Wireless Mesh

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.

Overview of Wireless Mesh

Configuring a meshed WiFi network

Configuring a point-to-point bridge

Overview of Wireless Mesh

The figure below shows a wireless mesh topology.

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.

Overview of Wireless Mesh

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 deployment modes

There are two common wireless mesh deployment modes:

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.

Wireless bridging

Two LAN segments are connected together over a wireless link (the backhaul SSID).

On the leaf AP, the Ethernet connection can be used to provide a wired network. Both 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.

Types of wireless mesh

A WiFi mesh can provide access to widely-distributed clients. The root mesh AP which is directly connected to the WiFi controller can be either a FortiAP unit or the built-in AP of a FortiWiFi unit that is also the WiFi controller.

FortiAP units used as both mesh root AP and leaf AP

Overview of Wireless Mesh

FortiWiFi unit as root mesh AP with FortiAP units as leaf APs

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.

Overview of Wireless Mesh Point-to-point wireless mesh

Configuring a meshed WiFi network

Fast-roaming for mesh backhaul link

Mesh implementations for leaf FortiAP can perform background scan when the leaf AP is associated to root. Various options for background scanning can be configured with the CLI. See Mesh variables on page 183 for more details.

Configuring a meshed WiFi network

You need to:

Create the mesh root SSID. l Create the FortiAP profile. l Configure mesh leaf AP units.
Configure the mesh root AP, either a FortiWiFi unit’s Local Radio or a FortiAP unit. l Authorize the mesh branch/leaf units when they connect to the WiFi Controller.
Create security policies.

This section assumes that the end-user SSIDs already exist.

Creating the mesh root SSID

The mesh route SSID is the radio backhaul that conveys the user SSID traffic to the leaf FortiAPs.

To configure the mesh root SSID

Go to WiFi & Switch Controller > SSID and select Create New > SSID.
Enter a Name for the WiFi interface.
In Traffic Mode, select Mesh Downlink.
Enter the SSID.
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.

Select OK.

Creating the FortiAP profile

Create a FortiAP profile for the meshed FortiAPs. If more than one FortiAP model is involved, you need to create a profile for each model. Typically, the profile is configured so that Radio 1 (5GHz) carries the mesh backhaul SSID while Radio 2 (2.4GHz) carries the SSIDs to which users connect.

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.

For more information, see Configuring a WiFi LAN on page 40.

Configuring the mesh root FortiAP

The mesh root AP can be either a FortiWiFi unit’s built-in AP or a FortiAP unit.

Configuring a meshed WiFi network

To enable a FortiWiFi unit’s Local Radio as mesh root – web-based manager

Go to WiFi Controller > Local WiFi Radio.
Select Enable WiFi Radio.
In SSID, select Select SSIDs, then select the mesh root SSID.
Optionally, adjust TX Power or select Auto Tx Power Control.
Select Apply.

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.

To configure a network interface for the mesh root FortiAP unit

On the FortiGate unit, go to Network > Interfaces.
Select the interface where you will connect the FortiAP unit, and edit it.
Make sure that Role is LAN.
In Addressing mode, select Dedicated to Extension Device.
In IP/Network Mask, enter an IP address and netmask for the interface.

DHCP will provide addresses to connected devices. To maximize the number of available addresses, the interface address should end with 1, for example 192.168.10.1.

Select OK.

At this point you can connect the mesh root FortiAP, as described next. If you are going to configure leaf FortiAPs through the wireless controller (see “Configuring a meshed WiFi network” on page 89), it would be convenient to leave connecting the root unit for later.

To enable the root FortiAP unit

Connect the root FortiAP unit’s Ethernet port to the FortiGate network interface that you configured for it.
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.

Right-click the FortiAP entry and choose your profile from the Assign Profile
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.

Select OK.

You might need to select Refresh a few times before the FortiAP shows as Online.

Configuring the leaf mesh FortiAPs

The FortiAP units that will serve as leaf nodes must be preconfigured. This involves changing the FortiAP unit internal configuration.You can do this by direct connection or through the FortiGate wireless controller. 89

Configuring a meshed WiFi network

Method 1: Direct connection to the FortiAP

Connect a computer to the FortiAP unit’s Ethernet port. Configure the computer’s IP as 192.168.1.3.
Telnet to 192.168.1.2. Login as admin. By default, no password is set.
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

Disconnect the computer.
Power down the FortiAP.
Repeat the preceding steps for each branch FortiAP.

Method 2: Connecting through the FortiGate unit

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.
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.

Select the discovered FortiAP unit and authorize it. Click Refresh every 10 seconds until the State indicator is green.
Right-click the FortiAP and select >_Connect to CLI. The CLI Console window opens. Log in as “admin”.
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

Disconnect the branch FortiAP and delete it from the Managed FortiAP list.
Repeat the preceding steps for each branch FortiAP.

Authorizing leaf APs

When the root FortiAP is connected and online, apply power to the pre-configured leaf FortiAPs. The leaf FortiAPs will connect themselves wirelessly to the WiFi Controller through the mesh network. You must authorize each unit.

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.

Right-click the FortiAP entry and choose your profile from the Assign Profile
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.

Configuring a point-to-point bridge

Creating security policies

You need to create security policies to permit traffic to flow from the end-user WiFi network to the network interfaces for the Internet and other networks. Enable NAT.

Viewing the status of the mesh network

Go to WiFi & Switch Controller > Managed FortiAPs to view the list of APs.

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.

Configuring a point-to-point bridge

You can create a point-to-point bridge to connect two wired network segments using a WiFi link. The effect is the same as connecting the two network segments to the same wired switch.

You need to:

Configuring a point-to-point bridge

l Configure a backhaul link and root mesh AP as described in Configuring a point-to-point bridge on page 91.

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

With your browser, connect to the FortiAP unit web-based manager.

You can temporarily connect to the unit’s Ethernet port and use its default address: 192.168.1.2.

Enter:

Operation Mode	Mesh
Mesh AP SSID	fortinet-ap
Mesh AP Password	fortinet
Ethernet Bridge	Select

Select Apply.
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.

To configure a FortiAP unit as a leaf AP – FortiAP CLI

cfg -a MESH_AP_SSID=fortinet-ap cfg -a MESH_AP_PASSWD=fortinet cfg -a MESH_ETH_BRIDGE=1 cfg -a MESH_AP_TYPE=1 cfg -c

Access point deployment

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Access point deployment

This chapter describes how to configure access points for your wireless network.

Overview

Network topology for managed APs

Discovering and authorizing APs

Advanced WiFi controller discovery

Wireless client load balancing for high-density deployments

FortiAP Groups

LAN port options

Preventing IP fragmentation of packets in CAPWAP tunnels

LED options

CAPWAP bandwidth formula

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 64, 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 64.

If your FortiAP units are unable to find the WiFi controller, refer to Access point deployment on page 64 for detailed information about the FortiAP unit’s controller discovery methods and how you can configure them.

Network topology for managed APs

The FortiAP unit can be connected to the FortiGate unit in any of the following ways:

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.

Network topology for managed APs

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.

Network topology for managed

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

Discovering and authorizing APs

After you prepare your FortiGate unit, you can connect your APs to discover them using the discovery methods described earlier. To prepare the FortiGate unit, you need to l Configure the network interface to which the AP will connect. l Configure DHCP service on the interface to which the AP will connect. l Optionally, preauthorize FortiAP units. They will begin to function when connected. l Connect the AP units and let the FortiGate unit discover them. l Enable each discovered AP and configure it or assign it to an AP profile.

Configuring the network interface for the AP unit

The interface to which you connect your wireless access point needs an IP address. No administrative access, DNS Query service or authentication should be enabled.

To configure the interface for the AP unit – web-based manager

Go to Network > Interfaces and edit the interface to which the AP unit connects.
Set Addressing Mode to Dedicate to Extension Device.
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.

Select OK.

To configure the interface for the AP unit – CLI

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.

Pre-authorizing a FortiAP unit

If you enter the FortiAP unit information in advance, it is authorized and will begin to function when it is connected.

To pre-authorize a FortiAP unit

Go to WiFi & Switch Controller > Managed FortiAPs and select Create New.

On some models the WiFi Controller menu is called WiFi & Switch Controller.

Enter the Serial Number of the FortiAP unit.
Configure the Wireless Settings as required.
Select OK.

Enabling and configuring a discovered AP

Within two minutes of connecting the AP unit to the FortiGate unit, the discovered unit should be listed on WiFi Controller > Managed FortiAPs page. After you select the unit, you can authorize, edit or delete it.

Discovered access point unit

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.

To add and configure the discovered AP unit – web-based manager

Go to WiFi & Switch Controller > Managed FortiAPs.

This configuration also applies to local WiFi radio on FortiWiFi models.

