FortiLink - multiple ports on FortiLink interface not working

[pmh]

Hi there!

We have two+ new FortiSwitches that we want to connect to and manage via our FortiGate.

Using FortiLink on one of the SPF+ interfaces, one of the switches appears. Using one of the RJ45 ports on the FortiLink interface, the second switch is working good, but when bundling the SPF+ port + the RJ45 port together on the FortiLink interface only one of the switches shows as "online". 

Is it not possible to combine SFP+ and RJ45 on a bundled FortiLink interface - and if not, is the only way to connect two ore more switched to connect from switch to switch?

-PM

[abelio]

Hi,
one 'by the book' deployment is build a LACP for the fortilink interface in your FGT with 2 dedicated ports belonging to the same internal switch.
Depending if your setup with those both FSW are for redundancy or with MCLAG support or just to build a chain of two different switches managed for FGT, you can enable fortlink split interface in the former case or not in the second.

Are you mixing 10GB SPF+ with 1 GB RJ45 in your initial setup?

[pmh]

Yeah, that would have been a mix of the two, yes - but as I couldn't get that to work I instead sticked to using one (I only have one free SFP+ port) SFP+ port and link the switched together by their SFP+'s. This works fine, but means that I have to purchase longer SFP+ cables.  

[abelio]

Just one additional comment:
if you're mixing 10GB SFP+ with 1GB RJ45 in your trunk,  don't let 'auto-negotiate' speed for sfp+,   force it explicitely to 1 GB.

[pmh]

Thanks - well noted!