Setup FortiOS 1000d

[OlehH]

Hello everyone, I received a FortiGate 1000D firewall from an acquaintance, but the only problem is that the operating system on the firewall has crashed. How can I install the Fo on it if I don't have access to the license?

Is it possible?

[OlehH]

I've never used hardware firewalls before, so I would be grateful for any advice!

[AEK]

Hello

I don't think you can download the firmware if you don't have an active support contract for a 1000D.

[ede_pfau]

I've got no idea what you mean by "crashing" a FGT but I assume you cannot log in via Web or console port (serial). Or, you can, but FortiOS doesn't boot up completly.

In this case, your only access is the boot menu. You can get into that by connecting to the serial port, using for instance PuTTY, and cold-booting. After the first prompt, hit any key to interrupt the boot process.

Under normal circumstances, you would upload a FortiOS image via TFTP now, and the FGT would be ready after a reboot.

Without a valid (FortiCare) license, you will not have access to FortiOS images.

Do you happen to have one / the installed one through your acquaintenance?

Well, as a last resort, you could try to boot from the secondary image on flash - IF there is one saved there.

The process is outlined e.g. here: https://docs.fortinet.com/document/fortigate/6.2.16/cookbook/556915/installing-firmware-from-system-...

Sometimes, there is no secondary image stored on the internal flash disk. Then, consider getting a FortiCare contract (or resell the FGT :-). It isn't that much really, usually.

Without further research I couldn't tell whether the 1000D contracts are still on sale, and they might be a bit expensive given that the 1000D is an enterprise model...YMMV.