Select the FortiAP unit from the list and edit it.
Optionally, enter a Name. Otherwise, the unit will be identified by serial number.
Select Authorize.
Select a FortiAP Profile.
Select OK.

The physical access point is now added to the system. If the rest of the configuration is complete, it should be possible to connect to the wireless network through the AP.

To add the discovered AP unit – CLI

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

To view the status of the added AP unit

config wireless-controller wtp edit FAP22A3U10600118

get

The join-time field should show a time, not “N/A”. See the preceding web-based manager procedure for more information.

Disable automatic discovery of unknown FortiAPs

By default, the FortiGate adds newly discovered FortiAPs to the Managed FortiAPs list, awaiting the administrator’s authorization. Optionally, you can disable this automatic registration function to avoid adding unknown FortiAPs. A FortiAP will be registered and listed only if its serial number has already been added manually to the Managed FortiAPs list. AP registration is configured on each interface.

To disable automatic discovery and registration, enter the following command:

config system interface edit port15 set ap-discover disable

end

Automatic authorization of extension devices

To simplify adding FortiAP or FortiSwitch devices to your network, you can enable automatic authorization of devices as they are connected, instead of authorizing each one individually.

This feature is only configurable in the CLI.

To enable automatic authorization on all dedicated interfaces

config system global set auto-auth-extension-device enable

end

To enable automatic authorization per-interface

config system interface edit <port> set auto-auth-extension-device enable

end

Assigning the same profile to multiple FortiAP units

The same profile can now be applied to multiple managed FortiAP units at the same time. To do this, do the following:

Go to WiFi & Switch Controller > Managed FortiAPs to view the AP list.
Select all FortiAP units you wish to apply the profile to.
Right click on one of the selected FortiAPs and select Assign Profile.
Choose the profile you wish to apply.

Overriding the FortiAP Profile

In the FortiAP configuration WiFi & Switch Controller > Managed FortiAPs, there several radio settings under Override Radio 1 and Override Radio 2 to choose a value independently of the FortiAP Profile setting.

When each of the radios are disabled, you will see what the FortiAP Profile has each of the settings configured to.

Band	The available options depend on the capability of the radio. Overriding Band also overrides Channels. Make appropriate settings in Channels.
Channels	Choose channels. The available channels depend on the Band.
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 40.
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.

To override radio settings in the CLI

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.

Accessing the FortiAP CLI through the FortiGate unit

Enable remote login for the FortiAP. In the FortiAP Profile for this FortiAP, enable remote access.

Connecting to the FortiAP CLI

The FortiAP unit has a CLI through which some configuration options can be set. You can access the CLI using Telnet.

To access the FortiAP unit CLI through the FortiAP Ethernet port

Connect your computer to the FortiAP Ethernet interface, either directly with a cross-over cable or through a separate switch or hub.
Change your computer’s IP address to 192.168.1.3
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.

Login with user name admin and no password.
Enter commands as needed.
Optionally, use the passwd command to assign an administrative password for better security.
Save the configuration by entering the following command:

cfg –c .

Unplug the FortiAP and then plug it back in, in order for the configuration to take effect

Accessing the FortiAP CLI through the FortiGate

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.

To enable remote access to the FortiAP CLI

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

Go to WiFi & Switch Controller > Managed FortiAPs.
In the list, right-click the FortiAP unit and select >_Connect to CLI. A detached Console window opens.
At the FortiAP login prompt, enter admin. When you are finished using the FortiAP CLI, enter exit.

To access the FortiAP unit CLI through the FortiGate unit – CLI

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

At the FortiAP login prompt, enter admin. When you are finished using the FortiAP CLI, enter exit.

Checking and updating FortiAP unit firmware

You can view and update the FortiAP unit’s firmware from the FortiGate unit that acts as its WiFi controller.

Checking the FortiAP unit firmware version

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.

Updating FortiAP firmware from the FortiGate unit

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.

To update FortiAP unit firmware – web-based manager

Go to WiFi & Switch Controller > Managed FortiAPs.
Right-click the FortiAP unit in the list and select Upgrade Firmware.

Edit the FortiAP entry and select Upgrade from File in FortiAP OS Version.

Select Browse and locate the firmware upgrade file.
Select OK.
When the upgrade process completes, select OK. The FortiAP unit restarts.

To update FortiAP unit firmware – CLI

Upload the FortiAP image to the FortiGate unit.

For example, the Firmware file is FAP_22A_v4.3.0_b0212_fortinet.out and the server IP address is 192.168.0.100.

execute wireless-controller upload-wtp-image tftp FAP_22A_v4.3.0_b0212_fortinet.out 192.168.0.100

If your server is FTP, change tftp to ftp, and if necessary add your user name and password at the end of the command.

Verify that the image is uploaded:

execute wireless-controller list-wtp-image

Upgrade the FortiAP units:

exec wireless-controller reset-wtp all

If you want to upgrade only one FortiAP unit, enter its serial number instead of all.

Updating FortiAP firmware from the FortiAP unit

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.

Place the FortiAP firmware image on a TFTP server on your computer.
Connect the FortiAP unit to a separate private switch or hub or directly connect to your computer via a cross-over cable.
Change your computer’s IP address to 192.168.1.3.
Telnet to IP address 192.168.1.2.

This IP address is overwritten if the FortiAP is connected to a DHCP environment. Ensure that the FortiAP unit is in a private network with no DHCP server.

Login with the username “admin” and no password.
Enter the following command.

For example, the FortiAP image file name is FAP_22A_v4.3.0_b0212_fortinet.out.

restore FAP_22A_v4.3.0_b0212_fortinet.out 192.168.1.3

Advanced WiFi controller discovery

A FortiAP unit can use any of six methods to locate a controller. By default, FortiAP units cycle through all six of the discovery methods. In most cases there is no need to make configuration changes on the FortiAP unit.

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.

Controller discovery methods

There are six methods that a FortiAP unit can use to discover a WiFi controller. Below is the list of AC discovery methods used in sequence:

0(auto) → 1(static) → 2(dhcp) → 3(dns) → 7(forticloud) → 5(broadcast) → 6(multicast)

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.

To specify the controller’s IP address on a FortiAP unit

cfg –a AC_IPADDR_1=”192.168.0.100″

By default, the FortiAP unit receives its IP address, netmask, and gateway address by DHCP. If you prefer, you can assign these statically.

To assign a static IP address to the FortiAP unit

cfg -a ADDR_MODE=STATIC cfg –a AP_IPADDR=”192.168.0.100″ cfg -a AP_NETMASK=”255.255.255.0″ cfg –a IPGW=192.168.0.1 cfg -c

For information about connecting to the FortiAP CLI, see Connecting to the FortiAP CLI on page 71.

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.

To change the FortiAP DHCP option code To use option code 139 for example, enter Wireless client load balancing for high-density deployments

cfg –a AC_DISCOVERY_DHCP_OPTION_CODE=139

For information about connecting to the FortiAP CLI, see Connecting to the FortiAP CLI on page 71.

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.

FortiCloud APController: apctrl1.fortinet.com:443 208.91.113.187:443

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.

To change the multicast address on the controller

config wireless-controller global set discovery-mc-addr 224.0.1.250

end

To change the multicast address on a FortiAP unit

cfg –a AC_DISCOVERY_MC_ADDR=”224.0.1.250″

For information about connecting to the FortiAP CLI, see Advanced WiFi controller discovery on page 74.

Wireless client load balancing for high-density deployments

Wireless load balancing allows your wireless network to distribute wireless traffic more efficiently among wireless access points and available frequency bands. FortiGate wireless controllers support the following types of client load balancing:

Access Point Hand-off – the wireless controller signals a client to switch to another access point.
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.

Wireless client load balancing for high-density deployments

Load balancing is not applied to roaming clients.

Access point hand-off

Access point handoff wireless load balancing involves the following:

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).
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.

Frequency hand-off or band-steering

Encouraging clients to use the 5GHz WiFi band if possible enables those clients to benefit from faster interference-free 5GHz communication. The remaining 2.4GHz clients benefit from reduced interference.

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:

FortiAP Groups

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.
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.

FortiAP groups are only configurable in the CLI Console.

To create a FortiAP group – CLI

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

LAN port options

Some FortiAP models have one or more LAN interfaces that can provide wired network access. LAN ports can be l bridged to the incoming WAN interface l bridged to one of the WiFi SSIDs that the FortiAP unit carries l connected by NAT to the incoming WAN interface There are some differences among FortiAP models.

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>

LAN port options

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.

Bridging a LAN port with an SSID

Bridging a LAN port with a FortiAP SSID combines traffic from both sources to provide a single broadcast domain for wired and wireless users. In this configuration l The IP addresses for LAN clients come from the DHCP server that serves the wireless clients.

