Technical Tip: How to restart nginx process in the backend shell of FortiDDOS

In case of a GUI issue, there is a command to recover the GUI:

# execute recover-gui 

# execute nginx-restart  

However, sometimes the nginx process is stuck and does not restart. In that case, enter the backend shell to restart the nginx process.

Below are the steps to follow:

• Enable Shell mode from FortiDDOS CLI:

FortiDDoS # config sys global
FortiDDoS (global) # set shell-access enable
FortiDDoS (global) # set shell-password fortinet (any password)
FortiDDoS (global) # set shell-timeout 30 ( timeout for shell access 1-1200 minutes )
FortiDDoS (global) # set shell-username fortinet ( any username)
FortiDDoS (global) # end

Enter the Shell from Putty or SecureCRT for the FortiDDOS IP address using the credentials above:

• Run the PS command to check the process ID:

/# ps | grep nginx
2431 root 3592 S grep nginx
14569 root 18216 S nginx: master process /bin/nginx
14656 root 18692 S nginx: worker process is shutting do
32072 root 18640 S nginx: worker process
/#

• To kill/restart multiple process-id, use the following command:

/# killall nginx

Run the command to check process-id and verify that it changed:

/# ps | grep nginx
2785 root 17940 S nginx: master process /bin/nginx
2787 root 18412 S nginx: worker process

If Process-id changes, it means that the process is restarted.

Related article: 

Troubleshooting Tip: Initial troubleshooting for GUI access issue