Fortigate Vm Virtualbox -

Routing logic inside FortiGate:

All of this runs on a single laptop.

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FortiOS expects hardware acceleration. While VirtualBox doesn’t support SR-IOV or PCI passthrough perfectly, these tips help: fortigate vm virtualbox

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Without a license, the VM runs in "Evaluation Mode" – limited to 10 policies, no updates, and a nag screen.

To obtain a free 15-day trial license:

execute license <paste-license-key>

Pro Tip: After the 15 days expire, you do not need to reinstall Windows. Simply remove the VM from VirtualBox (keeping the VMDK) and create a new VM with the same disk. FortiOS will reset the evaluation timer on a new VM UUID.

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Cause: VirtualBox network adapter type is too old. Fix: In CLI: VBoxManage modifyvm "FortiGate-Lab" --nictype1 virtio. Or set to 82545EM (Intel PRO/1000 MT Server) for best compatibility. Routing logic inside FortiGate:

Once logged in, assign IPs to the interfaces:

config system interface
    edit port1
        set mode static
        set ip 192.168.122.2/24
        set allowaccess ping https http ssh
    next
    edit port2
        set mode dhcp
    next
    edit port3
        set mode static
        set ip 10.0.0.1/24
        set allowaccess ping
    next
end

Then set default route (if using NAT on port2): All of this runs on a single laptop

config router static
    edit 1
        set gateway 10.0.2.2   # VirtualBox NAT default gateway
        set device port2
    next
end

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The FortiGate VM is a virtual appliance that runs the FortiOS operating system. It provides the same features as the physical FortiGate firewalls (Firewall, IPS, VPN, Antivirus, Web Filtering, etc.) in a software format.

Why VirtualBox? VirtualBox is a free, open-source hypervisor. While Fortinet officially lists VMware and KVM as preferred hypervisors, the FortiGate VM runs perfectly well on VirtualBox for lab purposes.