FortiGate-5001FA2 Security System Guide
30 01-30000-0379-20080606
FortiGate-5001FA2 base backplane data communication Quick Configuration Guide
FortiGate-5001FA2 base backplane data communication
You can configure the FortiGate-5001FA2 boards for data communications using
the two FortiGate-5140, FortiGate-5050, or FortiGate-5020 chassis base
backplane interfaces.
By default the base backplane interfaces are used for HA heartbeat
communication. However, using the information in this section, you can configure
the FortiGate-5001FA2 to also use the base backplane interfaces for data
communication. Once the base backplane interfaces are configured for data
communication you can operate and configure them in the same way as any
FortiGate-5001FA2 interface.
Although not recommended, you can use base backplane interfaces for data
communication and HA heartbeat communication at the same time.
In a FortiGate-5140 or FortiGate-5050 chassis, FortiGate-5001FA2 base
backplane communication requires one or two FortiSwitch-5003 boards.
A FortiSwitch-5003 board installed in chassis slot 1 provides communication on
the port9 interface. A FortiSwitch-5003 board installed in chassis slot 2 provides
communication on the port10 interface. The FortiGate-5020 chassis supports
base backplane data communication for both interfaces with no additions or
changes to the chassis.
For details and configuration examples of FortiGate-5001FA2 base backplane
communication using the FortiSwitch-5003 board, see the FortiGate-5000 Base
Backplane Communication Guide.
To enable base backplane data communication from the FortiGate-5001FA2
web-based manager
From the FortiGate-5001FA2 web-based manager use the following steps to
enable base backplane data communication.
1 Go to System > Network > Interface.
2 Select Show backplane interfaces.
The port9 and port10 backplane interfaces now appear in the Interface list.
Note: Different FortiGate-5000 series boards may use different names for the base
backplane interfaces. For example, on the FortiGate-5001SX and FortiGate-5001FA2
boards the base backplane interfaces are called port9 and port10. On the
FortiGate-5005FA2 and FortiGate-5001A boards the base backplane interfaces are called
base1 and base2.
Note: VLAN communication over the backplane is only available for FortiGate-5005FA2
boards installed in a FortiGate-5020 chassis. The FortiSwitch-5003 does not support
VLAN-tagged packets so VLAN communication is not available over the FortiGate-5050
and FortiGate-5140 chassis backplanes.