Fortigate Vm Sizing Azure -

Before selecting an Azure VM size, you must understand the Fortinet license tiers. The software license places a "hard cap" on throughput, regardless of how powerful the underlying Azure VM is.

Note: "Unlimited" is constrained only by the underlying Azure instance size.

Key Takeaway: If you purchase a VM04 license but deploy a 32-vCPU Azure instance, your throughput will cap at 5 Gbps (Firewall). Conversely, if you purchase a VMXL license but deploy a small instance, you are limited by the instance's hardware.

For environments above 2 Gbps, consider FortiGate-VM with vSRX or native Azure Firewall Premium for cost comparison – FGT-VM often wins on features but not always on raw Azure throughput.

Note: Always refer to the latest Fortinet Azure Sizing Guide (FortiOS 7.4+) and Microsoft’s VM documentation, as both companies update performance data quarterly.

FortiGate VM Sizing in Azure: A Comprehensive Guide

As organizations increasingly move their workloads to the cloud, ensuring the security and integrity of their infrastructure becomes a top priority. FortiGate, a leading network security appliance, offers a virtual machine (VM) solution that can be deployed in Azure to provide robust security features. However, to ensure optimal performance and efficiency, it's crucial to properly size the FortiGate VM for your Azure environment. In this article, we'll delve into the key considerations and best practices for FortiGate VM sizing in Azure.

Understanding FortiGate VM

FortiGate VM is a virtualized version of the FortiGate network security appliance, which provides a comprehensive range of security features, including firewall, intrusion prevention, antivirus, and more. The VM can be deployed on various platforms, including Azure, to provide security and protection for cloud-based infrastructure.

Why Proper Sizing is Important

Proper sizing of the FortiGate VM is essential to ensure that it can handle the required network traffic and security workloads. Undersizing the VM can lead to performance issues, packet loss, and decreased security effectiveness, while oversizing can result in unnecessary costs. Therefore, it's crucial to carefully evaluate your Azure environment and security requirements to determine the optimal FortiGate VM size.

Factors to Consider for FortiGate VM Sizing in Azure

When sizing a FortiGate VM in Azure, several factors need to be taken into account:

Azure VM Instance Types for FortiGate VM

Azure offers several VM instance types that can be used for FortiGate VM deployment. Some of the most common instance types include: fortigate vm sizing azure

FortiGate VM Sizing Guidelines

Based on the factors mentioned earlier, here are some general guidelines for sizing a FortiGate VM in Azure:

Best Practices for FortiGate VM Deployment in Azure

To ensure optimal performance and security, follow these best practices when deploying a FortiGate VM in Azure:

Conclusion

Proper sizing of a FortiGate VM in Azure is crucial to ensure optimal performance, security, and efficiency. By considering factors such as network traffic volume, security features, throughput requirements, and Azure VM instance types, you can determine the optimal FortiGate VM size for your Azure environment. By following best practices for deployment and configuration, you can ensure that your FortiGate VM provides robust security and protection for your cloud-based infrastructure.

FortiGate VM Sizing Tools and Resources

To help with FortiGate VM sizing, Fortinet provides several tools and resources:

By leveraging these tools and resources, you can ensure that your FortiGate VM is properly sized and configured to meet the security needs of your Azure environment.

Sizing Your FortiGate VM in Azure: A Comprehensive Guide Deploying a FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW)

on Microsoft Azure is a powerful way to secure your cloud workloads. However, unlike physical appliances with fixed specs, "sizing" in the cloud is a balancing act between Azure instance limits Fortinet licensing

This guide breaks down how to choose the right VM size to ensure peak performance without overspending.

1. The Two Pillars of Sizing: Azure SKU vs. FortiGate License

When you size a FortiGate VM, you must satisfy two different sets of constraints: Azure Instance Limits: Each Azure VM size (e.g., Standard_F4s ) has a hard cap on the number of Network Interfaces (NICs) and raw CPU/RAM. FortiGate License Limits: If you use Bring Your Own License (BYOL) , your license (e.g.,

) limits how many vCPUs the FortiOS software will actually use. Before selecting an Azure VM size, you must

You can run a 2-vCPU license on an 8-vCPU Azure VM if you need more NICs, but the FortiGate will only use 2 of those CPUs for traffic processing. 2. Recommended Azure Instance Families For security appliances, Fortinet generally recommends Compute-Optimized General-Purpose instances.

Sizing a FortiGate VM in Azure for Deep Inspection (SSL/TLS decryption) is CPU-intensive and requires careful alignment between Azure instance capabilities and Fortinet licensing. For reliable performance with deep inspection enabled, a minimum of 4 GB RAM is recommended. Core Sizing Considerations

CPU Impact: Deep packet inspection (DPI) and SSL/TLS inspection significantly increase CPU load. For example, one user's browsing and file downloading can consume up to 12% of a single CPU core when deep inspection is active.

NIC Limitations: Azure limits the number of Network Interfaces (NICs) based on the VM size. D2/D2v2: Supports only 2 NICs. D4/D4v2: Supports up to 8 NICs.

