Category Archives: Administration Guides

Connecting to FortiGuard Services

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Connecting to FortiGuard services

After the FortiMail unit is physically installed and configured to operate in your network, if you have subscribed to FortiGuard Antivirus and/or FortiGuard Antispam services, connect the FortiMail unit to the Fortinet Distribution Network (FDN).

Connecting your FortiMail unit to the FDN or override server ensures that your FortiMail unit can:

  • download the most recent FortiGuard Antivirus and FortiGuard Antispam definitions and engine packages
  • query the FDN for blacklisted servers and other real-time information during FortiGuard Antispam scans, if configured

This way, you scan email using the most up-to-date protection.

The FDN is a world-wide network of Fortinet Distribution Servers (FDS). When a FortiMail unit connects to the FDN to download FortiGuard engine and definition updates, by default, it connects to the nearest FDS based on the current time zone setting. You can override the FDS to which the FortiMail unit connects.

Your FortiMail unit may be able to connect using the default settings. However, you should confirm this by verifying connectivity.

You must first register the FortiMail unit with the Fortinet Technical Support web site, https://support.fortinet.com/, to receive service from the FDN. The FortiMail unit must also have a valid Fortinet Technical Support contract which includes service subscriptions, and be able to connect to the FDN or the FDS that you will configure to override the default FDS addresses. For port numbers required for license validation and update connections, see the FortiMail Administration Guide.

Before performing the next procedure, if your FortiMail unit connects to the Internet using a proxy, use the CLI command config system fortiguard antivirus to enable the FortiMail unit to connect to the FDN through the proxy. For more information, see the FortiMail CLI Reference.

To override the default FDS server

  1. Go to Maintenance > FortiGuard > Update in the advanced mode of the web UI.
  2. In the FortiGuard Update Options area, select Use override server address,
  3. Enter the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) or IP address of the FDS.
  4. Click Apply.
  5. Click Refresh.

A dialog appears, notifying you that the process could take a few minutes.

The FortiMail unit tests the connection to the FDN and, if any, the override server. Time required varies by the speed of the FortiMail unit’s network connection, and the number of timeouts that occur before the connection attempt is successful or the FortiMail unit determines that it cannot connect. When the connection test completes, the page refreshes. Test results are displayed in the FortiGuard Distribution Network field.

  • Available: The FortiMail unit successfully connected to the FDN or override server.
  • Not available: The FortiMail unit could not connect to the FDN or override server, and will not be able to download updates from it. For CLI commands that may be able to assist you in troubleshooting, see “To verify rating query connectivity” on page 46.
  1. When successful connectivity has been verified, continue by configuring the FortiMail unit to receive engine and definition updates from the FDN or the override server using one or more of the following methods:
    • scheduled updates (see “Configuring scheduled updates” on page 47)
    • push updates (see “Configuring push updates” on page 48)
    • manually initiated updates (see “Manually requesting updates” on page 49)
  2. Click Apply to save your settings.

To verify rating query connectivity

  1. Go to Maintenance > FortiGuard > AntiSpam in the advanced mode of the web UI.
  2. Make sure the Enable Service check box is marked. If it is not, mark it and click Apply.

If the FortiMail unit can reach the DNS server, but cannot successfully resolve the domain name of the FDS, a message appears notifying you that a DNS error has occurred.

Figure 5: DNS error when resolving the FortiGuard Antispam domain name

Verify that the DNS servers contain A records to resolve service.fortiguard.net and other FDN servers. You may be able to obtain additional insight into the cause of the query failure by manually performing a DNS query from the FortiMail unit using the following CLI command:

execute nslookup name service.fortiguard.net

If the FortiMail unit cannot successfully connect, or if your FortiGuard Antispam license does not exist or is expired, a message appears notifying you that a connection error has occurred.

Figure 6: Connection error when verifying FortiGuard Antispam rating query connectivity

Verify that:

  • your FortiGuard Antispam license is valid and currently active
  • the default route (located in System > Network > Routing) is correctly configured
  • the FortiMail unit can connect to the DNS servers you configured during the Quick Start Wizard (located in System > Network > DNS), and to the FDN servers
  • firewalls between the FortiMail unit and the Internet or override server allow FDN traffic (For configuration examples specific to your operation mode, see “Gateway mode deployment” on page 50, “Transparent mode deployment” on page 78, or “Server mode deployment” on page 101.)

Obtain additional insight into the point of the connection failure by tracing the connection using the following CLI command:

execute traceroute <address_ipv4> where <address_ipv4> is the IP address of the DNS server or FDN server.

When query connectivity is successful, antispam profiles can use the FortiGuard-AntiSpam scan option.

