Technical Tip: FortiConverter Route File Format for Importing Static Routes

FortiConverter supports the import of routing information from an external file. The route file must follow a plain text format similar to the Linux routing table (netstat -rn) output. If the format does not match, the conversion log will display the error:

Unrecognized route file format, please ensure the first line contains title "Destination" and "Gateway"

Solution:

The first line of the file must contain the following column headers:

Each subsequent line represents a static route, with fields defined as follows:

• Destination – The network destination in IPv4 format.

• Gateway – The next-hop IP address, or * if directly connected.

• Genmask – The subnet mask of the route.

• Flags – Route status flags (e.g., U = up, UG = up + gateway).

• Metric – Administrative cost of the route (default = 0).

• Ref – Reserved field (typically 0).

• Use – Reserved field (typically 0).

• Iface – Outgoing interface (e.g., eth0, port1).

Example:

Destination     Gateway         Genmask         Flags Metric Ref Use Iface 192.168.1.0     *               255.255.255.0   U     0      0   0   eth0 192.0.2.0       *               255.255.255.0   U     0      0   0   eth1 10.10.10.0      10.0.0.1        255.255.255.0   UG    10     0   0   port1

Additional information:

• Conversion logs may provide hints if the file format is incorrect.

• The 'Destination' and 'Gateway' headers must be present in the first line or the file will not be parsed.