After installing a FortiGate in your network, there are some basic administrative tasks which you should complete. In this recipe, you will complete these tasks to get your FortiGate ready for use:
- Registering your FortiGate with a Fortinet Support account
- Setting the correct system time
- Adding a password to the default administrative account
- (optional) Restricting administrative access to a trusted host PC
Find this recipe for other FortiOS versions
5.2 | 5.4
1. Registering your FortiGate |
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Registering your FortiGate allows you to receive FortiGuard updates and is required for firmware upgrades and access to Fortinet Support. Before registering your FortiGate unit, it must have Internet connectivity. |
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Go to the Dashboard and locate the License Information widget. Next to Support Contract, select Register. |
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Either use an existing Fortinet Support account or create a new one. Select your Country and Reseller. |
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The License Information widget now displays the unit as Registered. A Launch Portal button also appears, which allows you to quickly access the Fortinet Support Portal. |
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If you need to contact Fortinet Support, it is recommended to first read the article How to work with Fortinet Support. |
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2. Setting the system time |
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Go to the Dashboard and locate the System Information widget. Next to System Time, select Change. |
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Select your Time Zone and either set the time manually or select Synchronize with NTP Server. |
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The System Information widget now displays the correct time. |
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3. Changing the default admin password |
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Go to System > Admin > Administrators and edit the default admin account. Select Change Password. Leave Old Password blank and enter the New Password. You will be automatically signed out after changing the password. |
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It is also recommended to change the user name of this account; however, since you cannot change the user name of an account that is currently in use, a second administrator account will need to be created in order to do this. |
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4. Results |
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Attempt to log in using the admin account without a password. Access is denied. |
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Log in using the admin account with your new password. Access is granted. |
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Go to the Dashboard and locate the Alert Message Console widget, which indicates the failed authentication attempt. |
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5. (Optional) Restricting administrative access to a trusted host |
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If desired, you can configure an administrative account to only be accessible to someone using a trusted host. The host can be either a particular device, or any device on a particular subnet. |
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Go to System > Administrators and edit the default admin account. Enable Restrict login to trusted hosts. Set Trusted Host #1 to the static IP address of the PC you will use to administer the FortiGate unit. If required, set additional trusted hosts. |
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For further reading, check out Basic Administration in the FortiOS 5.4 Handbook.
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