Accelerated Networking: For high-throughput requirements, ensure the chosen VM size supports Accelerated Networking (SR-IOV) to reduce CPU overhead for networking tasks. Recommended Azure Instance Types

FortiGate supports various instance families, primarily leveraging Compute Optimized (F-series) or General Purpose (D-series). Feature Need Recommended Azure Series Standard DPI D-Series (e.g., D2s_v3, D4s_v3) Good balance of compute and memory for general UTM tasks. High Performance DPI F-Series (e.g., F4s, F8s)

Higher CPU-to-memory ratio, ideal for compute-heavy SSL inspection. Scalability VMSS (Scale Sets)

Allows auto-scaling FortiGate instances based on traffic demand. Licensing vs. VM Size

It is critical to match your Fortinet license with the Azure VM's vCPU count:

FortiGate VM sizing for MS Azure - explicit proxy, full UTM, ssl deep inspeciton, ICAP

Sizing a FortiGate VM on Microsoft Azure requires balancing Azure's instance performance limits with Fortinet's virtual CPU (vCPU) licensing

. The primary consideration is ensuring the chosen Azure instance size provides enough vCPUs and RAM to match your FortiGate license, while also offering sufficient Network Interface Cards (NICs) for your topology. Microsoft Learn 1. Choosing Your Licensing Model

Your licensing choice directly impacts how you scale your VM in the future. Microsoft Learn

Resizing an Azure FortiGate VM instance - Fortinet Community 20 Jun 2023 —

Mastering FortiGate VM Sizing on Azure: A Complete Guide Choosing the right size for your FortiGate VM on Microsoft Azure is a critical balancing act between security performance and cost optimization. Unlike physical appliances, virtual machines (VMs) share hardware resources, meaning your choice of Azure VM instance series directly impacts throughput, latency, and your firewall’s overall efficacy. 1. Understanding Azure VM Series for FortiGate Note: Always refer to the latest Fortinet Azure

Azure offers several VM families, but not all are suited for high-performance security inspection.

F-Series (Compute-Optimized): Generally recommended for FortiGate because they offer a higher NIC-to-CPU ratio, which is essential for network-heavy workloads.

D-Series (General Purpose): A solid choice for standard, balanced workloads. The Dv4 and Dsv5 series are frequently used in standard FortiGate deployments.

Accelerated Networking: To avoid performance bottlenecks, ensure your chosen size supports Accelerated Networking. This offloads packet processing from the CPU to the NIC, drastically reducing latency and jitter. 2. Matching FortiGate Licenses to Azure Sizes

FortiGate VM licenses are typically tiered by the number of virtual CPUs (vCPUs) they support. Sizing your Azure instance without matching your license will lead to wasted resources. License Model vCPU Range Typical Azure Instance VM-01S Standard_D2s_v5 (throttled) VM-02S up to 2 vCPUs Standard_F2s_v2 or D2s_v5 VM-04S up to 4 vCPUs Standard_F4s_v2 or D4s_v5 VM-08S up to 8 vCPUs Standard_F8s_v2 or D8s_v5

Pro Tip: If you use Bring Your Own License (BYOL), you can upgrade from a VM-01S to a VM-02S and then resize the Azure VM to match the new vCPU count within minutes. 3. Critical Sizing Constraints

When selecting your size in the Azure Marketplace, keep these three technical limits in mind:

Network Interfaces (NICs): The number of interfaces you can attach is strictly limited by the VM size. A single FortiGate instance often requires at least four NICs (Management, External, Internal, and HA Sync).

Memory Requirements: While FortiGate-VM can run on as little as 2 GB of RAM, features like Intrusion Prevention (IPS) and Antivirus are memory-intensive. For production, aim for at least 4 GB to 8 GB to ensure the system doesn't enter conserve mode.

Throughput vs. Packet Size: Official Fortinet datasheets often list performance for large packets (1518 bytes). If your traffic is dominated by small packets (e.g., VoIP or DNS), you will need a larger VM size than the datasheet suggests to handle the higher packet-per-second (PPS) rate. 4. Deployment Strategies for Scalability

If a single VM isn't enough, consider these advanced architectures: FortiGate VM on Microsoft Azure Data Sheet - Fortinet

Sizing impact: Double the VM resources (two VMs active). For A/A, you also need more throughput per VM.

For ingress traffic (from internet), place an Azure Standard Load Balancer in front of multiple FortiGate VMs. This allows:

Suppose you need to deploy a FortiGate VM in Azure to secure a medium-sized network with:

Based on the guidelines above, you would need a:

| Family | Example Size | vCPUs | Memory | Best For | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | D-Series v5 (Dsv5) | Standard_D2s_v5 | 2 | 8 GB | General purpose – ideal for most. High CPU perf, fair price. | | D-Series v4 (Dsv4) | Standard_D4s_v4 | 4 | 16 GB | Mature, widely available, good for mid-range. | | F-Series (Fsv2) | Standard_F4s_v2 | 4 | 8 GB | CPU-optimized – excellent for IPsec VPN termination. | | E-Series (Esv5) | Standard_E4s_v5 | 4 | 32 GB | Memory-heavy – only needed for huge session tables (>2M). | | B-Series (Burstable) | Standard_B2s | 2 | 4 GB | NOT recommended for production – CPU credits run out quickly. |

Avoid: Any -as v4 sizes (they have less network acceleration) and older A-series VMs.