Compatibility Between FortiManager and Third-Party Management Software

[steveanderson]

Hello everyone,

I wanted to start a discussion regarding the compatibility between FortiManager and management software. Specifically, I am interested in understanding the integration and interoperability aspects between FortiManager and other network management tools.

While FortiManager offers robust management capabilities for Fortinet devices, some organizations may have existing investments in third-party management software that they prefer to use for their network infrastructure. In such cases, it becomes crucial to ensure smooth integration between FortiManager and these third-party tools.

I would appreciate it if anyone with experience or knowledge in this area could share insights on the following:

1. Compatibility: Has anyone successfully integrated FortiManager with third-party management software? Which management tools have you used alongside FortiManager, and what was the compatibility like?

2. Features and Functionality: How well do third-party management software and FortiManager complement each other in terms of features and functionality? Are there any limitations or challenges encountered during integration?

3. Configuration and Monitoring: How do the two management systems handle configuration and monitoring tasks? Are there any discrepancies or inconsistencies when managing Fortinet devices through a combination of FortiManager and third-party software?

4. Best Practices: Based on your experiences, what are some best practices or recommendations for integrating FortiManager with other management tools? Are there any particular considerations to keep in mind during the implementation process?

Please feel free to share your thoughts, experiences, and any useful tips or resources related to this topic. Your insights will greatly benefit the community and assist those looking to optimize their network management workflows.

Thank you all in advance for your contributions, and I look forward to a fruitful discussion!

Best regards,

Steve

[Anthony_E]

Hello Steve,

Thank you for using the Community Forum. I will seek to get you an answer or help. We will reply to this thread with an update as soon as possible.

Thanks,

[Anthony_E]

Hello Steve,

We are still looking for someone to help you.

We will come back to you ASAP.

Regards,

[Stephen_G]

Hi Steve,

Thanks for using our forum! Unfortunately, compatibility with other, third-party management software is quite a broad topic, so it's difficult finding experts. I recognize you were looking to generate discussion and learn from others' experiences rather than to ask for assistance with a specific query, so hopefully others can reply here if they have any relevant experience. I'm sorry this hasn't resulted in as much discussion yet as you may have hoped.

I haven't managed to find any signs of other users encountering compatibility issues though, which you may be able to take as a good sign. If you do experiment with FortiManager compatibility across different third-party security and application management software packages, you're more than welcome to report any findings or raise any issues/queries here. I'm confident many community members would be eager to learn from your experiences.

In the meantime, we will continue looking for anyone who may be able to assist you more comprehensively.

Kind regards,

[iyotov]

Hi Steve,

FortiManager can interact with 3rd party services and/or scripting tools using the following methods:

• JASON API - Allowing almost the same feature set as the embedded GUI.
  For example:
  • Add/edit/delete managed devices
  • Add/edit/delete configuration items, policies and objects of the managed devices
  • Installation of changes to the managed devices
  • Monitoring  of the managed devices status by proxying FOS REST API.
  • FortiManager System configuration and monitoring
  • Etc..
• XML (SOAP) API - A legacy API, with some of the capabilities of the JSON API but also many limitations and no further development. Still, can be used if necessary.
• SNMP v.1/2/3 - Which can be used for FortiManager system monitoring (both polling and traps), including device management statuses and license info. You can see the available OIDs in the MIB files of each firmware version, downloadable from the firmware section of your FortiCloud support portal.
• SSH CLI - Allowing access to the FortiManager CLI, which is mostly for administration but can be also used together with external scripting tools for diagnostics and monitoring of certain parameters that are not available via other methods.

If you can be more specific, we will try to provide links to the relevant documentation.

Regards
Ivo