Traffic from LAN clients is bridged to the SSID’s VLAN. Dynamic VLAN assignment for hosts on the LAN port is not supported.
Wireless and LAN clients are on the same network and can communicate locally, via the FortiAP.
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 77.

Bridging a LAN port with the WAN port

Bridging a LAN port with the WAN port enables the FortiAP unit to be used as a hub which is also an access point. 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 77.

Configuring FortiAP LAN ports

You can configure FortiAP LAN ports for APs in a FortiAP Profile. A profile applies to APs that are the same model and share the same configuration. If you have multiple models or different configurations, you might need to create several FortiAP Profiles. For an individual AP, it is also possible to override the profile settings.

To configure FortiAP LAN ports – web-based manager

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

Go to WiFi & Switch Controller > FortiAP Profiles.
Edit the default profile for your FortiAP model or select Create New.
If you are creating a new profile, enter a Name and select the correct Platform (model).

LAN port options

Select SSIDs.
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.

Select OK.

Be sure to select this profile when you authorize your FortiAP units.

To configure FortiAP LAN ports – CLI

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

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

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

To configure FortiAP unit LAN ports as a FortiAP Profile override – web-based manager

Go to WiFi & Switch Controller > Managed FortiAPs.
Select the FortiAP unit from the list and select Edit.
Select the FortiAP Profile, if this has not already been done.
In the LAN Port section, select Override. The options for Mode are shown.

Preventing IP fragmentation of packets in CAPWAP tunnels

Set Mode to Bridge to and select an SSID or WAN Port, or NAT to WAN as needed.

On some models with multiple LAN ports, you can set Mode to Custom and configure the LAN ports individually.

Enable and configure each port that you want to use.

Select OK.

To configure FortiAP unit LAN ports as a FortiAP Profile override – CLI

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

Preventing IP fragmentation of packets in CAPWAP tunnels

A common problem with controller-based WiFi networks is reduced performance due to IP fragmentation of the packets in the CAPWAP tunnel.

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

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 LED options

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.

Overriding IP fragmentation settings on a FortiAP

If the FortiAP Profile settings for IP fragmentation are not appropriate for a particular FortiAP, you can override the settings on that specific unit.

config wireless-controller wtp edit FAP321C3X14019926 set override-ip-fragment enable

set ip-fragment-preventing {tcp-mss-adjust | icmp-unreachable}

set tun-mtu-uplink {0 | 576 | 1500} set tun-mtu-downlink {0 | 576 | 1500}

end

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.

CAPWAP bandwidth formula

The following section provides information on how to calculate the control plane CAPWAP traffic load in local bridging. The formula provided can help estimate the approximate package bandwidth cost. This is important for knowing precisely how much bandwidth is required on a WAN link for a centralized ForitGate managing hundreds of access points.

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 Ethernet/IP/UDP/CAPWAP uplink header cost should be approximately 66 bytes.

The tables below depict basic and commonly used optional CAPWAP bandwidth costs, on a per-AP basis.

Note the following:

l STA: The number of stations associated with the FortiAP. l ARP scan: Finds hidden devices in your network. l VAP: The number of VAPS held by the FortiAP. l Radio: The number of radios (maximum of two) enabled by the FortiAP.

Basic per-AP CAPWAP bandwidth costs

Content	Time (seconds)	Payload (byte)	Package bandwidth cost (bps)
Echo Req	30	16	(66+16)*8/30=21.86
STA scan	30	25+20*sta	(66+25+20sta)8/30=24.26+5.3*sta
ARP scan	30	25+18*sta	(66+25+18sta)8/30=24.26+4.8*sta
STA CAP	30	25+19*sta	(66+25+19sta)8/30=24.26+5.1*sta
STA stats	1	25+41*sta	(66+25+41sta)8/1=728.0+328.0*sta
VAP stats	15	40+18*vap	(66+40+18vap)8/15=56.53+9.6*vap
Radio stats	15	25+25*radio	(66+25+25radio)8/15=48.53+13.3*radio
		Total:	908.7+343.2sta+9.6vap+13.3*radio

Commonly used optional per-AP CAPWAP bandwidth costs

Content

Time

Payload (byte)

(seconds)

Package bandwidth cost (bps)

AP scan

30 25+63*scannedap

(66+25+63*scanned-ap)*8/30=24.26+16.8*scanned-ap

CAPWAP bandwidth formula

Content

Time

Payload (byte)

(seconds)

Package bandwidth cost (bps)

Total:

932.96+343.2*sta+9.6*vap+13.3*radio+16.8*scannedap

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

Enabling LLDP protocol

You can enable the LLDP protocol in the FortiAP Profile via the CLI. Each FortiAP using that profile can then send back information about the switch and port that it is connected to.

To enable LLDP, enter the following:

config wireless-controller wtp-profile edit <profile-name> set lldp enable

end

Configuring the built-in access point on a FortiWiFi unit

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Configuring the built-in access point on a FortiWiFi unit

Both FortiGate and FortiWiFi units have the WiFi controller feature. If you configure a WiFi network on a

FortiWiFi unit, you can also use the built-in wireless capabilities in your WiFi network as one of the access points.

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

To configure the FortiWiFi unit’s built-in WiFi access point

Go to WiFi Controller > Local WiFi Radio.
Make sure that Enable WiFi Radio is selected.
In SSID, if you do not want this AP to carry all SSIDs, select Select SSIDs and then select the required SSIDs.
Optionally, adjust the TX Power

If you have selected your location correctly (see Configuring the built-in access point on a FortiWiFi unit on page 62), the 100% setting corresponds to the maximum power allowed in your region.

the built-in access point on a FortiWiFi unit

If you do not want the built-in WiFi radio to be used for rogue scanning, select Do not participate in Rogue AP scanning.
Select OK.

If you want to connect external APs, such as FortiAP units, see the next chapter, Access point deployment.

Configuring user authentication

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Configuring user authentication

You can perform user authentication when the wireless client joins the wireless network and when the wireless user communicates with another network through a firewall policy. WEP and WPA-Personal security rely on legitimate users knowing the correct key or passphrase for the wireless network. The more users you have, the more likely it is that the key or passphrase will become known to unauthorized people. WPA-Enterprise and captive portal security provide separate credentials for each user. User accounts can be managed through FortiGate user groups or an external RADIUS authentication server.

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.

Configuring connection to a RADIUS server – web-based manager

Go to User & Device > RADIUS Servers and select Create New.
Enter a Name for the server.

This name is used in FortiGate configurations. It is not the actual name of the server.

In Primary Server Name/IP, enter the network name or IP address for the server.
In Primary Server Secret, enter the shared secret used to access the server.
Optionally, enter the information for a secondary or backup RADIUS server.
Select OK.

To configure the FortiGate unit to access the RADIUS server – CLI

config user radius edit exampleRADIUS set auth-type auto set server 10.11.102.100 set secret aoewmntiasf

end

To implement WPA2 Enterprise security, you select this server in the SSID security settings. See Configuring user authentication on page 58.

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.

Creating a wireless 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:

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.
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.

WiFi Single Sign-On (WSSO) authentication

WSSO is RADIUS-based authentication that passes the user’s user group memberships to the FortiGate. For each user, the RADIUS server must provide user group information in the Fortinet-Group-Name attribute. This information is stored in the server’s database. After the user authenticates, security policies provide access to network services based on user groups.

Configure the RADIUS server to return the Fortinet-Group-Name attribute for each user.
Configure the FortiGate to access the RADIUS server, as described in WPA2 Enterprise authentication on page 59.
Create firewall user groups on the FortiGate with the same names as the user groups listed in the RADIUS database. Leave the groups empty.
In the SSID choose WPA2-Enterprise authentication. In the Authentication field, select RADIUS Server and choose the RADIUS server that you configured.
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 Monitor) shows the authentication method as WSSO.

Assigning WiFi users to VLANs dynamically

Some enterprise networks use Virtual LANs (VLANs) to separate traffic. In this environment, to extend network access to WiFi users might appear to require multiple SSIDs. But it is possible to automatically assign each user to their appropriate VLAN from a single SSID. To accomplish this requires RADIUS authentication that passes the appropriate VLAN ID to the FortiGate by RADIUS attributes. Each user’s VLAN assignment is stored in the user database of the RADIUS server.

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)

Configure the FortiGate to access the RADIUS server.
Configure the SSID with WPA2-Enterprise authentication. In the Authentication field, select RADIUS Server and choose the RADIUS server that you will use.
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
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

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.

firewall policies for the SSID

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

Authenticating guest WiFi users

The FortiOS Guest Management feature enables you to easily add guest accounts to your FortiGate unit. These accounts are authenticate guest WiFi users for temporary access to a WiFi network managed by a FortiGate unit. To implement guest access, you need to

Go to User & Device > User Groups and create one or more guest user groups.
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.
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.