If FortiGuard Antispam scanning is enabled, you can use the antispam log to analyze any query connectivity interruptions caused because FortiMail cannot connect to the FDN and/or its license is not valid. To enable the antispam log, go to Log and Report > Log Settings > Local Log Settings in the advanced mode of the web UI. To view the antispam log, go to Monitor > Log > AntiSpam, then mark the check box of a log file and click View.

If FortiMail cannot connect with the FDN server, the log Message field contains:

FortiGuard-Antispam: No Answer from server.

Verify that the FortiGuard Antispam license is still valid, and that network connectivity has not been disrupted for UDP port 53 traffic from the FortiMail unit to the Internet.

Configuring scheduled updates

You can configure the FortiMail unit to periodically request FortiGuard Antivirus and FortiGuard Antispam engine and definition updates from the FDN or override server.

You can use push updates or manually initiate updates as alternatives or in conjunction with scheduled updates. If protection from the latest viral threats is a high priority, you could configure both scheduled updates and push updates, using scheduled updates as a failover method to increase the likelihood that the FortiMail unit will still periodically retrieve updates if connectivity is interrupted during a push notification. While using only scheduled updates could potentially leave your network vulnerable to a new virus, it minimizes short disruptions to antivirus scans that can occur if the FortiMail unit applies push updates during peak volume times. For additional/alternative update methods, see “Configuring push updates” on page 48 and “Manually requesting updates” on page 49.

For example, you might schedule updates every night at 2 AM or weekly on Sunday, when email traffic volume is light.

Before configuring scheduled updates, first verify that the FortiMail unit can connect to the FDN or override server. For details, see “To override the default FDS server” on page 45.

To configure scheduled updates

  1. Go to Maintenance > FortiGuard > Update in the advanced mode of the web UI.
  2. Enable Scheduled Update.
  3. Select one of the following:
Every Select to request updates once per interval, then configure the number of hours and minutes between each request.
Daily Select to request updates once a day, then configure the time of day.
Weekly Select to request updates once a week, then configure the day of the week and the time of day.

Updating FortiGuard Antivirus definitions can cause a short disruption in traffic currently being scanned while the FortiMail unit applies the new signature database. To minimize disruptions, update when traffic is light, such as during the night.

  1. Click Apply.

The FortiMail unit starts the next scheduled update according to the configured update schedule. If you have enabled logging, when the FortiMail unit requests a scheduled update, the event is recorded in the event log.

Configuring push updates

You can configure the FortiMail unit to receive push updates from the FDN or override server.

When push updates are configured, the FortiMail unit first notifies the FDN of its IP address, or the IP address and port number override. (If your FortiMail unit’s IP address changes, including if it is configured with DHCP, the FortiMail unit automatically notifies the FDN of the new IP address.) As soon as new FortiGuard Antivirus and FortiGuard Antispam packages become available, the FDN sends an update availability notification to that IP address and port number. Within 60 seconds, the FortiMail unit then requests the package update as if it were a scheduled or manually initiated update.

You can use scheduled updates or manually initiate updates as alternatives or in conjunction with push updates. If protection from the latest viral threats is a high priority, you could configure both scheduled updates and push updates, using scheduled updates as a failover method to increase the likelihood that the FortiMail unit will still periodically retrieve updates if connectivity is interrupted during a push notification. Using push updates, however, can potentially cause short disruptions to antivirus scans that can occur if the FortiMail unit applies push updates during peak volume times. For additional/alternative update methods, see “Configuring scheduled updates” on page 47 and “Manually requesting updates” on page 49.

Before configuring push updates, first verify that the FortiMail unit can connect to the FDN or override server. For details, see “To override the default FDS server” on page 45.

To configure push updates

  1. Go to Maintenance > FortiGuard > Update in the advanced mode of the web UI.
  2. Enable Allow push update.
  3. If the FortiMail unit is behind a firewall or router performing NAT, enable Use override push IP and enter the external IP address and port number of the NAT device.

You must also configure the NAT device with port forwarding or a virtual IP to forward push notifications (UDP port 9443) to the FortiMail unit.

For example, if the FortiMail unit is behind a FortiGate unit, configure the FortiGate unit with a virtual IP that forwards push notifications from its external network interface to the private network IP address of the FortiMail unit. Then, on the FortiMail unit, configure Use override push IP with the IP address and port number of that virtual IP. For details on configuring virtual IPs and/or port forwarding, see the documentation for the NAT device.

Push updates require that the external IP address of the NAT device is not dynamic (such as an IP address automatically configured using DHCP). If dynamic, when the IP address changes, the override push IP will become out-of-date, causing subsequent push updates to fail.

If you do not enable Use override push IP, the FDN will send push notifications to the IP address of the FortiMail unit, which must be a public network IP address routable from the Internet.

  1. Click Apply.

The FortiMail unit notifies the FDN of its IP address or, if configured, the override push IP. When an update is available, the FDN will send push notifications to this IP address and port number.

