FortiExtender Data Plans

[SecurityPlus]

New to FortiExtender. Trying to determine if using FortiExtenders might be a good choice for a  WAN2 connection in the event that the existing WAN1 connection goes off-line for a time.

I'm curious what options exist to subscribe to the SIM cards. I know that some cellular carriers have fairly low cost data plans, but that it is easy to exceed the allowed data usage. I think that there are other plans that have high or unlimited data useage caps but that are quite expensive.

Does Fortinet offer cellular data plans? Are there some plans that are well suited for this usage? Do any plans pool data allotments such that a single SIM card in use in a month can use the pooled plan minutes of all SIM card plans? 

[Anthony_E]

Hello,

Thanks a lot for your contribution in Community.

May I propose you to have a look in our Knowledge Base, under this section:

https://community.fortinet.com/t5/FortiExtender/tkb-p/TKB18?pageNum=1

You will find articles concerning FortiExtender which could help you.

If you do not find any answers do not hesitate to come back to us, we will find somebody to help you.

Regards,

[SecurityPlus]

Thanks Anthony_E. I have not used the new forum interface too much recently and forgot that the Knowledge Base section was available. Good to know that this is there.

I searched the Knowledge Base but did not find the information I was looking for concerning sourcing SIM cards and how to best purchase subscriptions to same.

If you or anyone else has any further information it would be appreciated.

[Anthony_E]

Good morning,

Community is a huge knowledge and sharing platform, I can understand :).

No problem at all concerning your question. We will find somebody to provide you a solution.

Best regards,

[Anthony_E]

Hello SecurityPlus,

I have found a documentation which maybe could help you:

https://docs.fortinet.com/document/fortigate/6.4.0/new-features/679555/support-data-plan-profiles-fo...

I am still looking for another solution if this document is not helping. Do not hesitate to tell me.

Regards,

[vpatil · Accepted solution]

New to FortiExtender. Trying to determine if using FortiExtenders might be a good choice for a WAN2 connection in the event that the existing WAN1 connection goes off-line for a time.

Answer:

> Yes, FortiExtender can be used either as a Primary or a Backup WAN Link
> Typical FortiExtender use-cases can be found here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkUZ9NTDk5M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUOW1PfnVtw
https://www.fortinet.com/products/wireless-wan-fortiextender
https://www.fortinet.com/content/dam/fortinet/assets/data-sheets/FortiExtender.pdf
https://docs.fortinet.com/document/fortiextender/7.0.3/admin-guide-standalone/352562/introduction

I'm curious what options exist to subscribe to the SIM cards.
I know that some cellular carriers have fairly low cost data plans, but that it is easy to exceed the allowed data usage. I think that there are other plans that have high or unlimited data useage caps but that are quite expensive.
Does Fortinet offer cellular data plans? Are there some plans that are well suited for this usage? Do any plans pool data allotments such that a single SIM card in use in a month can use the pooled plan minutes of all SIM card plans?

Answer:

> It's a user discretion as to what Carrier SIM and Data plan they like to choose, user can discuss their requirements with their local Telecom Service Providers
Users preference varies, but normally Users choose a SIM Carrier that has reliable Cellular, better signal reception, and affordable SIM data plans
> Yes, on FortiExtender you can create a data-plan and also enable "SIM-switch" feature to trigger SIM Switch using the following parameters:

by-disconnect - The SIM card switches when the active card gets disconnected according to the 'disconnect-threshold' and 'disconnect-period'.
by-signal - The SIM card switches when the signal strength gets weaker than the signal-threshold.
by-data-plan - The SIM card switches when 'capacity' is overrun and 'overage' is enabled.

https://docs.fortinet.com/document/fortiextender/7.0.3/admin-guide-fgt-managed/323043/enable-sim-swi...

Please consult your local Fortinet SE or Fortinet Reseller/Partner with your WAN Network design requirements and they can guide you better in this regard 

[SecurityPlus]

Thank you so much for this very helpful information! Just what I needed. I plan to proceed with one FortiExtender for one location to see it works first-hand. May be a great help for other locations after this.