WIFI Dynamic user VLAN assignment

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Dynamic user VLAN assignment

Clients connecting to the WiFi network can be assigned to a VLAN. You can do this with RADIUS attributes when the user authenticates or with VLAN pooling when the client associates with a particular FortiAP. You cannot use both of these methods at the same time.

VLAN assignment by RADIUS

You can assign each individual user to a VLAN based on information stored in the RADIUS authentication server. If the user’s RADIUS record does not specify a VLAN ID, the user is assigned to the default VLAN for the SSID.

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. To configure dynamic VLAN assignment, you need to:

Configure access to the RADIUS server.
Create the SSID and enable dynamic VLAN assignment.
Create a FortiAP Profile and add the local bridge mode SSID to it.
Create the VLAN interfaces and their DHCP servers.
Create security policies to allow communication from the VLAN interfaces to the Internet.
Authorize the FortiAP unit and assign the FortiAP Profile to it.

Dynamic user VLAN assignment

To configure access to the RADIUS server

Go to User & Device > RADIUS Servers and select Create New.
Enter a Name, the name or IP address in Primary Server IP/Name, and the server secret in Primary Server Secret.
Select OK.

To create the dynamic VLAN SSID

Go to WiFi & Switch Controller > SSID, select Create New > SSID and enter:

Name	An identifier, such as dynamic_vlan_ssid.
Traffic Mode	Local bridge or Tunnel, as needed.
SSID	An identifier, such as DYNSSID.
Security Mode	WPA2 Enterprise
Authentication	RADIUS Server. Select the RADIUS server that you configured.

Select OK.
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

To create the FortiAP profile for the dynamic VLAN SSID

Go to WiFi & Switch Controller > FortiAP Profiles, select Create New and enter:

Name	A name for the profile, such as dyn_vlan_profile.
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.
Radio 1 and Radio 2
SSID	Select the SSID you created (example dynamic_vlan_ssid). Do not add other SSIDs.

Adjust other radio settings as needed.
Select OK.

To create the VLAN interfaces

Go to Network > Interfaces and select Create New > Interface.
Enter:

Dynamic user VLAN assignment

Name	A name for the VLAN interface, such as VLAN100.
Interface	The physical interface associated with the VLAN interface.
VLAN ID	The numeric VLAN ID, for example 100.
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.

Select OK.
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.

To connect and authorize the FortiAP unit

Connect the FortiAP unit to the FortiGate unit.
Go to WiFi & Switch Controller > Managed FortiAPs.
When the FortiAP unit is listed, double-click the entry to edit it.
In FortiAP Profile, select the FortiAP Profile that you created.
Select Authorize.
Select OK.

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)

To assign a VLAN by FortiAP Group – CLI

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

Configuring user authentication

Load balancing

There are two VLAN pooling methods used for load balancing: The choice of VLAN can be based on any one of the following criteria:

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.

To assign a VLAN by round-robin selection – CLI

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

To assign a VLAN by hash-based selection – CLI

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

Defining SSID Groups

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Defining SSID Groups

Optionally, you can define SSID Groups. An SSID Group has SSIDs as members and can be specified just like an SSID in a FortiAP Profile.

To create an SSID Group – GUI

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).

To create an SSID Group – CLI:

config wireless-controller vap-group edit vap-group-name set vaps “ssid1” “ssid2”

end

Configuring WiFi captive portal security – FortiGate captive portal

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Configuring WiFi captive portal security – FortiGate captive portal

The built-in FortiGate captive portal is simpler than an external portal. It can even be customized if needed.

To configure a WiFi Captive Portal – web-based manager:

Go to WiFi & Switch Controller > SSID and create your SSID.

If the SSID already exists, you can edit the SSID or you can edit the WiFi interface in Network > Interfaces.

In Security Mode, select Captive Portal.
Enter

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 45.
Authentication Portal	Local
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.

Select OK.

Configuring WiFi captive portal security – external server

An external captive portal is a web page on a web server. The essential part of the web portal page is a script that gathers the user’s logon credentials and sends back to the FortiGate a specifically-formatted POST message. The portal page can also contain links to local information such as legal notices, terms of service and so on. Without authenticating, the user cannot access any other information. This is sometimes called a “walled garden”.

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

To configure use of an external WiFi Captive Portal – web-based manager:

Go to WiFi & Switch Controller > SSIDand create your SSID.

If the SSID already exists, you can edit the SSID or you can edit the WiFi interface in Network > Interfaces.

In Security Mode, select Captive Portal.
Enter

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.
Redirect after Captive Portal	Original Request Specific URL – enter URL

SSID Groups

Select OK.

FortiOS 5.6.1 Release Notes

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Introduction

This document provides the following information for FortiOS 5.6.1 build 1484:

l Special Notices l Upgrade Information l Product Integration and Support l Resolved Issues l Known Issues l Limitations

For FortiOS documentation, see the Fortinet Document Library.

Supported models

FortiOS 5.6.1 supports the following models.

FortiGate	FG-30D, FG-30E, FG-30E_3G4G_INTL, FG-30E_3G4G_NAM, FG-30D-POE, FG50E, FG-51E, FG-52E, FG-60D, FG-60D-POE, FG-60E, FG-61E, FG-70D, FG-70D- POE, FG-80C, FG-80CM, FG-80D, FG-80E, FG-80E-POE, FG-81E, FG-81E-POE, FG-90D, FG-90D-POE, FG-92D, FG-94D-POE, FG-98D-POE, FG-100D, FG-100E, FG-100EF, FG-101E, FG-140D, FG-140D-POE, FG-140E, FG-140E-POE, FG- 200D, FG-200D-POE, FG-200E, FG-201E, FG-240D, FG-240D-POE, FG-280D-POE, FG-300D, FG-400D, FG-500D, FG-600C, FG-600D, FG-800C, FG-800D, FG-900D, FG-1000C, FG-1000D, FG-1200D, FG-1500D, FG-1500DT, FG-2000E, FG-2500E, FG-3000D, FG-3100D, FG-3200D, FG-3240C, FG-3600C, FG-3700D, FG-3800D, FG-3810D, FG-3815D, FG-5001C, FG-5001D
FortiWiFi	FWF-30D, FWF-30E, FWF-30E_3G4G_INTL, FWF-30E_3G4G_NAM, FWF-30D- POE, FWF-50E, FWF-50E-2R, FWF-51E, FWF-60D, FWF-60D-POE, FWF-60E, FWF-61E, FWF-80CM, FWF-81CM, FWF-90D, FWF-90D-POE, FWF-92D
FortiGate Rugged	FGR-30D, FGR-35D, FGR-60D, FGR-90D
FortiGate VM	FG-SVM, FG-VM64, FG-VM64-AWS, FG-VM64-AWSONDEMAND, FG-VM64-HV, FG-VM64-KVM, FG-VMX, FG-VM64-XEN
Pay-as-you-go images	FOS-VM64, FOS-VM64-KVM
FortiOS Carrier	FortiOS Carrier 5.6.1 images are delivered upon request and are not available on the customer support firmware download page.

What’s new in FortiOS 5.6.1 Introduction

What’s new in FortiOS 5.6.1

For a list of new features and enhancements that have been made in FortiOS 5.6.1, see the What’s New for FortiOS 5.6.1 document.

Special Notices

Built-In Certificate

FortiGate and FortiWiFi D-series and above have a built in Fortinet_Factory certificate that uses a 2048-bit certificate with the 14 DH group.

FortiGate and FortiWiFi-92D Hardware Limitation

FortiOS 5.4.0 reported an issue with the FG-92D model in the Special Notices > FG-92D High Availability in Interface Mode section of the release notes. Those issues, which were related to the use of port 1 through 14, include:

PPPoE failing, HA failing to form l IPv6 packets being dropped l FortiSwitch devices failing to be discovered
Spanning tree loops may result depending on the network topology

FG-92D and FWF-92D do not support STP. These issues have been improved in FortiOS 5.4.1, but with some side effects with the introduction of a new command, which is enabled by default:

config global set hw-switch-ether-filter <enable | disable>

When the command is enabled:

ARP (0x0806), IPv4 (0x0800), and VLAN (0x8100) packets are allowed l BPDUs are dropped and therefore no STP loop results l PPPoE packets are dropped l IPv6 packets are dropped l FortiSwitch devices are not discovered l HA may fail to form depending the network topology

When the command is disabled:

All packet types are allowed, but depending on the network topology, an STP loop may result

FG-900D and FG-1000D

CAPWAP traffic will not offload if the ingress and egress traffic ports are on different NP6 chips. It will only offload if both ingress and egress ports belong to the same NP6 chip.

