Connecting FortiLink ports

This section contains information about the FortiSwitch and FortiGate ports that you connect to establish a FortiLink connection.

In FortiSwitchOS 3.3.0 and later releases, you can use any of the switch ports for FortiLink. Some or all of the switch ports (depending on the model) support auto-discovery of the FortiLink ports.

You can chose to connect a single FortiLink port or multiple FortiLink ports as a logical interface (link-aggregation group, hardware switch, or software switch).

1. Enable the switch controller on the FortiGate unit

Before connecting the FortiSwitch and FortiGate units, ensure that the switch controller feature is enabled on the FortiGate unit with the FortiGate web-based manager or CLI to enable the switch controller. Depending on the FortiGate model and software release, this feature might be enabled by default.

Using the FortiGate GUI

1. Go to System > Feature Visibility.
2. Turn on the Switch Controller feature, which is in the Basic Features
3. Select Apply.

The menu option WiFi & Switch Controller now appears.

Using the FortiGate CLI

Use the following commands to enable the switch controller:

config system global set switch-controller enable

end

2. Connect the FortiSwitch unit and FortiGate unit

FortiSwitchOS 3.3.0 and later provides flexibility for FortiLink:

• Use any switch port for FortiLink l Provides auto-discovery of the FortiLink ports on the FortiSwitch
• Choice of a single FortiLink port or multiple FortiLink ports in a link-aggregation group (LAG)

Auto-discovery of the FortiSwitch ports

In FortiSwitchOS 3.3.0 and later releases, D-series FortiSwitch models support FortiLink auto-discovery, on automatic detection of the port connected to the FortiGate unit.

2. Connect the FortiSwitch unit and FortiGate unit Connecting FortiLink ports

You can use any of the switch ports for FortiLink. Before connecting the switch to the FortiGate unit, use the following FortiSwitch CLI commands to configure a port for FortiLink auto-discovery:

config switch interface edit <port>

set auto-discovery-fortilink enable

end

By default, each FortiSwitch model provides a set of ports that are enabled for FortiLink auto-discovery. If you connect the FortiLink using one of these ports, no switch configuration is required.

In FortiSwitchOS 3.4.0 and later releases, the last four ports are the default auto-discovery FortiLink ports. You can also run the show switch interface command on the FortiSwitch unit to see the ports that have autodiscovery enabled.

The following table lists the default auto-discovery ports for each switch model.

NOTE: Any port can be used for FortiLink if it is manually configured.

Choosing the FortiGate ports

The FortiGate unit manages all of the switches through one active FortiLink. The FortiLink can consist of one port or multiple ports (for a LAG).

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Connecting FortiLink ports                                                              2. Connect the FortiSwitch unit and               unit

As a general rule, FortiLink is supported on all ports that are not listed as HA ports.

configuration using the FortiGate GUI Summary of the procedure FortiLink configuration using the FortiGate GUI

This section describes how to configure a FortiLink between a FortiSwitch unit and a FortiGate unit.

You can configure FortiLink using the FortiGate GUI or CLI. Fortinet recommends using the GUI because the CLI procedures are more complex (and therefore more prone to error).

If you use one of the auto-discovery FortiSwitch ports, you can establish the FortiLink connection (single port or LAG) with no configuration steps on the FortiSwitch and with a few simple configuration steps on the FortiGate unit.

Summary of the procedure

1. On the FortiGate unit, configure the FortLink port or create a logical FortLink interface.
2. Authorize the managed FortiSwitch unit.

Configure FortiLink as a single link

To configure the FortiLink port on the FortiGate unit:

1. Go to Network > Interfaces.
2. (Optional) If the FortiLink physical port is currently included in the internal interface, edit it and remove the desired port from the Physical Interface Members.
3. Edit the FortiLink port.
4. Set Addressing mode to Dedicated to FortiSwitch.
5. Configure the IP/Network Mask for your network.
6. Optionally select Automatically authorize devices or disable to manually authorize the FortiSwitch.
7. Select OK.

Configure FortiLink as a logical interface

You can configure the FortiLink as a logical interface: link-aggregation group (LAG), hardware switch, or software switch).

LAG is supported on all FortiSwitch models and on FortiGate models FGT-100D and above. Hardware switch is supported on some FortiGate models.

