the sender's address. When the
address is not included, the sender information will not be present in the logs and the unit will not be able to notify
the user if the message is blocked unless the sender's address is made available elsewhere in the request.
The unit can extract the sender's address from an extended HTTP header field in the HTTP request. This field
must be added to the HTTP request before it is received by the unit. If this field is present, it will be used instead
of the sender's address in the MMS message for logging and notification. If this header field is present when a
message is retrieved, it will be used instead of the To address in the message. If this header field is not present
the content of the To header field is used instead.
Alternatively, the unit can extract the sender’s address from a cookie.
You can configure MMS address translation to extract the sender’s carrier endpoint so that it can be added to log
and notification messages. You can configure MMS address translation settings to extract carrier endpoints from
HTTP header fields or from cookies. You can also configure MMS address translation to add an endpoint prefix to
the extracted carrier endpoints. For more information, see Dynamic Profiles and Endpoints in the Authentication
guide.
Sender Address Source Select to extract the sender’s address from the HTTP Header Field or
a Cookie. You must also specify the identifier that contains the carrier
endpoint.
Enter the sender address identifier that includes the carrier endpoint.
The default identifier is x-up-calling-line-id.
x-up-calling-line-id: 6044301297
Cookie: id=<cookie-id>;
Cookie: id=0123jf!a;x-up-calling-line-
id=6044301297
Convert Sender Address From Select to convert the sender address from ASCII to hexadecimal or from
/ To HEX hexadecimal to ASCII. This is required by some applications.
Add Carrier Endpoint Prefix Select the following to enable adding endpoint prefixes for logging and
for Logging / Notification notification.
Enable Select to enable adding the country code to the extracted carrier
endpoint, such as the MSISDN, for logging and notification purposes.
You can limit the number length for the test numbers used for internal
monitoring without a country code.
Minimum Length Enter the minimum length of the country code information being added.
If this and Maximum Length are set to zero (0), length is not limited.
Enter the maximum length of the country code information being added.
Maximum Length
If this and Minimum Length are set to zero (0), length is not limited.
MMS Notifications
MMS notifications are messages that a unit sends when an MMS profile matches content in an MM1, MM3, MM4
or MM7 session. For example, the MMS profile detects a virus or uses content blocking to block a web page, text
message or email. You can send notifications to the sender of the message using same protocol and the
addressing headers in the original message. You can also configure MMS notifications to send notification
messages to another destination (such as a system administrator) using the MM1, MM3, MM4 or MM7 protocol.
You need to enable one or more Notification Types or you can add an Antivirus Notification List to enable
sending notifications,.
You can also use MMS notifications options to configure how often notifications are sent. The unit sends
notification messages immediately for the first event, then at a configurable interval if events continue to occur. If
the interval does not coincide with the window of time during which notices may be sent, the unit waits to send
the notice in the next available window. Subsequent notices contain a count of the number of events that have
occurred since the previous notification.
There are separate notifications for each notification type, including virus events. Virus event notifications include
the virus name. Up to three viruses are tracked for each user at a time. If a fourth virus is found, one of the
existing tracked viruses is removed from the list.
The notifications are MM1 m-send-req messages sent from the unit directly to the MMSC for delivery to the
client. The host name of the MMSC, the URL to which m-send-req messages are sent, and the port must be
specified.
MMS Notification
Antivirus Notification List Optionally select an antivirus notification list to select a list of virus
names to send notifications for. The unit sends a notification message
whenever a virus name or prefix in the antivirus notification list matches
the name of a virus detected in a session scanned by the MMS
protection profile. Select Disabled if you do not want to use a
notification list.
MMS Notification
If you select a different message protocol, you must also enter the User
Domain. If selecting MM7 you must also enter the Message Type.
Message Type Select the MM7 message type to use if sending notifications using
MM7. Options include deliver.REQ and submit.REQ
Detect Server Details You cannot select Detect Server Details if you are sending
notification messages using a different message protocol.
If you select Detect Server Details, you cannot change the Port
where the notification is being sent.
Hostname Enter the FQDN or the IP address of the server where the notifications
will be sent.
Enter the URL of the server. For example if the notificaiton is going to
www.example.com/home/alerts , the URL is /home/alerts.
URL
This option is available only when Message Protocol is mm1 or
mm7.
Enter the user name required for sending messages using this server
(optional).
Username
This option is available only when Message Protocol is mm7.
Password Enter the password required for sending messages using this server
(optional).
MMS Notification
In each column, select notification for all MMS event types for that
MMS protocol, then enter the amount of time and select the time unit
for notice intervals.
Not all event types are available for all MMS protocols.
Content Filter In each column, select to notify when messages are blocked by the
content filter, then enter the amount of time and select the time unit for
notice intervals.
Carrier Endpoint In each column, select to notify when messages are blocked, then
Block enter the amount of time and select the time unit for notice intervals.
In each column, select to notify when message flood events occur, then
Flood
enter the amount of time and select the time unit for notice intervals.
Duplicate In each column, select to notify when duplicate message events occur,
then enter the amount of time and select the time unit for notice
intervals.
Virus Scan In each column, select to notify when the content within an MMS
message is scanned for viruses.
MMS Notification
For each MMS protocol, enter the number of notifications to send per
Notifications Per Second Limit
second. If you enter zero(0), the notification rate is not limited.
Day of Week For each MMS protocol, select the days of the week the unit is allowed
to send notifications.
For each MMS protocol, select the time of day to begin the message
alert window. By default, the message window starts at 00:00. You can
Window Start Time
change this if you want to start the message window later in the day.
When configured, notification outside this window will not be sent.
Window Duration For each MMS protocol, select the time of day at which to end the
message alert window. By default, the message window ends at 00:24.
You can change this if you want to end the message window earlier in
the day.
DLP Archive
Display DLP meta- Select each required protocol to display the content archive summary in the
information on the system Log and Archive Statistics dashboard widget on the System Dashboard.
dashboard
DLP Archive
Select the type of archiving that you want for the protocol (MM1, MM3,
MM4, and MM7). You can choose from Full, Summary or None.
In some cases, FortiOS Carrier may not archive content, or may make only
a partial content archive, regardless of your selected option. This behavior
varies by prerequisites for each protocol.
Logging
You can enable logging in an MMS profile to write event log messages when the MMS profile options that you
have enabled perform an action. For example, if you enable MMS antivirus protection, you could also use the
MMS profile logging options to write an event log message every time a virus is detected.
You must first configure how the unit stores log messages so that you can then record these logs messages. For
more information, see the FortiOS Handbook Logging and Reporting guide.
Logging
MMS-Antivirus If antivirus settings are enabled for this MMS profile, select the following
options to record Antivirus Log messages.
Viruses Record a log message when this MMS profile detects a virus.
Blocked Files Record a log message when antivirus file filtering enabled in this MMS
profile blocks a file.
MMS Scanning If MMS scanning settings are enabled for this MMS profile, select the
following options to record Email Filter Log messages.
Notification Messages Select to log the number of MMS notification messages sent.
Logging
Bulk Messages Select to log MMS Bulk AntiSpam events. You must also select which
protocols to write log messages for in the MMS bulk email filtering part of
the MMS profile.
Carrier Endpoint Filter Select to log MMS carrier endpoint filter events, such as MSISDN
Block filtering.
Configure MMS content checksum lists in Security Profiles > MMS Content Checksum using the following
table.
Lists each individual content checksum list that you created. On this page, you can edit, delete or create a
content checksum list.
Creates a new MMS content checksum list. When you select Create New,
you are automatically redirected to the New List. This page provides a
Create New
name field and comment field. You must enter a name to go to MMS
Content Checksum Settings page.
Edit Modifies settings to a MMS content checksum. When you select Edit, you
are automatically redirected to the MMS Content Checksum Settings page.
To remove multiple content checksum lists from within the list, on the MMS
Content Checksum page, in each of the rows of the content checksum lists
Delete you want removed, select the check box and then select Delete.
To remove all content checksum lists from list, on the MMS Content
Checksum page, select the check box in the check box column and then
select Delete.
Name The name of the MMS content checksum list that you created.
# Entries The number of checksums that are included in the content checksum list.
MMS Profiles The MMS profile or profiles that have the MMS content checksum list
applied. For example if two different MMS profiles use this content
checksum list, they will both be listed here.
Ref. Displays the number of times the object is referenced to other objects. For
example, av_1 profile is applied to a security policy; on the Profile page
(Security Profiles > AntiVirus > Profiles), 1 appears in Ref. .
To view the location of the referenced object, select the number in Ref.,
and the Object Usage window appears displaying the various locations of
the referenced object.
To view more information about how the object is being used, use one of
the following icons that is available within the Object Usage window:
• View the list page for these objects – automatically redirects you to
the list page where the object is referenced at.
• Edit this object – modifies settings within that particular setting that the
object is referenced with. For example, av_1 profile is referenced with a
security policy and so, when this icon is selected, the user is redirected to
the Edit Policy page.
• View the details for this object – table, similar to the log viewer table,
contains information about what settings are configured within that
particular setting that the object is referenced with. For example, av_1
profile is referenced with a security policy, and that security policy’s settings
appear within the table.
Notification List
The Notification List menu allows you to configure a list of viruses. This virus list provides a list for scanning
viruses in MMS messages. You can use one virus list in multiple MMS profiles, and configure multiple virus lists.
The following are notification list configuration settings in Security Profiles > Notification List.
Notification List
Lists all the notification lists that you created. On this page you can edit, delete or create a new notification
list.
Creates a new notification list. When you select Create New, you are
Create New automatically redirected to the New List page. You must enter a name to
go to the Notification List Settings page.
Edit Modifies settings within the notification list. When you select Edit, you are
automatically redirected to the Notification List Settings page.
Removes a notification list from the list on the Notification List page.
To remove multiple notification lists from within the list, on the Notification
List page, in each of the rows of the notification lists you want removed,
Delete
select the check box and then select Delete.
To remove all notification lists from the list, on the Notification List page,
select the check box in the check box column and then select Delete.
Name The name of the MMS content checksum list that you created.
# Entries The number of checksums that are included in that content checksum list.
MMS Profiles The MMS profile or profiles that are associated with
Ref. Displays the number of times the object is referenced to other objects. For
example, av_1 profile is applied to a security policy; on the Profile page
(Security Profiles > Antivirus > Profiles), 1 appears in Ref. .
To view the location of the referenced object, select the number in Ref.,
and the Object Usage window appears displaying the various locations of
the referenced object.
To view more information about how the object is being used, use one of
the following icons that is available within the Object Usage window:
• View the list page for these objects – automatically redirects you to
the list page where the object is referenced at.
• Edit this object – modifies settings within that particular setting that the
object is referenced with. For example, av_1 profile is referenced with a
security policy and so, when this icon is selected, the user is redirected to
the Edit Policy page.
• View the details for this object – table, similar to the log viewer table,
contains information about what settings are configured within that
particular setting that the object is referenced with. For example, av_1
profile is referenced with a security policy, and that security policy’s settings
appear within the table.
Provides settings for configuring a notification list, which is a list of viruses and is used for scanning viruses in
MMS messages. This list is called the Antivirus Notification List in an MMS profile.
Name If editing the name of a notification list, enter the new name in this field.
You must select OK to save the change.
If you want to enter a comment, enter the comment in the field. You must
Comments
select OK to save the change.
Create New Creates a notification entry in the list. When you select Create New, you
are automatically redirected to the New Entry page.
Modifies settings within a notification list. When you select Edit, you are
Edit
automatically redirected to the Edit Entry page.
To remove all notification entries from the list, on the Notification List
Settings page, select the check box in the check box column and then
select Delete.
Disable Disables a notification entry so that it is not active and available for use, but
it is not deleted.
Removes all notification entries that are listed on the Notification List
Remove All Entries
Settings page.
Virus Name/Profile The name of the virus that was added to the list.
Entry Type The type of match that will be used to match the virus stated in the
notification list to the actual virus that is found.
Select the type of match that will be used to match the virus stated in the
Entry Type
notification list to the actual virus that is found.
Message Flood
The convenience offered by MM1 and MM4 messaging can be abused by users sending spam or attempting to
overload the network with an excess of messages. MMS flood prevention can help prevent this type of abuse. A
message flood occurs when a single subscriber sends a volume of messages that exceed the flood threshold that
you set. The threshold defines the maximum number of messages allowed, the period during which the
subscriber sent messages are considered, and the length of time the sender is restricted from sending messages
after a flood is detected. For example, for the first threshold you may determine that any subscriber who sends
more than 100 MM1 messages in an hour (60 minutes) will have all outgoing messages blocked for 30 minutes.
Action Description
Log Add a log entry indicating that a message flood has occurred. You must
also enable logging by going to Security Profiles > MMS Profile,
<applicable profile> > Logging > MMS Scanning > Bulk
Messages, and toggling on the checkbox.
Save the first message to exceed the flood threshold, or all the
messages that exceed the flood threshold, in the DLP archive. DLP
archiving flood messages may not always produce useful results. Since
DLP Archive
different messages can be causing the flood, reviewing the archived
messages may not be a good indication of what is causing the problem
since the messages could be completely random.
All messages All the messages that exceed the flood threshold will be saved in the
DLP archive.
Save only the first message to exceed the flood threshold in the DLP
archive. Other messages in the flood are not saved. For message floods
First message only
this may not produce much useful information since a legitimate
message could trigger the flood threshold.
Intercept Messages that exceed the flood threshold are passed to the recipients,
but if quarantine is enabled for intercepted messages, a copy of each
message will also quarantined for later examination. If the quarantine of
intercepted messages is disabled, the Intercept action has no effect.
Messages that exceed the flood threshold are blocked and will not be
delivered to the message recipients. If quarantine is enabled for blocked
Block
messages, a copy of each message will quarantined for later
examination.
Alert Notification If the flood threshold is exceeded, the Carrier-enabled FortiGate unit
will send an MMS flood notification message.
Flood protection for MM1 messages prevents your subscribers from sending too many messages to your MMSC.
Configuring flood protection for MM4 messages prevents another service provider from sending too many
messages from the same subscriber to your MMSC.
Message Flood
Lists the large amount of messages that are being sent to you from outside sources.
To remove multiple messages from within the list, on the Message Flood
page, in each row of the messages you want removed, select the check box
Delete
and then select Delete.
To remove all messages from the list, on the Message Flood page, select
the check box in the check box column and then select Delete.
The count column can be up or down and these settings can be turned off
Count
by selecting beside the column’s name.
The time in seconds and in minutes. The timer column can be up or down
Timer (minutes:seconds)
and these settings turned off by selecting beside the column’s name.
Duplicate Message
Duplicate message protection for MM1 messages prevents multiple subscribers from sending duplicate
messages to your MMSC. Duplicate message protection for MM4 messages prevents another service provider
from sending duplicate messages from the same subscriber to your MMSC.
The unit keeps track of the sent messages. If the same message appears more often than the threshold value
that you have configured, action is taken. Possible actions are logging the duplicate messages, blocking or
intercepting them, archiving, and sending an alert to inform an administrator that duplicate messages are
occurring.
Duplicate Message
To remove all duplicate messages from the list, on the Message Flood
page, select the check box in the check box column and then select Delete.
Remove All Entries Removes all duplicate messages from the list.
MMS Profile Sorts/filters by the MMS profile that logs the detection.
The period of time during which a message flood will be detected if the
Window Size (minutes)
Message Flood Limit is exceeded.
Timer (minutes:seconds) Either the time left in the window if the message is unflagged, or the time
until the message will be unflagged if it is already flagged.
Lists all the endpoint filters that you created. On this page, you can edit, delete or create a new endpoint
filter list.
Creates a new endpoint filter list. When you select Create New, you are
Create New automatically redirected to the New List page. You must enter a name to
go to the Carrier Endpoint Filter Lists Settings page.
To remove multiple endpoint filter lists from within the list, on the Carrier
Endpoint Filter List page, in each of the rows of the endpoint filter lists
Delete you want removed, select the check box and then select Delete.
To remove all endpoint filter lists from the list, on the Carrier Endpoint
Filter List page, select the check box in the check box column and then
select Delete.
MMS Profiles The MMS profile that the carrier endpoint filter list is added to.
Ref. Displays the number of times the object is referenced to other objects.
For example, av_1 profile is applied to a security policy; on the Profile
page (Security Profiles > Antivirus > Profiles), 1 appears in Ref. .
To view the location of the referenced object, select the number in Ref.,
and the Object Usage window appears displaying the various locations
of the referenced object.
To view more information about how the object is being used, use one of
the following icons that is available within the Object Usage window:
• View the list page for these objects – automatically redirects you to
the list page where the object is referenced at.
• Edit this object – modifies settings within that particular setting that
the object is referenced with. For example, av_1 profile is referenced
with a security policy and so, when this icon is selected, the user is
redirected to the Edit Policy page.
• View the details for this object – table, similar to the log viewer
table, contains information about what settings are configured within
that particular setting that the object is referenced with. For example,
av_1 profile is referenced with a security policy, and that security policy’s
settings appear within the table.
Name The name you entered on the New List page, after selecting Create
New on the Carrier Endpoint Filter page.
A description about the endpoint filter. You can add one here if you did
Comments
not enter one on the New List page.
Create New Creates a new endpoint filter list. When you select Create New, you are
automatically redirected to the New Entry page.
Removes all patterns in the list on the Carrier Endpoint Filter Lists
Remove All Entries
Settings page.
Enter or change the pattern that FortiOS Carrier uses to match with
carrier endpoints. The pattern can be a single carrier endpoint or consist
Pattern of wildcards or Perl regular expressions that will match more than one
carrier endpoint. Set Pattern Type to correspond to the pattern that you
want to use.
Action Select the action taken by FortiOS Carrier for messages from a carrier
endpoint that matches the carrier endpoint pattern:
Enter or change the pattern that FortiOS Carrier uses to match with
carrier endpoints. The pattern can be a single carrier endpoint or consist
Pattern of wildcards or Perl regular expressions that will match more than one
carrier endpoint. Set Pattern Type to correspond to the pattern that you
want to use.
Action(s) Select the action taken by FortiOS Carrier for messages from
a carrier endpoint that matches the carrier endpoint pattern:
l None
l Block
l Exempt from mass MMS
l Exempt from all scanning
MMS messages from the carrier endpoint are delivered, the message
Content Archive content is DLP archived according to MMS DLP archive settings.
Content archiving is also called DLP archiving.
Pattern Type Select a pattern type as one of Single Carrier Endpoint, Wildcard or
Regular Expression.
Overview
Flood protection for MM1 messages prevents your subscribers from sending too many messages to your MMSC.
Configuring flood protection for MM4 messages prevents another service provider from sending too many
The FortiOS Carrier unit keeps track of the number of messages each subscriber sends for the length of time you
specify. If the number of messages a subscriber sends exceeds the threshold, a configured action is taken.
Possible actions are logging the flood, blocking or intercepting messages in the flood, archiving the flood
messages, and sending an alert message to inform the administrator that the flood is occurring.
You can create three different thresholds to take different levels of action at different levels of activity.
With this highly configurable system, you can prevent subscribers from sending more messages than you
determine is acceptable, or monitor anyone who exceeds the thresholds.
If a subscriber exceeds the message flood threshold and is blocked from sending more messages, any further
attempts to send messages will re-start the block period. You must also enable logging for MMS Scanning >
Bulk Messages in the Logging section of the MMS protection profile.
A subscriber is still able to receive messages while they are blocked from sending
messages.
Example
For example, for the first threshold you may determine that any subscriber who sends more than 100 MM1
messages in an hour (60 minutes) will have all messages blocked for half an hour (30 minutes).
Using this example, if the subscriber exceeds the flood threshold, they are blocked from sending message for 30
minutes. If the subscriber tries to send any message after 15 minutes, the message will be blocked and the block
period will be reset again to 30 minutes. The block period must expire with no attempts to send a message. Only
then will the subscriber be allowed to send more messages.
Enable Enable
The threshold values that you set for your network will depend on factors such as how busy your network is and
the kinds of problems that your network and your subscribers encounter. For example, if your network is not too
busy you may want to set message flood thresholds relatively high so that only an exceptional situation will
exceed a flood threshold. Then you can use log messages and archived MMS messages to determine what
caused the flood.
If your subscribers are experiencing problems with viruses that send excessive amounts of messages, you may
want to set thresholds lower and enable blocking to catch problems as quickly as possible and block access to
keep the problem from spreading.
Flood actions
When the Carrier-enabled FortiGate unit detects a message flood, it can take any combination of the five actions
that you can configure for the flood threshold. For detailed options, see Message Flood.
The FortiOS Carrier unit sends alert notifications to administrators using the MM1, MM3, MM4, or MM7 content
interface. To send an alert notification you must configure addresses and other settings required for the content
interface.
For example, to send notifications using the MM1 content interface you must configure a source MSISDN,
hostname, URL, and port to which to send the notification. You can also configure schedules for when to send the
notifications.
Finally you can add multiple MSISDN numbers to the MMS protection profile and set which flood thresholds to
send to each MSISDN.
Example — three flood threshold levels with different actions for each threshold
You can set up to three threshold levels to take different actions at different levels of activity.
The first example threshold records log messages when a subscriber’s handset displays erratic behavior by
sending multiple messages using MM1 at a relatively low threshold. The erratic behavior could indicate a problem
with the subscriber’s handset. For example, you may have determined for your network that if a subscriber sends
more the 45 messages in 30 minutes that you want to record log messages as a possible indication or erratic
behavior.
From the web-based manager in an MMS profile set message Flood Threshold 1 to:
Enable Selected
Set a second higher threshold to take additional actions when a subscriber sends more that 100 messages in 30
minutes. Set the actions for this threshold to log the flood, archive the message that triggered the second
threshold, and block the sender for 15 minutes.
From the web-based manager in an MMS profile set message Flood Threshold 2 to:
Enable Selected
Message Flood Action Log, DLP archive First message only, Block
Set the third and highest threshold to block the subscriber for an extended period and sand an administrator alert
if the subscriber sends more than 200 messages in 30 minutes. Set the actions for this threshold to block the
sender for four hours (240 minutes), log the flood, archive the message that triggered the third threshold, and
send an alert to the administrator.
From the web-based manager in an MMS profile set message Flood Threshold 3 to:
Enable Selected
Because you have selected the Alert Notification action you must also configure alert notification settings. For
this example, the source MSISDN is 5551234—telephone number 555-1234. When administrators receive MMS
messages from this MSIDSN they can assume a message flood has been detected.
In this example, alert notifications are sent by the FortiOS Carrier unit to the MMSC using MM1. The host name
of the MMSC is mmscexample, the MMSC URL is /, and the port used by the MMSC is 80. In this example, the
alert notification window starts at 8:00am and extends for eight hours on weekdays (Monday-Friday) and the
minimum interval between message flood notifications is two hours.
Hostname mmscexample
URL /
Port 80
Interval 2 hours
You must also add the MSISDNs of the administrators to be notified of the message flood. In this example, the
administrator flood threshold 3 alert notifications are sent to one administrator with MSISDN 5554321.
To add administrator’s MSISDNs for flood threshold 3 from the web-based manager when configuring a
protection profile, select MMS Bulk Email Filtering Detection > Recipient MSISDN > Create New.
MSISDN 5554321
However, FortiOS Carrier does have replacement messages for sending reply confirmations to MM1 senders and
receivers and for MM4 senders for blocked messages identified as message floods. For information about how
FortiOS Carrier responds when message flood detection blocks a message, see and MMS duplicate messages
and message floods.
When the FortiOS Carrier unit identifies an MM1 message sent by a sender to an MMSC as a flood message and
blocks it, the FortiOS Carrier unit returns a message submission confirmation (m-send.conf) to the sender —
otherwise the sender’s handset would keep retrying the message. The m-send.conf message is sent only
when the MM1 message flood action is set to Block. For other message flood actions the message is actually
delivered to the MMSC and the MMSC sends the m-send.conf message.
You can customize the m-send.conf message by editing the MM1 send-conf flood message MM1
replacement message (from the CLI the mm1-send-conf-flood replacement message). You can customize
the response status and message text for this message. The default response status is “Content not accepted”.
To hide the fact that FortiOS Carrier is responding to a flood, you can change the response status to “Success”.
The default message text informs the sender that the message was blocked. You could change this to something
more generic.
For example, the following command sets the submission confirmation response status to “Success” and
changes the message text to “Message Sent OK”:
config system replacemsg mm1 mm1-send-conf-flood
set rsp-status ok
set rsp-text “Message Sent OK”
end
When the FortiOS Carrier unit identifies an MM1 message received by a receiver from an MMSC as a flood
message and blocks it, the FortiOS Carrier unit returns a message retrieval confirmation (m-retrieve.conf) to the
sender (otherwise the sender’s handset would keep retrying the message). The m-retrieve.conf message is sent
only when the MM1 message flood action is set to Block. For other message flood actions the message is
actually delivered to the receiver, so the MMSC sends the m-retrieve.conf message.
You can customize the m-retrive.conf message by editing the MM1 retrieve-conf flood message MM1
replacement message (from the CLI the mm1-retr-conf-flood replacement message). You can customize
the class, subject, and message text for this message.
For example, you could use the following command make the response more generic:
config system replacemsg mm1 mm1-retr-conf-flood
set subject “Message blocked”
set message “Message temporarily blocked by carrier”
end
When the FortiOS Carrier unit identifies an MM4 message as a flood message and blocks it, the FortiOS Carrier
unit returns a message forward response (MM4_forward.res) to the forwarding MMSC (otherwise the forwarding
MMSC would keep retrying the message). The MM4_forward.res message is sent only when the MM4 message
flood action is set to Block and the MM4-forward.req message requested a response. For more information, see
and MMS duplicate messages and message floods.
You can customize the MM4_forward.res message by editing the MM4 flood message MM4 replacement
message (from the CLI the mm4-flood replacement message). You can customize the response status and
message text for this message. The default response status is “Content not accepted” (err-content-not-
accept). To hide the fact that the FortiOS Carrier unit is responding to a flood, you can change the response
status to “Success”. The default message text informs the sender that the message was blocked. You could
change this to something more generic.
For example, the following command sets the submission confirmation response status to “Success” and
changes the message text to “Message Sent OK” for the MM4 message forward response
config system replacemsg mm4 mm4-flood
set rsp-status ok
set rsp-text “Message Forwarded OK”
end
To select only the first message in a flood for DLP archiving - web-based manager
of the message content, there are times when a selection of messages exceed both flood and duplicate
thresholds.
The Carrier-enabled FortiGate unit checks for message floods before checking for duplicate messages. Flood
checking is less resource-intensive and if the flood threshold invokes a Block action, the blocked messages are
stopped before duplicate checking occurs. This saves both time and FortiOS Carrier system resources.
The duplicate scanner will only scan content. It will not scan headers. Content must be
exactly the same. If there is any difference at all in the content, it will not be
considered a duplicate.
If you add a carrier endpoint pattern to a filter list and set the action to exempt from mass MMS, all messages
from matching carrier endpoints bypass message flood protection. This allows legitimate bulk messages, such as
system outage notifications, to be delivered without triggering message flood protection.
For more information on carrier endpoints, see the User Authentication chapter of the FortiOS Handbook.
8. In the Message Flood Limit field, enter the number of messages required to trigger the flood.
9. In the Message Flood Block Time field, enter the length of time a user will be blocked from sending messages
after causing the message flood.
10. Select the message flood actions the Carrier-enabled FortiGate unit will take when the message flood is detected.
11. Select OK.
1. Go to Policy.
2. Select the Edit icon of the security policy that controls the traffic in which you want to detect message floods.
3. Select the MMS Profile check box to enable the use of a protection profile.
4. Select the MMS protection profile from the list.
5. Select OK.
You can configure different alert notifications for MM1 and MM4 message floods. You can configure the FortiOS
Carrier unit to send these alert notifications using the MM1, MM3, MM4, or MM7 content interface. Each of these
content interfaces requires alert notification settings that the FortiOS Carrier unit uses to communicate with a
server using the selected content interface.
1. Go to Firewall Objects > MMS Profile and edit or add a new MMS protection profile.
2. Expand MMS Bulk Email Filtering Detection.
There are three message flood thresholds.
3. Expand the threshold that you want to configure alert notification for.
4. For Message Flood Action, select the Alert Notification check box. Alert notification options appear.
5. For the Source MSISDN , enter the MSISDN from which the alert notification message will be sent.
6. Select the Message Protocol the alert notification will use: MM1, MM3, MM4, or MM7.
7. Add the information required by FortiOS Carrier to send messages using the selected message protocol:
8. For Notifications Per Second Limit, enter the number of notifications to send per second.
Use this setting to reduce control the number of notifications sent by the FortiOS Carrier unit. If you
enter zero (0), the notification rate is not limited.
9. If required, change Window Start Time and Window Duration configure when the FortiOS Carrier unit sends
alert notifications.
By default, notifications are sent at any time of the day. You can change the Window Start Time if you
want to delay sending alert messages. You can also reduce the Window Duration if you want to stop
sending alert notifications earlier.
For example, you might not want FortiOS Carrier sending notifications except during business hours.
In this case the Window Start Time could be 9:00 and the Window Duration could be 8:00 hours.
You can set different alert notifications for each message threshold. For example, you could limit the
message window for lower thresholds and set it to 24 hours for higher thresholds. This way
administrators will only receive alert notifications outside of business hours for higher thresholds.
10. For Day of Week, select the days of the week to send notifications.
For example, you may only want to send alert notifications on weekends for higher thresholds.
11. In the Interval field, enter the maximum frequency that alert notification messages will be sent, in minutes or
hours.
All alerts occurring during the interval will be included in a single alert notification message to reduce
the number of alert messages that are sent.
In each MMS protection profile you add a list of recipient MSISDNs. For each of these MSISDNs you select the
message flood threshold that triggers sending notifications to this MSISDN.
For the flood threshold to be able to send an alert notification to the MSISDN, the alert
notification action must be enabled and configured within the flood threshold.
Overview
Duplicate message protection for MM1 messages prevents multiple subscribers from sending duplicate
messages to your MMSC. Duplicate message protection for MM4 messages prevents another service provider
from sending duplicate messages from the same subscriber to your MMSC. This can help prevent a potential
flood that would otherwise become widespread between carriers.
The FortiOS Carrier unit keeps track of the sent messages. If the same message appears more often than the
threshold value you configure, then action is taken. Possible actions are logging the duplicates, blocking or
intercepting duplicate messages, archiving the duplicate messages, and sending an alert to inform an
administrator that duplicates are occurring.
With this highly configurable system, you can prevent the transmission of duplicate messages when there are
more than you determine is acceptable.
Rather than save the messages, the FortiOS carrier creates a checksum using the message body and subject.
This serves as a fingerprint to identify the message. If another message with the same message body and
subject appears, the fingerprint will also be the same and the Carrier-enabled FortiGate unit will recognize it as a
duplicate.
By creating and saving message fingerprints instead of saving the messages, the Carrier-enabled FortiGate unit
can save resources and time.
If multiple messages appear with the same subject and message body, the Carrier-enabled FortiGate unit will
recognize them as being the same.
For example, you may determine that once a duplicate message is sent more than 300 times in an hour, any
attempt to send the same duplicate message will be blocked for 30 minutes.
If a particular duplicate message exceeds the duplicate message threshold and is blocked, any further attempts
to send the same message will re-start the block period.
Using the example above, if the duplicate message count exceeds the duplicate threshold, any attempt to send a
copy of the duplicate message will be blocked for 30 minutes. If a subscriber tries to send a copy of the message
after waiting 15 minutes, the message will be blocked and the block period will be reset to 30 minutes. The block
period must expire with no attempts to send a duplicate message. Only then will a subscriber be allowed to send
the message. Non-duplicate messages will not reset the block period.
Action Description
Log Add a log entry indicating that a duplicate message event has occurred.
You must also enable logging for MMS Scanning > Bulk Messages
in the Logging section of the MMS protection profile.
DLP Archive
Action Description
All messages Save all the messages that exceed the duplicate threshold in the DLP
archive.
Save the first message to exceed the duplicate threshold in the DLP
First message only archive. Subsequent messages that exceed the duplicate threshold will
not be saved.
Intercept Messages that exceed the duplicate threshold are passed to the
recipients, but if quarantine is enabled for intercepted messages, a copy
of each message is also quarantined for later examination. If the
quarantine of intercepted messages is disabled, the Intercept action
has no effect.
Messages that exceed the duplicate threshold are blocked and will not
be delivered to the message recipients. If quarantine is enabled for
Block
blocked messages, a copy of each blocked message is quarantined for
later examination.
However, the FortiOS Carrier unit does have replacement messages for sending reply confirmations to MM1
senders and receivers and for MM4 senders for blocked messages identified as duplicate messages. For
information about how FortiOS Carrier responds when message flood detection blocks a message, see and MMS
duplicate messages and message floods.
When the FortiOS Carrier unit identifies an MM1 message sent by a sender to an MMSC as a duplicate message
and blocks it, the FortiOS Carrier unit returns a message submission confirmation (m-send.conf) to the sender
(otherwise the sender’s handset would keep retrying the message). The m-send.conf message is sent only when
the MM1 duplicate message action is set to Block. For other duplicate message actions the message is actually
delivered to the MMSC and the MMSC sends the m-send.conf message.
You can customize the m-send.conf message by editing the MM1 send-conf duplicate message MM1
replacement message (from the CLI the mm1-send-conf-dupe replacement message). You can customize
the response status and message text for this message. The default response status is “Content not accepted”.
To hide the fact that the FortiOS Carrier unit is responding to a duplicate message, you can change the response
status to “Success”. The default message text informs the sender that the message was blocked. You could
change this to something more generic.
For example, the following command sets the submission confirmation response status to “Success” and
changes the message text to “Message Sent OK”:
When the FortiOS Carrier unit identifies an MM1 message received by a receiver from an MMSC as a duplicate
message and blocks it, the FortiOS Carrier unit returns a message retrieval confirmation (m-retrieve.conf) to the
sender (otherwise the sender’s handset would keep retrying). The m-retrieve.conf message is sent only when the
MM1duplicate message action is set to Block. For other message flood actions the message is actually
received by the receiver, so the MMSC sends the m-retrieve.conf message.
You can customize the m-retrive.conf message by editing the MM1 retrieve-conf duplicate message MM1
replacement message (from the CLI the mm1-retr-conf-dupe replacement message). You can customize
the class, subject, and message text for this message.
For example, you could use the following command make the response more generic:
config system replacemsg mm1 mm1-retr-conf-dupe
set subject “Message blocked”
set message “Message temporarily blocked by carrier”
end
When the FortiOS Carrier unit identifies an MM4 message as a duplicate message and blocks it, the FortiOS
Carrier unit returns a message forward response (MM4_forward.res) to the forwarding MMSC (otherwise the
forwarding MMSC would keep retrying the message). The MM4_forward.res message is sent only when the MM4
duplicate message action is set to Block and the MM4-forward.req message requested a response. For more
information, see and MMS duplicate messages and message floods.
You can customize the MM4_forward.res message by editing the MM4 duplicate message MM4 replacement
message (from the CLI the mm4-dupe replacement message). You can customize the response status and
message text for this message. The default response status is “Content not accepted” (err-content-not-
accept). To hide the fact that the FortiOS Carrier unit is responding to a duplicate message, you can change the
response status to “Success”. The default message text informs the sender that the message was blocked. You
could change this to something more generic.
For example, the following command sets the submission confirmation response status to “Success” and
changes the message text to “Message Forwarded OK”:
config system replacemsg mm4 mm4-dupe
set rsp-status ok
set rsp-text “Message Forwarded OK”
end
regardless of the message content, there are times when a selection of messages exceed both flood and
duplicate thresholds.
The Carrier-enabled FortiGate unit checks for message floods before checking for duplicate messages. Flood
checking is less resource-intensive and if the flood threshold invokes a Block action, the blocked messages are
stopped before duplicate checking occurs. This saves both time and FortiOS Carrier system resources.
All traffic matching the security policy will be checked for duplicate messages according to the settings in the
MMS profile.
The duplicate scanner will only scan content. It will not scan headers. Content must be
exactly the same. If there is any difference at all in the content, it will not be
considered a duplicate.
The modular nature of the profiles allows you great flexibility in how you configure the scanning options. MMS
profiles can be used in any number of policies, with different GTP profiles.
In a complex configuration, there may be many security policies, each with a different MMS profile. For a simpler
network, you may have many security policies all using the same MMS profile.
You can configure different alert notifications for MM1 and MM4 duplicate messages. You can configure the
FortiOS Carrier unit to send these alert notifications using the MM1, MM3, MM4, or MM7 content interface. Each
of these content interfaces requires alert notification settings that the FortiOS Carrier unit uses to communicate
with a server using the selected content interface.
1. Go to Security Profiles > MMS Profile and edit or add a new MMS protection profile.
2. Expand MMS Bulk Email Filtering Detection.
There are three duplicate message thresholds.
3. Expand the threshold that you want to configure alert notification for.
4. For Duplicate Message Action, select the Alert Notification check box. Alert notification options appear.
5. For the Source MSISDN , enter the MSISDN from which the alert notification message will be sent.
6. Select the Message Protocol the alert notification will use: MM1, MM3, MM4, or MM7.
7. Add the information required by FortiOS Carrier to send messages using the selected message protocol:
8. For Notifications Per Second Limit, enter the number of notifications to send per second.
Use this setting to reduce control the number of notifications sent by the FortiOS Carrier unit. If you
enter zero (0), the notification rate is not limited.
9. If required, change Window Start Time and Window Duration configure when the FortiOS Carrier unit sends
alert notifications.
By default, notifications are sent at any time of the day. You can change the Window Start Time if you
want to delay sending alert messages. You can also reduce the Window Duration if you want to stop
sending alert notifications earlier.
For example, you might not want FortiOS Carrier sending notifications except during business hours.
In this case the Window Start Time could be 9:00 and the Window Duration could be 8:00 hours.
You can set different alert notifications for each message threshold. For example, you could limit the
message window for lower thresholds and set it to 24 hours for higher thresholds. This way
administrators will only receive alert notifications outside of business hours for higher thresholds.
10. For Day of Week, select the days of the week to send notifications.
For example, you may only want to send alert notifications on weekends for higher thresholds.
11. In the Interval field, enter the maximum frequency that alert notification messages will be sent, in minutes or
hours.
All alerts occurring during the interval will be included in a single alert notification message to reduce
the number of alert messages that are sent.
In each MMS protection profile you add a list of recipient MSISDNs. For each of these MSISDNs you select the
duplicate threshold that triggers sending notifications to this MSISDN.
For the duplicate threshold to be able to send an alert notification to the MSISDN, the
duplicate message threshold alert notification action must be enabled and configured.
Example: COMMWARRIOR
This is a virus for Series 60 type cell phones, such as Nokia, operating Symbian OS version 6 [or higher]. The
object of the virus is to spread to other phones using Bluetooth and MMS as transport avenues. The targets are
selected from the contact list of the infected phone and also sought via Bluetooth searching for other Bluetooth-
enabled devices (phones, printers, gaming devices etc.) in the proximity of the infected phone.
This virus is more than a proof of concept - it has proven successfully its ability to migrate from a zoo collection to
being in-the-wild. Currently, this virus is being reported in over 18 different countries around Europe, Asia and
North America.
When the virus first infects a cell phone, a prompt is displayed asking the recipient if they want to install “Caribe”.
Symptoms of an infected phone may include rapid battery power loss due to constant efforts by the virus to
spread to other phones via a Bluetooth seek-and-connect outreach.
The following variants among others are currently scanned by the FortiOS Carrier devices, in addition to more
signatures that cover all known threats.
l SymbOS/COMWAR.V10B!WORM
l Aliases: SymbOS.Commwarrior.B, SymbOS/Commwar.B, SymbOS/Commwar.B!wm, SymbOS/Commwar.B-net,
SymbOS/Commwarrior.b!sis, SymbOS/Comwar.B, SymbOS/Comwar.B!wm, SymbOS/Comwar.B-wm, SYMBOS_
COMWAR.B, SymbOS/Comwar.1.0.B!wormSYMBOS/COMWAR.V10B.SP!WORM [Spanish version]
l First Discovered In The Wild: July 04, 2007
l Impact Level: 1
l Virus Class: Worm
l Virus Name Size: 23,320
l SymbOS/Commwar.A!worm
l Aliases: Commwarrior-A, SymbOS.Commwarrior.A [NAV], SymbOS/Commwar.A-net, SymbOS/Commwar_
ezboot.A-ne, SymbOS/Comwar.A, SymbOS/Comwar.A-wm, SYMBOS_COMWAR.A [Trend]
l First Discovered In The Wild: May 16 2005
l Impact Level: 1
l Virus Class: Worm
l Virus Name Size: 27,936
l SymbOS/Commwarriie.C-wm
l Aliases: None
l First Discovered In The Wild: Oct 17 2005
l Impact Level: 1
l Virus Class: File Virus
l Virus Name Size: None
For the latest list of threats Fortinet devices detect, visit the FortiGuard Center.
To go to MMS virus scanning, go to Security Profiles MMS Profile, select an existing or create a new profile,
and expand MMS Scanning. See MMS scanning options.
To enable MMS virus monitoring, expand MMS Scanning and enable Monitor only for the selected MMS
types.
This feature causes the FortiOS Carrier unit to record log messages when MMS scanning options find a virus,
match a file name, or match content using any of the other MMS scanning options. Selecting this option enables
reporting on viruses and other problems in MMS traffic without affecting users.
To enable MMS virus scanning, expand MMS Scanning and enable Virus Scan for the selected MMS types.
Because MM1 and MM7 use HTTP, the oversize limits for HTTP and the HTTP antivirus port configurations also
apply to MM1 and MM7 scanning. See
MM3 and MM4 use SMTP and the oversize limits for SMTP and the SMTP antivirus port configurations also apply
to MM3 and MM4 scanning.
The message contents will be scanned for viruses, matched against the file extension blocking lists and scanned
for banned words. All these items will be configured via the standard GUI interfaces available for the other
protocols and will be controlled at the protection profile level with new options specifically for the MM1 messages.
The FortiOS Carrier unit extracts the sender’s Mobile Subscriber Integrated Services Digital Network Number
(MSISDN) from the HTTP headers if available. The POST payload will be sent to the scan units which will parse
the MMS content and scan each message data section. If any part of the data is to be blocked, the proxy will be
informed, the connection to the MMSC will be reset and the Carrier-enabled FortiGate unit will return an HTTP
200 OK message with an m-send-conf payload to the client to prevent a retry. Finally the appropriate logging,
alert, and replacement message events will be triggered.
For client notification, the x-mms-response-status and x-mms-response-text fields can also be
customized as required.
To scan MM1 retrieval messages, expand MMS Scanning and select Scan MM1 message retrieval.
Select to scan message retrievals that use MM1. If you enable Virus Scan for all MMS interfaces, messages are
also scanned while being sent. In this case, you can disable MM1 message retrieval scanning to improve
performance.
To configure MMS virus scanning, expand MMS Scanning and enable Virus Scan.
Once applied to a security policy, the MMS protection profile will then perform virus scans on all traffic accepted
by that policy.
To remove blocked messages, expand MMS Scanning and select Remove Blocked for the selected MMS
types.
Select Remove Blocked remove blocked content from each protocol and replace it with the replacement
message. If FortiOS Carrier is to preserve the length of the message when removing blocked content, as may
occur when billing is affected by the length of the message, select Constant.
A carrier endpoint defines a specific client on the carrier network. Typically the client IP address is used to identify
the client, however on a carrier network this may be impractical when the client is using a mobile device. Other
identifying information such as the MSIDSN number is used instead.
This information can be used to block a specific endpoint on the network. Reasons for blocking may include
clients whose accounts have expired, clients from another carrier, clients who have sent malicious content
(phishing, exploits, viruses, etc), or other violations of terms of use.
To enable carrier endpoint blocking you first need to create a carrier endpoint filter list, and then enable it.
A carrier endpoint filter list contains one or more carrier endpoints to match. When used in MMS scanning entries
in the filter list that are matched are blocked.
You can configure multiple filter lists for different purposes and groups of clients, such as blocking clients, clients
with different levels of service agreements, and clients from other carriers. See Carrier endpoint filter lists
configuration settings.
For each single endpoint or group of endpoints have part of their identifying information in common, you create
an entry in the endpoint filter list.
For example a blocked_clients filter list may include entries for single endpoints added as each one needs
to be blocked and a group of clients from a country that does not allow certain services.
Name Name of endpoint filter list. Select this name in an MMS protection
profile.
Check/Uncheck All Select the check box to enable all endpoint patterns in the MMS filter
list.
Clear the check box to disable all entries on the MMS filter list.
Pattern The pattern that FortiOS Carrier uses to match with endpoints. The
pattern can be a single endpoint or consist of wildcards or Perl regular
expressions that will match more than one endpoint. For more on
wildcard and regular expressions, see Using wildcards and Perl
regular expressions in the UTM guide.
Action Select the action taken by FortiOS Carrier for messages from a carrier
endpoint that matches the endpoint pattern:
Block - MMS messages from the endpoint are not delivered and
FortiOS Carrier records a log message.
Exempt from mass MMS - MMS messages from the endpoint are
delivered and are exempt from mass MMS filtering. Mass MMS
filtering is configured in MMS protection profiles and is also called
MMS Bulk Email Filtering and includes MMS message flood
protection and MMS duplicate message detection. A valid use of
mass MMS would be when a service provider notifies customers of a
system-wide event such as a shutdown.
Exempt from all scanning - MMS messages from the endpoint are
delivered and are exempt from all MMS protection profile scanning.
Content Archive MMS messages from the endpoint are delivered, the message
content is DLP archived according to MMS DLP archive settings.
Content archiving is also called DLP archiving.
Intercept MMS messages from the endpoint are delivered. Based on the
quarantine configuration, attached files may be removed and
quarantined.
You can use endpoint IP filtering to block traffic from source IP addresses associated with endpoints. You can
also configure FortiOS Carrier to record log messages whenever endpoint IP filtering blocks traffic. Endpoint IP
filtering blocks traffic at the IP level, before the traffic is accepted by a security policy.
To configure endpoint IP filtering, go to Security Profiles > IP Filter and add endpoints to the IP filter list. For
each endpoint you can enable or disable both blocking traffic and logging blocked traffic.
You cannot add endpoint patterns to the endpoint IP filter list. You must enter
complete and specific endpoints that are valid for your network.
The only action available is block. You cannot use endpoint IP filtering to exempt
endpoints from IP filtering or to content archive or quarantine communication
sessions.
FortiOS Carrier looks in the current user context list for the endpoints in the IP filter list and extracts the source IP
addresses for these endpoints. Then any communication session with a source IP address that matches one of
these IP addresses is blocked at the IP level, before the communication session is accepted by a security policy.
FortiOS Carrier dynamically updates the list of IP addresses to block as the user context list changes. Only these
updated IP addresses are blocked by endpoint IP filtering.
For information about the carrier endpoints and the user context list, including how entries are added to and
removed from this list.
The MMS content checksum feature attempts to match checksums of known malicious MMS messages, and on
a successful match it will be blocked. The checksums are applied to each part of the message—attached files
and message body have separate checksums. These checksums are created with CRC-32, the same method as
FortiAnalyzer checksums.
For example, if an MMS message contains a browser exploit in the message body, you can add the checksum for
that message body to the list, and future occurrences of that exact message will be blocked. Content will be
replaced by the content checksum block notification replacement message for that type of MMS message, and if
it is enabled the event will be logged.
One possible implementation would to configure all .sis files to be intercepted. When one is found to be infected
or malicious it would be added to the MMS content checksum list.
To use this feature a list of one or more malicious checksums must be created and then the feature is enabled
using that list. For a detailed list of options, see MMS Content Checksum.
To remove a checksum from the list you can either delete the checksum or simply disable it and leave it in the list.
To enable MMS content checksums, expand MMS Scanning and select MMS Content Checksum for the
selected MMS types. Select the checksum list to match.
Select to pass fragmented MM3 and MM4 messages. Fragmented MMS messages cannot be scanned for
viruses. If you do not select these options, fragmented MM3 and MM4 message are blocked.
The Interval is the time in seconds before client comforting starts after the download has begun, and the time
between sending subsequent data.
The Amount is the number of bytes sent by client or server comforting at each interval.
Client comforting
In general, client comting is available for for MM1 and MM7 messaging and provides a visual display of progress
for web page loading or HTTP or FTP file downloads. Client comforting does this by sending the first few packets
of the file or web page being downloaded to the client at configured time intervals so that the client is not aware
that the download has been delayed. The client is the web browser or FTP client. Without client comforting,
clients and their users have no indication that the download has started until the Carrier-enabled FortiGate unit
has completely buffered and scanned the download. During this delay users may cancel or repeatedly retry the
transfer, thinking it has failed.
The appearance of a client comforting message (for example, a progress bar) is client-dependent. In some
instances, there will be no visual client comforting cue.
During client comforting, if the file being downloaded is found to be infected, then the Carrier-enabled FortiGate
unit caches the URL and drops the connection. The client does not receive any notification of what happened
because the download to the client had already started. Instead the download stops, and the user is left with a
partially downloaded file.
If the user tries to download the same file again within a short period of time, then the cached URL is matched
and the download is blocked. The client receives the Infection cache message replacement message as a
notification that the download has been blocked. The number of URLs in the cache is limited by the size of the
cache.
Client comforting can send unscanned (and therefore potentially infected) content to
the client. Only enable client comforting if you are prepared to accept this risk.
Keeping the client comforting interval high and the amount low will reduce the amount
of potentially infected data that is downloaded.
Since MM1 and MM7 messages use HTTP, MM1 and MM7 client comforting operates like HTTP client
comforting.
The following steps show how client comforting works for a download of a 1 Mbyte file with the client comforting
interval set to 20 seconds and the client comforting amount set to 512 bytes.
6. If the file does not contain a virus, the Carrier-enabled FortiGate unit sends the rest of the file to the client. If the
file is infected, the FortiGate closes the data connection but cannot send a message to the client.
Server comforting
Similar to client comforting, you can use server comforting to prevent server connection timeouts that can occur
while waiting for FortiOS Carrier to buffer and scan large POST requests from slow clients.
The Interval is the time in seconds before client and server comforting starts after the download has begun, and
the time between sending subsequent data.
The Amount is the number of bytes sent by client or server comforting at each interval.
Select Block or Pass for files and email messages exceeding configured thresholds for each protocol.
The oversize threshold refers to the final size of the message, including attachments, after encoding by the client.
Clients can use a variety of encoding types; some result in larger file sizes than the original attachment. As a
result, a file may be blocked or logged as oversized even if the attachment is several megabytes smaller than the
oversize threshold.
HTTP proxy
Hypertext Transfer Protocol
POST / HTTP/1.1\r\n
Request Method: POST
Request URI: /
Request Version: HTTP/1.1
Host: 10.129.192.190\r\n
Accept: */*, application/vnd.wap.sic,application/vnd.wap.mms-message,text/x-
hdml,image/mng,image/x-mng,video/mng,video/x-mng,image/bmp\r\n
Accept-Charset: utf-8,*\r\n
Accept-Language: en\r\n
Content-Length: 25902\r\n
Content-Type: application/vnd.wap.mms-message\r\n
User-Agent: Nokia7650/1.0 SymbianOS/6.1 Series60/0.9 Profile/MIDP-1.0
Configuration/CLDC-1.0 UP.Link/6.2.1\r\n
x-up-devcap-charset: utf-8\r\n
x-up-devcap-max-pdu: 102400\r\n
x-up-uplink: magh-ip.mi.vas.omnitel.it\r\n
x-wap-profile: "http://nds.nokia.com/uaprof/N7650r200.xml"\r\n
x-up-subno: 1046428312-826\r\n
x-up-calling-line-id: 393475171234\r\n
x-up-forwarded-for: 10.211.4.12\r\n
x-forwarded-for: 10.211.4.12\r\n
Via: 1.1 magh-ip.mi.vas.omnitel.it\r\n
\r\n
Scan engine
MMS Message Encapsulation, Type: m-send-req
X-Mms-Message-Type: m-send-req (0x80)
X-Mms-Transaction-ID: 1458481935
X-Mms-MMS-Version: 1.0
From: <insert address>
To: 3475171234/TYPE=PLMN
X-Mms-Message-Class: Personal (0x80)
X-Mms-Expiry: 21600.000000000 seconds
X-Mms-Priority: Normal (0x81)
X-Mms-Delivery-Report: No (0x81)
X-Mms-Read-Report: No (0x81)
Content-Type: application/vnd.wap.multipart.related; start=<1822989907>;
type=application/smil
Start: <1822989907>
Type: application/smil
Data (Post)
Multipart body
Part: 1, content-type: text/plain
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-10646-ucs-2; name=Ciao.txt
Charset: iso-10646-ucs-2
Name: Ciao.txt
Headers
Content-Location: Ciao.txt
Line-based text data: text/plain
\377\376C\000i\000a\000o\000
[Unreassembled Packet: MMSE]
However, senders who are notified may use this information to circumvent administration’s precautions. For
example if flood notification is set to 1000 messages per minute, a notified user may simply reduce their
message to 990 messages per minute if this flood is intentional. For this reason, not all problems include sender
notifications.
l MMS notifications
l Replacement messages
And three details to consider for logging and notifying administrators:
MMS notifications
MMS notifications enable you to customize notifications for many different situations and differently for all the
supported MMS message protocols — MM1, MM3, MM4, and MM7.
l Content Filter
l File Block
l Carrier Endpoint Block
l Flood
l Duplicate
l MMS Content Checksum
l Virus Scan
Day of Week, Window start time and Window Duration define what days and what time of day alert
notifications will be sent. This allows you to control what alerts are sent on weekends. It also lets you control
when to start sending notifications each day. This can be useful if system maintenance is performed at the same
time each night — you might want to start alert notifications after maintenance has completed. Another reason to
limit the time alert messages are sent could be to limit message traffic to business hours.
Replacement messages
FortiGate units send replacement messages when messages or content is blocked, quarantined, or otherwise
diverted from the receiver. In it’s place a message is sent to notify the receiver what happened.
With FortiOS Carrier MMS replacement messages, send and receive message types are supported separately
and receive their own custom replacement messages. This allows the network to potentially notify both the
sender and receiver of the problem.
For example the replacement message MM1 send-req file block message is sent to the device that sent one
or more files that were banned. The default message that is sent is This device has sent %%NUM_
MSG%% messages containing banned files in the last %%DURATION%% hours. The two
variables are replaced by the appropriate values.
Replacement messages are not as detailed or specific as MMS notifications, but they are also not as complicated
to configure. They are also useful when content has been removed from an MMS message that was still
delivered.
With each virus infection, or file block, a syslog message is generated. The format of this syslog message is
similar to:
2005-09-22 19:15:47 deviceid=FGT5001ABCDEF1234 logid=0211060ABC type=virus
subtype=infected level=warning src=10.1.2.3 dst=10.2.3.4 srcintf=port1 dstintf=port2
service=mm1 status=blocked from="<sending MSISDN>" to="<receiving MSISDN>”
Note that the from and to fields are samples and not real values.
You can enable logging in an MMS protection profile to write event log messages when the MMS protection
profile options that you have enabled perform an action. For example, if you enable MMS antivirus protection,
you could also use the MMS protection profile logging options to write an event log message every time a virus is
detected.
To record these log messages you must first configure how the FortiOS Carrier unit stores log messages.
To configure MMS content archiving, go to Security Profiles > MMS Profile. Select Create New or select the
Edit icon beside an existing profile. Expand MMS Bulk AntiSpam Detection > Logging. Complete the fields
as described in the following table and select OK. For more a detailed list of options, see Logging.
SNMP
A simple SNMP trap will be generated to inform the operators’ alerting system that a virus has been detected.
This SNMP trap could contain the sending and receiving MSISDN, however the initial solution would reflect the
current behavior, i.e. only the fact that a virus has been detected will be communicated.
Overview
A school computer lab may block age-inappropriate content. A place of business may block unproductive content.
A public access internet cafe may block offensive and graphic content. Each installation has its own requirements
for what content needs to be blocked, and in what language.
FortiOS Carrier provides the ability to create custom local dictionaries, black lists, and white lists in multiple
languages enables you to protect your customers from malicious content around the world.
Configurable dictionary
You can create a dictionary of configurable terms and phrases using the CLI. The text of MMS messages will be
searched for these terms and phrases. Add content filter lists that contain content that you want to match in MMS
messages. For every match found, a score is added. If enough matches are found to set the total score above the
configured threshold, the MMS message is blocked.
You can add words, phrases, wild cards and Perl regular expressions to create content patterns that match
content in MMS messages. For more on wildcard and regular expressions, see Using wildcards and Perl regular
expressions in the UTM guide.
l Block adds an antispam black list pattern. A match with a block pattern blocks a message depending on the score of
the pattern and the content filter threshold.
l Exempt adds an antispam white list pattern. A match with an exempt pattern allows the message to proceed
through the FortiOS Carrier unit, even if other content patterns in the same content filter list would block it.
If a pattern contains a single word, the FortiOS Carrier unit searches for the word in MMS messages. If the
pattern contains a phrase, the FortiOS Carrier unit searches for all of the words in the phrase. If the pattern
contains a phrase in quotation marks, the FortiOS Carrier unit searches for the whole phrase.
You can create patterns with Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Cyrillic, French, Japanese, Korean,
Spanish, Thai, or Western character sets.
Black listing
Black listing is the practice of banning entries on the list. For example if an IP address continuously sends viruses,
it may be added to the black list. That means any computers that consult that list will not communicate with that
IP address.
Sometimes computers or devices can be added to black lists for a temporary problem, such as a virus that is
removed when notified. However, as a rule short of contacting the administrator in person to manually be
removed form the black list, users have to wait and they generally will be removed after a period without problem.
White listing
White listing is the practice of adding all critical IP addresses to a list, such as company email and web servers.
Then if those servers become infected and start sending spam or viruses, those servers are not blocked. This
allows the critical traffic through, even if there might be some malicious traffic as well. Blocking all traffic from
your company servers would halt company productivity.
Each content pattern includes a score. When a MMS message is matched with a pattern the score is recorded. If
a message matches more than one pattern or matches the same pattern more than once, the score for the
message increases. When the total score for a message equals or exceeds the threshold the message is blocked.
The default score for a content filter list entry is 10 and the default threshold is 10. This means that by default a
message is blocked by a single match. You can change the scores and threshold so that messages can only be
blocked if there are multiple matches. For example, you may only want to block messages that contain the
phrase “example” if it appears twice. To do this, add the “example” pattern, set action to block and score to 5.
Keep the threshold at 10. If “example” is found twice or more in a message the score adds up 10 (or more) and
the message is blocked.
end
When someone on the MMS network sends an MMS message that is blocked, in most cases you will notify the
sender. Typically an administrator is notified in addition to the sender so action can be taken if required. There
are two types of sender notifications available in FortiOS Carrier: MMS notifications, and Replacement
Messages.
MMS notifications
MMS notifications to senders are configured in Security Profiles > MMS Profile, under MMS Notifications.
In this section you can configure up to four different notification recipients for any combination of MM1/3/4/7
protocol MMS messages. Also for MM7 messages the message type can be submit.REQ or deliver.REQ.
Replacement messages
Replacement messages are features common to both FortiOS and FortiOS Carrier, however FortiOS Carrier has
additional messages for the MMS traffic.
While each MMS protocol has its own different rec placement messages, the one common to all MMS protocols
is the MMS blocked content replacement message. This is the message that the receiver of the message
sees when their content is blocked.
You can configure full DLP archiving and summary DLP archiving. Full DLP archiving includes all content, for
example, full email DLP archiving includes complete email messages and attachments. Summary DLP archiving
includes just the meta data about the content, for example, email message summary records include only the
email header.
Select DLP archive options to archive MM1, MM3, MM4, and MM7 sessions. For each protocol you can archive
just session metadata (Summary), or metadata and a copy of the associated file or message (Full).
You can view DLP archives from the Carrier-enabled FortiGate unit web-based manager. Archives are historical
logs that are stored on a log device that supports archiving, such as a FortiAnalyzer unit.
These logs are accessed from either Log & Report > DLP Archive or if you subscribed to the FortiCloud
service, you can view log archives from there.
The DLP Archive menu is only visible if one of the following is true.
l You have configured the FortiGate unit for remote logging and archiving to a FortiAnalyzer unit.
l You have subscribed to FortiCloud.
The following tabs are available when you are viewing DLP archives for one of these protocols.
l E-mail to view POP3, IMAP, SMTP, POP3S, IMAPS, SMTPS, and spam email archives.
l Web to view HTTP and HTTPS archives.
l FTP to view FTP archives.
l IM to view AIM, ICQ, MSN, and Yahoo! archives.
l MMS to view MMS archives.
l VoIP to view session control (SIP, SIMPLE and SCCP) archives.
If you need to view log archives in Raw format, select Raw beside the Column Settings icon.
GPRS currently supports data rates from 9.6 kbps to more than 100 kbps, and is best suited for burst forms of
traffic. GPRS involves both radio and wired components. The mobile phone sends the message to a base station
unit (radio based), and the base station unit sends the message to the carrier network and eventually the Internet
(wired carrier network).
The network system then either sends the message back to a base station and to the destination mobile unit, or
forwards the message to the proper carrier’s network where it gets routed to the mobile unit.
PDP Context
The packet data protocol (PDP) context is a connection between a mobile station and the end address that goes
through the SGSN and GGSN. It includes identifying information about the mobile customer used by each server
or device to properly forward the call data to the next hop in the carrier network, typically using a GTP tunnel
between the SGSN and GGSN.
When a mobile customer has an active voice or data connection open, both the SGSN and GGSN have the PDP
context information for that customer and session.
When a mobile phone attempts to communicate with an address on an external packet network, either an IP or
X.25 address, the mobile station that phone is connected to opens a PDP context through the SGSN and GGSN
to the end address. Before any traffic is sent, the PDP context must first be activated.
The information included in the PDP context includes the customer’s IP address, the IMSI number of the mobile
handset, and the tunnel endpoint ID for both the SGSN and GGSN. The ID is a unique number, much like a
session ID on a TCP/IP firewall. All this information ensures a uniquely identifiable connection is made.
Since one mobile device may have multiple connections open at one time, such as data connections to different
Internet services and voice connections to different locations, there may be more than one PDP context with the
same IP address making the extra identifying information required.
The endpoint that the mobile phone is connecting to only knows about the GGSN — the rest of the GPRS
connection is masked by the GGSN.
Along the PDP context path, communication is accomplished in using three different protocols.
l The connection between the Mobile Station and SGSN uses the SM protocol.
l Between SGSN and GGSN GTP is used.
l Between GGSN and the endpoint either IP or X.25 is used.
FortiOS Carrier is concerned with the SGSN to GGSN part of the PDP context — the part that uses GTP.
1. The Mobile Station (MS) sends a PDP activation request message to the SGSN including the MS PDP
address, and APN.
2. Optionally, security functions may be performed to authenticate the MS.
3. The SGSN determines the GGSN address by using the APN identifier.
4. The SGSN creates a down link GTP tunnel to send IP packets between the GGSN and SGSN.
5. The GGSN creates an entry in its PDP context table to deliver IP packets between the SGSN and the external
packet switching network.
6. The GGSN creates an uplink GTP tunnel to route IP-PDU from SGSN to GGSN.
7. The GGSN then sends back to the SGSN the result of the PDP context creation and if necessary the MS PDP
address.
8. The SGSN sends an Activate PDP context accept message to the MS by returning negotiated the PDP
context information and if necessary the MS PDP address.
9. Now traffic can pass from the MS to the external network endpoint.
When the PDP Context is terminated, the tunnel it was using is deleted as well. If this is not completed in a timely
manner, it is possible for someone else to start using the tunnel before it is deleted. This hijacking will result in
the original customer being over billed for the extra usage. Anti-overbilling helps prevent this. See Configuring
Anti-overbilling in FortiOS Carrier.
GPRS security
The GPRS network has some built-in security in the form of GPRS authentication. However this is minimal, and is
not sufficient for carrier network security needs. A GTP firewall, such as FortiOS Carrier, is required to secure the
Gi, Gn, and Gp interfaces.
GPRS authentication
GPRS authentication is handled by the SGSN to prevent unauthorized GPRS calls from reaching the GSM
network beyond the SGSN (the base station system, and mobile station). Authentication is accomplished using
some of the customer’s information with a random number and uses two algorithms to create ciphers that then
allow authentication for that customer.
User identity confidentiality ensures that customer information stays between the mobile station and the SGSN
— no identifying information goes past the SGSN. Past that point other numbers are used to identify the
customer and their connection on the network.
Periodically the SGSN may request identity information from the mobile station to compare to what is on record,
using the IMEI number.
Call confidentiality is achieved through the use of a cipher, similar to the GPRS authentication described earlier.
The cipher is applied between the mobile station and the SGSN. Essentially a cipher mask is XORd with each
outgoing frame, and the receiving side XORs with its own cipher to result in the original frame and data.
When a handset moves from one mobile station and SGSN to another, the handset’s connection to the Internet is
preserved because the tunnel the handset has to the Internet using GTP tracks the user’s location and
information. For example, the handset could move from one cell to another, or between countries.
The parts of a GPRS network can be separated into the following groups according to the roles of the devices:
l Radio access to the GPRS network is accomplished by mobile phones and mobile stations (MS).
l Transport the GPRS packets across the GPRS network is accomplished by SGSNs and GGSNs, both local and
remote, by delivering packets to the external services.
l Billing and records are handled by CDF, CFR, HLR, and VLR devices.
GPRS networks also rely on access points and PDP contexts as central parts of the communication structure.
These are not actual devices, but they are still critical .
These devices, their roles, neighboring devices, the interfaces and protocols they use are outlined in the following
table.
Mobile Stations
Mobile Users, SGSN Gb IP, Frame Relay
(MS)
SGSN (local) MS, SGSN (local or remote), Ga, Gb, Gn, Gp, Gz IP, Frame Relay, GTP,
GGSN (local and remote), GTP’
CDR, CFR, HLR, VLR
GGSN (local) SGSN (local or remote), Ga, Gi, Gn, Gp, Gz IP, GTP, GTP’
GGSN (local and remote),
CDR, CFR, HLR, VLR
Radio access
For a mobile phone to access the GPRS core network, it must first connect to a mobile station. This is a cellular
tower that is connected to the carrier network.
How the mobile phone connects to the mobile station (MS) is determined by what Radio Access Technologies
(RATs) are supported by the MS.
Transport
Transport protocols move data along the carrier network between radio access and the Internet or other carrier
networks.
FortiOS Carrier should be present where information enters the Carrier network, to ensure the information
entering is correct and not malicious. This means a Carrier-enabled FortiGate unit intercepts the data coming
from the SGSN or foreign networks destined for the SSGN or GGSN onto the network, and after the GGSN as the
data is leaving the network.
GTP
GPRS Tunnelling Protocol (GTP) is a group of IP-based communications protocols used to carry General Packet
Radio Service (GPRS) within Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and Universal Mobile
Telecommunications System (UMTS) networks. It allows carriers to transport actual cellular packets over a
network via tunneling. This tunneling allows users to move between SGSNs and still maintain connection to the
Internet through the GGSN.
GTP has three versions version 0, 1, and 2. GTP1 and GTP2 are supported by FortiOS Carrier. The only GTP
commands that are common to all forms of GTP are the echo request/response commands that allow GSNs to
verify up to once every 60 seconds that neighboring GSNs are alive.
GTPv0
There have been three versions of GTP to date. The original version of GTP (version 0) has the following
differences from version GTPv1.
GTPv1
On a GPRS network, Packet Data Protocol (PDP) context is a data structure used by both the Serving GPRS
Support Node (SGSN) and the Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN). The PDP context contains the subscribers
information including their access point, IP address, IMSI number, and their tunnel endpoint ID for each of the
SGSN and GGSN.
The Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) is responsible for the delivery of data packets from and to the mobile
stations within its geographical service area. Its tasks include packet routing and transfer, mobility management
(attach/detach and location management), logical link management, and authentication and charging functions.
The location register of the SGSN stores location information (e.g., current cell, current VLR) and user profiles
(e.g., IMSI, address(es) used in the packet data network) of all GPRS users registered with this SGSN.
GTPv1-C
GTPv1-C refers to the control layer of the GPRS Transmission network. This part of the protocol deals with
network related traffic.
FortiOS Carrier handles GTPv1-C in GTPv1 by using the Tunnel Endpoint IDentifier (TEID), IP address and a
Network layer Service Access Point Identifier (NSAPI), sometimes called the application identifier, as an integer
value that is part of the PDP context header information used to identify a unique PDP context in a mobile station,
and SGSN.
GTPv1-U
GTPv1-U is defined in 3GPP TS 29.281 and refers to the user layer of the GPRS Tunneling network. This part of
the protocol deals with user related traffic, user tunnels, and user administration issues.
A GTPv1-U tunnel is identified by a TEID, an IP address, and a UDP port number. This information uniquely
identifies the limb of a GTPv1 PDP context. The IP address and the UDP port number define a UDP/IP path, a
connectionless path between two endpoints (i.e. SGSN or GGSN). The TEID identifies the tunnel endpoint in the
receiving GTPv1-U protocol entity; it allows for the multiplexing and demultiplexing of GTP tunnels on a UDP/IP
path between a given GSN-GSN pair. For more information on GTPv1-U, see GTP-U messages.
The GTP core network consists of one or more SGSNs and GGSNs.
GGSN
The Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN) connects the GPRS network on one side via the SGSN to outside
networks such as the Internet. These outside networks are called packet data networks (PDNs). The GGSN acts
as an edge router between the two different networks — the GGSN forwards incoming packets from the external
PDN to the addressed SGSN and the GGSN also forwards outgoing packets to the external PDN. the GGSN also
converts the packets from the GPRS packets with SGSN to the external packets, such as IP or X.25.
SGSN
The Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) connects the GPRS network to GTPv1 compatible mobile stations, and
mobile units (such as UTRAN and ETRAN) on one side and to the gateway node (GGSN), which leads to external
networks, on the other side. Each SGSN has a geographical area, and mobile phones in that area connect to the
GPRS network through this SGSN. The SGSN also maintains a location register that contains customer’s location
and user profiles until they connect through a different SGSN at which time the customer information is moved to
the new SGSN. This information is used for packet routing and transfer, mobility management also known as
location management, logical link management, and authentication and billing functions.
GTPv2
GTPv2, defined in 3GPP TS 29.274, is dramatically different from GTPv1, defined in 3GPP TS 29.060. Where in
GTPv1 the tunnel is between the SGSN and the GGSN, in GTPv2 The SGSN is between the MME and the LTE
Serving Gateway (S-GW), beyond which is the PDN gateway (P-GW). Even tunnel management messages have
changed significantly.
GTPv1 Mobile
Mobile Users, SGSN Gb IP, Frame Relay
Stations (MS)
GTPv2-C
GTPv2-C is the control layer messaging for GTPv2. It is used by LTE mobile stations, SGSN units for backwards
compatibility, and SGWs that are the gateway to other networks. The messaging is very different from GTPv1.
GTPv2-C is required to communicate with the Mobility Management Entity (MME) to create, change and delete
EPS bearers when handover events happen, and to create Forwarding tunnels. The protocol is also used to
communicate with the Serving Gateway (SGW) which has the S-GW and PDN-GW interfaces, and the Serving
GPRS Support Node (SGSN).
MME
MME essentially fills the role of the SGSN in a GTPv1 network — it is how the mobile stations gain access to the
Carrier network. GTPv2 supports different mobile stations than GTPv1, so MME handles the GTPv2 MSes and
SGSN handles the GTPv1 MSes
GTP’ is used by the Ga and Gz interfaces to transfer billing information. GTP’ uses registered UDP/TCP port
3386. GTP’ defines a different header, additional messages, field values, as well as a synchronization protocol to
avoid losing or duplicating CDRs on CGF or SGSN/GGSN failure. Transferred CDRs are encoded in ASN.1.
HLR
The Home Location Register (HLR) is a central database that contains details of each mobile phone subscriber
that is authorized to use the GSM core network. There can be several logical, and physical, HLRs per public land
mobile network (PLMN), though one international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI)/MSISDN pair can be
associated with only one logical HLR (which can span several physical nodes) at a time. The HLRs store details of
every SIM card issued by the mobile phone operator. Each SIM has a unique identifier called an IMSI which is the
primary key to each HLR record.
VLR
The Visitor Location Register (VLR) is a database which stores information about all the mobile devices that are
currently under the jurisdiction of the Mobile Switching Center which it serves. Of all the information the VLR
stores about each Mobile Station, the most important is the current Location Area Identity (LAI). This information
is vital in the call setup process.
Whenever an MSC detects a new MS in its network, in addition to creating a new record in the VLR, it also
updates the HLR of the mobile subscriber, informing it of the new location of that MS.
For more information on GTP‘, see GTP-U and Charging Management Messages.
There are a series of interfaces that define how different devices on the carrier network communicate with each
other. There interfaces are called Ga to Gz, and each one defines how a specific pair of devices will
communicate. For example Gb is the interface between the base station and the SGSN, and Gn is one possible
interface between the SGSN and GGSN.
The SGSN and GGSN keep track of the CDR information and forward it to the Charging Data Function (CDF)
using the Gr interface between the SGSN and home location register (HLR), Gs interface between the SGSN and
MSC (VLR), Gx interface between the GGSN and the Charging Rules Function (CRF), Gy between the GGSN
and online charging system (OCS), and finally Gz which is the off-line (CDR-based) charging interface between
the GSN and the CG that uses GTP'.
Each of these interfaces on the GPRS network is has a name in the format of Gx where x is a letter of the
alphabet that determines what part of the network the interface is used in. It is common for network diagrams of
GPRS networks to include the interface name on connections between devices.
The Carrier-enabled FortiGate unit only provides protection on the Gn, Gp, and Gi
interfaces.
Ga CDR and GSN (SGSNs and GTP‘ - GTP CDR have the accounting records, that
GGSNs) modified to include are compiled in the GSN and then sent to
CDR role the Charging Gateway (CG)
Gi GGSN and public data IP based This is the connection to the Internet. If
networks (PDNs) the GTP tunnel is deleted without
notifying the Gi interface, the connection
may remain open incurring additional
charges. FortiOS Carrier adds this
interface to a firewall. See Anti-overbilling
with FortiOS Carrier.
SGSN and external SGSNs When the GTP tunnel is deleted, need to
Gn GTP
and internal GGSNs inform other interfaces immediately to
prevent misuse of connections remaining
Gp Internal SGSN and external GTP open. FortiOS Carrier adds this interface
GGSNs to a firewall.
GSN (SGSN and GGSN) and Used for the offline charging interface.
Gz GTP‘
the charging gateway (CG) Ga is used for online charging.
Corporate customers may have a direct connection to the Gi interface for higher security. The Gi interface is
normally an IP network, though a tunnelling protocol such as GRE or IPsec may be used instead.
GTP Configuration
The GTP (GPRS Tunneling Protocol) is one of the major mobile core protocols used since to transfer data in the
core mobile network. Mobility and data are exploding and this trend will continue with VoLTE, 5G, and the
Internet of Things (IoT). The role of GTP in mobile networks will continue to remain critical.
With the mobile network ever growing importance as the communication channel for data rich application on
mobile devices, connected intelligent devices and the IoT, comes the growing potential for attacks on the mobile
infrastructure.
Introduction to GTP
The business impact might varies in-between the different attacks from Denial of Service (DoS) attacks that
hinders the capability of performing a legitimate operation due to resource starvation (for example - not being
able to charge the customer for GPRS traffic use due to denial of service attack on the Charging GW) to remote
compromise attacks that allows the hacker to have remote control of a critical device (for example – take control
over a GGSN).
GTP-based attacks may have a wide range of business impact, based on the attacked devices’ vulnerability,
ranging from service unavailability, compromise customer information, and gaining control over infrastructure
elements, just to give a few examples.
l Protocol anomaly attacks are packets and packets formats that should not be expected on the GTP protocol.
These can include malformed packets, reserved packets’ fields and types, etc.
l Infrastructure attacks are attempts to connect to restricted core elements, such as the GGSN, SGSN, PGW, etc.
l Overbilling attacks results in customers charged for traffic they did not use or the opposite of not paying for the
used traffic.
A GTP firewall should be placed where GTP traffic and session originate and terminate, as shown in the below
diagram, and has to inspect both the GTP-C (Control Plane) and GTP-U (Data Plane) packets that, together,
constitute the GPRS Tunneling Protocol.
The GTP firewall in both cases is placed in line between the SGSN / SGW and the GGSN / PGW which are the
initiator and terminator of the GTP traffic. One of the main roles of GTP firewall is also to be able to support the
roaming between different versions of GTP without interrupting the service.
The GTP firewall must be carrier grade in its ability to scale and provide high availability without impact its ability
to provide effective protection.
FortiCarrier is the part of FortiOS which was specifically designed to provide security for specific carriers and
mobile operators’ protocols and requirements, such as awareness and security for GTP. The wide range of
FortiGate platforms with FortiOS and FortiCarrier enables mobile operators to cost effectively secure their mobile
network against GTP-based attacks, while ensuring unparalleled performance, availability and security
effectiveness.
GTP Profile
You can configure multiple GTP profiles within the GTP menu. GTP profiles concern GTP activity flowing through
the unit. These GTP profiles are then applied to a security policy.
GTP Profile
Lists each GTP profile that you have created. On this page, you can edit, delete or create a new GTP profile.
Creates a new GTP profile. When you select Create New, you are
Create New
automatically redirected to the New page.
Edit Modifies settings within a GTP profile in the list. When you select Edit, you
are automatically redirected to Edit page.
To remove multiple GTP profiles from within the list, on the GTP Profile
page, in each of the rows of the profiles you want removed, select the
Delete
check box and then select Delete.
To remove all GTP profiles from within the list, on the GTP Profile page,
select the check box in the check box column and then select Delete.
Displays the number of times the object is referenced to other objects. For
example, av_1 profile is applied to a security policy; on the Profile page
(Security Profiles > Antivirus > Profiles), 1 appears in Ref. .
To view the location of the referenced object, select the number in Ref.,
and the Object Usage window appears displaying the various locations of
the referenced object.
To view more information about how the object is being used, use one of
the following icons that is available within the Object Usage window:
• View the list page for these objects – automatically redirects you to
Ref.
the list page where the object is referenced at.
• Edit this object – modifies settings within that particular setting that the
object is referenced with. For example, av_1 profile is referenced with a
security policy and so, when this icon is selected, the user is redirected to
the Edit Policy page.
• View the details for this object – table, similar to the log viewer table,
contains information about what settings are configured within that
particular setting that the object is referenced with. For example, av_1
profile is referenced with a security policy, and that security policy’s settings
appear within the table.
Maximum Message Length Enter the maximum allowed length of a GTP packet in bytes.
A GTP packet contains three headers and corresponding parts GTP, UDP,
and IP. If a packet is larger than the maximum transmission unit (MTU)
size, it is fragmented to be delivered in multiple packets. This is inefficient,
resource intensive, and may cause problems with some applications.
Enter the maximum number of tunnels allowed open at one time. For
additional GTP tunnels to be opened, existing tunnels must first be closed.
This feature can help prevent a form of denial of service attack on your
network. This attack involves opening more tunnels than the network can
Tunnel Limit
handle and consuming all the network resources doing so. By limiting the
number of tunnels at any one time, this form of attack will be avoided.
The tunnel limiting applies to the Handover Group, and Authorized SGSNs
and GGSNs.
Tunnel Timeout Enter the maximum number of seconds that a GTP tunnel is allowed to
remain active. After the timeout the unit deletes GTP tunnels that have
stopped processing data. A GTP tunnel may hang for various reasons. For
example, during the GTP tunnel tear-down stage, the "delete pdap context
response" message may get lost. By setting a timeout value, you can
configure the FortiOS Carrier firewall to remove the hanging tunnels.
Enter the number of packets per second to limit the traffic rate to protect
the GSNs from possible Denial of Service (DoS) attacks. The default limit
of 0 does not limit the message rate.
Handover Group Select the allowed list of IP addresses allowed to take over a GTP session
when the mobile device moves locations.
When the handover group is defined it acts like a white list with an implicit
default deny at the end — the GTP address must be in the group or the
GTP message will be blocked. This stops handover requests from
untrusted GSNs.
You can use Authorized SGSNs to allow packets from SGSNs that have
a roaming agreement with your organization.
Authorized GGSNs Use Authorized GGSNs to only allow authorized GGSNs to send packets
through the unit and to block unauthorized GGSNs. Go to Firewall
Objects > Address > Addresses and add the IP addresses of the
authorized GGSNs to a firewall address or address group. Then set
Authorized GGSNs to this firewall address or address group.
You can use Authorized GGSNs to allow packets from SGSNs that have a
roaming agreement with your organization.
The messages types include Path Management, Tunnel Management, Location Management, Mobility
Management, MBMS, and GTP-U and Charging Management messages.
For enhanced security, Fortinet best practices dictate that you set Unknown Message
Action to deny. This will block all unknown GTP message types, some of which may be
malicious.
To configure message type filter options, expand Message Type Filtering in the GTP profile.
l <network_id> is a network identifier or name that identifies the name of a network, for example, example.com
or internet.
l [.mnc<mnc_int>.mcc<mcc_int>.gprs] is the optional operator identifier that uniquely identifies the
operator’s PLMN, for example mnc123.mcc456.gprs.
Combining these two examples results in a complete APN of internet.mnc123.mcc456.gprs.
By default, the unit permits all APNs. However, you can configure APN filtering to restrict roaming subscribers'
access to external networks.
APN filtering applies only to the GTP create pdp request messages. The unit inspects GTP packets for both
APN and selected modes. If both parameters match and APN filter entry, the unit applies the filter to the traffic.
Additionally, the unit can filter GTP packets based on the combination of an IMSI prefix and an APN.
APN Filtering
Default APN Action Select the default action for APN filtering. If you select Allow, all sessions
are allowed except those blocked by individual APN filters. If you select
Deny, all sessions are blocked except those allowed by individual APN
filters.
Mode The type of mode chosen that indicates where the APN originated and
whether the Home Location Register (HLR) has verified the user
subscription:
Edit Modifies the settings within the filter. When you select Edit, the Edit
window appears, which allows you to modify the settings of the APN.
Removes the APN from the list within the table, in the APN Filtering
Delete
section.
Add APN Adds a new APN filter to the list. When you select Add APN , the New
window appears, which allows you to configure the APN settings.
Value Enter an APN to be filtered. You can include wild cards to match multiple
APNs. For example, the value internet* would match all APNs that being
with internet.
Select one or more of the available modes to indicate where the APN
Mode originated and whether the Home Location Register (HLR) has verified the
user subscription.
Mobile Station MS-provided APN, subscription not verified, indicates that the mobile
provided station (MS) provided the APN and that the HLR did not verify the user's
subscription to the network.
By default, the unit allows all IMSIs. You can add IMSI prefixes to deny GTP traffic coming from non-roaming
partners. Any GTP packets with IMSI prefixes not matching the prefixes you set will be dropped. GTP Create
pdp request messages are filtered and only IMSI prefixes matching the ones you set are permitted. Each GTP
profile can have up to 1000 IMSI prefixes set.
An IMSI prefix and an APN can be used together to filter GTP packets if you set an IMSI filter entry with a non-
empty APN.
You cannot add an IMSI when creating a new profile. You must add it after the profile has
been created and you are editing the profile.
Default IMSI Action Select the default action for IMSI filtering. If you select Allow, all sessions
are allowed except those blocked by individual IMSI filters. If you select
Deny, all sessions are blocked except those allowed by individual IMSI
filters.
APN The APN that is part of the IMSI that will be filtered.
The type of mode that indicates where the APN originated and whether
Mode
the Home Location Register (HLR) has verified the user subscription.
Modifies settings to an IMSI filter. When you select Edit, the Edit window
Edit
appears, which allows you to modify the IMSI filter’s settings.
Delete Removes an IMSI filter from within the table, in the IMSI Filtering section.
Adds a new IMSI filter to the list. When you select Add IMSI, the New
Add IMSI
window appears, which allows you to configure IMSI filter settings.
Select one or more of the available modes to indicate where the APN
Mode originated and whether the Home Location Register (HLR) has verified the
user subscription.
Mobile Station MS-provided APN, subscription not verified, indicates that the mobile
provided station (MS) provided the APN and that the HLR did not verify the user's
subscription to the network.
APN
yes - - yes
Restriction
IMEI-SV yes - - -
When editing a GTP profile, select Advanced Filtering > Create New to create and add a rule. When the rule
matches traffic it will either allow or deny that traffic as selected in the rule.
Advanced Filtering
Default Action Select the default action for advanced filtering. If you select Allow, all
sessions are allowed except those blocked by individual advanced filters.
If you select Deny, all sessions are blocked except those allowed by
individual advanced filters.
Edit Modifies the filter’s settings. When you select Edit, the Edit window
appears, which allows you to modify the filter’s settings.
Add Adds a filter to the list. When you select Add, the New window appears,
which allows you to configure settings for messages, APN, IMSI,
MSISDN, RAT type, ULI, RAI, IMEI patterns as well as the type of
action.
Create PDP
Select to allow create PDP context requests.
Context Request
Update PDP
Select to allow update PDP context requests.
Context Request
Network provided Network-provided APN, subscription not verified, indicates that the
network provided a default APN because the MS did not specify one,
and that the HLR did no verify the user’s subscription to the network.
APN Restriction Select the type of restriction that you want. You can choose all of the
types, or one of the types. You cannot choose multiple types. Types
include:
• all
• Public-1
• Public-2
• Private-1
• Private-2
• Any
• UTRAN
• GERAN
RAT Type
• Wifi
• GAN
• HSPA
l Prefix, for example, range 31* for MCC matches MCC from 310 to 319.
l Range, for example, range 310-319 for MCC matches MCC from 310 to 319.
l Mobile Country Code (MCC) consists of three digits. The MCC identifies the country of domicile of the mobile
subscriber.
l Mobile Network Code (MNC) consists of two or three digits for GSM/UMTS applications. The MNC identifies the
home PLMN of the mobile subscriber. The length of the MNC (two or three digits) depends on the value of the
MCC. Best practices dictate not to mix two and three digit MNC codes within a single MCC area.
l Location Area Code (LAC) is a fixed length code (of 2 octets) identifying a location area within a PLMN. This part of
the location area identification can be coded using a full hexadecimal representation except for the following
reserved hexadecimal values: 0000 and FFFE. These reserved values are used in some special cases when no
valid LAI exists in the MS (see 3GPP TS 24.008, 3GPP TS 31.102 and 3GPP TS 51.011).
l Routing Area Code (RAC) of a fixed length code (of 1 octet) identifies a routing area within a location.
l CI or SAC of a fixed length of 2 octets can be coded using a full hexadecimal expression.
l Type Allocation Code (TAC) has a length of 8 digits.
l Serial Number (SNR) is an individual serial number identifying each equipment within each TAC. SNR has a length
of 6 digits.
l Software Version Number (SVN) identifies the software version number of the mobile equipment. SVN has a length
of 2 digits.
You cannot add an advanced filtering rule when creating a new profile. You must add it
after the profile has been created and you are editing the profile.
IE removal policy
SGSN address of message The firewall address or address group that contains the SGSN addresses.
IE
The IE types that will be removed. These include APN Restriction, RAT,
IEs to be removed
RAI, ULI, and IMEI.
Add Adds an IE removal policy. When you select Add, the New window
appears, which allows you to configure the IE policy.
Modifies settings from within the IE removal policy. When you select Edit,
Edit the Edit window appears, which allows you to modify the settings within the
policy.
SGSN address Select a firewall address or address group that contains SGSN addresses.
Expand Encapsulated IP Traffic Filtering in the GTP profile to reveal the options.
Default IP Action Select the default action for encapsulated IP traffic filtering. If you select
Allow, all sessions are allowed except those blocked by individual
encapsulated IP traffic filters. If you select Deny, all sessions are blocked
except those allowed by individual encapsulated IP traffic filters.
Adds a new encapsulated IP traffic filter. When you select Add IP Policy,
Add IP Policy
the New window appears which allows you to configure IP policy settings.
New (window)
The encoded protocol is determined in the PDP Type Organization and PDP Type Number fields within the End
User Address Information Element. The PDP Type Organization is a 4-bit field that determines if the protocol is
part of the ETSI or IETF organizations. Values are zero and one, respectively. The PDP Type field is one byte
long. Both GTP specifications list only PPP, with a PDP Type value of one, as a valid ETSI protocol. PDP Types
for the IETF values are determined in the “Assigned PPP DLL Protocol Numbers” sections of RFC1700. The PDP
types are compressed, meaning that the most significant byte is skipped, limiting the protocols listed from 0x00
to 0xFF.
Default Non-IP Action Select the default action for encapsulated non-IP traffic filtering. If you
select Allow, all sessions are allowed except those blocked by individual
encapsulated non-IP traffic filters. If you select Deny, all sessions are
blocked except those allowed by individual encapsulated non-IP traffic
filters.
Modify a non-IP filter's settings in the list. When you select Edit, the Edit
Edit
window appears, which allows you to modify the Non-IP policy settings.
Add a new encapsulated non-IP traffic filter. When you select Add Non-IP
Add Non-IP Policy
Policy, you are automatically redirected to the New page.
New (window)
Start Protocol Select a start and end protocol from the list of protocols in RFC 1700.
Allowed range includes 0 to 255 (0x00 to 0xff). Some common protocols
End Protocol include:
Protocol Anomaly
GTP version 0 (GSM 09.60) headers specify a number of fields that are
marked as ''Spare” and contain all ones (1). GTP packets that have
different values in these fields are flagged as anomalies. GTP version 1
Invalid Reserved Field
(GSM 29.060) makes better use of the header space and only has one, 1-
bit, reserved field. In the first octet of the GTP version1 header, bit 4 is set
to zero.
Reserved IE Both versions of GTP allow up to 255 different Information Elements (IE).
However, a number of Information Elements values are undefined or
reserved. Packets with reserved or undefined values will be filtered.
GTP packets with missing mandatory Information Elements (IE) will not be
Miss Mandatory IE
passed to the GGSN.
Out of State Message The GTP protocol requires a certain level of state to be kept by both the
GGSN and SGSN. Some message types can only be sent when in a
specific GTP state. Packets that do not make sense in the current state are
filtered or rejected
Best practices dictate that packets with reserved or undefined values will be
filtered.
Out of State IE GTP Packets with out of order Information Elements are discarded.
Spoofed Source Address The End User Address Information Element in the PDP Context Create &
Response messages contain the address that the mobile station (MS) will
use on the remote network. If the MS does not have an address, the SGSN
will set the End User Address field to zero when sending the initial PDP
Context Create message. The PDP Context Response packet from the
GGSN will then contain an address to be assigned to the MS. In
environments where static addresses are allowed, the MS will relay its
address to the SGSN, which will include the address in the PDP Context
Create Message. As the MS address is negotiated within the PDP Context
creation handshake, any packets originating from the MS that contain a
different source address are detected and dropped.
Anti-Overbilling options
You can configure the FortiOS Carrier firewall to prevent over billing subscribers for traffic over the. To enable
anti-overbilling, you must configure both the Gn/Gp firewall and the Gi firewall.
Anti-Overbilling
Port The SG security port number. The default port number is port 21123.
Change this number if your system uses a different SG port.
Security Context ID Enter the security context ID. This ID must match the ID entered on the
server Gi firewall. The default security context ID is 696.
Log options
All the GTP logs are treated as a subtype of the event logs. To enable GTP logging, you must:
Log
Log Frequency Enter the number of messages to drop between logged messages.
Denied Log Select to log GTP packets denied or blocked by this GTP profile.
State Invalid Log Select to log GTP packets that have failed stateful inspection.
Tunnel Limit Log Select to log packets dropped because the maximum limit of GTP tunnels
for the destination GSN is reached.
Extension Log Select to log extended information about GTP packets. When enabled, this
additional information will be included in log entries:
• IMSI
• MSISDN
• APN
• Selection Mode
• SGSN address for signaling
• SGSN address for user data
• GGSN address for signaling
• GGSN address for user data
Traffic count Log Select to log the total number of control and user data messages received
from and forwarded to the GGSNs and SGSNs that the unit protects.
The unit can report the total number of user data and control messages
received from and forwarded to the GGSNs and SGSNs it protects.
Alternately, the total size of the user data and control messages can be
reported in bytes. The unit differentiates between traffic carried by each
GTP tunnel, and also between GTP-User and GTP-Control messages.
The number of messages or the number of bytes of data received from and
forwarded to the SGSN or GGSN are totaled and logged if a tunnel is
deleted.
• Timestamp
• Interface name (if applicable)
• SGSN IP address
• GGSN IP address
• TID
• Tunnel duration time in seconds
• Number of messages sent to the SGSN
• Number of messages sent to the GGSN
l Forwarded - a packet that the unit transmits because the GTP policy allows it
l Prohibited - a packet that the unit drops because the GTP policy denies it
l Rate-limited - a packet that the unit drops because it exceeds the maximum rate limit of the destination GSN
l State-invalid - a packet that the unit drops because it failed stateful inspection
l Tunnel-limited - a packet that the unit drops because the maximum limit of GTP tunnels for the destination GSN
is reached.
The following information is contained in each log entry:
l Timestamp
l Source IP address
l Destination IP address
l Tunnel Identifier (TID) or Tunnel Endpoint Identifier (TEID)
l Message type
l Packet status: forwarded, prohibited, state-invalid, rate-limited, or tunnel-limited
l Virtual domain ID or name
l Reason to be denied if applicable.
GTP performance
There are independent Receive and Transmit queues for gtp-u process. These queues are and their associated
resources are initialized when the ftp-enhance-mode is enabled.
gtp-enhance-mode
config system npu
set gtp-enhance-mode [enable|disable]
end
gtp-enhance-cpu-range
This is used to set the CPUs which can process the GTP-U packet inspection.
config system npu
set gtp-enhance-cpu-range [0|1|2]
end
Option Description
Diagnose commands
Used to clear the GTP-U packet counter by all NP or the corresponding np.
Before execute the test or enable/disable the gtp enhance, first check the gtp-enhance-mode status as in the
example below:
config system npu
get
gtp-enhance-mode: disable
gtp-enhance-cpu-range: 0
end
If the gtp-enhance-mode is disable, use the command diagnose npu np6 hbq-stats all.
If the gtp-enhance-mode is enable, use the command diagnose npu np6 hbq-stats all
Sometimes, when loading the new configure file, and the new configure file does not match the old configure file,
A hub and spoke configuration with the Carrier-enabled FortiGate unit at the hub and the other GPRS devices on
the spokes is possible for smaller networks where a lower bandwidth allows you to divide one unit into multiple
virtual domains to fill multiple roles on the carrier network. It can be difficult with a single FortiOS Carrier as the
hub to ensure all possible entry points to the carrier network are properly protected from potential attacks such as
relayed network attacks.
A bookend configuration uses two Carrier-enabled FortiGate units to protect the carrier network between them
with high bandwidth traffic. One unit handles traffic from mobile stations, SGSNs, and foreign carriers. The other
handles GGSN and data network traffic. Together they ensure the network is secure.
The Carrier-enabled FortiGate unit can access all traffic on the network. It can also verify traffic between devices,
and verify that the proper GPRS interface is being used. For example there is no reason for a Gn interface to be
used to communicate with a mobile station — the mobile station will not know what to do with the data — so that
traffic is blocked.
When you are configuring your Carrier-enabled FortiGate unit’s GTP profile, you must
first configure the APN. It is critical to GTP communications — no traffic will flow
without the APN.
The Carrier-enabled FortiGate unit does more than just forward and route GTP packets over the network. It also
performs:
Stateful inspection provides enhanced security by keeping track of communications sessions and packets over a
period of time. Both incoming and outgoing packets are examined. Outgoing packets that request specific types
of incoming packets are tracked; only those incoming packets constituting a proper response are allowed through
the firewall.
The FortiOS Carrier firewall can also index the GTP tunnels to keep track of them.
Using the enhanced Carrier traffic policy, the FortiOS Carrier firewall can block unwanted encapsulated traffic in
GTP tunnels, such as infrastructure attacks. Infrastructure attacks involve attempts by an attacker to connect to
restricted machines, such as GSN devices, network management systems, or mobile stations. If these attempts
to connect are detected, they are to be flagged immediately by the firewall .
FortiOS Carrier also detects IP address spoofing inside GTP data channel.
HA
FortiOS Carrier active-passive HA provides failover protection for the GTP tunnels. This means that an active-
passive cluster can provide FortiOS Carrier firewall services even when one of the cluster units encounters a
problem that would result in complete loss of connectivity for a stand-alone FortiOS Carrier firewall. This failover
protection provides a backup mechanism that can be used to reduce the risk of unexpected downtime, especially
for mission-critical environments.
FortiOS HA synchs TCP sessions by default, but UDP sessions are not synchronized by default. However
synchronizing a session is only part of the solution if the goal is to continue GTP processing on a synchronized
session after a HA switch. For that to be successful we also need to synch the GTP tunnel state. So, once the
master completes tunnel setup then the GTP tunnel is synchronized to the slave.
GTP traffic will only flow without interruption on a HA switch if bidirectional GTP policies have been configured:
an internal (GTP server) to external (all) UDP port GTP policy, and an external (all) to internal (GTP server) UDP
port GTP policy. If either policy is missing then traffic may be interrupted until traffic flows in the opposite
direction.
For more information on HA in FortiOS, see the High Availability (HA) Guide or the FortiOS Administration Guide.
When this setting is enabled, if a GTP packet is to be dropped due to a GTP deny case such as:
l GTP_DENY
l GTP_RATE_LIMIT
l GTP_STATE_INVALID
l GTP_TUNNEL_LIMIT
instead of being dropped, it will be forwarded and logged with the original deny log message and a "-monitor"
suffix (e.g., state-invalid-monitor).
end
On Carrier-enabled FortiGate units, GTP related encapsulated filtering falls under encapsulated IP traffic
filtering, and encapsulated non-IP end user address filtering.
Generally there are a very limited number of IP addresses that are allowed to encapsulate GPRS traffic. For
example GTP tunnels are a valid type of encapsulation when used properly. This is the GTP tunnel which uses
the Gp or Gn interfaces between SGSNs and GGSNs. However, a GTP tunnel within a GTP tunnel is not
accessible — FortiOS Carrier will either block or forward the traffic, but is not able to open it for inspection.
The ability to filter GTP sessions is based on information contained in the data stream and provides operators
with a powerful mechanism to control data flows within their infrastructure. You can also configure IP filtering
rules to filter encapsulated IP traffic from Mobile Stations.
To configure the Encapsulated IP Traffic Filtering, go to Security Profiles > GTP Profile, and edit a GTP
profile. Expand Encapsulated IP Traffic Filtering to configure settings. See Encapsulated IP traffic filtering
options.
The following are the typical cases that need encapsulated IP traffic filtering:
In a well-designed network, best practices dictate that the mobile station address pool is to be completely
separate from the GPRS network infrastructure range of addresses. Encapsulated IP packets originating from a
mobile station will not contain source or destination addresses that fall within the address range of GPRS
infrastructures. In addition, traffic originating from the users handset will not have destination/source IP
addresses that fall within any Network Management System (NMS) or Charging Gateway (CG) networks.
Mobile stations on the same GPRS network are not able to communicate with other mobile stations. Best
practices dictate that packets containing both source and destination addresses within the mobile station's range
of addresses are to be dropped.
It may be possible for attackers to wrap attack traffic in GTP protocols and submit the resulting GTP traffic
directly to a GPRS network element from their mobile stations or a node on the Internet. It is possible that the
receiving SGSN or GGSN would then strip off the GTP header and attempt to route the underlying attack. This
underlying attack could have any destination address and would probably have a source address spoofed as if it
were valid from that PLMN.
You cannot add an IE removal policy when you are creating a new profile.
Depending on the destination the attack could be directly routed, such as to another node of the PLMN, or re
wrapped in GTP for transmission to any destination on the Internet outside the PLMN depending on the routing
table of the GSN enlisted as the unwitting relay.
The relayed attack could have any source or destination addresses and could be any of numerous IP network
attacks, such as an attack to hijack a PDP context, or a direct attack against a management interface of a GSN or
other device within the PLMN. Best practices dictate that any IP traffic originating on the Internet or from an MS
with a destination address within the PLMN is to be filtered.
Depending on the installed environment, it may be beneficial to detect GTP packets that encapsulate non-IP
based protocols. You can configure the FortiOS Carrier firewall to permit a list of acceptable protocols, with all
other protocols denied.
The encoded protocol is determined in the PDP Type Organization and PDP Type Number fields within the End
User Address Information Element. The PDP Type Organization is a 4-bit field that determines if the protocol is
part of the ETSI or IETF organizations. Values are zero and one, respectively. The PDP Type field is one byte
long. Both GTP specifications only list PPP, with a PDP Type value of one, as a valid ETSI protocol. PDP Types
for the IETF values are determined in the "Assigned PPP DLL Protocol Numbers" sections of RFC 1700. The PDP
types are compressed, meaning that the most significant byte is skipped, limiting the protocols listed from 0x00
to 0xFF.
To configure the Encapsulated Non-IP End User Address Filtering, go to Security Profiles > GTP Profile, and
edit a GTP profile. Expand Encapsulated Non-IP End User Address Filtering to configure settings. See
Encapsulated non-IP end user traffic filtering options.
To configure GTP protocol anomalies, go to Security Profiles > GTP Profile, and edit a GTP profile. Expand
the Protocol Anomaly option. See Protocol Anomaly prevention options.
l The GTP header specifies the length of the packet excluding the mandatory GTP header. In GTP version 0 (GSM
09.60), the mandatory GTP header size is 20 bytes, whereas GTP version 1 (GSM 29.060) specifies that the
minimum length of the GTP header is 8 bytes. The GTP packet is composed of the header, followed by Information
Elements typically presented in a Type-Length-Value format. It is possible for an attacker to create a GTP packet
with a GTP header field length that is incompatible with the length of the necessary information elements.
l The same concepts are true for GTP version 2 headers even though there are different fields in them.
l It is similarly possible for an attacker to create a packet with an invalid IE length. Invalid lengths may cause protocol
stacks to allocate incorrect amounts of memory, and thereby cause crashes or buffer overflows.
By default the FortiOS Carrier firewall detects these problems, as well as other protocol anomalies, and drops the
packets. All protocol anomaly options are set to Deny by default. However, you can change the policy to allow
them.
Over billing can occur when a subscriber returns his IP address to the IP pool. Before the billing server closes it,
the subscriber's session is still open and vulnerable. If an attacker takes control of the subscriber's IP address, he
can send or receive data and the subscriber will be billed for the traffic.
Over billing can also occur when an available IP address is reassigned to a new mobile station (MS). Subsequent
traffic by the previous MS may be forwarded to the new MS. The new MS would then be billed for traffic it did not
initiate.
The Carrier-enabled FortiGate unit can be configured to assist with anti-overbilling measures. These measures
ensure that the customer is only billed for connection time and data transfer that they actually use.
l the administrator configuring the over billing settings in the GTP profile to notify the Gi firewall when a GTP tunnel
is deleted
l the unit clearing the sessions when the Gi firewall receives a notification from the Gn/Gp firewall about a GTP
tunnel being deleted This way, the Gi firewall prevents over billing by blocking traffic initiated by other users.
The three locations to configure anti-overbilling options include:
l Network > Interface — Edit a specific interface. Towards the bottom of the Edit Interface page, in the Status
section, you can toggle Gi Gatekeeper.
l System > Settings — In the Gi Gatekeeper Settings section, set the Context ID and Port that anti-overbilling
will take place on.
l Security Profiles > GTP Profile — Edit a specific GTP Profile. In the Anti-Overbilling section, edit the Gi
Firewall IP address, Port, Interface and Security Context ID, to use for anti-overbilling measures.
For detailed options, see Anti-Overbilling options.
To change FortiOS Carrier specific logging event settings, go to Security Profiles > GTP Profile and edit a
GTP profile. Expand the Log section to change the settings. For detailed options, see Log options.
Timestamp The time and date when the log entry was recorded
Destination IP address The reciever’s IP address. The sender-receiver pair includes a mobile
phone on the GPRS local network, and a device on a network external to
the GPRS network, such as the Internet.
Tunnel Identifier (TID) An identifier for the start and endpoints of a GTP tunnel. This information
uniquely defines all tunnels. It is important for billing information based
Tunnel Endpoint Identifier on the length of time the tunnel was active and how much data passed
(TEID) over the tunnel.
Message type For available message types, see Common message types on carrier
networks.
What action was performed on the packet. This field matches the logging
options while you are configuring GTP logging. See Logging events on
the Carrier-enabled FortiGate unit on page 722.
Packet status
The status can be one of forwarded, prohibited, state-invalid, rate-limited,
or tunnel-limited
Virtual domain ID or name A Carrier-enabled FortiGate unit can be divided into multiple virtual units,
each being a complete and self-contained virtual FortiCarrier unit. This
field indicates which virtual domain (VDOM) was responsible for the log
entry. If VDOMs are not enabled on your unit, this field will be root.
If the packet that generated this log entry was denied or blocked, this field
Reason to be denied if
will include what part of FortiOS denied or blocked that packet. Such as
applicable
firewall, antivirus, webfilter, or spamfilter.
An example of the above log message format is for a Tunnel deleted log entry. When a tunnel is deleted, the log
entry contains the following information:
l Timestamp
l Interface name (if applicable)
l SGSN IP address (source IP)
l GGSN IP address (destination IP)
l Tunnel ID
l Tunnel duration time in seconds
l Number of messages sent to the SGSN
l Number of messages sent to the GGSN
GTP contains two major parts GTP for the control plane (GTP-C) and GTP for user data tunnelling (GTP-U).
Outside of those areas there are only unknown message types.
GTP-C messages
GTP-C contains the networking layer messages. These address routing, versioning, and other similar low level
issues.
When a subscriber requests a Packet Data Protocol (PDP) context, the SGSN will send a create PDP context
request GTP-C message to the GGSN giving details of the subscriber's request. The GGSN will then respond
with a create PDP context response GTP-C message which will either give details of the PDP context actually
activated or will indicate a failure and give a reason for that failure. This is a UDP message on port 212.
GTP-C message types include Path Management Messages, Location Management Messages, and Mobility
Management Messages.
Path management is used by one GSN to detect if another GSN is alive, or if it has restarted after a failure.
The path management procedure checks if a given GSN is alive or has been restarted after a failure. In case of
SGSN restart, all MM and PDP contexts are deleted in the SGSN, since the associated data is stored in a volatile
memory. In the case of GGSN restart, all PDP contexts are deleted in the GGSN.
The tunnel management procedures are used to create, update, and delete GTP tunnels in order to route IP
PDUs between an MS and an external PDN via the GSNs.
The PDP context contains the subscriber's session information when the subscriber has an active session. When
a mobile wants to use GPRS, it must first attach and then activate a PDP context. This allocates a PDP context
data structure in the SGSN that the subscriber is currently visiting and the GGSN serving the subscriber's access
point.
Tunnel management procedures are defined to create, update, and delete tunnels within the GPRS backbone
network. A GTP tunnel is used to deliver packets between an SGSN and a GGSN. A GTP tunnel is identified in
each GSN node by a TEID, an IP address, and a UDP port number.
The location-management procedure is performed during the network-requested PDP context activation
procedure if the GGSN does not have an SS7 MAP interface (i.e., Gc interface). It is used to transfer location
messages between the GGSN and a GTP-MAP protocol-converting GSN in the GPRS backbone network.
Location management subprocedures are used between a GGSN that does not support an SS7 MAP interface
(i.e., Gc interface) and a GTP-MAP protocol-conversing GSN. This GSN supports both Gn and Gc interfaces and
is able to perform a protocol conversing between GTP and MAP.
The MM procedures are used by a new SGSN in order to retrieve the IMSI and the authentication information or
MM and PDP context information in an old SGSN. They are performed during the GPRS attach and the inter-
SGSN routing update procedures.
The MM procedures are used between SGSNs at the GPRS-attach and inter-SGSN routing update procedures.
An identity procedure has been defined to retrieve the IMSI and the authentication information in an old SGSN.
This procedure may be performed at the GPRS attach. A recovery procedure enables information related to MM
and PDP contexts in an old SGSN to be retrieved. This procedure is started by a new SGSN during an inter-SGSN
RA update procedure.
GTP-U messages
GTP-U is focused on user related issues including tunneling, and billing. GTP-U message types include MBMS
messages, and GTP-U and Charging Management Messages
MBMS messages
Multimedia Broadcast and Multicast Services (MBMS) have recently begun to be offered over GSM and UMTS
networks on UTRAN and GERAN radio access technologies. MBMS is mainly used for mobile TV, using up to four
GSM timeslots for one MBMS connection. One MBMS packet flow is replicated by GGSN, SGSN and RNCs.
MBMS is split into the MBMS Bearer Service and the MBMS User Service. The MBMS User Service is basically
the MBMS Service Layer and offers a Streaming- and a Download Delivery Method. The Streaming Delivery
method can be used for continuous transmissions like Mobile TV services. The Download Method is intended for
"Download and Play" services.
SGSNs and GGSNs listen for GTP-U messages on UDP port 2152.
GTP‘ (GTP prime) is used for billing messages. It uses the common GTP messages (GTP Version Not
Supported, Echo Request and Echo Response) and adds additional messages related to billing procedures.
If the system doesn’t know what type of message it is, it falls into this category. This is an important category of
message because malformed messages may appear and need to be handled with security in mind.
Fortinet best practices dictate that you set Unknown Action messages to deny for
security reasons.
In the CLI, there is a keyword for each type of GTP message for both message filtering, and for message rate
limiting.
GTP message rate limiting is only accessible from the CLI using the command
configure firewall gtp.
Fortinet best practices dictate that the unknown message action should be set to
Deny for security reasons as this will block malformed messages.
6. Optionally select and configure any other GTP features for this profile, such as logging.
7. Select OK to save the profile.
8. Apply the msg_type_filtering profile a security policy configured for GTP tunnel traffic.
To configure GTP message filtering and block Unknown Message Action messages- CLI
config firewall gtp
edit msg_type_filtering
config message-filter
set unknown-message-action deny
next
end
end
Each of the following message types can be allowed or denied by your Carrier-enabled FortiGate unit depending
on your carrier network and GTP traffic.
Many attempts to hack into a carrier network will result in this unknown message type and therefore it is denied
for security reasons.
Echo Request/Response GTP-C, Echo Request is sent on a path to another GSN to determine if
GTP-U, the other node is alive. Echo Response is the reply.
GTP’
Support Extension Headers Extensions are optional parts that a device can choose to
Notification support or not. If a device includes these extensions, it must
include headers for the extensions to sure ensure proper
formatting.
Create PDP Context Request/ GTP-C Sent from an SGSN to a GGSN node as part of a GPRS PDP
Response Context Activation procedure or the Network-Requested PDP
Context Activation procedure. A valid request initiates the
creation of a tunnel.
Update PDP Context Request/ Used when PDP Context information changes, such as when a
GTP-C
Response mobile device changes location.
Delete PDP Context Request/ GTP-C Used to terminate a PDP Context, and confirm the context has
Response been deleted.
Delete AA PDP Context GTP-C Sent as part of the GPRS PDP Anonymous Access Context
Request/ Response Deactivation procedure to deactivate an activated PDP Context.
It contains Cause and Private Extension Information Elements
PDU Notification Request/ GTP-C When receiving a Tunneled PDU (T-PDU), the GGSN checks if
Response/ Reject Request/ a PDP context is established for the given PDP address. If no
Reject Response PDP context has been established, the GGSN may initiate the
Network-requested PDP Context Activation procedure by
sending a PDU Notification Request to the SGSN.
Used
Message Type Description
By
Send Routing Information for GTP-C Sent by the GGSN to obtain location information for the MS.
GPRS Request/ Response This message type contains the IMSI of the MS and Private
Extension.
The GGSN requests the HLR to set the flag and add the GGSN
Failure Report Request/
GTP-C to the list of nodes to report to when activity from the subscriber
Response
that owns the PDP address is detected.
Note MS GPRS Present GTP-C When the HLR receives a message from a mobile with MDFG
Request/ Response
set, it clears the MDFG and sends the Note MS Present
message to all GGSN’s in the subscriber’s list.
Used
Message Type Description
By
Identification GTP-C Sent by the new SGSN to the old SGSN to request the IMSI for
Request/Response a MS when a GPRS Attach is done with a P-TMSI and the MS
has changed SGSNs since the GPRS Detach was done.
SGSN context Request/ Sent by the new SGSN to the old SGSN to request the MM and
GTP-C
Response/ Acknowledge PDP Contexts for the MS.
Forward Relocation Request/ GTP-C Indicates mobile activation/deactivation within a Routing Area.
Response/ Complete/ This prevents paging of a mobile that is not active (visited VLR
Complete Acknowledge rejects calls from the HLR or applies Call Forwarding). Note that
the mobile station does not maintain an attach/detach state.
Forward SRNS Context/ GTP-C This procedure may be used to trigger the transfer of SRNS
Context Acknowledge contexts from RNC to CN (PS domain) in case of inter system
forward handover.
RAN Information Relay GTP-C A Routing Area (RA) is a subset of a GSM Location Area (LA). A
RA is served by only one SGSN. Ensures that regular radio
contact is maintained by the mobile
MBMS messages
Used
Message Type Description
By
Used
Message Type Description
By
Delete MBMS Context Request to deactivate the MBMS context. When the response is
GTP-C
Request/ Response received, the MBMS context will be inactive.
Used
Message Type Description
By
GTP-C,
Node Alive Request/Response Used to inform rest of network when a node starts service.
GTP-U
Redirection GTP-C, Used to divert the flow of CDRs from the CDFs to another CGF
Request/Response GTP-U when the sender is being removed, or they are used when the
CGF has lost its connection to a downstream system.
Data Record Transfer GTP-C, Used to reliably transport CDRs from the point of generation
Request/Response GTP-U (SGSN/GGSN) to non-volatile storage in the CGF
Typical the IMSI number is stored on the SIM card of the mobile device and is sent to the network as required.
An IMSI number is 15 digits long, and includes the Mobile Country Code (MCC), Mobile Network Code (MNC),
and Mobile Station Identification Number (MSIN).
IMSI codes
The Home Network Identity (HNI) is made up of the MCC and MNC. The HNI is used to fully identify a user’s
home network. This is important because some large countries have more than one country code for a single
carrier. For example a customer with a mobile carrier on the East Coast of the United States would have a
different MCC than a customer on the West Coast with the same carrier because even through the MNC would
be the same the MCC would be different — the United States uses MCCs 310 to 316 due to its size.
If an IMSI number is not from the local carrier’s network, IMSI analysis is performed to resolve the number into a
Global Title which is used to access the user’s information remotely on their home carrier’s network for things like
billing and international roaming.
The Access Point Number (APN) is used in GPRS networks to identify an IP packet data network that a user
wants to communicate with. The Network Identifier describes the network and optionally the service on that
network that the GGSN is connected to. The APN also includes the MCC and MCN, which together locate the
network the GGSN belongs to. An example of an APN in the Barbados using Digicel as the carrier that is
connecting to the Internet is internet.mcc342.mnc750.gprs.
When you are configuring your Carrier-enabled FortiGate unit’s GTP profiles, you must first configure the APN. It
is critical to GTP communications and without it no traffic will flow.
The access point can then be used in a DNS query to a private DNS network. This process (called APN resolution)
gives the IP address of the GGSN which serves the access point. At this point a PDP context can be activated.
This is a 15-digit number that, along with the IMSI, uniquely identifies a mobile user. Normally this number
includes a 2-digit country code, a 3-digit national destination code, and a 10-digit subscriber number or the phone
number of the mobile device, and because of that may change over time if the user changes their phone number.
The MSISDN number follows the ITU-T E.164 numbering plan.
The RAT type represents the radio technology used by the mobile device. This can be useful in determining what
services or content can be sent to a specific mobile device. FortiOS Carrier supports:
l UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), commonly referred to as 3G, routes many types of traffic
including IP traffic. This is one of the faster types.
l GSM EDGE Radio Access Network (GERAN) is a key part of the GSM network which routes both phone calls
and data.
l Wireless LAN (WLAN) is used but not as widely as the other types. It is possible for the mobile device to move
from one WLAN to another such as from an internal WLAN to a commercial hot spot.
l Generic Access Network (GAN) can also be called unlicensed mobile access (UMA). It routes voice, data, and
SIP over IP networks. GAN is commonly used for mobile devices that have a dual-mode and can hand-off between
GSM and WLANs.
l High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) includes two other protocols High Speed Downlink and Uplink Packet
Access protocols (HSDPA and HSUPA respectively). It improves on the older WCDMA protocols by better using the
radio bandwidth between the mobile device and the radio tower. This results in an increased data transfer rate for
the user.
RAT type is part of advanced filtering configuration. See Configuring advanced filtering in FortiOS Carrier.
Gives Cell Global Identity/Service Area Identity (CGI/SAI) of where the mobile station is currently located. The
ULI and the RAI are commonly used together to identify the location of the mobile device.
ULI is part of advanced filtering configuration. See Configuring advanced filtering in FortiOS Carrier.
Routing Areas (RAs) divide the carrier network and each has its own identifier (RAI). When a mobile device moves
from one routing area to another, the connection is handled by a different part of the network. There are normally
multiple cells in a routing area. There is only one SSGN per routing area. The RAI and ULI are commonly used to
determine a user’s location.
RAI is part of advanced filtering configuration. See Configuring advanced filtering in FortiOS Carrier.
IMEI is a unique 15-digit number used to identify mobile devices on mobile networks. It is very much like the MAC
address of a TCP/IP network card for a computer. It can be used to prevent network access by a stolen phone —
the carrier knows the mobile phone’s IMEI, and when it is reported stolen that IMEI is blocked from accessing the
carrier network no matter if it has the same SIM card as before or not. It is important to note that the IMEI stays
with the mobile phone or device where the other information is either location based or stored on the removable
SIM card.
IMEI type is part of advanced filtering configuration. See Configuring advanced filtering in FortiOS Carrier.
At first glance APN, IMSI, and advanced filtering have parts in common. For example two can filter on APN, and
another two can filter on IMSI. The difficulty is knowing when to use which type of filtering.
Filtering type Filter on the following data: When to use this type of filtering
Advanced PDP context, APN, IMSI, When you want to filter based on:
MSISDN, RAT type, ULI, RAI,
IMEI • user phone number (MSISDN)
• what wireless technology the user employed • to
get on the network (RAT type)
• user location (ULI and RAI)
• handset ID, such as for stolen phones (IMEI)
APN filtering is very specific — the only identifying information that is used to filter is the APN itself. This will
always be present in GTP tunnel traffic, so all GTP traffic can be filtered using this value.
IMSI filtering can use a combination of the APN and MCC-MNC numbers. The MCC and MNC are part of the
APN, however filtering on MCC-MNC separately allows you to filter based on country and carrier instead of just
the destination of the GTP Tunnel.
Advanced filtering can go into much deeper detail covering PDP contexts, MSISDN, IMEI, and more not to
mention APN, and IMSI as well. If you can’t find the information in APN or IMSI that you need to filter on, then
use Advanced filtering.
When you are configuring your Carrier-enabled FortiGate unit’s GTP profiles, you
must first configure the APN. It is critical to GTP communications and without it no
traffic will flow.
Select either Allow or Deny for all APNs that are not found in the list. The
Default APN Action
default is Allow.
Value Displays the APN value for this entry. Partial matches are allowed using
wildcard. For example *.mcc333.mcn111.gprs would match all APNs
from country 333 and carrier 111 on the gprs network.
Mobile Station provided - The APN comes from the mobile station where
the mobile device connected. This is the point of entry into the carrier
network for the user’s connection.
Mode
Network provided - The APN comes from the carrier network.
Subscription Verified - The user’s subscription has been verified for this
APN. This is the most secure option.
Action One of allow or deny to allow or block traffic associated with this APN.
Delete icon Select to remove this APN entry from the list.
Edit icon Select to change the information for this APN entry.
Select to add an APN to the list. Not active while creating GTP profile, only
when editing an existing GTP profile.
Add APN
Save all changes before adding APNs. A warning to this effect will be
displayed when you select the Add APN button.
The Add APN button is not activated until you save the new GTP profile. When you edit that GTP profile, you will
be able to add new APNs.
To configure IMSI filtering go to Security Profiles > GTP Profile and expand IMSI filtering.
While both the APN and MCC-MCN fields are optional, without using one of these fields the IMSI entry will not be
useful as there is no information for the filter to match.
Select Allow or Deny. This action will be applied to all IMSI numbers except
as indicated in the IMSI list that is displayed.
Default IMSI Action
The default value is Allow.
The Mobile Country Code (MCC) and Mobile Network Code (MNC) to filter
on. Together these numbers uniquely identify the carrier and network of the
MCC-MNC GGSN being used.
Mode Select the source of the IMSI information as one or more of the following:
Mobile Station provided - the IMSI number comes from the mobile
station the mobile device is connecting to.
Network provided - the IMSI number comes from the GPRS network
which could be a number of sources such as the SGSN, or HLR.
Subscription Verified - the IMSI number comes from the user’s home
network which has verified the information.
While Subscription Verified is the most secure option, it may not always be
available. Selecting all three options will ensure the most complete
coverage.
Select the action to take when this IMSI information is encountered. Select
Action
one of Allow or Deny.
Delete Icon Select the delete icon to remove this IMSI entry.
Edit Icon Select the edit icon to change information for this IMSI entry.
Add IMSI Select to add an IMSI to the list. Not active while creating GTP profile, only
when editing an existing GTP profile.
Save all changes before adding IMSIs. A warning to this effect will be
displayed when you select the Add IMSI button.
Select Allow or Deny as the default action to take when traffic does not
Default Action
match an entry in the advanced filter list .
Messages Optionally select one or more types of messages this filter applies to:
if all message types are selected, only the RAT Types of GAN and HSPA
are available to select.
APN Restriction either allows all APNs or restricts the APNs to one of four
categories — Public-1, Public-2, Private-1, or Private-2. This can also be
APN Restriction
combined with a specific APN or partial APN as well as specifying the APN
mode.
RAT Type Select one or more of the Radio Access Technology Types listed. These
fields control how a user accesses the carrier’s network. You can select one
or more of UTRAN, GERAN, WLAN, GAN, HSPA, or any.
The user location identifier. Often the ULI is used with the RAI to locate a
user geographically on the carrier’s network.
ULI
The ULI is disabled when Create PDP Context Response or Update
PDP Context Response messages are selected.
RAI The router area identifier. There is only one SGSN per routing area on a
carrier network. This is often used with ULI to locate a user geographically
on a carrier network.
Action Select Allow or Deny as the action when this filter matches traffic.
Select to add an advanced filter to the list. Not active while creating GTP
profile, only when editing an existing GTP profile.
Add
Save all changes before adding advanced filters. A warning to this effect
will be displayed when you select the Add button.
SCTP Concepts
As of FortiOS version 5.0, the FortiGate natively handles SCTP (Stream Control Transport Protocol) traffic, as an
alternative to TCP and UDP for use in Carrier networks. The FortiGate handles SCTP as if it would any other
traffic.
Overview
SCTP is a connection-oriented transport protocol that overcomes some of the limitations of both TCP and UDP
that prevent reliable transfer of data over IP-based networks (such as those used by telephony systems and
carrier networks). The ‘Stream’ in SCTP refers to the sequence of user messages or packets that are considered
at the same time to be individual objects and also treated as a whole by networked systems. SCTP is less
vulnerable to congestion and flooding due to more advanced error handling and flood protection built into the
protocol.
All of these features are built into the design of the Protocol, and the structure of SCTP packets and networks.
The FortiGate unit interprets the traffic and provides the necessary support for maintenance and verification
features, but the features are not FortiGate specific. These features are documented in greater detail below.
Constant back and forth acknowledgement and content verification messages are sent between all SCTP peer
endpoints, and all endpoints’ state machine actions must be synchronized for traffic to flow.
SCTP places data and control information (eg. source, destination, verification) into separate messages, both
sharing the same header in the same SCTP packet. This allows for constant verification of the contained data at
both ends and along the path, preventing data loss or fragmentation. As well, data is not sent in an interruptible
stream as in TCP.
Built-in, constantly updating path detection and monitoring automatically redirect packets along alternate paths in
case of traffic congestion or inaccessible destinations. For deliberate/malicious congestion control, see the below
section on Security cookie against SYN flood attack.
SCTP is designed in such a way that no matter how messages are divided, redirected, or fragmented, the
message boundaries will be maintained within the packets, and all messages cannot be appended without
tripping verification mechanisms.
SCTP is capable of Path Maximum Transmission Unit discovery, as outlined in RFC4821. Two specific
alterations have been made to how SCTP handles MTU. First, that endpoints will have separate MTU estimates
for each possible multi-homed endpoint. Second, that bundled message fragments (as explained below) will be
directed based on MTU calculations, so that retransmissions (if necessary) will be sent without delay to alternate
addresses.
Message bundling
SCTP is a message-oriented protocol, which means that despite being a streaming data protocol, it transports a
sequence of specific messages, rather than transporting a stream of bytes (like TCP). Since some data
transmissions are small enough to not require a complete message’s worth of content, so multiple pieces of
content will be transmitted simultaneously within the messages.
SCTP supports multi-homing, which is a network structure in which one or multiple sources/destinations has more
than one IP address. SCTP can adapt to multi-homing scenarios and redirect traffic to alternate IP addresses in
case of failure.
Multi-stream support
Due to the message bundling feature allowing for multiple pieces of content to be sent in messages at once,
SCTP can ‘multi-stream’ content, by deliberately dividing it among messages at a fixed rate, so that multiple
types of content (eg. both images and text) can be loaded at once, at the same pace.
With control messages in every packet to provide verification of any packet’s data and its place in the stream, the
data being transmitted can actually arrive in any order, and verify that all has arrived or that some is missing.
Since every packet contains verification of its place in the stream, it makes it easy for the protocol to detect when
redundant, corrupted or malicious packets flood the path, and they are automatically dropped when necessary.
Endpoints automatically send specific control chunks among the other SCTP packet information to peer
endpoints, to determine the reachability of the destination. Hearthbeat acknowledgement packets are returned if
the destination is available.
SCTP Firewall
FortiGate stateful firewalls will protect and inspect SCTP traffic, according to RFC4960. SCTP over IPsec VPN is
also supported. The FortiGate device is inserted as a router between SCTP endpoints. It checks SCTP Syntax for
the following information:
The firewall has IPS DoS protection against known threats to SCTP traffic, including INIT/ACK flood attacks, and
SCTP fuzzing.
Troubleshooting
apn list <gtp_profile> The APN list entries in the specified GTP profile
The authorized GGSNs entries for the specified GTP profile. Any GGSNs
auth-ggsns show <gtp_profile>
not on this list will not be recognized.
auth-sgsns show <gtp_profile> The authorized SGSNs list entries for the specified GTP profile. Any
SGSNs not on this list will not be recognized.
ie-remove-policy list <gtp_ List of IE policies in the IE removal policy for this GTP profile. The
profile> information displayed includes the message count for this policy, the length
of the SGSN, the list of IEs, and list of SGSN IP addresses.
IMSI filter entries for this GTP profile. The information displayed includes
imsi list <gtp_profile> the message count for this filter, length of the IMSI, the length of the APN
and IMSI, and of course the IMSI and APN values.
invalid-sgsns-to-long list <gtp_ List of SGSNs that do not match the filter criteria. These SGSNs will be
profile> logged.
List the IP policies including message count for each policy, the action to
ip-policy list <gtp_profile>
take, the source and destination IP addresses or ranges, and masks.
noip-policy <gtp_profile> List the non-IP policies including the message count, which mode, the
action to take, and the start and end protocols to be used by decimal
number.
path {list | flush} List the GTP related paths in FortiOS Carrier memory.
policy list <gtp_policy> The GTP advanced filter policy information for this GTP profile. The
information displayed for each entry includes a count for messages
matching this filter, a hexidecimal mask of which message types to match,
the associated flags, action to take on a match, APN selection mode,
MSISDN, RAT types, RAI, ULI, and IMEI.
runtime-stat flush Select to flush the GTP runtime statistics from memory.
Display the GTP runtime statistics — details on current GTP activity. This
information includes how many tunnels are active, how many GTP profiles
stat exist, how many IMSI filter entries, how many APN filter entries, advanced
policy filter entries, IE remove policy filter entries, IP policy filter entries,
clashes, and dropped packets.
Flush clears the list of active GTP tunnels. This does not clear the clash
counter displayed in the stat command.
To apply IPS to GTP-U user data sessions, add an IPS Sensor to a profile and add the profile to a security policy
that accepts GTP-U tunnels. The security policy Service field must be set to GTP or ANY to accept GTP-U
packets.
The Carrier-enabled FortiGate unit intercepts packets with destination port 2152, removes the GTP header and
handles the packets as regular IP packets. Applying an IPS sensor to the IP packets, the Carrier-enabled
FortiGate unit can log attacks and pass or drop packets depending on the configuration of the sensor.
If the packet is GTP-in-GTP, or a nested tunnel, the packets are passed or blocked without being inspected.
1. Go to Security Profiles > Intrusion Protection and select Create New (+) to add an IPS Sensor.
2. Configure the IPS Sensor to detect attacks and log, drop, or pass attack packets.
3. Go to Policy & Objects > IPv4 Policy and apply the IPS sensor to the security policy.
4. Go to Policy & Objects > IPv4 Policy and select Create New to add a security policy or select a security policy.
5. Configure the security policy to accept GTP traffic.
In the security policy configure the source and destination settings to match the GTP traffic. Service to
GTP or ANY so that the security policy accepts GTP traffic.
The following sections provide some suggestions on how to troubleshoot this issue:
If the entire network is has this problem, the solution is likely a more general one such as ensuring the security
policies allow GTP traffic to pass, the GTP profile specifies SSGNs and GSGNs, or ensuring the GTP general
settings are not overly limiting.
If one part of the network is affected, the problem is more likely centered around configurations with those
network devices specified such as the handover group, or authorized SGSNs/GGSNs. It is also possible that
small portions of the network may have hardware related issues such as cabling or faulty hardware. This section
does not address those issues, and assumes hardware is not the problem.
The handover group is a white list of GTP addresses allowed to handle GTP messages. If a device’s address is
not on this list, it will be denied.
GTP related events in the event log will have message IDs in the range 41216 to 41222. For more information on
GTP log messages, see the Log Message Reference. For more information on logging in general, see the
Logging and Reporting guide.
Once there is a problem to troubleshoot, check the logs to trace the traffic patterns and narrow down the possible
sources of the problem. There may be enough detail for you to locate and fix the problem without changing the
log settings.
Remember to set any changes you made to the log settings back to their original
values when you are done troubleshooting. Otherwise, the amount of detail will
overwhelm your logging.
However, if more detail is required you can change settings such as:
l Lower the Log Frequency number in GTP Profiles so fewer or no log messages are dropped. This will allow a more
accurate picture of everything happening on the network, where you may have had only a partial picture before.
l Ensure all the GTP log events are enabled to provide you with a complete picture.
l Ensure that all relevant event types are enabled under Log & Report > Log Config > Log Settings.
For more information on GTP related logging, see Logging events on the Carrier-enabled FortiGate unit.
If the Carrier-enabled FortiGate unit is running in NAT mode, verify that all desired routes are in the routing table
— local subnets, default routes, specific static routes, and dynamic routing protocols. For complete information,
it is best to check the routing table in the CLI. This method provides more complete information.
If VDOMs are enabled on your Carrier-enabled FortiGate unit, all routing related CLI
commands must be performed within a VDOM and not in the global context.
* - candidate default
2d18h02m How old this route is, in this case almost three days old.
If your Carrier-enabled FortiGate unit has NP interfaces that are offloading traffic, this
will change the sniffer trace. Before performing a trace on any NP interfaces, disable
offloading on those interfaces.
If you are running a constant traffic application such as ping, packet sniffing can tell you if the traffic is reaching
the destination, what the port of entry is on the Carrier-enabled FortiGate unit, if the ARP resolution is correct,
and if the traffic is being sent back to the source as expected.
Sniffing packets can also tell you if the Carrier-enabled FortiGate unit is silently dropping packets for reasons
such as RPF (Reverse Path Forwarding), also called Anti Spoofing. This prevents an IP packet from being
forwarded if its source IP address either does not belong to a locally attached subnet (local interface), or be a hop
on the routing between the FortiOS Carrier and another source (static route, RIP, OSPF, BGP). Note that RPF
can be disabled by turning on asymmetric routing in the CLI (config system setting, set
asymmetric enable), however this will disable stateful inspection on the Carrier-enabled FortiGate unit and
consequently cause many features to be turned off.
If you configure virtual IP addresses on your Carrier-enabled FortiGate unit, the unit
will use those addresses in preference to the physical IP addresses. If not configured
properly, secondary IP addresses can cause a broadcast storm. You will notice the
secondary address being preferred when you are sniffing packets because all the
traffic will be using the virtual IP addresses. This is due to the ARP update that is sent
out when the VIP address is configured.
The general form of the internal FortiOS packet sniffer command is:
diag sniffer packet <interface_name> <‘filter’> <verbose> <count>
<interface_name> The name of the interface to sniff, such as port1 or internal. This can also be
any to sniff all interfaces.
What to look for in the information the sniffer reads. none indicates no filtering, and
all packets will be displayed as the other arguments indicate.
<‘filter’>
The filter must be inside single quotes (‘).
The number of packets the sniffer reads before stopping. If you don’t put a number
<count>
here, the sniffer will run forever unit you stop it with <CTRL C>.
For a simple sniffing example, enter the CLI command diag sniffer packet port1 none 1 3. This
will display the next 3 packets on the port1 interface using no filtering, and using verbose level 1. At this verbosity
level you can see the source IP and port, the destination IP and port, action (such as ack), and sequence
numbers.
In the output below, port 443 indicates these are HTTPS packets, and 172.20.120.17 is both sending and
receiving traffic.
Head_Office_620b # diag sniffer packet port1 none 1 3
interfaces=[port1]
filters=[none]
0.545306 172.20.120.17.52989 -> 172.20.120.141.443: psh 3177924955 ack 1854307757
For example if you discover through log messages and packet sniffing that Create PDP Context Request
messages are not being delivered between two SGSNs, you can generate those specific messages on your
network to confirm they are the problem, and later that you have solved the problem and they are now being
delivered as expected.
This step requires a third party traffic generation tool, either hardware or software. This is not be supported by
Fortinet.
Configuring FortiGate units for PCI DSS compliance on page 749 explains the Payment Card Industry Data
Security Standard (PCI DSS). It provides information about configuring your network and FortiGate unit to help
you comply with PCI DSS requirements.
()
This chapter provides information about configuring your network and FortiGate unit to help you comply with PCI
DSS requirements. There is also some description of other Fortinet products that can help you with PCI DSS
compliance.
Build and Maintain a Secure 1. Install and maintain a firewall FortiGate firewall functionality.
Network and Systems configuration to protect cardholder See Security policies for the CDE
data network on page 755
Protect Cardholder Data 3. Protect stored cardholder data FortiDB vulnerability assessment
and monitoring
FortiMobile integrated AV
FortiMail integrated AV
FortiGuard automated AV
updates
Regularly Monitor and Test 10. Track and monitor all access to FortiDB auditing and monitoring
Networks network resources and cardholder
data FortiAnalyzer event reporting
This chapter describes how the FortiGate’s features can help your organization to be compliant with PCI DSS.
Requirements that the FortiGate cannot enforce need to be met through organization policies with some means
determined for auditing compliance.
Be sure to read the following wireless guidelines. Even if your organization does not use wireless networking, PCI
DSS requires you to verify periodically that wireless networking has not been introduced into the CDE.
Wireless guidelines
While wired networks usually connect fixed known workstations, wireless networks are more dynamic, introducing
a different set of security concerns.
Even if your organization does not use wireless networking, PCI DSS requires you to verify periodically that
unauthorized wireless networking has not been introduced into the CDE. Wireless networking could be introduced
quite casually by adding a wireless device to a PC on the CDE network.
For all PCI DSS networks, whether they use wireless technology or not, the following requirement applies:
l Test for the presence of wireless access points by using a wireless analyzer at least quarterly or deploying a wireless
IDS/IPS to identify all wireless devices in use. (11.1)
If your organization uses wireless networking outside the CDE network and the firewall prevents communication
with the CDE network, the wireless network is outside the PCI DSS scope, but the firewall configuration must
meet PCI DSS requirements.
If your organization uses wireless networking inside the CDE network, the wireless network is within the PCI DSS
scope. For information about wireless network requirements, see Wireless network security on page 756.
The FortiGate runs at least 50 compliance checks that report on the status of a number of things including:
Go to Log & Report > Compliance Events to view compliance checking log messages that show the results of
running compliance checks.
You can also configure compliance checking and set up the schedule from the CLI:
config system global
set compliance-check {disable| enable}
set compliance-check-time <time>
end
Use the following command to run on-demand compliance checking:
execute dsscc
Begin from the Global view by going to System > Advanced > Compliance and turning on compliance
checking and configuring a daily time to run the compliance check. This compliance check daily schedule will be
used to run compliance checks on individual VDOMs where compliance checking is enabled them.
You can also enable global compliance checking from the CLI:
config global
config system global
set compliance-check {disable| enable}
set compliance-check-time <time>
end
Then log onto each VDOM for which to enable compliance checking and go to to System > Advanced >
Compliance, and turn on compliance checking . You can also select Run Now to run a compliance check on
that VDOM on demand.
From the CLI edit a VDOM and use the following command to enable compliance checking for that VDOM. The
following example shows how to enable compliance checking for the root VDOM:
config vdom
edit root
config system settings
set compliance-check enable
end
From the CLI you can also log into a VDOM and use the following command to run on-demand compliance
checking:
execute dsscc
From a VDOM GUI go to Log & Report > Compliance Events to view compliance checking log messages that
show the results of running compliance checks.
Network topology
The cardholder data environment must be protected against unauthorized access from the Internet and from
other networks in your organization. FortiGate unit firewall functionality provides tight control over the traffic that
can pass between the following network interfaces:
l Internet
l CDE wired LAN
l CDE wireless LAN
l Other internal networks
The figure below shows how the Cardholder Data Environment can be delineated in a typical network.
Internet
The FortiGate unit has at least one network interface connected to the Internet. If your organization uses more
than one Internet service provider, there could be additional network interfaces that function as a route to the
Internet.
policies that enable these connections should have the narrowest possible definitions for source address,
destination address and service.
PCI DSS does not require the CDE network to be isolated from the rest of your corporate LAN. But isolating the
CDE network reduces the scope of required data protection measures and may reduce the scope of PCI DSS
assessments that are periodically required.
A small retail outlet could reduce costs by using a FortiWiFi unit, a FortiGate unit with integrated wireless
networking. The FortiWiFi unit would have to be located where it could provide sufficient wireless monitoring (or
access point) coverage for the entire premises.
The PCI DSS standard includes requirements to document your network topology and configuration. As part of
that requirement, and to assist the auditing of your network, make use of the Comment field available in
FortiGate security policies. Describe the purpose of each policy.
The Interface settings depend on network topology. The Source and Destination Addresssettings define the
IP addresses to which the policy applies. These should be as narrow as possible, so that only the appropriate
hosts are included. For example, if the destination is a server with a single IP address, the named Destination
Address should be defined as that single address, not the entire subnet on which the server resides.
Addresses are defined in Policy & Objects > Addresses. Some addresses will be used in several security
policies, so it is best to plan ahead and define the addresses first.
You can select a single protocol from the Service drop-down list. To add another protocol, select the green “+”
button to access the Service drop-down list again. If several security policies will need the same list of services,
consider creating a named service group. (Go to Firewall Objects > Service > Groups.) In the security policy,
service groups are available at the bottom of the Service drop-down list.
You cannot delete this policy and you can edit the policy only to enable or disable logging of the traffic that it
handles.
If you use wireless networking, the wireless network is only within the PCI DSS scope if it can connect to the CDE.
Radio 1 operates in the 2.4GHz band and Radio 2 operates in the 5GHz band. Both bands should be monitored.
The FortiAP unit(s) used for scanning must be located within the coverage area that would result if an access
point were added to the CDE.
Go to Monitor > Rogue AP Monitor to view information about detected rogue wireless access points.
To ensure that detection of rogue access points is logged, go to Log & Report > Log Settings, enable Event
Logging and select WiFi activity event.
On FortiGate units, go to WiFi & Switch Controller > SSID to configure wireless security settings for either a
new or existing virtual access point.
The default SSID for the FortiAP is “fortinet”. You must change this.
The Security Mode must be set to one of the WPA2 modes. Both WPA or WPA2 clients can be served. In the
CLI, you can optionally select exclusively WPA or WPA2 operation.
WPA/WPA2-Enterprise Authentication uses separate logon credentials for each user. Either FortiGate user
group security or an external RADIUS server performs the authentication. Optionally, certificate-based security
can also be applied. WPA/WPA2-Personal authentication requires a single pre-shared key that is used by all
clients and is thus less secure.
For detailed information about wireless access points, see the Deploying Wireless Networks chapter of the
FortiOS Handbook.
To ensure that wireless network actiity is logged, go to Log & Report > Log Settings, enable Event Logging
and select WiFi activity event.
The Fortinet Database Security (FortiDB) device provides vulnerability assessment, database activity monitoring,
auditing and monitoring.
The Fortinet FortiWeb Web Application Firewall deployed in front of public-facing web applications protects Web
applications, databases, and the information exchanged between them. In particular, it addresses the PCI DSS
requirements 6.5 and 6.6 regarding web application vulnerabilities such as cross-site scripting, SQL injection, and
information leakage.
FortiGates support some web application firewall security features and allow you to offload selected HTTP and
HTTPS traffic to an external FortiWeb device. To offload HTTP traffic to go Security Fabric > Settings, enable
HTTP service and select FortiWeb.
l Use strong cryptography and security protocols (for example, SSL/TLS, IPSEC, SSH, etc.) to safeguard sensitive
cardholder data during transmission over open, public networks. (4.1)
This does not prescribe particular cryptography, but it can be interpreted as a requirement to follow industry best
practices.
Encryption
Go to VPN > IPsec Tunnels to configure an IPsec VPN. In both Phase 1 and Phase 2 parts of the configuration,
you select the encryption to use.
These are advanced settings, overriding defaults that are not necessarily the strongest algorithms. VPNs
negotiate over standards, so you can list multiple proposed algorithms. The VPN will use the strongest encryption
that both ends support.
Choose strong encryption. The available encryption algorithms in descending order of strength are AES256,
AES192, AES128, 3DES, DES. DES encryption is the weakest with only a 64-bit key and does not meet the 80-bit
key length minimum that PCI DSS requires.
The message digest (authentication) algorithms in descending order of strength are SHA512, SHA384, SHA256,
SHA1 and MD5. MD5 is particularly weak and should be avoided.
Authentication
VPN peers authenticate each other before establishing a tunnel. FortiGate units support two different
authentication methods: pre-shared key and RSA signature (certificate). Certificates provide the best security.
PCI DSS does not prohibit pre-shared keys, but you should limit access to the keys to the personnel who are
responsible for the FortiGate units or other equipment at either end of the VPN.
The FortiGate unit can enforce the use of antivirus software, denying unprotected workstations access to the
network.
end
For detailed information about the Antivirus feature, see the Security Profiles chapter of the FortiOS Handbook.
In the FortiGuard Services section, check the Antivirus field. If the service is unreachable, see the online Help
for information about troubleshooting your connectivity to FortiGuard Services.
FortiGate logs
FortiGate units can be configured to send logs to FortiAnalyzer unit. In a larger network, this enables you to
collect log information in a central location from several FortiGate units. You can also send logs to FortiCloud and
to multiple syslog servers.
A FortiDB appliance or FortiDB software can provide vulnerability scanning and activity monitoring for your
databases. For more information about this product, see the Fortinet website, www.fortinet.com.
If your organization engages in e-Commerce, you can use FortiWeb Application Security to protect your web
servers against attack. The FortiWeb application protects against HTTP and XML-based attacks, guards against
attempts to deface your websites, and scans web servers for vulnerabilities. For more information about this
product, see the Fortinet website, www.fortinet.com.
The password policy does not apply to user passwords. Both password complexity and
password expiry for users would need to addressed by making them a policy in your
organization.
Minimum Length 8 or more. (Field does not accept a value less than 8.)
Enable Password
Set to 90 days or less. The default is 90 days.
Expiration
l Do not allow an individual to submit a new password/phrase that is the same as any of the last four
passwords/phrases he or she has used. (8.2.5)
FortiGate users don’t set their own passwords. The super_admin administrators can and so can admins with
appropriate access. There is, however, no FortiGate-based mechanism to limit re-use of passwords.
l Limit repeated access attempts by locking out the administrator after not more than six attempts. (8.1.6),
l Set the lockout duration to a minimum of 30 minutes or until an administrator enables the user ID. (8.1.7)
You can meet these requirements with the following CLI commands:
config system global
set admin-lockout-threshold 6
set admin-lockout-duration 1800
end
The threshold can be less than 6 and the lockout duration can be more than 1800.
l If a session has been idle for more than 15 minutes, require the user to re-authenticate to re-activate the terminal or
session. (8.1.8)
By default, the idle timeout is five minutes. You can go to System > Settings and change the Idle Timeout
timeout to any value up to the permitted value of 15 minutes.
You can also rename the admin administrator account to something that attackers are less likely to guess. To
rename the admin administrator account you must go to System > Administrators and create a new
administration account with the super_admin administrator profile and then login with this new account and
change the name of the admin administrator account.
If an administrator always works from the same workstation, consider using the Trusted Host feature. The
administrator will be able to log in only from a trusted IP address. You can define up to three trusted IP addresses
per administrator.
Administrative access must also be enabled per network interface. Go to Network > Interfaces to edit the
interface settings. Enable administrative access only on interfaces where you would expect the administrator to
connect. Allow only secure connection protocols, HTTPS for web-based access, SSH for CLI access.
For remote access from the Internet, if possible you should also use the trusted hosts feature to limit the source
addresses from which administrators can log into the FortiGate.
For SSL VPN users, implement two-factor authentication by requiring users to have a certificate in addition to the
correct password. Go to VPN > SSL-VPN Settings, enable Require Client Certificate.
If remote Users access your network using an IPsec VPN, you can implement two-factor authentication by adding
a user group to a Remote Access IPSec VPN tunnel that requires two-factor authentication with FortiToken. This
adds extended authentication (XAUTH) to the VPN and requires the user to use two-factor authentication in
addition to the VPN authentication provided by the certificate or pre-shared key. As PCI DSS requires each user to
have a unique identifier, you should already have user accounts and user groups defined.
Chapter 7 - Firewall
This guide contains a number of different topic that, at its simplest, can be grouped into fundamental firewall
topics such as policies, objects and network defense and topics that have to do with the optimization of the
firewall such as WAN optimization, proxies and caching.
Fundamentals
"Firewall concepts" on page 787 explains the ideas behind the components, techniques and processes that are
involved in setting up and running a firewall in general and the FortiGate firewall in particular. The premise here is
that regardless of how experienced someone is with firewalls as they go through the process of configuring a
firewall that is new to them they are likely to come across a term or setting that they may not be familiar with even
if it is only in the context of the setting they are working in at the moment. FortiGate firewall are quite
comprehensive and can be very granular in the functions that they perform, so it makes sense to have a
consistent frame of reference for the ideas that we will be working with.
l "What is a Firewall?"
l "NAT"
l "IPv6"
"Firewall objects" describes the following firewall objects:
l Addressing
l Services
l Firewall Policies
"Network defense" on page 872 describes various methods of defending your Network using the abilities of the
FortiGate Firewall.
"Object Configuration" on page 910 is similar to a cookbook in that it will refer to a number of common tasks that
you will likely perform to get the full functionality out of your FortiGate firewall. Because of the way that firewall
are designed, performing many of the tasks requires that firewall components be set up in a number of different
sections of the interface and be configured to work together to achieve the desired result. This section will bring
those components all together as a straight forward series of instructions.
l Interfaces
l VLANs
l Soft Switches
l Zones
l Predefined Addresses
l IP address based
l FQDN based
l Geography based
l Access Schedules
l Authentication
l Local User based
l Authentication Server based (Active Directory, Radius, LDAP)
l Device Based
l Configureable Services
l IPv4 and IPv6 protocol support
The features of FortiOS include but are not limited to:
l Security profiles, sometimes referred to as Unified Threat Management (UTM) or Next Generation Firewall
(NGFW)
l Predefined firewall addresses (this includes IPv4 and IPv6, IP pools,. wildcard addresses and netmasks, and
geography-based addresses)
l Monitoring traffic
l Traffic shaping and per-IP traffic shaping (advanced)
l Firewall schedules
l Services (such as AOL, DHCP and FTP)
l Logging traffic
l Quality of Service (QoS)
l Identity-based policies
l Endpoint security
Firewall Optimization
There are a few different methodologies of optimization and most of these methodologies has been divided into:
l Concepts section - This will have the basic ideas behind the how and why of the topic. Because the number of
topics is larger, the ideas are not as pervasive and the content is not so extensive as in the Fundamental section,
some of the topics will include instructions on the configuration for that individual topic in order to keep the
information fo granular topics together.
l Configuration section- Just like the Configuration section of the Fundamentals, this will be a cookbook style of
documentation showing how to configure something that achieves a specific functionality from the FortiGate.
The optimization topics include:
Most people have at one time or another played with the children’s toy system that is made up of interlocking
blocks. The blocks come in different shapes and sizes so that you can build structures to suit your needs and in
your way. The components of the FortiGate firewall are similar. You are not forced to use all of the blocks all of
the time. You mix and match them to get the results that you are looking for. You can build a very basic structure
that’s only function is to direct traffic in and out to the correct subnets or you can build a fortress that only allows
specific traffic to specific hosts from specific hosts at specific times of day and that is only if they provide the
credentials that have been pre-approved and all of the traffic is encrypted so that even when the traffic is out on
the Internet it is private from the world. Just like the interlocking blocks, what you build is up to you, but chances
are if you put them together the right way there isn’t much that can’t be built.
Here is one example of how the components could be put together to support the requirements of a network
infrastructure design.
l Off the Internal interface you could have separate VLANs. One for each for the departments of Sales, Marketing
and Engineering so that the traffic from the users on one VLAN does not intrude upon the hosts of the other VLANs
and the department are isolated from one another for security reasons.
l To ease in the administration each of the VLAN sub-interfaces is made a member of a zone so that security policies
that apply to all of the hosts on all of the VLANs can be applied to all of them at once.
l Using the addresses component each of the IP address ranges could be assigned a user friendly name so that they
could be referred to individually and then for policies that would refer to them all as a whole the individual ranges to
be made members of an address group.
l Firewall schedules could be created to address the differing needs of each of the groups so that Sales and
Marketing could be allowed access to the Internet during regular business hours and the Engineering department
could be allowed access during the lunch break.
l By setting up the outgoing policies to use FortiGuard Web-filtering the employees could be prevented from visiting
inappropriate sites and thus enforcing the policies of the HR department.
l A couple of virtual IP addresses with port forwarding could be configured to allow users on the Internet to access a
web server on the DMZ subnet using the company’s only Public IP address without affecting the traffic that goes to
the company’s mail server that is hosted on a complete different computer.
l Even though the Web server on the same DMZ has an FTP service to allow for the uploading of web pages to the
web server from the Marketing and Engineer teams, by placing a DENY policy on any FTP traffic from the Internet
malicious users are prevented from abusing the FTP service.
l By monitoring the traffic as it goes through the policies you can verify that the policies are in working order.
l By using a combination of ALLOW and DENY policies and placing them in the correct order you could arrange for an
outside contractor to be allowed to update the web site as well
These set of configurations is not extensive but it does give an idea of how different components can be mixed
and matched to build a configuration that meets an organization’s needs but at the same time protect it from
security risks.
CLI changes:
set http-incoming-port <port_low>[-<port_high>]
Where:
Nturbo support CAPWAP traffic and fix IPsec IPv6 firewall policy code typo (290708) (423323)
NTurbo is used for IPSEC+IPS case. The IPSEC SA info is passed to NTURBO as part of VTAG for control packet
and will be used for the xmit.
If the packets need to go through IPSEC interface, the traffic will be always offloaded
to Nturbo. But for the case that SA has not been installed to NP6 because of hardware
limitation or SA offload disable, the packets will be sent out through raw socket by IPS
instead of Nturbo, since the software encryption is needed in this case.
CLI Changes:
Previously, NTurbo could only be enabled or disabled globally. The setting of np-acceleration has been added to
the firewall policy context instead of just the global context.
Add: Added a CLI command in the firewall policy to enable/disable NTurbo acceleration.
config firewall policy
edit 1
set np-accelation [enable|disable]
end
When IPS is enabled for VPN IPsec traffic, the data can be accelerated by NTurbo now.
l Info messages and redirection links have been added to IPv4 policy list and dialog to indicate the above
l If NGFW mode is policy-based, then it is assumed that central-nat (specifically SNAT) is enabled implicitly
l The option to toggle NAT in central-snat-map policies has been added (previously it was only shown in NGFW
policy-based mode).
l In central-snat policy dialog, the port-mapping fields for the original port have been updated to accept ranges.
l Nat will be skipped in firewall policy if per vdom central nat is enabled.
l "?" character
l "*" character in the middle of a phrase
l The "?*" combination
For example, to create a web proxy address to match the referrer header to block access to the following
YouTube URL http://youtube.com/user/test321. The http request will have the following format:
GET /user/test321 HTTP/1.1
Host: www.youtube.com
User-Agent: curl/7.52.1
Accept: */*
Create the following web proxy addresses to match this page:
config firewall proxy-address
edit youtube
set type host-regex
set host-regex ".*youtube.com"
next
edit test321
set host "youtube"
set path "/user/test321"
set referrer enable
end
Then create two proxy policies, one that allows access to all traffic and a second one that blocks access to the
page that matches the referrer header:
config firewall proxy-policy
edit 1
set uuid 92273e4e-8c53-51e7-a7bd-f26e6e15fc98
set proxy explicit-web
set dstintf "wan2"
set srcaddr "all"
set dstaddr "all"
set service "webproxy-connect"
set action accept
set schedule "always"
set utm-status enable
set profile-protocol-options "test"
set ssl-ssh-profile "test"
next
edit 2
set uuid d35ad06a-8c53-51e7-8511-17200f682a4a
set proxy explicit-web
set dstintf "wan2"
set srcaddr "all"
set dstaddr "test321"
set service "webproxy"
set action accept
set schedule "always"
set utm-status enable
set av-profile "default"
set profile-protocol-options "test"
set ssl-ssh-profile "test"
end
To match the video with URL youtube.com/watch?v=XXXXXXXXX, (where XXXXXXXXX is an example YouTube
query string) you need to match an HTTP request with the following format:
GET /user/watch?v=GLCHldlwQsg HTTP/1.1
Host: www.youtube.com
User-Agent: curl/7.52.1
Accept: */*
Create the following web proxy addresses to match this video or query string:
config firewall proxy-address
edit "youtube"
set uuid 4ad63880-971e-51e7-7b2e-c69423ac6314
set type host-regex
set host-regex ".*youtube.com"
next
edit "query-string"
set uuid 7687a8c0-9727-51e7-5063-05edda03abbf
set host "youtube"
set path "/watch"
set query "v=XXXXXXXXX"
end
Then create two proxy policies, one that allows access to all traffic and a second one that blocks access to the
page that matches the query string
config firewall proxy-policy
edit 1
set uuid 92273e4e-8c53-51e7-a7bd-f26e6e15fc98
set proxy explicit-web
set dstintf "wan2"
set srcaddr "all"
set dstaddr "all"
set service "webproxy-connect"
set action accept
set schedule "always"
set utm-status enable
set profile-protocol-options "test"
set ssl-ssh-profile "test"
next
edit 2
set uuid d35ad06a-8c53-51e7-8511-17200f682a4a
set proxy explicit-web
set dstintf "wan2"
set srcaddr "all"
set dstaddr "query-string"
set service "webproxy"
set action accept
set schedule "always"
set utm-status enable
set av-profile "default"
set profile-protocol-options "test"
set ssl-ssh-profile "test"
next
end
Previously the field for the policy in the column only showed whether NAT was Enabled or Disabled.
With the new improvements, not only does the field show the name of the Dynamic Pool, if one is being used, but
the tool-tip feature is engaged if you hover the cursor over the icon in the field and provides even more specific
information.
By choosing an Internet Service object as the Destination, this sets internet-service to enable and
specifying either an Address or IPv6 Address object will set internet-service to disable.
However, now the editing can be done from the list display of policies and clicking on the GRP icon. Right clicking
on the icon will slide a window out from the left and left clicking will give you a drop-down menu.
l The logic behind the structure of the cache has been simplified. Instead of storing ranges of port numbers, we store
each individual port number in the cache
l Separate caches are created for each VDOM so that cache searches are faster.
l The performance of more frequently used cases has been increased
l Hash tables are used to improve the performance of complex cases. These could include such instances as:
l service names tied to specific IP Ranges
l redefinition (one port number with multiple service names)
New CLI option to prevent packet order problems for sessions offloaded to NP4 or NP6
(365497)
In order to prevent the issue of a packet, on FortiGate processing a heavy load of traffic, from being processed
out of order, a new setting has been added to better control the timing of pushing the packets being sent to NP
units.
The new option, delay-tcp-npc-session, has been added into the context of config firewall policy within the CLI
config firewall policy
edit <Integer for policy ID>
set delay-tcp-npc-session
end
Policy may not be available on units not using NP units.
CLI
The setting SSL-SSH-Profile, is a required option, with the default value being “certificate-inspection”, when it is
applicable in the following tables:
l firewall.profile-group
l firewall.policy
l firewall.policy6,
l firewall.proxy-policy
The following default profiles are read-only:
l certificate-inspection
l deep-ssl-inspection
GUI
l The configuration and display set up for SSL/SSH Inspection is now similar to "profile-protocol-option" option
l The disable/enable toggle button is no longer available for the Profile Protocol Option
l The default profile is set to "certificate-inspection"
IPv4/IPv6 Policy, Explicit Proxy Policy list page
l The only input for default SSL profiles is now download/view trusted certificate links
l To return to the List page from default SSL profiles, the name of the button is now "Return"
Profile Group edit window
Starting in 5.6, the profiles "certificate-inspection" and "deep-inspection" are set up by the firmware as default
read-only profiles. If you have profiles with these names that were configured in a previous version of FortiOS,
rather than overwrite the firmware's default profile, profiles with these names will be upgraded to reflect the
configuration conventions of the new firmware but the profile names will be changed by adding a prefix of "_upg_
".
Syntax
end
Automatically switching the profile type to single on a policy with Learning mode enabled prevents it from being
affected by the UTM policy groups.
CLI
Examples:
DoS policy
config firewall DoS-policy
edit 1
set comment "you can put a comment here(Max 1023)."
set interface "internal"
set srcaddr "all"
set dstaddr "all"
set service "ALL"
config anomaly
edit "tcp_syn_flood"
set threshold 2000
next
end
end
Interface policy
config firewall interface-policy
edit 1
set comment "you can put a comment here(max 1023)."
set interface "dmz2"
set srcaddr "all"
set dstaddr "all"
set service "ALL"
end
Firewall ACL
config firewall acl
edit 1
set status disable
set comment "you can put a comment here(max 1023)."
set interface "port5"
set srcaddr "all"
set dstaddr "all"
set service "ALL"
end
Example of internet-service-custom
config firewall internet-service-custom
edit "custom1"
set comment "custom1"
config entry
edit 1
set protocol 6
config port-range
edit 1
set start-port 30
set end-port 33
next
end
set dst "google-drive" "icloud"
next
end
next
end
HTTS server. If the size of the key from the server is 512 or 1024 the proxy will select a 1024 key size. If the key
size from the servers is over 1024, the proxy will select a key size of 2048.
CLI changes:
In ssl-ssh-profile remove:
l certname-rsa
l certname-dsa
l certname-ecdsa
In vpn certificate setting, add the following options :
l certname-rsa1024
l certname-rsa2048
l certname-dsa1024
l certname-dsa2048
l certname-ecdsa256
l certname-ecdsa384
The filter can be a combination of any number of conditions, as long as the total length
of filter is less than 2048 bytes. The syntax for the filter is:
For each condition, it includes a key and value, the supported keys are:
1. instanceId, (e.g. instanceId=i-12345678)
2. instanceType, (e.g. instanceType=t2.micro)
3. imageId, (e.g. imageId=ami-123456)
4. keyName, (e.g. keyName=aws-key-name)
5. architecture, (e.g. architecture=x86)
6. subnetId, (e.g. subnetId=sub-123456)
7. placement.availabilityzone, (e.g. placement.availabilityzone=us-east-1a)
8. placement.groupname, (e.g. placement.groupname=group-name)
9. placement.tenancy, (e.g. placement.tenancy=tenancy-name)
10. privateDnsName, (e.g. privateDnsName=ip-172-31-10-211.us-west-2.compute.internal)
11. publicDnsName, (e.g. publicDnsName=ec2-54-202-168-254.us-west-2.compute.amazonaws.com)
12. AWS instance tag, each tag includes a key and value, the format of tag set is: tag.Name=Value, maximum of 8
tags are supported.
CLI:
l In order to better identify which clients have caused SSL errors, the WAD SSL log will use the original source
address rather than the source address of packets.
l The return value of wad_ssl_set_cipher is checked.
l The wad_ssl_session_match has been removed because it will add the connection into bypass cache and
bypass further inspection.
l DSA and ECDSA certificates are filtered for admin-server-cert
l cert-inspect is reset after a WAD match to a Layer 7 policy
l An option to disable the use of SSL abbreviate handshake has been added
CLI addition
NGFW mode in the VDOM - NAT & SSL Inspection considerations (407547)
Due to how the NGFW Policy mode works, it can get complicated in the two areas of NAT and SSL Deep
Inspection. To match an application against a policy, some traffic has to pass through the FortiGate in order to be
properly identified. Once that happens may end up getting mapped to a different policy, where the new policy will
be appropriately enforced.
NAT
In the case of NAT being used, the first policy that is triggered to identify the traffic might require NAT enabled for
it to work correctly. i.e., without NAT enabled it may never be identified, and thus not fall through. Let's use a
very simple example:
Any new session established will never be identified immediately as Youtube, so it'll match policy #1 and let some
traffic go to try and identify it. Without NAT enabled to the Internet, the session will never be setup and thus
stuck here.
Solution:
l NAT for NGFW policies must be done via Central SNAT Map
l Central SNAT Map entries now have options for 'srcintf', 'dstintf' and 'action'.
l If no IP-pools are specified in the Central SNAT entry, then the outgoing interface address will be used.
l NGFW policies now must use a single default ssl-ssh-profile. The default ssl-ssh-profile can be configured under
the system settings table.
SSL
In the case of SSL inspection, the issue is a bit simpler. For each policy there are 3 choices:
1. No SSL,
2. Certificate Only
3. Deep Inspection.
For 1. and 2. there is no conflict and the user could enable them inter-changeably and allow policy fallthrough.
Solution:
l Multiple SSL profiles have been replaced with a single page of settings
l The user can setup exemptions for destination web category, source IP or etc.
CLI
Changes
config system settings
set inspection-mode flow
set policy-mode [standard | ngfw]
Additions
GUI
l In NGFW policy-based mode, there are added tool tips under NAT columns/fields to indicate that NAT must be
configured via Central SNAT Map. Additionally, links to redirect to Central SNAT list were added.
l Default ssl-ssh-profile is shown in the policy list and dialog for any policies doing NGFW (`application,
application-categories, url-categories`) or UTM (`av-profile etc.) inspection.
l Default ssl-ssh-profile is disabled from editing in policy list dialog
l In both profile-based & policy-based ngfw-mode, fields for srcintf, dstintf were added to Central
SNAT policies entries.
l In policy-based mode only, a toggle-switch for NAT Action was added in Central SNAT policy dialog. The
action is also configurable from the Action column in Central SNAT policy list.
l In policy-based mode only, the navigation bar link to SSL/SSH Inspection redirects to the profiles list
l In policy-based mode only, the SSL/SSH Inspection list table indicates which profile is the current VDOM default.
Additionally, options are provided in the list menu and context menu to change the current VDOM default.
CA chain downloading is used to improve verification results for certificates that are difficult to verify. The CAs are
kept in the cache to improve performance.
Explicit proxy supports multiple incoming ports and port ranges (402775, 398687)
Explicit proxy can now be configured to listen on multiple ports on the same IP as well as listen for HTTP and
HTTPS on those same (or different) ports.
Define the IP ranges using a hyphen (-). As shown below, port_high is not necessary to specify if port_low is
equal to port_high.
CLI syntax
config web-proxy explicit
set http-incoming-port <port_low> [-<port_high>]
end
CLI syntax
config firewall proxy-policy
edit <example>
set poolname <name>
end
CLI syntax:
config web-proxy profile
edit <example>
set strip-encoding {enable | disable}
end
CLI syntax:
config firewall proxy-policy
edit <example>
set internet-service <application-id>
set internet-service-custom <application-name>
Added application ID and category setting on the explicit proxy enabled service (379330)
This feature introduces support for application ID/category in the service of explicit proxy as one policy selection
factor. The intent is to identify the application type based on the HTTP request with IPS application type
detection function. It is similar to the current firewall explicit address, but it is implemented as a service type, and
you can select the application ID/ category to define explicit service. Of course, now it must be an HTTP-based
application.
CLI syntax
config firewall service custom
edit "name"
set app-service-type [disable|app-id|app-category]
next
end
CLI syntax
config vdom
edit root
config system settings
set opmode transparent
set manageip 192.168.0.34/24
end
config web-proxy explicit
set pac-file-server-status enable
get pac-file-url [url.pac]
end
CLI syntax
config vpn certificate setting
set ssl-ocsp-status [enable|disable]
set ssl-ocsp-option [certificate|server]
end
CLI syntax
config web-proxy explicit
set trace-auth-no-rsp [enable|disable]
end
Firewall concepts
There are a number of foundational concepts that are necessary to have a grasp of before delving into the details
of how the FortiGate firewall works. Some of these concepts are consistent throughout the firewall industry and
some of them are specific to more advanced firewalls such as the FortiGate. Having a solid grasp of these ideas
and terms can give you a better idea of what your FortiGate firewall is capable of and how it will be able to fit
within your networks architecture.
l What is a Firewall?
l FortiGate Modes
l How Packets are handled by FortiOS
l Interfaces and Zones
l Access Control Lists
l IPv6
l NAT
l "IP Pools" on page 831
l Services and TCP ports
l "Firewall policies" on page 794
l "Firewall policies" on page 794
l "SSL/SSH Inspection" on page 813
l "VPN Policies" on page 860
l "DSRI" on page 860
l "Interface Policies" on page 861
l "Local-In Policies" on page 867
l "Security Policy 0" on page 868
l "Deny Policies" on page 869
l "Accept Policies" on page 869
l IPv6 Policies
l "Fixed Port" on page 869
l "Endpoint Security" on page 870
l "Traffic Logging" on page 870
What is a Firewall?
The term firewall originally referred to a wall intended to confine a fire or potential fire within a building. Later
uses refer to similar structures, such as the metal sheet separating the engine compartment of a vehicle or
aircraft from the passenger compartment.
A firewall can either be software-based or hardware-based and is used to help keep a network secure. Its primary
objective is to control the incoming and outgoing network traffic by analyzing the data packets and determining
whether it should be allowed through or not, based on a predetermined rule set. A network's firewall builds a
bridge between an internal network that is assumed to be secure and trusted, and another network, usually an
external (inter)network, such as the Internet, that is not assumed to be secure and trusted.
Stateless Firewalls
Stateless firewalls are the oldest form of these firewalls. They are faster and simple in design requiring less
memory because they process each packet individually and don't require the resources necessary to hold onto
packets like stateful firewalls. Stateful firewalls inspect each packet individually and check to see if it matches a
predetermined set of rules. According to the matching rule the packet is either be allowed, dropped or rejected. In
the case of a rejection an error message is sent to the source of the traffic. Each packet is inspected in isolation
and information is only gathered from the packet itself. Simply put, if the packets were not specifically allowed
according to the list of rules held by the firewall they were not getting through.
Stateful Firewalls
Stateful firewalls retain packets in memory so that they can maintain context about active sessions and make
judgments about the state of an incoming packet's connection. This enables Stateful firewalls to determine if a
packet is the start of a new connection, a part of an existing connection, or not part of any connection. If a packet
is part of an existing connection based on comparison with the firewall's state table, it will be allowed to pass
without further processing. If a packet does not match an existing connection, it will be evaluated according to the
rules set for new connections. Predetermined rules are used in the same way as a stateless firewall but they can
now work with the additional criteria of the state of the connection to the firewall.
Blocking the packets in a denied session can take more cpu processing resources than
passing the traffic through. By putting denied sessions in the session table, they can
be kept track of in the same way that allowed session are so that the FortiGate unit
does not have to redetermine whether or not to deny all of the packets of a session
individually. If the session is denied all packets of that session are also denied.
Application Layer Firewalls actually, for lack of a better term, understand certain applications and protocols.
Examples would be FTP, DNS and HTTP. This form of filtration is able to check to see if the packets are actually
behaving incorrectly or if the packets have been incorrectly formatted for the protocol that is indicated. This
process also allows for the use of deep packet inspection and the sharing of functionality with Intrusion
Prevention Systems (IPS).
Application-layer firewalls work on the application level of the TCP/IP stack (i.e., all browser traffic, or all telnet or
ftp traffic), and may intercept all packets traveling to or from an application. They block other packets (usually
dropping them without acknowledgment to the sender). Application firewalls work much like a packet filter but
application filters apply filtering rules (allow/block) on a per process basis instead of filtering connections on a per
port basis.
On inspecting all packets for improper content, firewalls can restrict or prevent outright the spread of networked
computer worms and trojans. The additional inspection criteria can add extra latency to the forwarding of packets
to their destination.
Proxy Servers
A proxy server is an appliance or application that acts as an intermediary for communicating between computers.
A computer has a request for information. The packets are sent to the designated resource but before they can
get there they are blocked by the proxy server saying that it will take the request and pass it on. The Proxy Server
processes the request and if it is valid it passes onto the designated computer. The designated computer gets the
packet and processes the request, sending the answer back to the proxy server. The proxy server sends the
information back to the originating computer. It’s all a little like a situation with two people who refuse to talk
directly with each other using someone else to take messages back and forth.
From a security stand point a Proxy Server can serve a few purposes:
l Content Filtering
l Caching
l DNS proxy
l Bypassing Filters and Censorship
l Logging and eavesdropping
l Gateways to private networks
l Accessing service anonymously
UTM/ NGFW
Unified Threat Management and Next Generation Firewall are terms originally coined by market research firms
and refer to the concept of a comprehensive security solution provided in a single package. It is basically
combining of what used to be accomplished by a number of different security technologies all under a single
umbrella or in this case, a single device. On the FortiGate firewall this is achieved by the use of Security Profiles
and optimized hardware.
In effect it is going from a previous style of firewall that included among its features:
FortiGate Modes
The FortiGate unit has a choice of modes that it can be used in, either NAT/Route mode or Transparent mode.
The FortiGate unit is able to operate as a firewall in both modes, but some of its features are limited in
Transparent mode. It is always best to choose which mode you are going to be using at the beginning of the set
up. Once you start configuring the device, if you want to change the mode you are going to lose all configuration
settings in the change process.
NAT/Route Mode
NAT/Route mode is the most commonly used mode by a significant margin and is thus the default setting on the
device. As the name implies the function of NAT is commonly used in this mode and is easily configured but there
is no requirement to use NAT. The FortiGate unit performs network address translation before IP packets are
sent to the destination network.
l Typically used when the FortiGate unit is a gateway between private and public networks.
l Can act as a router between multiple networks within a network infrastructure.
l When used, the FortiGate unit is visible to the networks that is connected to.
l Each logical interface is on a distinct subnet.
l Each Interface needs to be assigned a valid IP address for the subnet that it is connected to it.
Transparent Mode
Transparent mode is so named because the device is effectively transparent in that it does not appear on the
network in the way that other network devices show as a nodes in the path of network traffic. Transparent mode is
typically used to apply the FortiOS features such as Security Profiles etc. on a private network where the
FortiGate unit will be behind an existing firewall or router.
This information is covered in more detail in other in the Troubleshooting chapter of the FortiOS Handbook in the
Life of a Packet section.
The incoming packet arrives at the external interface. This process of entering the device is referred to as
ingress.
Step #1 - Ingress
1. Session Helpers
2. Management Traffic
3. SSL VPN
4. User Authentication
5. Traffic Shaping
6. Session Tracking
7. Policy lookup
Step #4 - Egress
1. IPsec
2. Source NAT
3. Routing
Interfaces
Physical interfaces or not the only ones that need to be considered. There are also virtual interfaces that can be
applied to security policies. VLANs are one such virtual interface. Interfaces if certain VPN tunnels are another.
Policies are the foundation of the traffic control in a firewall and the Interfaces and addressing is the foundation
that policies are based upon. Using the identity of the interface that the traffic connects to the FortiGate unit tells
the firewall the initial direction of the traffic. The direction of the traffic is one of the determining factors in
deciding how the traffic should be dealt with. You can tell that interfaces are a fundamental part of the policies
because, by default, this is the criteria that the policies are sorted by.
Zones
Zones are a mechanism that was created to help in the administration of the firewalls. If you have a FortiGate
unit with a large number of ports and a large number of nodes in you network the chances are high that there is
going to be some duplication of policies. Zones provide the option of logically grouping multiple virtual and
physical FortiGate firewall interfaces. The zones can then be used to apply security policies to control the
incoming and outgoing traffic on those interfaces. This helps to keep the administration of the firewall simple and
maintain consistency.
For example you may have several floors of people and each of the port interfaces could go to a separate floor
where it connects to a switch controlling a different subnet. The people may be on different subnets but in terms
of security they have the same requirements. If there were 4 floors and 4 interfaces a separate policy would have
to be written for each floor to be allowed out on to the Internet off the WAN1 interface. This is not too bad if that is
all that is being done, but now start adding the use of more complicated policy scenarios with Security Profiles,
then throw in a number of Identity based issues and then add the complication that people in that organization
tend to move around in that building between floors with their notebook computers.
Each time a policy is created for each of those floors there is a chance of an inconsistency cropping up. Rather
than make up an additional duplicate set of policies for each floor, a zone can be created that combines multiple
interfaces. And then a single policy can created that uses that zone as one side of the traffic connection.
When two physical interfaces are setup as a Virtual Wire Pair, they will have no IP addressing and are treated
similar to a transparent mode VDOM. All packets accepted by one of the interfaces in a virtual wire pair can only
exit the FortiGate through the other interface in the virtual wire pair and only if allowed by a virtual wire pair
firewall policy. Packets arriving on other interfaces cannot be routed to the interfaces in a virtual wire pair. A
FortiGate can have multiple virtual wire pairs.
You cannot add VLANs to virtual wire pairs. However, you can enable wildcard VLANs for a virtual wire pair. This
means that all VLAN-tagged traffic can pass through the virtual wire pair if allowed by virtual wire pair firewall
policies.
The ACL feature is available on FortiGates with NP6-accelerated interfaces. ACL checking is one of the first
things that happens to the packet and checking is done by the NP6 processor. The result is very efficient
protection that does not use CPU or memory resources.
Incoming Interfaces
The configuration of the Access Control List allow you to specify which in interface the ACL will be applied to.
There is a hardware limitation that needs to be taken into account. The ACL is a Layer 2 function and is offloaded
to the ISF hardware, therefore no CPU resources are used in the processing of the ACL. It is handled by the
inside switch chip which can do hardware acceleration, increasing the performance of the FortiGate. The
drawback is that the ACL function is only supported on switch fabric driven interfaces. It also cannot be applied to
hardware switch interfaces or their members. Ports such as WAN1 or WAN2 that are found on some models that
use network cards that connect to the CPU through a PCIe bus will not support ACL.
Addresses
Because the address portion of an entry is based on a FortiGate address object, id can be any of the address
types used by the FortiGate, including address ranges. There is further granularity by specifying both the source
and destination addresses. The traffic is blocked not on an either or basis of these addresses but the combination
of the two, so that they both have to be correct for the traffic to be denied. Of course, If you want to block all of
the traffic from a specific address all you have to do is make the destination address "all".
Because the blocking takes place at the interface based on the information in the packet header and before any
processing such as NAT can take place, a slightly different approach may be required. For instance, if you are
trying to protect a VIP which has an external address of x.x.x.x and is forwarded to an internal address of y.y.y.y,
the destination address that should be used is x.x.x.x, because that is the address that will be in the packet's
header when it hits the incoming interface.
Services
Further granulation of the filter by which the traffic will be denied is done by specifying which service the traffic will
use.
Firewall policies
The firewall policy is the axis around which most of the other features of the FortiGate firewall revolve. A large
portion of the settings in the firewall at some point will end up relating to or being associated with the firewall
policies and the traffic that they govern. Any traffic going through a FortiGate unit has to be associated with a
policy. These policies are essentially discrete compartmentalized sets of instructions that control the traffic flow
going through the firewall. These instructions control where the traffic goes, how it’s processed, if it’s processed
and even whether or not it’s allowed to pass through the FortiGate.
When the firewall receives a connection packet, it analyzes the packet’s source address, destination address, and
service (by port number). It also registers the incoming interface, the outgoing interface it will need to use and the
time of day. Using this information the FortiGate firewall attempts to locate a security policy that matches the
packet. If it finds a policy that matches the parameters it then looks at the action for that policy. If it is ACCEPT
the traffic is allowed to proceed to the next step. If the Action is DENY or a match cannot be found the traffic is
not allowed to proceed.