FortiClient (Mac OS X) SSL VPN Requirements Special Notices

FortiClient (Mac OS X) SSL VPN Requirements

When using SSL VPN on Mac OS X 10.8, you must enable SSLv3 in FortiOS.

FortiGate-VM 5.6 for VMware ESXi

Upon upgrading to FortiOS 5.6.1, FortiGate-VM v5.6 for VMware ESXi (all models) no longer supports the VMXNET2 vNIC driver.

FortiClient Profile Changes

With introduction of the Security Fabric, FortiClient profiles will be updated on FortiGate. FortiClient profiles and FortiGate are now primarily used for Endpoint Compliance, and FortiClient Enterprise Management Server (EMS) is now used for FortiClient deployment and provisioning.

The FortiClient profile on FortiGate is for FortiClient features related to compliance, such as Antivirus, Web

Filter, Vulnerability Scan, and Application Firewall. You may set the Non-Compliance Action setting to Block or Warn. FortiClient users can change their features locally to meet the FortiGate compliance criteria. You can also use FortiClient EMS to centrally provision endpoints. The EMS also includes support for additional features, such as VPN tunnels or other advanced options. For more information, see the FortiOS Handbook – Security Profiles.

Use of dedicated management interfaces (mgmt1 and mgmt2)

For optimum stability, use management ports (mgmt1 and mgmt2) for management traffic only. Do not use management ports for general user traffic.

Upgrade Information

Upgrading to FortiOS 5.6.1

FortiOS version 5.6.1 officially supports upgrading from version 5.4.4, 5.4.5, and 5.6.0. To upgrade from other versions, see Supported Upgrade Paths.

Before upgrading, ensure that port 4433 is not used for admin-port or adminsport (in config system global), or for SSL VPN (in config vpn ssl settings).

If you are using port 4433, you must change admin-port, admin-sport, or the SSL VPN port to another port number before upgrading.

Security Fabric Upgrade

FortiOS 5.6.1 greatly increases the interoperability between other Fortinet products. This includes:

l FortiAnalyzer 5.6.0 l FortiClient 5.6.0 l FortiClient EMS 1.2.1 l FortiAP 5.4.2 and later l FortiSwitch 3.5.2 and later

Upgrade the firmware of each product in the correct order. This maintains network connectivity without the need to use manual steps.

Before upgrading any product, you must read the FortiOS Security Fabric Upgrade Guide.

FortiClient Profiles

After upgrading from FortiOS 5.4.0 to 5.4.1 and later, your FortiClient profiles will be changed to remove a number of options that are no longer supported. After upgrading, review your FortiClient profiles to make sure they are configured appropriately for your requirements and either modify them if required or create new ones.

The following FortiClient Profile features are no longer supported by FortiOS 5.4.1 and later:

Advanced FortiClient profiles (XML configuration)
Advanced configuration, such as configuring CA certificates, unregister option, FortiManager updates, dashboard

Banner, client-based logging when on-net, and Single Sign-on Mobility Agent l VPN provisioning l Advanced AntiVirus settings, such as Scheduled Scan, Scan with FortiSandbox, and Excluded Paths FortiGate-VM 5.6 for VMware ESXi Upgrade Information

Client-side web filtering when on-net
iOS and Android configuration by using the FortiOS GUI

With FortiOS 5.6.1, endpoints in the Security Fabric require FortiClient 5.6.0. You can use FortiClient 5.4.3 for VPN (IPsec VPN, or SSL VPN) connections to FortiOS 5.6.0, but not for Security Fabric functions.

FortiGate-VM 5.6 for VMware ESXi

Upon upgrading to FortiOS 5.6.1, FortiGate-VM v5.6 for VMware ESXi (all models) no longer supports the VMXNET2 vNIC driver.

Downgrading to previous firmware versions

Downgrading to previous firmware versions results in configuration loss on all models. Only the following settings are retained:

l operation mode l interface IP/management IP l static route table l DNS settings l VDOM parameters/settings l admin user account l session helpers l system access profiles.

If you have long VDOM names, you must shorten the long VDOM names (maximum 11 characters) before downgrading:

Back up your configuration.
In the backup configuration, replace all long VDOM names with its corresponding short VDOM name. For example, replace edit <long_vdom_name>/<short_name> with edit <short_name>/<short_ name>.
Restore the configuration.
Perform the downgrade.

Amazon AWS Enhanced Networking Compatibility Issue

With this new enhancement, there is a compatibility issue with older AWS VM versions. After downgrading a 5.6.1 image to an older version, network connectivity is lost. Since AWS does not provide console access, you cannot recover the downgraded image.

Upgrade Information FortiGate VM firmware

When downgrading from 5.6.1 to older versions, running the enhanced nic driver is not allowed. The following AWS instances are affected:

C3 l C4 l R3 l I2
M4 l D2

FortiGate VM firmware

Fortinet provides FortiGate VM firmware images for the following virtual environments:

Citrix XenServer and Open Source XenServer

.out: Download the 64-bit firmware image to upgrade your existing FortiGate VM installation.
.out.OpenXen.zip: Download the 64-bit package for a new FortiGate VM installation. This package contains the QCOW2 file for Open Source XenServer.
.out.CitrixXen.zip: Download the 64-bit package for a new FortiGate VM installation. This package contains the Citrix XenServer Virtual Appliance (XVA), Virtual Hard Disk (VHD), and OVF files.

Linux KVM

.out: Download the 64-bit firmware image to upgrade your existing FortiGate VM installation.
.out.kvm.zip: Download the 64-bit package for a new FortiGate VM installation. This package contains QCOW2 that can be used by qemu.

Microsoft Hyper-V

.out: Download the 64-bit firmware image to upgrade your existing FortiGate VM installation.
.out.hyperv.zip: Download the 64-bit package for a new FortiGate VM installation. This package contains three folders that can be imported by Hyper-V Manager on Hyper-V 2012. It also contains the file vhd in the Virtual Hard Disks folder that can be manually added to the Hyper-V Manager.

VMware ESX and ESXi

.out: Download either the 64-bit firmware image to upgrade your existing FortiGate VM installation.
.ovf.zip: Download either the 64-bit package for a new FortiGate VM installation. This package contains Open Virtualization Format (OVF) files for VMware and two Virtual Machine Disk Format (VMDK) files used by the OVF file during deployment.

Firmware image checksums Upgrade Information

Firmware image checksums

The MD5 checksums for all Fortinet software and firmware releases are available at the Customer Service & Support portal, https://support.fortinet.com. After logging in select Download > Firmware Image Checksums, enter the image file name including the extension, and select Get Checksum Code.

Product Integration and Support

FortiOS 5.6.1 support

The following table lists 5.6.1 product integration and support information:

Web Browsers	l Microsoft Edge 38 l Microsoft Internet Explorer version 11 l Mozilla Firefox version 54 l Google Chrome version 59 l Apple Safari version 9.1 (For Mac OS X) Other web browsers may function correctly, but are not supported by Fortinet.
Explicit Web Proxy Browser	l Microsoft Edge 40 l Microsoft Internet Explorer version 11 l Mozilla Firefox version 53 l Google Chrome version 58 l Apple Safari version 10 (For Mac OS X) Other web browsers may function correctly, but are not supported by Fortinet.
FortiManager	See important compatibility information in Security Fabric Upgrade on page 9. For the latest information, see FortiManager compatibility with FortiOS in the Fortinet Document Library. Upgrade FortiManager before upgrading FortiGate.
FortiAnalyzer	See important compatibility information in Security Fabric Upgrade on page 9. For the latest information, see FortiAnalyzer compatibility with FortiOS in the Fortinet Document Library. Upgrade FortiAnalyzer before upgrading FortiGate.
FortiClient Microsoft Windows and FortiClient Mac OS X	See important compatibility information in Security Fabric Upgrade on page 9. l 5.6.0 If FortiClient is being managed by a FortiGate, you must upgrade FortiClient before upgrading FortiGate.
FortiClient iOS	l 5.4.3 and later

FortiOS 5.6.1 support

FortiClient Android and FortiClient VPN Android	l 5.4.1 and later
FortiAP	l 5.4.2 and later l 5.6.0
FortiAP-S	l 5.4.3 and later l 5.6.0
FortiSwitch OS (FortiLink support)	l 3.5.6 and later
FortiController	l 5.2.5 and later Supported models: FCTL-5103B, FCTL-5903C, FCTL-5913C
FortiSandbox	l 2.3.3 and later
Fortinet Single Sign-On (FSSO)	l 5.0 build 0254 and later (needed for FSSO agent support OU in group filters) l Windows Server 2016 Datacenter l Windows Server 2016 Standard l Windows Server 2008 (32-bit and 64-bit) l Windows Server 2008 R2 64-bit l Windows Server 2012 Standard l Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard l Novell eDirectory 8.8 FSSO does not currently support IPv6.
FortiExtender	l 3.1.1 and later
AV Engine	l 5.247
IPS Engine	l 3.426
Virtualization Environments
Citrix	l XenServer version 5.6 Service Pack 2 l XenServer version 6.0 and later
Linux KVM	l RHEL 7.1/Ubuntu 12.04 and later l CentOS 6.4 (qemu 0.12.1) and later
Microsoft	l Hyper-V Server 2008 R2, 2012, and 2012 R2
Open Source	l XenServer version 3.4.3 l XenServer version 4.1 and later

Product Integration and Support Language support

VMware

l ESX versions 4.0 and 4.1

l ESXi versions 4.0, 4.1, 5.0, 5.1, 5.5, 6.0, and 6.5

VM Series – SR-IOV

The following NIC chipset cards are supported:

l Intel 82599 l Intel X540 l Intel X710/XL710

Language support

The following table lists language support information.