Connect any of the FortiLink-capable ports on the FortiGate unit to the FortiSwitch unit. Ensure that you configure auto-discovery on the FortiSwitch ports (unless it is so by default).

6. Go to Network > Interfaces.
7. (Optional) If the FortiLink physical ports are currently included in the internal interface, edit the internal interface, and remove the desired ports from the Physical Interface Members.
8. Select Create New > Interface.
9. Enter a name for the interface (11 characters maximum).
10. Set the Type to 3ad Aggregate, Hardware Switch, or Software Switch.
11. Select the FortiGate ports for the logical interface.
12. Set Addressing mode to Dedicated to FortiSwitch.
13. Configure the IP/Network Mask for your network.
14. Optionally select Automatically authorize devices or disable to manually authorize the FortiSwitch.
15. Select OK.

FortiLink split interface

You can use the FortiLink split interface to connect the FortiLink aggregate interface from one FortiGate unit to two FortiSwitch units. When the FortiLink split interface is enabled, only one link remains active.

The aggregate interface for this configuration must contain exactly two physical ports (one for each FortiSwitch unit).

You must enable the split interface on the FortiLink aggregate interface using the FortiGate CLI:

config system interface edit <name of the FortiLink interface> set fortilink-split-interface enable

end

Authorizing the FortiSwitch unit

If you configured the FortiLink interface to manually authorize the FortiSwitch unit as a managed switch, perform the following steps:

1. Go to WiFi & Switch Controller > Managed FortiSwitch.
2. Optionally, click on the FortiSwitch faceplate and click Authorize. This step is required only if you disabled the automatic authorization field of the interface.

Adding preauthorized FortiSwitch units

After you preauthorize a FortiSwitch unit, you can assign the FortiSwitch ports to a VLAN.

To preauthorize a FortiSwitch:

1. Go to WiFi & Switch Controller> Managed FortiSwitch.
2. Click Create New.
3. In the New Managed FortiSwitch page, enter the serial number, model name, and description of the FortiSwitch.
4. Move the Authorized slider to the right.
5. Click OK.

The Managed FortiSwitch page shows a FortiSwitch faceplate for the preauthorized switch.

configuration using the FortiGate GUI                                                             Managed FortiSwitch display

Managed FortiSwitch display

Go to WiFi & Switch Controller> Managed FortiSwitch to see all of the switches being managed by your FortiGate.

When the FortiLink is established successfully, the status is green (next to the FortiGate interface name and on the FortiSwitch faceplate), and the link between the ports is a solid line.

If the link has gone down for some reason, the line will be dashed, and a broken link icon will appear. You can still edit the FortiSwitch unit though and find more information about the status of the switch. The link to the FortiSwitch unit might be down for a number of reasons; for example, a problem with the cable linking the two devices, firmware versions being out of synch, and so on. You need to make sure the firmware running on the FortiSwitch unit is compatible with the firmware running on the FortiGate unit.

From the Managed FortiSwitch page, you can edit any of the managed FortiSwitch units, remove a FortiSwitch unit from the configuration, refresh the display, connect to the CLI of a FortiSwitch unit, or deauthorize a FortiSwitch unit.

Edit a managed FortiSwitch unit

To edit a managed FortiSwitch unit:

1. Go to Wifi & Switch Controller> Managed FortiSwitch.
2. Click on the FortiSwitch to and click Edit, right-click on a FortiSwitch unit and select Edit, or double-click on a FortiSwitch unit.

From the Edit Managed FortiSwitch form, you can:

• Change the Name and Description of the FortiSwitch unit. l View the Status of the FortiSwitch unit.
• Restart the FortiSwitch.
• Authorize or deauthorize the FortiSwitch. l Update the firmware running on the switch.

Network interface display

On the Network > Interfaces page, you can see the FortiGate interface connected to the FortiSwitch unit. The GUI indicates Dedicated to FortiSwitch in the IP/Netmask field.

Add link aggregation groups (Trunks)

To create a link aggregation group for FortiSwitch user ports:

1. Go to WiFi & Switch Controller> FortiSwitch Ports.
2. Click Create New > Trunk.
3. In the New Trunk Group page, enter a Name for the trunk group.
4. Select two or more physical ports to add to the trunk group.
5. Select the Mode: Static, Passive LACP, or Active LACP.
6. Click OK.

FortiLink configuration using the                Configure DHCP blocking, IGMP snooping, STP, and loop guard on managed