The 2 basic actions at the initial connection are either ACCEPT or DENY:
l If the Action is ACCEPT, thee policy action permits communication sessions. There may be other packet
processing instructions, such as requiring authentication to use the policy or restrictions on th source and
destination of the traffic.
l If the Action is DENY, the policy action blocks communication sessions, and you can optionally log the denied
traffic. If no security policy matches the traffic, the packets are dropped. A DENY security policy is needed when it
is required to log the denied traffic, also called “violation traffic”.
There are two other Actions that can be associated with the policy:
l LEARN - This is a specialized variation on the ACCEPT action. That is set up to allow traffic but to keep traffic
logs so that the administrator can go through them to learn what kind of traffic has to be dealt with.
l IPsec - This is an ACCEPT action that is specifically for IPsec VPNs.
There can also be a number of instructions associated with a FortiGate firewall in addition to the ACCEPT or
DENY actions, some of which are optional. Instructions on how to process the traffic can also include such things
as:
l Logging Traffic
l Authentication
l Network Address Translation or Port Address Translation
l Use Virtual IPs or IP Pools
l Caching
l Whether the source of the traffic is based on address, user, device or a combination
l Whether to treat as regular traffic or IPsec traffic
l What certificates to use
l Security profiles to apply
l Proxy Options
l Traffic Shaping
Incoming Interface(s)
This is the interface or interfaces that the traffic is first connection to the FortiGate unit by. The exception being
traffic that the FortiGate generates itself. This is not limited to the physical Ethernet ports found on the device.
The incoming interface can also be a logical or virtual interface such as a VPN tunnel, a Virtual WAN link or a
wireless interface.
Outgoing Interface(s)
After the firewall has processed the traffic it needs to leave a port to get to its destination and this will be the
interface or interfaces that the traffic leaves by. This interface, like the Incoming Interface is not limited to only
physical interfaces.
Source Address(es)
The addresses that a policy can receive traffic from can be wide open or tightly controlled. For a public web server
that the world at large should be able to access, the best choice will be “all”. If the destination is a private web
server that only the branch offices of a company should be able to access or a list of internal computers that are
the only ones allowed to access an external resource then a group of preconfigured addresses is the better
strategy.
Additional parameters under the Source Address, though they are not mandatory are:
l Source User(s)
This parameter is based on a user identity that can be from a number of authentication authorities. It will be an
account or group that has been set up in advance that can be selected from the drop down menu. The exception to
this is the feature that allows the importing of LDAP Users. When the feature is used, a small wizard window will
appear to guide the user through the setup. The caveat is that the LDAP server object in the User and Device >
Authentication > LDAP Servers section has to be already configured to allow the use of this import feature.
l Source Device Type
This parameter is for narrowing down the traffic sending devices to those that the FortiGate is familiar with. Again
the contents of this parameter need to be a preconfigured object and these are defined at User and Device >
Custom Devices & Groups. This parameter can limit the devices that can connect to this policy to those specific
MAC addresses that are already known by the FortiGate and are approved for the policy.
Destination Address(es)
In the same way that the source address may need to be limited, the destination address can be used as a traffic
filter. When the traffic is destined for internal resources the specific address of the resource can be defined to
better protect the other resources on the network. One of the specialized destination address options is to use a
Virtual IP address. The destination address doesn’t need to be internal you can define policies that are only for
connecting to specific addresses on the Internet.
Internet service(s)
In this context, and Internet service is a combination of one or more addresses and one or more services
associated with a service found on the Internet such as an update service for software.
Schedule
The time frame that is applied to the policy. This can be something as simple as a time range that the sessions
are allowed to start such as between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm. Something more complex like business hours that
include a break for lunch and time of the session’s initiation may need a schedule group because it will require
multiple time ranges to make up the schedule.
Service
The service or service chosen here represent the TCP/IP suite port numbers that will most commonly be used to
transport the named protocols or group of protocols. This will be a little different than Application Control which
looks more closely at the packets to determine the actual protocol used to create them.
Without all six (possibly 8) of these things matching, the traffic will be declined. Each traffic flow requires a policy
and the direction is important as well. Just because packets can go from point A to point B on port X does not
mean that the traffic can flow from point B to point A on port X. A policy must be configured for each direction.
When designing a policy there is often reference to the traffic flow, but most communication is a two way
connection so trying to determine the direction of the flow can be somewhat confusing. If traffic is HTTP web
traffic the user sends a request to the web site, but most of the traffic flow will be coming from the web site to the
user. Is the traffic flow considered to be from the user to the web site, the web site to the user or in both
directions? For the purposes of determining the direction for a policy the important factor is the direction of the
initiating communication. The user is sending a request to the web site so this is the initial communication and
the web site is just responding to it so the traffic will be from the users network to the Internet.
A case where either side can initiate the communication like between two internal interfaces on the FortiGate unit
would be a more likely situation to require a policy for each direction.
Example
You have a web server on your network that is meant to provide a collaborative work environment web site for
your employees and a partner company for a project over the course of the next 3 months.
It is theoretically possible to allow connections into your network to any device on that network for any service and
at any time. The problem with this is that we might not want just anybody looking at those resources. Sadly, no
matter how much it is wished otherwise, not everybody on the Internet can be trusted. Which means we now have
to be very specific in our instructions as to what traffic to allow into the network. Each step that we take towards
being more specific as to what we allow means that there is that much more that is not allowed and the level of
protection of a resources is directly proportional to the amount of traffic that is not allowed. If somebody can’t get
at it they can’t damage or steal it.
Limiting where the traffic is allowed to go to means that other computers on your network besides the web-server
are protected.
l Limiting where the traffic is allowed to come from means that, if feasible, you can limit the systems that can access
the web server to just employees or the partner company computers.
l Limiting the services to just web traffic means that a malicious person, even if they were connection from a
computer at the partner organization could only use the features of web traffic to do anything malicious.
l Limiting the policy to the time span of the project would mean that even if the IT department forgot to remove the
policy after the end of the project than no computer from the other company could be used to do anything malicious
through the policy that allowed the traffic.
This is just a very basic example but it shows the underlying principles of how the idea that anything not expressly
allowed is by default denied can be used to effectively protect your network.
Policy order
Another important factor in how firewall policies work is the concept of precedence of order or if you prefer a more
recognizable term, “first come, first served”.
It is highly likely that even after only a relatively small number of policies have been created that there will be
some that overlap or are subsets of the parameters that the policies use to determine which policy should be
matched against the incoming traffic. When this happens there has to be a method to determine which policy
should be applied to the packet. The method which is used by most firewalls it based on the order of the
sequence of the policies.
If all of the policies were placed in a sequential list the process to match up the packet would start at the top of
the list and work its way down. It would compare information about the packet, specifically these points of
information:
If there is no matching policy among the policies that have been configured for traffic the packet finally drops
down to what is always the last policy. It is an implicit policy. One of a few that are referred to by the term
“policy0”. This policy denies everything.
A logical best practice that comes from the knowledge of how this process works is to make sure that the more
specific or specialized a policy is, the closer to the beginning of the sequence it should be. The more general a
policy is the higher the likelihood that it could include in its range of parameters a more specifically targeted
policy. The more specific a policy is, the higher the probability that there is a requirement for treating that traffic in
a specific way.
Example
For security reasons there is no FTP traffic allowed out of a specific subnet so there is a policy that states that any
traffic coming from that subnet is denied if the service is FTP, so the following policy was created:
Policy #1
Source Device
<left at default setting>
Type
Outgoing WAN1
Interface
Destination
0.0.0.0/0.0.0.0
Address
Service FTP
Schedule always
Action deny
Now as these things usually go it turns out that there has to be an exception to the rule. There is one very secure
computer on the subnet that is allowed to use FTP and once the content has been checked it can them be
distributed to the other computer on the subnet. So a second firewall policy is created.
Policy #2
Source Device
<left at default setting>
Type
Outgoing WAN1
Interface
Destination
0.0.0.0/0.0.0.0
Address
Service FTP
Schedule always
Action Allow
By default, a policy that has just been created will be placed last in the sequence so that it is less likely to interfere
with existing policies before it can be moved to its intended position. If you look at Policy #2 you will notice that it
is essentially the same as Policy #1 exempt for the Source Address and the Action. You will also notice that the
Source Address of the Policy #2 is a subset of the Source address in policy #1. This means that if nothing further
is done, Policy #2 will never see any traffic because the traffic will always be matched by Policy #1 and processed
before it has a chance to reach the second policy in the sequence. For both policies to work as intended Policy #2
needs to be moved to before Policy #1 in the sequence.
Policy Identification
There are two ways to identify a policy. The most obvious is the policy name and this is easily read by humans,
but with a little effort it is possible to have a policy without a name, therefore every policy has an ID number.
When looking at the policy listing it can appear as if the policies are identified by the sequence number in the far
left column. The problem is that this number changes as the position of the policy in the sequence changes. The
column that correctly identifies the policy, and the value sticks with the policy is the "ID" column. This column is
not shown by default in the listing but can be added to the displayed columns by right clicking on the column
heading bar and selecting it from the list of possible columns.
When looking in the configuration file the sequence is based upon the order of the policies as they are in the file
just as they are in the list in the GUI. However, if you need to edit the policy in the CLI you must use the ID
number.
UUID Support
Universally Unique Identifier (UUID) attributes have been added to policies to improve functionality when working
with FortiManager or FortiAnalyzer units. If required, the UUID can be set manually through the CLI.
CLI Syntax:
config firewall {policy/policy6/policy46/policy64}
edit 1
set uuid <example uuid: 8289ef80-f879-51e2-20dd-fa62c5c51f44>
next
end
If the packets need to go through IPSEC interface, the traffic will be always offloaded
to Nturbo. But for the case that SA has not been installed to NP6 because of hardware
limitation or SA offload disable, the packets will be sent out through raw socket by IPS
instead of Nturbo, since the software encryption is needed in this case.
CLI :
Previously, NTurbo could only be enabled or disabled globally. The setting of np-acceleration has been added to
the firewall policy context instead of just the global context.
end
When IPS is enabled for VPN IPsec traffic, the data can be accelerated by NTurbo.
Once the Learn action is enabled, functions produce hard coded profiles that will be enabled on the policy. The
following profiles are set up:
l AntiVirus (av-profile)
l Web Filter ( webfilter-profile)
l Anti Spam( spamfilter-profile )
l Data Leak Prevention (dlp-sensor )
l Intrusion Protection (ips-sensor )
l Application Control (application-list )
l Proxy Options (profile-protocol-options)
Once the Learning policy has been running for a sufficient time to collect needed information a report can be
looked at by going to Log & Report > Learning Report.
Deployment Methodology
l Test Details
l Start time
l End time
l Model
l Firmware
l Policy List
Executive Summary
l Application Usage
l Top Application Categories
l Top Social Media Applications
l Top Video/Audio Streaming Applications
l Top Peer to Peer Applications
l Top Gaming Applications
l Web Usage
l Top Web Categories
l Top Web Applications
l Top Web Domains
Policy Modes
You can operate your FortiGate or individual VDOMs in Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) Policy Mode.
You can enable NGFW policy mode by going to System > Settings, setting the Inspection mode to Flow-
based and setting the NGFW mode to Policy-based. When selecting NGFW policy-based mode you also
select the SSL/SSH Inspection mode that is applied to all policies
Flow-based inspection with profile-based NGFW mode is the default in FortiOS 5.6.
Security profiles
Where security policies provide the instructions to the FortiGate unit for controlling what traffic is allowed through
the device, the Security profiles provide the screening that filters the content coming and going on the network.
Security profiles enable you to instruct the FortiGate unit about what to look for in the traffic that you don’t want,
or want to monitor, as it passes through the device.
A security profile is a group of options and filters that you can apply to one or more firewall policies. Security
profiles can be used by more than one security policy. You can configure sets of security profiles for the traffic
types handled by a set of security policies that require identical protection levels and types, rather than repeatedly
configuring those same security profile settings for each individual security policy.
For example, while traffic between trusted and untrusted networks might need strict antivirus protection, traffic
between trusted internal addresses might need moderate antivirus protection. To provide the different levels of
protection, you might configure two separate profiles: one for traffic between trusted networks, and one for traffic
between trusted and untrusted networks.
Security profiles are available for various unwanted traffic and network threats. Each are configured separately
and can be used in different groupings as needed. You configure security profiles in the Security Profiles menu
and applied when creating a security policy by selecting the security profile type.
There is a separate handbook for the topic of the Security Profiles, but because the Security Profiles are applied
through the Firewall policies it makes sense to have at least a basic idea of what the security profile do and how
they integrate into the FortiGate's firewall policies. The following is a listing and a brief description of what the
security profiles offer by way of functionality and how they can be configured into the firewall policies.
l HTTP
l SMTP
l POP3
l IMAP
l FTP
l NNTP
l MAPI
l DNS
l IM
AntiVirus
Antivirus is used as a catch all term to describe the technology for protection against the transmission of
malicious computer code sometimes referred to as malware. As anyone who has listened to the media has heard
that the Internet can be a dangerous place filled with malware of various flavors. Currently, the malware that is
most common in the Internet, in descending order, is Trojan horses, viruses, worms, adware, back door exploits,
spyware and other variations. In recent years, not only has the volume of malicious software become greater than
would have been believed when it first appeared but the level of sophistication has risen as well.
The Antivirus Filter works by inspecting the traffic that is about to be transmitted through the FortiGate. To
increase the efficiency of effort it only inspects the traffic being transmitted via the protocols that it has been
configured to check. Before the data moves across the FortiGate firewall from one interface to another it is
checked for attributes or signatures that have been known to be associated with malware. If malware is detected,
it is removed.
Web Filtering
Malicious code is not the only thing to be wary of on the Internet. There is also the actual content. While the
content will not damage or steal information from your computer there is still a number of reasons that would
require protection from it.
In a setting where there are children or other sensitive people using the access provided by a connected computer
there is a need to make sure that images or information that is not appropriate is not inadvertently displayed to
them. Even if there is supervision, in the time it takes to recognize something that is inappropriate and then
properly react can expose those we wish to protect. It is more efficient to make sure that the content cannot reach
the screen in the first place.
In an organizational setting, there is still the expectation that organization will do what it can to prevent
inappropriate content from getting onto the computer screens and thus provoking an Human Resources incident.
There is also the potential loss of productivity that can take place if people have unfiltered access to the Internet.
Some organizations prefer to limit the amount of distractions available to tempt their workers away from their
duties.
The Web filter works primarily by looking at the destination location request for a HTTP(S) request made by the
sending computer. If the URL is on a list that you have configured to list unwanted sites, the connection will be
disallowed. If the site is part of a category of sites that you have configured to deny connections to the session will
also be denied. You can also configure the content filter to check for specific key strings of data on the actual web
site and if any of those strings of data appear the connection will not be allowed.
Application Control
Application Control is designed to allow you to determine what applications are operating on your network and to
the also filter the use of these applications as required. Application control is also for outgoing traffic to prevent
the use of applications that are against an organization’s policy from crossing the network gateway to other
networks. An example of this would be the use of proxy servers to circumvent the restrictions put in place using
the Web Filtering.
As new vulnerabilities are discovered they can be added to the IPS database so that the protection is current.
Anti-Spam
Spam or unsolicited bulk email is said to account for approximately 90% of the email traffic on the Internet.
Sorting through it is both time consuming and frustrating. By putting an email filter on policies that handle email
traffic, the amount of spam that users have to deal with can be greatly reduced.
For instance, a company may have a policy that they will not reveal anyone’s Social Security number, but an
employee emails a number of documents to another company that included a lengthy document that has a Social
Security number buried deep within it. There is not malicious intent but if the information got out there could be
repercussions.
If an organization has any information in a digital format that it cannot afford for financial or legal reasons, to
leave its network, it makes sense to have Data Leak Prevention in place as an additional layer of protection.
VoIP
Voice over IP is essentially the protocols for transmitting voice or other multimedia communications over Internet
Protocol networks such as the Internet. The Security Profiles VoIP options apply the SIP Application Level
Gateway (ALG) to support SIP through the FortiGate unit. The SIP ALG can also be used to protect networks
from SIP-based attacks.
ICAP
Internet Content Adaptation Protocol (ICAP) off loads HTTP traffic to another location for specialized processing.
The purpose of this module when triggered is to send the incoming HTTP traffic over to a remote server to be
processed thus taking some of the strain off of the resources of the FortiGate unit. The reasons for the
specialized process could be anything from more sophisticated Antivirus to manipulation of the HTTP headers
and URLs.
Just like other components of the FortiGate, there is the option for different Proxy Option profiles so that you can
be very granular in your control of the workings of the FortiGate. In the case of the Proxy Option profiles the thing
that you will want to focus on is the matching up of the correct profile to a firewall policy that is using the
appropriate protocols. If you are creating a Proxy Option profile that is designed for policies that control SMTP
traffic into your network you only want to configure the settings that apply to SMTP. You do not need or want to
configure the HTTP components.
The Web Application Firewall performs a similar role as devices such as Fortinet's FortiWeb, though in a more
limited fashion. It's function is to protect internal web servers from malicious activity specific to those types of
servers. This includes things like SQL injection, Cross site Scripting and trojans. It uses signatures and other
straight forward methods to protect the web servers, but it is a case of turning the feature on or off and the actions
are limited toAllow, MonitororBlock.To get protection that is more sophisticated, granular and intelligent, as
will as having many more features, it is necessary to get a device like the FortiWeb that can devote more
resources to the process. However, if your needs are simple, choosing to use the WAF feature built into the
FortiGate should provide valuable protection.
The comfort client feature to mitigates this potential issue by feeding a trickle of data while waiting for the scan to
complete so as to let the user know that processing is taking place and that there hasn’t been a failure in the
transmission. This slow transfer rate continues until the antivirus scan is complete. Once the file has been
successfully scanned without any indication of viruses the transfer will proceed at full speed.
l Security Profile Groups are used exclusively in the configuration of a firewall policy, which is described in the
Firewall Chapter/Handbook.
l The CLI commands for creating and using Security Profile Groups are in the firewall configuration context of the
command line structure of settings.
The purpose of Security Profile Groups is just the same as other groups such as Address, Service, and VIP
groups. They are used to save time and effort in the administration of the FortiGate when there are a lot of
policies with a similar pattern of Security Profile use. In a fairly basic network setup with a handful of policies it
doesn't seem like it would be worth the effort to set up groups of security profiles but if you have a large complex
configuration with hundreds of policies where many of them use the same security profiles it can definitely save
some effort and help prevent missing adding an important profile from a policy. As an added benefit, when it
comes time to add or change the profiles for the policies that use the Security Profile Groups, the changes only
have to be made to the group, not each policy.
The most difficult part about using Security Profile Groups is making them visible in the GUI.
By default, the Security Profile Groups are not visible in the GUI. Neither the ability to assign one to a policy nor
the ability to configure the members of a group are available by default. You will not find the option to enable
Security Profile Groups under System > Feature Visibility either. Instead, they only become visible in the GUI
once one has been created and assigned to a policy. This must be done the first time through the CLI using the
following syntax:
config system settings
set gui-dynamic-profile-display enable
end
Use the edit command to give a name to and create a new Security Profile Group
(profile-group) # edit test-group
Configure the members of the group by setting the name of the desired profile in the field for the related
profile/sensor/list. The options are:
Example:
set av-profile default
set profile-plrotocol-options default
end
Now that there is group to add to a policy we can configure a policy to allow the use of a Security Policy group.
This is also done in the CLI.
In the following example only the command necessary to enable the use and pick of a Security Policy group have
been listed.
config firewall policy
edit 0
set utm-status enable
set profile-type group
set profile-group test-group
Step 3 - The appearance in the GUI of the Security Profile Group configuration features
l Under Security Profiles there is a menu item called Profile Groups that can be used to create new and edit
existing profile groups.
l In the Edit Policy window for IPv4 and IPv6 policies there is a Use Security Profile Group field to enable or
disable the use of the groups.
l In the window, policy groups can be created or edited by clicking on the appropriate icons next to or in the drop
down menu
l In the policy listing window there is a Security Profiles column.
l Right or left clicking on the icon for the group brings up editing options either via a slide out window or a drop
down menu, respectively.
l HTTP
l SMTP
l POP3
l IMAP
l FTP
l NNTP
l MAPI
l DNS
l IM
The configuration for each of these protocols is handled separately.
It should also be noted that these configurations apply to only the Security Profiles Proxy-based processes and
not the Flow-based processes.
This setting is for those that would like to log the occurrence of oversized files being processed. It does not
change how they are processed it only enables the FortiGate unit to log that they were either blocked or allowed
through. A common practice is to allow larger files through without antivirus processing. This allows you to get an
idea of how often this happens and decide on whether or not to alter the settings relating to the treatment of
oversized files.
The setting of the threshold for what is considered to be an oversized file is located in the Oversized File / Email
Threshold that is found in some of the protocol options for the Proxy Options.
While each of the protocols listed has a default TCP port that is commonly used, the level of granularity of control
on the FortiGate firewall allows that the port used by the protocols can be individually modified in each separate
Profile. It can also be set to inspect any port with flowing traffic for that particular protocol. The headers of the
packets will indicate which protocol generated the packet. To optimize the resources of the unit the mapping and
inspection of protocols can be enabled or disabled depending on your requirements.
Comfort Clients
When proxy-based antivirus scanning is enabled, the FortiGate unit buffers files as they are downloaded. Once
the entire file is captured, the FortiGate unit begins scanning the file. During the buffering and scanning
procedure, the user must wait. After the scan is completed, if no infection is found, the file is sent to the next step
in the process flow. If the file is a large one this part of the process can take some time. In some cases enough
time that some users may get impatient and cancel the download.
The comfort client feature to mitigates this potential issue by feeding a trickle of data while waiting for the scan to
complete so as to let the user know that processing is taking place and that there hasn’t been a failure in the
transmission. This slow transfer rate continues until the antivirus scan is complete. Once the file has been
successfully scanned without any indication of viruses the transfer will proceed at full speed.
If there is evidence of an infection the FortiGate unit caches the URL and drops the connection. The client does
not receive any notification of what happened because the download to the client had already started. Instead,
the download stops and the user is left with a partially downloaded file. If the user tries to download the same file
again within a short period of time, the cached URL is matched and the download is blocked. The client receives
the Infection cache message replacement message as a notification that the download has been blocked. The
number of URLs in the cache is limited by the size of the cache.
Client comforting is available for HTTP and FTP traffic. If your FortiGate unit supports SSL content scanning and
inspection, you can also configure client comforting for HTTPS and FTPS traffic.
Buffering the entire file allows the FortiGate unit to eliminate the danger of missing an
infection due to fragmentation because the file is reassembled before examination.
Client comforting can send unscanned and therefore potentially infected content to
the client. You should only enable client comforting if you are prepared to accept this
risk. Keeping the client comforting interval high and the amount low will reduce the
amount of potentially infected data that is downloaded.
This is another feature that is related to antivirus scanning. The FortiGate unit has a finite amount of resources
that can be used to buffer and scan a file. If a large file such as an ISO image or video file was to be downloaded
this could not only overwhelm the memory of the FortiGate, especially if there were other large files being
downloaded at the same time, but could exceed it as well. For this reason, how to treat large files needs to be
addressed.
A threshold is assigned to determine what should be considered an oversize file or email. This can be set at any
size from 1 MB to 50 MB. Any file or email over this threshold will not be processed by the Antivirus Security
Profiles. Once a file is determined to be oversized it must be then determined whether to allow it or to block it.
These settings are not a technical decision but a policy one that will depend on your comfort level with letting files
into your network. As there often is, there is a compromise between convenience or ease of use and security. If
you want to go for a high peace of mind level you can configure the firewall to block oversized files and thus no
files would be coming into the network that have not been scanned. If you are looking for optimizing the memory
of the FortiGate unit and making sure that everybody is getting the files they want, you can lower the threshold
and allow files that are over the threshold.
It should be noted that in terms of probability that malware is more likely to be found in
smaller files than in larger files. A number of administrators take this into account
when they lower the default threshold so as to lessen the impact on memory if they
see the FortiGate unit going into conserve mode on a regular basis.
Chunked Bypass
The HTTP section allows the enabling of “Chunked Bypass”. This refers to the mechanism in version 1.1 of HTTP
that allows a web server to start sending chunks of dynamically generated output in response to a request before
actually knowing the actual size of the content. Where dynamically generated content is concerned this means
that there is a faster initial response to HTTP requests. From a security stand point it means that the content will
not be held in the proxy as an entire file before proceeding.
The specifications of RFC 2046 allow for the breaking up of emails and sending the fragments in parallel to be
rebuilt and read at the other end by the mail server. It was originally designed to increase the performance over
slower connections where larger email messages were involved. It will depend on your mail configuration if this is
even possible for your network but outside of Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express, not many email clients are
set up to break up messages like this. The drawback of allowing this feature is that if malware is broken up
between multiple fragments of the message the risk is run that it will not be detected by some antivirus
configurations because the code may not all be present at the same time to identify.
The Append Email Signature is used when an organization would like to ensure that over and above our in this
case underneath the existing personal signatures of the sender, all of the emails going out of their network have
the appropriate “boilerplate”, for lack of a better term. These appended emails do not replace existing signatures.
They are as the feature states, appended to the email.
SSL/SSH Inspection
While the profile configuration for SSL/SSH Inspection is found in the Security Profiles section it is enabled in
the firewall policy by enabling any of the security profiles. Choosing which of the SSL/SSH Inspection profiles is
all that can really be done in the policy.
The reason for having this inspection as part of the policy is the wide spread use of encryption by both legitimate
and malicious actors. The legitimate users of the Internet use encryption to hide their information from snooping
bad guy but the bad guys use encryption to hide their malicious content from being scanned for viruses and other
malicious code by security devices.
By using the correct SSL certificates, the FortiGate can open up encrypted traffic and inspect it for malicious
content that would otherwise make it past the other profiles because they couldn't read the encrypted traffic.
l Certificate inspection, which only looks at the certificate that encrypted the packets to make sure that it is a
recognized and valid certificate.
l Full inspection, or deep inspection, that looks at all of the content of the packet. While more thorough, it also takes
up more resources to perform.
HSTS is a protocol used by Google and other web browsers to prevent man-in-the-middle attacks.
When performing deep inspection, the FortiGate intercepts the https traffic and would send its own self-signed
CA certificate to the browser. If the browser is configured to use HSTS connections, it would refuse the FortiGate
CA certificate since it is not on the trusted list for Google servers.
To keep the CA certificate from being refused, the HSTS settings should be cleared from the browser.
Instructions for this vary between browsers.
To gain a deeper understanding read the SSL/SSH Inspection section in the Security Profile chapter.
It is possible to "mirror" or send a copy of traffic decrypted by SSL inspection to one or more FortiGate interfaces
so that the traffic can be collected by a raw packet capture tool for archiving or analysis. This feature is available if
the inspection mode is set to flow-based.
Decryption, storage, inspection, and use decrypted content is subject to local privacy
rules. Use of these features could enable malicious users with administrative access to
your FortiGate to harvest sensitive information submitted using an encrypted channel.
In this example, the setting enables the policy to send all traffic decrypted by the policy to the FortiGate port1 and
port2 interfaces.
config firewall policy
edit 0
set ssl-mirror enable
set ssl-mirror-intf port1 port2
end
IPv6
Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) will succeed IPv4 as the standard networking protocol of the Internet. IPv6
provides a number of advances over IPv4 but the primary reason for its replacing IPv4 is its limitation in
addresses. IPv4 uses 32 bit addresses which means there is a theoretical limit of 2 to the power of 32. The IPv6
address scheme is based on a 128 bit address or a theoretical limit of 2 to the power of 128.
Possible Addresses:
There is little likelihood that you will ever need to worry about these numbers as any kind of serious limitation in
addressing but they do give an idea of the scope of the difference in the available addressing.
Aside from the difference of possible addresses there is also the different formatting of the addresses that will
need to be addressed.
A computer would view an IPv4 address as a 32 bit string of binary digits made up of 1s and 0s, broken up into 4
octets of 8 digits separated by a period “.”
Example:
10101100.00010000.11111110.00000001
To make number more user friendly for humans we translate this into decimal, again 4 octets separated by a
period “.”which works out to:
172.16.254.1
A computer would view an IPv6 address as a 128 bit string of binary digits made up of 1s and 0s, broken up into 8
octets of 16 digits separated by a colon “:”
1000000000000001:0000110110111000:101011000001000:1111111000000001:000000000000000
0:0000000000000000:0000000000000000:0000000000000000
To make number a little more user friendly for humans we translate this into hexadecimal, again 8 octets
separated by a colon “:” which works out to:
8001:0DB8:AC10:FE01:0000:0000:0000:0000:
Because any four-digit group of zeros within an IPv6 address may be reduced to a single zero or altogether
omitted, this address can be shortened further to:
8001:0DB8:AC10:FE01:0:0:0:0
or
8001:0DB8:AC10:FE01::
IPv6 in FortiOS
From an administrative point of view IPv6 works almost the same as IPv4 in FortiOS. The primary differences are
the use of IPv6 format for addresses and fewer address types for IPv6. There is also no need for NAT if the
FortiGate firewall is the interface between IPv6 networks. If the subnets attached to the FortiGate firewall are
IPv6 and IPv4 NAT can be configured between the 2 different formats. This will involve either configuring a dual
stack routing or IPv4 tunneling configuration. The reason for this is simple. NAT was developed primarily for the
purpose of extending the number of usable IPv4 addresses. IPv6’s addressing allows for enough available
addresses so the NAT is no longer necessary.
When configuring IPv6 in FortiOS, you can create a dual stack route or IPv4-IPv6 tunnel. A dual stack routing
configuration implements dual IP layers, supporting both IPv4 and IPv6, in both hosts and routers. An IPv4-IPv6
tunnel is essentially similar, creating a tunnel that encapsulates IPv6 packets within IPv4 headers that carry these
IPv6 packets over IPv4 tunnels. The FortiGate unit can also be easily integrated into an IPv6 network. Connecting
the FortiGate unit to an IPv6 network is exactly the same as connecting it to an IPv4 network, the only difference
is that you are using IPv6 addresses.
By default the IPv6 settings are not displayed in the Web-based Manager. It is just a matter of enabling the
display of these feature to use them through the web interface. To enable them just go to System > Feature
Select and select IPv6. Once enabled, you will be able to use IPv6 addresses as well as the IPv4 addressing for
the following FortiGate firewall features:
l Static routing
l Policy Routing
l Packet and network sniffing
l Dynamic routing (RIPv6, BGP4+, and OSPFv3)
l IPsec VPN
l DNS
l DHCP
l SSL VPN
l Network interface addressing
l Security Profiles protection
l Routing access lists and prefix lists
l NAT/Route and Transparent mode
l NAT 64 and NAT 66
l IPv6 tunnel over IPv4 and IPv4 tunnel over IPv6
If an organization with a mixed network uses an Internet service provider that does not support IPv6, they can use
an IPv6 tunnel broker to connect to IPv6 addresses that are on the Internet. FortiOS supports IPv6 tunneling over
IPv4 networks to tunnel brokers. The tunnel broker extracts the IPv6 packets from the tunnel and routes them to
their destinations.
IPv6 Tunneling
IPv6 Tunneling is the act of tunneling IPv6 packets from an IPv6 network through an IPv4 network to another IPv6
network. This is different than Network Address Translation (NAT) because once the packet reaches its final
destination the true originating address of the sender will still be readable. The IPv6 packets are encapsulated
within packets with IPv4 headers, which carry their IPv6 payload through the IPv4 network. This type of
configuration is more appropriate for those who have completely transitional over to IPv6, but need an Internet
connection, which is still mostly IPv4 addresses.
The key to IPv6 tunneling is the ability of the 2 devices, whether they are a host or a network device, to be dual
stack compatible. They have to be able to work with both IPv4 and IPv6 at the same time. In the process the entry
node of the tunnel portion of the path will create an encapsulating IPv4 header and transmit the encapsulated
packet. The exit node at the end of the tunnel receives the encapsulated packet. The IPv4 header is removed.
The IPv6 header is updated and the IPv6 packet is processed.
Automatic Automatic tunnels are configured by using IPv4 address information embedded in an
tunnels IPv6 address – the IPv6 address of the destination host includes information about
which IPv4 address the packet should be tunneled to.
Configured tunnels must be configured manually. These tunnels are used when using
Configured
IPv6 addresses that do not have any embedded IPv4 information. The IPv6 and IPv4
tunnels
addresses of the endpoints of the tunnel must be specified.
Tunnel Configurations
There are a few ways in which the tunneling can be performed depending on which segment of the path between
the end points of the session the encapsulation takes place.
Network Device Dual stack capable devices connected by an IPv4 infrastructure can tunnel IPv6
to Network packets between themselves. In this case, the tunnel spans one segment of the path
Device taken by the IPv6 packets.
Dual stack capable hosts can tunnel IPv6 packets to an intermediary IPv6 or IPv4
Host to Network
network device that is reachable through an IPv4 infrastructure. This type of tunnel
Device
spans the first segment of the path taken by the IPv6 packets.
Host to Host Dual stack capable hosts that are interconnected by an IPv4 infrastructure can tunnel
IPv6 packets between themselves. In this case, the tunnel spans the entire path taken
by the IPv6 packets.
Dual stack capable network devices can tunnel IPv6 packets to their final destination
Network Device
IPv6 or IPv4 host. This tunnel spans only the last segment of the path taken by the
to Host
IPv6 packets.
Regardless of whether the tunnel starts at a host or a network device, the node that does the encapsulation
needs to maintain soft state information, such as the maximum transmission unit (MTU), about each tunnel in
order to process the IPv6 packets.
NAT
NAT or Network Address Translation is the process that enables a single device such as a router or firewall to act
as an agent between the Internet or Public Network and a local or private network. This “agent”, in real time,
translates the source IP address of a device on one network interface, usually the Internal, to a different IP
address as it leaves another interface, usually the interface connected to the ISP and the Internet. This enables a
single public address to represent a significantly larger number of private addresses.
When IP version 4 addressing was created nobody had any idea how many addresses would be needed. The total
address range was based on the concept of 2 to the 32nd power, which works out to be 4 294 967 296 potential
addresses. Once you eliminate some of those for reserved addresses, broadcast addresses, network addresses,
multicasting, etc., you end up with a workable scope of about 3.2 million addressees. This was thought to be
more than enough at the time. The designers were not expecting the explosion of personal computing, the World
Wide Web or smart phones. As of the beginning of 2012, some estimate the number of computers in the world in
the neighborhood of 1 billion, and most of those computer users are going to want to be on the Internet or Search
the World Wide Web. In short, we ran out of addresses.
This problem of an address shortage was realized before we actually ran out, and in the mid 1990s 2 technical
papers called RFCs numbered 1631 (http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc1631.txt) and 1918
(http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc1918), proposed components of a method that would be used as a solution until a
new addressing methodology could be implemented across the Internet infrastructure. For more information on
this you can look up IP version 6.
RFC 1631 described a process that would allow networking devices to translate a single public address to
multiple private IP addresses and RFC 1918 laid out the use of the private addresses. The addresses that were
on the Internet (Public IP addresses) could not be duplicated for them to work as unique addresses, but behind a
firewall, which most large institutions had, they could use their own Private IP addresses for internal use and the
internal computers could share the external or Public IP address.
To give an idea on a small scale how this works, image that a company has a need for 200 computer addresses.
Before Private IP addresses and NAT the company would have purchased a full Class C address range which
would have been 254 usable IP addresses; wasting about 50 addresses. Now with NAT, that company only needs
1 IP address for its 200 computers and this leaves the rest of the IP addresses in that range available for other
companies to do the same thing.
NAT gives better value than it would first appear because it is not 253 companies that can use 254 addresses but
each of those 254 companies could set up their networking infrastructures to use up to thousands of Private IP
addresses, more if they don’t all have to talk to the Internet at the same time. This process enabled the Internet
to keep growing even though we technically have many more computers networked than we have addresses.
Dynamic NAT
Dynamic NAT maps the private IP addresses to the first available Public Address from a pool of possible
Addresses. In the FortiGate firewall this can be done by using IP Pools.
Overloading
This is a form of Dynamic NAT that maps multiple private IP address to a single Public IP address but
differentiates them by using a different port assignment. This is probably the most widely used version of NAT.
This is also referred to as PAT (Port Address Translation) or Masquerading.
An example would be if you had a single IP address assigned to you by your ISP but had 50 or 60 computers on
your local network.
Say the internal address of the interface connected to the ISP was 256.16.32.65 (again an impossible address)
with 256.16.32.64 being the remote gateway. If you are using this form of NAT any time one of your computers
accesses the Internet it will be seen from the Internet as 256.16.32.65. If you wish to test this go to 2 different
computers and verify that they each have a different private IP address then go to a site that tells you your IP
address such as www.ipchicken.com. You will see that the site gives the same result of 256.16.32.65, if it
existed, as the public address for both computers.
As mentioned before this is sometimes called Port Address Translation because network device uses TCP ports
to determine which internal IP address is associated with each session through the network device. For example,
if you have a network with internal addresses ranging from 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.1.255 and you have 5
computers all trying to connect to a web site which is normally listening on port 80 all of them will appear to the
remote web site to have the IP address of 256.16.32.65 but they will each have a different sending TCP port, with
the port numbers being somewhere between 1 and 65 535, although the port numbers between 1 to 1024 are
usually reserved or already in use. So it could be something like the following:
192.168.1.10 256.16.32.65: port 486
192.168.1.23 256.16.32.65: port 2409
192.168.1.56 256.16.32.65: port 53763
192.168.1.109 256.16.32.65: port 5548
192.168.1.201 256.16.32.65: port 4396
And the remote web server would send the responding traffic back based on those port numbers so the network
device would be able to sort through the incoming traffic and pass it on to the correct computer.
Overlapping
Because everybody is using the relative same small selection of Private IP addresses it is inevitable that there will
be two networks that share the same network range that will need to talk with each other. This happens most
often over Virtual Private Networks or when one organization ends up merging with another. This is a case where
a private IP address may be translated into a different private IP address so there are no issues with conflict of
addresses or confusion in terms of routing.
An example of this would be when you have a Main office that is using an IP range of 172.16.0.1 to
172.20.255.255 connecting through a VPN to a recently acquired branch office that is already running with an IP
range of 172.17.1.1 to 172.17.255.255. Both of these ranges are perfectly valid but because the Branch office
range is included in the Main Office range any time the system from the Main office try to connect to an address
in the Branch Office the routing the system will not send the packet to the default gateway because according to
the routing table the address is in its own subnet.
The plan here would be to NAT in both directions so that traffic from neither side of the firewall would be in
conflict and they would be able to route the traffic. Everything coming from the Branch Office could be assigned
an address in the 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.1.255 range and everything from the Main office going to the Branch
Office could be assigned to an address in the 192.168.10.1 to 192.168.10.255 range.
Static NAT
In Static NAT one internal IP address is always mapped to the same public IP address.
In FortiGate firewall configurations this is most commonly done with the use of Virtual IP addressing.
An example would be if you had a small range of IP addresses assigned to you by your ISP and you wished to use
one of those IP address exclusively for a particular server such as an email server.
Say the internal address of the Email server was 192.168.12.25 and the Public IP address from your assigned
addresses range from 256.16.32.65 to 256.16.32.127. Many readers will notice that because one of the numbers
is above 255 that this is not a real Public IP address. The Address that you have assigned to the interface
connected to your ISP is 256.16.32.66, with 256.16.32.65 being the remote gateway. You wish to use the
address of 256.16.32.70 exclusively for your email server.
When using a Virtual IP address you set the external IP address of 256.16.32.70 to map to 192.168.12.25. This
means that any traffic being sent to the public address of 256.16.32.70 will be directed to the internal computer at
the address of 192.168.12.25
When using a Virtual IP address, this will have the added function that when ever traffic goes from 192.168.12.25
to the Internet it will appear to the recipient of that traffic at the other end as coming from 256.16.32.70.
You should note that if you use Virtual IP addressing with the Port Forwarding enabled you do not get this
reciprocal effect and must use IP pools to make sure that the outbound traffic uses the specified IP address.
Benefits of NAT
As explained earlier, this was the original intent of the technology and does not need to be gone into further.
Financial Savings
Because an organization does not have to purchase IP addresses for every computer in use there is a significant
cost savings due to using the process of Network Address Translation.
Security Enhancements
One of the side benefits of the process of NAT is an improvement in security. Individual computers are harder to
target from the outside and if port forwarding is being used computers on the inside of a firewall are less likely to
have unmonitored open ports accessible from the Internet.
With a large available pool of IP addresses to use internally a network administrator can arrange things to be
compartmentalized in a rational and easily remembered fashion and networks can be broken apart easily to
isolate for reasons of network performance and security.
Example
You have a large organization that for security reasons has certain departments that do not share network
resources.
You can have the main section of the organization set up as follows;
Administration
192.168.1.76 to 192.168.1.100
Personnel
You could then have the following groups broken off into separate subnets:
Research and
172.16.1.1 to 172.16.255.255
Development
These addresses do not have to be assigned right away but can be used as planned ranges.
l Enable NAT to translate the source addresses of packets as they pass through the FortiGate unit.
l Add virtual IPs to translate destination addresses of packets as they pass through the FortiGate unit.
l Add IP pools as required for source address translation
A FortiGate unit operating in Transparent mode normally has only one IP address - the management IP. To
support NAT in Transparent mode, you can add a second management IP. These two management IPs must be
on different subnets. When you add two management IP addresses, all FortiGate unit network interfaces will
respond to connections to both of these IP addresses.
The usual practice of NATing in transparent mode makes use of two management IP addresses that are on
different subnets, but this is not an essential requirement in every case.
If there is a router between the client systems and the FortiGate unit you can use the router’s capabilities of
tracking sessions to assign NATed addresses from an IP pool to the clients even if the assigned address don’t
belong to a subnet on your network.
Example
Router “A” sits between the client computer and the FortiGate (in Transparent mode) with the IP address of
1.1.1.1 on the client’s side of the router and the IP address of 192.168.1.211 on the FortiGate’s side of the router.
Use NAT to assign addresses from an address pool of 9.9.9.1 to 9.9.9.99 to traffic coming from gateway of
192.168.1.211.
To enable the return traffic to get to the original computer, set up a static route than assigns any traffic with a
destination of 9.9.9.0/24 to go through the 192.168.1.211 gateway. As long as the session for the outgoing traffic
has been maintained, communication between the client computer and the external system on the other side of
the FortiGate will work.
While similar in functionality to IP pools, where a single address is translated to an alternate address from a range
of IP addresses, with IP pools there is no control over the translated port. When using the IP pool for source NAT,
you can define a fixed port to guarantee the source port number is unchanged. If no fix port is defined, the port
translation is randomly chosen by the FortiGate unit. With the central NAT table, you have full control over both
the IP address and port translation.
The FortiGate unit reads the NAT rules in a top-down methodology, until it hits a matching rule for the incoming
address. This enables you to create multiple NAT policies that dictate which IP pool is used based on the source
address. The NAT policies can be rearranged within the policy list as well. NAT policies are applied to network
traffic after a security policy.
One of these setups involves having at least 2 interfaces, 1 on an IPv4 network and 1 on an IPv6 network. The
NAT64 server synthesizes AAAA records, used by IPv6 from A records used by IPv4. This way client-server and
peer to peer communications will be able to work between an IPv6 only client and an IPv4 server without making
changes to either of the end nodes in the communication transaction. The IPv6 network attached to the FortiGate
unit should be a 32 bit segment, (for instance 64:ff9b::/96, see RFC 6052 and RFC 6146). IPv4 address will be
embedded into the communications from the IPv6 client.
Because the IPv6 range of addresses is so much larger than the IPv4 range, a one to one mapping is not feasible.
Therefore the NAT64 function is required to maintain any IPv6 to IPv4 mappings that it synthesizes. This can be
done either statically by the administrator or automatically by the service as the packets from the IPv6 network go
through the device. The first method would be a stateless translation and the second would be a stateful
translation. NAT64 is designed for communication initiated from IPv6 hosts to IPv4 addresses. It is address
mapping like this that allows the reverse to occur between established connections. The stateless or manual
method is an appropriate solution when the NAT64 translation is taking place in front of legacy IPv4 servers to
allow those specific servers to be accessed by remote IPv6-only clients. The stateful or automatic solution is best
used closer to the client side when you have to allow some specific IPv6 clients to talk to any of the IPv4-only
servers on the Internet.
There are currently issues with NAT64 not being able to make everything accessible. Examples would be SIP,
Skype, MSN, Goggle talk, and sites with IPv4 literals. IPv4 literals being IPv4 addresses that are imbedded into
content rather than a FQDN.
Policies that employ NAT64 or NAT46 can be configured from the web-based manager as long as the feature is
enabled using the Features setting found at System > Config > Features.
l To create a NAT64 policy go to Policy & Objects > NAT64 Policy and select Create New.
l To create a NAT46 policy go to Policy > NAT46 Policy and select Create New.
The difference between these NAT policies and regular policies is that there is no option to use the security
profiles and sensors.
NAT64 CLAT traffic is now supported by the FortiGate. CLAT traffic comes from
devices that use the SIIT translator that plays a part in affecting IPv6 - IPv4 NAT
translation.
NAT64 CLAT
NAT64 CLATtraffic is supported by FortiOS. CLAT traffic comes from devices that use the SIIT translator that
plays a part in affecting IPv6 - IPv4 NAT translation.
NAT 66
NAT 66 is Network Address Translation between 2 IPv6 network. The basic idea behind NAT 66 is no different
than the regular NAT between IPv4 networks that we are all used to. The difference are in the mechanics of how
it is performed, mainly because of the complexity and size of the addresses that are being dealt with.
In an IPv4 world, the reason for the use of NAT was usually one or a combination of the following 3 reasons:
l Keeping the same provider - this would depend on the reason for the change. If the cost of this provider has become
too expensive this is unlikely. If the ISP is out of business it becomes impossible.
l Transfer the addresses from the old provider to the new one - There is little motivation for an ISP to do you a favor
for not doing business with them.
l Get your own autonomous system number - this can be too expensive for smaller organizations.
l NAT - this is the only one on the list that is in the control of IT.
There are differences between NAT66 and IPv4 NAT. Because there is no shortage of addresses most
organizations will be given a /48 network that can be translated into another /48 network. This allows for a one to
one translation, no need for port forwarding. This is a good thing because port forwarding is more complicated in
IPv6. In fact, NAT66 will actually just be the rewriting of the prefix on the address.
Example
2001:db8:cafe::/48
you could change it to
2001:db8:fea7::/48
There is an exception to the one to one translation. NAT66 cannot translate internal networks that contain 0xffff
in bits 49 through 63 - this is due to the way checksums are calculated in TCP/IP: they use the one's-complement
representation of numbers which assigns the value zero to both 0x0000 and 0xffff.
The way this is done is by making each session unique. Most of the attributes that are available in the network
packets cannot be changed without changing where the packet will go but because the source port has to be
changed anyway in case two computer on the network used the same source port this is a useful way of making
each listing of network attributes a unique combination. As a packet goes through the NAT process FortiOS
assigns different source ports for each of the internally initiated sessions and keeping track of which port was
used for each device in a database until the session has ended. It then becomes a matter of how the port number
is selected.
In a very simple example of an environment using NAT, we will use a fictitious university with a rather large
student population. So large in fact that they use a subnet of 10.0.0.0/8 as their subnet for workstation IP
addresses. All of these private IP addresses are NATed out a single IP address. To keep the number of numeric
values in this example from getting to a confusing level, we'll just us "u.u.u.1" to refer to the public IP address
of the University and the IP address of the web server on the Internet will be "w.w.w.1".
Student A (IP address 10.1.1.56) sends an HTML request to a web server on the Internet with the IP address
w.w.w.1. The applicable networking information in the packet breaks down as follows:
The source IP address is now that of the public facing interface of the FortiGate and source port number is an
unused TCP port number on the FortiGate chosen by the FortiGate. Of these variable the only one the that
FortiGate can really change and still have the packet reach the correct destination, in both directions, is the
source port number.
There are a few methods of assigning the port number. First we'll look at the methods that are or have been used
in the industry but aren't used by Fortinet.
Global pool
This method of differentiation focuses on the attribute of the source port number. In this approach a single pool of
potential port numbers is set aside for the purposes of NAT. As a pool number is assigned, it is removed from the
pool so that two sessions from different computers can not using the same port number. Once the session is over
and no longer in use by the computer, the port number is put back into the pool where it can be assigned again.
Hexidecimal Decimal
This is a simple approach to implement and is good if the number of connections in unlike to reach the pool size.
It would be okay for home use, but our example is for a university using 10.1.1.0/8 as a subnet. That means
16,777,214 possible IP addresses; more than this method can handle.
This method uses the attributes source port number and type of protocol to differentiate between sessions.This
approach is a variation of the first one. An additional piece of information is refered to in the packet that describes
the protocol. For instance UDP or TCP. This could effectively double the number of potential addresses to NAT.
Example:
Here are two possible packets that would be considered different by the FortiGate so that any responses from the
web server would make it back to their correct original sender.
From Student A
From Student B
Even though the source port is the same, because the protocol is different they are considered to be from
different sessions and different computers.
The drawback is that it would depend on the protocols being used be evenly distributed between TCP and UDP.
Even if this was the case the number would only double; reaching an upper limit of 65,536 possible connections.
That number is still far short of the possible more than 16 million for an IP subnet with an eight bit subnet mask
like the one in our example.
This approach adds on to the previous one by adding another variable. In this case that variable is the IP
addresses on the public side of the FortiGate. By having a pool of IP addresses to assign as the source IP address
when NATing, the same number that was potentially available for the Global per protocol method can be
multiplied by the number of external IP addresses in the pool. If you can assign a second IP address to the pool,
you can double the potential number of sessions.
Example:
In this example it will be assumed that the FortiGate has 2 IP addresses that it can use. This could happen either
by using two ISPs, or by having a pool of IP addresses assigned to a single interface. For simplicity will will refer
to these IP public IP addresses as u.u.u.1 and u.u.u.2.
Here are two possible packets that would be considered different by the FortiGate so that any responses from the
web server would make it back to their correct original sender.
From Student A
From Student B
In this example we even made the protocl the same. After the NATing process all of the variables are the same
except the sourse addresss. This is still going to make it bake to the original sender.
The drawback is that if you have only one IP address for the purposes of NATing this method does not gain you
anything over the last method. Or if you do have multiple IP addresses to use it will still take quite a few to reach
the 16 million possible that the subnet is capable of handling.
Example:
In this example it will be assumed that the FortiGate has only one IP address.Two possible packets will be
described. The only difference in the attributes recorded will be the destination of the HTML request.These
packets are still considered to be from differnt sessions and any responses will make it back to the correct
computer.
From Student A
From Student B
The reason that these attributes are used to determine defferentiation between traffic is based on how the
indexes for the sessions are recorded in the database. When a TCP connection is made through a FortiGate unit,
a session is created and two indexes are created for the session. The FortiGate unit uses these indexes to guide
matching traffic to the session.
This following could be the session record for the TCP connection in the first example.
Using the FortiGate's approach for session differentiation, FortiOS only has to ensure that the assigned port,
along with the other four attributes is a unique combination to identify the session. So for example, if Student A
simultaneously makes a HTTP(port 80) connection and a HTTPS(port 443) connection the same web server this
would create another session and the index in the reply direction would be:
These two sessions are different and acceptable because of the different source port numbers on the returning
traffic or the destination port depending on the direction of the traffic.
The result of using these four attributes instead of just the one that was originally used is a large increase in the
number of possible unique combinations.For those who love math, the maximum number of simultaneous
connections that can be supported is:
N x R x P x D x Dp
where:
l N - In our existing example we have already stated that there is only one public IP address that is being used by
NAT. Realistically, for a university this number would likely be larger, but we're keeping it simple.
N=1
R - The port range for our example has already been describe and we will keep it the same.
R = 32768
P - While there are a few protocols that are involved in Internet traffic we will limit this calculation just to TCP
traffic.
P=1
D - As mentioned before the number of unique destination addresses is growing larger every day,so figureing out
the upper limit of that numbe would be difficult to say the least. Instead we will make the assumption that most of
the university students, do to their shared interest and similar demographic will concentrate most of their web
browsing to the same sites; sites such as YouTube, Facebook, Google, Twitter, Instagram, Wikipedia etc. This is
not even taking into account the fact that many of these popular sites use load balancing and multiple IP
addresses. As an arbatrary number let's use the number 25.
D = 25
Dp - To keep things simple it is tempting to limit the destiation port to port 80, the one that many associate with
web browsing, but this would not be realistic. the use of HTTPS, port 443 is on the rise. There is also email, DNS,
FTP, NTP and a number of other background services that we use without thinking too closely about. Let's keep it
small and say ten of them.
Dp = 10
The math on this very conservative calculation is:
When you take into account that the chances of everybody being online at the same time, going only to one of
those 25 sites and not millions of others, and using only TCP not UDP or any of the other protocols, it starts to
look like this method may provide enough potential unique sessions even for a subnet as large as the one
described.
IP Pools
IP Pools are a mechanism that allow sessions leaving the FortiGate Firewall to use NAT. An IP pool defines a
single IP address or a range of IP addresses to be used as the source address for the duration of the session.
These assigned addresses will be used instead of the IP address assigned to that FortiGate interface.
When using IP pools for NATing, there is a limitation that must be taken into account.
In order for communication to be successful in both directions, it is normal for the
source address in the packet header assigned by the NAT process to be an address
that is associated with the interface that the traffic is going through. For example, if
traffic is going out an interface with the IP address 172.16.100.1, packets would be
NATed so that the source IP address would be 172.16.100.1. This way the returning
traffic will be directed to the same interface on the same FortiGate that the traffic left
from. Even if the packets are assigned a source address that is associated with
another interface on the same FortiGate this can cause issues with asymmetrical
routing. It is possible to configure the NATed source IP address to be different than the
IP address of the interface but you have to make sure that the routing rules of the
surrounding network devices take this unorthodox approach into consideration.
There are 4 types of IP Pools that can be configured on the FortiGate firewall:
l One-to-One - in this case the only internal address used by the external address is the internal address that it is
mapped to.
l Overload - this is the default setting. Internal addresses other than the one designated in the policy can use this
address for the purposes of NAT.
l Fixed Port Range - rather than a single address to be used, there is a range of addresses that can be used as the
NAT address. These addresses are randomly assigned as the connections are made.
l Port Block Allocation - this setting is used to allocate a block of port numbers for IP pool users. Two variables will
also have to be set. The block size can be set from 64 to 4096 and as the name implies describes the number of
ports in one block of port numbers. The number of blocks per user determines how many of these blocks will be
assigned. This number can range from 1 to 128.
Be careful when calculating the values of the variables. The maximum number of ports
that are available on an address is 65,536. If you chose the maximum value for both
variables you will get a number far in excess of the available port numbers.
One of the more common examples is when you have an email server behind your FortiGate firewall and the
range of IP addresses assigned to you by your ISP is more than one. If an organization is assigned multiple IP
addresses it is normally considered a best practice to assign a specific address other than the one used for the
Firewall to the mail server. However, when normal NAT is used the address assigned to the firewall is also
assigned to any outbound sessions. Anti-spam services match the source IP address of mail traffic that they
receive to the MX record on DNS servers as an indicator for spam. If there is a mismatch the mail may not get
through so there is a need to make sure that the NATed address assigned matches the MX record.
You can also use the Central NAT table as a way to configure IP pools.
Scenario 1:
In this case, the FortiGate unit always matches the IP addressed one to one.
If you enable fixed port in such a case, the FortiGate unit preserves the original source port. This may cause
conflicts if more than one security policy uses the same IP pool, or the same IP addresses are used in more than
one IP pool.
Scenario 2:
In this case, the FortiGate unit translates IP addresses using a wrap-around mechanism. If you enable fixed port
in such a case, the FortiGate unit preserves the original source port. But conflicts may occur since users may have
different sessions using the same TCP 5 tuples.
Scenario 3:
In this case, some of the IP pool addresses are used and the rest of them are not be used.
ARP Replies
If a FortiGate firewall interface IP address overlaps with one or more IP pool address ranges, the interface
responds to ARP requests for all of the IP addresses in the overlapping IP pools. For example, consider a
FortiGate unit with the following IP addresses for the port1 and port2 interfaces:
l IP_pool_1: 1.1.1.10-1.1.1.20
l IP_pool_2: 2.2.2.10-2.2.2.20
l IP_pool_3: 2.2.2.30-2.2.2.40
The port1 interface overlap IP range with IP_pool_1 is:
Fixed Port
Some network configurations do not operate correctly if a NAT policy translates the source port of packets used
by the connection. NAT translates source ports to keep track of connections for a particular service.
However, enabling the use of a fixed port means that only one connection can be supported through the firewall
for this service. To be able to support multiple connections, add an IP pool, and then select Dynamic IP pool in
the policy. The firewall randomly selects an IP address from the IP pool and assigns it to each connection. In this
case, the number of connections that the firewall can support is limited by the number of IP addresses in the IP
pool.
Match-VIP
The match-vip feature allows the FortiGate unit to log virtual IP traffic that gets implicitly dropped. This feature
eliminates the need to create two policies for virtual IPs; one that allows the virtual IP, and the other to get proper
log entry for DROP rules.
For example, you have a virtual IP security policy and enabled the match-vip feature; the virtual IP traffic that is
not matched by the policy is now caught.
The match-vip feature is available only in the CLI. By default, the feature is disabled.
Example
Default URL for HTTP traffic when the web server is listening on the standard HTTP port:
http://fortinet.com
URL to the same address when the web server is listening for HTTP traffic on port 8080
http://fortinet.com:8080
Services represent typical traffic types and application packets that pass through the FortiGate unit. Firewall
services define one or more protocols and port numbers associated with each service. Security policies use
service definitions to match session types. You can organize related services into service groups to simplify your
security policy list.
Many well-known traffic types have been predefined on the FortiGate unit. If there is a service that does not
appear on the list you can create a service or edit an existing one. You need to know the ports, IP addresses or
protocols of that particular service or application uses, to create a service.
Best Practices
While you can edit a predefined service it is best to leave those ones alone and create
a new service and name it something similar such as the same service name with a
descriptive identifier appended.
Based on the previous example, instead of the name “HTTP” you could name the
service “HTTP8080” or use the application that is using that port, “HTTP-Application”.
Protocol Types
One of the fundamental aspects of a service is the type of protocol that use used to define it. When a service is
defined one of the following categories of protocol needs to be determined:
l TCP/UDP/SCTP
l ICMP
l ICMPv6
l IP
Depending on which of these protocol categories is choose another set of specifications will can also be defined.
TCP/UDP/SCTP This is the most commonly used service protocol category. Once this category has
been selected the other available options to choose are an address, either IP or
FQDN, and the protocol and port number. The protocol will be TCP, UDP or SCTP.
ICMP or ICMP6 When ICMP or ICMP6 is chosen the available options are the ICMP Type and its
code.
IP When IP is the chosen protocol type the addition option is the Protocol Number.
TCP/UDP/SCTP
TCP
Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is one of the core or fundamental protocols of the Internet. It is part of the
Transport Layer of the OSI Model. It is designed to provide reliable delivery of data from a program on one device
on the network or Internet to another program on another device on the network or Internet. TCP achieves its
reliability because it is a connection based protocol. TCP is stream-oriented. It transports streams of data reliably
and in order.
TCP establishes a prior connection link between the hosts before sending data. This is often referred to as the
handshake. Once the link is established the protocol uses checks to verify that the data transmitted. If an error
check fails the data is retransmitted. This makes sure that the data is getting to the destination error free and in
the correct order so that it can be put back together into a form that is identical to the way they were sent.
TCP is configured more for reliability than for speed and because of this TCP will likely be slower than a
connectionless protocol such as UDP. This is why TCP is generally not used for real time applications such as
voice communication or online gaming.
UDP
User Datagram Protocol (UDP) like TCP is one of the core protocols of the Internet and part of the Transport
Layer of the OSI Model. UDP is designed more for speed than reliability and is generally used for different
applications than TCP. UDP sends messages, referred to as datagrams across the network or Internet to other
hosts without establishing a prior communication link. In other words, there is no handshake.
UDP is an unreliable service as the datagrams can arrive out of order, duplicated or go missing without any
mechanism to verify them. UDP works on the assumption that any error checking is done by the application or is
not necessary for the function of the application. This way it avoids the overhead that is required to verify the
integrity of the data.
This lack of overhead improves the speed of the data transfer and is why UDP is often used by applications that
are time sensitive in nature. UDP's stateless nature is also great for applications that answer a large number of
small queries from a large number of clients.
SCTP
Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) is part of the Transport Layer of the OSI Model just like TCP and
UDP and provides some of the features of both of those protocols. It is message or datagram orientated like UDP
but it also ensures reliable sequential transport of data with congestion control like TCP.
SCTP uses multi-streaming to transport its messages which means that there can be several independent
streams of messages traveling in parallel between the points of the transmission. The data is sent out in larger
chunks of data than is used by TCP just like UDP but the messages include a sequence number within each
message in the same way that TCP does so that the data can be reassembled at the other end of the
transmission in the correct sequence without the data having to arrive in the correct sequence.
SCTP is effective as the transport protocol for applications that require monitoring and session-loss detection. For
such applications, the SCTP path and session failure detection mechanisms actively monitor the connectivity of
the session. SCTP differs from TCP in having multi-homing capabilities at either or both ends and several
streams within a connection, typically referred to as an association. A TCP stream represents a sequence of
bytes; an SCTP stream represents a sequence of messages.
Some common applications of SCTP include supporting transmission of the following protocols over IP networks:
The FortiGate firewall can apply security policies to SCTP sessions in the same way as TCP and UDP sessions.
You can create security policies that accept or deny SCTP traffic by setting the service to “ALL”. FortiOS does not
include pre-defined SCTP services. To configure security policies for traffic with specific SCTP source or
destination ports you must create custom firewall services for SCTP.
FortiGate units route SCTP traffic in the same way as TCP and UDP traffic. You can configure policy routes
specifically for routing SCTP traffic by setting the protocol number to 132. SCTP policy routes can route SCTP
traffic according to the destination port of the traffic if you add a port range to the policy route.
You can configure a FortiGate unit to perform stateful inspection of different types of SCTP traffic by creating
custom SCTP services and defining the port numbers or port ranges used by those services. FortiGate units
support SCTP over IPv4. The FortiGate unit performs the following checks on SCTP packets:
The source and destination ports for TCP/UDP/SCTP services are important to get correct. If they are reversed
the service will not work. The destination port(s) are the on ones that refer to the ports that the computer will be
listening on. These are the port numbers that most people are familiar with when they associate a port number to
a protocol. In most cases the source port will be one that is randomly assigned by the computer that is not being
already used by another service.
Most people associate HTTP with port 80. This means that a web-server will be listening on port 80 for any http
requests being sent to the computer. The computer that is sending the request can use any port that is not
already assigned to another service or communication session. There are 65,535 ports that it can randomly
assign, but because the ports from 1 to 1024 are normally used for listening for incoming communications it is
usually not in that range. It is unless there is a specific instance when you know that a communication will be
coming from a predefined source port it is best practice to set the source port range from 1 to 65,535.
ICMP
The Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) is a protocol layered onto the Internet Protocol Suite to provide
error reporting flow control and first-hop gateway redirection. It is normally used by the operating systems of
networked computers to send connectivity status query, response and error messages. It is assigned protocol
number 1. There is a separate version of the protocol for both IPv4 and for IPv6. It is not designed to be
absolutely reliable like TCP.
ICMP is not typically used for transporting data or for end-user network applications with the exception of some
diagnostic utilities such as ping and traceroute.
l ICMP_ECHO
l ICMP_TIMESTAMP
l ICMP_INFO_REQUEST
l ICMP_ADDRESS
For ICMP error messages, only those reporting an error for an existing session can pass through the firewall. The
security policy will allow traffic to be routed, forwarded or denied. If allowed, the ICMP packets will start a new
session. Only ICMP error messages of a corresponding security policy is available will be sent back to the source.
Otherwise, the packet is dropped. That is, only ICMP packets for a corresponding security policy can traverse the
FortiGate unit.
ICMP has a number of messages that are identified by the “Type” field. Some of these types have assigned
“Code” fields as well. The table below shows the different types of ICMP Types with their associated codes if
there are any.
0 Echo Reply
1 Unassigned
2 Unassigned
0 Net Unreachable
1 Host Unreachable
2 Protocol Unreachable
3 Port Unreachable
4 Source Quench
6 Alternate Host
Address
7 Unassigned
8 Echo
Router
9
Advertisement
10 Router Selection
2 Bad Length
13 Timestamp
14 Timestand Reply
Information
15
Request
16 Information Reply
Address Mask
17
Request
18 Address Mask
Reply
Reserved (for
19
Security)
20 - 29 Reserved (for
Robustness
Experiment)
30 Traceroute
31 Datagram
Conversion Error
Mobile Host
32
Redirect
33 IPv6 Where-Are-
You
34 IPv6 I-Am-Here
35 Mobile Registration
Mobile Registration
36
Reply
37 Domain Name
Request
Domain Name
38
Reply
39 SKIP
40 Photuris
41 - 255 Reserved
log-invalid-packet
The log-invalid-packet CLI setting is one that is intended to log invalid ICMP packets. The exact
definition being:
If the FortiGate unit receives an ICMP error packet that contains an embedded IP(A,B)|TCP (C,D)
header, then if FortiOS can locate the A:C -> B:D session it checks to make sure that the sequence
number in the TCP header is within the range recorded in the session. If the sequence number is not in
range then the ICMP packet is dropped.
When this field is enabled, the FortiGate also log messages that are not ICMP error packets.
l Invalid ICMP
l If ICMP error message verification (see "check-reset-range") is enabled
l Invalid DNS packets
l DNS packets that contain requests for non-existing domains
l iprope check failed
l reverse path check fail
l denied and broadcast traffic
l no session matched
Some other examples of messages that are not errors that will be logged, based on RFC792:
ICMPv6
Internet Control Message Protocol version 6 (ICMPv6) is the new implementation of the Internet Control
Message Protocol (ICMP) that is part of Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6). The ICMPv6 protocol is defined in RFC
4443.
l Neighbor Discovery Protocol (NDP) - a node discovery protocol in IPv6 which replaces and enhances functions of
ARP.
l Secure Neighbor Discovery Protocol (SEND) - an extension of NDP with extra security.
l Multicast Router Discovery (MRD) - allows discovery of multicast routers.
ICMPv6 messages use IPv6 packets for transportation and can include IPv6 extension headers. ICMPv6 includes
some of the functionality that in IPv4 was distributed among protocols such as ICMPv4, ARP (Address Resolution
Protocol), and IGMP (Internet Group Membership Protocol version 3).
ICMPv6 messages are subdivided into two classes: error messages and information messages.
1. Destination Unreachable
2. Time Exceeded
1. Diagnostic messages
2. Neighbor Discovery messages
3. Messages for the management of multicast groups.
ICMPv6 has a number of messages that are identified by the “Type” field. Some of these types have assigned
“Code” fields as well. The table below shows the different types of ICMP Types with their associated codes if
there are any.
Type codes 0 − 127 are error messages and type codes 128 − 255 are for information messages.
3 - address unreachable
4 - port unreachable
Destination
1
Unreachable
Private
100
Experimentation
101 Private
Experimentation
Multicast Listener
130
Query
Multicast Listener
132
Done
Router
134
Advertisement
135 Neighbor
Solicitation
Neighbor
136
Advertisement
139 ICMP Node 0 - The Data field contains an IPv6 address which is the Subject
Information Query of this Query.
Inverse Neighbor
Discovery
142
Advertisement
Message
Home Agent
144 Address Discovery
Request Message
Mobile Prefix
146
Solicitation
Certification Path
148 Solicitation
Message
ICMP messages
utilized by
150 experimental
mobility protocols
such as Seamoby
Multicast Router
152
Solicitation
ILNPv6 Locator
156
Update Message
Duplicate Address
158
Confirmation
Private
200
experimentation
201 Private
experimentation
Reserved for
expansion of
255 ICMPv6
informational
messages
IP
Internet Protocol (IP) is the primary part of the Network Layer of the OSI Model that is responsible for routing
traffic across network boundaries. It is the protocol that is responsible for addressing. IPv4 is probable the version
that most people are familiar with and it has been around since 1974. IPv6 is its current successor and due to a
shortage of available IPv4 addresses compared to the explosive increase in the number of devices that use IP
addresses, IPv6 is rapidly increasing in use.
When IP is chosen as the protocol type the available option to further specify the protocol is the protocol number.
This is used to narrow down which protocol within the Internet Protocol Suite and provide a more granular control.
Protocol Number
IP is responsible for more than the address that it is most commonly associated with and there are a number of
associated protocols that make up the Network Layer. While there are not 256 of them, the field that identifies
them is a numeric value between 0 and 256.
In the Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) [RFC791] there is a field called “Protocol” to identify the next level
protocol. This is an 8 bit field. In Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) [RFC2460], this field is called the “Next
Header” field.
Protocol Numbers
3 GGP Gateway-to-Gateway
5 ST Stream
7 CBT CBT
9 IGP Any private interior gateway (used by Cisco for their IGRP)
12 PUP PUP
13 ARGUS ARGUS
14 EMCON EMCON
16 CHAOS Chaos
18 MUX Multiplexing
23 TRUNK-1 Trunk-1
24 TRUNK-2 Trunk-2
25 LEAF-1 Leaf-1
26 LEAF-2 Leaf-2
36 XTP XTP
40 IL IL Transport Protocol
49 BNA BNA
51 AH Authentication Header
55 MOBILE IP Mobility
57 SKIP SKIP
62 CFTP CFTP
65 KRYPTOLAN Kryptolan
81 VMTP VMTP
82 SECURE-VMTP SECURE-VMTP
83 VINES VINES
84 TTP TTP
85 NSFNET-IGP NSFNET-IGP
87 TCF TCF
88 EIGRP EIGRP
89 OSPFIGP OSPFIGP
122 SM SM
125 FIRE
128 SSCOPMCE
129 IPLT
RSVP-E2E-
134
IGNORE
136 UDPLite
137 MPLS-in-IP
138 manet
139 HIP
140 Shim6
141 WESP
142 ROHC
255 Reserved
Protocol Number
IP is responsible for more than the address that it is most commonly associated with and there are a number of
associated protocols that make up the Network Layer. While there are not 256 of them, the field that identifies
them is a numeric value between 0 and 256.
In the Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) [RFC791] there is a field called “Protocol” to identify the next level
protocol. This is an 8 bit field. In Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) [RFC2460], this field is called the “Next
Header” field.
Protocol Numbers
3 GGP Gateway-to-Gateway
5 ST Stream
7 CBT CBT
9 IGP Any private interior gateway (used by Cisco for their IGRP)
12 PUP PUP
13 ARGUS ARGUS
14 EMCON EMCON
16 CHAOS Chaos
18 MUX Multiplexing
23 TRUNK-1 Trunk-1
24 TRUNK-2 Trunk-2
25 LEAF-1 Leaf-1
26 LEAF-2 Leaf-2
36 XTP XTP
40 IL IL Transport Protocol
49 BNA BNA
51 AH Authentication Header
55 MOBILE IP Mobility
57 SKIP SKIP
62 CFTP CFTP
65 KRYPTOLAN Kryptolan
81 VMTP VMTP
82 SECURE-VMTP SECURE-VMTP
83 VINES VINES
84 TTP TTP
85 NSFNET-IGP NSFNET-IGP
87 TCF TCF
88 EIGRP EIGRP
89 OSPFIGP OSPFIGP
122 SM SM
125 FIRE
128 SSCOPMCE
129 IPLT
RSVP-E2E-
134
IGNORE
136 UDPLite
137 MPLS-in-IP
138 manet
139 HIP
140 Shim6
141 WESP
142 ROHC
255 Reserved
VPN Policies
At one point, if you wanted to have secure digital communications between 2 points a private network would be
created. This network would only allow the people that were intended to get the communications on it. This is
very straightforward if the 2 points are in the same room or even in the same building. It can all be done
physically. If you are supposed to be on the secure network
VPNs are an answer to one of today’s biggest concerns, how to make digital communications secure between to
points that must communicate over the Internet which anybody can have access to.
There are two types of VPNs supported by FortiOS, SSL and IPsec. They are differentiated by the security
protocol suites that are used to secure the traffic. These are both described in more detail in the VPN section, but
the IPsec VPN can be configured as an Action with a firewall policy.
IPsec Policies
IPsec policies allow IPsec VPN traffic access to the internal network from a remote location. These policies
include authentication information that authenticates users and user group or groups. These policies specify the
following:
l the FortiGate firewall interface that provides the physical connection to the remote VPN gateway, usually an
interface connected to the Internet
l the FortiGate firewall interface that connects to the private network
l IP addresses associated with data that has to be encrypted and decrypted
l optional: a schedule that restricts when the VPN can operate, and services (or types of data) that can be sent.
For a route-based (interface mode) VPN, you do not configure an IPsec security policy. Instead, you configure two
regular ACCEPT security policies, one for each direction of communication, with the IPsec virtual interface as the
source or destination interface, as appropriate.
DSRI
The Disable Server Response Inspection (DSRI) options is available for configuration in the CLI. This is used to
assist performance when only URL filtering is being used. This allows the system to ignore the HTTP server
responses. The setting is configured to be disabled by default.
Interface Policies
Interface policies are implemented before the “security” policies and are only flow based. They are configured in
the CLI.
This feature allows you to attach a set of IPS policies with the interface instead of the forwarding path, so packets
can be delivered to IPS before entering firewall. This feature is used for following IPS deployments:
l One-Arm: by defining interface policies with IPS and DoS anomaly checks and enabling sniff-mode on the interface,
the interface can be used for one-arm IDS;
l IPv6 IPS: IPS inspection can be enabled through interface IPv6 policy. Only IPS signature scan is supported in
FortiOS 4.0. IPv6 DoS protection is not supported;
l Scan traffics that destined to FortiGate;
l Scan and log traffics that are silently dropped or flooded by Firewall or Multicast traffic.
IPS sensors can be assigned to an interface policy. Both incoming and outgoing packets are inspected by IPS
sensor (signature).
# show full-configuration
config firewall interface-policy
edit 1
set status enable
set comments 'test interface policy #1'
set logtraffic utm
set interface "port9"
set srcaddr "all"
set dstaddr "all"
set service "ALL"
set application-list-status disable
set ips-sensor-status disable
set dsri disable
set av-profile-status enable
set av-profile "default"
set webfilter-profile-status disable
set spamfilter-profile-status disable
set dlp-sensor-status disable
set scan-botnet-connections disable
next
end
DoS Protection
Denial of Service (DoS) policies are primarily used to apply DoS anomaly checks to network traffic based on the
FortiGate interface it is entering as well as the source and destination addresses. DoS checks are a traffic
anomaly detection feature to identify network traffic that does not fit known or common traffic patterns and
behavior. A common example of anomalous traffic is the denial of service attack. A denial of service occurs when
an attacking system starts an abnormally large number of sessions with a target system. The large number of
sessions slows down or disables the target system, so that legitimate users can no longer use it.
DoS policies are similar to firewall policies except that instead of defining the way traffic is allowed to flow, they
keep track of certain traffic patterns and attributes and will stop traffic displaying those attributes. Further, DoS
policies affect only incoming traffic on a single interface. You can further limit a DoS policy by source address,
destination address, and service.
DoS configurations have been changed a couple of times in the past. In FortiOS 4.0, DoS protection is moved to
the interface policy, so when it is enabled, it is the first thing checked when a packet enters FortiGate. Because of
this early detection, DoS policies are a very efficient defense that uses few resources. Denial of service attacks,
for example, are detected and its packets dropped before requiring security policy look-ups, antivirus scans, and
other protective but resource-intensive operations.
A DoS policy examines network traffic arriving at an interface for anomalous patterns usually indicating an attack.
This does not mean that all anomalies experience by the firewall are the result of an intentional attack.
Because an improperly configured DoS anomaly check can interfere with network traffic, no DoS checks are
preconfigured on a factory default FortiGate unit. You must create your own before they will take effect.
Thresholds for newly created sensors are preset with recommended values that you can adjust to meet the needs
of your network.
To create a Denial of Service policy determine if it needs to be an IPv4 or IPv6 policy, then go to:
The Enable SSH Deep Scan feature is enabled by default when creating a new
SSL/SSH Inspection profile. There are situations were this feature can cause issues so
be sure that you would like it enabled before applying it.
Incoming Interface
The interface to which this security policy applies. It will be the that the traffic is coming into the firewall on.
Source Address
This will be the address that the traffic is coming from and must be a address listed in the Address section of the
Firewall Objects. This can include the predefined “all” address which covers any address coming in on any
interface. Multiple addresses or address groups can be chosen
Destination Address
This will be the address that the traffic is addressed to. In this case it must be an address that is associated with
the firewall itself. For instance it could be one of the interface address of the firewall, a secondary IP address or
the interface address assigned to a Virtual IP address. Just like with the Source Address this address must be
already configured before being used in the DoS policy. Multiple addresses, virtual IPs or virtual IP groups can be
chosen.
Service
While the Service field allows for the use of the ALL service some administrators prefer to optimize the resources
of the firewall and only check on the services that will be answered on an interface. Multiple services or service
groups can be chosen.
Anomalies
The anomalies can not be configured by the user. They are predefined sensors set up for specific patterns of
anomalous traffic
The anomalies that have been predefined for use in the DoS Policies are:
tcp_syn_flood If the SYN packet rate of new TCP connections, 2000 packets per second.
including retransmission, to one destination IP
address exceeds the configured threshold value, the
action is executed.
tcp_src_session If the number of concurrent TCP connections from 5000 concurrent sessions.
one source IP address exceeds the configured
threshold value, the action is executed.
udp_flood If the UDP traffic to one destination IP address 2000 packets per second.
exceeds the configured threshold value, the action is
executed.
udp_src_session If the number of concurrent UDP connections from 5000 concurrent sessions.
one source IP address exceeds the configured
threshold value, the action is executed.
icmp_flood If the number of ICMP packets sent to one 250 packets per second.
destination IP address exceeds the configured
threshold value, the action is executed.
icmp_src_ If the number of concurrent ICMP connections from 300 concurrent sessions
session one source IP address exceeds the configured
threshold value, the action is executed.
ip_src_session If the number of concurrent IP connections from one 5000 concurrent sessions.
source IP address exceeds the configured threshold
value, the action is executed.
sctp_flood If the number of SCTP packets sent to one 2000 packets per second
destination IP address exceeds the configured
threshold value, the action is executed.
sctp_src_session If the number of concurrent SCTP connections from 5000 concurrent sessions
one source IP address exceeds the configured
threshold value, the action is executed.
Status
The status field is enabled to enable the sensor for the associated anomaly. In terms of actions performed there
is no difference between disabling a sensor and having the action as “Pass” but by disabling sensors that are not
being used for blocking or logging you can save some resources of the firewall that can be better used elsewhere.
Logging
Regardless of whether the traffic is blocked or passed through the anomalous traffic will be logged.
Pass
Block
For Thresholds based on the number of concurrent sessions blocking the anomaly will not allow more than the
number of concurrent sessions set as the threshold.
For rate based thresholds where the threshold is measured in packets per second, the Action setting “Block”
prevents the overwhelming of the firewall by anomalous traffic in one of 2 ways. Setting which of those 2 ways will
be issued is determined in the CLI.
l continuous - blocks packets once an anomaly is detected. This overrides individual anomaly settings.
l periodical - allows matching anomalous traffic up to the rate set by the threshold.
If the period for a particular anomaly is 60 seconds, such as those where the threshold
is measured in concurrent sessions, after the 60 second timer has expired, the number
of allowed packets that match the anomaly criteria is reset to zero. This means that if
you allow 10 sessions through before blocking, after the 60 seconds is up, another 10
will be allowed. The attrition of sessions from expiration should keep the allowed
sessions from reaching the maximum.
To set the type of block action for the rate based anomaly sensors:
config ips global
set anomaly-mode continuous
set anomaly-mode periodical
end
Threshold
The threshold can be either in terms of concurrent session or in packets per second depending on which sensor is
being referred to.
Quarantine
The quarantine feature is found in the CLI. This setting is used to block any further traffic from a source address
that is now considered to be a malicious actor or a source of traffic dangerous to the network. Not only is no more
traffic accepted for the duration of the quanantine through the DoS policy but the source IP address of the traffic
is added to the banned source ip list.This list is kept in the kernal and used by
l Antivirus
l Data Leak Prevention (DLP)
Syntax
config firewall {DoS-policy|DoS-policy6}
edit <policyid>
set quarantine {none|attacker}
set quarantine-exipiry {string}
set quarantine-log {enable|disable}
end
Option Description
Duration of quarantine
quarantine-expiry The format is ###d##h##m, ranging from 1 minute to 364 days, 23 hours,
and 59 minutes starting from now. The default is 0d0h5m. Requires
quarantine set to attacker.
One-Arm IDS
Interface-based policy only defines what and how IPS functions are applied to the packets transmitted by the
interface. It works no matter if the port is used in a forwarding path or used as an One-Arm device.
To enable One-Arm IDS, the user should first enable sniff-mode on the interface,
config system interface
edit port2
set ips-sniffer-mode enable
next
end
Once sniff-mode is turned on, both incoming and outgoing packets will be dropped after IPS inspections. The port
can be connected to a hub or a switch's SPAN port. Any packet picked up by the interface will still follow the
interface policy so different IPS and DoS anomaly checks can be applied.
IPv6 IPS
IPv6 IPS signature scan can be enabled by interface policy. The user can create an normal IPS sensor and assign
it to the IPv6 interface policy.
config firewall interface-policy6
edit 1
set interface "port1"
Flooded, broadcast and multicast traffics do not reach any of services in the forwarding path. They can be
inspected by the interface policy as long as they match the addresses defined. Potentially, L2 packets can also be
sent to IPS for inspection through interface-policy, but it is not enabled in FortiOS 4.0.
Local-In Policies
On the FortiGate unit, there are a number of protocols and traffic that is specific to the internal workings of
FortiOS. For many of these traffic sources, you can identify a specific port/IP address for this self-originating
traffic. The following traffic can be configured to a specific port/IP address:
l SNMP
l Syslog
l alert email
l FortiManager connection IP
l FortiGuard services
l FortiAnalyzer logging
l NTP
l DNS
l Authorization requests such as RADIUS
l FSSO
Security policies control the flow of traffic through the FortiGate unit. The FortiGate unit also includes the option
of controlling internal traffic, that is, management traffic.
Each interface includes an allow access configuration to allow management access for specific protocols. Local
policies are set up automatically to allow all users all access. Local-in policies takes this a step further, to enable
or restrict the user with that access. This also extends beyond the allow access selection.
It is also an option to dedicate the interface as HA management interface by using the setting:
set ha-mgmt-intf-only enable
Local-in policies are also supported for IPv6 by entering the command:
config firewall local-in-policy6.
While there is a section under Policy & Objects for viewing the existing Local In
Policy configuration, policies cannot be created or edited here in the GUI. The Local
In polices can only be created or edited in the CLI.
Security Policy 0
Any security policy that is automatically added by the FortiGate unit has a policy ID number of zero (0). The most
common reasons the FortiGate unit creates this policy is:
l The IPsec policy for FortiAnalyzer (and FortiManager version 3.0) is automatically added when an IPsec connection
to the FortiAnalyzer unit or FortiManager is enabled.
l The policy to allow FortiGuard servers to be automatically added has a policy ID number of zero.
l The (default) drop rule that is the last rule in the policy and that is automatically added has a policy ID number of
zero.
l When a network zone is defined within a VDOM, the intra-zone traffic set to allow or block is managed by policy 0 if
it is not processed by a configured security policy.
This policy can appear in logs but will never appear in the security policy list, and therefore, can never be
repositioned in the list.
When viewing the FortiGate firewall logs, you may find a log field entry indicating policyid=0. The following log
message example indicates the log field policyid=0 in bold.
2008-10-06 00:13:49 log_id=0022013001 type=traffic subtype=violation pri=warning
vd=root SN=179089 duration=0 user=N/A group=N/A rule=0 policyid=0 proto=17
service=137/udp app_type=N/A status=deny src=10.181.77.73 srcname=10.181.77.73
dst=10.128.1.161 dstname=10.128.1.161 src_int=N/A dst_int="Internal" sent=0 rcvd=0
src_port=137 dst_port=137 vpn=N/A tran_ip=0.0.0.0 tran_port=0
Deny Policies
Deny security policies deny traffic that is coming into the network. The FortiGate unit automatically blocks traffic
that is associated with a deny security policy.
Deny security policies are usually configured when you need to restrict specific traffic, for example, SSH traffic.
Deny security policies can also help when you want to block a service, such as DNS, but allow a specific DNS
server.
Accept Policies
Accept security policies accept traffic that is coming into the network. These policies allow traffic through the
FortiGate unit, where the packets are scanned, translated if NAT is enabled, and then sent out to its destination.
Accept security policies are the most common security policies that are created in FortiOS. These security
policies are basic policies, such as allowing Internet access, as well as complex policies, such as IPsec VPN.
Fixed Port
Some network configurations do not operate correctly if a NAT policy translates the source port of packets used
by the connection. NAT translates source ports to keep track of connections for a particular service.
From the CLI you can enable fixedport when configuring a security policy for NAT policies to prevent source port
translation.
config firewall policy
edit <policy-id>
...
set fixedport enable
...
end
However, enabling fixedport means that only one connection can be supported through the firewall for this
service. To be able to support multiple connections, add an IP pool, and then select Dynamic IP pool in the policy.
The firewall randomly selects an IP address from the IP pool and assigns it to each connection. In this case, the
number of connections that the firewall can support is limited by the number of IP addresses in the pool.
Endpoint Security
Endpoint security enforces the use of the FortiClient End Point Security (FortiClient and FortiClient Lite)
application on your network. It can also allow or deny endpoints access to the network based on the application
installed on them.
By applying endpoint security to a security policy, you can enforce this type of security on your network.
FortiClient enforcement can check that the endpoint is running the most recent version of the FortiClient
application, that the antivirus signatures are up-to-date, and that the firewall is enabled. An endpoint is usually
often a single PC with a single IP address being used to access network services through a FortiGate unit.
With endpoint security enabled on a policy, traffic that attempts to pass through, the FortiGate unit runs
compliance checks on the originating host on the source interface. Non-compliant endpoints are blocked. If
someone is browsing the web, the endpoints are redirected to a web portal which explains the non-compliance
and provides a link to download the FortiClient application installer. The web portal is already installed on the
FortiGate unit, as a replacement message, which you can modify if required.
Endpoint Security requires that all hosts using the security policy have the FortiClient Endpoint Security agent
installed. Currently, FortiClient Endpoint Security is available for Microsoft Windows 2000 and later only.
For more information about endpoint security, see the Security Profiles chapter in the FortiOS Handbook.
Traffic Logging
When you enable logging on a security policy, the FortiGate unit records the scanning process activity that
occurs, as well as whether the FortiGate unit allowed or denied the traffic according to the rules stated in the
security policy. This information can provide insight into whether a security policy is working properly, as well as if
there needs to be any modifications to the security policy, such as adding traffic shaping for better traffic
performance.
Depending on what the FortiGate unit has in the way of resources, there may be advantages in optimizing the
amount of logging taking places. This is why in each policy you are given 3 options for the logging:
l Disable Log Allowed Traffic - Does not record any log messages about traffic accepted by this policy.
If you enable Log Allowed Traffic, the following two options are available:
l Security Events - This records only log messages relating to security events caused by traffic accepted by this
policy.
l All Sessions - This records all log messages relating to all of the traffic accepted by this policy.
Depending on the model, if the Log all Sessions option is selected there may be 2 additional options. These options
are normally available in the GUI on the higher end models such as the FortiGate 600C or larger.
l Generate Logs when Session Starts
l Capture Packets
You can also use the CLI to enter the following command to write a log message when a session starts:
config firewall policy
edit <policy-index>
set logtraffic-start
end
Traffic is logged in the traffic log file and provides detailed information that you may not think you need, but do.
For example, the traffic log can have information about an application used (web: HTTP.Image), and whether or
not the packet was SNAT or DNAT translated. The following is an example of a traffic log message.
2011-04-13
05:23:47
log_id=4
type=traffic
subtype=other
pri=notice
vd=root
status="start"
src="10.41.101.20"
srcname="10.41.101.20"
src_port=58115
dst="172.20.120.100"
dstname="172.20.120.100"
dst_country="N/A"
dst_port=137
tran_ip="N/A"
tran_port=0
tran_sip="10.31.101.41"
tran_sport=58115
service="137/udp"
proto=17
app_type="N/A"
duration=0
rule=1
policyid=1
sent=0
rcvd=0
shaper_drop_sent=0
shaper_drop_rcvd=0
perip_drop=0
src_int="internal"
dst_int="wan1"
SN=97404 app="N/A"
app_cat="N/A"
carrier_ep="N/A"
If you want to know more about logging, see the Logging and Reporting chapter in the FortiOS Handbook. If you
want to know more about traffic log messages, see the FortiGate Log Message Reference.
Network defense
This section describes in general terms the means by which attackers can attempt to compromise your network
using attacks at the network level rather than through application vulnerabilities, and steps you can take to protect
it. The goal of an attack can be as complex as gaining access to your network and the privileged information it
contains, or as simple as preventing customers from accessing your web server.
Because of popular media, many people are aware of viruses and other malware as a threat against their
computers and data, but some of the most costly malicious attack in history have been against networks. A 2016
study found that a single DDoS attack could cast a company over $1.6 million. Depending on the size and type of
company the areas of expense can be:
l Monitoring
l Blocking external probes
l Defending against DoS attacks
Monitoring
Monitoring, in the form of logging, alert email, and SNMP, does not directly protect your network. But monitoring
allows you to review the progress of an attack, whether afterwards or while in progress. How the attack unfolds
may reveal weaknesses in your preparations. The packet archive and sniffer policy logs can reveal more details
about the attack. Depending on the detail in your logs, you may be able to determine the attackers location and
identity.
While log information is valuable, you must balance the log information with the resources required to collect and
store it.
Attacks are often tailored to the hardware or operating system of the target, so reconnaissance is often the first
step. The IP addresses of the hosts, the open ports, and the operating systems the hosts are running is
invaluable information to an attacker. Probing your network can be as simple as an attacker performing an
address sweep or port scan to a more involved operation like sending TCP packets with invalid combinations of
flags to see how your firewall reacts.
Address sweeps
An address sweep is a basic network scanning technique to determine which addresses in an address range have
active hosts. A typical address sweep involves sending an ICMP ECHO request (a ping) to each address in an
address range to attempt to get a response. A response signifies that there is a host at this address that
responded to the ping. It then becomes a target for more detailed and potentially invasive attacks.
Address sweeps do not always reveal all the hosts in an address range because some systems may be configured
to ignore ECHO requests and not respond, and some firewalls and gateways may be configured to prevent ECHO
requests from being transmitted to the destination network. Despite this shortcoming, Address sweeps are still
used because they are simple to perform with software tools that automate the process.
Use the icmp_sweep anomaly in a DoS policy to protect against address sweeps.
There are a number of IPS signatures to detect the use of ICMP probes that can gather information about your
network. These signatures include AddressMask, Traceroute, ICMP.Invalid.Packet.Size, and
ICMP.Oversized.Packet. Include ICMP protocol signatures in your IPS sensors to protect against these
probes/attacks.
Port scans
Potential attackers may run a port scan on one or more of your hosts. This involves trying to establish a
communication session to each port on a host. If the connection is successful, a service may be available that the
attacker can exploit.
Use the DoS anomaly check for tcp_port_scan to limit the number of sessions (complete and incomplete)
from a single source IP address to the configured threshold. If the number of sessions exceed the threshold, the
configured action is taken.
Use the DoS anomaly check for udp_scan to limit UDP sessions in the same way.
Attackers may create packets with these invalid combinations to test how a host will react. Various operating
systems and hardware react in different ways, giving a potential attackers clues about the components of your
network.
The IPS signature TCP.Bad.Flags detects these invalid combinations. The default action is pass though you
can override the default and set it to Block in your IPS sensor.
The anti-replay CLI command allows you to set the level of checking for packet replay and TCP sequence
checking (or TCP Sequence (SEQ) number checking). All TCP packets contain a Sequence Number (SEQ) and an
Acknowledgement Number (ACK). The TCP protocol uses these numbers for error free end-to-end
communications. TCP sequence checking can also be used to validate individual packets.
FortiGate units use TCP sequence checking to make sure that a packet is part of a TCP session. By default, if a
packet is received with sequence numbers that fall out of the expected range, the FortiGate unit drops the
packet. This is normally a desired behavior, since it means that the packet is invalid. But in some cases you may
want to configure different levels of anti-replay checking if some of your network equipment uses non-RFC
methods when sending packets.
Enable ICMP error message verification to ensure an attacker can not send an invalid ICMP error message.
config system global
check-reset-range {disable | strict}
end
l disable — the FortiGate unit does not validate ICMP error messages.
l strict — enable ICMP error message checking.
If the FortiGate unit receives an ICMP error packet that contains an embedded IP(A,B) | TCP(C,D) header, then if
FortiOS can locate the A:C->B:D session it checks to make sure that the sequence number in the TCP header is
within the range recorded in the session. If the sequence number is not in range then the ICMP packet is
dropped. Strict checking also affects how the anti-replay option checks packets.
Evasion techniques
Attackers employ a wide range of tactics to try to disguise their techniques. If an attacker disguises a known
attack in such a way that it is not recognized, the attack will evade your security and possibly succeed. FortiGate
security recognizes a wide variety of evasion techniques and normalizes data traffic before inspecting it.
Packet fragmentation
Information sent across local networks and the Internet is encapsulated in packets. There is a maximum
allowable size for packets and this maximum size varies depending on network configuration and equipment
limitations. If a packet arrives at a switch or gateway and it is too large, the data it carries is divided among two or
more smaller packets before being forwarded. This is called fragmentation.
When fragmented packets arrive at their destination, they are reassembled and read. If the fragments do not
arrive together, they must be held until all of the fragments arrive. Reassembly of a packet requires all of the
fragments.
The FortiGate unit automatically reassembles fragmented packets before processing them because fragmented
packets can evade security measures. This reassembly of packets affects TCP, UDP and IP packets. There can
be some variation though in what process does the reassembling. The IPS engine, nTurbo and the kernel all can
do defragmentation.
For example, you have configured the FortiGate unit to block access to the example.org web site. Any checks for
example.com will fail if a fragmented packet arrives and one fragment contains http://www.exa while the
other contains mple.com/. Viruses and malware can be fragmented and avoid detection in the same way. The
FortiGate unit will reassemble fragmented packets before examining network data to ensure that inadvertent or
deliberate packet fragmentation does not hide threats in network traffic.
Non-standard ports
Most traffic is sent on a standard port based on the traffic type. The FortiGate unit recognizes most traffic by
packet content rather than the TCP/UDP port and uses the proper IPS signatures to examine it. Protocols
recognized regardless of port include DHCP, DNP3, FTP, HTTP, IMAP, MS RPC, NNTP, POP3, RSTP, SIP,
SMTP, and SSL, as well as the supported IM/P2P application protocols.
In this way, the FortiGate unit will recognize HTTP traffic being sent on port 25 as HTTP rather than SMTP, for
example. Because the protocol is correctly identified, the FortiGate unit will examine the traffic for any enabled
HTTP signatures.
Negotiation codes
Telnet and FTP servers and clients support the use of negotiation information to allow the server to report what
features it supports. This information has been used to exploit vulnerable servers. To avoid this problem, the
FortiGate unit removes negotiation codes before IPS inspection.
Attackers encode HTML links using various formats to evade detection and bypass security measures. For
example, the URL www.example.com/cgi.bin could be encoded in a number of ways to avoid detection but still
work properly, and be interpreted the same, in a web browser.
The FortiGate prevents the obfuscation by converting the URL to ASCII before inspection.
No encoding http://www.example.com/cgi.bin/
Decimal http://www.example.com/cg&
encoding #105;.bin/
http://www.example.com/%u0063%u0067%
ANSI encoding
u0069%u002E%u0062%u0069%u006E/
Directory http://www.example.com/cgi.bin/test/../
traversal
The headers of HTTP requests or responses can be modified to make the discovery of patterns and attacks more
difficult. To prevent this, the FortiGate unit will:
The body content of HTTP traffic can be hidden in an attempt to circumvent security scanning. HTTP content can
be GZipped or deflated to prevent security inspection. The FortiGate unit will uncompress the traffic before
inspecting it.
Another way to hide the contents of HTTP traffic is to send the HTTP body in small pieces, splitting signature
matches across two separate pieces of the HTTP body. The FortiGate unit reassembles these ‘chunked bodies’
before inspection.
Because of its complexity, the Microsoft Remote Procedure Call protocol suite is subject to a number of known
evasion techniques, including:
l SMB-level fragmentation
l DCERPC-level fragmentation
l DCERPC multi-part fragmentation
l DCERPC UDP fragmentation
l Multiple DCERPC fragments in one packet
The FortiGate unit reassembles the fragments into their original form before inspection.
Any network traffic the target system receives has to be examined, and then accepted or rejected. TCP, UDP,
and ICMP traffic is most commonly used, but a particular type of TCP traffic is the most effective. TCP packets
with the SYN flag are the most efficient DoS attack tool because of how communication sessions are started
between systems.
1. The client sends a TCP packet with the SYN flag set. With the SYN packet, the client informs the server of its
intention to establish a connection.
2. If the server is able to accept the connection to the client, it sends a packet with the SYN and the ACK flags set.
This simultaneously acknowledges the SYN packet the server has received, and informs the client that the server
intends to establish a connection.
3. To acknowledge receipt of the packet and establish the connection, the client sends an ACK packet.
The three-way handshake is a simple way for the server and client to each agree to establish a connection and
acknowledge the other party expressing its intent. Unfortunately, the three-way handshake can be used to
interfere with communication rather than facilitate it.
SYN flood
When a client sends a SYN packet to a server, the server creates an entry in its session table to keep track of the
connection. The server then sends a SYN+ACK packet expecting an ACK reply and the establishment of a
connection.
An attacker intending to disrupt a server with a denial of service (DoS) attack can send a flood of SYN packets and
not respond to the SYN+ACK packets the server sends in response. Networks can be slow and packets can get
lost so the server will continue to send SYN+ACK packets until it gives up, and removes the failed session from
the session table. If an attacker sends enough SYN packets to the server, the session table will fill completely,
and further connection attempts will be denied until the incomplete sessions time out. Until this happens, the
server is unavailable to service legitimate connection requests.
SYN floods are seldom launched from a single address so limiting the number of connection attempts from a
single IP address is not usually effective.
SYN spoofing
With a flood of SYN packets coming from a single attacker, you can limit the number of connection attempts from
the source IP address or block the attacker entirely. To prevent this simple defense from working, or to disguise
the source of the attack, the attacker may spoof the source address and use a number of IP addresses to give the
appearance of a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack. When the server receives the spoofed SYN packets,
the SYN+ACK replies will go to the spoofed source IP addresses which will either be invalid, or the system
receiving the reply will not know what to do with it.
The distributed SYN flood is more difficult to defend against because multiple clients are capable of creating a
larger volume of SYN packets than a single client. Even if the server can cope, the volume of traffic may
overwhelm a point in the network upstream of the targeted server. The only defense against this is more
bandwidth to prevent any choke-points.
The tools attackers use to generate network traffic will not send a second SYN packet when a SYN+ACK response
is not received from the server. These tools will not “retry.” Legitimate clients will retry when no response is
received, and these retries are allowed even if they exceed the threshold with the action set to Block.
SYN proxy
FortiGate units with network acceleration hardware, whether built-in or installed in the form of an add-on module,
offer a third action for the tcp_syn_flood threshold. Instead of Block and Pass, you can choose to Proxy the
incomplete connections that exceed the threshold value.
When the tcp_syn_flood threshold action is set to f, incomplete TCP connections are allowed as normal as
long as the configured threshold is not exceeded. If the threshold is exceeded, the FortiGate unit will intercept
incoming SYN packets from clients and respond with a SYN+ACK packet. If the FortiGate unit receives an ACK
response as expected, it will “replay” this exchange to the server to establish a communication session between
the client and the server, and allow the communication to proceed.
Use the udp_flood and icmp_flood thresholds to defend against these DoS attacks.
DoS policies
DDoS attacks vary in nature and intensity. Attacks aimed at saturating the available bandwidth upstream of your
service can only be countered by adding more bandwidth. DoS policies can help protect against DDoS attacks
that aim to overwhelm your server resources.
l Use and configure DoS policies to appropriate levels based on your network traffic and topology. This will help drop
traffic if an abnormal amount is received.
l It is important to set a good threshold. The threshold defines the maximum number of sessions/packets per second
of normal traffic. If the threshold is exceeded, the action is triggered. Threshold defaults are general
recommendations, although your network may require very different values.
l One way to find the correct values for your environment is to set the action to Pass and enable logging. Observe
the logs and adjust the threshold values until you can determine the value at which normal traffic begins to generate
attack reports. Set the threshold above this value with the margin you want. Note that the smaller the margin, the
more protected your system will be from DoS attacks, but your system will also be more likely to generate false
alarms.
FortiOS DoS protection maintains network integrity and performance by identifying and blocking harmful IPv4
and IPv6-based denial of service (DoS) attacks.
FortiOS applies DoS protection very early in its traffic processing sequence to minimize the effect of a DoS attack
on FortiOS system performance. DoS protection is the first step for packets after they are received by a FortiGate
interface. Potential DoS attacks are detected and blocked before the packets are sent to other FortiOS systems.
FortiOS also includes an access control list feature that is implemented next. This accelerated ACL technology
uses NP6 processors to block traffic (including DoS attacks) by source and destination address and service again
before the packets are sent to the FortiGate CPU.
FortiOS DoS protection can operate in a standard configuration or operate out of band in sniffer mode, also
known as one-arm mode, similar to intrusion detection systems. When operating in sniffer mode the FortiGate
unit detects attacks and logs them without blocking them.
FortiOS DoS policies determine the course of action to take when anomalous traffic reaches a configured packet
rate threshold. You can block an attacker, block an interface, block an attacker and interface, or allow traffic to
pass through for monitoring purposes. This allows you to maintain network security by gathering information
about attacks, monitor potentially offending traffic, or block offenders for the most protection.
FortiGates with NP6 processors also support synproxy DoS protection. An NP6-accelerated TCP SYN proxy
offloads the three-way TCP handshake TCP SYN anomaly checking DoS protection to NP6 processors.
In addition, FortiOS can monitor and block outgoing Botnet connection attempts. Monitoring allows you to find
and remove Botnet clients from your network and blocking prevents infected systems from communicating with
Botnet sites.
Configuration options
Choose the standard configuration for maximum protection or configure sniffer mode to gather information.
Standard configuration
DoS protection is commonly configured on a FortiGate unit that connects a private or DMZ network to the
Internet or on a FortiWiFi unit that connects a wireless LAN to an internal network and to the Internet. All Internet
traffic or wireless LAN traffic passes through DoS protection in the FortiGate unit or the FortiWiFi unit.
FortiOS records log messages and sends alerts to system administrators when a DoS attack is detected. IDS
scanning does not affect network performance or network traffic if the IDS fails or goes offline.
DoS policies
DoS policies provide effective and early DoS detection while remaining light on system resources. They are
configured to monitor and to stop traffic with abnormal patterns or attributes. The DoS policy recognizes traffic as
a threat when the traffic reaches a user-configured packet rate threshold. The policy then determines the
appropriate action. In addition to choosing whether or not to log each type of anomaly, you can choose to pass or
block threats.
DoS policy anomaly protection is applied to all incoming traffic to a single FortiGate interface, but you can narrow
policies by specifying service, source address, and destination address. The FortiGate unit processes DoS
policies in their own respective order first, followed by all other firewall policies.
Hardware acceleration
Hardware acceleration enhances protection and increases the efficiency of your network. FortiOS integrated
Content Processors (CPs), Network Processors (NPs), and Security Processors (SPs) accelerate specialized
security processing. DoS SYN proxy protection is built in to NP6 processors and many Fortinet Security
Processors, like the CE4, XE2, and FE8, to guard against TCP SYN floods. TCP packets with the SYN flag are the
most efficient DoS attack tool because of how communication sessions are initiated between systems. NP6 and
SP processors can offload TCP SYN flood attack detection and blocking. The SP module increases a FortiGate
unit’s capacity to protect against TCP SYN flood attacks while minimizing the effect of attacks on the FortiGate
unit’s overall performance and the network performance. The result is improved capacity and overall system
performance.
Firewall Policies
The firewall policies of the FortiGate are one of the most important aspects of the appliance. There are a lot of
building blocks and configurations involved in setting up a firewall and it within the policies that a lot of these
components come together to form a cohesive unit to perform the firewall's main function, analyzing network
traffic and responding appropriately to the results of that analysis.
There are a few different kinds of policies and in most cases these are further divided into IPv4 and IPv6 versions:
l IPv4 Policy - used for managing traffic going through the appliance using IPv4 protocols
l IPv6 Policy - used for managing traffic going through the appliance using IPv6 protocols
l NAT64 Policy - used for managing traffic going through the appliance that converts from IPv6 on the incoming
interface to IPv4 on the outgoing interface
l NAT46 Policy - used for managing traffic going through the appliance that converts from IPv4 on the incoming
interface to IPv6 on the outgoing interface
l Multicast Policy - used to manage traffic sent to multiple destinations
l IPv4 Access Control List - used to filter out packets based on specific IPV4 parameters.
l IPv6 Access Control List - used to filter out packets based on specific IPV6 parameters.
l IPv4 DoS Policy - used to prevent malicious or flawed packets on an IPv4 interface from denying access to users.
l IPv6 DoS Policy - used to prevent malicious or flawed packets on an IPv6 interface from denying access to users.
Because the policy determines whether or not NAT will be used, it is also import to look at how to configure:
Menu Items
There are some variations, but there are some common elements share by all of them. There is a menu bar
across the top. The menu bar will have the following items going from left to right:
Columns
The tables that make up the Policy window are based on rows which represent individual policies and the columns
that represent the various parameters or status within the policy. The columns are customizable by which
columns are included and what order they are in.
The table can be laid out a number ways to suit the viewer. There is a column for most of the important pieces of
information that you might be interested in seeing, but a lot of them are hidden by default. If you had a large
enough screen, you might be able to show all of the columns, but even then it might look a bit busy and crammed
together. Figure out which pieces of information are most important to you and hide the rest.
To configure which columns are visible and which are hidden, right click on the header row of the table. This will
present a drop down menu. The drop down will be divided into sections. At the top will be the Selected
Columns which are currently visible, and the next section will be Available Columns which show which
columns are available to add to the table.
To move a column from the Available list to the Selected list just click on it. To move a column from the
Selected list to the Available list, it also just takes a click of the mouse. To make the changes show up on the
table, go to the bottom of the drop down menu and select Apply. Any additions to the table will show up on the
right side.
One of the more useful ones that can be added is the ID column. The reason for adding this one is that within the
configuration file and CLI, the policies are referenced by their ID number. Some policy settings are only available
for configuration in the CLI. If you are looking in the CLI you will see that the only designation for a policy is its
number and if you wish to edit the policy or change its order in the sequence you will be asked to move it before or
after another policy by referencing its number.
The FortiGate unit will automatically change the view on the policy list page to By Sequence whenever there is a
policy containing “any” as the Source or Destination interface. If the Interface Pair View is grayed out it is likely
that one or more of the policies has used the “any” interface.
By using the “any” interface, the policy should go into multiple sections because it could effectively be any of a
number of interface pairings. As mentioned, policies are sectioned by using the interface pairings (for example,
port1 -> port2) and each section has its own specific policy order. The order in which a policy is checked for
matching criteria to a packet’s information is based solely on the position of the policy within its section or within
the entire list of policies as a whole but if the policy is in multiple sections at the same time there is no mechanism
for placing the policy in a proper order within all of those sections at the same time because it is a manual process
and there is no parameter to compare the precedence of one section or policy over the other. Thus a conflict is
created. In order to resolve the conflict the FortiGate firewall removes that aspect of the sections so that there is
no need to compare and find precedence between the sections and it therefore has only the Global View to work
with.
Policy Names
Each policy has a name field. Every policy name must be unique for the current VDOM regardless of policy type.
Previous to FortiOS 5.4, this field was optional.
On upgrading from an earlier version of FortiOS to 5.4, policy names are not assigned
to old policies, but when configuring new policies, a unique name must be assigned to
the policy.
GUI
In the GUI, the field for the policy name is the first field on the editing page.
CLI
In the CLI, the syntax for assigning the policy name is:
config firewall [policy|policy6]
edit 0
set name <policy name>
end
This setting is VDOM based so if you are running multiple VDOMs, you will
have to enter the correct VDOM before entering the CLI commands or
turning the feature on or off in the GUI.
GUI
To edit the requirement in the GUI, the ability to do so must be enabled in the CLI. The syntax is:
config system settings
set gui-allow-unnamed-policy [enable|disable]
end
Once it has been enabled, the requirement for named policies can be relaxed by going to System > Feature
Visibility. Allow Unnamed Policies can be found under Additional Features. Here you can toggle the
requirement on and off.
CLI
IPv4 Policy
l To edit an existing policy, double click on the policy you wish to edit
l To create a new policy, select the Create New icon in the top left side of the right window.
2. Make sure the policy has a name in the Name field
3. Set the Incoming Interface parameter by selecting the field with the "+" next to the field label. Selecting the field
will slide out a window from the right where you can select from the available interfaces. You can select one or
more specific interfaces or you can select the any option. Choosing the any option will remove any other
interfaces. For more information on interfaces, check the Concepts section called Interfaces and Zones.
4. Set the Outgoing Interface parameter by selecting the field with the "+" next to the field label. (Same rules apply
as with the above step.)
Alias names for interfaces, if used, appear in the headings for the Interface Pair View
or what used to be called the Section View.
l The ANY interface (choosing this will remove all other interfaces)
l l A single specific interface
l l multiple specific interfaces (can be added at the same time or one at a time)
The GUI is intuitive and straightforward on how to do this. Click on the "+"
symbol in the interface field and then select the desired interfaces from the
side menu. There are a couple of ways to do it in the CLI:
5. Set the Source parameter by selecting the field with the "+" next to the field label. The source in this case is either
the source address, source user or source device of the initiating traffic. When the field is selected a window will
slide out from the right. Tabs indcating Address, User or Device options are there to help categorize the options
along with the option to search. In order to be able to select one of these options it needs to be configured as a
firewall object before hand. The "+" icon next to the Search field is a shortcut for creating a new firewall object
based on the tab that is currently selected. For the Address and Device tabs, single or multiple options can be
selected unless the all option is chosen in which case, it will be the only option.
6. Set the Destination Address parameter by selecting the field with the "+" next to the field label. This field is
similar to the Source field but address objects are the only available options to select. Single or multiple options
can be selected unless the all option is chosen in which case, it will be the only option. For more information on
addresses, check the Firewall Objects section called Addresses.
7. Set the Schedule parameter by using the drop down menu to select a preconfigured schedule. The "+" icon next
to the Search field is a shortcut for creating a new schedule object. For more information on addresses, check the
Firewall Objects section called Firewall schedules
8. Set the Service parameter by selecting the field with the "+" next to the field label. (Same mechanics for selection
apply as with the other similar fields in this window.) Single or multiple options can be selected unless the ALL
option is chosen in which case, it will be the only option. For more information on services, check the Firewall
Objects section called Services and TCP ports.
9. Set the Action parameter. Select one of the following options for the action:
l ACCEPT - lets the traffic through to the next phase of analysis
l DENY - drops the session
If Central NAT is enabled, the only option in Firewall / Network options will be whether to enable or disable
NAT. The rest of the NAT parameters will be set in the Central SNAT page.
If Central NAT is disabled, there are two additional settings in the Policy configuration page.
11. Set the Fixed Port parameter by toggling the slider button.(gray means it is disabled)
12. Set the IP Pool Configuration by selection one of the options of:
l Use Outgoing Interface Address
l Use Dynamic IP Pool
If the Use Dynamic IP Pool option is selected, an additional field will appear with the + icon. Selecting this
field will slide out a window from the right where a preexisting IP Pool can be chosen. One or more IP Pools
can be chosen and the "+" icon next to the Search field is a shortcut for creating a new IP Pool.
Security Profiles
13. Enabling the Use Security Profile Group option will allow the selection of a profile group instead of selecting
the individual profiles for the policy.
14. Disable or enable the various Security Profiles. Once a Profile has been toggled into the enabled mode a drop
down menu will appear for the purpose of choosing a specific profile. Only one profile can be chosen for each
profile type. The "+" icon next to the Search field in the drop down menu is a shortcut for creating a new profile.
The list of Security Profiles available to set includes:
l AntiVirus
l Web Filter
l DNS Filter
l Application Control
l CASI
l IPS
l Anti-Spam
l DLP Sensor
l VoIP
l ICAP
l Web Application Firewall
l Proxy Options
l SSL/SSH Inspection
Logging Options
15. Set the Log Allowed Traffic parameter by toggling the slider button (gray means it is disabled).
If the Log Allowed Traffic setting is enabled, choose whether to log just Security Events or All Sessions
and determine whether or not to keep a record of the packets by toggling the Capture Packets setting on or
off.
16. Add a comment to give a detailed description of the policy in the Comments field (up to 1023 characters).
17. Toggle whether or not to Enable this policy.The default is enabled.
18. Select the OK button to save the policy.
Enable the Log Violation Traffic setting by toggling the slider button.
10. Add a comment to give a detailed description of the policy in the Comments field (up to 1023 characters).
11. Toggle whether or not to Enable this policy.The default is enabled.
12. Select the OK button to save the policy.
To get more information on the LEARN option, read the Learning mode for Firewall policies topic in What's new
for Firewall in 5.6
VPN Tunnel
10. For the VPN Tunnel field, use the drop down menu to select the VPN tunnel that you want the policy associated
with.
11. Toggle the sliding button to enable or disable the option to Allow traffic to be initiated from the remote site
Security Profiles
12. Disable or enable the various Security Profiles. Once a Profile has been toggled into the enabled mode a drop
down menu will appear for the purpose of choosing a specific profile. Only one profile can be chosen for each
profile type. The "+" icon next to the Search field in the drop down menu is a shortcut for creating a new profile.
The list of Security Profiles available to set includes:
l AntiVirus
l Web Filter
l DNS Filter
l Application Control
l CASI
l IPS
l Anti-Spam
l DLP Sensor
l VoIP
l ICAP
l Web Application Firewall
l Proxy Options
l SSL/SSH Inspection
Logging Options
13. Set the Log Allowed Traffic parameter by toggling the slider button (gray means it is disabled).
If the Log Allowed Traffic setting is enabled, choose whether to log just Security Events or All Sessions
and determine whether or not to keep a record of the packets by toggling the Capture Packets setting on or
off.
14. Add a comment to give a detailed description of the policy in the Comments field (up to 1023 characters).
15. Toggle whether or not to Enable this policy.The default is enabled.
16. Select the OK button to save the policy.
IPv6 Policy
l To edit an existing policy, double click on the policy you wish to edit
l To create a new policy, select the Create New icon in the top left side of the right window.
2. Make sure the policy has a name in the Name field
3. Set the Incoming Interface parameter by selecting the field with the "+" next to the field label. Selecting the field
will slide out a window from the right where you can select from the available interfaces. You can select one or
more specific interfaces or you can select the any option. Choosing the any option will remove any other
interfaces. For more information on interfaces, check the Concepts section called Interfaces and Zones.
4. Set the Outgoing Interface parameter by selecting the field with the "+" next to the field label. (Same rules apply
as with the above step.)
5. Set the Source parameter by selecting the field with the "+" next to the field label. The source in this case is either
the source address, source user or source device of the initiating traffic. When the field is selected a window will
slide out from the right. Tabs indicating Address, User or Device options are there to help categorize the options
along with the option to search. In order to be able to select one of these options it needs to be configured as a
firewall object before hand. The "+" icon next to the Search field is a shortcut for creating a new firewall object
based on the tab that is currently selected. For the Address and Device tabs, single or multiple options can be
selected unless the all option is chosen in which case, it will be the only option.
6. Set the Destination Address parameter by selecting the field with the "+" next to the field label. This field is
similar to the Source field but address objects are the only available options to select. Single or multiple options
can be selected unless the all option is chosen in which case, it will be the only option. For more information on
addresses, check the Firewall Objects section called Addresses.
7. Set the Schedule parameter by using the drop down menu to select a preconfigured schedule. The "+" icon next
to the Search field is a shortcut for creating a new schedule object. For more information on addresses, check the
Firewall Objects section called Firewall schedules
8. Set the Service parameter by selecting the field with the "+" next to the field label. (Same mechanics for selection
apply as with the other similar fields in this window.) Single or multiple options can be selected unless the ALL
option is chosen in which case, it will be the only option. For more information on services, check the Firewall
Objects section called Services and TCP ports.
9. Set the Action parameter. Select one of the following options for the action:
l ACCEPT - lets the traffic through to the next phase of analysis
l DENY - drops the session
While there are not as many Action options as with the IPv4 policy, because the choice of Action determines
the settings and options below this parameter in the window the rest of the step are associated with a specific
Action.
l An additional field will appear with the + icon. Selecting this field will slide out a window from the right where a
preexisting IP Pool can be chosen. One or more IP Pools can be chosen and the "+" icon next to the Search
field is a shortcut for creating a new IP Pool.
l An additional option to Preserve the Source Port will appear as a toggle option. If the slider button is grayed
out it is disabled.
Security Profiles
12. Enabling the Use Security Profile Group option will allow the selection of a profile group instead of selecting
the individual profiles for the policy.
13. Disable or enable the various Security Profiles. Once a Profile has been toggled into the enabled mode a drop
down menu will appear for the purpose of choosing a specific profile. Only one profile can be chosen for each
profile type. The "+" icon next to the Search field in the drop down menu is a shortcut for creating a new profile.
The list of Security Profiles available to set includes:
l AntiVirus
l Web Filter
l Application Control
l IPS
l Anti-Spam
l DLP Sensor
l VoIP
l ICAP
Logging Options
14. Set the Log Allowed Traffic parameter by toggling the slider button (gray means it is disabled).
If the Log Allowed Traffic setting is enabled, choose whether to log just Security Events or All Sessions
and determine whether or not to keep a record of the packets by toggling the Capture Packets setting on or
off.
15. Add a comment to give a detailed description of the policy in the Comments field (up to 1023 characters).
16. Toggle whether or not to Enable this policy.The default is enabled.
17. Select the OK button to save the policy.
Enable the Log Violation Traffic setting by toggling the slider button.
10. Add a comment to give a detailed description of the policy in the Comments field (up to 1023 characters).
11. Toggle whether or not to Enable this policy.The default is enabled.
12. Select the OK button to save the policy.
NAT64 Policy
l To edit an existing policy, double click on the policy you wish to edit
l To create a new policy, select the Create New icon in the top left side of the right window.
2. Set the Incoming Interface parameter by selecting the field with the "+" next to the field label. Selecting the field
will slide out a window from the right where you can select from the available interfaces. You can select one or
more specific interfaces or you can select the any option. Choosing the any option will remove any other
interfaces. For more information on interfaces, check the Concepts section called Interfaces and Zones.
3. Set the Outgoing Interface parameter by selecting the field with the "+" next to the field label. (Same rules apply
as with the above step.)
4. Set the Source Address parameter by selecting the field with the "+" next to the field label. The source in this
case is an IPv6 Address object of the initiating traffic. When the field is selected a window will slide out from the
right. In order to be able to select one of these options it needs to be configured as a firewall object before hand.
The "+" icon next to the Search field is a shortcut for creating a new firewall object based on the tab that is
currently selected. Single or multiple options can be selected unless the all option is chosen in which case, it will
be the only option.
5. Set the Destination Address parameter by selecting the field with the "+" next to the field label. This field is
similar to the Source Addressfield. Single or multiple options can be selected unless the all option is chosen in
which case, it will be the only option. For more information on addresses, check the Firewall Objects section called
Addresses.
6. Set the Schedule parameter by using the drop down menu to select a preconfigured schedule. The "+" icon next
to the Search field is a shortcut for creating a new schedule object. For more information on addresses, check the
Firewall Objects section called Firewall schedules
7. Set the Service parameter by selecting the field with the "+" next to the field label. (Same mechanics for selection
apply as with the other similar fields in this window.) Single or multiple options can be selected unless the ALL
option is chosen in which case, it will be the only option. For more information on services, check the Firewall
Objects section called Services and TCP ports.
8. Set the Action parameter. Select one of the following options for the action:
l ACCEPT - lets the traffic through to the next phase of analysis
l DENY - drops the session
While there are not as many Action options as with the IPv4 policy, because the choice of Action determines
the settings and options below this parameter in the window the rest of the step are associated with a specific
Action.
12. Set the Log Allowed Traffic parameter by toggling the slider button (gray means it is disabled).
If the Log Allowed Traffic setting is enabled, choose whether to log just Security Events or All Sessions
and determine whether or not to keep a record of the packets by toggling the Capture Packets setting on or
off.
13. Add a comment to give a detailed description of the policy in the Comments field (up to 1023 characters).
14. Toggle whether or not to Enable this policy.The default is enabled.
15. Select the OK button to save the policy.
Enable the Log Violation Traffic setting by toggling the slider button.
10. Add a comment to give a detailed description of the policy in the Comments field (up to 1023 characters).
11. Toggle whether or not to Enable this policy.The default is enabled.
12. Select the OK button to save the policy.
NAT46 Policy
l To edit an existing policy, double click on the policy you wish to edit
l To create a new policy, select the Create New icon in the top left side of the right window.
2. Set the Incoming Interface parameter by selecting the field with the "+" next to the field label. Selecting the field
will slide out a window from the right where you can select from the available interfaces. You can select one or
more specific interfaces or you can select the any option. Choosing the any option will remove any other
interfaces. For more information on interfaces, check the Concepts section called Interfaces and Zones.
3. Set the Outgoing Interface parameter by selecting the field with the "+" next to the field label. (Same rules apply
as with the above step.)
4. Set the Source parameter by selecting the field with the "+" next to the field label. The source in this case is either
the source address, source user or source device of the initiating traffic. When the field is selected a window will
slide out from the right. Tabs indicating Address, User or Device options are there to help categorize the options
along with the option to search. In order to be able to select one of these options it needs to be configured as a
firewall object before hand. The "+" icon next to the Search field is a shortcut for creating a new firewall object
based on the tab that is currently selected. For the Address and Device tabs, single or multiple options can be
selected unless the all option is chosen in which case, it will be the only option.
5. Set the Destination Address parameter by selecting the field with the "+" next to the field label. This field is
similar to the Source field but address objects are the only available options to select. Single or multiple options
can be selected unless the all option is chosen in which case, it will be the only option. For more information on
addresses, check the Firewall Objects section called Addresses.
6. Set the Schedule parameter by using the drop down menu to select a preconfigured schedule. The "+" icon next
to the Search field is a shortcut for creating a new schedule object. For more information on addresses, check the
Firewall Objects section called Firewall schedules
7. Set the Service parameter by selecting the field with the "+" next to the field label. (Same mechanics for selection
apply as with the other similar fields in this window.) Single or multiple options can be selected unless the ALL
option is chosen in which case, it will be the only option. For more information on services, check the Firewall
Objects section called Services and TCP ports.
8. Set the Action parameter. Select one of the following options for the action:
l ACCEPT - lets the traffic through to the next phase of analysis
l DENY - drops the session
While there are not as many Action options as with the IPv4 policy, because the choice of Action determines
the settings and options below this parameter in the window the rest of the step are associated with a specific
Action.
14. Set the Log Allowed Traffic parameter by toggling the slider button (gray means it is disabled).
If the Log Allowed Traffic setting is enabled, choose whether to log just Security Events or All Sessions
and determine whether or not to keep a record of the packets by toggling the Capture Packets setting on or
off.
15. Add a comment to give a detailed description of the policy in the Comments field (up to 1023 characters).
16. Toggle whether or not to Enable this policy.The default is enabled.
17. Select the OK button to save the policy.
Enable the Log Violation Traffic setting by toggling the slider button.
10. Add a comment to give a detailed description of the policy in the Comments field (up to 1023 characters).
11. Toggle whether or not to Enable this policy.The default is enabled.
12. Select the OK button to save the policy.
Central SNAT
The Central NAT feature in not enabled by default. When central-nat is enabled, nat option under IPv4
policies is skipped and SNAT must be done via central-snat-map.
l Info messages and redirection links have been added to IPv4 policy list and dialog to indicate the above
l If NGFW mode is policy-based, then it is assumed that central-nat (specifically SNAT) is enabled implicitly
l The option to toggle NAT in central-snat-map policies has been added (previously it was only shown in NGFW
policy-based mode).
l In central-snat policy dialog, the port-mapping fields for the original port have been updated to accept ranges.
l Nat will be skipped in firewall policy if per vdom central nat is enabled.
l The Central SNAT window contains a table of all of the Central SNAT policies.
To toggle the feature on or off, use the following commands:
config system settings
set central-nat [enable | disable]
end
When Central NAT is enable the Central SNAT section will appear under the Policy & Objects heading in the
GUI.
l To edit an existing entry, double click on the policy you wish to edit
l To create a new entry, select the Create New icon in the top left side of the right window.
2. Set the Incoming Interface(s) by clicking on the "+" in the field. This will slide out a window from the right. Here,
you can select from the available interfaces. Selecting a listed interface will highlight it in the window and add it to
the field. Clicking on an object in this window while it's highlighted will remove it from the field. Multiple selections
are allowed.
3. Set the Outgoing Interface(s) by clicking on the "+" in the field. This will slide out a window from the right. Here,
you can select from the available interfaces. Selecting a listed interface will highlight it in the window and add it to
the field. Clicking on an object in this window while it's highlighted will remove it from the field. Multiple selections
are allowed.
4. Set the Source Address by clicking on the "+" in the field. This will slide out a window from the right. Here, you
can select from the available address objects. Selecting a listed object will highlight it in the window and add it to
the field. Clicking on an object in this window while it's highlighted will remove it from the field. Multiple selections
are allowed. For more information on addresses, check the Firewall Objects section called Addresses.
5. Set the Destination Address by clicking on the "+" in the field. This will slide out a window from the right. Here,
you can select from the available address objects. Selecting a listed object will highlight it in the window and add it
to the field. Clicking on an object in this window while it's highlighted will remove it from the field. Multiple
selections are allowed.
Under the NAT Heading
6. Set the IP Pool Configuration parameter by selecting either Use Outgoing Interface Address or Use
Dynamic IP Pool.
o If Use Dynamic IP Pool is chosen, a field will appear just beneath the option that is used to select which IP Pool
object will be used.Set the IP Pool by clicking on the "+" in the field. This will slide out a window from the right. Here,
you can select from the available objects.
7. Set the Protocol parameter.
There are 5 options for the Protocol.
l Original Source Port - in the left number field, set the starting number of the source port range.
l Translated Port - in the left number field, set the starting number of the translated port range. If it is a single
port range leave the right number field alone. If the right number field is set to a number higher than the left,
the right number field for the Original Source Port will change to make sure the 2 number ranges have a
matching number of ports.
7. Select the OK button to save the entry.
l To edit an existing entry, double click on the policy you wish to edit
l To create a new entry, select the Create New icon in the top left side of the right window.
2. Set the Incoming Interface parameter by using the drop down menu to select a single interface.
3. Set the Source Address parameter by selecting the field with the "+" next to the field label. Single or multiple
options can be selected unless the all option is chosen in which case, it will be the only option. For more
information on addresses, check the Firewall Objects section called Addresses.
4. Set the Destination Address parameter by selecting the field with the "+" next to the field label. Single or
multiple options can be selected unless the all option is chosen in which case, it will be the only option.
5. Set the Services parameter by selecting the field with the "+" next to the field label. Single or multiple options can
be selected unless the ALL option is chosen in which case, it will be the only option. For more information on
services, check the Firewall Objects section called Services and TCP ports.
6. Toggle whether or not to Enable this policy.The default is enabled.
7. Select the OK button to save the policy.
l To edit an existing entry, double click on the policy you wish to edit
l To create a new entry, select the Create New icon in the top left side of the right window.
2. Set the Incoming Interface parameter by using the drop down menu to select a single interface.
3. Set the Source IPv6 Address parameter by selecting the field with the "+" next to the field label. Single or
multiple options can be selected unless the all option is chosen in which case, it will be the only option. For more
information on addresses, check the Firewall Objects section called Addresses.
4. Set the Destination IPv6 Address parameter by selecting the field with the "+" next to the field label. Single or
multiple options can be selected unless the all option is chosen in which case, it will be the only option.
5. Set the Services parameter by selecting the field with the "+" next to the field label. Single or multiple options can
be selected unless the ALL option is chosen in which case, it will be the only option. For more information on
services, check the Firewall Objects section called Services and TCP ports.
6. Toggle whether or not to Enable this policy.The default is enabled.
7. Select the OK button to save the policy.
l To edit an existing policy, double click on the policy you wish to edit
l To create a new policy, select the Create New icon in the top left side of the right window.
2. Set the Incoming Interface parameter by using the drop down menu to select a single interface.
3. Set the Source Address parameter by selecting the field with the "+" next to the field label. Single or multiple
options can be selected unless the all option is chosen in which case, it will be the only option. For more
information on addresses, check the Firewall Objects section called Addresses.
4. Set the Destination Address parameter by selecting the field with the "+" next to the field label. Single or
multiple options can be selected unless the all option is chosen in which case, it will be the only option.
5. Set the Services parameter by selecting the field with the "+" next to the field label. Single or multiple options can
be selected unless the ALL option is chosen in which case, it will be the only option. For more information on
services, check the Firewall Objects section called Services and TCP ports.
6. Set the parameters for the various traffic anomalies.
All of the anomalies that profiles have been created for are in 2 tables. These tables break up the anomaly
profiles into L3 Anomalies and L4 Anomalies. All of the anomalies have the following parameters that can
be set on a per anomaly or per column basis.
L3 Anomalies
l ip_src_session
l ip_dst_session
L4 Anomalies
l tcp_syn_flood
l tcp_port_scan
l tcp_src_session
l tcp_dst_session
l udp_flood
l udp_scan
l udp_src_session
l udp_dst_session
l icmp_flood
l icmp_sweep
l icmp_src_session
l sctp_flood
l sctp_scan
l sctp_src_session
l sctp_dst_session
7. Toggle whether or not to Enable this policy.The default is enabled.
8. Select the OK button to save the policy.
Example
The company wishes to protect against Denial of Service attach. They have chosen some where they wish to
block the attacks of the incidence goes above a certain threshold and for some others they are just trying to get a
baseline of activity for those types of attacks so they are letting the traffic pass through without action.
Field Value
Service ALL
L3 Anomalies
L4 Anomalies
next
edit "ip_src_session"
set status disable
set log enable
set action pass
set threshold 5000
next
edit "ip_dst_session"
set status disable
set log enable
set action pass
set threshold 5000
next
edit "sctp_flood"
set status disable
set log disable
set action pass
set threshold 2000
next
edit "sctp_scan"
set status disable
set log disable
set action pass
set threshold 1000
next
edit "sctp_src_session"
set status disable
set log disable
set action pass
set threshold 5000
next
edit "sctp_dst_session"
set status disable
set log disable
set action pass
set threshold 5000
next
end
end
end
In this example of the CLI, all of the relevant settings have been left in, but some of
them are default settings and would not have to have been specifically set to work. For
instance, if the action parameter is not set it automatically defaults to pass.
l To edit an existing policy, double click on the policy you wish to edit
l To create a new policy, select the Create New icon in the top left side of the right window.
2. Set the Incoming Interface parameter by using the drop down menu to select a single interface.
3. Set the Source IPv6 Address parameter by selecting the field with the "+" next to the field label. Single or
multiple options can be selected unless the all option is chosen in which case, it will be the only option. For more
information on addresses, check the Firewall Objects section called Addresses.
4. Set the Destination IPv6 Address parameter by selecting the field with the "+" next to the field label. Single or
multiple options can be selected unless the all option is chosen in which case, it will be the only option.
5. Set the Services parameter by selecting the field with the "+" next to the field label. Single or multiple options can
be selected unless the ALL option is chosen in which case, it will be the only option. For more information on
services, check the Firewall Objects section called Services and TCP ports.
6. Set the parameters for the various traffic anomalies.
All of the anomalies that profiles have been created for are in 2 tables. These tables break up the anomaly
profiles into L3 Anomalies and L4 Anomalies. All of the anomalies have the following parameters that can
be set on a per anomaly or per column basis.
L3 Anomalies
l ip_src_session
l ip_dst_session
L4 Anomalies
l tcp_syn_flood
l tcp_port_scan
l tcp_src_session
l tcp_dst_session
l udp_flood
l udp_scan
l udp_src_session
l udp_dst_session
l icmp_flood
l icmp_sweep
l icmp_src_session
l icmp_dst_session
l sctp_flood
l sctp_scan
7. Toggle whether or not to Enable this policy.The default is enabled.
8. Select the OK button to save the policy.
The configuring of the IPv6 version of the DoS policy is the same as in the IPv4 version , with the exception of first
command.
The rest of the settings are the same as in IPv4 Dos Policy.
Multicast Policy
The Multicast Policy GUI page has been updated from previous versions of the firmware to the new GUI look
and feel. Some functionality has also been changed.
The DNAT option has been removed from the GUI but is still in the CLI.
To create/edit a multicast policy go to Policy & Objects > Multicast Policy. The Listing window on the right
will have buttons along the top that will enable you to
l Create New
l Edit
l Delete
There is also a Search field that will allow you to search or filter the available policies if you have a lot of them.
To configure a new policy left click on the Create New button. This will reveal the New Policy editing window.
1. Using the drop down menu, fill in the field for Incoming Interface. Only one interface can be chosen.
2. Using the drop down menu, fill in the field for Outgoing Interface. Only one interface can be chosen.
3. Set the Source Address parameter by selecting the field with the "+" next to the field label. When the field is
selected a window will slide out from the right. In order for a multicast address to available for selection, the
address object needs to have been created already. Only useable address options will be available for selection.
This means only mutlticast address objects and the more generic all and none options. The "+" icon next to the
Search field is a shortcut for creating a new firewall object. Single or multiple options can be selected unless the
all option is chosen in which case, it will be the only option.
4. Set the Destination Address parameter by selecting the field with the "+" next to the field label. This field is
similar to the Source field. Single or multiple options can be selected unless the all option is chosen in which
case, it will be the only option.
5. Set the Action parameter. This will be to either ACCEPT or DENY the traffic through the policy.
6. Toggle the Enable SNAT switch to the setting you want. If the slider is gray the option is disabled. If it is colored,
it is enabled.
7. Use the drop down menu to select a Protocol. The options are:
l Any
l ICMP
l IGMP
l TCP - includes Port Range fields
l UDP - includes Port Range fields
l OSPF
l Other - includes a field for the protocol number
8. Depending on which Protocol is defined, the some other fields may appear.
l Port Range - The first field is for the starting value for the port and the second for the ending value for the
port range used by the protocol. Both of these values are inclusive.
l Protocol field - This appears when the Other option is chosen. Enter the value of the protocol number for the
protocol you wish to use.
9. Toggle the Log Allowed Traffic switch to the setting you want. If the slider is gray the option is disabled. If it is
colored, it is enabled.
10. Toggle the Enable this policy switch to the setting you want. If the slider is gray the option is disabled. If it is
colored, it is enabled. By default, this should be enabled
11. Click on the OK button to save the policy.
Object Configuration
As was mentioned earlier, the components of the FortiGate firewall go together like interlocking building blocks.
The Firewall objects are a prime example of those building blocks. They are something that can be configured
once and then used over and over again to build what you need. They can assist in making the administration of
the FortiGate unit easier and more intuitive as well as easier to change. By configuring these objects with their
future use in mind as well as building in accurate descriptions the firewall will become almost self documenting.
That way, months later when a situation changes, you can take a look at a policy that needs to change and use a
different firewall object to adapt to the new situation rather than build everything new from the ground up to
accommodate the change.
l Addresses
l "Virtual IPs" on page 932
l IP Pools
l "Services" on page 944
l "Firewall schedules" on page 951
UUID Support
A Universally Unique Identified (UUID) attribute has been added to some firewall objects, so that the logs can
record these UUID to be used by a FortiManager or FortiAnalyzer unit. The objects currently include:
Addresses
Firewall addresses define sources and destinations of network traffic and are used when creating policies. When
properly set up these firewall objects can be used with great flexibility to make the configuration of firewall
policies simpler and more intuitive. The FortiGate unit compares the IP addresses contained in packet headers
with a security policy’s source and destination addresses to determine if the security policy matches the traffic.
The address categories and the types within those categories on the FortiGate unit can include:
l IPv4 addresses
l IP address and Netmask
l IP address range
l Geography based address
l Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) address
l Wildcard FQDN
l IPv4 Address Group
l IPv6 addresses
l Subnets
l IP range
l IPv6 Address Group
l Multicast addresses
l Multicast IP range
l Broadcast subnets
l Proxy Addresses
l URL Pattern
l Host Regex Match
l URL Category
l HttpMethod
l User Agent
l HTTP Header
l Advanced (Source)
l Advanced (Destination)
l IP Pools (IPv4)
l Overload
l One-to-one
l Fixed Port Range
l Port Block Allocation
l IP Pools (IPv6)
l Virtual IP Addresses
l IPv4
l IPv6
l NAT46
l NAT64
Interfaces
When setting up an address one of the parameters that is asked for is the interface. This means that the system
will expect to see that address only on the interface that you select. You can only select one interface. If you
expect that the address may be seen at more than one interface you can choose the “any” interface option.
Whenever, possible it is best to choose a more specific interface than the “any” option because in the GUI
configuration of firewall policies there is a drop down field that will show the possible addresses that can be used.
The drop down will only show those addresses that can be on the interface assigned for that interface in the
policy.
Example:
Addresses, address groups, and virtual IPs must have unique names to avoid confusion in firewall policies. If an
address is selected in a policy, the address cannot be deleted until it is deselected from the policy.
The other reason to assign a specific interface to addresses is that it will prevent you
from accidentally assigning an address where it will not work properly. Using the
example from earlier, if the “XYZ” address was assigned to the “Any” interface instead
of WAN1 and you configure the “XYZ” address.
Don't specify an interface for VIP objects or other address objects that may
need to be moved or approached from a different direction. When
configuring a VIP you may think that it will only be associated with a single
interface, but you may later find that you need to reference it on another
interface.
Example: Some web applications require the use of a FQDN rather than an
IP address. If you have a VIP set up that works from the Internet to the
Internal LAN you wont be able to use that VIP object to access it from an
internal LAN interface.
IPv4 Addresses
When creating an IPv4 address there are a number of different types of addresses that can be specified. These
include:
l FQDN
l Geography
l IP Range
l IP/Netmask
l Wildcard FQDN
Which one chosen will depend on which method most easily yet accurately describes the addresses that you are
trying to include with as few entries as possible based on the information that you have. For instance, if you are
trying to describe the addresses of a specific company’s web server but it you have no idea of how extensive there
web server farm is you would be more likely to use a Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) rather than a specific
IP address. On the other hand some computers don’t have FQDNs and a specific IP address must be used.
FQDN Addresses
By using Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) addressing you can take advantage of the dynamic ability of DNS
to keep up with address changes without having to manually change the addresses on the FortiGate. FQDN
addresses are most often used with external web sites but they can be used for internal web sites as well if there
is a trusted DNS server that can be accessed. FQDN addressing also comes in handy for large web sites that may
use multiple addresses and load balancers for their web sites. The FortiGate firewall automatically maintains a
cached record of all the addresses resolved by the DNS for the FQDN addresses used.
For example, if you were doing this manually and you wanted to have a security policy that involved Google you
could track down all of the IP addresses that they use across multiple countries. Using the FQDN address is
simpler and more convenient.
When representing hosts by an FQDN, the domain name can also be a subdomain, such as mail.example.com.
There is a possible security downside to using FQDN addresses. Using a fully qualified
domain name in a security policy means that your policies are relying on the DNS
server to be accurate and correct. DNS servers in the past were not seen as potential
targets because the thinking was that there was little of value on them and therefore
are often not as well protected as some other network resources. People are becoming
more aware that the value of the DNS server is that in many ways it controls where
users and computers go on the Internet. Should the DNS server be compromised,
security policies requiring domain name resolution may no longer function properly.
You have to great a policy that will govern traffic that goes to a site that has a number of servers on the Internet.
Depending on the traffic or the possibility that one of the servers is down network traffic can go to any one of
those sites. The consistent factor is that they all use the same Fully Qualified Domain Name.
1. Go to Policy & Objects> Objects > Addresses and select Create New > Address.
2. Fill out the fields with the following information:
Category Address
Name BigWebsite.com
Type FQDN
FQDN bigwebsite.com
Interface any
3. Select OK.
Verification
1. Go to Firewall Objects > Address > Addresses. Check that the addresses have been added to the address
list and that they are correct.
2. Enter the following CLI command:
config firewall address
edit <the name of the address that you wish to verify>
Show full-configuration
To make sure that the FQDN resolves to the most recent active server you have been asked to make sure that the
FortiGate has not cached the address for any longer than 10 minutes.
There is no field for the cached time-to-live in the web-based manager. It is only configurable in the CLI. Enter the
following commands:
config firewall address
edit BigWebsite.com
set cache-ttl 600
end
Your company is US based and has information on its web site that may be considered information that is not
allowed to be sent to embargoed countries. In an effort to help reduce the possibility of sensitive information
going to those countries you have be asked to set up addresses for those countries so that they can be block in
the firewall policies.
Category Address
Name Cuba
Type Geography
Country Cuba
Interface any
Visibility <enable>
Comments Embargoed
3. Select OK.
Overrides
It is possible to assign a specific ip address range to a customized country ID. Generally, geographic addressing
is done at the VDOM level; it could be considered global if you are using the root VDOM, but the geoip-override
setting is a global setting.
config system geoip-override
edit "test"
set country-id "A0"
config ip-range
edit 1
set start-ip 7.7.7.7
set end-ip 7.7.7.8
next
edit 2
set start-ip 7.7.10.1
set end-ip 7.7.10.255
end
l While the setting exists in the configuration file, the system assigns the country-id
option automatically.
l While you can use "edit 1" and "edit 2", it is simpler to use "edit 0" and let the system
automatically assign an ID number.
After creating a customized Country by using geoip-override command, the New country name has been added
automatically to the country list and will be available on the Firewall Address Country field.
Diagnose commands
There are a few diagnose commands used with geographic addresses. The basic syntax is:
diagnose firewall ipgeo [country-list | ip-list | ip2country | override |
copyright-notice]
Click on the diagnose command in the table to connect to the Fortinet Diagnose Wiki
page that deals with the command option, to get more information.
IP Range Addresses
Where the Subnet address is good a representing a standardized group of addresses that are subnets the IP
Range type of address can describe a group of addresses while being specific and granular. It does this by
specifying a continuous set of IP addresses between one specific IP address and another. While it is most
common that this range is with a subnet it is not a requirement. For instance, 192.168.1.0/24 and 192.168.2.0/24
would be 2 separate subnets but if you wanted to describe the top half of one and the bottom half of the other you
could describe the range of 192.168.1.128-192.168.2.127. It’s also a lot easier that trying to calculate the correct
subnet mask.
There is a notation that is commonly used and accepted by some devices that follows the format:
Example
Example of a IP Range address for a group of computers set aside for guests on the company network.
Field Value
Name Guest_users
Type IP Range
Subnet / IP
192.168.100.200-192.168.100.240
Range
Interface Port1
Show in Address
[on]
List
Comments Computers on the 1st floor used by guests for Internet access.
IP Range addresses can be configured forboth IPv4 and IPv6 addresses. The only
differences in creating an IPv6 IP Range address is that you would choose IPv6
Address for the Category and the syntax of the address in the Subnet/IP Range field
would be in the format of 2001:0db8:0000:0002:0:0:0:20-
2001:0db8:0000:0004:0:0:0:20
IP / Netmask Addresses
The subnet type of address is expressed using a host address and a subnet mask. From a strictly mathematical
stand point this is the most flexible of the types because the address can refer to as little one individual address or
as many as all of the available addresses.
It is usally used when referring to your own internal addresses because you know what they are and they are
usually administered in groups that are nicely differentiated along the lines of the old A, B, and C classes of IPv4
addresses. They are also addresses that are not likely to change with the changing of Internet Service Providers
(ISP).
When representing hosts by an IP address with a netmask, the IP address can represent one or more hosts. For
example, a firewall address can be:
or
A setting that is found in the IP/Netmask address type that is not found in the other address types is the enabling
or disabling of Static Route Configuration. Enabling this feature includes the address in the listing of named
addresses when setting up a static route.
4. Using the drop down menu, enter the name of the address object in the field just underneath the Destination
type options.
5. Fill out the other information relevant to the route
6. Select the OK button
Example
Field Value
Category Address
Name DB_server_1
Type IP/Netmask
Interface any
Comments
Wildcard FQDN
There are a number of companies that use secondary and even tertiary domain names or FQDNs for their
websites. Wildcard FQDN addresses are to ease the administrative overhead in cases where this occurs.
Sometimes its as simple as sites that still use www. as a prefix for their domain name. If you don't know whether
or not the www is being used it's simpler to use a wildcard and include all of the possibilities whether it be
example.com, www.example.com or even ftp.example.com.
The following wildcard character instances are supported in wildcard FQDN addresses:
l "?" character
l "*" character in the middle of a phrase
l The "?*" combination
Wildcard FQDN addresses do not resolve to a specific set of IP addresses in the same
way that a normal FQDN addresss does. They are intended for use in SSL exemptions
and should not be used as source or destination addresses in policies.
Example
Example of a FQDN address for a remote FTP server used by Accounting team:
Field Value
Category Address
Name Example.com_servers
Interface any
Field Value
IPv6 Addresses
When creating an IPv6 address there are a number of different types of addresses that can be specified. These
include:
l Subnet
l IP Range - the details of this type of address are the same as the IPv4 version of this type
The IPv6 addresses don't yet have the versatility of the IPv4 address in that they don't have things like geography
based or FQDN address but as IPv6 becomes more mainstream this should change.
Subnet Addresses
The Subnet Address type is one that is only used in reference to IPv6 addresses.It represents an IPv6 address
subnet. This means that the address will likely be a series of hexadecimal characters followed by a double colon,
followed by a "/", and then a number less than 128 to indicate the size of the subnet. An example would be:
fd5e:3c59:35ce:f67e::/64
Example
Example of a IP Range address for a group of computers set aside for guests on the company network.
Field Value
Field Value
Name IPv6_Guest_user_range
Type Subnet
Comments
Multicast Addresses
Multicast addressing defines a specific range of address values set aside for them. Therefore all IPv4 multicast
addresses should be between 224.0.0.0 and 239.255.255.255.
More information on the concepts behind Multicast addressing can be found in the Multicast Forwarding section.
Multicast IP Range
This type of address will allow multicast broadcasts to a specified range of addresses.
The company has a large high tech campus that has monitors in many of its meeting rooms. It is common
practice for company wide notifications of importance to be done in a streaming video format with the CEO of the
company addressing everyone at once.
The video is High Definition quality so takes up a lot of bandwidth. To minimize the impact on the network the
network administrators have set things up to allow the use of multicasting to the monitors for these notifications.
Now it has to be set up on the FortiGate firewall to allow the traffic.
Name Meeting_Room_Displays
Interface port9
3. Select OK.
4. Enter the following CLI command:
config firewall multicast-address
edit "meeting_room_display"
set type multicastrange
set associated-interface "port9"
set start-ip 239.5.5.10
set end-ip 239.5.5.200
set visibility enable
next
end
1. Go to Policy & Objects> Objects > Addresses. Check that the addresses have been added to the address list
and that they are correct.
2. Enter the following CLI command:
config firewall multicast-address
edit <the name of the address that you wish to verify>
Show full-configuration
Broadcast Subnet
This type of address will allow multicast broadcast to every node on a subnet.
7. In the Interface field, leave as the default any or select a specific interface from the drop down menu.
8. Select the desired on/off toggle setting for Show in Address List. If the setting is enabled the address will
appear in drop down menus where it is an option.
9. Input any additional information in the Comments field.
10. Press OK.
Example
Field Value
Name Corpnet-B
Interface any
Multicast IP addresses
Multicast uses the Class D address space. The 224.0.0.0 to 239.255.255.255 IP address range is reserved for
multicast groups. The multicast address range applies to multicast groups, not to the originators of multicast
packets. The following table lists the reserved multicast address ranges and describes what they are reserved for:
Reserved
Use Notes
Address Range
224.0.0.0 to Used for network protocols on local In this range, packets are not forwarded
224.0.0.255 networks. For more information, see RFC by the router but remain on the local
1700. network. They have a Time to Live (TTL)
of 1. These addresses are used for
communicating routing information.
239.0.0.0 to Limited scope addresses used for local Routers are configured with filters to
239.255.255.255 groups and organizations. For more prevent multicasts to these addresses
information, see RFC 2365. from leaving the local system.
Creating multicast security policies requires multicast firewall addresses. You can add multicast firewall
addresses by going to Firewall Objects > Address > Addresses and selecting Create New > Multicast
Address. The factory default configuration includes multicast addresses for Bonjour (224.0.0.251-224.0.0.251,
EIGRP (224.0.0.10-224.0.0.100), OSPF (224.0.0.5-224.0.0.60), all_hosts (224.0.0.1-224.0.0.1), and all_routers
(224.0.0.2-224.0.0.2).
Proxy Addresses
This category of address is different from the other addresses in that it is not designed to be used in the normal
firewall policy configuration. It is intended to be used only with explicit web proxies.
In some respects they can be like a FQDN addresses in that they refer to an alpha-numeric string that is assigned
to an IP address, but then goes an additional level of granularity by using additional information and criteria to
further specify locations or types of traffic within the website itself. In depth information on Explicit Proxy
Addressing can be found in WAN Optimization, but it is worth laying out the steps of how to create an address
object for this category.
URL Category
HTTP Method
l CONNECT
l DELETE
l GET
l HEAD
l OPTIONS
l POST
l PUT
l TRACE
User Agent
l Apple Safari
l Google Chrome
l Microsoft Internet Explorer or Spartan
l Mozilla Firefox
l Other browsers
HTTP Header
Advanced (Source)
Advance (Destination)
6. Select the desired on/off toggle setting for Show in Address List. If the setting is enabled the address will
appear in drop down menus where it is an option.
7. Input any additional information in the Comments field.
8. Press OK.
Internet Services
In FortiOS 5.4, support was added for Internet Service objects which could be used with FortiView, Logging,
Routing and WAN Load Balancing. Now they can be added to firewall policies as well.
CLI
GUI
In the policy listing page you will notice that is an Internet Service object is used, it will be found in both the
Destination and Service column.
In the policy editing page the Destination Address, now Destination field now has two types, Address and
Internet Service.
Address Groups
Address groups are designed for ease of use in the administration of the device. If you have a number of
addresses or address ranges that will commonly be treated the same or require the same security policies, you
can put them into address groups, rather than entering multiple individual addresses in each policy refers to
them.
The use of groups is not required. If you have a number of different addresses you could add them individually to
a policy and the FortiGate firewall will process them just as quickly and efficiently as if they were in a group, but
the chances are that if you have used a group once you could need to use it again and depending on the number
of addresses involved entering them individually for each policy can become tedious and the likelihood of an
address being missed becomes greater. If you have a number of policies using that combination of addresses it is
much easier to add or subtract addresses from the group than to try and remember all of the firewall policies that
combination of addresses was used in. With the group, you only have to make the one edit and it is used by any
firewall policy using that address group.
Because security policies require addresses with homogenous network interfaces, address groups should contain
only addresses bound to the same network interface, or to Any.
For example, if address 1.1.1.1 is associated with port1, and address 2.2.2.2 is associated with port2, they
cannot be in the same group. However, if 1.1.1.1 and 2.2.2.2 are configured with an interface of Any, they can be
grouped, even if the addresses involve different networks.
l IPv4 Group
l IPv6 Group
l Proxy Group
You cannot mix different categories of addresses within a group, so whether or not it makes sense from an
administrative purpose to group certain addresses together, if some are IPv4 and some are IPv6, it cannot be
done.
IPv4 Group
1. Select the "+" in the Members field. You can select members of the group from the window that slides out from
the left of the screen. It is possible to select more than 1 entry. Select the “X” icon in the field to remove an entry.
2. Select the desired on/off toggle setting for Show in Address List.
3. Select the desired on/off toggle setting for Static Route Configuration .
IPv6 Group
1. Select the "+" in the Members field. You can select members of the group from the window that slides out from
the left of the screen. It is possible to select more than 1 entry. Select the “X” icon in the field to remove an entry.
2. Select the desired on/off toggle setting for Show in Address List.
Proxy Group
Irrespective of the Category the groups all have the same final configuration options:
UUID Support
Syntax:
config firewall {address|addres6|addgrp|addgrp6}
edit 1
set uuid <example uuid: 8289ef80-f879-51e2-20dd-fa62c5c51f44>
next
end
Virtual IPs
The mapping of a specific IP address to another specific IP address is usually referred to as Destination NAT.
When the Central NAT Table is not being used, FortiOS calls this a Virtual IP Address, sometimes referred to as a
VIP. FortiOS uses a DNAT or Virtual IP address to map an External IP address to an IP address. This address
does not have to be an individual host, it can also be an address range. This mapping can include all TCP/UDP
ports or if Port Forwarding is enabled it will only refer to the specific ports configured. Because, the Central NAT
table is disabled by default the term Virtual IP address or VIP will be used predominantly.
Virtual IP addresses are typically used to NAT external or Public IP addresses to internal or Private IP addresses.
Using a Virtual IP address between 2 internal Interfaces made up of Private IP addresses is possible but there is
rarely a reason to do so as the 2 networks can just use the IP addresses of the networks without the need for any
address translation. Using a Virtual IP address for traffic going from the inside to the Internet is even less likely to
be a requirement, but it is supported.
Something that needs to be considered when there are multiple Public IP addresses on the external interface(s) is
that when a Virtual IP address is used without Port Forwarding enabled there is a reciprocal effect as far as traffic
flow is concerned. Normally, on a firewall policy where NAT is enabled, for outgoing traffic the internal address is
translated to the Public address that is assigned to the FortiGate, but if there is a Virtual IP address with no port
forwarding enabled, then the Internal IP address in the Mapped field would be translated to the IP address
configured as the External Address in the VIP settings.
Example
l The assigned External address (WAN1) of the FortiGate unit is 172.12.96.3 with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.128
l There is a Virtual IP address set up to map the external address 172.12.96.127 on WAN1 to the internal IP address
of 192.168.1.127
l Port Forwarding is not enabled because you want all allowed traffic going to the external IP address to go to this
server.
In this case any outbound traffic from 192.168.1.127 will go out on WAN1 with the IP address of 172.12.96.127
as the source IP address.
In terms of actually using the Virtual IP address, they would be using in the security policies in the same places
that other addresses would be used, usually as a Destination Address.
UUID is now supported in for virtual IPs and virtual IP groups. This includes virtual IPs for IPv4, IPv6, NAT46, and
NAT64. To view the UUID for these objects in a FortiGate unit's logs, log-uuid must be set to extended mode,
rather than policy-only (which only shows the policy UUID in a traffic log). UUID can only be configured through
the CLI
Syntax
config sys global
set log-uuid {disable | policy-only | extended}
end
There is another type of address that the term “virtual IP address” commonly refers to
which is used in load balancing and other similar configurations. In those cases, a
number of devices share a separately created virtual IP address that can be sent to
multiple possible devices. In FortiOS these are referred to as Virtual Servers and are
configured in the “Load Balance” section.
Instead of VIP Type, the field lable will be DNAT & VIP Type
Creating a Virtual IP
Because the configuration differs slightly for each type the next steps will be under a separate heading based on
the type of the VIP
they can be upgraded without complicated reconfiguration. The External IP address, which is a required field,
tells the unit which interface to use so it is perfectly acceptable to choose "any" as the interface. In some
configurations, if the Interface field is not set to "any" the Virtual IP object will not one of the displayed
options when choosing a destination address.
9. Configure the Mapped IP Address/Range. This will be the address that the traffic is being directed to.
There are two fields. If there is a single IP address, use that address in both fields. The format of the address
will depend on the VIP Type option that was selected.
12. To specify an allowed Service, toggle the Services option to enabled. Set the Services parameter by selecting
the field with the "+" in the field. This will slide a window out from the right. Single or multiple options can be
selected by highlighting the services wanted, unless the ALL option is chosen, in which case it will be the only
option. For more information on services, check the Firewall Objects section called Services and TCP ports.
13. Disable/Enable Port Forwarding. If only the traffic for a specific port or port range is being forwarded, enable this
setting.
14. Select the Protocol from
l TCP
l UDP
l SCTP
l ICMP
15. Configure the External Service Port. This is the port(s) on the external interface of the FortiGate (the
destination port in the header of the packets). The first field is for the first port in the range the second is for the
last port in the range. As you enter a value in the first field, the second field will auto populate with the same
number, working on the premise that a single port is common. Just edit the second field to extend the range.
16. Configure the setting Map to Port.This will be the listening port on the device located on the internal side of the
network. It does not have to be the same as the External Service Port. The first field is for the first port in the
range the second is for the last port in the range. As you enter a value in the first field, the second field will auto
populate with the same number, working on the premise that a single port is common. Just edit the second field to
extend the range.
17. Press OK.
Example
This example is for a VIP that is being used to direct traffic from the external IP address to a web server on the
internal network. The web server is for company use only. The company’s public facing web server already used
port 80 and there is only one IP external IP address so the traffic for this server is being listened for on port 8080
of the external interface and being sent to port 80 on the internal host.
Field Value
Name Internal_Webserver
Interface Any
Mapped IP
192.168.34.150
Address/Range
Source Address
<list of IP addresses of remote users>
Filter
Map to Port 80 - 80
8. Configure the Mapped IP Address/Range. This will be the address that the traffic is being directed to.
There are two fields. If there is a single IP address, use that address in both fields. Enter the address in the
standard IPv6 format.
10. To specify an allowed address enter the value in the field labeled Source Address. The value can be formatted
in three different ways.
l Source IP - Use the standard format for a single IP address
l Range - Enter the first and last members of the range
l Subnet - Enter the IP address of the broadcast address for the subnet.
To add additional addresses, click on the "+" below the last field with an address. To subtract an address,
click on the "X" next to the field you wish to delete.
12. Disable/Enable Port Forwarding. If only the traffic for a specific port or port range is being forwarded, enable this
setting.
13. Select the Protocol from
l TCP
l UDP
l SCTP
14. Configure the External Service Port. This is the port(s) on the external interface of the FortiGate (the
destination port in the header of the packets). The first field is for the first port in the range the second is for the
last port in the range. As you enter a value in the first field, the second field will auto populate with the same
number, working on the premise that a single port is common. Just edit the second field to extend the range.
15. Configure the setting Map to Port.This will be the listening port on the device located on the internal side of the
network. It does not have to be the same as the External Service Port. The first field is for the first port in the
range the second is for the last port in the range. As you enter a value in the first field, the second field will auto
populate with the same number, working on the premise that a single port is common. Just edit the second field to
extend the range.
16. Press OK.
8. Configure the Mapped IP Address/Range. This will be the address that the traffic is being directed to.
There are two fields. If there is a single IP address, use that address in both fields. Enter the address in the
standard IPv6 format.
To add additional addresses, click on the "+" below the last field with an address. To subtract an address,
click on the "X" next to the field you wish to delete.
12. Disable/Enable Port Forwarding. If only the traffic for a specific port or port range is being forwarded, enable this
setting.
13. Select the Protocol from
l TCP
l UDP
14. Configure the External Service Port. This is the port(s) on the external interface of the FortiGate (the
destination port in the header of the packets). The first field is for the first port in the range the second is for the
last port in the range. As you enter a value in the first field, the second field will auto populate with the same
number, working on the premise that a single port is common. Just edit the second field to extend the range.
15. Configure the setting Map to Port.This will be the listening port on the device located on the internal side of the
network. It does not have to be the same as the External Service Port. The first field is for the first port in the
range the second is for the last port in the range. As you enter a value in the first field, the second field will auto
populate with the same number, working on the premise that a single port is common. Just edit the second field to
extend the range.
16. Press OK.
8. Configure the Mapped IP Address/Range. This will be the address that the traffic is being directed to.
There are two fields. If there is a single IP address, use that address in both fields. Enter the address in the
standard IPv4 format.
12. Disable/Enable Port Forwarding. If only the traffic for a specific port or port range is being forwarded, enable this
setting.
13. Select the Protocol from
l TCP
l UDP
14. Configure the External Service Port. This is the port(s) on the external interface of the FortiGate (the
destination port in the header of the packets). The first field is for the first port in the range the second is for the
last port in the range. As you enter a value in the first field, the second field will auto populate with the same
number, working on the premise that a single port is common. Just edit the second field to extend the range.
15. Configure the setting Map to Port.This will be the listening port on the device located on the internal side of the
network. It does not have to be the same as the External Service Port. The first field is for the first port in the
range the second is for the last port in the range. As you enter a value in the first field, the second field will auto
populate with the same number, working on the premise that a single port is common. Just edit the second field to
extend the range.
16. Press OK.
FQDN in VIPs
Instead of mapping to an IP address a VIP can use a FQDN(Fully Qualified Domain Name). This has to be
configured in the CLI and the FQDN must be an address object that is already configured in the address listing.
Syntax
config firewall vip
edit "1"
set type dns-translation
set extip 192.168.0.1-192.168.0.100
set extintf "dmz"
set dns-mapping-ttl 604800
set mappedip "3.3.3.0/24" "4.0.0.0/24"
end
end
Virtual IP Groups
Just like other address, Virtual IP addresses can be organized into groups for ease of administration. If you have
multiple virtual IPs that are likely to be associated to common firewall policies rather than add them individually to
each of the policies you can add the instead. That way, if the members of the group change then any changes
made to the group will propagate to all of the policies using that group.
When using a Virtual IP address group the firewall policy will take into account all of the configured parameters of
the Virtual IPs: IP addresses, Ports and port types.
Configuring IP pools
An IP pool is essentially one in which the IP address that is assigned to the sending computer is not known until
the session is created, therefore at the very least it will have to be a pool of at least 2 potential addresses. A quick
example would be an IP pool for users of a VPN. IP pools are based upon the version of IP determined by the
interface that they are associated with so as expected there are two types of IP pools that can be configured:
For more information on the different types of IP pools, check IP Pools in the Concepts section.
Overload
7. For the External IP Range fields, enter the lowest and highest addresses in the range. If you only want a single
address used, enter the same address in both fields.
8. Enable the ARP Reply field by making sure there is a check in the box
9. Select OK
In this example, the Sales team needs to connect to an Application Service Provider that does the accounting for
the company. As a security measure, the ASP only accepts traffic from a white list of IP addresses. There is 1
public IP address of the company on that list.The Sales team consists of 40 people, so they need to share.The
external interface is wan1.
Field Value
Name Sales_Team
Comments For the Sales team to use to connect to the Accounting ASP
One-to-one
7. For the External IP Range fields, enter the lowest and highest addresses in the range. If you only want a single
address used, enter the same address in both fields.
8. Enable the ARP Reply field by making sure there is a check in the box.
9. Select OK
In this example, the external IP address of the mail server is part of a range assigned to the company but not the
one that is assigned to the Internet facing interface. A VIP has been set up but in order to properly resolve
Reverse DNS lookups the mail server always has to use a specific IP address.The external interface is wan1.
Field Value
Name Mail-Server
Comments So the the correct IP address is resolved on Reverse DNS look ups of the mail server.
Type One-to-one
7. For the External IP Range fields, enter the lowest and highest addresses in the range. If you only want a single
address used, enter the same address in both fields.
8. Fort the Internal IP Range fields, enter the lowest and highest addresses in the range.
9. Enable the ARP Reply field by making sure there is a check in the box
10. Select OK
In this example, the company has a range of 10 IP address that they want to be used by employees on a specific
subnet for NATing.The external interface is wan1.
Field Value
Name IPPool-3
Field Value
7. For the External IP Range fields, enter the lowest and highest addresses in the range. If you only want a single
address used, enter the same address in both fields.
8. In the Block Size field, either type in the value or use the up or down arrows to set the value of the block size.
9. In the Blocks Per User field, either type in the value or use the up or down arrows to set the value for the number
of blocks per user.
10. Enable the ARP Reply field by making sure there is a check in the box
11. Select OK
In this example,an small ISP is setting up NATing for its clients, but to be fair it is putting some restrictions on the
number of connections each client can have so that no one hogs all of the possible ports and addresses.The
external interface is port12.
Field Value
Name Client-IPPool
Field Value
Block Size 64
In this example,there is a similar situation to the One-to-one example earlier.There is a mail server that needs to
be resolved to a specific IP address in Reverse DNS look-ups. The difference in this case is the company is an
early adopter of IPv6 connectivity to the Internet.
Field Value
Name Mail-svr-ipv6
Services
While there are a number of services already configured within FortiOS, the firmware allows for administrators to
configure there own. The reasons for doing this usually fall into one or more of the following categories:
l Categories
l Services
l Service Groups
Categories
In order to make sorting through the services easier, there is a field to categorize the services. Because selecting
a category is part of the process for creating a new service, the configuration of categories will be explained first.
l General
l Web Access
l File Access
l Email
l Network Services
l Authentication
l Remote Access
l Tunneling
l VoIP, Messaging and Other Applications
l Web Proxy
l Uncategorized
The categories are for organization purposes so there is not many settings when creating a new one.
Example
You plan on adding a number of devices such as web cameras that will allow the monitoring of the physical
security of your datacenter. A number of non-standard services will have to be created and you would like to keep
them grouped together under the heading of “Surveillance”
1. Go to Policy & Objects > Objects > Services and select Create New > Category.
2. Fill out the fields with the following information
Field Value
Name Surveillance
3. Select OK.
1. Go to Policy & Objects > Objects > Services. Select the Category Settings icon . A listing of the categories
should be displayed.
2. Enter the following CLI command:
config firewall service category
show
This should bring up all of the categories. Check to see that the new one is displayed.
Protocol Options
This is the section where the configuration options of the service will differ depending on the type of protocol
chosen. (The Step numbers will all continue on from the common step sequence).
l TCP/UDP/SCTP
l ICMP
l ICMP6
l IP
The protocol options for Proxy service type are:
l ALL
l CONNECT
l FTP
l HTTP
l SOCKS-TCP
l SOCKS-UDP
TCP/UDP/SCTP
8. For the Protocol Type field, choose TCP/UDP/SCTP from the drop down menu
9. For the Address field, choose IP Range or FQDN (Fully Qualified Domain Name) if there is to be a specific
destination for the service. Depending on which type of address is selected, the field value needs to be filled with a
FQDN string or an IP address in one of the 3 standard IPv4 address formats:
l x.x.x.x - for a specific address
l x.x.x.x/x - for a subnet
l x.x.x.x-x.x.x.x - for a range of specific addresses
10. Configure the Destination Port by:
Example
Example settings for a TCP protocol service. In this case, it is for an administrative connection to web servers on
the DMZ. The protocol used is HTTPS which would normally use port 443, but that is already in use by another
service such as Admin access to the firewall or an SSL-VPN connection.
Field Value
Name Example.com_WebAdmin
Protocol Options
The following is the creation of the same service using the command line.
config firewall service custom
edit Example.com_WebAdmin
set comment "Admin connection to Example.com Website"
ICMP / ICMP6
8. For the Protocol Type field, choose ICMP or ICMP6 from the drop down menu
9. In the Type field enter the appropriate type number based on the information found in "ICMP Types and Codes"
on page 1 or in "ICMPv6 Types and Codes" on page 1, depending on whether the Protocol Type is ICMP or
ICMPv6
10. In the Code field enter the appropriate code number for the type, if applicable, based on the information found in
"ICMP Types and Codes" on page 1 or in "ICMPv6 Types and Codes" on page 1, depending on whether the
Protocol Type is ICMP or ICMPv6
11. Select OK to confirm the configuration
Example
Example settings for an ICMP.service.In this case it has been set up for some special testing of ICMP packets.
Field Value
Protocol Options
Type 7
The following is the creation of the same service using the command line.
config firewall service custom
edit ICMP test4
set comment "For testing of proprietary network scanner"
set category Network Services
set protocol ICMP
set icmptype 7
end
end
IP
8. For the Protocol Type field, choose IP from the drop down menu
9. In the Protocol Number field enter the numeric value based on the information found in "Protocol Number" on
page 1
10. Select OK to confirm the configuration
Example
Example settings for an IP.service.In this case it has been set up to communicate via an old protocol called QNX
Field Value
Name QNX
Category Uncatagorized
Protocol Options
Protocol Type IP
The following is the creation of the same service using the command line.
config firewall service custom
edit ICMP test4
set comment "For QNX communications to the Development Lab "
set protocol IP
set icmptype 106
end
end
In the CLI examples, the fields for Show in Service List, Service Type and in the
example for IP, Category were net set because the values that they would have been
set to were the default values and were already correctly set.
ALL/CONNECT/FTP/HTTP/SOCKS-TCP/SOCKS-UDP
These options are available only if the Service Type is set to Explicit Proxy.
8. For the Protocol Type field, choose one of the following from the drop down menu:
l ALL
l CONNECT
l FTP
l HTTP
l SOCKS-TCP
l SOCKS-UDP
9. For the Address field, choose IP Range or FQDN (Fully Qualified Domain Name) if there is to be a specific
destination for the service. Depending on which type of address is selected, the field value needs to be filled with a
FQDN string or an IP address in one of the 3 standard IPv4 address formats:
l x.x.x.x - for a specific address
l x.x.x.x/x - for a subnet
l x.x.x.x-x.x.x.x - for a range of specific addresses
10. Configure the Destination Port by:
l Enter the low end to the TCP port range in the field indicated by grayed out Low.
l Enter the high end of the TCP port range in the field indicated by grayed out High. If there is only a single port
in the range High can be left empty
l Multiple ports or port ranges can be added by using the "+" at the beginning of the row
l Rows can be removed by using the trash can symbol at the end of the row
11. If required, you can Specify Source Ports for the service by enabling the toggle switch.
l The Src Port will match up with a Destination Port
l Src Ports cannot be configured without there being a value for the Destination Port
l The same rules for configuring the Destination Ports applies to the Src Ports
12. Select OK to confirm the configuration
Service Groups
Just like some of the other firewall components, services can also be bundled into groups for ease of
administration.
Creating a ServiceGroup
Example
Field Value
Type Firewall
l Kerberos
l LDAP
Members
l LDAP_UDP
l RADIUS
Firewall schedules
Firewall schedules control when policies are in effect. When you add a security policy on a FortiGate unit you
need to set a schedule to determine the time frame in which that the policy will be functioning. While it is not set
by default, the normal schedule would be always. This would mean that the policy that has been created is
always function and always policing the traffic going through the FortiGate. The time component of the schedule
is based on a 24 hour clock notation or military time as some people would say.
There are two types of schedules: One-time schedules and recurring schedules.
The time frame for a One-time schedule is configured by using a start time which includes, Year | Month | Day |
Hour | Minute and a Stop time which includes the same variables. So while the frequency of the schedule is only
once it can last anywhere from 1 minute to multiple years.
5. If you which to add a Color to the icon in the GUI, you can click on the Change link to choose 1 of 32 color
options.
6. Choose a Start Date.
Selecting the field with the mouse will bring up a interactive calendar graphic that will allow the user to select
the date. The date can also be typed in using the format YYYY/MM/DD.
10. If the Pre-expiration event log is enabled, set the value for Number of days before.
11. Press OK.
The company wants to change over their web site image to reference the new year. They have decided to take
this opportunity to do some hardware upgrades as well. Their web site is business oriented so they have
determined that over New Year’s Eve there will be very limited traffic.
l They are going to need a maintenance window of 2 hours bracketing midnight on New Year’s Eve.
Type One-time
Name NewYearsEve_Maintenance
4. Select OK.
If a recurring schedule has a stop time that is earlier than the start time, the schedule will take effect at the start
time but end at the stop time on the next day. You can use this technique to create recurring schedules that run
from one day to the next.
The Start Time is composed of two fields, Hour and Minute. Think of setting the time for a digital clock in
24 hour mode. The Hour value can be an integer from 0 and 23. The Minute value can be from 0 to 59. 0
and 0 would be midnight at the start of the day and 23 and 59 would be one minute to midnight at the end of
the day. The value can be entered by keyboard or by using the up and down arrows in the field to select the
value.
8. Press OK.
Because recurring schedules do not work with DENY policies, the strategy when
designing a schedule should not be to determine when users cannot access a policy
but to build the schedules around when it is possible to access the policy.
The Company wants to allow the use of Facebook by employees, but only during none business hours and the
lunch break.
Type Recurring
Name Morning_Business_Hours
4. Select OK.
Type Recurring
Name Morning_Business_Hours
6. Select OK.
Schedule Groups
You can organize multiple firewall schedules into a schedule group to simplify your security policy list. The
schedule parameter in the policy configuration does not allow for the entering of multiple schedules into a single
policy so if you have a combination of time frames that you want to schedule the policy for then the best
approach, rather than making multiple policies is to use a schedule group.
Example
Your Internet policy allows employees to visit Social Media sites from company computers but not during what is
considered working hours. The offices are open a few hours before working hours and the doors are not locked
until a few hours after official closing so work hours are from 9 to 5 with a lunch break from Noon to 1:00 p.m.
Your approach is to block the traffic between 9 and noon and between 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. This means you
will need two schedules for a single policy and the schedule group handles this for you. Schedule groups can
contain both recurring and one-time schedules. Schedule groups cannot contain other schedule groups.
Schedule expiration
The schedule in a security policy enables certain aspects of network traffic to occur for a specific length of time.
What it does not do however, is police that time. That is, the policy is active for a given time frame, and as long as
the session is open, traffic can continue to flow.
For example, in an office environment, Skype use is allowed between noon and 1pm. During that hour, any Skype
traffic continues. As long as that session is open, after the 1pm end time, the Skype conversations can continue,
yet new sessions will be blocked. Ideally, the Skype session should close at 1pm.
Using a CLI command you can set the schedule to terminate all sessions when the end time of the schedule is
reached. Within the config firewall command enter the command:
set schedule-timeout enable
The Policy window will indicate when a policy has become invalid due to its schedule
parameters referring only to times in the past.
Firewall-session-dirty setting
check-all CPU flushes all current sessions and re-evaluates them. [default]
check-new CPU keeps existing sessions and applies policy changes to new sessions only.
This reduces CPU load and the possibility of packet loss.
check-policy-option Use the option selected in the firewall-session-dirty field of the firewall policy
(check-all or check-new, as above, but per policy).
You can use FortiGate WAN optimization and web caching to improve performance and security of traffic passing
between locations on your wide area network (WAN) or from the Internet to your web servers. You can also use
the FortiGate unit as an explicit FTP and web proxy server. If your FortiGate unit supports web caching, you can
also add web caching to any HTTP sessions including WAN optimization, explicit web proxy and other HTTP
sessions.
the next sections of this document describes how FortiGate WAN optimization, web caching, explicit web proxy,
explicit FTP proxy and WCCP work and also describes how to configure these features.
Distributing WAN optimization, explicit proxy, and web caching to multiple CPU Cores
By default WAN optimization, explicit proxy and web caching is handled by half of the CPU cores in a FortiGate
unit. For example, if your FortiGate unit has 4 CPU cores, by default two will be used for WAN optimization,
explicit proxy and web caching. You can use the following command to change the number of CPU cores that are
used.
config system global
set wad-worker-count <number>
end
The value for <number> can be between 1 and the total number of CPU cores in your FortiGate unit. Adding
more cores may enhance WAN optimization, explicit proxy and web caching performance and reduce the
performance of other FortiGate systems.
l If the FortiGate has one hard disk, then it can be used for either disk logging or WAN optimization, but not both. By
default, the hard disk is used for disk logging.
l If the FortiGate has two hard disks, then one disk is always used for disk logging and the other disk is always used
for WAN optimization.
On the FortiGate, go to System > Advanced > Disk Settings to switch between Local Log and WAN
Optimization.
You can also change disk usage from the CLI using the following command:
configure system global
set disk-usage {log | wanopt}
end
The Toggle Disk Usage feature is supported on all new "E" Series models, while
support for "D" Series models may vary.
Changing the disk setting formats the disk, erases current data stored on the disk and
disables either disk logging or WAN Optimization.
You can configure WAN Optimization from the CLI or the GUI. To configure WAN Optimization from the GUI you
must go to System > Feature Visibility and turn on WAN Optimization.
Remote logging (including logging to FortiAnalyzer and remote Syslog servers) is not
affected by using the single local hard disk for WAN Optimization.
In addition to affecting WAN Optimization, the following table shows other features affected by the FortiGate disk
configuration.
Features affected by Disk Usage as per the number of internal hard disks on the FortiGate
Feature Logging Only WAN Opt. Only Logging & WAN Opt.
(1 hard disk) (1 hard disk) (2 hard disks)
Feature Logging Only WAN Opt. Only Logging & WAN Opt.
(1 hard disk) (1 hard disk) (2 hard disks)
Sandbox FortiSandbox database and results are also stored on disk, but will not be affected by
DB & Results this feature.
FortiGate WAN optimization consists of a number of techniques that you can apply to improve the efficiency of
communication across your WAN. These techniques include protocol optimization, byte caching, web caching,
SSL offloading, and secure tunneling. Protocol optimization can improve the efficiency of traffic that uses the
CIFS, FTP, HTTP, or MAPI protocol, as well as general TCP traffic. Byte caching caches files and other data on
FortiGate units to reduce the amount of data transmitted across the WAN. Web caching stores web pages on
FortiGate units to reduce latency and delays between the WAN and web servers. SSL offloading offloads SSL
decryption and encryption from web servers onto FortiGate SSL acceleration hardware. Secure tunneling secures
traffic as it crosses the WAN.
