Introducing: FortiExtender Vehicle 211F

[PatVita]

Secure Connectivity for Mobile Fleets: FortiExtender Vehicle 211F

By @PatVita | Director of Product Marketing, FortiExtender

If you’re a close follower of Fortinet product news, chances are you’ve heard rumors of a mobility solution coming to the FortiExtender family. I’m happy to say the wait is over: FortiExtender Vehicle is here.  

Secure Connectivity for Mobile Fleets 

Many IT teams struggle to service mobile fleets. Whether it’s a public safety, transportation, logistics, or the travel industry fleet, vehicles are unique in that they require secure connectivity to cloud applications but cannot leverage wired broadband. Adding point solutions creates complexity and risk for organizations. Mobile fleets cannot become another silo for enterprise IT. Secure connectivity for must be delivered within a digital platform alongside other areas of IT, such as OT, IoT and wireless access, 

 
Enter FortiExtender Vehicle 211F (FEV-211F): a ruggedized wireless WAN extender designed for use in vehicle deployments. FEV-211F provides secure and reliable cellular and Wi-Fi connectivity in a single vehicle-mounted form factor for a variety of mobile applications, including: 

• First Responders: FortiExtender Vehicle can provide secure and reliable communication between first responders in the field and command center personnel. As an AT&T FirstNet Ready device with support for LTE Band 14, FortiExtender Vehicle is essential for coordinating emergency response efforts and ensuring the safety of first responders.  
• Logistics: FortiExtender can be deployed on delivery and logistics vehicles to help enterprise IT manage their connected mobile fleets more easily, while integrating the mobile fleets with the rest of the IT stack.  
• Utilities: FortiExtender Vehicle can be used to provide secure and reliable connectivity for critical utility infrastructure such as power grids, water treatment plants, and oil and gas pipelines. This helps to ensure the continuity of essential services.  
• Transportation & Travel: FortiExtender Vehicle can be used to provide secure and reliable connectivity for public transportation systems such as buses and trains. This helps to improve the efficiency and safety of public transportation.   

Thanks to FortiExtender Vehicle, IT organizations of any kind can connect and manage thousands of mobile deployments, simply and securely.  

Device Features and Specifications 

FortiExtender Vehicle 211F is equipped with a variety of features that make it ideal for use in mobile environments, including: 

• Dual CAT-12 LTE micro SIM (3FF) slots for improved reliability: set carrier failover policies based on data consumption, internet disconnects, and signal weakness.  
• 600Mbps D/L & 150Mbps U/L with support of GPS/GNSS/BeDou/Galileo navigation system for accurate location tracking
• 2x2 2.4/5GHz concurrent 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac wave2 WiFi up to 1200Mbps (Max.)
• Rich routing capabilities including Static Routing, OSPF, PBR, Multicast and Link Load Balancing (LLB) 
• Powerful standalone security capabilities including firewall and IPsec VPN 
• DNS service, including recursive, non-recursive, and forward-only DNS 
• Health monitoring, including interface status monitoring and link health checks 
• CAPWAP support for centralized management and provisioning 
• Virtual Extensible LAN (VXLAN) support for network segmentation and isolation 
• Bluetooth 5.0 communication
• Ruggedized form-factor (IP64) for temperature and splash protection 
• 1 x GE WAN + 4 x GE LAN RJ45 ports, 1 x USB2.0, 1x DB9 console and an industrial digital I/O port for external device control
• 7-36 Volt DC power supply for vehicular connections 
• 3-in-1 permanent, outdoor waterproof vehicle roof mount antenna with 2x 5G/LTE + 1x active GNSS and 5 meter antenna cable with SMA male connectors (sold as a separate accessory, see latest price list) 

FortiExtender Vehicle represents an evolution of Fortinet's product portfolio as well as the overarching mobility ecosystem. With FEV-211F-AM, Fortinet is bringing industry-leading expertise in cybersecurity and networking to new areas of the network. FEV-211F-AM is available to order today. Now is the time to connect and protect your mobile fleet with Fortinet!  

For a deep dive on FortiExtender’s capabilities, check the Admin Guide in the Fortinet Document Library.

You can also visit the FortiExtender product website for more information.

[MarianB]

Great news!

