Connecting The Fortigate Unit To Your Networks - Fortinet FortiGate FortiGate-50R Installation And Configuration Manual

Connecting the FortiGate unit to your networks

Connecting the FortiGate unit to your networks
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When you have completed the initial configuration, you can connect the FortiGate unit
between your internal network and the Internet.
There are two 10/100 BaseTX connectors on the FortiGate-50 unit:
• Internal for connecting to your internal network,
• External for connecting to the Internet.
To connect the FortiGate unit:
1 Connect the Internal interface to the hub or switch connected to your internal network.
2 Connect the External interface to the Internet.
Connect to the public switch or router provided by your Internet Service Provider.
Figure 6: FortiGate-50 network connections
In Transparent mode, the FortiGate unit does not change the layer 3 topology. This
means that all of its interfaces are on the same IP subnet and that it appears to other
devices as a bridge. Typically, the FortiGate unit would be deployed in Transparent
mode when it is intended to provide antivirus and content scanning behind an existing
firewall solution.
A FortiGate unit in Transparent mode can also perform firewalling. Even though it
takes no part in the layer 3 topology, it can examine layer 3 header information and
make decisions on whether to block or pass traffic.
Transparent mode installation
Fortinet Inc.