You can apply different combinations of these WAN optimization techniques to a single traffic stream depending
on the traffic type. For example, you can apply byte caching and secure tunneling to any TCP traffic. For HTTP
and HTTPS traffic, you can also apply protocol optimization and web caching.
You can configure a FortiGate unit to be an explicit web proxy server for both IPv4 and IPv6 traffic and an explicit
FTP proxy server. Users on your internal network can browse the Internet through the explicit web proxy server or
connect to FTP servers through the explicit FTP proxy server. You can also configure these proxies to protect
access to web or FTP servers behind the FortiGate unit using a reverse proxy configuration.
Web caching can be applied to any HTTP or HTTPS traffic, this includes normal traffic accepted by a security
policy, explicit web proxy traffic, and WAN optimization traffic.
You can also configure a FortiGate unit to operate as a Web Cache Communication Protocol (WCCP) client or
server. WCCP provides the ability to offload web caching to one or more redundant web caching servers.
FortiGate units can also apply security profiles to traffic as part of a WAN optimization, explicit web proxy, explicit
FTP proxy, web cache and WCCP configuration. Security policies that include any of these options can also
include settings to apply all forms of security profiles supported by your FortiGate unit.
FortiGate units can be deployed as security devices that protect private networks connected to the WAN and also
perform WAN optimization. In this configuration, the FortiGate units are configured as typical security devices for
the private networks and are also configured for WAN optimization. The WAN optimization configuration
intercepts traffic to be optimized as it passes through the FortiGate unit and uses a WAN optimization tunnel with
another FortiGate unit to optimize the traffic that crosses the WAN.
You can also deploy WAN optimization on single-purpose FortiGate units that only perform WAN optimization. In
the out of path WAN optimization topology shown below, FortiGate units are located on the WAN outside of the
private networks. You can also install the WAN optimization FortiGate units behind the security devices on the
private networks.
The WAN optimization configuration is the same for FortiGate units deployed as security devices and for single-
purpose WAN optimization FortiGate units. The only differences would result from the different network
topologies.
The following out-of-path FortiGate units are configured for WAN optimization and connected directly to
FortiGate units in the data path. The FortiGate units in the data path use a method such as policy routing to
redirect traffic to be optimized to the out-of-path FortiGate units. The out-of-path FortiGate units establish a
WAN optimization tunnel between each other and optimize the redirected traffic.
One of the benefits of out-of-path WAN optimization is that out-of-path FortiGate units only perform WAN
optimization and do not have to process other traffic. An in-path FortiGate unit configured for WAN optimization
also has to process other non-optimized traffic on the data path.
Other out-of-path topologies are also possible. For example, you can install the out-of-path FortiGate units on the
private networks instead of on the WAN. Also, the out-of-path FortiGate units can have one connection to the
network instead of two. In a one-arm configuration such as this, security policies and routing have to be
configured to send the WAN optimization tunnel out the same interface as the one that received the traffic.
You can also configure WAN optimization between FortiGate units with different roles on the WAN. FortiGate
units configured as security devices and for WAN optimization can perform WAN optimization as if they are
single-purpose FortiGate units just configured for WAN optimization.
The topology above is the same as that shown in WAN optimization with web caching on page 962 with the
addition of web caching to the FortiGate unit in front of the private network that includes the web servers. You can
also add web caching to the FortiGate unit that is protecting the private network. In a similar way, you can add
web caching to any WAN Optimization topology.
If the FortiGate unit supports web caching, you can also add web caching to the security policy that accepts
explicit web proxy sessions The FortiGate unit then caches Internet web pages on a hard disk to improve web
browsing performance.
You can also configure reverse explicit FTP proxy. In this configuration, users on the Internet connect to the
explicit web proxy before connecting to an FTP server installed behind a FortiGate unit.
A typical web-caching topology includes one FortiGate unit that acts as a web cache server. Web caching is
enabled in a security policy and the FortiGate unit intercepts web page requests accepted by the security policy,
requests web pages from the web servers, caches the web page contents, and returns the web page contents to
the users. When the FortiGate unit intercepts subsequent requests for cached web pages, the FortiGate unit
contacts the destination web server just to check for changes.
You can also configure reverse proxy web-caching. In this configuration, users on the Internet browse to a web
server installed behind a FortiGate unit. The FortiGate unit intercepts the web traffic (HTTP and HTTPS) and
caches pages from the web server. Reverse proxy web caching on the FortiGate unit reduces the number of
requests that the web server must handle, leaving it free to process new requests that it has not serviced before.
WCCP topologies
You can operate a FortiGate unit as a Web Cache Communication Protocol (WCCP) router or cache engine. As a
router, the FortiGate unit intercepts web browsing requests from client web browsers and forwards them to a
WCCP cache engine. The cache engine returns the required cached content to the client web browser. If the
cache server does not have the required content it accesses the content, caches it and returns the content to the
client web browser.
WCCP topology
FortiGate units can also operate as WCCP cache servers, communicating with WCCP routers, caching web
content and providing it to client web browsers as required.
WCCP is transparent to client web browsers. The web browsers do not have to be configured to use a web proxy.
Enterprises deploying FortiOS can leverage WAN optimization to provide fast and secure application responses
between locations on a Wide Area Network (WAN). The web caching component of FortiOS WAN optimization
extends this protection and performance boost to cloud services.
Even applications that work fine on a local LAN, such as Windows File Sharing (CIFS), email exchange (MAPI),
and many others, suffer from bandwidth limitations and latency issues when accessed over a WAN. This results
in a loss of productivity and a perceived need for expensive network upgrades. FortiOS’s WAN Optimization
provides an inexpensive and easy way to deploy a solution to this problem.
FortiOS is commonly deployed in central offices, satellite offices, and in the cloud to provide secure
communications across a WAN using IPsec or SSL VPN. This installed infrastructure can be leveraged to add
more value by using WAN Optimization to accelerate WAN traffic and web caching to accelerate could services.
FortiOS WAN Optimization
FortiOS includes license-free WAN Optimization on most current FortiGate devices. WAN Optimization is a
comprehensive solution that maximizes your WAN performance and provides intelligent bandwith management
and unmatched consolidated security performance. WAN Optimization reduces your network overhead and
removes unneccessary traffic for a better overall performance experience. Efficient use of bandwidth and better
application performance will remove the need for costly WAN link upgrades between data centers and other
expensive solutions for your network traffic growth.
Protocol optimization
Protocol optimization is effective for applications designed for the LAN that do not function well on low bandwidth
high latency networks. FortiOS protocol optimization improves the efficiency of CIFS, FTP, HTTP, MAPI, and
general TCP sessions.
For example, CIFS, which is a fairly “chatty” protocol, requires many background transactions to successfully
transfer a single file. When transferring the file, CIFS sends small chunks of data and waits sequentially for each
chunk’s arrival and acknowledgment before sending the next. This large amount of request/acknowledgement
traffic can delay transfers. FortiOS CIFS WAN Optimization removes this chatiness and gets on with the job of
transferring the file.
TCP protocol optimization uses techniques such as SACK support, window scaling and window size adjustment,
and connection pooling to remove common WAN TCP bottlenecks.
Web caching
In an enterprise environment, multiple users will often want to get the same content (for example, a sales
spreadsheet, a corporate presentation or a PDF from a cloud service, or a software update). With FortiOS Web
caching, content from the cloud, from the web or from other sites on the WAN is download once and cached on
the local FortiGate device. When other uses access the same content they download it from the cache. The result
is less bandwidth use and reduced latency for the file requester.
FortiOS web caching also recognizes requests for Windows or MS-Office updates and downloads the new update
file in the background. Once downloaded to the cache, the new update file is available to all users and all
subsequent requests for this update are rapidly downloaded from the cache.
Byte caching
Byte caching improves caching by accelerating the transfer of similar, but not identical content. Byte caching
accelerates multiple downloads of different email messages with the same corporate disclaimer by downloading
the disclaimer over the WAN once and then downloading all subsequent disclaimers from a local FortiGate unit.
Byte caching reduces the amount of data crossing the WAN when multiple different emails with the same or
similar attachments or different versions of an attachment are downloaded from a corporate email server to
different locations over the WAN.
Data Deduplication
Byte caching breaks large units of application data, like an email attachment or a file download, into manageable
small chunks of data. Each chunk of data is labeled with a hash, and chunks with their respective hashes are
stored in a database on the local FortiGate unit. When a remote user request a file, the WAN Optimization sends
the hashes, rather than the actual data. The FortiGate unit at the other end of the WAN tunnel reassembles the
data from its own hash database, only downloading chunks that it is missing. Deduplication, or the process of
eliminating duplicate data, will reduce space consumption. In addition to reducing the amount of data
downloaded across the WAN, byte caching is not application specific and assists by accelerating all of the
protocols supported by WAN Optimization.
SSL acceleration
SSL is used by many organizations to keep WAN communications private. WAN Optimization boosts SSL
acceleration properties of FortiGate FortiASIC hardware by accelerating SSL traffic across the WAN. The
FortiGate unit handles SSL encryption/decryption for corporate servers providing SSL encrypted connections over
the WAN.
VPN replacement
FortiOS WAN optimization supports secure SSL-encrypted tunnels between FortiGate units on the WAN.
Employing secure WAN Optimization tunnels can replace IPsec VPNs between sites. The result is a single,
relatively simple configuration that supports optimization and privacy of communication across the WAN and uses
FortiGate SSL acceleration to provide high performance.
Reduce your...
l Capital outlay: Organizations only need to purchase a single device per location.
l Licensing costs: WAN Optimization is included with FortiOS. Additional licenses are not needed.
l Network complexity: Small offices that may not have the space or power connections for multiple devices do not
need to worry: no additional devices are required.
Client/server architecture
Traffic across a WAN typically consists of clients on a client network communicating across a WAN with a remote
server network. The clients do this by starting communication sessions from the client network to the server
network. These communication sessions can be open text over the WAN or they can be encrypted by SSL VPN or
IPsec VPN.
To optimize these sessions, you can add WAN optimization security policies to the client-side FortiGate
unit to accept sessions from the client network that are destined for the server network. The client-side FortiGate
unit is located between the client network and the WAN. WAN optimization security policies include WAN
optimization profiles that control how the traffic is optimized.
The client-side FortiGate unit must also include the IP address of the server-side FortiGate unit in its WAN
optimization peer configuration. The server-side FortiGate unit is located between the server network and the
WAN, The peer configuration allows the client-side FortiGate unit to find the server-side FortiGate unit and
attempt to establish a WAN optimization tunnel with it.
For the server-side FortiGate unit you must add a security policy with wanopt as the Incoming Interface. This
security policy allows the FortiGate unit to accept WAN optimization sessions from the client-side FortiGate unit.
For the server-side FortiGate unit to accept a WAN optimization connection it must have the client-side FortiGate
unit in its WAN optimization peer configuration.
WAN optimization profiles are only added to the client-side WAN optimization security
policy. The server-side FortiGate unit employs the WAN optimization settings set in
the WAN optimization profile on the client-side FortiGate unit.
Client/server architecture
When both peers are identified the FortiGate units attempt to establish a WAN optimization tunnel between
them. WAN optimization tunnels use port 7810. All optimized data flowing across the WAN between the client-
side and server-side FortiGate units use this tunnel. WAN optimization tunnels can be encrypted use SSL
encryption to keep the data in the tunnel secure.
Any traffic can be sent through a WAN optimization tunnel. This includes SSL and IPsec VPN traffic. However,
instead of configuring SSL or IPsec VPN for this communication you can add SSL encryption using the WAN
optimization tunnel.
In addition to basic identification by peer host ID and IP address you can configure WAN optimization
authentication using certificates and pre-shared keys to improve security. You can also configure FortiGate units
involved in WAN optimization to accept connections from any identified peer or restrict connections to specific
peers.
The FortiClient application can act in the same manner as a client-side FortiGate unit to optimize traffic between
a computer running FortiClient and a FortiGate unit.
To identify all of the WAN optimization peers that a FortiGate unit can perform WAN optimization with, you add
host IDs and IP addresses of all of the peers to the FortiGate unit configuration. The peer IP address is actually
the IP address of the peer unit interface that communicates with the FortiGate unit.
Protocol optimization
Protocol optimization techniques optimize bandwidth use across the WAN. These techniques can improve the
efficiency of communication across the WAN optimization tunnel by reducing the amount of traffic required by
communication protocols. You can apply protocol optimization to Common Internet File System (CIFS), FTP,
HTTP, MAPI, and general TCP sessions. You can apply general TCP optimization to MAPI sessions.
For example, CIFS provides file access, record locking, read/write privileges, change notification, server name
resolution, request batching, and server authentication. CIFS is a fairly “chatty” protocol, requiring many
background transactions to successfully transfer a single file. This is usually not a problem across a LAN.
However, across a WAN, latency and bandwidth reduction can slow down CIFS performance.
When you select the CIFS protocol in a WAN optimization profile, the FortiGate units at both ends of the WAN
optimization tunnel use a number of techniques to reduce the number of background transactions that occur over
the WAN for CIFS traffic.
If a policy accepts a range of different types of traffic, you can set Protocol to TCP to apply general optimization
techniques to TCP traffic. However, applying this TCP optimization is not as effective as applying more protocol-
specific optimization to specific types of traffic. TCP protocol optimization uses techniques such as TCP SACK
support, TCP window scaling and window size adjustment, and TCP connection pooling to remove TCP
bottlenecks.
Byte caching
Byte caching breaks large units of application data (for example, a file being downloaded from a web page) into
small chunks of data, labeling each chunk of data with a hash of the chunk and storing those chunks and their
hashes in a database. The database is stored on a WAN optimization storage device. Then, instead of sending
the actual data over the WAN tunnel, the FortiGate unit sends the hashes. The FortiGate unit at the other end of
the tunnel receives the hashes and compares them with the hashes in its local byte caching database. If any
hashes match, that data does not have to be transmitted over the WAN optimization tunnel. The data for any
hashes that does not match is transferred over the tunnel and added to that byte caching database. Then the unit
of application data (the file being downloaded) is reassembled and sent to its destination.
The stored byte caches are not application specific. Byte caches from a file in an email can be used to optimize
downloading that same file or a similar file from a web page.
The result is less data transmitted over the WAN. Initially, byte caching may reduce performance until a large
enough byte caching database is built up.
To enable byte caching, you select Byte Caching in a WAN optimization profile.
Byte caching cannot determine whether or not a file is compressed (for example a zip file), and caches
compressed and non-compressed versions of the same file separately.
Use the following command to enable dynamic data chunking for HTTP in the default WAN optimization profile.
config wanopt profile
edit default
config http
set prefer-chunking dynamic
end
Some protocols, for example CIFS, may not function as expected if transparent mode
is not selected. In most cases, for CIFS WAN optimization you should select
transparent mode and make sure the server network can route traffic as described to
support transparent mode.
If transparent mode is not selected, the source address of the packets received by servers is changed to the
address of the server-side FortiGate unit interface that sends the packets to the servers. So servers appear to
receive packets from the server-side FortiGate unit. Routing on the server network is simpler in this case because
client addresses are not involved. All traffic appears to come from the server-side FortiGate unit and not from
individual clients.
Do not confuse WAN optimization transparent mode with FortiGate transparent mode.
WAN optimization transparent mode is similar to source NAT. FortiGate Transparent
mode is a system setting that controls how the FortiGate unit (or a VDOM) processes
traffic.
When you configure a passive WAN Optimization policy you can accept the active policy transparent setting or
you can override the active policy transparent setting. From the GUI you can do this by setting the Passive
Option as follows:
l default use the transparent setting in the WAN Optimization profile added to the active policy (client-side
configuration).
l transparent impose transparent mode (override the active policy transparent mode setting). Packets exiting the
FortiGate keep their original source addresses.
l non-transparent impose non-transparent mode (override the active policy transparent mode setting). Packets
exiting the FortiGate have their source address changed to the address of the server-side FortiGate unit interface
that sends the packets to the servers.
From the CLI you can use the following command:
config firewall policy
set wanopt-passive-opt {default | transparent | non-transparent}
end
FortiClient WAN optimization
PCs running the FortiClient application are client-side peers that initiate WAN optimization tunnels with server-
side peer FortiGate units. However, you can have an ever-changing number of FortiClient peers with IP
addresses that also change regularly. To avoid maintaining a list of such peers, you can instead configure WAN
optimization to accept any peer and use authentication to identify FortiClient peers.
Together, the WAN optimization peers apply the WAN optimization features to optimize the traffic flow over the
WAN between the clients and servers. WAN optimization reduces bandwidth requirements, increases throughput,
reduces latency, offloads SSL encryption/decryption and improves privacy for traffic on the WAN.
As well, the FortiGate units can be configured for multiple virtual domain (VDOM) operation. You configure WAN
optimization for each VDOM and configure one or both of the units to operate with multiple VDOMs enabled.
If a FortiGate unit or VDOM is operating in Transparent mode with WAN optimization enabled, WAN optimization
uses the management IP address as the peer IP address of the FortiGate unit instead of the address of an
interface.
Both plain text and the encrypted tunnels use TCP destination port 7810.
Before a tunnel can be started, the peers must be configured to authenticate with each other. Then, the client-
side peer attempts to start a WAN optimization tunnel with the server-side peer. Once the peers authenticate with
each other, they bring up the tunnel and WAN optimization communication over the tunnel starts. After a tunnel
has been established, multiple WAN optimization sessions can start and stop between peers without restarting
the tunnel.
Tunnel sharing
You can use the tunnel-sharing WAN optimization profile CLI keyword to configure tunnel sharing for WAN
optimization rules. Tunnel sharing means multiple WAN optimization sessions share the same tunnel. Tunnel
sharing can improve performance by reducing the number of WAN optimization tunnels between FortiGate units.
Having fewer tunnels means less data to manage. Also, tunnel setup requires more than one exchange of
information between the ends of the tunnel. Once the tunnel is set up, each new session that shares the tunnel
avoids tunnel setup delays.
Tunnel sharing also uses bandwidth more efficiently by reducing the chances that small packets will be sent down
the tunnel. Processing small packets reduces network throughput, so reducing the number of small packets
improves performance. A shared tunnel can combine all the data from the sessions being processed by the tunnel
and send the data together. For example, suppose a FortiGate unit is processing five WAN optimization sessions
and each session has 100 bytes to send. If these sessions use a shared tunnel, WAN optimization combines the
packets from all five sessions into one 500-byte packet. If each session uses its own private tunnel, five 100-byte
packets will be sent instead. Each packet also requires a TCP ACK reply. The combined packet in the shared
tunnel requires one TCP ACK packet. The separate packets in the private tunnels require five.
Use the following command to configure tunnel sharing for HTTP traffic in a WAN optimization profile.
config wanopt profile
edit default
config http
set tunnel-sharing {express-shared | private | shared}
end
Tunnel sharing is not always recommended and may not always be the best practice. Aggressive and non-
aggressive protocols should not share the same tunnel. An aggressive protocol can be defined as a protocol that
is able to get more bandwidth than a non-aggressive protocol. (The aggressive protocols can “starve” the non-
aggressive protocols.) HTTP and FTP are considered aggressive protocols. If aggressive and non-aggressive
protocols share the same tunnel, the aggressive protocols may take all of the available bandwidth. As a result,
the performance of less aggressive protocols could be reduced. To avoid this problem, rules for HTTP and FTP
traffic should have their own tunnel. To do this, set tunnel-sharing to private for WAN optimization rules
that accept HTTP or FTP traffic.
It is also useful to set tunnel-sharing to express-shared for applications, such as Telnet, that are very
interactive but not aggressive. Express sharing optimizes tunnel sharing for Telnet and other interactive
applications where latency or delays would seriously affect the user’s experience with the protocol.
Set tunnel-sharing to shared for applications that are not aggressive and are not sensitive to latency or
delays. WAN optimization rules set to sharing and express-shared can share the same tunnel.
WAN optimization and user and device identity policies, load balancing and traffic shaping
Please note the following about WAN optimization and firewall policies:
Traffic shaping
Traffic shaping works for WAN optimization traffic that is not in a WAN optimization tunnel. So traffic accepted by
a WAN optimization security policy on a client-side FortiGate unit can be shaped on ingress. However, when the
traffic enters the WAN optimization tunnel, traffic shaping is not applied.
In manual mode:
You can also form a WAN optimization tunnel between a cluster and a standalone FortiGate unit or between two
clusters.
In a cluster, only the primary unit stores the byte cache database. This database is not synchronized to the
subordinate units. So, after a failover, the new primary unit must rebuild its byte cache. Rebuilding the byte cache
can happen relatively quickly because the new primary unit gets byte cache data from the other FortiGate unit
that it is participating with in WAN optimization tunnels.
When WAN optimization is enabled you will see a reduction in available memory. The reduction increases when
more WAN optimization sessions are being processed. If you are thinking of enabling WAN optimization on an
operating FortiGate unit, make sure its memory usage is not maxed out during high traffic periods.
In addition to using the system dashboard to see the current memory usage you can use the get test wad 2
command to see how much memory is currently being used by WAN optimization. See "get test {wad | wccpd}
<test_level>" for more information.
This chapter describes FortiGate WAN optimization client server architecture and other concepts you need to
understand to be able to configure FortiGate WAN optimization.
In reality, because WAN optimization traffic can only be processed by one CPU core, it
is not recommended to increase the number of manual mode peers on the FortiGate
unit per VDOM.
Note that the maximum number of manual peers are restricted to 256 per VDOM.
However, in Active-Passive configurations, there is no hard-limit to the maximum
number of manual peers per VDOM.
In a manual mode configuration, the client-side peer can only connect to the named server-side peer. When the
client-side peer initiates a tunnel with the server-side peer, the packets that initiate the tunnel include extra
information so that the server-side peer can determine that it is a peer-to-peer tunnel request. This extra
information is required because the server-side peer does not require a WAN optimization policy; however, you
need to add the client peer host ID and IP address to the server-side FortiGate unit peer list.
In addition, from the server-side FortiGate unit CLI you must and an Explicit Proxy security policy with proxy set
to wanopt and the destination interface and network set to the network containing the servers that clients
connect to over the WAN optimization tunnel. WAN optimization tunnel requests are accepted by the explicit
proxy policy and if the client-side peer is in the server side peer’s address list the traffic is forwarded to the servers
on the destination network.
You must configure manual mode client-side policies from the CLI. From the GUI a manual mode policy has
WAN Optimization turned on and includes the following text beside the WAN optimization field: Manual (Profile:
<profile-name>. Peer: <peer-name>.
Add a manual mode policy to the client-side FortiGate unit from the CLI. The policy enables WAN optimization,
sets wanopt-detection to off, and uses the wanopt-peer option to specify the server-side peer. The
following example uses the default WAN optimization profile.
config firewall policy
edit 2
set srcintf internal
set dstintf wan1
set srcaddr client-subnet
set dstaddr server-subnet
set action accept
set schedule always
set service ALL
set wanopt enable
set wanopt-detection off
set wanopt-profile default
set wanopt-peer server
next
end
The server-side explicit proxy policy allows connections from the WAN optimization tunnel to the server network
by setting the proxy type to wanopt. You must add policies that set proxy to wanopt from the CLI and these
policies do not appear on the GUI. The policy should look like the following:
configure firewall proxy-policy
edit 3
set proxy wanopt
set dstintf internal
set srcaddr all
set dstaddr server-subnet
Active-passive configurations
Active-passive WAN optimization requires an active WAN optimization policy on the client-side FortiGate unit
and a passive WAN optimization policy on the server-side FortiGate unit. The server-side FortiGate unit also
requires an explicit proxy policy with proxy set to wanopt.
You can use the passive policy to control WAN optimization address translation by specifying transparent mode
or non-transparent mode. SeeManual (peer-to-peer) and active-passive WAN optimization on page 975. You can
also use the passive policy to apply security profiles, web caching, and other FortiGate features at the server-side
FortiGate unit. For example, if a server-side FortiGate unit is protecting a web server, the passive policy could
enable web caching.
A single passive policy can accept tunnel requests from multiple FortiGate units as long as the server-side
FortiGate unit includes their peer IDs and all of the client-side FortiGate units include the server-side peer ID.
Add an active policy to the client-side FortiGate unit by turning on WAN Optimization and selecting active.
Then select a WAN optimization Profile. From the CLI the policy could look like the following:
config firewall policy
edit 2
set srcintf internal
set dstintf wan1
set srcaddr client-subnet
set dstaddr server-subnet
set action accept
set schedule always
set service ALL
set wanopt enable
set wanopt-detection active
set wanopt-profile default
next
end
The server-side requires an explicit proxy policy that sets the proxy to wanopt. You must add this policy from
the CLI and policies with proxy set to wanopt do not appear on the GUI. From the CLI the policy could look like
the following:
configure firewall proxy-policy
edit 3
set proxy wanopt
set dstintf internal
set srcaddr all
set dstaddr server-subnet
set action accept
set schedule always
set service ALL
next
end
Add a passive policy to the server-side FortiGate unit by selecting Enable WAN Optimization and selecting
passive. Then set the Passive Option to transparent. From the CLI the policy could look like the following:
config firewall policy
edit 2
set srcintf "wan1"
set dstintf "internal"
set srcaddr "all"
set dstaddr "all"
set action accept
set schedule "always"
set service "ANY"
set wanopt enable
set wanopt-detection passive
set wanopt-passive-opt transparent
next
To configure a WAN optimization profile go to WAN Opt. & Cache > Profiles and edit a profile or create a new
one.
From the CLI you can use the following command to configure a WAN optimization profile to optimize HTTP
traffic.
config wanopt profile
edit new-profile
config http
set status enable
end
Transparent Mode Servers receiving packets after WAN optimization “see” different source
addresses depending on whether or not you select Transparent Mode.
Select this option and select an authentication group so that the client and
server-side FortiGate units must authenticate with each other before
starting the WAN optimization tunnel. You must also select an
authentication group if you select Secure Tunneling for any protocol.
Authentication Group
You must add identical authentication groups to both of the FortiGate units
that will participate in the WAN optimization tunnel. For more information,
see Configuring authentication groups on page 1.
Protocol Select CIFS, FTP, HTTP or MAPI to apply protocol optimization for the
selected protocols. See WAN optimization profiles on page 978.
Select TCP if the WAN optimization tunnel accepts sessions that use more
than one protocol or that do not use the CIFS, FTP, HTTP, or MAPI
protocol.
Select to apply SSL offloading for HTTPS or other SSL traffic. You can use
SSL offloading to offload SSL encryption and decryption from one or more
HTTP servers to the FortiGate unit. If you enable this option, you must
configure the security policy to accept SSL-encrypted traffic.
SSL Offloading
If you enable SSL offloading, you must also use the CLI command
config firewall ssl-server to add an SSL server for each HTTP
server that you want to offload SSL encryption/decryption for. For more
information, see Turning on web caching for HTTPS traffic on page 1.
Secure The WAN optimization tunnel is encrypted using SSL encryption. You must
Tunnelling also add an authentication group to the profile. For more information, see
Secure tunneling on page 1.
Port Enter a single port number or port number range. Only packets whose
destination port number matches this port number or port number range
will be optimized.
To drop non-HTTP sessions accepted by the rule set tunnel-non-http to disable, or set it to enable to
pass non-HTTP sessions through the tunnel without applying protocol optimization, byte-caching, or web
caching. In this case, the FortiGate unit applies TCP protocol optimization to non-HTTP sessions.
To assume that all HTTP sessions accepted by the rule comply with HTTP 0.9, 1.0, or 1.1, select best-
effort. If a session uses a different HTTP version, WAN optimization may not parse it correctly. As a result, the
FortiGate unit may stop forwarding the session and the connection may be lost. To reject HTTP sessions that do
not use HTTP 0.9, 1.0, or 1.1, select reject.
To pass HTTP sessions that do not use HTTP 0.9, 1.0, or 1.1, but without applying HTTP protocol optimization,
byte-caching, or web caching, you can also select tunnel. TCP protocol optimization is applied to these HTTP
sessions.
Traffic Summary
The traffic summary shows how WAN optimization is reducing the amount of traffic on the WAN for each WAN
optimization protocol by showing the traffic reduction rate as a percentage of the total traffic. The traffic summary
also shows the amount of WAN and LAN traffic. If WAN optimization is being effective the amount of WAN traffic
should be lower than the amount of LAN traffic.
You can use the refresh icon to update the traffic summary display at any time. You can also set the amount of
time for which the traffic summary shows data. The time period can vary from the last 10 minutes to the last
month.
Bandwidth Optimization
This section shows network bandwidth optimization per time period. A line or column chart compares an
application’s pre-optimized size (LAN data) with its optimized size (WAN data). You can select the chart type, the
monitoring time period, and the protocol for which to display data. If WAN optimization is being effective the
WAN bandwidth should be lower than the LAN bandwidth.
Enter the following command to view WAN optimization profile CLI options:
tree wanopt profile
-- [profile] --*name (36)
|- transparent
|- comments
|- auth-group (36)
|- <http> -- status
|- secure-tunnel
|- byte-caching
|- prefer-chunking
|- tunnel-sharing
|- log-traffic
|- port (1,65535)
|- ssl
|- ssl-port (1,65535)
|- unknown-http-version
+- tunnel-non-http
|- <cifs> -- status
|- secure-tunnel
|- byte-caching
|- prefer-chunking
|- tunnel-sharing
|- log-traffic
+- port (1,65535)
|- <mapi> -- status
|- secure-tunnel
|- byte-caching
|- tunnel-sharing
|- log-traffic
+- port (1,65535)
|- <ftp> -- status
|- secure-tunnel
|- byte-caching
|- prefer-chunking
|- tunnel-sharing
|- log-traffic
+- port (1,65535)
+- <tcp> -- status
|- secure-tunnel
|- byte-caching
|- byte-caching-opt
|- tunnel-sharing
|- log-traffic
|- port
|- ssl
+- ssl-port (1,65535)
Security policies
Two client-side WAN optimization security policy configurations are possible. One for active-passive WAN
optimization and one for manual WAN optimization.
end
Security policies
Two server-side WAN optimization security policy configurations are possible. One for active-passive WAN
optimization and one for manual WAN optimization.
Best practices
This is a short list of WAN optimization and explicit proxy best practices.
l WAN optimization tunnel sharing is recommended for similar types of WAN optimization traffic. However, tunnel
sharing for different types of traffic is not recommended. For example, aggressive and non-aggressive protocols
should not share the same tunnel. See Best practices on page 984.
l Active-passive HA is the recommended HA configuration for WAN optimization. See Best practices on page 984.
l Configure WAN optimization authentication with specific peers. Accepting any peer is not recommended as this can
be less secure. See Accepting any peers on page 1.
l Set the explicit proxy Default Firewall Policy Action to Deny. This means that a security policy is required to use
the explicit web proxy. See General explicit web proxy configuration steps on page 1.
l Set the explicit FTP proxy Default Firewall Policy Action to Deny. This means that a security policy is required
to use the explicit FTP proxy. See General explicit FTP proxy configuration steps on page 1.
l Do not enable the explicit web or FTP proxy on an interface connected to the Internet. This is a security risk
because anyone on the Internet who finds the proxy could use it to hide their source address. If you must enable the
proxy on such an interface make sure authentication is required to use the proxy. See General explicit web proxy
configuration steps on page 1.
In a manual WAN optimization configuration, you create a manual WAN optimization security policy on the client-
side FortiGate unit. To do this you must use the CLI to set wanopt-detection to off and to add the peer
host ID of the server-side FortiGate unit to the WAN optimization security policy.
This example customizes the default WAN optimization profile on the client-side FortiGate unit and adds it to the
WAN optimization policy. You can also create a new WAN optimization profile.
1. Go to WAN Opt. & Cache > Peersand enter a Local Host ID for the client-side FortiGate unit:
2. Select Apply.
3. Select Create New and add the server-side FortiGate unit Peer Host ID and IP Address for the server-side
FortiGate:
IP Address 192.168.30.12
4. Select OK.
5. Go to Policy & Objects > Addresses and select Create New to add a firewall address for the client network.
Category Address
Name Client-Net
Type Subnet
Interface port1
6. Select Create New to add a firewall address for the web server network.
Category Address
Name Web-Server-Net
Type Subnet
Interface port2
Schedule always
Service ALL
Action ACCEPT
12. Select Enable WAN Optimization and configure the following settings:
Profile default
1. Go to WAN Opt. & Cache > Peersand enter a Local Host ID for the server-side FortiGate unit:
2. Select Apply.
3. Select Create New and add a Peer Host ID and the IP Address for the client-side FortiGate unit:
IP Address 172.20.34.12
4. Select OK.
5. Enter the following CLI command to add an explicit proxy policy to accept WAN optimization tunnel connections.
configure firewall proxy-policy
edit 0
set proxy wanopt
set dstintf port1
set srcaddr all
set dstaddr all
set action accept
set schedule always
set service ALL
next
end
5. Edit the default WAN optimization profile, select transparent mode, enable HTTP WAN optimization and enable
byte caching for HTTP. Leave the HTTP Port set to 80.
config wanopt profile
edit default
set transparent enable
config http
set status enable
set byte-caching enable
end
end
6. Add a WAN optimization security policy to the client-side FortiGate unit to accept the traffic to be optimized:
config firewall policy
edit 0
set srcintf port1
set dstintf port2
set srcaddr all
set dstaddr all
set action accept
set service ALL
set schedule always
set wanopt enable
set wanopt-profile default
set wanopt-detection off
set wanopt-peer Server-Fgt
end
end
If you can connect, check WAN optimization monitoring. If WAN optimization has been forwarding the traffic the
WAN optimization monitor should show the protocol that has been optimized (in this case HTTP) and the
reduction rate in WAN bandwidth usage.
If you can’t connect you can try the following to diagnose the problem:
l Review your configuration and make sure all details such as address ranges, peer names, and IP addresses are
correct.
l Confirm that the security policy on the client-side FortiGate unit is accepting traffic for the 192.168.10.0 network.
You can do this by checking the policy monitor (Monitor > Firewall User Monitor). Look for sessions that use the
policy ID of this policy.
l Check routing on the FortiGate units and on the client and web server networks to make sure packets can be
forwarded as required. The FortiGate units must be able to communicate with each other, routing on the client
network must allow packets destined for the web server network to be received by the client-side FortiGate unit, and
packets from the server-side FortiGate unit must be able to reach the web servers.
You can use the following get and diagnose commands to display information about how WAN optimization is
operating.
Enter the following command to list all of the running WAN optimization tunnels and display information about
each one. The command output for the client-side FortiGate unit shows 10 tunnels all created by peer-to-peer
WAN optimization rules (auto-detect set to off).
diagnose wad tunnel list
The active policy accepts the traffic to be optimized and sends it down the WAN optimization tunnel to the server-
side FortiGate unit. The active policy can also apply security profiles and other features to traffic before it exits
the client-side FortiGate unit.
A tunnel explicit proxy policy on the sever-side FortiGate unit allows the server-side FortiGate unit to form a WAN
optimization tunnel with the client-side FortiGate unit. The passive WAN optimization policy is required because
of the active policy on the client-side FortiGate unit. You can also use the passive policy to apply WAN
optimization transparent mode and features such as security profiles, logging, traffic shaping and web caching to
the traffic before it exits the server-side FortiGate unit.
On the server-side FortiGate unit, the passive policy applies application control to the WAN optimization traffic.
In this example, WAN optimization transparent mode is selected in the WAN optimization profile and the passive
WAN optimization policy accepts this transparent mode setting. This means that the optimized packets maintain
their original source and destination addresses. As a result, routing on the client network must be configured to
route packets for the server network to the client-side FortiGate unit. Also the routing configuration on the server
network must be able to route packets for the client network to the server-side FortiGate unit.
1. Go to WAN Opt. & Cache > Peersand enter a Local Host ID for the client-side FortiGate unit:
2. Select Apply.
3. Select Create New and add a Peer Host ID and the IP Address for the server-side FortiGate unit:
IP Address 192.168.20.1
4. Select OK.
5. Go to WAN Opt. & Cache > Profilesand select Create New to add a WAN optimization profile to optimize
CIFS, HTTP, and FTP traffic:
Name Custom-wan-opt-pro
6. Select the CIFS protocol, select Byte Caching and set the Port to 445.
7. Select the FTP protocol, select Byte Caching and set the Port to 21.
8. Select the HTTP protocol, select Byte Caching and set the Port to 80.
9. Select OK.
10. Go to Policy & Objects > Addresses and select Create New to add an address for the client network.
Category Address
Type IP Range
Interface port1
11. Select Create New to add an address for the web server network.
Category Address
Type Subnet
Interface port2
12. Go to Policy & Objects > IPv4 Policy and select Create New to add an active WAN optimization security
policy:
Schedule always
Service HTTP
FTP
SMB
Action ACCEPT
Profile Custom-wan-opt-pro
1. Go to WAN Opt. & Cache > Peersand enter a Local Host ID for the server-side FortiGate unit:
2. Select Apply.
3. Select Create New and add a Peer Host ID and the IP Address for the client-side FortiGate unit:
IP Address 172.30.120.1
4. Select OK.
5. Go to Policy & Objects > Addresses and select Create New to add an address for the client network.
Category Address
Type IP Range
Interface port1
6. Select Create New to add a firewall address for the web server network.
Category Address
Type Subnet
Interface port2
7. Select OK.
8. Select Policy & Objects > IPv4 Policy and select Create New to add a passive WAN optimization policy that
applies application control.
Schedule always
Service ALL
Action ACCEPT
next
end
If you can connect, check WAN optimization monitoring. If WAN optimization has been forwarding the traffic the
WAN optimization monitor should show the protocol that has been optimized (in this case HTTP) and the
reduction rate in WAN bandwidth usage.
If you can’t connect you can try the following to diagnose the problem:
l Review your configuration and make sure all details such as address ranges, peer names, and IP addresses are
correct.
l Confirm that the security policy on the Client-Side FortiGate unit is accepting traffic for the 192.168.10.0 network
and that this security policy does not include security profiles. You can do this by checking the FortiGate session
table from the dashboard. Look for sessions that use the policy ID of this policy.
l Check routing on the FortiGate units and on the client and web server networks to make sure packets can be
forwarded as required. The FortiGate units must be able to communicate with each other, routing on the client
network must allow packets destined for the web server network to be received by the client-side FortiGate unit, and
packets from the server-side FortiGate unit must be able to reach the web servers etc.
You can use the following get and diagnose commands to display information about how WAN optimization is
operating
Enter the following command to list all of the running WAN optimization tunnels and display information about
each one. The command output shows 3 tunnels all created by peer-to-peer WAN optimization rules (auto-detect
set to on).
The authentication group is named Auth-Secure-Tunnel and the password for the pre-shared key is 2345678.
The topology for this example is shown below. This example includes web-based manager configuration steps
followed by equivalent CLI configuration steps. For information about secure tunneling, see Secure tunneling on
page 1.
Also note that if you perform any additional actions between procedures, your configuration may have different
results.
1. Go to WAN Opt. & Cache > Peersand enter a Local Host ID for the client-side FortiGate unit:
IP Address 192.168.20.1
4. Select OK.
5. Go to WAN Opt. & Cache > Authentication Groups and select Create New to add the authentication group
to be used for secure tunneling:
Name Auth-Secure-Tunnel
Password 2345678
6. Select OK.
7. Go to WAN Opt. & Cache > Profiles and select Create New to add a WAN optimization profile that enables
secure tunneling and includes the authentication group:
Name Secure-wan-op-pro
8. Select the HTTP protocol, select Secure Tunneling and Byte Caching and set the Port to 80.
9. Select OK.
10. Go to Policy & Objects > Addresses and select Create New to add a firewall address for the client network.
Category Address
Name Client-Net
Type Subnet
Interface port1
11. Select Create New to add a firewall address for the web server network.
Category Address
Type Subnet
Interface port2
12. Go to Policy & Objects > IPv4 Policy and select Create New to add an active WAN optimization security
policy:
Schedule always
Service HTTP
Action ACCEPT
Profile Secure-wan-opt-pro
1. Go to WAN Opt. & Cache > Peersand enter a Local Host ID for the server-side FortiGate unit:
IP Address 172.30.120.1
4. Select OK.
5. Go to WAN Opt. & Cache > Authentication Groups and select Create New and add an authentication group
to be used for secure tunneling:
Name Auth-Secure-Tunnel
Password 2345678
6. Select OK.
7. Go to Policy & Objects > Addresses and select Create New to add a firewall address for the client network.
Category Address
Name Client-Net
Type Subnet
Interface port1
8. Select Create New to add a firewall address for the web server network.
Category Address
Type Subnet
Interface port2
9. Select OK.
10. Select Create New to add a passive WAN optimization policy that applies application control.
Schedule always
Service ALL
Action ACCEPT
4. Add a WAN optimization profile that enables secure tunneling and includes the authentication group, enables
HTTP protocol optimization, and enables secure tunneling and byte caching for HTTP traffic:
config wanopt profile
edit Secure-wan-op-pro
set auth-group Auth-Secure-Tunnel
config http
set status enable
set secure-tunnel enable
set byte-caching enable
set port 80
end
end
7. Add an active WAN optimization security policy that includes the WAN optimization profile that enables secure
tunneling and that applies virus scanning:
config firewall policy
edit 0
set srcintf port1
set dstintf port2
set srcaddr Client-Net
set dstaddr Web-Server-Net
set action accept
set service HTTP
set schedule always
set wanopt enable
set wanopt-detection active
set wanopt-profile Secure-wan-opt-pro
end
end
All communication between WAN optimization peers begins with one WAN optimization peer (or client-side
FortiGate unit) sending a WAN optimization tunnel request to another peer (or server-side FortiGate unit). During
this process, the WAN optimization peers identify and optionally authenticate each other.
Accepting any peer is useful if you have many peers or if peer IP addresses change. For example, you could have
FortiGate units with dynamic external IP addresses (using DHCP or PPPoE). For most other situations, this
method is not recommended and is not a best practice as it is less secure than accepting defined peers or a single
peer. For more information, see Basic WAN optimization peer requirements on page 1006.
The authentication group is optional unless the tunnel is a secure tunnel. For more information, see How
FortiGate units process tunnel requests for peer authentication on page 1006.
If the tunnel request includes an authentication group, the authentication will be based on the settings of this
group as follows:
l The server-side FortiGate unit searches its own configuration for the name of the authentication group in the tunnel
request. If no match is found, the authentication fails.
l If a match is found, the server-side FortiGate unit compares the authentication method in the client and server
authentication groups. If the methods do not match, the authentication fails.
l If the authentication methods match, the server-side FortiGate unit tests the peer acceptance settings in its copy of
the authentication group.
l If the setting is Accept Any Peer, the authentication is successful.
l If the setting is Specify Peer, the server-side FortiGate unit compares the client-side local host ID in the tunnel
request with the peer name in the server-side authentication group. If the names match, authentication is
successful. If a match is not found, authentication fails.
l If the setting is Accept Defined Peers, the server-side FortiGate unit compares the client-side local host ID in the
tunnel request with the server-side peer list. If a match is found, authentication is successful. If a match is not
found, authentication fails.
If the tunnel request does not include an authentication group, authentication will be based on the client-side
local host ID in the tunnel request. The server-side FortiGate unit searches its peer list to match the client-side
local host ID in the tunnel request. If a match is found, authentication is successful. If a match is not found,
authentication fails.
If the server-side FortiGate unit successfully authenticates the tunnel request, the server-side FortiGate unit
sends back a tunnel setup response message. This message includes the server-side local host ID and the
authentication group that matches the one in the tunnel request.
The client-side FortiGate unit then performs the same authentication procedure as the server-side FortiGate unit
did. If both sides succeed, tunnel setup continues.
Configuring peers
When you configure peers, you first need to add the local host ID that identifies the FortiGate unit for WAN
optimization and then add the peer host ID and IP address of each FortiGate unit with which a FortiGate unit can
create WAN optimization tunnels.
The local or host ID can contain up to 25 characters and can include spaces.
3. Select Create New to add a new peer.
4. For Peer Host ID, enter the peer host ID of the peer FortiGate unit. This is the local host ID added to the peer
FortiGate unit.
5. For IP Address, add the IP address of the peer FortiGate unit. This is the source IP address of tunnel requests
sent by the peer, usually the IP address of the FortiGate interface connected to the WAN.
6. Select OK.
In this example, the local host ID is named HQ_Peer and has an IP address of 172.20.120.100. Three peers
are added, but you can add any number of peers that are on the WAN.
To perform authentication, WAN optimization peers use a certificate or a pre-shared key added to an
authentication group so they can identify each other before forming a WAN optimization tunnel. Both peers must
have an authentication group with the same name and settings. You add the authentication group to a peer-to-
peer or active rule on the client-side FortiGate unit. When the server-side FortiGate unit receives a tunnel start
request from the client-side FortiGate unit that includes an authentication group, the server-side FortiGate unit
finds an authentication group in its configuration with the same name. If both authentication groups have the
same certificate or pre-shared key, the peers can authenticate and set up the tunnel.
Use the following steps to add any kind of authentication group. It is assumed that if you are using a local
certificate to authenticate, it is already added to the FortiGate unit
You will select this name when you add the authentication group to a WAN optimization rule.
4. Select the Authentication Method.
Select Certificate if you want to use a certificate to authenticate and encrypt WAN optimization tunnels. You must
select a local certificate that has been added to this FortiGate unit. (To add a local certificate, go to System
> Certificates.) Other FortiGate units that participate in WAN optimization tunnels with this FortiGate unit must
have an authentication group with the same name and certificate.
Select Pre-shared key if you want to use a pre-shared key or password to authenticate and encrypt WAN
optimization tunnels. You must add the Password (or pre-shared key) used by the authentication group. Other
FortiGate units that participate in WAN optimization tunnels with this FortiGate unit must have an authentication
group with the same name and password. The password must contain at least 6 printable characters and should
be known only by network administrators. For optimum protection against currently known attacks, the key should
consist of a minimum of 16 randomly chosen alphanumeric characters.
5. Configure Peer Acceptance for the authentication group.
Select Accept Any Peer if you do not know the peer host IDs or IP addresses of the peers that will use this
authentication group. This setting is most often used for WAN optimization with FortiGate units that do not have
static IP addresses, for example units that use DHCP.
Select Accept Defined Peers if you want to authenticate with peers added to the peer list only.
Select Specify Peer and select one of the peers added to the peer list to authenticate with the selected peer only.
6. Select OK.
7. Add the authentication group to a WAN optimization rule to apply the authentication settings in the authentication
group to the rule.
Enter the following command to add an authentication group that uses a certificate and can authenticate all peers
added to the FortiGate unit configuration.
In this example, the authentication group is named auth_grp_1 and uses a certificate named Example_
Cert.
config wanopt auth-group
edit auth_grp_1
set auth-method cert
set cert Example_Cert
set peer-accept defined
end
Enter the following command to add an authentication group that uses a pre-shared key and can authenticate
only the peer added to the authentication group.
In this example, the authentication group is named auth_peer, the peer that the group can authenticate is
named Server_net, and the authentication group uses 123456 as the pre-shared key. In practice you should
use a more secure pre-shared key.
config wanopt auth-group
edit auth_peer
set auth-method psk
set psk 123456
set peer-accept one
set peer Server_net
end
To add an authentication group that accepts WAN optimization connections from any peer - web-based
manager
Add an authentication group that accepts any peer for situations where you do not have the Peer Host IDs or IP
Addresses of the peers that you want to perform WAN optimization with. This setting is most often used with
FortiGate units that do not have static IP addresses, for example units that use DHCP. An authentication group
that accepts any peer is less secure than an authentication group that accepts defined peers or a single peer.
The example below sets the authentication method to Pre-shared key. You must add the same password to all
FortiGate units using this authentication group.
To add an authentication group that accepts WAN optimization connections from any peer - CLI:
In this example, the authentication group is named auth_grp_1. It uses a certificate named WAN_Cert and
accepts any peer.
config wanopt auth-group
edit auth_grp_1
set auth-method cert
set cert WAN_Cert
set peer-accept any
end
Secure tunneling
You can configure WAN optimization rules to use AES-128bit-CBC SSL to encrypt the traffic in the WAN
optimization tunnel. WAN optimization uses FortiASIC acceleration to accelerate SSL decryption and encryption
of the secure tunnel. Peer-to-peer secure tunnels use the same TCP port as non-secure peer-to-peer tunnels
(TCP port 7810).
To use secure tunneling, you must select Enable Secure Tunnel in a WAN optimization rule and add an
authentication group. The authentication group specifies the certificate or pre-shared key used to set up the
secure tunnel. The Peer Acceptance setting of the authentication group does not affect secure tunneling.
The FortiGate units at each end of the secure tunnel must have the same authentication group with the same
name and the same configuration, including the same pre-shared key or certificate. To use certificates you must
install the same certificate on both FortiGate units.
For active-passive WAN optimization you can select Enable Secure Tunnel only in the active rule. In peer-to-
peer WAN optimization you select Enable Secure Tunnel in the WAN optimization rule on both FortiGate units.
For information about active-passive and peer-to-peer WAN optimization, see Manual (peer-to-peer) and active-
passive WAN optimization on page 1
For a secure tunneling configuration example, see Example: Adding secure tunneling to an active-passive WAN
optimization configuration on page 1.
The monitor lists each peer’s name, IP address, and peer type. The peer type indicates whether the peer was
manually added or discovered. To show WAN optimization performance, for each peer the monitor lists the
percent of traffic reduced by the peer in client-side WAN optimization configurations and in server-side
configurations (also called gateway configurations).
FortiGate web caching is a form of object caching that accelerates web applications and web servers by reducing
bandwidth usage, server load, and perceived latency. Web caching supports caching of HTTP 1.0 and HTTP 1.1
web sites. See RFC 2616 for information about web caching for HTTP 1.1.
Web caching supports caching of Flash content over HTTP but does not cache audio
and video streams including Flash videos and streaming content that use native
streaming protocols such as RTMP.
The first time a file is received by web caching it is cached in the format it is received
in, whether it be compressed or uncompressed. When the same file is requested by a
client but in a different compression format, the cached file is converted to the new
compressed format before being sent to the client.
There are three significant advantages to using web caching to improve HTTP and WAN performance:
l reduced bandwidth consumption because fewer requests and responses go over the WAN or Internet.
l reduced web server load because there are fewer requests for web servers to handle.
l reduced latency because responses for cached requests are available from a local FortiGate unit instead of from
across the WAN or Internet.
You can use web caching to cache any web traffic that passes through the FortiGate unit, including web pages
from web servers on a LAN, WAN or on the Internet. You apply web caching by enabling the web caching option
in any security policy. When enabled in a security policy, web caching is applied to all HTTP sessions accepted by
the security policy. If the security policy is an explicit web proxy security policy, the FortiGate unit caches explicit
web proxy sessions.
l Cache Internet HTTP traffic for users on an internal network to reduce Internet bandwidth use. Do this by selecting
the web cache option for security policies that allow users on the internal network to browse web sites on the
Internet.
l Reduce the load on a public facing web server by caching objects on the FortiGate unit. This is a reverse proxy with
web caching configuration. Do this by selecting the web cache option for a security policy that allows users on the
Internet to connect to the web server.
l Cache outgoing explicit web proxy traffic when the explicit proxy is used to proxy users in an internal network who
are connecting to the web servers on the Internet. Do this by selecting the web cache option for explicit web proxy
security policies that allow users on the internal network to browse web sites on the Internet.
l Combine web caching with WAN optimization. You can enable web caching in any WAN optimization security
policy. This includes manual, active, and passive WAN optimization policies and WAN optimization tunnel policies.
You can enable web caching on both the client-side and the server-side FortiGate units or on just one or the other.
For optimum performance you can enable web caching on both the client-side and server-side FortiGate units. In
this way only uncached content is transmitted through the WAN optimization tunnel. All cached content is access
locally by clients from the client side FortiGate unit.
One important use for web caching is to cache software updates (for example,
Windows Updates or iOS updates. When updates occur a large number of users may
all be trying to download these updates at the same time. Caching these updates will
be a major performance improvement and also have a potentially large impact on
reducing Internet bandwidth use. You may want to adjust the maximum cache object
size to make sure these updates are cached. See Turning on web caching for HTTP
and HTTPS traffic on page 1011.
You enable HTTPS web caching from the CLI in a security policy or an explicit proxy policy that accepts the traffic
to be cached using webcache-https. For a firewall policy:
config firewall policy
edit 0
.
.
.
set webcache enable
set webcache-https enable
.
.
.
end
For an explicit web proxy policy:
config firewall proxy-policy
edit 0
set proxy explicit-web
.
.
.
Web caching for HTTPS traffic is not supported if WAN optimization or FTP proxy is
enabled: i.e., if srcintf is ftp-proxy or wanopt.
The any setting causes the FortiGate unit to re-encrypt the traffic with the FortiGate unit’s certificate rather than
the original certificate. This configuration can cause errors for HTTPS clients because the name on the certificate
does not match the name on the web site.
You can stop these errors from happening by configuring HTTPS web caching to use the web server’s certificate
by setting webcache-https to ssl-server. This option is available for both firewall policies and explicit web
proxy policies.
config firewall policy
edit 0
.
.
.
set webcache enable
set webcache-https enable
.
.
.
end
The ssl-server option causes the FortiGate unit to re-encrypt the traffic with a certificate that you imported
into the FortiGate unit. You can add certificates using the following command:
config firewall ssl-server
edit corporate-server
set ip <Web-Server-IP>
set port 443
set ssl-mode { full | half}
set ssl-cert <Web-Server-Cert>
end
Where:
The SSL server configuration also determines whether the SSL server is operating in half or full mode and the
port used for the HTTPS traffic.
You can add multiple SSL server certificates in this way. When web caching processing an SSL stream if it can
find a certificate that matches the web server IP address and port of one of the added SSL servers; that certificate
is used to encrypt the SSL traffic before sending it to the client. As a result the client does not generate SSL
certificate errors.
Web caching uses the FortiGate unit’s FortiASIC to accelerate SSL decryption/encryption performance.
In full mode the FortiGate unit is acting as a man in the middle, decrypting and encrypting the traffic. So both the
client and the web server see encrypted packets.
Usually the port of the encrypted HTTPS traffic is always 443. However, in the SSL server configuration you can
set the port used for HTTPS traffic. This port is not altered by the SSL Server. So for example, if the SSL Server
receives HTTPS traffic on port 443, the re-encrypted traffic forwarded to the FortiGate unit to the server or client
will still use port 443.
In half mode, the FortiGate unit is acting like an SSL accelerator, offloading HTTPS decryption from the web
server to the FortiGate unit. Since FortiGate units can accelerate SSL processing, the end result could be
improved web site performance.
Usually the port of the encrypted traffic is always 443. However, in the SSL server configuration you can set the
port used for HTTPS traffic. No matter what port is used for the HTTPS traffic, the decrypted HTTP traffic uses
port 80.
Changing the ports on which to look for HTTP and HTTPS traffic to cache
By default FortiOS assumes HTTP traffic uses TCP port 80 and HTTPS traffic uses port 443. So web caching
caches all HTTP traffic accepted by a policy on TCP port 80 and all HTTPS traffic on TCP port 443. If you want to
cache HTTP or HTTPS traffic on other ports, you can enable security profiles for the security policy and configure
a proxy options profile to that looks for HTTP and HTTPS traffic on other TCP ports. To configure a proxy options
profile go to Network > Explicit Proxy.
Setting the HTTP port to Any in a proxy options profile is not compatible with web caching. If you set the HTTP
port to any, web caching only caches HTTP traffic on port 80.
In a cluster, only the primary unit stores the web cache database. The databases is not synchronized to the
subordinate units. So, after a failover, the new primary unit must build its web cache.
When web caching is enabled you will see a reduction in available memory. The reduction increases when more
web caching sessions are being processed. If you are thinking of enabling web caching on an operating FortiGate
unit, make sure its memory usage is not maxed out during high traffic periods.
In addition to using the system dashboard to see the current memory usage you can use the get test wad 2
command to see how much memory is currently being used by web caching. See get test {wad | wccpd} <test_
level> on page 1 for more information.
From the FortiGate CLI, you can use the config wanopt webcache command to change these WAN
optimization web cache settings.
For more information about many of these web cache settings, see RFC 2616.
Always revalidate
Select to always revalidate requested cached objects with content on the server before serving them to the client.
For most web traffic the default maximum cache object size is recommended. However, since web caching can
also cache larger objects such as Windows updates, Mac OS updates, iOS updates or other updates delivered
using HTTP you might want to increase the object size to make sure these updates are cached. Caching these
updates can save a lot of Internet bandwidth and improve performance when major updates are released by
these vendors.
The default is 0, meaning error responses are not cached. The content server might send a client error code (4xx
HTTP response) or a server error code (5xx HTTP response) as a response to some requests. If the web cache is
configured to cache these negative responses, it returns that response in subsequent requests for that page or
image for the specified number of minutes.
Fresh factor
Set the fresh factor as a percentage. The default is 100, and the range is 1 to 100%. For cached objects that do
not have an expiry time, the web cache periodically checks the server to see if the objects have expired. The
higher the Fresh Factor the less often the checks occur.
For example, if you set the Max TTL value and Default TTL to 7200 minutes (5 days) and set the Fresh Factor
to 20, the web cache check the cached objects 5 times before they expire, but if you set the Fresh Factor to 100,
the web cache will check once.
Max TTL
The maximum amount of time (Time to Live) an object can stay in the web cache without the cache checking to
see if it has expired on the server. The default is 7200 minutes (120 hours or 5 days) and the range is 1 to
5256000 minutes (5256000 minutes in a year).
Min TTL
The minimum amount of time an object can stay in the web cache before the web cache checks to see if it has
expired on the server. The default is 5 minutes and the range is 1 to 5256000 minutes (5256000 minutes in a
year).
Default TTL
The default expiry time for objects that do not have an expiry time set by the web server. The default expiry time
is 1440 minutes (24 hours) and the range is 1 to 5256000 minutes (5256000 minutes in a year).
Proxy FQDN
The fully qualified domain name (FQDN) for the proxy server. This is the domain name to enter into browsers to
access the proxy server. This field is for information only can be changed from the explicit web proxy
configuration.
Ignore
Select the following options to ignore some web caching features.
If-modified-since By default, if the time specified by the if-modified-since (IMS) header in the client's
conditional request is greater than the last modified time of the object in the cache, it
is a strong indication that the copy in the cache is stale. If so, HTTP does a conditional
GET to the Overlay Caching Scheme (OCS), based on the last modified time of the
cached object. Enable ignoring if-modified-since to override this behavior.
HTTP 1.1 provides additional controls to the client over the behavior of caches toward
stale objects. Depending on various cache-control headers, the FortiGate unit can be
HTTP 1.1
forced to consult the OCS before serving the object from the cache. For more
conditionals
information about the behavior of cache-control header values, see RFC 2616.Enable
ignoring HTTP 1.1 Conditionals to override this behavior.
Pragma-no-cache Typically, if a client sends an HTTP GET request with a pragma no-cache (PNC) or
cache-control no-cache header, a cache must consult the OCS before serving the
content. This means that the FortiGate unit always re-fetches the entire object from
the OCS, even if the cached copy of the object is fresh. Because of this behavior, PNC
requests can degrade performance and increase server-side bandwidth utilization.
However, if you enable ignoring Pragma-no-cache, then the PNC header from the
client request is ignored. The FortiGate unit treats the request as if the PNC header is
not present.
Some versions of Internet Explorer issue Accept / header instead of Pragma no-cache
header when you select Refresh. When an Accept header has only the / value, the
IE Reload FortiGate unit treats it as a PNC header if it is a type-N object. Enable ignoring IE
reload to cause the FortiGate unit to ignore the PNC interpretation of the Accept /
header.
Revalidated Pragma-no-cache
The pragma-no-cache (PNC) header in a client's request can affect how efficiently the FortiGate unit uses
bandwidth. If you do not want to completely ignore PNC in client requests (which you can do by selecting to
ignore Pragma-no-cache, above), you can nonetheless lower the impact on bandwidth usage by selecting
Revalidate Pragma-no-cache.
When you select Revalidate Pragma-no-cache, a client's non-conditional PNC-GET request results in a
conditional GET request sent to the OCS if the object is already in the cache. This gives the OCS a chance to
return the 304 Not Modified response, which consumes less server-side bandwidth, because the OCS has not
been forced to otherwise return full content.
By default, Revalidate Pragma-no-cache is disabled and is not affected by changes in the top-level profile.
Most download managers make byte-range requests with a PNC header. To serve such requests from the cache,
you should also configure byte-range support when you configure the Revalidate pragma-no-cache option.
Forwarding URLs to forwarding servers and exempting web sites from web caching
You can go to Network > Explicit Proxy and use the URL match list to forward URL patterns to forwarding
servers and create a list of URLs that are exempt from web caching.
You can then use the URL match list to always forward explicit web proxy traffic destined for configured URLs or
URL patterns to one of these forwarding servers. For example, you might want to forward all traffic for a specific
country to a proxy server located in that country.
To forward traffic destined for a URL to a forwarding server that you have already added, go to Network
> Explicit Proxy and select Create New. Add a name for the URL match entry and enter the URL or URL
pattern. You can use wildcards such as * and ? and you can use a numeric IP address. Select Forward to Server
and select a web proxy forwarding server from the list.
You can also exempt the URL or URL pattern from web caching.
Use the following command to forward all .ca traffic to a proxy server and all .com traffic to another proxy server.
config web-proxy url-match
edit "com"
set forward-server "server-commercial"
set url-pattern "com"
next
edit "ca"
set forward-server "server-canada"
set url-pattern "ca"
next
edit "www.google.ca"
set cache-exemption enable
set url-pattern "www.google.ca"
next
end
You can also add URLs to the web cache exempt list by going to Network > Explicit Proxy, going to the URL
Match List
and selecting Create New. Add a URL pattern to be exempt and select Exempt from Cache.
You can also add URLs and addresses to be exempt from caching using the CLI. Enter the following command to
add www.example.com to the web cache exempt list:
config web-proxy url-match
set cache-exemption enable
set url-pattern www.example.com
end
You can exempt files from being cached, so long as you specify its full URL. Enter the following command to add
the URL, with the file extension (in this example, .exe), to the web cache exempt list:
config web-proxy url-match
edit "exe"
set url-pattern "iavs9x.u.avast.com/custom/iavs9x/20160613t1237z/avast_free_
antivirus_setup_online.exe"
set cache-exemption enable
next
end
You cannot use wildcards to exempt file extensions in general from caching.
The web cache monitor also shows a graph of web traffic on the WAN and LAN. A lower WAN line on the graph
indicates the web cache is reducing traffic on the WAN. The web cache monitor also displays the total number of
web requests processed by the web cache.
Example Web caching of HTTP and HTTPS Internet content for users on an internal
network
This example describes how to configure web caching of HTTP and HTTPS for users on a private network
connecting to the Internet.
Since users on the private network have unrestricted access to the Internet and can be accessing many web
servers the webcache-https is set to any and users may see error messages on their web browsers when
accessing HTTPS content.
The GUI is less versatile than the CLI so the example instructions for the GUI give settings for one port for each
protocol, while the CLI example shows how to use multiple ports.
The example also describes how to configure the security policy to cache HTTP traffic on port 80 and 8080 in the
CLI, by adding a proxy options profile that looks for HTTP traffic on TCP ports 80 and 8080. The example also
describes how to configure the security policy to cache HTTPS traffic on port 443 and 8443 using the same proxy
options profile.
This section breaks down the configuration for this example into smaller procedures. For best results, follow the
procedures in the order given:
1. Add HTTP web caching to the security policy that all users on the private network use to connect to the Internet.
2. Add HTTPS web caching.
3. Add a protocol options profile to look for HTTP traffic on ports 80 and 8080 and HTTPS traffic on ports 443 and
8443 and add this protocol options profile to the security policy.
If you perform any additional actions between procedures, your configuration may have different results.
Use the following steps to configure the example configuration from the FortiGate web-based manager.
1. Go to Policy & Objects > IPv4 Policyand add a security policy that allows all users on the internal network to
access the Internet.
Source all
Destination all
Schedule always
Service ALL
Action ACCEPT
1. From the CLI enter the following command to add HTTPS web caching to the policy.
1. Go to Network > Explicit Proxy and edit the Explicit Proxy options profile.
2. Under Explicit Web Proxy ,
l For the HTTP port, enter 80.
l For HTTPS port, select Specify and enter 8443 in the field.
3. Click on Apply.
You need to use the CLI to add the protocol options profile unless you also add a
security profile that uses proxy-based inspection.
Use the following steps to configure the example configuration from the FortiGate CLI.
1. Enter the following command to add a security policy that allows all users on the internal network to access the
Internet and that includes web caching of HTTP and HTTPS traffic.
config firewall policy
edit 0
set srcintf internal
set srcaddr all
set dstintf wan1
set distinf all
set schedule always
set service ANY
set action accept
set nat enable
set webcache enable
set webcache-https any
end
To cache HTTP traffic on port 80 and 8080 and HTTPS traffic on ports 443 and 8443
1. Enter the following command to edit the default proxy options profile to configure it to look for HTTP traffic on
ports 80 and 8080:
config firewall profile-protocol-options
edit default
config http
set status enable
set ports 80 8080
end
2. Enter the following command to edit the certification-inspection SSL SSH options profile to configure it to look
for HTTPS traffic on ports 443 and 8443:
config firewall ssl-ssh-profile
edit certificate-inspection
config https
set status certificate-inspection
set ports 443 8443
end
3. Enter the following command to add the default proxy options profile and the certificate-inspection SSL SSH
profile to the firewall policy.
config firewall policy
edit 5
set utm-status enable
set profile-protocol-options default
set ssl-ssh-profile certificate-inspection
end
Example reverse proxy web caching and SSL offloading for an Internet web server using a
static one-to-one virtual IP
This section describes configuring SSL offloading for a reverse proxy web caching configuration using a static
one-to-one firewall virtual IP (VIP). While the static one-to-one configuration described in this example is valid, its
also common to change the destination port of the unencrypted HTTPS traffic to a commonly used HTTP port
such as 8080 using a port forwarding virtual IP.
The FortiGate unit also caches HTTP and HTTPS pages from the web server so when users access cached pages
the web server does not see the traffic. Replies to HTTPS sessions are encrypted by the FortiGate unit before
returning to the clients.
In this configuration, the FortiGate unit is operating as a web cache in reverse proxy mode. Reverse proxy caches
can be placed directly in front of a web server. Web caching on the FortiGate unit reduces the number of requests
that the web server must handle, therefore leaving it free to process new requests that it has not serviced before.
l avoids the capital expense of additional web servers by increasing the capacity of existing servers
l serves more requests for static content from web servers
l serves more requests for dynamic content from web servers
l reduces operating expenses including the cost of bandwidth required to serve content
l accelerates the response time of web servers and of page download times to end users.
When planning a reverse proxy implementation, the web server's content should be written so that it is “cache
aware” to take full advantage of the reverse proxy cache.
In reverse proxy mode, the FortiGate unit functions more like a web server for clients on the Internet. Replicated
content is delivered from the proxy cache to the external client without exposing the web server or the private
network residing safely behind the firewall.
In this example, the site URL translates to IP address 192.168.10.1, which is the port2 IP address of the
FortiGate unit. The port2 interface is connected to the Internet.
This example assumes that all HTTP traffic uses port 80 and all HTTPS traffic uses port 443.
The FortiGate unit includes the web server CA and an SSL server configuration for IP address 172.10.20.30 and
port to 443. The name of the file containing the CA is Rev_Proxy_Cert_1.crt.
The destination address of incoming HTTP and HTTPS sessions is translated to the IP address of the web server
using a static one-to-one virtual IP that performs destination address translation (DNAT) for the HTTP packets.
The DNAT translates the destination address of the packets from 192.168.10.1 to 172.10.20.30 but does not
change the destination port number.
When the SSL server on the FortiGate unit decrypts the HTTPS packets their destination port is changed to port
80.
Reverse proxy web caching and SSL offloading for an Internet web server
using static one-to-one virtual IPs
3. Add an SSL server to offload SSL encryption and decryption for the web server.
Also note that if you perform any additional actions between procedures, your configuration may have different
results.
1. Go to Policy & Objects > Virtual IPsand select Create New to add a static NAT virtual IP that translates
destination IP addresses from 192.168.10.1 to 172.10.20.30 (and does not translate destination ports):
Name Reverse_proxy_VIP
Interface port2
2. Select OK.
3. Go to Policy & Objects > IPv4 Policy and select Create New to add a port2 to port1 security policy that
accepts HTTP and HTTPS traffic from the Internet.
Do not select security profiles. Set the destination address to the virtual IP. You do not have to enable NAT.
Source all
Destination Reverse_proxy_VIP
Schedule always
Service HTTP
HTTPS
Action ACCEPT
To configure the FortiGate unit to offload SSL encryption and cache HTTPS content
1. Go to System > Certificates and select Import to import the web server’s CA.
For Type, select Local Certificate. Select the Browse button to locate the file (example file name: Rev_Proxy_
Cert_1.crt).
The certificate key size must be 1024 or 2048 bits. 4096-bit keys are not supported.
2. Select OK to import the certificate.
3. From the CLI, enter the following command to add the SSL server and to add the server’s certificate to the SSL
server.
The SSL server ip must match the destination address of the SSL traffic after being translated by the virtual IP
(172.10.20.30) and the SSL server port must match the destination port of the SSL traffic (443). The SSL server
operates in half mode since it performs a single-step conversion (HTTPS to HTTP or HTTP to HTTPS).
config firewall ssl-server
edit rev_proxy_server
set ip 172.10.20.30
set port 443
set ssl-mode half
set ssl-cert Rev_Proxy_Cert_1
end
1. Enter the following command to add a static NAT virtual IP that translates destination IP addresses from
192.168.10.1 to 172.10.20.30 (and does not translate destination ports):
config firewall vip
edit Reverse_proxy_VIP
set extintf port2
set type static-nat
set extip 192.168.10.1
set mappedip 172.10.20.30
end
2. Enter the following command to add a port2 to port1 security policy that accepts HTTP and HTTPS traffic from the
Internet. Enable web caching and HTTPS web caching.
Do not select security profiles. Set the destination address to the virtual IP. You do not have to enable NAT.
config firewall policy
edit 0
set srcintf port2
set srcaddr all
set dstintf port1
set dstaddr Reverse_proxy_VIP
set schedule always
To add an SSL server to offload SSL encryption and decryption for the web server
1. Place a copy of the web server’s CA (file name Rev_Proxy_Cert_1.crt) in the root folder of a TFTP server.
2. Enter the following command to import the web server’s CA from a TFTP server. The IP address of the TFTP
server is 10.31.101.30:
execute vpn certificate local import tftp Rev_Proxy_Cert_1.crt 10.31.101.30
The certificate key size must be 1024 or 2048 bits. 4096-bit keys are not supported.
3. From the CLI, enter the following command to add the SSL server.
The SSL server ip must match the destination address of the SSL traffic after being translated by the virtual IP
(172.10.20.30) and the SSL server port must match the destination port of the SSL traffic (443). The SSL server
operates in half mode since it performs a single-step conversion (HTTPS to HTTP or HTTP to HTTPS).
config firewall ssl-server
edit rev_proxy_server
set ip 172.10.20.30
set port 443
set ssl-mode half
set ssl-cert Rev_Proxy_Cert_1
end
4. Configure other ssl-server settings that you may require for your configuration.
Syntax:
config wanopt remote-storage
set status {enable|disable}
set local-cache-id <name ID for connection>
set remote-cache-id <ID of the remote device>
set remote-cache-ip <IP address of the remote device>
end
Option Description
status Enable or disable whether the FortiGate uses a remote caching device as web-cache
storage. If disabled, uses local disk(s) as web storage.
local-
ID that this device uses to connect to the remote caching device
cache-id
Option Description
remote-
IP address of the remote caching device that this FortiGate connects to.
cache-ip
WCCP Concepts
The Web Cache Communication Protocol (WCCP) can be used to provide web caching with load balancing and
fault tolerance. In a WCCP configuration, a WCCP server receives HTTP requests from user’s web browsers and
redirects the requests to one or more WCCP clients. The clients either return cached content or request new
content from the destination web servers before caching it and returning it to the server which in turn returns the
content to the original requestor. If a WCCP configuration includes multiple WCCP clients, the WCCP server load
balances traffic among the clients and can detect when a client fails and failover sessions to still operating clients.
WCCP is described by the Web Cache Communication Protocol Internet draft.
The sessions that are cached by WCCP depend on the configuration of the WCCP clients. If the client is a
FortiGate unit, you can configure the port numbers and protocol number of the sessions to be cached. For
example, to cache HTTPS traffic on port 443 the WCCP client port must be set to 443 and protocol must be set to
6. If the WCCP client should also cache HTTPS traffic on port 993 the client ports option should include both port
443 and 993.
On a FortiGate unit, WCCP sessions are accepted by a security policy before being cached. If the security policy
that accepts sessions that do not match the port and protocol settings in the WCCP clients the traffic is dropped.
WCCP is configured per-VDOM. A single VDOM can operate as a WCCP server or client (not both at the same
time). FortiGate units are compatible with third-party WCCP clients and servers. If a FortiGate unit is operating
as an Internet firewall for a private network, you can configure it to cache and serve some or all of the web traffic
on the private network using WCCP by adding one or more WCCP clients, configuring WCCP server settings on
the FortiGate unit and adding WCCP security policies that accept HTTP session from the private network.
FortiGate units support WCCPv1 and WCCPv2. A FortiGate unit in NAT/Route or transparent mode can operate
as a WCCP server. To operate as a WCCP client a FortiGate unit must be in NAT/Route mode. FortiGate units
communicate between WCCP servers and clients over UDP port 2048. This communication can be encapsulated
in a GRE tunnel or just use layer 2 forwarding.
A WCCP server can also be called a WCCP router. A WCCP client can also be called a
WCCP cache engine.
WCCP Configuration
The server must have an interface configured for WCCP communication with WCCP clients. That interface sends
and receives encapsulated GRE traffic to and from WCCP clients. The server must also include a WCCP service
group that includes a service ID and the addresses of the WCCP clients as well as other WCCP configuration
options.
To use a FortiGate unit as a WCCP client, the FortiGate unit must be set to be a WCCP client (or cache engine).
You must also configure an interface on the client for WCCP communication. The client sends and receives
encapsulated GRE traffic to and from the WCCP server using this interface.
The client must also include a WCCP service group with a service ID that matches a service ID on the server. The
client service group also includes the IP address of the servers in the service group and specifies the port numbers
and protocol number of the sessions that will be cached on the client.
When the client receives sessions from the server on its WCCP interface, it either returns cached content over the
WCCP interface or connects to the destination web servers using the appropriate interface depending on the
client routing configuration. Content received from web servers is then cached by the client and returned to the
WCCP server over the WCCP link. The server then returns the received content to the initial requesting user web
browser.
Finally you may also need to configure routing on the server and client FortiGate units and additional security
policies may have to be added to the server to accept sessions not cached by WCCP.
WCCP service groups, service numbers, service IDs and well known services
A FortiGate unit configured as a WCCP server or client can include multiple server or client configurations. Each
of these configurations is called a WCCP service group. A service group consists of one or more WCCP servers
(or routers) and one or more WCCP clients working together to cache a specific type of traffic. The service group
configuration includes information about the type of traffic to be cached, the addresses of the WCCP clients and
servers and other information about the service.
A service group is identified with a numeric WCCP service ID (or service number) in the range 0 to 255. All of the
servers and clients in the same WCCP service group must have service group configurations with the same
WCCP service ID.
The value of the service ID provides some information about the type of traffic to be cached by the service group.
Service IDs in the range 0 to 50 are reserved for well known services. A well known service is any service that is
defined by the WCCP standard as being well known. Since the service is well known, just the service ID is
required to identify the traffic to be cached.
Even though the well known service ID range is 0 to 50, at this time only one well known service has been
defined. Its service ID 0, which is used for caching HTTP (web) traffic.
So to configure WCCP to cache HTTP sessions you can add a service group to the WCCP router and WCCP
clients with a service ID of 0. No other information about the type of traffic to cache needs to be added to the
service group.
Since service IDs 1 to 50 are reserved for well know services and since these services are not defined yet, you
should not add service groups with IDs in the range 1 to 50.
FortiOS does allow you to add service groups with IDs between 1 and 50. Since these
service groups have not been assigned well known services, however, they will not
cache any sessions. Service groups with IDs 51 to 255 allow you to set the port
numbers and protocol number of the traffic to be cached. So you can use service
groups with IDs 51 to 255 to cache different kinds of traffic based on port numbers and
protocol number of the traffic. Service groups 1 to 50; however, do not allow you to set
port numbers or protocol numbers so cannot be used to cache any traffic.
To cache traffic other than HTTP traffic you must add service groups with IDs in the range 51 to 255. These
service group configurations must include the port numbers and protocol number of the traffic to be cached. It is
the port and protocol number configuration in the service group that determines what traffic will be cached by
WCCP.
Example WCCP server and client configuration for caching HTTP sessions (service ID = 0)
Enter the following command to add a WCCP service group to a WCCP server that caches HTTP sessions. The
IP address of the server is 10.31.101.100 and the WCCP clients are on the 10.31.101.0 subnet. The service
You cannot enter the wccp-cache-engine enable command if you have already
added a WCCP service group. When you enter this command an interface named
w.<vdom_name> is added to the FortiGate configuration (for example w.root). All
traffic redirected from a WCCP router is considered to be received at this interface of
the FortiGate unit operating as a WCCP client. A default route to this interface with
lowest priority is added.
Example WCCP server and client configuration for caching HTTPS sessions
Enter the following command to add a service group to a WCCP server that caches HTTPS content on port 443
and protocol 6. The IP address of the server is 10.31.101.100 and the WCCP clients are on the 10.31.101.0
subnet. The service ID of this service group is 80.
config system settings
set wccp-cache-engine enable
end
Example WCCP server and client configuration for caching HTTP and HTTPS sessions
You could do this by configuring two WCCP service groups as described in the previous examples. Or you could
use the following commands to configure one service group for both types of traffic. The example also caches
HTTP sessions on port 8080.
Enter the following command to add a service group to a WCCP server that caches HTTP sessions on ports 80
and 8080 and HTTPS sessions on port 443. Both of these protocols use protocol number 6. The IP address of the
server is 10.31.101.100 and the WCCP clients are on the 10.31.101.0 subnet. The service ID of this service group
is 90.
config system wccp
edit 90
set router-id 10.31.101.100
set server-list 10.31.101.0 255.255.255.0
set ports 443 80 8080
set protocol 6
end
Enter the following commands to configure a FortiGate unit to operate as a WCCP client and add a service group
that configures client to cache HTTP sessions on port 80 and 8080 and HTTPS sessions on port 443. The IP
address of the server is 10.31.101.100 and IP address of this WCCP clients is 10.31.101.1 subnet. The service ID
of this service group must be 90 to match the service ID added to the server.
The server configuration must include the router-id, which is the WCCP server IP address. This is the IP
address of the interface that the server uses to communicate with WCCP clients.
The group-address is used for multicast WCCP configurations to specify the multicast addresses of the
clients.
The server-list defines the IP addresses of the WCCP clients that the server can connect to. Often the
server list can be the address of the subnet that contains the WCCP clients.
The authentication option enables or disables authentication for the WCCP service group. Authentication
must be enabled on all servers and clients in a service group and members of the group must have the same
password.
The forward-method option specifies the protocol used for communication between the server and clients.
The default forwarding method is GRE encapsulation. If required by your network you can also select to use
unencapsulated layer-2 packets instead of GRE or select any to allow both. The return-method allows you to
specify the communication method from the client to the server. Both GRE and layer-2 are supported.
The assignment-method determines how the server load balances sessions to the clients if there are multiple
clients. Load balancing can be done using hashing or masking.
The client configuration includes the cache-id which is the IP address of the FortiGate interface of the client
that communicates with WCCP server. The router-list option is the list of IP addresses of the WCCP
servers in the WCCP service group.
The ports option lists the port numbers of the sessions to be cached by the client and the protocol sets the
protocol number of the sessions to be cached. For TCP sessions the protocol is 6.
The service-type option can be auto, dynamic or standard. Usually you would not change this setting.
The client configuration also includes options to influence load balancing including the primary-hash,
priority, assignment-weight and assignment-bucket-format.
All HTTP traffic on port 80 that is received at the port2 interface of WCCP_srv is accepted by a port2 to port1
security policy with WCCP enabled. All other traffic received at the port2 interface is allowed to connect to the
Internet by adding a general port2 to port1 security policy below the HTTP on port 80 security policy.
A WCCP service group is added to WCCP_srv with a service ID of 0 for caching HTTP traffic on port 80. The port5
interface of WCCP_srv is configured for WCCP communication.
A second FortiGate unit with host name WCCP_client is operating as a WCCP client. The port1 interface of
WCCP_client is connected to port5 of WCCP_srv and is configured for WCCP communication.
WCCP_client is configured to cache HTTP traffic because it also has a WCCP service group with a service ID of
0.
WCCP_client connects to the Internet through WCCP_srv. To allow this, a port5 to port1 security policy is added
to WCCP_srv.
1. Add a port2 to port1 security policy that accepts HTTP traffic on port 80 and is configured for WCCP:
config firewall policy
edit 0
set srtintf port2
set dstintf port1
set srcaddr all
set dstaddr all
2. Add another port2 to port1 security policy to allow all other traffic to connect to the Internet.
config firewall policy
edit 0
set srtintf port2
set dstintf port1
set srcaddr all
set dstaddr all
set action accept
set schedule always
set service ANY
set nat enable
end
3. Move this policy below the WCCP policy in the port2 to port1 policy list.
4. Enable WCCP on the port5 interface.
config system interface
edit port5
set wccp enable
end
6. Add a firewall address and security policy to allow the WCCP_client to connect to the internet.
config firewall address
edit WCCP_client_addr
set subnet 10.51.101.10
end
config firewall policy
edit 0
set srtintf port5
set dstintf port1
set srcaddr WCCP_client_addr
set dstaddr all
set action accept
set schedule always
set service ANY
set nat enable
end
You cannot enter the wccp-cache-engine enable command if you have already
added a WCCP service group. When you enter this command an interface named
w.<vdom_name> is added to the FortiGate configuration (for example w.root). All
traffic redirected from a WCCP router is considered to be received at this interface of
the FortiGate unit operating as a WCCP client. A default route to this interface with
lowest priority is added.
Example caching HTTP sessions on port 80 and HTTPS sessions on port 443 using
WCCP
This example configuration is the same as that described in Example caching HTTP sessions on port 80 and
HTTPS sessions on port 443 using WCCP on page 1035 except that WCCP now also cached HTTPS traffic on
port 443. To cache HTTP and HTTPS traffic the WCCP service group must have a service ID in the range 51 to
255 and you must specify port 80 and 443 and protocol 6 in the service group configuration of the WCCP client.
Also the security policy on the WCCP_srv that accepts sessions from the internal network to be cached must
accept HTTP and HTTPS sessions.
1. Add a port2 to port1 security policy that accepts HTTP traffic on port 80 and HTTPS traffic on port 443 and is
configured for WCCP:
config firewall policy
edit 0
set srtintf port2
set dstintf port1
set srcaddr all
set dstaddr all
set action accept
set schedule always
set service HTTP HTTPS
set wccp enable
set nat enable
end
2. Add another port2 to port1 security policy to allow all other traffic to connect to the Internet.
config firewall policy
edit 0
set srtintf port2
set dstintf port1
set srcaddr all
set dstaddr all
set action accept
set schedule always
set service ANY
3. Move this policy below the WCCP policy in the port2 to port1 policy list.
4. Enable WCCP on the port5 interface.
config system interface
edit port5
set wccp enable
end
5. Add a WCCP service group with service ID 90 (can be any number between 51 and 255).
config system wccp
edit 90
set router-id 10.51.101.100
set server-list 10.51.101.0 255.255.255.0
end
6. Add a firewall address and security policy to allow the WCCP_client to connect to the internet.
config firewall address
edit WCCP_client_addr
set subnet 10.51.101.10
end
config firewall policy
edit 0
set srtintf port5
set dstintf port1
set srcaddr WCCP_client_addr
set dstaddr all
set action accept
set schedule always
set service ANY
set nat enable
end
You cannot enter the wccp-cache-engine enable command if you have already
added a WCCP service group. When you enter this command an interface named
w.<vdom_name> is added to the FortiGate configuration (for example w.root). All
traffic redirected from a WCCP router is considered to be received at this interface of
the FortiGate unit operating as a WCCP client. A default route to this interface with
lowest priority is added.
end
3. Add a WCCP service group with service ID 90. This service group also specifies to cache sessions on ports 80 and
443 (for HTTP and HTTPS) and protocol number 6.
config system wccp
edit 90
set cache-id 10.51.101.10
set router-list 10.51.101.100
ports 80 443
set protocol 6
end
The security policy can apply UTM features to traffic accepted by the policy.
3. The WCCP client receives the WCCP session.
4. The client either returns requested content to the WCCP server if it is already cached, or connects to the
destination web server, receives and caches the content and then returns it to the WCCP server.
5. The WCCP server returns the requested content to the user’s web browser.
6. The WCCP router returns the request to the client web browser.
The client we browser is not aware that all this is taking place and does not have to be configured to use a web
proxy.
l GRE forwarding (the default) encapsulates the intercepted packet in an IP GRE header with a source IP address of
the WCCP router and a destination IP address of the target WCCP cache engine. The results is a tunnel that allows
the WCCP router to be multiple hops away from the WCCP cache server.
l L2 forwarding rewrites the destination MAC address of the intercepted packet to match the MAC address of the
target WCCP cache engine. L2 forwarding requires that the WCCP router is Layer 2 adjacent to the WCCP client.
You can use the following command on a FortiGate unit configured as a WCCP router to change the forward and
return methods to L2:
config system wccp
edit 1
set forward-method L2
set return-method L2
end
You can also set the forward and return methods to any in order to match the cache server configuration.
By default the WCCP communication between the router and cache servers is unencrypted. If you are concerned
about attackers sniffing the information in the WCCP stream you can use the following command to enable hash-
based authentication of the WCCP traffic. You must enable authentication on the router and the cache engines
and all must have the same password.
config system wccp
edit 1
set authentication enable
set password <password>
end
WCCP Messages
When the WCCP service is active on a web cache server it periodically sends a WCCP HERE I AM broadcast or
unicast message to the FortiGate unit operating as a WCCP router. This message contains the following
information:
Troubleshooting WCCP
Two types of debug commands are available for debugging or troubleshooting a WCCP connection between a
FortiGate unit operating as a WCCP router and its WCCP cache engines.
Application debugging
The following commands display information about WCCP operations:
get test wccpd <integer>
diag test application wccpd <integer>
Where <integer> is a value between 1 and 6:
These are concepts that apply to both Transparent and Explicit Proxy.
Proxy Policy
Information on Proxy policy options can be found at Proxy Option Components on page 811
Proxy Authentication
Beginning in FortiOS 5.6, authentication is separated from authorization for user based policy. You can add
authentication to proxy policies to control access to the policy and to identify users and apply different UTM
features to different users. The described authenication methodology works with Explicit Web Proxy and
Transparent Proxy.
Authentication of web proxy sessions uses HTTP basic and digest authentication as described in RFC 2617
(HTTP Authentication: Basic and Digest Access Authentication) and prompts the user for credentials from the
browser allowing individual users to be identified by their web browser instead of IP address. HTTP authentication
allows the FortiGate unit to distinguish between multiple users accessing services from a shared IP address.
The methodology of adding authentication has changed from FortiOS version 5.4 and previous version. Split-
policy has been obsoleted and instead of identity-based-policy, authentication is managed by
authentication scheme, setting and rule settings. These authentication settings are no longer
configured with the individual policies. Authentication is set up in the contexts of:
config authentication scheme
config authentication setting
config authentication rule
The Authentication rule table defines how to identify user-ID. It uses the match factors:
l Protocol
l Source Address
For one address and protocol, there is only one authentication rule. It is possible to configure multiple
authentication methods for on one address. The client browser will chose one authentication method from the
authentication methods list, but you can not control which authentication method will be chosen by the browser.
Matching
If a rule is matched, the authentication methods defined in the rule will be used to authenticate a user. The
procedure works as the following:
1. If it is IP-based, look up active user list to see a user existed from the source IP. If found, return the user ID.
2. If no method is set, an anonymous user is created to associate to the source-IP. Return the anonymous user. It is
another way to bypass user authentication for some source IPs.
3. Use authentication methods to authenticate the user.
l If no active method is defined, a failure will result to return an anonymous user.
l Otherwise, a valid or guest user has to be identified to move on.
l Return the identified user ID.
Once a user is returned, the policy match resumes until a policy is matched or default policy will be used.
Step 1
If the traffic, based on protocol and source address matchespolicy 1, no user authentication is needed. The
traffic is processed by policy1.
Step 2
If the traffic does not match policy 1, and any factor of policy 2 is not matched, continue to next policy.
If all the factors except the user-group of policy 2 are matched the authentication rule table is checked to get
user-ID in the process in based on the procedure described earlier in Matching.
Step 3
When a user-ID is returned, whether it is a valid user or anonymous user, it is checked to see if the user is
authorized by the user group associated with policy2. If yes, it is a match of policy2, and the traffic is
processed by policy2. If not move on the next policy.
Step 4
For the purposes of the scenario, it will be assumed that the traffic either matches policy3 or that policy3 is
the final policy that denies everything.
CLI Syntax
Removals:
l identity-based
l ip-based
l active-auth-method
l sso-auth-method
l require-tfa
Moves:
end
Additions:
authentication scheme
config authentication scheme
edit <name>
set method [ntlm|basic|digest|form|negotiate|fsso|rsso|none]
authentication setting
config authentication setting
set active-auth-scheme <string>
set sso-auth-scheme <string>
set captive-portal <string>
set captive-portal-port <integer value from 1 to 65535>
authentication rule
config authentication rule
edit <name of rule>
set status [enable|disable]
set protocol [http|ftp|socks]
set srcaddr <name of address object>
set srcaddr6 <name of address object>
set ip-based [enable|disable]
set active-auth-method <string>
set sso-auth-method <string>
set web-auth-cookie [enable|disable]
set transaction-based [enable|disable]
set comments
5. Configure the proxy-policy, and set the value transparent-web for proxy option, others configuration are same as
the explicit-web proxy
In the GUI, go to Policy & Objects > Proxy Policy. In the Proxy Type field choose Transparent
Web .
In the CLI, the command sequence is:
config firewall proxy-policy
edit <profile id>
set proxy transparent-web
end
Fill out any other appropriate values.
Proxy Addresses
Information on Proxy addresses can be found at Proxy Addresses on page 927
Web proxy services are similar to standard firewall services. You can configure web proxy services to define one
or more protocols and port numbers that are associated with each web proxy service. Web proxy services can also
be grouped into web proxy service groups.
One way in which web proxy services differ from firewall services is the protocol type you can select. The following
protocol types are available:
l ALL
l CONNECT
l FTP
l HTTP
l SOCKS-TCP
l SOCKS-UDP
To add a web proxy service go to Policy & Objects > Servicesand select Create New. Set Service Type to
Explicit Proxy and configure the service as required.
To add a web proxy service from the CLI enter:
config firewall service custom
edit my-socks-service
set explicit-proxy enable
set category Web Proxy
set protocol SOCKS-TCP
set tcp-portrange 3450-3490
end
To add a web proxy service group go to Policy & Objects > Servicesand select Create New > Service
Group. Set Type to Explicit Proxy and add web proxy services to the group as required.
To add a web proxy service group from the CLI enter:
config firewall service group
edit web-group
set explicit-proxy enable
set member webproxy my-socks-service
end
Learn client IP
If there is another NATing device between the FortiGate and the Client (browser), this feature can be used to
identify the real client in spite of the address translation. Knowing the actual client is imperative in cases where
authorization is taking place.
The settings for the feature are in the CLI in the context of
config web-proxy global
learn-client-ip-srcaddr/learn-client-ip-srcaddr6
The options for this setting are selected from the list of IPv4 address or IPv6 address objects.
Example
Below is a config example where the real client ip address will be used to match policy or fsso authentication after
the learn-client-ip feature enabled.
1. Go to Network > Explicit Proxy and enable Explicit Web Proxy. From here you can optionally change the
HTTP port that the proxy listens on (the default is 8080) and optionally specify different ports for HTTPS, FTP,
PAC, and other options.
2. Optionally enable IPv6 Explicit Proxy to turn on the explicit web proxy for IPv6 traffic.
If you enable both the IPv4 and the IPv6 explicit web proxy you can combine IPv4 and
IPv6 addresses in a single explicit web proxy policy to allow both IPv4 and IPv6 traffic
through the proxy.
3. Select Apply.
4. Go to Network > Interfaces and select one or more interfaces for which to enable the explicit web proxy. Edit the
interface. Under the Miscellaneous heading select Enable Explicit Web Proxy.
Enabling the explicit web proxy on an interface connected to the Internet is a security
risk because anyone on the Internet who finds the proxy could use it to hide their
source address. If you enable the proxy on such an interface make sure authentication
is required to use the proxy.
5. Go to Policy & Objects > Addresses and select Create New to add a firewall address that matches the source
address of packets to be accepted by the explicit proxy.
Category Address
Name Internal_subnet
Type IP Range
Interface any*
You can also set the Type to URL Pattern (Explicit Proxy) to add a destination URL that is only
used by the explicit proxy. For example, to create an explicit policy that only allows access to
Fortinet.com:
Category Address
Name Fortinet-web-sites
Interface any
6. Go to Policy & Objects > Proxy Policyand select Create New. Configure the policy as required to accept the
traffic that you want to be allowed to use the explicit web proxy.
7. Set the Outgoing Interface parameter by selecting the field with the "+" next to the field label. Selecting the field
will slide out a window from the right where you can select from the available interfaces. You can select one or
more specific interfaces For more information on interfaces, check the Concepts section called Interfaces and
Zones.
8. The Source of the policy must match the client’s source IP addresses. The interface of this firewall address must
be set to any.
9. The Destination field should match the addresses of web sites that clients are connecting to. Usually the
destination address would be all if proxying Internet web browsing. You could also specify a URL firewall address
to limit the policy to allowing access to this URL.
10. Set the Schedule parameter by using the drop down menu to select a preconfigured schedule. The "+" icon next
to the Search field is a shortcut for creating a new schedule object. For more information on addresses, check the
Firewall Objects section called Firewall schedules
11. If Default Firewall Policy Action is set to Deny (under Network > Explicit Proxy), traffic sent to the explicit
web proxy that is not accepted by a web-proxy policy is dropped. If Default Firewall Policy Action is set to
Allow then all web-proxy sessions that don’t match with a security policy are allowed.
For example, the following security policy allows users on an internal network to access fortinet.com websites
through the wan1 interface of a FortiGate unit.
Schedule always
Action ACCEPT
The explicit web-proxy accepts VIP addresses for destination addresses. If an external
IP matches a VIP policy, the IP is changed to the mapped-IP of the VIP.
By Domain The disclaimer will be displayed on different domains. The explicit web
proxy will check the referring header to mitigate the
javascript/css/images/video/etc page.
By Policy The disclaimer will be displayed if the HTTP request matches a different
explicit firewall policy.
By User The disclaimer will be displayed when a new user logs on.
If you chose a disclaimer option other than Disable, you will have the option to enable Customize
Messages. If enabled, select the Edit Disclaimer Message button to customize the message to your
needs. This can be done as text or as HTML. The default HTML version is there if you just want to make minor
changes.
13. Enable Security Profiles as required. Once the profile type is toggled to enabled, you can use the drop down
menu to select a specific profile. The available profile types are:
l AntiVirus
l WebFilter
l Application Control
l IPS
l DLP Sensor
l ICAP
l Web Application Firewall
Just like with a regular policy, as soon as any of the Security Profiles is enabled, the following fields,
with their own drop down menus for specific profiles will appear:
l Proxy Options
l SSL/SSH Inspection
14. Select OK.
1. Enter the following command to turn on the IPv4 and IPv6 explicit web proxy for HTTP and HTTPS traffic.
config web-proxy explicit
set status enable
set ipv6-status enable
end
You can also enter the following command to enable the web proxy for FTP sessions in a web
browser.
config web-proxy explicit
set ftp-over-http enable
end
The default explicit web proxy configuration has sec-default-action set to deny and requires
you to add a security policy to allow access to the explicit web proxy.
2. Enter the following command to enable the explicit web proxy for the internal interface.
config system interface
edit internal
set explicit-web-proxy enable
end
end
3. Use the following command to add a firewall address that matches the source address of users who connect to the
explicit web proxy.
config firewall address
edit Internal_subnet
set type iprange
set start-ip 10.31.101.1
set end-ip 10.31.101.255
end
The source address for a web-proxy security policy cannot be assigned to a FortiGate interface.
4. Optionally use the following command to add a destination URL that is only used by the explicit proxy. For
example, to create an explicit policy that only allows access to Fortinet.com:
config firewall address
edit Fortinet-web-sites
set type url
set url fortinet.com
end
5. Use the following command to add an explicit web proxy policy that allows all users on the internal subnet to use
the explicit web proxy for connections through the wan1 interface to the Internet.
config firewall proxy-policy
edit 0
set proxy explicit-web
set dstintf wan1
set scraddr Internal_subnet
set dstaddr all
set action accept
set service webproxy
set schedule always
end
6. Use the following command to add an explicit web proxy policy that allows authenticated users on the internal
subnet to use the explicit web proxy for connections through the wan1 interface to the Internet.
config firewall proxy-policy
edit 0
set proxy explicit-web
set dstintf wan1
set scraddr Internal_subnet
set dstaddr Fortinet-web-sites
set action accept
set service webproxy
set schedule always
set groups <User group>
end
end
7. Use the following command to change global web proxy settings, for example to set the maximum request length
for the explicit web proxy to 10:
config web-proxy global
set max-request-length 10
end
Where:
Then create two proxy policies, one that allows access to all traffic and a second one that blocks access to the
page that matches the referrer header:
config firewall proxy-policy
edit 1
set uuid 92273e4e-8c53-51e7-a7bd-f26e6e15fc98
set proxy explicit-web
set dstintf "wan2"
set srcaddr "all"
set dstaddr "all"
set service "webproxy-connect"
set action accept
set schedule "always"
set utm-status enable
set profile-protocol-options "test"
set ssl-ssh-profile "test"
next
edit 2
set uuid d35ad06a-8c53-51e7-8511-17200f682a4a
set proxy explicit-web
set dstintf "wan2"
set srcaddr "all"
set dstaddr "test321"
set service "webproxy"
set action accept
set schedule "always"
set utm-status enable
set av-profile "default"
set profile-protocol-options "test"
set ssl-ssh-profile "test"
end
edit "query-string"
set uuid 7687a8c0-9727-51e7-5063-05edda03abbf
set host "youtube"
set path "/watch"
set query "v=XXXXXXXXX"
end
Then create two proxy policies, one that allows access to all traffic and a second one that blocks access to the
page that matches the query string
config firewall proxy-policy
edit 1
set uuid 92273e4e-8c53-51e7-a7bd-f26e6e15fc98
set proxy explicit-web
set dstintf "wan2"
set srcaddr "all"
set dstaddr "all"
set service "webproxy-connect"
set action accept
set schedule "always"
set utm-status enable
set profile-protocol-options "test"
set ssl-ssh-profile "test"
next
edit 2
set uuid d35ad06a-8c53-51e7-8511-17200f682a4a
set proxy explicit-web
set dstintf "wan2"
set srcaddr "all"
set dstaddr "query-string"
set service "webproxy"
set action accept
set schedule "always"
set utm-status enable
set av-profile "default"
set profile-protocol-options "test"
set ssl-ssh-profile "test"
next
end
The following is information that is specific to Explicit Proxy concepts. Any information that is common to Web
Proxy in general is covered in the more inclusive section of Web Proxy Concepts on page 1040
The explicit web and FTP proxies can be operating at the same time on the same or on different FortiGate
interfaces.
If explicit web proxy options are not visible on the web-based manager, go to System
> Feature Visibility and turn on Explicit Proxy.
In most cases you would configure the explicit web proxy for users on a network by enabling the explicit web proxy
on the FortiGate interface connected to that network. Users on the network would configure their web browsers to
use a proxy server for HTTP and HTTPS, FTP, or SOCKS and set the proxy server IP address to the IP address of
the FortiGate interface connected to their network. Users could also enter the PAC URL into their web browser
PAC configuration to automate their web proxy configuration using a PAC file stored on the FortiGate unit.
Enabling the explicit web proxy on an interface connected to the Internet is a security
risk because anyone on the Internet who finds the proxy could use it to hide their
source address.
If the FortiGate unit is operating in Transparent mode, users would configure their browsers to use a proxy server
with the FortiGate management IP address.
If the FortiGate unit is operating with multiple VDOMs the explicit web proxy is configured for each VDOM.
The web proxy receives web browser sessions to be proxied at FortiGate interfaces with the explicit web proxy
enabled. The web proxy uses FortiGate routing to route sessions through the FortiGate unit to a destination
interface. Before a session leaves the exiting interface, the explicit web proxy changes the source addresses of
the session packets to the IP address of the exiting interface. When the FortiGate unit is operating in Transparent
mode the explicit web proxy changes the source addresses to the management IP address. You can configure the
explicit web proxy to keep the original client IP address. See The FortiGate explicit web proxy on page 1053.
For more information about explicit web proxy sessions, see The FortiGate explicit web proxy on page 1053.
To allow all explicit web proxy traffic to pass through the FortiGate unit you can set the explicit web proxy default
firewall policy action to accept. However, in most cases you would want to use security policies to control explicit
web proxy traffic and apply security features such as access control/authentication, virus scanning, web filtering,
application control, and traffic logging. You can do this by keeping the default explicit web proxy security policy
action to deny and then adding web-proxy security policies.
You can also change the explicit web proxy default security policy action to accept and add explicit web proxy
security policies. If you do this, sessions that match web-proxy security policies are processed according to the
security policy settings. Connections to the explicit web proxy that do not match a web-proxy security policy are
allowed with no restrictions or additional security processing. This configuration is not recommended and is not a
best practice.
The explicit web-proxy can accept VIP addresses for destination address. If an external IP matches a VIP policy,
the IP is changed to the mapped-IP of the VIP.
Web-proxy policies can selectively accept or deny traffic, apply authentication, enable traffic logging, and use
security profiles to apply virus scanning, web filtering, IPS, application control, DLP, and SSL/SSH inspection to
explicit web proxy traffic.
You cannot configure IPsec, SSL VPN, or Traffic shaping for explicit web proxy traffic. Web Proxy policies can
only include firewall addresses not assigned to a FortiGate unit interface or with interface set to Any. (On the
web-based manager you must set the interface to Any. In the CLI you must unset the associated-
interface.)
Authentication of explicit web proxy sessions uses HTTP authentication and can be based on the user’s source IP
address or on cookies from the user’s web browser. For more information, see The FortiGate explicit web proxy
on page 1053.
To use the explicit web proxy, users must add the IP address of a FortiGate interface on which the explicit web
proxy is enabled and the explicit web proxy port number (default 8080) to the proxy configuration settings of their
web browsers.
On FortiGate units that support it, you can also enable web caching for explicit web proxy sessions.
For the time being, traffic shaping is not supported per policy for explicit proxy. For
explicit proxy traffic, traffic shaping can be carried out per interface.
Support exists for the use of multiple ports and port range in the explicit FTP or Web proxies.These changes have
been added in both CLI and GUI.
CLI:
set http-incoming-port <port_low>[-<port_high>]
Where:
Proxy FQDN
Enter the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) for the proxy server. This is the domain name to enter into
browsers to access the proxy server.
Define the IP ranges using a hyphen (-). As shown below, port_high is not necessary to specify if port_low is
equal to port_high.
CLI syntax
Internet services
FortiOS can use the Internet Service Database (introduced in 5.4.1) as a web-proxy policy matching factor. This
can only be done in the CLI.
CLI syntax:
IP Pools
IP Pools can be used with web proxy. When using this option of setting the IP pool name, the outgoing IP will be
selected.
CLI syntax
A FortiGate unit can forward sessions to most web proxy servers including a remote FortiGate unit with the
explicit web proxy enabled. No special configuration of the explicit web proxy on the remote FortiGate unit is
required.
You can deploy the explicit web proxy with proxy chaining in an enterprise environment consisting of small
satellite offices and a main office. If each office has a FortiGate unit, users at each of the satellite offices can use
their local FortiGate unit as an explicit web proxy server. The satellite office FortiGate units can forward explicit
web proxy sessions to an explicit web proxy server at the central office. From here the sessions can connect to
web servers on the Internet.
FortiGate proxy chaining does not support authenticating with the remote forwarding server.
Proxy Address Select the type of IP address of the forwarding server. A forwarding server can have an
Type FQDN or IP address.
Enter the port number on which the proxy receives connections. Traffic leaving the
Port FortiGate explicit web proxy for this server has its destination port number changed to
this number.
Server Down Select what action the explicit web proxy to take if the forwarding server is down.
action
Block means if the remote server is down block traffic.
Use Original Server means do not forward traffic to the forwarding sever but instead
forward it from the FortiGate to its destination. In other words operate as if there is no
forwarding server configured.
Enable Health
Monitor
Select to enable health check monitoring and enter the address of a remote site. See
“Web proxy forwarding server monitoring and health checking”.
Health Check
Monitor Site
Use the following CLI command to add a web proxy forwarding server named fwd-srv at address
proxy.example.com and port 8080.
config web-proxy forward-server
edit fwd-srv
set addr-type fqdn
set fqdn proxy.example.com
set port 8080
end
You can configure health checking for each remote server and specify a different website to check for each one.
If the remote server is found to be down you can configure the FortiGate unit to block sessions until the server
comes back up or to allow sessions to connect to their destination, bypassing the remote forwarding server. You
cannot configure the FortiGate unit to fail over to another remote forwarding server.
Configure the server down action and enable health monitoring from the web-based manager by going to
Network > Explicit Proxy, selecting a forwarding server, and changing the server down action and changing
the health monitor settings.
Use the following CLI command to enable health checking for a web proxy forwarding server and set the server
down option to bypass the forwarding server if it is down.
config web-proxy forward-server
edit fwd-srv
set healthcheck enable
set monitor http://example.com
set server-down-option pass
end
When you create a forwarding server group you can select a load balancing method to control how sessions are
load balanced to the forwarding servers in the server group. Two load balancing methods are available:
l Weighted load balancing sends more sessions to the servers with higher weights. You can configure the weight for
each server when you add it to the group.
l Least-session load balancing sends new sessions to the forwarding server that is processing the fewest sessions.
When you create a forwarding server group you can also enable affinity. Enable affinity to have requests from the
same client processed by the same server. This can reduce delays caused by using multiple servers for a single
multi-step client operation. Affinity takes precedence over load balancing.
You can also configure the behavior of the group if all of the servers in the group are down. You can select to
block traffic or you can select to have the traffic pass through the FortiGate explicit proxy directly to its
destination instead of being sent to one of the forwarding servers.
Use the following command to add a forwarding server group that users weighted load balancing to load balance
traffic to three forwarding servers. Server weights are configured to send most traffic to server2. The group has
affinity enabled and blocks traffic if all of the forward servers are down:
config web-proxy forward-server
edit server_1
set ip 172.20.120.12
set port 8080
next
edit server_2
set ip 172.20.120.13
set port 8000
next
edit server_3
set ip 172.20.120.14
set port 8090
next
end
config web-proxy forward-server-group
edit New-fwd-group
set affinity enable
set ldb-method weight
set group-down-option block
config server-list
edit server_1
set weight 10
next
edit server_2
set weight 40
next
edit server_3
set weight 10
next
end
Schedule always
Action ACCEPT
1. Use the following command to add a security policy that allows all users on the 10.31.101.0 subnet to use the
explicit web proxy for connections through the wan1 interface to the Internet. The policy forwards web proxy
sessions to a remote forwarding server named fwd-srv
config firewall proxy-policy
edit 0
set proxy explicit-web
set dstintf wan1
set scraddr Internal_subnet
set dstaddr all
set action accept
set schedule always
set webproxy-forward-server fwd-srv
end
Security profiles, threat weight, device identification, and the explicit web proxy
You can apply all security profiles to explicit web proxy sessions. This includes antivirus, web filtering, intrusion
protection (IPS), application control, data leak prevention (DLP), and SSL/SSH inspection. Security profiles are
applied by selecting them in an explicit web proxy policy or in authentication rules added to web proxy policies.
Traffic accepted by explicit web proxy policies contributes to threat weight data.
Since the traffic accepted by the explicit web proxy is known to be either HTTP, HTTPS, or FTP over HTTP and
since the ports are already known by the proxy, the explicit web proxy does not use all of the SSL/SSH inspection
options. The explicit web proxy does support the following proxy options:
l Client comforting
l Server comforting
l Monitor content information from dashboard. URLs visited by explicit web proxy users are not added to dashboard
usage and log and archive statistics widgets.
For explicit web proxy sessions, the FortiGate unit applies antivirus scanning to HTTP POST requests and HTTP
responses. The FortiGate unit starts virus scanning a file in an HTTP session when it receives a file in the body of
an HTML request. The explicit web proxy can receive HTTP responses from either the originating web server or
the FortiGate web cache module.
This section describes proxy sessions and user limits for both the explicit web proxy and the explicit FTP proxy.
Session and user limits for the two proxies are counted and calculated together. However, in most cases if both
proxies are active there will be many more web proxy sessions than FTP proxy sessions.
The FortiGate unit adds two sessions to its session table for every explicit proxy session started by a web browser
and every FTP session started by an FTP client. An entry is added to the session table for the session from the
web browser or client to the explicit proxy. All of these sessions have the same destination port as the explicit web
proxy port (usually 8080 for HTTP and 21 for FTP). An entry is also added to the session table for the session
between the exiting FortiGate interface and the web or FTP server destination of the session. All of these
sessions have a FortiGate interface IP address and the source address of the session and usually have a
destination port of 80 for HTTP and 21 for FTP.
Proxy sessions that appear in FortiView do not include the Policy ID of the web-proxy or ftp-proxy security policy
that accepted them. However, the explicit proxy sessions include a destination port that matches the explicit
proxy port number (usually 8080 for the web proxy and 21 for the FTP proxy). The proxied sessions from the
FortiGate unit have their source address set to the IP address of the FortiGate unit interface that the sessions use
to connect to their destinations (for example, for connections to the Internet the source address would be the IP
address of the FortiGate interface connected to the Internet).
FortiOS limits the number of explicit proxy users. This includes both explicit FTP proxy and explicit web proxy
users. The number of users varies by FortiGate model from as low as 10 to up to 18000 for high end models. You
cannot raise this limit.
If your FortiGate unit is configured for multiple VDOMs you can go to System > Global Resourcesto view the
maximum number of Concurrent explicit proxy users and optionally reduce the limit. You can also use the
following command:
config global
config system resource-limits
set proxy 50
end
end
To limit the number of explicit proxy users for a VDOM, from the web-based manager enable multiple VDOMs
and go to System > VDOM and edit a VDOM or use the following command to change the number of explicit
web proxy users for VDOM_1:
config global
config system vdom-property
edit VDOM_1
set proxy 25
end
end
You can use the diagnose wad user list command to view the number of explicit web proxy users. Users
may be displayed with this command even if they are no longer actively using the proxy. All idle sessions time out
after 3600 seconds.
You can use the command diagnose wad user clear to clear current explicit proxy users. You can also
use the command diagnose wad user clear <user-name> to clear individual users. This means delete
information about all users and force them re-authenticate.
Users that authenticate with explicit web-proxy or ftp-proxy security policies do not
appear in the Monitor > Firewall User Monitor list and selecting De-authenticate
All Users has no effect on explicit proxy users.
How the number of concurrent explicit proxy users is determined depends on their authentication method:
l For session-based authenticated users, each authenticated user is counted as a single user. Since multiple users
can have the same user name, the proxy attempts to identify users according to their authentication membership
(based upon whether they were authenticated using RADIUS, LADAP, FSAE, local database etc.). If a user of one
session has the same name and membership as a user of another session, the explicit proxy assumes this is one
user.
l For IP Based authentication, or no authentication, or if no web-proxy security policy has been added, the source IP
address is used to determine a user. All sessions from a single source address are assumed to be from the same
user.
The explicit proxy does not limit the number of active sessions for each user. As a result the actual explicit proxy
session count is usually much higher than the number of explicit web proxy users. If an excessive number of
explicit web proxy sessions is compromising system performance you can limit the amount of users if the
FortiGate unit is operating with multiple VDOMs.
The following is information that is specific to Explicit Proxy configuration. Any configuration information that is
common to Web Proxy in general is covered in the more inclusive section of Web Proxy Configuration on page
1047.
For example, to require uses to connect to the IP address 10.31.101.100 to connect to the explicit web proxy:
config web-proxy explicit
set incoming-ip 10.31.101.100
end
Restricting the outgoing source IP address of the IPv4 explicit web proxy
You can use the following command to restrict the source address of outgoing web proxy packets to a single IP
address. The IP address that you specify must be the IP address of an interface that the explicit web proxy is
enabled on. You might want to use this option if the explicit web proxy is enabled on an interface with multiple IP
addresses.
For example, to require uses to connect to the IPv6 address 2001:db8:0:2::30 to connect to the explicit IPv6 web
proxy:
config web-proxy explicit
set incoming-ipv6 2001:db8:0:2::30
end
Restricting the outgoing source IP address of the IPv6 explicit web proxy
You can use the following command to restrict the source address of outgoing web proxy packets to a single IPv6
address. The IP address that you specify must be the IPv6 address of an interface that the explicit web proxy is
enabled on. You might want to use this option if the explicit web proxy is enabled on an interface with multiple
IPv6 addresses.
To configure PAC for explicit web proxy users, you can use the port that PAC traffic from client web browsers use
to connect to the explicit web proxy. explicit web proxy users must configure their web browser’s PAC proxy
settings to use the PAC port.
The maximum PAC file size is 256 kbytes. If your FortiGate unit is operating with multiple VDOMs each VDOM
has its own PAC file. The total amount of FortiGate memory available to store all of these PAC files 2 MBytes. If
this limit is reached you will not be able to load any additional PAC files.
You can use any PAC file syntax that is supported by your users’s browsers. The FortiGate unit does not parse the
PAC file.
To use PAC, users must add an automatic proxy configuration URL (or PAC URL) to their web browser proxy
configuration. The default FortiGate PAC file URL is:
http://<interface_ip>:<PAC_port_int>/<pac_file_str>
For example, if the interface with the explicit web proxy has IP address 172.20.120.122, the PAC port is the same
as the default HTTP explicit web proxy port (8080) and the PAC file name is proxy.pac the PAC file URL would be:
http://172.20.120.122:8080/proxy.pac
From the CLI you can use the following command to display the PAC file URLs:
get web-proxy explicit
Authentication realm
You can enter an authentication realm to identify the explicit web proxy. The realm can be any text string of up to
63 characters. If the realm includes spaces enclose it in quotes. When a user authenticates with the explicit web
proxy the HTTP authentication dialog includes the realm so you can use the realm to identify the explicitly web
proxy for your users.
CLI Syntax:
config firewall proxy-policy
edit <policy_id>
set scan-botnet-connections [disable|block|monitor]
end
where:
You can also configure a disclaimer for each Authentication Rule by setting Action to Authenticate.
Disclaimer explanations
l client-ip
l via header for forwarded requests
l via header for forwarded responses
l x-forwarded-for
l front-end-https
For each of these headers you can set the action to:
This configuration hides the IP addresses of clients and allows packets to return to the FortiGate unit interface
without having to route packets from clients. You can use the following command to configure the explicit web
proxy to keep the original client’s source IP address:
config firewall proxy-policy
edit 0
set proxy explicit-web
set transparent enable
end
Example users on an internal network browsing the Internet through the explicit web proxy
with web caching, RADIUS authentication, web filtering, and virus scanning
This example describes how to configure the explicit web proxy for the example network shown below. In this
example, users on the internal network connect to the explicit web proxy through the Internal interface of the
FortiGate unit. The explicit web proxy is configured to use port 8888 so users must configure their web browser
proxy settings to use port 8888 and IP address 10.31.101.100.
Explicit web proxy users must authenticate with a RADIUS server before getting access to the proxy. The explicit
proxy policy that accepts explicit web proxy traffic applies per session authentication and includes a RADIUS
server user group. The authentication rule also applies web filtering and virus scanning.
1. Enable the explicit web proxy for HTTP and HTTPS and change the HTTP and HTTPS ports to 8888.
2. Enable the explicit web proxy on the internal interface.
3. Add a RADIUS server and user group for the explicit web proxy.
4. Add an authentication explicit proxy policy. Enable web caching. Add an authentication rule and enable antivirus
and web filtering.
Listen on Interfaces No change. This field will eventually show that the explicit web proxy is
enabled for the Internal interface.
HTTPS Port 0
3. Select Apply.
1. Go to Network > Interfaces.
2. Edit the internal interface.
3. Select Enable Explicit Web Proxy.
4. Select OK.
To add a RADIUS server and user group for the explicit web proxy
1. Go to User & Device > RADIUS Servers and select Create New to add a new RADIUS server:
Name RADIUS_1
2. Select OK.
3. Go to User & Device > User Groups and select Create New to add a new user group.
Name Explict_proxy_user_group
Type Firewall
4. Select OK.
Category Address
Name Internal_subnet
Interface Any
Action AUTHENTICATE
5. Under Configure Authentication Rules select Create New to add an authentication rule:
Groups Explicit_policy
Schedule always
6. Turn on Antivirus and Web Filter and select the default profiles for both.
7. Select the default proxy options profile.
8. Select OK.
9. Make sure Enable IP Based Authentication is not selected.
10. Turn on Web Cache.
11. Select OK.
1. Enter the following command to enable the explicit web proxy on the internal interface.
config system interface
edit internal
set explicit-web-proxy enable
end
1. Enter the following command to enable the explicit web proxy and set the TCP port that proxy accepts HTTP and
HTTPS connections on to 8888.
config web-proxy explicit
set status enable
To add a RADIUS server and user group for the explicit web proxy
2. Enter the following command to add a user group for the RADIUS server.
config user group
edit Explicit_proxy_user_group
set group-type firewall
set member RADIUS_1
end
1. Enter the following command to add a firewall address for the internal subnet:
config firewall address
edit Internal_subnet
set type iprange
set start-ip 10.31.101.1
set end-ip 10.31.101.255
end
2. Enter the following command to add the explicit web proxy security policy:
config firewall proxy-policy
edit 0
set proxy explicit-web
set dstintf wan1
set srcaddr Internal_subnet
set dstaddr all
set action accept
set service webproxy
set webcache enable
set identity-based enable
set ipbased disable
set active-auth-method basic
set groups <User group>
end
1. Configure a web browser on the internal subnet to use a web proxy server at IP address 10.31.101.100 and port
8888.
2. Browse to an Internet web page.
The web browser should pop up an authentication window that includes the phrase that you added to the Realm
option.
3. Enter the username and password for an account on the RADIUS server.
If the account is valid you should be allowed to browse web pages on the Internet.
4. Close the browser and clear its cache and cookies.
5. Restart the browser and connect to the Internet.
You could also start a second web browser on the same PC. Or you could start a new instance of the same
browser as long as the browser asks for a user name and password again.
You should have to authenticate again because identity-based policies are set to session-based authentication.
6. If this basic functionality does not work, check your FortiGate and web browser configuration settings.
7. Browse to a URL on the URL filter list and confirm that the web page is blocked.
8. Browse to http://eicar.org and attempt to download an anti-malware test file.
The antivirus configuration should block the file.
Sessions for web-proxy security policies do not appear on the Top Sessions dashboard widget and the count
column for security policies does not display a count for explicit web proxy security policies.
9. You can use the following command to display explicit web proxy sessions
get test wad 60
IP based users:
CLI syntax
config firewall proxy-policy
edit 0
set active-auth-method [ntlm|basic|digest|negotiate|none]
end
CLI commands (config authentication rule, scheme, and setting) allow explicit proxy rules and
schemes to be created to separate user authentication (e.g. authentication rules and schemes used to match
conditions in order to identify users) from user authorization (proxy-based policies with users and/or user groups).
Note: As shown above, HTTP, FTP, and SOCKSv5 authentication protocols are supported for explicit proxy.
Authentication rules are used to receive user-identity, based on the values set for protocol and source address.
Having said this, if a rule fails to match based on source address, there will be no other attempt to match the rule,
however the next policy will be attempted. This occurs only when:
l there is an authentication rule, but no authentication method has been set (under config authentication
scheme; see below), so user identity cannot be found.
l the user is successfully matched in the rule, but fails to match the current policy.
Once a rule is positively matched through protocol and/or source address, it must also match the authentication
method specified (active-auth-method and sso-auth-method). These methods point to schemes, as
defined under config authentication scheme.
Combining authentication rules and schemes, granular control can be exerted over users and IPs, creating an
efficient process for users to successfully match a criteria before matching the policy.
A CLI command, under config firewall profile-protocol-options, allows HTTP policy checking
to be enable or disabled. When enabled, transparent traffic can be matched in a firewall policy and policy user
authentication can occur. In addition, separate SSL inspection policies can be created:
config firewall profile-protocol-options
edit <name>
set http-policy {enable|disable}
end
CLI commands, under config firewall proxy-policy, implement the Internet Service Database (ISDB)
as the webproxy matching factor, and override IP pool is also support:
config firewall proxy-policy
edit <name>
set proxy {explicit-web|transparent-web|ftp|wanopt}
set dstintf <dst-name>
set poolname <ip-pool-name>
end
Multiple port/port range support for explicit web and explicit FTP proxy
Multiple port numbers and/or ranges can be set for explicit proxy, specifically for HTTP/HTTPS and FTP. Go to
Network > Explicit Proxy and configure settings under Explicit Web Proxy and Explicit FTP Proxy, or
under config web-proxy explicit in the CLI Console.
1. General configuration
Add the FortiGate FQDN in to the Windows DNS domain, as well as in-addr.arpa
For Lab/Testing add the FortiGate Domain name and IP mapping in the hosts file
(windows/system32/drivers/etc/hosts). e.g., TESTFGT.TEST.COM 10.10.1.10
Use the ktpass command (found on Windows Servers and many domain workstations) to generate the Kerberos
keytab.
Example:
ktpass -princ HTTP/<domain name of test fgt>@realm -mapuser testfgt -pass <password> -
crypto all -ptype KRB5_NT_PRINCIPAL -out fgt.keytab
The ktpass on older Windows servers (i.e. 2003) may not support the “all” crypto
option.
Example:
ktpass -princ HTTP/testfgt.test.com@TEST.COM -mapuser testfgt -pass 12345678 -crypto all -
ptype KRB5_NT_PRINCIPAL -out fgt.keytab
The realm name is always presented in uppercase, and prefixed with the “@”
character.
Use the base64 command (available in most Linux distros) command to encode the fgt.keytab file. Any LF (Line
Feed) need to be deleted from the file.
Example:
base64 fgt.keytab > fgt.txt
Use Notepad++ or some native Linux text editor. Windows Notepad and Wordpad are
likely to introduce errors.
2. FortiGate configuration
edit 1
set server-name "ldap" <<< Same as ldap-server option in krb-keytab
set group-name "CN=Domain Users,CN=Users,DC=TEST,DC=com"
next
end
next
end
2.5 Diagnostics
Once the keytab is imported, check that it has been properly decoded. The filename generated will be relatively
random, but should be clearly visible.
Artoo-Deetoo (root) # fnsysctl ls -la /tmp/kt
drwxr--r-- 2 0 0 Fri Dec 2 10:06:43 2016 60 .
drwxrwxrwt 22 0 0 Tue Dec 6 14:28:29 2016 3280 ..
-rw-r--r-- 1 0 0 Fri Dec 2 10:06:43 2016 392 1.0.89.keytab
If there is no file present, then the file hasn’t decoded. Check the file for line feeds and
try again.
Log on to the domain by using testuser, created in 1.2. Use the klist command to list ticket information. In the
below example, the client has received krbtgt, CIFS, and LDAP tickets. As there has been no interaction with the
FortiGate, there are no references to it.
C:\Users\glenk>klist Cached Tickets: (5)
C:\Users\glenk>klist
Cached Tickets: (5)
#0> Client: glenk @ home.local
Server: krbtgt/HOME.LOCAL @ HOME.LOCAL
KerbTicket Encryption Type: AES-256-CTS-HMAC-SHA1-96
Ticket Flags 0x60a00000 -> forwardable forwarded renewable pre_authent
Start Time: 12/6/2016 14:58:06 (local)
Set up web-proxy in browser through the FortiGate. This can be achieved via a PAC file or direct browser
configuration.
1. The client accesses the explicit proxy, but a HTTP 407 Proxy Authentication Required is returned.
2. As “Negotiate” is set, the client has knowledge of the KRBTGT, it requests a ticket from the KDC with a krb-tgs-
req message. This includes the REALM (HOME.LOCAL) in the reg-body section, and the provided instances
SNAME and service (in this case, HTTP/artoo-deetoo.home.local).
3. The KDC responds with a next KRB-TGS-REP.
This ticket is then available on the client.
4. The conversation between the client and the proxy continues, as the client responds with the Kerberos ticket in the
response.
The whole process takes less than a second to complete. The user should be visible as a FSSO logon in the
Web UI.
In the firewall policy level, transparent web-proxy is regarded as a special UTM. The HTTP/HTTPS traffic
matches the firewall policy first, then traffic is redirected to the web-proxy daemon. If the trasnparent web-proxy
feature is disabled, http-policy options in profile-protocol-options is used to enable transparent web-proxy feature.
IP-based
1. Captive portal and the captive portal port must be configured in transparent web-proxy for support of Kerberos
authentication:
config authentication setting
set captive-portal <fqdn-name>
set captive-portal-port "9998"
end
2. Authentication rule, scheme, and krb-keytab need to be configured for Kerberos authentication (note the
active-auth-method scheme referenced in the rule):
config authentication scheme
edit <kerberos-scheme>
set method negotiate
set negotiate-ntlm <enable>
set fsso-guest <disable>
next
end
next
end
The web-auth-cookie feature is necessary for session-based authentication under transparent web-proxy.
The configuration is the same as for IP-based authentication, except ip-based is disabled in the authentication
rule:
config authentication rule
edit "kerberos-rules"
set status <enable>
set protocol <http>
set srcadrr "all"
set ip-based <disable>
set active-auth-method <kerberos-scheme>
next
In addition to the Explicit Web Proxy, FortiOS supports a Transparent web proxy. While it does not have as many
features as Explicit Web Proxy, the transparent proxy has the advantage that nothing needs to be done on the
user's system to forward supported web traffic over to the proxy. There is no need to reconfigure the browser or
publish a PAC file. Everything is transparent to the end user, hence the name. This makes it easier to incorporate
new users into a proxy deployment.
You can use the transparent proxy to apply web authentication to HTTP traffic accepted by a firewall policy. In
previous versions of FortiOS, web authentication required using the explicit proxy.
Normal FortiOS authentication is IP address based. Users are authenticated according to their IP address and
access is allowed or denied based on this IP address. On networks where authentication based on IP address will
not work you can use the Transparent Web proxy to apply web authentication that is based on the user's browser
and not on their IP address. This authentication method allows you to identify individual users even if multiple
users on your network are connecting to the FortiGate from the same IP address.
Flat policies
The split policy feature has been removed. This will make the explicit policy more like the firewall policy.
Authentication
The authentication design is intended to separate authentication from authorization. Authentication has been
moved into a new table in the FortiOS. This leaves the authorization as the domain of the explicit proxy policy.
If disabled, everything works like before. If enabled, the authentication is triggered differently.
IP pools support
Proxies are now supported on outgoing IP pools.
SOCKSv5
SOCKSv5 authentication is now supported for explicit proxies.
To configure:
config authentication rule
edit <name of rule>
set protocol socks
end
Forwarding
Proxies support URL redirect/forwarding. This allows a non-proxy forwarding server to be assigned a rule that will
redirect web traffic from one URL to another, such as redirecting traffic destined for youtube.com to
restrict.youtube.com.
l A new option called "Redirect URL" has been added to the policy
l Traffic forwarding by VIP is supported
Support for explicit proxy address objects & groups into IPv4 firewall policies
This would allow the selection of web filter policy, SSL inspection policy, and proxy policy based on source IP +
destination (address|explicit proxy object|category|group of any of those). This enables things like “do full SSL
interception on www.google.com, but not the rest of the Search Engines category”.
To implement the Transparent proxy, go to System > Settings and scroll down to Operations Settings and set
the inspection mode to Proxy.
Then go to Security Profiles > Proxy Options, edit a proxy options profile and under Web Options enable
HTTP Policy Redirect.
Then go to Policy & Objects > IPv4 Policy and create or edit a policy that accepts traffic that you want to
apply web authentication to. This can be a general policy that accepts many different types of traffic as long as it
also accepts the web traffic that you want to apply web authentication to.
Select a Security Profile and select the Proxy Options profile that you enabled HTTP Policy Redirect for.
Then go to Policy & Objects > Proxy Policy create a Transparent Proxy policy to accept the traffic that you
want to apply web authentication to. Set the Proxy Type to Transparent Web. The incoming interface,
outgoing interface, destination address, and schedule should either match or be a subset of the same options
defined in the IPv4 policy. Addresses added to the Source must match or be a subset of the source addresses
added to the IPv4 policy. You can also add the users to be authenticated by the transparent policy to the source
field.
Changes:
Previous New
Previous New
Explicit FTP proxies are configured for each VDOM when multiple VDOMs are
enabled.
In most cases you would configure the explicit FTP proxy for users on a network by enabling the explicit FTP
proxy on the FortiGate interface connected to that network. Users on the network would connect to and
authenticate with the explicit FTP proxy before connecting to an FTP server. In this case the IP address of the
explicit FTP proxy is the IP address of the FortiGate interface on which the explicit FTP proxy is enabled.
Enabling the explicit FTP proxy on an interface connected to the Internet is a security
risk because anyone on the Internet who finds the proxy could use it to hide their
source address.
If the FortiGate unit is operating in Transparent mode, users would configure their browsers to use a proxy server
with the FortiGate unit management IP address.
The FTP proxy receives FTP sessions to be proxied at FortiGate interfaces with the explicit FTP proxy enabled.
The FTP proxy uses FortiGate routing to route sessions through the FortiGate unit to a destination interface.
Before a session leaves the exiting interface, the explicit FTP proxy changes the source addresses of the session
packets to the IP address of the exiting interface. When the FortiGate unit is operating in Transparent mode the
explicit web proxy changes the source addresses to the management IP address.
To allow anyone to anonymously log into explicit FTP proxy and connect to any FTP server you can set the
explicit FTP proxy default firewall proxy action to accept. When you do this, users can log into the explicit FTP
proxy with any username and password.
In most cases you would want to use explicit proxy policies to control explicit FTP proxy traffic and apply security
features, access control/authentication, and logging. You can do this by keeping the default explicit FTP proxy
firewall policy action to deny and then adding explicit FTP proxy policies. In most cases you would also want users
to authenticate with the explicit FTP proxy. By default an anonymous FTP login is required. Usually you would
add authentication to explicit FTP proxy policies. Users can then authenticate with the explicit FTP proxy
according to users or user groups added to the policies. User groups added to explicit FTP proxy policies can use
any authentication method supported by FortiOS including the local user database and RADIUS and other
remote servers.
If you leave the default firewall policy action set to deny and add explicit FTP proxy policies, all connections to the
explicit FTP proxy must match an or else they will be dropped. Sessions that are accepted are processed
according to the ftp-proxy security policy settings.
You can also change the explicit FTP proxy default firewall policy action to accept and add explicit FTP proxy
policies. If you do this, sessions that match explicit FTP proxy policies are processed according to the policy
settings. Connections to the explicit FTP proxy that do not match an explicit FTP proxy policy are allowed and the
users can authenticate with the proxy anonymously.
There are some limitations to the security features that can be applied to explicit FTP proxy sessions. See The
FortiGate explicit FTP proxy on page 1086.
You cannot configure IPsec, SSL VPN, or Traffic shaping for explicit FTP proxy traffic. Explicit FTP proxy policies
can only include firewall addresses not assigned to a FortiGate unit interface or with interface set to any. (On the
web-based manager you must set the interface to Any. In the CLI you must unset the associated-
interface.)
The explicit FTP proxy is not compatible with using a web browser as an FTP client. To use web browsers as FTP
clients configure the explicit web proxy to accept FTP sessions.
The following steps occur when a user starts an FTP client to connect to an FTP server using the explicit FTP
proxy. Any RFC-compliant FTP client can be used. This example describes using a command-line FTP client.
Some FTP clients may require a custom FTP proxy connection script.
1. The user enters a command on the FTP client to connect to the explicit FTP proxy.
For example, if the IP address of the FortiGate interface on which the explicit FTP proxy is enabled is
10.31.101.100, enter:
ftp 10.31.101.100
2. The explicit FTP proxy responds with a welcome message and requests the user’s FTP proxy user name and
password and a username and address of the FTP server to connect to:
Connected to 10.31.101.100.
220 Welcome to FortiGate FTP proxy
Name (10.31.101.100:user):
You can change the message by editing the FTP Explicit Banner Message replacement message.
3. At the prompt the user enters their FTP proxy username and password and a username and address for the FTP
server. The FTP server address can be a domain name or numeric IP address. This information is entered using
the following syntax:
<proxy-user>:<proxy-password>:<server-user>@<server-address>
For example, if the proxy username and password are p-name and p-pass and a valid username for
the FTP server is s-name and the server’s IP address is ftp.example.com the syntax would be:
p-name:p-pass:s-name@ftp.example.com
If the FTP proxy accepts anonymous logins p-name and p-pass can be any
characters.
4. The FTP proxy forwards the connection request, including the user name, to the FTP server.
5. If the user name is valid for the FTP server it responds with a password request prompt.
6. The FTP proxy relays the password request to the FTP client.
7. The user enters the FTP server password and the client sends the password to the FTP proxy.
8. The FTP proxy relays the password to the FTP server.
9. The FTP server sends a login successful message to the FTP proxy.
10. The FTP proxy relays the login successful message to the FTP client.
11. The FTP client starts the FTP session.
All commands entered by the client are relayed by the proxy to the server. Replies from the server are relayed back
to the FTP client.
From a simple command line FTP client connecting to an the previous sequence could appear as follows:
ftp 10.31.101.100 21
Connected to 10.31.101.100.
220 Welcome to FortiGate FTP proxy
Name (10.31.101.100:user): p-name:p-pass:s-name@ftp.example.com
331 Please specify the password.
Password: s-pass
230 Login successful.
Remote system type is UNIX
Using binary mode to transfer files.
ftp>
Security profiles, threat weight, device identification, and the explicit FTP proxy
You can apply antivirus, data leak prevention (DLP), and SSL/SSH inspection to explicit FTP proxy sessions.
Security profiles are applied by selecting them in an explicit FTP proxy policy or an authentication rule in an FTP
proxy security policy.
Traffic accepted by explicit FTP proxy policies contributes to threat weight data.
When adding UTM features to an FTP proxy security policy, you must select a proxy options profile. In most
cases you can select the default proxy options profile. You could also create a custom proxy options profile.
l Client comforting
Flow-based virus scanning is not available for explicit FTP proxy sessions. Even if the FortiGate unit is configured
to use flow-based antivirus, explicit FTP proxy sessions use the regular virus database.
Explicit FTP proxy sessions and user limits are combined with explicit web proxy session and user limits. For
information about explicit proxy session and user limits, see Explicit proxy sessions and user limits on page 1.
1. Go to Network > Explicit Proxy > Explicit FTP Proxy Options. Select Enable Explicit FTP Proxy to turn
on the explicit FTP proxy.
2. Select Apply.
The Default Firewall Policy Action is set to Deny and requires you to add a explicit FTP proxy policy to allow
access to the explicit FTP proxy. This configuration is recommended and is a best practice because you can use
policies to control access to the explicit FTP proxy and also apply security features and authentication.
3. Go to Network > Interfaces and select one or more interfaces for which to enable the explicit web proxy. Edit the
interface and select Enable Explicit FTP Proxy.
Enabling the explicit FTP proxy on an interface connected to the Internet is a security
risk because anyone on the Internet who finds the proxy could use it to hide their
source address. If you enable the proxy on such an interface make sure authentication
is required to use the proxy.
4. Go to Policy & Objects > Proxy Policyand select Create New and set the Explicit Proxy Type to FTP.
The source address of the policy should match client source IP addresses. The firewall address selected as the
source address cannot be assigned to a FortiGate interface. The Interface field of the firewall address must be
blank or it must be set to Any.
The destination address of the policy should match the IP addresses of FTP servers that clients are connecting to.
The destination address could be all to allow connections to any FTP server.
If Default Firewall Policy Action is set to Deny, traffic sent to the explicit FTP proxy that is not accepted by an
explicit FTP proxy policy is dropped. If Default Firewall Policy Action is set to Allow then all FTP proxy sessions
that don’t match a policy are allowed.
For example the following explicit FTP proxy policy allows users on an internal network to access FTP servers on
the Internet through the wan1 interface of a FortiGate unit.
Schedule always
Action ACCEPT
The following explicit FTP proxy policy requires users on an internal network to authenticate with the
FortiGate unit before accessing FTP servers on the Internet through the wan1 interface.
Action AUTHENTICATE
6. Select Create New to add an Authentication Rule and configure the rule as follows:
Groups Proxy-Group
Schedule always
1. Enter the following command to turn on the explicit FTP proxy. This command also changes the explicit FTP proxy
port to 2121.
config ftp-proxy explicit
set status enable
set incoming-port 2121
end
The default explicit FTP proxy configuration has sec-default-action set to deny and requires
you to add a security policy to allow access to the explicit FTP proxy.
2. Enter the following command to enable the explicit FTP proxy for the internal interface.
config system interface
edit internal
set explicit-ftp-proxy enable
end
end
3. Use the following command to add a firewall address that matches the source address of users who connect to the
explicit FTP proxy.
config firewall address
edit Internal_subnet
set type iprange
set start-ip 10.31.101.1
set end-ip 10.31.101.255
end
The source address for a ftp-proxy security policy cannot be assigned to a FortiGate unit interface.
4. Use the following command to add an explicit FTP proxy policy that allows all users on the internal subnet to use
the explicit FTP proxy for connections through the wan1 interface to the Internet.
config firewall proxy-policy
edit 0
set proxy ftp
set dstintf wan1
set scraddr Internal_subnet
set dstaddr all
set action accept
set schedule always
end
5. Use the following command to add an explicit FTP proxy policy that allows authenticated users on the internal
subnet to use the explicit FTP proxy for connections through the wan1 interface to the Internet.
config firewall proxy-policy
edit 0
set proxy ftp
set dstintf wan1
set scraddr Internal_subnet
set dstaddr Fortinet-web-sites
set action accept
set schedule always
set groups <User group>
end
end
For example, to require uses to connect to the IP address 10.31.101.100 to connect to the explicit FTP proxy:
config ftp-proxy explicit
set incoming-ip 10.31.101.100
end
Example users on an internal network connecting to FTP servers on the Internet through
the explicit FTP with RADIUS authentication and virus scanning
This example describes how to configure the explicit FTP proxy for the example network shown below. In this
example, users on the internal network connect to the explicit FTP proxy through the Internal interface with IP
address 10.31.101.100. The explicit web proxy is configured to use port 2121 so to connect to an FTP server on
the Internet users must first connect to the explicit FTP proxy using IP address 10.31.101.100 and port 2121.
In this example, explicit FTP proxy users must authenticate with a RADIUS server before getting access to the
proxy. To apply authentication, the security policy that accepts explicit FTP proxy traffic includes an identity
based policy that applies per session authentication to explicit FTP proxy users and includes a user group with the
RADIUS server in it. The identity based policy also applies UTM virus scanning and DLP.
1. Enable the explicit FTP proxy and change the FTP port to 2121.
2. Enable the explicit FTP proxy on the internal interface.
3. Add a RADIUS server and user group for the explicit FTP proxy.
4. Add a user identity security policy for the explicit FTP proxy.
5. Enable antivirus and DLP features for the identity-based policy.
1. Go to Network > Explicit Proxy > Explicit FTP Proxy Options and change the following settings:
Listen on Interface No change. This field will eventually show that the explicit web proxy is
enabled for the Internal interface.
2. Select Apply.
1. Go to Network > Interfaces, edit the Internal interface and select Enable Explicit FTP Proxy.
To add a RADIUS server and user group for the explicit FTP proxy
Name RADIUS_1
3. Go to User > User > User Groups and select Create New.
Name Explict_proxy_user_group
Type Firewall
4. Select OK.
Type Subnet
Interface Any
Action AUTHENTICATE
5. Under Configure Authentication Rules select Create New to add an authentication rule:
Groups Explicit_policy
Schedule always
6. Turn on Antivirus and Web Filter and select the default profiles for both.
7. Select the default proxy options profile.
8. Select OK.
9. Make sure Enable IP Based Authentication is not selected and DefaultAuthentication Method is set to
Basic.
10. Select OK.
1. Enter the following command to enable the explicit FTP proxy and set the TCP port that proxy accepts FTP
connections on to 2121.
config ftp-proxy explicit
set status enable
set incoming-port 2121
set sec-default-action deny
end
1. Enter the following command to enable the explicit FTP proxy on the internal interface.
config system interface
edit internal
set explicit-ftp-proxy enable
end
To add a RADIUS server and user group for the explicit FTP proxy
2. Enter the following command to add a user group for the RADIUS server.
config user group
edit Explicit_proxy_user_group
set group-type firewall
set member RADIUS_1
end
1. Enter the following command to add a firewall address for the internal subnet:
config firewall address
edit Internal_subnet
set type iprange
set start-ip 10.31.101.1
set end-ip 10.31.101.255
end
2. Enter the following command to add the explicit FTP proxy security policy:
config firewall proxy-policy
edit 0
set proxy ftp
set dstintf wan1
set srcaddr Internal_subnet
set dstaddr all
set action accept
set identity-based enable
set ipbased disable
set active-auth-method basic
set groups <User group>
end
1. From a system on the internal network start an FTP client and enter the following command to connect to the FTP
proxy:
ftp 10.31.101.100
The explicit FTP proxy should respond with a message similar to the following:
Connected to 10.31.101.100.
220 Welcome to Floodgate FTP proxy
Name (10.31.101.100:user):
2. At the prompt enter a valid username and password for the RADIUS server followed by a user name for an FTP
server on the Internet and the address of the FTP server. For example, if a valid username and password on the
RADIUS server is ex_name and ex_pass and you attempt to connect to an FTP server at ftp.example.com with
user name s_name, enter the following at the prompt:
Name (10.31.101.100:user):ex_name:ex_pass:s_name@ftp.example.com
3. You should be prompted for the password for the account on the FTP server.
4. Enter the password and you should be able to connect to the FTP server.
5. Attempt to explore the FTP server file system and download or upload files.
6. To test UTM functionality, attempt to upload or download an ECAR test file. Or upload or download a text file
containing text that would be matched by the DLP sensor.
The following get and diagnose commands are available for troubleshooting WAN optimization, web cache,
explicit proxy and WCCP.
Variable Description
wad Display information about WAN optimization, web caching, the explicit web proxy, and
the explicit FTP proxy.
Examples
Enter the following command to display WAN optimization tunnel protocol statistics. The http tunnel and tcp
tunnel parts of the command output below shows that WAN optimization has been processing HTTP and TCP
packets.
get test wad 1
WAD manager process status: pid=113 n_workers=1 ndebug_workers=0
Enter the following command to display all test options:
get test wad
diagnose wad
Display diagnostic information about the WAN optimization daemon (wad).
diagnose wad console-log {disable | enable)
diagnose wad debug-url {disable | enable)
diagnose wad filter {clear | dport | dst | list | negate | protocol | sport | src | vd}
diagnose wad history {clear | list}
diagnose wad session {clear | list}
diagnose wad stats {cache | cifs | clear | crypto | ftp | http | list | mapi | mem |
scan | scripts | summary | tcp | tunnel}
diagnose wad user {clear | list}
diagnose wad tunnel {clear | list}1
diagnose wad webcache {clear | list} {10min | hour | day | 30days}
Variable Description
console-log Enable or disable displaying WAN optimization log messages on the CLI console.
history Display statistics for one or more WAN optimization protocols for a specified period of
time (the last 10 minutes, hour, day or 30 days).
session Display diagnostics for WAN optimization sessions or clear active sessions.
stats Display statistics for various parts of WAN optimization such as cache statistics, CIFS
statistics, MAPI statistics, HTTP statistics, tunnel statistics etc. You can also clear
WAN optimization statistics and display a summary.
Display diagnostic information for one or all active WAN optimization tunnels. Clear all
tunnel
active tunnels. Clear all active tunnels.
webcache Display web cache activity for the specified time period.
The first 20 slots are for HTTP requests in the last 10 minutes. Each slot of stats has four numbers, which is the
total number of HTTP requests, the number of cacheable HTTP requests, the number of HTTP requests that are
processed by the web cache (hits), and the number of HTTP requests that are processed without checking the
web cache (bypass). There are many reasons that a HTTP request may bypass web cache.
total cacheable hits bypass
------------ ------------- ------------ -------------
36 10 3 1
128 92 1 10
168 97 2 3
79 56 0 3
106 64 5 3
180 118 6 11
88 53 7 3
80 43 4 4
107 44 9 2
84 12 0 2
228 139 52 10
32 2 0 5
191 88 13 7
135 25 40 3
48 10 0 8
193 13 7 7
67 31 1 2
109 35 24 6
117 36 10 5
22 0 0 4
The following slots are for video requests in the last 10 minutes. Each slot has two numbers for each 30 seconds:
total number of video requests, and the number of video requests that are processing using cached data.
video total video hit
------------ -------------
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
The following 20 slots are for traffic details in last 10 minutes. Each slot has four numbers for 30 seconds each.
--- LAN --- --- WAN ---
bytes_in bytes_out bytes_in bytes_out
------------ ------------- ------------ -------------
34360 150261 141086 32347
105408 861863 858501 100670
128359 1365919 1411849 127341
60103 602813 818075 59967
105867 1213192 1463736 97489
154961 1434784 1344911 158667
73967 370275 369847 70626
129327 602834 592399 123676
115719 663446 799445 111262
58151 724993 631721 59989
175681 2092925 1092556 166212
37805 33042 41528 37779
183686 1255118 1114646 172371
106125 904178 807152 81520
66147 473983 543507 66782
170451 1289530 1201639 165540
69196 544559 865370 68446
134142 579605 821430 132113
96895 668037 730633 89872
59576 248734 164002 59448
diagnose wacs
Display diagnostic information for the web cache database daemon (wacs).
diagnose wacs clear
diagnose wacs recents
diagnose wacs restart
diagnose wacs stats
Variable Description
diagnose wadbd
Display diagnostic information for the WAN optimization database daemon (waddb).
diagnose wadbd {check | clear | recents | restart | stats}
Variable Description
Variable Description
wad Set the debug level for the WAN optimization daemon.
1. Enable explicit proxy globally and in one interface, to start the wad process. If the wad process is not running, you
cannot list the options.
2. Once the wad process starts, type:
Chapter 8 - FortiView
l Overview on page 1111 outlines the role FortiView plays in FortiOS and its overall layout. This section also
identifies which FortiGate platforms support the full FortiView features.
l FortiView consoles on page 1122 describes the various FortiView consoles available in FortiOS, including example
scenarios, in most cases.
l Reference on page 1139 explains reference information for the various consoles in FortiView, and describes the
assortment of filtering options, drilldown options, and columns available.
l Troubleshooting FortiView on page 1152 offers solutions to common technical issues experienced by FortiGate
users regarding FortiView.
Purpose
FortiView is a comprehensive monitoring system for your network that integrates real-time and historical data into
a single view on your FortiGate. It can log and monitor threats to networks, filter data on multiple levels, keep
track of administrative activity, and more.
FortiView allows you to use multiple filters within the consoles, enabling you to narrow your view to a specific time
(up to 24 hours in the past), by user ID or local IP address, by application, and many more. For more on
FortiView's filtering options, see Filtering options on page 1140
FortiView can be used to investigate traffic activity, such as user uploads/downloads or videos watched on
YouTube, on a network-wide, user group, and individual-user level, with information relayed in both text and
visual format. FortiView makes it easy to get an actionable picture of your network's internet activity.
The degree to which information can be logged will depend on which FortiGate unit you have. For more
information, see Enabling FortiView on page 1112.
The following section describes new FortiView features added to FortiOS 5.6.0, 5.6.1, 5.6.3, 5.6.4.
FortiOS 5.6.4
These features first appeared in FortiOS 5.6.4.
As a result, the associated CLI command log gui-display location has been removed.
FortiOS 5.6.3
These features first appeared in FortiOS 5.6.3.
Backend updates the query configure list; GUI updates learning report to use log display device setting.
Added support to FortiView to sort by application risk and browsing time (249666)
Added ability to sort applications by threat level and by browsing time so that admin can quickly see and prioritize
the riskier applications at the top of the list.
FortiOS 5.6.1
These features first appeared in FortiOS 5.6.1.
Widgets can be saved directly to the Dashboard from a filtered page in FortiView, or configured in the CLI.
FortiOS 5.6.0
These features first appeared in FortiOS 5.6.0.
l Topology
l Traffic from LAN/DMZ
l Traffic from WAN
l All Segments
l WiFi Client Monitor is now in FortiView, but is hidden when there is no managed FortiAP or WiFi Radio.
l Country view has been merged into Destinations view.
l Failed Authentication and Admin Login views have been merged into System Events view.
Overview
This section provides an overview of FortiView, its interface, and options, including the following:
Enabling FortiView
By default, FortiView is enabled on FortiGates running FortiOS firmware version 5.2 and above. You will find the
FortiView consoles in the main menu. However, certain options will not appear unless the FortiGate has Disk
Logging enabled.
Only certain FortiGate models support Disk Logging. A complete list of FortiGate platforms that support Disk
Logging is provided in the matrix below.
1. Go to Log & Report > Log Settings and select the checkbox next to Disk.
2. Apply the change.
FG/FWF-20C Series a
FG/FWF-30D/40C Series a
FG/FWF-60C Series a
FG/FWF-60D Series a
FGR-60D a
FG-60D a
FG/FWF-80C Series a
FG-80D a a 1 hour
FG/FWF-92D Series a
FG-110C a
FG-100D Series a a 24 hours
FG-200D Series a a 24 hours
FG-300C a a 24 hours
FG-300D a a 24 hours
FG-500D a a 24 hours
FG-600C a a 24 hours
FG-800C a a 24 hours
FG-1240B a a 24 hours
FS-5203B a CLI
a = Default support.
# = Local storage required.
* Refer to section on Historical Data below.
l Sources
l Destinations
l Interfaces
l Policies
l All Sessions
l Applications
The complete array of features in FortiView requires disk logging enabled (see below). It includes those consoles
listed above as well as the following:
l WiFi Clients
l Cloud Applications
l Web Sites
l Threats
l VPN
Historical Data
Not all consoles have the same available historical data options, depending on whether or not your traffic is
locally stored.
Below is a table showing which features are available for units using local storage, including the historical data
options.
Only FortiGate models 100D and above support the 24 hour historical data.
Sources a a a a a
Destinations a a a a a
Interfaces a a a a
Policies a a a a
All Sessions a a a a a
Applications a a a a a
WiFi Clients a a a
Cloud Applications a a a a a
Web Sites a a a a
Threats a a a
Threat Map a a
FortiSandbox a a a
System Events a a a
VPN a a a
As mentioned previously, certain models support 7-day time display. These models are listed below:
l FortiGate 1000D
l FortiGate 1500D
l FortiGate 3700DX
l FortiGate 3700D
The option for 7-day time display, however, can only be configured in the CLI using the following command:
Disk Logging
Only certain FortiGate models support Disk Logging (see above).
To enable Disk Logging, go to Log & Report > Log Settings, and select the checkbox next to Disk and apply
the change. Some devices will require disk logging to be enabled in the CLI, using the following command:
config log disk setting
set status enable
end
Configuration Dependencies
Most FortiView consoles require the user to enable several features to produce data. The following table
summarizes the dependencies:
FortiView interface
FortiView lets you access information about the traffic activity on your FortiGate, visually and textually. FortiView
is broken up into several consoles, each of which features a top menu bar and a graph window, as seen in the
following image:
Only FortiGate models 100D and above support the 24 hour historical data.
l It is possible to sort on the Bubble Chart using the Sort By: dropdown menu.
l The size of each bubble represents the related amount of data.
l Place your cursor over a bubble to display a tool-tip with detailed info on that item.
l You can click on a bubble to drilldown into greater (filtered) detail.
Right-clicking on a row in FortiView or the Log Viewer has menu items for Block Source, Block Destination
and Quarantine Source where appropriate columns are available to determine these values. When multiple
rows are selected, the user will be prompted to create a named Address Group to contain the new addresses.
When the user clicks Block Source or Block Destination they are taken to a policy creation page with enough
information filled in to create a policy blocking the requested IP traffic.
The policy page will feature an informational message block at the top describing the actions that will be taken.
Once the user submits the form, the requisite addresses, groups and policy will be created at once.
If the user clicks on Quarantine User then they will be prompted for a duration. They may also check a box for a
Permanent Ban. The user can manage quarantined users under Monitor > Quarantine Monitor.
Realtime visualization
To enable realtime visualization:
1. Click on the Settings icon next to the upper right-hand corner and select Auto update realtime visualizations.
An option is displayed to set the Interval (seconds). The maximum value is 300.
Accelerated sessions
When viewing sessions in the All Sessions console, information pertaining to NP4/ NP6 acceleration is now
reflected via an appropriate icon in the table. The tooltip for the icon includes the NP chip type and its total
number of accelerated sessions.
You can filter the console on 'FortiASIC' ('Accelerated' versus 'Not Accelerated') sessions.
FortiView consoles
This section describes the following log filter consoles available in FortiView:
l Sources on page 1123 displays detailed information on the sources of traffic passing through the FortiGate, and the
section covers how you can investigate an unusual spike in traffic to determine which user is responsible.
l Destinations on page 1124 displays detailed information on user destination-accessing through the use of drill down
functionality.
l Applications on page 1125 displays Applications used on the network that have been recognized by Application
Control, and this section shows how you can view what sort of applications individual employees are using.
l Cloud Applications on page 1126 displays Web/Cloud Applications used on the network, and this section shows
how you can drill down to access detailed data on cloud application usage, e.g. YouTube.
l Web Sites on page 1127 displays websites visited as part of network traffic that have been recognized by Web
Filtering, and this section shows how you can investigate instances of proxy avoidance, which is the act of
circumventing blocks using proxies.
l Threats on page 1128 monitors threats to the network, both in terms of their Threat Score and Threat Level.
l WiFi Clients on page 1129 displays a list of all the devices connected to the WLAN.
l "Traffic Shaping" on page 1130 displays a list of existing Traffic Shapers, detailing their bandwidth use and which
traffic is being shaped by each shaper.
l System Events on page 1131 displays security events detected by FortiOS, providing a name and description for
the events, an assessment of the event's severity level, and the number of instances the events were detected.
l VPN on page 1132 displays how users can access information on any VPNs associated with their FortiGate.
l "Endpoint Vulnerability" on page 1133 displays a list of Vulnerability events detected by the FortiGate on networked
devices, along with links to further vulnerability information and databases.
l Threat Map on page 1134 provides a geographical display of threats, in realtime, from international sources as they
arrive at your FortiGate.
l Policies on page 1135 displays what policies are in affect on your network, what their source and destination
interfaces are, how many sessions are in each policy, and what sort of traffic is occurring.
l Interfaces on page 1136 displays the number of interfaces connected to your network, how many sessions there are
in each interface, and what sort of traffic is occurring.
l FortiSandbox on page 1137 displays FortiSandbox activity. FortiSandbox detects and analyzes advanced attacks
designed to bypass traditional security defenses, and has a wide array of features that allow it to prevent future
attacks from occurring again.
l All Sessions on page 1138 displays complete information on all FortiGate sessions, with the ability to filter sessions
by port number and application type.
Sources
The Sources console provides information about the sources of traffic on your FortiGate unit.
This console can be filtered by Country, Destination Interface, Policy, Result, Source, and Source Interface. For
more on filters, see Filtering options.
Specific devices and time periods can be selected and drilled down for deep inspection.
A system administrator notices a spike in traffic and wants to investigate it. From the Sources window, they can
determine which user is responsible for the spike by following these steps:
1. Go to FortiView > Sources.
2. In the graph display, click and drag across the peak that represents the spike in traffic.
3. Sort the sources by bandwidth use by selecting the Bytes (Sent/Received) header.
4. Drill down into whichever source is associated with the highest amount of bandwidth use by double-clicking it.
From this screen, you have an overview of that source's traffic activity.
5. Again, in either the Applications or Destinations view, select the Bytes (Sent/Received) header to sort by
bandwidth use.
6. Double-click the top entry to drill down to the final inspection level, from which you can access further details on
the application or destination, and/or apply a filter to prohibit or limit access.
Only FortiGate models 100D and above support the 24 hour historical data.
Destinations
The Destinations console provides information about the destination IP addresses of traffic on your FortiGate
unit, as well as the application used. You can drill down the displayed information, and also select the device and
time period, and apply search filters.
This console can be filtered by Country, Destination Interface, Destination IP, Policy, Result, and Source
Interface. For more on filters, see Filtering options.
The Destinations console can be used to access detailed information on user destination-accessing through the
use of the console's drilldown functionality. In this scenario, the console is used to find out more about a particular
user's Facebook usage patterns over a 24-hour period:
1. Go to FortiView > Destinations.
2. Select 1 hour from the Time Display options at the top right corner of the console.
3. The easiest way to locate most destinations is to scan the Applications column for the name of the application.
Once the session containing Facebook has been located, double-click it to access the Destination summary
window.
4. Locate Facebook in the Applications column and double-click it to view the Facebook drilldown page. From here,
detailed information regarding the user's Facebook session can be accessed.
Only FortiGate models 100D and above support the 24 hour historical data.
Applications
The Applications console provides information about the applications being used on your network.
This console can be filtered by Application, Country, Destination Interface, Policy, Result, and Source Interface.
For more on filters, see Filtering options.
Specific devices and time periods can be selected and drilled down for deep inspection.
1. Go to FortiView > Applications, to view the list of applications accessed by the users on your network. Use the
time-frame options to view what applications were used in those time periods (from now, 5 minutes, 1 hour, or 24
hours).
2. From Sessions (Blocked/Allowed) and Bytes (Sent/Received), you can see how much traffic has been
generated. Click these columns to show the traffic in descending order.
3. You notice that a social media application has created the most traffic of all the applications, and so it's at the top
of the list. Drill down into the application by double-clicking or right-clicking and select Drill Down to Details.
4. You are directed to a summary page of the social media application. From here, you can see which specific user
has made the most use of the application.
Only FortiGate models 100D and above support the 24 hour historical data.
Cloud Applications
The Cloud Applications console provides information about the cloud applications being used on your network.
This includes information such as:
l The names of videos viewed on YouTube (visible by hovering the cursor over the session entry)
l Filed uploaded and downloaded from cloud hosting services such as Dropbox
l Account names used for cloud services
Two different views are available for the Cloud Applications: Applications and Users (located in the top menu
bar next to the time periods). Applications shows a list of the programs being used. Users shows information
on the individual users of the cloud applications, including the username, if the FortiGate was able to view the
login event.
This console can be filtered by Cloud Application and Result. For more on filters, see Filtering options.
From the Cloud Applications console, users can drill down to access detailed data on cloud application usage
data. In this scenario, the console is used to determine the network's most frequent user of YouTube over a 24-
hour period, and find out more about their usage patterns.
Only FortiGate models 100D and above support the 24 hour historical data.
Web Sites
The Web Sites console lists the top allowed and top blocked web sites. You can view information by domain or
by FortiGuard categories by using the options in the top right corner. Each FortiGuard category can be selected in
order to see a description of the category and several example sites, with content loaded from FortiGuard on
demand.
This console can be filtered by Domain and Result. For more on filters, see Filtering options.
In order for information to appear in the Web Sites console, web filtering must be
enabled in a policy, with FortiGate Categories enabled.
In this scenario, the Categories view will be used to investigate an instance of Proxy Avoidance, one of the
Categories recognized by FortiOS. Proxy Avoidance denotes the use of a proxy site in order to access data that
might otherwise be blocked by the server.
Only FortiGate models 100D and above support the 24 hour historical data.
Threats
The Threats console lists the top users involved in incidents, as well as information on the top threats to your
network.
In order for information to appear in the Threats console, Threat Weight Tracking
must be enabled.
Some users have high Threat Scores. The Threats console can be used to view all threats and discover why such
high scores are being shown:
1. Go to FortiView > Threats. In the graph display, click and drag across the peak that represents the spike in
threat score.
2. Sort the threats by score or level by selecting the Threat Score (Blocked/Allowed or the Threat Level headers
respectively.
3. You see that a specific threat's Threat Level is at Critical. Drill down into the threat by double-clicking or right-
clicking and select Drill down to details.
4. From this summary page, you can view the source IPs and the number of sessions that came from this threat.
Double-click on one of them.
5. The following page shows a variety of statistics, including Reference. The URL next to it will link you to a
FortiGuard page where it will display the description, affected products, and recommended actions, if you are not
familiar with the particular threat.
Only FortiGate models 100D and above support the 24 hour historical data.
WiFi Clients
The WiFi Clients console shows a list of all the devices connected to the WLAN. The type of device, source,
number of sources blocked and allowed, and bytes sent and received are displayed. The source's Service Set
Identifier (SSID) is also displayed in the Source SSID column. An SSID is a case sensitive, 32 character
alphanumerical identifier that acts as a password when a mobile device tries to connect to the WLAN.
This console can be filtered by AP, Device Type, Result, Source Device, Source IP, Source SSID, and User. For
more on filters, see Filtering options.
In this scenario,the administrator will use the WiFi Clients FortiView console to determine the risk levels
associated with an individual WiFi client, and then drilldown into that client to determine where the risk originates
and who might be the offending user/IP.
Traffic Shaping
The Traffic Shaping console provides information about FortiGate Traffic Shapers that are currently in effect.
This console can be filtered by Traffic Shaper Name. For more on filters, see Filtering options.
A number of columns available in FortiView are only available in Traffic Shaping. For example, the Shaper
column displays the name of the Shaper, which can be used to monitor the traffic being shaped by Bytes Sent,
Received, and Dropped, so that bandwidth patterns and Shaper effectiveness can be analyzed.
Only FortiGate models 100D and above support the 24 hour historical data.
System Events
The System Events console lists security events detected by FortiOS, providing a name and description for the
events, an assessment of the event's severity level (Alert, Critical, Emergency, Error, or Warning), and the
number of instances the events were detected.
Two other FortiView pages from 5.4 have been wrapped into the System Events page as of 5.6: Admin
Logins, and Failed Authentication.
This console can be filtered by Event Name, Result, and Severity. For more on filters, see Filtering options on
page 1140.
System Events can be used in conjunction with All Sessions to see what network security events took place, and
specifically see what action was taken upon their detection:
1. Go to FortiView > System Events to see what and how many network events have taken place, as well as how
severe they are in terms of the threat they pose to the network.
2. You see that a particular event has warranted a severe rating, and has allowed traffic to bypass the firewall. Note
when the event took place, and go to FortiView > All Sessions, to see more information pertaining to the
security event.
3. From this console, you can determine the system event's source, how much traffic was sent and received, and the
security action taken in response to this security event. These actions differ, depending upon the severity of the
security event. See the entry for Security Action in Columns displayed on page 1145.
Only FortiGate models 100D and above support the 24 hour historical data.
VPN
From the VPN console, users can access information on any VPNs associated with their FortiGate. From the
initial window, a list of all the associated VPNs is provided, along with general information, such as number of
user connections and VPN type. By double-clicking on an individual VPN (or right-clicking and selecting Drill
down for details...), users can access more specific data on that VPN.
Logs in the VPN console can be sorted by number of connections, last connection time, or data sent/received by
selecting the column headers.
This console can be filtered by Result, User Name, and VPN Type. For more on filters, see Filtering options on
page 1140.
Certain dashboard options will not appear unless your FortiGate has Disk Logging
enabled.
Furthermore, only certain FortiGate models support Disk Logging — refer to the
FortiView Feature Support - Platform Matrix on page 1112 for more information.
To enable Disk Logging, go to Log & Report > Log Settings, and select the
checkbox next to Disk and apply the change.
The VPN console can be used to access detailed data on VPN-user activity via the use of the drill down windows.
In this scenario, the administrator looks into the usage patterns of the IPsec user who has most frequently
connected to the network.
Only FortiGate models 100D and above support the 24 hour historical data.
Endpoint Vulnerability
The Endpoint Vulnerability console lists the top devices and vulnerabilities detected, organized either by
frequency or risk level.
This console can be filtered by Vulnerabilty Name, Severity, Vulnerability Category, CVE-ID, or Host Count. For
more on filters, see Filtering options.
The Vulnerabilities detected by the FortiGate use definitions created by FortiGuard, and every vulnerability in
FortiView contains a link to the respective FortiGuard Labs documentation page (under the 'Vulnerability ID'
column) and the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures documentation page (under the 'CVE-ID' column.)
When a vulnerability appears in log data, you can use the FortiView page to see more information about it. The
Endpoint Vulnerability console can be used to view and track all historical vulnerabilities:
Only FortiGate models 100D and above support the 24 hour historical data.
Threat Map
The Threat Map console displays network activity by geographic region. Threats from various international
destinations will be shown, but only those arriving at your destination, as depicted by the FortiGate. You can
place your cursor over the FortiGate's location to display the device name, IP address, and the city
name/location.
A visual lists of threats is shown at the bottom, displaying the location, severity, and nature of the attacks. The
color gradient of the darts on the map indicate the traffic risk, where red indicates the more critical risk.
Unlike other FortiView consoles, this console has no filtering options, however you can click on any country to drill
down into greater (filtered) detail.
Only FortiGate models 100D and above support the 24 hour historical data.
The Threat Map console can be used to regionalize areas that you are more interested in, and disregard regions
that you are not interested in:
1. Go to FortiView > Threat Map to see a real-time map of the globe. This will show various incoming threats from
multiple destinations around the world, depending upon where the FortiGate is placed on the map.
2. You are not interested with threats that are being sent to Eastern Europe, however you are concerned with threats
that may be sent to a city in North America. Click and drag the FortiGate to the approximate location where you
would like to monitor the incoming threats.
3. To see which countries are sending the more severe threats to your region/location, either see where the red darts
are coming from, or check the visual lists of threats at the bottom.
Policies
The Policies console shows what policies are in affect on your network, what their source and destination
interfaces are, how many sessions are in each policy, and what sort of traffic is occurring, represented in bytes
sent and received.
This console can be filtered by Country, Destination Interface, Destination IP, Policy, Source, Source Device, and
Source Interface. For more on filters, see Filtering options.
Only FortiGate models 100D and above support the 24 hour historical data.
You can click on policy IDs to drill down to the policy list and see what policy's are in effect for specific interfaces,
how many sessions have occurred, how many of those with the policy have been blocked, and more:
Interfaces
The Interfaces console lists the total number of interfaces connected to your network, how many sessions there
are in each interface, and what sort of traffic is occurring, represented in both bytes sent and received, and the
total bandwidth used.
This console can be filtered by Country, Destination Interface, Destination IP, Policy, Result, Source, and Source
Interface. For more on filters, see Filtering options.
Only FortiGate models 100D and above support the 24 hour historical data.
The wan1 interface is showing a higher amount of traffic than usual. A system administrator uses the console to
inspect which user (as represented by an IP address) is creating the spike in traffic:
1. Go to FortiView > Interfaces and double-click on wan1, or right click and select Drill Down to Details....
2. The console will drill down to a summary page of wan1, showing how many bytes are being sent and received,
how much bandwidth is being used, and how many sessions are currently using this interface. You see the
IP address of the user that is showing the most amount of traffic under Source.
3. You can further drill down to see the IP destination, the device, and the applications being used, and other
options.
FortiSandbox
The FortiSandbox console detects and analyzes advanced attacks designed to bypass traditional security
defenses, and has a wide array of features that allow it to prevent future attacks from occurring again.
This console can be filtered by Checksum, File Name, Source, Status, and User Name. For more on filters, see
Filtering options.
Only FortiGate models 100D and above support the 24 hour historical data.
All Sessions
The All Sessions console provides information about all FortiGate traffic. This console can be filtered by
Application, Country, Destination Interface, Destination IP, Destination Port, NAT Source IP, NAT Source Port,
Policy, Protocol, Source, Source Interface, Source IP, and Source Port. For more on filters, see Filtering options.
This console has the greatest number of column options to choose from. To choose which columns you wish to
view, select the column settings cog at the far right of the columns and select your desired columns. They can
then be clicked and dragged in the order that you wish them to appear.
A number of columns available in FortiView are only available in All Sessions. For example, the Action column
displays the type of response taken to a security event. This function can be used to review what sort of threats
were detected, whether the connection was reset due to the detection of a possible threat, and so on. This would
be useful to display alongside other columns such as the Source, Destination, and Bytes (Sent/Received)
columns, as patterns or inconsistencies can be analyzed.
Similarly, there are a number of filters that are only available in All Sessions, one of which is Protocol. This
allows you to display the protocol type associated with the selected session, e.g. TCP, FTP, HTTP, HTTPS, and
so on.
From the All Sessions console, a wide variety of filters can be applied to sort the session data. In this example,
the All Sessions filters will be used to locate a specific user's recent Skype activity.
Only FortiGate models 100D and above support the 24 hour historical data.
Reference
This section consists of reference information for the various consoles in FortiView. Each console has an
assortment of filtering options, drilldown options, and columns that can be displayed. Since many of these
options and columns persist through each console, the entire list of options and their descriptions is included
below. Attempts have been made to identify the instances where an option or column is only available to a
particular console.
Filtering options
When you select the Add Filter button, a drop-down list appears with a list of available filtering options.
Available options differ based on which console is currently being viewed. The following table explains all of the
available filtering options:
Accelerated Sessions You can filter the console on 'FortiASIC' ('Accelerated' versus 'Not
Accelerated') sessions.
Country Filter by the country from which the source accessed the server.
Destination Interface Filter by the interface type used by the destination user, e.g. wan1.
Note: This filter is only available in the All Sessions console,(viewing the
now time display).
Login Type Filter by type of login (eg. WEP) associated with the displayed
authentication attempt.
Note: This filter is only available in the All Sessions console,(viewing the
now time display).
Note: This filter is only available in the All Sessions console,(viewing the
now time display).
Protocol Filter by the protocol used by the source, e.g. tcp or udp.
Note: This filter is only available in the All Sessions console,(viewing the
now time display).
Result Filter by the result of whatever security action was taken by FortiOs in the
selected session, eg. Accept (all).
Security Action Filter by the type of response taken to the security event. The types of
possible actions are as follows:
Allowed: No threat was detected and the connection was let through.
Blocked: A threat was detected and the connection was not let through.
Reset: A possible issue was detected and the connection was reset.
Traffic Shape: Some data packets may have been delayed to improve
system-wide performance.
Severity Filter by the severity level (Critical, High, Medium or Low) associated
with a security event.
Source IP
Source Interface Filer by the interface type used by the source user, e.g. wan1.
Note: This filter is only available in the All Sessions console,(viewing the
now time display).
Source SSID Filter by the Service Set Identifier (SSID) associated with the selected user.
An SSID is a case sensitive, 32 character alphanumerical identifier that
acts as a password attributed to a mobile device.
Status Filter by the maliciousness of a file. The types of possible status' are
Malicious, High, Medium, Low, Clean, Unknown, and Pending.
Type Note: This filter is only available in the Failed Authentications console.
VPN Type Filter by Virtual Private Network (VPN) protocol type, eg. PPTP.
Drill-Down Options
Double-click, or right-click, on any entry in a FortiView console and select Drill Down to Details, to view the
following columns (options vary depending on the console selected):
Drill down options are available for all FortiView consoles except All Sessions,
Logical Topology, and Physical Topology.
Option Description
Applications Select to drill down by application to view application-related information, including the
application name, sessions blocked and allowed, bytes sent and received, and the risk level.
You can sort entries by selecting the column header.
Sources Select to drill down by rows to view source-related information, including IP address, device
type, interface type, threat score, number of sessions blocked/allowed, and bytes
sent/received. You can sort entries by selecting the column header.
Destinations Select to drill down by destination to view destination-related information, including the IP
address and geographic region, interface, threat score, number of sessions blocked and
allowed, and bytes sent and received. You can sort entries by selecting the column header.
Countries Select to drill down by country, including the number of sessions, bytes sent and received,
and the bandwidth used.You can sort entries by selecting the column header.
Policies Select to drill down by the policies in use, including source interface, destination interface,
bytes sent and received, and bandwidth used. You can sort entries by selecting the column
header.
Source Select to drill down by source interface, including bytes sent and received, and bandwidth
Interfaces used. You can sort entries by selecting the column header.
Destination Select to drill down by destination interface, including bytes sent and received, and
Interfaces bandwidth used. You can sort entries by selecting the column header.
Threats Select to drill down by threat to view threat-related information, including the threat name,
category, threat level, threat score, and number of sessions blocked and allowed. You can
sort entries by selecting the column header.
Domains Select to drill down by domain to view domain-related information, including domain name,
category, browsing time, threat weight, number of sessions blocked/allowed, and bytes
sent/received. You can sort entries by selecting the column header.
Categories Select to drill down by category to view category-related information, including category
name, browsing time, threat score, number of sessions blocked/allowed, and bytes
sent/received. You can sort entries by selecting the column header.
Option Description
Sessions Select to drill down by sessions to view session-related information, including date/time,
source, destination IP address and geographic region, application name,security action,
security event, and bytes sent/received. You can sort entries by selecting the column
header.
Columns displayed
The following columns appear in the initial window of the dashboards. Some columns may only be visible by
selecting them from the column drop-down menu. Options vary depending on the dashboard selected.
Action Displays the type of response taken to a security event. The types of
possible actions are as follows:
l Allowed: No threat was detected and the connection was let through.
l Blocked: A threat was detected and the connection was not let through.
l Reset: A possible issue was detected and the connection was reset.
l Traffic Shape: Some data packets may have been delayed to improve
system-wide performance.
Application Displays the application name and service. When Time Display is set to
now, you can access further information about an application by selecting
the column entry.
Application Category Displays the type of application used in the selected session, e.g. video
player, social media.
Application ID Displays the identification number associated with the application used in
the selected session.
Application Risk Displays the application risk level. You can hover the mouse cursor over the
entry in the column for additional information, and select the column
Risk header to sort entries by level of risk.
Browsing Time Displays the amount of time a user has spent browsing a web site (in
seconds).
Bytes Displays the size of sent and received data packets, as measured in bytes.
(Sent/Received) Select the column header to sort the entries by size.
Configuration Changes Displays the number of configuration changes made by the user. You can
hover the mouse cursor over an entry for additional information.
Connections Displays the number of VPN connections made by the selected user..
Country Displays the country from which the selected traffic is originating.
Destination Country Displays the country session data is being sent to.
Destination Interface Displays which interface session data is being sent through, e.g. wan1.
Destination Port Displays the port number of the destination server being used to accept
data.
Device Displays the device IP address or Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN).
Domain Displays the domain associated with the selected web site, e.g.
google.com.
DST Nat IP Displays the Network Address Translation (NAT) IP address associated
with the destination server.
NAT Destination
Note: This column is only available in the All Sessions console.
DST Nat Port Displays the Network Address Translation (NAT) port number associated
with the destination server.
NAT Destination Port
Note: This column is only available in the All Sessions console.
Duration Displays the amount of time (in seconds) a user has been logged in.
Event Name (Description) Displays the name and description of the selected security event.
Events Displays the number of security events that occurred within a selected
session.
Expires Displays the amount of time a session has (in seconds) before it is set to
expire.
Note: This column is only available in the All Sessions console, in now
Time Display view.
Failed Logins Displays the number of failed login attempts made by an administrator
over the specified time period.
Files (Up/Down) Displays the number of files uploaded and downloaded. Hover the mouse
cursor over the entry in the column for additional information.
FortiASIC Displays the type of FortiASIC hardware acceleration used in the specified
session, if present.
Note: This column is only available in the All Sessions console, in the
now Time Display view.
Last Connection Time Displays the most recent instance of connection to the selected Virtual
Private Network (VPN).
Level Displays the threat level. Select the column header to sort entries by threat
level.
Threat Level
Log ID Displays the identification number for the data log associated with this
entry.
Login IDs Displays the number of login IDs associated with the selected cloud
application.
Login Type Displays the type of login (eg. WEP) associated with the displayed
authentication attempt.
Policy ID Displays the identification number of the policy under which the selected
connection was allowed.
Security Action Displays the action taken in response to the selected security event. The
types of possible actions are as follows:
l Allowed: No threat was detected and the connection was let through.
l Blocked: A threat was detected and the connection was not let
through.
l Reset: A possible issue was detected and the connection was reset.
l Traffic Shape: Some data packets may have been delayed to improve
system-wide performance.
Sessions Displays the number of sessions associated with the selected destination.
Note: This column only appears in the Destinations console, in the now
Time Display view.
Severity Displays the severity level (Critical, High, Medium or Low) associated
with the selected security event.
Source Interface Displays which interface is being used by the destination server (eg. wan1).
Source Port Displays the port number being used by the source server to send data.
Source SSID Displays the Service Set Identifier (SSID) associated with the selected
user.
Src NAT IP
Displays the Network Address Translation (NAT) IP address associated
with the source server.
NAT Source
Src NAT Port Displays the Network Address Translation (NAT) port number associated
with the source server.