Language support

Language		GUI
English		✔
Chinese (Simplified)		✔
Chinese (Traditional)		✔
French		✔
Japanese		✔
Korean		✔
Portuguese (Brazil)		✔
Spanish (Spain)		✔

SSL VPN support

SSL VPN standalone client

The following table lists SSL VPN tunnel client standalone installer for the following operating systems.

Operating system and installers

Operating System

Installer

Linux CentOS 6.5 / 7 (32-bit & 64-bit)

Linux Ubuntu 16.04

2333. Download from the Fortinet Developer Network https://fndn.fortinet.net.

Other operating systems may function correctly, but are not supported by Fortinet.

SSL VPN web mode

The following table lists the operating systems and web browsers supported by SSL VPN web mode.

Supported operating systems and web browsers

Operating System	Web Browser
Microsoft Windows 7 SP1 (32-bit & 64-bit) Microsoft Windows 8 / 8.1 (32-bit & 64-bit)	Microsoft Internet Explorer version 11 Mozilla Firefox version 54 Google Chrome version 59
Microsoft Windows 10 (64-bit)	Microsoft Edge Microsoft Internet Explorer version 11 Mozilla Firefox version 54 Google Chrome version 59
Linux CentOS 6.5 / 7 (32-bit & 64-bit)	Mozilla Firefox version 54

Product Integration and Support SSL VPN support

Operating System	Web Browser
Mac OS 10.11.1	Apple Safari version 9 Mozilla Firefox version 54 Google Chrome version 59
iOS	Apple Safari Mozilla Firefox Google Chrome
Android	Mozilla Firefox Google Chrome

Product	Antivirus	Firewall
CA Internet Security Suite Plus Software	✔	✔
AVG Internet Security 2011
F-Secure Internet Security 2011	✔	✔
Kaspersky Internet Security 2011	✔	✔

Other operating systems and web browsers may function correctly, but are not supported by Fortinet.

SSL VPN host compatibility list

The following table lists the antivirus and firewall client software packages that are supported.

Supported Microsoft Windows XP antivirus and firewall software

Product	Antivirus	Firewall
Symantec Endpoint Protection 11	✔	✔
Kaspersky Antivirus 2009	✔
McAfee Security Center 8.1	✔	✔
Trend Micro Internet Security Pro	✔	✔
F-Secure Internet Security 2009	✔	✔

Supported Microsoft Windows 7 32-bit antivirus and firewall software

SSL VPN support

Product	Antivirus	Firewall
McAfee Internet Security 2011	✔	✔
Norton 360™ Version 4.0	✔	✔
Norton™ Internet Security 2011	✔	✔
Panda Internet Security 2011	✔	✔
Sophos Security Suite	✔	✔
Trend Micro Titanium Internet Security	✔	✔
ZoneAlarm Security Suite	✔	✔
Symantec Endpoint Protection Small Business Edition 12.0	✔	✔

Resolved Issues

The following issues have been fixed in version 5.6.1. For inquires about a particular bug, please contact CustomerService & Support.

Antivirus

Bug ID	Description
374969	FortiSandbox FortiView may not correctly parse the FSA v2.21 tracer file (.json).
398332	FortiSandbox results are not showing up in FortiView > FortiSandbox.
408147	Virus detected with correct name but wrong virusid.
411432	scanunitd causes high CPU usage when making configuration changes.

Authentication

Bug ID	Description
402621	Radius Accounting Packet Calling-Station-ID field should return MAC address instead of IP address.
403147	Cannot create guest users with short phone number.
412846	Google Chrome browser display NET::ERR_CERT_COMMON_NAME_INVALID certificate waning on authentication page.
416618	LDAP does not work when number of matching entries is even in user group.
437204	authd sends malformed NTLM TYPE2 to browser and breaks NTLM authentication.
438972	Nested Groups in LDAP authentication does not work when the Domain users in AD is not the Primary Group.

DLP

Bug ID	Description
367514	Executable files may not be blocked by DLP built-in .exe file-type filter.
416469	DLP quarantined IP when the action is set to block/log-only.
422355	DLP file-type filter cannot detect .mov file during file upload.

DNSFilter

Bug ID	Description
414243	DNSFilter local FortiGuard SDNS servers failed to respond due to malformed packet.
422407	dnsproxy causes high CPU usage and degradation of DNS traffic.

FOC

Bug ID	Description
406692	GTP noip-filter blocking IPv6 gtp-u traffic.
412883	Over-subscription of TP2 XAUI when running GTP in LAG with FG3700DX platform.

Bug ID	Description
305575	In the Policy List, the NAT column can give more useful information.
416111	FQDN address is unresolved in a VDOM, although the URL is resolved with IP.

FortiGate 92D

Bug ID	Description
412432	fgt92d_link running in D state.

FortiLink

Bug ID	Description
422750	FortiGate sending corrupted configuration to FortiSwitch.
435219	cu_acd causing memory leak leading to Conserve Mode.
438973	Managed FortiSwitch speed setting not synced in FortiGate HA cluster.

FortiView

Bug ID	Description
378576	The All Sessions > filter application on historical view does not work and suggests adding filter for destination port.
390495	Unable to view web sites in FortiView for 5 minutes, 1 hour, and 24 hours.

Firewall

Bug ID	Description
416678	FG-100E and FG-101E may have firewall lockups in production.
424558	Renaming onetime schedule causes policy activation.
433688	Netflow report for a long, live FTP session is incorrect.
435070	Full Cone NAT not working for WhatsApp video and voice call.
435095	FortiOS ICMP replies or error messages are dropped when asymmetric routing is involved.
435700	RSTP session-helper does not modify the IP in describe payload when the server IP is a VIP.

GUI

Bug ID	Description
310497	Improve GUI error message when trying to create a VLAN interface and physical interface is not selected.
368069	Cannot select wan-load-balance or members for incoming interface of IPsec tunnel.
373546	Only 50 security logs may be displayed in the Log Details pane when more than 50 are triggered.
373602	Cannot access System > Advanced from the GUI – page keep loading.
374373	Policy View: Filter bar may display the IPv4 policy name for the IPv6 policy.
380943	Webfilter profile, GUI to support search in URL filter table.
388104	Interface list expand column display improperly in VLAN interface in a Zone.
394359	REST API firewall policy lookup does not work properly.
397010	GUI does not display the App-DB and INDUSTRIAL-DB information.
398394	Log viewer, negative filter for severity Information field cannot be done manually.
407938	device-access-list configuration is removed when making a change to the interface in the GUI.
408577	Admin and FortiClient profile cannot be displayed when language is Japanese.
413754	GUI create VDOM link on TP VDOM fails with error.
413891	In Topology > FortiAnalyzer, clicking Configure setting redirects to VDOM security fabric page.
Bug ID	Description
413921	In FSSO standard mode, context menu allows you to delete ad-groups polled from CA.
415326	CLI configuration for address object allows IP range 0.0.0.0-x.x.x.x, but not in GUI.
418534	IP address, DHCP, allowaccess disappeared when selecting a local-bridge SSID as a member in soft-switch interface.
421263	Multiple wildcard login accounts gives wrong guest account provisioning when Postlogin-banner is enabled.
423410	Zone interface shows as down in the IPv4 Policy page even when its member is up.
434613	GUI cannot select HA monitor interfaces in other VDOMs.
438709	GUI system time is incorrect when setting timezone.
438948	Address object length name is limited in CLI Console tool.
441350	Trying to access the root FortiGate Security Fabric dashboard produces Error 404.

Bug ID	Description
392677	The HA widget shows the slave status as Not Synchronized even when the status is synchronized.
404089	Uninterruptible upgrade fails because routes are not yet synced with new master.
414336	Slave cannot sync to master with redundant interface.
416673	The System > HA pane is not in the GUI. HA is supported and can be configured in the CLI.
421639	HA kernel routes are not flushed after failover when cluster has a large number of routes.
423144	Reliable syslog using dedicated HA management interface doesn’t work.
434800	SNMP trap does not reach SNMP server via HA Master when hbdev interface is up.
437390	HA failover triggered before pingserver-failover-threshold is reached.
438374	HA reserved management interface unable to access or ping.

