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enots
enots
New Member
June 27, 2022
Question

Deploying FortiClient ZTNA with EMS, any issue installing overtop VPN only client?

  • June 27, 2022
  • 1 reply
  • 2016 views

We are deploying FortiClient EMS for the first time for a customer. They have ~150 Windows laptops that currently have the FortiClient VPN only version. Does anyone know if there are any issues with pushing the Latest version of the FortiClient ZTNA version (v7.0.5) over the top of it without doing an uninstall first?

 

I have done testing over the latest version of the VPN only client as well as over the top of 6.4.7.and both times when I do it with the GUI it shows it will upgrade the client which it seems to do with no issue. I have the same result when I do a silent install as well with good results. Pulling an inventory it looks like I have versions ranging as far back as 5.6 of the VPN only client that are being used.

 

I am not sure if the VPN Only client is any different, but from this documentation it would appear I can upgrade from v6.2.x and newer directly to v7.0.5. 

https://fortinetweb.s3.amazonaws.com/docs.fortinet.com/v2/attachments/e4a06399-a65c-11e8-8784-00505692583a/forticlient-ems-upgrade-path-matrix.pdf

 

Can anyone confirm this based on experience?

 

What about going from 5.6 and 6.0 VPN Only client? (about 1/3rd of the computers)

1 reply

R_F
R_F
Explorer
June 28, 2022

"We are deploying FortiClient EMS for the first time for a customer. They have ~150 Windows laptops that currently have the FortiClient VPN only version. Does anyone know if there are any issues with pushing the Latest version of the FortiClient ZTNA version (v7.0.5) over the top of it without doing an uninstall first?

 

"if thats the case seems you need to overwrite the old FC installed with the latest version of installer package coming from your EMS.

enots
enotsAuthor
New Member
June 29, 2022

Do you have personal experience? This was my assumption, but the documentation doesn't specify if the VPN only client being overwritten by the EMS one works fine or if they are referring from older EMS to EMS versions. My initial testing shows it works okay, but that is only a few test VM's. using the 7.0.5 and 6.4.7 version of VPN only. 

 

When I posted the same question on Reddit, got feed back that people were having issues. One said they were seeing 15-20% failure rate. Consensus seems to be uninstall the old one, reboot, install new one, reboot again. 

(https://www.reddit.com/r/fortinet/comments/vgmj8j/deploying_forticlientztna_with_ems_any_issue/)

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