NAT Source Port
Status The types of possible status' are Malicious, High, Medium, Low, Clean,
Unknown, and Pending.
Submitted Displays the number of files submitted to the FortiSandbox for assessment
in the selected session.
Threat Score Displays the threat score value, a measurement of the total number of
(Blocked/Allowed) threats detected over the course of the session. You can select the column
header to sort entries by threat score.
Threat Weight Displays the threat weight profile associated with the selected session.
User
Displays the user name associated with the selected administrator.
User Name
Videos Played Displays the number of videos played via cloud applications.
The following table identifies each risk level, from least to most severe:
Green: These applications have little to no risk level, with no assigned risk
Risk Level 1 definition. Application file-sharing may result in data leakage, which would
be a typical example of a low level risk.
Blue: These applications have an elevated risk level and typically use excessive
Risk Level 2 bandwidth. High bandwidth consumption can lead to increased operational
costs.
Yellow: These applications have a low risk level and are typically evasive.
Risk Level 3
Evasive applications can lead to compliance risks, and could include
applications such as JustinTV and GlypeProxy.
Orange: These applications have a high risk level, and are defined as using both
Risk Level 4 excessive and evasive bandwidth.
Red: Applications that have a high risk level are prone to malware or
Risk Level 5 vulnerabilities that can introduce business continuity risks.
Troubleshooting FortiView
Disk logging is disabled by default for some FortiGate units. To enable disk logging, enter the following command
in the CLI:
config log disk setting
set status enable
end
Only certain FortiGate models support Disk Logging — refer to the FortiView Feature Support - Platform Matrix
on page 1112 for more information.
Introduction
This document contains a series of tables showing the communication ports and protocols used between:
l FortiGate
l FortiAnalyzer
l FortiAP-S
l FortiAuthenticator
l FortiClient
l FortiCloud
l FortiDB
l FortiGuard
l FortiMail
l FortiManager
l FortiPortal
l FortiSandbox
l and 3rd-party servers using FSSO.
Additionally, Fortinet's proprietary protocols are documented, showing what Fortinet products they operate with,
how they behave, and how they carry out their roles:
FortiOS 5.6.3
These features first appeared in FortiOS 5.6.3.
Incoming ports
Purpose Protocol/Port
FSSO TCP/8000
AV/IPS UDP/9443
Incoming ports
Purpose Protocol/Port
Management TCP/541
FSSO TCP/8000
SSL VPN TCP/10443
Outgoing ports
Purpose Protocol/Port
OFTP TCP/514
Management TCP/541
Outgoing ports
Purpose Protocol/Port
Registration TCP/80
Note that, while a proxy is configured, FortiGate uses the following URLs to access
the FortiGuard Distribution Network (FDN):
l update.fortiguard.net
l service.fortiguard.net
l support.fortinet.com
Incoming ports
Purpose Protocol/Port
Registration TCP/541
Incoming ports
Purpose Protocol/Port
REST TCP/443
DC Polling TCP/445
Outgoing ports
Purpose Protocol/Port
DNS UDP/53
NTP UDP/123
RADIUS UDP/1812
Outgoing ports
Purpose Protocol/Port
Outgoing ports
Purpose Protocol/Port
Incoming ports
Purpose Protocol/Port
RADIUS UDP/1812
FSSO TCP/8000
Incoming ports
Purpose Protocol/Port
Telnet TCP/23
HTTP & SCEP TCP/80
SNMP Poll UDP/161
LDAP TCP/389
LDAPS TCP/636
OCSP TCP/2560
Outgoing ports
Purpose Protocol/Port
FSSO TCP/8000
Registration TCP/80
Outgoing ports
Purpose Protocol/Port
DNS UDP/52
Windows AD TCP/88
NTP UDP/123
LDAPS TCP/636
Outgoing ports
Purpose Protocol/Port
Incoming ports
Purpose Protocol/Port
OFTP TCP/514
Management TCP/541
Outgoing ports
Purpose Protocol/Port
Incoming ports
Purpose Protocol/Port
SNMP Traps UDP/161
Outgoing ports
Purpose Protocol/Port
SNMP Traps UDP/162
Syslog UDP/514
Incoming ports
Purpose Protocol/Port
Incoming ports
Purpose Protocol/Port
Registration TCP/80
Registration TCP/80
Outgoing ports
Purpose Protocol/Port
AV/IPS UDP/9443
When operating in its default configuration, FortiMail does not accept TCP or UDP
connections on any port except port1 and port2 network interfaces, which accept:
l ICMP pings,
l HTTPS connections on TCP/443,
l and SSH connections on TCP/22.
Incoming ports
Purpose Protocol/Port
Admin by SSH, Telnet, HTTP, SSH, Console TCP/443 or TCP/80 or TCP/22 or TCP/23
Console or PC
AV Push
Protected Email
SMTP or SMTPS TCP/25 or 465
Server
Outgoing ports
Purpose Protocol/Port
Outgoing ports
Purpose Protocol/Port
AV/AS Query
NTP UDP/123
* - FortiMail generates outbound traffic and sends an HTTP SYN request via TCP/80. The Fortinet RSS Feed
widget provides a convenient display of the latest security advisories and discovered threats from Fortinet. Also, if
an email message contains a shortened URI that redirects to another URI, it would cause FortiMail to send an
HTTP SYN request to the shortened URI to get the redirected URI.
Note that FortiMail uses the following URLs to access the FortiGuard Distribution
Network (FDN):
l update.fortiguard.net
l service.fortiguard.net
l support.fortinet.com
Furthermore, FortiMail performs these queries and updates listed below using the
following ports and protocols:
Incoming ports
Purpose Protocol/Port
AV/AS Query
Incoming ports
Purpose Protocol/Port
Outgoing ports
Purpose Protocol/Port
Registration TCP/541
SSH CLI Management TCP/22
Management TCP/541
FortiMail AV Push
NTP UDP/123
RADIUS UDP/1812
Note that, while a proxy is configured, FortiManager uses the following URLs to
access the FortiGuard Distribution Network (FDN) for the following updates:
Incoming ports
Purpose Protocol/Port
Outgoing ports
Purpose Protocol/Port
Incoming ports
Purpose Protocol/Port
ICAPS: TCP/11344
Outgoing ports
Purpose Protocol/Port
Outgoing ports
Purpose Protocol/Port
Note that FortiSandbox uses the following FQDNs to access the FortiSandbox
Community Cloud, depending on which protocol and port is used:
l TCP/443: fqdl.fortinet.net
l UDP/53: fqsvr.fortinet.net
l VM Internet access
l Internet connection
l System DNS resolve speed
l VM DNS resolve speed
l Ping speed
l Wget speed
l Web Filtering service
l FortiSandbox Community Cloud service
Incoming ports
Purpose Protocol/Port
DNS UDP/53
NTP UDP/123
SNMP Traps UDP/162
RADIUS UDP/1812
Incoming ports
Purpose Protocol/Port
DNS UDP/52
Windows AD TCP/88
NTP UDP/123
LDAPS TCP/636
NTP UDP/123
SNMP Traps UDP/162
RADIUS UDP/1812
Outgoing ports
Purpose Protocol/Port
The following section provides a full list of Fortinet's proprietary protocols, their purposes, and what ports they
operate on:
In an active-passive HA configuration, the FortiGate Clustering Protocol (FGCP) provides failover protection,
whereby the cluster can provide FortiGate services even when one of the cluster units loses connection. FGCP is
also a Layer 2 heartbeat that specifies how FortiGate units communicate in an HA cluster and keeps the cluster
operating.
You cannot mix FGCP and SLBC clusters in the same chassis.
The FortiGate's HA Heartbeat listens on ports TCP/703, TCP/23, or ETH layer 2/8890.
Virtual MAC addresses
FGCP assigns virtual MAC addresses to each primary unit interface in an HA cluster. Virtual MAC addresses are
in place so that, if a failover occurs, the new primary unit interfaces will have the same MAC addresses as the
failed primary unit interfaces. If the MAC addresses were to change after a failover, the network would take
longer to recover because all attached network devices would have to learn the new MAC addresses before they
could communicate with the cluster.
If a cluster is operating in Transparent mode, FGCP assigns a virtual MAC address for the primary unit
management IP address. Since you can connect to the management IP address from any interface, all of the
FortiGate interfaces appear to have the same virtual MAC address.
When a cluster starts up, after a failover, the primary unit sends gratuitous ARP packets to update the switches
connected to the cluster interfaces with the virtual MAC address. The switches update their MAC forwarding
tables with this MAC address. As a result, the switches direct all network traffic to the primary unit. Depending on
the cluster configuration, the primary unit either processes this network traffic itself or load balances the network
traffic among all of the cluster units.
You cannot disable sending gratuitous ARP packets, but you can change the number of packets that are sent (1-
60 ARP packets) by entering the following command:
config system ha
set arps <integer>
end
You can change the time between ARP packets (1-20 seconds) by entering the following command:
config system ha
set arps-interval <integer>
end
Assigning virtual MAC addresses
00-09-0f-09-<group-id_hex>-<vcluster_integer><idx>
where:
l <group-id_hex>: The HA group ID for the cluster converted to hexadecimal. The table below lists some example
virtual MAC addresses set for each group ID:
0 00
1 01
2 02
3 03
... ...
10 0a
11 0b
... ...
63 3f
... ...
255 ff
l <vcluster_integer>: This value is 0 for virtual cluster 1 and 2 for virtual cluster 2. If virtual domains are not
enabled, HA sets the virtual cluster to 1 and by default all interfaces are in the root virtual domain. Including virtual
cluster and virtual domain factors in the virtual MAC address formula means that the same formula can be used
whether or not virtual domains and virtual clustering is enabled.
l <idx>: The index number of the interface. In NAT/Route mode, interfaces are numbered from 0 to x (where x is the
number of interfaces). The interfaces are listed in alphabetical order on the web-based manager and CLI. The
interface at the top of the interface list is first in alphabetical order by name and has an index of 0. The second
interface in the list has an index of 1 and so on. In Transparent mode, the index number foe the management IP
address is 0.
Every FortiGate unit physical interface has two MAC addresses: the current hardware address and the permanent
hardware address. The permanent hardware address cannot be changed, as it is the actual MAC address of the
interface hardware. The current hardware address can be changed, but only when a FortiGate unit is not
operating in HA. For an operating cluster, the current hardware address of each cluster unit interface is changed
to the HA virtual MAC address by the FGCP.
You cannot change an interface MAC address and you cannot view MAC addresses from the system interface
CLI command.
You can use the get hardware nic <interface_name_str> (or diagnose hardware
deviceinfo nic <interface_str>) command to display both MAC addresses for any FortiGate
interface. This command displays hardware information for the specified interface, including the current hardware
address (as Current_HWaddr) and the permanent hardware address (as Permanent_HWaddr). For some
interfaces, the current hardware address is displayed as MAC.
Failover protection
FGCP supports three kinds of failover protection:
1. Device failover: Automatically replaces a failed device and restarts traffic flow with minimal impact on the
network. All subordinate units in an active-passive HA cluster are constantly waiting to negotiate to become
primary units. Only the heartbeat packets sent by the primary unit keep the subordinate units from becoming
primary units. Each received heartbeat packet resets negotiation timers in the subordinate units. If this timer is
allowed to run out because the subordinate units do not receive heartbeat packets from the primary unit, the
subordinate units assume that the primary unit has failed, and negotiate to become primary units themselves. The
default time interval between HA heartbeats is 200 ms.
2. Link failover: Maintains traffic flow if a link fails. In this case, the primary unit does not stop operating, and
therefore participates in the negotiation of selecting a new primary unit. The old primary unit then joins the cluster
as a subordinate unit. Furthermore, any subordinate units with a link failure are unlikely to become the primary
unit in future negotiations.
3. Session failover: With session failover (also called session pickup) enabled, the primary unit informs the
subordinate units of changes to the primary unit connection and state tables, keeping the subordinate units up-to-
date with the traffic currently being processed by the cluster. This helps new primary units resume communication
sessions with minimal loss of data, avoiding the need to restart active sessions.
Synchronization of configurations
The FGCP uses a combination of incremental and periodic synchronization to make sure that the configuration of
all cluster units is synchronized to that of the primary unit. However, there are certain settings that are not
synchronized between cluster units:
l HA override
l HA device priority
The FGCP heartbeat operates on TCP port 703 with an independent IP address not assigned to any FortiGate
interface. You can create an FGCP cluster of up to four FortiGate units. Below is an example of FGCP used to
create an HA cluster installed between an internal network and the Internet.
FGCP HA provides a solution for two key requirements of critical enterprise networking: enhanced reliability and
increased performance, through device, link, and remote link failover protection. Extended FGCP features
include full mesh HA and virtual clustering. You can also fine tune the performance of the FGCP to change how a
cluster forms and shares information among cluster units and how the cluster responds to failures.
Before configuring an FGCP HA cluster, make sure your FortiGate interfaces are configured with static IP
addresses. If any interface gets its address using DHCP or PPPoE you should temporarily switch it to a static
address and enable DHCP or PPPoE after the cluster has been established.
Heartbeat traffic, such as FGCP, uses multicast on port number 6065 and uses link-
local IPv4 addresses in the 169.254.0.x range. HA heartbeat packets have an
Ethertype field value of 0x8890.
Synchronization traffic, such as FGSP, uses unicast on port number 6066 and the IP
address 239.0.0.2. HA sessions that synchronize the cluster have an Ethertype field
value of 0x8893.
If you have not already done so, register the primary FortiGate and apply licenses to it before setting up the
cluster. This includes FortiCloud activation and FortiClient licensing, and entering a license key if you purchased
more than 10 Virtual Domains (VDOMs). You can also install any third-party certificates on the primary FortiGate
before forming the cluster.
The FortiGates should be running the same FortiOS firmware version, and their interfaces should not be
configured to get their addresses from DHCP or PPPoE.
1. Connect to the primary FortiGate and go to Dashboard > System Information. Change the unit's Host Name
to identify it as the primary FortiGate.
You can also enter this CLI command:
config system global
set hostname Primary_FortiGate
end
2. You then need to set the HA mode to active-passive. Enter the following CLI command to set the HA mode to
active-passive, set a group name and password, increase the device priority to a higher value (for example, 250)
and enable override:
config system ha
set mode a-p
set group-name My-HA-Cluster
set password
set priority 250
set override enable
set hbdev ha1 50 ha2 50
end
This command also selects ha1 and ha2 to be the heartbeat interfaces, with their priorities set to 50.
Enabling override and increasing the priority ensures that this FortiGate should become the primary unit.
You can configure these settings in the GUI under System > HA , however the
override can only be enabled in the CLI.
1. Enter the CLI command below to reset the new FortiGate to factory default settings (skip this step if the FortiGate
is fresh from the factory). It is recommended to set it back to factory defaults to reduce the chance of
synchronization problems.:
execute factoryreset
2. Make sure to change the firmware running on the new FortiGate to the same version running on the primary unit,
register, and apply licenses to it before adding it to the cluster.
3. Then go to Dashboard > System Information. Change the unit's Host Name to identify it as the backup
FortiGate.
You can also enter this CLI command:
config system global
set hostname Backup_FortiGate
end
4. Duplicate the primary unit's HA settings, except make sure to set the backup device's priority to a lower value and
do not enable override.
Connect the HA cluster as shown in the initial diagram above. Making these connections will disrupt network
traffic as you disconnect and re-connect cables.
When connected, the primary and backup FortiGates find each other and negotiate to form an HA cluster. The
primary unit synchronizes its configuration with the backup FortiGate. Forming the cluster happens automatically
with minimal or no disruption to network traffic.
l HA heartbeat packets for NAT/Route mode clusters use EtherType 0x8890. These packets are used by cluster units
to find other cluster units and to verify the status of other cluster units while the cluster is operating. You can change
the EtherType of these packets using the ha-eth-type option of the config system ha command.
l HA heartbeat packets for Transparent mode clusters use EtherType 0x8891. These packets are used by cluster
units to find other cluster units and to verify the status of other cluster units while the cluster is operating. You can
change the EtherType of these packets using the hc-eth-type option of the config system ha command.
l HA telnet sessions between cluster units over HA heartbeat links use EtherType 0x8893. The telnet sessions allow
an administrator to connect between FortiGates in the cluster using the execute ha manage command. You
can change the EtherType of these packets using the l2ep-eth-type option under config system ha.
Because heartbeat packets are recognized as level 2 frames, the switches and routers on your heartbeat network
that connect to heartbeat interfaces must be configured to allow them. If level 2 frames are dropped by these
network devices, heartbeat traffic will not be allowed between the cluster units.
Some third-party network equipment may use packets with these EtherTypes for other purposes. For example,
Cisco N5K/Nexus switches use EtherType 0x8890 for some functions. When one of these switches receives
EtherType 0x8890 packets from an attached cluster unit, the switch generates CRC errors and the packets are
not forwarded. As a result, FortiGate units connected with these switches cannot form a cluster.
In some cases, if the heartbeat interfaces are connected and configured so regular traffic flows but heartbeat
traffic is not forwarded, you can change the configuration of the switch that connects the HA heartbeat interfaces
to allow level2 frames with Ethertypes 0x8890, 0x8891, and 0x8893 to pass.
Alternatively, you can use the following CLI options to change the EtherTypes of the HA heartbeat packets:
config system ha
set ha-eth-type <ha_ethertype_4-digit_hex
set hc-eth-type <hc_ethertype_4-digit_ex>
set l2ep-eth-type <l2ep_ethertype_4-digit_hex>
end
For example, use the following command to change the EtherType of the HA heartbeat packets from 0x8890 to
0x8895 and to change the EtherType of HA Telnet session packets from 0x8891 to 0x889f:
config system ha
set ha-eth-type 8895
set l2ep-eth-type 889f
end
If HA heartbeat packets are not encrypted the cluster password and changes to the cluster configuration could be
exposed and an attacker may be able to sniff HA packets to get cluster information. Enabling HA heartbeat
message authentication prevents an attacker from creating false HA heartbeat messages. False HA heartbeat
messages could affect the stability of the cluster.
HA heartbeat encryption and authentication are disabled by default. Enabling HA encryption and authentication
could reduce cluster performance. Use the following CLI command to enable HA heartbeat encryption and
authentication.
config system ha
set authentication enable
set encryption enable
end
HA authentication and encryption uses AES-128 for encryption and SHA1 for authentication.
FortiGate Session Life Support Protocol (FGSP) distributes sessions between two FortiGate units and the FGSP
performs session synchronization. If one of the peers fails, session failover occurs and active sessions fail over to
the peer that is still operating. This failover occurs without any loss of data. Also, the external routers or load
balancers will detect the failover and re-distribute all sessions to the peer that is still operating. The two FortiGate
units must be the same model and must be running the same firmware.
You can also use the config system cluster-sync command to configure FGSP between two FortiGate
units.
The FortiGate's HA Heartbeat listens on ports TCP/703, TCP/23, or ETH Layer 2/8890.
In previous versions of FortiOS, FGSP was called TCP session synchronization or standalone session
synchronization. However, FGSP has been expanded to include both IPv4 and IPv6 TCP, UDP, ICMP,
expectation, NAT sessions, and IPsec tunnels.
Configuration synchronization
Configuration synchronization can also be performed, allowing you to make configuration changes once for both
FortiGate units instead of requiring multiple configuration changes on each FortiGate unit. However interface IP
addresses, BGP neighbor settings, and other settings that identify the FortiGate unit on the network are not
synchronized. You can enable configuration synchronization by entering the following command:
config system ha
set standalone-config-sync enable
end
The FGSP enforces firewall policies for asymmetric traffic, including cases where the TCP 3-way handshake is
split between two FortiGates. For example, FGT-A receives the TCP-SYN, FGT-B receives the TCP-SYN-ACK,
and FGT-A receives the TCP-ACK. Under normal conditions a firewall will drop this connection since the 3-way
handshake was not seen by the same firewall. However two FortiGates with FGSP configured will be able to
properly pass this traffic since the firewall sessions are synchronized.
If traffic will be highly asymmetric, as described above, the following command must be enabled on both
FortiGates:
config system ha
set session-pickup enable
set session-pickup-expectation enable
end
Security profile inspection, flow or proxy based, is not expected to work properly if the traffic in the session is load
balanced across more than one FortiGate in either direction. However, flow-based inspection should be used in
FGSP deployments.
For symmetric traffic, security profile inspection can be used but with the following limitations:
l No session synchronization for the sessions inspected using proxy-based inspection. Sessions will drop and need to
be reestablished after data path failover.
l Sessions with flow-based inspection will failover, and inspection of sessions after a failover may not work.
If session pickup is enabled, as soon as new sessions are added to the primary unit session table they are
synchronized to the other cluster units. Enable the session-pickup-delay CLI option to reduce the number of
sessions that are synchronized by synchronizing sessions only if they remain active for more than 30 seconds.
Enabling this option could greatly reduce the number of sessions that are synchronized if a cluster typically
processes very many short duration sessions, which is typical of most HTTP traffic for example.
Using the session-sync-dev option, you can select one or more FortiGate interfaces to use for synchronizing
sessions as required for session pickup. Normally session synchronization occurs over the HA heartbeat link.
Using this HA option means only the selected interfaces are used for session synchronization and not the HA
heartbeat link. If you select more than one interface, session synchronization traffic is load balanced among the
selected interfaces.
Moving session synchronization from the HA heartbeat interface reduces the bandwidth required for HA heartbeat
traffic and may improve the efficiency and performance of the cluster, especially if the cluster is synchronizing a
large number of sessions. Load balancing session synchronization among multiple interfaces can further improve
performance and efficiency if the cluster is synchronizing a large number of sessions.
Use the following command to perform cluster session synchronization using the port10 and port12 interfaces.
config system ha
set session-sync-dev port10 port12
end
Session synchronization packets use Ethertype 0x8892. The interfaces to use for session synchronization must
be connected together either directly using the appropriate cable (possible if there are only two units in the
cluster) or using switches. If one of the interfaces becomes disconnected the cluster uses the remaining
interfaces for session synchronization. If all of the session synchronization interfaces become disconnected,
session synchronization reverts back to using the HA heartbeat link. All session synchronization traffic is between
the primary unit and each subordinate unit.
Since large amounts of session synchronization traffic can increase network congestion, it is recommended that
you keep this traffic off of your network by using dedicated connections for it.
1. Session synchronization will use the ports defined as HA heartbeat interfaces (set
hbdev).
2. Session synchronization packets will be sent over UDP/708 instead of Ethertype
0x8892.
IPsec tunnel sync only supports dialup IPsec. The interfaces on both FortiGates that are tunnel endpoints must
have the same IP addresses and external routers must be configured to load balance IPsec tunnel sessions to the
FortiGates in the cluster.
Standalone configuration synchronization uses a very similar process as FGCP. There is a similar relationship
between the two FortiGates but only in regards to configuration synchronization, not session information. The
primary unit is selected by using priority/override. The heartbeat is used to check the primary unit's health. Once
heartbeat loss is detected, a new primary unit is selected.
The FortiGate to FortiManager (FGFM) protocol is designed for FortiGate and FortiManager deployment
scenarios, especially where NAT is used. These scenarios include the FortiManager on public internet while the
FortiGate unit is behind NAT, FortiGate unit is on public internet while FortiManager is behind NAT, or both
FortiManager and FortiGate unit have routable IP addresses.
The FortiManager unit's Device Manager uses FGFM to create new device groups, provision and add devices,
and install policy packages and device settings.
Port 541 is the default port used for FortiManager traffic on the internal management network. Port 542 is also
used to establish IPv6 connection.
FortiGate configuration
Adding a FortiGate unit to FortiManager will ensure that the unit will be able to receive antivirus and IPS updates
and allow remote management through the FortiManager system, or FortiCloud service. The FortiGate unit can
be in either NAT or transparent mode. The FortiManager unit provides remote management of a FortiGate unit
over TCP port 541.
You must first enable Central Management on the FortiGate so management updates to firmware and
FortiGuard services are available:
1. Go to System > Settings.
2. Set Central Management to FortiManager.
3. Enter the FortiManager's IP/Domain Name in the field provided, and select Send Request.
You can also select Registration Password and enter a password to connect to the FortiManager.
To configure the previous steps in the CLI, enter the following - note that fmg can be set to either an IP address
or FQDN:
config system central-management
set fmg <string>
end
To use the registration password, enter the following:
execute central-mgmt register-device <fmg-serial-no> <fmg-register-password> <fgtusrname>
<fgt-password>
FGFM is also used in ADOMs (Administrative Domains) set to Normal Mode. Normal Mode has Read/Write
privileges, where the administrator is able to make changes to the ADOM and manage devices from the
FortiManager. FortiGate units in the ADOM will query their own configuration every five seconds. If there has
been a configuration change, the FortiGate unit will send a revision on the change to the FortiManager using the
FGFM protocol.
To configure central management on the FortiGate unit, enter the following on the FortiGate:
config system central-management
The default encryption automatically sets high and medium encryption algorithms. Algorithms used for High,
Medium, and Low follow the openssl definitions below:
An SSL connection can be configured between the two devices and an encryption level selected. To configure the
connection in the CLI, Enter the following:
config system central-management
set status enable
set enc-algorithm {default | high | low}
end
Note that default automatically sets high and medium encryption algorithms.
FortiManager configuration
Use the Device Manager pane to add, configure, and manage devices.
You can add existing operational devices, unregistered devices, provision new devices, and add multiple devices
at a time.
Adding an operating FortiGate HA cluster to the Device Manager pane is similar to adding a standalone device.
Type the IP address of the master device. The FortiManager will handle the cluster as a single managed device.
See the FortiManager Administration Guide for full details on adding devices, under Device Manager.
This applies to a FortiGate running in HA as the primary units; it does not apply to subordinate units.
When the FortiGate unit is replaced, perform a Device Manager Connectivity check or Refresh on teh
FortiManager to establish the FGFM management tunnel to the FortiGate. If it fails, to establish, you can force
the tunnel by executing the following command on the FortiManager:
execute fgfm reclaim-dev-tunnel <device_name>
The Session-aware Load Balancing Cluster (SLBC) protocol is used for clusters consisting of FortiControllers that
perform load balancing of both TCP and UDP sessions. As session-aware load balancers, FortiControllers, with
FortiASIC DP processors, are capable of directing any TCP or UDP session to any worker installed in the same
chassis. It also means that more complex networking features such as NAT, fragmented packets, complex UDP
protocols and others such as Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), a communications protocol for signaling and
controlling multimedia communication sessions, can be load balanced by the cluster.
Currently, only three FortiController models are available for SLBC: FortiController-5103B, FortiController-
5903C, and FortiController-5913C. Supported workers include the FortiGate-5001B, 5001C, 5101C, and 5001D.
You cannot mix FGCP and SLBC clusters in the same chassis.
An SLBC with two FortiControllers can operate in active-passive mode or dual mode. In active-passive mode, if
the active FortiController fails, traffic is transferred to the backup FortiController. In dual mode both
FortiControllers load balance traffic and twice as many network interfaces are available.
SLBC clusters consisting of more than one FortiController use the following types of communication between
FortiControllers to operate normally:
l Heartbeat: Allows the FortiControllers in the cluster to find each other and share status information. If a
FortiController stops sending heartbeat packets it is considered down by other cluster members. By default
heartbeat traffic uses VLAN 999.
l Base control: Communication between FortiControllers on subnet 10.101.11.0/255.255.255.0 using VLAN 301.
l Base management: Communication between FortiControllers on subnet 10.101.10.0/255.255.255.0 using
VLAN 101.
l Session synchronization: If one FortiController fails, session synchronization allows another to take its place and
maintain active communication sessions. FortiController-5103B session sync traffic uses VLAN 2000.
FortiController-5903C and FortiController-5913C session sync traffic between the FortiControllers in slot 1 uses
VLAN 1900 and between the FortiControllers in slot 2 uses VLAN 1901. You cannot change these VLANs.
Note that SLBC does not support session synchronization between workers in the same chassis. The
FortiControllers in a cluster keep track of the status of the workers in their chassis and load balance sessions to
the workers. If a worker fails the FortiController detects the failure and stops load balancing sessions to that
worker. The sessions that the worker is processing when it fails are lost.
To add the mgmt interface to the list of heartbeat interfaces used, on the FortiController-5103B, enter the
following:
config system ha
set hbdev b1 b2 mgmt
end
This example adds the mgmt interface for heartbeats to the B1 and B2 interfaces. The B1 and B2 ports are
recommended because they are 10G ports and the Mgmt interface is a 100Mb interface.
FortiController-5103B is currently the only model that allows its mgmt interface to be
added to the heartbeat interfaces list.
By default, only the first heartbeat interface (usually B1) is used for heartbeat traffic. If this interface fails on any
of the FortiControllers in a cluster, then the second heartbeat interface is used (B2).
To simultaneously use all heartbeat interfaces for heartbeat traffic, enter the following command:
config load-balance-setting
set base-mgmt-interface-mode active-active
end
You can also change the base management subnet and VLAN ID from the FortiController CLI. For example, to
change the base management subnet to 10.121.10.0/255.255.255.0 and the VLAN to 131, enter the following:
config load-balance setting
set base-mgmt-internal-network 10.121.10.0 255.255.255.0
config base-mgt-interfaces
edit b1
set vlan-id 131
next
edit b2
set vlan-id 131
end
If required, you can use different VLAN IDs for the B1 and B2 interface.
Changing this VLAN only changes the VLAN used for base management traffic between chassis. Within a chassis
the default VLAN is used.
up the configuration of each FGCP cluster VDOM. Each of the VDOM configuration files is manually edited to
adjust interface names. These modified VDOM configuration files are then restored to the corresponding SLBC
cluster primary worker VDOMs.
For this migration to work, the FGCP cluster and the SLBC workers must be running the same firmware version,
the VDOMS are enabled on the FGCP cluster, and the SLBC workers have been registered and licensed.
However, the FGCP cluster units do not have to be the same model as the SLBC cluster workers.
Only VDOM configurations are migrated. You have to manually configure primary worker management and
global settings.
Conversion steps
1. Add VDOM(s) to the SLBC primary worker with names that match those of the FGCP cluster.
2. Map FGCP cluster interface names to SLBC primary worker interface names. For example, you can map the
FGCP cluster port1 and port2 interfaces to the SLBC primary worker fctl/f1 and fctl/f2 interfaces. You can also
map FGCP cluster interfaces to SLBC trunks, and include aggregate interfaces.
3. Add interfaces to the SLBC primary worker VDOMs according to your mapping. This includes moving SLBC
physical interfaces into the appropriate VDOMs, creating aggregate interfaces, and creating SLBC trunks if
required.
4. Add VLANs to the SLBC primary worker that match VLANs in the FGCP cluster. They should have the same
names as the FGCP VLANs, be added to the corresponding SLBC VDOMs and interfaces, and have the same
VLAN IDs.
5. Add inter-VDOM links to the SLBC primary worker that match the FGCP cluster.
6. Backup the configurations of each FGCP cluster VDOM, and SLBC primary worker VDOM.
7. Use a text editor to replace the first four lines of each FGCP cluster VDOM configuration file with the first four lines
of the corresponding SLBC primary worker VDOM configuration file. Here are example lines from an SLBC primary
worker VDOM configuration file:
#config-version=FG-5KB-5.02-FW-build670-150318:opmode=0:vdom=1:user=admin
#conf_file_ver=2306222306838080295
#buildno=0670
#global_vdom=0:vd_name=VDOM1
8. With the text editor, edit each FGCP cluster VDOM configuration file and replace all FGCP cluster interface
names with the corresponding SLBC worker interface names, according to the mapping you created in step 2.
9. Set up a console connection to the SLBC primary worker to check for errors during the following steps.
10. From the SLBC primary worker, restore each FGCP cluster VDOM configuration file to each corresponding SLBC
primary worker VDOM.
11. Check the following on the SLBC primary worker:
l Make sure set type fctrl-trunk is enabled for SLBC trunk interfaces.
l Enable the global and management VDOM features that you need, including SNMP, logging, connections to
FortiManager, FortiAnalyzer, and so on.
l If there is a FortiController in chassis slot 2, make sure the worker base2 interface status is up.
l Remove snmp-index entries for each interface.
l Since you can manage the workers from the FortiController you can remove management-related
configurations using the worker mgmt1 and mgmt2 interfaces (Logging, SNMP, admin access, etc.) if you are
not going to use these interfaces for management.
1. Install a FortiGate-5000 series chassis and connect it to power. Install the FortiController in slot 1. Install the
workers in slots 3, 4, and 5. Power on the chassis.
2. Check the chassis, FortiController, and FortiGate LEDs to verify that all components are operating normally. (To
check normal operation LED status see the FortiGate-5000 series documents available here.)
3. Check the FortiSwitch-ATCA release notes and install the latest supported firmware on the FortiController and on
the workers. Get FortiController firmware from the Fortinet Support site. Select the FortiSwitch-ATCA product.
To configure the FortiController, you will need to either connect to the FortiController GUI or CLI with the default
IP address of http://192.168.1.99. Log in using the admin account (no password).
1. Add a password for the admin account. Use the Administrators widget in the GUI, or enter the following CLI
command:
config admin user
edit admin
set password <password>
end
2. Change the FortiController mgmt interface IP address. Use the Management Port widget in the GUI, or enter the
following CLI command:
config system interface
edit mgmt
set ip 172.20.120.151/24
end
3. If you need to add a default route for the management IP address, enter the following command:
config route static
edit route 1
set gateway 172.20.121.2
end
4. To set the chassis type that you are using, enter the following CLI command:
config system global
set chassic-type fortigate-5140
end
5. Go to Load Balance > Config and add workers to the cluster by selecting Edit and moving the slots that contain
workers to the Member list. The Config page shows the slots in which the cluster expects to find workers. Since
the workers have not been configured yet, their status is Down.
Configure the External Management IP/Netmask. Once the workers are connected to the cluster, you can use
this IP address to manage and configure them.
6. You can also enter the following CLI command to add slots 3, 4, and 5 to the cluster:
config load-balance setting
config slots
edit 3
next
edit 4
next
edit 5
end
end
7. You can also enter the following command to configure the external management IP/Netmask and management
access to the following address:
config load-balance setting
set base-mgmt-external-ip 172.20.120.100 255.255.255.0
set base-mgmt-allowaccess https ssh ping
end
Before you begin adding workers to the cluster, make sure you enter the execute factoryreset command
in the CLI so the workers are set to factory default settings. If the workers are going to run FortiOS Carrier, add
the FortiOS Carrier licence instead - this will reset the worker to factory default settings.
Also make sure to register and apply licenses to each worker, including FortiClient licensing, FortiCloud
activation, and entering a license key if you purchased more than 10 Virtual Domains (VDOMs). You can also
install any third-party certificates on the primary worker before forming the cluster. Once the cluster is formed,
third-party certificates are synchronized to all of the workers. FortiToken licenses can be added at any time, which
will also synchronize across all of the workers.
1. Log in to each of the worker's CLI and enter the following CLI command to set the worker to operate in
FortiController mode:
config system elbc
set mode fortincontroller
end
Once the command is entered, the worker restarts and joins the cluster.
2. On the FortiController, go to Load Balance > Status. You will see the workers appear in their appropriate slots.
The worker in the lowest slot number usually becomes the primary unit.
You can now manage the workers in the same way as you would manage a standalone FortiGate. You can
connect to the worker GUI or CLI using the External Management IP. If you had configured the worker mgmt1
or mgmt2 interfaces you can also connect to one of these addresses to manage the cluster.
To operate the cluster, connect networks to the FortiController front panel interfaces and connect to a worker GUI
or CLI to configure the workers to process the traffic they receive. When you connect to the External Management
IP you connect to the primary worker. When you make configuration changes they are synchronized to all workers
in the cluster.
l service_port is the normal port number for the management service (80 for HTTP, 443 for HTTPS and so on).
l chassis_id is the chassis ID specified as part of the FortiController HA configuration and can be 1 or 2.
l slot_id is the number of the chassis slot.
By default, chassis 1 is the primary chassis and chassis 2 is the backup chassis.
However, the actual primary chassis is the one with the primary FortiController, which
can be changed independently of the chassis number. Additionally, the chassis_id is
defined by the chassis number, not whether the chassis contains the primary
FortiController.
Some examples:
For more detailed information regarding FortiController SLBC configurations, see the FortiController Session-
Aware Load Balancing (SLBC) Guide.
Security Fabric spans across an entire network linking different security sensors and tools together to collect,
coordinate, and respond to malicious behavior in real time. Security Fabric can be used to coordinate the
behavior of different Fortinet products in your network, including FortiGate, FortiAnalyzer, FortiClient,
FortiSandbox, FortiAP, FortiSwitch, and FortiClient Enterprise Management Server (EMS). Security Fabric
supports FortiOS 5.4.1+, FortiSwitchOS 3.3+, and FortiClient 5.4.1+.
Port TCP/8009 is the port FortiGate uses for incoming traffic from the FortiClient Portal, as user information
(such as IP address, MAC address, avatar, and other profile information) is automatically synchronized to the
FortiGate and EMS.
The brief example below assumes that FortiTelemetry has been enabled on the top-level FortiGate (FGT1),
OSPF routing has been configured, and that policies have been created for all FortiGate units to access the
Internet.
For more details on how to configure a security fabric between FortiGate units, see Fortinet Security Fabric
installation on the Fortinet Cookbook website.
3. On a downstream FortiGate (such as FGT2 or FGT3), configure the same fabric settings as were set on FGT1.
4. Enable Connect to upstream FortiGate.
Be sure you do not enable this on the topmost-level FortiGate (in this example, FGT1).
5. In FortiGate IP, enter the FGT1 interface that has FortiTelemetry enabled. The FortiTelemetry port (set to
8013) can be changed as required.
Once set up, you can view your network's Security Fabric configuration under FortiView through two
topology dashboards.
6. On top-level FortiGate, go to Security Fabric > Physical Topology. This dashboard shows a vizualization of all
access layer devices in the fabric.
7. Go to Security Fabric > Logical Topology to view information about the interfaces (logical or physical) that
each device in the fabric is connected to.
Other Security Fabric configurations for your network are available through the Fortinet Cookbook Security Fabric
Collection page.
FortiTelemetry (called FortiHeartBeat in FortiOS 5.4.0 and FortiClient Access in FortiOS 5.2) is an interface
option that listens for connections from devices with FortiClient installed.
FortiTelemetry is the TCP/8013 protocol used between FortiClient and FortiGate, FortiClient and FortiClient
EMS, and between FortiGate and other FortiGates in CSF configurations.
With FortiTelemetry enabled on the FortiGate, you can enforce FortiTelemetry for all FortiClients. This
FortiClient endpoint compliance will require all clients to have FortiClient installed in order to get access through
the FortiGate. Configure these settings in the internal interface under Network > Interfaces. Edit the interface
of your choice. Under Restrict Access > Administrative Access, enable FortiTelemetry, then enable
FortiClient On-Net Status.
CLI command - To enable FortiClient On-Net status for a DHCP server added to the port1 interface:
config system dhcp server edit 1
set interface port1
set forticlient-on-net-status enable
end
If you are using the ten free licenses for FortiClient, support is provided on the Fortinet Forum
(forum.fortinet.com). Phone support is only available for paid licenses.
VM00 200
Older FortiClient SKUs will still be valid and can be applied to FortiOS 5.4 and 5.6.
If all the information displayed is correct, select Accept. FortiClient Telemetry will connect to the identified
FortiGate/EMS.
Alternately, you can select Cancel and launch FortiClient without connecting to FortiClient Telemetry. This will
launch FortiClient is standalone mode, where you can manually connect FortiClient Telemetry.
After FortiClient Telemetry is connected to FortiGate or EMS, FortiClient downloads a profile from
FortiGate/EMS.
FortiClient uses the following methods in the following order to automatically locate FortiGate/EMS for Telemetry
connection:
1. Telemetry gateway IP list: FortiClient Telemetry searches for IP addresses in its subnet in the Gateway IP list.
It connects to the FortiGate in the list that is also in the same subnet as the host system.
If FortiClient cannot find any FortiGates in its subnet, it will attempt to connect to the first reachable
FortiGate in the list, starting from the top. The order of the list is maintained as it was configured in the
Gateway IP list.
2. Remembered gateway IP list: You can configure FortiClient to remember gateway IP addresses when you
connect Telemetry to FortiGate/EMS. Later FortiClient can use the remembered IP addresses to automatically
connect Telemetry to FortiGate/EMS.
3. Default gateway IP address: The default gateway IP address is specified on the FortiClient endpoint and is
used to automatically connect to FortiGate. This method does not support connection to EMS.
FortiClient obtains the default gateway IP address from the operating system on the
endpoint device. The default gateway IP address of the endpoint device should be the
IP address for the FortiGate interface with Telemetry enabled.
If FortiClient is unable to automatically locate a FortiGate/EMS on the network for Telemetry connection, you can
type the gateway IP address of the FortiGate/EMS.
FortiClient uses the same process to connect Telemetry to FortiGate/EMS after the
FortiClient endpoint reboots, rejoins the network, or encounters a network change.
FortiGuard services can be purchased and registered to your FortiGate unit. The FortiGate must be connected to
the Internet in order to automatically connect to the FortiGuard Distribution Network (FDN) to validate the license
and download FDN updates.
l AntiVirus (AV)
l Intrusion Protection Service (IPS)
l Application Control
l Anti-Spam
l Web Filtering
l Web Application Firewall (WAF)
The FDN sends notice that a FortiGuard AntiVirus and IPS update is available on UDP/9443.
The following information concerns certain considerations in regards to FortiGate receiving FortiGuard updates
through FDN, how the submission of malware statistics to FortiGuard is handled, an automatic update behaviour
when FortiGate has expired licenses, and related CLI commands.
For Anti-Spam:
diagnose spamfilter fortishield servers
If only one or two IPs are displayed in the command outputs, it could be one of the following issues:
l No response from the DNS server: Either the DNS server is unreachable or there is a problem with the routing.
Make sure that contact to the DNS server is available by resolving some URLs from the CLI, for example:
execute ping www.google.com
execute ping service.fortiguard.net
You can also
l Review update errors: Review update information from the last update, enable debug outputs and force the
update:
diagnose test update info
diagnose debug enable
diagnose debug application update 255
execute update-ase
execute update-av
execute update-ips
After troubleshooting, it is highly recommended to turn off debug mode:
diagnose debug disable
diagnose debug application update 0
l FortiGuard Web filtering: Port blocking or packet inspection is occurring downstream. The default port used by
the FortiGuard for the FortiGuard services is 8888.
You can change this port using the following command:
config system fortiguard
set port <port_number>
end
You can also change the source port for management traffic with the following CLI command:
config system global
set ip-src-port-range 1035-25000
end
diagnose test application urlfilter 99
diagnose test application smtp 99
The statistics are used to improve various aspects of FortiGate malware protection. For example, AntiVirus
statistics allow FortiGuard to determine the viruses that are active in the wild. Signatures for such viruses are kept
in the Active AV Signature Database that is used by many Fortinet products. Signatures for inactive viruses are
moved to the Extended/Extreme AV Signature Database used by some customers. If the events for inactive
viruses start appearing in malware statistics, these signatures can be moved back to the Active AV Signature
Database.
The FortiGate and FortiGuard servers go through a 2-way SSL/TLS 1.2 authentication before any data is
transmitted. The certificates used in this process must be trusted by each other and signed by Fortinet CA server.
Malware statistics are accumulated and sent periodically (by default every 60 minutes).
Fortinet products can only accept data from authorized FortiGuard severs. Fortinet products use DNS to find
FortiGuard servers and periodically update their FortiGate server list. All other servers are provided by a list that is
updated through the encrypted channel.
Fortinet uses the malware statistics collected in this manner to improve the
performance of the FortiGate services and to display statistics on Fortinet's Support
site for customers registered FortiGate devices.
Fortinet may also publish or share statistics or results derived from this malware data
with various audiences. The malware statistics shared in this way do not include any
customer data.
To enable, disable, and/or customize how often statistics are sent to FortiGuard, use the following command:
CLI syntax
config system global
set fds-statistics {enable | disable}
set fds-statistics-period <minutes>
end
In addition to secure submission of statistics to FortiGuard, there are other mechanisms in place to prevent
unauthorized FortiGuard updates from clients:
l The server certificate has to be authenticated by FortiGates, and it only trusts Fortinet's root certificate.
l Proprietary encryption (including FCP, an application-level proprietary protocol) that only Fortinet's own
servers/devices can prepare.
FortiGates can only accept data from Fortinet's own list of servers, although the list can be updated through
previously connected servers. DNS is used on the initial server, but all other servers are provided by a list that is
updated through SSL, meaning that only FortiGates accept data from those servers.
CLI syntax
The following section contains commands to control FortiGuard.
The following command will set the proxy server port that the FortiGate will use to connect to the FortiGuard
Distribution Network (FDN).
config system.autoupdate tunneling
set port <integer>
end
system fortiguard
The following command will set the port by which scheduled FortiGuard service updates will be received.
config system fortiguard
set port {53 | 8888 | 80}
end
webfilter fortiguard
The following command will close ports used for HTTPS/HTTP override authentication and disable user
overrides:
config webfilter fortiguard
set close-ports {enable | disable}
end
For more information, including FortiGuard execute commands used to manage FortiCloud domains and
operations, see the CLI Reference.
FortiGate units can be used to remotely manage FortiSwitch units, which is also known as using a FortiSwitch in
FortiLink mode. FortiLink defines the management interface and the remote management protocol between the
FortiGate and FortiSwitch.
Different FortiGate models support remote management for varying numbers of FortiSwitches, as shown below:
Note that all FortiSwitches above also support FortiLink mode when paired with the following FortiGate
models: 100D, 140D (POE, T1), 200D, 240D, 280D (POE), 600C, 800C, and 1000C.
FS-28C WAN port 1
For all D-series switches, use the last (highest number) port for FortiLink. For example:
* FortiSwitch 3.3.1 and later releases support the use of an RJ-45 port for FortiLink. Please contact Fortinet
Customer Service & Support for additional information.
FGT-60D, FGT-60D-POE,
port1 - port7
FWF-60D, FWF-60D-POE
FGT-140D , 140D-POE,
port1 - port36
140D-POE-T1
You can use any of the switch ports for FortiLink. Use the following FortiSwitch CLI commands to configure a port
for FortiLink auto-discovery:
config switch interface
edit <port>
set auto-discovery-fortilink enable
end
Note that some FortiSwitch ports are enabled for auto-discovery by default.
Each FortiSwitch model provides a set of ports that are enabled for FortiLink auto-discovery by default. If you
connect the FortiLink using one of these ports, no switch configuration is required.
In general (in FortiSwitchOS 3.4.0 and later releases), the last four ports are the default auto-discovery FortiLink
ports. The table below lists the default auto-discovery ports for each switch model:
You can also run the show switch interface CLI command on the FortiSwitch to see the ports that have
auto-discovery enabled.
For FortiSwitchOS releases prior to 3.3.0, you must Set the FortiSwitch to remote
management mode before following the steps below.
1. Connect a cable from the designated FortiSwitch port to an unused port on the FortiGate. Refer to FortiLink ports
for each FortiSwitch model for additional information.
2. Go to Network > Interfaces and edit an internal port on the FortiGate.
3. Set Addressing mode to Dedicated to FortiSwitch and select OK.
4. As of FortiOS 5.4.0, the Managed FortiSwitch GUI option can only be accessed by enabling it through the CLI
console.
Open the CLI console and enter the following command to make the switch controller available in the GUI,
and to set the reserved subnetwork for the controller:
config system global
set switch-controller enable
set switch-controller-reserved-network 169.254.254.0 255.255.255.0
end
5. Go to WiFI & Switch Controller > Managed FortiSwitch. The new FortiSwitch should now be displayed in the
table.
6. Right-click on the FortiSwitch and select Authorize.
Note that, for the example shown below, the FortiGate's port1 is configured as the FortiLink port.
Note that the following steps are not necessary for FortiSwitchOS releases 3.3.0 or later.
Connect any two ports on the FortiGate to two ports on the FortiSwitch. Make sure that you use the designated
Fortilink port as one of the ports on the switch.
To configure the Fortilink as a LAG on the FortiGate, create a trunk (of type fortilink) with the two ports that you
connected to the switch:
config system interface
edit "fortilink"
set vdom root
set allowaccess ping capwap http https
set type fortilink
set member port4 port5
set snmp-index 17
set lacp-mode static
next
end
config system ntp
set ntpsync enable
set syncinterval 60
set server-mode enable
set interface "fortilink"
end
There is no specific configuration required for the LAG on the switch.
Multi-location organizations or businesses using the cloud can provide license-free WAN optimization using
FortiOS.
WAN Optimization is a comprehensive solution that maximizes your WAN performance and provides intelligent
bandwith management and unmatched consolidated security performance. WAN optimization reduces your
network overhead and removes unneccessary traffic for a better overall performance experience. Efficient use of
bandwidth and better application performance will remove the need for costly WAN link upgrades between data
centers and other expensive solutions for your network traffic growth.
WAN optimization is available on FortiGate models with internal storage that also support SSL acceleration.
Internal storage includes high-capacity internal hard disks, AMC hard disk modules, FortiGate Storage Modules
(FSMs) or over 4 GB of internal flash storage.
Protocol optimization
Protocol optimization is effective for applications designed for the LAN that do not function well on low
bandwidth, high latency networks. FortiOS protocol optimization improves the efficiency of CIFS, FTP, HTTP,
MAPI, and general TCP sessions.
CIFC, for example, requires many background transactions to successfully transfer a single file. When
transferring the file, CIFS sends small chunks of data and waits sequentially for each chunk’s arrival and
acknowledgment before sending the next chunk. This large amount of requests and acknowledgements of traffic
can delay transfers. WAN Optimization removes this complexity and improves the efficiency of transferring the
file.
TCP protocol optimization uses techniques such as SACK support, window scaling and window size adjustment,
and connection pooling to remove common WAN TCP bottlenecks.
Byte caching
Byte caching improves caching by accelerating the transfer of similar, but not identical content. Byte caching
reduces the amount of data crossing the WAN when multiple different emails with the same or similar
attachments or different versions of an attachment are downloaded from a corporate email server to different
locations over the WAN.
Byte caching breaks large units of application data, such as email attachments or file downloads, into smaller
chunks of data. Each chunk of data is labeled with a hash, and chunks with their respective hashes are stored in a
database on the local FortiGate unit. When a remote user requests a file, WAN optimization sends the hashes,
rather than the actual data. The FortiGate unit at the other end of the WAN tunnel reassembles the data from its
own hash database, only downloading the chunks it is missing. Deduplication, or the process of eliminating
duplicate data, will reduce space consumption.
Byte caching is not application specific, and assists by accelerating all protocols supported by WAN optimization.
Web caching
WAN optimization reduces download times of content from central files repositories through web caching.
FortiOS Web caching stores remote files and web pages on local FortiGate devices for easy local access to
commonly accessed files. There is little impact on the WAN, resulting in reduced latency for those requesting the
files.
In addition, web caching also recognizes requests for Windows or MS Office updates, and downloads the new
update file in the background. Once downloaded to the cache, the new update file is available to all users, and all
subsequent requests for this update are rapidly downloaded from the cache.
Traffic shaping
Controls data flow for specific applications, giving administrators the flexibility to choose which applications take
precedence over the WAN. A common use case of traffic shaping would be to prevent one protocol or application
from flooding a link over other protocols deemed more important by the administrator.
SSL acceleration
SSL is used by many organizations to keep WAN communications private. WAN Optimization boosts SSL
acceleration properties of FortiGate FortiASIC hardware by accelerating SSL traffic across the WAN. The
FortiGate unit handles SSL encryption/decryption for corporate servers providing SSL encrypted connections over
the WAN.
Reverse proxy
The web and FTP proxies can be configured to protect access to web or FTP servers that are behind the
FortiGate using a reverse proxy configuration. Reverse proxies retrieve resources on behalf of a client from one or
more servers. These resources are then returned to the client as if they originated from the proxy server.
WCCP
The Web Cache Communication Protocol (WCCP) allows you to offload web caching to redundant web caching
servers. This traffic redirection helps to improve response time and optimize network resource usage.
WAN optimization and HA
You can configure WAN optimization on a FortiGate HA cluster. The recommended HA configuration for WAN
optimization is active-passive mode. Also, when the cluster is operating, all WAN optimization sessions are
processed by the primary unit only. Even if the cluster is operating in active-active mode, HA does not load-
balance WAN optimization sessions. HA also does not support WAN optimization session failover.
Enabling WAN optimization and configuring the explicit web proxy for the wireless interface
1. Go to System > Config > Features. Ensure that Explicit Proxy and WAN Opt & Cache are enabled.
2. Go to System > Network > Interfaces, edit the wireless interface and select Enable Explicit Web Proxy.
3. Go to System > Network > Explicit Proxy. Select Enable Explicit Web Proxy for HTTP/HTTPS. Make
sure that Default Firewall Policy Action is set to Deny.
1. Go to Policy & Objects > Policy > Explicit Proxy and create a new policy.
2. Set Explicit Proxy Type to Web and the Outgoing Interface to the Internet-facing interface.
3. Enable Web Cache.
To use the web proxy, all devices on the wireless network must be configured to use the explicit proxy server. The
IP address of the server is the IP address of the FortiGate’s wireless interface (for example, 10.10.80.1) and the
port is 8080. Some browsers may have to be configured to use the device’s proxy settings.
For Windows Vista/7/8, open Internet Properties. Go to Connections > LAN Settings and enable and
configure the Proxy Server.
For Mac OS X, open Network Preferences > Wi-Fi > Advanced > Proxies. Select Web Proxy (HTTP) and
configure the proxy settings.
For iOS, go to Settings > Wi-Fi. Edit the wireless network. Scroll down to HTTP PROXY, select Manual, and
configure the proxy settings.
For Android, in WiFi network connection settings, edit the wireless network. Select Show advanced options,
configure a Manual proxy, and enter the proxy settings.
Block HTTP and HTTPS access to the Internet from the wireless network so that the only path to the Internet is
through the explicit proxy. You can edit or delete policies that allow HTTP or HTTPS access. You can also add a
policy to the top of the list that Denies HTTP and HTTPS traffic.
Fortinet Single Sign-On (FSSO), formerly known as FortiGate Server Authentication Extension (FSAE), is the
authentication protocol by which users can transparently authenticate to FortiGate, FortiAuthenticator, and
FortiCache devices. The FortiAuthenticator unit identifies users based on their authentication from a different
system, and can be authenticated via numerous methods:
l Users can authenticate through a web portal and a set of embeddable widgets.
l Users with FortiClient Endpoint Security installed can be automatically authenticated through the FortiClient SSO
Mobility Agent.
l Users authenticating against Active Directory can be automatically authenticated.
l RADIUS Accounting packets can be used to trigger an FSSO authentication.
l Users can be identified through the FortiAuthenticator API. This is useful for integration with third-party systems.
Below are the TCP/UDP ports used by the multiple FSSO modes:
Purpose Protocol/Port
NTLM TCP/8000
CA DNS UDP/53
Enable Windows event log Select for integration with Windows Active Directory
polling (e.g. domain
controllers/Exchange
servers)
Enable FortiClient SSO Once enabled, also select Enable authentication to enable SSO by
Mobility Agent Service clients running FortiClient Endpoint Security.
Enter the Secret key. Be sure to use the same secret key in the
FortiClient Single Sign-On Mobility Agent settings.
5. Select OK.
For more detailed information for each available setting, see the FortiAuthenticator Administration Guide.
FSSO user groups
You can only use FortiAuthenticator SSO user groups directly in identity-based security policies. You must create
an FSSO user group, then add FortiAuthenticator SSO user groups to it. These FortiGate FSSO user groups will
then become available for selection in identity-based security policies.
CLI syntax
The following section contains commands to control FSSO.
user/fsso
The following command will set the server address, port, and password for multiple FSSO agents.
config user fsso
edit <name_str>
set name <string>
set [server | server2 | server3 | server4 | server5] <string>
set [port | port2 | port3 | port4 | port5] <integer>
set [password | password2 | password3 | password4 | password5] <password>
end
user/fsso-polling
The following command will set the Active Directory server port.
config user fsso-polling
edit <name_str>
The Optimized Fabric Transfer Protocol (OFTP) is used when information is synchronized between FortiAnalyzer
and FortiGate. Remote logging and archiving can be configured on the FortiGate to send logs to a FortiAnalyzer
(and/or FortiManager) unit.
You can connect to a FortiAnalyzer unit from a FortiGate unit using Automatic Discovery, so long as both units
are on the same network. Connecting these devices in this way does not use OFTP. Instead, the Fortinet
Discovery Protocol (FDP) is used to locate the FortiAnalyzer unit.
When you select automatic discovery, the FortiGate unit uses HELLO packets to locate any FortiAnalyzer units
that are available on the network within the same subnet. When the FortiGate unit discovers the FortiAnalyzer
unit, the FortiGate unit automatically enables logging to the FortiAnalyzer unit and begins sending log data.
If your FortiGate unit is in Transparent mode, the interface using the automatic
discovery feature will not carry traffic.
1. Go to Log & Report > Log Settings and enable Send Logs to FortiAnalyzer/FortiManager (under Remote
Logging and Archiving).
2. Enter the FortiAnalyzer unit's IP address in the IP Address field provided.
3. For Upload Option, select Store & Upload Logs to set when the uploads occur (either Daily, Weekly, or
Monthly), and the time when the unit uploads the logs. Select Realtime to upload logs as they come across the
FortiGate unit.
4. Logs sent to FortiAnalyzer can be encrypted by enabling Encrypt Log Transmission.
FortiClient Enterprise Management Server (FortiClient EMS) is a security management solution that enables
scalable and centralized management of multiple endpoints (computers). FortiClient EMS provides efficient and
effective administration of endpoints running FortiClient. It provides visibility across the network to securely share
information and assign security profiles to endpoints. It is designed to maximize operational efficiency and
includes automated capabilities for device management and troubleshooting.
FortiClient EMS is designed to meet the needs of small to large enterprises that deploy FortiClient on endpoints.
Benefits of deploying FortiClient EMS include:
Required services
You must ensure that required ports and services are enabled for use by FortiClient EMS and its associated
applications on your server. The required ports and services enable FortiClient EMS to communicate with clients
and servers running associated applications.
SQL server
For more infomation about FortiClient EMS, including other requirements, installation, and management, see
the FortiClient EMS - Administration Guide.
Introduction to wireless networking explains the basic concepts of wireless networking and how to plan your
wireless network.
Configuring a WiFi LAN explains how to set up a basic wireless network, prior to deploying access point hardware.
Access point deployment explains how to deploy access point hardware and add it to your wireless network
configuration.
Wireless Mesh explains how to configure a Wi-Fi network where access points are connected to the Wi-Fi
controller wirelessly instead of by Ethernet.
Combining WiFi and wired networks with a software switch shows how to use the FortiAP Wi-Fi-Ethernet bridge
feature.
Protecting the WiFi Network explains the Wireless Intrusion Detection System (WIDS).
Wireless network monitoring explains how to monitor your wireless clients and how to monitor other wireless
access points, potentially rogues, in your coverage area.
Configuring wireless network clients explains how to configure typical wireless clients to work with a WPA-
Enterprise protected network.
Wireless network examples provides two examples. The first is a simple Wi-Fi network using automatic
configuration. The second is a more complex example of a business with two Wi-Fi networks, one for employees
and another for guests or customers.
Using a FortiWiFi unit as a client explains how to use a FortiWiFi unit as a wireless client to connect to other Wi-Fi
networks. This connection can take the place of an Ethernet connection where wired access to a network or to the
Internet is not available.
Support for location-based services explains how Fortinet supports location-based services that collect
information about devices near FortiGate-managed access points, even if the devices don’t associate with the
network.
FortiOS 5.6.4
These features first appeared in FortiOS 5.6.4.
FortiOS 5.6.3
These features first appeared in FortiOS 5.6.3.
Hotspot 2.0
Multiple new CLI commands have been added, under config wireless-controller, to configure Hotspot
2.0 Access Network Query Protocol (ANQP), a query and response protocol that defines seamless roaming
services offered by an AP.
Syntax
config wireless-controller hotspot20 anqp-3gpp-cellular
edit {name}
config mcc-mnc-list
edit {id}
set id {integer}
set mcc {string}
set mnc {string}
next
next
end
edit {index}
set index {integer}
set id {option}
set val {option}
next
next
next
next
end
config value-list
edit {index}
set index {integer}
set lang {string}
set value {string}
next
next
end
Allow admin with write permission to see plain text WiFi password (249787, 434513, 452834,
458211, 458285)
Add support for admins with write permission to read plain text password. Admins can view these plain text
passwords (captive-portal-radius-secret and passphrase) under config wireless-
controller vap. Note that security must be set as a WPA-personal setting.
WiFi Health Monitor page updates (392574, 392585, 404341, 417039, 434141, 440709)
The WiFi Health Monitor page list of active clients now shows their MAC address entries (similar to the WiFi
Client Monitor page), making client information easier to view when opening the Active Client widget.
Use the command below (led-schedule) to assign recurring firewall schedules for illuminating LEDs on the
FortiAP. This entry is only available when led-state is enabled, at which point LEDs will be visible when at
least one of the schedules is valid.
Separate multiple schedule names with a space, as configured under config firewall schedule group
and config firewall schedule recurring.
Syntax
config wireless-controller wtp-profile
edit {name}
set led-state {enable | disable}
set led-schedules <name>
next
end
Sharing Tunnel SSIDs within a single managed AP between VDOMs as a Virtual AP for multi-
tenancy (439751)
Support has been added for the ability to move a tunnel mode VAP into a VDOM, similar to an interface/VLAN in
VDOMs.
FortiAP is registered into the root VDOM. Within a customer VDOM, customer VAPs can be created/added. In the
root VDOM, the customer VAP can be added to the registered FortiAP. Any necessary firewall rules and
interfaces can be configured between the two VDOMs.
Syntax
config wireless-controller global
set wtp-share {enable | disable}
end
A new portal type has been added, under config wireless-controller vap, to provide successful MAC
authentication Captive Portal functionality.
Syntax
config wireless-controller vap
edit {name}
set portal-type {cmcc-macauth}
next
end
Various bug fixes (452975, 455218, 453161, 405117, 453533, 453535, 184384)
Various fixes have been implemented to address a variety of issues:
l Removed code to avoid repeated printing "parse dhcp options" after upgrade or reboot.
l Removed code that supported FAP-C221E, C226E, and C21D, as their product names changed.
l Changed the text for incorrect WiFi CLI help descriptions.
l Fixed background scan settings for FAP 222C, 223C, 321C, C220C, C225C, C23JD, and C24JE.
l Set WTP entry with "discovered" state to built-in in order to skip them, as only managed FAPs can be counted
toward FAP capacity.
Configure how a FortiWiFi WiFi interface in client mode selects a WiFi band (455305)
For an FortiWiFi WiFi interface operating in client mode, you can use the following option to configure the WiFi
band that the interface can connect to. You can configure the interface to connect to any band, just to the 5G
band or to prefer connecting to the 5G band.
Syntax
config system interface
edit {name}
set wifi-ap-band {any | 5g-preferred | 5g-only}
next
end
FortiOS 5.6.1
These features first appeared in FortiOS 5.6.1.
As part of this support, new CLI attributes have been added under config wireless-controller wtp-
profile to manage their profiles.
CLI syntax
config wireless-controller wtp-profile
edit <model>
config platform
set type <model>
end
set ap-country <code>
config radio-1
set band 802.11n
end
config radio-2
set band 802.11ac
end
next
end
In addition, VLANs can be assigned dynamically based on the group which an AP belongs. When defining an
SSID, under WiFi & Switch Controller > SSID , a setting called VLAN Pooling can be enabled where you
can either assign the VLAN ID of the AP group the device is connected to, to each device as it is detected, or to
always assign the same VLAN ID to a specific device. Dynamic VLAN assignment allows the same SSID to be
deployed to many APs, avoiding the need to produce multiple SSIDs.
GUI support for configuring multiple pre-shared keys for SSID interfaces (406321)
Multiple pre-shared keys can be created per SSID. When creating a new SSID, enable Multiple Pre-shared
Keys under WiFi Settings.
Currently, only the FAP-S221E, FAP-S223E, and FAP-222E models support this
feature.
As part of this support, new CLI attributes have been added under config wireless-controller
timers and config wireless-controller wtp-profile, including a new CLI command, config
wireless-controller ble-profile.
Note that txpower determines the transmit power level on a scale of 0-12:
FortiOS 5.6.0
These features first appeared in FortiOS 5.6.0.
A new CLI command has been added under config wireless-controller vap to set the captive portal
type to CMCC, a wireless cipher.
CLI syntax
config wireless-controller vap
edit <name>
set portal-type { ... | cmcc}
next
end
CLI syntax
config wireless-controller vap
edit <name>
set voice-enterprise {enable | disable}
set fast-bss-transition {enable | disable}
set ft-mobility-domain
set ft-r0-key-lifetime [1-65535]
set ft-over-ds {enable | disable}
next
end
External Captive Portal authentication with FortiAP in Bridge Mode (403115, 384872)
New CLI commands have been added under config wireless-controller vap to set various options
for external captive portal with FortiAP in Bridge Mode. The commands set the standalone captive portal server
category, the server's domain name or IP address, secret key to access the RADIUS server, and the standalone
captive portal Access Controller (AC) name.
Note that these commands are only available when local-standalone is set to enable and security is set to
captive-portal.
CLI syntax
config wireless-controller vap
edit <name>
set captive-portal-category {FortiCloud | CMCC} Default is FortiCloud.
set captive-portal-radius-server <server>
set captive-portal-radius-secret <password>
set captive-portal-ac-name <name>
next
end
CLI syntax
config wireless-controller wtp-profile
edit <profile-name>
set energy-efficient-ethernet {enable|disable}
end
CLI syntax
config wireless-controller wids-profile
edit <example>
set sensor-mode {disable|foreign|both}
end
Channel utilization, FortiPresence support on AP mode, QoS enhancement for voice (399134,
377562)
A new CLI command has been added, config wireless-controller qos-profile, to configure
quality of service (QoS) profiles where you can add WiFi multi-media (WMM) control and Differentiated Services
Code Point (DSCP) mapping.
Note that:
CLI syntax
config wireless-controller qos-profile
edit <example>
FortiCloud managed APs can now be applied a bandwidth restriction or rate limitation based on SSID. For
instance if guest and employee SSIDs are available, you can rate limit guest access to a certain rate to
accommodate for employees. This feature also applies a rate limit based on the application in use, as APs are
application aware.
CLI syntax
config wireless-controller wtp-profile
edit "FAPU421E-default"
config platform
set type U421E
end
set ap-country US
config radio-1
set band 802.11n
end
config radio-2
set band 802.11ac
end
next
end
config radio-2
set band 802.11ac
end
next
end
Note that, for the following multiple PSK related commands to become available, vdom, ssid, and
passhphrase all have to be set first.
CLI syntax
config wireless-controller vap
edit <example>
set mpsk {enable|disable}
set mpsk-concurrent-clients [0-65535] Default is 0.
config mpsk-key
edit key-name <example>
set passphrase <wpa-psk>
set concurrent-clients [0-65535] Default is empty.
set comment <comments>
next
end
end
Use the mpsk-concurrent-clients entry to set the maximum number of concurrent connected clients for
each mpsk entry. Use the mpsk-key configuration method to configure multiple mpsk entries.
Note that the new command, dhcp-lease-time, is only available when local-standalone is set to
enable, then setting local-standalone-nat to enable.
CLI syntax
config wireless-controller vap
edit <example>
CLI Syntax
configure wireless-controller vap
edit 1
set ldpc [enable|rx|tx|disable]
end
CLI Syntax
execute replace-device fortiap <old-fortiap-id> <new-fortiap-id>
If enabled, default FAP-C wtp-profiles will be added. If disabled, FAP-C related CMDB configurations will be
removed: wtp-group in vap's vlan-pool, wtp-group, ws, wtp, wtp-profile.
CLI syntax
config wireless-controller setting
set country CN
set fapc-compatibility [enable|disable]
end
You will receive an error message when trying to change country while fapc-
compatibility is enabled. You need to disable fapc-compatibility before
changing to an FAPC unsupported country.
"AES-256-CBC & SHA256" algorithm and "dh_group 15" are used for both CAPWAP IPsec phase1 and phase 2.
FAP320B will not support this feature due to its limited capacity of free flash.
New option added to support only one IP per one endpoint association (378207)
When users change configuration, the radiusd will reset all configurations and refresh all logons in the kernel. All
these actions are done in the one loop. A CLI option has been added to enable/disable replacement of an old IP
address with a new IP address for the same endpoint on RADIUS accounting start.
CLI Syntax
configure user radius
edit radius-root
set rsso-ep-one-ip-only [enable|disable]
next
end
Note that this FortiAP model has the Korean region code (K), but ap-country under config wireless-
controller wtp-profile still needs to be set to KR.
CLI syntax
config wireless-controller wtp-profile
edit <K-FAP222C>
config platform
set type <222C>
end
set ap-country KR
config radio-2
set band <802.11ac>
set vap-all <disable>
set vaps "vap-vd-07"
set channel "52" "56" "60" "64" "100" "104" "108" "112" "116" "120" "124" "128"
"132" "136" "140"
end
next
end
Syntax
config wireless-controller bonjour-profile
edit 0
set comment "comment"
config policy-list
edit 1
set description "description"
set from-vlan [0-4094] Default is 0.
set to-vlan [0-4094|all] Default is all.
set services [all|airplay|afp|bit-
torrent|ftp|ichat|itunes|printers|samba|scanners|ssh|chromecast]
next
end
next
end
CLI syntax
config wireless-controller wtp-profile
edit <example>
config platform
set type <...|421E|423E>
end
end
You can now define the role of the primary and secondary controllers on the FortiAP unit, allowing the unit to
decide the order in which the FortiAP selects the FortiGate. This process was previously decided on load-based
detection, but can now be defined by each unit's pre-determined priority. In addition, heartbeat intervals have
been lowered to further improve FortiAP awareness and successful failover.
Syntax
config wireless-controller inter-controller
set inter-controller-mode {disable | l2-roaming | 1+1} Default is disable.
set inter-controller-key <password>
set inter-controller-pri {primary | secondary} Default is primary.
set fast-failover-max [3-64] Default is 10.
set fast-failover-wait [10-86400] Default is 10.
config inter-controller-peer
edit <name>
set peer-ip <ip-address>
set peer-port [1024-49150] Default is 5246.
set peer-priority {primary | secondary} Default is primary.
next
end
end
Support for duplicate SSID names on tunnel and bridge mode interfaces (278955)
When duplicate-ssid is enabled in the CLI, this feature allows VAPs to use the same SSID name in the
same VDOM. When disabled, all SSIDs in WLAN interface will be checked—if duplicate SSIDs exist, an error
message will be displayed. When duplicate-ssid is enabled in the CLI, duplicate SSID check is removed in
"Edit SSID" GUI page.
Syntax
config wireless-controller setting
set duplicate-ssid [enable|disable]
next
end
Administrators can now define the role of the primary and secondary controllers on the FortiAP unit, allowing the
unit to decide the order in which the FortiAP selects the FortiGate. This process was decided on load-based
detection, but can now be defined by each unit's pre-determined priority. In addition, heartbeat intervals have
been lowered to further improve FortiAP awareness and successful failover.
This chapter introduces some concepts you should understand before working with wireless networks, describes
Fortinet’s wireless equipment, and then describes the factors you need to consider in planning deployment of a
wireless network.
Wireless concepts
Wireless networking is radio technology, subject to the same characteristics and limitations as the familiar audio
and video radio communications. Various techniques are used to modulate the radio signal with a data stream.
l IEEE 802.11b and g protocols provide up to 14 channels in the 2.400-2.500 GHz Industrial, Scientific and Medical
(ISM) band.
l IEEE 802.11a,n (5.150-5.250, 5.250-5.350, 5.725–5.875 GHz, up to 16 channels) in portions of Unlicensed
National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) band
Note that the width of these channels exceeds the spacing between the channels. This means that there is some
overlap, creating the possibility of interference from adjacent channels, although less severe than interference on
the same channel. Truly non-overlapping operation requires the use of every fourth or fifth channel, for example
ISM channels 1, 6 and 11.
The capabilities of your wireless clients is the deciding factor in your choice of wireless protocol. If your clients
support it, 5GHz protocols have some advantages. The 5GHz band is less used than 2.4GHz and its shorter
wavelengths have a shorter range and penetrate obstacles less. All of these factors mean less interference from
other access points, including your own.
When configuring your WAP, be sure to correctly select the Geography setting to ensure that you have access
only to the channels permitted for WiFi use in your part of the world.
For detailed information about the channel assignments for wireless networks for each supported wireless
protocol, see Reference on page 1408.
Power
Wireless LANs operate on frequencies that require no license but are limited by regulations to low power. As with
other unlicensed radio operations, the regulations provide no protection against interference from other users
who are in compliance with the regulations.
Power is often quoted in dBm. This is the power level in decibels compared to one milliwatt. 0dBm is one
milliwatt, 10dBm is 10 milliwatts, 27dBm, the maximum power on Fortinet FortiAP equipment, is 500 milliwatts.
The FortiGate unit limits the actual power available to the maximum permitted in your region as selected by the
WiFi controller country setting.
Received signal strength is almost always quoted in dBm because the received power is very small. The numbers
are negative because they are less than the one milliwatt reference. A received signal strength of -60dBm is one
millionth of a milliwatt or one nanowatt.
Antennas
Transmitted signal strength is a function of transmitter power and antenna gain. Directional antennas
concentrate the signal in one direction, providing a stronger signal in that direction than would an omnidirectional
antenna.
FortiWiFi units have detachable antennas. However, these units receive regulatory approvals based on the
supplied antenna. Changing the antenna might cause your unit to violate radio regulations.
Security
There are several security issues to consider when setting up a wireless network.
Attempting to obscure the presence of a wireless network by not broadcasting the SSID does not improve network
security. The network is still detectable with wireless network “sniffer” software. Clients search for SSIDs that they
know, leaking the SSID. Refer to RFC 3370. Also, many of the latest Broadcom drivers do not support hidden
SSID for WPA2.
Encryption
Wireless networking supports the following security modes for protecting wireless communication, listed in order
of increasing security.
None — Open system. Any wireless user can connect to the wireless network.
WEP64 — 64-bit Web Equivalent Privacy (WEP). This encryption requires a key containing 10 hexadecimal digits.
WEP128 — 128-bit WEP. This encryption requires a key containing 26 hexadecimal digits.
WPA — 256-bit WiFi Protected Access (WPA) security. This encryption can use either the TKIP or AES encryption
algorithm and requires a key of either 64 hexadecimal digits or a text phrase of 8 to 63 characters. It is also
possible to use a RADIUS server to store a separate key for each user.
WPA2 — WPA with security improvements fully meeting the requirements of the IEEE 802.11i standard.
Configuration requirements are the same as for WPA.
For best security use the WPA2 with AES encryption and a RADIUS server to verify individual credentials for each
user. WEP, while better than no security at all, is an older algorithm that is easily compromised. With either WEP
or WAP, changing encryption passphrases on a regular basis further enhances security.
same access point. Each of the two networks can have its own SSID, security settings, firewall policies, and user
authentication.
A good practice is to broadcast the SSID for the guest network to make it easily visible to users, but not to
broadcast the SSID for the employee network.
Two separate wireless networks are possible because multiple virtual APs can be associated with an AP profile.
The same physical APs can provide two or more virtual WLANs.
Captive portal
As part of authenticating your users, you might want them to view a web page containing your acceptable use
policy or other information. This is called a captive portal. No matter what URL the user initially requested, the
portal page is returned. Only after authenticating and agreeing to usage terms can the user access other web
resources.
For more information about captive portals, see the Captive portals chapter of the FortiOS Authentication Guide.
Power
Reducing power reduces unwanted coverage and potential interference to other WLANs. Areas of unwanted
coverage are a potential security risk. There are people who look for wireless networks and attempt to access
them. If your office WLAN is receivable out on the public street, you have created an opportunity for this sort of
activity.
Decisions about which APs are rogues are made manually on the Rogue AP monitor page. For detailed
information, see Wireless network monitoring on page 1342.
When you have declared an AP to be a rogue, you have the option of suppressing it. To suppress and AP, the
FortiGate WiFi controller sends reset packets to the rogue AP. Also, the MAC address of the rogue AP is blocked
in the firewall policy. You select the suppression action on the Rogue AP monitor page. For more information, see
Wireless network monitoring on page 1342.
Rogue suppression is available only when there is a radio dedicated to scanning. It will
not function during background scanning for spectrum analysis.
You can create a WIDS profile to enable several types of intrusion detection:
Authentication
Wireless networks usually require authenticated access. FortiOS authentication methods apply to wireless
networks the same as they do to wired networks because authentication is applied in the firewall policy.
What all of these types of authentication have in common is the use of user groups to specify who is authorized.
For each wireless LAN, you will create a user group and add to it the users who can use the WLAN. In the identity-
based firewall policies that you create for your wireless LAN, you will specify this user group.
Some access points, including FortiWiFi units, support MAC address filtering. You should not rely on this alone
for authentication. MAC addresses can be “sniffed” from wireless traffic and used to impersonate legitimate
clients.
l FortiWiFi units, which are FortiGate units with a built-in wireless access point/client
l FortiAP units, which are wireless access points that you can control from any FortiGate unit that supports the WiFi
Controller feature.
FortiWiFi units
A FortiWiFi unit can:
l Provide an access point for clients with wireless network cards. This is called Access Point mode, which is the
default mode.
or
l Connect the FortiWiFi unit to another wireless network. This is called Client mode. A FortiWiFi unit operating in
client mode can only have one wireless interface.
or
l Monitor access points within radio range. This is called Monitoring mode. You can designate the detected access
points as Accepted or Rogue for tracking purposes. No access point or client operation is possible in this mode. But,
you can enable monitoring as a background activity while the unit is in Access Point mode.
The Products section of the Fortinet web site (www.fortinet.com) provides detailed information about the
FortiWiFi models that are currently available.
FortiAP units
FortiAP units are thin wireless access points are controlled by either a FortiGate unit or FortiCloud service.
FortiAP is a family of Indoor, Outdoor and Remote Access Point models supporting the latest single, dual, and
triple stream MIMO 802.11ac and 802.11n technology, as well as 802.11g and 802.11a.
For large deployments, some FortiAP models support a mesh mode of operation in which control and data
backhaul traffic between APs and the controller are carried on a dedicated WiFi network. Users can roam
seamlessly from one AP to another.
In dual-radio models, each radio can function as an AP or as a dedicated monitor. The monitoring function is also
available during AP operation, subject to traffic levels.
The Products section of the Fortinet web site (www.fortinet.com) provides detailed information about the FortiAP
models that are currently available.
1. Go to WiFi Controller > FortiAP Profiles and edit the profile for your device.
2. In the Radio sections (Radio 1, Radio 2, etc.), enable Radio Resource Provision.
3. Click OK.
In this example, ARRP is enabled for both radios in the FAP321C-default profile:
config wireless-controller wtp-profile
edit FAP321C-default
config radio-1
set darrp enable
end
config radio-2
set darrp enable
end
end
Optionally, you can schedule optimization for fixed times. This enables you to confine ARRP activity to a low-
traffic period. Setting darrp-optimize to 0, makes darrp-day and darrp-time available. For example,
here's how to set DARRP optimization for 3:00am every day:
config wireless-controller timers
set darrp-optimize 0
set darrp-day sunday monday tuesday wednesday thursday friday saturday
set darrp-time 03:00
end
Both darrp-day and darrp-time can accept multiple entries.
A captive portal is a convenient way to authenticate web users on wired or WiFi networks.
After successful authentication, the user accesses the requested URL and can access other web resources, as
permitted by security policies. Optionally, the captive portal itself can allow web access to only the members of
specified user group.
The captive portal can be hosted on the FortiGate unit or on an external authentication server. You can configure
captive portal authentication on any network interface, including WiFi and VLAN interfaces.
When a captive portal is configured on a WiFi interface, the access point initially appears open. The wireless
client can connect to the access point with no security credentials, but sees only the captive portal authentication
page.
l Authentication — until the user enters valid credentials, no communication beyond the AP is permitted.
l Disclaimer + Authentication — immediately after successful authentication, the portal presents the disclaimer
page—an acceptable use policy or other legal statement—to which the user must agree before proceeding.
l Disclaimer Only — the portal presents the disclaimer page—an acceptable use policy or other legal statement—
to which the user must agree before proceeding. The authentication page is not presented.
l Email Collection — the portal presents a page requesting the user’s email address, for the purpose of contacting
the person in future. This is often used by businesses who provide free WiFi access to their customers. The
authentication page is not presented.
l MAC Bypass — when clients are authenticated against their bridged SSID and their MAC addresses are known,
they are redirected to the external captive portal.
1. Go to WiFi Controller > WiFi Network > SSID and create your SSID.
If the SSID already exists, you can edit the SSID or you can edit the WiFi interface in System > Network >
Interfaces.
2. In Security Mode, select Captive Portal.
3. Enter
Portal Type The portal can provide authentication and/or disclaimer, or perform user
email address collection. See Introduction to Captive portals on page 1256.
Exempt List Select exempt lists whose members will not be subject to captive portal
authentication.
Customize Portal Messages Click the link of the portal page that you want to modify. See "Captive
portals" on page 1258.
4. Select OK.
1. Go to System > Network > Interfaces and edit the interface to which the users connect.
2. In Security Mode select Captive Portal.
3. Enter
User Groups Select permitted user groups or select Use Groups from Policies, which
permits the groups specified in the security policy.
Exempt List Select exempt lists whose members will not be subject to captive portal
authentication.
Customize Portal Enable, then select Edit. See Customizing captive portal pages on page
Messages 1258.
4. Select OK.
A new portal type has been added, under config wireless-controller vap, to provide successful MAC
authentication Captive Portal functionality.
Syntax
config wireless-controller vap
edit {name}
set portal-type {cmcc-macauth}
next
end
Typical modifications for this page would be to change the logo and modify some of the text.
You can change any text that is not part of the HTML code nor a special tag enclosed in double percent (%)
characters.
There is an exception to this rule. The line “Please enter your credentials to continue” is provided by the
%%QUESTION%% tag. You can replace this tag with text of your choice. Except for this item, you should not
remove any tags because they may carry information that the FortiGate unit needs.
l Login failed page—reports that the entered credentials were incorrect and enables the user to try again.
The Login failed page is similar to the Login page. It even contains the same login form. You can change any text
that is not part of the HTML code nor a special tag enclosed in double percent (%) characters.
There is an exception to this rule. The line “Firewall authentication failed. Please try again.” is provided by the
%%FAILED_MESSAGE%% tag. You can replace this tag with text of your choice. Except for this item, you should
not remove any tags because they may carry information that the FortiGate unit needs.
l Disclaimer page—is a statement of the legal responsibilities of the user and the host organization to which the
user must agree before proceeding.(WiFi or SSL VPN only)
l Declined disclaimer page—is displayed if the user does not agree to the statement on the Disclaimer page.
Access is denied until the user agrees to the disclaimer.
When configuring a captive portal through the CLI, you may set security-groups to a specific user group.
The result of this configuration will show an authentication form to users who wish to log in to the captive portal—
not a disclaimer page. If you do not set any security-groups in your configuration, an "Allow all" status will
be in effect, and the disclaimer page will be displayed for users.
The example CLI configuration below shows setting up a captive portal interface without setting security-groups,
resulting in a disclaimer page for users:
config system interface
edit "port1"
set vdom "root"
set ip 172.16.101.1 255.255.255.0
set allowaccess ping https ssh snmp http
set type physical
set explicit-web-proxy enable
set alias "LAN"
set security-mode captive-portal
set snmp-index 1
next
end
Roaming support
Client devices can maintain captive portal authentication as they roam across different APs. By maintaining a
consistent authentication, uninterrupted access to latency sensitive applications such as VoIP is ensured.
The Cloud will push a random per-AP Network encryption key to the AP. The key is 32 bytes in length, and is used
in captive portal fast roaming. All APs of an AP Network will use the same encryption key. This key is randomly
generated, and will be updated daily.
You will create a user account (rgreen), add it to a user group (employees), create a captive portal SSID
(example-staff), and configure a FortiAP unit. When the user attempts to browse the Internet, they will be
redirected to the captive portal login page and asked to enter their username and password.
Under Protocol Support, enable Redirect HTTP Challenge to a Secure Channel (HTTPS). This will
make sure that user credentials are communicated securely through the captive portal.
Go to User & Device > User Definition and create a Local user (rgreen).
Go to User & Device > User Groups and create a user group (employees).
Go to WiFi & Switch Controller > SSID and configure the wireless network.
Some FortiGate models may show the GUI path as WiFi & Switch Controller.
Under WiFi Settings, enter an SSID name (example-staff), set Security Mode to Captive Portal, and
add the employees user group.
Go to Policy & Objects > Addresses and create a new address for the SSID (example-wifi-net).
Set Subnet/IP Range to the same range set on the DHCP server in the previous step.
Go to Policy & Objects > IPv4 Policy and create a new policy for WiFi users to connect to the Internet.
Add both the example-wifi-net address and employees user group to Source.
Connect the FortiAP unit to the configured interface, then go to WiFi & Switch Controller > Managed
FortiAPs.
The FortiAP is listed, but its State shows a greyed-out question mark — this is because it is waiting for
authorization.
The question mark is now replaced by a red down-arrow — this is because it is authorized, but still offline.
Go to WiFi & Switch Controller > FortiAP Profiles and edit the profile.
For each radio, enable Radio Resource Provision and select your SSID.
Go back to WiFi & Switch Controller > Managed FortiAPs to verify that the FortiAP unit is online.
7. Results
When a user attempts to connect to the wireless network, they will be redirected to the captive portal login
screen.
Members of the employees group must enter their Username and Password. The user will then be
redirected to the URL originally requested.
On the FortiGate, go to Monitor > WiFi Client Monitor to verify that the user is authenticated.
When working with a FortiGate WiFi controller, you can configure your wireless network before you install any
access points. If you are working with a standalone FortiWiFi unit, the access point hardware is already present
but the configuration is quite similar. Both are covered in this section.
The WiFi Controller and Switch Controller are enabled through the Feature Store
(under System > Feature Select). However, they are separately enabled and
configured to display in the GUI via the CLI.
If you want to connect and authorize external APs, such as FortiAP units, see the next chapter, Access point
deployment.
l An SSID defines a virtual wireless network interface, including security settings. One SSID is sufficient for a
wireless network, regardless how many physical access points are provided. You might, however, want to create
multiple SSIDs to provide different services or privileges to different groups of users. Each SSID has separate
firewall policies and authentication. Each radio in an access point can support up to 8 SSIDs.
A more common use of the term SSID is for the identifier that clients must use to connect to the wireless network.
Each SSID (wireless interface) that you configure will have an SSID field for this identifier. In Managed Access
Point configurations you choose wireless networks by SSID values. In firewall policies you choose wireless
interfaces by their SSID name.
l An AP Profile defines the radio settings, such as band (802.11g for example) and channel selection. The
AP Profile names the SSIDs to which it applies. Managed APs can use automatic profile settings or you can create
AP profiles.
l Managed Access Points represent local wireless APs on FortiWiFi units and FortiAP units that the FortiGate unit
has discovered. There is one managed access point definition for each AP device. An access point definition can
use automatic AP profile settings or select a FortiAP Profile. When automatic profile settings are used, the
managed AP definition also selects the SSIDs to be carried on the AP.
The AP settings for the built-in wireless access point are located at WiFi Controller > Local WiFi Radio. The
available operational settings are the same as those for external access points which are configured at
WiFi Controller > Managed FortiAPs.
l Make sure the FortiGate wireless controller is configured for your geographic location. This ensures that the
available radio channels and radio power are in compliance with the regulations in your region.
l Optionally, if you don’t want to use automatic AP profile settings, configure a FortiAP profile, specifying the radio
settings and the SSIDs to which they apply.
l Configure one or more SSIDs for your wireless network. The SSID configuration includes DHCP and DNS settings.
l Configure the user group and users for authentication on the WLAN.
l Configure the firewall policy for the WLAN.
l Optionally, customize the captive portal.
l Configure access points.
Configuration of the built-in AP on FortiWiFi units is described in this chapter. Connection and configuration of
FortiAP units is described in the next chapter, see Access point deployment on page 1290.
Before changing the country setting, you must remove all FortiAP Profiles. To do this,
go to WiFi & Switch Controller > FortiAP Profiles.
You can modify existing FortiAP profiles or create new ones of your own.
WIDS Profile Optionally, select a Wireless Intrusion Detection (WIDS) profile. See
Protecting the WiFi Network on page 1338.
Radio Resource Select to enable the radio resource provision feature. This feature
Provision measures utilization and interference on the available channels and selects
the clearest channel at each access point. The measurement can be
repeated periodically to respond to changing conditions.
Band Select the wireless protocols that you want to support. The available
choices depend on the radio’s capabilities. Where multiple protocols are
supported, the letter suffixes are combined: “802.11g/b” means 802.11g
and 802.11b.
Short Guard Select to enable the short guard interval for 802.11ac or 802.11n on 5GHz.
Interval
Channels Select the channel or channels to include. The available channels depend
on which IEEE wireless protocol you selected in Band. By default, all
available channels are enabled.
TX Power When TX Power Control is set to Auto, the TX Power is set by default
to a range of 10-17 dBm. Set the range between 1-20 for both the lower
and upper limits.
SSIDs Select between Auto or Manual. Selecting Auto eliminates the need to
re-edit the profile when new SSIDs are created. However, you can still
select SSIDs individually using Manual.
Radio 1 settings are the same as Radio 2 settings except for the options for Channel.
Radio 2 settings are available only for FortiAP models with dual radios.
6. Select OK.
This example configures a FortiAP-220B to carry all SSIDs on Radio 1 but only SSID example_wlan on Radio 2.
config wireless-controller wtp-profile
edit guest_prof
config platform
set type 220B
end
config radio-1
set mode ap
set band 802.11g
set vap-all enable
end
config radio-2
set mode ap
set band 802.11g
set vaps example_wlan
end
end
If a software switch interface contains an SSID (but only one), the WiFi SSID settings
are available in the switch interface settings.
1. Go to WiFi & Switch Controller > SSID and select Create New > SSID .
2. Fill in the SSID fields as described below.
1. Either
l Go to WiFi & Switch Controller > SSID .
or
l Go to Network > Interfaces.
WiFi interfaces list the SSID beside the interface Name.
2. Edit a WiFi interface, modifying the SSID fields as needed.
SSID fields
Traffic Mode Tunnel to Wireless Controller — Data for WLAN passes through WiFi Controller.
This is the default.
Local bridge with FortiAP’s Interface — FortiAP unit Ethernet and WiFi interfaces
are bridged.
Mesh Downlink — Radio receives data for WLAN from mesh backhaul SSID.
IP/Network Mask Enter the IP address and netmask for the SSID.
IPv6 Address Enter the IPv6 address. This is available only when IPv6 has been enabled on the unit.
Administrative
Select which types of administrative access are permitted on this SSID.
Access
IPv6 If you have IPv6 addresses, select the permitted IPv6 administrative access types for
Administrative this SSID.
Access
To assign IP addresses to clients, enable DHCP server. You can define IP address
ranges for a DHCP server on the FortiGate unit or relay DHCP requests to an external
server.
DHCP Server
If the unit is in transparent mode, the DHCP server settings will be unavailable.
For more information, see Configuring DHCP for WiFi clients on page 1275.
WiFi Settings
Security Mode Select the security mode for the wireless interface. Wireless users must use the same
security mode to be able to connect to this wireless interface. Additional security mode
options are available in the CLI. For more information, see Configuring security on
page 1276.
WPA2-Personal with Captive Portal – The user will need to know the pre-shared
key and will also be authenticated through the custom portal.
Available only when Security Mode is WPA2-Personal. Enter the encryption key
Pre-shared Key
that the clients must use.
RADIUS Server — Select the RADIUS server that will authenticate the clients.
Local – Select the user group(s) that can authenticate.
Available only when Security Mode is Captive Portal. Choose the captive portal
Portal Type
type. Authentication is available with or without a usage policy disclaimer notice.
User Groups Select permitted user groups for captive portal authentication.
Exempt List Select exempt lists whose members will not be subject to captive portal
authentication.
Customize Portal
Click the listed portal pages to edit them.
Messages
Redirect after Optionally, select Specific URL and enter a URL for user redirection after captive
Captive Portal portal authentication. By default, users are redirected to the URL that they originally
requested.
Broadcast SSID Optionally, disable broadcast of SSID. By default, the SSID is broadcast. For more
information, see Introduction to wireless networking on page 1250.
Select when the SSID is enabled. You can choose any schedule defined in Policy &
Schedule
Objects > Objects > Schedules.
Select to limit the number of clients permitted to connect simultaneously. Enter the
Maximum Clients
limit value.
Split Tunneling Select to enable some subnets to remain local to the remote FortiAP. Traffic for these
networks is not routed through the WiFi Controller. Specify split-tunnel networks in the
FortAP Profile. See Split tunneling on page 1329.
Optional VLAN ID Enter the ID of the VLAN this SSID belongs to. Enter 0 for non-VLAN operation.
Enable Explicit Select to enable explicit web proxy for the SSID.
Web Proxy
Listen for
RADIUS
Enable if you are using RADIUS-based Single Sign-On (SSO).
Accounting
Messages
Secondary IP Optioanally, enable and define secondary IP addresses. Administrative access can be
Address enabled on secondary interfaces.
The example below creates an access point with SSID “example” and WPA2-Personal security. The wireless
interface is named example_wlan.
WiFi SSIDs include a schedule that determines when the WiFi network is available. The default schedule is
Always. You can choose any schedule (but not schedule group) that is defined in Policy & Objects > Objects >
Schedules.
config wireless-controller vap
edit example_wlan
set ssid "example"
set broadcast-ssid enable
set security wpa2-only-personal
set passphrase "hardtoguess”
set schedule always
set vdom root
end
config system interface
edit example_wlan
set ip 10.10.120.1 255.255.255.0
end
1. Go to WiFi & Switch Controller > SSID and edit your SSID entry.
2. In DHCP Server select Enable.
3. In Address Range, select Create New.
4. In the Starting IP and End IP fields, enter the IP address range to assign.
By default an address range is created in the same subnet as the wireless interface IP address, but not including
that address.
5. Set the Netmask to an appropriate value, such as 255.255.255.0.
6. Set the Default Gateway to Same as Interface IP.
7. Set the DNS Server to Same as System DNS.
8. If you want to restrict access to the wireless network by MAC address, see Adding a MAC filter on page 1278.
9. Select OK.
In this example, WiFi clients on the example_wlan interface are assigned addresses in the 10.10.120.2-9 range
to connect with the WiFi access point on 10.10.120.1.
config system dhcp server
edit 0
set default-gateway 10.10.120.1
set dns-service default
set interface example_wlan
set netmask 255.255.255.0
config ip-range
edit 1
set end-ip 10.10.120.9
set start-ip 10.10.120.2
end
end
You cannot delete an SSID (wireless interface) that has DHCP enabled on it.
Configuring security
Using the web-based manager, you can configure Captive Portal security or WiFi Protected Access version 2
(WPA2) security modes WPA2-Personal and WPA2-Enterprise. Using the CLI, you can also choose WPA/WPA2
modes that support both WPA version 1 and WPA version 2.
WPA2 security with a pre-shared key for authentication is called WPA2-Personal. This can work well for one
person or a small group of trusted people. But, as the number of users increases, it is difficult to distribute new
keys securely and there is increased risk that the key could fall into the wrong hands.
A more secure form of WPA2 security is WPA2-Enterprise. Users each have their own authentication credentials,
verified through an authentication server, usually RADIUS. FortiOS can also authenticate WPA2-Enterprise users
through its built-in user group functionality. FortiGate user groups can include RADIUS servers and can select
users by RADIUS user group. This makes possible Role-Based Access Control (RBAC).
By default, WPA2 security encrypts communication using Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). But some older
wireless clients support only Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) . You can change the encryption to TKIP or
negotiable TKIP-AES in the CLI. For example, to accomodate clients with either TKIP or AES, enter:
config wireless-controller vap
edit example_wlan
set security wpa-personal
set passphrase "hardtoguess"
set encrypt TKIP-AES
end
Captive Portal security connects users to an open web portal defined in replacement messages. To navigate to
any location beyond the web portal, the user must pass FortiGate user authentication.
WPA-Personal security
WPA2-Personal security setup requires only the preshared key that you will provide to your clients.
1. Go to WiFi & Switch Controller > SSID and edit your SSID entry.
2. In Security Mode, select WPA2 Personal.
3. In Pre-shared Key, enter a key between 8 and 63 characters long.
4. Select OK.
WPA-Enterprise security
If you will use FortiOS user groups for authentication, go to User & Device > User > User Groups and create
those groups first. The groups should be Firewall groups.
If you will use a RADIUS server to authenticate wireless clients, you must first configure the FortiGate unit to
access the RADIUS server.
The CoA feature enables the FortiGate to receive a client disconnect message from the RADIUS server. This is
used to disconnect clients when their time, credit or bandwidth had been used up. Enable this on the RADIUS
server using the CLI:
config user radius
edit <name>
set radius-coa enable
end
1. Go to WiFi & Switch Controller > SSID and edit your SSID entry.
2. In Security Mode, select WPA2 Enterprise.
3. In Authentication, do one of the following:
l If you will use a RADIUS server for authentication, select RADIUS Server and then select the RADIUS server.
l If you will use a local user group for authentication, select Local and then select the user group(s) permitted to
use the wireless network.
4. Select OK.
Captive Portal security provides an access point that initially appears open. The wireless client can connect to the
AP with no security credentials. The AP responds to the client’s first HTTP request with a web page requesting
user name and password. Until the user enters valid credentials, no communication beyond the AP is permitted.
The captive portal can be hosted on the FortiGate unit, or externally. For details see
Configuring WiFi captive portal security - FortiGate captive portal on page 1280
For general information about captive portals, see the Captive Portal chapter of the Authentication Guide.
This is actually not as secure as it appears. Someone seeking unauthorized access to your network can obtain
MAC addresses from wireless traffic and use them to impersonate legitimate users. A MAC filter list should only
be used in conjunction with other security measures such as encryption.
1. Go to WiFi & Switch Controller > SSID and edit your SSID entry.
2. In the DHCP Server section, expand Advanced.
3. In MAC Reservation + Access Control, double-click in the Unknown MAC Addresses line and select
Assign IP or Block, as needed.
By default, unlisted MAC addresses are assigned an IP address automatically.
4. In MAC Reservation + Access Control, select Create New.
5. Enter a MAC address In the MAC field.
6. In IP or Action, select one of:
l Reserve IP — enter the IP address that is always assigned to this MAC address.
l Assign IP — an IP address is assigned to this MAC address automatically.
l Block — This MAC address will not be assigned an IP address.
7. Repeat steps 4 through 6 for each additional MAC address that you want to add.
8. Select OK.
1. Enter
config system dhcp server
show
2. Find the entry where interface is your WiFi interface. Edit that entry and configure the MAC filter. In this
example, the MAC address 11:11:11:11:11:11will be excluded. Unlisted MAC addresses will be assigned an IP
address automatically.
edit 3
config reserved-address
edit 1
set action block
set mac 11:11:11:11:11:11
end
set mac-acl-default-action assign
end
Multicast enhancement
FortiOS can translate multicast traffic into unicast traffic to send to clients, maintaining its own multicast client
through IGMP snooping. You can configure this in the CLI:
config wireless-controller vap
edit example_wlan
set multicast-enhance enable
set me-disable-thresh 32
end
If the number of clients on the SSID is larger than me-disable-thresh, multicast enhancement is disabled.
Portal Type The portal can provide authentication and/or disclaimer, or perform user
email address collection. See Defining a wireless network interface (SSID)
on page 1272.
User Groups Select permitted user groups or select Use Groups from Policies, which
permits the groups specified in the security policy.
Exempt List Select exempt lists whose members will not be subject to captive portal
authentication.
Customize Portal Messages Click the link of the portal page that you want to modify. For more
information see the Captive Portal chapter of the Authentication Guide.
4. Select OK.
On the captive portal page, the user submits credentials, which the script returns to the FortiGate at the URL
https://<FGT_IP>:1000/fgtauth with data
magic=session_id&username=<username>&password=<password>.
(The magic value was provided in the initial FortiGate request to the web server.)
To ensure that credentials are communicated securely, enable the use of HTTPS for authentication:
config user setting
set auth-secure-http enable
end
Portal Type The portal can provide authentication and/or disclaimer, or perform user
email address collection.
Authentication Portal External - enter the FQDN or IP address of the external portal. Typically,
this is the URL of a script. Do not include the protocol (http:// or https://)
part of the URL.
User Groups Select permitted user groups or select Use Groups from Policies, which
permits the groups specified in the security policy.
Exempt List Select exempt lists whose members will not be subject to captive portal
authentication.
4. Select OK.
Go to WiFi & Switch Controller > SSID and select Create New > SSID Group. Give the group a Name and
choose Members (SSIDs, but not SSID Groups).
The RADIUS user attributes used for the VLAN ID assignment are:
IETF 64 (Tunnel Type)—Set this to VLAN.
IETF 65 (Tunnel Medium Type)—Set this to 802
IETF 81 (Tunnel Private Group ID)—Set this to the VLAN ID.
1. Go to WiFi & Switch Controller > SSID , select Create New > SSID and enter:
Authentication RADIUS Server. Select the RADIUS server that you configured.
2. Select OK.
3. Enable dynamic VLAN in the CLI. Optionally, you can also assign a VLAN ID to set the default VLAN for users
without a VLAN assignment.
config wireless-controller vap
edit dynamic_vlan_ssid
set dynamic-vlan enable
set vlanid 10
end
Platform The FortiAP model you are using. If you use more than one model of
FortiAP, you will need a FortiAP Profile for each model.
SSID Select the SSID you created (example dynamic_vlan_ssid). Do not add
other SSIDs.
Addressing mode Select Manual and enter the IP address / Network Mask for the virtual
interface.
DHCP Server Enable and then select Create New to create an address range.
3. Select OK.
4. Repeat the preceding steps to create other VLANs as needed.
Security policies determine which VLANs can communicate with which other interfaces. These are the simple
Firewall Address policy without authentication. Users are assigned to the appropriate VLAN when they
authenticate.
VLAN assignment by VLAN pool
In an SSID, you can define a VLAN pool. As clients associate to an AP, they are assigned to a VLAN. A VLAN pool
can
l assign a specific VLAN based on the AP's FortiAP Group, usually for network configuration reasons, or
l assign one of several available VLANs for network load balancing purposes (tunnel mode SSIDs only)
In this example, VLAN 101, 102, or 103 is assigned depending on the AP's FortiAP Group.
config wireless-controller vap
edit wlan
set vlan-pooling wtp-group
config vlan-pool
edit 101
set wtp-group wtpgrp1
next
edit 102
set wtp-group wtpgrp2
next
edit 101
set wtp-group wtpgrp3
end
end
end
Load balancing
There are two VLAN pooling methods used for load balancing:
l round-robin - from the VLAN pool, choose the VLAN with the smallest number of clients
l hash - choose a VLAN from the VLAN pool based on a hash of the current number of SSID clients and the number
of entries in the VLAN pool
If the VLAN pool contains no valid VLAN ID, the SSID's static VLAN ID setting is used.
In this example, VLAN 101, 102, or 103 is assigned using the round-robin method:
config wireless-controller vap
edit wlan
set vlan-pooling round-robin
config vlan-pool
edit 101
next
edit 102
next
edit 103
end
end
end
In this example, VLAN 101, 102, or 103 is assigned using the hash method:
config wireless-controller vap
edit wlan
set vlan-pooling hash
config vlan-pool
edit 101
next
edit 102
next
edit 103
end
end
end
WPA2 Enterprise authentication
Enterprise authentication can be based on the local FortiGate user database or on a remote RADIUS server.
Local authentication is essentially the same for WiFi users as it is for wired users, except that authentication for
WiFi users occurs when they associate their device with the AP. Therefore, enterprise authentication must be
configured in the SSID. WiFi users can belong to user groups just the same as wired users and security policies
will determine which network services they can access.
If your WiFi network uses WPA2 Enterprise authentication verified by a RADIUS server, you need to configure the
FortiGate unit to connect to that RADIUS server.
To use the RADIUS server for authentication, you can create individual FortiGate user accounts that specify the
authentication server instead of a password, and you then add those accounts to a user group. Or, you can add
the authentication server to a FortiGate user group, making all accounts on that server members of the user
group.
Most wireless networks require authenticated access. To enable creation of firewall policies specific to WiFi
users, you should create at least one WiFi user group. You can add or remove users later. There are two types of
user group to consider:
l A Firewall user group can contain user accounts stored on the FortiGate unit or external authentication servers such
as RADIUS that contain and verify user credentials.
l A Fortinet Single Sign-On (FSSO) user group is used for integration with Windows Active Directory or Novell
eDirectory. The group can contain Windows or Novell user groups who will be permitted access to the wireless LAN.
1. Configure the RADIUS server to return the Fortinet-Group-Name attribute for each user.
2. Configure the FortiGate to access the RADIUS server, as described in WPA2 Enterprise authentication on page
1285.
3. Create firewall user groups on the FortiGate with the same names as the user groups listed in the RADIUS
database. Leave the groups empty.
4. In the SSID choose WPA2-Enterprise authentication. In the Authentication field, select RADIUS Server and
choose the RADIUS server that you configured.
5. Create security policies as needed, using user groups (Source User(s) field) to control access.
When a user authenticates by WSSO, the firewall monitor Monitor > Firewall User Monitor) shows the
authentication method as WSSO.
1. Configure the RADIUS server to return the following attributes for each user:
Tunnel-Type (value: VLAN)
Tunnel-Medium-Type (value: IEEE-802)
Tunnel_Private-Group-Id (value: the VLAN ID for the user's VLAN)
2. Configure the FortiGate to access the RADIUS server.
3. Configure the SSID with WPA2-Enterprise authentication. In the Authentication field, select RADIUS Server
and choose the RADIUS server that you will use.
4. Create VLAN subinterfaces on the SSID interface, one for each VLAN. Set the VLAN ID of each as appropriate.
You can do this on the Network > Interfaces page.
5. Enable Dynamic VLAN assignment for the SSID. For example, if the SSID interface is "office", enter:
config wireless-controller vap
edit office
set dynamic-vlan enable
end
6. Create security policies for each VLAN. These policies have a WiFI VLAN subinterface as Incoming Interface
and allow traffic to flow to whichever Outgoing Interface these VLAN users will be allowed to access.
MAC-based authentication
Wireless clients can also be supplementally authenticated by MAC address. A RADIUS server stores the allowed
MAC address for each client and the wireless controller checks the MAC address independently of other
authentication methods.
MAC-based authentication must be configured in the CLI. In the following example, MAC-based authentication is
added to an existing access point “vap1” to use RADIUS server hq_radius (configured on the FortiGate):
config wireless-controller vap
edit vap1
set radius-mac-auth enable
set radius-mac-auth-server hq_radius
end
1. Go to User & Device > User Groups and create one or more guest user groups.
2. Go to User & Device > Guest Management to create guest accounts. You can print the guest account
credentials or send them to the user as an email or SMS message.
3. Go to WiFi & Switch Controller > SSID and configure your WiFi SSID to use captive portal authentication.
Select the guest user group(s) that you created.
Guest users can log into the WiFi captive portal with their guest account credentials until the account expires. For
more detailed information about creating guest accounts, see “Managing Guest Access” in the Authentication
chapter of the FortiOS Handbook.
Before you create firewall policies, you need to define any firewall addresses you will need.
Interface Select the interface where this address is used, e.g., example_wifi
If Virtual Domains are enabled, you must select the VDOM to which the built-in access point belongs. You do this
in the CLI. For example:
config wireless-controller global
set local-radio-vdom vdom1
end
This chapter describes how to configure access points for your wireless network.
Overview
FortiAP units discover WiFi controllers. The administrator of the WiFi controller authorizes the FortiAP units that
the controller will manage.
In most cases, FortiAP units can find WiFi controllers through the wired Ethernet without any special
configuration. Review the following section, Access point deployment on page 1290, to make sure that your
method of connecting the FortiAP unit to the WiFi controller is valid. Then, you are ready to follow the procedures
in Access point deployment on page 1290.
If your FortiAP units are unable to find the WiFi controller, refer to Access point deployment on page 1290 for
detailed information about the FortiAP unit’s controller discovery methods and how you can configure them.
Direct connection: The FortiAP unit is directly connected to the FortiGate unit with no switches between them.
This configuration is common for locations where the number of FortiAP’s matches up with the number of
‘internal’ ports available on the FortiGate. In this configuration the FortiAP unit requests an IP address from the
FortiGate unit, enters discovery mode and should quickly find the FortiGate WiFi controller. This is also known as
a wirecloset deployment. See "Wirecloset and Gateway deployments" below.
Wirecloset deployment
Switched Connection: The FortiAP unit is connected to the FortiGate WiFi controller by an Ethernet switch
operating in L2 switching mode or L3 routing mode. There must be a routable path between the FortiAP unit and
the FortiGate unit and ports 5246 and 5247 must be open. This is also known as a gateway deployment. See
Gateway Deployment below.
Gateway Deployment
Connection over WAN: The FortiGate WiFi controller is off-premises and connected by a VPN tunnel to a local
FortiGate. In this method of connectivity its best to configure each FortiAP with the static IP address of the WiFi
controller. Each FortiAP can be configured with three WiFi controller IP addresses for redundant failover. This is
also known as a datacenter remote management deployment. See Remote deployment below.
Remote deployment
1. Go to Network > Interfaces and edit the interface to which the AP unit connects.
2. Set Addressing Mode to Dedicate to Extension Device.
3. Enter the IP address and netmask to use.
This FortiGate unit automatically configures a DHCP server on the interface that will assign the remaining higher
addresses up to .254 to FortiAP units. For example, if the IP address is 10.10.1.100, the FortiAP units will be
assigned 10.10.1.101 to 10.10.1.254. To maximize the available addresses, use the .1 address for the interface:
10.10.1.1, for example.
4. Select OK.
In the CLI, you must configure the interface IP address and DHCP server separately.
config system interface
edit port3
set mode static
set ip 10.10.70.1 255.255.255.0
end
config system dhcp server
edit 0
set interface "dmz"
config ip-range
edit 1
set end-ip 10.10.70.254
set start-ip 10.10.70.2
end
set netmask 255.255.255.0
set vci-match enable
set vci-string "FortiAP"
end
The optional vci-match and vci-string fields ensure that the DHCP server will provide IP addresses only
to FortiAP units.
When you authorize (enable) a FortiAP unit, it is configured by default to use the default FortiAP profile
(determined by model). You can create and select a different profile if needed. The FortiAP Profile defines the
entire configuration for the AP.
First get a list of the discovered access point unit serial numbers:
get wireless-controller wtp
Add a discovered unit and associate it with AP-profile1, for example:
config wireless-controller wtp
edit FAP22A3U10600118
set admin enable
set wtp-profile AP-profile1
end
Band The available options depend on the capability of the radio. Overriding Band
also overrides Channels. Make appropriate settings in Channels.
TX Power Control If you enable Auto, adjust to set the power range in dBm.
If you enable Manual, adjust the slider. The 100% setting is the maximum power
permitted in your region. See Configuring a WiFi LAN on page 1267.
Select between Auto or Manual. Selecting Auto eliminates the need to re-edit
SSIDs the profile when new SSIDs are created. However, you can still select SSIDs
individually using Manual.
In this example, Radio 1 is set to 802.11n on channel 11, regardless of the profile setting.
config wireless-controller wtp
edit FP221C3X14019926
config radio-1
set override-band enable
set band 802.11n
set override-channel enable
set channel 11
end
Override settings are available for band, channel, vaps (SSIDs), and txpower.
Outside of configuring radio settings, you can also override FortiAP LED state, WAN port mode, IP
Fragmentation prevention method, spectrum analysis, split tunneling, and login password settings.
To access the FortiAP unit CLI through the FortiAP Ethernet port
1. Connect your computer to the FortiAP Ethernet interface, either directly with a cross-over cable or through a
separate switch or hub.
2. Change your computer’s IP address to 192.168.1.3
3. Telnet to IP address 192.168.1.2.
Ensure that FortiAP is in a private network with no DHCP server for the static IP address to be accessible.
4. Login with user name admin and no password.
5. Enter commands as needed.
6. Optionally, use the passwd command to assign an administrative password for better security.
7. Save the configuration by entering the following command:
cfg –c .
8. Unplug the FortiAP and then plug it back in, in order for the configuration to take effect
After the FortiAP has been installed, physical access to the unit might be inconvenient. You can access a
connected FortiAP unit's CLI through the FortiGate unit that controls it.
In the CLI, edit the FortiAP Profile that applies to this FortiAP.
config wireless-controller wtp-profile
edit FAP221C-default
set allowaccess telnet
end
FortiAP now supports HTTPS and SSH administrative access, as well as HTTP and
Telnet. Use the command above to set administrative access to telnet, http,
https, or ssh.
To access the FortiAP unit CLI through the FortiGate unit - GUI
To access the FortiAP unit CLI through the FortiGate unit - CLI
1. Use the FortiGate CLI execute telnet command to access the FortiAP. For example, if the FortiAP unit IP
address is 192.168.1.2, enter:
execute telnet 192.168.1.2
2. At the FortiAP login prompt, enter admin. When you are finished using the FortiAP CLI, enter exit.
When a WiFi controller has taken control of the FortiAP unit, Telnet access to the
FortiAP unit’s CLI is no longer available.
Go to WiFi & Switch Controller > Managed FortiAPs to view the list of FortiAP units that the FortiGate unit
can manage. The OS Version column shows the current firmware version running on each AP.
You can update the FortiAP firmware using either the web-based manager or the CLI. Only the CLI method can
update all FortiAP units at once.
If your server is FTP, change tftp to ftp, and if necessary add your user name and password at the
end of the command.
If you want to upgrade only one FortiAP unit, enter its serial number instead of all.
You can connect to a FortiAP unit’s internal CLI to update its firmware from a TFTP server on the same network.
This method does not require access to the wireless controller.
There are exceptions. The following section describes the WiFi controller discovery methods in more detail and
provides information about configuration changes you might need to make so that discovery will work.
CLI syntax
config wireless-controller timers
set discovery-interval 5
end
After the timeout is reached, FortiAP sends out another discovery request, up to a maximum of 3 times.
After about 3 - 15 seconds, if FortiAP has no AC connection, it will switch to another discovery type and repeat the
above process until the last one (broadcast) fails, which will lead to SULKING state.
After about 30 seconds, FortiAP will go into an AC_IP_DISCVER state. After the AC IP is found, it will go to IDLE
state, and will eventually go to the DISCOVERY state, and repeat the above process again.
Note that, while the process above is showcasing the auto discovery method, it's recommended to set the AC_
DISCOVERY_TYPE to your used method in order to reduce downtime.
Static IP configuration
If FortiAP and the controller are not in the same subnet, broadcast and multicast packets cannot reach the
controller. The admin can specify the controller’s static IP on the AP unit. The AP unit sends a discovery request
message in unicast to the controller. Routing must be properly configured in both directions.
DHCP
If you use DHCP to assign an IP address to your FortiAP unit, you can also provide the WiFi controller IP address
at the same time. This is useful if the AP is located remotely from the WiFi controller and other discovery
techniques will not work.
When you configure the DHCP server, configure Option 138 to specify the WiFi controller IP address. You need to
convert the address into hexadecimal. Convert each octet value separately from left to right and concatenate
them. For example, 192.168.0.1 converts to C0A80001.
If Option 138 is used for some other purpose on your network, you can use a different option number if you
configure the AP units to match.
For information about connecting to the FortiAP CLI, see Connecting to the FortiAP CLI on page 1297.
DNS
The access point can discover controllers through your domain name server (DNS). For the access point to do so,
you must configure your DNS to return controller IP addresses in response. Allow DNS lookup of the hostname
configured in the AP by using the AP parameter "AC_HOSTNAME_1".
FortiCloud
The access point can discover FortiCloud by doing a DNS lookup of the hardcoded FortiCloud AP controller
hostname "apctrl1.fortinet.com". The forticloud AC discovery technique finds the AC info from apctl1.fortinet.com
using HTTPS.
Broadcast request
The AP unit broadcasts a discovery request message to the network and the controller replies. The AP and the
controller must be in the same broadcast domain. No configuration adjustments are required.
Multicast request
The AP unit sends a multicast discovery request and the controller replies with a unicast discovery response
message. The AP and the controller do not need to be in the same broadcast domain if multicast routing is
properly configured.
The default multicast destination address is 224.0.1.140. It can be changed through the CLI. The address must
be same on the controller and AP.
l Access Point Hand-off - the wireless controller signals a client to switch to another access point.
l Frequency Hand-off - the wireless controller monitors the usage of 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, and signals clients to
switch to the lesser-used frequency.
Load balancing is not applied to roaming clients.
l If the load on an access point (ap1) exceeds a threshold (of for example, 30 clients) then the client with the weakest
signal will be signaled by wireless controller to drop off and join another nearby access point (ap2).
l When one or more access points are overloaded (for example, more than 30 clients) and a new client attempts to
join a wireless network, the wireless controller selects the least busy access point that is closest to the new client
and this access point is the one that responds to the client and the one that the client joins.
The WiFi controller probes clients to determine their WiFi band capability. It also records the RSSI (signal
strength) for each client on each band.
If a new client attempts to join the network, the controller looks up that client’s MAC address in its wireless device
table and determines if it’s a dual band device. If it is not a dual band device, then its allowed to join. If it is a dual
band device, then its RSSI on 5GHz is used to determine whether the device is close enough to an access point
to benefit from movement to 5GHz frequency.
If both conditions of 1) dual band device and 2) RSSI value is strong, then the wireless controller does not reply to
the join request of the client. This forces the client to retry a few more times and then timeout and attempt to join
the same SSID on 5GHz. Once the Controller see this new request on 5GHz, the RSSI is again measured and the
client is allowed to join. If the RSSI is below threshold, then the device table is updated and the controller forces
the client to timeout again. A client’s second attempt to connect on 2.4GHz will be accepted.
Configuration
From the web-based manager, edit a custom AP profile and select Frequency Handoff and AP Handoff as
required for each radio on the AP.
From the CLI, you configure wireless client load balancing thresholds for each custom AP profile. Enable access
point hand-off and frequency hand-off separately for each radio in the custom AP profile.
config wireless-controller wtp-profile
edit new-ap-profile
set handoff-rssi <rssi_int>
set handoff-sta-thresh <clients_int>
config radio-1
set frequency-handoff {disable | enable}
set ap-handoff {disable | enable}
end
config radio-2
set frequency-handoff {disable | enable}
set ap-handoff {disable | enable}
end
end
Where:
l handoff-rssi is the RSSI threshold. Clients with a 5 GHz RSSI threshold over this value are load balanced to
the 5GHz frequency band. Default is 25. Range is 20 to 30.
l handoff-sta-thresh is the access point handoff threshold. If the access point has more clients than this
threshold it is considered busy and clients are changed to another access point. Default is 30, range is 5 to 25.
l frequency-handoff enable or disable frequency handoff load balancing for this radio. Disabled by default.
l ap-handoff enable or disable access point handoff load balancing for this radio. Disabled by default.
Frequency handoff must be enabled on the 5GHz radio to learn client capability.
FortiAP Groups
FortiAP Groups facilitate the application of FortiAP profiles to large numbers of FortiAPs. A FortiAP can belong to
no more than one FortiAP Group. A FortiAP Group can include only one model of FortiAP.
Through the VLAN pool feature, a FortiAP Group can be associated with a VLAN to which WiFi clients will be
assigned. For more on VLAN pool assignment, see VLAN assignment by VLAN pool.
In this example, wtp-group-1 is created for a FortiAP-221C and one member device is added.
config wireless-controller wtp-group
edit wtp-group-1
set platform-type 221C
config wtp-list
edit FP221C3X14019926
end
end
Models like 11C and 14C have one port labeled WAN and one or more ports labeled LAN. By default, the LAN
ports are offline. You can configure LAN port operation in the FortiAP Profile in the GUI (Wireless Controller >
FortiAP Profiles) or in the CLI (config wireless-controller wtp-profile, config lan
subcommand).
Models like 320C, 320B, 112D, and 112B have two ports, labeled LAN1 and LAN2. LAN1 acts as a WAN port
connecting the FortiAP to a FortiGate or FortiCloud. By default, LAN2 is bridged to LAN1. Other modes of LAN2
operation must be enabled in the CLI:
config wireless-controller wtp-profile
edit <profile_name>
set wan-port-mode wan-lan
end
By default wan-port-mode is set to wan-only.
When wan-port-mode is set to wan-lan, LAN2 Port options are available in the GUI and the CLI the same as
the other FortiAP models that have labeled WAN and LAN ports.
In this configuration
l The IP addresses for LAN clients come from the DHCP server that serves the wireless clients.
l Traffic from LAN clients is bridged to the SSID’s VLAN. Dynamic VLAN assignment for hosts on the LAN port is not
supported.
l Wireless and LAN clients are on the same network and can communicate locally, via the FortiAP.
l Any host connected to the LAN port will be taken as authenticated. RADIUS MAC authentication for hosts on the
LAN port is not supported.
For configuration instructions, see LAN port options on page 1303.
In this configuration
l The IP addresses for LAN clients come from the WAN directly and will typically be in the same range as the AP
itself.
l All LAN client traffic is bridged directly to the WAN interface.
l Communication between wireless and LAN clients can only occur if a policy on the FortiGate unit allows it.
For configuration instructions, see LAN port options on page 1303.
1. If your FortiAP unit has LAN ports, but no port labeled WAN (models 320C, 320B, 112D, and 112B for example),
enable LAN port options in the CLI:
config wireless-controller wtp-profile
edit <profile_name>
set wan-port-mode wan-lan
end
2. Go to WiFi & Switch Controller > FortiAP Profiles.
3. Edit the default profile for your FortiAP model or select Create New.
4. If you are creating a new profile, enter a Name and select the correct Platform (model).
5. Select SSIDs.
6. In the LAN Port section, set Mode to Bridge to and select an SSID or WAN Port as needed.
On some models with multiple LAN ports, you can set Mode to Custom and configure the LAN ports individually.
Enable each port that you want to use and select an SSID or WAN Port as needed.
7. Select OK.
Be sure to select this profile when you authorize your FortiAP units.
In this example, the default FortiAP-11C profile is configured to bridge the LAN port to the office SSID.
config wireless-controller wtp-profile
edit FAP11C-default
config lan
set port-mode bridge-to-ssid
set port-ssid office
end
end
end
In this example, the default FortiAP-28C profile is configured to bridge LAN port1 to the office SSID and to bridge
the other LAN ports to the WAN port.
config wireless-controller wtp-profile
edit FAP28C-default
config lan
set port1-mode bridge-to-ssid
set port1-ssid office
set port2-mode bridge-to-wan
set port3-mode bridge-to-wan
set port4-mode bridge-to-wan
set port5-mode bridge-to-wan
set port6-mode bridge-to-wan
set port7-mode bridge-to-wan
set port8-mode bridge-to-wan
end
end
In this example, the default FortiAP-320C profile is configured to bridge the LAN port to the office SSID.
config wireless-controller wtp-profile
edit FAP320C-default
set wan-port-mode wan-lan
config lan
set port-mode bridge-to-ssid
set port-ssid office
end
end
end
To configure FortiAP unit LAN ports as a FortiAP Profile override - web-based manager
In this example, a FortiAP unit’s configuration overrides the FortiAP Profile to bridge the LAN port to the office
SSID.
config wireless-controller wtp
edit FP320C3X14020000
set wtp-profile FAP320C-default
set override-wan-port-mode enable
set wan-port-mode wan-lan
set override-lan enable
config lan
set port-mode bridge-to-ssid
set port-ssid office
end
end
Fragmentation can occur because of CAPWAP tunnel overhead increasing packet size. If the original wireless
client packets are close to the maximum transmission unit (MTU) size for the network (usually 1500 bytes for
Ethernet networks unless jumbo frames are used) the resulting CAPWAP packets may be larger than the MTU,
causing the packets to be fragmented. Fragmenting packets can result in data loss, jitter, and decreased
throughput.
The FortiOS/FortiAP solution to this problem is to cause wireless clients to send smaller packets to FortiAP
devices, resulting in1500-byte CAPWAP packets and no fragmentation. The following options configure CAPWAP
IP fragmentation control:
config wireless-controller wtp-profle
edit FAP321C-default
set ip-fragment-preventing {tcp-mss-adjust | icmp-unreachable}
set tun-mtu-uplink {0 | 576 | 1500}
set tun-mtu-downlink {0 | 576 | 1500}
end
end
By default, tcp-mss-adjust is enabled, icmp-unreachable is disabled, and tun-mtu-uplink and
tun-mtu-downlink are set to 0.
To set tun-mtu-uplink and tun-mtu-downlink, use the default TCP MTU value of 1500. This default
configuration prevents packet fragmentation because the FortiAP unit limits the size of TCP packets received
from wireless clients so the packets don’t have to be fragmented before CAPWAP encapsulation.
The tcp-mss-adjust option causes the FortiAP unit to limit the maximum segment size (MSS) of TCP
packets sent by wireless clients. The FortiAP does this by adding a reduced MSS value to the SYN packets sent
by the FortiAP unit when negotiating with a wireless client to establish a session. This results in the wireless client
sending packets that are smaller than the tun-mtu-uplink setting, so that when the CAPWAP headers are
added, the CAPWAP packets have an MTU that matches the tun-mtu-uplink size.
The icmp-unreachable option affects all traffic (UDP and TCP) between wireless clients and the FortiAP unit.
This option causes the FortiAP unit to drop packets that have the "Don't Fragment" bit set in their IP header and
that are large enough to cause fragmentation and then send an ICMP packet -- type 3 "ICMP Destination
unreachable" with code 4 "Fragmentation Needed and Don't Fragment was Set" back to the wireless controller.
This should cause the wireless client to send smaller TCP and UDP packets.
LED options
Optionally, the status LEDs on the FortiAP can be kept dark. This is useful in dormitories, classrooms, hotels,
medical clinics, hospitals where the lights might be distracting or annoying to occupants.
On the FortiGate, the LED state is controlled in the FortiAP Profile. By default the LEDs are enabled. The setting
is CLI-only. For example, to disable the LEDs on FortiAP-221C units controlled by the FAP221C-default profile,
enter:
config wireless-controller wtp-profile
edit FAP221C-default
set led-state disable
end
You can override the FortiAP Profile LED state setting on an individual FortiAP using the CLI. For example, to
make sure the LEDs are disabled on one specific unit, enter:
config wireless-controller wtp
edit FAP221C3X14019926
set override-led-state enable
set led-state disable
end
The LED state is also controllable from the FortiAP unit itself. By default, the FortiAP follows the FortiAP Profile
setting.
LED Schedules
Use the command below (led-schedule) to assign recurring firewall schedules for illuminating LEDs on the
FortiAP. This entry is only available when led-state is enabled, at which point LEDs will be visible when at
least one of the schedules is valid.
Separate multiple schedule names with a space, as configured under config firewall schedule group
and config firewall schedule recurring.
Syntax
config wireless-controller wtp-profile
edit {name}
set led-state {enable | disable}
set led-schedules <name>
next
end
There are multiple factors that might affect the volume of CAPWAP control traffic, including the number of
stations there are and large WiFi events.
The tables below depict basic and commonly used optional CAPWAP bandwidth costs, on a per-AP basis.
Time Payload
Content Package bandwidth cost (bps)
(seconds) (byte)
Total: 908.7+343.2*sta+9.6*vap+13.3*radio
Time
Content Payload (byte) Package bandwidth cost (bps)
(seconds)
932.96+343.2*sta+9.6*vap+13.3*radio+16.8*scanned-
Total:
ap
Enabling WIDS features, LLDP, MESH, FortiPresence, and Client Station Locating
Service can lead to additional bandwidth consumption.
Example:
There are 100 FortiAPs, with 187 stations distributed among them. Each FortiAP holds five VAPs among their
radios, and each enables two radios. The basic CAPWAP bandwidth cost would be:
908.7*100+343.2*187+9.6*5*100+13.3*2*100 = 162.51kbps
Additionally, if two FortiAPs enabled "AP scan", and suppose one scans 99 APs in each scan and the other scans
20 APs in each scan, the additional CAPWAP bandwidth cost would be:
(24.26+16.8*99)+(24.26+16.8*20) = 2 kbps
The access points of a WiFi network are usually connected to the WiFi controller through Ethernet wiring. A
wireless mesh eliminates the need for Ethernet wiring by connecting WiFi access points to the controller by radio.
This is useful where installation of Ethernet wiring is impractical.
A wireless mesh is a multiple AP network in which only one FortiAP unit is connected to the wired network. The
other FortiAPs communicate with the controller over a separate backhaul SSID that is not available to regular
WiFi clients. The AP that is connected to the network by Ethernet is called the Mesh Root node. The backhaul
SSID carries CAPWAP discovery, configuration, and other communications that would usually be carried on an
Ethernet connection.
The root node can be a FortiAP unit or the built-in AP of a FortiWiFi unit. APs that serve regular WiFi clients are
called Leaf nodes. Leaf APs also carry the mesh SSID for more distant leaf nodes. A leaf node can connect to the
mesh SSID directly from the root node or from any of the other leaf nodes. This provides redundancy in case of an
AP failure.
All access points in a wireless mesh configuration must have at least one of their radios configured to provide
mesh backhaul communication. As with wired APs, when mesh APs start up they can be discovered by a
FortiGate or FortiWiFi unit WiFi controller and authorized to join the network.
The backhaul SSID delivers the best performance when it is carried on a dedicated radio. On a two-radio FortiAP
unit, for example, the 5GHz radio could carry only the backhaul SSID while the 2.4GHz radio carries one or more
SSIDs that serve users. Background WiFi scanning is possible in this mode.
The backhaul SSID can also share the same radio with SSIDs that serve users. Performance is reduced because
the backhaul and user traffic compete for the available bandwidth. Background WiFi scanning is not available in
this mode. One advantage of this mode is that a two-radio AP can offer WiFi coverage on both bands.
Wireless Mesh Access points are wirelessly connected to a FortiGate or FortiWiFi unit WiFi controller.
WiFi users connect to wireless SSIDs in the same way as on non-mesh WiFi networks.
Two LAN segments are connected together over a wireless link (the backhaul SSID).
Wireless On the leaf AP, the Ethernet connection can be used to provide a wired network. Both
bridging WiFi and wired users on the leaf AP are connected to the LAN segment to which the
root AP is connected.
Firmware requirements
All FortiAP units that will be part of the wireless mesh network must be upgraded to FAP firmware version 5.0
build 003. FortiAP-222B units must have their BIOS upgraded to version 400012. The FortiWiFi or FortiGate unit
used as the WiFi controller must be running FortiOS 5.0.
An alternate use of the wireless mesh functionality is as a point-to-point relay. Both wired and WiFi users on the
leaf AP side are connected to the LAN segment on the root mesh side.
1. Go to WiFi & Switch Controller > SSID and select Create New > SSID .
2. Enter a Name for the WiFi interface.
3. In Traffic Mode, select Mesh Downlink.
4. Enter the SSID .
5. Set Security Mode to WPA2 Personal and enter the Pre-shared key.
Remember the key, you need to enter it into the configurations of the leaf FortiAPs.
6. Select OK.
The radio that carries the backhaul traffic must not carry other SSIDs. Use the Select SSIDs option and choose
only the backhaul SSID. Similarly, the radio that carries user SSIDs, should not carry the backhaul. Use the Select
SSIDs option and choose the networks that you want to provide.
In a network with multiple wireless controllers, make sure that each mesh root has a
unique SSID. Other controllers using the same mesh root SSID might be detected as
fake or rogue APs. Go to WiFi & Switch Controller > SSID to change the SSID.
1. Connect the root FortiAP unit’s Ethernet port to the FortiGate network interface that you configured for it.
2. Go to WiFi & Switch Controller > Managed FortiAPs.
If the root FortiAP unit is not listed, wait 15 seconds and select Refresh. Repeat if necessary. If the unit is
still missing after a minute or two, power cycle the root FortiAP unit and try again.
3. Right-click the FortiAP entry and choose your profile from the Assign Profile submenu.
4. Right-click the FortiAP entry and select Authorize.
Initially, the State of the FortiAP unit is Offline. Periodically click Refresh to update the status. Within about
two minutes, the state changes to Online.
5. Select OK.
You might need to select Refresh a few times before the FortiAP shows as Online.
1. Connect a computer to the FortiAP unit's Ethernet port. Configure the computer's IP as 192.168.1.3.
2. Telnet to 192.168.1.2. Login as admin. By default, no password is set.
3. Enter the following commands, substituting your own SSID and password (pre-shared key):
cfg -a MESH_AP_TYPE=1
cfg -a MESH_AP_SSID=fortinet.mesh.root
cfg -a MESH_AP_PASSWD=hardtoguess
cfg -c
exit
4. Disconnect the computer.
5. Power down the FortiAP.
6. Repeat the preceding steps for each branch FortiAP.
1. Connect the branch FortiAP unit’s Ethernet port to the FortiGate network interface that you configured for
FortiAPs. Connect the FortiAP unit to a power source unless POE is used.
2. Go to WiFi & Switch Controller > Managed FortiAPs.
If the FortiAP unit is not listed, wait 15 seconds and select Refresh. Repeat if necessary. If the unit is still missing
after a minute or two, power cycle the FortiAP unit and try again.
3. Select the discovered FortiAP unit and authorize it. Click Refresh every 10 seconds until the State indicator is
green.
4. Right-click the FortiAP and select >_Connect to CLI. The CLI Console window opens. Log in as "admin".
5. Enter the following commands, substituting your own SSID and password (pre-shared key):
cfg -a MESH_AP_TYPE=1
cfg -a MESH_AP_SSID=fortinet.mesh.root
cfg -a MESH_AP_PASSWD=hardtoguess
cfg -c
exit
6. Disconnect the branch FortiAP and delete it from the Managed FortiAP list.
7. Repeat the preceding steps for each branch FortiAP.
1. Go to WiFi & Switch Controller > Managed FortiAPs. Periodically select Refresh until the FortiAP unit is
listed. This can take up to three minutes.
The State of the FortiAP unit should be Waiting for Authorization.
2. Right-click the FortiAP entry and choose your profile from the Assign Profile submenu.
3. Right-click the FortiAP entry and select Authorize.
Initially, the State of the FortiAP unit is Offline. Periodically click Refresh to update the status. Within about
two minutes, the state changes to Online.
The Connected Via field lists the IP address of each FortiAP and uses icons to show whether the FortiAP is
connected by Ethernet or Mesh.
Ethernet
Mesh
If you mouse over the Connected Via information, a topology displays, showing how the FortiGate wireless
controller connects to the FortiAP.
l Configure a backhaul link and root mesh AP as described in Configuring a point-to-point bridge on page 1317.
Note: The root mesh AP for a point-to-point bridge must be a FortiAP unit, not the internal AP of a FortiWiFi unit.
l Configure bridging on the leaf AP unit.
To configure the leaf AP unit for bridged operation - FortiAP web-based manager
3. Select Apply.
4. Connect the local wired network to the Ethernet port on the FortiAP unit.
Users are assigned IP addresses from the DHCP server on the wired network connected to the root mesh AP unit.
Hotspot 2.0
Hotspot 2.0 Access Network Query Protocol (ANQP) is a query and response protocol that defines seamless
roaming services offered by an AP. The following CLI commands are available under config wireless-
controller, to configure Hotspot 2.0 ANQP.
Syntax
config wireless-controller hotspot20 anqp-3gpp-cellular
edit {name}
config mcc-mnc-list
edit {id}
set id {integer}
set mcc {string}
set mnc {string}
next
next
end
edit {name}
config nai-list
edit {name}
set encoding {enable | disable}
set nai-realm {string}
config eap-method
edit {index}
set index {integer}
set method {option}
config auth-param
edit {index}
set index {integer}
set id {option}
set val {option}
next
next
next
next
end
set index
set up
set low
set high
next
next
end
Wireless Mesh features cannot be used in conjunction with this configuration because
they enable the FortiAP Local Bridge option.
To create the WiFi and wired LAN configuration, you need to:
Interface name A name for the new WiFi interface, homenet_if for example.
Security Mode Configure security as you would for a regular WiFi network.
Data Encryption
Preshared Key
3. Select OK.
4. Go to WiFi & Switch Controller > Managed FortiAPs, select the FortiAP unit for editing.
5. Authorize the FortiAP unit.
The FortiAP unit can carry regular SSIDs in addition to the Bridge SSID.
This example creates a WiFi interface “homenet_if” with SSID “homenet” using WPA-Personal security,
passphrase “Fortinet1”.
config wireless-controller vap
edit "homenet_if "
set vdom "root"
set ssid "homenet "
Interface Name A name for the new interface, homenet_nw for example.
Physical Interface Members Add homenet_if and the internal network interface.
Security Mode Select Captive Portal. Add the permitted User Groups.
3. Select OK.
VLAN configuration
If your environment uses VLAN tagging, you assign the SSID to a specific VLAN in the CLI. For example, to
assign the homenet_if interface to VLAN 100, enter:
config wireless-controller vap
edit "homenet_if "
set vlanid 100
end
Additional configuration
The configuration described above provides communication between WiFi and wired LAN users only. To provide
access to other networks, create appropriate firewall policies between the software switch and other interfaces.
l Installations where the WiFI controller is remote and most of the traffic is local or uses the local Internet gateway
l Wireless-PCI compliance with remote WiFi controller
l Telecommuting, where the FortiAP unit has the WiFi controller IP address pre-configured and broadcasts the office
SSID in the user’s home or hotel room. In this case, data is sent in the wireless tunnel across the Internet to the
office and you should enable encryption using DTLS.
On the remote FortiGate wireless controller, the WiFi SSID is created with the Bridge with FortiAP Interface
option selected. In this mode, no IP addresses are configured. The FortiAP unit’s WiFi and Ethernet interfaces
behave as a switch. WiFi client devices obtain IP addresses from the same DHCP server as wired devices on the
LAN.
The Local Bridge feature cannot be used in conjunction with Wireless Mesh features.
1. Go to WiFi & Switch Controller > SSID and select Create New > SSID .
2. Enter:
Security Mode Configure security as you would for a regular WiFi network.
Data Encryption
Preshared Key
3. Select OK.
4. Go to WiFi & Switch Controller > Managed FortiAPs and select the FortiAP unit for editing.
5. Authorize the FortiAP unit.
The FortiAP unit can carry regular SSIDs in addition to the Bridge SSID.
This example creates a WiFi interface “branchbridge” with SSID “LANbridge” using WPA-Personal security,
passphrase “Fortinet1”.
Note that:
The Managed FortAP page (WiFi & Switch Controller > Managed FortiAPs) shows at the top right the
current number of Managed FortiAPs and the maximum number that can be managed, “5/64” for example. The
maximum number, however, is true only if all FortiAP units operate in remote mode. For more detailed
information, consult the Maximum Values Table. For each FortiGate model, there are two maximum values for
managed FortiAP units: the total number of FortiAPs and the number of FortiAPs that can operate in normal
mode.
1. Create at least one SSID with Traffic Mode set to Local bridge with FortiAP's Interface.
2. Create a custom AP profile that includes only local bridge SSIDs.
3. Configure each managed FortiAP unit to use the custom AP profile. You also need to set the FortiAP unit’s wtp-
mode to remote, which is possible only in the CLI. The following example uses the CLI both to set wtp-mode
and select the custom AP profile:
config wireless-controller wtp
edit FAP22B3U11005354
set wtp-mode remote
set wtp-profile 220B_bridge
end
Remote WLAN FortiAP models enable you to provide a pre-configured WiFi access point to a remote or traveling
employee. Once plugged in at home or in a hotel room, the FortiAP automatically discovers the enterprise
FortiGate WiFi controller over the Internet and broadcasts the same wireless SSID used in the corporate office.
Communication between the WiFi controller and the FortiAP is secure, eliminating the need for a VPN.
Split tunneling
By default, all traffic from the remote FortiAP is sent to the FortiGate WiFi controller. If split tunneling is
configured, only traffic destined for the corporate office networks is routed to the FortiGate unit. Other general
Internet traffic is routed unencrypted through the local gateway. Split tunneling avoids loading the FortiGate unit
with unnecessary traffic and allows direct access to local private networks at the FortiAP's location even if the
connection to the WiFi controller goes down.
Note: Split tunneling in WiFi networks differs in implementation from split tunneling in VPN configurations.
By default, split tunneling options are not visible in the FortiGate GUI. You can make these options visible using
the following CLI command:
config system settings
set gui-fortiap-split-tunneling enable
end
Split tunneling is configured in Managed FortiAPs, FortiAP Profiles, and enabled in the SSID .
The list of split tunneling subnets includes public Internet destinations and private subnets local to the FortiAP.
Split tunneling public Internet destinations reduces traffic through the FortiGate unit. Split tunneling local private
subnets allows these networks to be accessible to the client behind the FortiAP. Otherwise, private network IP
destinations are assumed to be behind the FortiGate WiFi controller.
To pre-configure a FortiAP
4. Enter the following commands to set the FortiGate WiFi controller IP address. This should be the FortiGate
Internet-facing IP address, in this example 172.20.120.142.
cfg -a AC_IPADDR_1=172.20.120.142
cfg -c
5. Enter exit to log out of the FortiAP CLI.
1. Go to WiFi & Switch Controller > Managed FortiAPs and create a new entry.
2. Enter the Serial Number of the FortiAP unit and give it a Name. Select the appropriate FortiAP Profile.
3. Click OK.
Repeat this process for each FortiAP.
High-density environments such as auditoriums, classrooms, and meeting rooms present a challenge to WiFi
providers. When a large number of mobile devices try to connect to a WiFi network, difficulties arise because of
the limited number of radio channels and interference between devices.
FortiOS and FortiAP devices provide several tools to mitigate the difficulties of high-density environments.
Manually configure packet transmit optimization settings by entering the following command:
config wireless-controller wtp-profile
edit <name>
config <radio-1> | <radio-2>
set transmit-optimize {disable | power-save | aggr-limit | retry-limit | sendbar}
l disable: Disable transmit optimization.
l power-save: Mark a client as power save mode if excessive transmit retries happen.
l aggr-limit: Set aggregation limit to a lower value when data rate is low.
l retry-limit: Set software retry limit to a lower value when data rate is low.
l send-bar: Do not send BAR frame too often.
The following powersave-optimize parameters (under config radio) are used for 11n radios to optimize
system performance for specific situations.
l tim: Set traffic indication map (TIM) bit for client in power save mode. TIM bit mask indicates to any sleeping
listening stations if the AP has any buffered frames present. If enabled, the AP will always indicate to the connected
client that there is a packet waiting in the AP, so it will help to prevent the client from entering a sleep state.
l ac-vo: Use Access Category (AC) Voice (VO) priority to send packets in the power save queue. AC VO is one of the
highest classes/priority levels used to ensure quality of service (QoS). If enabled, when a client returns from a sleep
state, the AP will send its buffered packet using a higher priority queue, instead of the normal priority queue.
l no-obss-scan: Do not put Overlapping Basic Service Set (OBSS), or high-noise (i.e. non-802.11), scan IE into a
Beacon or Probe Response frame.
l no-11b-rate: Do not send frame using 11b data rate.
l client-rate-follow: Adapt transmitting PHY rate with receiving PHY rate from client. If enabled, the AP will
integrate the current client's transmission PHY rate into its rate adaptation algorithm for transmitting.
ARP requests and replies could allow clients to discover each other's IP addresses. On most WiFi networks, intra-
client communication is not allowed, so these ARP requests are of no use, but they occupy air time.
DHCP (upstream) should be allowed so that clients can request an IP address using DHCP.
DHCP (downstream) should be suppressed because it would allow a client to provide DHCP service to other
clients. Only the AP should do this.
NetBIOS is a Microsoft Windows protocol for intra-application communication. Usually this is not required in high-
density deployments.
IPv6 broadcast packets can be suppressed if your network uses IPv4 addressing.
You can configure broadcast packet suppression in the CLI. The following options are available for broadcast
suppression:
config wireless-controller vap
edit <name>
set broadcast-suppression {dhcp-up | dhcp-down | dhcp-starvation | arp-known | arp-
unknown | arp-reply | arp-poison | arp-proxy | netbios-ns | netbios-ds | ipv6 |
all-other-mc | all-other-bc}
end
dhcp-starvation helps prevent clients from depleting the DHCP address pool by making multiple requests.
Because of all these specific multicast and broadcast packet types, the two options all-other-mc and all-
other-bc help suppress multicast (mc) and broadcast (bc) packets that are not covered by any of the specific
options.
probe-resp-threshold is the signal strength in dBm below which the client is ignored. The range is -95 to -
20dBm. The default level is -80dBm.
The 802.11 a, b, and g protocols are specified by data rate. 802.11a can support 6,9,12, 18, 24, 36, 48, and 54
Mb/s. 802.11b/g can support 1, 2, 5.5, 6, 9,12, 18, 24, 36, 48, 54 Mb/s. Basic rates are specified with the suffix
"basic", "12-basic" for example. The capabilities of expected client devices need to be considered when deciding
the lowest Basic rate.
The 802.11n and ac protocols are specified by the Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) Index and the number
of spatial streams.
l 802.11n with 1 or 2 spatial streams can support mcs0/1, mcs1/1, mcs2/1, mcs3/1, mcs4/1, mcs5/1, mcs6/1,
mcs7/1,mcs8/2,mcs9/2, mcs10/2, mcs11/2, mcs12/2, mcs13/2, mcs14/2, mcs15/2.
l 802.11n with 3 or 4 spatial streams can support mcs16/3, mcs17/3, mcs18/3, mcs19/3, mcs20/3, mcs21/3,
mcs22/3, mcs23/3, mcs24/4, mcs25/4, mcs26/4, mcs27/4, mcs28/4, mcs29/4, mcs30/4, mcs31/4.
l 802.11ac with 1 or 2 spatial streams can support mcs0/1, mcs1/1, mcs2/1, mcs3/1, mcs4/1, mcs5/1, mcs6/1,
mcs7/1, mcs8/1, mcs9/1, mcs0/2, mcs1/2, mcs2/2, mcs3/2, mcs4/2, mcs5/2, mcs6/2, mcs7/2, mcs8/2, mcs9/2.
l 802.11ac with 3 or 4 spatial streams can support mcs0/3, mcs1/3, mcs2/3, mcs3/3, mcs4/3, mcs5/3, mcs6/3,
mcs7/3, mcs8/3, mcs9/3, mcs0/4, mcs1/4, mcs2/4, mcs3/4, mcs4/4, mcs5/4, mcs6/4, mcs7/4, mcs8/4, mcs9/4
Here are some examples of setting basic and supported rates.
config wireless-controller vap
edit <vap_name>
set rates-11a 12-basic 18 24 36 48 54
set rates-11bg 12-basic 18 24 36 48 54
set rates-11n-ss34 mcs16/3 mcs18/3 mcs20/3 mcs21/3 mcs22/3 mcs23/3 mcs24/4 mcs25/4
set rates-11ac-ss34 mcs0/3 mcs1/3 mcs2/3 mcs9/4 mcs9/3
end
Limit power
High-density deployments usually cover a small area that has many clients. Maximum AP signal power is usually
not required. Reducing the power reduces interference between APs. Fortinet recommends that you use FortiAP
automatic power control. You can set this in the FortiAP profile.
1. Go to WiFi & Switch Controller > FortiAP Profiles and edit the profile for your AP model.
2. For each radio, enable Auto TX Power Control and set the TX Power Low and TX Power High levels. The
default range of 10 to 17dBm is recommended.
To load-balance the WiFi bands, you enable Frequency Handoff in the FortiAP profile. In the FortiGate web-
based manager, go to WiFi & Switch Controller > FortiAP Profiles and edit the relevant profile. Or, you can
use the CLI:
config wireless-controller wtp-profile
edit FAP221C-default
config radio-1
set frequency-handoff enable
end
The FortiGate wireless controller continuously performs a scan of all clients in the area and records their signal
strength (RSSI) on each band. When Frequency Handoff is enabled, the AP does not reply to clients on the
2.4GHz band that have sufficient signal strength on the 5GHz band. These clients can associate only on the
5GHz band. Devices that support only 2.4GHz receive replies and associate with the AP on the 2.4GHz band.
AP load balancing
The performance of an AP is degraded if it attempts to serve too many clients. In high-density environments,
multiple access points are deployed with some overlap in their coverage areas. The WiFi controller can manage
the association of new clients with APs to prevent overloading.
To load-balance between APs, enable AP Handoff in the FortiAP profile. In the FortiGate web-based manager,
go to WiFi & Switch Controller > FortiAP Profiles and edit the relevant profile. Or, you can use the CLI:
config wireless-controller wtp-profile
edit FAP221C-default
config radio-1
set ap-handoff enable
end
When an AP exceeds the threshold (the default is 30 clients), the overloaded AP does not reply to a new client
that has a sufficient signal at another AP.
handoff-rssi Sets the minimum signal strength that a new client must have at an alternate AP for the
overloaded AP to ignore the client. It has a range of 20 to 30. RSSI is a relative measure. The higher the number,
the stronger the signal.
Application rate-limiting
To prevent particular application types from consuming too much bandwidth, you can use the FortiOS Application
Control feature.
In addition, VLANs can be assigned dynamically based on the group which an AP belongs. When defining an
SSID, under WiFi & Switch Controller > SSID , a setting called VLAN Pooling can be enabled where you
can either assign the VLAN ID of the AP group the device is connected to, to each device as it is detected, or to
always assign the same VLAN ID to a specific device. Dynamic VLAN assignment allows the same SSID to be
deployed to many APs, avoiding the need to produce multiple SSIDs.
Sharing Tunnel SSIDs within a single managed AP between VDOMs as a Virtual AP for
multi-tenancy
This feature provides the ability to move a tunnel mode VAP into a VDOM, similar to an interface/VLAN in
VDOMs. FortiAP is registered into the root VDOM.
Within a customer VDOM, customer VAPs can be created/added. In the root VDOM, the customer VAP can be
added to the registered FortiAP. Any necessary firewall rules and interfaces can be configured between the two
VDOMs.
Syntax
config wireless-controller global
set wtp-share {enable | disable}
end
FortiAP LED Blinking
This feature allows the administrator to select a FortiAP from the FortiCloud WebUI and set its LED status to
blink in order to help the administrator find that FortiAP in an environment consisting of many APs.
FortiAP-112D, 221C, 223C, 224D, 320C, and 321C (using v5.6.2 B0489) can support LED Blinking.
Syntax
execute wireless-controller led-blink <wtp-id> {on | on 10 | off}
Syntax
config wireless-controller global
set image-download {enable | disable}
end
Wireless IDS
The FortiGate Wireless Intrusion Detection System (WIDS) monitors wireless traffic for a wide range of security
threats by detecting and reporting on possible intrusion attempts. When an attack is detected the FortiGate unit
records a log message.
You can create a WIDS profile to enable these types of intrusion detection:
You can also configure a WIDS profile in the CLI using the config wireless-controller wids-
profile command.
Rogue AP detection
The WIDS profile includes settings for detection of unauthorized (rogue) access points in your wireless network.
For more information, see Wireless network monitoring on page 1342.
There are data channel encryption settings on both the FortiGate unit and the FortiAP units. At both ends, you
can enable Clear Text, DTLS encryption, or both. The settings must agree or the FortiAP unit will not be able to
join the WiFi network. By default, both Clear Text and DTLS-encrypted communication are enabled on the
FortiAP unit, allowing the FortiGate setting to determine whether data channel encryption is used. If the
FortiGate unit also enables both Clear Text and DTLS, Clear Text is used.
Data channel encryption settings are located in the FortiAP profile. By default, only Clear Text is supported.
Data channel encryption is software-based and can affect performance. Verify that the
system meets your performance requirements with encryption enabled.
Enabling encryption
In the CLI, the wireless wtp-profile command contains a new field, dtls-policy, with options
clear-text and dtls-enabled. To enable encryption in profile1 for example, enter:
config wireless-controller wtp-profile
edit profile1
set dtls-policy dtls-enabled
end
For example, to set security to DTLS and then save the setting, enter:
cfg -a AP_DATA_CHAN_SEC=dtls
cfg -c
To facilitate faster roaming client roaming, you can enable Opportunistic Key Caching (OKC) on your WiFi
network. When a client associates with an AP, its PMK identifier is sent to all other APs on the network. This
eliminates the need for an already-authenticated client to repeat the full EAP exchange process when it roams to
another AP on the same network.
When pmf is set to optional, it is considered enabled, but will allow clients that do not use PMF. When pmf
is set to enable, PMF is required by all clients.
Currently, only the FAP-S221E, FAP-S223E, and FAP-222E models support this
feature.
Use the following syntax to configure BLE profiles, configure BLE report intervals, and assign BLE profiles to
WTP profiles.
Note that txpower determines the transmit power level on a scale of 0-12:
You can monitor both your wireless clients and other wireless networks that are available in your coverage area.
FortiAP The serial number of the FortiAP unit to which the client connected.
Device
Signal Strength / Noise The signal-to-noise ratio in deciBels calculated from signal strength and
noise level.
Signal Strength
Association Time How long the client has been connected to this access point.
Results can be filtered. Select the filter icon on the column you want to filter. Enter the values to
include or select NOT if you want to exclude the specified values.
Discovered access points are listed in Monitor > Rogue AP Monitor. You can then mark them as either
Accepted or Rogue access points. This designation helps you to track access points. It does not affect anyone’s
ability to use these access points.
It is also possible to suppress rogue APs. See Monitoring rogue APs on page 1342.
Rogue AP monitoring of WiFi client traffic builds a table of WiFi clients and the Access Points that they are
communicating through. The FortiGate unit also builds a table of MAC addresses that it sees on the LAN. The
FortiGate unit’s on-wire correlation engine constantly compares the MAC addresses seen on the LAN to the MAC
addresses seen on the WiFi network.
There are two methods of Rogue AP on-wire detection operating simultaneously: Exact MAC address match and
MAC adjacency.
If the same MAC address is seen on the LAN and on the WiFi network, this means that the wireless client is
connected to the LAN. If the AP that the client is using is not authorized in the FortiGate unit configuration, that
AP is deemed an ‘on-wire’ rogue. This scheme works for non-NAT rogue APs.
MAC adjacency
If an access point is also a router, it applies NAT to WiFi packets. This can make rogue detection more difficult.
However, an AP’s WiFi interface MAC address is usually in the same range as its wired MAC address. So, the
MAC adjacency rogue detection method matches LAN and WiFi network MAC addresses that are within a
defined numerical distance of each other. By default, the MAC adjacency value is 7. If the AP for these matching
MAC addresses is not authorized in the FortiGate unit configuration, that AP is deemed an ‘on-wire’ rogue.
Limitations
On-wire rogue detection has some limitations. There must be at least one WiFi client connected to the suspect
AP and continuously sending traffic. If the suspect AP is a router, its WiFi MAC address must be very similar to its
Ethernet port MAC address.
Logging
Information about detected rogue APs is logged and uploaded to your FortiAnalyzer unit, if you have one. By
default, rogue APs generate an alert level log, unknown APs generate a warning level log. This log information
can help you with PCI-DSS compliance requirements.
During heavy AP traffic, it is possible for Spectrum Analysis background scanning to cause lost packets when the
radio switches to monitoring. To reduce the probability of lost packets, you can set the CLI ap-bgscan-idle
field to delay the switch to monitoring until the AP has been idle for a specified period. This means that heavy AP
traffic may slow background scanning.
The following CLI example configures default background rogue scanning operation except that it sets ap-
bgscan-idle to require 100ms of AP inactivity before scanning the next channel.
config wireless-controller wtp-profile
edit ourprofile
config radio-1
set wids-profile ourwidsprofile
set spectrum-analysis enable
end
end
config wireless-controller wids-profile
edit ourwidsprofile
set ap-scan enable
set rogue-scan enable
set ap-bgscan-period 300
set ap-bgscan-intv 1
set ap-bgscan-duration 20
set ap-bgscan-idle 100
end
By default, if Rogue AP Detection is enabled, it is enabled on all managed FortiAP units. Optionally, you can
exempt an AP from scanning. You should be careful about doing this if your organization must perform scanning
to meet PCI-DSS requirements.
3. Go to WiFi & Switch Controller > FortiAP Profiles and edit the profile you wish to exempt from rogue
scanning.
4. Assign the WIDS profile created in step 2.
MAC adjacency
You can adjust the maximum WiFi to Ethernet MAC difference used when determining whether an suspect AP is
a rogue.
Information Columns
Actual columns displayed depends on Column Settings.
Rogue AP — Use this status for unauthorized APs that On-wire status indicates are
attached to your wired networks.
Accepted AP — Use this status for APs that are an authorized part of your network or
State are neighboring APs that are not a security threat. To see accepted APs in the list,
select Show Accepted.
Unclassified — This is the initial status of a discovered AP. You can change an AP back
to unclassified if you have mistakenly marked it as Rogue or Accepted.
Online Active AP
Status
Inactive AP
SSID The wireless service set identifier (SSID) or network name for the wireless interface.
Channel The wireless radio channel that the access point uses.
Vendor
The name of the vendor.
Info
Signal The relative signal strength of the AP. Mouse over the symbol to view the signal-to-noise
Strength ratio.
Detected
The name or serial number of the AP unit that detected the signal.
By
On-wire A green up-arrow indicates a suspected rogue, based on the on-wire detection technique. A
red down-arrow indicates AP is not a suspected rogue.
To change the Online Status of an AP, right-click it and select Mark Accepted or Mark Rogue.
Before enabling this feature, verify that operation of Rogue Suppression is compliant
with the applicable laws and regulations of your region.
To enable rogue AP suppression, you must enable monitoring of rogue APs with the on-wire detection technique.
See “Monitoring rogue APs”. The monitoring radio must be in the Dedicated Monitor mode.
To deactivate AP suppression
The wireless health dashboard provides a comprehensive view of the health of your network’s wireless
infrastructure. The dashboard includes widgets to display
l AP Status - Active, Down or missing, up for over 24 hours, rebooted in past 24 hours
l Client Count Over Time - viewable for past hour, day, or 30 days
l Top Client Count Per-AP - separate widgets for 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands
l Top Wireless Interference - separate widgets for 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, requires spectrum analysis to be
enabled on the radios
l Login Failures Information
The list of active clients also shows MAC address entries (similar to the WiFi Client Monitor page), making
client information easy to view when opening the Active Client widget.
This chapter shows how to configure typical wireless network clients to connect to a wireless network with WPA-
Enterprise security.
Windows XP client
1. In the Windows Start menu, go to Control Panel > Network Connections > Wireless Network Connection
or select the wireless network icon in the Notification area of the Taskbar. A list of available networks is displayed.
If you are already connected to another wireless network, the Connection Status window displays.
Select View Wireless Networks on the General tab to view the list.
If the network broadcasts its SSID, it is listed. But do not try to connect until you have completed the
configuration step below. Because the network doesn’t use the Windows XP default security
configuration, configure the client’s network settings manually before trying to connect.
2. You can configure the WPA-Enterprise network to be accessible from the View Wireless Networks window even
if it does not broadcast its SSID.
3. Select Change Advanced Settings and then select the Wireless Networks tab.
Any existing networks that you have already configured are listed in the Preferred Networks list.
5. If this wireless network does not broadcast its SSID, select Connect even if this network is not broadcasting
so that the network will appear in the View Wireless Networks list.
9. Select Properties.
15. If your wireless network credentials are the same as your Windows logon credentials, select Automatically use
my Windows logon name and password. Otherwise, make sure that this option is not selected.
16. Select OK. Repeat until you have closed all of the Wireless Network Connection Properties windows.
1. Select the wireless network icon in the Notification area of the Taskbar.
2. In the View Wireless Networks list, select the network you just added and then select Connect.
You might need to log off of your current wireless network and refresh the list.
3. When the following popup displays, click on it.
4. In the Enter Credentials window, enter your wireless network User name, Password, and Logon domain (if
applicable). Then, select OK.
In future, Windows will automatically send your credentials when you log on to this network.
Windows 7 client
1. In the Windows Start menu, go to Control Panel > Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Center >
Manage Wireless Networks or select the wireless network icon in the Notification area of the Taskbar. A list of
available networks is displayed.
The Wireless Network icon will display a popup requesting that you click to enter credentials for the
network. Click on the popup notification.
4. In the Enter Credentials window, enter your wireless network User name, Password, and Logon domain (if
applicable). Then, select OK.
5. Select Change connection settings.
6. On the Connection tab, select Connect automatically when this network is in range.
7. On the Security tab, select the Microsoft PEAP authentication method and then select Settings.
12. If your wireless network credentials are the same as your Windows logon credentials, select Automatically use
my Windows logon name and password. Otherwise, make sure that this option is not selected.
13. Ensure that the remaining options are not selected.
14. Select OK. Repeat until you have closed all of the Wireless Network Properties windows.
Mac OS client
1. Right-click the AirPort icon in the toolbar and select Open Network Preferences.
2. Select Advanced and then select the 802.1X tab.
3. If there are no Login Window Profiles in the left column, select the + button and then select Add Login Window
Profile.
4. Select the Login Window Profile and then make sure that both TTLS and PEAP are selected in Authentication.
Network name Enter the SSID of your wireless network. (Other network only)
802.1X Automatic
Mac OS supports only PEAP with MSCHAPv2 authentication and therefore can
authenticate only to a RADIUS server, not an LDAP or TACACS+ server
Linux client
This example is based on the Ubuntu 10.04 Linux wireless client.
1. Select the Network Manager icon to view the Wireless Networks menu.
Wireless networks that broadcast their SSID are listed in the Available section of the menu. If the list is long, it is
continued in the More Networks submenu.
2. Do one of the following:
l Select the network from the list (also check More Networks).
l Select Connect to Hidden Wireless Network.
One of the following windows opens, depending on your selection.
Network name Enter the SSID of your wireless network. (Hidden network only)
CA Certificate If you want to validate the AP’s certificate, select the Entrust Root
Certification Authority root certificate. The default location for the
certificate is /usr/share/ca-certificates/mozilla/.
4. If you did not select a CA Certificate above, you are asked to do so. Select Ignore.
1. Select the Network Manager icon to view the Wireless Networks menu.
2. Select the network from the list (also check More Networks).
If your network is not listed (but was configured), select Connect to Hidden Wireless Network, select your
network from the Connection drop-down list, and then select Connect.
Troubleshooting
Using tools provided in your operating system, you can find the source of common wireless networking problems.
Windows XP
1. Double-click the network icon in the taskbar to display the Wireless Network Connection Status window.
Check that the correct network is listed in the Connection section.
2. Select the Support tab.
Check that the Address Type is Assigned by DHCP. Check that the IP Address, Subnet Mask, and
Default Gateway values are valid.
3. Select Details to view the DNS server addresses.
The listed address should be the DNS serves that were assigned to the WAP. Usually a wireless network that
provides access to the private LAN is assigned the same DNS servers as the wired private LAN. A wireless network
that provides guest or customer users access to the Internet is usually assigned public DNS servers.
4. If any of the addresses are missing, select Repair.
If the repair procedure doesn’t correct the problem, check your network settings.
Mac OS
4. If there is no IP address or the IP address starts with 169, select Renew DHCP Lease.
5. To check DNS server addresses, open a terminal window and enter the following command:
cat /etc/resolv.conf
Check the listed nameserver addresses. A network for employees should us the wired private LAN
DNS server. A network for guests should specify a public DNS server.
Linux
2. Check the IP address, and DNS settings. If they are incorrect, check your network settings.
Name wlan_users
Type Firewall
edit "wlan_users"
set member "user01"
end
1. Go to WiFi & Switch Controller > SSID and select Create New > SSID .
2. Enter the following information and select OK:
Netmask 255.255.255.0
SSID example_wifi
edit 0
set default-gateway 10.10.110.1
set dns-service default
set interface "example_wifi_if"
config ip-range
edit 1
set end-ip 10.10.110.199
set start-ip 10.10.110.2
end
set netmask 255.255.255.0
end
1. Go to WiFi & Switch Controller > FortiAP Profiles and edit the profile for your model of FortiAP unit.
2. In Radio 1 and Radio 2, add example_wifi in SSID .
3. Select OK.
Name wlan_user_net
Type IP/Netmask
Interface example_wifi_if
Schedule always
Service ALL
Action ACCEPT
In this example, the FortiAP units connect to port 3 and are controlled through IP addresses on the
192.168.8.0/24 network.
Scenario
In this example, Example Co. provides two wireless networks, one for its employees and the other for customers
or other guests of its business. Guest users have access only to the Internet, not to the company’s private
network. The equipment for these WiFi networks consists of FortiAP-220B units controlled by a FortiGate unit.
The employee network operates in 802.11n mode on both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. Client IP addresses are
in the 10.10.120.0/24 subnet, with 10.10.120.1 the IP address of the WAP. The guest network also operates in
802.11n mode, but only on the 2.4GHz band. Client IP addresses are on the 10.10.115.0/24 subnet, with
10.10.115.1 the IP address of the WAP.
On FortiAP-220B units, the 802.11n mode also supports 802.11g and 802.11b clients on the 2.4GHz band and
802.11a clients on the 5GHz band.
The guest network WAP broadcasts its SSID, the employee network WAP does not.
The employees network uses WPA-Enterprise authentication through a FortiGate user group. The guest network
features a captive portal. When a guest first tries to connect to the Internet, a login page requests logon
credentials. Guests use numbered guest accounts authenticated by RADIUS. The captive portal for the guests
includes a disclaimer page.
In this example, the FortiAP units connect to port 3 and are assigned addresses on the 192.168.8.0/24 subnet.
Configuration
To configure these wireless networks, you must:
4. Click Next.
5. Make sure that Enable is selected and then click Create.
Name employee-group
Type Firewall
To configure a WiFi user and the user group for employee access - CLI
config user user
edit "user01"
set type password
set passwd "asdf12ghjk"
end
config user group
edit "employee-group"
set member "user01"
end
The user authentication setup will be complete when you select the employee-group in the SSID configuration.
To configure the FortiGate unit to access the guest RADIUS server - web-based manager
Name guestRADIUS
To configure the FortiGate unit to access the guest RADIUS server - CLI
config user radius
edit guestRADIUS
set auth-type auto
set server 10.11.102.100
set secret grikfwpfdfg
end
Name guest-group
Type Firewall
5. Select OK.
1. Go to WiFi & Switch Controller > SSID and select Create New > SSID .
2. Enter the following information and select OK:
IP/Netmask 10.10.120.1/24
Netmask 255.255.255.0
SSID example_inc
Name example_guest
IP/Netmask 10.10.115.1/24
Netmask 255.255.255.0
SSID example_guest
Name example_AP
Platform FAP220B
Radio 1
Band 802.11n
Radio 2
Band 802.11n_5G
Interface example_inc
Interface example_guest
Schedule always
Service ALL
Action ACCEPT
Schedule always
Service ALL
Action ACCEPT
3. Optionally, select UTM and set up UTM features for wireless users.
4. Select OK.
In this example, the FortiAP units connect to port 3 and are controlled through IP addresses on the
192.168.8.0/24 network.
end
For a video tutorial of how to configure and manage a FortiAP-S device from FortiCloud, follow the link below:
For this configuration, the FortiAP-221C unit is running version 5.2 firmware. You will create a simple network
that uses WPA-Personal authentication.
1. Connect the FortiAP Ethernet interface to a network that provides access to the Internet.
2. Open a web browser and navigate to the FortiCloud main page and select + AP Network.
3. Enter an AP Network Name and AP Password. This password is used to locally log in to the AP as the
administrator. It will be set to all APs in this AP network.
4. Set the correct Time Zone and select Submit.
1. Select the FortiAP you just created from the home page. You will then be prompted to add an SSID for the
AP Network.
In the interface, this is under Configure > SSIDs.
2. In Access Control, enter the name of your SSID, set Authentication to WPA2-Personal, enter the Pre-
shared Key, and select Next.
3. In Security, enable security features as required (select from AntiVirus, Intrusion Prevention, Block Botnet,
Web Access, and Application Control) and select Next.
4. In Availability, make sure to leave 5 GHz enabled, configure a schedule as required, and select Next.
5. Review your SSID in Preview, then select Apply.
1. Go to Configure > AP Profile and edit the AP Profile for your FortiAP model (mouse-over the AP Profile to
reveal the Edit button).
2. Enable the SSID configured earlier for both Radio 1 and Radio 2, for 5GHz coverage.
To deploy the AP
1. Go to Configure > Deploy APs. Here you will be prompted to enter the FortiCloud key, which can be found on
the same label as the FortiAP unit's serial number, and select Submit.
If you have a FortiAP model that does not include a FortiCloud key, you can still add
the device to the network. To learn how, see the FortiCloud-managed FortiAP WiFi
without a key configuration.
2. In Set Platform Profiles, select the platform profile you created earlier and select Next.
3. Follow the rest of the deployment wizard. Select Submit when completed.
You will now be able to connect to the wireless network and browse the Internet. On the FortiCloud website, go to
Monitor > Report where you can view monitoring information such as Traffic by Period, Client Count by
Period, and more.
For this example, you will need to have already pre-configured your FortiAP unit with your FortiCloud account
credentials. For more information on how to do this, or if your FortiAP has a FortiCloud key (on the serial number
label), see the FortiCloud-managed FortiAP WiFi configuration.
1. Connect your computer to the FortiAP Ethernet port. The FortiAP’s default IP address is 192.168.1.2. The
computer should have an address on the same subnet, 192.168.1.3 for example.
2. Using a browser, log in to the FortiAP as admin. Leave the password field empty.
3. In WTP-Configuration, select FortiCloud and enter your FortiCloud credentials. Select Apply.
The FortiAP is now ready to connect to FortiCloud via the Internet.
For an example of creating a WiFi network on FortiCloud, see FortiCloud-managed FortiAP WiFi on page 1379.
1. Connect the FortiAP Ethernet cable to a network that connects to the Internet.
Restore your computer to its normal network configuration and log on to FortiCloud.
2. From the Home screen, go to Inventory > AP Inventory. Your FortiAP should be listed.
3. Then go back to the Home screen, select your AP network, and go to Deploy APs.
4. Select your listed FortiAP and select Next.
5. Make sure your platform profile is selected from the dropdown menu, and select Next.
6. In Preview, select Deploy.
The device will now appear listed under Access Points.
You will now be able to connect to the wireless network and browse the Internet. On the FortiCloud website, go to
Monitor > Report where you can view monitoring information such as Traffic by Period, Client Count by
Period, and more.
A FortiWiFi unit by default operates as a wireless access point. But a FortiWiFi unit can also operate as a wireless
client, connecting the FortiGate unit to another wireless network.
For example, in a warehouse where shipping and receiving are on opposite sides of the building, running cables
might not be an option due to the warehouse environment. The FortiWiFi unit can support wired users using its
Ethernet ports and can connect to another access point wirelessly as a client. This connects the wired users to the
network using the 802.11 WiFi standard as a backbone.
Note that in client mode the FortiWiFi unit cannot operate as an AP. WiFi clients cannot see or connect to the
FortiWifi unit in Client mode.
Schedule always
Service ALL
Action ACCEPT
Syntax
config system interface
edit {name}
set wifi-ap-band {any | 5g-preferred | 5g-only}
next
end
FortiOS supports location-based services by collecting information about WiFi devices near FortiGate-managed
access points, even if the devices don’t associate with the network.
Overview
WiFi devices broadcast packets as they search for available networks. The FortiGate WiFi controller can collect
information about the interval, duration, and signal strength of these packets. The Euclid Analytics service uses
this information to track the movements of the device owner. A typical application of this technology is to analyze
shopper behavior in a shopping center. Which stores do people walk past? Which window displays do they stop to
look at? Which stores do they enter and how long do they spend there? The shoppers are not personally
identified, each is known only by the MAC address of their WiFi device.
After enabling location tracking on the FortiGate unit, you can confirm that the feature is working by using a
specialized diagnostic command to view the raw tracking data. The Euclid Analytics service obtains the same
data in its proprietary format using a JSON inquiry through the FortiGate unit’s web-based manager interface.
The timer is one of the wireless controller timers and it can be set in the CLI. For example:
config wireless-controller timers
set sta-locate-timer 1800
end
The sta-locate-timer should not be set to less than the sta-capability-timer (default 30 seconds) because that
could cause duplicate logs to be generated.
Example output
00:0b:6b:22:82:61 0
FAP22B3U11005354 0 0 00:09:0f:f1:bb:e4 5745 257 708 56 651 1836 6441 0 12 -21832
1855438 -157758796 -88 -81 -84 -88 0
00:db:df:24:1a:67 0
FAP22B3U11005354 0 0 00:09:0f:f1:bb:e4 5745 42 1666 41 1625 97210 5831613 0 60 -3608
310072 -26658680 -90 -83 -85 -89 0
10:68:3f:50:22:29 0
FAP22B3U11005354 0 0 00:09:0f:f1:bb:e4 5745 102 1623 58 1565 94136 5664566 0 60 -8025
631703 -49751433 -84 -75 -78 -79 0
The output for each device appears on two lines. The first line contains only the device MAC address and the
VLAN ID. The second line begins with the ID (serial number) of the FortiWiFi or FortiAP unit that detected the
device, the AP’s MAC address, and then the fields that the Euclid service uses. Because of its length, this line
wraps around and displays as multiple lines.
In the following section, you will learn basic troubleshooting techniques for a secure Fortinet wireless LAN
including:
The maximum output from a command is limited to 4M, and the default output size is set to 32K.
The FortiAP will only report running results to the controller after the command is finished. If a new command is
sent to the AP before the previous command is finished, the previous command will be canceled.
To solve an asymmetric power issue, measure the signal strength in both directions. APs usually have enough
power to transmit long distances, but sometimes battery-powered clients have a reply signal that has less power,
and therefore the AP cannot detect their signal.
It is recommended that you match the transmission power of the AP to the least powerful wireless client—around
10 decibels per milliwatt (dBm) for iPhones and 14dBm for most laptops.
Even if the signal is strong enough, other devices may be emitting radiation as well, causing interference. To
identify the difference, read the client Rx strength from the FortiGate GUI (under Monitor > WiFi Client
Monitor) or CLI.
The Signal Strength/Noise value provides the received signal strength indicator (RSSI) of the wireless client.
For example, A value of -85dBm to -95dBm is equal to about 10dB levels; this is not a desirable signal strength.
In the following screenshot, one of the clients is at 18dB, which is getting close to the perimeter of its range.
The Signal Strength/Noise value received from the FortiAP by clients, and vice versa,
should be within the range of -20dBm to -65dBm.
You can also confirm the transmission (Tx) power of the controller on the AP profile (wtp-profile) and the
FortiAP (iwconfig), and check the power management (auto-Tx) options.
Result:
wlan00 IEEE 802.11ng ESSID:"signal-check"
Mode:Master Frequency:2.412 GHz Access Point:<MAC add>
Bit Rate:130 Mb/s Tx-Power=28 dBm
The most thorough method to solve signal strength issues is to perform a site survey. To this end, Fortinet offers
the FortiPlanner, downloadable at http://www.fortinet.com/resource_center/product_downloads.html.
The site survey provides you with optimal placement for your APs based on the variables in your environment.
You must provide the site survey detailed information including a floor plan (to scale), structural materials, and
more. It will allow you to place the APs on the map and adjust the radio bands and power levels while providing
you with visual wireless coverage.
Below is a list of mechanisms for gathering further information on the client for Rx strength. The goal is to see
how well the client is receiving the signal from the AP. You can also verify FortiAP signal strength on the client
using WiFi client utilities, or third party utilities such as InSSIDer or MetaGeek Chanalyzer. You can get similar
tools from the app stores on Android and iOS devices.
Frequency interference
If the wireless signal seems to be strong but then periodically drops, this may be a symptom of frequency
interference. Frequency interference is when another device also emits radio frequency using the same channel,
co-channel, or adjacent channel, thereby overpowering or corrputing your signal. This is a common problem on a
2.4GHz network.
l Coherent interference: a result of another device using the same channel as your AP, or poor planning of a
wireless infrastructure (perhaps the other nearby APs are using the same channel or the signal strength is too high).
l Non-coherent interference: a result of other radio signals such as bluetooth, microwave, cordless phone, or (as in
medical environments) x-ray machines.
Most common and simple solution for frequency interference is to change your operation channel. Typically, the
channel can be set from 1 to 11 for the broadcast frequency, although you should always use channels 1, 6, and
11 on the 2.4GHz band.
Another solution, if it's appropriate for your location, is to use the 5GHz band instead.
MetaGeek Chanalyzer
You can perform a site survey using spectrum analysis at various points in your environment looking for signal
versus interference/noise. MetaGeek Chanalyzer is an example of a third party utility which shows a noise
threshold.
Note that a signal of -95dBm or less will be ignored by Fortinet wireless adapters.
Throughput issues
Sometimes communication issues can be caused by low performance.
l a weak transmit signal from the client (the host does not reach the AP)
l the AP utilization is too high (your AP could be saturated with connected clients)
l interference (third party signal could degrade your AP or client's ability to detect signals between them)
l weak transmit power from the AP (the AP does not reach the host) -- not common in a properly deployed network,
unless the client is too far away
Keep in mind that water will also cause a reduction in radio signal strength for those making use out of outdoor
APs or wireless on a boat.
Performance testing
If the FortiAP gives bad throughput to the client, the link may drop. The throughput or performance can be
measured on your smartphone with third party applications tool such as iPerf and jPerf.
Another way to get a sense of your throughput issues is to measure the speed of a file transfer on your network.
