Configure automatic AP reboot

You can configure FortiAPs to automatically reboot when they are stuck in an AP Controller (AC) discovery dead loop, eliminating the need to manually reboot or power cycle those FortiAP units to recover. FortiAPs have a configurable timeout period during AC discovery and can automatically reboot if they do not detect an active AC within the set time interval. Once the FortiAPs reboot, they can detect any changes made to the LAN/WAN and discover the AC.

The following CLI commands have been added to configure automatic AP reboot:

config wireless-controller timers
  set ap-reboot-wait-interval < integer >
  set ap-reboot-wait-time < hh:mm >   
  set ap-reboot-wait-interval2  < integer >
end

ap-reboot-wait-interval1	Time in minutes to wait before the AP reboots when there is no controller detected (5 - 65535, default = 0, 0 for no reboot). Applies only to FortiAP units that have no local-standalone SSID assigned.
ap-reboot-wait-time	Time to reboot the AP when there is no controller detected and standalone SSIDs are pushed to the AP in the previous session, format hh:mm. This command apples to FortiAPs with at least one local-standalone SSID and ones with no local-standalone SSIDs. If both "ap-reboot-wait-interval1" and "ap-reboot-wait-time" are set, FortiAPs with standalone SSIDs will reboot at the configured "ap-reboot-wait-time" every day. However, FortiAPs without standalone SSIDs will reboot after waiting for "ap-reboot-wait-interval1" or "ap-reboot-wait-time", whichever come first.
ap-reboot-wait-interval2	Time in minutes to wait before the AP reboots when there is no controller detected and standalone SSIDs are pushed to the AP in the previous session (5 - 65535, default = 0, 0 for no reboot). Applies only to FortiAP units that have at least one local-standalone SSID assigned.

For automatic reboot to be enabled, the FortiAPs need to be managed by a FortiGate once and have an interval and wait-time set from the FortiGate side. Only then will the APs auto-reboot if they cannot detect an active AC.

To configure FortiAP automatic reboot intervals - CLI:

1. Configure the FortiAP reboot interval:

   config wireless-controller timers
     set ap-reboot-wait-interval1 5
     set ap-reboot-wait-interval2 10
   end

2. Assign a non-standalone SSID to FAP1:

   config wireless-controller vap
     edit "test_bridge"
       set ssid "test_bridge"
       set passphrase ENC
       set local-bridging enable
       set schedule "always"
     next
   end

3. Assign a standalone SSID to FAP2:

   config wireless-controller vap
     edit "test_standalone"
       set ssid "test_standalone"
       set passphrase ENC
       set local-standalone enable
       set local-bridging enable
       set schedule "always"
     next
   end

4. When the FortiAPs are disconnected from the FortiGate, they will reboot at the configured time.

   • The FortiAP with no standalone SSID (FAP1) reboots at the time interval configured in interval1 (5 minutes or 300 seconds).

     FortiAP-432FR # 03901.181 *****cwFwctlReboot:*****
     03901.181     SSID_CNT 1,0. No AC is found in 309 sec (> 300) Rebooting...
     [ 4134.665936] reboot: Restarting system

   • The FortiAP with standalone SSID (FAP2) reboots at the time interval configured in interval2 (10 minutes or 600 seconds).

     FortiAP-831F login: 01548.738 *****cwFwctlReboot:*****
     01548.738     SSID_CNT 1,1. No AC is found in 625 sec (> 600) Rebooting...
     [ 1603.673046] reboot: Restarting system
     

To configure FortiAP automatic reboot intervals and wait time - CLI:

When ap-reboot-wait-interval1 and ap-reboot-wait-time is configured, FortiAPs without standalone SSIDs wait for ap-reboot-wait-interval1 or ap-reboot-wait-time (whichever comes first). Meanwhile FortiAPs with standalone SSIDs wait for the set time in ap-reboot-wait-time before automatically rebooting.

1. Configure the FortiAP reboot interval and wait time:

   config wireless-controller timers
     set ap-reboot-wait-interval1 5
     set ap-reboot-wait-time "15:50"
   end

2. Verify that FAP1 is managed by FortiGate and has an SSID assigned with local-standalone disabled:

   FortiAP-432FR # wcfg | grep fsm
   fsm-state            : RUN 463
   FortiAP-432FR # vcfg
   -------------------------------VAP Configuration    1----------------------------
   Radio Id  1 WLAN Id  0 test_bridge ADMIN_UP(INTF_UP) init_done 0.0.0.0/0.0.0.0 unknown (-1)
              vlanid=0, intf=wlan10, vap=0x3915502c, bssid=74:78:a6:e3:63:48
              11ax high-efficiency=enabled target-wake-time=enabled
              bss-color-partial=enabled
              mesh backhaul=disabled
              local_auth=disabled standalone=disabled nat_mode=disabled
   
   FortiAP-432FR # cw_diag -c acs | grep "last seen"
   AC last seen time:  0 SSID cnt 0,0 ap reboot wait time 300,0 16:51

   The cw_diag -c acs command output shows the AP reboot wait time as hh+1:mm+1. The 00:00 value is used to indicate that the reboot time is not configured, not that the reboot time is set to 00:00.

3. When the FortiAPs are disconnected from the FortiGate, they will reboot at the configured time.

   • The FortiAP with no standalone SSID (FAP1) reboots at the time interval configured in interval1 (5 minutes or 300 seconds).

     FortiAP-432FR # 03901.181 *****cwFwctlReboot:*****
     03901.181     SSID_CNT 1,0. No AC is found in 309 sec (> 300) Rebooting...
     [ 4134.665936] reboot: Restarting system

   • The FortiAP with standalone SSID (FAP2) reboots at the time configured in wait-time (15:50).

     FortiAP-831F # date
     Fri Nov 17 15:50:10 GMT 2023
     FortiAP-831F # 01140.026 *****cwFwctlReboot:*****
     01140.026     SSID_CNT 1,1. No AC is found in 177 sec (15:50) Rebooting...
     [ 1195.218481] reboot: Restarting system