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Technical Tip: FortiGate does not support 'Hardware Switch' type

Description

This article describes a problem where it is not possible to select the 'Hardware Switch' type when trying to create new interface.

Scope

All FortiGates that support Hardware Switches

Solution

On some (but not all) FortiGate models a Hardware Switch is supported. See here for the support models.

However, this option may not be visible in the FortiGate's interfaces, and instead, a 'VLAN Switch' is shown:

To resolve this issue, it is necessary to disable 'VLAN switch mode' under System -> Settings -> System Operating Settings.

To disable the VLAN switch in the CLI, run the following commands:

config system global
set virtual-switch-vlan disable
end

Once this option is changed, it will be possible to see the 'Hardware Switch' via Network -> Interfaces:

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