Create a test file at a specific size and measure the speed at which Windows measures the transfer. The
command below will create a 50MB file.
l fsutil file createnew test.txt 52428800
The following image shows a network transfer speed of just over 24Mbps. The theoretical speed of 802.11g is
54Mbps, which is what this client is using. A wireless client is never likely to see the theoretical speed.
TKIP limitation
If you find that throughput is a problem, avoid WPA security encrypted with Temporal Key Integrity Protocol
(TKIP) as it supports communications only at 54Mbps. Use WPA-2 AES instead.
Speeds are very much based on what the client computer can handle as well. The maximum client connection
rate of 130Mbps is for 2.4GHz on a 2x2, or 300Mbps for 5Ghz on a 2x2 (using shortguard and channel bonding
enabled).
If you want to get more than 54Mbps with 802.11n, do not use legacy TKIP, use CCMP instead. This is standard
for legacy compatibility.
Using the following commands you can customize the uplink rates and downlink rates in the CAPWAP tunnel to
prevent fragmentation and avoid data loss.
config wireless-controller wtp
edit new-wtp
set ip-fragment-preventing [tcp-mss-adjust | icmp-unreachable]
set tun-mtu-uplink [0 | 576 | 1500]
set tun-mtu-downlink [0 | 576 | 1500]
end
end
The default value is 0, however the recommended value will depend on the type of traffic. For example, IPsec in
tunnel mode has 52 bytes of overhead, so you might use 1400 or less for uplink and downlink.
l Request
l Response
l DTLS
l Join
l Configuration
All of these are bidirectional. So if the DTLS response is slow, this might be the result of a configuration error.
This issue can also be caused by a certificate during discovery response. You can read more about this in RFC
5416.
Connection issues
If the client has a connectivity issue that is not due to signal strength, the solution varies by the symptom.
Debug
You should also enable client debug on the controller for problematic clients to see the stage at which the client
fails to connect. Try to connect from the problematic client and run the following debug command, which allows
you to see the four-way handshake of the client association:
diagnose wireless-controller wlac sta_filter <client MAC address> 2
The following is a sample debug output for the above command, with successful association/DHCP phases and
PSK key exchange (identified in color):
FG600B3909600253 #
91155.197 <ih> IEEE 802.11 mgmt::assoc_req <== 30:46:9a:f9:fa:34 vap signal-check rId 0
wId 0 00:09:0f:f3:20:45
91155.197 <ih> IEEE 802.11 mgmt::assoc_resp ==> 30:46:9a:f9:fa:34 vap signal-check rId 0
wId 0 00:09:0f:f3:20:45 resp 0
91155.197 <cc> STA_CFG_REQ(15) sta 30:46:9a:f9:fa:34 add ==> ws (0-192.168.35.1:5246) rId
0 wId 0
91155.197 <dc> STA add 30:46:9a:f9:fa:34 vap signal-check ws (0-192.168.35.1:5246) rId 0
wId 0 bssid 00:09:0f:f3:20:45 NON-AUTH
91155.197 <cc> STA add 30:46:9a:f9:fa:34 vap signal-check ws (0-192.168.35.1:5246) rId 0
wId 0 00:09:0f:f3:20:45 sec WPA2 AUTO auth 0
91155.199 <cc> STA_CFG_RESP(15) 30:46:9a:f9:fa:34 <== ws (0-192.168.35.1:5246) rc 0
(Success)
91155.199 <eh> send 1/4 msg of 4-Way Handshake
91155.199 <eh> send IEEE 802.1X ver=1 type=3 (EAPOL_KEY) data len=95 replay cnt 1
91155.199 <eh> IEEE 802.1X (EAPOL 99B) ==> 30:46:9a:f9:fa:34 ws (0-192.168.35.1:5246) rId
0 wId 0 00:09:0f:f3:20:45
91155.217 <eh> IEEE 802.1X (EAPOL 121B) <== 30:46:9a:f9:fa:34 ws (0-192.168.35.1:5246) rId
0 wId 0 00:09:0f:f3:20:45
91155.217 <eh> recv IEEE 802.1X ver=1 type=3 (EAPOL_KEY) data len=117
91155.217 <eh> recv EAPOL-Key 2/4 Pairwise replay cnt 1
where:
Admins can view plain text passwords (captive-portal-radius-secret and passphrase) under
config wireless-controller vap.
Debug
For a quick assessment of the association communication between the controller and the FortiAP, run the
following sniffer command to see if you can verify that the AP is communicating to the controller by identifying the
CAPWAP communication:
diagnose sniff packet <interface_name> “port 5246” 4
If you do not see this communication, then you can investigate the network or the settings on the AP to see why it
is not reaching the controller.
The following command allows you to collect verbose output from the sniff that can be converted to a PCAP and
viewed in Wireshark.
diagnose sniff packet <interface_name> “port 5246” 6 o l
The image below shows the beginning of the AP's association to the controller. You can see the discovery
Request and Response at the top.
l Enable Telnet login to the FortiAP device so that you can log in and issue local debugging commands:
config wireless-controller wtp
edit "<FortiAP_serial_number>"
set override-allowaccess {disable|enable}
set allowaccess {telnet | http | https | ssh}
end
l Try to connect to the wireless controller from the problematic FortiAP to verify routes exist.
l Enable wtp (FortiAP) debugging on the wireless controller for problematic FortiAPs to determine the point at which
the FortiAP fails to connect:
diag wireless-controller wlac wtp_filter FP112B3X13000193 0-192.168.6.8:5246 2
(replace the serial number and IP address of the FortiAP)
di de console timestamp en
di de application cw_acd 0x7ff
di de en
The previous debug command provides similar output to the sample debug message below for a successful
association between the FortiAP and the wireless controller. This includes the elements of the CAPWAP protocol;
the Request, Response, DTLS, Join, and Configuration (identified in color). All of these are bi-directional, so if
the DTLS response is slow, it may be an example of a configuration error.
56704.575 <msg> DISCOVERY_REQ (12) <== ws (0-192.168.35.1:5246)
56704.575 <msg> DISCOVERY_RESP (12) ==> ws (0-192.168.35.1:5246)
56707.575 <msg> DISCOVERY_REQ (13) <== ws (0-192.168.35.1:5246)
56707.575 <msg> DISCOVERY_RESP (13) ==> ws (0-192.168.35.1:5246)
56709.577 <aev> - CWAE_INIT_COMPLETE ws (0-192.168.35.1:5246)
56709.577 <aev> - CWAE_LISTENER_THREAD_READY ws (0-192.168.35.1:5246)
56709.577 <fsm> old CWAS_START(0) ev CWAE_INIT_COMPLETE(0) new CWAS_IDLE(1)
56709.577 <fsm> old CWAS_IDLE(1) ev CWAE_LISTENER_THREAD_READY(1) new CWAS_DTLS_SETUP(4)
56709.623 <aev> - CWAE_DTLS_PEER_ID_RECV ws (0-192.168.35.1:5246)
56709.623 <aev> - CWAE_DTLS_AUTH_PASS ws (0-192.168.35.1:5246)
56709.623 <aev> - CWAE_DTLS_ESTABLISHED ws (0-192.168.35.1:5246)
56709.623 <fsm> old CWAS_DTLS_SETUP(4) ev CWAE_DTLS_PEER_ID_RECV(7) new CWAS_DTLS_
AUTHORIZE(2)
56709.623 <fsm> old CWAS_DTLS_AUTHORIZE(2) ev CWAE_DTLS_AUTH_PASS(3) new CWAS_DTLS_CONN(5)
56709.623 <fsm> old CWAS_DTLS_CONN(5) ev CWAE_DTLS_ESTABLISHED(8) new CWAS_JOIN(7)
56709.625 <msg> JOIN_REQ (14) <== ws (0-192.168.35.1:5246)
56709.625 <aev> - CWAE_JOIN_REQ_RECV ws (0-192.168.35.1:5246)
56709.626 <fsm> old CWAS_JOIN(7) ev CWAE_JOIN_REQ_RECV(12) new CWAS_JOIN(7)
56709.629 <msg> CFG_STATUS (15) <== ws (0-192.168.35.1:5246)
56709.629 <aev> - CWAE_CFG_STATUS_REQ ws (0-192.168.35.1:5246)
56709.629 <fsm> old CWAS_JOIN(7) ev CWAE_CFG_STATUS_REQ(13) new CWAS_CONFIG(8)
56710.178 <msg> CHG_STATE_EVENT_REQ (16) <== ws (0-192.168.35.1:5246)
56710.178 <aev> - CWAE_CHG_STATE_EVENT_REQ_RECV ws (0-192.168.35.1:5246)
56710.178 <fsm> old CWAS_CONFIG(8) ev CWAE_CHG_STATE_EVENT_REQ_RECV(23) new CWAS_DATA_
CHAN_SETUP(10)
56710.220 <aev> - CWAE_DATA_CHAN_CONNECTED ws (0-192.168.35.1:5246)
56710.220 <msg> DATA_CHAN_KEEP_ALIVE <== ws (0-192.168.35.1:5246)
56710.220 <aev> - CWAE_DATA_CHAN_KEEP_ALIVE_RECV ws (0-192.168.35.1:5246)
56710.220 <msg> DATA_CHAN_KEEP_ALIVE ==> ws (0-192.168.35.1:5246)
56710.220 <fsm> old CWAS_DATA_CHAN_SETUP(10) ev CWAE_DATA_CHAN_CONNECTED(32) new CWAS_
DATA_CHECK(11)
56710.220 <aev> - CWAE_DATA_CHAN_VERIFIED ws (0-192.168.35.1:5246)
56710.220 <fsm> old CWAS_DATA_CHECK(11) ev CWAE_DATA_CHAN_KEEP_ALIVE_RECV(35) new CWAS_
DATA_CHECK(11)
56710.220 <fsm> old CWAS_DATA_CHECK(11) ev CWAE_DATA_CHAN_VERIFIED(36) new CWAS_RUN(12)
56710.228 <msg> WTP_EVENT_REQ (17) <== ws (0-192.168.35.1:5246)
56710.228 <aev> - CWAE_WTP_EVENT_REQ_RECV ws (0-192.168.35.1:5246)
56710.228 <fsm> old CWAS_RUN(12) ev CWAE_WTP_EVENT_REQ_RECV(42) new CWAS_RUN(12)
56710.230 <msg> CFG_UPDATE_RESP (1) <== ws (0-192.168.35.1:5246) rc 0 (Success)
56710.230 <aev> - CWAE_CFG_UPDATE_RESP_RECV ws (0-192.168.35.1:5246)
56710.230 <msg> WTP_EVENT_REQ (18) <== ws (0-192.168.35.1:5246)
56710.230 <aev> - CWAE_WTP_EVENT_REQ_RECV ws (0-192.168.35.1:5246)
56710.230 <fsm> old CWAS_RUN(12) ev CWAE_CFG_UPDATE_RESP_RECV(37) new CWAS_RUN(12)
56710.230 <fsm> old CWAS_RUN(12) ev CWAE_WTP_EVENT_REQ_RECV(42) new CWAS_RUN(12)
56710.231 <msg> WTP_EVENT_REQ (19) <== ws (0-192.168.35.1:5246)
56710.231 <aev> - CWAE_WTP_EVENT_REQ_RECV ws (0-192.168.35.1:5246)
where:
General problems
Not all WiFi problems are related to signal strength, interference, or misconfiguration. The following OSI model
identifies some of the more common issues per layer.
Best practices for troubleshooting vary depending on the affected layer (see below).
l Determine RST (Receiver Sensitivity Threshold) for your device, or use -70dBm as a rule of thumb.
l Match AP TX output power to the client TX output power.
l Note: iPhone TX power is only 10dBm.
l Use DFS (Dynamic Frequency Selection) for high performance data 20/40 MHz.
l Use 5GHz UNII-1 & 3 (Non-DFS) bands with static channel assignment for latency-sensitive applications.
l Do not use 40MHz channels in 2.4 GHz band (channel bonding is not allowed in FortiOS).
In high density deployments, multiple APs are used, and each one services an area called a cell. However, these
cells can cause interference with each other. This is a common problem. The radio signal from one AP interferes
with, or cancels out, the radio signal from another AP.
In the following diagram, note the interference zone created by one radio, causing interference on its
neighbouring APs.
The interference zone can be twice the radius of the signal, and the signal at its edge can be -67dBm.
For best results, use a 'honeycomb' pattern as a deployment strategy. The idea is to stagger repeated channels
furthest from each other to avoid interference.
Packet sniffer
Capturing the traffic between the controller and the FortiAP can help you identify most FortiAP and client
connection issues.
l Enable plain control on the controller and on the FortiAP to capture clear control traffic on UDP port 5246.
l On the controller:
diagnose wireless-controller wlac plain-ctl <FortiAP_serial_number> 1
Result:
WTP 0-FortiAP2223X11000107 Plain Control: enabled
l On the FortiAP:
cw_diag plain-ctl 1
Result:
Current Plain Control: enabled
Note that some issues are related to the keep-alive for control and data channel.
l Data traffic on UDP port 5247 is not encrypted. The data itself is encrypted by the wireless security mechanism.
Data traffic is helpful to troubleshoot most of the issues related to station association, EAP authentication,
WPA key exchange, roaming, and FortiAP configuration.
You can also set up a host or server to which you can forward the CAPWAP traffic:
Result:
Current Sniff Server: 192.168.25.41, 23352
2. Choose which traffic to capture, the interface to which the FortiAP is connected, and the FortiAP’s serial number:
diagnose wireless-controller wlac sniff <interface_name> <FortiAP_serial_number> 2
Result:
WTP 0-FortiAP2223X11000107 Sniff: intf port2 enabled (control and data message)
In the above syntax, the '2' captures the control and data message—'1' would capture only the control
message, and '0' would disable it.
3. Run Wireshark on the host/server to capture CAPWAP traffic from the controller.
l Decode the traffic as IP to check inner CAPWAP traffic.
The following image shows an example of a CAPWAP packet capture, where you can see: the Layer 2 header;
the sniffed traffic encapsulated into Internet Protocol for transport; CAPWAP encapsulated into UDP for sniffer
purpose and encapsulated into IP; CAPWAP control traffic on UDP port 5246; and CAPWAP payload.
Packet captures are useful for troubleshooting all wireless client related issues because you can verify data rate
and 802.11 parameters, such as radio capabilities, and determine issues with wireless signal strength,
interference, or congestion on the network.
A radio can only capture one frequency at a time; one of the radios is set to sniffer mode depending on the traffic
or channel required. You must use two FortiAPs to capture both frequencies at the same time.
Result:
wlan10 IEEE 802.11na ESSID:""
Mode:Monitor Frequency:5.18 GHz Access Point: Not-Associated
l Remember that the capture file is only stored temporarily. If you want to save it, upload it to a TFTP server
before rebooting or changing the radio settings.
l The command cp wl_sniff.cap newname.pcap allows you to rename the file.
l Rather than TFTP the file, you can also log in to the AP and retrive the file via the web interface. Move the file
using the command: mv name /usr/www
You can verify the file was moved using the command cd/usr/www and then browsing to: <fortiAP_
IP>/filename
Syntax
The following syntax demonstrates how to set the radio to sniffer mode (configurable from the CLI only). Sniffer
mode provides options to filter for specific traffic to capture. Notice that you can determine the buffer size, which
channel to sniff, the AP's MAC address, and select if you want to sniff the beacons, probes, controls, and data
channels.
configure wireless-controller wtp-profile
edit <profile_name>
configure <radio>
set mode sniffer
set ap-sniffer-bufsize 32
set ap-sniffer-chan 1
set ap-sniffer-addr 00:00:00:00:00:00
set ap-sniffer-mgmt-beacon enable
set ap-sniffer-mgmt-probe enable
set ap-sniffer-mgmt-other enable
set ap-sniffer-ctl enable
set ap-sniffer-data enable
end
end
Once you've performed the previous CLI configuration, you'll be able to see the packet sniffer mode selected in
the GUI dashboard under WiFi & Switch Controller > FortiAP Profiles and WiFi & Switch Controller >
Managed FortiAPs. Bear in mind that if you change the mode from the GUI, you'll have to return to the CLI to
re-enable the Sniffer mode.
To disable the sniffer profile in the CLI, use the following commands:
config wireless-controller wtp-profile
edit <profile_name>
config <radio>
set ap-sniffer-mgmt-beacon disable
set ap-sniffer-mgmt-probe disable
set ap-sniffer-mgmt-other disable
set ap-sniffer-ctl disable
set ap-sniffer-data disable
end
end
If you change the radio mode before sending the file wl_sniff.cap to an external
TFTP, the file will be deleted and you will lose your packet capture.
The following image shows an example of the AP packet capture. Note the capture header showing channel 36;
the beacon frame; the source, destination, and BSSID of the beacon frame; and the SSID of the beacon frame.
Sample outputs
Syntax
diagnose wireless-controller wlac -c vap
(this command lists the information about the virtual access point, including its MAC address, the BSSID, its
SSID, the interface name, and the IP address of the APs that are broadcasting it)
Result:
bssid ssid intf vfid:ip-port rId wId
00:09:0f:d6:cb:12 Office Office ws (0-192.168.3.33:5246) 0 0
00:09:0f:e6:6b:12 Office Office ws (0-192.168.1.61:5246) 0 0
06:0e:8e:27:dc:48 Office Office ws (0-192.168.3.36:5246) 0 0
0a:09:0f:d6:cb:12 public publicAP ws (0-192.168.3.33:5246) 0 1
Syntax
diagnose wireless-controller wlac -c darrp
(this command lists the information pertaining to the radio resource provisioning statistics, including the
AP serial number, the number of channels set to choose from, and the operation channel. Note that the 5GHz
band is not available on these APs listed)
Result:
wtp_id rId base_mac index nr_chan vfid 5G oper_chan age
FAP22A3U10600400 0 00:09:0f:d6:cb:12 0 3 0 No 1 87588
FW80CM3910601176 0 06:0e:8e:27:dc:48 1 3 0 No 6 822
System Information
Status
You can:
Network Configuration
Select DHCP or select Static and specify the IP address, netmask, and gateway IP address. Administrative
Access settings affect access after the FortiAP has been authorized. By default, HTTP access needed to access
the FortiAP web-based manager is enabled, but Telnet access is not enabled.
Connectivity
These settings determine how the FortiAP unit connects to the FortiGate WiFi controller.
Mesh AP SSID Enter the SSID of the mesh root. Default: fortinet.mesh.root
WTP Configuration
AC Discovery Type settings affect how the FortiAP unit discovers a FortiGate WiFi controller. By default, this is
set to Auto which causes the FortiAP unit to cycle through all of the discovery methods until successful. For more
information see Controller discovery methods.
AC IP Address 1 You enter up to three WiFi controller IP addresses for static discovery. Routing must
AC IP Address 2 be properly configured in both directions.
AC IP Address 3
AC Host Name 1
As an alternetive to AC IP addresses, you can enter their fully qualified domain names
AC Host Name 2
(FQDNs).
AC Host Name 3
AC Discovery 224.0.1.140
Multicast
Address
AC Discovery
When using DHCP discovery, you can configure the DHCP server to provide the
DHCP Option
controller address. By default the FortiAP unit expects this in option 138.
Code
AC Data Channel Security by default accepts either DTLS-encrypted or clear text data communication with the
WiFi controller. You can change this setting to require encryption or to use clear text only.
Wireless Information
The Wireless Information page provides current information about the operation of the radios and the type Uplink
in use.
All channels are restricted to indoor usage except in the Americas, where both indoor and outdoor use is
permitted on channels 52 through 64 in the United States.
Regulatory Areas
Channel number Frequency (MHz)
Americas Europe Taiwan Singapore Japan
34 5170 •
36 5180 • • •
38 5190
40 5200 • • • •
42 5210
44 5220 • • • •
46 5230
48 5240 • • • •
149 5745 • • •
153 5765 • • •
157 5785 • • •
161 5805 • • •
165 5825 • •
The following table lists IEEE 802.11b/g/n channels. All FortiWiFi units support 802.11b and 802.11g. Newer
models also support 802.11n.
Mexico is included in the Americas regulatory domain. Channels 1 through 8 are for indoor use only. Channels 9
through 11 can be used indoors and outdoors. You must make sure that the channel number complies with the
regulatory standards of Mexico.
Regulatory Areas
Channel number Frequency (MHz)
Americas EMEA Israel Japan
1 2412 • • indoor •
2 2417 • • indoor •
3 2422 • • indoor •
4 2427 • • indoor •
5 2432 • • • •
6 2437 • • • •
7 2442 • • • •
8 2447 • • • •
9 2452 • • • •
10 2457 • • • •
11 2462 • • • •
12 2467 • • •
13 2472 • • •
14 2484 b only
fake-ap-detected A rogue AP broadcasting on the same SSIDs that you have in your managed APs
has been detected.
FortiAP CLI
The FortiAP CLI controls radio and network operation through the use of variables manipulated with the cfg
command. There are also diagnostic commands.
0 - Clear text
AC_DATA_CHAN_SEC
1 - DTLS (encrypted)
2 - DHCP
3 - DNS
5 - Broadcast
6 - Multicast
AC_IPADDR_1
AC_IPADDR_2 WiFi Controller IP addresses for static discovery.
AC_IPADDR_3
ADDR_MODE How the FortiAP unit obtains its IP address and netmask.
Default is DHCP.
0 - Thin AP (default)
AP_MODE
2 - Unmanaged Site Survey mode. See SURVEY
variables.
FIRMWARE_UPGRADE Default is 0.
Mesh variables
0 - Disabled
1 - Enabled
0 - Ethernet (default)
MESH_AP_TYPE
1 - WiFi mesh
The following factors are summed and the FortiAP associates with the lowest scoring mesh AP.
MESH_SCORE_HOP_WEIGHT Multiplier for number of mesh hops from root. Default 50.
Survey variables
SURVEY_CH_24 Site survey transmit channel for the 2.4Ghz band (default
6).
Previously, FortiAP accepted Telnet and HTTP connection to any virtual interfaces
that have an IP address. For security reasons, Telnet and HTTP access are now
limited to br0 or br.vlan for AP_MGMT_VLAN_ID.
cw_diag -c mesh-veth-acinfo Show mesh veth ac info, and mesh ether type.
Link aggregation can also be set in the CLI. Link aggregation is used to combine
multiple network connections in parallel in order to increase throughput beyond what
a single connection could sustain.
Chapter 11 - Hardening
This guide describes some of the techniques used to harden (improve the security of) FortiGate devices and
FortiOS.
The FortiOS operating system, FortiGate hardware devices, and FortiOS virtual machines (VMs) are built with
security in mind, so many security features are built into the hardware and software. Fortinet maintains an
ISO:9001 certified software and hardware development processes to ensure that FortiOS and FortiGate products
are developed in a secure manner
FortiGate appliances with SD drives are encrypted to prevent unauthorized access to data.
For more information, see Rename the admin administrator account on page 1431.
Maintainer account
Administrators with physical access to a FortiGate appliance can use a console cable and a special administrator
account called maintainer to log into the CLI. When enabled, the maintainer account can be used to log in from
the console after a hard reboot. The password for the maintainer account is bcpb followed by the FortiGate serial
number. An administrator has 60-seconds to complete this login. See Resetting a lost Admin password on the
Fortinet Cookbook for details.
The only action the maintainer account has permissions to perform is to reset the passwords of super_admin
accounts. Logging in with the maintainer account requires rebooting the FortiGate. FortiOS generates event log
messages when you login with the maintainer account and for each password reset.
The maintainer account is enabled by default; however, there is an option to disable this feature. The maintainer
account can be disabled using the following command:
config system global
set admin-maintainer disable
end
If you disable this feature and lose your administrator passwords you will no longer be
able to log into your FortiGate.
l SSH, Telnet, and SNMP are disabled by default. If required, these admin services must be explicitly enabled on
each interface from the GUI or CLI.
l SSHv1 is disabled by default. SSHv2 is the default version.
l SSLv3 and TLS1.0 are disabled by default. TLSv1.1 and TLSv1.2 are the SSL versions enabled by default for
HTTPS admin access.
l HTTP is disabled by default, except on dedicated MGMT, DMZ, and predefined LAN interfaces. HTTP redirect to
HTTPS is enabled by default.
l The strong-crypto global setting is enabled by default and configures FortiOS to use strong ciphers (AES,
3DES) and digest (SHA1) for HTTPS/SSH/TLS/SSL functions.
l SCP is disabled by default. Enabling SCP allows downloading the configuration file from the FortiGate as an
alternative method of backing up the configuration file. To enable SCP:
config system global
set admin-scp enable
end
l DHCP is enabled by default on the dedicated MGMT interface and on the predefined LAN port (defined on some
FortiGate models).
l On FortiGate models with dedicated MGMT interfaces, dedicated DMZ interfaces, dedicated WAN interfaces, and
pre-defined LAN interfaces, the default management access on interfaces is shown below. Outside of the
interfaces listed below, management access must be explicitly enabled on interfaces – management services are
enabled on specific interfaces and not globally.
l Dedicated Management Interface
l Ping
l FMG-Access (fgfm)
l CAPWAP
l HTTPS
l HTTP
l Dedicated WAN1/WAN2 Ports
l Ping
l FMG-Access (fgfm)
l Dedicated DMZ Port
l Ping
l FMG-Access (fgfm)
l CAPWAP
l HTTPS
l HTTP
l Pre-Defined LAN Port
l Ping
l FMG-Access (fgfm)
l CAPWAP
l HTTPS
l HTTP
Network security
This section describes FortiOS and FortiGate network security features.
Network interfaces
The following are disabled by default on each FortiGate interface:
l Broadcast forwarding
l STP forwarding
l VLAN forwarding
l L2 forwarding
l Netbios forwarding
l Ident accept
For more information, see Disable unused protocols on interfaces on page 1434.
l The SYN, FIN, and RST bit cannot appear in the same packet.
l FortiOS does not allow more than 1 ICMP error packet to go through before it receives a normal TCP or UDP
packet.
l If FortiOS receives an RST packet, FortiOS checks to determine if its sequence number in the RST is within the un-
ACKed data and drops the packet if the sequence number is incorrect.
l For each new session, FortiOS checks to determine if the TCP sequence number in a SYN packet has been
calculated correctly and started from the correct value.
To see Fortinet's complete history of FIPS/CC certifications go to the following URL and add Fortinet to the
Vendor field:
https://csrc.nist.gov/projects/cryptographic-module-validation-program/validated-modules/search
PSIRT advisories
The FortiGuard Labs Product Security Incident Response Team (PSIRT) continually tests and gathers
information about Fortinet hardware and software products, looking for vulnerabilities and weaknesses. Any such
findings are fed back to Fortinet's development teams and serious issues are described along with protective
solutions. The PSIRT regulatory releases PSIRT advisories when issues are found and corrected. Advisories are
listed at https://www.fortiguard.com/psirt.
Communication to and from FortiOS is strictly controlled and only selected ports are opened for supported
functionality such as administrator logins and communication with other Fortinet products or services.
Accessing FortiOS using an open port is protected by authentication, identification, and encryption requirements.
As well, ports are only open if the feature using them is enabled.
Incoming ports
Purpose Protocol/Port
Incoming ports
Purpose Protocol/Port
FSSO TCP/8000
AV/IPS UDP/9443
Management TCP/541
FSSO TCP/8000
SSL VPN TCP/10443
Outgoing ports
Purpose Protocol/Port
Outgoing ports
Purpose Protocol/Port
OFTP TCP/514
Management TCP/541
Registration TCP/80
Note that, while a proxy is configured, FortiGate uses the following URLs to access
the FortiGuard Distribution Network (FDN):
l update.fortiguard.net
l service.fortiguard.net
l support.fortinet.com
The following sections of this documnent described a number of options for closing open ports:
l Use local-in policies to close open ports or restrict access on page 1435
l Disable unused protocols on interfaces on page 1434
This chapter describes some techniques and best practices that you can use to improve FortiOS security.
If unauthorized users have physical access, they can disrupt your entire network by disconnecting your FortiGate
(either by accident or on purpose). They could also connect a console cable and attempt to log into the CLI. Also,
when a FortiGate unit reboots, a person with physical access can interrupt the boot process and install different
firmware.
Fortinet periodically updates the FortiGate firmware to include new features and resolve important issues. After
you register your FortiGate or FortiOS VM, download firmware updates from the support web site,
https://support.fortinet.com.
Before you install any new firmware, be sure to follow these steps:
To disable administrative access, go to Network > Interfaces, edit the external interface and disable HTTPS,
PING, HTTP, SSH, and TELNET under Administrative Access.
Allow only HTTPS access to the GUI and SSH access to the CLI
For greater security never allow HTTP or Telnet administrative access to a FortiGate interface, only allow HTTPS
and SSH access. You can change these settings for individual interfaces by going to Network > Interfaces and
adjusting the administrative access to each interface.
Change the HTTPS and SSH admin access ports to non-standard ports
Go to System > Settings > Administrator Settings and change the HTTPS and SSH ports.
You can change the default port configurations for HTTPS and SSH administrative access for added security. To
connect to a non-standar port, the new port number must be included in the collection request. For example:
l If you change the HTTPS port to 7734, you would browse to https://<ip-address>:7734.
l If you change the SSH port to 2345, you would connect to ssh admin@<ip-address>:2345
To change the HTTPS and SSH login ports from the CLI:
config system global
set admin-sport 7734
set admin-ssh-port 2345
end
If you change to the HTTPS or SSH port numbers, make sure your changes do not conflict with ports used for
other services.
To set the administrator idle timeout, go to System > Settings and enter the amount of time for the Idle
timeout. A best practice is to keep the default time of 5 minutes.
To set the administrator idle timeout from the CLI:
config system global
set admintimeout 5
end
You can use the following command to adjust the grace time permitted between making an SSH connection and
authenticating. The range can be between 10 and 3600 seconds, the default is 120 seconds (minutes). By
shortening this time, you can decrease the chances of someone attempting a brute force attack a from being
successfull. For example, you could set the time to 30 seconds.
config system global
set admin-ssh-grace-time 30
end
To identify trusted hosts, go to System > Administrators, edit the administrator account, enable Restrict
login to trusted hosts, and add up to ten trusted host IP addresses.
To add two trusted hosts from the CLI:
config system admin
edit <administrator-name>
set trustedhost1 172.25.176.23 255.255.255.255
set trustedhost2 172.25.177.0 255.255.255.0
end
Trusted host IP addresses can identify individual hosts or subnets. Just like firewall policies, FortiOS searches
through the list of trusted hosts in order and acts on the first match it finds. When you configure trusted hosts,
start by adding specific addresses at the top of the list. Follow with more general IP addresses. You don't have to
add addresses to all of the trusted hosts as long as all specific addresses are above all of the 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0
addresses.
Every registered FortiGate unit includes two trial tokens for free. You can purchase additional tokens from your
reseller or from Fortinet.
To assign a token to an administrator, go to System > Administrators and select Enable Two-factor
Authentication for each administrator.
If you want administrators to have different functions you can add different administrator profiles. Go to System
> Admin Profiles and select Create New.
Both the number of attempts (admin-lockout-threshold) and the wait time before the administrator can
try to enter a password again (admin-lockout-duration) can be configured within the CLI.
The default value of admin-lockout-threshold is 3 and the range of values is between 1 and 10. The
admin-lockout-duration is set to 60 seconds by default and the range of values is between 1 and
4294967295 seconds.
Keep in mind that the higher the lockout threshold, the higher the risk that someone may be able to break into the
FortiGate unit.
Example:
If the time span between the first failed login attempt and the admin-lockout-
threshold failed login attempt is less than admin-lockout-duration, the
lockout will be triggered.
CLI:
config system auto-install
set auto-install-config disable
set auto-install-image disable
end
From the GUI go to System > Settings > System Time and select Synchronize with NTP Server. By
default, this causes FortiOS to synchronize with Fortinet's FortiGuard secure NTP server.
From the CLI you can use one or more different NTP servers:
config system ntp
set type custom
set ntpsync enable
config ntpserver
edit 1
set server <ntp-server-ip>
next
edit 2
set server <other-ntp-server-ip>
end
Use the password policy feature to make sure all administrators use secure passwords that meet your
organization's requirements.
From FortiAnalyzer or FortiCloud, you can view reports or system event log messages to look for system events
that may indicate potential problems. You can also view system events by going to FortiView > System
Events.
Establish an auditing schedule to routinely inspect logs for signs of intrusion and probing.
end
Option Description
ident-accept Disable authentication for this interface. The interface will not respond to a
connection with an authentication prompt.
Set to none to disable captive portal authentication. The interface will not
security-mode
respond to a connection with a captive portal.
end
Hardware acceleration overview describes the capabilities of FortiGate content processors (CPs), security
processors (SPs) and network processors (NPs). This chapter also describes how to determine the hardware
acceleration components installed in your FortiGate unit and contains some configuration details and examples.
NP6 and NP6lite Acceleration describes the FortiGate NP6 network processor.
FortiGate NP6 architectures contains details about the network processing architectures of FortiGate units that
contain NP6 processors.
FortiGate NP6lite architectures on page 1526 contains details about the network processing architectures of
FortiGate units that contain NP6Lite processors.
NP4 and NP4Lite Acceleration describes the FortiGate NP4 network processor.
FortiGate NP4 architectures contains details about the network processing architectures of FortiGate units that
contain NP4 processors.
The following new hardware acceleration feature has been added to FortiOS 5.6.4.
l Per-session accounting is supported for FortiGates with NP6lite processors, Enabling per-session accounting for
offloaded NP6 or NP6lite sessions on page 1472.
Bandwidth control between the ISF and NP6 XAUI ports (437911)
In some cases, the Internal Switch Fabric (ISF) buffer size may be larger than the buffer size of an NP6 XAUI port
that receives traffic from the ISF. If this happens, burst traffic from the ISF may exceed the capacity of an XAUI
port and sessions may be dropped.
You can use the following command to configure bandwidth control between the ISF and XAUI ports. Enabling
bandwidth control can smooth burst traffic and keep the XAUI ports from getting overwhelmed and dropping
sessions.
SNMP/CLI monitoring capabilities of NP6 session table and session drift (441532)
In some cases sessions processed by NP6 processors may fail to be deleted leading to a large number of idle
sessions. This is called session drift. New monitoring capabilities have been added to allow you to use SNMP to
be alerted when the number of idle sessions becomes high. The SNMP fields allow you to see which NP6
processor has the abnormal number of idle sessions and you can use a diagnose command to delete them.
You can use the following diagnose command to determine of drift is occurring:
diagnose npu np6 sse-drift-summary
NPU drv-drift
----- ---------
np6_0 0
np6_1 0
----- ---------
Sum 0
----- ---------
The command output shows a drift summary for all the NP6 processors in the system, and shows the total drift.
Normally the sum is 0. The previous command output, from a FortiGate-1500D, shows that the 1500D's two NP6
processors are not experiencing any drift.
If the sum is not zero, then extra idle sessions may be accumulating. You can use the following command to
delete those sessions:
diagnose npu np6 sse-purge-drift <np6_id> [<time>]
Where <np6_id> is the number (starting with NP6_0 with a np6_id of 0) of the NP6 processor for which to delete
idle sessions. <time> is the age in seconds of the idle sessions to be deleted. All idle sessions this age and older
are deleted. The default time is 300 seconds.
The diagnose npu np6 sse-stats <np6_id> command output also includes a drv-drift field that
shows the total drift for one NP6 processor.
For SNMP monitoring, the following MIB fields have been added. These fields allow you to use SNMP to monitor
more session table information for NP6 processors including drift for each NP6 processor.
FORTINET-FORTIGATE-MIB::fgNPUNumber.0 = INTEGER: 2
FORTINET-FORTIGATE-MIB::fgNPUName.0 = STRING: NP6
FORTINET-FORTIGATE-MIB::fgNPUDrvDriftSum.0 = INTEGER: 0
FORTINET-FORTIGATE-MIB::fgNPUIndex.0 = INTEGER: 0
FORTINET-FORTIGATE-MIB::fgNPUIndex.1 = INTEGER: 1
FORTINET-FORTIGATE-MIB::fgNPUSessionTblSize.0 = Gauge32: 33554432
FORTINET-FORTIGATE-MIB::fgNPUSessionTblSize.1 = Gauge32: 33554432
FORTINET-FORTIGATE-MIB::fgNPUSessionCount.0 = Gauge32: 0
FORTINET-FORTIGATE-MIB::fgNPUSessionCount.1 = Gauge32: 0
FORTINET-FORTIGATE-MIB::fgNPUDrvDrift.0 = INTEGER: 0
FORTINET-FORTIGATE-MIB::fgNPUDrvDrift.1 = INTEGER: 0
NP6 Host Protection Engine (HPE) adds protection for DDoS attacks (363398)
NP6 processors now include HPE functionality that can protect networks from DoS attacks by categorizing
incoming packets based on packet rate and processing cost and applying packet shaping to packets that can
cause DoS attacks. You can use the options in the following CLI command to limit the number packets per
second received for various packet types by each NP6 processor. This rate limiting is applied very efficiently
because it is done in hardware by the NP6 processor.
HPE protection is disable by default. You can use the following command to enable HPE protection for the NP6_0
NP6 processor:
config system np6
edit np6_0
config hpe
set enable-shaper enable
end
HPE can be enabled and configured separately for each NP6 processor. When enabled, the default configuration
is designed to provide basic DoS protection. You can use the following command to adjust the HPE settings in
real time if you network is experiencing an attack. For example, the following command allows you to configure
HPE settings for np6_0.
config system np6
edit np6_0
config hpe
set tcpsyn-max
set tcp-max
set udp-max
set icmp-max
set sctp-max
set esp-max
set ip-frag-max
set ip-others-max
set arp-max
set l2-others-max
set enable-shaper {disable | enable}
end
Where:
tcpsyn-max applies shaping based on the maximum number of TCP SYN packets received per second. The
range is 10,000 to 4,000,000,000 pps. The default limits the number of packets per second to 5,000,000 pps.
tcp-max applies shaping based on the maximum number of TCP packets received. The range is 10,000 to
4,000,000,000 pps. The default is 5,000,000 pps.
udp-max applies shaping based on the maximum number of UDP packets received. The range is 10,000 to
4,000,000,000 pps. The default is 5,000,000 pps.
icmp-max applies shaping based on the maximum number of ICMP packets received. The range is 10,000 to
4,000,000,000 pps. The default is 1,000,000 pps.
sctp-max applies shaping based on the maximum number of SCTP packets received. The range is 10,000 to
4,000,000,000 pps. The default is 100,000 pps.
esp-max NPU HPE shaping based on the maximum number of IPsec ESP packets received. The range is
10,000 to 4,000,000,000 pps. The default is 100,000 pps.
ip-frag-max applies shaping based on the maximum number of fragmented IP packets received. The range is
10,000 to 4,000,000,000 pps. The default is 100,000 pps.
ip-others-max applies shaping based on the maximum number of other IP packets received. The range is
10,000 to 4,000,000,000 pps. The default is 100,000 pps.
arp-max applies shaping based on the maximum number of ARP packets received. The range is 10,000 to
4,000,000,000 pps. The default is 1,000,000 pps.
l2-others-max applies shaping based on the maximum number of other layer 2 packets received. The range
is 10,000 to 4,000,000,000 pps. The default is 100,000 pps.
SPU and nTurbo data is now visible in a number of places on the GUI. For example, the Active Sessions column
pop-up in the firewall policy list and the Sessions dashboard widget:
end
You can use the new options to either drop packets with checksum errors (the default) or send them to the CPU
for processing. Normally you would want to drop these packets.
As well, note that when configuring NP6 anomaly protection, the separate options config fp-anomaly-v4
and config fp-anomaly-v6 have been combined under config fp-anomaly.
Stripping clear text padding and IPsec session ESP padding (416950)
In some situations, when clear text or ESP packets in IPsec sessions may have large amounts of layer 2 padding,
the NP6 IPsec engine may not be able to process them and the session may be blocked.
If you notice dropped IPsec sessions, you could try using the following CLI options to cause the NP6 processor to
strip clear text padding and ESP padding before sending the packets to the IPsec engine. With padding stripped,
the session can be processed normally by the IPsec engine.
Optionally disable NP6 offloading of traffic passing between 10Gbps and 1Gbps interfaces
(392436)
Due to NP6 internal packet buffer limitations, some offloaded packets received at a 10Gbps interface and
destined for a 1Gbps interface can be dropped, reducing performance for TCP and IP tunnel traffic. If you
experience this performance reduction, you can use the following command to disable offloading sessions
passing from 10Gbps interfaces to 1Gbps interfaces:
config system npu
set host-shortcut-mode host-shortcut
end
Select host-shortcut to stop offloading TCP and IP tunnel packets passing from 10Gbps interfaces to 1Gbps
interfaces. TCP and IP tunnel packets passing from 1Gbps interfaces to 10Gbps interfaces are still offloaded as
normal.
If host-shortcut is set to the default bi-directional setting, packets in both directions are offloaded.
Most FortiGate models have specialized acceleration hardware, (called Security Processing Units (SPUs)) that
can offload resource intensive processing from main processing (CPU) resources. Most FortiGate units include
specialized content processors (CPs) that accelerate a wide range of important security processes such as virus
scanning, attack detection, encryption and decryption. (Only selected entry-level FortiGate models do not include
a CP processor.) Many FortiGate models also contain security processors (SPs) that accelerate processing for
specific security features such as IPS and network processors (NPs) that offload processing of high volume
network traffic.
CP9 capabilities
The CP9 content processor provides the following services:
l Flow-based inspection (IPS, application control etc.) pattern matching acceleration with over 10Gbps throughput
l IPS pre-scan
l IPS signature correlation
l Full match processors
l High performance VPN bulk data engine
l IPsec and SSL/TLS protocol processor
l DES/3DES/AES128/192/256 in accordance with FIPS46-3/FIPS81/FIPS197
l MD5/SHA-1/SHA256/384/512-96/128/192/256 with RFC1321 and FIPS180
l HMAC in accordance with RFC2104/2403/2404 and FIPS198
l ESN mode
l GCM support for NSA "Suite B" (RFC6379/RFC6460) including GCM-128/256; GMAC-128/256
l Key Exchange Processor that supports high performance IKE and RSA computation
l Public key exponentiation engine with hardware CRT support
l Primary checking for RSA key generation
l Handshake accelerator with automatic key material generation
l True Random Number generator
l Elliptic Curve support for NSA "Suite B"
l Sub public key engine (PKCE) to support up to 4096 bit operation directly (4k for DH and 8k for RSA with CRT)
l DLP fingerprint support
l TTTD (Two-Thresholds-Two-Divisors) content chunking
l Two thresholds and two divisors are configurable
CP8 capabilities
The CP8 content processor provides the following services:
CP6 capabilities
l Dual content processors
l FIPS-compliant DES/3DES/AES encryption and decryption
l SHA-1 and MD5 HMAC with RFC1321 and FIPS180
l HMAC in accordance with RFC2104/2403/2404 and FIPS198
l IPsec protocol processor
l High performance IPsec engine
l Random Number generator compliance with ANSI X9.31
l Key exchange processor for high performance IKE and RSA computation
l Script Processor
l SSL/TLS protocol processor for SSL content scanning and SSL acceleration
CP5 capabilities
l FIPS-compliant DES/3DES/AES encryption and decryption
l SHA-1 and MD5 HMAC with RFC1321/2104/2403/2404 and FIPS180/FIPS198
l IPsec protocol processor
l High performance IPSEC Engine
l Random Number generator compliant with ANSI X9.31
l Public Key Crypto Engine supports high performance IKE and RSA computation
l Script Processor
CP4 capabilities
l FIPS-compliant DES/3DES/AES encryption and decryption
l SHA-1 and MD5 HMAC
l IPSEC protocol processor
l Random Number generator
l Public Key Crypto Engine
l Content processing engine
l ANSI X9.31 and PKCS#1 certificate support
SP processors include their own IPS engine which is similar to the FortiOS IPS engine but with the following
limitations:
l The SP IPS engine does not support SSL deep inspection. When you have SSL deep inspection enabled for a
security policy that includes flow-based inspection or IPS, offloading to the SP is disabled and traffic is processed by
the FortiGate CPU and CP processors.
l The SP IPS engine does not support FortiGuard Web Filtering. When you enable flow-based FortiGuard Web
Filtering on a FortiGate unit with an SP processor, the SP processor cannot perform FortiGuard lookups and web
pages fail to load.
The following security processors are available:
l The SP3 (XLP) is built into the FortiGate-5101B and provides IPS acceleration. No special configuration is required.
All IPS processing, including traffic accepted by IPv4 and IPv6 traffic policies and IPv4 and IPv6 DoS policies is
accelerated by the built-in SP3 processors.
l The FMC-XG2 is an FMC module with two 10Gb/s SPF+ interfaces that can be used on FortiGate-3950B and
FortiGate-3951B units.
l The FortiGate-3140B also contains a built-in XG2 using ports 19 and 20.
l The ADM-XE2 is a dual-width AMC module with two 10Gb/s interfaces that can be used on FortiGate-3810A and
FortiGate-5001A-DW systems.
l The ADM-FE8 is a dual-width AMC module with eight 1Gb/s interfaces that can be used with the FortiGate-3810A.
l The ASM-CE4 is a single-width AMC module with four 10/100/1000 Mb/s interfaces that can be used on FortiGate-
3016B and FortiGate-3810A units.
Traffic is blocked if you enable IPS for traffic passing over inter-VDOM links if that
traffic is being offloaded by an SP processor. If you disable SP offloading, traffic will be
allowed to flow. You can disable offloading in individual firewall policies by disabling
auto-asic-offload for those policies. You can also use the following command
to disable all IPS offloading:
config ips global
set np-accel-mode none
set cp-accel-mode none
end
SP Processing Flow
SP processors provide an integrated high performance fast path multilayer solution for both intrusion protection
and firewall functions. The multilayered protection starts from anomaly checking at packet level to ensure each
packet is sound and reasonable. Immediately after that, a sophisticated set of interface based packet anomaly
protection, DDoS protection, policy based intrusion protection, firewall fast path, and behavior based methods
are employed to prevent DDoS attacks from the rest of system.
where each packet is evaluated against a set of signatures. The end result is streams of user packets that are free
of anomaly and attacks, entering the fast path system for unicast or multicast fast path forwarding.
SP processing flow
You can also use this command to get more info about SP processing. This example shows how to display details
about how the module is processing sessions using the syn proxy.
diagnose npu spm dos synproxy <sp_id>
This is a partial output of the command:
Number of proxied TCP connections : 0
Number of working proxied TCP connections : 0
Number of retired TCP connections : 0
Number of valid TCP connections : 0
Number of attacks, no ACK from client : 0
Number of no SYN-ACK from server : 0
Number of reset by server (service not supportted): 0
Number of establised session timeout : 0
Client timeout setting : 3 Seconds
Server timeout setting : 3 Seconds
Network processors (NP1, NP2, NP3, NP4, NP4Lite, NP6 and NP6Lite)
FortiASIC network processors work at the interface level to accelerate traffic by offloading traffic from the main
CPU. Current models contain NP4, NP4Lite, NP6, and NP6lite network processors. Older FortiGate models
include NP1 network processors (also known as FortiAccel, or FA2) and NP2 network processors.
The traffic that can be offloaded, maximum throughput, and number of network interfaces supported by each
varies by processor model:
l NP6 supports offloading of most IPv4 and IPv6 traffic, IPsec VPN encryption, CAPWAP traffic, and multicast traffic.
The NP6 has a maximum throughput of 40 Gbps using 4 x 10 Gbps XAUI or Quad Serial Gigabit Media
Independent Interface (QSGMII) interfaces or 3 x 10 Gbps and 16 x 1 Gbps XAUI or QSGMII interfaces. For details
about the NP6 processor, see NP6 and NP6lite Acceleration on page 1456 and for information about FortiGate
models with NP6 processors, see FortiGate NP6 architectures on page 1477.
l NP6lite is similar to the NP6 but with a lower throughput and some functional limitations (for example, the NP6lite
does not offload CAPWAP traffic). The NP6lite has a maximum throughput of 10 Gbps using 2x QSGMII and 2x
Reduced gigabit media-independent interface (RGMII) interfaces. For details about the NP6 processor, see
NP6Lite processors on page 1458 and for information about FortiGate models with NP6 processors, see FortiGate
NP6lite architectures on page 1526.
l NP4 supports offloading of most IPv4 firewall traffic and IPsec VPN encryption. The NP4 has a capacity of 20 Gbps
through 2 x 10 Gbps interfaces. For details about NP4 processors, see NP4 and NP4Lite Acceleration on page 1528
and for information about FortiGate models with NP4 processors, see FortiGate NP4 architectures on page 1539.
l NP4lite is similar to the NP4 but with a lower throughput (but with about half the performance )and some functional
limitations.
l NP2 supports IPv4 firewall and IPsec VPN acceleration. The NP2 has a capacity of 2 Gbps through 2 x 10 Gbps
interfaces or 4 x 1 Gbps interfaces.
l NP1 supports IPv4 firewall and IPsec VPN acceleration with 2 Gbps capacity. The NP1 has a capacity of 2 Gbps
through 2 x 1 Gbps interfaces.
l The NP1 does not support frames greater than 1500 bytes. If your network uses jumbo frames, you may need
to adjust the MTU (Maximum Transmission Unit) of devices connected to NP1 ports. Maximum frame size for
NP2, NP4, and NP6 processors is 9216 bytes.
l For both NP1 and NP2 network processors, ports attached to a network processor cannot be used for firmware
installation by TFTP.
Sessions that require proxy-based security features (for example, virus scanning, IPS,
application control and so on) are not fast pathed and must be processed by the CPU.
Sessions that require flow-based security features can be offloaded to NP4 or NP6
network processors if the FortiGate supports NTurbo.
The output lists the interfaces that have the specified processor. For example, for a FortiGate-5001B:
get hardware npu np4 list
ID Model Slot Interface
0 On-board port1 port2 port3 port4
fabric1 base1 npu0-vlink0 npu0-vlink1
1 On-board port5 port6 port7 port8
fabric2 base2 npu1-vlink0 npu1-vlink1
The npu0-vlink0, npu1-vlink1 etc interfaces are used for accelerating inter-VDOM links.
1. Packets initiating a session pass to the FortiGate unit’s main processing resources (CPU).
2. The FortiGate unit assesses whether the session matches fast path (offload) requirements.
To be suitable for offloading, traffic must possess only characteristics that can be processed by the fast path. The
list of requirements depends on the processor, see NP6 session fast path requirements on page 1456 or NP4
session fast path requirements on page 1529.
If the session can be fast pathed, the FortiGate unit sends the session key or IPsec security association (SA) and
configured firewall processing action to the appropriate network processor.
3. Network processors continuously match packets arriving on their attached ports against the session keys and SAs
they have received.
l If a network processor’s network interface is configured to perform hardware accelerated anomaly checks, the
network processor drops or accepts packets that match the configured anomaly patterns. These checks are
separate from and in advance of anomaly checks performed by IPS, which is not compatible with network
processor offloading. See Offloading NP4 anomaly detection on page 1536.
l The network processor next checks for a matching session key or SA. If a matching session key or SA is found,
and if the packet meets packet requirements, the network processor processes the packet according to the
configured action and then sends the resulting packet. This is the actual offloading step. Performing this
processing on the NP processor improves overall performance because the NP processor is optimized for this
task. As well, overall FortiGate performance is improved because the CPU has fewer sessions to process.
l If a matching session key or SA is not found, or if the packet does not meet packet requirements, the packet cannot
be offloaded. The network processor sends the data to the FortiGate unit’s CPU, which processes the packet.
Encryption and decryption of IPsec traffic originating from the FortiGate can utilize network processor encryption
capabilities.
Packet forwarding rates vary by the percentage of offloadable processing and the type of network processing
required by your configuration, but are independent of frame size. For optimal traffic types, network throughput
can equal wire speed.
NP6 processors support per-session traffic and byte counters, Ethernet MIB matching, and reporting through
messages resulting in traffic statistics and traffic log reporting.
Once the primary FortiGate unit’s main processing resources send a session key to its network processor(s),
network processor(s) on the primary unit can redirect any subsequent session traffic to other cluster members,
reducing traffic redirection load on the primary unit’s main processing resources.
As subordinate units receive redirected traffic, each network processor in the cluster assesses and processes
session offloading independently from the primary unit. Session key states of each network processor are not part
of synchronization traffic between HA members.
The software switch is a bridge group of several interfaces, and the FortiGate CPU maintains the mac-port table
for this bridge. As a result of this CPU involvement, traffic processed by a software switch interface is not
offloaded to network processors.
configuration may cause packet loss and other performance issues. If you experience packet loss or performance
problems you should set the npu-offload option to disable. Future FortiOS versions should prevent
selecting algorithms not supported by the hardware.
Configuring sFlow on any interface disables all NP4 and NP6 offloading for all traffic on that interface. As well,
configuring NetFlow on any interface disables NP4 offloading for all traffic on that interface.
that it is offloaded.
diag sniffer packet port1 <option>
If you want the packet sniffer to be able to see offloaded traffic you can temporarily
disable offloading the traffic, run the packet sniffer to view it and then re-enable
offloading. As an example, you may want to sniff the traffic that is accepted by a
specific firewall policy. You can edit the policy and set the auto-asic-offload
option to disable to disable offloading this traffic.You can also disable offloading for
IPsec VPN traffic, see Disabling NP acceleration for individual IPsec VPN phase 1s on
page 1450.
All management tasks are then processed by CPU 0 and NP6 or NP4 interrupts are handled by the remaining
CPU cores.
NTurbo offloads firewall sessions with flow-based security profiles to NPx processors
NTurbo offloads firewall sessions that include flow-based security profiles to NP4 or NP6 network processors.
Without NTurbo, or with NTurbo disabled, all firewall sessions that include flow-based security profiles are
processed by the FortiGate CPU.
NTurbo can only offload firewall sessions containing flow-based security profiles if the
session could otherwise have been offloaded except for the presence of the flow-
based security profiles. If something else prevents the session from being offloaded,
NTurbo will not offload that session.
Firewall sessions that include proxy-based security profiles are never offloaded to
network processors and are always processed by the FortiGate CPU.
NTurbo creates a special data path to redirect traffic from the ingress interface to IPS, and from IPS to the egress
interface. NTurbo allows firewall operations to be offloaded along this path, and still allows IPS to behave as a
stage in the processing pipeline, reducing the workload on the FortiGate CPU and improving overall throughput.
NTurbo sessions still offload pattern matching and other processes to CP processors,
just like normal flow-based sessions.
If NTurbo is supported by your FortiGate unit, you can use the following command to configure it:
config ips global
set np-accel-mode {basic | none}
end
basic enables NTurbo and is the default setting for FortiGate models that support NTurbo. none disables
NTurbo. If the np-accel-mode option is not available, then your FortiGate does not support NTurbo.
There are some special cases where sessions may not be offloaded by NTurbo, even when NTurbo is explicitly
enabled. In these cases the sessions are handled by the FortiGate CPU.
l NP acceleration is disabled. For example, auto-asic-offload is disabled in the firewall policy configuration.
l The firewall policy includes proxy-based security profiles.
l The sessions require FortiOS session-helpers. For example, FTP sessions can not be offloaded to NP processors
because FTP sessions use the FTP session helper.
l Interface policies or DoS policies have been added to the ingress or egress interface.
l Tunneling is enabled. Any traffic to or from a tunneled interface (IPSec, IPinIP, SSL VPN, GRE, CAPWAP, etc.)
cannot be offloaded by NTurbo.
IF IPSA is supported on your FortiGate unit, you can use the following command to configure it:
config ips global
set cp-accel-mode {advanced | basic | none}
end
basic offloads basic pattern matching. advanced offloads more types of pattern matching resulting in higher
throughput than basic mode. advanced is only available on FortiGate models with two or more CP8s or one or
more CP9s. If the cp-accel-mode option is not available, then your FortiGate does not support IPSA.
On FortiGates with one CP8, the default cp-accel-mode is basic. Setting the mode to advanced does not
change the types of pattern matching that are offloaded.
On FortiGates with two or more CP8s or one or more CP9s the default cp-accel-mode is advanced. You can
set the mode to basic to offload fewer types of pattern matching.
Preventing packet ordering problems with NP4, NP6 and NP6lite FortiGates under heavy
load
In some cases when FortiGate units with NP4, NP6, or NP6lite processors are under heavy load the packets used
in the TCP 3-way handshake of some sessions may be transmitted by the FortiGate in the wrong order resulting
in the TCP sessions failing.
If you notice TCP sessions failing when a FortiGate with NP4, NP6, or NP6lite processors is very busy you can
enable delay-tcp-npu-session in the firewall policy receiving the traffic. This option resolves the problem
by delaying the session to make sure that there is time for all of the handshake packets to reach the destination
before the session begins transmitting data.
config firewall policy
set delay-tcp-npu-session enable
end
NP6 and NP6lite network processors provide fastpath acceleration by offloading communication sessions from
the FortiGate CPU. When the first packet of a new session is received by an interface connected to an NP6
processor, just like any session connecting with any FortiGate interface, the session is forwarded to the FortiGate
CPU where it is matched with a security policy. If the session is accepted by a security policy and if the session
can be offloaded its session key is copied to the NP6 processor that received the packet. All of the rest of the
packets in the session are intercepted by the NP6 processor and fast-pathed out of the FortiGate unit to their
destination without ever passing through the FortiGate CPU. The result is enhanced network performance
provided by the NP6 processor plus the network processing load is removed from the CPU. In addition the NP6
processor can handle some CPU intensive tasks, like IPsec VPN encryption/decryption.
NP6lite processors have the same architecture and function in the same way as NP6
processors. See NP6Lite processors on page 1458. All of the descriptions of NP6
processors in this document can be applied to NP6lite possessors except where noted.
Session keys (and IPsec SA keys) are stored in the memory of the NP6 processor that is connected to the
interface that received the packet that started the session. All sessions are fast-pathed and accelerated, even if
they exit the FortiGate unit through an interface connected to another NP6. There is no dependence on getting
the right pair of interfaces since the offloading is done by the receiving NP6.
The key to making this possible is an Integrated Switch Fabric (ISF) that connects the NP6s and the FortiGate
unit interfaces together. Many FortiGate units with NP6 processors also have an ISF. The ISF allows any port
connectivity. All ports and NP6s can communicate with each other over the ISF. There are no special ingress and
egress fast path requirements as long as traffic enters and exits on interfaces connected to the same ISF.
Some FortiGate units, such as the FortiGate-1000D include multiple NP6 processors that are not connected by
an ISF. Because the ISF is not present fast path acceleration is supported only between interfaces connected to
the same NP6 processor. Since the ISF introduces some latency, models with no ISF provide low-latency network
acceleration between network interfaces connected to the same NP6 processor.
Each NP6 has a maximum throughput of 40 Gbps using 4 x 10 Gbps XAUI or Quad Serial Gigabit Media
Independent Interface (QSGMII) interfaces or 3 x 10 Gbps and 16 x 1 Gbps XAUI or QSGMII interfaces.
l The capacity of each NP6 processor. An individual NP6 processor can support between 10 and 16 million sessions.
This number is limited by the amount of memory the processor has. Once an NP6 processor hits its session limit,
sessions that are over the limit are sent to the CPU. You can avoid this problem by as much as possible distributing
incoming sessions evenly among the NP6 processors. To be able to do this you need to be aware of which
interfaces connect to which NP6 processors and distribute incoming traffic accordingly.
l The NP6 processors in some FortiGate units employ NP direct technology that removes the ISF. The result is very
low latency but no inter-processor connectivity requiring you to make sure that traffic to be offloaded enters and
exits the FortiGate through interfaces connected to the same NP processor.
l IPv4 and IPv6 traffic and NAT64 and NAT46 traffic (as well as IPv4 and IPv6 versions of the following traffic types
where appropriate).
l Link aggregation (LAG) (IEEE 802.3ad) traffic and traffic from static redundant interfaces (see Increasing NP6
offloading capacity using link aggregation groups (LAGs) on page 1461).
l TCP, UDP, ICMP and SCTP traffic.
l IPsec VPN traffic, and offloading of IPsec encryption/decryption (including SHA2-256 and SHA2-512)
l IPsec traffic that passes through a FortiGate without being unencrypted.
l Anomaly-based intrusion prevention, checksum offload and packet defragmentation .
l IPIP tunneling (also called IP in IP tunneling), SIT tunneling, and IPv6 tunneling sessions.
l Multicast traffic (including Multicast over IPsec).
l CAPWAP and wireless bridge traffic tunnel encapsulation to enable line rate wireless forwarding from FortiAP
devices (not supported by the NP6lite).
l Traffic shaping and priority queuing for both shared and per IP traffic shaping.
l Syn proxying (not supported by the NP6lite).
l DNS session helper (not supported by the NP6lite).
l Inter-VDOM link traffic.
Sessions that are offloaded must be fast path ready. For a session to be fast path ready it must meet the
following criteria:
l Layer 2 type/length must be 0x0800 for IPv4 or 0x86dd for IPv6 (IEEE 802.1q VLAN specification is supported)
l Layer 3 protocol can be IPv4 or IPv6
l Layer 4 protocol can be UDP, TCP, ICMP, or SCTP
l In most cases, Layer 3 / Layer 4 header or content modification sessions that require a session helper can be
offloaded.
l Local host traffic (originated by the FortiGate unit) can be offloaded
l If the FortiGate supports, NTurbo sessions can be offloaded if they are accepted by firewall policies that include
IPS, Application Control, CASI, flow-based antivirus, or flow-based web filtering.
Offloading Application layer content modification is not supported. This means that sessions are not offloaded if
they are accepted by firewall policies that include proxy-based virus scanning, proxy-based web filtering, DNS
filtering, DLP, Anti-Spam, VoIP, ICAP, Web Application Firewall, or Proxy options.
If you disable anomaly checks by Intrusion Prevention (IPS), you can still enable
hardware accelerated anomaly checks using the fp-anomaly field of the
config system interface CLI command. See Configuring individual NP6
processors on page 1466.
If a session is not fast path ready, the FortiGate unit will not send the session key or IPsec SA key to the NP6
processor. Without the session key, all session key lookup by a network processor for incoming packets of that
session fails, causing all session packets to be sent to the FortiGate unit’s main processing resources, and
processed at normal speeds.
If a session is fast path ready, the FortiGate unit will send the session key or IPsec SA key to the network
processor. Session key or IPsec SA key lookups then succeed for subsequent packets from the known session or
IPsec SA.
Also, in some cases, a protocol’s session(s) may receive a mixture of offloaded and non-offloaded processing.
For example, VoIP control packets may not be offloaded but VoIP data packets (voice packets) may be offloaded.
NP6Lite processors
The NP6Lite works the same way as the NP6. Being a lighter version, the NP6Lite has a lower capacity than the
NP6. The NP6lite max throughput is 10 Gbps using 2x QSGMII and 2x Reduced gigabit media-independent
interface (RGMII) interfaces.
Also, the NP6lite does not offload the following types of sessions:
l CAPWAP
l Syn proxy
l DNS session helper
Configuring sFlow on any interface disables all NP6 and NP6Lite offloading for all traffic on that interface.
NP Direct
On FortiGates with more than one NP6 processor, removing the Internal Switch Fabric (ISF) for NP Direct
architecture provides direct access to the NP6 processors for the lowest latency forwarding. Because the NP6
processors are not connected, care must be taken with network design to make sure that all traffic to be offloaded
enters and exits the FortiGate through interfaces connected to the same NP6 processor. As well Link Aggregation
(LAG) interfaces should only include interfaces all connected to the same NP6 processor.
Example NP direct hardware with more than one NP6 processor includes:
For more example output for different FortiGate models, see FortiGate NP6 architectures on page 1477 and
FortiGate NP6lite architectures on page 1526.
You can also use the following command to view the offloading features enabled or disabled on each of the NP6
processors in your FortiGate unit:
diagnose npu npu-feature
np_0 np_1
------------------- --------- ---------
Fastpath Enabled Enabled
Low-latency-mode Disabled Disabled
Low-latency-cap No No
IPv4 firewall Yes Yes
IPv6 firewall Yes Yes
IPv4 IPSec Yes Yes
On many FortiGate units with NP6 processors, the NP6 processors and the XAUI links are over-subscribed. Since
the NP6 processors are connected by an Integrated Switch Fabric, you do not have control over how traffic is
distributed to them. In fact traffic is distributed evenly by the ISF.
However, you can control how traffic is distributed to the XAUI links and you can optimize performance by
distributing traffic evenly among the XAUI links. For example, if you have a very high amount of traffic passing
between two networks, you can connect each network to interfaces connected to different XAUI links to distribute
the traffic for each network to a different XAUI link.
For example, on a FortiGate-3200D (See FortiGate-3200D fast path architecture on page 1501), there are 48 10-
Gigabit interfaces that send and receive traffic for two NP6 processors over a total of eight 10-Gigabit XAUI links.
Each XAUI link gets traffic from six 10-Gigabit FortiGate interfaces. The amount of traffic that the FortiGate-
3200D can offload is limited by the number of NP6 processors and the number of XAUI links. You can optimize
the amount of traffic that the FortiGate-3200D can process by distributing it evenly amount the XAUI links and the
NP6 processors.
You can see the Ethernet interface, XAUI link, and NP6 configuration by entering the get hardware npu
np6 port-list command. For the FortiGate-3200D the output is:
get hardware npu np6 port-list
Chip XAUI Ports Max Cross-chip
Speed offloading
------ ---- ------- ----- ----------
np6_0 0 port1 10G Yes
0 port5 10G Yes
0 port10 10G Yes
0 port13 10G Yes
0 port17 10G Yes
0 port22 10G Yes
1 port2 10G Yes
1 port6 10G Yes
1 port9 10G Yes
1 port14 10G Yes
1 port18 10G Yes
1 port21 10G Yes
2 port3 10G Yes
2 port7 10G Yes
2 port12 10G Yes
In this command output you can see that each NP6 has for four XAUI links (0 to 3) and that each XAUI link is
connected to six 10-gigabit Ethernet interfaces. To optimize throughput you should keep the amount of traffic
being processed by each XAUI port to under 10 Gbps. So for example, if you want to offload traffic from four 10-
gigabit networks you can connect these networks to Ethernet interfaces 1, 2, 3 and 4. This distributes the traffic
from each 10-Gigabit network to a different XAUI link. Also, if you wanted to offload traffic from four more 10-
Gigabit networks you could connect them to Ethernet ports 26, 25, 28, and 27. As a result each 10-Gigabit
network would be connected to a different XAUI link.
All offloaded traffic types are supported by LAGs, including IPsec VPN traffic. Just like with normal interfaces,
traffic accepted by a LAG is offloaded by the NP6 processor connected to the interfaces in the LAG that receive
the traffic to be offloaded. If all interfaces in a LAG are connected to the same NP6 processor, traffic received by
that LAG is offloaded by that NP6 processor. The amount of traffic that can be offloaded is limited by the capacity
of the NP6 processor.
If a FortiGate has two or more NP6 processors connected by an integrated switch fabric (ISF), you can use LAGs
to increase offloading by sharing the traffic load across multiple NP6 processors. You do this by adding physical
interfaces connected to different NP6 processors to the same LAG.
Adding a second NP6 processor to a LAG effectively doubles the offloading capacity of the LAG. Adding a third
further increases offloading. The actual increase in offloading capacity may not actually be doubled by adding a
second NP6 or tripled by adding a thrid. Traffic and load conditions and other factors may limit the actual
offloading result.
The increase in offloading capacity offered by LAGs and multiple NP6s is supported by the integrated switch
fabric (ISF) that allows multiple NP6 processors to share session information. Most FortiGate units with multiple
NP6 processors also have an ISF. However, FortiGate modules such as the 1000D, 2000E, and 2500E do not
have an ISF. If you attempt to add interfaces connected to different NP6 processors to a LAG the system displays
an error message.
There are also a few limitations to LAG NP6 offloading support for IPsec VPN:
l IPsec VPN anti-replay protection cannot be used if IPSec is configured on a LAG that has interfaces connected to
multiple NP6 processors.
l Because the encrypted traffic for one IPsec VPN tunnel has the same 5-tuple, the traffic from one tunnel can only
can be balanced to one interface in a LAG. This limits the maximum throughput for one IPsec VPN tunnel in an NP6
LAG group to 10Gbps.
All offloaded traffic types are supported by redundant interfaces, including IPsec VPN traffic. Just like with normal
interfaces, traffic accepted by a redundant interface is offloaded by the NP6 processor connected to the
interfaces in the redundant interface that receive the traffic to be offloaded. If all interfaces in a redundant
interface are connected to the same NP6 processor, traffic received by that redundant interface is offloaded by
that NP6 processor. The amount of traffic that can be offloaded is limited by the capacity of the NP6 processor.
If a FortiGate has two or more NP6 processors connected by an integrated switch fabric (ISF), you can create
redundant interfaces that include physical interfaces connected to different NP6 processors. However, with a
redundant interface, only one of the physical interfaces is processing traffic at any given time. So you cannot use
redundant interfaces to increase performance in the same way as you can with aggregate interfaces.
The ability to add redundnat interfaces connected to multiple NP6s is supported by the integrated switch fabric
(ISF) that allows multiple NP6 processors to share session information. Most FortiGate units with multiple NP6
processors also have an ISF. However, FortiGate models such as the 1000D, 2000E, and 2500E do not have an
ISF. If you attempt to add interfaces connected to different NP6 processors to a redundant interface the system
displays an error message.
l For a FortiGate unit with two NP6 processors there are two accelerated inter-VDOM links, each with two interfaces:
l npu0_vlink:
npu0_vlink0
npu0_vlink1
l npu1_vlink:
npu1_vlink0
npu1_vlink1
These interfaces are visible from the GUI and CLI. For a FortiGate unit with NP6 interfaces, enter the following
CLI command to display the NP6-accelerated inter-VDOM links:
get system interface
...
== [ npu0_vlink0 ]
name: npu0_vlink0 mode: static ip: 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 status: down netbios-forward: disable
type: physical sflow-sampler: disable explicit-web-proxy: disable explicit-ftp-proxy:
disable mtu-override: disable wccp: disable drop-overlapped-fragment: disable drop-
fragment: disable
== [ npu0_vlink1 ]
name: npu0_vlink1 mode: static ip: 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 status: down netbios-forward: disable
type: physical sflow-sampler: disable explicit-web-proxy: disable explicit-ftp-proxy:
disable mtu-override: disable wccp: disable drop-overlapped-fragment: disable drop-
fragment: disable
== [ npu1_vlink0 ]
name: npu1_vlink0 mode: static ip: 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 status: down netbios-forward: disable
type: physical sflow-sampler: disable explicit-web-proxy: disable explicit-ftp-proxy:
disable mtu-override: disable wccp: disable drop-overlapped-fragment: disable drop-
fragment: disable
== [ npu1_vlink1 ]
name: npu1_vlink1 mode: static ip: 0.0.0.0 0.0.0.0 status: down netbios-forward: disable
type: physical sflow-sampler: disable explicit-web-proxy: disable explicit-ftp-proxy:
disable mtu-override: disable wccp: disable drop-overlapped-fragment: disable drop-
fragment: disable
...
By default the interfaces in each inter-VDOM link are assigned to the root VDOM. To use these interfaces to
accelerate inter-VDOM link traffic, assign each interface in the pair to the VDOMs that you want to offload traffic
between. For example, if you have added a VDOM named New-VDOM to a FortiGate unit with NP4 processors,
you can go to System > Network > Interfaces and edit the npu0-vlink1 interface and set the Virtual Domain
to New-VDOM. This results in an accelerated inter-VDOM link between root and New-VDOM. You can also do
this from the CLI:
config system interface
edit npu0-vlink1
set vdom New-VDOM
end
For example, to accelerate inter-VDOM link traffic between VDOMs named Marketing and Engineering using
VLANs with VLAN ID 100 go to System > Network > Interfaces and select Create New to create the VLAN
interface associated with the Marketing VDOM:
Name Marketing-link
Type VLAN
Interface npu0_vlink0
VLAN ID 100
Name Engineering-link
Type VLAN
Interface npu0_vlink1
VLAN ID 100
Use the following command to disable using ASIC offloading for IPsec Diffie Hellman key exchange:
config system global
set ipsec-asic-offload disable
end
You can also enable and adjust Host Protection Engine (HPE) to protect networks from DoS attacks by
categorizing incoming packets based on packet rate and processing cost and applying packet shaping to packets
that can cause DoS attacks.
The settings that you configure for an NP6 processor with the config system np6 command apply to traffic
processed by all interfaces connected to that NP6 processor. This includes the physical interfaces connected to
the NP6 processor as well as all subinterfaces, VLAN interfaces, IPsec interfaces, LAGs and so on associated
with the physical interfaces connected to the NP6 processor.
Some of the options for this command apply anomaly checking for NP6 sessions in the
same way as the command described in Offloading NP4 anomaly detection on page
1536 applies anomaly checking for NP4 sessions.
config fp-anomaly
set tcp-syn-fin {allow | drop | trap-to-host}
set tcp_fin_noack {allow | drop | trap-to-host}
set tcp_fin_only {allow | drop | trap-to-host}
set tcp_no_flag {allow | drop | trap-to-host}
set tcp_syn_data {allow | drop | trap-to-host}
set tcp-winnuke {allow | drop | trap-to-host}
set tcp-land {allow | drop | trap-to-host}
set udp-land {allow | drop | trap-to-host}
set icmp-land {allow | drop | trap-to-host}
set icmp-frag {allow | drop | trap-to-host}
set ipv4-land {allow | drop | trap-to-host}
set ipv4-proto-err {allow | drop | trap-to-host}
set ipv4-unknopt {allow | drop | trap-to-host}
set ipv4-optrr {allow | drop | trap-to-host}
set ipv4-optssrr {allow | drop | trap-to-host}
set ipv4-optlsrr {allow | drop | trap-to-host}
set ipv4-optstream {allow | drop | trap-to-host}
set ipv4-optsecurity {allow | drop | trap-to-host}
set ipv4-opttimestamp {allow | drop | trap-to-host}
set ipv4-csum-err {drop | trap-to-host}
set tcp-csum-err {drop | trap-to-host}
set udp-csum-err {drop | trap-to-host}
set icmp-csum-err {drop | trap-to-host}
set ipv6-land {allow | drop | trap-to-host}
set ipv6-proto-err {allow | drop | trap-to-host}
set ipv6-unknopt {allow | drop | trap-to-host}
set ipv6-saddr-err {allow | drop | trap-to-host}
set ipv6-daddr-err {allow | drop | trap-to-host}
set ipv6-optralert {allow | drop | trap-to-host}
set ipv6-optjumbo {allow | drop | trap-to-host}
set ipv6-opttunnel {allow | drop | trap-to-host}
set ipv6-opthomeaddr {allow | drop | trap-to-host}
set ipv6-optnsap {allow | drop | trap-to-host}
set ipv6-optendpid {allow | drop | trap-to-host}
set ipv6-optinvld {allow | drop | trap-to-host}
end
Command syntax
garbage-session-collector
Enable deleting expired or garbage sessions. disable
{disable | enable}
config hpe
Use the following options to use HPE to apply DDoS protection at the
NP6 processor by limiting the number packets per second received
hpe for various packet types by each NP6 processor. This rate limiting is
applied very efficiently because it is done in hardware by the NP6
processor.
config fp-anomaly
fp-anomaly Configure how the NP6 processor does traffic anomaly protection. In
most cases you can configure the NP6 processor to allow or drop the
packets associated with an attack or forward the packets that are
associated with the attack to FortiOS (called trap-to-host).
Selecting trap-to-host turns off NP6 anomaly protection for
that anomaly. If you require anomaly protection but don't want to use
the NP6 processor, you can select trap-to-host and enable
anomaly protection with a DoS policy.
tcp_fin_noack {allow | Detects TCP SYN flood with FIN flag set without trap-to-host
drop | trap-to-host} ACK setting anomalies.
tcp_fin_only {allow | Detects TCP SYN flood with only FIN flag set
trap-to-host
drop | trap-to-host} anomalies.
tcp_no_flag {allow | drop Detects TCP SYN flood with no flag set anomalies. allow
| trap-to-host}
icmp-frag {allow | drop | Detects Layer 3 fragmented packets that could be allow
trap-to-host} part of a layer 4 ICMP anomalies.
ipv4-unknopt {allow |
Detects unknown option anomalies. trap-to-host
drop | trap-to-host}
ipv4-optrr {allow | drop Detects IPv4 with record route option anomalies. trap-to-host
| trap-to-host}
ipv4-optssrr {allow | Detects IPv4 with strict source record route option
trap-to-host
drop | trap-to-host} anomalies.
ipv4-optlsrr {allow | Detects IPv4 with loose source record route option trap-to-host
drop | trap-to-host} anomalies.
ipv4-optstream {allow |
Detects stream option anomalies. trap-to-host
drop | trap-to-host}
ipv4-opttimestamp {allow
Detects timestamp option anomalies. trap-to-host
| drop | trap-to-host}
tcp-csum-err {drop |
Detects TCP chechsum errors. drop
trap-to-host}
icmp-csum-err {drop |
Detects ICMP chechsum errors. drop
trap-to-host}
ipv6-unknopt {allow |
Detects unknown option anomalies. trap-to-host
drop | trap-to-host}
ipv6-optjumbo {allow |
Detects jumbo options anomalies. trap-to-host
drop | trap-to-host}
ipv6-opthomeaddr {allow |
Detects home address option anomalies. trap-to-host
drop | trap-to-host}
ipv6-optnsap {allow | Detects network service access point address option trap-to-host
drop | trap-to-host} anomalies.
ipv6-optendpid {allow |
Detects end point identification anomalies. trap-to-host
drop | trap-to-host}
You can hover over the SPU icon to see some information about the offloaded sessions.
You configure per-session accounting for each NP6 processor. For example, use the following command to
enable per-session accounting for NP6_0 and NP6_1:
config system np6
edit np6_0
set per-session-accounting enable-by-log
next
edit np6_1
set per-session-accounting enable-by-log
end
If your FortiGate has NP6lite processors, you can use the following command to enable per-session accounting
for all of the NP6lite processors in the FortiGate unit:
config system npu
set per-session-accounting enable-by-log
end
The option, enable-by-log enables per-session accounting for offloaded sessions with traffic logging enabled
and all-enable enables per-session accounting for all offloaded sessions.
Per-session accounting can affect offloading performance. So you should only enable per-session accounting if
you need the accounting information.
Enabling per-session accounting does not provide traffic flow data for sFlow or NetFlow.
In fact, if your NP6 processor is processing a lot of short lived sessions, it is recommended that you use the
default setting of random checking every 8 seconds to avoid very bursty session updates. If the time between
session updates is very long and very many sessions have been expired between updates a large number of
updates will need to be done all at once.
You can use the following command to set the random time range.
config system np6
edit <np6-processor-name>
set session-timeout-fixed disable
set session-timeout-random-range 8
end
This is the default configuration. The random timeout range is 1 to 1000 seconds and the default range is 8. So,
by default, NP6 sessions are checked at random time intervals of between 1 and 8 seconds. So sessions can be
inactive for up to 8 seconds before they are removed from the FortiOS session table.
If you want to reduce the amount of checking you can increase the session-timeout-random-range. This
could result in inactive sessions being kept in the session table longer. But if most of your NP6 sessions are
relatively long this shouldn't be a problem.
You can also change this session checking to a fixed time interval and set a fixed timeout:
config system np6
edit <np6-processor-name>
set session-timeout-fixed enable
set session-timeout-fixed 40
end
The fixed timeout default is every 40 seconds and the rang is 1 to 1000 seconds. Using a fixed interval further
reduces the amount of checking that occurs.
You can select random or fixed updates and adjust the time intervals to minimize the refreshing that occurs while
still making sure inactive sessions are deleted regularly. For example, if an NP6 processor is processing sessions
with long lifetimes you can reduce checking by setting a relatively long fixed timeout.
Use the following command to change the number of IPsec engines used for decryption (ipsec-dec-
subengine-mask) and encryption (ipsec-enc-subengine-mask). These settings are applied to all of the
NP6 processors in the FortiGate unit.
config system npu
set ipsec-dec-subengine-mask <engine-mask>
set ipsec-enc-subengine-mask <engine-mask>
end
<engine-mask> is a hexadecimal number in the range 0x01 to 0xff where each bit represents one IPsec
engine. The default <engine-mask> for both options is 0xff which means all IPsec engines are used. Add a
lower <engine-mask> to use fewer engines. You can configure different engine masks for encryption and
decryption.
If you notice dropped IPsec sessions, you could try using the following CLI options to cause the NP6 processor to
strip clear text padding and ESP padding before send the packets to the IPsec engine. With padding stripped, the
session can be processed normally by the IPsec engine.
Optionally disable NP6 offloading of traffic passing between 10Gbps and 1Gbps interfaces
Due to NP6 internal packet buffer limitations, some offloaded packets received at a 10Gbps interface and
destined for a 1Gbps interface can be dropped, reducing performance for TCP and IP tunnel traffic. If you
experience this performance reduction, you can use the following command to disable offloading sessions
passing from 10Gbps interfaces to 1Gbps interfaces:
config system npu
set host-shortcut-mode host-shortcut
end
Select host-shortcut to stop offloading TCP and IP tunnel packets passing from 10Gbps interfaces to 1Gbps
interfaces. TCP and IP tunnel packets passing from 1Gbps interfaces to 10Gbps interfaces are still offloaded as
normal.
If host-shortcut is set to the default bi-directional setting, packets in both directions are offloaded.
This option is only available if your FortiGate has 10G and 1G interfaces accelerated by NP6 processors.
Enabling bandwidth control between the ISF and NP6 XAUI ports
In some cases, the Internal Switch Fabric (ISF) buffer size may be larger than the buffer size of an NP6 XAUI port
that receives traffic from the ISF. If this happens, burst traffic from the ISF may exceed the capacity of an XAUI
port and sessions may be dropped.
You can use the following command to configure bandwidth control between the ISF and XAUI ports. Enabling
bandwidth control can smooth burst traffic and keep the XAUI ports from getting overwhelmed and dropping
sessions.
The following MIB fields allow you to use SNMP to monitor session table information for NP6 processors
including drift for each NP6 processor:
FORTINET-FORTIGATE-MIB::fgNPUNumber.0 = INTEGER: 2
FORTINET-FORTIGATE-MIB::fgNPUName.0 = STRING: NP6
FORTINET-FORTIGATE-MIB::fgNPUDrvDriftSum.0 = INTEGER: 0
FORTINET-FORTIGATE-MIB::fgNPUIndex.0 = INTEGER: 0
FORTINET-FORTIGATE-MIB::fgNPUIndex.1 = INTEGER: 1
FORTINET-FORTIGATE-MIB::fgNPUSessionTblSize.0 = Gauge32: 33554432
FORTINET-FORTIGATE-MIB::fgNPUSessionTblSize.1 = Gauge32: 33554432
FORTINET-FORTIGATE-MIB::fgNPUSessionCount.0 = Gauge32: 0
FORTINET-FORTIGATE-MIB::fgNPUSessionCount.1 = Gauge32: 0
FORTINET-FORTIGATE-MIB::fgNPUDrvDrift.0 = INTEGER: 0
FORTINET-FORTIGATE-MIB::fgNPUDrvDrift.1 = INTEGER: 0
You can also use the following diagnose command to determine of drift is occurring:
diagnose npu np6 sse-drift-summary
NPU drv-drift
----- ---------
np6_0 0
np6_1 0
----- ---------
Sum 0
----- ---------
The command output shows a drift summary for all the NP6 processors in the system, and shows the total drift.
Normally the sum is 0. The previous command output, from a FortiGate-1500D, shows that the 1500D's two NP6
processors are not experiencing any drift.
If the sum is not zero, then extra idle sessions may be accumulating. You can use the following command to
delete those sessions:
diagnose npu np6 sse-purge-drift <np6_id> [<time>]
Where <np6_id> is the number (starting with NP6_0 with a np6_id of 0) of the NP6 processor for which to delete
idle sessions in. <time> is the age in seconds of the idle sessions to be deleted. All idle sessions this age and
older are deleted. The default time is 300 seconds.
The diagnose npu np6 sse-stats <np6_id> command output also includes a drv-drift field that
shows the total drift for one NP6 processor.
This chapter shows the NP6 architecture for the all FortiGate models that include NP6 processors.
FortiASIC
NP6
You can use the following get command to display the FortiGate-300D NP6 configuration. The command output
shows one NP6 named NP6_0 and the interfaces (ports) connected to it. You can also use the diagnose npu
np6 port-list command to display this information.
get hardware npu np6 port-list
Chip XAUI Ports Max Cross-chip
Speed offloading
------ ---- ------- ----- ----------
np6_0 0
1 port5 1G Yes
1 port7 1G Yes
1 port8 1G Yes
1 port6 1G Yes
1 port3 1G Yes
1 port4 1G Yes
1 port1 1G Yes
1 port2 1G Yes
2
3
------ ---- ------- ----- ----------
The following diagram also shows the XAUI and QSGMII port connections between the NP6 processor and the
front panel interfaces.
NP6_0
System Bus
CP9 CPU
You can use the following get command to display the FortiGate-300E or 301E NP6 configuration. You can also
use the diagnose npu np6 port-list command to display this information.
get hardware npu np6 port-list
Chip XAUI Ports Max Cross-chip
Speed offloading
------ ---- ------- ----- ----------
np6_0 0 port1 1G Yes
0 port2 1G Yes
0 port3 1G Yes
0 port4 1G Yes
0 port5 1G Yes
0 port6 1G Yes
0 port7 1G Yes
0 port8 1G Yes
1 port9 1G Yes
1 port10 1G Yes
1 port11 1G Yes
1 port12 1G Yes
1 port13 1G Yes
1 port14 1G Yes
1 port15 1G Yes
1 port16 1G Yes
2 port17 1G Yes
2 port18 1G Yes
2 port19 1G Yes
2 port20 1G Yes
2 port21 1G Yes
2 port22 1G Yes
2 port23 1G Yes
2 port2 1G Yes
3 port25 1G Yes
3 port26 1G Yes
3 port27 1G Yes
3 port28 1G Yes
3 s1 1G Yes
3 s2 1G Yes
3 vw1 1G Yes
3 vw2 1G Yes
------ ---- ------- ----- ----------
FortiASIC
NP6
You can use the following get command to display the FortiGate-400D NP6 configuration. The command output
shows one NP6 named NP6_0 and the interfaces (ports) connected to it. You can also use the diagnose npu
np6 port-list command to display this information.
get hardware npu np6 port-list
Chip XAUI Ports Max Cross-chip
Speed offloading
------ ---- ------- ----- ----------
np6_0 0
1 port10 1G Yes
1 port9 1G Yes
1 port12 1G Yes
1 port11 1G Yes
1 port14 1G Yes
1 port13 1G Yes
1 port16 1G Yes
1 port15 1G Yes
1 port5 1G Yes
1 port7 1G Yes
1 port8 1G Yes
1 port6 1G Yes
1 port3 1G Yes
1 port4 1G Yes
1 port1 1G Yes
1 port2 1G Yes
2
3
------ ---- ------- ----- ----------
FortiASIC
NP6
You can use the following get command to display the FortiGate-500D NP6 configuration. The command output
shows one NP6 named NP6_0 and the interfaces (ports) connected to it. You can also use the diagnose npu
np6 port-list command to display this information.
get hardware npu np6 port-list
Chip XAUI Ports Max Cross-chip
Speed offloading
------ ---- ------- ----- ----------
np6_0 0
1 port10 1G Yes
1 port9 1G Yes
1 port12 1G Yes
1 port11 1G Yes
1 port14 1G Yes
1 port13 1G Yes
1 port16 1G Yes
1 port15 1G Yes
1 port5 1G Yes
1 port7 1G Yes
1 port8 1G Yes
1 port6 1G Yes
1 port3 1G Yes
1 port4 1G Yes
1 port1 1G Yes
1 port2 1G Yes
2
3
------ ---- ------- ----- ----------
The following diagram also shows the QSGMII and XAUI port connections between the NP6 processor and the
front panel interfaces.
NP6_0
System Bus
You can use the following get command to display the FortiGate-500E or 501E NP6 configuration. You can also
use the diagnose npu np6 port-list command to display this information.
get hardware npu np6 port-list
Chip XAUI Ports Max Cross-chip
Speed offloading
------ ---- ------- ----- ----------
np6_0 0 x1 10G Yes
1 port1 1G Yes
1 port2 1G Yes
1 port3 1G Yes
1 port4 1G Yes
1 port5 1G Yes
1 port6 1G Yes
1 port7 1G Yes
1 port8 1G Yes
1 port9 1G Yes
1 port10 1G Yes
1 port11 1G Yes
1 port12 1G Yes
1 s1 1G Yes
1 s2 1G Yes
1 vw1 1G Yes
1 vw2 1G Yes
2 x2 10G Yes
3
------ ---- ------- ----- ----------
You can use the following get command to display the FortiGate-600D NP6 configuration. The command output
shows one NP6 named NP6_0 and the interfaces (ports) connected to it. You can also use the diagnose npu
np6 port-list command to display this information.
get hardware npu np6 port-list
Chip XAUI Ports Max Cross-chip
Speed offloading
------ ---- ------- ----- ----------
np6_0 0
1 port10 1G Yes
1 port9 1G Yes
1 port12 1G Yes
1 port11 1G Yes
1 port14 1G Yes
1 port13 1G Yes
1 port16 1G Yes
1 port15 1G Yes
1 port5 1G Yes
1 port7 1G Yes
1 port8 1G Yes
1 port6 1G Yes
1 port3 1G Yes
1 port4 1G Yes
1 port1 1G Yes
1 port2 1G Yes
2 port17 10G Yes
3 port18 10G Yes
------ ---- ------- ----- ----------
FortiASIC
NP6
System Bus
You can use the following get command to display the FortiGate-800D NP6 configuration. The command output
shows one NP6 named NP6_0. The output also shows all of the FortiGate-800D interfaces (ports) connected to
NP6_0. You can also use the diagnose npu np6 port-list command to display this information.
Because the FortiGate-900D does not have an ISF you cannot create Link
Aggregation Groups (LAGs) that include interfaces connected to both NP6 processors.
l Eight 1Gb SFP interfaces (port17-port24), eight 1Gb RJ-45 Ethernet interfaces (port25-32) and one 10Gb SFP+
interface (portB) share connections to the first NP6 processor.
l Eight 1Gb SFP interfaces (port1-port8), eight RJ-45 Ethernet interfaces (port9-16) and one 10Gb SFP+ interface
(portA) share connections to the second NP6 processor.
MGMT 1 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 10G SFP+ 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31
FortiASIC FortiASIC
NP6 NP6
System Bus
You can use the following get command to display the FortiGate-900D NP6 configuration. The command output
shows two NP6s named NP6_0 and NP6_1. The output also shows the interfaces (ports) connected to each NP6.
You can also use the diagnose npu np6 port-list command to display this information.
Because the FortiGate-1000D does not have an ISF you cannot create Link
Aggregation Groups (LAGs) or redundant interfaces that include interfaces connected
to both NP6 processors.
l Eight 1Gb SFP interfaces (port17-port24), eight 1Gb RJ-45 Ethernet interfaces (port25-32) and one 10Gb SFP+
interface (portB) share connections to the first NP6 processor.
l Eight 1Gb SFP interfaces (port1-port8), eight RJ-45 Ethernet interfaces (port9-16) and one 10Gb SFP+ interface
(portA) share connections to the second NP6 processor.
FortiGate 1000D
10G SFP+
MGMT 1 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 B 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31
ALARM
HA USB MGMT
POWER
MGMT 2 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 A 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32
FortiASIC FortiASIC
NP6 NP6
System Bus
You can use the following get command to display the FortiGate-1000D NP6 configuration. The command output
shows two NP6s named NP6_0 and NP6_1. The output also shows the interfaces (ports) connected to each NP6.
You can also use the diagnose npu np6 port-list command to display this information.
l Eight SFP 1Gb interfaces (port1-port8), eight RJ-45 Ethernet ports (port17-24) and two SFP+ 10Gb interfaces
(port33 and port34) share connections to the first NP6 processor.
l Eight SFP 1Gb interfaces (port9-port16), eight RJ-45 Ethernet ports (port25-32) and two SFP+ 10Gb interfaces
(port35-port36) share connections to the second NP6 processor.
10G SFP+
MGMT 1 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35
CONSOLE
STATUS
ALARM
HA
POWER
USB MGMT USB MGMT 2 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36
FortiASIC FortiASIC
NP6 NP6
System Bus
Sys
You can use the following get command to display the FortiGate-1200D NP6 configuration. The command output
shows two NP6s named NP6_0 and NP6_1. The output also shows the interfaces (ports) connected to each NP6.
You can also use the diagnose npu np6 port-list command to display this information.
l Eight SFP 1Gb interfaces (port1-port8), eight RJ-45 1Gb Ethernet interfaces (port17-24) and four SFP+ 10Gb
interfaces (port33-port36) share connections to the first NP6 processor.
l Eight SFP 1Gb interfaces (port9-port16), eight RJ-45 1Gb Ethernet interfaces (port25-32) and four SFP+ 10Gb
interfaces (port37-port40) share connections to the second NP6 processor.
FortiGate 1500D
10G SFP+
MGMT 1 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39
CONSOLE
STATUS
ALARM
HA
POWER
FortiASIC FortiASIC
NP6 NP6
System Bus
Sys
You can use the following get command to display the FortiGate-1500D NP6 configuration. The command output
shows two NP6s named NP6_0 and NP6_1. The output also shows the interfaces (ports) connected to each NP6.
You can also use the diagnose npu np6 port-list command to display this information.
get hardware npu np6 port-list
Chip XAUI Ports Max Cross-chip
Speed offloading
------ ---- ------- ----- ----------
np6_0 0 port1 1G Yes
0 port5 1G Yes
0 port17 1G Yes
0 port21 1G Yes
0 port33 10G Yes
1 port2 1G Yes
1 port6 1G Yes
1 port18 1G Yes
1 port22 1G Yes
1 port34 10G Yes
2 port3 1G Yes
2 port7 1G Yes
2 port19 1G Yes
2 port23 1G Yes
2 port35 10G Yes
3 port4 1G Yes
3 port8 1G Yes
3 port20 1G Yes
3 port24 1G Yes
3 port36 10G Yes
------ ---- ------- ----- ----------
np6_1 0 port9 1G Yes
0 port13 1G Yes
0 port25 1G Yes
0 port29 1G Yes
0 port37 10G Yes
1 port10 1G Yes
1 port14 1G Yes
1 port26 1G Yes
1 port30 1G Yes
1 port38 10G Yes
2 port11 1G Yes
2 port15 1G Yes
2 port27 1G Yes
2 port31 1G Yes
2 port39 10G Yes
3 port12 1G Yes
3 port16 1G Yes
3 port28 1G Yes
3 port32 1G Yes
3 port40 10G Yes
------ ---- ------- ----- ----------
l Eight SFP 1Gb interfaces (port1-port8), eight RJ-45 1Gb Ethernet interfaces (port17-24) and four RJ-45 10Gb
Ethernet interfaces (port33-port36) share connections to the first NP6 processor.
l Eight SFP 1Gb interfaces (port9-port16), eight RJ-45 1Gb Ethernet ports (port25-32) and four SFP+ 10Gb
interfaces (port37-port40) share connections to the second NP6 processor.
FortiASIC FortiASIC
NP6 NP6
System Bus
Sys
You can use the following get command to display the FortiGate-1500DT NP6 configuration. The command
output shows two NP6s named NP6_0 and NP6_1. The output also shows the interfaces (ports) connected to
each NP6. You can also use the diagnose npu np6 port-list command to display this information.
get hardware npu np6 port-list
Chip XAUI Ports Max Cross-chip
Speed offloading
------ ---- ------- ----- ----------
np6_0 0 port1 1G Yes
0 port5 1G Yes
0 port17 1G Yes
0 port21 1G Yes
0 port33 10G Yes
1 port2 1G Yes
1 port6 1G Yes
1 port18 1G Yes
1 port22 1G Yes
1 port34 10G Yes
2 port3 1G Yes
2 port7 1G Yes
2 port19 1G Yes
2 port23 1G Yes
2 port35 10G Yes
3 port4 1G Yes
3 port8 1G Yes
3 port20 1G Yes
3 port24 1G Yes
3 port36 10G Yes
l NP6_0 is connected to four 10GigE SFP+ interfaces (port33 to port36) in a low latency configuration.
l NP6_1 is connected to thirty-two 10/100/1000BASE-T interfaces (port1 to port32).
l NP6_2 is connected to two 10GigE SFP+ (port37 and port38) in a low latency configuration.
The following diagram also shows the XAUI and QSGMII port connections between the NP6 processors and the
front panel interfaces and the aggregate switch for the thirty-two 10/100/1000BASE-T interfaces.
SFP+
MGMT1 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37
CONSOLE
STATUS
ALARM
HA
POWER
USB MGMT2 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38
port33 - 36
port1- 16 (16x 1G) port17- 32 (16x 1G) 4x XAUI
2x QSGMII 2x QSGMII
Aggregation Switch
NP6_0
port37 - 38
4x XAUI
2x XAUI
NP6_1 NP6_2
System Bus
You can use the following get command to display the FortiGate-2000E NP6 configuration. You can also use the
diagnose npu np6 port-list command to display this information.
Link Aggregation Groups (LAGs) or redundant interfaces between interfaces connected to different NP6s. As
well, traffic will only be offloaded if it enters and exits the FortiGate on interfaces connected to the same NP6.
l NP6_0 is connected to four 10GigE SFP+ interfaces (port37 to port40) in a low latency configuration.
l NP6_1 is connected to thirty-two 10/100/1000BASE-T interfaces (port1 to port32).
l NP6_2 is connected to two 10GigE SFP+ interfaces (port41 and port42) and two 10 Gig fiber bypass interfaces
(port43 and port44) in a low latency configuration.
l NP6_3 is connected to four 10GigE SFP+ interfaces (port33 to port36) in a low latency configuration.
The following diagram also shows the XAUI and QSGMII port connections between the NP6 processors and the
front panel interfaces and the aggregate switch for the thirty-two 10/100/1000BASE-T interfaces.
SFP+
MGMT1 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43
CONSOLE
STATUS
BP
ALARM
HA
POWER
USB MGMT2 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44
port37 - 40
port1- 16 (16x 1G) port17- 32 (16x 1G) 4x XAUI
2x QSGMII 2x QSGMII
Aggregation Switch
NP6_0
port33 - 36 port41 - 44
4x XAUI
4x XAUI 4x XAUI
System Bus
You can use the following get command to display the FortiGate-2500E NP6 configuration. You can also use the
diagnose npu np6 port-list command to display this information.
l 8 SFP+ 10Gb interfaces, port1 through port8 share connections to the first NP6 processor (np6_0).
l 8 SFP+ 10Gb interfaces, port9 through port16 share connections to the second NP6 processor (np6_1).
SFP+
MGMT 1 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15
CONSOLE
STATUS
ALARM
HA
POWER
USB MGMT 2 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
FortiASIC FortiASIC
NP6 NP6
System Bus
Sys
CP8 CP8
You can use the following get command to display the FortiGate-3000D NP6 configuration. The command output
shows two NP6s named NP6_0 and NP6_1 and the interfaces (ports) connected to each NP6. You can also use
the diagnose npu np6 port-list command to display this information.
get hardware npu np6 port-list
Chip XAUI Ports Max Cross-chip
Speed offloading
------ ---- ------- ----- ----------
np6_0 0 port1 10G Yes
0 port6 10G Yes
1 port2 10G Yes
1 port5 10G Yes
2 port3 10G Yes
2 port8 10G Yes
3 port4 10G Yes
l 16 SFP+ 10Gb interfaces, port1 through port16 share connections to the first NP6 processor (np6_0).
l 16 SFP+ 10Gb interfaces, port27 through port32 share connections to the second NP6 processor (np6_1).
SFP+
MGMT 1 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31
CONSOLE
STATUS
ALARM
HA
POWER
USB MGMT 2 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32
FortiASIC FortiASIC
NP6 NP6
System Bus
Sys
CP8 CP8
You can use the following get command to display the FortiGate-3100D NP6 configuration. The command output
shows two NP6s named NP6_0 and NP6_1 and the interfaces (ports) connected to each NP6. You can also use
the diagnose npu np6 port-list command to display this information.
l 24 SFP+ 10Gb interfaces, port1 through port24 share connections to the first NP6 processor (np6_0).
l 24 SFP+ 10Gb interfaces, port25 through port48 share connections to the second NP6 processor (np6_1).
FortiGate 3200D
MGMT 1 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47
CONSOLE
STATUS
ALARM
HA
POWER
FortiASIC FortiASIC
NP6 NP6
System Bus
Sys
CP8 CP8
You can use the following get command to display the FortiGate-3200D NP6 configuration. The command output
shows two NP6s named NP6_0 and NP6_1 and the interfaces (ports) connected to each NP6. You can also use
the diagnose npu np6 port-list command to display this information.
get hardware npu np6 port-list
Chip XAUI Ports Max Cross-chip
Speed offloading
------ ---- ------- ----- ----------
np6_0 0 port1 10G Yes
0 port5 10G Yes
0 port10 10G Yes
0 port13 10G Yes
0 port17 10G Yes
0 port22 10G Yes
1 port2 10G Yes
1 port6 10G Yes
1 port9 10G Yes
1 port14 10G Yes
1 port18 10G Yes
1 port21 10G Yes
2 port3 10G Yes
2 port7 10G Yes
2 port12 10G Yes
You can use the following command to turn on low latency mode for np6_0 and np6_1:
config system np6
edit np6_0
set low-latency-mode enable
next
edit np6_1
set low-latency-mode enable
end
You do not have to turn on low latency to both np6_0 and np6_1. If you turn on low
latency for just one NP6, the other NP6 will still be mapped according to the normal
latency configuration.
With low latency enabled for both np6_0 and np6_1 the FortiGate-3700D has the following fastpath architecture:
l Four SFP+ 10Gb interfaces, port25 to port28, share connections to the first NP6 processor (np6_0) so sessions
entering one of these ports and exiting through another will experience low latency
l Four SFP+ 10Gb interfaces, port29 to port32, share connections to the second NP6 processor (np6_1) so sessions
entering one of these ports and exiting through another will experience low latency
l Ten SFP+ 10Gb interfaces, port5 to port14, and two 40Gb QSFP interfaces, port1 and port2, share connections to
the third NP6 processor (np6_2).
l Ten SFP+ 10Gb interfaces, port15 to port24, and two 40Gb QSFP interfaces, port3 and port4, share connections to
the fourth NP6 processor (np6_3).
FortiASIC
Integrated Switch Fabric
NP6
np6_0
FortiASIC FortiASIC
NP6 NP6 FortiASIC
np6_2 np6_3 NP6
np6_1
System Bus
CPU
CP8 CP8 CP8 CP8
You can use the following get command to display the FortiGate-3700D NP6 configuration. In this output
example, the first two NP6s (np6_0 and np6_1) are configured for low latency. The command output shows four
NP6s named NP6_0, NP6_1, NP6_2, and NP6_3 and the interfaces (ports) connected to each NP6. You can also
use the diagnose npu np6 port-list command to display this information.
get hardware npu np6 port-list
Chip XAUI Ports Max Cross-chip
Speed offloading
------ ---- ------- ----- ----------
np6_2 0 port5 10G Yes
0 port9 10G Yes
0 port13 10G Yes
1 port6 10G Yes
1 port10 10G Yes
1 port14 10G Yes
2 port7 10G Yes
2 port11 10G Yes
3 port8 10G Yes
3 port12 10G Yes
0-3 port1 40G Yes
You do not have to turn off low latency to both np6_0 and np6_1. If you turn off low
latency to just one NP6, the other NP6 will still be mapped according to the normal
configuration.
In addition to turning off low latency, entering these commands also changes how ports are mapped to NP6s.
Port1 is now mapped to np6_0 and port 3 is not mapped to np6_1. The FortiGate-3700D has the following
fastpath architecture:
l One 40Gb QSFP interface, port1, and four SFP+ 10Gb interfaces, port25 to port28 share connections to the first
NP6 processor (np6_0).
l One 40Gb QSFP interface, port3, and four SFP+ 10Gb interfaces, port29 to port32 share connections to the second
NP6 processor (np6_1).
l One 40Gb QSFP interface, port2 and ten SFP+ 10Gb interfaces, port5 to port14 share connections to the third NP6
processor (np6_2).
l One 40Gb QSFP interface, port4, and ten SFP+ 10Gb interfaces, port15 to port24 share connections to the fourth
NP6 processor (np6_3).
CPU
CP8 CP8 CP8 CP8
You can use the following get command to display the FortiGate-3700D NP6 configuration with low latency
turned off for np6_0 and np6_1. The command output shows four NP6s named NP6_0, NP6_1, NP6_2, and
NP6_3 and the interfaces (ports) connected to each NP6. You can also use the diagnose npu np6 port-
list command to display this information.
get hardware npu np6 port-list
Chip XAUI Ports Max Cross-chip
Speed offloading
------ ---- ------- ----- ----------
np6_0 0 port26 10G Yes
1 port25 10G Yes
2 port28 10G Yes
3 port27 10G Yes
0-3 port1 40G Yes
------ ---- ------- ----- ----------
np6_1 0 port30 10G Yes
1 port29 10G Yes
2 port32 10G Yes
You can use the following command to turn on low latency mode for np6_0 and np6_1:
config system np6
edit np6_0
set low-latency-mode enable
next
edit np6_1
set low-latency-mode enable
end
You do not have to turn on low latency to both np6_0 and np6_1. If you turn on low
latency for just one NP6, the other NP6 will still be mapped according to the normal
latency configuration.
With low latency enabled for both np6_0 and np6_1 the FortiGate-3700D has the following fastpath architecture:
l Four SFP+ 10Gb interfaces, port25 to port28, share connections to the first NP6 processor (np6_0) so sessions
entering one of these ports and exiting through another will experience low latency
l Four SFP+ 10Gb interfaces, port29 to port32, share connections to the second NP6 processor (np6_1) so sessions
entering one of these ports and exiting through another will experience low latency
l Ten SFP+ 10Gb interfaces, port5 to port14, and two 40Gb QSFP interfaces, port1 and port2, share connections to
the third NP6 processor (np6_2).
l Ten SFP+ 10Gb interfaces, port15 to port24, and two 40Gb QSFP interfaces, port3 and port4, share connections to
the fourth NP6 processor (np6_3).
FortiASIC
Integrated Switch Fabric
NP6
np6_0
FortiASIC
FortiASIC FortiASIC
TP2 FortiASIC
NP6 NP6
FFortiASIC
ortiASI np6_2 np6_3 NP6
TP2 np6_1
System Bus
CPU
CP8 CP8 CP8 CP8
You can use the following get command to display the FortiGate-3700D NP6 configuration. In this output
example, the first two NP6s (np6_0 and np6_1) are configured for low latency. The command output shows four
NP6s named NP6_0, NP6_1, NP6_2, and NP6_3 and the interfaces (ports) connected to each NP6. You can also
use the diagnose npu np6 port-list command to display this information.
get hardware npu np6 port-list
Chip XAUI Ports Max Cross-chip
Speed offloading
------ ---- ------- ----- ----------
np6_2 0 port5 10G Yes
0 port9 10G Yes
0 port13 10G Yes
1 port6 10G Yes
1 port10 10G Yes
1 port14 10G Yes
2 port7 10G Yes
2 port11 10G Yes
3 port8 10G Yes
3 port12 10G Yes
0-3 port1 40G Yes
0-3 port2 40G Yes
------ ---- ------- ----- ----------
np6_3 0 port15 10G Yes
0 port19 10G Yes
0 port23 10G Yes
1 port16 10G Yes
1 port20 10G Yes
1 port24 10G Yes
2 port17 10G Yes
2 port21 10G Yes
3 port18 10G Yes
3 port22 10G Yes
0-3 port3 40G Yes
0-3 port4 40G Yes
------ ---- ------- ----- ----------
np6_0 0 port26 10G No
1 port25 10G No
2 port28 10G No
3 port27 10G No
------ ---- ------- ----- ----------
np6_1 0 port30 10G No
1 port29 10G No
2 port32 10G No
3 port31 10G No
------ ---- ------- ----- ----------
You do not have to turn off low latency to both np6_0 and np6_1. If you turn off low
latency to just one NP6, the other NP6 will still be mapped according to the normal
configuration.
In addition to turning off low latency, entering these commands also changes how ports are mapped to NP6s.
Port1 is now mapped to np6_0 and port 3 is not mapped to np6_1. The FortiGate-3700D has the following
fastpath architecture:
l One 40Gb QSFP interface, port1, and four SFP+ 10Gb interfaces, port25 to port28 share connections to the first
NP6 processor (np6_0).
l One 40Gb QSFP interface, port3, and four SFP+ 10Gb interfaces, port29 to port32 share connections to the second
NP6 processor (np6_1).
l One 40Gb QSFP interface, port2 and ten SFP+ 10Gb interfaces, port5 to port14 share connections to the third NP6
processor (np6_2).
l One 40Gb QSFP interface, port4, and ten SFP+ 10Gb interfaces, port15 to port24 share connections to the fourth
NP6 processor (np6_3).
CPU
CP8 CP8 CP8 CP8
You can use the following get command to display the FortiGate-3700D NP6 configuration with low latency
turned off for np6_0 and np6_1. The command output shows four NP6s named NP6_0, NP6_1, NP6_2, and
NP6_3 and the interfaces (ports) connected to each NP6. You can also use the diagnose npu np6 port-
list command to display this information.
Aggregator
NP6
NP6 N
NP6
P6 NP6
N P6 NP6
N P
NP6 NP6 NP6 NP6
System Bu
Bus
CP8 CP8
CPU
CP8 CP8
You can use the following get command to display the FortiGate-3800D NP6 configuration. The command output
shows all NP6s connected to each interface (port) with cross-chip offloading supported for each port. You can also
use the diagnose npu np6 port-list command to display this information.
Chip XAUI Ports Max Cross-chip
Speed offloading
------ ---- ------- ------ ----------
NP#0-7 0-3 port1 100000M Yes
NP#0-7 0-3 port2 100000M Yes
NP#0-7 0-3 port3 100000M Yes
NP#0-7 0-3 port4 100000M Yes
NP#0-7 0-3 port5 40000M Yes
NP#0-7 0-3 port6 40000M Yes
NP#0-7 0-3 port7 40000M Yes
NP#0-7 0-3 port8 40000M Yes
NP#0-7 0-3 port9 10000M Yes
NP#0-7 0-3 port10 10000M Yes
FortiGate 3810D
MGMT 1
CONSOLE
STATUS 1 2 3 4 5 6
ALARM
HA
POWER
Aggregator
FortiA
FortiASIC
ASIC FortiASIC
FortiA
ASIC FortiASIC
FortiA
ASIC FortiASIC
FortiA
FortiASIC NP6
NP6 FortiASIC NP6
NP6 FortiASIC NNP6
P6 FortiASIC NNP6
P
NP6 NP6 NP6 NP6
System Bus
CP8 CP8
CPU
CP8 CP8
You can use the following get command to display the FortiGate-3810D NP6 configuration. The command output
shows all NP6s connected to each interface (port) with cross-chip offloading supported for each port. You can also
use the diagnose npu np6 port-list command to display this information.
get hardware npu np6 port-list
Chip XAUI Ports Max Cross-chip
Speed offloading
------ ---- ------- ------ ----------
all 0-3 port1 100000M Yes
all 0-3 port2 100000M Yes
all 0-3 port3 100000M Yes
all 0-3 port4 100000M Yes
all 0-3 port5 100000M Yes
all 0-3 port6 100000M Yes
------ ---- ------- ------ ----------
FortiGate 3815D
MGMT 1 5 7 9 11 13
CONSOLE
STATUS
ALARM
HA
POWER
USB MGMT 2 6 8 10 12 14
CFP2
Aggregator
FortiA
FortiASIC
ASIC FortiASIC
FortiA
ASIC FortiASIC
FortiA
ASIC FortiASIC
FortiA
FortiASIC NNP6
P6 FortiASIC NNP6
P6 FortiASIC NNP6
P6 FortiASIC NNP6
P
NP6 NP6 NP6 NP6
System Bus
CP8 CP8
CPU
CP8 CP8
You can use the following get command to display the FortiGate-3815D NP6 configuration. The command output
shows all NP6s connected to each interface (port) with cross-chip offloading supported for each port. You can also
use the diagnose npu np6 port-list command to display this information.
get hardware npu np6 port-list
Chip XAUI Ports Max Cross-chip
Speed offloading
------ ---- ------- ------ ----------
all 0-3 port1 100000M Yes
all 0-3 port2 100000M Yes
all 0-3 port3 100000M Yes
all 0-3 port4 100000M Yes
all 0-3 port11 10000M Yes
all 0-3 port12 10000M Yes
all 0-3 port13 10000M Yes
all 0-3 port14 10000M Yes
all 0-3 port10 10000M Yes
16 x NP6
System Bus
CP9 CP9
CPU
CP9 CP9
You can use the following get command to display the FortiGate-3960E NP6 configuration. The command output
shows all NP6s connected to each interface (port) with cross-chip offloading supported for each port. You can also
use the diagnose npu np6 port-list command to display this information.
get hardware npu np6 port-list
Chip XAUI Ports Max Cross-chip
Speed offloading
------ ---- ------- ------ ----------
NP#0-7 0-3 port1 10000M Yes
NP#2 0-3 port2 10000M Yes
NP#0-7 0-3 port3 10000M Yes
NP#0-7 0-3 port4 10000M Yes
NP#0-7 0-3 port5 10000M Yes
NP#0-7 0-3 port6 10000M Yes
NP#0-7 0-3 port7 10000M Yes
NP#0-7 0-3 port8 10000M Yes
NP#0-7 0-3 port9 10000M Yes
NP#0-7 0-3 port10 10000M Yes
NP#0-7 0-3 port11 10000M Yes
NP#0-7 0-3 port12 10000M Yes
NP#0-7 0-3 port13 10000M Yes
NP#0-7 0-3 port14 10000M Yes
NP#0-7 0-3 port15 10000M Yes
NP#0-7 0-3 port16 10000M Yes
NP#7 0-3 port17 100000M Yes
NP#0-7 0-3 port18 100000M Yes
NP#10 0-3 port19 100000M Yes
NP#12-15 0-3 port20 100000M Yes
NP#8-15 0-3 port21 100000M Yes
NP#8-15 0-3 port22 100000M Yes
------ ---- ------- ------ ----------
28 x NP6
System Bus
CP9 CP9
CPU
CP9 CP9
You can use the following get command to display the FortiGate-3980E NP6 configuration. The command output
shows all NP6s connected to each interface (port) with cross-chip offloading supported for each port. You can also
use the diagnose npu np6 port-list command to display this information.
diagnose npu np6 port-list
Chip XAUI Ports Max Cross-chip
Speed offloading
------ ---- ------- ------ ----------
NP#0-7 0-3 port1 10000M Yes
NP#0-7 0-3 port2 10000M Yes
NP#0-7 0-3 port3 10000M Yes
NP#0-7 0-3 port4 10000M Yes
NP#0-7 0-3 port5 10000M Yes
NP#0-7 0-3 port6 10000M Yes
NP#0-7 0-3 port7 10000M Yes
l port1, port3, fabric1 and base1 share connections to the first NP6 processor.
l port2, port4, fabric2 and base2 share connections to the second NP6 processor.
fabric1 fabric2
base1 base2
FortiASIC FortiASIC
NP6 NP6
System Bus
CP8 CP8
CPU
CP8 CP8
3 base2 1G Yes
0-3 port2 40G Yes
0-3 fabric2 40G Yes
0-3 fabric4 40G Yes
------ ---- ------- ----- ----------
4x XAUI 4x XAUI
NP6 _0 NP6_1
System Bus
CP9 CP9
CPU
CP9 CP9
You can also use the diagnose npu np6 port-list command to display this information.
get hardware npu np6 port-list
Chip XAUI Ports Max Cross-chip
Speed offloading
------ ---- ------- ----- ----------
The first packet of every new session is received by the primary FortiController-5902D and the primary
FortiController-5902D uses its load balancing schedule to select the worker that will process the new session.
This information is passed back to an NP6 network processor and all subsequent packets of the same sessions
are offloaded to an NP6 network processor which sends the packet directly to a subordinate unit. Load balancing
is effectively offloaded from the primary unit to the NP6 network processors resulting in a faster and more stable
active-active cluster.
Individual FortiController-5902D interfaces are not mapped to NP6 processors. Instead an Aggregator connects
the all fabric interfaces to the ISF and no special mapping is required for fastpath offloading.
Fabric Backplane
F1/2 to F13
Aggregator
IIntegrated
t t dSSwitch
it h F
Fabric
bi
FortiASIC FortiASIC
NP6 NP6
System Bus
CPU
This chapter shows the NP6lite architecture for the all FortiGate models that include NP6lite processors.
l NP6lite_0 is connected to six 1GE RJ-45 interfaces (port9-port14) and four 1GE SFP interfaces (port15-18).
l NP6lite_1 is connected to ten 1GE RJ45 interfaces (wan1, wan2, port1-port8).
The following diagram also shows the RGMII and QSGMII port connections between the NP6lite processors and
the front panel interfaces. Both RGMII and QSGMII interfaces operate at 1000Mbps. However, QSGMII
interfaces can also negotiate to operate at lower speeds: 10, 100, and 1000Mbps. To connect the FortiGate-
200E to networks with speeds lower than 1000Mbps use the QSGMII interfaces (port1-8 and port11-18).
NP6Lite_1 NP6Lite_0
System Bus
CP9 CPU
You can use the following get command to display the FortiGate-200E or 201E NP6lite configuration. You can
also use the diagnose npu np6lite port-list command to display this information.
NP4 network processors provide fastpath acceleration by offloading communication sessions from the FortiGate
CPU. When the first packet of a new session is received by an interface connected to an NP4 processor, just like
any session connecting with any FortiGate interface, the session is forwarded to the FortiGate CPU where it is
matched with a security policy. If the session is accepted by a security policy and if the session can be offloaded
its session key is copied to the NP4 processor that received the packet. All of the rest of the packets in the session
are intercepted by the NP4 processor and fast-pathed out of the FortiGate unit to their destination without ever
passing through the FortiGate CPU. The result is enhanced network performance provided by the NP4 processor
plus the network processing load is removed from the CPU. In addition, the NP4 processor can handle some CPU
intensive tasks, like IPsec VPN encryption/decryption.
NP4lite processors have the same architecture and function in the same way as NP4
processors. All of the descriptions of NP4 processors in this document can be applied
to NP4lite possessors except where noted.
Session keys (and IPsec SA keys) are stored in the memory of the NP4 processor that is connected to the
interface that received the packet that started the session. All sessions are fast-pathed and accelerated, even if
they exit the FortiGate unit through an interface connected to another NP4. The key to making this possible is the
Integrated Switch Fabric (ISF) that connects the NP4s and the FortiGate unit interfaces together. The ISF allows
any port connectivity. All ports and NP4s can communicate with each other over the ISF.
There are no special ingress and egress fast path requirements because traffic enters and exits on interfaces
connected to the same ISF. Most FortiGate models with multiple NP4 processors connect all interfaces and NP4
processors to the same ISF (except management interfaces) so this should not ever be a problem.
There is one limitation to keep in mind; the capacity of each NP4 processor. An individual NP4 processor has a
capacity of 20 Gbps (10 Gbps ingress and 10 Gbps egress). Once an NP4 processor hits its limit, sessions that
are over the limit are sent to the CPU. You can avoid this problem by as much as possible distributing incoming
sessions evenly among the NP4 processors. To be able to do this you need to be aware of which interfaces
connect to which NP4 processors and distribute incoming traffic accordingly.
Some FortiGate units contain one NP4 processor with all interfaces connected to it and to the ISF. As a result,
offloading is supported for traffic between any pair of interfaces.
Some FortiGate units include NP4Lite processors. These network processors have the same functionality and
limitations as NP4 processors but with about half the performance. Also, NP4Lite processors do not support
traffic shaping for offloaded sessions. NP4lite processors can be found in mid-range FortiGate models such as
the FortiGate-200D and 240D.
l Use the following command to disable or enable NP4Lite offloading. By default NP4lite offloading is enabled. If you
want to disable NP4Lite offloading to diagnose a problem enter:
diagnose npu nplite fastpath disable
This command disables NP4Lite offloading until your FortiGate reboots. You can also re-enable offloading by
entering the following command:
diagnose npu nplite fastpath enable
l NP4lite debug command. Use the following command to debug NP4Lite operation:
diagnose npl npl_debug {<parameters>}
l Firewall policies must not include proxy-based security features (proxy-based virus scanning, proxy-based web
filtering, DNS filtering, DLP, Anti-Spam, VoIP, ICAP, Web Application Firewall, or Proxy options).
l If the FortiGate supports NTurbo, firewall policies can include flow-based security features (IPS, Application Control
CASI, flow-based antivirus, or flow-based web filtering) .
l Origin must not be local host (the FortiGate unit)
If you disable anomaly checks by Intrusion Prevention (IPS), you can still enable NP4
hardware accelerated anomaly checks using the fp-anomaly field of the
config system interface CLI command. See Offloading NP4 anomaly
detection on page 1536Offloading NP4 anomaly detection on page 1536
If a session is not fast path ready, the FortiGate unit will not send the session key to the network processor(s).
Without the session key, all session key lookup by a network processor for incoming packets of that session fails,
causing all session packets to be sent to the FortiGate unit’s main processing resources, and processed at normal
speeds.
If a session is fast path ready, the FortiGate unit will send the session key to the network processor(s). Session
key lookup then succeeds for subsequent packets from the known session.
In some cases, due to these requirements, a protocol’s session(s) may receive a mixture of offloaded and non-
offloaded processing.
For example, FTP uses two connections: a control connection and a data connection. The control connection
requires a session helper, and cannot be offloaded, but the data connection does not require a session helper,
and can be offloaded. Within the offloadable data session, fragmented packets will not be offloaded, but other
packets will be offloaded.
Some traffic types differ from general offloading requirements, but still utilize some of the network processors’
encryption and other capabilities. Exceptions include IPsec traffic and active-active high availability (HA) load
balanced traffic.
Also, in some cases, a protocol’s session(s) may receive a mixture of offloaded and non-offloaded processing.
For example, VoIP control packets may not be offloaded but VoIP data packets (voice packets) may be offloaded.
All offloaded traffic types are supported by LAGs, including IPsec VPN traffic. Just like with normal interfaces,
traffic accepted by a LAG is offloaded by the NP4 processor connected to the interfaces in the LAG that receive
the traffic to be offloaded. If all interfaces in a LAG are connected to the same NP4 processor, traffic received by
that LAG is offloaded by that NP4 processor. The amount of traffic that can be offloaded is limited by the capacity
of the NP4 processor.
If a FortiGate has two or more NP4 processors connected by an integrated switch fabric (ISF), you can use LAGs
to increase offloading by sharing the traffic load across multiple NP4 processors. You do this by adding physical
interfaces connected to different NP4 processors to the same LAG.
Adding a second NP4 processor to a LAG effectively doubles the offloading capacity of the LAG. Adding a third
further increases offloading. The actual increase in offloading capacity may not actually be doubled by adding a
second NP4 or tripled by adding a thrid. Traffic and load conditions and other factors may limit the actual
offloading result.
The increase in offloading capacity offered by LAGs and multiple NP4s is supported by the ISF that allows
multiple NP4 processors to share session information. On models that have more than one NP4 and no ISF, if
you attempt to add interfaces connected to different NP4 processors to a LAG the system displays an error
message.
There are also a few limitations to LAG NP4 offloading support for IPsec VPN:
l IPsec VPN anti-replay protection cannot be used if IPSec is configured on a LAG that has interfaces connected to
multiple NP4 processors.
l Using a LAG connected to multiple NP4 processors for decrypting incoming IPsec VPN traffic may cause some of
the incoming traffic to be decrypted by the CPU. So this configuration is not recommended since not all decryption
is offloaded. (Using a LAG connected to multiple NP4 processors for encrypting outgoing IPsec VPN traffic is
supported with no limitations.)
l Because the encrypted traffic for one IPsec VPN tunnel has the same 5-tuple, the traffic from one tunnel can only
can be balanced to one interface in a LAG. This limits the maximum throughput for one IPsec VPN tunnel in an NP4
LAG group to 1Gbps.
l NP4 processors support policy-based traffic shaping. However, fast path traffic and traffic handled by the FortiGate
CPU (slow path) are controlled separately, which means the policy setting on fast path does not consider the traffic
on the slow path.
l The port based traffic policing as defined by the inbandwidth and outbandwidth CLI commands is not supported.
l DSCP configurations are supported.
l Per-IP traffic shaping is supported.
l QoS in general is not supported.
NP4Lite processors do not support traffic shaping for offloaded sessions.
You can also use the traffic shaping features of the FortiGate unit’s main processing resources by disabling NP4
offloding. See Disabling NP offloading for firewall policies on page 1451.
Requirements for hardware accelerated IPsec encryption or decryption are a modification of general offloading
requirements. Differing characteristics are:
Traffic is blocked if you enable IPS for traffic passing over inter-VDOM links if that
traffic is being offloaded by an NP4 processor.If you disable NP4 offloading traffic will
be allowed to flow. You can disable offloading in individual firewall policies by
disabling auto-asic-offload for those policies. You can also use the following
command to disable all IPS offloading
config ips global
set np-accel-mode none
set cp-accel-mode none
end
l For a FortiGate unit with two NP4 processors there are also two inter-VDOM links, each with two interfaces:
l npu0-vlink:
npu0-vlink0
npu0-vlink1
l npu1-vlink:
npu1-vlink0
npu1-vlink1
These interfaces are visible from the GUI and CLI. For a FortiGate unit with NP4 interfaces, enter the following
CLI command (output shown for a FortiGate-5001B):
get hardware npu np4 list
ID Model Slot Interface
0 On-board port1 port2 port3 port4
fabric1 base1 npu0-vlink0 npu0-vlink1
1 On-board port5 port6 port7 port8
fabric2 base2 npu1-vlink0 npu1-vlink1
By default the interfaces in each inter-VDOM link are assigned to the root VDOM. To use these interfaces to
accelerate inter-VDOM link traffic, assign each interface in a pair to the VDOMs that you want to offload traffic
between. For example, if you have added a VDOM named New-VDOM to a FortiGate unit with NP4 processors,
you can go to System > Network > Interfaces and edit the npu0-vlink1 interface and set the Virtual Domain
to New-VDOM.
This results in an inter-VDOM link between root and New-VDOM. You can also do this from the CLI:
config system interface
edit npu0-vlink1
set vdom New-VDOM
end
For example, to accelerate inter-VDOM link traffic between VDOMs named Marketing and Engineering using
VLANs with VLAN ID 100 go to System > Network > Interfaces and select Create New to create the VLAN
interface associated with the Marketing VDOM:
Name Marketing-link
Type VLAN
Interface npu0-vlink0
VLAN ID 100
Name Engineering-link
Type VLAN
Interface npu0-vlink1
VLAN ID 100
The options available for this command apply anomaly checking for NP4 sessions in
the same way as the command descrbed in Configuring individual NP6 processors on
page 1466 applies anomaly checking for for NP6 sessions.
Anomaly Description
drop_ipunknown_
Drop IP with malformed option.
option
Anomaly Description
drop_tcp_fin_
Drop TCP FIN with no ACT flag set to pass.
noack
pass_ipunknown_
Allow IP with malformed option to pass.
option
pass_tcp_fin_
Allow TCP FIN with no ACT flag set to pass.
noack
Example
You might configure an NP4 to drop packets with TCP WinNuke or unknown IP protocol anomalies, but to pass
packets with an IP time stamp, using hardware acceleration provided by the network processor.
config system interface
edit port1
set fp-anomaly drop_winnuke drop_ipunknown_prot pass_iptimestamp
end
This chapter shows the NP4 architecture for the all FortiGate models that include NP4 processors.
FortiGate-600C
The FortiGate-600C features one NP4 processor. All the ports are connected to this NP4 over the Integrated
Switch Fabric. Port1 and port2 are dual failopen redundant RJ-45 ports. Port3-port22 are RJ-45 ethernet ports,
and there are four 1Gb SFP interface ports duplicating the port19-port22 connections.
FortiGate-800C
The FortiGate-800C features one NP4 processor. All the ports are connected to this NP4. Port1 and port2 are
dual failopen redundant RJ-45 ports. Port3-port22 are RJ-45 Ethernet ports, and there are eight 1Gb SFP
interface ports duplicating the port15-18 and port19-port22 connections. There are also two 10Gb SFP+ ports,
port23 and port24.
FortiGate-1000C
The FortiGate-1000C features one NP4 processor. All the ports are connected to this NP4. Port1 and port2 are
dual failopen redundant RJ-45 ports. Port3-port22 are RJ-45 ethernet ports, and there are eight 1Gb SFP
interface ports duplicating the port15-18 and port19-port22 connections. There are also two 10Gb SFP+ ports,
port23 and port24.
FortiGate-1240B
The FortiGate-1240B features two NP4 processors:
l Port1 to port24 are 1Gb SFP interfaces connected to one NP4 processor.
l Port25 to port38 are RJ-45 ethernet ports, connected to the other NP4 processor.
l Port39 and port40 are not connected to an NP4 processor.
FortiASIC FortiASIC
NP4 NP4
System Bus
CP6 CPU
FortiGate-3040B
The FortiGate-3040B features two NP4 processors:
l The 10Gb interfaces, port1, port2, port3, port4, and the 1Gb interfaces, port9, port10, port11, port12, port13, share
connections to one NP4 processor.
l The 10Gb interfaces, port5, port6, port7, port8, and the 1Gb interfaces, port14, port15, port16, port17, port18,
share connections to the other NP4 processor.
FortiGate 3040B
CONSOLE
10G SFP+
MGMT 1
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 FSM1 FSM3
STATUS
ALARM
FSM2 FSM4
HA
POWER
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 SHUT DOWN
NP4-1 NP4-2
FortiASIC FortiASIC
NP4 NP4
System Bus
CP7 CPU
FortiGate-3140B
The FortiGate-3140B features two NP4 processors and one SP2 processor:
l The 10Gb interfaces, port1, port2, port3, port4, and the 1Gb interfaces, port9, port10, port11, port12, port13, share
connections to one NP4 processor.
l The 10Gb interfaces, port5, port6, port7, port8, and the 1Gb interfaces, port14, port15, port16, port17, port18,
share connections to the other NP4 processor.
l The 10Gb interfaces, port19 and port20, share connections to the SP2 processor.
FSM1 FSM3
FortiGate 3140B
FSM2 FSM4
SHUT DOWN
CONSOLE
10G SFP+
MGMT 1
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17
STATUS
10G SFP+
ALARM 19 20
HA
POWER
USB MGMT 2 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
NP4-1 NP4-2
CP7 CPU
Security acceleration in this mode is limited, however. Only IPS scanning is accelerated in load balance mode.
FSM1 FSM3
FortiGate 3140B
FSM2 FSM4
SHUT DOWN
CONSOLE
10G SFP+
MGMT 1
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17
STATUS
10G SFP+
ALARM 19 20
HA
POWER
USB MGMT 2 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
NP4-1 NP4-2
FortiASIC
NP4 FortiASIC
SP2
System Bus
CP7 CPU
FortiGate-3240C
The FortiGate-3240C features two NP4 processors:
l The 10Gb interfaces, port1 through port6, and the 1Gb interfaces, port13 through port20, share connections to one
NP4 processor.
l The 10Gb interfaces, port7 through port12, and the 1Gb interfaces, port21 through port28, share connections to the
other NP4 processor.
In addition to the ports being divided between the two NP4 processors, they are further divided between the two
connections to each processor. Each NP4 can process 20 Gb of network traffic per second and each of two
connections to each NP4 can move 10Gb of data to the processor per second, so the ideal configuration would
have no more than 10 Gb of network traffic to each connection of each NP4 at any time.
10G SFP+
MGMT 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27
STATUS
ALARM
HA
POWER
AUX 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28
FortiASIC FortiASIC 20 Gb
NP4 NP4
System Bus
CP8 CPU
FortiGate-3600C
The FortiGate-3600C features three NP4 processors:
l The 10Gb interfaces, port1-port4, and the 1Gb interfaces, port13-port17, share connections to one NP4 processor.
l The 10Gb interfaces, port5-port8, and the 1Gb interfaces, port18-port22 share connections to the second NP4
processor.
l The 10Gb interfaces, port9-port12, and the 1Gb interfaces, port23-port28 share connections to the third NP4
processor.
FortiGate 3600C
USB MGMT HA
CONSOLE
10G-SFP+
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27
STATUS
ALARM
HA USB MGMT
FAN
POWER
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28
System Bus
CP8 CPU
Each XAUI link has a maximum bandwidth of 10-Gigabits. The reason you may need to know about the XAUI link
in NP4 configurations is because of this 10-Gigabit limit. Because of this limitation, the total amount of data
processed by all Ethernet interfaces connected to an XAUI link cannot exceed 10 gigabits. In some cases this
may limit the amount of bandwidth that the FortiGate can process.
Each NP4 processor connects to the integrated switch fabric through two XAUI links: XAUI0 and XAUI1. All of the
odd numbered Ethernet interfaces use XAU0 and all of the even numbered interfaces use XAUI1:
NPU1
NPU2
NPU3
Usually you do not have to be concerned about XAUI link mapping. However, if a FortiGate-3600C NP4 interface
is processing a very high amount of traffic you should distribute that traffic among both of the XAUI links
connected to it. So if you have a very high volume of traffic flowing between two networks you should connect
both networks to the same NP4 processor but to different XAUI links. For example, you could connect one
network to Ethernet port5 and the other network to Ethernet port6. In this configuration, the second NP4
processor would handle traffic acceleration and both XAUI links would be processing traffic.
You can add additional FMC interface modules. The diagram below shows a FortiGate-3950B with three
modules installed: an FMC-XG2, an FMC-F20, and an FMC-C20.
l The FMC-XG2 has one SP2 processor. The 10Gb SPF+ interfaces, port1 and port2, share connections to the
processor.
l The FMC-F20 has one NP4 processor and the twenty 1Gb SPF interfaces, port1 through port20, share connections
to the NP4 processor.
l The FMC-C20 has one NP4 processor and the twenty 10/100/1000 interfaces, port1 through port20, share
connections to the NP4 processor.
FMC FMC
FMC-F20
FMC3
ACTIVE
FMC1
SERVICE
1/2 3/4 5/6 7/8 9 / 10 11 / 12 13 / 14 15 / 16 17 / 18 19 / 20
FMC
FMC-XG2 FMC
FMC-C20
FMC4
1 (SFP +) 2 (SFP +) ACTIVE
FMC2
ACTIVE
SERVICE SERVICE 1/2 3/4 5/6 7/8 9 / 10 11 / 12 13 / 14 15 / 16 17 / 18 19 / 20
MGMT 1 1 3 5 (SFP+)
FMC
FortiGate 3950B CONSOLE
SWITCH
FMC5
STATUS 1 5 9 13 17 21
USB MGMT
2 6 10 14 18 22
I/O ALARM
3 7 11 15 19 23
HA
4 8 12 16 20 24
POWER
USB MGMT 2 2 4 6 (SFP+)
System Bus
CP7 CPU
When enabled, traffic between any two interfaces (excluding management and console) is accelerated whether
they are the six interfaces on the FortiGate-3950B itself, or on any installed FMC modules. Traffic is not limited to
entering and leaving the FortiGate unit in specific interface groupings to benefit from NP4 and SP2 acceleration.
You can use any pair of interfaces.
Security acceleration in this mode is limited, however. Only IPS scanning is accelerated in load balance mode.
FMC FMC
FMC-F20
FMC3
ACTIVE
FMC1
SERVICE
1/2 3/4 5/6 7/8 9 / 10 11 / 12 13 / 14 15 / 16 17 / 18 19 / 20
FMC
FMC-XG2 FMC
FMC-C20
FMC4
1 (SFP +) 2 (SFP +) ACTIVE
FMC2
ACTIVE
SERVICE SERVICE 1/2 3/4 5/6 7/8 9 / 10 11 / 12 13 / 14 15 / 16 17 / 18 19 / 20
MGMT 1 1 3 5 (SFP+)
FMC
FortiGate 3950B CONSOLE
SWITCH
FMC5
STATUS 1 5 9 13 17 21
USB MGMT
2 6 10 14 18 22
I/O ALARM
3 7 11 15 19 23
HA
4 8 12 16 20 24
POWER
USB MGMT 2 2 4 6 (SFP+)
FortiASIC
FortiASIC NP4
SP2
System Bus
CP7 CPU
FortiGate-5001C
The FortiGate-5001C board includes two NP4 processors connected to an integrated switch fabric:
l The port1, fabric1, and base1 interfaces are connected to one NP4 processor.
l The port2, fabric2, and base2 interfaces are connected to the other NP4 processor.
fabric1 fabric2
base1 base2
FortiASIC FortiASIC
NP4 NP4
System Bus
CP7 CPU
FortiGate-5001B
The FortiGate-5001B board includes two NP4 connected to an integrated switch fabric.
l The port1, port2, port3, port4, fabric1 and base1 interfaces are connected to one NP4 processor.
l The port5, port6, port7, port8, fabric2 and base2 interfaces are connected to the other NP4 processor.
fabric1 fabric2
base1 base2
FortiASIC FortiASIC
NP4 NP4
System Bus
CP7 CPU
Ports 1 and 3 share one NP4 processor and ports 2 and 4 share the other. Performance ports sharing the same
NP4 processor is far better than when forcing network data to move between NP4 processors by using one port
from each, for example ports 1 and 2 or ports 3 and 4.
This section describes some get and diagnose commands you can use to display useful information about the
NP6 processors sessions processed by NP6 processors.
dce show NP6 non-zero sub-engine drop counters for the selected NP6.
port-list show the mapping between the FortiGate's physical ports and its NP6 processors.
session-stats show NP6 session offloading statistics counters for the selected NP6.
synproxy-stats show overall NP6 synproxy statistics for TCP connections identified as being syn proxy DoS
attacks.
fastpath {disable | enable} <np6-od> enable or disable fastpath processing for a selected NP6.
dce shows NP6 non-zero sub-engine drop counters for the selected NP6.
npu_state=0x000c00
npu info: flag=0x81/0x81, offload=8/8, ips_offload=0/0, epid=140/138, ipid-
d=138/140, vlan=0x0000/0x0000
vlifid=138/140, vtag_in=0x0000/0x0000 in_npu=1/1, out_npu=1/1, fwd_en=0/0, qid=0/2
diagnose npu np6 session-stats <np6-id> (number of NP6 IPv4 and IPv6 sessions)
You can use the diagnose npu np6 portlist command to list the NP6-ids and the interfaces that each
NP6 is connected to. The <np6-id> of np6_0 is 0, the <np6-id> of np6_1 is 1 and so on. The diagnose npu
np6 session-stats <np6-id> command output incudes the following headings:
The only way to determine the number of offloaded multicast sessions is to use the diagnose sys mcast-
session/session6 list command and count the number of sessions with the offload tag.
diagnose sys mcast-session list
session info: id=3 vf=0 proto=17 172.16.200.55.51108->239.1.1.1.7878
used=2 path=11 duration=1 expire=178 indev=6 pkts=2 state:2cpu offloadable
npu-info in-pid=0 vifid=0 in-vtag=0 npuid=0 queue=0 tae=0
path: 2cpu policy=1, outdev=2
out-vtag=0
path: 2cpu policy=1, outdev=3
out-vtag=0
path: offloaded policy=1, outdev=7
out-vtag=0
path: policy=1, outdev=8
out-vtag=0
path: policy=1, outdev=9
out-vtag=0
path: policy=1, outdev=10
out-vtag=0
path: policy=1, outdev=11
out-vtag=0
path: policy=1, outdev=12
out-vtag=0
path: policy=1, outdev=13
out-vtag=0
path: 2cpu policy=1, outdev=64
out-vtag=0
path: 2cpu policy=1, outdev=68
out-vtag=0
diagnose npu np6 sse-stats <np6-id> (number of NP6 sessions and dropped sessions)
This command displays the total number of inserted, deleted and purged sessions processed by a selected NP6
processor. The number of dropped sessions of each type cam be determined by subtracting the number of
successfull sessions from the total number of sessions. For example, the total number of dropped insert sessions
is insert-total - insert-success.
diagnose npu np6 sse-stats 0
Counters SSE0 SSE1 Total
--------------- --------------- --------------- ---------------
active 0 0 0
insert-total 25 0 0
insert-success 25 0 0
delete-total 25 0 0
delete-success 25 0 0
purge-total 0 0 0
purge-success 0 0 0
search-total 40956 38049 79005
search-hit 37714 29867 67581
--------------- --------------- --------------- ---------------
pht-size 8421376 8421376
oft-size 8355840 8355840
oftfree 8355839 8355839
PBA 3001
dianose npu np6 synproxy-stats (NP6 SYN-proxied sessions and unacknowledged SYNs)
This command display information about NP6 syn-proxy sessions including the total number proxied sessions. As
well the Number of attacks, no ACK from client shows the total number of unacknowledge SYNs.
diagnose npu np6 synproxy-stats
DoS SYN-Proxy:
Number of proxied TCP connections : 39277346
Number of working proxied TCP connections : 182860
Number of retired TCP connections : 39094486
Number of attacks, no ACK from client : 208
Solving the high availability problem describes the high availability problem and introduces the FortiOS solutions
described in this document (FGCP, VRRP, and standalone session synchronization).
An introduction to the FGCP introduces the FGCP clustering protocol and many of its features and terminology.
FGCP configuration examples and troubleshooting describes configuring HA clusters and contains HA clustering
configuration examples.
Virtual clusters describes configuring HA virtual clusters and contains virtual clustering configuration examples.
Full mesh HA describes configuring FortiGate Full mesh HA and contains a full mesh HA configuration example.
Operating clusters and virtual clusters describes how to operate a cluster and includes detailed information about
how various FortiGate systems operate differently in a cluster.
HA and failover protection describes in detail how FortiGate HA device failover, link failover, and session failover
work.
HA and load balancing describes how FGCP HA active-active load balancing works and how to configure it.
HA with FortiGate-VM and third-party products describes how FortiGates interact with third-party products.
VRRP high availability describes FortiOS support of the Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP) and its use
for high availability.
FortiGate Session Life Support Protocol (FGSP) describes how to use the FGSP feature to support using external
routers or load balancers to distribute or load balance sessions between two peer FortiGates.
l For FGSP HA, restoring a configuration is not synchronized, see Backing up and restoring the configuration of an
FGSP cluster on page 1841.
l FortiController-5000 support for VRRP HA on page 1834.
New high availability features added to FortiOS 5.6.4:
l FGSP configuration synchronization changes, see Synchronizing the configuration on page 1839.
l Changes to get system status ha command output, see Viewing cluster status from the CLI on page 1742.
New high availability features added to FortiOS 5.6.1:
You can also click on the HA Status dashboard widget to configure HA settings or to get a listing of the most
recent HA events recorded by the cluster.
FGSP with static (non-dialup) IPsec VPN tunnels and controlling IKE routing advertisement
(402295)
Until FortiOS 5.6.1, the FortiGate Session Life Support Protocol (FGSP) only supported IPsec tunnel
synchronization for dialup (or dynamic) IPsec VPN tunnels. FortiOS 5.6.1 now also supports IPsec tunnel
synchronization for static IPsec VPN tunnels. No special FGSP or IPsec VPN configuration is required. You can
configure static IPsec VPN tunnels normally and create a normal FGSP configuration.
An additional feature has been added to support some FGSP configurations that include IPsec VPNs. A new CLI
option allows you to control whether IKE routes are synchronized to all units in the FGSP cluster.
config system cluster-sync
edit 0
set slave-add-ike-routes {enable | disable}
end
Enable to synchronize IKE routes, disable if you do not need to synchronize IKE routes. Enabling routing
synchronization is optional but doing so increases synchronization overhead and bandwidth usage. If you have
problems with IPsec VPN tunnel synchronization you may want to enable synchronizing routes otherwise you
could leave it disabled to improve performance and save bandwidth.
Use the following command to add a proxy ARP address range and a single IP address to a VR added to a
FortiGate`s port5 interface. The address range and single IP address should match the address range or single IP
for VIPs or IP Pools added to the port5 interface:
config system interface
edit port5
config vrrp
edit 1
config proxy-arp
edit 1
set ip 192.168.62.100-192.168.62.200
next
edit 2
set ip 192.168.62.225
end
New high availability features added to FortiOS 5.6.0:
The basic high availability (HA) problem for TCP/IP networks and security gateways is keeping network traffic
flowing. Uninterrupted traffic flow is a critical component for online systems and media because critical business
processes quickly come to a halt when the network is down.
The security gateway is a crucial component of most networks since all traffic passes through it. A standalone
network security gateway is a single point of failure that is vulnerable to any number of software or hardware
problems that could compromise the device and bring all traffic on the network to a halt.
A common solution to the high availability problem is to eliminate the security gateway as single point of failure
by introducing redundancy. With two or more redundant security gateways, if one fails, the remaining one or more
gateways keep the traffic flowing. FortiOS provides six redundancy solutions: industry standard VRRP as well as
five proprietary solutions: FortiGate Cluster Protocol (FGCP) high availability, FortiGate Session Life Support
Protocol (FGSP) high availability, Session-Aware Load Balancing Clustering (SLBC), Enhanced Load Balanced
Clustering (ELBC) and Content Clustering.
You can combine more than one high availability solution into a single configuration. A
common reason for doing this could be to add VRRP to an FGCP or FGSP
configuration.
A strong and flexible High availability solution is required for many mission-critical firewall and security profile
applications. Each FortiOS high availability solution can be fine tuned to fit into many different network scenarios.
When configured onto your network an FGCP cluster appears to be a single FortiGate operating in NAT/Route or
transparent mode and configuration synchronization allows you to configure a cluster in the same way as a
standalone FortiGate. If a failover occurs, the cluster recovers quickly and automatically and also sends
administrator notifications so that the problem that caused the failure can be corrected and any failed equipment
restored.
The FGCP is compatible with most network environments and most networking equipment. While initial
configuration is relatively quick and easy, a large number of tools and configuration options are available to fine
tune the cluster for most situations.
If one of the FortiGates fails, session failover occurs and active sessions fail over to the unit that is still operating.
This failover occurs without any loss of data. As well, the external load balancers or routers detect the failover and
re-distribute all sessions to the unit that is still operating.
Load balancing and session failover is done by external routers or load balancers and not by the FGSP. The
FortiGates just perform session synchronization which allows session failover to occur without packet loss.
The FGSP also includes configuration synchronization, allowing you to make configuration changes once for both
FortiGates instead of requiring duplicate configuration changes on each unit. However, settings that identify the
FortiGate to the network, for example, interface IP addresses and BGP neighbor settings, are not synchronized
so each FortiGate maintains its identity on the network. These settings must be configured separately for each
FortiGate.
In previous versions of FortiOS the FGSP was called TCP session synchronization or
standalone session synchronization. However, the FGSP has been expanded to
include configuration synchronization and session synchronization of connectionless
sessions, expectation sessions, and NAT sessions.
In a VRRP configuration, when a FortiGate operating as the primary router fails, a backup router takes its place
and continues processing network traffic. If the backup router is a FortiGate, the network continues to benefit
from FortiOS security features. If the backup router is simply a router, after a failure traffic will continue to flow,
but FortiOS security features will be unavailable until the FortiGate is back on line. You can include different
FortiGate models in the same VRRP group.
FortiOS supports IPv4 and IPv6 VRRP between two or more FortiGates and between FortiGates and third-party
routers that support VRRP. Using VRRP, you can assign VRRP routers as primary or backup routers. The primary
router processes traffic and the backup routers monitor the primary router and can begin forwarding traffic if the
primary router fails. Similar to the FGCP, you can set up VRRP among multiple FortiGates to provide
redundancy. You can also create a VRRP group with a FortiGate and any routers that support VRRP.
In a VRRP configuration that includes one FortiGate and one router, normally the FortiGate would be the primary
router and all traffic would be processed by the FortiGate. If the FortiGate fails, all traffic switches to the router.
Network connectivity is maintained even though FortiGate security features are unavailable until the FortiGate is
back on line.
SLBC clusters load balance TCP and UDP sessions. As a session-aware load balancer, the FortiController
includes FortiASIC DP processors that maintain state information for all TCP and UDP sessions. The FortiASIC
DP processors are capable of directing any TCP or UDP session to any worker installed in the same chassis. This
session-awareness means that all TCP and UDP traffic being processed by a specific worker continues to be
processed by the same worker. Session-awareness also means that more complex networking features such as
network address translation (NAT), fragmented packets, complex UDP protocols, and complex protocols such as
SIP that use pinholes, can be load balanced by the cluster.
For more information about SLBC see the FortiController Session-Aware Load Balancing Guide.
You cannot mix FGCP and SLBC clusters in the same FortiGate-5000 chassis.
ELBC applies a load balancing algorithm against the source and/or destination address of packets to generate a
hash key value. Each worker has hash key values assigned to it. If the workers are running, then the traffic is
forwarded to the worker assigned to the hash key.The hash key value generated by the algorithm, the hash keys
accepted by the worker blades, and the blade the traffic is sent to are automatically calculated by the FortiSwitch.
For more information about ELBC see the ELBC Configuration Guide.
You cannot mix FGCP and ELBC clusters in the same FortiGate-5000 chassis.
Content clustering
A content cluster employs FortiSwitch-5203Bs or FortiController-5902Ds to load balance content sessions to
FortiGate-5000 workers. FortiSwitch-5203B content clusters consist of one or more FortiSwitch-5203Bs and
multiple FortiGate-5001Bs workers. FortiController-5902D content clusters consist of one or more FortiController-
5902Ds and multiple FortiGate-5001B workers.
Using content cluster weighted load balancing, the FortiSwitch-5203Bs or FortiController-5902Ds distribute
sessions that require content processing to the workers over the FortiGate-5000 chassis fabric backplane.
Content processing sessions include proxy and flow-based security profile functions such as virus scanning,
intrusion protection, application control, IPS, web filtering, email filtering, and VoIP. Load balancing is offloaded
to the NP4 or NP6 processors resulting in improved load balancing performance. In some networks, the NP4 or
NP6 processors also allow you to configure the efficiently load balance TCP and UDP sessions.
You can add a second FortiSwitch-5203B or FortiController-5902D to a content cluster as a backup. The primary
FortiSwitch-5203B or FortiController-5902D can load balance sessions to the backup FortiSwitch-5203B or
FortiController-5902D as well as the workers. You can control how many sessions are processed by the backup
FortiSwitch-5203B or FortiController-5902D by configuring the HA load balancing weights. You can also configure
the content cluster to operate the backup FortiSwitch-5203B or FortiController-5902D in standby mode. In this
mode the backup FortiSwitch-5203B or FortiController-5902D does not process any sessions but is just there to
take over content clustering if the primary unit fails.
Once the content cluster has been established and all FortiControllers and workers have joined the cluster, you
can configure the cluster from the FortiSwitch-5203B or FortiController-5902D GUI or CLI. All configuration
changes made to the primary unit are automatically synchronized to all cluster units.
FortiSwitch-5203B or FortiController-5902D firmware upgrades are done from the primary FortiSwitch-5203B or
FortiController-5902D GUI or CLI. Worker firmware upgrades are done from the FortiSwitch-5203B or
FortiController-5902D CLI where a single firmware image is uploaded once and synchronized to all of the
workers.
A FortiGate HA cluster consists of two to four FortiGates configured for HA operation. Each FortiGate in a cluster
is called a cluster unit. All cluster units must be the same FortiGate model with the same FortiOS firmware build
installed. All cluster units must also have the same hardware configuration (for example, the same number of
hard disks and so on) and be running in the same operating mode (NAT/Route mode or transparent mode).
In addition the cluster units must be able to communicate with each other through their heartbeat interfaces. This
heartbeat communication is required for the cluster to be created and to continue operating. Without it, the
cluster acts like a collection of standalone FortiGates.
On startup, after configuring the cluster units with the same HA configuration and connecting their heartbeat
interfaces, the cluster units use the FortiGate Clustering Protocol (FGCP) to find other FortiGates configured for
HA operation and to negotiate to create a cluster. During cluster operation, the FGCP shares communication and
synchronization information among the cluster units over the heartbeat interface link. This communication and
synchronization is called the FGCP heartbeat or the HA heartbeat. Often, this is shortened to just heartbeat.
The cluster uses the FGCP to select the primary unit, and to provide device, link and session failover. The FGCP
also manages the two HA modes; active-passive (failover HA) and active-active (load balancing HA).
Inside the cluster the individual FortiGates are called cluster units. These cluster units share state and
configuration information. If one cluster unit fails, the other units in the cluster automatically replace that unit,
taking over the work that the failed unit was doing. After the failure, the cluster continues to process network
traffic and provide normal FortiGate services with virtually no interruption.
Every FortiGate cluster contains one primary unit (also called the master unit) and one or more subordinate units
(also called slave or backup units). The primary unit controls how the cluster operates. The role that the
subordinate units play depends on the mode in which the cluster operates: (Active-Passive (AP) or Active-Active
(AA).
The ability of an HA cluster to continue providing firewall services after a failure is called failover. FGCP failover
means that your network does not have to rely on one FortiGate to continue functioning. You can install
additional units and form an HA cluster.
A second HA feature, called active-active load balancing, can be used to increase performance. An active-active
cluster of FortiGates can increase overall network performance by sharing the load of processing network traffic
and providing security services. The cluster appears to your network to be a single device, adding increased
performance without changing your network configuration.
Virtual clustering extends HA features to provide failover protection and load balancing for Virtual Domains
(VDOMs). See Virtual clusters on page 1694.
FortiGate models that support redundant interfaces can be configured to support full mesh HA. Full mesh HA is a
method of reducing the number of single points of failure on a network that includes an HA cluster. For details
about full mesh HA, see Full mesh HA on page 1704.
Failover times can be less than a second under optimal conditions. You can fine tune failover performance for
your network by adjusting cluster status checking timers, routing table update timers, and wait timers.
An HA cluster fails over if the primary unit fails (a device failure) or experiences a link failure. The cluster can
detect link failures for connections to the primary unit using port monitoring and for connections between
downstream network components using remote IP monitoring. To compensate for a link failover, the cluster
maintains active links to keep traffic flowing between high-priority networks. Port and remote IP monitoring can
be fine tuned without disrupting cluster operation.
Session failover
FGCP session failover maintains TCP, SIP and IPsec VPN sessions after a failure. You can also configure
session failover to maintain UDP and ICMP sessions. Session failover does not failover SSL VPN sessions.
Session failover may not be required for all networks because many TCP/IP, UDP, and ICMP protocols can
resume sessions on their own. Supporting session failover adds extra overhead to cluster operations and can be
disabled to improve cluster performance if it is not required.
Load balancing
Active-active HA load balances resource-intensive security profile features such as virus scanning, web filtering,
intrusion protection, application control, email filtering and data leak prevention operations among all cluster
units to provide better performance than a standalone FortiGate. If network traffic consists of mainly TCP
sessions, the FGCP can also load balance all TCP sessions to improve TCP performance in some network
configurations. On some FortiGate models you can also load balance UDP sessions. NP4 and NP6 offloading can
accelerate HA load balancing (especially TCP and UDP load balancing). HA load balancing schedules can be
adjusted to optimize performance for the traffic mix on your network. Weighted load balancing can be used to
control the relative amount of sessions processed by each cluster unit.
Virtual clustering
Virtual clustering is an extension of the FGCP for a cluster of 2 FortiGates operating with multiple VDOMS
enabled. Not only does virtual clustering provide failover protection for a multiple VDOM configuration, but a
virtual cluster can load balance traffic between the cluster units. Load balancing with virtual clustering is quite
efficient and load balances all traffic. It is possible to fine tune virtual clustering load balancing in real time to
actively optimize load sharing between the cluster units without affecting the smooth operation of the cluster.
Full mesh HA
High availability improves the reliability of a network by replacing a single point of failure (a single FortiGate) with
a cluster that can maintain network traffic if one of the cluster units fails. However, in a normal FGCP cluster,
single points of failure remain. Full mesh HA removes these single points of failure by allowing you to connect
redundant switches to each cluster interface. Full mesh HA is achieved by configuring 802.3ad aggregate or
redundant interfaces on the FortiGate and connecting redundant switches to these interfaces. Configuration is a
relatively simple extension of the normal aggregate/redundant interface and HA configurations.
Cluster management
FortiOS HA provides a wide range of cluster management features:
l Automatic continuous configuration synchronization. You can get a cluster up and running almost as quickly as a
standalone FortiGate by performing a few basic steps to configure HA settings and minimal network settings on
each cluster unit. When the cluster is operating you can configure FortiGate features such as firewalling, content
inspection, and VPN in the same way as for a standalone FortiGate. All configuration changes (even complex
changes such as switching to multiple VDOM mode or from NAT/Route to transparent mode) are synchronized
among all cluster units.
l Firmware upgrades/downgrades. Upgrading or downgrading cluster firmware is similar to upgrading or downgrading
standalone FortiGate firmware. The Firmware is uploaded once to the primary unit and the cluster automatically
upgrades or downgrades all cluster units in one operation with minimal or no service interruption.
l Individual cluster unit management. In some cases you may want to manage individual cluster units. You can do so
from cluster CLI by navigating to each cluster unit. You can also use the reserved management interface feature to
give each cluster unit its own IP address and default route. You can use the reserved management interfaces and
IP addresses to connect to the GUI and CLI of each cluster unit and configure an SNMP server to poll each cluster
unit.
l Removing and adding cluster units. In one simple step any unit (even the primary unit) can be removed from a
cluster and given a new IP address. The cluster keeps operating as it was; the transition happening without
interrupting cluster operation. A new unit can also be added to an operating cluster without disrupting network
traffic. All you have to do is connect the new unit and change its HA configuration to match the cluster’s. The cluster
automatically finds and adds the unit and synchronizes its configuration with the cluster.
l Debug and diagnose commands. An extensive range of debug and diagnose commands can be used to report on
HA operation and find and fix problems.
l Logging and reporting. All cluster units can be configured to record all log messages. These message can be stored
on the individual cluster units or sent to a FortiAnalyzer unit. You can view all cluster unit log messages by logging
into any cluster unit.
l FortiManager support. FortiManager understands FortiOS HA and automatically recognizes when you add a
FortiOS cluster to the FortiManager configuration.
The FGCP uses a combination of incremental and periodic synchronization to make sure that the configuration of
all cluster units is synchronized to that of the primary unit. This means that in most cases you only have to make a
configuration change once to have it synchronized to all cluster units.
Some configuration settings are not synchronized to support some aspects of FortiGate operation. The following
settings are not synchronized among cluster units:
l The default route for the reserved management interface, set using the ha-mgmt-interface-gateway option
of the config system ha command.
l The dynamic weighted load balancing thresholds and high and low watermarks.
l OSPF summary-addresses settings.
In addition licenses are not synchronized since each FortiGate must be licensed separately. This includes
FortiCloud activation and FortiClient licensing, and entering a license key if you purchased more than 10 Virtual
Domains (VDOMS).
Firmware version
Make sure the FortiGates are running the same FortiOS firmware version.
If one of the FortiGates in a cluster has a lower level of licensing than other FortiGates in the cluster, then all of
the FortiGates in the cluster will revert to that lower licensing level. For example, if you only purchase FortiGuard
Web Filtering for one of the FortiGates in a cluster, when the cluster is operating, none of the cluster units will
support FortiGuard Web Filtering.
An exception is FortiToken licensing. FortiToken activations are completed one FortiGate unit and synchronized
to all of the FortiGates in the cluster.
FortiToken licenses
You only need one set of FortiToken licenses for the HA cluster and you only need to activate each token once.
Normally you would activate your tokens on the primary unit and this configuration and the seed information will
be synchronized to all cluster members so all tokens will then be activated for all cluster members.
If you have added FortiToken licenses and activated FortiTokens on a standalone FortiGate unit before
configuring HA, the licenses and the FortiToken activations will usually be synchronized to all cluster units after
forming a cluster. To make sure this goes smoothly you can make sure the FortiGate that you have added the
licenses to becomes the primary unit when setting up the cluster as described in How to set up FGCP clustering
(recommended steps) on page 1615.
Certificates
You can also install any third-party certificates on the primary FortiGate before forming the cluster. Once the
cluster is formed third-party certificates are synchronized to the backup FortiGate.
Make sure your FortiGate interfaces are configured with static IP addresses. If any
interface gets its address using DHCP or PPPoE you should temporarily switch it to a
static address and enable DHCP or PPPoE after the cluster has been established.
Make sure both FortiGates are running the same FortiOS firmware version. Register and apply licenses to both
FortiGates before adding them to the cluster. This includes licensing for FortiCare Support, IPS, AntiVirus, Web
Filtering, Mobile Malware, FortiClient, FortiCloud, and additional virtual domains (VDOMs). All FortiGates in the
cluster must have the same level of licensing for FortiGuard, FortiCloud, FortiClient, and VDOMs. FortiToken
licenses can be added at any time because they are synchronized to all cluster members.
You can also install any third-party certificates on the primary FortiGate before forming the cluster. Once the
cluster is formed, third-party certificates are synchronized to the backup FortiGate.
Mode Active-Passive
Password HA_pass
The password must be the same for all FortiGates in the cluster.
You can accept the default configuration for the remaining HA options and change them later, once
the cluster is operating.
6. Select OK.
The FortiGate negotiates to establish an HA cluster. When you select OK you may temporarily lose connectivity
with the FortiGate as the HA cluster negotiates and the FGCP changes the MAC address of the FortiGate
interfaces. To be able to reconnect sooner, you can update the ARP table of your management PC by deleting the
ARP table entry for the FortiGate (or just deleting all ARP table entries). You may be able to delete the ARP table
of your management PC from a command prompt using a command similar to arp -d.
7. Power off the FortiGate.
8. Repeat this procedure for all of the FortiGates in the cluster.
Once all of the units are configured, continue by connecting the FortiGate HA cluster below.
The FortiGate negotiates to establish an HA cluster. You may temporarily lose connectivity with the
FortiGate as the HA cluster negotiates and because the FGCP changes the MAC address of the
FortiGate interfaces. To be able to reconnect sooner, you can update the ARP table of your
management PC by deleting the ARP table entry for the FortiGate (or just deleting all arp table
entries). You may be able to delete the arp table of your management PC from a command prompt
using a command similar to arp -d.
Although you can use hubs, Fortinet recommends using switches for all cluster connections for the best
performance.
Connecting an HA cluster to your network temporarily interrupts communications on the network because new
physical connections are being made to route traffic through the cluster. Also, starting the cluster interrupts
network traffic until the individual cluster units are functioning and the cluster completes negotiation. Cluster
negotiation is automatic and normally takes just a few seconds. During system startup and negotiation all
network traffic is dropped.
This section describes how to connect the cluster shown below, which consists of two FortiGate-100D units to be
connected between the Internet and a head office internal network. The wan1 interfaces of the FortiGate connect
the cluster to the Internet and the internal interfaces connect the cluster to the internal network. The ha1 and ha2
interfaces are used for redundant HA heartbeat links.
1. Connect the WAN1 interfaces of each cluster unit to a switch connected to the Internet.
2. Connect the Port1 interfaces of each cluster unit to a switch connected to the internal network.
3. Connect the HA1 interfaces of the cluster units together. You can use a crossover Ethernet cable or a regular
Ethernet cable. (You can also connect the interfaces using Ethernet cables and a switch.)
4. Connect the HA2 interfaces of the cluster units together. You can use a crossover Ethernet cable or a regular
Ethernet cable. (You can also connect the interfaces using Ethernet cables and a switch.)
5. Power on both of the FortiGates.
As the cluster units start, they negotiate to choose the primary unit and the subordinate unit. This
negotiation occurs with no user intervention and normally just takes a few seconds.
At least one heartbeat interface should be connected together for the cluster to operate.
Do not use a switch port for the HA heartbeat traffic. This configuration is not supported.
You could use one switch to connect all four heartbeat interfaces. However, this is not recommended
because if the switch fails both heartbeat interfaces will become disconnected.
The HA Status Dashboard widget also shows if the cluster units are synchronized. Mouse over each FortiGate in
the cluster to verify that they both have the same checksum.
From the HA Status widget you can also select Show HA Historical Events to see the most recent HA system
status messages.
From the CLI enter the following command to set the HA mode to active-passive:
config system ha
set mode a-p
end
To form a cluster, all cluster units must be set to the same mode. You can also change the mode after the cluster
is up and running. Changing the mode of a functioning cluster causes a slight delay while the cluster renegotiates
to operate in the new mode and possibly select a new primary unit.
Active-passive HA provides transparent device failover among cluster units. If a cluster unit fails, another
immediately take its place.
Active-passive HA also provides transparent link failover among cluster units. If a cluster unit interface fails or is
disconnected, this cluster unit updates the link state database and the cluster negotiates and may select a new
primary unit.
If session failover (also called session pickup) is enabled, active-passive HA provides session failover for some
communication sessions.
The following example shows how to configure a FortiGate for active-passive HA operation. You would enter the
exact same commands on every FortiGate in the cluster.
config system ha
set mode a-p
set group-name myname
set password HApass
end
Normally, sessions accepted by policies that don’t include security profiles are not load balanced and are
processed by the primary unit. You can configure active-active HA to load balance additional sessions.
An active-active HA cluster consists of a primary unit that receives all communication sessions and load balances
them among the primary unit and all of the subordinate units. In an active-active cluster the subordinate units are
also considered active since they also process content processing sessions. In all other ways active-active HA
operates the same as active-passive HA.
The following example shows how to configure a FortiGate for active-active HA operation. You would enter the
exact same commands on every FortiGate in the cluster.
config system ha
set mode a-a
set group-name myname
set password HApass
end
Group name
Use the group name to identify the cluster. The maximum length of the group name is 32 characters. The group
name must be the same for all cluster units before the cluster units can form a cluster. After a cluster is operating,
you can change the group name. The group name change is synchronized to all cluster units. The group name
appears on the HA Status dashboard widget.
To add or change the group name from the GUI go to System > HA and change the Group name.
Enter the following CLI command to change the group name to Cluster_name:
config system ha
set group-name Cluster_name
end
Password
Use the password to identify the cluster. You should always change the password when configuring a cluster. The
password must be the same for all FortiGates before they can form a cluster. When the cluster is operating you
can change the password, if required. Two clusters on the same network cannot have the same password.
To change the password from the GUI go to System > HA and change the Password.
Group ID
Similar to the group name, the group ID is also identifies the cluster. In most cases you do not have to change the
group ID. However, you should change the group ID if you have more than one cluster on the same network. All
members of the HA cluster must have the same group ID. The group ID is a number from 0 to 255.
Changing the group ID changes the cluster virtual MAC address. If two clusters on the same network have the
same group ID you may encounter MAC address conflicts.
If a failover occurs, the cluster also records log messages about the event and can be configured to send log
messages to a syslog server and to a FortiAnalyzer unit. The cluster can also send SNMP traps and alert email
messages. These alerts can notify network administrators of the failover and may contain information that the
network administrators can use to find and fix the problem that caused the failure.
For a complete description of device failover, link failover, and session failover, how clusters support these types
of failover, and how FortiGate HA clusters compensate for a failure to maintain network traffic flow see HA and
failover protection on page 1753.
Negotiation and primary unit selection also takes place if a primary unit fails (device failover) or if a monitored
interface fails or is disconnected (link failover). During a device or link failover, the cluster renegotiates to select a
new primary unit also using the criteria shown below.
For many basic HA configurations primary unit selection simply selects the cluster unit with the highest serial
number to become the primary unit. A basic HA configuration involves setting the HA mode to active-passive or
active-active and configuring the cluster group name and password. Using this configuration, the cluster unit with
the highest serial number becomes the primary unit because primary unit selection disregards connected
monitored interfaces (because interface monitoring is not configured), the age of the cluster units would usually
always be the same, and all units would have the same device priority.
Using the serial number is a convenient way to differentiate cluster units; so basing primary unit selection on the
serial number is predictable and easy to understand and interpret. Also the cluster unit with the highest serial
number would usually be the newest FortiGate with the most recent hardware version. In many cases you may
not need active control over primary unit selection, so basic primary unit selection based on serial number is
sufficient.
In some situations you may want have control over which cluster unit becomes the primary unit. You can control
primary unit selection by setting the device priority of one cluster unit to be higher than the device priority of all
other cluster units. If you change one or more device priorities, during negotiation, the cluster unit with the
highest device priority becomes the primary unit. As shown above, the FGCP selects the primary unit based on
device priority before serial number. For more information about how to use device priorities, see Primary unit
selection and device priority on page 1593.
The only other way that you can influence primary unit selection is by configuring interface monitoring (also called
port monitoring). Using interface monitoring you can make sure that cluster units with failed or disconnected
monitored interfaces cannot become the primary unit. See Primary unit selection and monitored interfaces on
page 1590.
Finally, the age of a cluster unit is determined by a number of operating factors. Normally the age of all cluster
units is the same so normally age has no effect on primary unit selection. Age does affect primary unit selection
after a monitored interface failure. For more information about age, see Primary unit selection and age on page
1590.
Over time more messages could be added as the cluster negotiates to choose a new primary unit on different
occasions. The command output below shows the cluster negotiated four times over a few days.
get system ha status
.
.
.
Master selected using:
<2016/10/16 11:36:07> FG-5KD3914800344 is selected as the master because it
has the largest value of uptime.
<2016/10/15 11:24:11> FG-5KD3914800284 is selected as the master because it
has the largest value of override priority.
<2016/10/13 11:15:13> FG-5KD3914800344 is selected as the master because it
has the largest value of uptime.
<2016/10/11 11:13:23> FG-5KD3914800344 is selected as the master because it
has the largest value of uptime.
.
.
.
Normally, when a cluster starts up, all monitored interfaces of all cluster units are connected and functioning
normally. So monitored interfaces do not usually affect primary unit selection when the cluster first starts.
A cluster always renegotiates when a monitored interface fails or is disconnected (called link failover). A cluster
also always renegotiates when a failed or disconnected monitored interface is restored.
If a primary unit monitored interface fails or is disconnected, the cluster renegotiates and if this is the only failed
or disconnected monitored interface the cluster selects a new primary unit.
If a subordinate unit monitored interface fails or is disconnected, the cluster also renegotiates but will not
necessarily select a new primary unit. However, the subordinate unit with the failed or disconnected monitored
interface cannot become the primary unit.
Multiple monitored interfaces can fail or become disconnected on more than one cluster unit. Each time a
monitored interface is disconnected or fails, the cluster negotiates to select the cluster unit with the most
connected and operating monitored interfaces to become the primary unit. In fact, the intent of the link failover
feature is just this, to make sure that the primary unit is always the cluster unit with the most connected and
operating monitored interfaces.
If a link failure of a monitored interface occurs, the age value for the cluster unit that experiences the link failure is
reset. So, the cluster unit that experienced the link failure also has a lower age value than the other cluster units.
This reduced age does not effect primary unit selection because the number of link failures takes precedence
over the age.
If the failed monitored interface is restored the cluster unit that had the failed monitored interface cannot become
the primary unit because its age is still lower than the age of the other cluster units.
In most cases, the way that age is handled by the cluster reduces the number of times the cluster selects a new
primary unit, which results in a more stable cluster since selecting a new primary unit has the potential to disrupt
traffic.
In any cluster, some of the cluster units may take longer to start up than others. This startup time difference can
happen as a result of a number of issues and does not affect the normal operation of the cluster. To make sure
that cluster units that start slower can still become primary units, by default the FGCP ignores age differences of
up to 5 minutes (300 seconds).
In most cases, during normal operation this age difference margin or grace period helps clusters function as
expected. However, the age difference margin can result in some unexpected behavior in some cases:
l During a cluster firmware upgrade with uninterruptible-upgrade enabled (the default configuration) the
cluster should not select a new primary unit after the firmware of all cluster units has been updated. But since the
age difference of the cluster units is most likely less than 300 seconds, age is not used to affect primary unit
selection and the cluster may select a new primary unit.
l During failover testing where cluster units are failed over repeatedly the age difference between the cluster units will
most likely be less than 5 minutes. During normal operation, if a failover occurs, when the failed unit rejoins the
cluster its age will be very different from the age of the still operating cluster units so the cluster will not select a new
primary unit. However, if a unit fails and is restored in a very short time the age difference may be less than 5
minutes. As a result the cluster may select a new primary unit during some failover testing scenarios.
You can change the cluster age difference margin using the following command:
config system ha
set ha-uptime-diff-margin 60
end
This command sets the cluster age difference margin to 60 seconds (1 minute). The age difference margin range
1 to 65535 seconds. The default is 300 seconds.
You may want to reduce the margin if during failover testing you don’t want to wait the default age difference
margin of 5 minutes. You may also want to reduce the margin to allow uninterruptible upgrades to work. See
Operating clusters and virtual clusters on page 1718.
You may want to increase the age margin if cluster unit startup time differences are larger than 5 minutes.
You can use the CLI command diagnose sys ha dump-by group to display the age difference of the
units in a cluster. This command also displays information about a number of HA-related parameters for each
cluster unit.
For example, consider a cluster of two FortiGate-600D units. Entering the diagnose sys ha dump-by
group command from the primary unit CLI displays information similar to the following:
diagnose sys ha dump-by group
HA information.
group-id=0, group-name='External-HA-Cluster'
gmember_nr=2
'FGT6HD3916800525': ha_ip_idx=1, hb_packet_version=6, last_hb_jiffies=52097155,
linkfails=11, weight/o=0/0
hbdev_nr=2: port3(mac=906c..70, last_hb_jiffies=52097155, hb_lost=0), port4(mac-
c=906c..71, last_hb_jiffies=52097155, hb_lost=0),
'FGT6HD3916801195': ha_ip_idx=0, hb_packet_version=6, last_hb_jiffies=0, link-
fails=0, weight/o=0/0
vcluster_nr=1
vcluster_0: start_time=1507754642(2017-10-11 13:44:02), state/o/chg_time=2(work)/2
(work)/1507754644(2017-10-11 13:44:04)
'FGT6HD3916801955': ha_prio/o=1/1, link_failure=0(old=0), pingsvr_failure=0, flag-
g=0x00000000, uptime/reset_cnt=0/1
'FGT6HD3916800525': ha_prio/o=0/0, link_failure=0(old=0), pingsvr_failure=0, flag-
g=0x00000001, uptime/reset_cnt=189/0
The last two lines of the output display status information about each cluster unit including the uptime. The
uptime is the age difference in seconds/10 between the two units in the cluster.
In the example, the age of the subordinate unit 189 or is 18.9 seconds more than the age of the primary unit. The
age difference is less than 5 minutes (less than 300 seconds) so age has no affect on primary unit selection. The
cluster selected the unit with the highest serial number to be the primary unit.
If port1 (the monitored interface) of the primary unit is disconnected, the cluster renegotiates and the former
subordinate unit becomes the primary unit. When you log into the new primary unit CLI and enter diagnose
sys ha dump-by group you could get results similar to the following:
diagnose sys ha dump-by group
HA information.
group-id=0, group-name='External-HA-Cluster'
gmember_nr=2
'FGT6HD3916800525': ha_ip_idx=1, hb_packet_version=6, last_hb_jiffies=52097155,
linkfails=11, weight/o=0/0
hbdev_nr=2: port3(mac=906c..70, last_hb_jiffies=52097155, hb_lost=0), port4(mac-
c=906c..71, last_hb_jiffies=52097155, hb_lost=0),
'FGT6HD3916801195': ha_ip_idx=0, hb_packet_version=6, last_hb_jiffies=0, link-
fails=0, weight/o=0/0
vcluster_nr=1
vcluster_0: start_time=1507754642(2017-10-11 13:44:02), state/o/chg_time=2(work)/2
(work)/1507754644(2017-10-11 13:44:04)
'FGT6HD3916800525': ha_prio/o=1/1, link_failure=0(old=0), pingsvr_failure=0, flag-
g=0x00000000, uptime/reset_cnt=0/1
'FGT6HD3916801955': ha_prio/o=0/0, link_failure=0(old=0), pingsvr_failure=0, flag-
g=0x00000001, uptime/reset_cnt=1362/0
The command results show that the age of the new primary unit is 136.2 seconds higher than the age of the new
subordinate unit.
If port1 of the former primary unit is reconnected the cluster will once again make this the primary unit because
the age difference will still be less than 300 seconds. When you log into the primary unit CLI and enter
diagnose sys ha dump-by group you get results similar to the following:
diagnose sys ha dump-by group
HA information.
group-id=0, group-name='External-HA-Cluster'
gmember_nr=2
'FGT6HD3916800525': ha_ip_idx=1, hb_packet_version=6, last_hb_jiffies=52097155,
linkfails=11, weight/o=0/0
hbdev_nr=2: port3(mac=906c..70, last_hb_jiffies=52097155, hb_lost=0), port4(mac-
c=906c..71, last_hb_jiffies=52097155, hb_lost=0),
'FGT6HD3916801195': ha_ip_idx=0, hb_packet_version=6, last_hb_jiffies=0, link-
fails=0, weight/o=0/0
vcluster_nr=1
vcluster_0: start_time=1507754642(2017-10-11 13:44:02), state/o/chg_time=2(work)/2
(work)/1507754644(2017-10-11 13:44:04)
'FGT6HD3916800525': ha_prio/o=1/1, link_failure=0(old=0), pingsvr_failure=0, flag-
g=0x00000000, uptime/reset_cnt=0/1
In some cases, age differences among cluster units can result in the wrong cluster unit or the wrong virtual cluster
becoming the primary unit. For example, if a cluster unit set to a high priority reboots, that unit will have a lower
age than other cluster units when it rejoins the cluster. Since age takes precedence over priority, the priority of
this cluster unit will not be a factor in primary unit selection.