  1. Click Refresh.

A dialog appears, notifying you that the process could take a few minutes.

The FDN tests the connection to the FortiMail unit. Time required varies by the speed of the FortiMail unit’s network connection, and the number of timeouts that occur before the connection attempt is successful or the FortiMail unit determines that it cannot connect. When the connection test completes, the page refreshes. Test results are displayed in the Push Update field.

  • Available: The FDN successfully connected to the FortiMail unit.
  • Not available: The FDN could not connect to the FortiMail unit, and will not be able to send push notifications to it. Verify that intermediary firewalls and routers do not block push notification traffic (UDP port 9443). If the FortiMail unit is behind a NAT device, verify that you have enabled and configured Use override push IP, and that the NAT device is configured to forward push notifications to the FortiMail unit.

Manually requesting updates

You can manually trigger the FortiMail unit to connect to the FDN or override server to request available updates for its FortiGuard Antivirus and FortiGuard Antispam packages.

You can manually initiate updates as an alternative or in addition to other update methods. For details, see “Configuring push updates” on page 48 and “Configuring scheduled updates” on page 47.

To manually request updates

Before manually initiating an update, first verify that the FortiMail unit can connect to the FDN or override server. For details, see “To override the default FDS server” on page 45.

  1. Go to Maintenance > FortiGuard > Update in the advanced mode of the web UI.
  2. Click Update Now.

Updating FortiGuard Antivirus definitions can cause a short disruption in traffic currently being scanned while the FortiMail unit applies the new signature database. To minimize disruptions, update when traffic is light, such as during the night.

The web UI displays a message similar to the following:

Your update request has been sent. Your database will be updated in a few minutes. Please check your update page for the status of the update.

  1. Click RETURN.
  2. After a few minutes, select the Update tab to refresh the page, or go to Monitor > System Status > Status.

If an update was available, new version numbers appear for the packages that were updated. If you have enabled logging, messages are recorded to the event log indicating whether the update was successful or not.

Setting Up The System

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Setting up the system

These instructions in this chapter will guide you to the point where you have a simple, verifiably working installation. From there, you can begin to use optional features and fine-tune your configuration.

FortiMail initial setup involves the following steps:

  • Connecting to the Web UI or CLI
  • Choosing the operation mode
  • Running the Quick Start Wizard
  • Connecting to FortiGuard services
  • Gateway mode deployment
  • Transparent mode deployment
  • Server mode deployment
  • Initial configuration in basic mode
  • Testing the installation
  • Backing up the configuration

Connecting to the Web UI or CLI

To configure, maintain, and administer the FortiMail unit, you need to connect to it. There are three methods for these tasks:

  • using the web UI, a graphical user interface (GUI), from within a current web browser (see “Connecting to the FortiMail web UI for the first time”)
  • using the command line interface (CLI), a command line interface similar to DOS or UNIX commands, from a Secure Shell (SSH) or Telnet terminal (see “Connecting to the FortiMail CLI for the first time” on page 27)
  • using the front panel’s LCD display and control buttons available on some models (see “Using the front panel’s control buttons and LCD display” on page 29).

Connecting to the FortiMail web UI for the first time

To use the web UI for the initial configuration, you must have:

  • a computer with an Ethernet port
  • a supported web browser (Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 to 10, Firefox 3.5 to 20, Safari 4 to 5, and Chrome 6 to 26)
  • Adobe Flash Player 9 or higher plug-in to display statistic charts
  • a crossover Ethernet cable

Table 3: Default settings for connecting to the web UI

Network Interface port1
URL https://192.168.1.99/admin

 

Table 3: Default settings for connecting to the web UI

Administrator Account admin
Password (none)

To connect to the web UI

  1. Configure the management computer to be on the same subnet as the port 1 interface of the FortiMail unit.

For example, in Microsoft Windows 7, from the Windows Start menu, go to Control Panel > Network and Sharing Center > Change Adapter Settings > Local Area Connection Properties > Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) Properties and change the management computer IP address to 192.168.1.2 and the netmask to 255.255.255.0.

  1. Using the Ethernet cable, connect your computer’s Ethernet port to the FortiMail unit’s port1.
  2. Start your web browser and enter the URL https://192.168.1.99/admin. (Remember to include the “s” in https:// and “/admin” at the end of the URL.)

If you are connecting to FortiMail-VM with a trial license or to a LENC version of FortiMail, you may not be able to see the logon page due to an SSL cipher error during the connection. In this case, you must configure your browser to accept low encryption. For example, in Mozilla Firefox, if you receive this error message:

ssl_error_no_cypher_overlap

you may need to enter about:config in the URL bar, then set security.ssl3.rsa.rc4_40_md5 to true.

