Technical Tip: How to get the serial number via CLI and GUI

To obtain the serial number of FortiGate from the GUI, go under Dashboard -> Status -> System Information -> Serial number

For any purpose, it could be necessary to know the serial number of a device via CLI. 

If the command 'get system status' is typed, it brings information related to the device, for example: 

FGT # get system status
Version: FortiGate-100E v7.2.9,build1688,240813 (GA.M)
Security Level: 2
Firmware Signature: certified
Virus-DB: 1.00000(2018-04-09 18:07)
Extended DB: 1.00000(2018-04-09 18:07)
AV AI/ML Model: 0.00000(2001-01-01 00:00)
IPS-DB: 6.00741(2015-12-01 02:30)
IPS-ETDB: 6.00741(2015-12-01 02:30)
APP-DB: 29.00908(2024-11-21 03:53)
FMWP-DB: 24.00111(2024-11-06 13:21)
INDUSTRIAL-DB: 6.00741(2015-12-01 02:30)
IPS Malicious URL Database: 1.00001(2015-01-01 01:01)
IoT-Detect: 0.00000(2022-08-17 17:31)
Serial-Number: FG100EXXXXXXXXXXXX
BIOS version: 05000006
System Part-Number: P19082-03
Log hard disk: Not available
Hostname: FGT
Private Encryption: Disable
Operation Mode: NAT
Current virtual domain: root
Max number of virtual domains: 10
Virtual domains status: 1 in NAT mode, 0 in TP mode
Virtual domain configuration: disable
FIPS-CC mode: disable
Current HA mode: standalone
Branch point: 1688
Release Version Information: GA
FortiOS x86-64: Yes
System time: Mon Nov 25 20:08:29 2024
Last reboot reason: power cycle

However, if the intention is to get only the serial number, avoiding seeing the other information, it is necessary to use the 'grep' command on the 'get system status' outputs.

The following command 'get system status | grep -fi Serial' can be used to search case-insensitively and to mark the found line. 

• The grep parameter '-i' makes the search string case insensitive.
• The grep parameter '-f' will mark the found line with an ASCII arrow '<---'.

For example:

get system status | grep -fi Serial
Serial-Number: FG200ETKxxxxxxxx <---

Alternatively, the following command can be used if the marker arrow is not wanted.

get system status | grep Serial

Serial-Number: FG200ETKxxxxxxxx

In a cluster environment, the serial numbers of all cluster nodes can be seen with the command 'diagnose system ha status'.

Here again, the 'grep' command can be applied to search for the serial numbers by filtering the output for the string 'hostname='.

For example:

diagnose system ha status | grep 'hostname='

FG6H0FTBxxxxxxxx: Secondary, serialno_prio=0, usr_priority=128, hostname=firewall03
FG6H0FTBxxxxxxxx: Primary, serialno_prio=1, usr_priority=200, hostname=firewall02

In FortiAnalyzer, make sure the system information is checked under Dashboard, toggle 'Widget' to view system information for the Serial number.

If getting the serial number for different products than FortiGate, FortiMail, FortiProxy, FortiAnalyzer, or FortiManager is needed, it could be possible to open a ticket with Fortinet TAC and ask for the procedure: Technical Tip: How to create a ticket for Fortinet TAC.

Related articles:
Technical Tip: The usage of 'grep' filter command on the FortiGate CLI
Technical Tip: Find a FortiGate serial number and firmware version details using SNMP OIDs