IPS

Bug ID	Description
412470	When a firewall policy is deleted, traffic is lost.
417411	One-ARM sniffer logs sent/revd shown in reverse direction.
434478	Information incorrect in diag test app ipsmonitor 13.
434592	Ethernet.IP is not recognized in ICS app ctrl signature by sniffer mode.

IPsec

Bug ID	Description
401847	Half of IPsec tunnels traffic lost 26 minutes after powering on a spare FG-1500D.
412863	NP6 drops fragment packet with payload 15319 bytes or higher.
412987	IPsec VPN certificate not validated against PKI user’s CN and Subject.
414899	Apple Cisco IPsec VPN group name (IKE ID) length limit.
415353	Telnet connection timing out with IPsec through MPLS when offloading is enabled.
435124	Cannot establish IPsec phase1 tunnel after upgrading from version 5.4.5 to 5.6.0. Workaround: After upgrading to 5.6.0, reconfigure all IPsec phase1 psksecret settings.
438648	outbound enable not set on bi-directional IPsec policy.
439923	For FG-60E, 12-character FQDN Peer ID causes communication failure.
440615	When monitor-hold-down-delay is used in IKEv2 then the value of monitorhold-down-delay has no effect and so once the IKE SA for the primary tunnel is established, it immediately takes the secondary down.

Log & Report

Bug ID	Description
386668	FortiGate sends FortiAnalyzer different time stamps from its disk log.
391013	Some traffic flow does not show in traffic log.
396319	For the NGFW_vdom, the application UTM log action is always PASS when firewall policy deny the traffic.
409831	Traffic statistic not tally in report.
Bug ID	Description
413778	With long VDOM names, no log is displayed when only one field subtype forward is added to traffic log filter.
417128	Syslog message are missed in FortiGate.

Proxy

Bug ID	Description
414496	URL getting Blocked -IPS SensorTriggered.
415627	After upgrading to 5.6, certificate inspection causes certificate warning.
418193	Some HTTPS sites show Secure Connection Failed (static URL filter only flow-based webfilter, certificate inspection).
424362	Multiple crashes of WAD process.
437990	MiTM Proxy mode HTTPS Interception Weakens TLS Security.

Router

Bug ID	Description
397087	VRIP cannot be reached on FG-51E when it is acting as VRRP master.
412336	Specific static route on vwl member interface should not be controlled by vwl status.
415366	WAN LLB with IP pools configured for two ISP connections.
424381	TCP sessions are stuck or time out randomly.
434026	SD-WAN health check does not remove route.

Security Fabric

Bug ID	Description
385341	If there are multiple FortiAPs managed, GUI cannot display managed FortiAPs in FortiView > Physical Topology page.
403085	The session tab cannot be displayed on historical page when you drill down.
406561	Matching username is not highlighted in tooltip after topology search.
Bug ID	Description
408495	An improper warning message may appear in the FortiAnalyzer log when changing the root FortiGate to a downstream FortiGate.
411479	The icon used to signify the source of logs when the time range is set to now is incorrect.
411645	Drilling down from a root FortiGate to a downstream FortiGate causes an error.
412104	The drill down for an aggregated device is not displayed as an individual device.
412249	Threats of a downstream FortiGate cannot be displayed on the root FortiGate.
412930	The Security Audit Event is not hidden on Security Fabric child nodes.
413189	The bubble chart with FortiAnalyzer view may not be drawn correctly.
413492	Security Fabric topology change can cause high CPU usage by miglogd on Security Fabric root.
413742	In Security Fabric topology, the red circle to indicate the root node of the Security Fabric should not be displayed on each child FortiGate.
413912	In Security Fabric topology, the upstream FortiGate can still be displayed when Security Fabric is disabled on a downstream FortiGate.
414147	In Security Fabric topology, the topology cannot be updated after changing the upstream port on a child FortiGate.
414301	Security Fabric topology is not displayed due to js error Cannot read property ‘VDOM’ of undefined.

SLBC

Bug ID	Description
378207	authd process causes high CPU usage when only RSSO logging is configured.

Spam

Bug ID	Description
398277	Application scanunit crashes with signal 6 received.
408971	Management Traffic is sent out via wrong interface in Virtual WAN Link.
410420	Spam emails are exempted if they are sent in one session.
Bug ID	Description
416790	(no.x pattern matched) is not logged when bwl matches envelop MAIL FROM.
424443	Client behind FG-60E cannot get bounced mail when sending a spam mail to Hotmail /Outlook.

SSL VPN

Bug ID	Description
304528	SSL VPN Web Mode PKI user might immediately log back in even after logging out.
380974	Possible root cause of SSL VPN fail with error:0B080074: ..X509_check_ private_key:key values mismatch/ApacheSSLSetCertStuff.
396788	SSL VPN GUI is unable to keep SSO password information for user bookmark.
399784	URL modified incorrectly in a dropdown list in application server.
406028	Citrix with Xenapp 7.x not working via SSL VPN web portal.
408624	SSL VPN certificate UPN+LDAP authentication works only on first policy.
412850	SSL VPN portal redirect fails with a Javascript error.
413758	Auto-generated SSL interface do not associate with SSLVPN_TUNNEL_ADDR1 for a long name VDOM.
414074	Application with Jira 7.2 and higher does not display properly in SSL VPN web mode.
415543	Request ability to exclude certain services from being created via personal bookmark.
415746	SSO on SSL VPN HTTP bookmark uses OTP instead of password in Auth HTTP header field when user authenticates via TFA.
423415	Incorrectly resolved membership for group members using SSL VPN.
424561	SSL VPN web mode has trouble loading certain page in HTTP/HTTPS bookmark.
433779	RDP bookmark doesn’t work after upgrading to 5.6.
438004	A bookmark having access link to a web page does not work via SSL VPN web mode.

System

Bug ID	Description
383126	FG-50E/FG-51E TP mode – STP BPDU forwarding destined to 01:80:c2:00:00:00 stops after warm/cold reboot.
396781	Interface policy cannot block traffic encapsulated in PPPoE.
403572	Fragmentation not working on VLAN with mtu-override on NP6.
410463	SNMP is not responding when queried on a loopback IP address with an asymmetric SNMP packet path.
412184	If you use port 4433 for the admin-port, admin-sport, you cannot access GUI anymore.
412244	Fortitoken Mobile push won’t work when VDOM is enabled.
413885	long-vdom-name of global setting is disabled after exe factoryrest2.
413909, 404337	The diagnose hardware test system cpu, diagnose hardware test cpu model, and diagnose hardware test bios fail to produce a correct hardware report. Affected models: FortiGate / FortiWiFi 30E, 50E, 51E, 52E, 60E, 61E, 80E, 81E, 100E, 100EF, 101E, and 140E series.
414242	Offload not supported on 200E aggregate interfaces.
414482	The pre-allocated size for interface cache and policy cache is not big enough.
415555	IPv6 ipv6-neighbor-cache configuration is lost after a reboot or flush command.
416950	NP6 stops process traffic through IPsec tunnel.
417644	When remote wildcard admin with Radius accprofile-override is enabled (super admin), restoring config fails on slave.
420150	NTPv3 with authentication enabled fails with error receive: authentication failed.
421813	With VDOM enabled, after restoring a VDOM, the members of a zone are removed.
422414	FG-90D + FG-100D modem port not responding.
422755	FG-60D removes session unexpectedly – memory_tension_drop increase even though memory usage is very low.
423039	After the upgrade from 5.4.4 to 5.6.0, FortiGate cannot receive public IP with Netgear Aircard 341U.
Bug ID	Description
423375	Some configurations are missing in the output of show full-configuration.
424213	Cluster virtual MAC address is changed to physical port MAC address when ports are assigned on MGMT-VDOM.
434480	Admin user session does not time out.
434823	Firewall system halted when the sniffer is enabled in console.
436211	Kernel conserve mode due to memory leak.
436437	FortiGate cannot apply the FortiClient renew license from FortiGuard server.
437599	ICMP unreachable packet is blocked by transparent FortiGate.
438197	PPPoE connection is disrupted by HA failover/failback.
438944	BPDU frames are not changed in TP mode when one arm is connected to multiple VLANs.
439897	Virtual wire pair on asymmetric environment issue.
440041	DHCPv6 seems to fail when ip6-mode is DHCP – failed to assign link-local address.

Bug ID	Description
414402	vmtoolsd continuously crashes.