To support HTTPS authentication, the FortiMail unit ships with a self-signed security certificate, which it presents to clients whenever they initiate an HTTPS connection to the FortiMail unit. When you connect, depending on your web browser and prior access of the FortiMail unit, your browser might display two security warnings related to this certificate:

  • The certificate is not automatically trusted because it is self-signed, rather than being signed by a valid certificate authority (CA). Self-signed certificates cannot be verified with a proper CA, and therefore might be fraudulent. You must manually indicate whether or not to trust the certificate.
  • The certificate might belong to another web site. The common name (CN) field in the certificate, which usually contains the host name of the web site, does not exactly match the URL you requested. This could indicate server identity theft, but could also simply indicate that the certificate contains a domain name while you have entered an IP address. You must manually indicate whether this mismatch is normal or not.

Both warnings are normal for the default certificate.

  1. Verify and accept the certificate, either permanently (the web browser will not display the self-signing warning again) or temporarily. You cannot log in until you accept the certificate.

For details on accepting the certificate, see the documentation for your web browser.

The Login dialog appears.

  1. In the Name field, type admin, then select Login. (In its default state, there is no password for this account.)

Login credentials entered are encrypted before they are sent to the FortiMail unit. If your login is successful, the web UI appears.

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Concepts And Flow

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Concepts and workflow

This section describes some basic email concepts, how FortiMail works in general, and the tools that you can use to configure your FortiMail unit.

This section includes:

  • Email protocols
  • Client-server connections in SMTP
  • The role of DNS in email delivery
  • How FortiMail processes email
  • FortiMail operation modes
  • FortiMail high availability modes
  • FortiMail management methods

Email protocols

There are multiple prevalent standard email protocols:

  • SMTP
  • POP3
  • IMAP
  • HTTP and HTTPS

SMTP

Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is the standard protocol for sending email between:

  • two mail transfer agents (MTA)

SMTP communications typically occur on TCP port number 25.

When an email user sends an email, their MUA uses SMTP to send the email to an MTA, which is often their email server. The MTA then uses SMTP to directly or indirectly deliver the email to the destination email server that hosts email for the recipient email user.

When an MTA connects to the destination email server, it determines whether the recipient exists on the destination email server. If the recipient email address is legitimate, then the MTA delivers the email to the email server, from which email users can then use a protocol such as POP3 or IMAP to retrieve the email. If the recipient email address does not exist, the MTA typically sends a separate email message to the sender, notifying them of delivery failure.

While the basic protocol of SMTP is simple, many SMTP servers support a number of protocol extensions for features such as authentication, encryption, multipart messages and attachments, and may be referred to as extended SMTP (ESMTP) servers.

FortiMail units can scan SMTP traffic for spam and viruses, and support several SMTP extensions.

POP3

Post Office Protocol version 3 (POP3) is a standard protocol used by email clients to retrieve email that has been delivered to and stored on an email server.

POP3 communications typically occur on TCP port number 110.

Unlike IMAP, after a POP3 client downloads an email to the email user’s computer, a copy of the email usually does not remain on the email server’s hard disk. The advantage of this is that it frees hard disk space on the server. The disadvantage of this is that downloaded email usually resides on only one personal computer. Unless all of their POP3 clients are always configured to leave copies of email on the server, email users who use multiple computers to view email, such as both a desktop and laptop, will not be able to view from one computer any of the email previously downloaded to another computer.

FortiMail units do not scan POP3 traffic for spam and viruses, but may use POP3 when operating in server mode, when an email user retrieves their email.

IMAP

Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) is a standard protocol used by email clients to retrieve email that has been delivered to and stored on an email server.

IMAP communications typically occur on TCP port number 143.

Unless configured for offline availability, IMAP clients typically initially download only the message header. They download the message body and attachments only when the email user selects to read the email.

Unlike POP3, when an IMAP client downloads an email to the email user’s computer, a copy of the email remains on the email server’s hard disk. The advantage of this is that it enables email users to view email from more than one computer. This is especially useful in situations where more than one person may need to view an inbox, such where all members of a department monitor a collective inbox. The disadvantage of this is that, unless email users delete email, IMAP may more rapidly consume the server’s hard disk space.

FortiMail units do not scan IMAP traffic for spam and viruses, but may use IMAP when operating in server mode, when an email user retrieves their email.

HTTP and HTTPS

Secured and non-secured HyperText Transfer Protocols (HTTP/HTTPS), while not strictly for the transport of email, are often used by webmail applications to view email that is stored remotely.

HTTP communications typically occur on TCP port number 80; HTTPS communications typically occur on TCP port number 443.

FortiMail units do not scan HTTP or HTTPS traffic for spam or viruses, but use them to display quarantines and, if the FortiMail unit is operating in server mode, FortiMail webmail.

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