Please provide estimated release time for FEV-211F or Europe model.

Best regards, 

MB 

[lpizziniaco]

Great Stuff! 

Very interesting article, if you allow me I would have a couple of questions. As far as I see from the drawing it seems that the fortiextender is an execellent solution for a Vehicle to Infrastructure configuration. Do you think that in the future (if not already) there will be a solution Vehicle to Vehicle and maybe the support for 802.11p ? 

Thank you very much 
Cheers 
Luca 

[PatVita]

At the moment, FEV-211F supports 2x2 2.4/5GHz 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac wave2 WiFi. We typically do not discuss roadmap on public forums, but if there is a feature you'd like to see, and you work at Fortinet, please do file an NFR via Mantis.

[PatVita]

FEV-211F-EA will support Europe (and other International Regions) and will be available in late December.

[WChambers]

EDIT: I was half wrong. You can use them with FortiExtender Cloud, but not all features are currently supported.

Was super excited about this offering for my first responders. BUT, FTNT released these before having the cloud management portion figured out. Apparently they're not currently compatible with FortiExtender Cloud... This is a bummer for us early adopters... 

[PatVita]

FortiExtender Vehicle is fully supported in FortiExtender Cloud: https://docs.fortinet.com/document/fortiextender-cloud/latest/admin-guide/881187/introduction

[WChambers]

Interesting, as this is contrary to my experiences with FEV and what I'm being told by my FTNT rep and SE. I sent them this post, so we'll see what they come back with. The FEX 100-200 series Cloud Premium licensing cannot be applied to FEV in Asset Management. Maybe it uses a different SKU. 

[PatVita]

Hi @WChambers, thanks for explaining your technical issue. Please do work with your AM/SE. Based on what you've said, they will be able to easily resolve your challenge.

[WChambers]

Just to circle back on this, FortiExtender Vehicle is NOT fully supported by FortiExtender Cloud. Also, it appears it's not supported by lan-extension via a FortiGate either. 

I'm really disappointed in how Fortinet handled the release and implementation of this product. I saw a big use case for this for law enforcement and first responders, and am trying to implement it for said use case; yet I keep running into bugs and issues due to FEV not being fully integrated into the fabric. 

[PatVita]

Thanks for reaching out. FortiExtender Vehicle is supported by FortiExtender Cloud with the correct SKU. Please work with your SE. 

FortiExtender Vehicle supports LAN extension from FortiGate. You can view instructions for setup in the FortiGate-Managed Admin Guide on page 25: https://fortinetweb.s3.amazonaws.com/docs.fortinet.com/v2/attachments/386eab8e-daf4-11ed-8e6d-fa163e...

As this comment section is not an official channel for support, I won't be able to help you further. Please work with you SE/CSE if you need additional help managing your FortiExtender Vehicle either in FortiExtender Cloud with the correct SKU; or managing the device in FortiGate as a LAN Extender.

Thanks,

Pat

[WChambers]

Pat,

No disrespect, but you're wrong. It's "supported" as in you can "manage" it via FortiExtender Cloud and push SOME configurations to it, but it is not "FULLY" supported as you mentioned earlier. There are some configurations that cannot be pushed to FEV from FEX Cloud. Also LAN/WAN Extension is not working as of yet. I'm working with TAC/SWAT and my AM/SE on this now, but I can tell you that it's not working with my FGT on FortiOS v7.0.14.

I'm not asking for support from you here, I'm simply sharing my experience and frustrations about this new product, and attempting to correct your statements. If anything, I'd ask that you own up to being wrong and posting "matter of fact" posts on the community that are simply not matter of fact. Point to all the KBs you want, but I can tell you from first hand experience that it's not working. Not because of misconfiguration, but because of bugs, and the product not being fully implemented with FEX Cloud; and apparently FGT.   

I will continue to work with my AM/SE/SWAT/TAC on hopefully getting the FEV working as intended - as I just ordered several more. Hopefully Fortinet will assign the necessary recourses to this product to get it fully supported - otherwise you may miss the opportunity to use this with quite a few first responders. 

[wcmichael]

WChambersII,

Any update on how this is going for you? My org is researching lan extenders and trying to decide if the FEV is the right move for us.