This problem also affects virtual cluster VDOM partitioning in a similar way. After a reboot of one of the units in a
virtual cluster configuration, traffic for all VDOMs could continue to be processed by the cluster unit that did not
reboot. This can happen because the age of both virtual clusters on the unit that did not reboot is greater that the
age of both virtual clusters on the unit that rebooted.
One way to resolve this issue is to reboot all of the cluster units at the same time so that the age of all of the
cluster units is reset. However, rebooting cluster units may interrupt or at least slow down traffic. If you would
rather not reboot all of the cluster units you can instead use the following command to reset the age of individual
cluster units.
diagnose sys ha reset-uptime
This command resets the age of a unit back to zero so that if no other unit in the cluster was reset at the same
time, it will now have the lowest age. You would use this command to reset the age of the cluster unit that is
currently the primary unit. Since it will have the lowest age, the other unit in the cluster will have the highest age
and can then become the primary unit.
A higher device priority does not affect primary unit selection for a cluster unit with the most failed monitored
interfaces or with an age that is higher than all other cluster units because failed monitored interfaces and age are
used to select a primary unit before device priority.
Increasing the device priority of a cluster unit does not always guarantee that this cluster unit will become the
primary unit. During cluster operation, an event that may affect primary unit selection may not always result in the
cluster renegotiating. For example, when a unit joins a functioning cluster, the cluster will not renegotiate. So if a
unit with a higher device priority joins a cluster the new unit becomes a subordinate unit until the cluster
renegotiates.
Enabling the override HA CLI keyword makes changes in device priority more
effective by causing the cluster to negotiate more often to make sure that the primary
unit is always the unit with the highest device priority. For more information about
override, see Primary unit selection on page 1587.
You set a different device priority for each cluster unit to control the order in which cluster units become the
primary unit when the primary unit fails.
To change the device priority from the GUI go to System > HA and change the Device priority.
Enter the following CLI command to change the device priority to 200:
config system ha
set priority 200
end
The device priority is not synchronized among cluster units. In a functioning cluster you can change the device
priority of any unit in the cluster. Whenever you change the device priority of a cluster unit, when the cluster
negotiates, the unit with the highest device priority becomes the primary unit.
The following example shows how to change the device priority of a subordinate unit to 255 so that this
subordinate unit becomes the primary unit. You can change the device priority of a subordinate unit by going to
System > HA and selecting the Edit icon for the subordinate unit. Or from the CLI you can use the execute
ha manage 0 command to connect to the highest priority subordinate unit. After you enter the following
commands the cluster renegotiates and selects a new primary unit.
execute ha manage 1
config system ha
set priority 255
end
If you have three units in a cluster you can set the device priorities as shown below. When the cluster starts up,
cluster unit A becomes the primary unit because it has the highest device priority. If unit A fails, unit B becomes
the primary unit because unit B has a higher device priority than unit C.
A 200
B 100
C 50
When configuring HA you do not have to change the device priority of any of the cluster units. If all cluster units
have the same device priority, when the cluster first starts up the FGCP negotiates to select the cluster unit with
the highest serial number to be the primary unit. Clusters also function normally if all units have the same device
priority.
You can change the device priority if you want to control the roles that individual units play in the cluster. For
example, if you want the same unit to always become the primary unit, set this unit device priority higher than the
device priority of other cluster units. Also, if you want a cluster unit to always become a subordinate unit, set this
cluster unit device priority lower than the device priority of other cluster units.
If you have a cluster of three units you can set a different priority for each unit to control which unit becomes the
primary unit when all three cluster units and functioning and which will be the primary unit when two cluster units
are functioning.
The device priority range is 0 to 255. The default device priority is 128.
If you are configuring a virtual cluster, if you have added virtual domains to both virtual clusters, you can set the
device priority that the cluster unit has in virtual cluster 1 and virtual cluster 2. If a FortiGate has different device
priorities in virtual cluster 1 and virtual cluster 2, the FortiGate may be the primary unit in one virtual cluster and
the subordinate unit in the other.
Age does take precedence over serial number, so if a cluster unit takes longer to join a cluster for some reason
(for example if one cluster unit is powered on after the others), that cluster unit will not become the primary unit
because the other units have been in the cluster longer.
Device priority and failed monitored interfaces also take precedence over serial number. A higher device priority
means a higher priority. So if you set the device priority of one unit higher or if a monitored interface fails, the
cluster will not use the FortiGate serial number to select the primary unit.
l The FGCP compares primary unit selection criteria in the following order: Failed Monitored interfaces > Age >
Device Priority > Serial number. The selection process stops at the first criteria that selects one cluster unit.
l Negotiation and primary unit selection is triggered if a cluster unit fails or if a monitored interface fails.
l If the HA age difference is more than 5 minutes (300 seconds), the cluster unit that is operating longer becomes the
primary unit.
l If HA age difference is less than 5 minutes (300 seconds), the device priority and FortiGate serial number selects
the cluster unit to become the primary unit.
l Every time a monitored interface fails the HA age of the cluster unit is reset to 0.
l Every time a cluster unit restarts the HA age of the cluster unit is reset to 0.
This command is intended for demonstration purposes and not for production use.
This command may not be visible for all FortiOS versions.
When you enter this command, the cluster immediately re-negotiates and the cluster unit on which you entered
this command becomes the primary unit. This change is temporary and will be reverted if the cluster unit restarts.
You can also use the following command from the same cluster unit to turn this option off, causing the cluster to
renegotiate and select a new primary unit.
diagnose sys ha set-as-master disable
You can also configure when to disabling the set-as-master setting. For example, to disable the set as master
setting on January 25, 2015 you can enter a date after the disable keyword:
diagnose sys ha set-as-master disable 2015 01 25
HA override
The HA override CLI keyword is disabled by default. When override is disabled a cluster may not always
renegotiate when an event occurs that affects primary unit selection. For example, when override is disabled a
cluster will not renegotiate when you change a cluster unit device priority or when you add a new cluster unit to a
cluster. This is true even if the unit added to the cluster has a higher device priority than any other unit in the
cluster. Also, when override is disabled a cluster does not negotiate if the new unit added to the cluster has a
failed or disconnected monitored interface.
For a virtual cluster configuration, override is enabled by default for both virtual
clusters when you enable virtual cluster 2. For more information, see Virtual clusters
on page 1694.
In most cases you should keep override disabled to reduce how often the cluster negotiates. Frequent
negotiations may cause frequent traffic interruptions.
However, if you want to make sure that the same cluster unit always operates as the primary unit and if you are
less concerned about frequent cluster negotiation you can set its device priority higher than other cluster units and
enable override.
To enable override, connect to each cluster unit CLI (using the execute ha manage command) and use
the config system ha CLI command to enable override.
For override to be effective, you must also set the device priority highest on the cluster unit that you want to
always be the primary unit. To increase the device priority, from the CLI use the config system ha
command and increase the value of the priority keyword to a number higher than the default priority of 128.
You can also increase the device priority from the GUI by going to System > HA. To increase the device priority
of the primary unit select edit for the primary or subordinate unit and set the Device Priority to a number higher
than 128.
The override setting and device priority value are not synchronized to all cluster
units. You must enable override and adjust device priority manually and separately for
each cluster unit.
With override enabled, the primary unit with the highest device priority will always become the primary unit.
Whenever an event occurs that may affect primary unit selection, the cluster negotiates. For example, when
override is enabled a cluster renegotiates when you change the device priority of any cluster unit or when you
add a new unit to a cluster.
Similar to when override is disabled, when override is enabled primary unit selection checks for connected
monitored interfaces first. So if interface monitoring is enabled, the cluster unit with the most disconnected
monitored interfaces cannot become the primary unit, even of the unit has the highest device priority.
If all monitored interfaces are connected (or interface monitoring is not enabled) and the device priority of all
cluster units is the same then age and serial number affect primary unit selection.
Using this configuration, when the cluster is operating normally the primary unit is always the unit with the highest
device priority. If the primary unit fails the cluster renegotiates to select another cluster unit to be the primary unit.
If the failed primary unit recovers, starts up again and rejoins the cluster, because override is enabled, the
cluster renegotiates. Because the restarted primary unit has the highest device priority it once again becomes the
primary unit.
In the same situation with override disabled, because the age of the failed primary unit is lower than the age
of the other cluster units, when the failed primary unit rejoins the cluster it does not become the primary unit.
Instead, even though the failed primary unit may have the highest device priority it becomes a subordinate unit
because its age is lower than the age of all the other cluster units.
l The FGCP compares primary unit selection criteria in the following order: Failed Monitored Interfaces > Device
Priority > Age > Serial number. The selection process stops at the first criteria that selects one cluster unit.
l Negotiation and primary unit selection is triggered whenever an event occurs which may affect primary unit
selection. For example negotiation occurs, when you change the device priority, when you add a new unit to a
cluster, if a cluster unit fails, or if a monitored interface fails.
l Device priority is considered before age. Otherwise age is handled the same when override is enabled.
The solution
When override is enabled, you can prevent configuration changes from being lost by doing the following:
l Verify that all cluster units are operating before making configuration changes (from the GUI go to System > HA to
view the cluster members list or from the FortiOS CLI enter get system ha status).
l Make sure the device priority of the primary unit is set higher than the device priorities of all other cluster units
before making configuration changes.
l Disable override either permanently or until all configuration changes have been made and synchronized to all
cluster units.
Configuration changes made to the cluster can be lost when you reconnect the disconnected unit to the cluster.
You should make sure that the device priority of the disconnected unit is lower than the device priority of the
current primary unit. Otherwise, when the disconnected unit joins the cluster, if override is enabled, the cluster
renegotiates and the disconnected unit may become the primary unit. If this happens, the configuration of the
disconnected unit is synchronized to all other cluster units and any configuration changes made between when
the unit was disconnected and reconnected are lost.
Delaying how quickly the primary unit rejoins the cluster when override is enabled
In some cases when override is enabled and the unit designated to be the primary unit rejoins the cluster it will
become the primary unit too soon and cause traffic disruption. This can happen, for example, if one of the
FortiGate interfaces gets its address using PPPoE. If the backup unit is operating as the primary unit and
processing traffic, when the primary unit comes up it may need a short time to get a new IP address from the
PPPoE server. If the primary unit takes over the cluster before it has an IP address, traffic will be disrupted until
the primary unit gets its address.
You can resolve this problem by using the following command to add a wait time. In this example the wait time is
10 seconds. The wait time range is 0 to 3600 seconds and the default wait time is 0 seconds.
config system ha
set override-wait-time 10
end
With this wait time configured, after the primary unit is up and running it has 10 seconds to synchronize sessions,
get IP address(es) from PPPoE and DHCP servers and so on. After 10 seconds the primary unit sends gratuitous
arp packets and all traffic to the cluster is sent to the new primary unit. You can adjust the wait time according to
the conditions on your network.
You can configure a cluster to act as a DHCP server or a DHCP relay agent. In both active-passive and active-
active clusters DHCP relay sessions are always handled by the primary unit. It is possible that a DHCP relay
session could be interrupted by a failover. If this occurs the DHCP relay session is not resumed after the failover
and the DHCP client may have to repeat the DHCP request.
When a cluster is operating as a DHCP server the primary unit responds to all DHCP requests and maintains the
DHCP server address lease database. The cluster also dynamically synchronizes the DHCP server address lease
database to the subordinate units. If a failover occurs, the new primary unit will have an up-to-date DHCP server
address lease database. Synchronizing the DHCP address lease database prevents the new primary unit from
responding incorrectly to new DHCP requests after a failover.
Also, it is possible that when FortiGates first negotiate to form a cluster that a unit that ends up as a subordinate
unit in the cluster will have information in its DHCP address lease database that the cluster unit operating as the
primary unit does note have. This can happen if a FortiGate responds to DHCP requests while operating as a
standalone unit and then when the cluster is formed this unit becomes a subordinate unit. Because of this
possibility, after a cluster is formed the DHCP address lease databases of all of the cluster units are merged into
one database which is then synchronized to all cluster units.
Just like any cluster, distributed clusters require heartbeat communication between cluster units. In a distributed
cluster this heartbeat communication can take place over the Internet or over other transmission methods
including satellite linkups.
Most Data Center Interconnect (DCI) or MPLS-based solutions that support layer 2 extensions between the
remote data centers should also support HA heartbeat communication between the FortiGates in the distributed
locations. Using VLANs and switches in promiscuous mode to pass all traffic between the locations can also be
helpful.
HA heartbeat IP addresses are not configurable so the heartbeat interfaces have to be able to communication
over the same subnet. See HA heartbeat interface IP addresses on page 1758.
Because of the possible distance it may take a relatively long time for heartbeat packets to be transmitted
between cluster units. This could lead to a split brain scenario. To avoid a split brain scenario you can increase
the heartbeat interval so that the cluster expects extra time between heartbeat packets. A general rule is to
configure the failover time to be longer than the max latency. You could also increase the hb-lost-
threshold to tolerate losing heartbeat packets if the network connection is less reliable.
In addition you could use different link paths for heartbeat packets to optimize HA heartbeat communication. You
could also configure QoS on the links used for HA heartbeat traffic to make sure heartbeat communication has
the highest priority.
For information about changing the heartbeat interval and other heartbeat related settings, see Modifying
heartbeat timing on page 1760.
There are no special requirements for clusters of more than two units. Here are a few recommendations though:
l The matching heartbeat interfaces of all of the cluster units must be able to communicate with each other. So each
unit's matching heartbeat interface should be connected to the same switch. If the ha1 interface is used for
heartbeat communication, then the ha1 interfaces of all of the units in the cluster must be connected together so
communication can happen between all of the cluster units over the ha1 interface.
l Redundant heartbeat interfaces are recommended. You can reduce the number of points of failure by connecting
each matching set of heartbeat interfaces to a different switch. This is not a requirement; however, and you can
connect both heartbeat interfaces of all cluster units to the same switch. However, if that switch fails the cluster will
stop forwarding traffic.
l For any cluster, a dedicated switch for each heartbeat interface is recommended because of the large volume of
heartbeat traffic and to keep heartbeat traffic off of other networks, but it is not required.
l Full mesh HA can scale to three or four FortiGates. Full mesh HA is not required if you have more than 2 units in a
cluster.
l Virtual clustering can only be done with two FortiGates.
The network and heartbeat connections when combined into one diagram appear like the following:
In most cases the default hard disk configuration of the cluster units will be compatible. However, a hard disk
formatted by an older FortiGate firmware version may not be compatible with a hard disk formatted by a more
recent firmware version. Problems may also arise if you have used the execute scsi-dev command to add
or change hard disk protections.
If a cluster unit CLI displays hard disk compatibility messages, you may need to use the execute scsi-dev
delete command to delete partitions. You can also use the execute formatlogdisk command to
reformat disks. In some cases after deleting all partitions and reformatting the disks, you may still see disk
incompatibility messages. If this happens, contact Fortinet Customer Support for assistance.
l Use Active-Active HA to distribute TCP and UTM sessions among multiple cluster units. An active-active cluster
may have higher throughput than a standalone FortiGate unit or than an active-passive cluster.
l Use a different host name on each FortiGate unit when configuring an HA cluster. Fewer steps are required to add
host names to each cluster unit before configuring HA and forming a cluster.
l Consider adding an Alias to the interfaces used for the HA heartbeat so that you always get a reminder about what
these interfaces are being used for.
l Enabling load-balance-all can increase device and network load since more traffic is load-balanced. This
may be appropriate for use in a deployment using the firewall capabilities of the FortiGate unit and IPS but no other
content inspection.
l An advantage of using session pickup is that non-content inspection sessions will be picked up by the new primary
unit after a failover. The disadvantage is that the cluster generates more heartbeat traffic to support session pickup
as a larger portion of the session table must be synchronized. Session pickup should be configured only when
required and is not recommended for use with SOHO FortiGate models. Session pickup should only be used if the
primary heartbeat link is dedicated (otherwise the additional HA heartbeat traffic could affect network performance).
l If session pickup is not selected, after a device or link failover all sessions are briefly interrupted and must be re-
established at the application level after the cluster renegotiates. For example, after a failover, users browsing the
web can just refresh their browsers to resume browsing. Users downloading large files may have to restart their
download after a failover. Other protocols may experience data loss and some protocols may require sessions to be
manually restarted. For example, a user downloading files with FTP may have to either restart downloads or restart
their FTP client.
l If you need to enable session pickup, consider enabling session-pickup-delay to improve performance by
reducing the number of sessions that are synchronized. See Improving session synchronization performance on
page 1.
l Consider using the session-sync-dev option to move session synchronization traffic off the HA heartbeat link
to one or more dedicated session synchronization interfaces. See Improving session synchronization performance
on page 1.
l To avoid unpredictable results, when you connect a switch to multiple redundant or aggregate interfaces in an
active-passive cluster you should configure separate redundant or aggregate interfaces on the switch; one for each
cluster unit.
l Use SNMP, syslog, or email alerts to monitor a cluster for failover messages. Alert messages about cluster failovers
may help find and diagnose network problems quickly and efficiently.
Heartbeat interfaces
Fortinet suggests the following practices related to heartbeat interfaces:
Do not use a FortiGate switch port for the HA heartbeat traffic. This configuration is
not supported.
l Configure at least two heartbeat interfaces and set these interfaces to have different priorities.
l For clusters of two FortiGate units, as much as possible, heartbeat interfaces should be directly connected using
patch cables (without involving other network equipment such as switches). If switches have to be used they should
not be used for other network traffic that could flood the switches and cause heartbeat delays.
l If you cannot use a dedicated switch, the use of a dedicated VLAN can help limit the broadcast domain to
protect the heartbeat traffic and the bandwidth it creates.
l For clusters of three or four FortiGate units, use switches to connect heartbeat interfaces. The corresponding
heartbeat interface of each FortiGate unit in the cluster must be connected to the same switch. For improved
redundancy use a different switch for each heartbeat interface. In that way if the switch connecting one of the
heartbeat interfaces fails or is unplugged, heartbeat traffic can continue on the other heartbeat interfaces and
switch.
l Isolate heartbeat interfaces from user networks. Heartbeat packets contain sensitive cluster configuration
information and can consume a considerable amount of network bandwidth. If the cluster consists of two FortiGate
units, connect the heartbeat interfaces directly using a crossover cable or a regular Ethernet cable. For clusters with
more than two units, connect heartbeat interfaces to a separate switch that is not connected to any network.
l If heartbeat traffic cannot be isolated from user networks, enable heartbeat message encryption and authentication
to protect cluster information. See Enabling or disabling HA heartbeat encryption and authentication on page 1761.
l Configure and connect redundant heartbeat interfaces so that if one heartbeat interface fails or becomes
disconnected, HA heartbeat traffic can continue to be transmitted using the backup heartbeat interface. If heartbeat
communication fails, all cluster members will think they are the primary unit resulting in multiple devices on the
network with the same IP addresses and MAC addresses (condition referred to as Split Brain) and communication
will be disrupted until heartbeat communication can be reestablished.
l Do not monitor dedicated heartbeat interfaces; monitor those interfaces whose failure should trigger a device
failover.
l Where possible at least one heartbeat interface should not be connected to an NP4 or NP6 processor to avoid NP4
or NP6-related problems from affecting heartbeat traffic.
l Where possible, the heartbeat interfaces should not be connected to an NP4 or NP6 processor that is also
processing network traffic.
l Where possible, each heartbeat interface should be connected to a different NP4 or NP6 processor.
l Any FortiGate interface can be used as a heartbeat interface including 10/100/1000Base-T, SFP, QSFP fiber and
copper, and so on. If you set up two or more interfaces as heartbeat interfaces each interface can be a different
type and speed.
l Wait until a cluster is up and running and all interfaces are connected before enabling interface monitoring. A
monitored interface can easily become disconnected during initial setup and cause failovers to occur before the
cluster is fully configured and tested.
l Monitor interfaces connected to networks that process high priority traffic so that the cluster maintains connections
to these networks if a failure occurs.
l Avoid configuring interface monitoring for all interfaces.
l Supplement interface monitoring with remote link failover. Configure remote link failover to maintain packet flow if
a link not directly connected to a cluster unit (for example, between a switch connected to a cluster interface and the
network) fails. See Remote link failover on page 1787.
FGCP HA terminology
The following HA-specific terms are used in this document.
Cluster
A group of FortiGates that act as a single virtual FortiGate to maintain connectivity even if one of the FortiGates
in the cluster fails.
Cluster unit
Device failover
Device failover is a basic requirement of any highly available system. Device failover means that if a device fails,
a replacement device automatically takes the place of the failed device and continues operating in the same
manner as the failed device.
Failover
A FortiGate taking over processing network traffic in place of another unit in the cluster that suffered a device
failure or a link failure.
Failure
A hardware or software problem that causes a FortiGate or a monitored interface to stop processing network
traffic.
FGCP
The FortiGate clustering protocol (FGCP) that specifies how the FortiGates in a cluster communicate to keep the
cluster operating.
Full mesh HA
Full mesh HA is a method of removing single points of failure on a network that includes an HA cluster. FortiGate
models that support redundant interfaces can be used to create a cluster configuration called full mesh HA. Full
mesh HA includes redundant connections between all network components. If any single component or any
single connection fails, traffic switches to the redundant component or connection.
When operating in HA mode, all of the interfaces of the primary unit acquire the same HA virtual MAC address.
All communications with the cluster must use this MAC address. The HA virtual MAC address is set according to
the group ID.
Heartbeat
Also called FGCP heartbeat or HA heartbeat. The heartbeat constantly communicates HA status and
synchronization information to make sure that the cluster is operating properly.
Heartbeat device
An Ethernet network interface in a cluster that is used by the FGCP for heartbeat communications among cluster
units.
Heartbeat failover
If an interface functioning as the heartbeat device fails, the heartbeat is transferred to another interface also
configured as an HA heartbeat device.
Hello state
In the hello state a cluster unit has powered on in HA mode, is using HA heartbeat interfaces to send hello
packets, and is listening on its heartbeat interfaces for hello packets from other FortiGates. Hello state may
appear in HA log messages.
High availability
The ability that a cluster has to maintain a connection when there is a device or link failure by having another unit
in the cluster take over the connection, without any loss of connectivity. To achieve high availability, all
FortiGates in the cluster share session and configuration information.
Interface monitoring
You can configure interface monitoring (also called port monitoring) to monitor FortiGate interfaces to verify that
the monitored interfaces are functioning properly and connected to their networks. If a monitored interface fails or
is disconnected from its network the interface leaves the cluster and a link failover occurs. For more information
about interface monitoring, see Link failover (port monitoring or interface monitoring) on page 1780.
Link failover
Link failover means that if a monitored interface fails, the cluster reorganizes to re-establish a link to the network
that the monitored interface was connected to and to continue operating with minimal or no disruption of network
traffic.
Load balancing
Also known as active-active HA. All units in the cluster process network traffic. The FGCP employs a technique
similar to unicast load balancing. The primary unit interfaces are assigned virtual MAC addresses which are
associated on the network with the cluster IP addresses. The primary unit is the only cluster unit to receive
packets sent to the cluster. The primary unit can process packets itself, or propagate them to subordinate units
according to a load balancing schedule. Communication between the cluster units uses the actual cluster unit
MAC addresses.
Monitored interface
An interface that is monitored by a cluster to make sure that it is connected and operating correctly. The cluster
monitors the connectivity of this interface for all cluster units. If a monitored interface fails or becomes
disconnected from its network, the cluster will compensate.
Primary unit
Also called the primary cluster unit, this cluster unit controls how the cluster operates. The primary unit sends
hello packets to all cluster units to synchronize session information, synchronize the cluster configuration, and to
synchronize the cluster routing table. The hello packets also confirm for the subordinate units that the primary
unit is still functioning.
The primary unit also tracks the status of all subordinate units. When you start a management connection to a
cluster, you connect to the primary unit.
In an active-passive cluster, the primary unit processes all network traffic. If a subordinate unit fails, the primary
unit updates the cluster configuration database.
In an active-active cluster, the primary unit receives all network traffic and re-directs this traffic to subordinate
units. If a subordinate unit fails, the primary unit updates the cluster status and redistributes load balanced traffic
to other subordinate units in the cluster.
The FortiGate firmware uses the term master to refer to the primary unit.
Session failover
Session failover means that a cluster maintains active network sessions after a device or link failover. FortiGate
HA does not support session failover by default. To enable session failover you must change the HA configuration
to select Enable Session Pick-up.
Session pickup
If you enable session pickup for a cluster, if the primary unit fails or a subordinate unit in an active-active cluster
fails, all communication sessions with the cluster are maintained or picked up by the cluster after the cluster
negotiates to select a new primary unit.
If session pickup is not a requirement of your HA installation, you can disable this option to save processing
resources and reduce the network bandwidth used by HA session synchronization. In many cases interrupted
sessions will resume on their own after a failover even if session pickup is not enabled. You can also enable
session pickup delay to reduce the number of sessions that are synchronized by session pickup.
Standby state
A subordinate unit in an active-passive HA cluster operates in the standby state. In a virtual cluster, a subordinate
virtual domain also operates in the standby state. The standby state is actually a hot-standby state because the
subordinate unit or subordinate virtual domain is not processing traffic but is monitoring the primary unit session
table to take the place of the primary unit or primary virtual domain if a failure occurs.
When standby state appears in HA log messages this usually means that a cluster unit has become a subordinate
unit in an active-passive cluster or that a virtual domain has become a subordinate virtual domain.
State synchronization
Subordinate unit
Also called the subordinate cluster unit, each cluster contains one or more cluster units that are not functioning as
the primary unit. Subordinate units are always waiting to become the primary unit. If a subordinate unit does not
receive hello packets from the primary unit, it attempts to become the primary unit.
In an active-active cluster, subordinate units keep track of cluster connections, keep their configurations and
routing tables synchronized with the primary unit, and process network traffic assigned to them by the primary
unit. In an active-passive cluster, subordinate units do not process network traffic. However, active-passive
subordinate units do keep track of cluster connections and do keep their configurations and routing tables
synchronized with the primary unit.
The FortiGate firmware uses the terms slave and subsidiary unit to refer to a subordinate unit.
Virtual clustering
Virtual clustering is an extension of the FGCP for FortiGates operating with multiple VDOMS enabled. Virtual
clustering operates in active-passive mode to provide failover protection between two instances of a VDOM
operating on two different cluster units. You can also operate virtual clustering in active-active mode to use HA
load balancing to load balance sessions between cluster units. Alternatively, by distributing VDOM processing
between the two cluster units you can also configure virtual clustering to provide load balancing by distributing
sessions for different VDOMs to each cluster unit.
Work state
The primary unit in an active-passive HA cluster, a primary virtual domain in a virtual cluster, and all cluster units
in an active-active cluster operate in the work state. A cluster unit operating in the work state processes traffic,
monitors the status of the other cluster units, and tracks the session table of the cluster.
When work state appears in HA log messages this usually means that a cluster unit has become the primary unit
or that a virtual domain has become a primary virtual domain.
HA GUI options
Go to System > HA to change HA options. You can set the following options to put a FortiGate into HA mode.
You can also change any of these options while the cluster is operating.
You can configure HA options for a FortiGate with virtual domains (VDOMs) enabled by logging into the GUI as
the global admin administrator and going to System > HA.
If already operating in HA mode, go to System > HA to display the cluster members list. You can then edit the
primary unit to change HA settings.
Go to System > HA > View HA Statistics to view statistics about cluster operation.
Most virtual cluster HA options are the same as normal HA options. However, virtual
clusters include VDOM partitioning options. Other differences between configuration
options for regular HA and for virtual clustering HA are described below and see Virtual
clusters on page 1694.
FortiGate HA is compatible with DHCP and PPPoE but care should be taken when
configuring a cluster that includes a FortiGate interface configured to get its IP
address with DHCP or PPPoE. Fortinet recommends that you turn on DHCP or PPPoE
addressing for an interface after the cluster has been configured. If an interface is
configured for DHCP or PPPoE, turning on high availability may result in the interface
receiving an incorrect address or not being able to connect to the DHCP or PPPoE
server correctly.
Mode
Select an HA mode for the cluster or return the FortiGate in the cluster to standalone mode. When configuring a
cluster, you must set all members of the HA cluster to the same HA mode. You can select Standalone (to disable
HA), Active-Passive, or Active-Active.
Device Priority
Optionally set the device priority of the cluster FortiGate. Each FortiGate in a cluster can have a different device
priority. During HA negotiation, the FortiGate with the highest device priority usually becomes the primary unit.
In a virtual cluster configuration, each cluster FortiGate can have two different device priorities, one for each
virtual cluster. During HA negotiation, the FortiGate with the highest device priority in a virtual cluster becomes
the primary FortiGate for that virtual cluster.
Changes to the device priority are not synchronized. You can accept the default device priority when first
configuring a cluster.
You can also enable this feature using the following command:
config system ha
set standalone-mgmt-vdom enable
end
Group name
Enter a name to identify the cluster. The maximum length of the group name is 32 characters. The group name
must be the same for all cluster units before the cluster units can form a cluster. After a cluster is operating, you
can change the group name. The group name change is synchronized to all cluster units.
Password
Enter a password to identify the cluster. The password must be the same for all cluster FortiGates before the
cluster FortiGates can form a cluster.
The password is synchronized to all cluster units in an operating cluster. If you change the password of one
cluster unit the change is synchronized to all cluster units.
Session pickup
Select to enable session pickup so that if the primary unit fails, sessions are picked up by the cluster unit that
becomes the new primary unit.
You must enable session pickup for session failover protection. If you do not require session failover protection,
leaving session pickup disabled may reduce HA CPU usage and reduce HA heartbeat network bandwidth usage.
See Session failover (session pick-up) on page 1.
Monitor interfaces
Select to enable or disable monitoring FortiGate interfaces to verify the monitored interfaces are functioning
properly and are connected to their networks. See Link failover (port monitoring or interface monitoring) on page
1780.
If a monitored interface fails or is disconnected from its network, the interface leaves the cluster and a link failover
occurs. The link failover causes the cluster to reroute the traffic being processed by that interface to the same
interface of another cluster FortiGate that still has a connection to the network. This other cluster FortiGate
becomes the new primary unit.
Interface monitoring (also called port monitoring) is disabled by default. Leave interface monitoring disabled until
the cluster is operating and then only enable interface monitoring for connected interfaces.
Heartbeat interfaces
Enable or disable HA heartbeat communication for each interface in the cluster and set the heartbeat interface
priority. The heartbeat interface with the highest priority processes all heartbeat traffic. If two or more heartbeat
interfaces have the same priority, the heartbeat interface with the lowest hash map order value processes all
heartbeat traffic. The GUI lists interfaces in alphanumeric order:
l port1
l port2 through 9
l port10
Hash map order sorts interfaces in the following order:
l port1
l port10
l port2 through port9
The default heartbeat interface configuration is different for each FortiGate model. This default configuration
usually sets the priority of two heartbeat interfaces to 50. You can accept the default heartbeat interface
configuration or change it as required.
The heartbeat interface priority range is 0 to 512. The default priority when you select a new heartbeat interface is
0.
You must select at least one heartbeat interface. If heartbeat communication is interrupted, the cluster stops
processing traffic. See HA heartbeat and communication between cluster units on page 1755.
You can select up to 8 heartbeat interfaces. This limit only applies to units with more than 8 physical interfaces.
VDOM partitioning
If you are configuring virtual clustering, you can set the virtual domains to be in virtual cluster 1 and the virtual
domains to be in virtual cluster 2. The root virtual domain must always be in virtual cluster 1.
This chapter contains general procedures and descriptions as well as detailed configuration examples that
describe how to configure FortiGate HA clusters.
For simplicity, many of these procedures assume that you are starting with new FortiGates set to the factory
default configuration. However, starting from the default configuration is not a requirement for a successful HA
deployment. FortiGate HA is flexible enough to support a successful configuration from many different starting
points.
The examples in this chapter include example values only. In most cases you will substitute your own values. The
examples in this chapter also do not contain detailed descriptions of configuration parameters.
The FortiGate already on the network will be configured to become the primary unit by:
Before you start, the FortiGates should be running the same FortiOS firmware version and interfaces should not
be configured to get their addresses from DHCP or PPPoE. Also, you cannot use a switch port as an HA heartbeat
interface. If necessary, convert the switch port to individual interfaces.
You can also install any third-party certificates on the primary FortiGate before forming the cluster. Once the
cluster is formed, third-party certificates are synchronized to the backup FortiGate.
config system ha
set mode a-p
Enter this CLI command to set the
set group-id 25
HA mode to active-passive, set a
set group-name External-HA-Cluster
group id, group name and password,
set password
increase the device priority to a
set priority 250
higher value (for example, 250) and
set override enable
enable override.
set hbdev port3 200 port4 100
end
Enabling override and increasing the device priority means this unit should always become the primary unit.
This command also selects port3 and port4 to be the heartbeat interfaces and sets their priorities to 200 and
100 respectively. Its a best practice to set different priorities for the heartbeat interfaces (but not a
requirement).
If you have more than one cluster on the same network, each cluster should have a different group id.
Changing the group id changes the cluster interface virtual MAC addresses. If your group id setting causes
MAC address conflict you can select a different group id.
config system ha
Override and the group id can only set group-id 25
be configured from the CLI. set override enable
end
The FortiGate unit negotiates to establish an HA cluster. You may temporarily lose connectivity with the
FortiGate unit as FGCP negotiation takes place and the MAC addresses of the FortiGate interfaces are
changed to HA virtual MAC addresses. These virtual MAC addresses are used for failover. The actual virtual
MAC address assigned to each FortiGate interface depends on the HA group ID. Since this example does
not involve changing the HA group ID, the FortiGate unit's interfaces will have the following MAC addresses:
00:09:0f:09:00:00, 00:09:0f:09:00:01, 00:09:0f:09:00:02 and so on.
If these steps don't start HA mode, make sure that none of the FortiGate's interfaces use DHCP or PPPoE
addressing.
To reconnect sooner, you can update the ARP table of your management PC by deleting the ARP table
entry for the FortiGate unit (or just deleting all ARP table entries). You can usually delete the ARP table from
a command prompt using a command similar to arp -d.To confirm these MAC address changes, you can
use the get hardware nic (or diagnose hardware deviceinfo nic) command to view the
virtual MAC address of any FortiGate unit interface. Depending on the FortiGate model, the output from
this command could include lines similar to the following:
Current_HWaddr: 00:09:0f:09:00:00
Permanent_HWaddr 02:09:0f:78:18:c9
Enter this command to reset the new FortiGate that will become the backup FortiGate to factory default
settings.
execute factoryreset
You can skip this step if the new FortiGate is fresh from the factory. But if its configuration has been
changed at all it is recommended to set it back to factory defaults to reduce the chance of synchronization
problems.
If required, change the firmware running on the new FortiGate to be the same version as is running on the
primary unit.
Connect the HA cluster as shown in the network diagram. Making these connections will disrupt network
traffic as you disconnect and re-connect cables.
If possible, make direct Ethernet connections between the heartbeat interfaces of the two FortiGate units.
This example uses two port3 and port4, but you can use any interfaces for HA heartbeat interfaces. A best
practice is to use interfaces that do not process traffic, but this is not a requirement.
Switches must be used between the cluster and the Internet and between the cluster and the internal
networks as shown in the network diagram. You can use any good quality switches to make these
connections. You can also use one switch for all of these connections as long as you configure the switch to
separate traffic from the different networks.
When connected, the primary and backup FortiGates find each other and negotiate to form an HA cluster.
The Primary unit synchronizes its configuration with the backup FortiGate. Forming the cluster happens
automatically with minimal or no disruption to network traffic.
Check the cluster synchronization status to make sure the primary and backup units have the same
configuration. Log into the primary unit CLI and enter this command:
The command output lists all cluster members' configuration checksums. If both cluster units have identical
checksums you can be sure that their configurations are synchronized. If the checksums are different, wait a
short while and enter the command again. Repeat until the checksums are identical. It may take a while for
some parts of the configuration to be synchronized. If the checksums never become identical visit the
Fortinet Support website to find help with troubleshooting the problem.
When the checksums are identical, disable override on the primary unit (recommended).
config system ha
set override disable
end
The HA cluster dynamically responds to network conditions. If you keep override enabled, the same
FortiGate will always be the primary FortiGate. Because of this, however; the cluster may negotiate more
often potentially increasing traffic disruptions.
If you disable override it is more likely that the new FortiGate unit could become the primary unit. Disabling
override is recommended unless its important that the same FortiGate remains the primary unit.
From the HA Status widget, select Configure Settings in System > HA (or go to System > HA) to
view the cluster status.
From the HA Status widget you can also select Show HA Historical Events to see the most recent HA
system status messages.
5. Results
Normally, traffic should now be flowing through the primary FortiGate. If the primary FortiGate is
unavailable traffic fails over to the backup FortiGate. Failover also causes the primary and backup
FortiGates to reverse roles, even when both FortiGates are available again.
Port3 and port4 are used as the heartbeat interfaces. Because the cluster consists of two FortiGates, you can
make the connections between the heartbeat interfaces using crossover cables. You could also use switches and
regular Ethernet cables.
Give each cluster unit a unique host name to make the individual units easier to
identify when they are part of a functioning cluster. The default host name is the
FortiGate serial number. You may want to change this host name to something more
meaningful for your network.
1. Register and apply licenses to the FortiGate before configuring it for HA operation. This includes licensing for
FortiCare Support, IPS, AntiVirus, Web Filtering, Mobile Malware, FortiClient, FortiCloud, and
additional virtual domains (VDOMs). All FortiGates in the cluster must have the same level of licensing for
FortiGuard, FortiCloud, FortiClient, and VDOMs. FortiToken licenses can be added at any time because they are
synchronized to all cluster members.
If the FortiGates in the cluster will be running FortiOS Carrier, apply the FortiOS Carrier license before configuring
the cluster (and before applying other licenses). Applying the FortiOS Carrier license sets the configuration to
factory defaults, requiring you to repeat steps performed before applying the license.
You can also install any third-party certificates on the primary FortiGate before forming the cluster. Once the
cluster is formed, third-party certificates are synchronized to the backup FortiGate.
2. Click on the System Information dashboard widget and select Configure settings in System > Settings.
3. Enter a new Host Name for this FortiGate.
4. Select OK.
5. Go to System > HA and change the following settings:
Mode Active-Passive
Password HA_pass_1
6. Select OK.
The FortiGate negotiates to establish an HA cluster. When you select OK you may temporarily lose connectivity
with the FortiGate as the HA cluster negotiates and the FGCP changes the MAC address of the FortiGate
interfaces. The MAC addresses of the FortiGate interfaces change to the following virtual MAC addresses:
l port1 interface virtual MAC: 00-09-0f-09-00-00
l port2 interface virtual MAC: 00-09-0f-09-00-01
l port3 interface virtual MAC: 00-09-0f-09-00-02
l port4 interface virtual MAC: 00-09-0f-09-00-03
To reconnect sooner, you can update the ARP table of your management PC by deleting the ARP
table entry for the FortiGate (or just deleting all arp table entries). You may be able to delete the arp
table of your management PC from a command prompt using a command similar to arp -d.
To confirm these MAC address changes, you can use the get hardware nic (or diagnose
hardware deviceinfo nic) CLI command to view the virtual MAC address of any FortiGate
interface. For example, use the following command to view the port1 interface virtual MAC address
(MAC) and the port1 permanent MAC address (Permanent_HWaddr):
get hardware nic port1
.
.
.
Current_HWaddr: 00:09:0f:09:00:00
Permanent_HWaddr 02:09:0f:78:18:c9
.
.
.
Note the details and format of the output of the get hardware nic command are
specific to the interface hardware. Different FortiGate models and even different
interfaces in the same FortiGate may have different output.
1. Register and apply licenses to the FortiGate before configuring it for HA operation.
2. Click on the System Information dashboard widget and select Configure settings in System > Settings.
3. Enter a new Host Name for this FortiGate.
4. Select OK.
5. Go to System > HA and change the following settings:
Mode Active-Passive
Password HA_pass_1
6. Select OK.
The FortiGate negotiates to establish an HA cluster. When you select OK you may temporarily lose
connectivity with the FortiGate as the HA cluster negotiates and because the FGCP changes the MAC
address of the FortiGate interfaces.
To reconnect sooner, you can update the ARP table of your management PC by deleting the ARP
table entry for the FortiGate (or just deleting all arp table entries). You may be able to delete the arp
table of your management PC from a command prompt using a command similar to arp -d.
1. Connect the port1 interfaces of FGT_ha_1 and FGT_ha_2 to a switch connected to the Internet.
2. Connect the port2 interfaces of FGT_ha_1 and FGT_ha_2 to a switch connected to the internal network.
3. Connect the port3 interfaces of FGT_ha_1 and FGT_ha_2 together. You can use a crossover Ethernet cable or
regular Ethernet cables and a switch.
4. Connect the port4 interfaces of the cluster units together. You can use a crossover Ethernet cable or regular
Ethernet cables and a switch.
5. Power on the cluster units.
The units start and negotiate to choose the primary unit and the subordinate unit. This negotiation
occurs with no user intervention and normally takes less than a minute.
When negotiation is complete the cluster is ready to be configured for your network.
Use the following steps to view the HA Status dashboard widget and cluster members list to confirm that the
cluster units are operating as a cluster.
Once the cluster is operating, because configuration changes are synchronized to all
cluster units, configuring the cluster is the same as configuring an individual FortiGate.
You could have performed the following configuration steps separately on each
FortiGate before you connected them to form a cluster.
1. Start Internet Explorer and browse to the address https://192.168.1.99 (remember to include the “s” in https://).
The FortiGate Login is displayed.
2. Type admin in the Name field and select Login.
The FortiGate dashboard is displayed.
The HA Status dashboard widget displays how long the cluster has been operating (Uptime) and the
time since the last failover occurred (State Changed). You can hover over the State Changed time to
see the event that caused the state change. You can also click on the HA Status dashboard widget to
configure HA settings or to get a listing of the most recent HA events recorded by the cluster.
If the cluster members list and the dashboard do not display information for both cluster units, the FortiGates are
not functioning as a cluster. See Troubleshooting HA clusters on page 1689 to troubleshoot the cluster.
Use the following steps to configure the cluster to connect to its network. The following are example configuration
steps only and do not represent all of the steps required to configure the cluster for a given network.
After changing the IP address of the port1 interface you may have to change the IP
address of your management computer and then reconnect to the port1 interface
using the 172.20.120.141 IP address.
Gateway 172.20.120.2
Device port1
Distance 10
Data bits 8
Parity None
Stop bits 1
To confirm these MAC address changes, you can use the get hardware nic (or diagnose
hardware deviceinfo nic) CLI command to view the virtual MAC address of any FortiGate
interface. For example, use the following command to view the port1 interface virtual MAC address
(MAC) and the port1 permanent MAC address (Permanent_HWaddr):
get hardware nic port1
.
.
.
Current_HAaddr 00:09:0f:09:00:00
Permanent_HWaddr 02:09:0f:78:18:c9
.
.
.
Data bits 8
Parity None
Stop bits 1
To reconnect sooner, you can update the ARP table of your management PC by deleting the ARP
table entry for the FortiGate (or just deleting all arp table entries). You may be able to delete the arp
table of your management PC from a command prompt using a command similar to arp -d.
uninterruptible-upgrade: enable
ha-mgmt-status : disable
ha-eth-type : 8890
hc-eth-type : 8891
l2ep-eth-type : 8893
ha-uptime-diff-margin: 300
vcluster2 : disable
vcluster-id : 1
override : disable
priority : 128
slave-switch-standby: disable
minimum-worker-threshold: 1
monitor :
pingserver-monitor-interface:
pingserver-failover-threshold: 0
pingserver-slave-force-reset: enable
pingserver-flip-timeout: 60
vdom : "root"
1. Connect the port1 interfaces of FGT_ha_1 and FGT_ha_2 to a switch connected to the Internet.
2. Connect the port2 interfaces of FGT_ha_1 and FGT_ha_2 to a switch connected to the internal network.
3. Connect the port3 interfaces of FGT_ha_1 and FGT_ha_2 together. You can use a crossover Ethernet cable or
regular Ethernet cables and a switch.
4. Connect the port4 interfaces of the cluster units together. You can use a crossover Ethernet cable or regular
Ethernet cables and a switch.
5. Power on the cluster units.
The units start and negotiate to choose the primary unit and the subordinate unit. This negotiation
occurs with no user intervention and normally takes less than a minute.
When negotiation is complete the cluster is ready to be configured for your network.
Use the following steps to view cluster status from the CLI.
You can use this command to confirm that the cluster is healthy and operating normally, some
information about the cluster configuration, and information about how long the cluster has been
operating. Information not shown in this example includes how the primary unit was selected,
configuration synchronization status, usage stats for each cluster unit, heartbeat status, and the
relative priorities of the cluster units.
3. Check the cluster synchronization status to make sure the primary and backup units have the same configuration. Log
into the primary unit CLI and enter this command:
The CLI lists all members' checksums. If both cluster units have identical checksums you can be sure that their
configurations are synchronized. If the checksums are different wait a short while and enter the command again.
Repeat until the checksums are identical. It may take a while for some parts of the configuration to be synchronized. If
the checksums never become identical visit the Fortinet Support website to find help troubleshooting the problem.
If the cluster members list and the dashboard do not display information for both cluster units the FortiGates are
not functioning as a cluster. See Troubleshooting HA clusters on page 1689 to troubleshoot the cluster.
Use the following steps to add some basic settings to the cluster so that it can connect to the network.
You can use this procedure to add as many units as required to the cluster.
1. Install the same firmware build on the new cluster unit as is running on the cluster.
2. Register and apply licenses to the primary FortiGate before configuring it for HA operation. This includes licensing
for FortiCare Support, IPS, AntiVirus, Web Filtering, Mobile Malware, FortiClient, FortiCloud, and
additional virtual domains (VDOMs). All FortiGates in the cluster must have the same level of licensing for
FortiGuard, FortiCloud, FortiClient, and VDOMs. FortiToken licenses can be added at any time because they are
synchronized to all cluster members.
If the FortiGates in the cluster will be running FortiOS Carrier, apply the FortiOS Carrier license before configuring
the cluster (and before applying other licenses). Applying the FortiOS Carrier license sets the configuration to
factory defaults, requiring you to repeat steps performed before applying the license.
You can also install any third-party certificates on the primary FortiGate before forming the cluster. Once the
cluster is formed, third-party certificates are synchronized to the backup FortiGate.
3. Configure the new cluster unit for HA operation with the same HA configuration as the other units in the cluster.
4. If the cluster is running in transparent mode, change the operating mode of the new cluster unit to transparent
mode.
5. Power off the new cluster unit.
6. Connect the new cluster unit to the cluster.
7. For example, see How to set up FGCP clustering (recommended steps) on page 1615.
8. Power on the new cluster unit.
When the unit starts it negotiates to join the cluster. After it joins the cluster, the cluster synchronizes
the new unit configuration with the configuration of the primary unit.
You can add a new unit to a functioning cluster at any time. For best results the new cluster unit should:
Port3 and port4 are used as the heartbeat interfaces. Because the cluster consists of two FortiGates, you can
make the connections between the heartbeat interfaces using crossover cables. You could also use switches and
regular Ethernet cables.
In this example, the configuration steps are identical to the NAT/Route mode configuration steps until the cluster
is operating. When the cluster is operating, you can switch to transparent mode and add basic configuration
settings to cluster.
Waiting until you have established the cluster to switch to transparent mode means
fewer configuration steps because you can switch the mode of the cluster in one step.
1. Register and apply licenses to the FortiGate before configuring it for HA operation. This includes licensing for
FortiCare Support, IPS, AntiVirus, Web Filtering, Mobile Malware, FortiClient, FortiCloud, and
additional virtual domains (VDOMs). All FortiGates in the cluster must have the same level of licensing for
FortiGuard, FortiCloud, FortiClient, and VDOMs. FortiToken licenses can be added at any time because they are
synchronized to all cluster members.
If the FortiGates in the cluster will be running FortiOS Carrier, apply the FortiOS Carrier license before configuring
the cluster (and before applying other licenses). Applying the FortiOS Carrier license sets the configuration to
factory defaults, requiring you to repeat steps performed before applying the license.
You can also install any third-party certificates on the primary FortiGate before forming the cluster. Once the
cluster is formed, third-party certificates are synchronized to the backup FortiGate.
2. Click on the System Information dashboard widget and select Configure settings in System > Settings.
3. Enter a new Host Name for this FortiGate.
4. Select OK.
5. Go to System > HA and change the following settings:
Mode Active-Active
Password HA_pass_2
6. Select OK.
The FortiGate negotiates to establish an HA cluster. When you select OK you may temporarily lose
connectivity with the FortiGate as the HA cluster negotiates and the FGCP changes the MAC address
of the FortiGate interfaces. The MAC addresses of the FortiGate interfaces change to the following
virtual MAC addresses:
To reconnect sooner, you can update the ARP table of your management PC by deleting the ARP
table entry for the FortiGate (or just deleting all arp table entries). You may be able to delete the arp
table of your management PC from a command prompt using a command similar to arp -d.
To confirm these MAC address changes, you can use the get hardware nic (or diagnose
hardware deviceinfo nic) CLI command to view the virtual MAC address of any FortiGate
interface. For example, use the following command to view the port1 interface virtual MAC address
(MAC) and the port1 permanent MAC address (Permanent_HWaddr):
get hardware nic port1
.
.
.
Current_HAaddr 00:09:0f:09:00:00
Permanent_HWaddr 02:09:0f:78:18:c9
.
.
.
1. Register and apply licenses to the FortiGate before configuring it for HA operation.
2. Click on the System Information dashboard widget and select Configure settings in System > Settings.
3. Enter a new Host Name for this FortiGate.
4. Select OK.
5. Go to System > HA and change the following settings:
Mode Active-Active
Password HA_pass_2
6. Select OK.
The FortiGate negotiates to establish an HA cluster. When you select OK you may temporarily lose
connectivity with the FortiGate as the HA cluster negotiates and because the FGCP changes the MAC
address of the FortiGate interfaces.
To reconnect sooner, you can update the ARP table of your management PC by deleting the ARP
table entry for the FortiGate (or just deleting all arp table entries). You may be able to delete the arp
table of your management PC from a command prompt using a command similar to arp -d.
1. Connect the port1 interfaces of FGT_ha_1 and FGT_ha_2 to a switch connected to the Internet.
2. Connect the port2 interfaces of FGT_ha_1 and FGT_ha_2 to a switch connected to the internal network.
3. Connect the port3 interfaces of FGT_ha_1 and FGT_ha_2 together. You can use a crossover Ethernet cable or
regular Ethernet cables and a switch.
4. Connect the port4 interfaces of the cluster units together. You can use a crossover Ethernet cable or regular
Ethernet cables and a switch.
5. Power on the cluster units.
The units start and negotiate to choose the primary unit and the subordinate unit. This negotiation
occurs with no user intervention and normally takes less than a minute.
When negotiation is complete the cluster is ready to be configured for your network.
Switching from NAT/Route to transparent mode involves adding the transparent mode management IP address
and default route.
1. Start a web browser and browse to the address https://192.168.1.99 (remember to include the “s” in
https://).
The FortiGate Login is displayed.
6. Select Apply.
The cluster switches to operating in transparent mode. The virtual MAC addresses assigned to the
cluster interfaces do not change.
Use the following steps to view the cluster dashboard and cluster members list to confirm that the cluster units
are operating as a cluster.
Once the cluster is operating, because configuration changes are synchronized to all
cluster units, configuring the cluster is the same as configuring an individual FortiGate.
You could have performed the following configuration steps separately on each
FortiGate before you connected them to form a cluster.
1. Start Internet Explorer and browse to the address https://10.11.101.100 (remember to include the “s” in https://).
The FortiGate Login is displayed.
The HA Status dashboard widget displays how long the cluster has been operating (Uptime) and the
time since the last failover occurred (State Changed). You can hover over the State Changed time to
see the event that caused the state change. You can also click on the HA Status dashboard widget to
configure HA settings or to get a listing of the most recent HA events recorded by the cluster.
If the cluster members list and the dashboard do not display information for both cluster units, the FortiGates are
not functioning as a cluster. See Troubleshooting HA clusters on page 1689 to troubleshoot the cluster.
Use the following steps to configure the cluster. Note that the following are example configuration steps only and
do not represent all of the steps required to configure the cluster for a given network.
You added a default gateway when you switched to transparent mode so you don’t
need to add a default route as part of the basic configuration of the cluster at this
point.
Data bits 8
Parity None
Stop bits 1
The FortiGate negotiates to establish an HA cluster. You may temporarily lose network connectivity
with the FortiGate as the HA cluster negotiates and the FGCP changes the MAC address of the
FortiGate interfaces. The MAC addresses of the FortiGate interfaces change to the following virtual
MAC addresses:
To confirm these MAC address changes, you can use the get hardware nic (or diagnose
hardware deviceinfo nic) CLI command to view the virtual MAC address of any FortiGate
interface. For example, use the following command to view the port1 interface virtual MAC address
(MAC) and the port1 permanent MAC address (Permanent_HWaddr):
get hardware nic port1
.
.
.
Current_HAaddr 00:09:0f:09:00:00
Permanent_HWaddr 02:09:0f:78:18:c9
.
.
.
session-sync-daemon-number: 1
link-failed-signal : disable
uninterruptible-upgrade: enable
ha-mgmt-status : disable
ha-eth-type : 8890
hc-eth-type : 8891
l2ep-eth-type : 8893
ha-uptime-diff-margin: 300
vcluster2 : disable
vcluster-id : 1
override : disable
priority : 128
slave-switch-standby: disable
minimum-worker-threshold: 1
monitor :
pingserver-monitor-interface:
pingserver-failover-threshold: 0
pingserver-slave-force-reset: enable
pingserver-flip-timeout: 60
vdom : "root"
Data bits 8
Parity None
Stop bits 1
To reconnect sooner, you can update the ARP table of your management PC by deleting the ARP
table entry for the FortiGate (or just deleting all arp table entries). You may be able to delete the arp
table of your management PC from a command prompt using a command similar to arp -d.
vdom : "root"
schedule : round-robin
1. Connect the port1 interfaces of FGT_ha_1 and FGT_ha_2 to a switch connected to the Internet.
2. Connect the port2 interfaces of FGT_ha_1 and FGT_ha_2 to a switch connected to the internal network.
3. Connect the port3 interfaces of FGT_ha_1 and FGT_ha_2 together. You can use a crossover Ethernet cable or
regular Ethernet cables and a switch.
4. Connect the port4 interfaces of the cluster units together. You can use a crossover Ethernet cable or regular
Ethernet cables and a switch.
5. Power on the cluster units.
The units start and negotiate to choose the primary unit and the subordinate unit. This negotiation
occurs with no user intervention and normally takes less than a minute.
When negotiation is complete the cluster is ready to be configured for your network.
To connect to the cluster CLI and switch the cluster to transparent mode
You can now connect to the cluster CLI using SSH to connect to the cluster internal interface using the
management IP address (192.168.20.3).
Use the following steps to view cluster status from the CLI.
l Use the null-modem cable and serial connection to re-connect to the CLI of one of the cluster units.
l Enter the command get system status.
l If the command output includes Current HA mode: a-a, master, the cluster units are operating as a
cluster and you have connected to the primary unit. Continue with Step "Active-active HA cluster in transparent
mode" on page 1635.
l If the command output includes Current HA mode: a-a, backup, you have connected to a subordinate
unit. Connect the null-modem cable to the other cluster unit, which should be the primary unit and continue
with Step 2.
You can use this command to confirm that the cluster is healthy and operating normally, some
information about the cluster configuration, and information about how long the cluster has been
operating. Information not shown in this example includes how the primary unit was selected,
configuration synchronization status, usage stats for each cluster unit, heartbeat status, and the
relative priorities of the cluster units.
If the cluster members list and the dashboard do not display information for both cluster units the FortiGates are
not functioning as a cluster. See Troubleshooting HA clusters on page 1689 to troubleshoot the cluster.
Normally it is recommended that you add FortiClient licenses to the FortiGates before setting up the cluster. This
example; however, describes how to apply FortiClient licenses to the FortiGates in an operating cluster.
The cluster is managed from the internal network using the FortiGate-5001D mgmt1 interfaces configured as HA
reserved management interfaces. Using these reserved management interfaces the overall cluster can be
managed and cluster units can be managed individually. Individual management access to each cluster unit
makes some operations, such as installing FortiClient licenses, easier and also allows you to view status of each
cluster unit.
The reserved management interface of each cluster unit has a different IP address and retains its own MAC
address. The cluster does not change the reserved management interface MAC address.
By default base1 and base2 are used for heartbeat communication between the FortiGates. To use the base1
and base2 interfaces for the HA heartbeat, the example describes how to display the backplane interfaces on the
GUI before turning on HA.
This example also includes using the mgmt2 interface for heartbeat communication for additional heartbeat
redundancy.
1. Connect the FortiGate-5001D port1 interfaces to a switch and connect that switch to the Internet.
2. Connect the FortiGate-5001D port2 interfaces to a switch and connect that switch to the internal network.
3. Connect the FortiGate-5001D mgmt1 interfaces to a switch that connects to the engineering network.
4. Connect the FortiGate-5001D mgmt2 interfaces to a switch for heartbeat communication between them.
1. From the internal network, log into the GUI of the FortiGate-5001D unit in chassis slot 3 by connecting to the
mgmt1 interface.
By default the mgmt1 interface of each FortiGate-5001D unit has the same IP
address. To log into each FortiGate-5001D unit separately you could either disconnect
the mgmt1 interfaces of the units that you don’t want to log into or change the mgmt1
interface IP addresses for each unit by connecting to each unit’s CLI from their console
port.
2. Register and apply licenses to the FortiGate before configuring it for HA operation. This includes licensing for
FortiCare Support, IPS, AntiVirus, Web Filtering, Mobile Malware, FortiCloud, and additional virtual
domains (VDOMs). All FortiGates in the cluster must have the same level of licensing for FortiGuard, FortiCloud,
FortiClient, and VDOMs. FortiToken licenses can be added at any time because they are synchronized to all
cluster members. FortiClient licenses will be added in a following step.
If the FortiGates in the cluster will be running FortiOS Carrier, apply the FortiOS Carrier license before configuring
the cluster (and before applying other licenses). Applying the FortiOS Carrier license sets the configuration to
factory defaults, requiring you to repeat steps performed before applying the license.
You can also install any third-party certificates on the primary FortiGate before forming the cluster. Once the
cluster is formed, third-party certificates are synchronized to the backup FortiGate.
3. Click on the System Information dashboard widget and select Configure settings in System > Settings.
4. Enter a new Host Name for this FortiGate, for example:
5. Connect to the CLI and enter the following command to display backplane interfaces on the GUI:
config system global
set show-backplane-intf enable
end
6. Set the Administrative Status of the base1 and base 2 interfaces to Up.
You can do this from the GUI by going to Network > Interfaces, editing each interface and setting
Administrative Status to Up.
You can also do this from the CLI using the following command:
config system interface
edit base1
set status up
next
edit base2
set status up
end
After the FortiGate is operating in HA mode the mgmt1 interface will retain its original MAC address
instead of being assigned a virtual MAC address.
Select Reserve Management Port for Cluster Member and select mgmt1.
Password HA_pass_3
Set the Heartbeat interface configuration to use base1, base2 and mgmt2 for heartbeat
communication. Set the priority of each heartbeat interface to 50:
Heartbeat Interface
Enable Priority
base1 Select 50
base2 Select 50
mgmt2 Select 50
9. Select OK.
The FortiGate negotiates to establish an HA cluster. When you select OK you may temporarily lose
connectivity with the FortiGate as the HA cluster negotiates and the FGCP changes the MAC address
of the FortiGate interfaces. The MAC addresses of the FortiGate-5001D interfaces change to the
following virtual MAC addresses:
You can use the get hardware nic (or diagnose hardware deviceinfo nic) CLI
command to view the virtual MAC address of any FortiGate interface. For example, use the following
command to view the port1 interface virtual MAC address (Current_HWaddr) and the port1
permanent MAC address (Permanent_HWaddr):
get hardware nic base1
.
.
.
Current_HWaddr 00:09:0f:09:00:00
Permanent_HWaddr 00:09:0f:71:0a:dc
.
.
.
9. Repeat these steps for the FortiGate-5001D units in chassis slots 4 and 5, with the following differences.
Set the mgmt1 interface IP address of each FortiGate-5001D unit to a different IP address.
As you configure each FortiGate, they will negotiate and join the cluster.
As you add units to the cluster you can log into the GUI of one of the cluster units to view the status of the cluster.
The status displays will show each unit as it is added to the cluster.
1. Log into the primary unit or any cluster unit and view the system dashboard.
The HA Status dashboard widget displays how long the cluster has been operating (Uptime) and the
time since the last failover occurred (State Changed) You can hover over the State Changed time to
see the event that caused the state change. You can also click on the HA Status dashboard widget to
configure HA settings or to get a listing of the most recent HA events recorded by the cluster.
Because you have configured a reserved management interface, you can manage each cluster unit separately by
connecting to the IP address you configured for each unit’s mgmt1 interface. You can view the status of each
cluster unit and make changes to each unit’s configuration. For example, as described below, each cluster unit
must have its own FortiClient license. You can use the reserved management IP addresses to connect to each
cluster unit to install the FortiClient license for that unit.
Usually you would make configuration changes by connecting to the primary unit and changing its configuration.
The cluster then synchronizes the configuration changes to all cluster units. If you connect to individual cluster
units and change their configuration, those configuration changes are also synchronized to each cluster unit. The
exception to this is configuration objects that are not synchronized, such as the host name, FortiClient license
and so on.
You can also manage each cluster unit by logging into the primary unit CLI and using the following command to
connect to other cluster units:
execute ha manage <cluster-index>
Normally you would add FortiClient licenses to the FortiGates before forming the cluster. However, you can use
the following steps to add FortiClient licenses to an operating cluster.
Contact your reseller to purchase FortiClient licenses for your cluster units. Each cluster unit must have its own
FortiClient license.
When you receive the license keys you can log into https://support.fortinet.com and add a FortiClient license key
to each licensed FortiGate. Then, as long as the cluster can connect to the Internet the license keys are
downloaded from the FortiGuard network to all of the FortiGates in the cluster.
You can also use the following steps to manually add the license keys to your cluster units from the GUI. Your
cluster must be connected to the Internet.
1. Log into the GUI of each cluster unit using its reserved management interface IP address.
2. Go to the License Information dashboard widget and beside FortiClient select Enter License.
3. Enter the license key and select OK.
4. Confirm that the license has been installed and the correct number of FortiClients are licensed.
5. Repeat for all of the cluster units.
You can also use the following command to add the license key from the CLI:
execute FortiClient-NAC update-registration-license <license-number>
You can connect to the CLIs of each cluster unit using their reserved management IP address.
You can also log into the primary unit CLI and use the execute ha manage command to connect to each
cluster unit CLI.
1. From the internal network, log into the CLI of the FortiGate-5001D unit in chassis slot 3 by connecting to the
mgmt1 interface.
By default the mgmt1 interface of each FortiGate-5001D unit has the same IP
address. To log into each FortiGate-5001D unit separately you could either disconnect
the mgmt1 interfaces of the units that you don’t want to log into or change the mgmt1
interface IP addresses for each unit by connecting to each unit’s CLI from their console
port.
5. Set the Administrative Status of the base1 and base 2 interfaces to Up.
config system interface
edit base1
set status up
next
edit base2
set status up
end
7. Configure HA settings.
config system ha
set mode a-a
set ha-mgmt-status enable
set ha-mgmt-interface mgmt1
set group-name example3.com
set password HA_pass_3
set hbdev base1 50 base2 50 mgmt2 50
end
The FortiGate negotiates to establish an HA cluster. When you select OK you may temporarily lose
connectivity with the FortiGate as the HA cluster negotiates and the FGCP changes the MAC address
of the FortiGate interfaces. The MAC addresses of the FortiGate-5001D interfaces change to the
following virtual MAC addresses:
You can use the get hardware nic (or diagnose hardware deviceinfo nic) CLI
command to view the virtual MAC address of any FortiGate interface. For example, use the following
command to view the port1 interface virtual MAC address (Current_HWaddr) and the port1
permanent MAC address (Permanent_HWaddr):
get hardware nic base1
.
.
.
Current_HWaddr 00:09:0f:09:00:00
Permanent_HWaddr 00:09:0f:71:0a:dc
.
.
.
7. Repeat these steps for the FortiGate-5001D units in chassis slots 4 and 5, with the following differences.
Set the mgmt1 interface IP address of each FortiGate-5001D unit to a different IP address.
As you add units to the cluster you can log into the CLI of one of the cluster units using its reserved management
interface to view the status of the cluster. The status will show each unit as it is added to the cluster.
For example, the following command output shows the status of the cluster when all three cluster units have
been added:
get system ha status
HA Health Status: OK
Model: FortiGate-XXXX
Mode: HA A-P
Group: 0
Debug: 0
Cluster Uptime: 7 days 00:30:26
.
.
.
Slave : 5001d-slot4 , FG-5KD3914800284, operating cluster index = 2
Master: 5001d-slot5 , FG-5KD3914800353, operating cluster index = 0
Slave : 5001d-slot3 , FG-5KD3914800344, operating cluster index = 1
You can use this command to confirm that the cluster is healthy and operating normally, some information about
the cluster configuration, and information about how long the cluster has been operating. Information not shown
in this example includes how the primary unit was selected, configuration synchronization status, usage stats for
each cluster unit, heartbeat status, and the relative priorities of the cluster units.
Because you have configured a reserved management interface, you can manage each cluster unit separately by
connecting to the IP address you configured for each unit’s mgmt1 interface. You can view the status of each
cluster unit and make changes to each unit’s configuration. For example, as described below, each cluster unit
must have its own FortiClient license. You can use the reserved management IP addresses to connect to each
cluster unit to install the FortiClient license for that unit.
Usually you would make configuration changes by connecting to the primary unit and changing its configuration.
The cluster then synchronizes the configuration changes to all cluster units. If you connect to individual cluster
units and change their configuration, those configuration changes are also synchronized to each cluster unit. The
exception to this is configuration objects that are not synchronized, such as the host name, FortiClient license
and so on.
You can also manage each cluster unit by logging into the primary unit CLI and using the following command to
connect to other cluster units:
execute ha manage <cluster-index>
3. Set the port1 interface IP address to the address required to connect to the interface to the Internet.
config system interface
edit port1
set ip 10.10.10.10/24
end
4. Set the port2 interface IP address to the address required to connect to the interface to the internal network.
config system interface
edit port2
set ip 172.20.120.12/24
end
Normally you would add FortiClient licenses to the FortiGates before forming the cluster. However, you can use
the following steps to add FortiClient licenses to an operating cluster.
Contact your reseller to purchase FortiClient licenses for your cluster units. Each cluster unit must have its own
FortiClient license.
When you receive the license keys you can log into https://support.fortinet.com and add a FortiClient license key
to each licensed FortiGate. Then, as long as the cluster can connect to the Internet the license keys are
downloaded from the FortiGuard network to all of the FortiGates in the cluster.
You can also use the following steps to manually add the license keys to your cluster units from the CLI. Your
cluster must be connected to the Internet.
1. Log into the CLI of each cluster unit using its reserved management interface IP address.
2. Enter the following command to the unit’s serial number:
get system status
3. Enter the following command to add the license key for that serial number:
execute FortiClient-NAC update-registration-license <license-key>
4. Confirm that the license has been installed and the correct number of FortiClients are licensed.
execute forticlient info
Maximum FortiClient connections: unlimited.
Licensed connections: 114
NAC: 114
WANOPT: 0
Test: 0
Other connections:
IPsec: 0
SSLVPN: 0
In this recipe, a backup FortiGate unit is installed and connected to a previously installed FortiGate to form a high
availability (HA) cluster that improves network reliability.
Before you begin, the FortiGates should be running the same FortiOS firmware version and interfaces should not
be configured to get their addresses from DHCP or PPPoE. Also, you cannot use a switch port as an HA heartbeat
interface. If necessary, convert the switch port to individual interfaces.
This example uses the FortiGate Clustering Protocol (FGCP) for HA. The previously installed FortiGate will
continue to operate as the primary unit and the new FortiGate will operate as the backup FortiGate.
You can also install any third-party certificates on the primary FortiGate before forming the cluster. Once the
cluster is formed, third-party certificates are synchronized to the backup FortiGate.
Go to System > HA and set the Mode to Active-Passive. Set the Device priority to a higher value than
the default (in the example, 250) to make sure this FortiGate will always be the primary FortiGate. Also, set
a Group name and Password.
Make sure that two Heartbeat interfaces (in the example, port3 and port4) are selected and the Heartbeat
Interface Priority for each is set to 50.
Since the backup FortiGate is not available, when you save the HA configuration, the primary FortiGate will
form a cluster of one FortiGate but will keep operating normally. If these steps don't start HA mode, make
sure that none of the FortiGate's interfaces use DHCP or PPPoE addressing.
If possible, make direct Ethernet connections between the heartbeat interfaces of the two FortiGate units.
This example uses two FortiGate-600Ds and the default heartbeat interfaces are used (port3 and port4).
You can use any interfaces for HA heartbeat interfaces. A best practice is to use interfaces that do not
process traffic, but this is not a requirement.
Switches must be used between the cluster and the Internet, and between the cluster and the internal
networks, as shown in the network diagram. You can use any good quality switches to make these
connections. You can also use one switch for all of these connections, as long as you configure the switch to
separate traffic from the different networks.
Go to System > HA and duplicate the HA configuration of the primary FortiGate (except for the Device
priority): set Mode to Active-Passive, and set the Device Priority to a lower value than the default to
make sure this FortiGate will always be the backup FortiGate. Also, set the same Group name and
Password as the primary FortiGate.
Make sure that the same two Heartbeat interfaces (port3 and port4) are selected and the Heartbeat
Interface Priority for each is set to 50.
When you save the HA configuration of the backup FortiGate, if the heartbeat interfaces are connected, the
FortiGates will find each other and form an HA cluster. Network traffic may be disrupted for a few seconds
while the cluster is negotiating. If these steps don't start HA mode, make sure that none of the FortiGate's
interfaces use DHCP or PPPoE addressing.
Click on the HA Status widget and select Configure settings in System > HA (or go to System > HA)
to view the cluster status.
If the cluster is part of a Security Fabric, the FortiView Physical and Logical Topology views show
information about the cluster status.
6. Results
Traffic is now passing through the primary FortiGate. However, if the primary FortiGate becomes
unavailable, traffic should fail over and the backup FortiGate will process traffic.
A failover also causes the primary and backup FortiGate to reverse roles, even when both FortiGates are
available again.
Upgrading the firmware on the primary FortiGate automatically upgrades the firmware on the backup
FortiGate. Both FortiGates are updated with minimal traffic disruption. For information about accessing
firmware images, see Verifying and updating the FortiGate unit's firmware.
Always review the Release Notes and Supported Upgrade Paths before installing new firmware.
You can use this procedure to replace more than one cluster unit.
1. Disconnect the failed unit from the cluster and the network.
If you maintain other connections between the network and the still functioning cluster unit or units
and between remaining cluster units network traffic will continue to be processed.
2. Repair the failed cluster unit, or obtain a replacement unit with the exact same hardware configuration as the
failed cluster unit.
3. Install the same firmware build on the repaired or replacement unit as is running on the cluster.
4. Register and apply licenses to the FortiGate. This includes FortiCloud activation and FortiClient licensing, and
entering a license key if you purchased more than 10 Virtual Domains (VDOMS). All of the FortiGates in a
cluster must have the same level of licensing.
5. You can also install any third-party certificates on the primary FortiGate before forming the cluster. Once the
cluster is formed third-party certificates are synchronized to the backup FortiGate.
We recommend that you add FortiToken licenses and FortiTokens to the primary unit after the cluster has formed.
6. Configure the repaired or replacement unit for HA operation with the same HA configuration as the cluster.
7. If the cluster is running in transparent mode, change the operating mode of the repaired or replacement unit to
transparent mode.
8. Connect the repaired or replacement cluster unit to the cluster.
For an example see How to set up FGCP clustering (recommended steps) on page 1615.
You can add a repaired or replacement unit to a functioning cluster at any time. The repaired or replacement
cluster unit must:
l Have the same hardware configuration as the cluster units. Including the same hard disk configuration and the
same AMC cards installed in the same slots.
l Have the same firmware build as the cluster.
This example describes how to configure an HA cluster consisting of two FortiGates with two aggregated 1000
Mb connections to the Internet using port1 and port2 and two aggregated 1000 Mb connections to the internal
network using port3 and port4. The aggregated interfaces are also configured as HA monitored interfaces.
Each of the aggregate links connects to a different switch. Each switch is configured for link aggregation
(2x1000Mb).
In an HA cluster, HA changes the MAC addresses of the cluster interfaces to virtual MAC addresses. An
aggregate interface in a cluster acquires the virtual MAC address that would have been acquired by the first
interface in the aggregate.
For example, the cluster shown above should be configured into two LAG groups on the external switch: one for
the port1 and port2 aggregated interface of FGT_ha_1 and a second one for the port1 and port2 aggregate
interface of FGT_ha_2. You should also be able to do the same on the internal switch for the port3 and port4
aggregated interfaces of each cluster unit.
As a result, the subordinate unit aggregated interfaces would participate in LACP negotiation while the cluster is
operating. In an active-active mode cluster, packets could be redirected to the subordinate unit interfaces. As
well, in active-active or active-passive mode, after a failover the subordinate unit can become a primary unit
without having to perform LACP negotiation before it can process traffic. Performing LACP negotiation causes a
minor failover delay.
However if you cannot configure multiple LAG groups on the switches, due to the primary and subordinate unit
interfaces having the same MAC address, the switch will put all of the interfaces into the same LAG group which
would disrupt the functioning of the cluster. To prevent this from happening, you must change the FortiGate
aggregated interface configuration to prevent subordinate units from participating in LACP negotiation.
For example, use the following command to prevent subordinate units from participating in LACP negotiation
with an aggregate interface named Port1_Port2:
config system interface
edit Port1_Port2
set lacp-ha-slave disable
end
As a result of this setting, subordinate unit aggregated interfaces cannot accept packets. This means that you
cannot operate the cluster in active-active mode because in active-active mode the subordinate units must be
able to receive and process packets. Also, failover may take longer because after a failover the subordinate unit
has to perform LACP negotiation before being able to process network traffic.
Also, it may also be necessary to configure the switch to use Passive or even Static mode for LACP to prevent the
switch from sending packets to the subordinate unit interfaces, which won’t be able to process them.
Finally, in some cases depending on the LACP configuration of the switches, you may experience delayed
failover if the FortiGate LACP configuration is not compatible with the switch LACP configuration. For example, in
some cases setting the FortiGate LACP mode to static reduces the failover delay because the FortiGate does not
perform LACP negotiation. However there is a potential problem with this configuration because static LACP
does not send periodic LAC Protocol Data Unit (LACPDU) packets to test the connections. So a non-physical
failure (for example, if a device is not responding because its too busy) may not be detected and packets could be
lost or delayed.
2. On the System Information dashboard widget, beside Host Name select Change.
3. Enter a new Host Name for this FortiGate.
4. Select OK.
5. Go to System > HA and change the following settings.
Mode Active-Passive
Password HA_pass_5
Heartbeat Interface
Enable Priority
port5 Select 50
port6 Select 50
Since port3 and port4 will be used for an aggregated interface, you must change the HA heartbeat
configuration to not use those interfaces.
6. Select OK.
The FortiGate negotiates to establish an HA cluster. When you select OK you may temporarily lose
connectivity with the FortiGate as the HA cluster negotiates and the FGCP changes the MAC address
of the FortiGate interfaces. The MAC addresses of the FortiGate interfaces change to the following
virtual MAC addresses:
You can use the get hardware nic (or diagnose hardware deviceinfo nic) CLI
command to view the virtual MAC address of any FortiGate interface. For example, use the following
command to view the port1 interface virtual MAC address (Current_HWaddr) and the port1
permanent MAC address (Permanent_HWaddr):
get hardware nic port1
.
.
.
MAC: 00:09:0f:09:00:00
Permanent_HWaddr: 02:09:0f:78:18:c9
.
.
.
1. Connect the port1 and port2 interfaces of FGT_ha_1 and FGT_ha_2 to a switch connected to the Internet.
Configure the switch so that the port1 and port2 of FGT_ha_1 make up an aggregated interface and
port1 and port2 of FGT_ha_2 make up a second aggregated interface.
2. Connect the port3 and port4 interfaces of FGT_ha_1 and FGT_ha_2 to a switch connected to the internal
network.
Configure the switch so that the port3 and port4 of FGT_ha_1 make up an aggregated interface and
port3 and port4 of FGT_ha_2 make up another aggregated interface.
3. Connect the port5 interfaces of FGT_ha_1 and FGT_ha_2 together. You can use a crossover Ethernet cable or
regular Ethernet cables and a switch.
4. Connect the port5 interfaces of the cluster units together. You can use a crossover Ethernet cable or regular
Ethernet cables and a switch.
5. Power on the cluster units.
The units negotiate to choose the primary unit and the subordinate unit. This negotiation occurs with
no user intervention and normally takes less than a minute.
When negotiation is complete, the cluster is ready to be configured for your network.
Use the following steps to view the cluster dashboard and cluster members list to confirm that the cluster units
are operating as a cluster.
7. Go to Network > Interfaces and select Create New > Interface to add the aggregate interface to connect to the
Internet.
8. Set Type to 802.3ad Aggregate and configure the aggregate interface to be connected to the Internet:
Name Port1_Port2
9. Select OK.
10. Select Create New > Interface to add the aggregate interface to connect to the internal network.
11. Set Type to 802.3ad Aggregate and configure the aggregate interface to be connected to the Internet:
Name Port3_Port4
IP/Netmask 10.11.101.100/24
The virtual MAC addresses of the FortiGate interfaces change to the following. Note that port1 and
port2 both have the port1 virtual MAC address and port3 and port4 both have the port3 virtual MAC
address:
Gateway 172.20.120.2
Device Port1_Port2
Distance 10
Port Monitor
Port1_Port2 Select
Port3_Port4 Select
4. Select OK.
1. Register and apply licenses to the FortiGate. This includes FortiCloud activation and FortiClient licensing, and
entering a license key if you purchased more than 10 Virtual Domains (VDOMS). All of the FortiGates in a
cluster must have the same level of licensing.
2. Install any third-party certificates on the FortiGate.
3. Change the host name for this FortiGate:
config system global
set hostname FGT_ha_1
end
4. Configure HA settings.
config system ha
set mode a-p
set group-name example5.com
set password HA_pass_5
set hbdev port5 50 port6 50
end
Since port3 and port4 will be used for an aggregated interface, you must change the HA heartbeat
configuration.
The FortiGate negotiates to establish an HA cluster. You may temporarily lose connectivity with the
FortiGate as the HA cluster negotiates and the FGCP changes the MAC address of the FortiGate
interfaces. The MAC addresses of the FortiGate interfaces change to the following virtual MAC
addresses:
You can use the get hardware nic (or diagnose hardware deviceinfo nic) CLI
command to view the virtual MAC address of any FortiGate interface. For example, use the following
command to view the port1 interface virtual MAC address (Current_HWaddr) and the port1
permanent MAC address (Permanent_HWaddr):
get hardware nic port1
.
.
.
MAC: 00:09:0f:09:00:00
Permanent_HWaddr: 02:09:0f:78:18:c9
.
.
.
1. Connect the port1 and port2 interfaces of FGT_ha_1 and FGT_ha_2 to a switch connected to the Internet.
Configure the switch so that the port1 and port2 of FGT_ha_1 make up an aggregated interface and
port1 and port2 of FGT_ha_2 make up another aggregated interface.
2. Connect the port3 and port4 interfaces of FGT_ha_1 and FGT_ha_2 to a switch connected to the internal
network.
Configure the switch so that the port3 and port4 of FGT_ha_1 make up an interfaced and port3 and
port4 of FGT_ha_2 make up another aggregated interface.
3. Connect the port5 interfaces of FGT_ha_1 and FGT_ha_2 together. You can use a crossover Ethernet cable or
regular Ethernet cables and a switch.
4. Connect the port5 interfaces of the cluster units together. You can use a crossover Ethernet cable or regular
Ethernet cables and a switch.
5. Power on the cluster units.
The units start and negotiate to choose the primary unit and the subordinate unit. This negotiation
occurs with no user intervention and normally takes less than a minute.
When negotiation is complete the cluster is ready to be configured for your network.
Use the following steps to view cluster status from the CLI.
Current HA mode: a-a, master The cluster units are operating as a cluster and you have
connected to the primary unit.
Current HA mode: a-a, backup The cluster units are operating as a cluster and you have
connected to a subordinate unit.
You can use this command to confirm that the cluster is healthy and operating normally, some
information about the cluster configuration, and information about how long the cluster has been
operating. Information not shown in this example includes how the primary unit was selected,
configuration synchronization status, usage stats for each cluster unit, heartbeat status, and the
relative priorities of the cluster units.
Use the following steps to add a few basic configuration settings and the aggregate interfaces.
This example describes how to configure an HA cluster consisting of two FortiGates with a redundant interface
connection to the Internet and to an internal network. The connection to the Internet uses port1 and port2. The
connection to the internal network uses port3 and port4. The HA heartbeat uses port5 and port6.
In an HA cluster, HA changes the MAC addresses of the cluster interfaces to virtual MAC addresses. A redundant
interface in a cluster acquires the virtual MAC address that would have been acquired by the first physical
interface added to the redundant interface configuration.
However, if the switch is configured with a single four-port redundant interface configuration, because the same
MAC addresses are being used by both cluster units, the switch adds all four interfaces (port1 and port2 from the
primary unit and port1 and port2 from the subordinate unit) to the same redundant interface.
To avoid unpredictable results, when you connect a switch to multiple redundant interfaces in an active-passive
cluster you should configure separate redundant interfaces on the switch; one for each cluster unit.
2. On the System Information dashboard widget, beside Host Name select Change.
3. Enter a new Host Name for this FortiGate.
4. Select OK.
5. Go to System > HA and change the following settings.
Mode Active-Passive
Password HA_pass_6
Heartbeat Interface
Enable Priority
port5 Select 50
port6 Select 50
Since port3 and port4 will be used for a redundant interface, you must change the HA heartbeat
configuration.
6. Select OK.
The FortiGate negotiates to establish an HA cluster. When you select OK you may temporarily lose
connectivity with the FortiGate as the HA cluster negotiates and the FGCP changes the MAC address
of the FortiGate interfaces. The MAC addresses of the FortiGate interfaces change to the following
virtual MAC addresses:
You can use the get hardware nic (or diagnose hardware deviceinfo nic) CLI
command to view the virtual MAC address of any FortiGate interface. For example, use the following
command to view the port1 interface virtual MAC address (Current_HWaddr) and the port1
permanent MAC address (Permanent_HWaddr):
get hardware nic port1
.
.
.
MAC: 00:09:0f:09:00:00
Permanent_HWaddr: 02:09:0f:78:18:c9
.
.
.
1. Connect the port1 and port2 interfaces of FGT_ha_1 and FGT_ha_2 to a switch connected to the Internet.
Configure the switch so that the port1 and port2 of FGT_ha_1 make up a redundant interface and
port1 and port2 of FGT_ha_2 make up another redundant interface.
2. Connect the port3 and port4 interfaces of FGT_ha_1 and FGT_ha_2 to a switch connected to the internal
network.
Configure the switch so that the port3 and port4 of FGT_ha_1 make up a redundant interface and
port3 and port4 of FGT_ha_2 make up another redundant interface.
3. Connect the port5 interfaces of FGT_ha_1 and FGT_ha_2 together. You can use a crossover Ethernet cable or
regular Ethernet cables and a switch.
4. Connect the port5 interfaces of the cluster units together. You can use a crossover Ethernet cable or regular
Ethernet cables and a switch.
5. Power on the cluster units.
The units start and negotiate to choose the primary unit and the subordinate unit. This negotiation
occurs with no user intervention and normally takes less than a minute.
When negotiation is complete the cluster is ready to be configured for your network.
Use the following steps to view the cluster dashboard and cluster members list to confirm that the cluster units
are operating as a cluster.
You can use this list to confirm that the cluster is operating normally. For example, if the list shows
only one cluster unit then the other unit has left the cluster for some reason.
7. Go to Network > Interfaces and select Create New > Interface to add the redundant interface to connect to the
Internet.
8. Set Type to Redundant Interface and configure the redundant interface to be connected to the Internet:
Name Port1_Port2
IP/Netmask 172.20.120.141/24
9. Select OK.
10. Select Create New to add the redundant interface to connect to the internal network.
11. Set Type to Redundant Interface and configure the redundant interface to be connected to the Internet:
Name Port3_Port4
IP/Netmask 10.11.101.100/24
Gateway 172.20.120.2
Device Port1_Port2
Distance 10
Port Monitor
Port1_Port2 Select
Port3_Port4 Select
4. Select OK.
1. Register and apply licenses to the FortiGate. This includes FortiCloud activation and FortiClient licensing, and
entering a license key if you purchased more than 10 Virtual Domains (VDOMS). All of the FortiGates in a
cluster must have the same level of licensing.
2. You can also install any third-party certificates on the primary FortiGate before forming the cluster. Once the
cluster is formed third-party certificates are synchronized to the backup FortiGate.
We recommend that you add FortiToken licenses and FortiTokens to the primary unit after the cluster has formed.
3. Change the host name for this FortiGate:
config system global
set hostname FGT_ha_1
end
4. Configure HA settings.
config system ha
set mode a-p
set group-name example6.com
set password HA_pass_6
set hbdev port5 50 port6 50
end
Since port3 and port4 will be used for a redundant interface, you must change the HA heartbeat
configuration.
The FortiGate negotiates to establish an HA cluster. You may temporarily lose connectivity with the
FortiGate as the HA cluster negotiates and the FGCP changes the MAC address of the FortiGate
interfaces. The MAC addresses of the FortiGate interfaces change to the following virtual MAC
addresses:
To reconnect sooner, you can update the ARP table of your management PC by deleting the ARP
table entry for the FortiGate (or just deleting all arp table entries). You may be able to delete the arp
table of your management PC from a command prompt using a command similar to arp -d.
You can use the get hardware nic (or diagnose hardware deviceinfo nic) CLI
command to view the virtual MAC address of any FortiGate interface. For example, use the following
command to view the port1 interface virtual MAC address (Current_HWaddr) and the port1
permanent MAC address (Permanent_HWaddr):
get hardware nic port1
.
.
.
MAC: 00:09:0f:09:00:00
Permanent_HWaddr: 02:09:0f:78:18:c9
.
.
.
1. Connect the port1 and port2 interfaces of FGT_ha_1 and FGT_ha_2 to a switch connected to the Internet.
Configure the switch so that the port1 and port2 of FGT_ha_1 make up a redundant interface and
port1 and port2 of FGT_ha_2 make up another redundant interface.
2. Connect the port3 and port4 interfaces of FGT_ha_1 and FGT_ha_2 to a switch connected to the internal
network.
Configure the switch so that the port3 and port4 of FGT_ha_1 make up a redundant interface and
port3 and port4 of FGT_ha_2 make up another redundant interface.
3. Connect the port5 interfaces of FGT_ha_1 and FGT_ha_2 together. You can use a crossover Ethernet cable or
regular Ethernet cables and a switch.
4. Connect the port5 interfaces of the cluster units together. You can use a crossover Ethernet cable or regular
Ethernet cables and a switch.
5. Power on the cluster units.
The units start and negotiate to choose the primary unit and the subordinate unit. This negotiation
occurs with no user intervention and normally takes less than a minute.
When negotiation is complete the cluster is ready to be configured for your network.
Use the following steps to view cluster status from the CLI.
Current HA mode: a-a, The cluster units are operating as a cluster and you have connected to the
master primary unit.
Current HA mode: a-a, The cluster units are operating as a cluster and you have connected to a
backup subordinate unit.
You can use this command to confirm that the cluster is healthy and operating normally, some
information about the cluster configuration, and information about how long the cluster has been
operating. Information not shown in this example includes how the primary unit was selected,
configuration synchronization status, usage stats for each cluster unit, heartbeat status, and the
relative priorities of the cluster units.
Use the following steps to add a few basic configuration settings and the redundant interfaces.
set ip 172.20.120.141/24
set vdom root
next
edit Port3_Port4
set type redundant
set member port3 port4
set ip 10.11.101.100/24
set vdom root
end
The virtual MAC addresses of the FortiGate interfaces change to the following. Note that port1 and
port2 both have the port1 virtual MAC address and port3 and port4 both have the port3 virtual MAC
address:
Troubleshooting HA clusters
This section describes some HA clustering troubleshooting techniques.
By default the command is set to prevent cluster formation between FortiGates with different hardware revisions.
You can enter the following command to view its status:
execute ha ignore-hardware-revision status
Usually the incompatibility is caused by different hardware versions having different hard disks and enabling this
command disables each FortiGate's hard disks. As a result of disabling hard disks the cluster will not support
logging to the hard disk or WAN Optimization.
If the FortiGates do have compatible hardware versions or if you want to run a FortiGate in standalone mode you
can enter the following command to disable ignoring the hardware revision and enable the hard disks:
execute ha ignore-hardware-revision disable
Affected models include but are not limited to:
l FortiGate-100D
l FortiGate-300C
l FortiGate-600C
l FortiGate-800C
l FortiGate-80C and FortiWiFi-80C
l FortiGate-60C
Its possible that a cluster will not form because the disk partition sizes of the cluster
units are different. You can use the diagnose sys ha checksum test |
grep storage command to check the disk storage checksum of each cluster unit. If
the checksums are different then visit the Fortinet Support website for help in setting
up compatible storage partitions.
1. Do all the FortiGates have the same hardware configuration? Including the same hard disk configuration?
2. Do all of the FortiGates have the same FortiGuard, FortiCloud, FortiClient, VDOM and FortiOS Carrier licensing?
3. Do all the FortiGates have the same firmware build?
4. Are all the FortiGates set to the same operating mode (NAT or transparent)?
5. Are all the FortiGates operating in single VDOM mode?
6. If the FortiGates are operating in multiple VDOM mode do they all have the same VDOM configuration?
In some cases you may be able to form a cluster if different FortiGates have different
firmware builds, different VDOM configurations, and are in different operating modes.
However, if you encounter problems they may be resolved by installing the same
firmware build on each unit, and give them the same VDOM configuration and
operating mode. If the FortiGates in the cluster have different licenses, the cluster will
form but it will operate with the lowest licensing level.
1. Add a basic security policy configuration and send network traffic through the cluster to confirm connectivity.
For example, if the cluster is installed between the Internet and an internal network, set up a basic
internal to external security policy that accepts all traffic. Then from a PC on the internal network,
browse to a website on the Internet or ping a server on the Internet to confirm connectivity.
2. From your management PC, set ping to continuously ping the cluster, and then start a large download, or in some
other way establish ongoing traffic through the cluster.
3. While traffic is going through the cluster, disconnect the power from one of the cluster units.
You could also shut down or restart a cluster unit.
6. If you have port monitoring enabled, disconnect a network cable from a monitored interface.
Traffic should continue with minimal interruption.
Use these steps if a cluster is formed just to verify its status and configuration.
1. Connect to each cluster unit GUI and verify that the HA configurations are the same. The HA configurations of all
of the cluster units must be identical. Even though the HA configuration is very simple you can easily make a small
Use the Unit Operation dashboard widget, system network interface list, or cluster members list to
verify that each interface that should be connected actually is connected.
If the link is down re-verify the physical connection. Try replacing network cables or switches as
required.
Use these steps if a cluster is formed just to verify its status and configuration.
Current HA mode: a-a, The cluster units are operating as a cluster and you have connected to the
master primary unit.
Current HA mode: a-a, The cluster units are operating as a cluster and you have connected to a
backup subordinate unit.
3. Verify that the get system ha status command shows that the cluster health is OK and shows that all of
the cluster units have joined the cluster.
4. Enter the get system ha command to verify that the HA configuration is correct and the same for each cluster
unit.
1. Try using the following command to re-enter the cluster password on each cluster unit in case you made an error
typing the password when configuring one of the cluster units.
config system ha
set password <password>
end
2. Check that the correct interfaces of each cluster unit are connected.
Check the cables and interface LEDs.
Use get hardware nic <interface_name> command to confirm that each interface is
connected. If the interface is connected the command output should contain a Link: up entry
similar to the following:
l If sessions are lost after a failover you may need to change route-ttl to keep synchronized routes active longer. See
Synchronizing kernel routing tables on page 1777
l To control which cluster unit becomes the primary unit, you can change the device priority and enable override. See
Controlling primary unit selection using device priority and override on page 1598Controlling primary unit selection
using device priority and override on page 1598
l Changes made to a cluster can be lost if override is enabled. See Configuration changes can be lost if override is
enabled on page 1598
l When override is enabled, after a failover traffic may be disrupted if the primary unit rejoins the cluster before the
session tables are synchronized or for other reasons such as if the primary unit is configured for DHCP or PPPoE.
See Delaying how quickly the primary unit rejoins the cluster when override is enabled on page 1599.
l In some cases, age differences among cluster units result in the wrong cluster unit becoming the primary unit. For
example, if a cluster unit set to a high priority reboots, that unit will have a lower age than other cluster units. You
can resolve this problem by resetting the age of one or more cluster units. See Primary unit selection and age on
page 1590 You can also adjust how sensitive the cluster is to age differences. This can be useful if large age
differences cause problems. See Cluster age difference margin (grace period) on page 1590 and Changing the
cluster age difference margin on page 1591.
l If one of the cluster units needs to be serviced or removed from the cluster for other reasons, you can do so without
affecting the operation of the cluster. See Disconnecting a cluster unit from a cluster on page 1749
l The GUI and CLI will not allow you to configure HA if you have enabled FGSP HA. See FortiGate Session Life
Support Protocol (FGSP) on page 1835.
l The GUI and CLI will not allow you to configure HA if one or more FortiGate interfaces is configured as a PPTP or
L2TP client.
l The FGCP is compatible with DHCP and PPPoE but care should be taken when configuring a cluster that includes a
FortiGate interface configured to get its IP address with DHCP or PPPoE. Fortinet recommends that you turn on
DHCP or PPPoE addressing for an interface after the cluster has been configured. See FortiGate HA compatibility
with DHCP and PPPoE on page 1599.
l Some third-party network equipment may prevent HA heartbeat communication, resulting in a failure of the cluster
or the creation of a split brain scenario. For example, some switches use packets with the same Ethertype as HA
heartbeat packets use for internal functions and when used for HA heartbeat communication the switch generates
CRC errors and the packets are not forwarded. See Heartbeat packet Ethertypes on page 1759.
l Very busy clusters may not be able to send HA heartbeat packets quickly enough, also resulting in a split brain
scenario. You may be able to resolve this problem by modifying HA heartbeat timing. See Modifying heartbeat
timing on page 1760.
l Very busy clusters may suffer performance reductions if session pickup is enabled. If possible you can disable this
feature to improve performance. If you require session pickup for your cluster, several options are available for
improving session pickup performance. See Improving session synchronization performance on page 1.
l If it takes longer than expected for a cluster to failover you can try changing how the primary unit sends gratuitous
ARP packets. See Changing how the primary unit sends gratuitous ARP packets after a failover on page 1763.
l You can also improve failover times by configuring the cluster for sub-second failover. See Sub-second failover on
page 1786 and Failover performance on page 1797.
l When you first put a FortiGate in HA mode you may loose connectivity to the unit. This occurs because HA changes
the MAC addresses of all FortiGate interfaces, including the one that you are connecting to. The cluster MAC
addresses also change if you change some HA settings such as the cluster group ID. The connection will be
restored in a short time as your network and PC updates to the new MAC address. To reconnect sooner, you can
update the ARP table of your management PC by deleting the ARP table entry for the FortiGate (or just deleting all
arp table entries). You may be able to delete the arp table of your management PC from a command prompt using
a command similar to arp -d.
l Since HA changes all cluster unit MAC addresses, if your network uses MAC address filtering you may have to make
configuration changes to account for the HA MAC addresses.
l A network may experience packet loss when two FortiGate HA clusters have been deployed in the same broadcast
domain. Deploying two HA clusters in the same broadcast domain can result in packet loss because of MAC
address conflicts. The packet loss can be diagnosed by pinging from one cluster to the other or by pinging both of
the clusters from a device within the broadcast domain. You can resolve the MAC address conflict by changing the
HA Group ID configuration of the two clusters. The HA Group ID is sometimes also called the Cluster ID. See
Diagnosing packet loss with two FortiGate HA clusters in the same broadcast domain on page 1767
l The cluster CLI displays slave is not in sync messages if there is a synchronization problem between the
primary unit and one or more subordinate units. See How to diagnose HA out of sync messages on page 1775.
l If you have configured dynamic routing and the new primary unit takes too long to update its routing table after a
failover you can configure graceful restart and also optimize how routing updates are synchronized. See Configuring
graceful restart for dynamic routing failover on page 1779 and Synchronizing kernel routing tables on page 1777.
l Some switches may not be able to detect that the primary unit has become a subordinate unit and will keep sending
packets to the former primary unit. This can occur after a link failover if the switch does not detect the failure and
does not clear its MAC forwarding table. See Updating MAC forwarding tables when a link failover occurs on page
1784.
l If a link not directly connected to a cluster unit (for example, between a switch connected to a cluster interface and
the network) fails you can enable remote link failover to maintain communication. See Remote link failover on page
1787.
l If you find that some cluster units are not running the same firmware build you can reinstall the correct firmware
build on the cluster to upgrade all cluster units to the same firmware build. See Synchronizing the firmware build
running on a new cluster unit on page 1739.
This chapter describes virtual clustering, a variation of the FGCP for FortiGates with multiple VDOMs. Virtual
clustering includes can operate in active-passive or active-active HA mode for clusters of up to four FortiGates.
Active-passive virtual clustering includes VDOM partitioning that to distribute traffic for different VDOMs between
the primary and backup FortiGates.
A standard virtual cluster consists of up to four FortiGates operating in active-passive or active-active HA mode
with multiple VDOMS enabled.
Active-passive virtual clustering uses VDOM partitioning to send traffic for some VDOMs to the primary FortiGate
and traffic for other VDOMs to the backup FortiGate. Traffic distribution between both FortiGates can potentially
improve throughput. If a failure occurs and only one FortiGate continues to operate, all traffic fails over to that
FortiGate, similar to normal HA. If the failed FortiGates restart, the configured traffic distribution is restored.
Active-active virtual clustering operates just the same as standard FGCP active-active HA, distributing traffic to all
of the FortiGates in the cluster using FGCP load balancing.
In an active-passive virtual cluster of two FortiGates, the primary and backup FortiGates share traffic processing
according to the VDOM partitioning configuration. If you add a third or fourth FortiGate, the primary and first
backup FortiGate process all traffic and the other one or two FortiGates operate in standby mode. If the primary
or first backup FortiGate fails, one of the other FortiGates becomes the new primary or backup FortiGate and
begins processing traffic.
The figure below shows an example virtual cluster configuration consisting of two FortiGates. The virtual cluster
has two VDOMs, root and Eng_vdm.
The root VDOM includes the port1 and port2 interfaces. The Eng_vdm VDOM includes the port5 and port6
interfaces. The port3 and port4 interfaces (not shown in the diagram) are the HA heartbeat interfaces.
If your cluster has a VLAN that is part of a different VDOM than the physical interface
that the VLAN has been added to, then you must configure VDOM partitioning to keep
traffic for both of these VDOMs on the same FortiGate.
In an active-passive virtual clustering configuration, you can configure a form of load balancing by using VDOM
partitioning to distribute traffic between the primary and backup FortiGates. While a cluster is operating, you can
change the VDOM partitioning configuration to change the distribution of traffic between the cluster units. For
example, if you have two VDOMs with high traffic volume you can set up VDOM partitioning so that different
FortiGates process the traffic for each high-volume VDOM. If over time traffic patterns change you can
dynamically re-adjust VDOM partitioning to optimize traffic throughput. VDOM partitioning can be changed at any
with only minor traffic disruptions.
VDOM partitioning can be thought of in two parts. First there is configuring the distribution of VDOMs between
two virtual clusters. By default, all VDOMS are in virtual cluster 1 and virtual cluster 1 is associated with the
primary FortiGate. In this configuration, the primary FortiGate processes all traffic. If you want traffic to be
processed by the backup FortiGate, you need to enable virtual cluster 2, move some of the VDOMs to it, and
associate virtual cluster 2 with the backup FortiGate.
Since there are only two virtual clusters, even in a virtual clustering configuration of
three or four FortiGates only two of the FortiGates process traffic. The third and fourth
FortiGates operate in standby mode and process traffic after a failover.
By default all VDOMS are in virtual cluster 1 and the primary FortiGate processes all traffic.
You associate a virtual cluster with a FortiGate using priorities. The FortiGate with the highest device priority is
associated with virtual cluster 1. To associate a FortiGate with virtual cluster 2 you must enable virtual cluster 2
and set the virtual cluster 2 device priority. The FortiGate with the highest virtual cluster 2 device priority
processes traffic for the VDOMs added to virtual cluster 2. (Reminder: device priorities are not synchronized.)
If both FortiGates have the same device priority, virtual cluster 1 is associated with the
primary FortiGate. If both FortiGates have the same virtual cluster 2 device priority,
virtual cluster 2 is associated with the primary FortiGate.
When you enable multiple VDOMs, virtual cluster 2 is enabled by default. Even so the
command to enable virtual cluster 2 is included in this example in case for some
reason it has been disabled. Enabling virtual cluster 2 also enables override.
config global
config system ha
set mode a-p
set group-name mygroup
set password <password>
set priority 200
set vcluster2 enable
config secondary-vcluster
set vdom Marketing Finance
set priority 50
end
end
Then on the backup FortiGate:
Since the primary FortiGate has the highest device priority, the primary unit processes
all traffic for the VDOMs in virtual cluster 1. Since the backup FortiGate has the
highest virtual cluster 2 device priority, the backup FortiGate processes all traffic for
the VDOMs in virtual cluster 2. The primary FortiGate configuration adds the VDOMs
to virtual cluster 2. All you have to configure on the backup FortiGate for virtual cluster
2 is the virtual cluster 2 (or secondary-vcluster) device priority.
l Set the device priority to 150 (lower than the primary FortiGate but higher than the backup FortiGate)
l Enable virtual cluster 2 (vcluster2)
l Set the virtual cluster 2 device priority (secondary-vcluster) to 100 (higher than the primary FortiGate but lower than
the backup FortiGate)
config global
config system ha
set mode a-p
set group-name mygroup
set password <password>
set priority 150
set vcluster2 enable
config secondary-vcluster
set priority 100
end
end
l If the primary FortiGate fails, the third FortiGate becomes the new primary FortiGate, the backup FortiGate
continues to operate as the backup FortiGate.
l If the backup FortiGate fails, the fourth FortiGate becomes the new backup FortiGate.
l If both the primary and backup FortiGates fail, the third FortiGate becomes the primary FortiGate and the fourth
FortiGate becomes the backup FortiGate.
On the fourth FortiGate:
l Set the device priority to 100 (lower than the primary and third FortiGate but higher than the backup FortiGate)
l Enable virtual cluster 2 (vcluster2)
l Set the virtual cluster 2 device priority (secondary-vcluster) to 150 (higher than the primary FortiGate and the third
FortiGate but lower than the backup FortiGate)
config global
config system ha
set mode a-p
set group-name mygroup
set password <password>
set priority 100
Primary 200 50
Backup 50 100
In a virtual clustering configuration inter-VDOM links can only be made between virtual domains that are in the
same virtual cluster. So, if you are planning on configuring inter-VDOM links in a virtual clustering configuration,
you should make sure the virtual domains that you want to link are in the same virtual cluster.
For example, the following tables show an example virtual clustering configuration where each virtual cluster
contains four virtual domains. In this configuration you can configure inter-VDOM links between root and vdom_1
and between vdom_2 and vdom_3. But, you cannot configure inter-VDOM links between root and vdom_2 or
between vdom_1 and vdom_3 (and so on).
Hostname
200 100
Role Role
vdom_1
Primary Subordinate
Hostname
100 200
Role Role
vdom_3
Subordinate Primary
This procedure describes how to create an inter-VDOM link to virtual cluster 1 that results in a link between the
root and vdom_1 virtual domains.
2. Bind the vc1link0 interface to the root virtual domain and bind the vc1link1 interface to the vdom_1 virtual
domain.
config system interface
edit vc1link0
set vdom root
next
edit vc1link1
set vdom vdom_1
end
This procedure describes how to create an inter-VDOM link to virtual cluster 2 that results in a link between the
vdom_2 and vdom_3 virtual domains.
2. Bind the vc2link0 interface to the vdom_2 virtual domain and bind the vc2link1 interface to the vdom_3
virtual domain.
config system interface
edit vc2link0
set vdom vdom_2
next
edit vc2link1
set vdom vdom_3
end
You can do the following to confirm that traffic for different VDOMs will be distributed among both FortiGates in
the virtual cluster. These steps assume the cluster is otherwise operating correctly.
1. Log into the GUI or CLI using the IP addresses of interfaces in each VDOM.
Confirm that you have logged into the FortiGate that should be processing traffic for that VDOM by
checking the HTML title displayed by your web browser or the CLI prompt. Both of these should
include the host name of the cluster unit that you have logged into. Also on the system Dashboard,
the System Information widget displays the serial number of the FortiGate that you logged into. From
the CLI the get system status command displays the status of the cluster unit that you logged
into.
2. To verify that the correct cluster unit is processing traffic for a VDOM:
l Add security policies to the VDOM that allow communication between the interfaces in the VDOM.
l Optionally enable traffic logging and other monitoring for that VDOM and these security policies.
l Start communication sessions that pass traffic through the VDOM.
l Log into the GUI and go to System > HA. Verify that the statistics display shows more active sessions, total
packets, network utilization, and total bytes for the unit that should be processing all traffic for the VDOM.
l Optionally check traffic logging and the Top Sessions Widget for the FortiGate that should be processing traffic
for that VDOM to verify that the traffic is being processed by this FortiGate.
This chapter provides an introduction to full mesh HA and also contains general procedures and configuration
examples that describe how to configure FortiGate full mesh HA.
The examples in this chapter include example values only. In most cases you will substitute your own values. The
examples in this chapter also do not contain detailed descriptions of configuration parameters.
However, even with a cluster, potential single points of failure remain. The interfaces of each cluster unit connect
to a single switch and that switch provides a single connection to the network. If the switch fails or if the
connection between the switch and the network fails service is interrupted to that network.
The HA cluster does improve the reliability of the network because switches are not as complex components as
FortiGates, so are less likely to fail. However, for even greater reliability, a configuration is required that includes
redundant connections between the cluster the networks that it is connected to.
FortiGate models that support 802.3ad Aggregate or Redundant interfaces can be used to create a cluster
configuration called full mesh HA. Full mesh HA is a method of reducing the number of single points of failure on
a network that includes an HA cluster.
This redundant configuration can be achieved using FortiGate 802.3ad Aggregate or Redundant interfaces and a
full mesh HA configuration. In a full mesh HA configuration, you connect an HA cluster consisting of two or more
FortiGates to the network using 802.3ad Aggregate or Redundant interfaces and redundant switches. Each
802.3ad Aggregate or Redundant interface is connected to two switches and both of these switches are
connected to the network. In addition you must set up an IEEE 802.1Q (also called Dot1Q) or ISL link between
the redundant switches connected to the Aggregate or Redundant interfaces.
The resulting full mesh configuration, an example is shown below, includes redundant connections between all
network components. If any single component or any single connection fails, traffic automatically switches to the
redundant component and connection and traffic flow resumes.
Usually redundant and aggregate interfaces consist of two physical interfaces. However, you can add more than
two physical interfaces to a redundant or aggregate interface. Adding more interfaces can increase redundancy
protection. Adding more interfaces can also increase bandwidth capacity if you are using 802.3ad aggregate
interfaces.
For simplicity these procedures assume that you are starting with two new FortiGates set to the factory default
configuration. However, starting from the default configuration is not a requirement for a successful HA
deployment. FortiGate HA is flexible enough to support a successful configuration from many different starting
points.
These procedures describe how to configure a cluster operating in NAT/Route mode because NAT/Route is the
default FortiGate operating mode. However, the steps are the same if the cluster operates in transparent mode.
You can either switch the cluster units to operate in transparent mode before beginning these procedures, or you
can switch the cluster to operate in transparent mode after HA is configured and the cluster is connected and
operating.
l The port5 and port6 interfaces configured as heartbeat interfaces. A full mesh HA configuration also includes
redundant HA heartbeat interfaces.
l The port1 and port2 interfaces added to a redundant interface. Port1 is the active physical interface in this
redundant interface. To make the port1 interface the active physical interface it should appear above the port2
interface in the redundant interface configuration.
l The port3 and port4 interfaces added to a redundant interface. Port3 is the active physical interface in this
redundant interface. To make the port3 interface the active physical interface it should appear above the port4
interface in the redundant interface configuration.
l Two redundant switches (Sw3 and Sw4) connected to the internal network. Establish an 802.1Q (Dot1Q) or
interswitch-link (ISL) connection between them.
l Two redundant switches (Sw1 and Sw2) connected to the Internet. Establish an 802.1Q (Dot1Q) or interswitch-link
(ISL) connection between them.
How packets travel from the internal network through the full mesh cluster and to the Internet
If the cluster is operating in active-passive mode and FGT_ha_2 is the primary unit, all packets take the following
path from the internal network to the internet:
1. From the internal network to Sw4. Sw4 is the active connection to FGT_ha_2; which is the primary unit. The
primary unit receives all packets.
2. From Sw4 to the FGT_ha_2 port3 interface. Active connection between Sw4 and FGT_ha_2. Port3 is the active
member of the redundant interface.
3. From FGT_ha_2 port3 to FGT_ha_2 port1. Active connection between FGT_ha_2 and Sw2. Port1 is the active
member of the redundant interface.
4. From Sw2 to the external router and the Internet.
2. On the System Information dashboard widget, beside Host Name select Change.
3. Enter a new Host Name for this FortiGate.
Mode Active-Active
Password RHA_pass_1
Heartbeat Interface
Enable Priority
port5 Select 50
port6 Select 50
5. Select OK.
The FortiGate negotiates to establish an HA cluster. When you select OK you may temporarily lose
connectivity with the FortiGate as the HA cluster negotiates and the FGCP changes the MAC address
of the FortiGate interfaces. The MAC addresses of the FortiGate interfaces change to the following
You can use the get hardware nic (or diagnose hardware deviceinfo nic) CLI
command to view the virtual MAC address of any FortiGate interface. For example, use the following
command to view the port1 interface virtual MAC address (Current_HWaddr) and the port1
permanent MAC address (Permanent_HWaddr):
get hardware nic port1
.
.
.
MAC: 00:09:0f:09:00:00
Permanent_HWaddr: 02:09:0f:78:18:c9
.
.
.
When negotiation is complete the cluster is ready to be configured for your network.
Use the following steps to view the cluster dashboard and cluster members list to confirm that the cluster units
are operating as a cluster.
If the cluster members list and the dashboard does not display information for both cluster units the FortiGates
are not functioning as a cluster. See Example full mesh HA configuration on page 1706 to troubleshoot the
cluster.
5. Select OK.
6. Go to Network > Static Routes and temporarily delete the default route.
You cannot add an interface to a redundant interface if any settings (such as the default route) are
configured for it.
7. Go to Network > Interfaces and select Create New > Interface and configure the redundant interface to
connect to the Internet.
Name Port1_Port2
Type Redundant
IP/Netmask 172.20.120.141/24
8. Select OK.
9. Select Create New and configure the redundant interface to connect to the internal network.
Name Port3_Port4
Type Redundant
IP/Netmask 10.11.101.100/24
Gateway 172.20.120.2
Device Port1_Port2
Distance 10
3. Configure HA settings.
config system ha
set mode a-a
set group-name Rexample1.com
set password RHA_pass_1
set hbdev port5 50 port6 50
end
The FortiGate negotiates to establish an HA cluster. When you select OK you may temporarily lose
connectivity with the FortiGate as the HA cluster negotiates and the FGCP changes the MAC address
of the FortiGate interfaces. The MAC addresses of the FortiGate interfaces change to the following
virtual MAC addresses:
You can use the get hardware nic (or diagnose hardware deviceinfo nic) CLI
command to view the virtual MAC address of any FortiGate interface. For example, use the following
command to view the port1 interface virtual MAC address (Current_HWaddr) and the port1
permanent MAC address (Permanent_HWaddr):
get hardware nic port1
.
.
.
MAC: 00:09:0f:09:00:00
Permanent_HWaddr: 02:09:0f:78:18:c9
.
.
.
When negotiation is complete the cluster is ready to be configured for your network.
Use the following steps to view cluster status from the CLI.
If the command output includes Current HA mode: a-a, backup, you have connected to a
subordinate unit.
If the command output includes Current HA mode: standalone the cluster unit is not
operating in HA mode.
You can use this command to confirm that the cluster is healthy and operating normally, some
information about the cluster configuration, and information about how long the cluster has been
operating. Information not shown in this example includes how the primary unit was selected,
configuration synchronization status, usage stats for each cluster unit, heartbeat status, and the
relative priorities of the cluster units.
4. Use the execute ha manage command to connect to the other cluster unit’s CLI and use these commands to
verify cluster status.
If the cluster members list and the dashboard does not display information for both cluster units the FortiGates
are not functioning as a cluster. See Example full mesh HA configuration on page 1706 to troubleshoot the
cluster.
Use the following steps to add a few basic configuration settings. Some steps use the CLI and some the GUI.
4. Go to System > Network > Interface and select Create New to add the redundant interface to connect to the
Internet.
5. Add the redundant interface to connect to the Internet.
config system interface
edit Port1_Port2
set type redundant
set member port1 port2
end
1. Enter the following command to configure port monitoring for the redundant interfaces:
config system ha
set monitor Port1_Port2 Port3_Port4
end
l Make sure the redundant interfaces and switches are connected correctly. With so many connections it is possible
to make mistakes or for cables to become disconnected.
l Confirm that the configuration of the cluster unit 802.3ad Aggregate or Redundant interfaces is correct according to
the configuration procedures in this chapter.
l In some configurations with some switch hardware, MAC-learning delays on the inter-switch links on the
surrounding topologies may occur. The delays occur if the gratuitous ARP packets sent by the cluster after a failover
are delayed by the switches before being sent across the inter-switch link. If this happens the surrounding
topologies may be delayed in recognizing the failover and will keep sending packets to the MAC address of the
failed primary unit resulting in lost traffic. Resolving this problem may require changing the configuration of the
switch or replacing them with switch hardware that does not delay the gratuitous ARP packets.
With some exceptions, you can operate a cluster in much the same way as you operate a standalone FortiGate.
This chapter describes those exceptions and also the similarities involved in operating a cluster instead of a
standalone FortiGate.
Operating a cluster
The configurations of all of the FortiGates in a cluster are synchronized so that the cluster units can simulate a
single FortiGate. Because of this synchronization, you manage the HA cluster instead of managing the individual
cluster units. You manage the cluster by connecting to the GUI using any cluster interface configured for HTTPS
or HTTP administrative access. You can also manage the cluster by connecting to the CLI using any cluster
interface configured for SSH or telnet administrative access.
The cluster GUI dashboard displays the cluster name, the host name and serial number of each cluster member,
and also shows the role of each unit in the cluster. The roles can be master (primary unit) and slave (subordinate
units). The dashboard also displays a cluster unit front panel illustration.
You can also go to System > HA to view the cluster members list. This includes status information for each
cluster unit. You can also use the cluster members list for a number of cluster management functions including
changing the HA configuration of an operating cluster, changing the host name and device priority of a
subordinate unit, and disconnecting a cluster unit from a cluster. See Cluster members list on page 1736.
You can use log messages to view information about the status of the cluster. See Clusters and logging on page
1728.
You can use SNMP to manage the cluster by configuring a cluster interface for SNMP administrative access.
Using an SNMP manager you can get cluster configuration information and receive traps. See Clusters and
SNMP on page 1731.
You can configure a reserved management interface to manage individual cluster units. You can use this
interface to access the GUI or CLI and to configure SNMP management for individual cluster units. See
Managing individual cluster units using a reserved out-of-band management interface on page 1719.
You can manage individual cluster units by using SSH, telnet, or the CLI console on the GUI dashboard to
connect to the CLI of the cluster. From the CLI you can use the execute ha manage command to connect to
the CLI of any unit in the cluster.
You can also manage individual cluster units by using a null-modem cable to connect to any cluster unit CLI.
From there you can use the execute ha manage command to connect to the CLI of each unit in the cluster.
If virtual domains are enabled, the cluster GUI dashboard displays the cluster name and the role of each cluster
unit in virtual cluster 1 and virtual cluster 2.
The configuration and maintenance options that you have when you connect to a virtual cluster GUI or CLI
depend on the virtual domain that you connect to and the administrator account that you use to connect.
If you connect to a cluster as the administrator of a virtual domain, you connect directly to the virtual domain.
Since HA virtual clustering is a global configuration, virtual domain administrators cannot see HA configuration
options. However, virtual domain administrators see the host name of the cluster unit that they are connecting to
on the web browser title bar or CLI prompt. This host name is the host name of the primary unit for the virtual
domain. Also, when viewing log messages the virtual domain administrator can select to view log messages for
either of the cluster units.
If you connect to a virtual cluster as the admin administrator you connect to the global GUI or CLI. Even so, you
are connecting to an interface and to the virtual domain that the interface has been added to. The virtual domain
that you connect to does not make a difference for most configuration and maintenance operations. However,
there are a few exceptions. You connect to the FortiGate that functions as the primary unit for the virtual domain.
So the host name displayed on the web browser title bar and on the CLI is the host name of this primary unit.
You can also configure and in-band management interface for a cluster unit. See
"Managing individual cluster units using an in-band management IP address" on page
1725.
Reserved management interfaces provide direct management access to each cluster unit and give each cluster
unit a different identity on your network. This simplifies using external services, such as SNMP, to separately
monitor and manage each cluster unit.
The reserved management interfaces are not assigned HA virtual MAC addresses like
other cluster interfaces. Instead the reserved management interfaces retain the
permanent hardware address of the physical interface unless you change it using the
config system interface command.
Reserved management interfaces and their IP addresses should not be used for managing a cluster using
FortiManager. To correctly manage a FortiGate HA cluster with FortiManager use the IP address of one of the
cluster unit interfaces.
If you enable SNMP administrative access for a reserved management interface you can use SNMP to monitor
each cluster unit using the reserved management interface IP address. To monitor each cluster unit using SNMP,
just add the IP address of each cluster unit’s reserved management interface to the SNMP server configuration.
You must also enable direct management of cluster members in the cluster SNMP configuration.
If you enable HTTPS or HTTP administrative access for the reserved management interfaces you can connect to
the GUI of each cluster unit. Any configuration changes made to any of the cluster units is automatically
synchronized to all cluster units. From the subordinate units the GUI has the same features as the primary unit
except that unit-specific information is displayed for the subordinate unit, for example:
l The Dashboard System Information widget displays the subordinate unit serial number but also displays the
same information about the cluster as the primary unit
l On the Cluster members list (go to System > HA) you can change the HA configuration of the subordinate unit that
you are logged into. For the primary unit and other subordinate units you can change only the host name and device
priority.
l Log Access displays the logs of the subordinate that you are logged into fist, You use the HA Cluster list to view the
log messages of other cluster units including the primary unit.
If you enable SSH or TELNET administrative access for the reserved management interfaces you can connect to
the CLI of each cluster unit. The CLI prompt contains the host name of the cluster unit that you have connected
to. Any configuration changes made to any of the cluster units is automatically synchronized to all cluster units.
You can also use the execute ha manage command to connect to other cluster unit CLIs.
The reserved management interface is available in NAT/Route and in transparent mode. It is also available if the
cluster is operating with multiple VDOMs. In transparent mode you cannot normally add an IP address to an
interface. However, you can add an IP address to the reserved management interface.
If you want to use a HA reserved management interface for these features you must enter the following
command:
config system ha
set ha-direct enable
end
The result is that all management services can use the HA reserved management interfaces. This means that
individual cluster units send log messages and communicate with FortiSandbox and so on using the HA reserved
management interfaces instead of one of the cluster interfaces. This allows you to manage each cluster unit
separately and to separate the management traffic from each cluster unit. This can also be useful if each cluster
unit is in a different location.
If you just want to use HA reserved management interfaces for SNMP remote management you can enable ha-
direct in the SNMP configuration as shown in the following example.
Configuring the reserved management interface and SNMP remote management of individual
cluster units
This example describes how to configure SNMP remote management of individual cluster units using an HA
reserved management interface. The configuration consists of two FortiGate-620B units already operating as a
cluster. In the example, the port8 interface of each cluster unit is connected to the internal network using the
switch and configured as the reserved management interface.
From the GUI you can also configure IPv4 and IPv6 default routes that are only used by the reserved
management interface.
From the CLI you can also configure IPv4 and IPv6 default routes that are only used by the reserved
management interface.
You can change the IP address of the primary unit reserved management interface from the primary unit GUI.
Configuration changes to the reserved management interface are not synchronized to other cluster units.
1. From a PC on the internal network, browse to http://10.11.101.100 and log into the cluster GUI.
This logs you into the primary unit GUI.
You can identify the primary unit from its serial number or host name that appears on the System
Information dashboard widget.
Alias primary_reserved
IP/Netmask 10.11.101.101/24
3. Select OK.
You can now log into the primary unit GUI by browsing to https://10.11.101.101. You can also log into
this primary unit CLI by using an SSH client to connect to 10.11.101.101.
At this point you cannot connect to the subordinate unit reserved management interface because it does not have
an IP address. Instead, this procedure describes connecting to the primary unit CLI and using the execute ha
manage command to connect to subordinate unit CLI to change the port8 interface. You can also use a serial
connection to the cluster unit CLI. Configuration changes to the reserved management interface are not
synchronized to other cluster units.
1. Connect to the primary unit CLI and use the execute ha manage command to connect to a subordinate unit
CLI.
You can identify the subordinate unit from is serial number or host name. The host name appears in
the CLI prompt.
2. Enter the following command to change the port8 IP address to 10.11.101.102 and set management access
to HTTPS, ping, SSH, and SNMP.
config system interface
edit port8
set ip 10.11.101.102/24
set allowaccess https ping ssh snmp
end
You can now log into the subordinate unit GUI by browsing to https://10.11.101.102. You can also log
into this subordinate unit CLI by using an SSH client to connect to 10.11.101.102.
To configure the cluster for SNMP management using the reserved management interfaces - CLI
This procedure describes how to configure the cluster to allow the SNMP server to get status information from the
primary unit and the subordinate unit. The SNMP configuration is synchronized to all cluster units. To support
using the reserved management interfaces, you must add at least one HA direct management host to an SNMP
community. If your SNMP configuration includes SNMP users with user names and passwords you must also
enable HA direct management for SNMP users.
1. Enter the following command to add an SNMP community called Community and add a host to the community
for the reserved management interface of each cluster unit. The host includes the IP address of the SNMP server
(10.11.101.20).
config system snmp community
edit 1
set name Community
config hosts
edit 1
set ha-direct enable
set ip 10.11.101.20
end
end
2.
3. Enter the following command to add an SNMP user for the reserved management interface.
config system snmp user
edit 1
set ha-direct enable
set notify-hosts 10.11.101.20
end
Configure other settings as required.
To get CPU, memory, and network usage of each cluster unit using the reserved management IP
addresses
From the command line of an SNMP manager, you can use the following SNMP commands to get CPU, memory
and network usage information for each cluster unit. In the examples, the community name is Community. The
commands use the MIB field names and OIDs listed below.
Enter the following commands to get CPU, memory and network usage information for the primary unit with
reserved management IP address 10.11.101.101 using the MIB fields:
snmpget -v2c -c Community 10.11.101.101 fgHaStatsCpuUsage
snmpget -v2c -c Community 10.11.101.101 fgHaStatsMemUsage
snmpget -v2c -c Community 10.11.101.101 fgHaStatsNetUsage
Enter the following commands to get CPU, memory and network usage information for the primary unit with
reserved management IP address 10.11.101.101 using the OIDs:
snmpget -v2c -c Community 10.11.101.101 1.3.6.1.4.1.12356.101.13.2.1.1.3.1
snmpget -v2c -c Community 10.11.101.101 1.3.6.1.4.1.12356.101.13.2.1.1.4.1
snmpget -v2c -c Community 10.11.101.101 1.3.6.1.4.1.12356.101.13.2.1.1.5.1
Enter the following commands to get CPU, memory and network usage information for the subordinate unit with
reserved management IP address 10.11.101.102 using the MIB fields:
snmpget -v2c -c Community 10.11.101.102 fgHaStatsCpuUsage
snmpget -v2c -c Community 10.11.101.102 fgHaStatsMemUsage
snmpget -v2c -c Community 10.11.101.102 fgHaStatsNetUsage
Enter the following commands to get CPU, memory and network usage information for the subordinate unit with
reserved management IP address 10.11.101.102 using the OIDs:
snmpget -v2c -c Community 10.11.101.102 1.3.6.1.4.1.12356.101.13.2.1.1.3.1
snmpget -v2c -c Community 10.11.101.102 1.3.6.1.4.1.12356.101.13.2.1.1.4.1
snmpget -v2c -c Community 10.11.101.102 1.3.6.1.4.1.12356.101.13.2.1.1.5.1
Example CLI:
config system interface
edit port5
set ip 172.16.79.46 255.255.255.0
end
config system ha
set group-name FGT-HA
set mode a-p
set ha-mgmt-status enable
config ha-mgmt-interfaces
edit 1
set interface port5
set gateway 172.16.79.1
end
set ha-direct enable
end
end
The in-band management IP address should be on the same subnet as the interface you are adding it to, but
cannot be on the same subnet as other interface IP addresses.
You can connect to the in-band management IP address using the interface's administrative access settings. The
in-band management IP only supports the following subset of administrative access settings: ping, Telnet, HTTP,
HTTPS, and SNMP.
For example, use the following command to add an in-band management IP address and allow access using
HTTPS, SSH and SNMP:
config system interface
edit port23
set management-ip 172.25.12.5/24
set allowaccess https ssh snmp
end
You can also enable this feature using the following command:
config system ha
set standalone-mgmt-vdom enable
end
During the shutdown the primary unit first becomes the backup unit before shutting down allowing the backup unit
to become the new primary unit and avoiding a split brain scenario. This behavior only happens when you
manually shutdown or reboot the primary unit.
The primary unit acts as a router for subordinate unit management traffic
HA uses routing and inter-VDOM links to route subordinate unit management traffic through the primary unit to
the network. Similar to a standalone FortiGate, subordinate units may generate their own management traffic,
including:
l DNS queries.
l FortiGuard Web Filtering rating requests.
l Log messages to be sent to a FortiAnalyzer unit, to a syslog server, or to the FortiGuard Analysis and Management
Service.
l Log file uploads to a FortiAnalyzer unit.
l Quarantine file uploads to a FortiAnalyzer unit.
l SNMP traps.
l Communication with remote authentication servers (RADIUS, LDAP, TACACS+ and so on)
Subordinate units send this management traffic over the HA heartbeat link to the primary unit. The primary unit
forwards the management traffic to its destination. The primary unit also routes replies back to the subordinate
unit in the same way.
HA uses a hidden VDOM called vsys_ha for HA operations. The vsys_ha VDOM includes the HA heartbeat
interfaces, and all communication over the HA heartbeat link goes through the vsys_ha VDOM. To provide
communication from a subordinate unit to the network, HA adds hidden inter-VDOM links between the primary
unit management VDOM and the primary unit vsys_ha VDOM. By default, root is the management VDOM.
Management traffic from the subordinate unit originates in the subordinate unit vsys_ha VDOM. The vsys_ha
VDOM routes the management traffic over the HA heartbeat link to the primary unit vsys_ha VDOM. This
management traffic is then routed to the primary unit management VDOM and from there out onto the network.
DNS queries and FortiGuard Web Filtering and Email Filter requests are still handled by the HA proxy so the
primary unit and subordinate units share the same DNS query cache and the same FortiGuard Web Filtering and
Email Filter cache. In a virtual clustering configuration, the cluster unit that is the primary unit for the
management virtual domain maintains the FortiGuard Web Filtering, Email Filtering, and DNS query cache.
In an operating cluster, the primary unit communicates directly with the FortiGuard Distribution Network (FDN).
Subordinate units also communicate directly with the FDN but as described above, all communication between
subordinate units and the FDN is routed through the primary unit.
You must register and license all of the units in a cluster for all required FortiGuard services, both because all
cluster units communicate with the FDN and because any cluster unit could potentially become the primary unit.
In an active-passive cluster the FortiGuard Web Filter and Email Filter caches are located on the primary unit in
the same way as for a standalone FortiGate. The caches are not shared among cluster units so after a failover
the new primary unit must build up new caches.
In an active-passive cluster all cluster units also communicate with the FortiGuard Analysis and Management
Service (FAMS).
Because the subordinate units process traffic, they may also be making FortiGuard Web Filtering and Email Filter
requests. The primary unit receives all such requests from the subordinate units and relays them to the FDN and
then relays the FDN responses back to the subordinate units. The FortiGuard Web Filtering and Email Filtering
URL caches are maintained on the primary unit. The primary unit caches are used for primary and subordinate
unit requests.
You configure logging for a cluster in the same way as you configuring logging for a standalone FortiGate. Log
configuration changes made to the cluster are synchronized to all cluster units.
All cluster units record log messages separately to the individual cluster unit’s log disk, to the cluster unit’s system
memory, or both. You can view and manage log messages for each cluster unit from the cluster GUI Log Access
page.
When remote logging is configured, all cluster units send log messages to remote FortiAnalyzer units or other
remote servers as configured. HA uses routing and inter-VDOM links to route subordinate unit log traffic through
the primary unit to the network.
When you configure a FortiAnalyzer unit to receive log messages from a FortiGate cluster, you should add a
cluster to the FortiAnalyzer unit configuration so that the FortiAnalyzer unit can receive log messages from all
cluster units.
3. Set HA Cluster to the serial number of one of the cluster units to display log messages for that unit.
HA event log messages always include the host name and serial number of the cluster unit that recorded the
message. HA event log messages also include the HA state of the unit and also indicate when a cluster unit
switches (or moves) from one HA state to another. Cluster units can operate in the HA states listed below:
HA states
Hello A FortiGate configured for HA operation has started up and is looking for other
FortiGates with which to form a cluster.
HA log Event log messages also indicate the virtual cluster that the cluster unit is operating in as well as the
member number of the unit in the cluster. If virtual domains are not enabled, all clusters unit are always operating
in virtual cluster 1. If virtual domains are enabled, a cluster unit may be operating in virtual cluster 1 or virtual
cluster 2. The member number indicates the position of the cluster unit in the cluster members list. Member 0 is
the primary unit. Member 1 is the first subordinate unit, member 2 is the second subordinate unit, and so on.
HA log messages
See the FortiOS log message reference for a listing of and descriptions of the HA log messages.
These log messages indicate that the cluster units could not connect to each other over the HA heartbeat link for
the period of time that is given by hb-interval x hb-lost-threshold, which is 1.2 seconds with the default values.
1. Check all heartbeat interface connections including cables and switches to make sure they are connected and
operating normally.
2. Use the following commands to display the status of the heartbeat interfaces.
get hardware nic <heartbeat_interface_name>
diagnose hardware deviceinfo nic <heartbeat_interface_name>
The status information may indicate the interface status and link status and also indicate if a large
number of errors have been detected.
3. If the log message only appears during peak traffic times, increase the tolerance for missed HA heartbeat packets
by using the following commands to increase the lost heartbeat threshold and heartbeat interval:
config system ha
set hb-lost-threshold 12
set hb-interval 4
end
These settings multiply by 4 the loss detection interval. You can use higher values as well.
This condition can also occur if the cluster units are located in different buildings or even different
geographical locations. Called a distributed cluster, as a result of the separation it may take a
relatively long time for heartbeat packets to be transmitted between cluster units. You can support a
distributed cluster by increasing the heartbeat interval so that the cluster expects extra time between
heartbeat packets.
4. Optionally disable session-pickup to reduce the processing load on the heartbeat interfaces.
5. Instead of disabling session-pickup you can enable session-pickup-delay to reduce the number of sessions
that are synchronized. With this option enabled only sessions that are active for more than 30 seconds are
synchronized.
It may be useful to monitor CPU and memory usage to check for low memory and high CPU usage. You can
configure event logging to monitor CPU and memory usage. You can also enable the CPU over usage and
memory low SNMP events.
Once this monitoring is in place, try and determine if there have been any changes in the network or an increase
of traffic recently that could be the cause. Check to see if the problem happens frequently and if so what the
pattern is.
To monitor the CPU of the cluster units and troubleshoot further, use the following procedure and commands:
get system performance status
get system performance top 2
diagnose sys top 2
These commands repeated at frequent intervals will show the activity of the CPU and the number of sessions.
Search the Fortinet Knowledge Base for articles about monitoring CPU and Memory usage.
If the problem persists, gather the following information (a console connection might be necessary if connectivity
is lost) and provide it to Technical Support when opening a ticket:
l Debug log from the GUI: System > Advanced > Download Debug Log
l CLI command output:
diagnose sys top 2 (keep it running for 20 seconds)
get system performance status (repeat this command multiple times to get good samples)
get system ha status
diagnose sys ha status
diagnose sys ha dump-by {all options}
diagnose netlink device list
diagnose hardware deviceinfo nic <heartbeat-interface-name>
execute log filter category 1
execute log display
For information about how to remove a unit from a cluster and add it back, see Disconnecting a cluster unit from a
cluster on page 1749 and Adding a disconnected FortiGate back to its cluster on page 1750 .
Once you add the cluster unit with the formatted log disk back to the cluster you should make it the primary unit
before removing other units from the cluster to format their log disks and then add them back to the cluster.
You configure SNMP for a cluster in the same way as configuring SNMP for a standalone FortiGate. SNMP
configuration changes made to the cluster are shared by all cluster units.
Each cluster unit sends its own traps and SNMP manager systems can use SNMP get commands to query each
cluster unit separately. To set SNMP get queries to each cluster unit you must create a special get command that
includes the serial number of the cluster unit.
Alternatively you can use the HA reserved management interface feature to give each cluster unit a different
management IP address. Then you can create an SNMP get command for each cluster unit that just includes the
management IP address and does not have to include the serial number.
<community_name> is an SNMP community name added to the FortiGate configuration. You can add more
than one community name to a FortiGate SNMP configuration. The most commonly used community name is
public.
<address_ipv4> is the IP address of the FortiGate interface that the SNMP manager connects to.
{<OID> | <MIB_field>} is the object identifier (OID) for the MIB field or the MIB field name itself. The HA
MIB fields and OIDs are listed below:
The following SNMP get command gets the HA priority for the primary unit. The community name is public.
The IP address of the cluster interface configured for SNMP management access is 10.10.10.1. The HA priority
MIB field is fgHaPriority and the OID for this MIB field is 1.3.6.1.4.1.12356.101.13.1.3.0 The first command uses
the MIB field name and the second uses the OID:
snmpget -v2c -c public 10.10.10.1 fgHaPriority
<community_name> is an SNMP community name added to the FortiGate configuration. You can add more
than one community name to a FortiGate SNMP configuration. All units in the cluster have the same community
name. The most commonly used community name is public.
<fgt_serial> is the serial number of any cluster unit. For example, FGT4002803033172. You can specify the
serial number of any cluster unit, including the primary unit, to get information for that unit.
<address_ipv4> is the IP address of the FortiGate interface that the SNMP manager connects to.
{<OID> | <MIB_field>} is the object identifier (OID) for the MIB field or the MIB field name itself.
If the serial number matches the serial number of a subordinate unit, the SNMP get request is sent over the HA
heartbeat link to the subordinate unit. After processing the request, the subordinate unit sends the reply back over
the HA heartbeat link back to the primary unit. The primary unit then forwards the response back to the SNMP
manager.
If the serial number matches the serial number of the primary unit, the SNMP get request is processed by the
primary unit. You can actually add a serial number to the community name of any SNMP get request. But
normally you only need to do this for getting information from a subordinate unit.
The following SNMP get command gets the CPU usage for a subordinate unit in a FortiGate-5001SX cluster. The
subordinate unit has serial number FG50012205400050. The community name is public. The IP address of
the FortiGate interface is 10.10.10.1. The HA status table MIB field is fgHaStatsCpuUsage and the OID for this
MIB field is 1.3.6.1.4.1.12356.101.13.2.1.1.3.1. The first command uses the MIB field name and the second
uses the OID for this table:
snmpget -v2c -c public-FG50012205400050 10.10.10.1 fgHaStatsCpuUsage
snmpget -v2c -c public-FG50012205400050 10.10.10.1 1.3.6.1.4.1.12356.101.13.2.1.1.3.1
FortiGate SNMP recognizes the community name with syntax <community_name>-<fgt_serial>. When
the primary unit receives an SNMP get request that includes the community name followed by serial number, the
FGCP extracts the serial number from the request. Then the primary unit redirects the SNMP get request to the
cluster unit with that serial number. If the serial number matches the serial number of the primary unit, the SNMP
get is processed by the primary unit.
The OID for this MIB field is 1.3.6.1.4.1.12356.101.13.2.1.1.2.1. The community name is public.
The IP address of the FortiGate interface is 10.10.10.1.
The first command uses the MIB field name and the second uses the OID for this table and gets the serial
number of the primary unit:
snmpget -v2c -c public 10.10.10.1 fgHaStatsSerial.1
snmpget -v2c -c public 10.10.10.1 1.3.6.1.4.1.12356.101.13.2.1.1.2.1
The second command uses the MIB field name and the second uses the OID for this table and gets the serial
number of the first subordinate unit:
snmpget -v2c -c public 10.10.10.1 fgHaStatsSerial.2
snmpget -v2c -c public 10.10.10.1 1.3.6.1.4.1.12356.101.13.2.2.2
<community_name> is an SNMP community name added to the FortiGate configuration. You can add more
than one community names to a FortiGate SNMP configuration. The most commonly used community name is
public.
<mgmt_address_ipv4> is the IP address of the FortiGate HA reserved management interface that the SNMP
manager connects to.
{<OID> | <MIB_field>} is the object identifier (OID) for the MIB field or the MIB field name itself. To find
OIDs and MIB field names see your FortiGate’s online help.
When you receive the license keys you can visit the Fortinet Support website and add the FortiClient license keys
to each FortiGate. Then, as long as the cluster can connect to the Internet each cluster unit receives its
FortiClient license key from the FortiGuard network.
1. Log into the GUI of each cluster unit using its reserved management interface IP address.
2. Go to the License Information dashboard widget and beside FortiClient select Enter License.
3. Enter the license key and select OK.
4. Confirm that the license has been installed and the correct number of FortiClients are licensed.
5. Repeat for all of the cluster units.
You can also use the reserved management IP address to log into each cluster unit CLI and use following
command to add the license key:
execute FortiClient-NAC update-registration-license <license-key>
You can connect to the CLIs of each cluster unit using their reserved management IP address.
1. Log into the primary unit CLI and enter the following command to confirm the serial number of the primary unit:
get system status
2. Add the FortiClient license key for that serial number to the primary unit:
execute FortiClient-NAC update-registration-license <license-key>
You can also use the GUI to add the license key to the primary unit.
3. Enter the following command to log into the first subordinate unit:
execute ha manage 1
4. Enter the following command to confirm the serial number of the cluster unit that you have logged into:
get system status
5. Add the FortiClient license key for that serial number to the cluster unit:
execute FortiClient-NAC update-registration-license <license-key>
6. Enter the following command to log into the second subordinate unit:
execute ha manage 2
7. Enter the following command to confirm the serial number of the cluster unit that you have logged into:
get system status
8. Add the FortiClient license key for that serial number to the cluster unit:
execute FortiClient-NAC update-registration-license <license-key>
Viewing FortiClient license status and active FortiClient users for each cluster unit
To view FortiClient license status and FortiClient information for each cluster unit you must log into each cluster
unit’s GUI or CLI. You can do this by connecting to each cluster unit’s reserved management interface if they are
configured. If you have not configured reserved management interfaces you can use the execute ha manage
command to log into each cluster unit CLI.
From the GUI, view FortiClient License status from the License Information dashboard widget and select Details
to display the list of active FortiClient users connecting through that cluster unit. You can also see active
FortiClient users by going to User & Device > Monitor > FortiClient.
From the CLI you can use the execute FortiClient {list | info} command to display FortiClient
license status and active FortiClient users.
For example, use the following command to display the FortiClient license status of the cluster unit that you are
logged into:
execute forticlient info
Maximum FortiClient connections: unlimited.
Licensed connections: 114
NAC: 114
WANOPT: 0
Test: 0
Other connections:
IPsec: 0
SSLVPN: 0
Use the following command to display the list of active FortiClient users connecting through the cluster unit. The
output shows the time the connection was established, the type of FortiClient connection, the name of the
device, the user name of the person connecting, the FortiClient ID, the host operating system, and the source IP
address of the session.
execute forticlient list
TIMESTAMP TYPE CONNECT-NAME USER CLIENT-ID HOST-OS SRC-IP
20141017 09:13:33 NAC Gordon-PC Gordon 11F76E902611484A942E31439E428C5C Microsoft
Windows 7 , 64-bit Service Pack 1 (build 7601) 172.20.120.10
20141017 09:11:55 NAC Gordon-PC 11F76E902611484A942E31439E428C5C Microsoft Windows 7 ,
64-bit Service Pack 1 (build 7601) 172.20.120.10
20141017 07:27:11 NAC Desktop11 Richie 9451C0B8EE3740AEB7019E920BB3761B Microsoft
Windows 7, 64-bit Service Pack 1 (build 7601) 172.20.120.20
The cluster members list displays illustrations of the front panels of the cluster units. The displays use color
coding to indicate the status and configuration of individual cluster unit interfaces:
l Green indicates data interfaces that are up and connected to data networks
l Yellow indicates monitored data interfaces that are up and connected to data networks
l Red indicates connected heartbeat interfaces
l Grey indicates unconnected data interfaces
l A pale salmon color indicates disconnected monitored interfaces or heartbeat interfaces
You can hover the mouse pointer over each interface to view the interface IP address (if any) link status, and
speed.
l View HA statistics including uptime, sessions, and throughput for each cluster unit.
l Click and drag to change the order of the cluster units.
l See the host name of each cluster unit. To change the primary unit host name, go to System > Settings and
change the Host Name. To view and change a subordinate unit host name, edit the subordinate unit from the
cluster members list.
l View the status or role of each cluster unit (master or slave).
l View and optionally change the HA configuration of the operating cluster.
l Disconnect a device from the cluster.
To display the virtual cluster members list for an operating cluster log in as the admin administrator, select Global
Configuration and go to System > HA.
The functions of the virtual cluster members list are the same as the functions of the Cluster Members list with
the following exceptions.
l When you edit a primary unit in a virtual cluster, you can change the virtual cluster 1 and virtual cluster 2 device
priority of this cluster unit and you can edit the VDOM partitioning configuration of the cluster.
l When you edit a subordinate unit in a virtual cluster, you can change the device priority for the subordinate unit for
the selected virtual cluster.
Also, the HA cluster members list changes depending on the cluster unit that you connect to.
Viewing HA statistics
From the cluster members list you can select View HA statistics to display the serial number, status, and
monitor information for each cluster unit. To view HA statistics, go to System > HA and select View HA
Statistics. Note the following about the HA statistics display:
l Use the serial number ID to identify each FortiGate in the cluster. The cluster ID matches the FortiGate serial
number.
l Status indicates the status of each cluster unit. A green check mark indicates that the cluster unit is operating
normally. A red X indicates that the cluster unit cannot communicate with the primary unit.
l The up time is the time in days, hours, minutes, and seconds since the cluster unit was last started.
l The GUI displays CPU usage for core processes only. CPU usage for management processes (for example, for
HTTPS connections to the GUI) is excluded.
l The GUI displays memory usage for core processes only. Memory usage for management processes (for example,
for HTTPS connections to the GUI) is excluded.
You can use the HA configuration page to check and fine tune the configuration of the cluster after the cluster is
up and running. For example, if you connect or disconnect cluster interfaces you may want to change the Port
Monitor configuration.
Any changes you make on this page, with the exception of changes to the device priority, are first made to the
primary unit configuration and then synchronized to the subordinate units. Changing the device priority only
affects the primary unit.
You can use the virtual cluster HA configuration page to check and fine tune the configuration of both virtual
clusters after the cluster is up and running. For example, you may want to change the Port Monitor configuration
for virtual cluster 1 and virtual cluster 2 so that each virtual cluster monitors its own interfaces.
You can also use this configuration page to move virtual domains between virtual cluster 1 and virtual cluster 2.
Usually you would distribute virtual domains between the two virtual clusters to balance the amount of traffic
being processed by each virtual cluster.
Any changes you make on this page, with the exception of changes to the device priorities, are first made to the
primary unit configuration and then synchronized to the subordinate unit.
You can also adjust device priorities to configure the role of this cluster unit in the virtual cluster. For example, to
distribute traffic to both cluster units in the virtual cluster configuration, you would want one cluster unit to be the
primary unit for virtual cluster 1 and the other cluster unit to be the primary unit for virtual cluster 2. You can create
this configuration by setting the device priorities. The cluster unit with the highest device priority in virtual cluster 1
becomes the primary unit for virtual cluster 1. The cluster unit with the highest device priority in virtual cluster 2
becomes the primary unit in virtual cluster 2.
To change the host name and device priority of a subordinate unit in an operating cluster with virtual domains
enabled, log in as the admin administrator, select Global Configuration and go to System > HA to display the
cluster members list. Select Edit for any slave (subordinate) unit in the cluster members list.
You can change the host name (Peer) and device priority (Priority) of this subordinate unit. These changes only
affect the configuration of the subordinate unit.
The device priority is not synchronized among cluster members. In a functioning cluster you can change device
priority to change the priority of any unit in the cluster. The next time the cluster negotiates, the cluster unit with
the highest device priority becomes the primary unit.
The device priority range is 0 to 255. The default device priority is 128.
Upgrading cluster firmware to a new major release (for example upgrading from 5.6.3
to 6.0.2) is supported for clusters. Make sure you are taking an appropriate upgrade
path. Even so you should back up your configuration and only perform such a firmware
upgrade during a maintenance window.
To upgrade the firmware without interrupting communication through the cluster, the cluster goes through a
series of steps that involve first upgrading the firmware running on the subordinate units, then making one of the
subordinate units the primary unit, and finally upgrading the firmware on the former primary unit. These steps are
transparent to the user and the network, but depending upon your HA configuration may result in the cluster
selecting a new primary unit.
The following sequence describes in detail the steps the cluster goes through during a firmware upgrade and how
different HA configuration settings may affect the outcome.
1. The administrator uploads a new firmware image from the GUI or CLI.
2. If the cluster is operating in active-active mode load balancing is turned off.
3. The cluster upgrades the firmware running on all of the subordinate units.
4. Once the subordinate units have been upgraded, a new primary unit is selected.
This primary unit will be running the new upgraded firmware.
5. The cluster now upgrades the firmware of the former primary unit.
If the age of the new primary unit is more than 300 seconds (5 minutes) greater than the age of all
other cluster units, the new primary unit continues to operate as the primary unit.
This is the intended behavior but does not usually occur because the age difference of the cluster
units is usually less than the cluster age difference margin of 300 seconds. So instead, the cluster
negotiates again to select a primary unit as described in Primary unit selection on page 1587.
You can keep the cluster from negotiating again by reducing the cluster age difference margin using
the ha-uptime-diff-margin option. However, you should be cautious when reducing the age or
other problems may occur. For information about the cluster age difference margin, see Cluster age
difference margin (grace period) on page 1590. For more information about changing the cluster age
margin, see Changing the cluster age difference margin on page 1591.
6. If the cluster is operating in active-active mode, load balancing is turned back on.
If, during the firmware upgrade process all of the subordinate units crash or otherwise
stop responding, the primary unit will not be upgraded to the new firmware, but will
continue to operate normally. The primary unit waits until at least one subordinate unit
rejoins the cluster before upgrading its firmware.
This procedure describes re-installing the same firmware build on a cluster to force the cluster to upgrade all
cluster units to the same firmware build.
Due to firmware upgrade and synchronization issues, in some cases this procedure may not work. In all cases it
will work to install the same firmware build on the new unit as the one that the cluster is running before adding the
new unit to the cluster.
1. Obtain a firmware image that is the same as build already running on the cluster.
2. Connect to the cluster using the GUI.
3. Go to the System Information dashboard widget.
4. Select Update beside Firmware Version.
You can also install a newer firmware build.
5. Select OK.
After the firmware image is uploaded to the cluster, the primary unit upgrades all cluster units to this
firmware build.
In most cases you can downgrade the firmware on an operating cluster using the same steps as for a firmware
upgrade. A warning message appears during the downgrade but the downgrade usually works and after the
downgrade the cluster continues operating normally with the older firmware image.
Downgrading between some firmware versions, especially if features have changed between the two versions,
may not always work without the requirement to fix configuration issues after the downgrade.
Only perform firmware downgrades during maintenance windows and make sure you back up your cluster
configuration before the downgrade.
If the firmware downgrade that you are planning may not work without configuration loss or other problems, you
can use the following downgrade procedure to make sure your configuration is not lost after the downgrade.
This example shows how to downgrade the cluster shown in Example NAT/Route mode HA network topology.
The cluster consists of two cluster units (FGT_ha_1 and FGT_ha_2). The port1 and port2 interfaces are
connected to networks and the port3 and port4 interfaces are connected together for the HA heartbeat.
This example, describes separating each unit from the cluster and downgrading the firmware for the standalone
FortiGates. There are several ways you could disconnect units from the cluster. This example describes using the
disconnect from cluster function on the cluster members list GUI page.
1. Go to the System Information dashboard widget and backup the cluster configuration.
From the CLI use execute backup config.
2. Go to System > HA and for FGT_ha_1 select the Disconnect from cluster icon.
3. Select the port2 interface and enter an IP address and netmask of 10.11.101.101/24 and select OK.
From the CLI you can enter the following command (FG600B3908600705 is the serial number of the
cluster unit) to be able to manage the standalone FortiGate by connecting to the port2 interface with
IP address and netmask 10.11.101.101/24.
execute ha disconnect FG600B3908600705 port2 10.11.101.101/24
After FGT_ha_1 is disconnected, FGT_ha_2 continues processing traffic.
4. Connect to the FGT_ha_1 GUI or CLI using IP address 10.11.101.101/24 and follow normal procedures to
downgrade standalone FortiGate firmware.
5. When the downgrade is complete confirm that the configuration of 620_ha_1 is correct.
6. Set the HA mode of FGT_ha_2 to Standalone and follow normal procedures to downgrade standalone FortiGate
firmware.
Network communication will be interrupted for a short time during the downgrade.
7. When the downgrade is complete confirm that the configuration of FGT_ha_2 is correct.
8. Set the HA mode of FGT_ha_2 to Active-Passive or the required HA mode.
9. Set the HA mode of FGT_ha_1 to the same mode as FGT_ha_2.
If you have not otherwise changed the HA settings of the cluster units and if the firmware downgrades
have not affected the configurations the units should negotiate and form cluster running the
downgraded firmware.
When restoring the configuration of a cluster, all cluster units reboot to install the new
configuration. This may result in a brief traffic interruption as all cluster units may
restart at the same time.
l If SNMP is enabled, the new primary unit sends HA trap messages. The messages indicate a cluster status change,
HA heartbeat failure, and HA member down.
l If event logging is enabled and HA activity event is selected, the new primary unit records log messages that show
that the unit has become the primary unit.
l If alert email is configured to send email for HA activity events, the new primary unit sends an alert email containing
the log message recorded by the event log.
l The cluster contains fewer FortiGates. The failed primary unit no longer appears on the Cluster Members list.
l The host name and serial number of the primary unit changes. You can see these changes when you log into the
GUI or CLI.
l The cluster info displayed on the dashboard, cluster members list or from the get system ha status
command changes.
If a subordinate unit fails, the cluster continues to function normally. Failure of a subordinate unit results in the
following:
l If event logging is enabled and HA activity event is selected, the primary unit records log messages that show that a
subordinate has been removed from the cluster.
l If alert email is configured to send email for HA activity events, the new primary unit sends an alert email containing
the log message recorded by the event log.
l The cluster contains fewer FortiGates. The failed unit no longer appears on the Cluster Members list.
For a virtual cluster configuration, the get system ha status command displays information about how the
cluster unit that you have logged into is operating in virtual cluster 1 and virtual cluster 2. For example, if you
connect to the cluster unit that is the primary unit for virtual cluster 1 and the subordinate unit for virtual cluster 2,
the output of the get system ha status command shows virtual cluster 1 in the work state and virtual
cluster 2 in the standby state. The get system ha status command also displays additional information
about virtual cluster 1 and virtual cluster 2.
Field Description
HA Health Status Indicates if all cluster units are operating normally (OK) or if a problem was
detected with the cluster. For example, a message similar to ERROR <serial-
number> is lost @ <date> <time> appears if one the subordinate units
leaves the cluster.
The number of days, hours, minutes, and seconds that the cluster has been
Cluster Uptime
operating.
Cluster state The date and time at which the FortiGate most recently changed state. For
changed time example, the last time the FortiGate joined the cluster or changed from the
primary unit to a backup unit, and so on.
Field Description
Master selected Shows how the primary unit was selected the last four times that the cluster
using negotiated. For example, when a cluster first forms, this part of the command
output could have one line showing that the primary unit is the cluster unit with
the highest uptime. Up to four lines can be included as the cluster negotiates to
choose a new primary unit on different occasions. Each line includes a time stamp
and the criteria used to select the primary unit.
override The status of the override option for the current cluster unit: enable or disable.
Configuration
Shows if the configurations of each of the cluster units are synchronized or not.
Status
System Usage Shows how busy each cluster unit is by displaying the number of sessions being
stats processed by the cluster unit, CPU usage, and memory usage.
Shows the status of each cluster unit's heartbeat interfaces. Includes whether the
HBDEV stats interfaces are up or down, how much data they have processed, as well as errors
found.
Master Displays the host name, serial number, and cluster index of the primary unit
Slave (master) and the subordinate units (slave). The FortiGate with cluster index 0 is
the primary unit and the FortiGates with cluster indexes 1 to 3 are the backup
units.
The order in which the cluster units are listed starts with the cluster unit that you
are logged into.
The number of virtual clusters. If virtual domains are not enabled, the cluster has
number of
one virtual cluster. If virtual domains are enabled the cluster has two virtual
vcluster
clusters.
vcluster 1 The heartbeat interface IP address of the primary unit in each virtual cluster. If
vcluster 2 virtual domains are not enabled there is one vcluster and this is the IP address of
the primary unit. If virtual domains are enabled then each vcluster line will have
an IP address. If the IP addresses are the same then the same FortiGate is the
primary unit for both virtual clusters.
Field Description
The HA state (hello, work, or standby) and HA heartbeat IP address of the primary
unit. If virtual domains are not enabled, vcluster 1 displays information for
the cluster. If virtual domains are enabled, vcluster 1 displays information for
virtual cluster 1.
vcluster 1 also lists the primary unit (master) and subordinate units (slave) in
virtual cluster 1. The list includes the serial number and operating cluster index of
each cluster unit in virtual cluster 1. The cluster unit that you have logged into is at
the top of the list. The FortiGate in the cluster with the highest serial number
always has an operating cluster index of 0. Other FortiGates in the cluster get a
higher operating cluster index based in their serial number. When you use the
execute ha manage command to log into another FortiGate you use the
operating cluster index to specify the FortiGate to log into.
vcluster 1
Master If virtual domains are not enabled and you connect to the primary unit CLI, the HA
Slave state of the cluster unit in virtual cluster 1 is work. The display lists the cluster
units starting with the primary unit.
If virtual domains are not enabled and you connect to a subordinate unit CLI, the
HA state of the cluster unit in virtual cluster 1 is standby. The display lists the
cluster units starting with the subordinate unit that you have logged into.
If virtual domains are enabled and you connect to the virtual cluster 1 primary unit
CLI, the HA state of the cluster unit in virtual cluster 1 is work. The display lists the
cluster units starting with the virtual cluster 1 primary unit.
If virtual domains are enabled and you connect to the virtual cluster 1 subordinate
unit CLI, the HA state of the cluster unit in virtual cluster 1 is standby. The display
lists the cluster units starting with the subordinate unit that you are logged into.
vcluster 2 also lists the primary unit (master) and subordinate units (slave) in
virtual cluster 2. The list includes the cluster index and serial number of each
cluster unit in virtual cluster 2. The cluster unit that you have logged into is at the
top of the list.
If you connect to the virtual cluster 2 primary unit CLI, the HA state of the cluster
unit in virtual cluster 2 is work. The display lists the cluster units starting with the
virtual cluster 2 primary unit.
If you connect to the virtual cluster 2 subordinate unit CLI, the HA state of the
cluster unit in virtual cluster 2 is standby. The display lists the cluster units
starting with the subordinate unit that you are logged into.
The following command output was produced by connecting to the primary unit CLI (host name Edge2-
Primary).
get system ha status
HA Health Status: OK
Model: FortiGate-600D
Mode: HA A-P
Group: 25
Debug: 0
Cluster Uptime: 0 days 03:26:00
Cluster state change time: 2018-03-06 13:16:33
Master selected using:
<2018/03/06 13:16:33> FGT6HD3916806098 is selected as the master because it has the
largest value of override priority.
<2018/03/06 12:47:58> FGT6HD3916806070 is selected as the master because it has the
largest value of override priority.
<2018/03/06 12:47:55> FGT6HD3916806098 is selected as the master because it has the
largest value of uptime.
<2018/03/06 12:47:55> FGT6HD3916806098 is selected as the master because it's the only
member in the cluster.
ses_pickup: enable, ses_pickup_delay=disable
override: disable
Configuration Status:
FGT6HD3916806098(updated 1 seconds ago): in-sync
FGT6HD3916806070(updated 2 seconds ago): in-sync
System Usage stats:
FGT6HD3916806098(updated 1 seconds ago):
sessions=141, average-cpu-user/nice/system/idle=0%/0%/0%/100%, memory=34%
FGT6HD3916806070(updated 2 seconds ago):
sessions=12, average-cpu-user/nice/system/idle=0%/0%/0%/100%, memory=33%
HBDEV stats:
FGT6HD3916806098(updated 1 seconds ago):
port3: physical/1000full, up, rx-bytes/packets/dropped/errors=45437370/71531/0/0,
tx=36186194/65035/0/0
port4: physical/1000full, up, rx-bytes/packets/dropped/errors=27843923/39221/0/0,
tx=27510707/39075/0/0
FGT6HD3916806070(updated 2 seconds ago):
port3: physical/1000full, up, rx-bytes/packets/dropped/errors=37267057/67136/0/0,
tx=46354380/73516/0/0
port4: physical/1000full, up, rx-bytes/packets/dropped/errors=28294029/40177/0/0,
tx=28536766/40208/0/0
Master: Edge2-Primary , FGT6HD3916806098, cluster index = 0
Slave : Edge2-Backup , FGT6HD3916806070, cluster index = 1
number of vcluster: 1
vcluster 1: work 169.254.0.1
Master: FGT6HD3916806098, operating cluster index = 0
Slave : FGT6HD3916806070, operating cluster index = 1
The following command output was produced by using execute ha manage 1 to log into the subordinate
unit CLI of the cluster shown in the previous example. The host name of the subordinate unit is Edge2-
Backup.
About the HA operating cluster index and the execute ha manage command
When a cluster starts up, if primary unit select is based on serial number, the FortiGate Cluster Protocol (FGCP)
assigns a cluster index and an HA heartbeat IP address to each cluster unit based on the serial number of the
cluster unit:
l The FGCP selects the cluster unit with the highest serial number to become the primary unit. The FGCP assigns a
cluster index of 0, an operating cluster index of 0, and an HA heartbeat IP address of 169.254.0.1 to this unit.
l The FGCP assigns a cluster index of 1, an operating cluster index of 1, and an HA heartbeat IP address of
169.254.0.2 to the cluster unit with the second highest serial number.
l If the cluster contains more units, the cluster unit with the third highest serial number is assigned a cluster index of
2, and operating cluster index of 2, and an HA heartbeat IP address of 169.254.0.3, and so on.
You can display the cluster index and operating cluster index assigned to each cluster unit using the get
system ha status command. When you use the execute ha manage command you select a cluster unit
to log into by entering its operating cluster index.
The operating cluster index and HA heartbeat IP address only change if a unit leaves the cluster or if a new unit
joins the cluster. When one of these events happens, the FGCP resets the cluster index, operating cluster index,
and HA heartbeat IP address of each cluster unit according to serial number in the same way as when the cluster
first starts up.
If FortiGates don't leave or join, each cluster unit keeps its assigned operating cluster index, and HA heartbeat IP
address since these are based on the FortiGate serial number, even as the units take on different roles in the
cluster. After the operating cluster index and HA heartbeat IP addresses are set according to serial number, the
FGCP checks other primary unit selection criteria such as device priority and monitored interfaces. Checking
these criteria could result in selecting a cluster unit without the highest serial number to operate as the primary
unit.
Even if the cluster unit without the highest serial number now becomes the primary unit, the operating cluster
indexes and HA heartbeat IP addresses assigned to the individual cluster units do not change. Instead the FGCP
changes the cluster index to reflect this role change. The cluster index is always 0 for the primary unit and 1 and
higher for the other units in the cluster. By default both sets of cluster indexes are the same. But if primary unit
selection selects the cluster unit that does not have the highest serial number to be the primary unit, then this
cluster unit is assigned a cluster index of 0.
When you use the CLI command execute ha manage <index_integer> to connect to the CLI of another
cluster unit, the <index_integer> that you enter is the operating cluster index of the unit that you want to
connect to.
You can display the cluster index assigned to each cluster unit using the CLI command get system ha
status. The following example shows the information displayed by the get system ha status command
for a cluster consisting of two FortiGates operating in active-passive HA mode with virtual domains not enabled
and without virtual clustering.
get system ha status
.
.
.
Master: Edge2-Primary , FGT6HD3916806098, cluster index = 0
Slave : Edge2-Backup , FGT6HD3916806070, cluster index = 1
number of vcluster: 1
vcluster 1: work 169.254.0.1
Master: FGT6HD3916806098, operating cluster index = 0
Slave : FGT6HD3916806070, operating cluster index = 1
In this example, the cluster unit with serial number FGT6HD3916806098 has the highest serial number and so
has a cluster index and an operating cluster index of 0 and the cluster unit with serial number
FGT6HD3916806070 has a cluster index and an operating cluster index of 1. From the CLI of the primary unit of
this cluster you can connect to the CLI of the subordinate unit using the following command:
execute ha manage 1
This works because the cluster unit with serial number FGT6HD3916806070 has a cluster index of 1.
The last three lines of the command output display the status of vcluster 1. In a cluster consisting of two cluster
units operating without virtual domains enabled, all clustering actually takes place in virtual cluster 1. HA is
designed to work this way to support virtual clustering. If this cluster was operating with virtual domains enabled,
adding virtual cluster 2 is similar to adding a new copy of virtual cluster 1. Virtual cluster 2 is visible in the get
system ha status command output when you add virtual domains to virtual cluster 2.
The HA heartbeat IP address displayed by the command is the HA heartbeat IP address of the cluster unit that is
actually operating as the primary unit. For a default configuration, this IP address will always be 169.254.0.1
because the cluster unit with the highest serial number will be the primary unit. This IP address changes if the
operating primary unit is not the primary unit with the highest serial number.
Example where the cluster index and operating cluster index do not match
This example shows get system ha status command output for the same cluster. However, in this
example the device priority of the cluster unit with the serial number FGT6HD3916806098 is increased to 250. As
a result the cluster unit with the lowest serial number becomes the primary unit. This means the cluster index and
the operating cluster index of the cluster units do not match.
get system ha status
.
.
.
Master: Edge2-Primary , FGT6HD3916806098, cluster index = 1
Slave : Edge2-Backup , FGT6HD3916806070, cluster index = 0
number of vcluster: 1
vcluster 1: work 169.254.0.2
Master: FGT6HD3916806098, operating cluster index = 0
Slave : FGT6HD3916806070, operating cluster index = 1
The actual cluster indexes have not changed but the operating cluster indexes have. Also, the HA heartbeat IP
address displayed for vcluster 1 has changed to 169.254.0.2.
The get system ha status command output is the same if a cluster is operating with virtual clustering
turned on but with all virtual domains in virtual cluster 1. The following get system ha status command
output example shows the same cluster operating as a virtual cluster with virtual domains in virtual cluster 1 and
added to virtual cluster 2. In this example the cluster unit with serial number FG50012204400045 is the primary
unit for virtual cluster 1 and the cluster unit with serial number FG50012205400050 is the primary unit for virtual
cluster 2.
get system ha status
.
.
.
number of vcluster: 2
vcluster 1: work 169.254.0.2
Master: FG50012205400050, operating cluster index = 1
Slave : FG50012204400045, operating cluster index = 0
vcluster 2: standby 169.254.0.1
You can use the execute ha manage command from the CLI of any cluster unit to log into the CLI of another
the cluster unit. Usually you would use this command from the CLI of the primary unit to log into the CLI of a
subordinate unit. However, if you have logged into a subordinate unit CLI, you can use this command to log into
the primary unit CLI, or the CLI of another subordinate unit.
Using SSH or telnet or the GUI CLI console you can only log into the primary unit CLI. Using a direct console
connection you can log into any cluster unit. In both cases you can use execute ha manage to connect to the
CLI of other cluster units.
2. Enter the following command followed by a space and type a question mark (?):
execute ha manage
The CLI displays a list of the serial numbers of all of the subordinate units in the cluster. Each cluster
unit is numbered. The number is the operating cluster index.
3. Complete the command with the operating cluster index number of the subordinate unit to log into. For example,
to log into subordinate unit 1, enter the following command:
execute ha manage 1
4. Log into the CLI of the selected subordinate unit.
The CLI prompt changes to the host name of the subordinate unit. You can use CLI commands to
manage this subordinate unit. If you make changes to the configuration of any cluster unit (primary or
subordinate unit) these changes are synchronized to all cluster units.
5. You can now use the execute ha manage command to connect to any other cluster unit (including the primary
unit). You can also use the exit command to return to the primary unit CLI.
You can use the following procedures for a standard cluster and for a virtual clustering configuration. To use the
following procedures from a virtual cluster you must be logged in as the admin administrator and you must have
selected Global Configuration.
When you disconnect a cluster unit you must assign an IP address and netmask to one of the interfaces of the
disconnected unit. You can disconnect any unit from the cluster even the primary unit. After the unit is
disconnected, the cluster responds as if the disconnected unit has failed. The cluster may renegotiate and may
select a new primary unit.
When the cluster unit is disconnected the HA mode is changed to standalone. In addition, all interface IP
addresses of the disconnected unit are set to 0.0.0.0 except for the interface that you configure.
Otherwise the configuration of the disconnected unit is not changed. The HA configuration of the disconnected
unit is not changed either (except to change the HA mode to Standalone).
1. Enter the following command to disconnect a cluster unit with serial number FGT5002803033050. The internal
interface of the disconnected unit is set to IP address 1.1.1.1 and netmask 255.255.255.0.
execute ha disconnect FGT5002803033050 internal 1.1.1.1 255.255.255.0
You do not have to change the HA password on the disconnected unit unless the HA
password has been changed after the unit was disconnected. Disconnecting a unit
from a cluster does not change the HA password.
You should make sure that the device priority of the disconnected unit is lower than the
device priority of the current primary unit. You should also make sure that the HA
override CLI option is not enabled on the disconnected unit. Otherwise, when the
disconnected unit joins the cluster, the cluster will renegotiate and the disconnected
unit may become the primary unit. If this happens, the configuration of the
disconnected unit is synchronized to all other cluster units. This configuration change
might disrupt the operation of the cluster.
The following procedure assumes that the disconnected FortiGate is correctly physically connected to your
network and to the cluster but is not running in HA mode and not part of the cluster.
Before you start this procedure you should note the device priority of the primary unit.
1. Log into the CLI of the FortiGate to be added back to the cluster.
2. Enter the following command to access the global configuration and add the FortiGate back to a cluster operating
in active-passive mode and set the device priority to 50 (a low number) so that this unit will not become the
primary unit:
config global
config system ha
set mode a-p
set priority 50
end
end
You may have to also change the group name, group id and password. However if you have not
changed these for the cluster or the FortiGate after it was disconnected from the cluster you should
not have to adjust them now.
kernel
This command displays the HA configuration stored by the kernel.
diagnose sys ha dump-by kernel
HA information.
group_id=88, nvcluster=2, mode=2, load_balance=0, schedule=3, ldb_udp=0.
nvcluster=2, mode=2, ses_pickup=0, delay=0, load_balance=0
schedule=3, ldb_udp=0, standalone_ha=0, upgrade_mode=0.
vcluster 1:
FGT51E5618000206, 0, 0.
FGT51E5618000259, 1, 1.
vcluster 2:
FGT51E5618000206, 1, 1.
FGT51E5618000259, 0, 0.
stat
This command displays some statistics about how well the cluster is functioning. Information includes packet
counts, memory use, failed links and ping failures.
diagnose sys ha dump-by stat
HA information.
packet count = 1, memory = 220.
check_linkfails = 0, linkfails = 0, check_pingsvrfails = 2822
bufcnt = -5, bufmem = 0
In FortiGate active-passive HA, the FortiGate Clustering Protocol (FGCP) provides failover protection. This
means that an active-passive cluster can provide FortiGate services even when one of the cluster units
encounters a problem that would result in complete loss of connectivity for a stand-alone FortiGate. This failover
protection provides a backup mechanism that can be used to reduce the risk of unexpected downtime, especially
in a mission-critical environment.
The FGCP supports three kinds of failover protection. Device failover automatically replaces a failed device and
restarts traffic flow with minimal impact on the network. Link failover maintains traffic flow if a link fails. Session
failover resumes communication sessions with minimal loss of data if a device or link failover occurs.
This chapter describes how FGCP failover protection works and provides detailed NAT/Route and transparent
mode packet flow descriptions.
While the cluster is functioning, the primary unit functions as the FortiGate network security device for the
networks that it is connected to. In addition, the primary unit and subordinate units use the HA heartbeat to keep
in constant communication. The subordinate units report their status to the cluster unit and receive and store
connection and state table updates.
Device failure
If the primary unit encounters a problem that is severe enough to cause it to fail, the remaining cluster units
negotiate to select a new primary unit. This occurs because all of the subordinate units are constantly waiting to
negotiate to become primary units. Only the heartbeat packets sent by the primary unit keep the subordinate
units from becoming primary units. Each received heartbeat packet resets negotiation timers in the subordinate
units. If this timer is allowed to run out because the subordinate units do not receive heartbeat packets from the
primary unit, the subordinate units assume that the primary unit has failed, and negotiate to become primary
units themselves.
Using the same FGCP negotiation process that occurs when the cluster starts up, after they determine that the
primary unit has failed, the subordinate units negotiate amongst themselves to select a new primary unit. The
subordinate unit that wins the negotiation becomes the new primary unit with the same MAC and IP addresses as
the former primary unit. The new primary unit then sends gratuitous ARP packets out all of its interfaces to inform
attached switches to send traffic to the new primary unit. Sessions then resume with the new primary unit.
Link failure
If a primary unit interface fails or is disconnected while a cluster is operation, a link failure occurs. When a link
failure occurs the cluster units negotiate to select a new primary unit. Since the primary unit has not stopped
operating, it participates in the negotiation. The link failure means that a new primary unit must be selected and
the cluster unit with the link failure joins the cluster as a subordinate unit.
Just as for a device failover, the new primary unit sends gratuitous arp packets out all of its interfaces to inform
attached switches to send traffic to it. Sessions then resume with the new primary unit.
If a subordinate unit experiences a device failure its status in the cluster does not change. However, in future
negotiations a cluster unit with a link failure is unlikely to become the primary unit.
Session failover
If you enable session failover (also called session pickup) for the cluster, during cluster operation the primary unit
informs the subordinate units of changes to the primary unit connection and state tables, keeping the subordinate
units up-to-date with the traffic currently being processed by the cluster.
After a failover the new primary unit recognizes open sessions that were being handled by the cluster. The
sessions continue to be processed by the new primary unit and are handled according to their last known state.
If you leave session pickup disabled, the cluster does not keep track of sessions and after a failover, active
sessions have to be restarted or resumed.
Active-active HA load balances sessions among all cluster units. For session failover, the cluster must maintain
all of these sessions. To load balance sessions, the functioning cluster uses a load balancing schedule to
distribute sessions to all cluster units. The shared connection state table tracks the communication sessions
being processed by all cluster units (not just the primary unit). After a failover, the new primary unit uses the load
balancing schedule to re-distribute all of the communication sessions recorded in the shared connection state
table among all of the remaining cluster units. The connections continue to be processed by the cluster, but
possibly by a different cluster unit, and are handled according to their last known state.
Device failover
The FGCP provides transparent device failover. Device failover is a basic requirement of any highly available
system. Device failover means that if a device fails, a replacement device automatically takes the place of the
failed device and continues operating in the same manner as the failed device.
In the case of FortiOS HA, the device is the primary unit. If the primary unit fails, device failover ensures that one
of the subordinate units in the cluster automatically takes the place of the primary unit and can continue
processing network traffic in the same way as the failed primary unit.
Device failover does not maintain communication sessions. After a device failover,
communication sessions have to be restarted. To maintain communication sessions, you
must enable session failover. See Device failover on page 1754.
FortiGate HA device failover is supported by the HA heartbeat, virtual MAC addresses, configuration
synchronization, route synchronization and IPsec VPN SA synchronization.
The HA heartbeat makes sure that the subordinate units detect a primary unit failure. If the primary unit fails to
respond on time to HA heartbeat packets the subordinate units assume that the primary unit has failed and
negotiate to select a new primary unit.
The new primary unit takes the place of the failed primary unit and continues functioning in the same way as the
failed primary unit. For the new primary unit to continue functioning like the failed primary unit, the new primary
unit must be able to reconnect to network devices and the new primary unit must have the same configuration as
the failed primary unit.
FortiGate HA uses virtual MAC addresses to reconnect the new primary unit to network devices. The FGCP
causes the new primary unit interfaces to acquire the same virtual MAC addresses as the failed primary unit. As a
result, the new primary unit has the same network identity as the failed primary unit.
The new primary unit interfaces have different physical connections than the failed primary unit. Both the failed
and the new primary unit interfaces are connected to the same switches, but the new primary unit interfaces are
connected to different ports on these switches. To make sure that the switches send packets to the new primary
unit, the new primary unit interfaces send gratuitous ARP packets to the connected switches. These gratuitous
ARP packets notify the switches that the primary unit MAC and IP addresses are on different switch ports and
cause the switches to send packets to the ports connected to the new primary unit. In this way, the new primary
unit continues to receive packets that would otherwise have been sent to the failed primary unit.
Configuration synchronization means that the new primary unit always has the same configuration as the failed
primary unit. As a result the new primary unit operates in exactly the same way as the failed primary unit. If
configuration synchronization were not available the new primary unit may not process network traffic in the same
way as the failed primary unit.
Kernel routing table synchronization synchronizes the primary unit kernel routing table to all subordinate units so
that after a failover the new primary unit does not have to form a completely new routing table. IPsec VPN SA
synchronization synchronizes IPsec VPN security associations (SAs) and other IPsec session data so that after a
failover the new primary unit can resume IPsec tunnels without having to establish new SAs.
HA heartbeat packets are non-TCP packets that use Ethertype values 0x8890, 0x8891, and 0x8893. The default
time interval between HA heartbeats is 200 ms. The FGCP uses link-local IPv4 addresses in the 169.254.0.x
range for HA heartbeat interface IP addresses.
For best results, isolate the heartbeat devices from your user networks by connecting the heartbeat devices to a
separate switch that is not connected to any network. If the cluster consists of two FortiGates you can connect the
heartbeat device interfaces directly using a crossover cable. Heartbeat packets contain sensitive information
about the cluster configuration. Heartbeat packets may also use a considerable amount of network bandwidth.
For these reasons, it is preferable to isolate heartbeat packets from your user networks.
On startup, a FortiGate configured for HA operation broadcasts HA heartbeat hello packets from its HA heartbeat
interface to find other FortiGates configured to operate in HA mode. If two or more FortiGates operating in HA
mode connect with each other, they compare HA configurations (HA mode, HA password, and HA group ID). If
the HA configurations match, the units negotiate to form a cluster.
While the cluster is operating, the HA heartbeat confirms that all cluster units are functioning normally. The
heartbeat also reports the state of all cluster units, including the communication sessions that they are
processing.
Heartbeat interfaces
A heartbeat interface is an Ethernet network interface in a cluster that is used by the FGCP for HA heartbeat
communications between cluster units.
To change the HA heartbeat configuration go to System > HA and select the FortiGate interfaces to use as HA
heartbeat interfaces.
Do not use a switch port for the HA heartbeat traffic. This configuration is not supported.
From the CLI enter the following command to make port4 and port5 HA heartbeat interfaces and give both
interfaces a heartbeat priority of 150:
config system ha
set hbdev port4 150 port5 150
end
The following example shows how to change the default heartbeat interface configuration so that the port4 and
port1 interfaces can be used for HA heartbeat communication and to give the port4 interface the highest
heartbeat priority so that port4 is the preferred HA heartbeat interface.
config system ha
set hbdev port4 100 port1 50
end
By default, for most FortiGate models two interfaces are configured to be heartbeat interfaces. You can change
the heartbeat interface configuration as required. For example you can select additional or different heartbeat
interfaces. You can also select only one heartbeat interface.