User

Bug ID	Description
378085	User authentication timeout max setting change.
410901	PKI peer CA search stops on first match based on CA subject name.
412487	RSSO Endpoint Storage limits the number of characters to 48.
421456	FortiGate cannot authenticate with Cisco ISE Radius and token.
434849	Guest UserEmail Template cut off when emailed to the recipient.
439760	User name is not visible in logs and on blocking page when using explicit proxy and Kerberos authentication.

Bug ID	Description
414811	Restore NIC offload capabilities on FortiGate KVM VM.
416783	FortiGate Image for ESXi loses interface information when reboot-upon-configrestore is disabled and a config is restored.
438174	Fortinet VM Product range device detection improved.

VoIP

Bug ID	Description
423437	SIP ALG does not translate all MSRP SEND messages if more than one SEND message is contained within a single packet.

WebProxy

Bug ID	Description
398405	WAD crashes without backtrace – WAF HTTP header matching problem.
406292	After update to 5.4.3 (B1111), WAD sometimes crashes.
415385	Explicit FTP proxy issue on zero file size transfers.
417491	WAD crashes when handling FTP over HTTP traffic.
421092	WAD consuming memory when explicit webproxy is used.
423077	WAD crashed after upgrading from 5.2.10 to 5.4.4 GA release.
423128	Unable to access www.ch.endress.com when deep inspection is enabled on explicitproxy policy.
424208	Expired certificates with valid issuers are treated as untrusted.
438759	TeamViewer not blocked with explicit proxy application control with SSL “deep inspection”.

WiFi

Bug ID	Description
396580	Memory leak and crash reported for hostapd.
409110	Web page override login page loads slowly.
413214	Remote APs traffic not working.
Bug ID	Description
413693	WPA_Entreprise with Radius Auth mode fails with VDOM that has a long VDOM name.
417001	Explicit HTTP proxy drops HTTPS connections on WiFi rating failures.
420967	Proxy AV + Proxy WF + SSL Certificate Inspection (Inspect All Ports) results in HTTPS traffic bypassing WiFi.
423020	Regex value changes in the URL filter.
436354	Replace Message Group Web FilterBlock Override page not working.
438003	Part of APs failed to be managed by FortiGate because cw_acd crashed in CMCC portal authentication.

Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures

FortiOS5.6.1 is no longer vulnerable to the following issues and CVE references. For more information, see https://fortiguard.com/psirt.

Bug ID	Description
409913	l 2017-3130
414418	l 2017-3131 l 2017-3132 l 2017-3133
416322	l 2017-2636
416914	l 2016-10229
421539	l 2009-3555
422133	l 2009-3555
438599	FortiOS: SHA1-intermediate is not transfer to browser after proxy DPI.
440744	FortiOS: Reflected XSS in Web Proxy Disclaimer Response web page due proxy URL has not been sanitized.

Known Issues

The following issues have been identified in version 5.6.1. For inquires about a particular bug or to report a bug, please contact CustomerService & Support.

Application Control

Bug ID	Description
435951	Traffic keeps going through the DENY NGFW policy configured with URL category.
441996	No UTM AppCtrl log for signature Gmail_Attachment.Download when action is blocked.

Firewall

Bug ID	Description
434959	NGFW policy with App Control policy blocks traffic.

FortiGate 3815D

Bug ID	Description
385860	FG-3815D does not support 1GE SFP transceivers.

FortiLink

Bug ID	Description
434470	Explicit policy for traffic originating from interface dedicated to FortiLink.
441300	Limited options in FortiLink quarantine stanza to use, giving users no way to trigger the quarantine function.

FortiSwitch-Controller/FortiLink

Bug ID	Description
304199	Using HA with FortiLink can encounter traffic loss during failover.
357360	DHCP snooping may not work on IPv6.
369099	FortiSwitch authorizes successfully, but fails to pass traffic until you reboot FortiSwitch.

Known

Bug ID	Description
404399	FortiLink goes down when connecting to ForiSwitch 3.4.2 b192.
408082	Operating a dedicated hardware switch into FortiLink changes STP from enable to disable.
415380	DHCP snooping enabled on FortiSwitch VLAN interfaces may prevent clients from obtaining addresses through DHCP. Workaround: disable switch-controller-dhcp-snooping on FortiLink VLAN interfaces.

FortiView

Bug ID	Description
366627	FortiView Cloud Application may display the incorrect drill down File and Session list in the Applications View.
368644	Physical Topology: Physical Connection of stacked FortiSwitch may be incorrect.
375172	FortiGate under a FortiSwitch may be shown directly connected to an upstream FortiGate.
402507	In physical/logical topology, threat drill down fails and keeps GUI loading unexpectedly.
408100	Log fields are not aligned with columns after drill down on FortiView and Log details.
441835	Drill down a auth-failed wifi client entry in “Failed Authentication” could not display detail logs when CSF enabled
442238	FortiView VPN map can’t display Google map (199 dialup VPN tunnel).
442367	In FortiView > Cloud Applications, when the cloud users column is empty, drill down will not load.

GUI

Bug ID	Description
374247	GUI list may list another VDOM interface when editing a redundant interface.
375036	The Archived Data in the SnifferTraffic log may not display detailed content and download.
375383	If the policy includes the wan-load-balance interface, the policy list page may receive a javascript error when clicking the search box.
398397	Slowness in accessing Policy and Address page in GUI after upgrading from 5.2.2 to 5.4.1.
402775	Add multiple ports and port range support in the explicit FTP/web proxy.

Known Issues

Bug ID	Description
403146	Slow GUI Policy tab with more than 600 policies.
412401	Incorrect throughput reading in GUI-System-HA page.
439185	AV quarantine cannot be viewed and downloaded from detail panel when source is FortiAnalyzer.
442231	Link cannot show different colors based on link usage legend in logical topology real time view.

Bug ID	Description
442252	WAD stops forwarding traffic on both transparent proxy and explicit web proxy after IPS test over web proxy.

Bug ID	Description
439152	FGSP – standalone config sync – synchronizes BGP neighbor.
441078	The time duration of packet-transporting process stops to pre-master node after HA failover takes too long.
441716	Traffic stops when load-balance-all is enabled in active-active HA when npu_vlink is used in the path.
436585	Issues with different hardware generation when operating in a HA cluster.

IPsec

Bug ID	Description
416102	Traffic over IPsec VPN gets dropped after two pings when it is getting offloaded to NPU.

Log & Report

Bug ID	Description
412649	In NGFW Policy mode, FGT does not create webfilter logs.
438858	Synchronized log destination with Log View and FortiView display source.
441476	Rolled log file is not uploaded to FTP server by max-log-file-size.

Proxy

Known Security Fabric

Bug ID	Description
403229	In FortiView display from FortiAnalyzer, the upstream FortiGate cannot drill down to final level for downstream traffic.
409156	In Security Fabric Audit, The unlicensed FDS FortiGate shouldn’t be marked Passed in Firmware & Subscriptions.
411368	In FortiView with FortiAnalyzer, the combined MAC address is displayed in the Device field.
414013	Log Settings shows Internal CLI error when enabling historical FortiView at the same time as disk logging.

SSL VPN

Bug ID	Description
405239	URL rewritten incorrectly for a specific page in application server.

System

Bug ID	Description
290708	nturbo may not support CAPWAP traffic.
295292	If private-data-encryption is enabled, when restoring config to a FortiGate, the FortiGate may not prompt the user to enter the key.
304199	FortiLink traffic is lost in HA mode.
364280	User cannot use ssh-dss algorithm to login to FortiGate via SSH.
436580	PDQ_ISW_SSE drops at +/-100K CPS on FG-3700D with FOS 5.4 only.
436746	NP6 counter shows packet drops on FG-1500D. Pure firewall policy without UTM.
437801	FG-30E WAN interface MTU override drop packet issue.
438405	HRX/PKTCHK drops over NP6 with 1.5 Gbps.
439126	Auto-script using diagnose command fails with Unknown action 0 after rebooting FortiGate.
439553	Virtual wire pair config missing after reboot.
440411	Monitor NP6 IPsec engine status.

Known Issues

Bug ID	Description
440412	SNMP trap for per-CPU usage.
440448	FG-800C will not get IP on the LTE-modem interface using Novatel U620.
441532	Suggest to add SNMP/CLI monitoring capabilities of NP6 session table.

Limitations

Citrix XenServer limitations

The following limitations apply to Citrix XenServer installations:

XenTools installation is not supported.
FortiGate-VM can be imported or deployed in only the following three formats:
XVA (recommended) l VHD l OVF
The XVA format comes pre-configured with default configurations for VM name, virtual CPU, memory, and virtual NIC. Other formats will require manual configuration before the first power on process.

Open Source XenServer limitations

When using Linux Ubuntu version 11.10, XenServer version 4.1.0, and libvir version 0.9.2, importing issues may arise when using the QCOW2 format and existing HDA issues.