In addition to selecting the heartbeat interfaces, you also set the Priority for each heartbeat interface. In all
cases, the heartbeat interface with the highest priority is used for all HA heartbeat communication. If the interface
fails or becomes disconnected, the selected heartbeat interface that has the next highest priority handles all
heartbeat communication.
If more than one heartbeat interface has the same priority, the heartbeat interface with the highest priority that is
also highest in the heartbeat interface list is used for all HA heartbeat communication. If this interface fails or
becomes disconnected, the selected heartbeat interface with the highest priority that is next highest in the list
handles all heartbeat communication.
The default heartbeat interface configuration sets the priority of two heartbeat interfaces to 50. You can accept
the default heartbeat interface configuration if one or both of the default heartbeat interfaces are connected. You
can select different heartbeat interfaces, select more heartbeat interfaces and change heartbeat priorities
according to your requirements.
For the HA cluster to function correctly, you must select at least one heartbeat interface and this interface of all of
the cluster units must be connected together. If heartbeat communication is interrupted and cannot failover to a
second heartbeat interface, the cluster units will not be able to communicate with each other and more than one
cluster unit may become a primary unit. As a result the cluster stops functioning normally because multiple
devices on the network may be operating as primary units with the same IP and MAC addresses creating a kind if
split brain scenario.
The heartbeat interface priority range is 0 to 512. The default priority when you select a new heartbeat interface is
0. The higher the number the higher the priority.
In most cases you can maintain the default heartbeat interface configuration as long as you can connect the
heartbeat interfaces together. Configuring HA heartbeat interfaces is the same for virtual clustering and for
standard HA clustering.
You can enable heartbeat communications for physical interfaces, but not for VLAN subinterfaces, IPsec VPN
interfaces, redundant interfaces, or for 802.3ad aggregate interfaces. You cannot select these types of interfaces
in the heartbeat interface list.
Selecting more heartbeat interfaces increases reliability. If a heartbeat interface fails or is disconnected, the HA
heartbeat fails over to the next heartbeat interface.
You can select up to 8 heartbeat interfaces. This limit only applies to FortiGates with more than 8 physical
interfaces.
HA heartbeat traffic can use a considerable amount of network bandwidth. If possible, enable HA heartbeat traffic
on interfaces used only for HA heartbeat traffic or on interfaces connected to less busy networks.
HA heartbeat and data traffic are supported on the same cluster interface. In NAT/Route mode, if you decide to
use heartbeat interfaces for processing network traffic or for a management connection, you can assign the
interface any IP address. This IP address does not affect HA heartbeat traffic.
In transparent mode, you can connect the heartbeat interface to your network and enable management access.
You would then establish a management connection to the interface using the transparent mode management IP
address. This configuration does not affect HA heartbeat traffic.
The FGCP checks the linkfail state of all heartbeat interfaces to determine which ones are connected. The FGCP
selects one of these connected heartbeat interfaces to be the one used for heartbeat communication. The FGCP
selects the connected heartbeat interface with the highest priority for heartbeat communication.
If more than one connected heartbeat interface has the highest priority the FGCP selects the heartbeat interface
with the lowest interface index. The GUI lists the FortiGate interfaces in alphabetical order. This order
corresponds to the interface index order with lowest index at the top and highest at the bottom. If more than one
heartbeat interface has the highest priority, the FGCP selects the interface that is highest in the heartbeat
interface list (or first in alphabetical order) for heartbeat communication.
If the interface that is processing heartbeat traffic fails or becomes disconnected, the FGCP uses the same
criteria to select another heartbeat interface for heartbeat communication. If the original heartbeat interface is
fixed or reconnected, the FGCP again selects this interface for heartbeat communication.
The HA heartbeat communicates cluster session information, synchronizes the cluster configuration,
synchronizes the cluster kernel routing table, and reports individual cluster member status. The HA heartbeat
constantly communicates HA status information to make sure that the cluster is operating properly.
l port1
l port2 through 9
l port10
However, interfaces are indexed in hash map order, rather than purely by alphabetic order or purely by interface
number value comparisons. As a result, the list is sorted primarily alphabetical by interface name (for example,
base1 is before port1), then secondarily by index numbers:
l port1
l port10
l port2 through port9
If a failover occurs, the primary unit heartbeat interface could be something other than 169.254.0.1. If for
example, the first subordinate unit is now the primary unit, the primary unit heartbeat interface IP address would
be 169.254.0.2.
The output from the get system ha status CLI command shows the HA heartbeat interface IP address of
the primary unit.
get system ha status
.
.
.
vcluster 1: work 169.254.0.2
.
.
.
You can also use the execute traceroute command from the subordinate unit CLI to display HA heartbeat
IP addresses and the HA inter-VDOM link IP addresses. For example, use execute ha manage 1 to connect
to the subordinate unit CLI and then enter the following command to trace the route to an IP address on your
network:
execute traceroute 172.20.20.10
traceroute to 172.20.20.10 (172.20.20.10), 32 hops max, 72 byte packets
1 169.254.0.1 0 ms 0 ms 0 ms
2 169.254.0.66 0 ms 0 ms 0 ms
3 172.20.20.10 0 ms 0 ms 0 ms
Both HA heartbeat and data traffic are supported on the same FortiGate interface. All heartbeat communication
takes place on a separate VDOM called vsys_ha. Heartbeat traffic uses a virtual interface called port_ha in the
vsys_ha VDOM. Data and heartbeat traffic use the same physical interface, but they’re logically separated into
separate VDOMs.
l HA heartbeat packets for NAT/Route mode clusters use Ethertype 0x8890. These packets are used by cluster units
to find other cluster units and to verify the status of other cluster units while the cluster is operating. You can change
the Ethertype of these packets using the ha-eth-type option of the config system ha command.
l HA heartbeat packets for transparent mode clusters use Ethertype 0x8891. These packets are used by cluster units
to find other cluster units and to verify the status of other cluster units while the cluster is operating. You can change
the Ethertype of these packets using the hc-eth-type option of the config system ha command.
l HA telnet sessions between cluster units over HA heartbeat links use Ethertype 0x8893. The telnet sessions allow
an administrator to connect between FortiGates in the cluster using the execute ha manage command. You
can change the Ethertype of these packets using the l2ep-eth-type option of the config system ha
command.
Because heartbeat packets are recognized as level 2 frames, the switches and routers on your heartbeat network
that connect to heartbeat interfaces must be configured to allow them. If level2 frames are dropped by these
network devices, heartbeat traffic will not be allowed between the cluster units.
Some third-party network equipment may use packets with these Ethertypes for other purposes. For example,
Cisco N5K/Nexus switches use Ethertype 0x8890 for some functions. When one of these switches receives
Ethertype 0x8890 packets from an attached cluster unit, the switch generates CRC errors and the packets are not
forwarded. As a result, FortiGates connected with these switches cannot form a cluster.
In some cases, if the heartbeat interfaces are connected and configured so regular traffic flows but heartbeat
traffic is not forwarded, you can change the configuration of the switch that connects the HA heartbeat interfaces
to allow level2 frames with Ethertypes 0x8890, 0x8891, and 0x8893 to pass.
Alternatively, you can use the following CLI options to change the Ethertypes of the HA heartbeat packets:
config system ha
set ha-eth-type <ha_ethertype_4-digit_hex
set hc-eth-type <hc_ethertype_4-digit_ex>
set l2ep-eth-type <l2ep_ethertype_4-digit_hex>
end
For example, use the following command to change the Ethertype of the HA heartbeat packets from 0x8890 to
0x8895 and to change the Ethertype of HA Telnet session packets from 0x8891 to 0x889f:
config system ha
set ha-eth-type 8895
set l2ep-eth-type 889f
end
A cluster unit CPU may become very busy if the cluster is subject to a syn flood attack, if network traffic is very
heavy, or for other similar reasons. You can use the following CLI commands to configure how the cluster times
HA heartbeat packets:
config system ha
set hb-interval <interval_integer>
set hb-lost-threshold <threshold_integer>
set hello-holddown <holddown_integer>
end
The lost heartbeat threshold is the number of consecutive heartbeat packets that are not received from another
cluster unit before assuming that the cluster unit has failed. The default value is 6, meaning that if the 6
heartbeat packets are not received from a cluster unit then that cluster unit is considered to have failed. The
range is 1 to 60 packets.
If the primary unit does not receive a heartbeat packet from a subordinate unit before the heartbeat threshold
expires, the primary unit assumes that the subordinate unit has failed.
If a subordinate unit does not receive a heartbeat packet from the primary unit before the heartbeat threshold
expires, the subordinate unit assumes that the primary unit has failed. The subordinate unit then begins
negotiating to become the new primary unit.
The lower the hb-lost-threshold the faster a cluster responds when a unit fails. However, sometimes
heartbeat packets may not be sent because a cluster unit is very busy. This can lead to a false positive failure
detection. To reduce these false positives you can increase the hb-lost-threshold.
Use the following CLI command to increase the lost heartbeat threshold to 12:
config system ha
set hb-lost-threshold 12
end
The heartbeat interval is the time between sending HA heartbeat packets. The heartbeat interval range is 1 to 20
(100*ms). The heartbeat interval default is 2 (200 ms).
A heartbeat interval of 2 means the time between heartbeat packets is 200 ms. Changing the heartbeat interval
to 5 changes the time between heartbeat packets to 500 ms (5 * 100ms = 500ms).
The HA heartbeat packets consume more bandwidth if the heartbeat interval is short. But if the heartbeat interval
is very long, the cluster is not as sensitive to topology and other network changes.
Use the following CLI command to increase the heartbeat interval to 10:
config system ha
set hb-interval 10
end
The heartbeat interval combines with the lost heartbeat threshold to set how long a cluster unit waits before
assuming that another cluster unit has failed and is no longer sending heartbeat packets. By default, if a cluster
unit does not receive a heartbeat packet from a cluster unit for 6 * 200 = 1200 milliseconds or 1.2 seconds the
cluster unit assumes that the other cluster unit has failed.
You can increase both the heartbeat interval and the lost heartbeat threshold to reduce false positives. For
example, increasing the heartbeat interval to 20 and the lost heartbeat threshold to 30 means a failure will be
assumed if no heartbeat packets are received after 30 * 2000 milliseconds = 60,000 milliseconds, or 60 seconds.
Use the following CLI command to increase the heartbeat interval to 20 and the lost heartbeat threshold to 30:
config system ha
set hb-lost-threshold 20
set hb-interval 30
end
The hello state hold-down time is the number of seconds that a cluster unit waits before changing from hello state
to work state. After a failure or when starting up, cluster units operate in the hello state to send and receive
heartbeat packets so that all the cluster units can find each other and form a cluster. A cluster unit should change
from the hello state to work state after it finds all of the other FortiGates to form a cluster with. If for some reason
all cluster units cannot find each other during the hello state then some cluster units may be joining the cluster
after it has formed. This can cause disruptions to the cluster and affect how it operates.
One reason for a delay in all of the cluster units joining the cluster could be the cluster units are located at
different sites of if for some other reason communication is delayed between the heartbeat interfaces.
If cluster units are joining your cluster after it has started up of if it takes a while for units to join the cluster you can
increase the time that the cluster units wait in the hello state. The hello state hold-down time range is 5 to 300
seconds. The hello state hold-down time default is 20 seconds.
Use the following CLI command to increase the time to wait in the hello state to 1 minute (60 seconds):
config system ha
set hello-holddown 60
end
If HA heartbeat packets are not encrypted the cluster password and changes to the cluster configuration could be
exposed and an attacker may be able to sniff HA packets to get cluster information. Enabling HA heartbeat
message authentication prevents an attacker from creating false HA heartbeat messages. False HA heartbeat
messages could affect the stability of the cluster.
HA heartbeat encryption and authentication are disabled by default. Enabling HA encryption and authentication
could reduce cluster performance. Use the following CLI command to enable HA heartbeat encryption and
authentication.
config system ha
The amount of traffic required for session synchronization depends on the connections per second (CPS) that the
cluster is processing since only new sessions (and session table updates) need to be synchronized.
Another factor to consider is that if session pickup is enabled, traffic on the heartbeat interface surges during a
failover or when a unit joins or re-joins the cluster. When one of these events happens, the whole session table
needs to be synchronized. Lower bandwith HA heartbeat interfaces may increase failover time if they can't handle
the higher demand during these events.
If the MAC addresses changed after a failover, the network would take longer to recover because all attached
network devices would have to learn the new MAC addresses before they could communicate with the cluster.
If a cluster is operating in NAT/Route mode, the FGCP assigns a different virtual MAC address to each primary
unit interface. VLAN subinterfaces are assigned the same virtual MAC address as the physical interface that the
VLAN subinterface is added to. Redundant interfaces or 802.3ad aggregate interfaces are assigned the virtual
MAC address of the first interface in the redundant or aggregate list.
If a cluster is operating in transparent mode, the FGCP assigns a virtual MAC address for the primary unit
management IP address. Since you can connect to the management IP address from any interface, all of the
FortiGate interfaces appear to have the same virtual MAC address.
A MAC address conflict can occur if two clusters are operating on the same network. See
Diagnosing packet loss with two FortiGate HA clusters in the same broadcast domain on
page 1767 for more information.
Subordinate unit MAC addresses do not change. You can verify this by connecting to the
subordinate unit CLI and using the get hardware interface nic command to
display the MAC addresses of each FortiGate interface.
The MAC address of a reserved management interface is not changed to a virtual MAC
address. Instead the reserved management interface keeps its original MAC address.
When the new primary unit is selected after a failover, the primary unit sends gratuitous ARP packets to update
the devices connected to the cluster interfaces (usually layer-2 switches) with the virtual MAC address. Gratuitous
ARP packets configure connected network devices to associate the cluster virtual MAC addresses and cluster IP
address with primary unit physical interfaces and with the layer-2 switch physical interfaces. This is sometimes
called using gratuitous ARP packets (sometimes called GARP packets) to train the network. The gratuitous ARP
packets sent from the primary unit are intended to make sure that the layer-2 switch forwarding databases (FDBs)
are updated as quickly as possible.
Sending gratuitous ARP packets is not required for routers and hosts on the network because the new primary
unit will have the same MAC and IP addresses as the failed primary unit. However, since the new primary unit
interfaces are connected to different switch interfaces than the failed primary unit, many network switches will
update their FDBs more quickly after a failover if the new primary unit sends gratuitous ARP packets.
Changing how the primary unit sends gratuitous ARP packets after a failover
When a failover occurs it is important that the devices connected to the primary unit update their FDBs as quickly
as possible to reestablish traffic forwarding.
Depending on your network configuration, you may be able to change the number of gratuitous ARP packets and
the time interval between ARP packets to reduce the cluster failover time.
You cannot disable sending gratuitous ARP packets, but you can use the following command to change the
number of packets that are sent. For example, enter the following command to send 20 gratuitous ARP packets:
config system ha
set arps 20
end
You can use this command to configure the primary unit to send from 1 to 60 ARP packets. Usually you would not
change the default setting of 5. In some cases, however, you might want to reduce the number of gratuitous ARP
packets. For example, if your cluster has a large number of VLAN interfaces and virtual domains and because
gratuitous ARP packets are broadcast, sending a higher number gratuitous ARP packets may generate a lot of
network traffic. As long as the cluster still fails over successfully, you could reduce the number of gratuitous ARP
packets that are sent to reduce the amount of traffic produced after a failover.
If failover is taking longer that expected, you may be able to reduce the failover time by increasing the number
gratuitous ARP packets sent.
You can also use the following command to change the time interval in seconds between gratuitous ARP packets.
For example, enter the following command to change the time between ARP packets to 3 seconds:
config system ha
set arps-interval 3
end
The time interval can be in the range of 1 to 20 seconds. The default is 8 seconds between gratuitous ARP
packets. Normally you would not need to change the time interval. However, you could decrease the time to be
able send more packets in less time if your cluster takes a long time to failover.
There may also be a number of reasons to set the interval higher. For example, if your cluster has a large number
of VLAN interfaces and virtual domains and because gratuitous ARP packets are broadcast, sending gratuitous
ARP packets may generate a lot of network traffic. As long as the cluster still fails over successfully you could
increase the interval to reduce the amount of traffic produced after a failover.
For more information about gratuitous ARP packets see RFC 826 and RFC 3927.
In most cases you would want to send gratuitous ARP packets because its a reliable way for the cluster to notify
the network to send traffic to the new primary unit. However, in some cases, sending gratuitous ARP packets may
be less optimal. For example, if you have a cluster of FortiGates in transparent mode, after a failover the new
primary unit will send gratuitous ARP packets to all of the addresses in its Forwarding Database (FDB). If the FDB
has a large number of addresses it may take extra time to send all the packets and the sudden burst of traffic
could disrupt the network.
If you choose to disable sending gratuitous ARP packets you must first enable the link-failed-signal
setting. The cluster must have some way of informing attached network devices that a failover has occurred.
For more information about the link-failed-signal setting, see Updating MAC forwarding tables when a
link failover occurs on page 1784.
<group-id_hex> is the HA Group ID for the cluster converted to hexadecimal.The following table lists the
virtual MAC address set for each group ID.
0 00
1 01
2 02
3 03
4 04
... ...
10 0a
11 0b
... ...
63 3f
... ...
255 ff
<vcluster_integer> is 0 for virtual cluster 1 and 20 for virtual cluster 2. If virtual domains are not enabled,
HA sets the virtual cluster to 1 and by default all interfaces are in the root virtual domain. Including virtual cluster
and virtual domain factors in the virtual MAC address formula means that the same formula can be used whether
or not virtual domains and virtual clustering is enabled.
<idx> is the index number of the interface. Interfaces are numbered from 0 to x (where x is the number of
interfaces). Interfaces are numbered according to their has map order. See Interface index and display order on
page 1758. The first interface has an index of 0. The second interface in the list has an index of 1 and so on.
Only the <idx> part of the virtual MAC address is different for each interface. The
<vcluster_integer> would be different for different interfaces if multiple VDOMs have
been added.
Between FortiOS releases interface indexing may change so the virtual MAC addresses
assigned to individual FortiGate interfaces may also change.
An HA cluster with HA group ID unchanged (default=0) and virtual domains not enabled would have the following
virtual MAC addresses for interfaces port1 to port12:
You can use the get hardware nic <interface_name_str> command to display both MAC addresses
for any FortiGate interface. This command displays hardware information for the specified interface. Depending
on their hardware configuration, this command may display different information for different interfaces. You can
use this command to display the current hardware address as Current_HWaddr and the permanent hardware
address as Permanent_HWaddr. For some interfaces the current hardware address is displayed as MAC. The
command displays a great deal of information about the interface so you may have to scroll the output to find the
hardware addresses.
You can also use the diagnose hardware deviceinfo nic <interface_str>
command to display both MAC addresses for any FortiGate interface.
Before HA configuration the current and permanent hardware addresses are the same. For example for one of
the units in Cluster_1:
FGT60B3907503171 # get hardware nic internal
.
.
.
MAC: 02:09:0f:78:18:c9
Permanent_HWaddr: 02:09:0f:78:18:c9
.
.
.
During HA operation the current hardware address becomes the HA virtual MAC address, for example for the
units in Cluster_1:
FGT60B3907503171 # get hardware nic internal
.
.
.
MAC: 00:09:0f:09:00:02
Permanent_HWaddr: 02:09:0f:78:18:c9
.
.
.
The following command output for Cluster_2 shows the same current hardware address for port1 as for the
internal interface of Cluster_2, indicating a MAC address conflict.
FG300A2904500238 # get hardware nic port1
.
.
.
MAC: 00:09:0f:09:00:02
Permanent_HWaddr: 00:09:0F:85:40:FD
.
.
.
Diagnosing packet loss with two FortiGate HA clusters in the same broadcast domain
A network may experience packet loss when two FortiGate HA clusters have been deployed in the same
broadcast domain. Deploying two HA clusters in the same broadcast domain can result in packet loss because of
MAC address conflicts. The packet loss can be diagnosed by pinging from one cluster to the other or by pinging
both of the clusters from a device within the broadcast domain. You can resolve the MAC address conflict by
changing the HA Group ID configuration of the two clusters. The HA Group ID is sometimes also called the
Cluster ID.
This section describes a topology that can result in packet loss, how to determine if packets are being lost, and
how to correct the problem by changing the HA Group ID.
Packet loss on a network can also be caused by IP address conflicts. Finding and fixing IP
address conflicts can be difficult. However, if you are experiencing packet loss and your
network contains two FortiGate HA clusters you can use the information in this article to
eliminate one possible source of packet loss.
Change the Group ID to change the virtual MAC address of all cluster interfaces. You can change the Group ID
from the FortiGate CLI using the following command:
config system ha
set group-id <id_integer>
end
Example topology
The topology below shows two clusters. The Cluster_1 internal interfaces and the Cluster_2 port 1 interfaces are
both connected to the same broadcast domain. In this topology the broadcast domain could be an internal
network. Both clusters could also be connected to the Internet or to different networks.
If the network is experiencing packet loss, it is possible that you will not notice a problem unless you are
constantly pinging both HA clusters. During normal operation of the network you also might not notice packet loss
because the loss rate may not be severe enough to timeout TCP sessions. Also many common types if TCP
traffic, such as web browsing, may not be greatly affected by packet loss. However, packet loss can have a
significant effect on real time protocols that deliver audio and video data.
To test for packet loss you can set up two constant ping sessions, one to each cluster. If packet loss is occurring
the two ping sessions should show alternating replies and timeouts from each cluster.
Cluster_1 Cluster_2
reply timeout
reply timeout
reply timeout
timeout reply
timeout reply
reply timeout
reply timeout
timeout reply
timeout reply
timeout reply
timeout reply
If two HA clusters with the same virtual MAC address are connected to the same broadcast domain (L2 switch or
hub), the MAC address will conflict and bounce between the two clusters. This example Cisco switch MAC
address table shows the MAC address flapping between different interfaces (1/0/1 and 1/0/4).
1 0009.0f09.0002 DYNAMIC Gi1/0/1
1 0009.0f09.0002 DYNAMIC Gi1/0/4
l HA override.
l HA device priority.
All synchronization activity takes place over the HA heartbeat link using TCP/703 and UDP/703 packets.
In most cases you should not disable automatic configuration synchronization. However, if you have disabled this
feature you can use the execute ha synchronize command to manually synchronize a subordinate unit’s
configuration to that of the primary unit.
You must enter execute ha synchronize commands from the subordinate unit that you want to
synchronize with the primary unit. Use the execute ha manage command to access a subordinate unit CLI.
For example, to access the first subordinate unit and force a synchronization at any time, even if automatic
synchronization is disabled enter:
execute ha manage 0
execute ha synchronize start
You can use the following command to stop a synchronization that is in progress.
execute ha synchronize stop
Incremental synchronization
When you log into the cluster GUI or CLI to make configuration changes, you are actually logging into the primary
unit. All of your configuration changes are first made to the primary unit. Incremental synchronization then
immediately synchronizes these changes to all of the subordinate units.
When you log into a subordinate unit CLI (for example using execute ha manage) all of the configuration
changes that you make to the subordinate unit are also immediately synchronized to all cluster units, including
the primary unit, using the same process.
Incremental synchronization also synchronizes other dynamic configuration information such as the DHCP server
address lease database, routing table updates, IPsec SAs, MAC address tables, and so on. See FortiGate HA
compatibility with DHCP and PPPoE on page 1599 for more information about DHCP server address lease
synchronization and Synchronizing kernel routing tables on page 1777 for information about routing table
updates.
Whenever a change is made to a cluster unit configuration, incremental synchronization sends the same
configuration change to all other cluster units over the HA heartbeat link. An HA synchronization process running
on the each cluster unit receives the configuration change and applies it to the cluster unit. The HA
synchronization process makes the configuration change by entering a CLI command that appears to be entered
by the administrator who made the configuration change in the first place.
Synchronization takes place silently, and no log messages are recorded about the synchronization activity.
However, log messages can be recorded by the cluster units when the synchronization process enters CLI
commands. You can see these log messages on the subordinate units if you enable event logging and set the
minimum severity level to Information and then check the event log messages written by the cluster units when
you make a configuration change.
You can also see these log messages on the primary unit if you make configuration changes from a subordinate
unit.
Periodic synchronization
Incremental synchronization makes sure that as an administrator makes configuration changes, the
configurations of all cluster units remain the same. However, a number of factors could cause one or more cluster
units to go out of sync with the primary unit. For example, if you add a new unit to a functioning cluster, the
configuration of this new unit will not match the configuration of the other cluster units. Its not practical to use
incremental synchronization to change the configuration of the new unit.
Periodic synchronization is a mechanism that looks for synchronization problems and fixes them. Every minute
the cluster compares the configuration file checksum of the primary unit with the configuration file checksums of
each of the subordinate units. If all subordinate unit checksums are the same as the primary unit checksum, all
cluster units are considered synchronized.
If one or more of the subordinate unit checksums is not the same as the primary unit checksum, the subordinate
unit configuration is considered out of sync with the primary unit. The checksum of the out of sync subordinate
unit is checked again every 15 seconds. This re-checking occurs in case the configurations are out of sync
because an incremental configuration sequence has not completed. If the checksums do not match after 5
checks the subordinate unit that is out of sync retrieves the configuration from the primary unit. The subordinate
unit then reloads its configuration and resumes operating as a subordinate unit with the same configuration as
the primary unit.
The configuration of the subordinate unit is reset in this way because when a subordinate unit configuration gets
out of sync with the primary unit configuration there is no efficient way to determine what the configuration
differences are and to correct them. Resetting the subordinate unit configuration becomes the most efficient way
to resynchronize the subordinate unit.
Synchronization requires that all cluster units run the same FortiOS firmware build. If some cluster units are
running different firmware builds, then unstable cluster operation may occur and the cluster units may not be able
to synchronize correctly.
Re-installing the firmware build running on the primary unit forces the primary unit to
upgrade all cluster units to the same firmware build.
primary unit.
slave's configuration is not in sync with master's, sequence:0
slave's configuration is not in sync with master's, sequence:1
slave's configuration is not in sync with master's, sequence:2
slave's configuration is not in sync with master's, sequence:3
slave's configuration is not in sync with master's, sequence:4
slave starts to sync with master
logout all admin users
slave succeeded to sync with master
HA out of sync object messages and the configuration objects that they reference
HA_SYNC_SETTING_AV = 0x10
HA_SYNC_SETTING_IDSCUSTOM = 0x22
HA_SYNC_SETTING_WEBLISTS = 0x30
HA_SYNC_SETTING_EMAILLISTS = 0x40
HA_SYNC_SETTING_DB_VER = 0x55
HA_GET_DETAIL_CSUM = 0x71
The primary unit and subordinate unit checksums should be the same. If they are not you can use the execute
ha synchronize start command to force a synchronization.
The following command output is for the primary unit of a cluster that does not have multiple VDOMs enabled:
diagnose sys ha checksum show
is_manage_master()=1, is_root_master()=1
debugzone
global: a0 7f a7 ff ac 00 d5 b6 82 37 cc 13 3e 0b 9b 77
root: 43 72 47 68 7b da 81 17 c8 f5 10 dd fd 6b e9 57
all: c5 90 ed 22 24 3e 96 06 44 35 b6 63 7c 84 88 d5
checksum
global: a0 7f a7 ff ac 00 d5 b6 82 37 cc 13 3e 0b 9b 77
root: 43 72 47 68 7b da 81 17 c8 f5 10 dd fd 6b e9 57
all: c5 90 ed 22 24 3e 96 06 44 35 b6 63 7c 84 88 d5
The following command output is for a subordinate unit of the same cluster:
diagnose sys ha checksum show
is_manage_master()=0, is_root_master()=0
debugzone
global: a0 7f a7 ff ac 00 d5 b6 82 37 cc 13 3e 0b 9b 77
root: 43 72 47 68 7b da 81 17 c8 f5 10 dd fd 6b e9 57
all: c5 90 ed 22 24 3e 96 06 44 35 b6 63 7c 84 88 d5
checksum
global: a0 7f a7 ff ac 00 d5 b6 82 37 cc 13 3e 0b 9b 77
root: 43 72 47 68 7b da 81 17 c8 f5 10 dd fd 6b e9 57
all: c5 90 ed 22 24 3e 96 06 44 35 b6 63 7c 84 88 d5
The following example shows using this command for the primary unit of a cluster with multiple VDOMs. Two
VDOMs have been added named test and Eng_vdm.
config global
diagnose sys ha checksum show
is_manage_master()=1, is_root_master()=1
debugzone
global: 65 75 88 97 2d 58 1b bf 38 d3 3d 52 5b 0e 30 a9
test: a5 16 34 8c 7a 46 d6 a4 1e 1f c8 64 ec 1b 53 fe
root: 3c 12 45 98 69 f2 d8 08 24 cf 02 ea 71 57 a7 01
Eng_vdm: 64 51 7c 58 97 79 b1 b3 b3 ed 5c ec cd 07 74 09
all: 30 68 77 82 a1 5d 13 99 d1 42 a3 2f 9f b9 15 53
checksum
global: 65 75 88 97 2d 58 1b bf 38 d3 3d 52 5b 0e 30 a9
test: a5 16 34 8c 7a 46 d6 a4 1e 1f c8 64 ec 1b 53 fe
root: 3c 12 45 98 69 f2 d8 08 24 cf 02 ea 71 57 a7 01
Eng_vdm: 64 51 7c 58 97 79 b1 b3 b3 ed 5c ec cd 07 74 09
all: 30 68 77 82 a1 5d 13 99 d1 42 a3 2f 9f b9 15 53
From the subordinate unit:
config global
diagnose sys ha checksum show
is_manage_master()=0, is_root_master()=0
debugzone
global: 65 75 88 97 2d 58 1b bf 38 d3 3d 52 5b 0e 30 a9
test: a5 16 34 8c 7a 46 d6 a4 1e 1f c8 64 ec 1b 53 fe
root: 3c 12 45 98 69 f2 d8 08 24 cf 02 ea 71 57 a7 01
Eng_vdm: 64 51 7c 58 97 79 b1 b3 b3 ed 5c ec cd 07 74 09
all: 30 68 77 82 a1 5d 13 99 d1 42 a3 2f 9f b9 15 53
checksum
global: 65 75 88 97 2d 58 1b bf 38 d3 3d 52 5b 0e 30 a9
test: a5 16 34 8c 7a 46 d6 a4 1e 1f c8 64 ec 1b 53 fe
root: 3c 12 45 98 69 f2 d8 08 24 cf 02 ea 71 57 a7 01
Eng_vdm: 64 51 7c 58 97 79 b1 b3 b3 ed 5c ec cd 07 74 09
all: 30 68 77 82 a1 5d 13 99 d1 42 a3 2f 9f b9 15 53
If HA synchronization is not successful, use the following procedures on each cluster unit to find the cause.
If the previous procedure displays messages that include sync object 0x30 (for example, HA_SYNC_SETTING_
CONFIGURATION = 0x03) there is a synchronization problem with the configuration. Use the following steps
to determine the part of the configuration that is causing the problem.
If your cluster consists of two cluster units, use this procedure to capture the configuration checksums for each
unit. If your cluster consists of more that two cluster units, repeat this procedure for all cluster units that returned
messages that include 0x30 sync object messages.
10. You can also use the grep option to just display checksums for parts of the configuration.
For example to display system related configuration checksums in the root VDOM or log-related
checksums in the global configuration:
diagnose sys ha checksum root | grep system
diagnose sys ha chechsum global | grep log
Generally it is the first non-matching checksum that is the cause of the synchronization problem.
11. Attempt to remove/change the part of the configuration that is causing the problem. You can do this by making
configuration changes from the primary unit or subordinate unit CLI.
12. Enter the following commands to start HA configuration and stop debugging:
execute ha sync start
diagnose debug disable
diagnose debug reset
command output when the checksums listed in the debugzone output don’t match the checksums in the
checksum part of the output.
One solution to this problem could be to re-calculate the checksums. The re-calculated checksums should match
and the out of sync error messages should stop appearing.
Use the following command to view the regular routing table. This table contains all of the configured routes and
routes acquired from dynamic routing protocols and so on. This routing table is not synchronized. On subordinate
units this command will not produce the same output as on the primary unit.
get router info routing-table
Use the following command to view the kernel routing table (FIB). This is the list of resolved routes actually being
used by the FortiOS kernel. The output of this command should be the same on the primary unit and the
subordinate units.
get router info kernel
This section describes how clusters handle dynamic routing failover and also describes how to use CLI
commands to control the timing of routing table updates of the subordinate unit routing tables from the primary
unit.
Change the route-ttl time to control how long routes remain in a cluster unit routing table. The time to live
range is 5 to 3600 seconds. The default time to live is 10 seconds.
The time to live controls how long routes remain active in a cluster unit routing table after the cluster unit
becomes a primary unit. To maintain communication sessions after a cluster unit becomes a primary unit, routes
remain active in the routing table for the route time to live while the new primary unit acquires new routes.
By default, route-ttl is set to 10 which may mean that only a few routes will remain in the routing table after a
failover. Normally keeping route-ttl to 10 or reducing the value to 5 is acceptable because acquiring new
routes usually occurs very quickly, especially if graceful restart is enabled, so only a minor delay is caused by
acquiring new routes.
If the primary unit needs to acquire a very large number of routes, or if for other reasons, there is a delay in
acquiring all routes, the primary unit may not be able to maintain all communication sessions.
You can increase the route time to live if you find that communication sessions are lost after a failover so that the
primary unit can use synchronized routes that are already in the routing table, instead of waiting to acquire new
routes.
Change the route-hold time to change the time that the primary unit waits between sending routing table
updates to subordinate units. The route hold range is 0 to 3600 seconds. The default route hold time is 10
seconds.
To avoid flooding routing table updates to subordinate units, set route-hold to a relatively long time to prevent
subsequent updates from occurring too quickly. Flooding routing table updates can affect cluster performance if a
great deal of routing information is synchronized between cluster units. Increasing the time between updates
means that this data exchange will not have to happen so often.
Change the time the primary unit waits after receiving a routing update
Change the route-wait time to change how long the primary unit waits after receiving routing updates before
sending the updates to the subordinate units. For quick routing table updates to occur, set route-wait to a
relatively short time so that the primary unit does not hold routing table changes for too long before updating the
subordinate units.
Normally, because the route-wait time is 0 seconds the primary unit sends routing table updates to the
subordinate units every time its routing table changes.
Once a routing table update is sent, the primary unit waits the route-hold time before sending the next
update.
Usually routing table updates are periodic and sporadic. Subordinate units should receive these changes as soon
as possible so route-wait is set to 0 seconds. route-hold can be set to a relatively long time because
normally the next route update would not occur for a while.
In some cases, routing table updates can occur in bursts. A large burst of routing table updates can occur if a
router or a link on a network fails or changes. When a burst of routing table updates occurs, there is a potential
that the primary unit could flood the subordinate units with routing table updates. Flooding routing table updates
can affect cluster performance if a great deal of routing information is synchronized between cluster units. Setting
route-wait to a longer time reduces the frequency of additional updates are and prevents flooding of routing
table updates from occurring.
You can solve this problem by configuring graceful restart for the dynamic routing protocols that you are using.
This section describes configuring graceful restart for OSPF and BGP.
To support graceful restart you should make sure the new primary unit keeps its synchronized routing data long
enough to acquire new routing data. You should also increase the HA route time to live, route wait, and route hold
values to 60 using the following CLI command:
config system ha
set route-ttl 60
set route-wait 60
set route-hold 60
end
After the failover, the new primary unit can continue to process communication sessions using the synchronized
routing data received from the failed primary unit before the failover. This gives the new primary unit time to
update its routing table after the failover.
You can use the following commands to enable graceful restart or NSF on Cisco routers:
router ospf 1
log-adjacency-changes
nsf ietf helper strict-lsa-checking
If the cluster is running OSPF, use the following command to enable graceful restart for OSPF:
config router ospf
set restart-mode graceful-restart
end
Enabling BGP graceful restart causes the FortiGate's BGP process to restart which can
temporarily disrupt traffic through the cluster. So normally you should wait for a quiet
time or a maintenance period to enable BGP graceful restart.
Use the following command to enable graceful restart for BGP and set some graceful restart options.
config router bgp
A BFD session created for a static BFD neighbor/peer request will initialize its state as "INIT" instead of "DOWN"
and its detection time asbfd-required-min-rx * bfd-detect-mult milliseconds.
When a BFD control packet with nonzero your_discr is received, if no session can be found to match the your_
discr, instead of discarding the packet, other fields in the packet, such as addressing information, are used to
choose one session that was just initialized, with zero as its remote discriminator.
When a BFD session in the up state receives a control packet with zero as your_discr and down as the state, the
session will change its state into down but will not notify this down event to BGP and/or other registered clients.
You configure monitored interfaces (also called interface monitoring or port monitoring) by selecting the
interfaces to monitor as part of the cluster HA configuration.
The interfaces that you can monitor appear on the port monitor list. You can monitor all FortiGate interfaces
including redundant interfaces and 802.3ad aggregate interfaces.
You cannot monitor the following types of interfaces (you cannot select the interfaces on the port monitor list):
Wait until after the cluster is up and running to enable interface monitoring. You do not need
to configure interface monitoring to get a cluster up and running and interface monitoring
will cause failovers if for some reason during initial setup a monitored interface has become
disconnected. You can always enable interface monitoring once you have verified that the
cluster is connected and operating properly.
You should only monitor interfaces that are connected to networks, because a failover may
occur if you monitor an unconnected interface.
Use the following steps to monitor the port1 and port2 interfaces of a cluster.
Use the following steps to monitor the port1 and port2 interfaces of a cluster.
interface hardware. Cluster units can also detect if its network interfaces are disconnected from the switch they
should be connected to.
Cluster units cannot determine if the switch that its interfaces are connected to is still
connected to the network. However, you can use remote IP monitoring to make sure that
the cluster unit can connect to downstream network devices. See Remote link failover on
page 1787.
Because the primary unit receives all traffic processed by the cluster, a cluster can only process traffic from a
network if the primary unit can connect to it. So, if the link between a network and the primary unit fails, to
maintain communication with this network, the cluster must select a different primary unit; one that is still
connected to the network. Unless another link failure has occurred, the new primary unit will have an active link to
the network and will be able to maintain communication with it.
To support link failover, each cluster unit stores link state information for all monitored cluster units in a link state
database. All cluster units keep this link state database up to date by sharing link state information with the other
cluster units. If one of the monitored interfaces on one of the cluster units becomes disconnected or fails, this
information is immediately shared with all cluster units.
After the failover, the cluster resumes and maintains communication sessions in the same way as for a device
failure. See Device failover on page 1754.
In an active-passive cluster after a subordinate unit link failover, the subordinate unit continues to function
normally as a subordinate unit in the cluster.
l The subordinate unit with the failed monitored interface can continue processing connections between functioning
interfaces. However, the primary unit stops sending sessions to a subordinate unit that use any failed monitored
interfaces on the subordinate unit.
l If session pickup is enabled, all sessions being processed by the subordinate unit failed interface that can be failed
over are failed over to other cluster units. Sessions that cannot be failed over are lost and have to be restarted.
l If session pickup is not enabled all sessions being processed by the subordinate unit failed interface are lost.
traffic flow to and from this network, the cluster must select a different primary unit. This new primary unit should
have an active link to the high priority network.
If a monitored interface on the primary unit fails, the cluster renegotiates and selects the cluster unit with the
highest monitor priority to become the new primary unit. The cluster unit with the highest monitor priority is the
cluster unit with the most monitored interfaces connected to networks.
After a link failover, the primary unit processes all traffic and all subordinate units, even the cluster unit with the
link failure, share session and link status. In addition all configuration changes, routes, and IPsec SAs are
synchronized to the cluster unit with the link failure.
In an active-active cluster, the primary unit load balances traffic to all the units in the cluster. The cluster unit with
the link failure can process connections between its functioning interfaces (for, example if the cluster has
connections to an internal, external, and DMZ network, the cluster unit with the link failure can still process
connections between the external and DMZ networks).
Recovery after a link failover and controlling primary unit selection (controlling falling back to
the prior primary unit)
If you find and correct the problem that caused a link failure (for example, re-connect a disconnected network
cable) the cluster updates its link state database and re-negotiates to select a primary unit.
What happens next depends on how the cluster configuration affects primary unit selection:
l The former primary unit will once again become the primary unit (falling back to becoming the primary unit)
l The primary unit will not change.
As described in Primary unit selection and age on page 1590, when the link is restored, if no options are
configured to control primary unit selection and the cluster age difference is less than 300 seconds the former
primary unit will once again become the primary unit. If the age differences are greater than 300 seconds then a
new primary unit is not selected. Since you have no control on the age difference the outcome can be
unpredictable. This is not a problem in cases where its not important which unit becomes the primary unit.
Then, when you want to restore the original primary unit during a maintenance window you can just set its Device
Priority higher. After it becomes the primary unit you can reset all device priorities to the same value. Alternatively
during a maintenance window you could reboot the current primary unit and any subordinate units except the one
that you want to become the primary unit.
If the override CLI keyword is enabled on one or more cluster units and the device priority of a cluster unit is
set higher than the others, when the link failure is repaired and the cluster unit with the highest device priority will
always become the primary unit.
If you disconnect a cable from a subordinate unit interface the cluster will not renegotiate.
Even when gratuitous ARP packets are sent, some switches may not be able to detect that the primary unit has
become a subordinate unit and will keep sending packets to the former primary unit. This can occur if the switch
does not detect the failure and does not clear its MAC forwarding table.
You have another option available to make sure the switch detects the failover and clears its MAC forwarding
tables. You can use the following command to cause a cluster unit with a monitored interface link failure to briefly
shut down all of its interfaces (except the heartbeat interfaces) after the failover occurs:
config system ha
set link-failed-signal enable
end
Usually this means each interface of the former primary unit is shut down for about a second. When this happens
the switch should be able to detect this failure and clear its MAC forwarding tables of the MAC addresses of the
former primary unit and pickup the MAC addresses of the new primary unit. Each interface will shut down for a
second but the entire process usually takes a few seconds. The more interfaces the FortiGate has, the longer it
will take.
Normally, the new primary unit also sends gratuitous ARP packets that also help the switch update its MAC
forwarding tables to connect to the new primary unit. If link-failed-signal is enabled, sending gratuitous
ARP packets is optional and can be disabled if you don’t need it or if its causing problems. See Disabling
gratuitous ARP packets after a failover on page 1764
The cluster processes traffic flowing between the internal and external networks, between the internal and DMZ
networks, and between the external and DMZ networks. If there are no link failures, FGT1 becomes the primary
unit because it has the highest device priority.
If the port1 link on FGT_1 fails, FGT_2 becomes primary unit because it has fewer interfaces with a link failure. If
the cluster is operating in active-active mode, the cluster load balances traffic between the internal network
(port2) and the DMZ network (port3). Traffic between the Internet (port1) and the internal network (port2) and
between the Internet (port1) and the DMZ network (port3) is processed by the primary unit only.
If port2 on FGT_1 and port1 on FGT_2 fail, then FGT_1 becomes the primary unit. After both of these link
failures, both cluster units have the same monitor priority. So the cluster unit with the highest device priority
(FGT_1) becomes the primary unit.
Only traffic between the Internet (port1) and DMZ (port3) networks can pass through the cluster and the traffic is
handled by the primary unit only. No load balancing will occur if the cluster is operating in active-active mode.
Once configured, this feature works by verifying that the primary unit can connect to the subordinate unit over
each VLAN. This verifies that the switch that the VLAN interfaces are connected to is configured correctly for each
VLAN. If the primary unit cannot connect to the subordinate unit over one of the configured VLANs the primary
unit writes a link monitor log message indicating that the named VLAN went down (log message id 20099).
vlan-hb-lost-threshold is the number of consecutive VLAN heartbeat packets that are not successfully
received across the VLAN before assuming that the VLAN is down. The default value is 3, meaning that if 3
heartbeat packets sent over the VLAN are not received then the VLAN is considered to be down. The range is 1 to
60 packets.
A VLAN heartbeat interval of 5 means the time between heartbeat packets is five seconds. A VLAN heartbeat
threshold of 3 means it takes 5 x 3 = 15 seconds to detect that a VLAN is down.
Sub-second failover
On FortiGate models 395xB and 3x40B HA link failover supports sub-second failover (that is a failover time of less
than one second). Sub-second failover is available for interfaces that can issue a link failure system call when the
interface goes down. When an interface experiences a link failure and sends the link failure system call, the
FGCP receives the system call and initiates a link failover.
For interfaces that do not support sub-second failover, port monitoring regularly polls the connection status of
monitored interfaces. When a check finds that an interface has gone down, port monitoring causes a link failover.
Sub-second failover results in a link failure being detected sooner because the system doesn’t have to wait for the
next poll to find out about the failure.
Sub-second failover can accelerate HA failover to reduce the link failover time to less than one second under ideal
conditions. Actual failover performance may be vary depending on traffic patterns and network configuration. For
example, some network devices may respond slowly to an HA failover.
No configuration changes are required to support sub-second failover. However, for best sub-second failover
results, the recommended heartbeat interval is 100ms and the recommended lost heartbeat threshold is 5 (see
Modifying heartbeat timing on page 1760).
config system ha
set hb-lost-threshold 5
set hb-interval 1
end
For information about how to reduce failover times, see Failover performance on page 1797.
By being able to detect failures in network equipment not directly connected to the cluster, remote IP monitoring
can be useful in a number of ways depending on your network configuration. For example, in a full mesh HA
configuration, with remote IP monitoring, the cluster can detect failures in network equipment that is not directly
connected to the cluster but that would interrupt traffic processed by the cluster if the equipment failed.
In the simplified example topology shown above, the switch connected directly to the primary unit is operating
normally but the link on the other side of the switches fails. As a result traffic can no longer flow between the
primary unit and the Internet.
To detect this failure you can create a link health monitor for port2 that causes the primary unit to test connectivity
to 192.168.20.20. If the health monitor cannot connect to 192.268.20.20 the cluster to fails over and the
subordinate unit becomes the new primary unit. After the failover, the health check monitor on the new primary
unit can connect to 192.168.20.20 so the failover maintains connectivity between the internal network and the
Internet through the cluster.
1. Enter the following commands to configure HA remote monitoring for the example topology.
l Enter the pingserver-monitor-interface keyword to enable HA remote IP monitoring on port2.
l Leave the pingserver-failover-threshold set to the default value of 5. This means a failover occurs
if the link health monitor doesn’t get a response after 5 attempts.
l Enter the pingserver-flip-timeout keyword to set the flip timeout to 120 minutes. After a failover, if HA
remote IP monitoring on the new primary unit also causes a failover, the flip timeout prevents the failover from
occurring until the timer runs out. Setting the pingserver-flip-timeout to 120 means that remote IP
monitoring can only cause a failover every 120 minutes. This flip timeout is required to prevent repeating
failovers if remote IP monitoring causes a failover from all cluster units because none of the cluster units can
connect to the monitored IP addresses.
config system ha
2. Enter the following commands to add a link health monitor for the port2 interface and to set HA remote IP
monitoring priority for this link health monitor.
l Enter the detectserver keyword to set the health monitor server IP address to 192.168.20.20.
l Leave the ha-priority keyword set to the default value of 1. You only need to change this priority if you
change the HA pingserver-failover-threshold. The ha-priority setting is not synchronized
among cluster units.
The ha-priority setting is not synchronized among cluster units. So if you want to
change the ha-priority setting you must change it separately on each cluster unit.
Otherwise it will remain set to the default value of 1.
l Use the interval keyword to set the time between link health checks and use the failtime keyword to set
the number of times that a health check can fail before a failure is detected (the failover threshold). The
following example reduces the failover threshold to 2 but keeps the health check interval at the default value of
5.
config system link-monitor
edit ha-link-monitor
set server 192.168.20.20
set srcintf port2
set ha-priority 1
set interval 5
set failtime 2
end
For example, enable remote IP monitoring for interfaces named port2, port20, and vlan_234:
config system ha
set pingserver-monitor-interface port2 port20 vlan_234
set pingserver-failover-threshold 10
set pingserver-flip-timeout 120
end
Then configure health monitors for each of these interfaces. In the following example, default values are
accepted for all settings other than the server IP address.
config system link-monitor
edit port2
set server 192.168.20.20
next
edit port20
set server 192.168.20.30
next
edit vlan_234
For example, you may have 3 link monitors configured on three interfaces but only want a failover to occur if two
of the link monitors fail. To do this you must set the HA priorities of the link monitors and the HA pingserver-
failover-threshold so that the priority of one link monitor is less than the failover threshold but the added
priorities of two link monitors is equal to or greater than the failover threshold. Failover occurs when the HA
priority of all failed link monitors reaches or exceeds the threshold.
For example, set the failover threshold to 10 and monitor three interfaces:
config system ha
set pingserver-monitor-interface port2 port20 vlan_234
set pingserver-failover-threshold 10
set pingserver-flip-timeout 120
end
Then set the HA priority of link monitor server to 5.
The HA Priority (ha-priority) setting is not synchronized among cluster units. In the
following example, you must set the HA priority to 5 by logging into each cluster unit.
By adding multiple link monitors and setting the HA priorities for each, you can fine tune remote IP monitoring.
For example, if it is more important to maintain connections to some networks you can set the HA priorities higher
for these link monitors. And if it is less important to maintain connections to other networks you can set the HA
priorities lower for these link monitors. You can also adjust the failover threshold so that if the cluster cannot
connect to one or two high priority IP addresses a failover occurs. But a failover will not occur if the cluster cannot
connect to one or two low priority IP addresses.
Flip timeout
The HA remote IP monitoring configuration also involves setting a flip timeout. The flip timeout is required to
reduce the frequency of failovers if, after a failover, HA remote IP monitoring on the new primary unit also causes
a failover. This can happen if the new primary unit cannot connect to one or more of the monitored remote IP
addresses. The result could be that until you fix the network problem that blocks connections to the remote IP
addresses, the cluster will experience repeated failovers. You can control how often the failovers occur by setting
the flip timeout. The flip timeout stops HA remote IP monitoring from causing a failover until the primary unit has
been operating for the duration of the flip timeout.
If you set the flip timeout to a relatively high number of minutes you can find and repair the network problem that
prevented the cluster from connecting to the remote IP address without the cluster experiencing very many
failovers. Even if it takes a while to detect the problem, repeated failovers at relatively long time intervals do not
usually disrupt network traffic.
Use the following command to set the flip timeout to 3 hours (360 minutes):
config system ha
set pingserver-flip-timeout 360
end
The primary unit starts remote IP monitoring again. If the remote link is restored the cluster continues to operate
normally. If, however, the remote link is still down, remote link failover causes the cluster to failover again. This
will repeat each time the flip timeout expires until the failed remote link is restored.
You can use the pingserver-slave-force-reset option to control this behavior. By default this option is
enabled and the behavior described above occurs. The overall behavior is that when the remote link is restored
the cluster automatically returns to normal operation after the flip timeout.
If you disable pingserver-slave-force-reset after the initial remote IP monitoring failover nothing will
happen after the flip timeout (as long as the new primary unit doesn't experience some kind of failover. The result
is that repeated failovers no longer happen. But it also means that the original primary unit will remain the
subordinate unit and will not resume operating as the primary unit.
Also, individual session failover depends on whether the cluster is operating in active-active or active-passive
mode, and whether the content of the traffic is to be virus scanned. Depending on application behavior, it may
take a TCP session a longer period of time (up to 30 seconds) to recover completely.
In an active-passive cluster operating in NAT/Route mode, four MAC addresses are involved in communication
between the client and the web server when the primary unit processes the connection:
l Internal virtual MAC address (MAC_V_int) assigned to the primary unit internal interface,
l External virtual MAC address (MAC_V_ext) assigned to the primary unit external interface,
l Client MAC address (MAC_Client),
l Server MAC address (MAC_Server),
In NAT/Route mode, the HA cluster works as a gateway when it responds to ARP requests. Therefore, the client
and server only know the gateway MAC addresses. The client only knows the cluster internal virtual MAC address
(MAC_V_int) and the server only know the cluster external virtual MAC address (MAC_V_int).
8. The primary unit continues to process packets in this way unless a failover occurs.
7. The primary unit continues to process packets in this way unless a failover occurs.
1. If the primary unit fails the subordinate unit becomes the primary unit.
2. The new primary unit changes the MAC addresses of all of its interfaces to the HA virtual MAC addresses.
The new primary unit has the same IP addresses and MAC addresses as the failed primary unit.
3. The new primary units sends gratuitous ARP packets from the internal interface to the 10.11.101.0 network to
associate its internal IP address with the internal virtual MAC address.
4. The new primary units sends gratuitous ARP packets to the 172.20.120.0 to associate its external IP address with
the external virtual MAC address.
5. Traffic sent to the cluster is now received and processed by the new primary unit.
If there were more than two cluster units in the original cluster, these remaining units would become
subordinate units.
In an active-passive cluster operating in transparent mode, two MAC addresses are involved in the
communication between a client and a server when the primary unit processes a connection:
The cluster’s presence on the network is transparent to the client and server computers. The primary unit sends
gratuitous ARP packets to Switch 1 that associate all MAC addresses on the network segment connected to the
cluster external interface with the HA virtual MAC address. The primary unit also sends gratuitous ARP packets to
Switch 2 that associate all MAC addresses on the network segment connected to the cluster internal interface
with the HA virtual MAC address. In both cases, this results in the switches sending packets to the primary unit
interfaces.
8. The primary unit continues to process packets in this way unless a failover occurs.
7. The primary unit continues to process packets in this way unless a failover occurs.
1. If the primary unit fails, the subordinate unit negotiates to become the primary unit.
2. The new primary unit changes the MAC addresses of all of its interfaces to the HA virtual MAC address.
3. The new primary units sends gratuitous ARP packets to switch 1 to associate its MAC address with the MAC
addresses on the network segment connected to the external interface.
4. The new primary units sends gratuitous ARP packets to switch 2 to associate its MAC address with the MAC
addresses on the network segment connected to the internal interface.
5. Traffic sent to the cluster is now received and processed by the new primary unit.
If there were more than two cluster units in the original cluster, these remaining units would become
subordinate units.
Failover performance
This section describes the designed device and link failover times for a FortiGate cluster and also shows results of
a failover performance test.
All cluster units regularly receive HA heartbeat packets from all other cluster units over the HA heartbeat link. If
any cluster unit does not receive a heartbeat packet from any other cluster unit for 2 seconds, the cluster unit that
has not sent heartbeat packets is considered to have failed.
It may take another few seconds for the cluster to negotiate and re-distribute communication sessions. Typically
if sub-second failover is not enabled you can expect a failover time of 9 to 15 seconds depending on the cluster
and network configuration. The failover time can also be increased by more complex configurations and or
configurations with network equipment that is slow to respond.
You can change the hb-lost-threshold to increase or decrease the device failover time. See Modifying
heartbeat timing on page 1760 for information about using hb-lost-threshold, and other heartbeat timing
settings.
It may take another few seconds for the cluster to negotiate and re-distribute communication sessions.
l Reduce the time between gratuitous arp packets. This may also caused connected network equipment to recognize
the failover sooner. To send 50 gratuitous arp packets with 1 second between each packet:
config system ha
set arps 50
set arps-interval 1
end
l Reduce the number of lost heartbeat packets and reduce the heartbeat interval timers to be able to more quickly
detect a device failure. To set the lost heartbeat threshold to 3 packets and the heartbeat interval to 100
milliseconds:
config system ha
set hb-interval 1
set hb-lost-threshold 3
end
l Reduce the hello state hold down time to reduce the amount of the time the cluster waits before transitioning from
the hello to the work state. To set the hello state hold down time to 5 seconds:
config system ha
set hello-holddown 5
end
l Enable sending a link failed signal after a link failover to make sure that attached network equipment responds a
quickly as possible to a link failure. To enable the link failed signal:
config system ha
set link-failed-signal enable
end
Session failover means that after the primary unit fails, communications sessions resume on the new primary unit
with minimal or no interruption. Two categories of sessions need to be resumed after a failover:
After a failover the new primary unit recognizes open sessions that were being handled by the cluster. The
sessions continue to be processed by the new primary unit and are handled according to their last known state.
Session-pickup has some limitations. For example, session failover is not supported
for sessions being scanned by proxy-based security profiles. Session failover is
supported for sessions being scanned by flow-based security profiles; however, flow-
based sessions that fail over are not inspected after they fail over. For more
limitations, see Session failover limitations for sessions passing through the cluster on
page 1801.
Session terminated by the cluster include management sessions (such as HTTPS connections to the FortiGate
GUI or SSH connection to the CLI as well as SNMP and logging and so on). Also included in this category are
IPsec VPN, SSL VPN, sessions terminated by the cluster, explicit proxy, WAN Optimization and web caching. In
general, whether or not session-pickup is enabled, these sessions do not failover and have to be restarted. There
are some exceptions though, particularly for IPsec and SSL VPN. For more information, see Session failover
limitations for sessions terminated by the cluster on page 1804.
Enabling session-pickup for TCP, UDP, ICMP, and multicast session failover
To enable session-pickup, go to System > HA and enable session-pickup.
If the primary unit fails, the new primary unit uses its synchronized session table to resume all TCP sessions that
were being processed by the former primary unit with only minimal interruption. Under ideal conditions all TCP
sessions should be resumed. This is not guaranteed though and under less than ideal conditions some TCP
sessions may need to be restarted.
config system ha
set session-pickup-connectionless enable
end
The session-pickup setting does not affect session failover for sessions terminated by
the cluster.
If you do not require session failover protection, leaving session pickup disabled may reduce CPU usage and
reduce HA heartbeat network bandwidth usage. Also if your cluster is mainly being used for traffic that is not
synchronized (for example, for proxy-based security profile processing) enabling session pickup is not
recommended since most sessions will not be failed over anyway.
If session pickup is not enabled, the FGCP does not synchronize the primary unit session table to other cluster
units and sessions do not resume after a failover. After a device or link failover all sessions are briefly interrupted
and must be re-established at the application level after the cluster renegotiates.
Many protocols can successfully restart sessions with little, if any, loss of data. For example, after a failover,
users browsing the web can just refresh their browsers to resume browsing. Since most HTTP sessions are very
short, in most cases they will not even notice an interruption unless they are downloading large files. Users
downloading a large file may have to restart their download after a failover.
Other protocols may experience data loss and some protocols may require sessions to be manually restarted. For
example, a user downloading files with FTP may have to either restart downloads or restart their FTP client.
Moving session synchronization from the HA heartbeat interface reduces the bandwidth required for HA heartbeat
traffic and may improve the efficiency and performance of the cluster, especially if the cluster is synchronizing a
large number of sessions. Load balancing session synchronization among multiple interfaces can further improve
performance and efficiency if the cluster is synchronizing a large number of sessions.
Use the following command to perform cluster session synchronization using the port10 and port12 interfaces.
config system ha
set session-sync-dev port10 port12
end
Session synchronization packets use Ethertype 0x8892. The interfaces to use for session synchronization must
be connected together either directly using the appropriate cable (possible if there are only two units in the
cluster) or using switches. If one of the interfaces becomes disconnected the cluster uses the remaining
interfaces for session synchronization. If all of the session synchronization interfaces become disconnected,
session synchronization reverts back to using the HA heartbeat link. All session synchronization traffic is between
the primary unit and each subordinate unit.
Since large amounts of session synchronization traffic can increase network congestion, it is recommended that
you keep this traffic off of your network by using dedicated connections for it.
Most TCP Supported if session-pickup is enabled. (More about TCP session failover on page 1802)
sessions.
Multicast
Supported if multicast session-pickup is enabled. (Enabling multicast session failover).
sessions
Not Supported, sessions have to be restarted. Proxy-based features require the FortiGate to
Proxy-based
maintain very large amounts of internal state information for each session. The FGCP does not
security
synchronize this internal state information. As a result, proxy-based sessions are not failed over.
profile
Active-active clusters can resume some of these sessions after a failover. (Active-active HA
sessions
subordinate units sessions can resume after a failover on page 1804)
Flow-based Supported if session-pickup is enabled. Flow-based sessions failover, but internal state information
security is not synchronized so sessions that fail over are no longer inspected by security profile functions.
profile
sessions. If both flow-based and proxy-based security profile features are applied to a TCP session, that
session will not resume after a failover.
UDP and
ICMP, or Supported if connectionless session-pickup is enabled. Otherwise, sessions have to be restarted.
broadcast (UDP, ICMP, and broadcast packet session failover on page 1803)
sessions
GPRS Supported with limitations. (FortiOS Carrier GTP session failover on page 1804)
Tunneling
Protocol
(GTP)
SIP Supported for active-passive HA only. (SIP session failover on page 1803)
SSL
offloading Not supported, sessions have to be restarted. (SSL offloading and HTTP multiplexing session
and HTTP failover on page 1804)
multiplexing
l TCP sessions that are not virus scanned, web filtered, spam filtered, content archived, or are not SIP, SIMPLE, or
SCCP signal traffic resume after a failover, even if they are accepted by a security policy with security profile options
enabled. For example, SNMP TCP sessions through the FortiGate resume after a failover because FortiOS does
not apply any security profile options to SNMP sessions.
l TCP sessions for a protocol for which security profile features have not been enabled resume after a failover even if
they are accepted by a security policy with security profile features enabled. For example, if you have not enabled
any antivirus or content archiving settings for FTP, FTP sessions resume after a failover.
Some UDP traffic can continue to flow through the cluster after a failover. This can happen if, after the failover, a
UDP packet that is part of an already established communication stream matches a security policy. Then a new
session will be created and traffic will flow. So after a short interruption, UDP sessions can appear to have failed
over. However, this may not be reliable for the following reasons:
l UDP packets in the direction of the security policy must be received before reply packets can be accepted. For
example, if a port1 -> port2 policy accepts UDP packets, UDP packets received at port2 destined for the network
connected to port1 will not be accepted until the policy accepts UDP packets at port1 that are destined for the
network connected to port2. So, if a user connects from an internal network to the Internet and starts receiving UDP
packets from the Internet (for example streaming media), after a failover the user will not receive any more UDP
packets until the user re-connects to the Internet site.
l UDP sessions accepted by NAT policies will not resume after a failover because NAT will usually give the new
session a different source port. So only traffic for UDP protocols that can handle the source port changing during a
session will continue to flow.
You can however, enable session pickup for UDP and ICMP packets by enabling session pickup for TCP sessions
and then enabling session pickup for connectionless sessions:
config system ha
set session-pickup enable
set session-pickup-connectionless enable
end
This configuration causes the cluster units to synchronize UDP and ICMP session tables and if a failover occurs
UDP and ICMP sessions are maintained.
SIP session failover replicates SIP states to all cluster units. If an HA failover occurs, all in-progress SIP calls
(setup complete) and their RTP flows are maintained and the calls will continue after the failover with minimal or
no interruption.
SIP calls being set up at the time of a failover may lose signaling messages. In most cases the SIP clients and
servers should use message retransmission to complete the call setup after the failover has completed. As a
result, SIP users may experience a delay if their calls are being set up when an HA a failover occurs. But in most
cases the call setup should be able to continue after the failover.
The limitation on packets continuing to flow is that there has to be a security policy to accept the packets. For
example, if the FortiOS Carrier unit has an internal to external security policy, GTP UDP sessions using an
established tunnel that are received by the internal interface are accepted by the security policy and can continue
to flow. However, GTP UDP packets for an established tunnel that are received at the external interface cannot
flow until packets from the same tunnel are received at the internal interface.
If you have bi-directional policies that accept GTP UDP sessions then traffic in either direction that uses an
established tunnel can continue to flow after a failover without interruption.
The cluster keeps processing as many sessions as it can. But some sessions can be lost. Depending on what
caused the failover, sessions can be lost in the following ways:
l A cluster unit fails (the primary unit or a subordinate unit). All sessions that were being processed by that cluster unit
are lost.
l A link failure occurs. All sessions that were being processed through the network interface that failed are lost.
This mechanism for continuing sessions is not the same as session failover because:
In general, most sessions terminated by the cluster have to be restarted after a failover. There are some
exceptions though, for example, the FGCP provides failover for IPsec and SSL VPN sessions terminated by the
cluster.
The session pickup setting does not affect session failover for sessions terminated by
the cluster. Also other cluster settings such as active-active or active-passive mode do
not affect session failover for sessions terminated by the cluster.
IPsec VPN tunnels terminating at the Supported. SAs and related IPsec VPN tunnel data is synchronized to
FortiGate cluster members. (Synchronizing IPsec VPN SAs on page 1806)
PPTP and L2TP VPN terminating at the Not supported, sessions have to be restarted.
FortiGate
Explicit web proxy, explicit FTP proxy, WCCP, WAN optimization and Web Caching session
failover
Explicit web proxy, explicit FTP proxy, WCCP, WAN optimization and web caching sessions all require the
FortiGate to maintain very large amounts of internal state information for each session. This information is not
maintained and these sessions do not resume after a failover.
The active-passive HA clustering is recommended for WAN optimization. All WAN optimization sessions are
processed by the primary unit only. Even if the cluster is operating in active-active mode, HA does not load-
balance WAN optimization sessions.
Also, Web cache and byte cache databases are only stored on the primary unit. These databases are not
synchronized to the cluster. So, after a failover, the new primary unit must rebuild its web and byte caches. As
well, the new primary unit cannot connect to a SAS partition that the failed primary unit used.
Rebuilding the byte caches can happen relatively quickly because the new primary unit gets byte cache data from
the other FortiGates that it is participating with in WAN optimization tunnels.
However, all sessions inside the SSL VPN tunnel that were running before the failover are stopped and have to be
restarted. For example, file transfers that were in progress would have to be restarted. As well, any
communication sessions with resources behind the FortiGate that are started by an SSL VPN session have to be
restarted.
To support SSL VPN cookie failover, when an SSL VPN session starts, the FGCP distributes the cookie created to
identify the SSL VPN session to all cluster units.
The FGCP implements slightly different synchronization mechanisms for IKEv1 and IKEv2.
ICMP fragmentation required. However, as soon as routing is re-established then the MTU will be corrected and
traffic will flow.
For IKEv2, like IKEv1, the FGCP synchronizes IKE and ISAKMP SAs from the primary unit to the subordinate
units. However, for IKEv2 the FGCP cannot actually use this IKE SA to send/receive IKE traffic because IKEv2
includes a sequence number in every IKE message and thus it would require synchronizing every message to the
subordinate units to keep the sequence numbers on the subordinate units up to date.
Instead, the FGCP synchronizes IKEv2 Message IDs. This Message ID Sync allows IKEv2 to re-negotiate send
and receive message ID counters after a failover. By doing this, the established IKE SA can remain up, instead of
re-negotiating.
The diagnose vpn ike stats command shows statistics for the number of HA messages sent/received for
IKEv2. The output of this command includes a number of fields prefixed with ha that contain high availability
related-data. For example:
.
.
.
ha.resync: 0
ha.vike.sync: 0
ha.conn.sync: 0
ha.sync.tx: 1
ha.sync.rx: 0
ha.sync.rx.len.bad: 0
.
.
.
In a cluster, the primary unit only stores web cache and byte cache databases. These databases are not
synchronized to the subordinate units. So, after a failover, the new primary unit must rebuild its web and byte
caches. As well, the new primary unit cannot connect to a SAS partition that the failed primary unit used.
Rebuilding the byte caches can happen relatively quickly because the new primary unit gets byte cache data from
the other FortiGates that it is participating with in WAN optimization tunnels.
FGCP active-active (a-a) load balancing distributes network traffic among all of the units in a cluster. Load
balancing can improve cluster performance because the processing load is shared among multiple cluster units.
This chapter describes how active-active load balancing works and provides detailed active-active HA NAT/Route
and transparent mode packet flow descriptions.
By default, active-active HA load balancing distributes proxy-based security profile processing to all cluster units.
Proxy-based security profile processing is CPU and memory-intensive, so FGCP load balancing may result in
higher throughput because resource-intensive processing is distributed among all cluster units.
Proxy-based security profile processing that is load balanced includes proxy-based virus scanning, proxy-based
web filtering, proxy-based email filtering, and proxy-based data leak prevention (DLP) of HTTP, FTP, IMAP,
IMAPS, POP3, POP3S, SMTP, SMTPS, IM, and NNTP, sessions accepted by security policies.
Other features enabled in security policies such as Endpoint security, traffic shaping and authentication have no
effect on active-active load balancing.
You can also enable load-balance-all to have the primary unit load balance all TCP sessions. Load
balancing TCP sessions increases overhead and may actually reduce performance so it is disabled by default.
You can also enable load-balance-udp to have the primary unit load balance all UDP sessions. Load
balancing UDP sessions also increases overhead so it is also disabled by default.
NP4 and NP6 processors can also offload and accelerate load balancing.
During active-active HA load balancing the primary unit uses the configured load balancing schedule to determine
the cluster unit that will process a session. The primary unit stores the load balancing information for each load
balanced session in the cluster load balancing session table. Using the information in this table, the primary unit
can then forward all of the remaining packets in each session to the appropriate cluster unit. The load balancing
session table is synchronized among all cluster units.
HTTPS, ICMP, multicast, and broadcast sessions are never load balanced and are always processed by the
primary unit. IPS, Application Control, flow-based virus scanning, flow-based web filtering, flow-based DLP, flow-
based email filtering, VoIP, IM, P2P, IPsec VPN, HTTPS, SSL VPN, HTTP multiplexing, SSL offloading, WAN
optimization, explicit web proxy, and WCCP sessions are also always processed only by the primary unit.
In addition to load balancing, active-active HA also provides the same session, device and link failover protection
as active-passive HA. If the primary unit fails, a subordinate unit becomes the primary unit and resumes operating
the cluster.
Active-active HA also maintains as many load balanced sessions as possible after a failover by continuing to
process the load balanced sessions that were being processed by the cluster units that are still operating. See
Active-active HA subordinate units sessions can resume after a failover on page 1 for more information.
Schedule Description
None No load balancing. Select None when the cluster interfaces are connected to load
balancing switches. If you select None, the Primary unit does not load balance traffic
and the subordinate units process incoming traffic that does not come from the
Primary unit. For all other load balancing schedules, all traffic is received first by the
Primary unit, and then forwarded to the subordinate units. The subordinate units only
receive and process packets sent from the primary unit.
Load balancing if the cluster interfaces are connected to a hub. Traffic is distributed to
Hub
cluster units based on the source IP and destination IP of the packet.
Least-Connection If the cluster units are connected using switches, select Least Connection to
distribute network traffic to the cluster unit currently processing the fewest
connections.
If the cluster units are connected using switches, select Round-Robin to distribute
Round-Robin
network traffic to the next available cluster unit.
Weighted Similar to round robin, but weighted values are assigned to each of the units in a
Round-Robin cluster based on their capacity and on how many connections they are currently
processing. For example, the primary unit should have a lower weighted value
because it handles scheduling and forwards traffic. Weighted round robin distributes
traffic more evenly because units that are not processing traffic will be more likely to
receive new connections than units that are very busy.
If the cluster units are connected using switches, select Random to randomly
Random
distribute traffic to cluster units.
IP Load balancing according to IP address. If the cluster units are connected using
switches, select IP to distribute traffic to units in a cluster based on the source IP and
destination IP of the packet.
Load balancing according to IP address and port. If the cluster units are connected
IP Port using switches, select IP Port to distribute traffic to units in a cluster based on the
source IP, source port, destination IP, and destination port of the packet.
Once a packet has been propagated to a subordinate unit, all packets are part of that same communication
session are also propagated to that same subordinate unit. Traffic is distributed according to communication
session, not just according to individual packet.
Any subordinate unit that receives a forwarded packet processes it, without applying load balancing. Note that
subordinate units are still considered to be active, because they perform routing, virus scanning, and other
FortiGate tasks on their share of the traffic. Active subordinate units also share their session and link status
information with all cluster units. The only things that active members do not do is make load balancing
decisions.
Even though the primary unit is responsible for the load balancing process, the primary unit still acts like a
FortiGate in that it processes packets, performing, routing, firewall, virus scanning, and other FortiGate tasks on
its share of the traffic. Depending on the load balancing schedule used, the primary unit may assign itself a
smaller share of the total load.
Failover works in a similar way if the cluster consists of only two units. If the primary unit fails the subordinate unit
negotiates and becomes the new primary unit. If the subordinate unit fails, the primary unit processes all traffic.
In both cases, the single remaining unit continues to function as a primary unit, maintaining the HA virtual MAC
address for all of its interfaces.
Normally you would not change the HTTPS port. However, if your network uses a proxy server for HTTPS traffic
you may have to change to the custom HTTPS port used by your proxy server. If your network uses a proxy server
you might also use the same port for both HTTP and HTTPS traffic. In this case you would configure the
FortiGate to use custom ports for both HTTP and HTTPS traffic. Go to Policy & Objects > Policy > Proxy
Options to use a custom port for HTTP.
Using the same port for HTTP and HTTPS traffic can cause problems with active-active clusters because active-
active clusters always load balance HTTP traffic. If both HTTP and HTTPS use the same port, the active-active
cluster cannot differentiate between HTTP and HTTPS traffic and will load balance both.
As mentioned above, load balancing HTTPS traffic may cause problems with HTTPS web filtering. To avoid this
problem, you should configure your proxy server to use different ports for HTTP and HTTPS traffic. Then
configure your cluster to also use different ports for HTTP and HTTPS.
You can select a load balancing schedule from the CLI. Use the following command to select a load balancing
schedule:
config system ha
set schedule {hub | ip | ipport | leastconnection | none | random | round-robin
| weight-round-robin}
end
You can enable load-balance-all and monitor network performance to see if it improves. If performance is
not improved, you might want to change the HA mode to active-passive since active-active HA is not providing
any benefit.
On some FortiGate models you can use the following command to also load balance UDP sessions:
config system ha
set load-balance-udp enable
end
Similar to load balancing TCP sessions, load balancing UDP sessions may also not improve performance. Also
UDP load balancing performance may be improved with NP4 and NP6 processors.
The first packet of every new session is received by the primary unit and the primary unit uses its load balancing
schedule to select the cluster unit that will process the new session. This information is passed back to the
network processor and all subsequent packets of the same sessions are offloaded to the network processor which
sends the packet directly to a subordinate unit. Load balancing is effectively offloaded from the primary unit to the
network processor resulting in a faster and more stable active-active cluster.
To take advantage of network processor load balancing acceleration, connect the cluster unit interfaces with
network processors to the busiest networks. Connect other interfaces to less busy networks. No special FortiOS
or HA configuration is required. Network processor acceleration of active-active HA load balancing is supported
for any active-active HA configuration or active-active HA load balancing schedule.
The priority of a cluster unit is determined by its device priority, the number of monitored interfaces that are
functioning, its age in the cluster and its serial number. Priorities are used to select a primary unit and to set the
priorities of all of the subordinate units. Thus the priority of a cluster unit can change depending on configuration
settings, link failures and so on. Since weights are also set using this priority, the weights are independent of
specific cluster units but do depend on the role of the each unit in the cluster.
You can use the following command to display the relative priorities of the units in a cluster. The cluster unit serial
numbers and their priorities are listed in the last few lines of the command output. This example shows a cluster
of three FortiGates:
get system ha status
.
.
.
Slave : FG-5KD3914800284, operating cluster index = 1
Master: FG-5KD3914800344, operating cluster index = 0
Slave : FG-5KD3914800353, operating cluster index = 2
The primary unit always has the highest priority and the subordinate units have lower priorities.
The default static weight for each cluster unit is 40. This means that sessions are distributed evenly among all
cluster units. You can use the set weight command to change the static weights of cluster units to distribute
sessions to cluster units depending on their priority in the cluster. The weight can be between 0 and 255. Increase
the weight to increase the number of connections processed by the cluster unit with that priority.
You set the weight for each unit separately. For the example cluster of 3 FortiGates you can set the weight for
each unit as follows:
config system ha
set mode a-a
set schedule weight-roud-robin
set weight 0 5
set weight 1 10
set weight 2 15
end
If you enter the get command to view the HA configuration the output for weight would be:
weight 5 10 15 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40 40
This configuration has the following results if the output of the get system ha status command is that
shown above:
l The first five connections are processed by the primary unit (priority 0, weight 5).
l The next 10 connections are processed by the first subordinate unit (priority 1, weight 10)
l The next 15 connections are processed by the second subordinate unit (priority 2, weight 15)
Dynamically optimizing weighted load balancing according to how busy cluster units are
In conjunction with using static weights to load balance sessions among cluster units you can configure a cluster
to dynamically load balance sessions according to individual cluster unit CPU usage, memory usage, and number
of HTTP, FTP, IMAP, POP3, SMTP, or NNTP proxy-based security profile sessions. If any of these system
loading indicators increases above configured thresholds, weighted load balancing dynamically sends fewer new
sessions to the busy unit until it recovers.
High CPU or memory usage indicates that a unit is under increased load and may not be able to process more
sessions. HTTP, FTP, IMAP, POP3, SMTP, or NNTP proxy use are also good indicators of how busy a cluster unit
is, since processing high numbers of these proxy sessions can quickly reduce overall cluster unit performance.
For example, you can set a CPU usage high watermark threshold. When a cluster unit reaches this high
watermark threshold fewer sessions are sent to it. With fewer sessions to process the cluster unit’s CPU usage
should fall back to the low watermark threshold. When the low watermark threshold is reached the cluster
resumes normal load balancing of sessions to the cluster unit.
You can set individual high and low watermark thresholds and weights for CPU usage, memory usage, and for the
number of HTTP, FTP, IMAP, POP3, SMTP, or NNTP proxy sessions.
The CPU usage, memory usage, and proxy weights determine how the cluster load balances sessions when a
high watermark threshold is reached and also affect how the cluster load balances sessions when multiple cluster
units reach different high watermark thresholds at the same time. For example, you might be less concerned
about a cluster unit reaching the memory usage high watermark threshold than reaching the CPU usage high
watermark threshold. If this is the case you can set the weight lower for memory usage. Then, if one cluster unit
reaches the CPU usage high watermark threshold and a second cluster unit reaches the memory usage high
watermark threshold the cluster will load balance more sessions to the cluster unit with high memory usage and
fewer sessions to the cluster unit with high CPU usage. As a result, reaching the CPU usage high watermark will
have a greater affect on how sessions are redistributed than reaching the memory usage high watermark.
When a high watermark threshold is reached, the corresponding weight is subtracted from the static weight of the
cluster unit. The lower the weight the fewer the number of sessions that are load balanced to that unit.
Subsequently when the low watermark threshold is reached, the static weight of the cluster unit returns to its
configured value. For the weights to all be effective the weights assigned to the load indicators should usually be
lower than or equal to the static weights assigned to the cluster units.
Use the following command to set thresholds and weights for CPU and memory usage and HTTP, FTP, IMAP,
POP3, SMTP, or NNTP proxy sessions:
config system ha
set mode a-a
set schedule weight-round-robin
set cpu-threshold <weight> <low> <high>
set memory-threshold <weight> <low> <high>
set http-proxy-threshold <weight> <low> <high>
set ftp-proxy-threshold <weight> <low> <high>
set imap-proxy-threshold <weight> <low> <high>
set nntp-proxy-threshold <weight> <low> <high>
set pop3-proxy-threshold <weight> <low> <high>
set smtp-proxy-threshold <weight> <low> <high>
end
For each option, the weight range is 0 to 255 and the default weight is 5. The low and high watermarks are a
percent (0 to 100). The default low and high watermarks are 0 which means they are disabled. The default
configuration when weighted load balancing is enabled looks like the following:
config system ha
set mode a-a
set schedule weight-round-robin
set cpu-threshold 5 0 0
set memory-threshold 5 0 0
set http-proxy-threshold 5 0 0
set ftp-proxy-threshold 5 0 0
set imap-proxy-threshold 5 0 0
set nntp-proxy-threshold 5 0 0
set pop3-proxy-threshold 5 0 0
set smtp-proxy-threshold 5 0 0
end
When you first enable HA weighted load balancing, the weighted load balancing
configuration is synchronized to all cluster units and each cluster unit has the default
configuration shown above. Changes to the CPU, memory, HTTP, FTP, IMAP, NNTP,
POP3, and SMTP proxy thresholds and low and high watermarks must be made for
each cluster unit and are not synchronized to the other cluster units.
When you configure them, the high watermarks must be greater than their corresponding low watermarks.
For CPU and memory usage the low and high watermarks are compared with the percentage CPU and memory
use of the cluster unit. For each of the proxies the high and low watermarks are compared to a number that
represents percent of the max number of proxy sessions being used by a proxy. This number is calculated using
the formula:
proxy usage = (current sessions * 100) / max sessions
where:
current sessions is the number of active sessions for the proxy type.
max sessions is the session limit for the proxy type. The session limit depends on the FortiGate and its
configuration.
You can use the following command to display the maximum and current number of sessions for a proxy:
get test {ftpd | http | imap | nntp | pop3 | smtp} 4
You can use the following command to display the maximum number of sessions and the and current number of
sessions for all of the proxies:
get test proxyworker 4
The command output includes lines similar to the following:
get test http 4
HTTP Common
Current Connections 5000/8032
In the example, 5000 is the current number of proxy connections being used by HTTP and 8032 is the maximum
number of proxy sessions allowed. For this example the proxy usage would be:
proxy usage = (5000 * 100) / 8032
proxy usage = 62%
Connect to the cluster CLI and use the following command to set the CPU usage threshold weight to 30, low
watermark to 60, and high watermark to 80. This command also sets the memory usage threshold weight to 10,
low watermark to 60, and high watermark to 90.
config system ha
set mode a-a
set schedule weight-round-robin
set cpu-threshold 30 60 80
set memory-threshold 10 60 90
end
The static weights for the cluster units remain at the default values of 40. Since this command changes the mode
to a-a and the schedule to weight-round-robin for the first time, the weight settings are synchronized to all
cluster units.
As a result of this configuration, if the CPU usage of any cluster unit (for example, FGT_ha_1) reaches 80% the
static weight for that cluster unit is reduced from 40 to 10 and only 10 of every 120 new sessions are load
balanced to this cluster unit. If the memory usage of FGT_ha_1 also reaches 90% the static weight further
reduces to 0 and no new sessions are load balanced to FGT_ha_1. Also, if the memory usage of 620_ha_2
reaches 90% the static weight of FGT_ha_2 reduces to 30 and 30 of every 120 new sessions are load balanced to
FGT_ha_2.
Now that you have established the weight load balancing configuration for the entire cluster you can monitor the
cluster to verify that processing gets distributed evenly to all cluster units. From the GUI you can go do System >
HA > View HA Statistics and see the CPU usage, active sessions, memory usage and other statistics for all of
the cluster units. If you notice that one cluster unit is more or less busy than others you can adjust the dynamic
weights separately for each cluster unit.
For example, in some active-active clusters the primary unit may tend to be busier than other cluster units
because in addition to processing sessions the primary unit also receives all packets sent to the cluster and
performs load balancing to distribute the sessions to other cluster units. To reduce the load on the primary unit
you could reduce the CPU and memory usage high watermark thresholds for the primary unit so that fewer
sessions are distributed to the primary unit. You could also reduce the primary unit’s high watermark setting for
the proxies to distribute more proxy sessions to other cluster units.
This would only be useful if you are using device priorities and override
settings to make sure the same unit always becomes the primary unit. See
Controlling primary unit selection using device priority and override on page
1598.
If the example cluster is configured for FGT_ha_2 to be the primary unit, connect to the FGT_ha_2’s CLI and
enter the following command to set CPU usage, memory usage, and proxy usage high watermark thresholds
lower.
config system ha
set cpu-threshold 30 60 70
set memory-threshold 30 60 70
set http-proxy-threshold 30 60 70
set ftp-proxy-threshold 30 60 70
set imap-proxy-threshold 30 60 70
set nntp-proxy-threshold 30 60 70
set pop3-proxy-threshold 30 60 70
set smtp-proxy-threshold 30 60 70
end
As a result, when any of these factors reaches 70% on the primary unit, fewer sessions will be processed by the
primary unit, preventing the number of sessions being processed from rising.
In NAT/Route mode, eight MAC addresses are involved in active-active communication between the client and
the web server when the primary unit load balances packets to the subordinate unit:
l Internal virtual MAC address (MAC_V_int) assigned to the primary unit internal interface,
l External virtual MAC address (MAC_V_ext) assigned to the primary unit external interface,
l Client MAC address (MAC_Client),
l Server MAC address (MAC_Server),
l Primary unit original internal MAC address (MAC_P_int),
l Primary unit original external MAC address (MAC_P_ext),
l Subordinate unit internal MAC address (MAC_S_int),
l Subordinate unit external MAC address (MAC_S_ext).
In NAT/Route mode, the HA cluster works as a gateway when it responds to ARP requests. Therefore, the client
and server only know the gateway MAC addresses. The client only knows the cluster internal virtual MAC address
(MAC_V_int) and the server only knows the cluster external virtual MAC address (MAC_V_ext).
6. The primary unit decides that the subordinate unit should handle this packet, and forwards it to the subordinate
unit internal interface. The source MAC address of the forwarded packet is changed to the actual MAC address of
the primary unit internal interface.
7. The subordinate unit recognizes that the packet has been forwarded from the primary unit and processes it.
8. The subordinate unit forwards the packet from its external interface to the web server.
9. The primary unit forwards further packets in the same session to the subordinate unit.
10. Packets for other sessions are load balanced by the primary unit and either sent to the subordinate unit or
processed by the primary unit.
5. The primary unit decides that the subordinate unit should handle this packet, and forwards it to the subordinate
unit external interface. The source MAC address of the forwarded packet is changed to the actual MAC address of
the primary unit external interface.
6. The subordinate unit recognizes that packet has been forwarded from the primary unit and processes it.
7. The subordinate unit forwards the packet from its internal interface to the client.
8. The primary unit forwards further packets in the same session to the subordinate unit.
9. Packets for other sessions are load balanced by the primary unit and either sent to the subordinate unit or
processed by the primary unit.
1. If the primary unit fails, the subordinate unit negotiates to become the primary unit.
2. The new primary unit changes the MAC addresses of all of its interfaces to the HA virtual MAC addresses.
The new primary unit has the same IP addresses and MAC addresses as the failed primary unit.
3. The new primary units sends gratuitous ARP packets to the 10.10.101.0 network to associate its internal IP
address with the internal virtual MAC address.
4. The new primary units sends gratuitous ARP packets to the 172.20.120.0 network to associate its external IP
address with the external virtual MAC address.
5. Traffic sent to the cluster is now received and processed by the new primary unit.
If there were more than two cluster units in the original cluster, the new primary unit would load
balance packets to the remaining cluster members.
In transparent mode, six MAC addresses are involved in active-active communication between a client and a
server when the primary unit load balances packets to the subordinate unit:
The cluster’s presence on the network and its load balancing are transparent to the client and server computers.
The primary unit sends gratuitous ARP packets to Switch 1 that associate all MAC addresses on the network
segment connected to the cluster external interface with the external virtual MAC address. The primary unit also
sends gratuitous ARP packets to Switch 2 that associate all MAC addresses on the network segment connected
to the cluster internal interface with the internal virtual MAC address. In both cases, this results in the switches
sending packets to the primary unit interfaces.
6. The primary unit decides that the subordinate unit should handle this packet, and forwards it to the subordinate
unit internal interface. The source MAC address of the forwarded packet is changed to the actual MAC address of
the primary unit internal interface.
7. The subordinate unit recognizes that packet has been forwarded from the primary unit and processes it.
8. The subordinate unit forwards the packet from its external interface to the mail server.
9. The primary unit forwards further packets in the same session to the subordinate unit.
10. Packets for other sessions are load balanced by the primary unit and either sent to the subordinate unit or
processed by the primary unit.
5. The primary unit decides that the subordinate unit should handle this packet, and forwards it to the subordinate
unit external interface. The source MAC address of the forwarded packet is changed to the actual MAC address of
the primary unit external interface.
6. The subordinate unit recognizes that packet has been forwarded from the primary unit and processes it.
7. The subordinate unit forwards the packet from its internal interface to the client.
8. The primary unit forwards further packets in the same session to the subordinate unit.
9. Packets for other sessions are load balanced by the primary unit and either sent to the subordinate unit or
processed by the primary unit.
1. If the primary unit fails the subordinate unit negotiates to become the primary unit.
2. The new primary unit changes the MAC addresses of all of its interfaces to the HA virtual MAC address.
3. The new primary units sends gratuitous ARP requests to switch 1 to associate its MAC address with the MAC
addresses on the network segment connected to the external interface.
4. The new primary units sends gratuitous ARP requests to switch 2 to associate its MAC address with the MAC
addresses on the network segment connected to the internal interface.
5. Traffic sent to the cluster is now received and processed by the new primary unit.
If there were more than two cluster units in the original cluster, the new primary unit would load
balance packets to the remaining cluster members.
This chapter provides information about operating FortiOS VM cluster and operating FortiGate clusters with third
party products such as layer-2 and layer-3 switches.
1. In the vSphere client, select your VMware server in the left pane and then select the Configuration tab in the
right pane.
2. In Hardware, select Networking.
3. Select Properties of a virtual switch used to connect heartbeat interfaces.
4. In the Properties window left pane, select vSwitch and then select Edit.
5. Select the Security tab, set Promiscuous Mode to Accept, then select OK.
6. Select Close.
You must also set the virtual switches connected to other FortiGate interfaces to allow MAC address changes and
to accept forged transmits. This is required because the FGCP sets virtual MAC addresses for all FortiGate
interfaces and the same interfaces on the different VM instances in the cluster will have the same virtual MAC
addresses.
1. In the vSphere client, select your VMware server in the left pane and then select the Configuration tab in the
right pane.
2. In Hardware, select Networking.
3. Select Properties of a virtual switch used to connect FortiGate VM interfaces.
4. Set MAC Address Changes to Accept.
5. Set Forged Transmits to Accept.
In addition, because the FGCP applies virtual MAC addresses to FortiGate data interfaces and because these
virtual MAC addresses mean that matching interfaces of different FortiGate-VM instances will have the same
virtual MAC addresses you have to configure Hyper-V to allow MAC spoofing. But you should only enable MAC
spoofing for FortiGate-VM data interfaces. You should not enable MAC spoofing for FortiGate HA heartbeat
interfaces.
With promiscuous mode enabled and the correct MAC spoofing settings you should be able to configure HA
between two or more FortiGate-VM for Hyper-V instances.
In some configurations that use layer-3 switches, after a failover, the layer-3 switches may not successfully re-
direct traffic to the new primary unit. The possible reason for this is that the layer-3 switch might keep a table of IP
addresses and interfaces and may not update this table for a relatively long time after the failover (the table is not
updated by the gratuitous ARP packets). Until the table is updated, the layer-3 switch keeps forwarding packets to
the now failed cluster unit. As a result, traffic stops and the cluster does not function.
As of the release date of this document, Fortinet has not developed a workaround for this problem. One possible
solution would be to clear the forwarding table on the layer-3 switch.
The config system ha link-failed-signal command described in Updating MAC forwarding tables
when a link failover occurs on page 1784 can be used to resolve link failover issues similar to those described
here.
Also, individual session failover depends on whether the cluster is operating in active-active or active-passive
mode, and whether the content of the traffic is to be virus scanned. Depending on application behavior, it may
take a TCP session a longer period of time (up to 30 seconds) to recover completely.
In some cases, if the heartbeat interfaces are connected and configured so regular traffic flows but heartbeat
traffic is not forwarded, you can change the configuration of the switch that connects the HA heartbeat interfaces
to allow level2 frames with Ethertypes 0x8890, 0x8891, and 0x8893 to pass.
You can also use the following CLI commands to change the Ethertypes of the HA heartbeat packets:
config system ha
set ha-eth-type <ha_ethertype_4-digit_hex>
set hc-eth-type <hc_ethertype_4-digit_hex>
set l2ep-eth-type <l2ep_ethertype_4-digit_hex>
end
For more information, see Heartbeat packet Ethertypes on page 1759.
The primary and subordinate unit interfaces have the same MAC address, so if you cannot configure multiple
LAG groups a switch may place all interfaces with the same MAC address into the same LAG group; disrupting
the operation of the cluster.
You can change the FortiGate configuration to prevent subordinate units from participating in LACP negotiation.
For example, use the following command to do this for an aggregate interface named Port1_Port2:
config system interface
edit Port1_Port2
set lacp-ha-slave disable
end
This configuration prevents the subordinate unit interfaces from sending or receiving packets. Resulting in the
cluster not being able to operate in active-active mode. As well, failover may be slower because after a failover
the new primary unit has to perform LACP negotiation before being able to process network traffic.
For more information, see FGCP HA with 802.3ad aggregated interfaces on page 1667.
A Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol (VRRP) configuration can be used as a high availability solution to make
sure that a network maintains connectivity with the Internet (or with other networks) even if the default router for
the network fails. Using VRRP, if a router or a FortiGate fails, all traffic to this router transparently fails over to
another router or FortiGate that takes over the role of the router or FortiGate that failed. If the failed router or
FortiGate is restored, it will once again take over processing traffic for the network. VRRP is described by RFC
3768.
FortiOS supports VRRP versions 2 and 3 and you can set up VRRP groups that include multiple FortiGates and
with other VRRP compatible routers. You can add different FortiGate models to the same VRRP group.
FortiGates can also be quickly and easily integrated into a network that has already deployed a group of routers
using VRRP.
The most common application of VRRP is to provide redundant default routers between an internal network and
the Internet. The default routers can be FortiGates and or any routers that support VRRP.
To set up VRRP:
1. Add a virtual VRRP router to the internal interface of each of the FortiGates and routers. This adds the FortiGates
and routers to the same VRRP group.
2. Set the VRRP IP address of the group to the internal network default gateway IP address.
3. Give one of the VRRP group members the highest priority so it becomes the primary (or master) router and give
the others lower priorities so they become backup routers.
During normal operations, all traffic from the internal network to the Internet passes through the primary VRRP
router. The primary router also sends VRRP advertisement messages to the backup routers. A backup router will
not attempt to become a primary router while receiving these messages. If the primary router fails, the backup
router with the highest priority becomes the new primary router after a short delay. During this delay the new
primary router sends gratuitous ARP packets to the network to map the network's default route IP address to the
new primary router's MAC address. All packets sent to the default route are now sent the new primary router. If
the new primary router is a FortiGate, the network continues to benefit from FortiOS security features. If the new
primary router is just a router, traffic continues to flow, but FortiOS security features are unavailable until the
FortiGate is back on line.
If the backup router is a FortiGate, during a VRRP failover, as the FortiGate begins operating as the new primary
router it will not have session information for all of the failed over in-progress sessions. So it would normally not
be able to forward in-progress session traffic. To resolve this problem, immediately after a failover and for a short
time (called the start time) the FortiGate acting as the new primary router operates with asymmetric routing
enabled. This allows it to re-create all of the in-progress sessions and add them to its session table.
While operating with asymmetric routing enabled, the FortiGate cannot apply security functions. When the start-
time ends the FortiGate disables asymmetric routing and returns to normal operation (including applying security
functions).
Configuring VRRP
To configure VRRP you must configure two or more FortiGate interfaces or routers with the same virtual router ID
and IP address. Then these FortiGates or routers can automatically join the same VRRP group. You must also
assign priorities to each of the FortiGates or routers in the VRRP group. One of the FortiGates or routers must
have the highest priority to become the primary (or master) router. The other FortiGates or routers in the group
are assigned lower priorities and become backups. All of the routers in the VRRP group should have different
priorities. If the primary router fails, VRRP automatically fails over to the router in the group with the next highest
priority.
You configure VRRP from the FortiGate CLI by adding a VRRP virtual router to a FortiGate interface. You can
add VRRP virtual routers to multiple FortiGate interfaces and you can add more than one virtual router to the
same interface.
VRRP can be configured only on physical interfaces or VLAN interfaces. You cannot
configure VRRP on hardware-switch interfaces where multiple physical interfaces are
combined into a hardware switch interface.
The primary router stops sending VRRP advertisement messages if it either fails or becomes disconnected. You
can also configure VRRP destination addresses that the primary router monitors. If the primary router becomes
unable to connect to these destination addresses, it stops sending VRRP advertisement messages and the
backup router with the highest priority becomes the primary router. You can add one or two destination addresses
to a VRRP configuration. To be most effective, these destination addresses should be remote addresses.
For example, configure IPv4 VRRP on port14 with two destination address:
config system interface
edit port14
config vrrp
edit 12
set vrdst 10.10.10.20 10.20.20.10
end
The following example configures the primary router to have a priority of 255 so it should always become the
primary router. The command also sets vrdst-priority to 10. So if the primary router can no longer connect
to its destination address of 10.10.10.1, the primary router informs the VRRP group that its priority is now 10.
config system interface
edit port10
config vrrp
edit 12
set vrip 10.31.101.200
set priority 255
set vrdst 10.10.10.1
set vrdst-priority 10
end
Use the following command to add a proxy ARP address range and a single IP address to a VR added to a
FortiGate`s port5 interface. The address range and single IP address should match the address range or single IP
for VIPs or IP Pools added to the port5 interface:
config system interface
edit port5
config vrrp
edit 1
config proxy-arp
edit 1
set ip 192.168.62.100-192.168.62.200
next
edit 2
set ip 192.168.62.225
end
For example, configure an IPv4 VRRP to send advertisement messages every 10 seconds:
config system interface
edit port14
config vrrp
edit 12
set adv-interval 10
end
Changing how long backup routers wait before assuming the primary router has failed
The VRRP startup time is the maximum time that a backup router waits between receiving advertisement
messages from the primary router. If the backup router has to wait longer than the start-time, it assumes the
primary router has failed and becomes the new primary router.
The default startup time is 3 seconds and the range is 1 to 255 seconds.
In some cases the advertisement messages may be delayed. For example, some switches with spanning tree
enabled may delay some of the advertisement message packets. If you find that backup routers are attempting to
become primary routers even though the primary router hasn't failed, you can extend the start time to make sure
the backup routers wait long enough for the advertisement messages.
Each VRRP router is associated with its own virtual MAC address. The last part of the virtual MAC depends on the
VRRP virtual router ID using the following format:
00-00-5E-00-01-<VRID_hex>
Where <VRID_hex> is the VRRP virtual router ID in hexadecimal format in Internet standard bit-order. For more
information about the format of the virtual MAC see RFC 3768.
Some examples:
Use the following command to enable the VRRP virtual MAC address for an IPv4 VRRP configuration on the
port2 interface:
config system interface
edit port2
set vrrp-virtual-mac enable
end
end
The port2 interface will now accept packets sent to the MAC addresses of the IPv4 VRRP virtual routers added to
this interface.
Since devices on the LAN do not have to learn a new MAC address for a new VRRP router in the event of a
failover, this feature can improve network efficiency, especially on large and complex networks.
If the VRRP virtual MAC address feature is disabled, the VRRP group uses the MAC address of the master. In the
case of a FortiGate VRRP virtual router this is the MAC address of the FortiGate interface that the VRRP virtual
routers are added to. If a master fails, when the new master takes over it sends gratuitous ARPs to associate the
VRRP virtual router IP address with the MAC address of the new master (or the interface of the FortiGate that has
become the new master). If the VRRP virtual MAC address is enabled the new master uses the same MAC
address as the old master.
For an IPv4 VRRP configuration, use the following command to add a VRRP group to the port20 interface that
includes the virtual route identifiers 25, 50, 66 and 70 to VRRP group 10.
config system interface
edit port20
config vrrp
edit 25
set vrgrp 10
next
edit 50
set vrgrp 10
next
edit 66
set vrgrp 10
next
edit 70
set vrgrp 10
end
The FortiGate port2 interfaces connect to the internal network. A VRRP virtual router is added to each FortiGate’s
port2 interface. The virtual router IP address is 10.31.101.120 (the internal network’s default route) and the virtual
router’s ID is 5. The VRRP priority of the primary router is set to 255 and the VRRP priority of the backup router is
50. The port2 interface of each FortiGate should have an IP address that is different from the virtual router IP
address and the port2 interface IP addresses should be different from each other.
This example also includes enabling the VRRP virtual MAC address on both FortiGate port2 interfaces so that the
VRRP group uses the VRRP virtual MAC address.
1. Select one of the FortiGates to be the primary VRRP router and the other to be the backup router.
2. From the primary router CLI, enter the following command to enable the VRRP virtual MAC address on the port2
interface and add the VRRP virtual router to the port2 interface:
config system interface
edit port2
set vrrp-virtual-mac enable
config vrrp
edit 5
set vrip 10.31.101.120
set priority 255
end
end
3. From the backup router CLI, enter the following command to enable the VRRP virtual MAC address on the port2
interface and add the VRRP virtual router to the port2 interface:
config system interface
edit port2
set vrrp-virtual-mac enable
config vrrp
edit 5
set vrip 10.31.101.120
set priority 50
end
end
Example VRRP configuration: VRRP load balancing two FortiGates and two VRRP groups
In this configuration two VRRP groups are involved. Each FortiGate participates in both of them. One FortiGate is
the primary router of one group and the other FortiGate is the primary router of the other group. The network
distributes traffic between two different default routes (10.31.101.120 and 10.31.101.130). One VRRP group is
configured with one of the default route IP addresses and the other VRRP group gets the other default route IP
address. During normal operation, both FortiGates are processing traffic and the VRRP groups are used to load
balance the traffic between the two FortiGates.
If one of the FortiGates fails, the remaining FortiGate becomes the primary router of both VRRP groups. The
network sends all traffic for both default routes to this FortiGate. The result is a configuration that, under normal
operation load, balances traffic between two FortiGates, but if one of the FortiGates fails, all traffic fails over to
the FortiGate that is still operating.
This example also includes enabling the VRRP virtual MAC address on both FortiGate port2 interfaces so that the
VRRP groups use their VRRP virtual MAC addresses.
Example VRRP configuration with two FortiGates and two VRRP groups
l Enable or disable individual virtual router configurations using the status option. Normally virtual router
configurations are enabled but you can temporarily disable one if it is not required.
l Enable or disable preempt mode using the preempt option. In preempt mode, a higher priority backup router can
preempt a lower priority primary router. This can happen if the primary router has failed, a backup router has
become the primary router, and the failed primary router restarts. Since the restarted router has a higher priority, if
preempt mode is enabled the restarted router replaces the current primary router becoming the new primary router.
Preempt mode is enabled by default.
l You can add one or two destination addresses (vrdst) to a VRRP configuration. To be most effective, these
destination addresses should be remote addresses.
Configure VRRP on the FortiController-5000 by creating a VRRP group and adding one or more FortiController
front panel interfaces to the group.
During normal operation, the primary FortiController sends outgoing VRRP routing advertisements. Both the
primary and backup FortiControllers listen for incoming VRRP advertisements from other routers in the VRRP
group. If the primary FortiController fails, the new primary FortiController takes over the role of both sending and
receiving VRRP advertisements, maintaining the FortiController-5000 cluster within the VRRP group.
In a network that already includes load balancing (either with load balancers or routers) for traffic redundancy, two
or more FortiGates can be integrated into the load balancing configuration using the FortiGate Session Life
Support Protocol (FGSP). The external load balancers or routers can distribute sessions among the FortiGates
and the FGSP performs session synchronization of IPv4 and IPv6 TCP, SCTP, UDP, ICMP, expectation, and
NAT sessions and IPsec tunnels to keep the session tables of the FortiGates synchronized. If one of the
FortiGates fails, session failover occurs and active sessions fail over to the FortiGates that are still operating.
This failover occurs without any loss of data. As well, the external routers or load balancers will detect the failover
and re-distribute all sessions to the peers that are still operating.
The FortiGates operate as peers that process traffic and synchronize sessions with other FortiGates in the
cluster. An FGSP cluster can include from 2 to 16 FortiGates. Adding more FortiGates increases the CPU and
memory required to keep all of the FortiGates synchronized. So depending on your network conditions, adding
too many FortiGates to an FGSP cluster may reduce overall performance.
The FortiGates in the FGSP cluster must be the same model and be running the same firmware version. You use
the config system cluster-sync command to configure FGSP between the FortiGates and the config
system ha command to configure what is synchronized.
In previous versions of FortiOS the FGSP was called TCP session synchronization or
standalone session synchronization. The FGSP has been expanded to include
configuration synchronization and session synchronization of connectionless sessions,
expectation sessions, and NAT sessions and IPsec tunnels.
The FGSP can be used instead of FGCP HA to provide session synchronization between two peer FortiGates.
If the external load balancers direct all sessions to one peer the affect is similar to active-passive FGCP HA. If
external load balancers or routers load balance traffic to both peers, the effect is similar to active-active FGCP
HA. The load balancers should be configured so that all of the packets for any given session are processed by the
same peer. This includes return packets.
FGSP HA
By default, FGSP synchronizes all IPv4 and IPv6 TCP sessions, IPsec tunnels, and also synchronizes the
configuration of the FortiGates.
You can optionally enable session pickup to synchronize connectionless (UDP and ICMP) sessions, expectation
sessions, and NAT sessions. If you do not enable session pickup, the FGSP does not share session tables for the
particular session type and sessions do not resume after a failover. All sessions are interrupted by the failover and
must be re-established at the application level. Many protocols can successfully restart sessions with little, or no,
loss of data. Others may not recover easily. Enable session pickup for sessions that may be difficult to
reestablish. Since session pickup requires FortiGate memory and CPU resources, only enable this feature for
sessions that you need to have synchronized.
The synchronization link is set up in the same way as FGCP heartbeat interfaces. You must connect the
synchronization link interfaces together and use the heartbeat device (hbdev) option to add the heartbeat devices
to the configuration.
You can also optionally add filters to control which sessions are synchronized. You can add filters to only
synchronize packets from specified source and destination addresses, specified source and destination
interfaces, and specified services.
Load balancing and session failover is done by external routers or load balancers instead of by the FGSP. The
FortiGates only perform session synchronization to support session failover as well as configuration
synchronization.
l peerip is the IP address of an interface of another FortiGate in the FGSP cluster that this configuration
synchronizes sessions to.
l peervd is the name of the VDOM on the other FortiGate that should be synchronized with this one. By default the
peervd is root.
l syncvd is the name of the VDOM of the FortiGate that should be synchronized with the other FortiGate. If
multiple VDOMs are not enabled, syncvd should be set to root.
For FGSP HA to work properly, all VDOMs to be synchronized must be added to all of
the FortiGates in cluster. The names of the matching interfaces in each VDOM must
also be the same; this includes the names of matching VLAN interfaces. Note that the
index numbers of the matching interfaces and VLAN interfaces can be different. Also
the VLAN IDs of the matching VLAN interfaces can be different. If you enable
configuration synchronization this will happen automatically.
This command creates a cluster-sync instance that causes a FortiGate to synchronize the TCP sessions of one of
its VDOMs (by default the root VDOM) to the root VDOM of another FortiGate (which would become another
FortiGate in the FGSP cluster). You can also use the config system ha command to synchronize more
session types and to synchronize the configuration. Cluster-sync instances are not synchronized and must be
added to each FortiGate in the cluster.
A cluster of two FortiGates would only require one cluster-sync instance for each VDOM to be synchronized.
This instance would synchronize the sessions from the root VDOM of one FortiGate to the root VDOM of the
other. The second FortiGate would also include a cluster-sync instance to synchronize its root VDOM with the
other FortiGate's root VDOM.
In a multiple VDOM configuration, you add a separate cluster-sync instance for each VDOM to be synchronized.
You don’t have to synchronize all VDOMs. If multiple VDOMs are enabled, the config system cluster-
sync command is a global command.
You can only add one filter to a cluster-sync instance. To create multiple filters you must create multiple cluster-
sync instances.
This feature allows you to shut down some interfaces on the failed FortiGate when it is starting up so that it will
not accept packets until session synchronization is complete. Then the interfaces are brought up and traffic can
flow. While the interfaces are down, the FortiGate that had not failed keeps processing traffic.
Use the following to select the interfaces to shutdown while waiting for session synchronization to complete:
config system cluster-sync
edit 1
set down-intfs-before-sess-sync port1 port2
end
Heartbeat monitoring
If the FortiGate that was running fails before session synchronization is complete, the FortiGate that is restarting
will not be able to complete session synchronization and will not turn on its shutdown interfaces. To prevent this
from happening, FGSP includes heartbeat monitoring. Using heartbeat monitoring, the FortiGate that is waiting
for session synchronization to finish can detect that the other FortiGate is down and turn on its interfaces even if
session synchronization is not complete. You can use the following to change the heartbeat interval (hb-
interval) and lost heartbeat threshold (hp-lost-threshold) to change heartbeat monitoring timing.
config system cluster-sync
edit 1
set hb-interval 2
set hb-lost-threshold 3
end
By default, configuration synchronization is disabled. You can enter the following to enable it:
config system ha
set standalone-config-sync enable
end
You must enter this command on all of the FortiGates in the FGSP cluster. When you enable synchronizing the
configuration, the FGSP uses FGCP primary unit selection to select a config sync primary (or master) FortiGate.
The other FortiGates in the FGSP cluster become config sync backup FortiGates. The FGSP synchronizes all
configuration changes that you make on the config sync primary FortiGate to the config sync backup FortiGates.
Fortinet recommends making all configuration changes on the config sync primary FortiGate.
You can use device priority select one of the FortiGates to become the config sync primary FortiGate. For
example, the following command enables configuration synchronization on a FortiGate and sets a higher device
priority than the default of 128 to make sure that this FortiGate becomes the primary FortiGate.
config system ha
set standalone-config-sync enable
set priority 250
end
l Transparent mode management IPv4 and IPv6 IP addresses and default gateways.
l All config system cluster-sync settings.
l All config system interface settings except vdom, vlanid, type and interface.
l All config firewall sniffer settings.
l All router BFD and BFD6 settings.
l The following BGP settings: as, router-id, aggregate-address, aggregate-address6, neighbor-
group, neighbor, network, and network6.
l The following OSPF settings: router-id, area, ospf-interface, network, neighbor, and summary-
address.
l The following OSPF6 settings: router-id, area, and ospf6-interface.
l All RIP settings.
l All policy routing settings.
l All static routing settings.
Restoring the configuration of one cluster member from a configuration file does not affect the configurations of
other FortiGates in the cluster. You should restore each cluster member separately with its own configuration file.
l If you have not enabled configuration synchronization, you must upgrade the firmware separately on each
FortiGate in the cluster. Upgrading the firmware of each FortiGate interrupts traffic though that FortiGate.
l If you have enabled configuration synchronization, you can upgrade the cluster firmware by upgrading the firmware
running on the sync primary FortiGate. The FGSP then sends the new firmware image to the config sync backup
FortiGates and all of the FortiGates in cluster install the new firmware and restart. The firmware upgrade
simultaneously interrupts traffic through all of the FortiGates in the cluster.
IPsec tunnel sync supports both static and dialup IPsec tunnels. For IPsec tunnel synchronization to work, the
interfaces on the FortiGates that are tunnel endpoints must have the same IP addresses and external routers
must be configured to load balance IPsec tunnel sessions to the FortiGates in the cluster.
config system ha
set session-pickup enable
set session-pickup-nat enable
end
However, if you want NAT sessions to resume after a failover, you should not configure NAT to use the
destination interface IP address since the FGSP FortiGates have different IP addresses. With this configuration,
after a failover all sessions that include the IP addresses of interfaces on the failed FortiGate will have nowhere to
go since the IP addresses of the failed FortiGate will no longer be on the network.
Instead, in an FGSP configuration, if you want NAT sessions to failover, you should use IP pools with the type set
to overload (which is the default IP pool type). For example:
config firewall ippool
edit FGSP-pool
set type overload
set startip 172.20.120.10
set endip 172.20.120.20
end
Then when you configure NAT firewall policies, turn on NAT and select to use dynamic IP pool and select the IP
pool that you added. Configuration synchronization should add the same IP pools and firewall policies to all
FortiGates in the cluster. If configuration synchronization is not enabled you must add the same IP pools and
policies to all of the FortiGates in the cluster.
However, if you have an asymmetric routing configuration, you can enter the following command to synchronize
asymmetric sessions by dynamically detecting asymmetric sessions and disabling anti-reply for these sessions.
config system ha
set session-pickup enable
set session-pickup-expectation enable
end
The FGSP enforces firewall policies for asymmetric traffic, including cases where the TCP 3-way handshake is
split between two FortiGates. For example, FGT-A receives the TCP-SYN, FGT-B receives the TCP-SYN-ACK,
and FGT-A receives the TCP-ACK. Under normal conditions, a firewall will drop this connection since the 3-way
handshake was not seen by the same firewall. However, two FortiGates with FGSP configured will be able to
properly pass this traffic since the firewall sessions are synchronized.
This asymmetric function can also work with connectionless UDP and ICMP traffic. If traffic will be highly
asymmetric, as described above, the following command must be enabled on both FortiGates.
config system ha
set session-pickup enable
set session-pickup-connectionless enable
end
Synchronizing asymmetric traffic can be very useful in situations where multiple Internet connections from
different ISPs are spread across multiple FortiGates. Since it is typically not possible to guarantee Internet-bound
traffic leaving via an ISP will return using the exact same ISP, the FGSP provides critical firewall functions in this
situation.
Asymmetric sessions may not be synchronized in low latency networks if the reply
packet is received before the peer has received the session synchronization packet.
This limitation usually only occurs in low latency networks.
The FGSP also has applications in virtualized computing environments where virtualized hosts move between
data centers. The firewall session synchronization features of FGSP allow for more flexibility than in traditional
firewalling functions.
The expectation sessions are usually the sessions that actually communicate data. For FTP, the expectation
sessions transmit files being uploaded or downloaded. For SIP, the expectation sessions transmit voice and video
data. Expectation sessions usually have a timeout value of 30 seconds. If the communication from the server is
not initiated within 30 seconds, the expectation session times out and traffic will be denied.
By default the FGSP does not synchronize expectation sessions and if a failover occurs, the sessions will have to
be restarted.
If you want to synchronize expectation sessions so that they will continue after a failover, you can enter the
following:
config system ha
set session-pickup enable
set session-pickup-expectation enable
end
For an environment where traffic is symmetric, security profile inspection can be used with the following
limitations:
l No session synchronization for the sessions inspected using proxy-based inspection. Sessions will drop and need to
be reestablished after data path failover.
l Sessions with flow-based inspection will failover; however, inspection of failed over sessions after the failover may
not work.
A single FortiGate must see both the request and reply traffic for security profile inspection to function correctly.
For environments where asymmetric traffic is expected, security profile inspection should not be used.
l The FGSP is a global configuration option. As a result you can only add one service to a filter configuration. You
cannot add custom services or service groups even if virtual domains are not enabled.
l You can only add one filter configuration to a given FGSP configuration. However, you can add multiple filters by
adding multiple identical FGSP configurations, each one with a different filter configuration.
l Sessions accepted by security policies with security profiles configured are not synchronized.
l FGSP HA is configured from the CLI.
l FGSP HA is available for FortiGates or virtual domains operating in NAT/Route or transparent mode. NAT sessions
are not synchronized in either mode (unless NAT synchronization is enabled as described in Synchronizing NAT
sessions on page 1841). In NAT/Route mode, only sessions for route mode security policies are synchronized. In
transparent mode, only sessions for normal transparent mode policies are synchronized.
l FGSP HA is supported for traffic on physical interfaces, VLAN interfaces, zones, aggregate interfaces, and NPx
(NP4, NP6 etc.) accelerated interfaces. The FGSP has not been tested for inter-vdom links, between HA clusters,
and for redundant interfaces.
l The names of the matching interfaces, including VLAN interfaces, aggregate interfaces and so on, must be the
same on both peers.
l An FGSP cluster can include from 2 to 16 FortiGates. Adding more FortiGates increases the CPU and memory
required to keep all of the FortiGates synchronized.
You can use different interfaces on each FortiGate for session synchronization links. Also, if you have multiple
session synchronization configurations, you can have multiple links between the FortiGates. In fact if you are
synchronizing a lot of sessions, you may want to configure and connect multiple session synchronization links to
distribute session synchronization traffic to these multiple links.
You cannot configure backup session synchronization links. Each configuration only includes one session
synchronization link.
The session synchronization link should always be maintained. If session synchronization communication is
interrupted and a failure occurs, sessions will not failover and data could be lost.
Session synchronization traffic can use a considerable amount of network bandwidth. If possible, session
synchronization link interfaces should only be used for session synchronization traffic and not for data traffic.
To configure FGSP HA
To add filters
You can add a filter to this basic configuration if you only want to synchronize some TCP sessions. For example
you can enter the following command to add a filter so that only HTTP sessions are synchronized:
config system cluster-sync
edit 1
config filter
set service HTTP
end
end
You can also add a filter to control the source and destination addresses of the IPv4 packets that are
synchronized. For example, you can enter the following to add a filter so that only sessions with source addresses
in the range 10.10.10.100 to 10.10.10.200 are synchronized.
config system cluster-sync
edit 1
config filter
set srcaddr 10.10.10.100 10.10.10.200
end
end
You can also add a filter to control the source and destination addresses of the IPv6 packets that are
synchronized. For example, you can enter the following to add a filter so that only sessions with destination
addresses in the range 2001:db8:0:2::/64 are synchronized.
config system cluster-sync
edit 1
config filter
set dstaddr6 2001:db8:0:2::/64
end
end
You enter the following to synchronizationTCP sessions and set the synchronization link (heartbeat device):
config system ha
You enter the following to add synchronization of UDP and ICMP sessions to this configuration:
config system ha
set session-pickup enable
set session-pickup-connectionless enable
end
sync_started=1 shows that synchronization is working. If this is set to 0 then something is not correct with
session synchronization and synchronization has not been able to start because of it.
sync_tcp=1, sync_others=1, sync_expectation=1, and sync_nat=1 show that the FGSP has been
configured to synchronize TCP, connectionless, asymmetric, and NAT sessions.
sync: create=12:0 and recv: create=14:0 show that this FortiGate has synchronized 12 sessions to
its peer and has received 14 sessions from its peer.
sync_filter shows the configured FGSP filter. In this case no filter has been created so all sessions are
synchronized.
Introduction
IPsec VPN concepts explains the basic concepts that you need to understand about virtual private networks
(VPNs).
IPsec VPN overview provides a brief overview of IPsec technology and includes general information about how to
configure IPsec VPNs using this guide.
IPsec VPN in the web-based manager describes the IPsec VPN menu of the web-based manager interface.
Gateway-to-gateway configurations explains how to set up a basic gateway-to-gateway (site-to-site) IPsec VPN.
In a gateway-to-gateway configuration, two FortiGate units create a VPN tunnel between two separate private
networks.
Dynamic DNS configuration describes how to configure a site-to-site VPN, in which one FortiGate unit has a static
IP address and the other FortiGate unit has a dynamic IP address and a domain name.
FortiClient dialup-client configurations guides you through configuring a FortiClient dialup-client IPsec VPN. In a
FortiClient dialup-client configuration, the FortiGate unit acts as a dialup server and VPN client functionality is
provided by the FortiClient Endpoint Security application installed on a remote host.
FortiGate dialup-client configurations explains how to set up a FortiGate dialup-client IPsec VPN. In a FortiGate
dialup-client configuration, a FortiGate unit with a static IP address acts as a dialup server and a FortiGate unit
with a dynamic IP address initiates a VPN tunnel with the FortiGate dialup server.
Supporting IKE Mode config clients explains how to set up a FortiGate unit as either an IKE Mode Config server
or client. IKE Mode Config is an alternative to DHCP over IPsec.
Internet-browsing configuration explains how to support secure web browsing performed by dialup VPN clients,
and hosts behind a remote VPN peer. Remote users can access the private network behind the local FortiGate
unit and browse the Internet securely. All traffic generated remotely is subject to the security policy that controls
traffic on the private network behind the local FortiGate unit.
Redundant VPN configurations discusses the options for supporting redundant and partially redundant tunnels in
an IPsec VPN configuration. A FortiGate unit can be configured to support redundant tunnels to the same remote
peer if the FortiGate unit has more than one interface to the Internet.
Transparent mode VPNs describes two FortiGate units that create a VPN tunnel between two separate private
networks transparently. In transparent mode, all FortiGate unit interfaces except the management interface are
invisible at the network layer.
IPv6 IPsec VPNs describes FortiGate unit VPN capabilities for networks based on IPv6 addressing. This includes
IPv4-over-IPv6 and IPv6-over-IPv4 tunnelling configurations. IPv6 IPsec VPNs are available in FortiOS 3.0 MR5
and later.
L2TP and IPsec (Microsoft VPN) explains how to support Microsoft Windows native VPN clients.
GRE over IPsec (Cisco VPN) explains how to interoperate with Cisco VPNs that use Generic Routing
Encapsulation (GRE) protocol with IPsec.
Protecting OSPF with IPsec provides an example of protecting OSPF links with IPsec.
Redundant OSPF routing over IPsec provides an example of redundant secure communication between two
remote networks using an OSPF VPN connection.
OSPF over dynamic IPsec provides an example of how to create a dynamic IPsec VPN tunnel that allows OSPF.
BGP over dynamic IPsec provides an example of how to create a dynamic IPsec VPN tunnel that allows BGP.
Phase 1 parameters provides detailed step-by-step procedures for configuring a FortiGate unit to accept a
connection from a remote peer or dialup client. The basic Phase 1 parameters identify the remote peer or clients
and support authentication through preshared keys or digital certificates. You can increase VPN connection
security further using methods such as extended authentication (XAuth).
Phase 2 parameters provides detailed step-by-step procedures for configuring an IPsec VPN tunnel. During
Phase 2, the specific IPsec security associations needed to implement security services are selected and a tunnel
is established.
Defining VPN security policies explains how to specify the source and destination IP addresses of traffic
transmitted through an IPsec VPN tunnel, and how to define a security encryption policy. Security policies control
all IP traffic passing between a source address and a destination address.
Logging and monitoring and Troubleshooting provide VPN monitoring and troubleshooting procedures.
This chapter describes new IPsec VPN features added to FortiOS 5.6.
FortiOS 5.6.4
These features first appeared in FortiOS 5.6.4.
FortiOS 5.6.3
These features first appeared in FortiOS 5.6.3.
Improved support for dynamic routing over dynamic IPsec interfaces (435152) (446498)
(447569)
Solutions have been introduced to resolve the following issues:
l IPv6 RIP does not successfully exchange routes over ADVPN if the hub has 'set net-device disable'.
l BGP over an IPsec tunnel established by an IKE mode-cfg client connected to IKE mode-cfg server with 'set net-
device disable' cannot establish.
l Multicast traffic does not flow over a 'set type dynamic' IPsec interface with 'set net-device disable'.
For 'set type dynamic' + 'set net-device disable' + 'set mode-cfg enable' + 'set add-route disable' then do _not_
allocate a /30 (/126 for IPv6) as is done when 'set net-device enable', instead allocate a single IP address to the
peer.
When the 'set type dynamic' tunnel negotiates, then add an IPsec peer route with the peer's allocated IP address
pointing at the newly negotiated tunnel. Note this is an IPsec peer route not a regular route. A regular route is not
added (unlike the case of 'set net-device enable').
'Config router static' / 'set device xxx' can now refer to a 'set type dynamic' IPsec interface. This allows the admin
to define a static route covering the address range of the pool from which peer IP addresses will be allocated.
BMRK IPsec UDP performance for AES256GCM drops after AES-NI checked in (452164)
This new feature fixes the aesni-cbc errors and precomputed the per-SA constant elements for aesni-gcm.
1. aesni-cbc
When ECO 106922 was checked in, there was a known issue that the aesni-cbc driver wasn't working. The
solution at that time was aesni plus generic cbc.
With this ECO, we fixed the errors in Intel's aesni-cbc driver so that we can fully leverage the aesni-cbc
benefits. The aesni-cbc is faster than aesni plus generic cbc because:
2. AES fall-back function changed to Intel's x86_64 assembly from C generic function
When fpu is not available, aesni can't be used and must fall back to a generic function. The assembly aes
function should be slightly faster than the C generic one.
This would also slight boost aes throughput for those that don't have aesni but have a x86_64 cpus.
3. aesni-gcm pre-computions
There are some elements in the aesni-gcm algo that maintain constant per-SA. This ECO moves these
calculations to the prepare() function so that these calculations are only done once per-SA instead of per-
packet.
QA's tests show that this helps to stabilize the 1500D aesni-gcm throughput and make it maintain above
1Gbps (packet size 1360).
A new CLI option "net-device [enable|disable]" is added in the phase1-interface command sets. The
default is "disable" so that the new feature kicks in for all the new configurations. An upgrade feature will add a
"set net-device enable" for all the existing configurations so that they will keep the old behavior. Please see the
CLI Syntax section below for more details.
Under the new single-interface scheme, instead of relying on routing to guide traffic to the specific instance as
currently happens, all traffic will flow to the specific device and IPsec will need to take care of locating the correct
instance for outbound traffic. For this purpose, another new CLI option "tunnel-search" is created. The option is
only available when the above "net-device" option is "disable".
There are two options for "tunnel-search", corresponding to the two ways to select the tunnel for outbound traffic.
One is "selectors", meaning selecting a peer using the IPSec selectors (proxy-ids). The other is "nexthop" where
all the peers use the same default selectors (0/0) while using some routing protocols such as BGP, OSPF, RIPng,
etc to resolve the routing. The default for "tunnel-search" is "selectors".
Syntax
config vpn ipsec phase1-interface
edit xxx
set net-device [enable|disable] Enable to create a kernel device for every dialup instance
next
end
config vpn ipsec phase1-interface
edit xxx
set net-device disable
set tunnel-search [selectors|nexthop] Search for tunnel in selectors or using nexthops
next
end
FortiOS 5.6.1
These features first appeared in FortiOS 5.6.1.
Support for Brainpool curves specified in RFC 6954 for IKE (412795)
Added support for Brainpool curves specified in RFC 6954 (originally RFC 5639) for IKE. Four new values are
added for VPN phase1 and phase2 DH groups.
Syntax
config vpn ipsec phase1/phase1-interface
edit <name>
set dhgrp {1 | 2 | 5 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30}
next
end
config vpn ipsec phase2/phase2-interface
edit <name>
set dhgrp {1 | 2 | 5 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30}
next
end
It should be noted, unlike Xauth or EAP, this feature does not perform individual user authentication, but rather
treats all users on the gateway as a single group, and authenticates that group with RADIUS using a fixed
password. This feature also works with RADIUS accounting, including the phase1 acct-verify option.
Syntax
config vpn ipsec phase1-interface
edit <name>
set mode-cfg enable
set type dynamic
set ike-version 2
set group-authentication {enable | disable}
set group-authentication-secret <password>
next
end
IPsec mode-cfg can assign IPs from firewall address and sharing IP pools (393331)
This feature adds the ability for users to configure assign-IPs from firewall addresses/groups.
Previously, different policies accessing the same network needed to ensure that non-overlapping IP-ranges were
assigned to policies to avoid the same IP address being assigned to multiple clients. With this feature, the
address name is used to identify an IP pool and different policies can refer to the same IP pool to check for
available IPs, thus simplifying the task of avoiding IP conflicts.
Syntax
config vpn ipsec phase1-interface
edit <name>
set mode-cfg enable
set type dynamic
set assign-ip-from {range | dhcp | name}
set ipv4-name <name>
set ipv6-name <name>
next
end
A new CLI option net-device is added in the phase1-interface command sets. The default is disable
so that the new feature kicks in for all the new configurations. An upgrade feature will add a set net-device
enable for all the existing configurations so that they will keep the old behavior.
Under the new single-interface scheme, instead of relying on routing to guide traffic to the specific instance, all
traffic will flow to the specific device and IPsec will need to take care of locating the correct instance for outbound
traffic. For this purpose, another new CLI option tunnel-search is created. The option is only available when
the above net-device option is set to disable.
There are two options for tunnel-search, corresponding to the two ways to select the tunnel for outbound
traffic. One is selectors, meaning selecting a peer using the IPsec selectors (proxy-ids). The other is
nexthop where all the peers use the same default selectors (0/0) while using some routing protocols such as
BGP, OSPF, RIPng, etc. to resolve the routing. The default for tunnel-search is selectors.
Syntax
config vpn ipsec phase1-interface
edit <name>
set net-device {enable | disable}
set tunnel-search {selectors | nexthop}
next
end
To prevent psksecret length check running on the configuration end, the psksecret option will be hidden. Prior to
Mantis 397712, the length check passed because it was incorrectly checking the legnth of encrypted password
which is always 204 length long.
Syntax
config vpn l2tp
set eip 50.0.0.100
set sip 50.0.0.1
set status enable
set enforce-ipsec-interface {disable | enable} (default = disable)
set usrgrp <group_name>
end
l (368069) The IPsec VPN wizard now allows users to select members of virtual-wan-link (VWL) as IPsec phase1-
interface. Before saving, if the phase1 interface is a VWL member, then the Wizard automatically sets the virtual-
wan-link as the destination interface in the L2TP policy.
l (246552) List VPN tunnels for VWL members if VWL is set as the destination interface in policy-based IPsec VPN.
Added GUI support for local-gw when configuring custom IPsec tunnels (423786)
Previously, the local-gw option was not available on the GUI when configuring a custom IPsec tunnel. This
feature adds the local-gw setting to the IPsec VPN Edit dialog. The user is able to choose the primary or
secondary IP address from the currently selected interface, or specify an ip address manually. Both local-gw
and local-gw6 are supported.
Moved the dn-format CLI option from phase1 config to vdom settings (435542)
Previous fix for dn-format didn't take into account that, at the time isakmp_set_peer_identifier is used, we
don't have a connection and haven't matched our gateway yet, so we can't use that to determine the dn-format
configuration setting.
The solution was to move the dn-format CLI option from phase1 config to vdom settings. It is renamed to
ike-dn-format.
FGT IKE incorrect NAT detection causes ADVPN hub behind VIP to not generate shortcuts
(416786)
When ADVPN NAT support was added, only spokes behind NAT was considered. No thought was given to a hub
behind a VIP or the problems that occurred due to the way that FortiOS clients behind NAT enable NAT-T even
when it is not required.
l Moved shortcut determination out of the kernel and up to IKE. The shortcut message now contains the ID of both
tunnels so that IKE can check the NAT condition of both.
l Added IKE debug to cover sending the initial shortcut query. The lack of this previously meant it could be awkard to
determine if the offer had been converted into a query correctly.
l Added "nat:" output in diag vpn ike gateway list output to indicate whether this device or the peer is
behind NAT.
l Tweaked the diag vpn tunnel list output so that the auto-discovery information now includes symbolic
as well as numeric values, which makes it easier to see what type of auto-discovery was enabled.
FortiOS 5.6.0
These features first appeared in FortiOS 5.6.0.
CLI syntax
config vpn certificate setting
set certname-rsa1024 <name>
set certname-rsa2048 <name>
set certname-dsa1024 <name>
set certname-dsa2048 <name>
set certname-ecdsa256 <name>
set certname-ecdsa384 <name>
end
With this change, the psksecret and psksecret-remote entries under the IPsec VPN CLI command
config vpn ipsec-phase1-interface have been amended to differentiate user input as either ASCII
string or hex encoded values.
A new command, authmethod-remote, has been added to config vpn ipsec phase1-interface.
For more detailed information on authentication of the IKE SA, see RFC 5996 - Internet Key Exchange Protocol
Version 2 (IKEv2).
Instead of just containing a raw signature value calculated as defined in the original IKE RFCs, the Auth Data now
includes an ASN.1 formatted object that provides details on how the signature was calculated, such as the
signature type, hash algorithm, and signature padding method.
For more detailed information on IKEv2 Digital Signature authentication, see RFC 7427 - Signature
Authentication in the Internet Key Exchange Version 2 (IKEv2).
To allow a finer configuration of the tunnel, the rekey option is removed from config system global and
added to config vpn ipsec phase1-interface.
CLI syntax
config vpn ipsec phase1-interface
edit <example>
set rekey {enable | disable}
set passive-mode {enable | disable}
set passive-tunnel-interface {enable | disable}
end
With this change, the VPN wizard will create less objects internally, and reduce complexity.
In addition, a blackhole route route will be created by default with a higher distance-weight set than the default
route. This is to prevent traffic from flowing out of another route if the VPN interface goes down. In these
instances, the traffic will instead be silently discarded.
CLI syntax
config vpn ipsec phase1
edit <name>
set enforce-unique-id {keep-new | keep-old | disable} Default is disable.
next
end
Use keep-new to replace the old connection if an ID collision is detected on the gateway.
Use keep-old to reject the new connection if an ID collision is detected.
CLI syntax
config vpn ipsec phase1-interface
edit ike
set ike-version 2
set childless-ike enable
next
end
Allow peertype dialup for IKEv2 pre-shared key dynamic phase1 (378714)
Restored peertype dialup that was removed in a previous build (when IKEv2 PSK gateway re-validation was
not yet supported).
If peertype is dialup, IKEv2 AUTH verify uses user password in the user group "usrgrp" of phase1. The
"psksecret" in phase1 is ignored.
CLI syntax
config vpn ipsec phase1-interface
edit "name"
set type dynamic
set interface "wan1"
set ike-version 2
set peertype dialup
set usrgrp "local-group"
next
end
This patch changes the default peertype to peer now; peertype any is considered non-default and will be printed
out on any config listing. Upgrade code has been written to ensure that any older build that was implicitly using
set peertype any has this setting preserved.
Previously, when sending and IKE packets with IKEv1, the whole packet is sent once, and it is only fragmented if
there is a retransmission. With IKEv2, because RFC 7383 requires each fragment to be individually encrypted
and authenticated, we would have to keep a copy of the unencrypted payloads around for each outgoing packet,
in case the original single packet was never answered and we wanted to retry with fragments. So with this
implementation, if the IKE payloads are greater than a configured threshold, the IKE packets are preemptively
fragmented and encrypted.
CLI syntax
config vpn ipsec phase1-interface
edit ike
set ike-version 2
set fragmentation [enable|disable]
set fragmentation-mtu [500-16000]
next
end
IPsec monitoring pages now based on phase 1 proposals not phase 2 (304246)
The IPsec monitor, found under Monitor > IPsec Monitor, was in some instances showing random uptimes
even if the tunnel was in fact down.
Tunnels are considered as "up" if at least one phase 2 selector is active. To avoid confusion, when a tunnel is
down, IPsec Monitor will keep the Phase 2 Selectors column, but hide it by default and be replaced with
Phase 1 status column.
Virtual Private Network (VPN) technology enables remote users to connect to private computer networks to gain
access to their resources in a secure way. For example, an employee traveling or working from home can use a
VPN to securely access the office network through the Internet.
Instead of remotely logging on to a private network using an unencrypted and unsecure Internet connection, the
use of a VPN ensures that unauthorized parties cannot access the office network and cannot intercept any of the
information that is exchanged between the employee and the office. It is also common to use a VPN to connect
the private networks of two or more offices.
Fortinet offers VPN capabilities in the FortiGate Unified Threat Management (UTM) appliance and in the
FortiClient Endpoint Security suite of applications. A FortiGate unit can be installed on a private network, and
FortiClient software can be installed on the user’s computer. It is also possible to use a FortiGate unit to connect
to the private network instead of using FortiClient software.
VPN tunnels
The data path between a user’s computer and a private network through a VPN is referred to as a tunnel. Like a
physical tunnel, the data path is accessible only at both ends. In the telecommuting scenario, the tunnel runs
between the FortiClient application on the user’s PC, or a FortiGate unit or other network device and the
FortiGate unit on the office private network.
Encapsulation makes this possible. IPsec packets pass from one end of the tunnel to the other and contain data
packets that are exchanged between the local user and the remote private network. Encryption of the data
packets ensures that any third-party who intercepts the IPsec packets can not access the data.
Tunnel templates
Several tunnel templates are available in the IPsec VPN Wizard that cover a variety of different types of IPsec
VPN. A list of these templates appear on the first page of the Wizard, located at VPN > IPsec Wizard. The
tunnel template list follows.
Cisco's VPN Client has reached its End-of-Life/End-of-Support as of July 30, 2016, and
has been replaced by Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client.
In FortiOS 5.6.4+, the first step of the VPN Creation Wizard (VPN > IPsec Wizard)
delineates the Remote Device Type (for Remote Access templates) between
Client-based and Native in order to distinguish FortiClient and Cisco device options
from native OS device options.
VPN gateways
A gateway is a router that connects the local network to other networks. The default gateway setting in your
computer’s TCP/IP properties specifies the gateway for your local network.
A VPN gateway functions as one end of a VPN tunnel. It receives incoming IPsec packets, decrypts the
encapsulated data packets and passes the data packets to the local network. Also, it encrypts data packets
destined for the other end of the VPN tunnel, encapsulates them, and sends the IPsec packets to the other VPN
gateway. The VPN gateway is a FortiGate unit because the private network behind it is protected, ensuring the
security of the unencrypted VPN data. The gateway can also be FortiClient software running on a PC since the
unencrypted data is secure on the PC.
The IP address of a VPN gateway is usually the IP address of the network interface that connects to the Internet.
Optionally, you can define a secondary IP address for the interface and use that address as the local VPN
gateway address. The benefit of doing this is that your existing setup is not affected by the VPN settings.
The following diagram shows a VPN connection between two private networks with FortiGate units acting as the
VPN gateways. This configuration is commonly referred to as Gateway-to-Gateway IPsec VPN.
Although the IPsec traffic may actually pass through many Internet routers, you can visualize the VPN tunnel as a
simple secure connection between the two FortiGate units.
Users on the two private networks do not need to be aware of the VPN tunnel. The applications on their
computers generate packets with the appropriate source and destination addresses, as they normally do. The
FortiGate units manage all the details of encrypting, encapsulating, and sending the packets to the remote VPN
gateway.
The data is encapsulated in IPsec packets only in the VPN tunnel between the two VPN gateways. Between the
user’s computer and the gateway, the data is on the secure private network and it is in regular IP packets.
For example User1 on the Site A network, at IP address 10.10.1.7, sends packets with destination IP address
192.168.10.8, the address of User2 on the Site B network. The Site A FortiGate unit is configured to send packets
with destinations on the 192.168.10.0 network through the VPN, encrypted and encapsulated. Similarly, the Site
B FortiGate unit is configured to send packets with destinations on the 10.10.1.0 network through the VPN tunnel
to the Site A VPN gateway.
In the site-to-site, or gateway-to-gateway VPN shown below, the FortiGate units have static (fixed) IP addresses
and either unit can initiate communication.
You can also create a VPN tunnel between an individual PC running FortiClient and a FortiGate unit, as shown
below. This is commonly referred to as Client-to-Gateway IPsec VPN.
On the PC, the FortiClient application acts as the local VPN gateway. Packets destined for the office network are
encrypted, encapsulated into IPsec packets, and sent through the VPN tunnel to the FortiGate unit. Packets for
other destinations are routed to the Internet as usual. IPsec packets arriving through the tunnel are decrypted to
recover the original IP packets.
A FortiGate unit cannot be a VPN server if it has a dynamically-assigned IP address. VPN clients need to be
configured with a static IP address for the server. A FortiGate unit acts as a server only when the remote VPN
gateway has a dynamic IP address or is a client-only device or application, such as FortiClient.
As a VPN server, a FortiGate unit can also offer automatic configuration for FortiClient PCs. The user needs to
know only the IP address of the FortiGate VPN server and a valid user name/password. FortiClient downloads the
VPN configuration settings from the FortiGate VPN server. For information about configuring a FortiGate unit as
a VPN server, see the FortiClient Administration Guide.
Encryption
Encryption mathematically transforms data to appear as meaningless random numbers. The original data is
called plaintext and the encrypted data is called ciphertext. The opposite process, called decryption, performs the
inverse operation to recover the original plaintext from the ciphertext.
The process by which the plaintext is transformed to ciphertext and back again is called an algorithm. All
algorithms use a small piece of information, a key, in the arithmetic process of converted plaintext to ciphertext,
or vice-versa. IPsec uses symmetrical algorithms, in which the same key is used to both encrypt and decrypt the
data. The security of an encryption algorithm is determined by the length of the key that it uses. FortiGate IPsec
VPNs offer the following encryption algorithms, in descending order of security:
Encryption Description
3DES Triple-DES, in which plain text is DES-encrypted three times by three keys.
DES Digital Encryption Standard, a 64-bit block algorithm that uses a 56-bit key
The default encryption algorithms provided on FortiGate units make recovery of encrypted data almost
impossible without the proper encryption keys.
There is a human factor in the security of encryption. The key must be kept secret, known only to the sender and
receiver of the messages. Also, the key must not be something that unauthorized parties might easily guess,
such as the sender’s name, birthday or simple sequence such as 123456.
Diffie-Hellman groups
FortiOS IPsec VPN supports the following Diffie-Hellman (DH) asymmetric key algorithms for public key
cryptography.
DH Group Description
DH Group Description
By default, DH group 14 is selected, to provide sufficient protection for stronger cipher suites that include AES
and SHA2. If you select multiple DH groups, the order they appear in the configuration is the order in which they
are negotiates.
If both VPN peers (or a VPN server and its client) have static IP addresses and use aggressive mode, select a
single DH group. The setting on the FortiGate unit must be identical to the setting on the remote peer or dialup
client.
When the remote VPN peer or client has a dynamic IP address and uses aggressive mode, select up to three DH
groups on the FortiGate unit and one DH group on the remote peer or dialup client. The setting on the remote
peer or dialup client must be identical to one of the selections on the FortiGate unit.
If the VPN peer or client employs main mode, you can select multiple DH groups. At least one of the settings on
the remote peer or dialup client must be identical to the selections on the FortiGate unit.
IPsec overheads
The FortiGate sets an IPsec tunnel Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU) of 1436 for 3DES/SHA1 and an MTU of
1412 for AES128/SHA1, as seen with diag vpn tunnel list. This indicates that the FortiGate allocates 64
bytes of overhead for 3DES/SHA1 and 88 bytes for AES128/SHA1, which is the difference if you subtract this
MTU from a typical ethernet MTU of 1500 bytes.
During the encryption process, AES/DES operates using a specific size of data which is block size. If data is
smaller than that, it will be padded for the operation. MD5/SHA-1 HMAC also operates using a specific block size.
The following table describes the potential maximum overhead for each IPsec encryption:
ESP-3DES, ESP-DES 45
AH-SHA-HMAC or MD5 44
Authentication
To protect data via encryption, a VPN must ensure that only authorized users can access the private network. You
must use either a preshared key on both VPN gateways or RSA X.509 security certificates. The examples in this
guide use only preshared key authentication. Refer to the Fortinet Knowledge Base for articles on RSA X.509
security certificates.
Preshared keys
A preshared key contains at least six random alphanumeric characters. Users of the VPN must obtain the
preshared key from the person who manages the VPN server and add the preshared key to their VPN client
configuration.
Although it looks like a password, the preshared key, also known as a shared secret, is never sent by either
gateway. The preshared key is used in the calculations at each end that generate the encryption keys. As soon as
the VPN peers attempt to exchange encrypted data, preshared keys that do not match will cause the process to
fail.
Additional authentication
To increase security, you can require additional means of authentication from users, such as:
In FortiOS 5.2, new authentication methods have been implemented for IKE: ECDSA-256, ECDSA-384, and
ECDSA-521. However, AES-XCBC is not supported.
FortiClient distinguishes between Phase 1 and Phase 2 only in the VPN Advanced settings and uses different
terms. Phase 1 is called the IKE Policy. Phase 2 is called the IPsec Policy.
Phase 1
In Phase 1, the two VPN gateways exchange information about the encryption algorithms that they support and
then establish a temporary secure connection to exchange authentication information.
When you configure your FortiGate unit or FortiClient application, you must specify the following settings for
Phase 1:
Local interface The network interface that connects to the other VPN gateway. This
applies on a FortiGate unit only.
All other Phase 1 settings have default values. These settings mainly configure the types of encryption to be
used. The default settings on FortiGate units and in the FortiClient application are compatible. The examples in
this guide use these defaults.
For more detailed information about Phase 1 settings, see Phase 1 parameters on page 1892.
Phase 2
Similar to the Phase 1 process, the two VPN gateways exchange information about the encryption algorithms that
they support for Phase 2. You may choose different encryption for Phase 1 and Phase 2. If both gateways have at
least one encryption algorithm in common, a VPN tunnel can be established. Keep in mind that more algorithms
each phase does not share with the other gateway, the longer negotiations will take. In extreme cases this may
cause timeouts during negotiations.
To configure default Phase 2 settings on a FortiGate unit, you need only select the name of the corresponding
Phase 1 configuration. In FortiClient, no action is required to enable default Phase 2 settings.
For more detailed information about Phase 2 settings, see Phase 2 parameters on page 1911.
Security Association
The establishment of a Security Association (SA) is the successful outcome of Phase 1 negotiations. Each peer
maintains a database of information about VPN connections. The information in each SA can include
cryptographic algorithms and keys, keylife, and the current packet sequence number. This information is kept
synchronized as the VPN operates. Each SA has a Security Parameter Index (SPI) that is provided to the remote
peer at the time the SA is established. Subsequent IPsec packets from the peer always reference the relevant
SPI. It is possible for peers to have multiple VPNs active simultaneously, and correspondingly multiple SPIs.
The IPsec SA connect message generated is used to install dynamic selectors. These selectors can be installed
via the auto-negotiate mechanism. When phase 2 has auto-negotiate enabled, and phase 1 has mesh selector-
type set to subnet, a new dynamic selector will be installed for each combination of source and destination
subnets. Each dynamic selector will inherit the auto-negotiate option from the template selector and begin SA
negotiation. Phase 2 selector sources from dial-up clients will all establish SAs without traffic being initiated from
the client subnets to the hub.
The following sections identify how IKE versions 1 and 2 operate and differentiate.
IKEv1
Phase 1
A peer, identified in the IPsec policy configuration, begins the IKE negotiation process. This IKE Security
Association (SA) agreement is known as Phase 1. The Phase 1 parameters identify the remote peer or clients and
supports authentication through pre-shared key (PSK) or digital certificate. You can increase access security
further using peer identifiers, certificate distinguished names, group names, or the FortiGate extended
authentication (XAuth) option for authentication purposes. Basically, Phase 1 authenticates a remote peer and
sets up a secure communication channel for establishing Phase 2, which negotiates the IPsec SA.
IKE Phase 1 can occur in either Main mode or Aggressive mode. For more information, see Phase 1 parameters
on page 1892.
Phase 2
Phase 2 parameters define the algorithms that the FortiGate unit can use to encrypt and transfer data for the
remainder of the session in an IPsec SA. The basic Phase 2 settings associate IPsec Phase 2 parameters with a
Phase 1 configuration.
In Phase 2, the VPN peer or client and the FortiGate unit exchange keys again to establish a more secure
communication channel. The Phase 2 Proposal parameters select the encryption and authentication algorithms
needed to generate keys for protecting the implementation details of the SA. The keys are generated
automatically using a Diffie-Hellman algorithm.
In Phase 2, Quick mode selectors determine which IP addresses can perform IKE negotiations to establish a
tunnel. By only allowing authorized IP addresses access to the VPN tunnel, the network is more secure. For more
information, see Phase 2 parameters on page 1911.
With Phase 2 established, the IPsec tunnel is fully negotiated and traffic between the peers is allowed until the
SA terminates (for any number of reasons; time-out, interruption, disconnection, etc).
IKEv2
Phase 1
Unlike Phase 1 of IKEv1, IKEv2 does not provide options for Aggressive or Main mode. Furthermore, Phase 1 of
IKEv2 begins immediately with an IKE SA initiation, consisting of only two packets (containing all the information
typically contained in four packets for IKEv1), securing the channel such that all following transactions are
encrypted (see Phase 1 parameters on page 1892).
The encrypted transactions contain the IKE authentication, since remote peers have yet to be authenticated. This
stage of IKE authentication in IKEv2 can loosely be called Phase 1.5.
Phase 1.5
As part of this phase, IKE authentication must occur. IKE authentication consists of the following:
l The authentication payloads and Internet Security Association and Key Management Protocol (ISAKMP) identifier.
l The authentication method (RSA, PSK, ECDSA, or EAP).
l The IPsec SA parameters.
Due to the number of authentication methods potentially used, and SAs established, the overall IKEv2
negotiation can range from 4 packets (no EAP exchange at all) to many more.
At this point, both peers have a security association complete and ready to encrypt traffic.
Phase 2
In IKEv1, Phase 2 uses Quick mode to negotiate an IPsec SA between peers. In IKEv2, since the IPsec SA is
already established, Phase 2 is essentially only used to negotiate “child” SAs, or to re-key an IPsec SA. That said,
there are only two packets for each exchange of this type, similar to the exchange at the outset of Phase 1.5.
If a gateway loses connectivity to the network, clients can attempt to re-establish the lost session by presenting
the ticket to the gateway (as described in RFC 5723). As a result, sessions can be resumed much faster, as DH
exchange that is necessary to establish a brand new connection is skipped. This feature implements "ticket-by-
value", whereby all information necessary to restore the state of a particular IKE SA is stored in the ticket and sent
to the client.
Asymmetric authentication allows both sides of an authentication exchange to use different authentication
methods, for example the initiator may be using a shared key, while the responder may have a public signature
key and certificate.
For more detailed information on authentication of the IKE SA, see RFC 5996 - Internet Key Exchange Protocol
Version 2 (IKEv2).
FortiOS supports the use of Digital Signature authentication, which changes the format of the Authentication
Data payload in order to support different signature methods.
Instead of just containing a raw signature value calculated as defined in the original IKE RFCs, the Auth Data now
includes an ASN.1 formatted object that provides details on how the signature was calculated, such as the
signature type, hash algorithm, and signature padding method.
For more detailed information on IKEv2 Digital Signature authentication, see RFC 7427 - Signature
Authentication in the Internet Key Exchange Version 2 (IKEv2).
Unique IKE identifiers
When enabled, the following phase1 CLI command (enforce-unique-id) requires all IPsec VPN clients to
use a unique identifer when connecting.
CLI syntax
config vpn ipsec phase1
edit <name>
set enforce-unique-id {keep-new | keep-old | disable} Default is disable.
next
end
Use keep-new to replace the old connnection if an ID collision is detected on the gateway.
Use keep-old to reject the new connection if an ID collision is detected.
It should be noted, unlike Xauth or EAP, this feature does not perform individual user authentication, but rather
treats all users on the gateway as a single group, and authenticates that group with RADIUS using a fixed
password. This feature also works with RADIUS accounting, including the phase1 acct-verify option.
Syntax
config vpn ipsec phase1-interface
edit <name>
set mode-cfg enable
set type dynamic
set ike-version 2
set group-authentication {enable | disable}
set group-authentication-secret <password>
next
end
This section provides a brief overview of IPsec technology and includes general information about how to
configure IPsec VPNs using this guide.
VPN configurations interact with the firewall component of the FortiGate unit. There must be a security policy in
place to permit traffic to pass between the private network and the VPN tunnel.
l The FortiGate interface that provides the physical connection to the remote VPN gateway, usually an interface
connected to the Internet
l The FortiGate interface that connects to the private network
l IP addresses associated with data that has to be encrypted and decrypted
l Optionally, a schedule that restricts when the VPN can operate
l Optionally, the services (types of data) that can be sent
When the first packet of data that meets all of the conditions of the security policy arrives at the FortiGate unit, a
VPN tunnel may be initiated and the encryption or decryption of data is performed automatically afterward. For
more information, see Defining VPN security policies on page 1.
Where possible, you should create route-based VPNs. Generally, route-based VPNs are more flexible and easier
to configure than policy-based VPNs — by default they are treated as interfaces. However, these two VPN types
have different requirements that limit where they can be used.
Types of VPNs
FortiGate unit VPNs can be policy-based or route-based. There is little difference between the two types. In both
cases, you specify Phase 1 and Phase 2 settings. However there is a difference in implementation. A route-based
VPN creates a virtual IPsec network interface that applies encryption or decryption as needed to any traffic that it
carries. That is why route-based VPNs are also known as interface-based VPNs. A policy-based VPN is
implemented through a special security policy that applies the encryption you specified in the Phase 1 and Phase
2 settings.
Route-based VPNs
For a route-based VPN, you create two security policies between the virtual IPsec interface and the interface that
connects to the private network. In one policy, the virtual interface is the source. In the other policy, the virtual
interface is the destination. This creates bidirectional policies that ensure traffic will flow in both directions over
the VPN.
Each route-based IPsec VPN tunnel requires a virtual IPsec interface. As such, the
amount of possible route-based IPsec VPNs is limited by the system.interface table
size. The system.interface table size for most devices is 8192.
For a complete list of table sizes for all devices, refer to the Maximum Values table.
Policy-based VPNs
For a policy-based VPN, one security policy enables communication in both directions. You enable inbound and
outbound traffic as needed within that policy, or create multiple policies of this type to handle different types of
traffic differently. For example HTTPS traffic may not require the same level of scanning as FTP traffic.
You create a policy-based VPN by defining an IPSEC security policy between two network interfaces and
associating it with the VPN tunnel (Phase 1) configuration.
You create a route-based VPN by creating a virtual IPsec interface. You then define a regular ACCEPT security
policy to permit traffic to flow between the virtual IPsec interface and another network interface. And lastly,
configure a static route to allow traffic over the VPN.
Where possible, you should create route-based VPNs. Generally, route-based VPNs are more flexible and easier
to configure than policy-based VPNs — by default they are treated as interfaces. However, these two VPN types
have different requirements that limit where they can be used.
Number of policies per VPN One policy controls connections in A separate policy is required for
both directions connections in each direction
All VPN configurations are comprised of numerous required and optional parameters. Before you begin, you need
to determine:
Network topologies
The topology of your network will determine how remote peers and clients connect to the VPN and how VPN
traffic is routed.
Topology Description
Gateway-to-gateway Standard one-to-one VPN between two FortiGate units. See Gateway-to-
configurations gateway configurations on page 1.
One central FortiGate unit has multiple VPNs to other remote FortiGate
Hub-and-spoke configurations
units. See Hub-and-spoke configurations on page 1.
Dynamic DNS configuration One end of the VPN tunnel has a changing IP address and the other end
must go to a dynamic DNS server for the current IP address before
establishing a tunnel. See Dynamic DNS configuration on page 1.
FortiGate dialup-client Similar to FortiClient dialup-client configurations but with more gateway-to-
configurations gateway settings such as unique user authentication for multiple users on a
single VPN tunnel. See FortiGate dialup-client configurations on page 1.
Internet-browsing Secure web browsing performed by dialup VPN clients, and/or hosts behind
configuration a remote VPN peer. See Internet-browsing configuration on page 1.
Redundant VPN Options for supporting redundant and partially redundant IPsec VPNs,
configurations using route-based approaches. See Redundant VPN configurations on
page 1.
In transparent mode, the FortiGate acts as a bridge with all incoming traffic
Transparent mode VPNs being broadcast back out on all other interfaces. Routing and NAT must be
performed on external routers. See Transparent mode VPNs on page 1.
L2TP and IPsec (Microsoft Configure VPN for Microsoft Windows dialup clients using the built in L2TP
VPN) software. Users do not have to install any See L2TP and IPsec (Microsoft
VPN) on page 1.
These sections contain high-level configuration guidelines with cross-references to detailed configuration
procedures. If you need more detail to complete a step, select the cross-reference in the step to drill-down to
more detail. Return to the original procedure to complete the procedure. For a general overview of how to
configure a VPN, see Planning your VPN .
l The private IP addresses of participating hosts, servers, and/or networks. These IP addresses represent
the source addresses of traffic that is permitted to pass through the VPN. A IP source address can be an individual
IP address, an address range, or a subnet address.
l The public IP addresses of the VPN end-point interfaces. The VPN devices establish tunnels with each other
through these interfaces.
l The private IP addresses associated with the VPN-device interfaces to the private networks. Computers
on the private networks behind the VPN gateways will connect to their VPN gateways through these interfaces.
1. Define the Phase 1 parameters that the FortiGate unit needs to authenticate remote peers or clients and establish
a secure a connection. See Phase 1 parameters on page 1892.
2. Define the Phase 2 parameters that the FortiGate unit needs to create a VPN tunnel with a remote peer or dialup
client. See Phase 2 parameters on page 1911.
3. Specify the source and destination addresses of IP packets that are to be transported through the VPN tunnel. See
Defining policy addresses on page 1.
4. Create an IPsec security policy to define the scope of permitted services between the IP source and destination
addresses. See Defining VPN security policies on page 1.
These steps assume you configure the FortiGate unit to generate unique IPsec
encryption and authentication keys automatically. In situations where a remote VPN
peer or client requires a specific IPsec encryption and authentication key, you must
configure the FortiGate unit to use manual keys instead of performing Steps 1 and 2.
To configure an IPsec VPN, use the general procedure below. With these steps, your FortiGate unit will
automatically generate unique IPsec encryption and authentication keys. If a remote VPN peer or client requires a
specific IPsec encryption or authentication key, you must configure your FortiGate unit to use manual keys
instead.
1. Define Phase 1 parameters to authenticate remote peers and clients for a secure connection. See IPsec VPN in
the web-based manager on page 1879.
2. Define Phase 2 parameters to create a VPN tunnel with a remote peer or dialup client. See IPsec VPN in the web-
based manager on page 1879.
3. Create a security policy to permit communication between your private network and the VPN. Policy-based VPNs
have an action of IPSEC, where for interface-based VPNs the security policy action is ACCEPT. See Defining VPN
security policies on page 1.
The FortiGate unit implements the Encapsulated Security Payload (ESP) protocol. Internet Key Exchange (IKE) is
performed automatically based on pre-shared keys or X.509 digital certificates. Interface mode, supported in NAT
mode only, creates a virtual interface for the local end of a VPN tunnel.
Phase 1 configuration
To begin defining the Phase 1 configuration, go to VPN > IPsec Tunnels and select Create New. Enter a
unique descriptive name for the VPN tunnel and follow the instructions in the VPN Creation Wizard.
The Phase 1 configuration mainly defines the ends of the IPsec tunnel. The remote end is the remote gateway
with which the FortiGate unit exchanges IPsec packets. The local end is the FortiGate interface that sends and
receives IPsec packets.
If you want to control how the IKE negotiation is processed when there is no traffic, as well as the length of time
the FortiGate unit waits for negotiations to occur, you can use the negotiation-timeout and auto-
negotiate commands in the CLI.
For more information, refer to Phase 2 parameters on page 1911 and Phase 2 parameters on page 1911.
Name Type a name for the Phase 1 definition. The maximum name length is 15
characters for an interface mode VPN, 35 characters for a policy-based
VPN. If Remote Gateway is Dialup User, the maximum name length is
further reduced depending on the number of dialup tunnels that can be
established: by 2 for up to 9 tunnels, by 3 for up to 99 tunnels, 4 for up to
999 tunnels, and so on.
For a tunnel mode VPN, the name normally reflects where the remote
connection originates. For a route-based tunnel, the FortiGate unit also
uses the name for the virtual IPsec interface that it creates automatically.
IP Address If you selected Static IP Address, enter the IP address of the remote
peer.
If you selected Dynamic DNS, enter the domain name of the remote
Dynamic DNS
peer.
Local Interface This option is available in NAT mode only. Select the name of the interface
through which remote peers or dialup clients connect to the FortiGate unit.
When the remote VPN peer has a dynamic IP address and is authenticated
Mode by a pre-shared key, you must select Aggressive mode if there is more than
one dialup phase1 configuration for the interface IP address.
When the remote VPN peer has a dynamic IP address and is authenticated
by a certificate, you must select Aggressive mode if there is more than one
Phase 1 configuration for the interface IP address and these Phase 1
configurations use different proposals.
If you selected Pre-shared Key, enter the pre-shared key that the
FortiGate unit will use to authenticate itself to the remote peer or dialup
client during Phase 1 negotiations. You must define the same key at the
remote peer or client.
Pre-shared Key
The key must contain at least 6 printable characters. For optimum
protection against currently known attacks, the key must consist of a
minimum of 16 randomly chosen alphanumeric characters. The limit is 128
characters.
Certificate Name If you selected RSA Signature, select the name of the server certificate
that the FortiGate unit will use to authenticate itself to the remote peer or
dialup client during Phase 1 negotiations. For information about obtaining
and loading the required server certificate, see the FortiOS User
Authentication guide.
Any peer ID Accept the local ID of any remote VPN peer or client. The FortiGate unit
does not check identifiers (local IDs). You can set Mode to Aggressive or
Main.
You can use this option with RSA Signature authentication. But, for highest
security, configure a PKI user/group for the peer and set Peer Options to
Accept this peer certificate only.
If the remote peer is a FortiGate unit, the identifier is specified in the Local
ID field of the Advanced Phase 1 configuration.
This peer ID
If the remote peer is a FortiClient user, the identifier is specified in the
Local ID field, accessed by selecting Config in the Policy section of the
VPN connection’s Advanced Settings.
Peer ID from dialup group Authenticate multiple FortiGate or FortiClient dialup clients that use unique
identifiers and unique pre-shared keys (or unique pre-shared keys only)
through the same VPN tunnel.
You must create a dialup user group for authentication purposes. Select
the group from the list next to the Peer ID from dialup group option.
You must set Mode to Aggressive when the dialup clients use unique
identifiers and unique pre-shared keys. If the dialup clients use unique pre-
shared keys only, you can set Mode to Main if there is only one dialup
Phase 1 configuration for this interface IP address.
These settings are mainly configured in the CLI, although some options are available after the tunnel is created
using the VPN Creation Wizard (using the Convert to Custom Tunnel option).
If the FortiGate unit will act as a VPN client, and you are using security certificates for
authentication, set the Local ID to the distinguished name (DN) of the local server
certificate that the FortiGate unit will use for authentication purposes.
Note that, since FortiOS 5.4, an exact match is required to optimize IKE's gateway
search utilizing binary trees. However, it is also possible to have partial matching of
'user.peer:cn' to match peers to gateways by performing a secondary match. When
IKE receives IDi of type ASN1.DN, the first search is done with the whole DN string. If
none is found, IKE will extract just the CN attribute value and perform a second
search.
VXLAN over IPsec Packets with VXLAN header are encapsulated within IPsec tunnel mode.
You can define an idle timer for IPsec tunnels. When no traffic has passed
through the tunnel for the configured idle-timeout value, the IPsec tunnel
will be flushed.
IPv6 Version Select if you want to use IPv6 addresses for the remote gateway and
interface IP addresses.
Specify an IP address for the local end of the VPN tunnel. Select one of the
following:
Phase 1 Proposal Select the encryption and authentication algorithms used to generate keys
for protecting negotiations and add encryption and authentication
algorithms as required.
You can select either of the following message digests to check the
authenticity of messages during an encrypted session:
Diffie-Hellman Group Select one or more Diffie-Hellman groups from DH groups 1, 2, 5, and 14
through 21. At least one of the Diffie-Hellman Group settings on the
remote peer or client must match one the selections on the FortiGate unit.
Failure to match one or more DH groups will result in failed negotiations.
Enter the time (in seconds) that must pass before the IKE encryption key
Keylife expires. When the key expires, a new key is generated without interrupting
service. The keylife can be from 120 to 172 800 seconds.
Local ID If the FortiGate unit will act as a VPN client and you are using peer IDs for
authentication purposes, enter the identifier that the FortiGate unit will
supply to the VPN server during the Phase 1 exchange.
If the FortiGate unit will act as a VPN client, and you are using security
certificates for authentication, select the distinguished name (DN) of the
local server certificate that the FortiGate unit will use for authentication
purposes.
If the FortiGate unit is a dialup client and will not be sharing a tunnel with
other dialup clients (that is, the tunnel will be dedicated to this Fortinet
dialup client), set Mode to Aggressive.
Note that this Local ID value must match the peer ID value given for the
remote VPN peer’s Peer Options.
NAT Traversal Select the check box if a NAT device exists between the local FortiGate
unit and the VPN peer or client. The local FortiGate unit and the VPN peer
or client must have the same NAT traversal setting (both selected or both
cleared) to connect reliably.
Dead Peer Detection Select this check box to reestablish VPN tunnels on idle connections and
clean up dead IKE peers if required. You can use this option to receive
notification whenever a tunnel goes up or down, or to keep the tunnel
connection open when no traffic is being generated inside the tunnel. For
example, in scenarios where a dialup client or dynamic DNS peer connects
from an IP address that changes periodically, traffic may be suspended
while the IP address changes.
With Dead Peer Detection selected, you can use the config vpn
ipsec phase1 (tunnel mode) or config vpn ipsec phase1-
interface (interface mode) CLI command to optionally specify a retry
count and a retry interval.
IKEv1 fragmentation
UDP fragmentation can cause issues in IPsec when either the ISP or perimeter firewall(s) cannot pass or
fragment the oversized UDP packets that occur when using a very large public security key (PSK). The result is
that IPsec tunnels do not come up. The solution is IKE fragmentation.
For most configurations, enabling IKE fragmentation allows connections to automatically establish when they
otherwise might have failed due to intermediate nodes dropping IKE messages containing large certificates,
which typically push the packet size over 1500 bytes.
FortiOS will fragment a packet on sending if, and only if, all the following are true:
IKEv2 fragmentation
With IKEv2, because RFC 7383 requires each fragment to be individually encrypted and authenticated, we would
have to keep a copy of the unencrypted payloads around for each outgoing packet, in case the original single
packet was never answered and we wanted to retry with fragments. With the following implementation, if the IKE
payloads are greater than a configured threshold, the IKE packets are preemptively fragmented and encrypted.
CLI syntax
config vpn ipsec phase1-interface
edit ike
set ike-version 2
set fragmentation [enable|disable]
set fragmentation-mtu [500-16000]
next
end
Phase 2 configuration
After IPsec Phase 1 negotiations end successfully, you begin Phase 2. You can configure the Phase 2 parameters
to define the algorithms that the FortiGate unit may use to encrypt and transfer data for the remainder of the
session. During Phase 2, you select specific IPsec security associations needed to implement security services
and establish a tunnel.
The basic Phase 2 settings associate IPsec Phase 2 parameters with the Phase 1 configuration that specifies the
remote end point of the VPN tunnel. In most cases, you need to configure only basic Phase 2 settings.
These settings are mainly configured in the CLI, although some options are available after the tunnel is created
using the VPN Creation Wizard (using the Convert to Custom Tunnel option).
Advanced Define advanced Phase 2 parameters. For more information, see Phase 2
advanced configuration settings below.
You can use a number of additional advanced Phase 2 settings to enhance the operation of the tunnel.
Phase 2 Proposal Select the encryption and authentication algorithms that will be proposed
to the remote VPN peer. You can specify up to three proposals. To
establish a VPN connection, at least one of the proposals that you specify
must match configuration on the remote peer.
Initially there are two proposals. Add and Delete icons are next to the
second Authentication field.
Authentication You can select either of the following message digests to check the
authenticity of messages during an encrypted session:
Enable perfect forward Perfect forward secrecy (PFS) improves security by forcing a new
secrecy (PFS) Diffie-Hellman exchange whenever keylife expires.
Diffie-Hellman Group Select one Diffie-Hellman group (1, 2, 5, or 14 through 21). This must
match the DH Group that the remote peer or dialup client uses.
Keylife Select the method for determining when the Phase 2 key expires:
Seconds, KBytes, or Both. If you select Both, the key expires when
either the time has passed or the number of KB have been processed.
Autokey Keep Alive Select the check box if you want the tunnel to remain active when no data
is being processed.
Auto-negotiate Enable the option if you want the tunnel to be automatically renegotiated
when the tunnel expires.
You also need configure a DHCP server or relay on the private network
interface. You must configure the DHCP parameters separately.
If the FortiGate unit acts as a dialup server and you manually assigned
FortiClient dialup clients VIP addresses that match the network behind the
dialup server, selecting the check box will cause the FortiGate unit to act as
a proxy for the dialup clients.
Quick Mode Selector Specify the source and destination IP addresses to be used as selectors for
IKE negotiations. If the FortiGate unit is a dialup server, keep the default
value of 0.0.0.0/0 unless you need to circumvent problems caused by
ambiguous IP addresses between one or more of the private networks
making up the VPN. You can specify a single host IP address, an IP
address range, or a network address. You may optionally specify source
and destination port numbers and a protocol number.
Source address If the FortiGate unit is a dialup server, enter the source IP address that
corresponds to the local senders or network behind the local VPN peer (for
example, 172.16.5.0/24 or 172.16.5.0/255.255.255.0 for a
subnet, or 172.16.5.1/32 or 172.16.5.1/255.255.255.255 for a
server or host, or 192.168.10.[80-100] or 192.168.10.80-
192.168.10.100 for an address range). A value of 0.0.0.0/0 means
all IP addresses behind the local VPN peer.
If the FortiGate unit is a dialup client, source address must refer to the
private network behind the Fortinet dialup client.
Source port Enter the port number that the local VPN peer uses to transport traffic
related to the specified service (protocol number). The range is from 0 to
65535. To specify all ports, type 0.
Destination address Enter the destination IP address that corresponds to the recipients or
network behind the remote VPN peer (for example, 192.168.20.0/24
for a subnet, or 172.16.5.1/32 for a server or host, or 192.168.10.
[80-100] for an address range). A value of 0.0.0.0/0 means all IP
addresses behind the remote VPN peer.
Destination port Enter the port number that the remote VPN peer uses to transport traffic
related to the specified service (protocol number). To specify all ports,
enter 0.
Protocol Enter the IP protocol number of the service. To specify all services, enter 0.
FortiClient VPN
Use the FortiClient VPN for OS X, Windows, and Android VPN Wizard option when configuring an IPsec
VPN for remote users to connect to the VPN tunnel using FortiClient.
When configuring a FortiClient VPN connection, the settings for Phase 1 and Phase 2 settings are automatically
configured by the FortiGate unit. They are set to:
Local Outgoing Interface Select the local outgoing interface for the VPN.
Authentication Method Select the type of authentication used when logging in to the VPN.
User Group Select a user group. You can also create a user group from the drop-down
list by selecting Create New.
Address Range Start IP Enter the start IP address for the DHCP address range for the client.
Address Range End IP Enter the end IP address for the address range.
Enable IPv4 Split Tunnel Enabled by default, this option enables the FortiClient user to use the VPN
to access internal resources while other Internet access is not sent over the
VPN, alleviating potential traffic bottlenecks in the VPN connection.
Disable this option to have all traffic sent through the VPN tunnel.
Accessible Networks Select from a list of internal networks that the FortiClient user can access.
Client Options These options affect how the FortiClient application behaves when
connected to the FortiGate VPN tunnel. When enabled, a check box for the
corresponding option appears on the VPN login screen in FortiClient, and is
not enabled by default.
Save Password - When enabled, if the user selects this option, their
password is stored on the user’s computer and will automatically populate
each time they connect to the VPN.
Auto Connect - When enabled, if the user selects this option, when the
FortiClient application is launched, for example after a reboot or system
startup, FortiClient will automatically attempt to connect to the VPN tunnel.
Always Up (Keep Alive) - When enabled, if the user selects this option,
the FortiClient connection will not shut down. When not selected, during
periods of inactivity, FortiClient will attempt to stay connected every three
minutes for a maximum of 10 minutes.
Endpoint Registration When selected, the FortiGate unit requests a registration key from
FortiClient before a connection can be established. A registration key is
defined by going to System > Advanced.
DNS Server Select which DNS server to use for this VPN:
Use System DNS — Use the same DNS servers as the FortiGate unit.
These are configured at Network > DNS. This is the default option.
Specify — Specify the IP address of a different DNS server.
Concentrator
In a hub-and-spoke configuration, policy-based VPN connections to a number of remote peers radiate from a
single, central FortiGate unit. Site-to-site connections between the remote peers do not exist; however, you can
establish VPN tunnels between any two of the remote peers through the FortiGate unit’s “hub”.
In a hub-and-spoke network, all VPN tunnels terminate at the hub. The peers that connect to the hub are known
as “spokes”. The hub functions as a concentrator on the network, managing all VPN connections between the
spokes. VPN traffic passes from one tunnel to the other through the hub.
You define a concentrator to include spokes in the hub-and-spoke configuration. You create the concentrator in
VPN > IPsec Concentrator and select Create New. A concentrator configuration specifies which spokes to
include in an IPsec hub-and-spoke configuration.
Available Tunnels A list of defined IPsec VPN tunnels. Select a tunnel from the list and then
select the right arrow.
Members A list of tunnels that are members of the concentrator. To remove a tunnel
from the concentrator, select the tunnel and select the left arrow.
IPsec Monitor
You can use the IPsec Monitor to view activity on IPsec VPN tunnels and start or stop those tunnels. The display
provides a list of addresses, proxy IDs, and timeout information for all active tunnels, including tunnel mode and
route-based (interface mode) tunnels.
Tunnels are considered as "up" if at least one phase 2 selector is active. To avoid
confusion, when a tunnel is down, IPsec Monitor will keep the Phase 2 Selectors
column, but hide it by default and be replaced with Phase 1 status column.
For dialup VPNs, the list provides status information about the VPN tunnels established by dialup clients, and
their IP addresses.
For static IP or dynamic DNS VPNs, the list provides status and IP addressing information about VPN tunnels,
active or not, to remote peers that have static IP addresses or domain names. You can also start and stop
individual tunnels from the list.
This chapter provides detailed step-by-step procedures for configuring a FortiGate unit to accept a connection
from a remote peer or dialup client. The Phase 1 parameters identify the remote peer or clients and supports
authentication through preshared keys or digital certificates. You can increase access security further using peer
identifiers, certificate distinguished names, group names, or the FortiGate extended authentication (XAuth)
option for authentication purposes.
For more information on Phase 1 parameters in the web-based manager, see IPsec VPN in the web-based
manager on page 1879.
The information and procedures in this section do not apply to VPN peers that perform negotiations using manual
keys.
Overview
To configure IPsec Phase 1 settings, go to VPN > IPsec Tunnels and edit the Phase 1 Proposal (if it is not
available, you may need to click the Convert to Custom Tunnel button).
If you want to control how IKE is negotiated when there is no traffic, as well as the length of time the unit waits for
negotiations to occur, use the negotiation-timeout and auto-negotiate commands in the CLI.
The Phase 1 configuration mainly defines the ends of the IPsec tunnel. The remote end is the remote gateway
with which the FortiGate unit exchanges IPsec packets. The local end is the FortiGate interface that sends and
receives IPsec packets.
l A static IP address
l A domain name with a dynamic IP address
l A dialup client
A statically addressed remote gateway is the simplest to configure. You specify the IP address. Unless restricted
in the security policy, either the remote peer or a peer on the network behind the FortiGate unit can bring up the
tunnel.
If the remote peer has a domain name and subscribes to a dynamic DNS service, you need to specify only the
domain name. The FortiGate unit performs a DNS query to determine the appropriate IP address. Unless
restricted in the security policy, either the remote peer or a peer on the network behind the FortiGate unit can
bring up the tunnel.
If the remote peer is a dialup client, only the dialup client can bring up the tunnel. The IP address of the client is
not known until it connects to the FortiGate unit. This configuration is a typical way to provide a VPN for client
PCs running VPN client software such as the FortiClient Endpoint Security application.
The local end of the VPN tunnel, the Local Interface, is the FortiGate interface that sends and receives the IPsec
packets. This is usually the public interface of the FortiGate unit that is connected to the Internet (typically the
WAN1 port). Packets from this interface pass to the private network through a security policy.
By default, the local VPN gateway is the IP address of the selected Local Interface. If you are configuring an
interface mode VPN, you can optionally use a secondary IP address of the Local Interface as the local gateway.
l In Main mode, the Phase 1 parameters are exchanged in multiple rounds with encrypted authentication information
l In Aggressive mode, the Phase 1 parameters are exchanged in a single message with unencrypted authentication
information.
Although Main mode is more secure, you must select Aggressive mode if there is more than one dialup Phase 1
configuration for the interface IP address, and the remote VPN peer or client is authenticated using an identifier
local ID. Aggressive mode might not be as secure as Main mode, but the advantage to Aggressive mode is that it
is faster than Main mode (since fewer packets are exchanged). Aggressive mode is typically used for remote
access VPNs. But you would also use aggressive mode if one or both peers have dynamic external IP addresses.
Descriptions of the peer options in this guide indicate whether Main or Aggressive mode is required.
IKEv2, defined in RFC 4306, simplifies the negotiation process that creates the security association (SA).
Syntax
config vpn ipsec phase1-interface
edit p1
set reauth [enable | disable]
next
end
Two expected attacks against IKE are state and CPU exhaustion, where the target is flooded with session
initiation requests from forged IP addresses. These attacks can be made less effective if a responder uses
minimal CPU and commits no state to an SA until it knows the initiator can receive packets at the address from
which it claims to be sending them.
If the IKE_SA_INIT response includes the cookie notification, the initiator MUST then retry the IKE_SA_INIT
request, and include the cookie notification containing the received data as the first payload, and all other
payloads unchanged.
Upon detecting that the number of half-open IKEv2 SAs is above the threshold value, the VPN dialup server
requires all future SA_INIT requests to include a valid cookie notification payload that the server sends back, in
order to preserve CPU and memory resources.
For most devices, the threshold value is set to 500, half of the maximum 1,000 connections.
RFC 6290 describes a method in which an IKE peer can quickly detect that the gateway peer that it has and
established an IKE session with has rebooted, crashed, or otherwise lost IKE state. When the gateway receives
IKE messages or ESP packets with unknown IKE or IPsec SPIs, the IKEv2 protocol allows the gateway to send
the peer an unprotected IKE message containing INVALID_IKE_SPI or INVALID_SPI notification payloads.
RFC 6290 introduces the concept of a QCD token, which is generated from the IKE SPIs and a private QCD
secret, and exchanged between peers during the protected IKE AUTH exchange.
For more information about obtaining and installing certificates, see the FortiOS User Authentication guide.
1. Go to VPN > IPsec Tunnels and create the new custom tunnel or edit an existing tunnel.
2. Edit the Phase 1 Proposal (if it is not available, you may need to click the Convert to Custom Tunnel button):
Name Enter a name that reflects the origination of the remote connection. For
interface mode, the name can be up to 15 characters long.
Each option changes the available fields you must configure. For more
information, see Authenticating the FortiGate unit on page 1895.
Local Interface Select the interface that is the local end of the IPsec tunnel. For more
information, see Authenticating the FortiGate unit on page 1895. The local
interface is typically the WAN1 port.
Aggressive mode must be used when the remote VPN peer or client has a
dynamic IP address, or the remote VPN peer or client will be authenticated
using an identifier (local ID).
For more information, see Authenticating the FortiGate unit on page 1895.
Certificate Name Select the name of the server certificate that the FortiGate unit will use to
authenticate itself to the remote peer or dialup client during Phase 1
negotiations.
You must obtain and load the required server certificate before this
selection. See the FortiOS User Authentication guide. If you have not
loaded any certificates, use the certificate named Fortinet_Factory.
Peer Options Peer options define the authentication requirements for remote peers or
dialup clients. They are not for your FortiGate unit itself.
Advanced You can use the default settings for most Phase 1 configurations. Changes
are required only if your network requires them. These settings includes
IKE version, DNS server, P1 proposal encryption and authentication
settings, and XAuth settings. See Authenticating the FortiGate unit on
page 1895.
3. If you are configuring authentication parameters for a dialup user group, optionally define extended authentication
(XAuth) parameters in the Advanced section. See Authenticating the FortiGate unit on page 1895.
4. Select OK.
If you use pre-shared key authentication alone, all remote peers and dialup clients must be configured with the
same pre-shared key. Optionally, you can configure remote peers and dialup clients with unique pre-shared keys.
On the FortiGate unit, these are configured in user accounts, not in the phase_1 settings. For more information,
see Authenticating the FortiGate unit on page 1895.
The pre-shared key must contain at least 6 printable characters and best practices dictate that it be known only to
network administrators. For optimum protection against currently known attacks, the key must consist of a
minimum of 16 randomly chosen alphanumeric characters.
If you authenticate the FortiGate unit using a pre-shared key, you can require remote peers or dialup clients to
authenticate using peer IDs, but not client certificates.
1. Go to VPN > IPsec Tunnels and create the new custom tunnel or edit an existing tunnel.
2. Edit the Phase 1 Proposal (if it is not available, you may need to click the Convert to Custom Tunnel button):
Name Enter a name that reflects the origination of the remote connection.
Remote Gateway Select the nature of the remote connection. For more information, see
Authenticating the FortiGate unit on page 1895.
Local Interface Select the interface that is the local end of the IPsec tunnel. For more
information, see Authenticating the FortiGate unit on page 1895. The local
interface is typically the WAN1 port.
When the remote VPN peer or client has a dynamic IP address, or the
remote VPN peer or client will be authenticated using an identifier (local
ID), you must select Aggressive mode if there is more than one dialup
Phase 1 configuration for the interface IP address.
For more information, see Authenticating the FortiGate unit on page 1895.
Pre-shared Key Enter the preshared key that the FortiGate unit will use to authenticate
itself to the remote peer or dialup client during Phase 1 negotiations. You
must define the same value at the remote peer or client. The key must
contain at least 6 printable characters and best practices dictate that it only
be known by network administrators. For optimum protection against
currently known attacks, the key must consist of a minimum of 16 randomly
chosen alphanumeric characters.
Peer options Peer options define the authentication requirements for remote peers or
dialup clients, not for the FortiGate unit itself. You can require the use of
peer IDs, but not client certificates. For more information, see
Authenticating the FortiGate unit on page 1895.
Advanced You can retain the default settings unless changes are needed to meet
your specific requirements. See Authenticating the FortiGate unit on page
1895.
3. If you are configuring authentication parameters for a dialup user group, optionally define extended authentication
(XAuth) parameters. See Authenticating the FortiGate unit on page 1895.
4. Select OK.
This solution is in response to RFC 4478. This solution is intended to limit the time that security associations
(SAs) can be used by a third party who has gained control of the IPsec peer.
CLI Syntax:
config vpn ipsec phase1-interface
edit p1
set reauth [enable | disable]
next
end
disable: Disable IKE SA re-authentication.
enable: Enable IKE SA re-authentication.
The following procedures assume that you already have an existing Phase 1 configuration (see Authenticating
remote peers and clients on page 1897). Follow the procedures below to add certificate-based authentication
parameters to the existing configuration.
Before you begin, you must obtain the certificate DN of the remote peer or dialup client. If you are using the
FortiClient application as a dialup client, refer to FortiClient online help for information about how to view the
certificate DN. To view the certificate DN of a FortiGate unit, see Viewing server certificate information and
obtaining the local DN on page 1899.
Use the config user peer CLI command to load the DN value into the FortiGate configuration. For
example, if a remote VPN peer uses server certificates issued by your own organization, you would enter
information similar to the following:
config user peer
edit DN_FG1000
set cn 192.168.2.160
set cn-type ipv4
end
The value that you specify to identify the entry (for example, DN_FG1000) is displayed in the Accept this peer
certificate only list in the IPsec Phase 1 configuration when you return to the web-based manager.
If the remote VPN peer has a CA-issued certificate to support a higher level of credibility, you would enter
information similar to the following in the CLI:
config user peer
edit CA_FG1000
set ca CA_Cert_1
set subject FG1000_at_site1
end
The value that you specify to identify the entry (for example, CA_FG1000) is displayed in the Accept this peer
certificate only list in the IPsec Phase 1 configuration when you return to the web-based manager. For more
information about these CLI commands, see the “user” chapter of the FortiGate CLI Reference.
A group of certificate holders can be created based on existing user accounts for dialup clients. To create the user
accounts for dialup clients, see the “User” chapter of the FortiGate Administration Guide. To create the certificate
group afterward, use the config user peergrp CLI command. See the “user” chapter of the FortiGate CLI
Reference.
1. Go to System > Certificates.
2. Note the CN value in the Subject field (for example, CN = 172.16.10.125, CN = info@fortinet.com,
or CN = www.example.com).
With peer certificates loaded, peer users and peer groups defined, you can configure your VPN to authenticate
users by certificate.
1. At the FortiGate VPN server, go to VPN > IPsec Tunnels and create the new custom tunnel or edit an existing
tunnel.
2. Edit the Phase 1 Proposal (if it is not available, you may need to click the Convert to Custom Tunnel button).
3. From the Authentication Method list, select RSA Signature.
4. From the Certificate Name list, select the name of the server certificate that the FortiGate unit will use to
authenticate itself to the remote peer or dialup client
5. Under Peer Options, select one of these options:
l To accept a specific certificate holder, select Accept this peer certificate only and select the name of the
certificate that belongs to the remote peer or dialup client. The certificate DN must be added to the FortiGate
configuration through CLI commands before it can be selected here. See Before you begin on page 1899.
l To accept dialup clients who are members of a certificate group, select Accept this peer certificate group
only and select the name of the group. The group must be added to the FortiGate configuration through CLI
commands before it can be selected here. See Before you begin on page 1899.
6. If you want the FortiGate VPN server to supply the DN of a local server certificate for authentication purposes,
select Advanced and then from the Local ID list, select the DN of the certificate that the FortiGate VPN server is
to use.
7. Select OK.
In circumstances where multiple remote dialup VPN tunnels exist, each tunnel must
have a peer ID set.
A peer ID, also called local ID, can be up to 63 characters long containing standard regular expression characters.
Local ID is set in phase1 Aggressive Mode configuration.
You cannot require a peer ID for a remote peer or client that uses a pre-shared key and has a static IP address.
1. At the FortiGate VPN server, go to VPN > IPsec Tunnels and create the new custom tunnel or edit an existing
tunnel.
2. Edit the Phase 1 Proposal (if it is not available, you may need to click the Convert to Custom Tunnel button).
3. Select Aggressive mode in any of the following cases:
l The FortiGate VPN server authenticates a FortiGate dialup client that uses a dedicated tunnel
l A FortiGate unit has a dynamic IP address and subscribes to a dynamic DNS service
l FortiGate/FortiClient dialup clients sharing the same preshared key and local ID connect through the same
VPN tunnel
4. For the Peer Options, select This peer ID and type the identifier into the corresponding field.
5. Select OK.
Use this procedure to assign a peer ID to a FortiGate unit that acts as a remote peer or dialup client.
1. Go to VPN > IPsec Tunnels and create the new custom tunnel or edit an existing tunnel.
2. Edit the Phase 1 Proposal (if it is not available, you may need to click the Convert to Custom Tunnel button).
3. Select Advanced.
4. In the Local ID field, type the identifier that the FortiGate unit will use to identify itself.
5. Set Mode to Aggressive if any of the following conditions apply:
l The FortiGate unit is a dialup client that will use a unique ID to connect to a FortiGate dialup server through a
dedicated tunnel.
l The FortiGate unit has a dynamic IP address, subscribes to a dynamic DNS service, and will use a unique ID to
connect to the remote VPN peer through a dedicated tunnel.
l The FortiGate unit is a dialup client that shares the specified ID with multiple dialup clients to connect to a
FortiGate dialup server through the same tunnel.
6. Select OK.
If you want two VPN peers (or a FortiGate unit and a dialup client) to accept reciprocal connections based on peer
IDs, you must enable the exchange of their identifiers when you define the Phase 1 parameters.
The following procedures assume that you already have an existing Phase 1 configuration (see Authenticating
remote peers and clients on page 1897). Follow the procedures below to add ID checking to the existing
configuration.
Before you begin, you must obtain the identifier (local ID) of the remote peer or dialup client. If you are using the
FortiClient Endpoint Security application as a dialup client, refer to the Authenticating FortiClient Dialup Clients
Technical Note to view or assign an identifier. To assign an identifier to a FortiGate dialup client or a FortiGate
unit that has a dynamic IP address and subscribes to a dynamic DNS service, see Assigning an identifier (local ID)
to a FortiGate unit on page 1901.
If required, a dialup user group can be created from existing user accounts for dialup clients. To create the user
accounts and user groups, see the User Authentication handbook chapter.
The following procedure supports FortiGate/FortiClient dialup clients that use unique preshared keys and/or peer
IDs. The client must have an account on the FortiGate unit and be a member of the dialup user group.
The dialup user group must be added to the FortiGate configuration before it can be selected. For more
information, see the User Authentication handbook chapter.
The FortiGate dialup server compares the local ID that you specify at each dialup client to the FortiGate user-
account user name. The dialup-client preshared key is compared to a FortiGate user-account password.
Authenticating dialup clients using unique preshared keys and/or peer IDs
1. At the FortiGate VPN server, go to VPN > IPsec Tunnels and create the new custom tunnel or edit an existing
tunnel.
2. Edit the Phase 1 Proposal (if it is not available, you may need to click the Convert to Custom Tunnel button).
3. If the clients have unique peer IDs, set Mode to Aggressive.
4. Clear the Pre-shared Key field.
The user account password will be used as the preshared key.
5. Select Peer ID from dialup group and then select the group name from the list of user groups.
6. Select OK.
Follow this procedure to add a unique pre-shared key and unique peer ID to an existing FortiClient configuration.
Follow this procedure to add a unique pre-shared key to an existing FortiClient configuration.
l Which encryption algorithms may be applied for converting messages into a form that only the intended recipient
can read
l Which authentication hash may be used for creating a keyed hash from a preshared or private key
l Which Diffie-Hellman group (DH Group) will be used to generate a secret session key
Phase 1 negotiations (in main mode or aggressive mode) begin as soon as a remote VPN peer or client attempts
to establish a connection with the FortiGate unit. Initially, the remote peer or dialup client sends the FortiGate
unit a list of potential cryptographic parameters along with a session ID. The FortiGate unit compares those
parameters to its own list of advanced Phase 1 parameters and responds with its choice of matching parameters
to use for authenticating and encrypting packets. The two peers handle the exchange of encryption keys between
them, and authenticate the exchange through a preshared key or a digital signature.
You can enable or disable automatic re-keying between IKE peers through the phase1-rekey attribute of the
config system global CLI command. For more information, see the “System” chapter of the FortiGate CLI
Reference.
When in FIPS-CC mode, the FortiGate unit requires DH key exchange to use values
at least 3072 bits long. However most browsers need the key size set to 1024. You
can set the minimum size of the DH keys in the CLI.
When you use a preshared key (shared secret) to set up two-party authentication, the remote VPN peer or client
and the FortiGate unit must both be configured with the same preshared key. Each party uses a session key
derived from the Diffie-Hellman exchange to create an authentication key, which is used to sign a known
combination of inputs using an authentication algorithm (such as HMAC-MD5, HMAC-SHA-1, or HMAC-SHA-
256). Hash-based Message Authentication Code (HMAC) is a method for calculating an authentication code
using a hash function plus a secret key, and is defined in RFC 2104. Each party signs a different combination of
inputs and the other party verifies that the same result can be computed.
When you use preshared keys to authenticate VPN peers or clients, you must distribute matching information to
all VPN peers and/or clients whenever the preshared key changes.
As an alternative, the remote peer or dialup client and FortiGate unit can exchange digital signatures to validate
each other’s identity with respect to their public keys. In this case, the required digital certificates must be
installed on the remote peer and on the FortiGate unit. By exchanging certificate DNs, the signed server
certificate on one peer is validated by the presence of the root certificate installed on the other peer.
The following procedure assumes that you already have a Phase 1 definition that describes how remote VPN
peers and clients will be authenticated when they attempt to connect to a local FortiGate unit. For information
about the Local ID and XAuth options, see Defining IKE negotiation parameters on page 1903 and Defining IKE
negotiation parameters on page 1903. Follow this procedure to add IKE negotiation parameters to the existing
definition.
Phase 1 Proposal Select the encryption and authentication algorithms that will be used to
generate keys for protecting negotiations.
Authentication You can select either of the following message digests to check the
authenticity of messages during an encrypted session:
If both VPN peers (or a VPN server and its client) have static IP addresses
and use aggressive mode, select a single DH group. The setting on the
FortiGate unit must be identical to the setting on the remote peer or dialup
client.
When the remote VPN peer or client has a dynamic IP address and uses
aggressive mode, select up to three DH groups on the FortiGate unit and
one DH group on the remote peer or dialup client. The setting on the
remote peer or dialup client must be identical to one of the selections on
the FortiGate unit.
If the VPN peer or client employs main mode, you can select multiple DH
groups. At least one of the settings on the remote peer or dialup client must
be identical to the selections on the FortiGate unit.
Keylife Type the amount of time (in seconds) that will be allowed to pass before
the IKE encryption key expires. When the key expires, a new key is
generated without interrupting service. The keylife can be from 120 to
172800 seconds.
Nat-traversal Enable this option if a NAT device exists between the local FortiGate unit
and the VPN peer or client. The local FortiGate unit and the VPN peer or
client must have the same NAT traversal setting (both selected or both
cleared). When in doubt, enable NAT-traversal. See NAT traversal on page
1906.
Keepalive Frequency If you enabled NAT traversal, enter a keepalive frequency setting. The
value represents an interval from 0 to 900 seconds where the connection
will be maintained with no activity. For additional security this value must
be as low as possible. See NAT keepalive frequency on page 1906.
Dead Peer Detection Enable this option to reestablish VPN tunnels on idle connections and clean
up dead IKE peers if required. This feature minimizes the traffic required to
check if a VPN peer is available or unavailable (dead). See Dead Peer
Detection on page 1906.
NAT traversal
Network Address Translation (NAT) is a way to convert private IP addresses to publicly routable Internet
addresses and vise versa. When an IP packet passes through a NAT device, the source or destination address in
the IP header is modified. FortiGate units support NAT version 1 (encapsulate on port 500 with non-IKE marker),
version 3 (encapsulate on port 4500 with non-ESP marker), and compatible versions.
NAT cannot be performed on IPsec packets in ESP tunnel mode because the packets do not contain a port
number. As a result, the packets cannot be demultiplexed. To work around this, the FortiGate unit provides a way
to protect IPsec packet headers from NAT modifications. When the Nat-traversal option is enabled, outbound
encrypted packets are wrapped inside a UDP IP header that contains a port number. This extra encapsulation
allows NAT devices to change the port number without modifying the IPsec packet directly.
To provide the extra layer of encapsulation on IPsec packets, the Nat-traversal option must be enabled whenever
a NAT device exists between two FortiGate VPN peers or a FortiGate unit and a dialup client such as FortiClient.
On the receiving end, the FortiGate unit or FortiClient removes the extra layer of encapsulation before decrypting
the packet.
Additionally, you can force IPsec to use NAT traversal. If NAT is set to Forced, the FortiGate will use a port value
of zero when constructing the NAT discovery hash for the peer. This causes the peer to think it is behind a NAT
device, and it will use UDP encapsulation for IPsec, even if no NAT is present. This approach maintains
interoperability with any IPsec implementation that supports the NAT-T RFC.
When a NAT device performs network address translation on a flow of packets, the NAT device determines how
long the new address will remain valid if the flow of traffic stops (for example, the connected VPN peer may be
idle). The device may reclaim and reuse a NAT address when a connection remains idle for too long.
To work around this, when you enable NAT traversal specify how often the FortiGate unit sends periodic
keepalive packets through the NAT device in order to ensure that the NAT address mapping does not change
during the lifetime of a session. To be effective, the keepalive interval must be smaller than the session lifetime
value used by the NAT device.
Sometimes, due to routing issues or other difficulties, the communication link between a FortiGate unit and a
VPN peer or client may go down. Packets could be lost if the connection is left to time out on its own. The
FortiGate unit provides a mechanism called Dead Peer Detection (DPD), sometimes referred to as gateway
detection or ping server, to prevent this situation and reestablish IKE negotiations automatically before a
connection times out: the active Phase 1 security associations are caught and renegotiated (rekeyed) before the
Phase 1 encryption key expires.
By default, Dead Peer Detection sends probe messages every five seconds by default (see dpd-
retryinterval in the FortiGate CLI Reference). If you are experiencing high network traffic, you can
experiment with increasing the ping interval. However longer intervals will require more traffic to detect dead
peers which will result in more traffic.
In the web-based manager, the Dead Peer Detection option can be enabled when you define advanced Phase 1
options. The config vpn ipsec phase1 CLI command supports additional options for specifying a retry
count and a retry interval.
For more information about these commands and the related config router gwdetect CLI command, see
the FortiGate CLI Reference.
For example, enter the following CLI commands to configure dead peer detection on the existing IPsec Phase 1
configuration called test to use 15 second intervals and to wait for 3 missed attempts before declaring the peer
dead and taking action.
config vpn ipsec phase1-interface
edit <value>
set dpd [disable | on-idle | on-demand]
set dpd-retryinveral 15
set dpd-retrycount 3
next
end
DPD Scalability
On a dial-up server, if a multitude of VPN connections are idle, the increased DPD exchange could negatively
impact the performance/load of the daemon. For this reason, an option is available in the CLI to send DPD
passively in a mode called "on-demand".
l When there is no traffic and the last DPD-ACK had been received, IKE will not send
DPDs periodically.
l IKE will only send out DPDs if there are outgoing packets to send but no inbound
packets had since been received.
Syntax
Set DPD to on-demand to trigger DPD when IPsec traffic is sent but no reply is received from the peer.
config vpn ipsec phase1-interface
edit <value>
set dpd [disable | on-idle | on-demand]
next
end
CLI syntax
config vpn certificate setting
set certname-rsa1024 <name>
set certname-rsa2048 <name>
set certname-dsa1024 <name>
set certname-dsa2048 <name>
set certname-ecdsa256 <name>
set certname-ecdsa384 <name>
end
If the user records on the RADIUS server have suitably configured Framed-IP-Address fields, you can assign
client virtual IP addresses by XAuth instead of from a DHCP address range. See Assigning VIPs by RADIUS user
group on page 1.
The authentication protocol to use for XAuth depends on the capabilities of the authentication server and the
XAuth client:
1. At the FortiGate dialup server, go to VPN > IPsec Tunnels and create the new custom tunnel or edit an existing
tunnel.
2. Select Convert To Custom Tunnel.
3. Edit XAUTH , select the Type setting, which determines the type of encryption method to use between the XAuth
client, the FortiGate unit and the authentication server. Select one of the following options:
l Disabled — Disables XAuth settings.
l PAP Server — Password Authentication Protocol.
l CHAP Server — Challenge-Handshake Authentication Protocol.
l Auto Server — Use PAP between the XAuth client and the FortiGate unit, and CHAP between the FortiGate
unit and the authentication server.
4. From the User Group list, select the user group that needs to access the private network behind the FortiGate
unit. The group must be added to the FortiGate configuration before it can be selected here. For multiple user
groups to be defined in the IPsec/IKE policy, select Inherit from policy.
4. Select OK.
5. Create as many policies as needed, specifying Source User(s) and Destination Address.
For example, one policy could have user1 have access to test_local_subnet_1, while user2 has access to test_
local_subnet_2.
As of FortiOS 5.4.1, when XAuth settings are enabled, Inherit from policy is only
available under PAP Server and CHAP Server, not Auto Server. Because of this,
only one user group may be defined for Auto Server.
1. At the FortiGate dialup client, go to VPN > IPsec Tunnels and create the new custom tunnel or edit an existing
tunnel.
2. Edit the Phase 1 Proposal (if it is not available, you may need to click the Convert to Custom Tunnel button).
3. Under XAuth, select Enable as Client.
4. In the Username field, type the FortiGate PAP, CHAP, RADIUS, or LDAP user name that the FortiGate XAuth
server will compare to its records when the FortiGate XAuth client attempts to connect.
5. In the Password field, type the password to associate with the user name.
6. Select OK.
The add-route option adds a route to the FortiGate unit’s routing information base when the dynamic tunnel is
negotiated. You can use the distance and priority options to set the distance and priority of this route. If this
results in a route with the lowest distance, it is added to the FortiGate unit’s forwarding information base.
You can also enable add-route in any policy-based or route-based Phase 2 configuration that is associated with a
dynamic (dialup) Phase 1. In Phase 2, add-route can be enabled, disabled, or set to use the same route as Phase
1.
Syntax
Phase 1
config vpn ipsec
edit <name>
set type dynamic
set add-route {enable | disable}
end
end
Phase 2
config vpn ipsec {phase2 | phase2-interface}
edit <name>
set add-route {phase1 | enable | disable}
end
end
In cases where this occurs, it is important to ensure that the distance value configured on Phase 1 is set
appropriately.
This section describes the Phase 2 parameters that are required to establish communication through a VPN.
Phase 2 settings
After IPsec VPN Phase 1 negotiations complete successfully, Phase 2 negotiation begins. Phase 2 parameters
define the algorithms that the FortiGate unit can use to encrypt and transfer data for the remainder of the
session. The basic Phase 2 settings associate IPsec Phase 2 parameters with a Phase 1 configuration.
When defining Phase 2 parameters, you can choose any set of Phase 1 parameters to set up a secure connection
and authenticate the remote peer.
For more information on Phase 2 settings in the web-based manager, see IPsec VPN in the web-based manager
on page 1879.
The information and procedures in this section do not apply to VPN peers that perform negotiations using manual
keys.
Phase 2 Proposals
In Phase 2, the VPN peer or client and the FortiGate unit exchange keys again to establish a secure
communication channel. The Phase 2 Proposal parameters select the encryption and authentication algorithms
needed to generate keys for protecting the implementation details of Security Associations (SAs). The keys are
generated automatically using a Diffie-Hellman algorithm.
Replay Detection
IPsec tunnels can be vulnerable to replay attacks. Replay Detection enables the FortiGate unit to check all IPsec
packets to see if they have been received before. If any encrypted packets arrive out of order, the FortiGate unit
discards them.
64-bit Extended Sequence numbers (as described in RFC 4303, RFC 4304 as an addition to IKEv1, and RFC
5996 for IKEv2.) are supported for IPsec when Replay Detection is enabled.
Keylife
The Keylife setting sets a limit on the length of time that a Phase 2 key can be used. The default units are
seconds. Alternatively, you can set a limit on the number of kilobytes (KB) of processed data, or both. If you select
both, the key expires when either the time has passed or the number of KB have been processed. When the
Phase 2 key expires, a new key is generated without interrupting service.
The default settings are as broad as possible: any IP address or configured address object, using any protocol, on
any port.
While the drop down menus for specifying an address also show address groups, the use of
address groups may not be supported on a remote endpoint device that is not a FortiGate.
The address groups are at the bottom of the list to make it easy to distinguish between
addresses and address groups.
When configuring Quick Mode selector Source address and Destination address, valid options include IPv4
and IPv6 single addresses, IPv4 subnet, or IPv6 subnet. For more information on IPv6 IPsec VPN, see Overview
of IPv6 IPsec support on page 1.
l The VPN peer is a third-party device that uses specific phase2 selectors.
l The FortiGate unit connects as a dialup client to another FortiGate unit, in which case (usually) you must specify a
source IP address, IP address range, or subnet. However, this is not required if you are using dynamic routing and
mode-cfg.
With FortiOS VPNs, your network has multiple layers of security, with quick mode selectors being an important
line of defence.
FortiOS is limited with IKEv2 selector matching. When using IKEv2 with a named
traffic selector, no more than 32 subnets per traffic selector are added, since FortiOS
doesn't fully implement the IKEv2 selector matching rules.
The workaround is to use multiple Phase 2s. If the configuration is FGT <-> FGT, then
the better alternative is to just use 0.0.0.0 <-> 0.0.0.0 and use the firewall policy for
enforcement.
Syntax
Phase 2
config vpn ipsec {phase2 | phase2-interface}
edit <name>
set add-route {phase1 | enable | disable}
end
end
Phase 2 Proposal Select the encryption and authentication algorithms that will be used to
change data into encrypted code.
Authentication You can select either of the following message digests to check the
authenticity of messages during an encrypted session:
Enable replay detection Optionally enable or disable replay detection. Replay attacks occur when
an unauthorized party intercepts a series of IPsec packets and replays
them back into the tunnel.
Enable perfect forward Enable or disable PFS. Perfect forward secrecy (PFS) improves security by
secrecy (PFS) forcing a new Diffie-Hellman exchange whenever keylife expires.
Diffie-Hellman Group Select one Diffie-Hellman group (1, 2, 5, 14 through 21, or 27 through 30).
The remote peer or dialup client must be configured to use the same
group.
Keylife Select the method for determining when the Phase 2 key expires:
Seconds, KBytes, or Both. If you select Both, the key expires when
either the time has passed or the number of KB have been processed. The
range is from 120 to 172800 seconds, or from 5120 to 2147483648 KB.
Autokey Keep Alive Enable the option if you want the tunnel to remain active when no data is
being processed.
Auto-negotiate Enable the option if you want the tunnel to be automatically renegotiated
when the tunnel expires.
DHCP-IPsec Select Enable if the FortiGate unit acts as a dialup server and FortiGate
DHCP server or relay will be used to assign VIP addresses to FortiClient
dialup clients. The DHCP server or relay parameters must be configured
separately.
If the FortiGate unit acts as a dialup server and the FortiClient dialup client
VIP addresses match the network behind the dialup server, select Enable
to cause the FortiGate unit to act as a proxy for the dialup clients.
The Autokey Keep Alive option ensures that a new Phase 2 SA is negotiated, even if there is no traffic, so that the
VPN tunnel stays up.
Auto-negotiate
By default, the Phase 2 security association (SA) is not negotiated until a peer attempts to send data. The
triggering packet and some subsequent packets are dropped until the SA is established. Applications normally
resend this data, so there is no loss, but there might be a noticeable delay in response to the user.
If the tunnel goes down, the auto-negotiate feature (when enabled) attempts to re-establish the tunnel. Auto-
negotiate initiates the Phase 2 SA negotiation automatically, repeating every five seconds until the SA is
established.
Automatically establishing the SA can be important for a dialup peer. It ensures that the VPN tunnel is available
for peers at the server end to initiate traffic to the dialup peer. Otherwise, the VPN tunnel does not exist until the
dialup peer initiates traffic.
The auto-negotiate feature is available through the Command Line Interface (CLI) via the following commands:
config vpn ipsec phase2
edit <phase2_name>
set auto-negotiate enable
end
The IPsec SA connect message generated is used to install dynamic selectors. These selectors can now be
installed via the auto-negotiate mechanism. When phase 2 has auto-negotiate enabled, and phase 1 has mesh-
selector-type set to subnet, a new dynamic selector will be installed for each combination of source and
destination subnets. Each dynamic selector will inherit the auto-negotiate option from the template selector and
begin SA negotiation. Phase 2 selector sources from dial-up clients will all establish SAs without traffic being
initiated from the client subnets to the hub.
DHCP-IPsec
Select this option if the FortiGate unit assigns VIP addresses to FortiClient dialup clients through a DHCP server
or relay. This option is available only if the Remote Gateway in the Phase 1 configuration is set to Dialup User
and it works only on policy-based VPNs.
With the DHCP-IPsec option, the FortiGate dialup server acts as a proxy for FortiClient dialup clients that have
VIP addresses on the subnet of the private network behind the FortiGate unit. In this case, the FortiGate dialup
server acts as a proxy on the local private network for the FortiClient dialup client. When a host on the network
behind the dialup server issues an ARP request that corresponds to the device MAC address of the FortiClient
host (when a remote server sends an ARP to the local FortiClient dialup client), the FortiGate unit answers the
ARP request on behalf of the FortiClient host and forwards the associated traffic to the FortiClient host through
the tunnel.
This feature prevents the VIP address assigned to the FortiClient dialup client from causing possible arp
broadcast problems — the normal and VIP addresses can confuse some network switches by two addresses
having the same MAC address.
This section explains how to specify the source and destination IP addresses of traffic transmitted through an
IPsec VPN, and how to define appropriate security policies.
You need to define firewall addresses for the private networks behind each peer. You will use these addresses as
the source or destination address depending on the security policy.
In general:
l If you are not using VIP addresses, or if the FortiGate dialup server assigns VIP addresses to FortiClient dialup
clients through FortiGate DHCP relay, select the predefined destination address “all” in the security policy to refer to
the dialup clients.
l If you assign VIP addresses to FortiClient dialup clients manually, you need to define a policy address for the VIP
address assigned to the dialup client (for example, 10.254.254.1/32), or a subnet address from which the VIP
addresses are assigned (for example, 10.254.254.0/24 or 10.254.254.0/255.255.255.0).
l For a FortiGate dialup client in a dialup-client or Internet-browsing configuration, you need to define a policy
address for the private IP address of a host, server, or network behind the FortiGate dialup server.
l A policy-based VPN requires an IPsec security policy. You specify the interface to the private network, the interface
to the remote peer and the VPN tunnel. A single policy can enable traffic inbound, outbound, or in both directions.
l A route-based VPN requires an Accept security policy for each direction. As source and destination interfaces, you
specify the interface to the private network and the virtual IPsec interface (Phase 1 configuration) of the VPN. The
IPsec interface is the destination interface for the outbound policy and the source interface for the inbound policy.
One security policy must be configured for each direction of each VPN interface.
There are examples of security policies for both policy-based and route-based VPNs throughout this guide. See
Route-based or policy-based VPN on page 1957.
If the security policy, which grants the VPN Connection is limited to certain services,
DHCP must be included, otherwise the client won’t be able to retrieve a lease from the
FortiGate’s (IPsec) DHCP server, because the DHCP Request (coming out of the
tunnel) will be blocked.
Policy-based VPN
An IPsec security policy enables the transmission and reception of encrypted packets, specifies the permitted
direction of VPN traffic, and selects the VPN tunnel. In most cases, a single policy is needed to control both
inbound and outbound IP traffic through a VPN tunnel. Be aware of the following considerations below before
creating an IPsec security policy.
Security policies specify which IP addresses can initiate a tunnel. By default, traffic from the local private network
initiates the tunnel. When the Allow traffic to be initiated form the remote site option is selected, traffic
from a dialup client, or a computer on a remote network, initiates the tunnel. Both can be enabled at the same
time for bi-directional initiation of the tunnel.
When a FortiGate unit operates in NAT mode, you can also enable inbound or outbound NAT. Outbound NAT
may be performed on outbound encrypted packets or IP packets in order to change their source address before
they are sent through the tunnel. Inbound NAT is performed to intercept and decrypt emerging IP packets from
the tunnel.
By default, these options are not selected in security policies and can only be set through the CLI. For more
information on this, see the “config firewall” chapter of the FortiGate CLI Reference.
Most security policies control outbound IP traffic. A VPN outbound policy usually has a source address originating
on the private network behind the local FortiGate unit, and a destination address belonging to a dialup VPN client
or a network behind the remote VPN peer. The source address that you choose for the security policy identifies
from where outbound cleartext IP packets may originate, and also defines the local IP address or addresses that
a remote server or client will be allowed to access through the VPN tunnel. The destination address that you
choose identifies where IP packets must be forwarded after they are decrypted at the far end of the tunnel, and
determines the IP address or addresses that the local network will be able to access at the far end of the tunnel.
You can fine-tune a policy for services such as HTTP, FTP, and POP3, enable logging, traffic shaping, antivirus
protection, web filtering, email filtering, file transfer, email services, and optionally allow connections according to
a predefined schedule.
As an option, differentiated services (diffserv or DSCP) for the security policy can be enabled through the CLI. For
more information on this feature, see the Traffic Shaping handbook chapter, or the “firewall” chapter of the
FortiGate CLI Reference.
l Define the IP source and destination addresses. See Defining policy addresses on page 1917.
l Specify the Phase 1 authentication parameters. See Phase 1 parameters on page 1892.
l Specify the Phase 2 parameters. See Phase 2 parameters on page 1911.
Incoming Interface Select the local interface to the internal (private) network.
Outgoing Interface Select the local interface to the external (public) network.
Source Select the name that corresponds to the local network, server(s), or host(s)
from which IP packets may originate.
Destination Address Select the name that corresponds to the remote network, server(s), or host
(s) to which IP packets may be delivered.
Schedule Keep the default setting (always) unless changes are needed to meet
specific requirements.
Service Keep the default setting (ANY) unless changes are needed to meet your
specific requirements.
Action For the purpose of this configuration, set Action to IPsec. Doing this will
close Firewall / Network Options and open VPN Tunnel options. Select the
VPN tunnel of your choice, and select Allow traffic to be initiated from
the remote site, which will allow traffic from the remote network to initiate
the tunnel.
3. You may enable UTM features, and/or event logging, or select advanced settings to authenticate a user group, or
shape traffic. For more information, see the Firewall handbook chapter.
4. Select OK.
5. Place the policy in the policy list above any other policies having similar source and destination addresses.
You must define at least one IPsec policy for each VPN tunnel. If the same remote server or client requires access
to more than one network behind a local FortiGate unit, the FortiGate unit must be configured with an IPsec
policy for each network. Multiple policies may be required to configure redundant connections to a remote
destination or control access to different services at different times.
To ensure a secure connection, the FortiGate unit must evaluate policies with Action set to IPsec before
ACCEPT and DENY. Because the FortiGate unit reads policies starting at the top of the list, you must move all
IPsec policies to the top of the list, and be sure to reorder your multiple IPsec policies that apply to the tunnel so
that specific constraints can be evaluated before general constraints.
Adding multiple IPsec policies for the same VPN tunnel can cause conflicts if the
policies specify similar source and destination addresses, but have different settings
for the same service. When policies overlap in this manner, the system may apply the
wrong IPsec policy or the tunnel may fail.
For example, if you create two equivalent IPsec policies for two different tunnels, it does not matter which one
comes first in the list of IPsec policies — the system will select the correct policy based on the specified source
and destination addresses. If you create two different IPsec policies for the same tunnel (that is, the two policies
treat traffic differently depending on the nature of the connection request), you might have to reorder the IPsec
policies to ensure that the system selects the correct IPsec policy.
Route-based VPN
When you define a route-based VPN, you create a virtual IPsec interface on the physical interface that connects
to the remote peer. You create ordinary Accept security policies to enable traffic between the IPsec interface and
the interface that connects to the private network. This makes configuration simpler than for policy-based VPNs,
which require IPsec security policies.
Incoming Interface Select the interface that connects to the private network behind this
FortiGate unit.
Source Select the address name that you defined for the private network behind
this FortiGate unit.
Destination Address Select the address name that you defined for the private network behind
the remote peer.
To permit the remote client to initiate communication, you need to define a security policy for
communication in that direction.
Outgoing Interface Select the interface that connects to the private network behind this
FortiGate unit.
Source Select the address name that you defined for the private network behind
the remote peer.
Destination Address Select the address name that you defined for the private network behind
this FortiGate unit.
This section explains how to set up a basic gateway-to-gateway (site-to-site) IPsec VPN.
Configuration overview
In a gateway-to-gateway configuration, two FortiGate units create a VPN tunnel between two separate private
networks. All traffic between the two networks is encrypted and protected by FortiGate security policies.
In some cases, computers on the private network behind one VPN peer may (by co-incidence) have IP addresses
that are already used by computers on the network behind the other VPN peer. In this type of situation
(ambiguous routing), conflicts may occur in one or both of the FortiGate routing tables and traffic destined for the
remote network through the tunnel may not be sent. To resolve issues related to ambiguous routing, see
Configuration overview on page 1923.
In other cases, computers on the private network behind one VPN peer may obtain IP addresses from a local
DHCP server. However, unless the local and remote networks use different private network address spaces,
unintended ambiguous routing and/or IP-address overlap issues may arise. For a discussion of the related issues,
see FortiGate dialup-client configurations on page 1.
You can set up a fully meshed or partially meshed configuration (see below).
In a fully meshed network, all VPN peers are connected to each other, with one hop between peers. This topology
is the most fault-tolerant: if one peer goes down, the rest of the network is not affected. This topology is difficult
to scale because it requires connections between all peers. In addition, unnecessary communication can occur
between peers. Best practices dictates a hub-and-spoke configuration instead (see Hub-and-spoke configurations
on page 1).
A partially meshed network is similar to a fully meshed network, but instead of having tunnels between all peers,
tunnels are only configured between peers that communicate with each other regularly.
Gateway-to-gateway configuration
The FortiGate units at both ends of the tunnel must be operating in NAT mode and have static public IP
addresses.
When a FortiGate unit receives a connection request from a remote VPN peer, it uses IPsec Phase 1 parameters
to establish a secure connection and authenticate that VPN peer. Then, if the security policy permits the
connection, the FortiGate unit establishes the tunnel using IPsec Phase 2 parameters and applies the IPsec
security policy. Key management, authentication, and security services are negotiated dynamically through the
IKE protocol.
To support these functions, the following general configuration steps must be performed by both FortiGate units:
l Define the Phase 1 parameters that the FortiGate unit needs to authenticate the remote peer and establish a
secure connection.
l Define the Phase 2 parameters that the FortiGate unit needs to create a VPN tunnel with the remote peer.
l Create security policies to control the permitted services and permitted direction of traffic between the IP source
and destination addresses.
The Phase 1 configuration defines the parameters that FortiGate_1 will use to authenticate FortiGate_2 and
establish a secure connection. For the purposes of this example, a preshared key will be used to authenticate
FortiGate_2. The same preshared key must be specified at both FortiGate units.
At the local FortiGate unit, define the Phase 1 configuration needed to establish a secure connection with the
remote peer. See IPsec VPN in the web-based manager on page 1879.
1. Go to VPN > IPsec Tunnels and create the new custom tunnel or edit an existing tunnel.
2. Edit the Phase 1 Proposal (if it is not available, you may need to click the Convert to Custom Tunnel button).
3. Enter the following information, and select OK.
The basic Phase 2 settings associate IPsec Phase 2 parameters with the Phase 1 configuration and specify the
remote end point of the VPN tunnel. Before you define the Phase 2 parameters, you need to reserve a name for
the tunnel. See IPsec VPN in the web-based manager on page 1879.
1. Open the Phase 2 Selectors panel (if it is not available, you may need to click the Convert to Custom Tunnel
button).
2. Enter a Name of peer_1_p2.
3. Select peer_1 from the Phase 1 drop-down menu.
An IPsec security policy is needed to allow the transmission of encrypted packets, specify the permitted direction
of VPN traffic, and select the VPN tunnel that will be subject to the policy. A single policy is needed to control both
inbound and outbound IP traffic through a VPN tunnel.
Before you define security policies, you must first specify the IP source and destination addresses. In a gateway-
to-gateway configuration:
l The IP source address corresponds to the private network behind the local FortiGate unit.
l The IP destination address refers to the private network behind the remote VPN peer.
When you are creating security policies, choose one of either route-based or policy-based methods and follow it
for both VPN peers. DO NOT configure both route-based and policy-based policies on the same FortiGate unit for
the same VPN tunnel.
l Define the Phase 1 parameters that FortiGate_2 needs to authenticate FortiGate_1 and establish a secure
connection.
l Define the Phase 2 parameters that FortiGate_2 needs to create a VPN tunnel with FortiGate_1.
l Create the security policy and define the scope of permitted services between the IP source and destination
addresses.
When creating security policies it is good practice to include a comment describing what the policy does.
Define names for the addresses or address ranges of the private networks that the VPN links. These addresses
are used in the security policies that permit communication between the networks.
Define an ACCEPT security policy to permit communications between the source and destination addresses.
The interface that connects to the private network behind this FortiGate
unit.
The address name for the private network behind this FortiGate unit.
The address name that you defined for the private network behind the
remote peer.
4. Optionally, configure any additional features you may want, such as UTM or traffic shaping.
5. Select Create New to create another policy for the other direction.
6. Leave the Policy Type as Firewall and leave the Policy Subtype as Address.
7. Enter the following information, and select OK.
The address name defined for the private network behind the remote
peer.
The interface that connects to the private network behind this FortiGate
unit.
The address name defined for the private network behind this FortiGate
unit.
8. Configure any additional features such as UTM or traffic shaping you may want. (optional).
All network traffic must have a static route to direct its traffic to the proper destination. Without a route, traffic will
not flow even if the security policies are configured properly. You may need to create a static route entry for both
directions of VPN traffic if your security policies allow bi-directional tunnel initiation.
Device FGT2_to_FGT1_Tunnel
If there are other routes on this FortiGate unit, you may need to set the
distance on this route so the VPN traffic will use it as the default route.
However, this normally happens by default because this route is typically a
better match than the generic default route.
Define an IPsec security policy to permit communications between the source and destination addresses.
The interface that connects to the private network behind this FortiGate
unit.
The address name defined for the private network behind this FortiGate
unit.
VPN Tunnel Select Use Existing and select peer_1 from the VPN Tunnel drop-down
list.
Place VPN policies in the policy list above any other policies having similar source and destination addresses.
VIPs allow computers on those overlapping private subnets to each have another set of IP addresses that can be
used without confusion. The FortiGate unit maps the VIP addresses to the original addresses. This means if PC1
starts a session with PC2 at 10.31.101.10, FortiGate_2 directs that session to 10.11.101.10 — the actual IP
address of PC2.The figure below demonstrates this — Finance network VIP is 10.21.101.0/24 and the HR
network is 10.31.101.0/24.
l Configure IPsec Phase 1 and Phase 2 as you usually would for a route-based VPN. In this example, the resulting
IPsec interface is named FGT1_to_FGT2.
l Configure virtual IP (VIP) mapping:
l the 10.21.101.0/24 network mapped to the 10.11.101.0/24 network on FortiGate_1
l the 10.31.101.0/24 network mapped to the 10.11.101.0/24 network on FortiGate_2
l Configure an outgoing security policy with ordinary source NAT on both FortiGates.
l Configure an incoming security policy with the VIP as the destination on both FortiGates.
l Configure a route to the remote private network over the IPsec interface on both FortiGates.
1. Go to Policy & Objects > Virtual IPs and create a new Virtual IP.
2. Enter the following information, and select OK:
VIP Type Depending on both FortiGates, select one of the following options:
NAT Disable NAT.
1. Go to Network > Static Routes and create a new Route (or IPv6 Route as necessary).
2. Enter the following information, and then select OK:
If you have advanced routing on your network, you may have to change this
value.
Advanced Options If you have advanced routing on your network, enable Advanced Options
and enter a Priority.
In this solution however, outbound NAT is used to translate the source address of packets from the
10.11.101.0/24 network to the alternate subnet address that hosts at the other end of the VPN use to reply.
Inbound packets from the remote end have their destination addresses translated back to the 10.11.101.0/24
network.
For example, PC1 uses the destination address 10.31.101.10 to contact PC2. Outbound NAT on FortiGate_1
translates the PC1 source address to 10.21.101.10. At the FortiGate_2 end of the tunnel, the outbound NAT
configuration translates the destination address to the actual PC2 address of 10.11.101.10. Similarly, PC2 replies
to PC1 using destination address 10.21.101.10, with the PC2 source address translated to 10.31.101.10. PC1
and PC2 can communicate over the VPN even though they both have the same IP address.
In this example, your Phase 1 definition is named FGT1_to_FGT2. use-natip is set to disable, so you can
specify the source selector using the src-addr-type, src-start-ip / src-end-ip or src-subnet
keywords. This example leaves these keywords at their default values, which specify the subnet 0.0.0.0/0.
The pfs keyword ensures that perfect forward secrecy (PFS) is used. This ensures that each Phase 2 key created
is unrelated to any other keys in use.
Name Enter vpn-local. A meaningful name for the local private network.
Name Enter vpn-remote. A meaningful name for the remote private network.
Interface Any
Optionally, you can set everything except natip in the web-based manager and then use the CLI to set natip.
Enter the same commands on FortiGate_2, but set natip be 10.21.101.0 255.255.255.0.
Testing
The best testing is to look at the packets both as the VPN tunnel is negotiated, and when the tunnel is up.
1. Start a terminal program such as PuTTY and set it to log all output.
When necessary refer to the logs to locate information when output is verbose.
2. Logon to the FortiGate unit using a super_admin account.
3. Enter the following CLI commands.
4. Display all the possible IKE error types and the number of times they have occurred:
7. If your proposal settings do not match what you expect, make a change to it and save it to force an update in
memory. If that fixes the problem, stop here.
8. List the current vpn filter:
9. If all fields are set to any, there are no filters set and all VPN IKE packets will be displayed in the debug output. If
your system has only a few VPNs, skip setting the filter.
If your system has many VPN connections this will result in very verbose output and make it very difficult to locate
the correct connection attempt.
10. Set the VPN filter to display only information from the destination IP address for example 10.10.10.10:
To add more filter options, enter them one per line as above. Other filter options are:
13. If possible go to the web-based manager on your FortiGate unit, go to the VPN monitor and try to bring the tunnel
up.
14. Stop the debug output:
15. Go back through the output to determine what proposal information the initiator is using, and how it is different
from your VPN P1 proposal settings.
Things to look for in the debug output of attempted VPN connections are shown below.
initiator Starts the VPN attempt, in the above procedure that is the remote end
error no SA
There was no proposal match — there was no encryption-authentication pair in
proposal
common, usually occurs after a long list of proposal attempts
chosen
R U THERE dead peer detection (dpd), also known as dead gateway detection — after three failed
and attempts to contact the remote end it will be declared dead, no farther attempts will be
R U THERE made to contact it
ack
negotiation
lists the proposal settings that were agreed on
result
This section describes how to set up hub-and-spoke IPsec VPNs. The following topics are included in this section:
Configuration overview
In a hub-and-spoke configuration, VPN connections radiate from a central FortiGate unit (the hub) to a number of
remote peers (the spokes). Traffic can pass between private networks behind the hub and private networks
behind the remote peers. Traffic can also pass between remote peer private networks through the hub.
This guide discusses the issues involved in configuring a hub-and-spoke VPN and provides some basic
configuration examples.
Using dynamic addressing for spokes simplifies the VPN configuration because then the hub requires only a
single Phase 1 configuration with “dialup user” as the remote gateway. You can use this configuration even if the
remote peers have static IP addresses. A remote peer can establish a VPN connection regardless of its IP
address if its traffic selectors match and it can authenticate to the hub. See Configuration overview on page 1938
for an example of this configuration.
If you are creating a new network, where subnet IP addresses are not already assigned, you can simplify the VPN
configuration by assigning spoke subnets that are part of a large subnet.
Aggregated subnets
All spokes use the large subnet address, 10.1.0.0/16 for example, as:
If you want to create a hub-and-spoke VPN between existing private networks, the subnet addressing usually
does not fit the aggregated subnet model discussed earlier. All of the spokes and the hub will need to include the
addresses of all the protected networks in their configuration.
On FortiGate units, you can define a named firewall address for each of the remote protected networks and add
these addresses to a firewall address group. For a policy-based VPN, you can then use this address group as the
destination of the VPN security policy.
For a route-based VPN, the destination of the VPN security policy can be set to All. You need to specify
appropriate routes for each of the remote subnets.
Authentication
Authentication is by a common pre-shared key or by certificates. For simplicity, the examples in this chapter
assume that all spokes use the same pre-shared key.
You configure communication between spokes differently for a policy-based VPN than for a route-based VPN. For
a policy-based VPN, you configure a VPN concentrator. For a route-based VPN, you must either define security
policies or group the IPsec interfaces into a zone.
1. At the hub, define the Phase 1 configuration for each spoke. See Phase 1 parameters on page 1892. Enter these
settings in particular:
Remote Gateway The remote gateway is the other end of the VPN tunnel. There are three
options:
Static IP Address — Enter the spoke’s public IP Address. You will need to
create a Phase 1 configuration for each spoke. Either the hub or the spoke
can establish the VPN connection.
Local Interface Select the FortiGate interface that connects to the remote gateway. This is
usually the FortiGate unit’s public interface.
2. Define the Phase 2 parameters needed to create a VPN tunnel with each spoke. See Phase 2 parameters on page
1911. Enter these settings in particular:
Phase 1 Select the name of the Phase 1 configuration that you defined for this
spoke.
CLI Syntax:
config vpn ipsec phase1-interface
edit "int-fgtb"
...
set auto-discovery-sender [enable | disable]
set auto-discovery-receiver [enable | disable]
set auto-discovery-forwarder [enable | disable]
...
next
end
config vpn ipsec phase2-interface
edit "int-fgtb"
...
set auto-discovery-sender phase1 [enable | disable]
...
next
end
Define ACCEPT security policies to permit communications between the hub and the spoke. You need one policy
for each direction.
Adding policies
Incoming Interface Select the VPN Tunnel (IPsec Interface) you configured in Step 1.
Source Address Select the address name you defined in Step 2 for the private network
behind the spoke FortiGate unit.
Outgoing Interface Select the hub’s interface to the internal (private) network.
Destination Address Select the source address that you defined in Step 1.
Incoming Interface Select the VPN Tunnel (IPsec Interface) you configured inStep 1.
Source Address Select the address name you defined in Step 2 for the private network
behind the spoke FortiGate units.
Outgoing Interface Select the source address that you defined in Step 1.
Destination Address Select the hub’s interface to the internal (private) network.
Define an IPsec security policy to permit communications between the hub and the spoke.
Adding policies
Incoming Interface Select the hub’s interface to the internal (private) network.
Source Address Select the source address that you defined in Step 1.
Destination Address Select the address name you defined in Step 2 for the private network
behind the spoke FortiGate unit.
VPN Tunnel Select Use Existing and select the name of the Phase 1 configuration that
you created for the spoke in Step 1.
l IPsec policies that control traffic between the hub and the spokes first
l The default security policy last
l Put all of the IPsec interfaces into a zone and enable intra-zone traffic. This eliminates the need for any security
policy for the VPN, but you cannot apply UTM features to scan the traffic for security threats.
l Put all of the IPsec interfaces into a zone and create a single zone-to-zone security policy
l Create a security policy for each pair of spokes that are allowed to communicate with each other. The number of
policies required increases rapidly as the number of spokes increases.
A simple way to provide communication among all of the spokes is to create a zone and allow intra-zone
communication. You cannot apply UTM features using this method.
1. Go to Network > Interfaces.
2. Select the down-arrow on the Create New button and select Zone.
3. In the Zone Name field, enter a name, such as Our_VPN_zone.
4. Clear Block intra-zone traffic.
5. In the Interface Members list, select the IPsec interfaces that are part of your VPN.
6. Select OK.
If you put all of the hub IPsec interfaces involved in the VPN into a zone, you can enable communication among
all of the spokes and apply UTM features with just one security policy.
1. Go to Network > Interfaces.
2. Select the down-arrow on the Create New button and select Zone.
3. In the Zone Name field, enter a name, such as Our_VPN_zone.
4. Select Block intra-zone traffic.
5. In the Interface Members list, select the IPsec interfaces that are part of your VPN.
6. Select OK.
Incoming Interface Select the zone you created for your VPN.
Outgoing Interface Select the zone you created for your VPN.
To enable communication between two spokes, you need to define an ACCEPT security policy for them. To allow
either spoke to initiate communication, you must create a policy for each direction. This procedure describes a
security policy for communication from Spoke 1 to Spoke 2. Others are similar.
1. Define names for the addresses or address ranges of the private networks behind each spoke. For more
information, see Defining policy addresses on page 1.
2. Go to Policy & Objects > IPv4 Policy and select Create New.
3. Leave the Policy Type as Firewall and leave the Policy Subtype as Address.
4. Enter the settings and select OK.
Source Address Select the address of the private network behind Spoke 1.
Destination Address Select the address of the private network behind Spoke 2.
Perform these steps at each FortiGate unit that will act as a spoke.
1. At the spoke, define the Phase 1 parameters that the spoke will use to establish a secure connection with the hub.
See Phase 1 parameters on page 1892. Enter these settings:
IP Address Type the IP address of the interface that connects to the hub.
2. Create the Phase 2 tunnel definition. See Phase 2 parameters on page 1911. Select the set of Phase 1
parameters that you defined for the hub. You can select the name of the hub from the Static IP Address part of
the list.
Define two security policies to permit communications to and from the hub.
Outgoing Interface Select the spoke’s interface to the internal (private) network.
Incoming Interface Select the spoke’s interface to the internal (private) network.
Destination Address Select the hub destination addresses you defined in Step 2.
Define an IPsec security policy to permit communications with the hub. See Defining VPN security policies on
page 1.
Incoming Interface Select the spoke’s interface to the internal (private) network.
Outgoing Interface Select the spoke’s interface to the external (public) network.
VPN Tunnel Select Use Existing and select the name of the Phase 1 configuration you
defined.
1. Define destination addresses to represent the networks behind each of the other spokes. Add these addresses to
an address group.
2. Define the security policy to enable communication between this spoke and the spokes in the address group you
created.
Define an IPsec security policy to permit communications with the other spokes. See Defining VPN security
policies on page 1. Enter these settings in particular:
Define two security policies to permit communications to and from the other spokes.
Source Address Select the spoke address group you defined in Step "Configure the spokes "
on page 1945.
Outgoing Interface Select the spoke’s interface to the internal (private) network.
4. Select Create New, leave the Policy Type as Firewall and leave the Policy Subtype as Address, and enter
these settings:
Incoming Interface Select the spoke’s interface to the internal (private) network.
Destination Address Select the spoke address group you defined in Step 1.
Outgoing Interface Select the spoke’s interface to the external (public) network.
VPN Tunnel Select Use Existing and select the name of the Phase 1 configuration you
defined.
Place this policy or policies in the policy list above any other policies having similar source and destination
addresses.
In the example configuration, the protected networks 10.1.0.0/24, 10.1.1.0/24 and 10.1.2.0/24 are all part of the
larger subnet 10.1.0.0/16. The steps for setting up the example hub-and-spoke configuration create a VPN
among Site 1, Site 2, and the HR Network.
The spokes are dialup. Their addresses are not part of the configuration on the hub, so only one spoke definition
is required no matter the number of spokes. For simplicity, only two spokes are shown.
In an ADVPN topology, any two pair of peers can create a shortcut, as long as one of the devices is not behind
NAT.
The on-the-wire format of the ADVPN messages use TLV encoding. Because of this, this feature is not
compatible with any previous ADVPN builds.
For the purposes of this example, one preshared key will be used to authenticate all of the spokes. Each key must
contain at least 6 printable characters and best practices dictates that it only be known by network administrators.
For optimum protection against currently known attacks, each key must consist of a minimum of 16 randomly
chosen alphanumeric characters.
1. At FortiGate_1, go to VPN > IPsec Tunnels and create the new custom tunnel or edit an existing tunnel.
2. Edit the Phase 1 Proposal (if it is not available, you may need to click the Convert to Custom Tunnel button).
Define the Phase 1 parameters that the hub will use to establish a secure connection to the spokes.
Mode Main
The basic Phase 2 settings associate IPsec Phase 2 parameters with the Phase 1 configuration and specify the
remote end points of the VPN tunnels.
3. Open the Phase 2 Selectors panel (if it is not available, you may need to click the Convert to Custom Tunnel
button).
4. Enter the following information, and select OK:
Name Enter a name for the Phase 2 definition (for example, toSpokes_ph2).
Phase 1 Select the Phase 1 configuration that you defined previously (for example,
toSpokes).
security policies control all IP traffic passing between a source address and a destination address. For a route-
based VPN, the policies are simpler than for a policy-based VPN. Instead of an IPSEC policy, you use an
ACCEPT policy with the virtual IPsec interface as the external interface.
Before you define security policies, you must first define firewall addresses to use in those policies. You need
addresses for:
Type Subnet
Type Subnet
Subnet/IP Range Enter the IP address of the aggregate protected network, 10.1.0.0/16
Defining the security policy for traffic from the hub to the spokes
Outgoing Interface Select the virtual IPsec interface that connects to the spokes, toSpokes.
Place the policy in the policy list above any other policies having similar source and destination addresses.
Spokes communicate with each other through the hub. You need to configure the hub to allow this
communication. An easy way to do this is to create a zone containing the virtual IPsec interfaces even if there is
only one, and create a zone-to-zone security policy.
1. Go to Network > Interfaces.
2. Select the down-arrow on the Create New button and select Zone.
3. In the Zone Name field, enter a name, such as Our_VPN_zone.
4. Select Block intra-zone traffic.
You could enable intra-zone traffic and then you would not need to create a security policy. But, you would not be
able to apply UTM features.
5. In Interface Members, select the virtual IPsec interface, toSpokes.
6. Select OK.
4. Select OK.
1. At the spoke, go to VPN > IPsec Tunnels and create the new custom tunnel or edit an existing tunnel.
2. Edit the Phase 1 Proposal (if it is not available, you may need to click the Convert to Custom Tunnel button).
Enter the following information:
Mode Main
Pre-shared Key Enter the preshared key. The value must be identical to the preshared key
that you specified previously in the FortiGate_1 configuration
1. Open the Phase 2 Selectors panel (if it is not available, you may need to click the Convert to Custom Tunnel
button).
2. Enter the following information and select OK:
Phase 1 Select the name of the Phase 1 configuration that you defined previously,
for example, toHub.
You need to define firewall addresses for the spokes and the aggregate protected network and then create a
security policy to enable communication between them.
Type Subnet
Subnet/IP Range Enter the IP address of the private network behind the spoke.
Type Subnet
Subnet/IP Range Enter the IP address of the aggregate protected network, 10.1.0.0/16.
Outgoing Interface Select the interface to the internal (private) network, port1.
Destination Address Select the address for this spoke’s protected network LocalNet.
Incoming Interface Select the interface to the internal private network, port1.
Source Address Select the address for this spoke’s protected network, LocalNet.
Place these policies in the policy list above any other policies having similar source and destination addresses.
This section describes how to configure a site-to-site VPN, in which one FortiGate unit has a static IP address and
the other FortiGate unit has a domain name and a dynamic IP address.
When configuring DDNS on your FortiGate unit, go to Network > DNS and enable Enable FortiGuard DDNS.
Then select the interface with the dynamic connection, which DDNS server you have an account with, your
domain name, and account information. If your DDNS server is not on the list, there is a generic option where you
can provide your DDNS server information.
Routing
When an interface has some form of changing IP address (DDNS, PPPoE, or DHCP assigned address), routing
needs special attention. The standard static route cannot handle the changing IP address. The solution is to use
the dynamic-gateway command in the CLI. Say for example you already have four static routes, and you have a
PPPoE connection over the wan2 interface and you want to use that as your default route.
The route is configured on the dynamic address VPN peer trying to access the static address FortiGate unit.
A FortiGate unit that has a domain name and a dynamic IP address can initiate VPN connections anytime. The
remote peer can reply to the local FortiGate unit using the source IP address that was sent in the packet header
because it is current. Without doing a DNS lookup first, the remote peer runs the risk of the dynamic IP changing
before it attempts to connect. To avoid this, the remote peer must perform a DNS lookup for the domain name of
to be sure of the dynamic IP address before initiating the connection.
Remote Gateway
When configuring the Phase 1 entry for a VPN tunnel, the Remote Gateway determines the addressing method
the remote end of the tunnel uses as one of Static IP Address, Dialup User, or Dynamic DNS. There are different
fields for each option.
When you select the Dynamic DNS VPN type there is a related field called Dynamic DNS. The Dynamic DNS field
is asking for the FQDN of the remote end of the tunnel. It uses this information to look up the IP address of the
remote end of the tunnel through the DDNS server associated with that domain name.
The Local ID or peer ID can be used to uniquely identify one end of a VPN tunnel. This enables a more secure
connection. Also if you have multiple VPN tunnels negotiating, this ensures the proper remote and local ends
connect. When you configure it on your end, it is your Local ID. When the remote end connects to you, they see it
as your peer ID.
If you are debugging a VPN connection, the Local ID is part of the VPN negotiations. You can use it to help
troubleshoot connection problems.
In circumstances where multiple remote dialup VPN tunnels exist, each tunnel must
have a peer ID set.
1. Go to VPN > IPsec Wizard and create the new custom tunnel or go to VPN > IPsec Tunnels and edit an
existing tunnel.
2. Edit the Phase 1 Proposal (if it is not available, you may need to click the Convert To Custom Tunnel button).
3. In the Phase 1 Proposal section, enter your Local ID.
4. Select OK.
The default configuration is to accept all local IDs (peer IDs). If you have Local ID set, the remote end of the
tunnel must be configured to accept your local ID.
1. Go to VPN > IPsec Tunnels and create the new custom tunnel or edit an existing tunnel.
2. Edit Authentication (if it is not available, you may need to click the Convert To Custom Tunnel button).
VPN over dynamic DNS can be configured with either route-based or policy-based VPN settings. Both are valid,
but have differences in configuration. Choose the best method based on your requirements. For more
information on route-based and policy-based, see IPsec VPN overview on page 1875.
Route-based VPN configuration requires two security policies to be configured (one for each direction of traffic) to
permit traffic over the VPN virtual interface, and you must also add a static route entry for that VPN interface or
the VPN traffic will not reach its destination. See Dynamic DNS configuration on page 1955 and Dynamic DNS
configuration on page 1955.
Policy-based VPN configuration uses more complex and often more IPsec security policies, but does not require a
static route entry. It has the benefit of being able to configure multiple policies for handling multiple protocols in
different ways, such as more scanning of less secure protocols or guaranteeing a minimum bandwidth for
protocols such as VoIP. See Dynamic DNS configuration on page 1955 and Dynamic DNS configuration on page
1955.
DDNS topology
In this scenario, two branch offices each have a FortiGate unit and are connected in a gateway-to-gateway VPN
configuration. One FortiGate unit has a domain name (example.com) with a dynamic IP address. See branch_
2 in the figure below.
Whenever the branch_2 unit connects to the Internet (and possibly also at predefined intervals set by the ISP),
the ISP may assign a different IP address to the FortiGate unit. The unit has its domain name registered with a
dynamic DNS service. The branch_2 unit checks in with the DDNS server on a regular basis, and that server
provides the DNS information for the domain name, updating the IP address from time to time. Remote peers
have to locate the branch_2 FortiGate unit through a DNS lookup each time to ensure the address they get is
current and correct.
When a remote peer (such as the branch_1 FortiGate unit above) initiates a connection to example.com, the
local DNS server looks up and returns the IP address that matches the domain name example.com. The
remote peer uses the retrieved IP address to establish a VPN connection with the branch_2 FortiGate unit.
Assumptions
l You have administrator access to both FortiGate units.
l Both FortiGate units have interfaces named wan1 and internal. (If not, you can use the alias feature to assign these
labels as “nicknames” to other interfaces to follow this example.)
l Both FortiGate units have the most recent firmware installed, have been configured for their networks, and are
currently passing normal network traffic.
l The branch_2 FortiGate unit has its wan1 interface defined as a dynamic DNS interface with the domain name of
example.com.
l A basic gateway-to-gateway configuration is in place (see Gateway-to-gateway configurations on page 1) except
one of the FortiGate units has a static domain name and a dynamic IP address instead of a static IP address.
l The FortiGate unit with the domain name is subscribed to one of the supported dynamic DNS services. Contact one
of the services to set up an account. For more information and instructions about how to configure the FortiGate
unit to push its dynamic IP address to a dynamic DNS server, see the System Administration handbook chapter.
Configuration overview
When a FortiGate unit receives a connection request from a remote VPN peer, it uses IPsec Phase 1 parameters
to establish a secure connection and authenticate the VPN peer. Then, if the security policy permits the
connection, the FortiGate unit establishes the tunnel using IPsec Phase 2 parameters and applies the security
policy. Key management, authentication, and security services are negotiated dynamically through the IKE
protocol.
To support these functions, the following general configuration steps must be performed:
l Configure the branch_2 FortiGate unit with the dynamic IP address. This unit uses a Local ID string instead of an IP
address to identify itself to the remote peer. See Configuring the dynamically-addressed VPN peer below, which is
Define the Phase 1 parameters needed to establish a secure connection with the remote peer. See Phase 1
parameters on page 1892. During this procedure you need to choose if you will be using route-based or policy-
based VPNs.
1. Go to VPN > IPsec Tunnels and create the new custom tunnel or edit an existing tunnel.
2. Edit Network (full configuration options are only available once you click the Convert To Custom Tunnel
button).
3. Enter the following information:
IP Address Enter 172.16.20.1, the IP address of the public interface to the remote
peer.
Dead Peer Detection Select a dead peer detection option. On Idle will attempt to reestablish
VPN tunnels when a connection becomes idle (the idle interval is not a
negotiated value).
Use of periodic dead peer detection incurs extra overhead. When
communicating to large numbers of IKE peers, you should consider using
On Demand. (set to On Demand by default).
This value must be identical to the value in the This peer ID field of the
Phase 1 remote gateway configuration on the branch_1 remote peer. See
Configuration overview on page 1958.
Define security policies to permit communications between the private networks through the VPN tunnel. Route-
based and policy-based VPNs require different security policies. For detailed information about creating security
policies, see Defining VPN security policies on page 1.
After defining the two address ranges, select one of Creating branch_2 route-ased security policies on page 1961
or Creating branch_2 policy-based security policies on page 1963 to configure the appropriate VPN policies.
Define VPN connection names for the address ranges of the private networks. These addresses are used in the
security policies that permit communication between the networks. For more information, see Defining VPN
security policies on page 1.
Define an address name for the IP address and netmask of the private network behind the local FortiGate unit.
Interface Select internal. The interface that will be handling the traffic from the
internal network.
Define an address name for the IP address and netmask of the private network behind the remote
peer.
The interface that will be handling the remote VPN traffic on this FortiGate
unit. If you are unsure, or multiple interfaces may be handling this traffic
use any.
Define ACCEPT security policies to permit communication between the branch_2 and branch_1 private networks.
Once the route-based policy is configured a routing entry must be configured to route traffic over the VPN
interface.
Define a policy to permit the branch_2 local FortiGate unit to initiate a VPN session with the branch_1 VPN peer.
The interface that connects to the private network behind this FortiGate
unit.
Select the address name for the private network behind this FortiGate
unit.
The address name the private network behind the remote peer.
Define a policy to permit the branch_1 remote VPN peer to initiate VPN sessions.
Outgoing Interface Select internal. The interface connecting the private network behind this
FortiGate unit.
Source Select branch_1_internal. The address name for the private network
behind the remote peer.
Destination Address Select branch_2_internal. The address name for the private network
behind this FortiGate unit.
5. Optionally configure any other security policy settings you require such as UTM or traffic shaping for this policy.
6. Place these policies in the policy list above any other policies having similar source and destination addresses.
This will ensure VPN traffic is matched against the VPN policies before any other policies.
Define an IPsec policy to permit VPN sessions between the private networks. Define an IPsec policy to permit the
VPN sessions between the local branch_2 unit and the remote branch_1 unit.
Incoming Interface Select internal. The interface connecting the private network behind this
FortiGate unit.
Source Select branch_2_internal. The address name for the private network
behind this local FortiGate unit.
Destination Address Select branch_1_internal. The address name for the private network
behind branch_1, the remote peer.
Action Select IPsec. Under VPN Tunnel, select branch_2 from the drop-down
list. The name of the Phase 1 tunnel. Select Allow traffic to be initiated
from the remote site.
Comments Policy-based: allows traffic in either direction to initiate the VPN tunnel.
3. Optionally configure any other security policy settings you require such as UTM or traffic shaping for this policy.
4. Place these policies in the policy list above any other policies having similar source and destination addresses.
This will ensure VPN traffic is matched against the VPN policies before any other policies.
Define the Phase 1 parameters needed to establish a secure connection with the remote peer. For more
information, see Phase 1 parameters on page 1892.
1. Go to VPN > IPsec Tunnels and create the new custom tunnel or edit an existing tunnel.
2. Edit Network (if it is not available, you may need to click the Convert to Custom Tunnel button).
3. Enter the following information and select OK.
Remote Gateway Select Dynamic DNS. The remote peer this FortiGate is connecting to
has a dynamic IP address.
Dynamic DNS Type the fully qualified domain name of the remote peer (for example,
example.com).
Interface Select wan1. The public facing interface on the fixed-address FortiGate
unit.
Peer Options Select This peer ID, and enter example.com. This option only appears
when the mode is set to Aggressive. The identifier of the FortiGate unit
with the dynamic address.
Peer Options Select This peer ID, and enter example.com. This option only appears
when the authentication method is set to Signature. The identifier of the
FortiGate unit with the dynamic address.
5. Define the Phase 2 parameters needed to create a VPN tunnel with the remote peer. See Phase 2 parameters on
page 1911. Enter these settings in particular:
The name of the Phase 1 configuration that you defined for the remote
peer. You can select the name of the remote gateway from the Dynamic
DNS part of the list.
The branch_1 FortiGate unit has a fixed IP address and will be connecting to the branch_2 FortiGate unit
that has a dynamic IP address and a domain name of example.com. Remember if you are using route-based
security policies that you must add a route for the VPN traffic.
As with branch_2 previously, branch_1 needs address ranges defined as well. See Defining policy addresses
on page 1.
Subnet / IP Range Enter 10.10.10.0/24. Include the netmask or specify a specific range.
Interface Select internal. This is the interface on this FortiGate unit that will be
handling with this traffic.
3. Define an address name for the IP address and netmask of the private network behind the remote peer.
4. Create another address. Enter the following information, and select OK.
Subnet / IP Range Enter 192.168.1.0/24. Include the netmask or specify a specific range.
Interface Select any. The interface on this FortiGate unit that will be handling with
this traffic. If you are unsure, or multiple interfaces may be handling this
traffic use any.
Define an ACCEPT security policy to permit communications between the source and destination addresses. See
Defining VPN security policies on page 1.
Incoming Interface Select internal. The interface that connects to the private network behind
the branch_1 FortiGate unit.
Outgoing Interface Select branch_1. The VPN Tunnel (IPsec Interface) you configured earlier.
Source Select branch_1_internal. The address name that you defined for the
private network behind this FortiGate unit.
Destination Address Select branch_2_internal. The address name that you defined for the
private network behind the branch_2 peer.
To permit the remote client to initiate communication, you need to define a security policy for
communication in that direction.
Incoming Interface Select branch_1. The VPN Tunnel (IPsec Interface) you configured earlier.
Outgoing Interface Select internal. The interface that connects to the private network behind
this FortiGate unit.
Source Select branch_2_internal. The address name that you defined for the
private network behind the branch_2 remote peer.
Destination Address Select branch_1_internal. The address name that you defined for the
private network behind this FortiGate unit.
A policy-based security policy allows you the flexibility to allow inbound or outbound traffic or both through this
single policy.
This policy-based IPsec VPN security policy allows both inbound and outbound traffic
Incoming Interface Select internal. The interface that connects to the private network behind
this FortiGate unit.
Source Select branch_1_internal. The address name that you defined for the
private network behind this FortiGate unit.
Destination Address Select branch_2_internal. The address name that you defined for the
private network behind the remote peer.
Action Select IPsec. Under VPN Tunnel, select branch_1 from the drop-down
list. The name of the Phase 1 tunnel. Select Allow traffic to be initiated
from the remote site.
3. Place this security policy in the policy list above any other policies having similar source and destination
addresses.
Results
Once both ends are configured, you can test the VPN tunnel.
l If there was no entry for the tunnel on the monitor page, check the Auto Key (IKE) page to verify the Phase 1 and
Phase 2 entries exist.
l Check the security policy or policies, and ensure there is an outgoing policy as a minimum.
l Check that you entered a local ID in the Phase 1 configuration, and that branch_1 has the same local ID.
l Ensure the local DNS server has an up-to-date DNS entry for exmaple.com.
For more information, see Troubleshooting on page 1.
The FortiClient Endpoint Security application is an IPsec VPN client with antivirus, antispam and firewall
capabilities. This section explains how to configure dialup VPN connections between a FortiGate unit and one or
more FortiClient Endpoint Security applications.
FortiClient users are usually mobile or remote users who need to connect to a private network behind a FortiGate
unit. For example, the users might be employees who connect to the office network while traveling or from their
homes.
For greatest ease of use, the FortiClient application can download the VPN settings from the FortiGate unit to
configure itself automatically.
Configuration overview
Dialup users typically obtain dynamic IP addresses from an ISP through Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
(DHCP) or Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet (PPPoE). Then, the FortiClient Endpoint Security application
initiates a connection to a FortiGate dialup server.
By default the FortiClient dialup client has the same IP address as the host PC on which it runs. If the host
connects directly to the Internet, this is a public IP address. If the host is behind a NAT device, such as a router,
the IP address is a private IP address. The NAT device must be NAT traversal (NAT-T) compatible to pass
encrypted packets (see Phase 1 parameters on page 1892). The FortiClient application also can be configured to
use a virtual IP address (VIP). For the duration of the connection, the FortiClient application and the FortiGate
unit both use the VIP address as the IP address of the FortiClient dialup client.
The FortiClient application sends its encrypted packets to the VPN remote gateway, which is usually the public
interface of the FortiGate unit. It also uses this interface to download VPN settings from the FortiGate unit. See
Automatic configuration of FortiClient dialup clients on page 1969.
Peer identification
The FortiClient application can establish an IPsec tunnel with a FortiGate unit configured to act as a dialup
server. When the FortiGate unit acts as a dialup server, it does not identify the client using the Phase 1 remote
gateway address. The IPsec tunnel is established if authentication is successful and the IPsec security policy
associated with the tunnel permits access. If configured, the FortiGate unit could also require FortiClient
registration, that is, the remote user would be required to have FortiClient installed before connection is
completed.
The FortiGate unit listens for VPN policy requests from clients on TCP port 8900. When the dialup client
connects:
l The client initiates a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) connection to the FortiGate unit.
l The FortiGate unit requests a user name and password from the FortiClient user. Using these credentials, it
authenticates the client and determines which VPN policy applies to the client.
l Provided that authentication is successful, the FortiGate unit downloads a VPN policy to the client over the SSL
connection. The information includes IPsec Phase 1 and Phase 2 settings, and the IP addresses of the private
networks that the client is authorized to access.
l The client uses the VPN policy settings to establish an IPsec Phase 1 connection and Phase 2 tunnel with the
FortiGate unit.
1. If you will be using VIP addresses to identify dialup clients, determine which VIP addresses to use. As a
precaution, consider using VIP addresses that are not commonly used.
2. Configure the FortiGate unit to act as a dialup server. See Configuring the FortiGate unit on page 1971.
3. If the dialup clients will be configured to obtain VIP addresses through DHCP over IPsec, configure the FortiGate
unit to act as a DHCP server or to relay DHCP requests to an external DHCP server.
4. Configure the dialup clients. See Configure the FortiClient Endpoint Security application on page 1976.
When the FortiClient host PC is located behind a NAT device, unintended IP address overlap issues may arise
between the private networks at the two ends of the tunnel. For example, the client’s host might receive a private
IP address from a DHCP server on its network that by co-incidence is the same as a private IP address on the
network behind the FortiGate unit. A conflict will occur in the host’s routing table and the FortiClient Endpoint
Security application will be unable to send traffic through the tunnel. Configuring virtual IP (VIP) addresses for
FortiClient applications prevents this problem.
Using VIPs ensures that client IP addresses are in a predictable range. You can then define security policies that
allow access only to that source address range. If you do not use VIPs, the security policies must allow all source
addresses because you cannot predict the IP address for a remote mobile user.
The FortiClient application must not have the same IP address as any host on the private network behind the
FortiGate unit or any other connected FortiClient application. You can ensure this by reserving a range of IP
addresses on the private network for FortiClient users. Or, you can assign FortiClient VIPs from an uncommonly
used subnet such as 10.254.254.0/24 or 192.168.254.0/24.
You can reserve a VIP address for a particular client according to its device MAC address and type of connection.
The DHCP server then always assigns the reserved VIP address to the client. For more information about this
feature, see the “dhcp reserved-address” section in the “system” chapter of the FortiGate CLI Reference.
On the host computer, you can find out the VIP address that the FortiClient Endpoint
Security application is using. For example, in Windows command prompt, type
ipconfig /all
On Linux or Mac OS X, type ifconfig in a terminal window. The output will also
show the IP address that has been assigned to the host Network Interface Card (NIC).
It is best to assign VIPs using DHCP over IPsec. The FortiGate dialup server can act as a DHCP server or relay
requests to an external DHCP server. You can also configure VIPs manually on FortiClient applications, but it is
more difficult to ensure that all clients use unique addresses.
If you assign a VIP on the private network behind the FortiGate unit and enable DHCP-
IPsec (a Phase 2 advanced option), the FortiGate unit acts as a proxy on the local
private network for the FortiClient dialup client. Whenever a host on the network
behind the dialup server issues an ARP request for the device MAC address of the
FortiClient host, the FortiGate unit answers the ARP request on behalf of the
FortiClient host and forwards the associated traffic to the FortiClient host through the
tunnel. For more information, see Phase 2 parameters on page 1911.
FortiGate units fully support RFC 3456. The FortiGate DHCP over IPsec feature can be enabled to allocate VIP
addresses to FortiClient dialup clients using a FortiGate DHCP server.
The figure below shows an example of a FortiClient-to-FortiGate VPN where the FortiClient application is
assigned a VIP on an uncommonly used subnet. The diagram also shows that while the destination for the
information in the encrypted packets is the private network behind the FortiGate unit, the destination of the IPsec
packets themselves is the public interface of the FortiGate unit that acts as the end of the VPN tunnel.
If you use XAuth authentication, you can assign users the virtual IP address stored in the Framed-IP-Address field
of their record on the RADIUS server. (See RFC 2865 and RFC 2866 for more information about RADIUS fields.)
To do this:
l Set the DHCP server IP Assignment Mode to User-group defined method. This is an Advanced setting. See
Configuring a DHCP server on a FortiGate interface on page 1975.
l Create a new firewall user group and add the RADIUS server to it.
l In your Phase 1 settings, configure the FortiGate unit as an XAuth server and select from User Group the new user
group that you created. For more information, see Phase 1 parameters on page 1892.
l Configure the FortiClient application to use XAuth. See Configuration overview on page 1968.
l To support policy-based VPNs, the FortiGate dialup server may operate in either NAT mode or transparent mode.
NAT mode is required if you want to create a route-based VPN.
l If the FortiClient dialup clients will be configured to obtain VIP addresses through FortiGate DHCP relay, a DHCP
server must be available on the network behind the FortiGate unit and the DHCP server must have a direct route to
the FortiGate unit.
l If the FortiGate interface to the private network is not the default gateway, the private network behind the FortiGate
unit must be configured to route IP traffic destined for dialup clients back (through an appropriate gateway) to the
FortiGate interface to the private network. As an alternative, you can configure the IPsec security policy on the
FortiGate unit to perform inbound NAT on IP packets. Inbound NAT translates the source addresses of inbound
decrypted packets into the IP address of the FortiGate interface to the local private network.
The IPsec VPN Wizard greatly simplifies IPsec VPN tunnel creation for route-based
tunnels.
To configure FortiGate unit VPN settings to support FortiClient users, you need to:
On the local FortiGate unit, define the Phase 1 configuration needed to establish a secure connection with the
FortiClient peer. See Phase 1 parameters on page 1892.
1. Go to VPN > IPsec Tunnels and create the new custom tunnel or edit an existing tunnel.
2. Edit Network (full configuration options are only available once you click the Convert To Custom Tunnel
button).
3. Enter these settings in particular:
Interface Select the interface through which clients connect to the FortiGate unit.
Pre-shared Key Enter the pre-shared key. This must be the same preshared key provided to
the FortiClient users.
Pre-shared Key Enter the pre-shared key. This must be the same preshared key provided to
the FortiClient users.
5. Define the Phase 2 parameters needed to create a VPN tunnel with the FortiClient peer. See Phase 2 parameters
on page 1911. Enter these settings in particular:
Phase 1 Select the name of the Phase 1 configuration that you defined.
6. Define names for the addresses or address ranges of the private networks that the VPN links. These addresses
are used in the security policies that permit communication between the networks. For more information, see
Defining policy addresses on page 1.
Define an ACCEPT security policy to permit communications between the source and destination addresses.
Incoming Interface Select the VPN Tunnel (IPsec Interface) you configured in Step
"Configuration overview" on page 1968.
Outgoing Interface Select the interface that connects to the private network behind this
FortiGate unit.
If you want to allow hosts on the private network to initiate communications with the FortiClient users after the
tunnel is established, you need to define a security policy for communication in that direction.
Incoming Interface Select the interface that connects to the private network behind this
FortiGate unit.
Outgoing Interface Select the interface that connects to the private network behind this
FortiGate unit.
Define an IPsec security policy to permit communications between the source and destination addresses.
Incoming Interface Select the interface that connects to the private network behind this
FortiGate unit.
Source Select the address name that you defined in Step "Configuration overview"
on page 1968 for the private network behind this FortiGate unit.
Destination Address If FortiClient users are assigned VIPs, select the address name that you
defined for the VIP subnet. Otherwise, select all.
Action Select IPsec. Under VPN Tunnel, select the name of the Phase 1
configuration that you created in Step "Configuration overview" on page
1968 from the drop-down list. Select Allow traffic to be initiated from
the remote site.
Place VPN policies in the policy list above any other policies having similar source and destination addresses.
When a FortiClient application set to automatic configuration connects to the FortiGate unit, the FortiGate unit
requests a user name and password. If the user supplies valid credentials, the FortiGate unit downloads the VPN
settings to the FortiClient application.
You must do the following to configure the FortiGate unit to work as a VPN policy server for FortiClient automatic
configuration:
<tunnel_name> must be the Name you specified in the step 2 of Configuring the FortiGate unit on page
1971. <group_name> must be the name of the user group your created for FortiClient users.
If the FortiClient dialup clients are configured to obtain a VIP address using DHCP, configure the FortiGate dialup
server to either:
l Relay DHCP requests to a DHCP server behind the FortiGate unit (see Configuring DHCP relay on a FortiGate
interface on page 1975 below).
l Act as a DHCP server (see Configuring a DHCP server on a FortiGate interface on page 1975).
Note that DHCP services are typically configured during the interface creation stage, but you can return to an
interface to modify DHCP settings if need be.
1. Go to Network > Interfaces and select the interface that you want to relay DHCP.
2. Enable DHCP Server, and create a new DHCP Address Range and Netmask.
3. Open the Advanced... menu and set Mode to Relay.
4. Enter the DHCP Server IP.
5. Select OK.
1. Go to Network > Interfaces and select the interface that you want to act as a DHCP server.
2. Enable DHCP Server, and create a new DHCP Address Range and Netmask.
3. Set Default Gateway to Specify, and enter the IP address of the default gateway that the DHCP server assigns
to DHCP clients.
4. Set DNS Server to Same as System DNS. If you want to use a different DNS server for VPN clients, select
Specify and enter an IP address in the available field.
5. Open the Advanced... menu and set Mode to Server.
6. Select OK.
Configuring FortiClient
This procedure explains how to configure the FortiClient application manually using the default IKE and IPsec
settings. For more information, refer to the FortiClient Administration Guide.
Remote Gateway Enter the IP address or the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the
remote gateway.
Authentication Method Select Pre-shared Key and enter the pre-shared key in the field provided.
3. Select OK.
For more information on configuring XAuth authentication, see the FortiClient Administration Guide.
This section explains how to set up a FortiGate dialup-client IPsec VPN. In a FortiGate dialup-client
configuration, a FortiGate unit with a static IP address acts as a dialup server and a FortiGate unit having a
dynamic IP address initiates a VPN tunnel with the FortiGate dialup server.
Configuration overview
A dialup client can be a FortiGate unit. The FortiGate dialup client typically obtains a dynamic IP address from an
ISP through the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) or Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet (PPPoE)
before initiating a connection to a FortiGate dialup server.
In a dialup-client configuration, the FortiGate dialup server does not rely on a Phase 1 remote gateway address to
establish an IPsec VPN connection with dialup clients. As long as authentication is successful and the IPsec
security policy associated with the tunnel permits access, the tunnel is established.
Several different ways to authenticate dialup clients and restrict access to private networks based on client
credentials are available. To authenticate FortiGate dialup clients and help to distinguish them from FortiClient
dialup clients when multiple clients will be connecting to the VPN through the same tunnel, best practices dictate
that you assign a unique identifier (local ID or peer ID) to each FortiGate dialup client. For more information, see
Phase 1 parameters on page 1892.
Whenever you add a unique identifier (local ID) to a FortiGate dialup client for
identification purposes, you must select Aggressive mode on the FortiGate dialup
server and also specify the identifier as a peer ID on the FortiGate dialup server. For
more information, see Phase 1 parameters on page 1892.
Users behind the FortiGate dialup server cannot initiate the tunnel because the FortiGate dialup client does not
have a static IP address. After the tunnel is initiated by users behind the FortiGate dialup client, traffic from the
private network behind the FortiGate dialup server can be sent to the private network behind the FortiGate dialup
client.
Encrypted packets from the FortiGate dialup client are addressed to the public interface of the dialup server.
Encrypted packets from the dialup server are addressed either to the public IP address of the FortiGate dialup
client (if the dialup client connects to the Internet directly), or if the FortiGate dialup client is behind a NAT device,
encrypted packets from the dialup server are addressed to the public IP address of the NAT device.
If a router with NAT capabilities is in front of the FortiGate dialup client, the router must be NAT-T compatible for
encrypted traffic to pass through the NAT device. For more information, see Phase 1 parameters on page 1892.
When the FortiGate dialup server decrypts a packet from the FortiGate dialup client, the source address in the IP
header may be one of the following values, depending on the configuration of the network at the far end of the
tunnel:
l If the FortiGate dialup client connects to the Internet directly, the source address will be the private IP address of a
host or server on the network behind the FortiGate dialup client.
l If the FortiGate dialup client is behind a NAT device, the source address will be the public IP address of the NAT
device.
In some cases, computers on the private network behind the FortiGate dialup client may (by co-incidence) have
IP addresses that are already used by computers on the network behind the FortiGate dialup server. In this type
of situation (ambiguous routing), conflicts may occur in one or both of the FortiGate routing tables and traffic
destined for the remote network through the tunnel may not be sent.
In many cases, computers on the private network behind the FortiGate dialup client will most likely obtain IP
addresses from a local DHCP server behind the FortiGate dialup client. However, unless the local and remote
networks use different private network address spaces, unintended ambiguous routing and IP-address overlap
issues may arise.
To avoid these issues, you can configure FortiGate DHCP relay on the dialup client instead of using a DHCP
server on the network behind the dialup client. The FortiGate dialup client can be configured to relay DHCP
requests from the local private network to a DHCP server that resides on the network behind the FortiGate dialup
server. You configure the FortiGate dialup client to pass traffic from the local private network to the remote
network by enabling FortiGate DHCP relay on the FortiGate dialup client interface that is connected to the local
private network.
Afterward, when a computer on the network behind the dialup client broadcasts a DHCP request, the dialup client
relays the message through the tunnel to the remote DHCP server. The remote DHCP server responds with a
private IP address for the computer. To avoid ambiguous routing and network overlap issues, the IP addresses
assigned to computers behind the dialup client cannot match the network address space used by the private
network behind the FortiGate dialup server.
When the DHCP server resides on the private network behind the FortiGate dialup server, the IP destination
address specified in the IPsec security policy on the FortiGate dialup client must refer to that network.
You must add a static route to the DHCP server FortiGate unit if it is not directly
connected to the private network behind the FortiGate dialup server; its IP address
does not match the IP address of the private network. Also, the destination address in
the IPsec security policy on the FortiGate dialup client must refer to the DHCP server
address. The DHCP server must be configured to assign a range of IP addresses
different from the DHCP server's local network, and also different from the private
network addresses behind the FortiGate dialup server. See Routing on page 1.
In situations where IP-address overlap between the local and remote private networks
is likely to occur, FortiGate DHCP relay can be configured on the FortiGate dialup
client to relay DHCP requests to a DHCP server behind the FortiGate dialup server.
For more information, see To configure DHCP relay on a FortiGate interface on page
1.
Configuring dialup client capability for FortiGate dialup clients involves the following general configuration steps:
l Determine which IP addresses to assign to the private network behind the FortiGate dialup client, and add the IP
addresses to the DHCP server behind the FortiGate dialup client. Refer to the software supplier’s documentation to
configure the DHCP server.
l Configure the FortiGate dialup server. See Configuration overview on page 1977.
l Configure the FortiGate dialup client. See Configuration overview on page 1977.
Before you begin, optionally reserve a unique identifier (peer ID) for the FortiGate dialup client. The dialup client
will supply this value to the FortiGate dialup server for authentication purposes during the IPsec Phase 1
exchange. In addition, the value will enable you to distinguish FortiGate dialup-client connections from
FortiClient dialup-client connections. The same value must be specified on the dialup server and on the dialup
client.
In circumstances where multiple remote dialup VPN tunnels exist, each tunnel must
have a peer ID set.
At the FortiGate dialup server, define the Phase 1 parameters needed to authenticate the FortiGate dialup client
and establish a secure connection. See Phase 1 parameters on page 1892.
1. Go to VPN > IPsec Tunnels and create the new custom tunnel or edit an existing tunnel.
2. Edit Network (full configuration options are only available once you click the Convert To Custom Tunnel
button).
3. Enter these settings in particular:
Interface Select the interface through which clients connect to the FortiGate unit.
Peer Options If you will be assigning an ID to the FortiGate dialup client, set Accept
Types to This peer ID and type the identifier that you reserved for the
FortiGate dialup client into the adjacent field.
5. Define the Phase 2 parameters needed to create a VPN tunnel with the FortiGate dialup client. See Phase 2
parameters on page 1911. Enter these settings in particular:
Phase 1 Select the name of the Phase 1 configuration that you defined.
6. Define names for the addresses or address ranges of the private networks that the VPN links. See Defining policy
addresses on page 1. Enter these settings in particular:
l Define an address name for the server, host, or network behind the FortiGate dialup server.
l Define an address name for the private network behind the FortiGate dialup client.
4. Define the security policies to permit communications between the private networks through the VPN tunnel.
Route-based and policy-based VPNs require different security policies. For detailed information about creating
security policies, see Defining VPN security policies on page 1.
Define an ACCEPT security policy to permit communications between hosts on the private network behind the
FortiGate dialup client and the private network behind this FortiGate dialup server. Because communication
cannot be initiated in the opposite direction, there is only one policy.
Incoming Interface Select the VPN tunnel (IPsec interface) created in Step 1.
Outgoing Interface Select the interface that connects to the private network behind this
FortiGate unit.
Incoming Interface Select the interface that connects to the private network behind this
FortiGate unit.
Source Select the address name that you defined for the private network behind
this FortiGate unit.
Action Select IPsec. Under VPN Tunnel, select the name of the Phase 1
configuration that you created in Step "Configuration overview " on page
1977 from the drop-down list. Select Allow traffic to be initiated from
the remote site.
3. To prevent traffic from the local network from initiating the tunnel after the tunnel has been established, you need
to disable the outbound VPN traffic in the CLI
config firewall policy
edit <policy_number>
set outbound disable
end
Place the policy in the policy list above any other policies having similar source and destination addresses.
If configuring a route-based policy, configure a default route for VPN traffic on this interface.
1. Go to VPN > IPsec Tunnels and create the new custom tunnel or edit an existing tunnel.
2. Edit Network (full configuration options are only available once you click the Convert To Custom Tunnel
button).
3. Enter these settings in particular:
Mode The FortiGate dialup client has a dynamic IP address, select Aggressive.
Local ID If you defined a peer ID for the dialup client in the FortiGate dialup server
configuration, enter the identifier of the dialup client. The value must be
identical to the peer ID that you specified previously in the FortiGate dialup
server configuration.
Mode The FortiGate dialup client has a dynamic IP address, select Aggressive.
Local ID If you defined a peer ID for the dialup client in the FortiGate dialup server
configuration, enter the identifier of the dialup client. The value must be
identical to the peer ID that you specified previously in the FortiGate dialup
server configuration.
6. Define the Phase 2 parameters needed to create a VPN tunnel with the dialup server. See Phase 2 parameters on
page 1911. Enter these settings in particular:
Phase 1 Select the name of the Phase 1 configuration that you defined.
7. Define names for the addresses or address ranges of the private networks that the VPN links. See Defining policy
addresses on page 1. Enter these settings in particular:
l Define an address name for the server, host, or network behind the FortiGate dialup server.
l Define an address name for the private network behind the FortiGate dialup client.
4. Define security policies to permit communication between the private networks through the VPN tunnel. Route-
based and policy-based VPNs require different security policies. For detailed information about creating security
policies, see Defining VPN security policies on page 1.
Define an ACCEPT security policy to permit communications between hosts on the private network behind this
FortiGate dialup client and the private network behind the FortiGate dialup server. Because communication
cannot be initiated in the opposite direction, there is only one policy.
Incoming Interface Select the interface that connects to the private network behind this
FortiGate unit.
Outgoing Interface Select the VPN tunnel (IPsec interface) created in Step 1.
Define an IPsec security policy to permit communications between the source and destination addresses.
Incoming Interface Select the interface that connects to the private network behind this
FortiGate unit.
Source Select the address name that you defined for the private network behind
this FortiGate unit.
Destination Address Select the address name that you defined for the private network behind
the dialup server.
Action Select IPsec. Under VPN Tunnel, select the name of the Phase 1
configuration that you created in Step "Configuration overview " on page
1977 from the drop-down list.
Clear Allow traffic to be initiated from the remote site to prevent
traffic from the remote network from initiating the tunnel after the tunnel
has been established.
Place the policy in the policy list above any other policies having similar source and destination addresses.
The CLI option "net-device[enable|disable]" is available in the phase1-interface command sets. Under
the new single-interface scheme, instead of relying on routing to guide traffic to the specific instance, all traffic
will flow to the specific device and IPsec will need to take care of locating the correct instance for outbound traffic.
For this purpose, the CLI option "tunnel-search" is provided. The option is only available when the above "net-
device" option is "disable".
There are two options for "tunnel-search", corresponding to the two ways to select the tunnel for outbound traffic.
One is "selectors", meaning selecting a peer using the IPsec selectors (proxy-ids). The other is "nexthop" where all
the peers use the same default selectors (0/0) while using some routing protocols such as BGP, OSPF, RIPng,
etc to resolve the routing. The default for "tunnel-search" is "selectors".
Syntax
config vpn ipsec phase1-interface
edit xxx
set net-device [enable|disable] Enable to create a kernel device for every dialup instance
next
end
config vpn ipsec phase1-interface
edit xxx
set net-device disable
set tunnel-search [selectors|nexthop] Search for tunnel in selectors or using nexthops
next
end
IKE Mode Config is an alternative to DHCP over IPsec. A FortiGate unit can be configured as either an IKE Mode
Config server or client. This chapter contains the following sections:
IKE Mode Config is available only for VPNs that are route-based, also known as interface-based. A FortiGate unit
can function as either an IKE Configuration Method server or client. IKE Mode Config is configurable only in the
CLI.
l The Fortinet FortiClient Endpoint Security application can completely configure a VPN connection with a suitably
configured FortiGate unit given only the FortiGate unit’s address. This protocol is exclusive to Fortinet. For more
information, see FortiClient dialup-client configurations on page 1.
l DHCP over IPsec can assign an IP address, Domain, DNS and WINS addresses. The user must first configure
IPsec parameters such as gateway address, encryption and authentication algorithms.
l IKE Mode Config can configure host IP address, Domain, DNS and WINS addresses. The user must first configure
IPsec parameters such as gateway address, encryption and authentication algorithms. Several network equipment
vendors support IKE Mode Config, which is described in the ISAKMP Configuration Method document draft-dukes-
ike-mode-cfg-02.txt.
This chapter describes how to configure a FortiGate unit as either an IKE Mode Config server or client.
Variable Description
type {ddns | static} If you set type to dynamic, an IKE Mode Config server is created.
assign-ip {enable |
Enable to request an IP address from the server.
disable}
interface <interface_ This is a regular IPsec VPN field. Specify the physical, aggregate, or VLAN
name> interface to which the IPsec tunnel will be bound.
This is a regular IPsec VPN field that determines the encryption and
proposal <encryption_
authentication settings that the client will accept. For more information,
combination>
see Phase 1 parameters on page 1892.
ip-version <4 | 6> This is a regular IPsec VPN field. By default, IPsec VPNs use IPv4
addressing. You can set ip-version to 6 to create a VPN with IPv6
addressing.
In this example, the FortiGate unit connects to a VPN gateway with a static IP address that can be reached
through Port 1. Only the port, gateway and proposal information needs to be configured. All other configuration
information will come from the IKE Mode Config server.
config vpn ipsec phase1-interface
edit vpn1
set ip-version 4
set type static
set remote-gw <gw_address>
set interface port 1
set proposal 3des-sha1 aes128-sha1
set mode-cfg enable
set assign-ip enable
end
Variable Description
type dynamic Any other setting creates an IKE Mode Config client.
interface <interface_ This is a regular IPsec VPN field. Specify the physical, aggregate, or VLAN
name> interface to which the IPsec tunnel will be bound.
proposal <encryption_ This is a regular IPsec VPN field that determines the encryption and
combination> authentication settings that the server will accept. For more information,
see Phase 1 parameters on page 1892.
ip-version <4 | 6> This is a regular IPsec VPN field. By default, IPsec VPNs use IPv4
addressing. You can set ip-version to 6 to create a VPN with IPv6
addressing.
In this example, the FortiGate unit assigns IKE Mode Config clients addresses in the range of 10.11.101.160
through 10.11.101.180. DNS and WINS server addresses are also provided. The public interface of the FortiGate
unit is Port 1.
When IKE Mode-Configuration is enabled, multiple server IPs can be defined in IPsec Phase 1.
The ipv4-split-include variable specifies a firewall address that represents the networks to which the
clients will have access. This destination IP address information is sent to the clients.
Only the CLI fields required for IKE Mode Config are shown here. For detailed information about these variables,
see the FortiGate CLI Reference.
config vpn ipsec phase1-interface
edit "vpn-p1"
set type dynamic
set interface "wan1"
set xauthtype auto
set mode aggressive
set mode-cfg enable
set proposal 3des-sha1 aes128-sha1
set dpd disable
set dhgrp 2
set xauthexpire on-rekey
set authusrgrp "FG-Group1"
set ipv4-start-ip 10.10.10.10
set ipv4-end-ip 10.10.10.20
set ipv4-dns-server1 1.1.1.1
set ipv4-dns-server2 2.2.2.2
set ipv4-dns-server3 3.3.3.3
set ipv4-wins-server1 4.4.4.4
set ipv4-wins-server2 5.5.5.5
IP address assignment
After you have enabled the basic configuration, you can configure IP address assignment for clients, as well as
DNS and WINS server assignment. Usually you will want to assign IP addresses to clients.
The simplest method to assign IP addresses to clients is to assign addresses from a specific range, similar to a
DHCP server.
If your clients are authenticated by a RADIUS server, you can obtain the user’s IP address assignment from the
Framed-IP-Address attribute. The user must be authenticated using XAuth.
IKE Mode Config can also use a remote DHCP server to assign the client IP addresses. Up to eight addresses can
be selected for either IPv4 or IPv6. After the DHCP proxy has been configured, the assign-ip-from command
is used to assign IP addresses via DHCP.
The users must be authenticated by a RADIUS server and assigned to the FortiGate user group <grpname>.
Since the IP address will not be static, type is set to dynamic, and mode-cfg is enabled. This is IKE
Configuration Method so that compatible clients can configure themselves with settings that the FortiGate unit
provides.
config vpn ipsec phase1-interface
edit vpn1
set type dynamic
set mode-cfg enable
set assign-ip enable
set assign-ip-from usrgrp
set xauthtype auto
set authusrgrp <grpname>
end
The DHCP proxy must first be enabled for IKE Mode Config to use DHCP to assign the VPN client IP address(es).
config system settings
set dhcp-proxy enable
set dhcp-server-ip [ipv4 address]
set dhcp6-server-ip [ipv6-address]
Certificate groups
IKE certificate groups consisting of up to four RSA certificates can be used in IKE Phase 1. Since CA and local
certificates are global, the IKE daemon loads them once for all VDOMs and indexes them into trees based on
subject and public key hash (for CA certificates), or certificate name (for local certicates). Certifcates are linked
together based on the issuer, and certificate chains are built by traversing these links. This reduces the need to
keep multiple copies of certificates that could exist in multiple chains.
This section explains how to support secure web browsing performed by dialup VPN clients, and/or hosts behind a
remote VPN peer. Remote users can access the private network behind the local FortiGate unit and browse the
Internet securely. All traffic generated remotely is subject to the security policy that controls traffic on the private
network behind the local FortiGate unit.
Configuration overview
A VPN provides secure access to a private network behind the FortiGate unit. You can also enable VPN clients to
access the Internet securely. The FortiGate unit inspects and processes all traffic between the VPN clients and
hosts on the Internet according to the Internet browsing policy. This is accomplished even though the same
FortiGate interface is used for both encrypted VPN client traffic and unencrypted Internet traffic.
In the figure below, FortiGate_1 enables secure Internet browsing for FortiClient Endpoint Security users such as
Dialup_1 and users on the Site_2 network behind FortiGate_2, which could be a VPN peer or a dialup client.
You can adapt any of the following configurations to provide secure Internet browsing:
l On the FortiGate unit that will provide Internet access, create an Internet browsing security policy. See
Configuration overview on page 1990, below.
l Configure the remote peer or client to route all traffic through the VPN tunnel. You can do this on a FortiGate unit or
on a FortiClient Endpoint Security application. See Configuration overview on page 1990.
Action Select IPsec. Under VPN Tunnel, select the tunnel that provides access
to the private network behind the FortiGate unit. Select Allow traffic to
be initiated from the remote site.
Outgoing Interface The interface that connects to the Internet. The virtual IPsec interface is
configured on this physical interface.
Action ACCEPT
The VPN clients must be configured to route all Internet traffic through the VPN tunnel.
The remote end of the VPN can be a FortiGate unit that acts as a peer in a gateway-to-gateway configuration, or
a FortiClient application that protects an individual client PC.
l To configure a remote peer FortiGate unit for Internet browsing via VPN, see Configuring a FortiGate remote peer
to support Internet browsing on page 1992.
l To configure a FortiClient Endpoint Security application for Internet browsing via VPN, see Configuring a FortiClient
application to support Internet browsing on page 1993.
These procedures assume that your VPN connection to the protected private network is working and that you
have configured the FortiGate VPN server for Internet browsing as described in Configuration overview on page
1990.
Destination IP/Mask Set to Subnet and enter 0.0.0.0/0.0.0.0 in the field provided.
All packets are routed through the VPN tunnel, not just packets destined for the protected private network.
By default, the FortiClient application configures the PC so that traffic destined for the remote protected network
passes through the VPN tunnel but all other traffic is sent to the default gateway. You need to modify the
FortiClient settings so that it configures the PC to route all outbound traffic through the VPN.
7. Select OK.
This section discusses the options for supporting redundant and partially redundant IPsec VPNs, using route-
based approaches.
Configuration overview
A FortiGate unit with two interfaces connected to the Internet can be configured to support redundant VPNs to
the same remote peer. If the primary connection fails, the FortiGate unit can establish a VPN using the other
connection.
Redundant tunnels do not support Tunnel Mode or manual keys. You must use Interface Mode.
A fully-redundant configuration requires redundant connections to the Internet on both peers. The figure below
shows an example of this. This is useful to create a reliable connection between two FortiGate units with static IP
addresses.
When only one peer has redundant connections, the configuration is partially-redundant. For an example of this,
see Configuration overview on page 1994. This is useful to provide reliable service from a FortiGate unit with
static IP addresses that accepts connections from dialup IPsec VPN clients.
In a fully-redundant VPN configuration with two interfaces on each peer, four distinct paths are possible for VPN
traffic from end to end. Each interface on a peer can communicate with both interfaces on the other peer. This
ensures that a VPN will be available as long as each peer has one working connection to the Internet.
You configure a VPN and an entry in the routing table for each of the four paths. All of these VPNs are ready to
carry data. You set different routing distances for each route and only the shortest distance route is used. If this
route fails, the route with the next shortest distance is used.
The redundant configurations described in this chapter use route-based VPNs, otherwise known as virtual IPsec
interfaces. This means that the FortiGate unit must operate in NAT mode. You must use auto-keying. A VPN that
is created using manual keys cannot be included in a redundant-tunnel configuration.
The configuration described here assumes that your redundant VPNs are essentially equal in cost and capability.
When the original VPN returns to service, traffic continues to use the replacement VPN until the replacement VPN
fails. If your redundant VPN uses more expensive facilities, you want to use it only as a backup while the main
VPN is down. For information on how to do this, see Configuration overview on page 1994.
A VPN that is created using manual keys cannot be included in a redundant-tunnel configuration.
l One Phase 1 configuration (virtual IPsec interface) for each path between the two peers. In a fully-meshed
redundant configuration, each network interface on one peer can communicate with each network interface on the
remote peer. If both peers have two public interfaces, this means that each peer has four paths, for example.
l One Phase 2 definition for each Phase 1 configuration.
l One static route for each IPsec interface, with different distance values to prioritize the routes.
l Two Accept security policies per IPsec interface, one for each direction of traffic.
l Dead peer detection enabled in each Phase 1 definition.
The procedures in this section assume that two separate interfaces to the Internet are available on each VPN
peer.
1. Ensure that the interfaces used in the VPN have static IP addresses.
2. Create a Phase 1 configuration for each of the paths between the peers.
3. Enable dead peer detection so that one of the other paths is activated if this path fails.
4. Enter these settings in particular, and any other VPN settings as required:
Path 1
IP Address Type the IP address of the primary interface of the remote peer.
Path 2
IP Address Type the IP address of the secondary interface of the remote peer.
Path 3
IP Address Type the IP address of the primary interface of the remote peer.
Path 4
IP Address Type the IP address of the secondary interface of the remote peer.
5. Create a Phase 2 definition for each path. See Phase 2 parameters on page 1911. Select the Phase 1
configuration (virtual IPsec interface) that you defined for this path. You can select the name from the Static IP
Address part of the list.
6. Create a route for each path to the other peer. If there are two ports on each peer, there are four possible paths
between the peer devices.
Destination IP/Mask The IP address and netmask of the private network behind the remote
peer.
Distance For each path, enter a different value to prioritize the paths.
7. Define the security policy for the local primary interface. See Defining VPN security policies on page 1. You need
to create two policies for each path to enable communication in both directions. Enter these settings in particular:
Incoming Interface Select the local interface to the internal (private) network.
Outgoing Interface Select one of the virtual IPsec interfaces you created in Step 2.
Schedule Always
Service Any
Action ACCEPT
8. Select Create New, leave the Policy Type as Firewall and leave the Policy Subtype as Address, and enter
these settings:
Incoming Interface Select one of the virtual IPsec interfaces you created in Step 2.
Outgoing Interface Select the local interface to the internal (private) network.
Schedule Always
Service Any
Action ACCEPT
9. Place the policy in the policy list above any other policies having similar source and destination addresses.
10. Repeat this procedure at the remote FortiGate unit.
You can configure a backup IPsec interface only in the CLI. The backup feature works only on interfaces with
static addresses that have dead peer detection enabled. The monitor option creates a backup VPN for the
specified Phase 1 configuration.
This section describes transparent VPN configurations, in which two FortiGate units create a VPN tunnel between
two separate private networks transparently.
Configuration overview
In transparent mode, all interfaces of the FortiGate unit except the management interface (which by default is
assigned IP address 10.10.10.1/255.255.255.0) are invisible at the network layer. Typically, when a FortiGate
unit runs in transparent mode, different network segments are connected to the FortiGate interfaces. The figure
below shows the management station on the same subnet. The management station can connect to the
FortiGate unit directly through the web-based manager.
An edge router typically provides a public connection to the Internet and one interface of the FortiGate unit is
connected to the router. If the FortiGate unit is managed from an external address (see the figure below), the
router must translate (NAT) a routable address to direct management traffic to the FortiGate management
interface.
In a transparent VPN configuration, two FortiGate units create a VPN tunnel between two separate private
networks transparently. All traffic between the two networks is encrypted and protected by FortiGate security
policies.
Both FortiGate units may be running in transparent mode, or one could be running in transparent mode and the
other running in NAT mode. If the remote peer is running in NAT mode, it must have a static public IP address.
VPNs between two FortiGate units running in transparent mode do not support
inbound/outbound NAT (supported through CLI commands) within the tunnel. In
addition, a FortiGate unit running in transparent mode cannot be used in a hub-and-
spoke configuration.
Encrypted packets from the remote VPN peer are addressed to the management interface of the local FortiGate
unit. If the local FortiGate unit can reach the VPN peer locally, a static route to the VPN peer must be added to
the routing table on the local FortiGate unit. If the VPN peer connects through the Internet, encrypted packets
from the local FortiGate unit must be routed to the edge router instead. For information about how to add a static
route to the FortiGate routing table, see the Advanced Routing Guide.
In the example configuration shown above, Network Address Translation (NAT) is enabled on the router. When
an encrypted packet from the remote VPN peer arrives at the router through the Internet, the router performs
inbound NAT and forwards the packet to the FortiGate unit. Refer to the software supplier’s documentation to
configure the router.
If you want to configure a VPN between two FortiGate units running in transparent mode, each unit must have an
independent connection to a router that acts as a gateway to the Internet, and both units must be on separate
networks that have a different address space. When the two networks linked by the VPN tunnel have different
address spaces (see the figure below), at least one router must separate the two FortiGate units, unless the
packets can be redirected using ICMP (as shown in the following figure).
In the figure below, interface C behind the router is the default gateway for both FortiGate units. Packets that
cannot be delivered on Network_1 are routed to interface C by default. Similarly, packets that cannot be delivered
on Network_2 are routed to interface C. In this case, the router must be configured to redirect packets destined
for Network_1 to interface A and redirect packets destined for Network_2 to interface B.
If there are additional routers behind the FortiGate unit (see the figure below) and the destination IP address of
an inbound packet is on a network behind one of those routers, the FortiGate routing table must include routes to
those networks. For example, in the following figure, the FortiGate unit must be configured with static routes to
interfaces A and B in order to forward packets to Network_1 and Network_2 respectively.
A FortiGate unit operating in transparent mode requires the following basic configuration to operate as a node on
the IP network:
l The unit must have sufficient routing information to reach the management station.
l For any traffic to reach external destinations, a default static route to an edge router that forwards packets to the
Internet must be present in the FortiGate routing table.
l When all of the destinations are located on the external network, the FortiGate unit may route packets using a
single default static route. If the network topology is more complex, one or more static routes in addition to the
default static route may be required in the FortiGate routing table.
Only policy-based VPN configurations are possible in transparent mode.
An IPsec VPN definition links a gateway with a tunnel and an IPsec policy. If your network topology includes more
than one virtual domain, you must choose components that were created in the same virtual domain. Therefore,
before you define a transparent VPN configuration, choose an appropriate virtual domain in which to create the
required interfaces, security policies, and VPN components. For more information, see the Virtual Domains
guide.
The remote VPN peer may operate in NAT mode or transparent mode.
2. At the local FortiGate unit, define the Phase 1 parameters needed to establish a secure connection with the
remote peer. See Phase 1 parameters on page 1892. Select Advanced and enter these settings in particular:
IP Address Type the IP address of the public interface to the remote peer. If the
remote peer is a FortiGate unit running in transparent mode, type the IP
address of the remote management interface.
Advanced Select Nat-traversal, and type a value into the Keepalive Frequency
field. These settings protect the headers of encrypted packets from being
altered by external NAT devices and ensure that NAT address mappings do
not change while the VPN tunnel is open. For more information, see Phase
1 parameters on page 1892 and Phase 1 parameters on page 1892.
3. Define the Phase 2 parameters needed to create a VPN tunnel with the remote peer. See Phase 2 parameters on
page 1911. Select the set of Phase 1 parameters that you defined for the remote peer. The name of the remote
peer can be selected from the Static IP Address list.
4. Define the source and destination addresses of the IP packets that are to be transported through the VPN tunnel.
See Defining VPN security policies on page 1. Enter these settings in particular:
l For the originating address (source address), enter the IP address and netmask of the private network behind
the local peer network. for the management interface, for example, 10.10.10.0/24. This address needs to
be a range to allow traffic from your network through the tunnel. Optionally select any for this address.
l For the remote address (destination address), enter the IP address and netmask of the private network behind
the remote peer (for example, 192.168.10.0/24). If the remote peer is a FortiGate unit running in
transparent mode, enter the IP address of the remote management interface instead.
5. Define an IPsec security policy to permit communications between the source and destination addresses. See
Defining VPN security policies on page 1. Enter these settings in particular:
Incoming Interface Select the local interface to the internal (private) network.
Source Address Select the source address that you defined in Step 4.
Outgoing Interface Select the interface to the edge router. When you configure the IPsec
security policy on a remote peer that operates in NAT mode, you select the
public interface to the external (public) network instead.
Destination Address Select the destination address that you defined in Step 4.
VPN Tunnel Select Use Existing and select the name of the Phase 2 tunnel
configuration that you created in Step 3 from the drop-down list.
6. Place the policy in the policy list above any other policies having similar source and destination addresses.
7. Define another IPsec security policy to permit communications between the source and destination addresses in
the opposite direction. This security policy and the previous one form a bi-directional policy pair. See Defining VPN
security policies on page 1. Enter these settings in particular:
Incoming Interface Select the interface to the edge router. When you configure the IPsec
security policy on a remote peer that operates in NAT mode, you select the
public interface to the external (public) network instead.
Source Address Select the destination address that you defined in Step 4..
Outgoing Interface Select the local interface to the internal (private) network.
Destination Address Select the source address that you defined in Step 4.
VPN Tunnel Select Use Existing and select the name of the Phase 2 tunnel
configuration that you created in Step 3 from the drop-down list.
8. Repeat this procedure at the remote FortiGate unit to create bidirectional security policies. Use the local interface
and address information local to the remote FortiGate unit.
For more information on transparent mode, see the System Administration Guide.
This chapter describes how to configure your FortiGate unit’s IPv6 IPsec VPN functionality.
By default IPv6 configurations to not appear on the Web-based Manager. You need to
enable the feature first.
To enable IPv6
Where both the gateways and the protected networks use IPv6 addresses, sometimes called IPv6 over IPv6, you
can create either an auto-keyed or manually-keyed VPN. You can combine IPv6 and IPv4 addressing in an auto-
keyed VPN in the following ways:
Compared with IPv4 IPsec VPN functionality, there are some limitations:
l Except for IPv6 over IPv4, remote gateways with Dynamic DNS are not supported.
l Selectors cannot be firewall address names. Only IP address, address range and subnet are supported.
l Redundant IPv6 tunnels are not supported.
Certificates
On a VPN with IPv6 Phase 1 configuration, you can authenticate using VPN certificates in which the common
name (cn) is an IPv6 address. The cn-type keyword of the user peer command has an option, ipv6, to
support this.
Configuration examples
This section consists of the following configuration examples:
By default IPv6 configurations to not appear on the Web-based Manager. You need to
enable the feature first.
To enable IPv6
Port 2 connects to the public network and port 3 connects to the local network.
config system interface
edit port2
config ipv6
set ip6-address fec0::0001:209:0fff:fe83:25f2/64
end
next
edit port3
config ipv6
set ip6-address fec0::0000:209:0fff:fe83:25f3/64
end
next
end
The Phase 1 configuration creates a virtual IPsec interface on port 2 and sets the remote gateway to the public IP
address FortiGate B. This configuration is the same as for an IPv4 route-based VPN, except that ip-version is
set to 6 and the remote-gw6 keyword is used to specify an IPv6 remote gateway address.
config vpn ipsec phase1-interface
edit toB
set ip-version 6
set interface port2
set remote-gw6 fec0:0000:0000:0003:209:0fff:fe83:25c7
set dpd [disable | on-idle | on-demand]
set psksecret maryhadalittlelamb
set proposal 3des-md5 3des-sha1
end
By default, Phase 2 selectors are set to accept all subnet addresses for source and destination. The default
setting for src-addr-type and dst-addr-type is subnet. The IPv6 equivalent is subnet6. The default
subnet addresses are 0.0.0.0/0 for IPv4, ::/0 for IPv6.
config vpn ipsec phase2-interface
edit toB2
set phase1name toB
set proposal 3des-md5 3des-sha1
set pfs enable
set replay enable
set src-addr-type subnet6
set dst-addr-type subnet6
end
Security policies are required to allow traffic between port3 and the IPsec interface toB in each direction. The
address all6 must be defined using the firewall address6 command as ::/0.
config firewall policy6
edit 1
set srcintf port3
set dstintf toB
set srcaddr all6
set dstaddr all6
set action accept
set service ANY
set schedule always
next
edit 2
set srcintf toB
set dstintf port3
set srcaddr all6
set dstaddr all6
set action accept
set service ANY
set schedule always
end
This simple example requires just two static routes. Traffic to the protected network behind FortiGate B is routed
via the virtual IPsec interface toB. A default route sends all IPv6 traffic out on port2.
config router static6
edit 1
set device port2
set dst 0::/0
next
edit 2
set device toB
set dst fec0:0000:0000:0004::/64
end
Configure FortiGate B
The configuration of FortiGate B is very similar to that of FortiGate A. A virtual IPsec interface toA is configured
on port2 and its remote gateway is the public IP address of FortiGate A. Security policies enable traffic to pass
between the private network and the IPsec interface. Routing ensures traffic for the private network behind
FortiGate A goes through the VPN and that all IPv6 packets are routed to the public network.
config system interface
edit port2
config ipv6
set ip6-address fec0::0003:209:0fff:fe83:25c7/64
end
next
edit port3
config ipv6
set ip6-address fec0::0004:209:0fff:fe83:2569/64
end
end
config vpn ipsec phase1-interface
edit toA
set ip-version 6
set interface port2
set remote-gw6 fec0:0000:0000:0001:209:0fff:fe83:25f2
set dpd [disable | on-idle | on-demand]
set psksecret maryhadalittlelamb
set proposal 3des-md5 3des-sha1
end
config vpn ipsec phase2-interface
edit toA2
set phase1name toA
set proposal 3des-md5 3des-sha1
set pfs enable
Port 2 connects to the IPv4 public network and port 3 connects to the IPv6 LAN.
config system interface
edit port2
set 10.0.0.1/24
next
edit port3
config ipv6
set ip6-address fec0::0001:209:0fff:fe83:25f3/64
end
The Phase 2 configuration uses IPv6 selectors. By default, Phase 2 selectors are set to accept all subnet
addresses for source and destination. The default setting for src-addr-type and dst-addr-type is
subnet. The IPv6 equivalent is subnet6. The default subnet addresses are 0.0.0.0/0 for IPv4, ::/0 for IPv6.
config vpn ipsec phase2-interface
edit toB2
set phase1name toB
set proposal 3des-md5 3des-sha1
set pfs enable
set replay enable
set src-addr-type subnet6
set dst-addr-type subnet6
end
IPv6 security policies are required to allow traffic between port3 and the IPsec interface toB in each direction.
Define the address all6 using the firewall address6 command as ::/0.
config firewall policy6
edit 1
set srcintf port3
set dstintf toB
set srcaddr all6
set dstaddr all6
set action accept
set service ANY
set schedule always
next
edit 2
set srcintf toB
set dstintf port3
set srcaddr all6
set dstaddr all6
set action accept
set service ANY
set schedule always
end
This simple example requires just two static routes. Traffic to the protected network behind FortiGate B is routed
via the virtual IPsec interface toB using an IPv6 static route. A default route sends all IPv4 traffic, including the
IPv4 IPsec packets, out on port2.
config router static6
edit 1
set device toB
set dst fec0:0000:0000:0004::/64
end
config router static
edit 1
set device port2
set dst 0.0.0.0/0
set gateway 10.0.0.254
end
Configure FortiGate B
The configuration of FortiGate B is very similar to that of FortiGate A. A virtual IPsec interface toA is configured
on port2 and its remote gateway is the IPv4 public IP address of FortiGate A. The IPsec Phase 2 configuration
has IPv6 selectors.
IPv6 security policies enable traffic to pass between the private network and the IPsec interface. An IPv6 static
route ensures traffic for the private network behind FortiGate A goes through the VPN and an IPv4 static route
ensures that all IPv4 packets are routed to the public network.
config system interface
edit port2
set 10.0.1.1/24
next
edit port3
config ipv6
set ip6-address fec0::0004:209:0fff:fe83:2569/64
end
config vpn ipsec phase1-interface
edit toA
set interface port2
set remote-gw 10.0.0.1
set dpd [disable | on-idle | on-demand]
set psksecret maryhadalittlelamb
set proposal 3des-md5 3des-sha1
end
config vpn ipsec phase2-interface
edit toA2
set phase1name toA
set proposal 3des-md5 3des-sha1
set pfs enable
set replay enable
set src-addr-type subnet6
set dst-addr-type subnet6
end
config firewall policy6
edit 1
set srcintf port3
set dstintf toA
set srcaddr all6
set dstaddr all6
set action accept
set service ANY
set schedule always
next
edit 2
set srcintf toA
set dstintf port3
set srcaddr all6
set dstaddr all6
set action accept
set service ANY
set schedule always
end
config router static6
edit 1
set device toA
Port 2 connects to the IPv6 public network and port 3 connects to the IPv4 LAN.
config system interface
edit port2
config ipv6
set ip6-address fec0::0001:209:0fff:fe83:25f2/64
end
next
edit port3
set 192.168.2.1/24
end
The Phase 1 configuration is the same as in the IPv6 over IPv6 example.
The Phase 2 configuration is the same as you would use for an IPv4 VPN. By default, Phase 2 selectors are set to
accept all subnet addresses for source and destination.
config vpn ipsec phase2-interface
edit toB2
set phase1name toB
set proposal 3des-md5 3des-sha1
set pfs enable
set replay enable
end
Security policies are required to allow traffic between port3 and the IPsec interface toB in each direction. These
are IPv4 security policies.
config firewall policy
edit 1
set srcintf port3
set dstintf toB
set srcaddr all
set dstaddr all
set action accept
set service ANY
set schedule always
next
edit 2
set srcintf toB
set dstintf port3
set srcaddr all
set dstaddr all
set action accept
set service ANY
set schedule always
end
This simple example requires just two static routes. Traffic to the protected network behind FortiGate B is routed
via the virtual IPsec interface toB using an IPv4 static route. A default route sends all IPv6 traffic, including the
IPv6 IPsec packets, out on port2.
config router static6
edit 1
set device port2
set dst 0::/0
next
edit 2
Configure FortiGate B
The configuration of FortiGate B is very similar to that of FortiGate A. A virtual IPsec interface toA is configured
on port2 and its remote gateway is the public IP address of FortiGate A. The IPsec Phase 2 configuration has
IPv4 selectors.
IPv4 security policies enable traffic to pass between the private network and the IPsec interface. An IPv4 static
route ensures traffic for the private network behind FortiGate A goes through the VPN and an IPv6 static route
ensures that all IPv6 packets are routed to the public network.
config system interface
edit port2
config ipv6
set ip6-address fec0::0003:fe83:25c7/64
end
next
edit port3
set 192.168.3.1/24
end
config vpn ipsec phase1-interface
edit toA
set ip-version 6
set interface port2
set remote-gw6 fec0:0000:0000:0001:209:0fff:fe83:25f2
set dpd [disable | on-idle | on-demand]
set psksecret maryhadalittlelamb
set proposal 3des-md5 3des-sha1
end
config vpn ipsec phase2-interface
edit toA2
set phase1name toA
set proposal 3des-md5 3des-sha1
set pfs enable
set replay enable
end
config firewall policy
edit 1
set srcintf port3
set dstintf toA
set srcaddr all
set dstaddr all
set action accept
set service ANY
set schedule always
next
edit 2
set srcintf toA
set dstintf port3
set srcaddr all
set dstaddr all
set action accept
set service ANY
set schedule always
end
config router static6
edit 1
set device port2
set dst 0::/0
next
edit 2
set device toA
set dst 192.168.2.0/24
end
This section describes how to set up a VPN that is compatible with the Microsoft Windows native VPN, which is
Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) with IPsec encryption.
Overview
The topology of a VPN for Microsoft Windows dialup clients is very similar to the topology for FortiClient Endpoint
Security clients.
For users, the difference is that instead of installing and using the FortiClient application, they configure a
network connection using the software built into the Microsoft Windows operating system. Starting in FortiOS 4.0
MR2, you can configure a FortiGate unit to work with unmodified Microsoft VPN client software.
L2TP provides no encryption and used UDP port 1701. IPsec is used to secure L2TP packets. The initiator of the
L2TP tunnel is called the L2TP Access Concentrator (LAC).
L2TP and IPsec is supported for native Windows XP, Windows Vista and Mac OSX native VPN clients. However,
in Mac OSX (OSX 10.6.3, including patch releases) the L2TP feature does not work properly on the Mac OS side.
Assumptions
The following assumptions have been made for this example:
l L2TP protocol traffic is allowed through network firewalls (TCP and UDP port 1701)
l User has Microsoft Windows 2000 or higher — a Windows version that supports L2TP
Configuration overview
The following section consists of configuring the FortiGate unit and configuring the Windows PC.
Remote users must be authenticated before they can request services and/or access network resources through
the VPN. The authentication process can use a password defined on the FortiGate unit or an established external
authentication mechanism such as RADIUS or LDAP.
You need to create user accounts and then add these users to a firewall user group to be used for L2TP
authentication. The Microsoft VPN client can automatically send the user’s Window network logon credentials.
You might want to use these for their L2TP user name and password.
l Select Match user on LDAP server, Match user on RADIUS server, or Match user onTACACS+
server and select the authentication server from the list. The authentication server must be already configured
on the FortiGate unit.
4. Select OK.
To create a user account called user1 with the password 123_user, enter:
config user local
edit user1
set type password
set passwd "123_user"
set status enable
end
When clients connect using the L2TP-over-IPsec VPN, the FortiGate unit checks their credentials against the user
group you specify for L2TP authentication. You need to create a firewall user group to use for this purpose.
1. Go to User & Device > User Groups, select Create New, and enter the following:
Name Type or edit the user group name (for example, L2TP_group).
Available Users/Groups The list of Local users, RADIUS servers, LDAP servers, TACACS+ servers,
or PKI users that can be added to the user group. To add a member to this
list, select the name and then select the right arrow button.
Members The list of Local users, RADIUS servers, LDAP servers, TACACS+ servers,
or PKI users that belong to the user group. To remove a member, select
the name and then select the left arrow button.
2. Select OK.
To create the user group L2TP_group and add members User_1, User_2, and User_3, enter:
config user group
edit L2TP_group
set group-type firewall
set member User_1 User_2 User_3
end
Configuring L2TP
You can only configure L2TP settings in the CLI. As well as enabling L2TP, you set the range of IP address values
that are assigned to L2TP clients and specify the user group that can access the VPN. For example, to allow
access to users in the L2TP_group and assign them addresses in the range 192.168.0.50 to 192.168.0.59, enter:
One of the security policies for the L2TP over IPsec VPN uses the client address range, so you need also need to
create a firewall address for that range. For example,
config firewall address
edit L2TPclients
set type iprange
set start-ip 192.168.0.50
set end-ip 192.168.0.59
end
Configuring IPsec
The Microsoft VPN client uses IPsec for encryption. The configuration needed on the FortiGate unit is the same
as for any other IPsec VPN with the following exceptions.
Whether Transport mode is required depends on the configuration of the peer device
(typically an old Windows device, since newer versions of Windows don't require IPsec
and L2TP—they can run IPsec natively).
When configuring L2TP, do not name the VPN "L2TP" as that will result in a conflict.
L2TP over IPsec is supported on the FortiGate unit for both policy-based and route-based configurations, but the
following example is policy-based.
1. Go to VPN > IPsec Tunnels and create the new custom tunnel or edit an existing tunnel.
2. Edit the Phase 1 Proposal (if it is not available, you may need to click the Convert to Custom Tunnel button).
Local Interface Select the network interface that connects to the Internet. For example,
port1.
Pre-shared Key Enter the preshared key. This key must also be entered in the Microsoft
VPN client.
Diffie-Hellman Group 2
To create a Phase 1 configuration called dialup_p1 on a FortiGate unit that has port1 connected to the Internet,
you would enter:
config vpn ipsec phase1
edit dialup_p1
set type dynamic
set interface port1
set mode main
set psksecret ********
set proposal aes256-md5 3des-sha1 aes192-sha1
set dhgrp 2
set nattraversal enable
set dpd [disable | on-idle | on-demand]
end
It is worth noting here that the command config vpn ipsec phase1 is used
rather than config vpn ipsec phase1-interface because this configuration
is policy-based and not route-based.
3. Make this a transport-mode VPN. You must use the CLI to do this. If your Phase 2 name is dialup_p2, you would
enter:
config vpn ipsec phase2
edit dialup_p2
set encapsulation transport-mode
end
To configure a Phase 2 to work with your phase_1 configuration, you would enter:
config vpn ipsec phase2
edit dialup_p2
set phase1name dialup_p1
set proposal aes256-md5 3des-sha1 aes192-sha1
set replay enable
set pfs disable
set keylifeseconds 3600
set encapsulation transport-mode
end
Once again, note here that the command config vpn ipsec phase2 is used
rather than config vpn ipsec phase2-interface because this configuration
is policy-based and not route-based.
The security policies required for L2TP over IPsec VPN are:
l An IPsec policy, as you would create for any policy-based IPsec VPN
l A regular ACCEPT policy to allow traffic from the L2TP clients to access the protected network
Incoming Interface Select the interface that connects to the private network behind this
FortiGate unit.
VPN Tunnel Select Use Existing and select the name of the Phase 1 configuration that
you created. For example, dialup_p1. See Configuring IPsec on page
2019.
4. Select OK.
If your VPN tunnel (Phase 1) is called dialup_p1, your protected network is on port2, and your public interface is
port1, you would enter:
config firewall policy
edit 0
set srcintf port2
set dstintf port1
set srcaddr all
set dstaddr all
set action ipsec
set schedule always
set service all
set inbound enable
set vpntunnel dialup_p1
end
Source Address Select the firewall address that you defined for the L2TP clients.
Outgoing Interface Select the interface that connects to the private network behind this
FortiGate unit.
Action ACCEPT
If your public interface is port1, your protected network is on port2, and L2TPclients is the address range that
L2TP clients use, you would enter:
config firewall policy
edit 1
set srcintf port1
set dstintf port2
set srcaddr L2TPclients
set dstaddr all
set action accept
set schedule always
set service all
end
1. In Network Connections, configure a Virtual Private Network connection to the FortiGate unit.
2. Ensure that the IPSEC service is running.
3. Ensure that IPsec has not been disabled for the VPN client. It may have been disabled to make the Microsoft VPN
compatible with an earlier version of FortiOS.
The instructions in this section are based on Windows XP. Other versions of Windows may vary slightly.
Syntax
config vpn l2tp
This section describes how to configure a FortiGate VPN that is compatible with Cisco-style VPNs that use GRE
in an IPsec tunnel.
Cisco products that include VPN support often use Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE) protocol tunnel over
IPsec encryption. This chapter describes how to configure a FortiGate unit to work with this type of Cisco VPN.
Cisco VPNs can use either transport mode or tunnel mode IPsec. Before FortiOS 4.0 MR2, the FortiGate unit was
compatible only with tunnel mode IPsec.
Configuration overview
The following section consists of configuring the FortiGate unit and configuring the Cisco router.
l Enable overlapping subnets. This is needed because the IPsec and GRE tunnels will use the same addresses.
l Configure a route-based IPsec VPN on the external interface.
l Configure a GRE tunnel on the virtual IPsec interface. Set its local gateway and remote gateway addresses to
match the local and remote gateways of the IPsec tunnel.
l Configure security policies to allow traffic to pass in both directions between the GRE virtual interface and the IPsec
virtual interface.
l Configure security policies to allow traffic to pass in both directions between the protected network interface and the
GRE virtual interface.
l Configure a static route to direct traffic destined for the network behind the Cisco router into the GRE-over-IPsec
tunnel.
By default, each FortiGate unit network interface must be on a separate network. The configuration described in
this chapter assigns an IPsec tunnel end point and the external interface to the same network. Enable subnet
overlap as follows:
config system settings
set allow-subnet-overlap enable
end
A route-based VPN is required. It must use encryption and authentication algorithms compatible with the Cisco
equipment to which it connects. In this chapter, preshared key authentication is shown.
1. Define the Phase 1 configuration needed to establish a secure connection with the remote Cisco device. Enter
these settings in particular:
Name Enter a name to identify the VPN tunnel, tocisco for example. This is the
name of the virtual IPsec interface. It appears in Phase 2 configurations,
security policies and the VPN monitor.
IP Address Enter the IP address of the Cisco device public interface. For example,
192.168.5.113.
Local Interface Select the FortiGate unit’s public interface. For example, 172.20.120.141.
Pre-shared Key Enter the preshared key. It must match the preshared key on the Cisco
device.
At least one proposal must match the settings on the Cisco unit.
For more information about these settings, see Phase 1 parameters on page 1892.
2. Define the Phase 2 parameters needed to create a VPN tunnel with the remote peer. For compatibility with the
Cisco router, Quick Mode Selectors must be entered, which includes specifying protocol 47, the GRE protocol.
Enter these settings in particular:
At least one proposal must match the settings on the Cisco unit.
Source Port 0
Destination Port 0
Protocol 47
For more information about these settings, see Phase 2 parameters on page 1911.
3. If the Cisco device is configured to use transport mode IPsec, you need to use transport mode on the FortiGate
VPN. You can configure this only in the CLI. In your Phase 2 configuration, set encapsulation to
transport-mode as follows:
config vpn phase2-interface
edit to_cisco_p2
set encapsulation transport-mode
end
end
config vpn ipsec phase2-interface
edit tocisco_p2
set phase1name "tocisco"
set proposal 3des-md5
set encapsulation tunnel-mode // if tunnel mode
set encapsulation transport-mode // if transport mode
set protocol 47
set src-addr-type ip
set dst-start-ip 192.168.5.113
set src-start-ip 172.20.120.141
end
The Cisco configuration requires an address for its end of the IPsec tunnel. The addresses are set to match the
GRE gateway addresses. Use the CLI to set the addresses, like this:
config system interface
edit tocisco
set ip 172.20.120.141 255.255.255.255
set remote-ip 192.168.5.113
end
The GRE tunnel runs between the virtual IPsec public interface on the FortiGate unit and the Cisco router. You
must use the CLI to configure a GRE tunnel. In the example, you would enter:
config system gre-tunnel
edit gre1
set interface tocisco
set local-gw 172.20.120.141
set remote-gw 192.168.5.113
end
interface is the virtual IPsec interface, local-gw is the FortiGate unit public IP address, and remote-gw is
the remote Cisco device public IP address
You will also need to add tunnel end addresses. The Cisco router configuration requires an address for its end of
the GRE tunnel. Using the CLI, enter tunnel end addresses that are not used elsewhere on the FortiGate unit,
like this:
config system interface
edit gre1
set ip 10.0.1.1 255.255.255.255
set remote-ip 10.0.1.2
end
l Policies to allow traffic to pass in both directions between the GRE virtual interface and the IPsec virtual interface.
l Policies to allow traffic to pass in both directions between the protected network interface and the GRE virtual
interface.
1. Define an ACCEPT firewall security policy to permit communications between the protected network and the GRE
tunnel:
Incoming Interface Select the interface that connects to the private network behind this
FortiGate unit.
Outgoing Interface Select the GRE tunnel virtual interface you configured.
Action ACCEPT
2. To permit the remote client to initiate communication, you need to define a firewall address security policy for
communication in that direction:
Incoming Interface Select the GRE tunnel virtual interface you configured.
Outgoing Interface Select the interface that connects to the private network behind this
FortiGate unit.
Action ACCEPT
3. Define a pair of ACCEPT firewall address security policies to permit traffic to flow between the GRE virtual
interface and the IPsec virtual interface:
Incoming Interface Select the GRE virtual interface. See Configuring the GRE tunnel on page
2028.
Outgoing Interface Select the virtual IPsec interface you created. See Configuring the IPsec
VPN on page 2026.
Action ACCEPT
Incoming Interface Select the virtual IPsec interface you created. See Configuring the IPsec
VPN on page 2026.
Outgoing Interface Select the GRE virtual interface.See Configuring the GRE tunnel on page
2028.
Action ACCEPT
Configuring routing
Traffic destined for the network behind the Cisco router must be routed to the GRE tunnel. To do this, create a
static route
Destination IP/Mask Enter the IP address and netmask for the network behind the Cisco router.
For example 10.21.101.0 255.255.255.0.
This is only the portion of the Cisco router configuration that applies to the GRE-over-IPsec tunnel. For more
information, refer to the Cisco documentation.
Syntax
config system gre-tunnel
edit <id>
set keepalive-interval <value: 0-32767>
set keepalive-failtimes <value: 1-255>
next
end
For enhanced security, OSPF dynamic routing can be carried over IPsec VPN links.
Configuration overview
This chapter shows an example of OSPF routing conducted over an IPsec tunnel between two FortiGate units.
The network shown below is a single OSPF area. FortiGate_1 is an Area border router that advertises a static
route to 10.22.10.0/24 in OSPF. FortiGate_2 advertises its local LAN as an OSPF internal route.
The section Configuration overview describes the configuration with only one IPsec VPN tunnel, tunnel_wan1.
Then, the section Configuration overview describes how you can add a second tunnel to provide a redundant
backup path. This is shown above as VPN tunnel “tunnel_wan2”.
Only the parts of the configuration concerned with creating the IPsec tunnel and integrating it into the OSPF
network are described. It is assumed that security policies are already in place to allow traffic to flow between the
interfaces on each FortiGate unit.
l Configure a route-based IPsec VPN on an external interface. It will connect to a corresponding interface on the
other FortiGate unit. Define the two tunnel-end addresses.
l Configure a static route to the other FortiGate unit.
l Configure the tunnel network as part of the OSPF network and define the virtual IPsec interface as an OSPF
interface.
This section describes the configuration with only one VPN, tunnel_wan1. The other VPN is added in the section
Configuration overview on page 2033.
A route-based VPN is required. In this chapter, preshared key authentication is shown. Certificate authentication
is also possible. Both FortiGate units need this configuration.
Configuring Phase 1
1. Define the Phase 1 configuration needed to establish a secure connection with the other FortiGate unit. For more
information, see Phase 1 parameters on page 1892.
Enter these settings in particular:
Name Enter a name to identify the VPN tunnel, tunnel_wan1 for example. This
becomes the name of the virtual IPsec interface.
IP Address Enter the IP address of the other FortiGate unit’s public (Port 2) interface.
Pre-shared Key Enter the preshared key. It must match the preshared key on the other
FortiGate unit.
1. Go to Network > Interfaces, select the virtual IPsec interface that you just created on Port 2 and select Edit.
2. In the IP and Remote IP fields, enter the following tunnel end addresses:
FortiGate_1 FortiGate_2
IP 10.1.1.1 10.1.1.2
These addresses are from a network that is not used for anything else.
Configuring Phase 2
You need to define the route for traffic leaving the external interface.
Configuring OSPF
This section does not attempt to explain OSPF router configuration. It focusses on the integration of the IPsec
tunnel into the OSPF network. This is accomplished by assigning the tunnel as an OSPF interface, creating an
OSPF route to the other FortiGate unit.
This configuration uses loopback interfaces to ease OSPF troubleshooting. The OSPF router ID is set to the
loopback interface address.The loopback interface ensures the router is always up. Even though technically the
router ID doesn’t have to match a valid IP address on the FortiGate unit, having an IP that matches the router ID
makes troubleshooting a lot easier.
The two FortiGate units have slightly different configurations. FortiGate_1 is an AS border router that advertises
its static default route. FortiGate_2 advertises its local LAN as an OSPF internal route.
Setting the router ID for each FortiGate unit to the lowest possible value is useful if you want the FortiGate units
to be the designated router (DR) for their respective ASes. This is the router that broadcasts the updates for the
AS.
Leaving the IP address on the OSPF interface at 0.0.0.0 indicates that all potential routes will be advertised, and
it will not be limited to any specific subnet. For example if this IP address was 10.1.0.0, then only routes that
match that subnet will be advertised through this interface in OSPF.
When configuring FortiGate_1 for OSPF, the loopback interface is created, and then you configure OSPF area
networks and interfaces.
With the exception of creating the loopback interface, OSPF for this example can all be configured in either the
web-based manager or CLI.
A loopback interface can be configured in the CLI only. For example, if the interface will have an IP address of
10.0.0.1, you would enter:
config system interface
edit lback1
set vdom root
set ip 10.0.0.1 255.255.255.255
set type loopback
end
The loopback addresses and corresponding router IDs on the two FortiGate units must be different. For example,
set the FortiGate 1 loopback to 10.0.0.1 and the FortiGate 2 loopback to 10.0.0.2.
Advanced Options
Redistribute Select the Connected and Static check boxes. Use their default metric
values.
Areas Select Create New, enter the Area and Type and then select OK.
Area 0.0.0.0
Type Regular
Interfaces Enter a name for the OSPF interface, ospf_wan1 for example.
Name
IP 0.0.0.0
Your loopback interface is 10.0.0.1, your tunnel ends are on the 10.1.1.0/24 network, and your virtual IPsec
interface is named tunnel_wan1. Enter the following CLI commands:
config router ospf
set router-id 10.0.0.1
config area
edit 0.0.0.0
end
config network
edit 4
When configuring FortiGate_2 for OSPF, the loopback interface is created, and then you configure OSPF area
networks and interfaces.
Configuring FortiGate_2 differs from FortiGate_1 in that three interfaces are defined instead of two. The third
interface is the local LAN that will be advertised into OSPF.
With the exception of creating the loopback interface, OSPF for this example can all be configured in either the
web-based manager or CLI.
A loopback interface can be configured in the CLI only. For example, if the interface will have an IP address of
10.0.0.2, you would enter:
config system interface
edit lback1
set vdom root
set ip 10.0.0.2 255.255.255.255
set type loopback
end
The loopback addresses on the two FortiGate units must be different. For example, set the FortiGate 1 loopback
to 10.0.0.1 and the FortiGate 2 loopback to 10.0.0.2.
Router ID 10.0.0.2
Areas Select Create New, enter the Area and Type and then select OK.
Area 0.0.0.0
Type Regular
Interfaces
Name Enter a name for the OSPF interface, ospf_wan1 for example.
IP 0.0.0.0
IP/Netmask 10.0.0.2/255.255.255.255
Area 0.0.0.0
IP/Netmask 10.1.1.0/255.255.255.255
Area 0.0.0.0
IP/Netmask 10.31.101.0/255.255.255.255
Area 0.0.0.0
9. Select Apply.
If for example, your loopback interface is 10.0.0.2, your tunnel ends are on the 10.1.1.0/24 network, your local
LAN is 10.31.101.0/24, and your virtual IPsec interface is named tunnel_wan1, you would enter:
config router ospf
set router-id 10.0.0.2
config area
edit 0.0.0.0
end
config network
edit 1
set prefix 10.1.1.0 255.255.255.0
next
edit 2
set prefix 10.31.101.0 255.255.255.0
next
edit 2
set prefix 10.0.0.2 255.255.255.255
end
config ospf-interface
edit ospf_wan1
set interface tunnel_wan1
set network-type point-to-point
end
end
To do this you:
l Create a second route-based IPsec tunnel on a different interface and define tunnel end addresses for it.
l Add the tunnel network as part of the OSPF network and define the virtual IPsec interface as an additional OSPF
interface.
l Set the OSPF cost for the added OSPF interface to be significantly higher than the cost of the default route.
The configuration is the same as in Configuring the IPsec VPN on page 2034, but the interface and addresses will
be different. Ideally, the network interface you use is connected to a different Internet service provider for added
redundancy.
When adding the second tunnel to the OSPF network, choose another unused subnet for the tunnel ends,
10.1.2.1 and 10.1.2.2 for example.
OSPF uses the metric called cost when determining the best route, with lower costs being preferred. Up to now in
this example, only the default cost of 10 has been used. Cost can be set only in the CLI.
The new IPsec tunnel will have its OSPF cost set higher than that of the default tunnel to ensure that it is only
used if the first tunnel goes down. The new tunnel could be set to a cost of 200 compared to the default cost is
10. Such a large difference in cost will ensure this new tunnel will only be used as a last resort.
If the new tunnel is called tunnel_wan2, you would enter the following on both FortiGate units:
config router ospf
config ospf-interface
edit ospf_wan2
set cost 200
set interface tunnel_wan2
set network-type point-to-point
end
end
This example sets up redundant secure communication between two remote networks using an Open Shortest
Path First (OSPF) VPN connection. In this example, the HQ FortiGate unit will be called FortiGate 1 and the
Branch FortiGate unit will be called FortiGate 2.
4. Go to VPN > IPsec Tunnels.
5. Select Create New, name the secondary tunnel and select Custom VPN Tunnel (No Template).
6. Set the following:
IP 10.1.1.1
Remote IP 10.1.1.2
IP 10.2.1.1
Remote IP 10.2.1.2
4. Go to VPN > IPsec Tunnels.
5. Select Create New, name the secondary tunnel and select Custom VPN Tunnel (No Template).
6. Set the following:
IP 10.1.1.2
Remote IP 10.1.1.1
IP 10.2.1.2
Remote IP 10.2.1.1
Results
1. Go to Monitor > IPsec Monitor to verify the statuses of both the primary and secondary IPsec VPN tunnels on
FortiGate 1 and FortiGate 2.
2. Go to Monitor > Routing Monitor. Monitor to verify the routing table on FortiGate 1 and FortiGate 2. Type
OSPF for the Type and select Apply Filter to verify the OSPF route.
3. Verify that traffic flows via the primary tunnel:
l From a PC1 set to IP:10.20.1.100 behind FortiGate 1, run a tracert to a PC2 set to IP address 10.21.1.00
behind FortiGate 2 and vise versa.
l From PC1, you should see that the traffic goes through 10.1.1.2 which is the primary tunnel interface IP set on
FortiGate 2.
l From PC2, you should see the traffic goes through 10.1.1.1 which is the primary tunnel interface IP set on
FortiGate 1.
4. The VPN network between the two OSPF networks uses the primary VPN connection. Disconnect the wan1
interface and confirm that the secondary tunnel will be used automatically to maintain a secure connection.
5. Verify the IPsec VPN tunnel statuses on FortiGate 1 and FortiGate 2. Both FortiGates should show that primary
tunnel is DOWN and secondary tunnel is UP.
6. Go to Monitor > IPsec Monitor to verify the status.
7. Verify the routing table on FortiGate 1 and FortiGate 2.
The secondary OSPF route (with cost = 100) appears on both FortiGate units.
8. Go to Monitor > Routing Monitor. Type OSPF for the Type and select Apply Filter to verify OSPF route.
9. Verify that traffic flows via the secondary tunnel:
l From a PC1 set to IP:10.20.1.100 behind FortiGate 1, run a tracert to a PC2 set to IP:10.21.1.100 behind
FortiGate 2 and vice versa.
l From PC1, you should see that the traffic goes through 10.2.1.2 which is the secondary tunnel interface IP set
on FortiGate 2.
l From PC2, you should see the traffic goes through 10.2.1.1 which is the secondary tunnel interface IP set on
FortiGate 1.
The following example shows how to create a dynamic IPsec VPN tunnel that allows OSPF.
3. Create phase 2:
config vpn ipsec phase2-interface
edit "dial-up-p2"
set phase1name "dial-up"
set proposal 3des-sha1 aes128-sha1
next
end
3. Create phase 2:
config vpn ipsec phase2-interface
edit "dial-up-client"
set phase1name "dial-up-client"
set proposal 3des-sha1 aes128-sha1
set auto-negotiate enable
next
end
Results
1. From FortiGate 1, go to Monitor > Routing Monitor and verify that routes from FortiGate 2 were successfully
advertised to FortiGate 1 via OSPF.
2. From FortiGate 1, go to Dashboard. Enter the CLI Console widget and type this command to verify OSPF
neighbors:
get router info ospf neighbor
OSPF process 0:
Neighbor ID Pri State Dead Time Address Interface
172.20.120.25 1 Full / - 00:00:34 10.10.101.1 dial-up_0
3. From FortiGate 2, go to Monitor > Routing Monitor and verify that routes from FortiGate 1 were successfully
advertised to FortiGate 2 via OSPF.
4. From FortiGate 2, go to Dashboard. Enter the CLI Console widget and type this command to verify OSPF
neighbors:
get router info ospf neighbor
OSPF process 0:
Neighbor ID Pri State Dead Time Address Interface
172.20.120.22 1 Full / - 00:00:30 10.10.101.2 dial-up_client
The following example shows how to create a dynamic IPsec VPN tunnel that allows BGP.
Name Remote_loop_int
Type Subnet
Subnet/IP Range 10.10.10.10
Interface any
Members Remote_loop_int
all
5. Create phase 2:
config vpn ipsec phase2-interface
edit dial_p2
set phase1name Dialup
set proposal 3des-sha1 aes128-sha1
set src-addr-type name
set dst-addr-type name
set src-name all
set dst-name VPN_DST
next
end
3. Create phase 2:
config vpn ipsec phase2-interface
edit dial_p2
set phase1name Dialup
set proposal 3des-sha1 aes128-sha1
set keepalive enable
next
end
Destination IP/Mask 20.20.20.20/255.255.255.255
Device Dialup
Administrative 10
Distance
Results
1. From FortiGate 1, go to Monitor > Routing Monitor and verify that routes from FortiGate 2 were successfully
advertised to FortiGate 1 via BGP.
2. From FortiGate 1, go to Dashboard.
3. Enter the CLI Console widget and type this command to verify BGP neighbors:
get router info bgp summary
4. From FortiGate 2, go to Monitor > Routing Monitor and verify that routes from FortiGate 1 were successfully
advertised to FortiGate 2 via BGP.
Consider a company that wants to provide direct secure (IPsec) connections between all of its offices in New
York, Chicago, Greenwich, London, Paris, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong.
A straightforward solution is to create a full mesh of connections such that every site has eight IPsec
configurations, one for each of the other sites. If there were ninety sites, that could still be done but now the
configuration is becoming tedious, since every time a new site is added, N-1 other sites have to have their
configuration updated.
An efficient and secure alternative is IPsec Auto-Discovery VPN (ADVPN), which allows a minimum amount of
configuration per site but still allows direct IPsec connections to be made between every site. RFC 7018
essentially describes this problem, along with some requirements for candidate solutions.
The ADVPN solution involves partitioning the sites into spokes and hubs such that a spoke has to have enough
IPsec configuration to enable it to connect to at least one hub. A hub does not have specific configuration for each
spoke, so the amount of configuration does not grow with the number of spokes that are connected to that hub. A
hub to hub connection would typically involve both hubs having configuration for each other.
So, one possible partition for the original nine sites would be that Chicago and Greenwich would be spokes for the
New York hub, Paris and Frankfurt would be spokes for the London hub, and Tokyo and Hong Kong would be
spokes for the Shanghai hub:
Once a spoke has established a connection to its hub then initially IPsec traffic to another site transits via one or
more hubs. For example, traffic from Chicago to Hong Kong would transit via the New York and Shanghai hubs.
This transit traffic then triggers an attempt to create a more direct connection.
In FortiOS:
l Direct connections are only created between the two endpoints that want to exchange traffic (e.g. Chicago and
Hong Kong); we do not create intermediate connections (say Chicago to Shanghai, or New York to Hong Kong) as a
side-effect.
l Learning the peer subnets is done via a dynamic routing protocol running over the IPsec connections.
l Negotiation of the direct connections is done via IKE.
l Both PSK and certificate authentication is supported.
Example ADVPN configuration
Since dynamic routing with IPsec under FortiOS requires that an interface have an IP address, then for every site
a unique IP address from some unused range is allocated. For example we'll assume that 10.100.0.0/16 is
unused and so assign the IP addresses:
We'll assume that each site has one or more subnets that it protects that it wants to make available to the peers.
For the purposes of exposition we'll assume there is only one subnet per site and they are allocated as:
The attribute auto-discovery-receiver indicates that this IPsec tunnel wishes to participate in an auto-
discovery VPN. The IPsec interface would then have its IP assigned according to the Chicago address:
config system interface
edit "New York"
set ip 10.100.0.4/32
set remote-ip 10.100.0.1
next
end
RIP (for simplicity, you could use OSPF or BGP) is then configured to run on the IPsec interface and on the
Chicago subnet (you could use redistribute connected, but we'll allow for the fact that there may be other subnets
learned from another router on the 10.0.4.0/24 subnet):
config router rip
edit 1
set prefix 10.100.0.0/16
next
edit 2
set prefix 10.0.4.0/24
next
end
Other than the firewall policy and a minimal phase 2 configuration, this concludes the configuration for Chicago.
The 'Spokes' connection has set auto-discovery-sender enable to indicate that when IPsec traffic
transits the hub it should optionally generate a message to the initiator of the traffic to indicate that it could
perhaps establish a more direct connection. The set add-route disable ensures that IKE does not
automatically add a route back over the spoke and instead leaves routing to a separately configured routing
protocol.
The two inter-hub connections have set auto-discovery-forwarder enable to indicate that these
connections can participate in the auto-discovery process. The interface IP addresses are assigned:
config system interface
edit "Spokes"
set ip 10.100.0.1/32
set remote-ip 10.100.0.254
next
edit "London"
set ip 10.100.0.1/32
set remote-ip 10.100.0.2
next
edit "London"
set ip 10.100.0.1/32
At the point when the traffic transits New York it should notice that the Chicago Spoke tunnel and the Shanghai
tunnel have auto-discovery enabled, causing the New York hub to send a message via IKE to Chicago informing it
that it may want to try and negotiate a direct connection for traffic from 10.0.4.45 to 10.0.8.13.
On receipt of this message, IKE on Chicago creates the (FortiOS-specific) IKE INFORMATIONAL SHORTCUT-
QUERY message which contains the Chicago public IP address, the source IP of the traffic (10.0.4.45), the
desired destination IP (10.0.8.13), and the PSK that should be used to secure any direct tunnel (if certificates are
confgured, it is assumed that they all share the same CA and so no additional authentication information is
required). This message is sent via IKE to New York since routing indicates that New York is the best route to
10.0.8.13.
On receipt of the IKE INFORMATIONAL query, New York checks its routing table to see who owns 10.0.8.13. It
finds that 10.0.8.13 should be routed via Shanghai, and since Shanghai is marked as an auto-discovery-forwarder
then the query is forwarded.
Shanghai repeats the process, finds that 10.0.8.13 should be routed via its Hong Kong Spoke and so sends it to
Hong Kong. Hong Kong checks 10.0.8.13, finds that it owns the subnet, so it remembers the Chicago public IP
address (and PSK) and creates an IKE INFORMATIONAL reply message containing its external IP address. To
work out where to send the IKE message, the FortiGate does a routing lookup for the original source IP
(10.0.4.45), determines that the message should be routed via its Shanghai tunnel and so sends the reply back to
Shanghai. The reply then makes its way back to Chicago following the reverse of the path that it used to arrive at
Hong Kong.
When the reply makes it back to the Chicago initator then it now knows the IP address of the Hong Kong device.
Chicago now creates a new dynamic tunnel with the remote gateway as the Hong Kong public IP address and
initiates an IKE negotiation (the dynamic tunnel nameis auto-generated from the tunnel over which it performed
the query; in this case it would be called 'New York_0').
This negotiation should succeed since Hong Kong is set up to expect an attempted negotiation from the Chicago
public IP address. Once the negotiation succeeds, RIP will start to run on the newly created tunnels at Chicago
and Hong Kong. This will update the routing on Chicago (and Hong Kong) so that the prefered route to 10.0.8.0
(10.0.4.0) is via the newly created tunnel rather than via the connection to New York (Shanghai).
This section provides some general logging and monitoring procedures for VPNs.
To view the list of static-IP and dynamic-DNS tunnels go to Monitor > IPsec Monitor.
If you take down an active tunnel while a dialup client such as FortiClient is still connected, FortiClient will
continue to show the tunnel connected and idle. The dialup client must disconnect before another tunnel can be
initiated.
l The meaning of the value in the Proxy ID Destination column changes, depending on the configuration of the
network at the far end:
l When a FortiClient dialup client establishes a tunnel:
l If VIP addresses are not used and the remote host connects to the Internet directly, the Proxy ID Destination
field displays the public IP address of the Network Interface Card (NIC) in the remote host.
l If VIP addresses are not used and the remote host is behind a NAT device, the Proxy ID Destination field
displays the private IP address of the NIC in the remote host.
l If VIP addresses were configured (manually or through FortiGate DHCP relay), the Proxy ID Destination field
displays either the VIP address belonging to a FortiClient dialup client, or a subnet address from which VIP
addresses were assigned.
l When a FortiGate dialup client establishes a tunnel, the Proxy ID Destination field displays the IP address of the
remote private network.
To allow VPN tunnel-stats to be sent to FortiAnalyzer, configure the FortiGate unit as follows using the CLI:
config system settings
set vpn-stats-log ipsec ssl
set vpn-stats-period 300
end
This section contains tips to help you with some common challenges of IPsec VPNs.
A VPN connection has multiple stages that can be confirmed to ensure the connection is working properly. It is
easiest to see if the final stage is successful first since if it is successful the other stages will be working properly.
Otherwise, you will need to work back through the stages to see where the problem is located.
When a VPN connection is properly established, traffic will flow from one end to the other as if both ends were
physically in the same place. If you can determine the connection is working properly then any problems are likely
problems with your applications.
On some FortiGate units, such as the FortiGate 94D, you cannot ping over the IPsec tunnel without first setting a
source-IP. In this scenario, you must assign an IP address to the virtual IPsec VPN interface. Anything sourced
from the FortiGate going over the VPN will use this IP address.
If the egress/outgoing interface (determined by kernel route) has an IP address, then use the IP address of the
egress/outgoing interface. Otherwise, use the IP address of the first interface from the interface list (that has an
IP address).
The first diagnostic command worth running, in any IPsec VPN troubleshooting situation, is the following:
diagnose vpn tunnel list
This command is very useful for gathering statistical data such as the number of packets encrypted versus
decrypted, the number of bytes sent versus received, the SPI identifier, etc. This kind of information in the
resulting output can make all the difference in determining the issue with the VPN.
This command will inform you of any lack of firewall policy, lack of forwarding route, and of policy ordering issues.
l Ensure that the pre-shared keys match exactly (see The pre-shared key does not match (PSK mismatch error)
below).
l Ensure that both ends use the same P1 and P2 proposal settings (seeThe SA proposals do not match (SA proposal
mismatch) below).
l Ensure that you have allowed inbound and outbound traffic for all necessary network services, especially if services
such as DNS or DHCP are having problems.
l Check that a static route has been configured properly to allow routing of VPN traffic.
If you are still unable to connect to the VPN tunnel, run the following diagnostic command in the CLI:
diagnose debug application ike -1
diagnose debug enable
The resulting output may indicate where the problem is occurring. When you are finished, disable the diagnostics
by using the following command:
diagnose debug reset
diagnose debug disable
View the table below for some assistance in analyzing the debug output.
FortiGate using the wrong Missing or wrong local ID If there are more than one pre-
VPN shared key dial-up VPN with the
same local gateway, use
Tunnel is not
aggressive mode and different
coming up
local IDs
Error: connection expiring Wrong username, password, Check user credentials and user
due to XAUTH failure or user group group configuration
Error: peer has not XAuth is disabled in the client Fix the client's XAuth configuration
completed XAUTH
exchange
Tunnel is DPD packets lost ISP issue Check the ISP connection
bouncing
This will provide you with clues as to any PSK or other proposal issues. If it is a PSK mismatch, you should see
something similar to the following output:
ike 0:TRX:322: PSK auth failed: probable pre-shared key mismatch
ike Negotiate SA Error:
The resulting output should include something similar to the following, where blue represents the remote VPN
device, and green represents the local FortiGate.
responder received SA_INIT msg
incoming proposal:
proposal id = 1:
protocol = IKEv2:
encapsulation = IKEv2/none
type=ENCR, val=AES_CBC (key_len = 256)
type=INTEGR, val=AUTH_HMAC_SHA_96
type=PRF, val=PRF_HMAC_SHA
type=DH_GROUP, val=1536.
proposal id = 2:
protocol = IKEv2:
encapsulation = IKEv2/none
type=ENCR, val=3DES_CBC
type=INTEGR, val=AUTH_HMAC_SHA_2_256_128
type=PRF, val=PRF_HMAC_SHA2_256
type=DH_GROUP, val=1536.
proposal id = 1:
protocol = IKEv2:
encapsulation = IKEv2/none
type=ENCR, val=AES_CBC (key_len = 128)
type=INTEGR, val=AUTH_HMAC_SHA_96
type=PRF, val=PRF_HMAC_SHA
type=DH_GROUP, val=1536.
If the ping or traceroute fail, it indicates a connection problem between the two ends of the tunnel. This may or
may not indicate problems with the VPN tunnel. You can confirm this by going to Monitor > IPsec Monitor
where you will be able to see your connection. A green arrow means the tunnel is up and currently processing
traffic. A red arrow means the tunnel is not processing traffic, and this VPN connection has a problem.
If the connection has problems, see Troubleshooting VPN connections on page 2063.
Dialup connection
A dialup VPN connection has additional steps. To confirm that a VPN between a local network and a dialup client
has been configured correctly, at the dialup client, issue a ping command to test the connection to the local
network. The VPN tunnel initializes when the dialup client attempts to connect.
If the ping or traceroute fail, it indicates a connection problem between the two ends of the tunnel. This may or
may not indicate problems with the VPN tunnel, or dialup client. As with the LAN connection, confirm the VPN
tunnel is established by checking Monitor > IPsec Monitor.
If traffic is not passing through the FortiGate unit as you expect, ensure the traffic does not contain IPcomp
packets (IP protocol 108, RFC 3173). FortiGate units do not allow IPcomp packets, they compress packet
payload, preventing it from being scanned.
Testing Phase 1 and 2 connections is a bit more difficult than testing the working VPN. This is because they
require diagnose CLI commands. These commands are typically used by Fortinet customer support to discover
more information about your FortiGate unit and its current configuration.
1. Log into the CLI as admin with the output being logged to a file.
2. Stop any diagnose debug sessions that are currently running with the CLI command
diagnose debug disable
4. Set the log-filter to the IP address of the remote computer (10.11.101.10). This filters out all VPN connections
except ones to the IP address we are concerned with. The command is
diagnose vpn ike log-filter dst-addr4 10.11.101.10.
5. Set up the commands to output the VPN handshaking. The commands are:
diagnose debug app ike 255
diagnose debug enable
6. Have the remote FortiGate initiate the VPN connection in the web-based manager by going to
VPN > IPsec Tunnels and selecting Bring up.
This makes the remote FortiGate the initiator and the local FortiGate becomes the responder. Establishing the
connection in this manner means the local FortiGate will have its configuration information as well as the
information the remote computer sends. Having both sets of information locally makes it easier to troubleshoot
your VPN connection.
7. Watch the screen for output, and after roughly 15 seconds enter the following CLI command to stop the output.
diagnose debug disable
8. If needed, save the log file of this output to a file on your local computer. Saving the output to a file can make it
easier to search for a particular phrase, and is useful for comparisons.
Using the output from Obtaining diagnose information for the VPN connection - CLI, search for the word
proposal in the output. It may occur once indicating a successful connection, or it will occur two or more times
for an unsuccessful connection — there will be one proposal listed for each end of the tunnel and each possible
combination in their settings. For example if 10.11.101.10 selected both Diffie-Hellman Groups 1 and 5, that
would be at least 2 proposals set.
Note the phrase “initiator: main mode is sending 1st message...” which shows you the
handshake between the ends of the tunnel is in progress. Initiator shows the remote unit is sending the first
message.
This is the output of the command diag vpn tunnel list on the FortiGate:
To verify, it is necessary to decrypt the ESP packet using Wireshark. Open the packet capture that is taken from
initiator FortiGate using Wireshark. Go to Edit > Preferences, expand Protocol and look for ESP. Select
"Attempt to detect/decode encrypted ESP payloads", and fill in the information for the encryption algorithm
and the keys. This information can be obtained from the output of the command diag vpn tunnel list.
If the packet was encrypted correctly using the correct key, then the decryption will be successful and it will be
possible to see the original package as shown below:
Repeat the decryption process for the packet capture from the recipient firewall. If the decryption failed using the
same key, the packet may be corrupted and the interface should then be checked for CRC or packet errors.
Much like NPU-offload in IKE phase1 configuration, you can enable or disable the usage of ASIC hardware for
IPsec Diffie-Hellman key exchange and IPsec ESP traffic. By default hardware offloading is used. For debugging
purposes, sometimes it is best for all the traffic to be processed by software.
config sys global
set ipsec-asic-offload [enable | disable]
end
1. Ping the remote network or client to verify whether the connection is up. See General troubleshooting tips on page
2067.
2. Traceroute the remote network or client. If DNS is working, you can use domain names. Otherwise use IP
addresses.
3. Check the routing behind the dialup client. Routing problems may be affecting DHCP. If this appears to be the
case, configure a DHCP relay service to enable DHCP requests to be relayed to a DHCP server on or behind the
FortiGate server.
4. Verify the configuration of the FortiGate unit and the remote peer. Check the following IPsec parameters:
l The mode setting for ID protection (main or aggressive) on both VPN peers must be identical.
l The authentication method (preshared keys or certificates) used by the client must be supported on the
FortiGate unit and configured properly.
l If preshared keys are being used for authentication purposes, both VPN peers must have identical preshared
keys.
l The remote client must have at least one set of Phase 1 encryption, authentication, and Diffie-Hellman settings
that match corresponding settings on the FortiGate unit.
l Both VPN peers must have the same NAT traversal setting (enabled or disabled).
l The remote client must have at least one set of Phase 2 encryption and authentication algorithm settings that
match the corresponding settings on the FortiGate unit.
l If you are using manual keys to establish a tunnel, the Remote SPI setting on the FortiGate unit must be
identical to the Local SPI setting on the remote peer, and vise versa.
5. To correct the problem, see the following table.
Mode settings do not Select complementary mode settings. See Phase 1 parameters on page
match. 1892.
Preshared keys do not Reenter the preshared key. See Phase 1 parameters on page 1892.
match.
Phase 1 or Phase 2 key Make sure that both VPN peers have at least one set of proposals in
exchange proposals are common for each phase. See Phase 1 parameters on page 1892 and
mismatched. Phase 2 parameters on page 1911.
NAT traversal settings are Select or clear both options as required. See Phase 1 parameters on page
mismatched. 1892 and Phase 1 parameters on page 1892.
l Quick checks
l Mac OS X and L2TP
l Setting up logging
l Using the FortiGate unit debug commands
Quick checks
The table below is a list of common L2TP over IPsec VPN problems and the possible solutions.
IPsec tunnel does not come Check the logs to determine whether the failure is in Phase 1 or Phase 2.
up.
Check the settings, including encapsulation setting, which must be
transport-mode.
Confirm that the user is a member of the user group assigned to L2TP.
On the Windows PC, check that the IPsec service is running and has not
been disabled. See Troubleshooting L2TP and IPsec on page 2068.
Tunnel connects, but there Did you create an ACCEPT security policy from the public network to the
is no protected network for the L2TP clients? See Troubleshooting L2TP and
communication. IPsec on page 2068.
Prior to FortiOS 4.0 MR3, FortiOS refused L2TP connections with empty AVP host names in compliance with
RFC 2661 and RFC 3931.
Setting up logging
L2TP logging must be enabled to record L2TP events. Alert email can be configured to report L2TP errors.
3. Attempt to use the VPN and note the debug output in the SSH or Telnet session.
4. Enter the following command to reset debug settings to default:
diagnose debug reset
Typical L2TP over IPsec session startup log entries - raw format
Quick checks
Here is a list of common problems and what to verify.
No communication with Use the execute ping command to ping the Cisco device public interface.
remote
network. Use the FortiGate VPN Monitor page to see whether the IPsec tunnel is up or
can be brought up.
Check that the encryption and authentication settings match those on the
IPsec tunnel does not
Cisco device.
come up.
Check the encapsulation setting: tunnel-mode or transport-mode. Both devices
must use the same mode.
Tunnel connects, but Check the security policies. See Troubleshooting GRE over IPsec on page
there is no 2071.
communication.
Check routing. See Troubleshooting GRE over IPsec on page 2071.
Setting up logging
GRE tunnel keepalives
In the event that each GRE tunnel endpoint has keepalive enabled, firewall policies allowing GRE are required in
both directions. The policy should be configured as follows (where the IP addresses and interface names are for
example purposes only):
config firewall policy
edit < id >
set srcintf "gre"
set dstintf "port1"
set srcaddr "1.1.1.1"
set dstaddr "2.2.2.2"
set action accept
set schedule "always"
set service "GRE"
next
end
The FortiGate can send a GRE keepalive response to a Cisco device to detect a GRE tunnel. If it fails, it will
remove any routes over the GRE interface.
2. Ping an address on the network behind the FortiGate unit from the network behind the Cisco router.
The output will show packets coming in from the GRE interface going out of the interface that connects to the
protected network (LAN) and vice versa. For example:
114.124303 gre1 in 10.0.1.2 -> 10.11.101.10: icmp: echo request
114.124367 port2 out 10.0.1.2 -> 10.11.101.10: icmp: echo request
114.124466 port2 in 10.11.101.10 -> 10.0.1.2: icmp: echo reply
114.124476 gre1 out 10.11.101.10 -> 10.0.1.2: icmp: echo reply
Chapter 15 - IPv6
The origins of Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) date back to December 1998 with the publication of RFC 2460,
which describes IPv6 as the successor to IPv4, the standard communications protocol still in use by the majority
of users today. This transition away from IPv4 was a direct response to the foreseeable exhaustion of 32-bit IPv4
addresses, which are virtually all but assigned—all 4.3 billion.
IPv4 uses 32-bit addresses, which means that there is a theoretical address limit of 2 to the power of 32. The IPv6
address scheme is based on a 128-bit address, resulting in a theoretical address limit of 2 to the power of 128.
Possible addresses:
Assuming a world population of approximately 8 billion people, IPv6 would allow for each individual to have
approximately 42,535,295,865,117,200,000,
000,000,000 devices with an IP address. That’s 42 quintillion devices, so it’s unlikely that we will ever need to
worry about the availability of IPv6 addresses.
Aside from the difference of possible addresses, there is also the different formatting of the addresses. A
computer would view an IPv4 address as a 32-bit string of binary digits made up of 1s and 0s, broken up into 4
octets of 8 digits separated by a period:
10101100.00010000.11111110.00000001
To make the number more user-friendly, we translate the address into decimal, again 4 octets separated by a
period:
172.16.254.1
A computer would view an IPv6 address as a 128-bit string of binary digits made up of 1s and 0s, broken up into 8
octets of 16 digits separated by a colon:
0010000000000001:0000110110111:0000000000000000:000000000000010:0000000000000000:000000000
0000000:0000000000000000:0000000000100000
To make this number a little more user-friendly, we translate it into hexadecimal, again 8 octets separated by a
colon, for example:
2001:0db8:0000:0002:0000:0000:0000:0020
We can further simplify the above address. Because any four-digit group of zeros within an IPv6 address may be
reduced to a single zero or altogether omitted, the above address can be reduced to:
2001:0db8:0000:0002:0:0:0:20
or
2001:db8:0:2::20
Benefits of IPv6
Some of the benefits of IPv6 include:
IPv6 (5.6.3)
New IPv6 features added to FortiOS 5.6.3:
FortiGate can reply to an anycast probe from the interface’s unicast address (308872)
A new setting has been added within the CLI that can enable the FortiGate to reply to an anycast probe from the
FortiGate’s unicast IP address.
config system global
set ipv6-allow-anycast-probe [enable|disable]
end
Enable: Enable probing of IPv6 address space through Anycast, by responding from the unicast IP address
Disable: Disable probing of IPv6 address space through Anycast
ndmode
nd-cert
n-security-level
nd-timestamp-delta -
nd-timestamp-fuzz
l Range: 1 - 60 sec
l default = 1
Kerenl
l Redirects ICMPv6 packets to user space if they require SEND options verification or build.
Radvd
l Verifies NS/RS SEND options including CGA, RSA, Timestamp, NONCE, etc. Daemon also creates neighbor cache
for future timestamp checking, any entry gets flushed in 4 hours.
l Helps kernel build NA/RA SEND options including CGA, RSA, Timestamp, NONCE, etc. CGA parameters are kept
in cache for each interface. CGA modifier is kept in CMDB.
l Shows statistics
l Toggles message dump
Add multicast-PMTU to allow FGT to send ICMPv6 Too Big Message (373396)
New multicast-PMTU feature added to better comply with RFC 4443.
Normally, a “Packet Too Big” icmp6 message is sent by a routing device in response to a packet that it cannot
forward because the packet is larger than the MTU of the outgoing link. For security reasons, these message may
be disabled because attackers can use the information about a victim's ip address as the source address to do IP
address spoofing.
In FortiOS’s implementation of this function, a setting in the CLI, has been added to make this behavior optional
on the FortiGate.
IPv6 Features
In order to configure IPv6 features using the web-based manager, IPv6 must be enabled using Feature Select.
Go to System > Config > Features, enable IPv6, and click Apply.
The following IPv6 features are available from the FortiOS web manager:
IPv6 policies
IPv6 security policies are created both for an IPv6 network and a transitional network. A transitional network is a
network that is transitioning over to IPv6 but must still have access to the Internet or must connect over an IPv4
network.
These policies allow for this specific type of traffic to travel between the IPv6 and IPv4 networks. The IPv6 options
for creating these policies is hidden by default. You must enable this feature under System > Config >
Features.
You can also use the following command to add IPv6 policy routes:
config router policy6
edit 0
set input-device <interface>
set src <ipv6_ip>
set dst <ipv6_ip>
set protocol <0-255>
set gateway <ipv6_ip>
set output-device <interface>
set tos <bit_pattern>
set tos-mask <bit_mask>
end
1. Enter the following CLI command to enable the IPv6 explicit web proxy:
config web-proxy explicit
set status enable
set ipv6-status enable
end
2. Go to Network > Interfaces and edit the internal interface, select Enable Explicit Web Proxy and select OK.
3. Go to Policy & Objects > Proxy Policy and select Create New to add an IPv6 explicit web proxy security policy
with the following settings shown.
This IPv6 explicit web proxy policy allows traffic from all IPv6 IP addresses to connect through the explicit
web proxy and through the wan1 interface to any IPv6 addresses that are accessible from the wan1 interface.
If you have enabled both the IPv4 and the IPv6 explicit web proxy, you can combine
IPv4 and IPv6 addresses in a single explicit web proxy policy to allow both IPv4 and
IPv6 traffic through the proxy.
You can use the following command to restrict access to the IPv6 explicit web proxy using only one IPv6 address.
The IPv6 address that you specify must be the IPv6 address of an interface that the explicit HTTP proxy is
enabled on. You might want to use this option if the explicit web proxy is enabled on an interface with multiple
IPv6 addresses.
For example, to require users to connect to the IPv6 address 2001:db8:0:2::30 to connect to the explicit IPv6
HTTP proxy, use the following command:
config web-proxy explicit
set incoming-ipv6 2001:db8:0:2::30
end
Restricting the outgoing source IP address of the IPv6 explicit web proxy
You can use the following command to restrict the source address of outgoing web proxy packets to a single IPv6
address. The IP address that you specify must be the IPv6 address of an interface that the explicit HTTP proxy is
enabled on. You might want to use this option if the explicit HTTP proxy is enabled on an interface with multiple
IPv6 addresses.
VIP64
VIP64 policies can be used to configure static NAT virtual IPv6 address for IPv4 addresses. VIP64 can be
configured from the CLI using the following commands:
config firewall vip64
edit <zname_str>
set arp-reply {enable | disable}
set color <color_int>
set comment <comment_str>
set extip <address_ipv6>[-address_ipv6]
set extport <port_int>
set id <id_num_str>
set mappedip [<start_ipv4>-<end_ipv4>]
set mappedport <port_int>
set portforward {enable | disable}
set src-filter <addr_str>
end
VIP46 policies can be used to configure static NAT virtual IPv4 address for IPv6 addresses. VIP46 can be
configured from the CLI using the following commands (see the table below for variable details):
config firewall vip46
edit <name_str>
set arp-reply {enable | disable}
set color <color_int>
set comment <comment_str>
set extip <address_ipv4>[-address_ipv4]
set extport <port_int>
set id <id_num_str>
set mappedip [<start_ipv6>-<end_ipv6>]
set mappedport <port_int>
set portforward {enable | disable}
set src-filter <add_str>
end