System information widget

The system dashboard includes a System Information widget, which displays the current status of FortiAuthenticator and enables you to configure basic system settings.

The following information is available on this widget:

Host Name	The identifying name assigned to this FortiAuthenticator unit. For more information, see Changing the host name.
Device FQDN	The FQDN domain name. For more information, see Changing the FQDN domain name.
Serial Number	The serial number of FortiAuthenticator. The serial number is unique to FortiAuthenticator and does not change with firmware upgrades. The serial number is used for identification when connecting to the FortiGuard server.
System Time	The current date, time, and time zone on the FortiAuthenticator internal clock or NTP servers. For more information, see Configuring the system date, time, and time zone.
Firmware Version	The version and build number of the firmware installed on FortiAuthenticator. To update the firmware, you must download the latest version from the Customer Service & Support portal at https://support.fortinet.com. Select Upgrade and select the firmware image to load from your management computer.
System Configuration	The date of the last system configuration backup. Select Backup/Restore to backup or restore the system configuration. For more information, see Backing up and restoring the configuration.
Uptime	The duration of time FortiAuthenticator has been running since it was last started or restarted.

Changing the host name

The System Information widget will display the full host name.

To change the host name:

1. Go to System > Dashboard > Status.
2. In the System Information widget, select the edit icon in the Host Name field. The Edit Host Name page opens.
3. In the Host name field, type a new host name.

   The host name may be up to 35 characters in length. It may include US‑ASCII letters, numbers, hyphens, and underscores. Spaces and special characters are not allowed.

4. Select OK to save the setting.

Changing the FQDN domain name

To change the FQDN domain name:

1. Go to System > Dashboard > Status.
2. In the System Information widget, select the edit icon in the Device FQDN field. The Edit Device FQDN page opens.
3. Type a domain name in the field.

The FQDN domain name identifies the exact location of this server in the DNS hierarchy.

4. Select OK to save the setting.

Configuring the system date, time, and time zone

You can either manually set the FortiAuthenticator system date and time, or configure the FortiAuthenticator unit to automatically keep its system time correct by synchronizing with an NTP server.

For many features to work the FortiAuthenticator system time must be accurate. Synchronization with a NTP server is highly recommended.

To configure the date and time:

1. Go to System > Dashboard > Status.
2. In the System Information widget, select the edit icon in the System Time field. The Edit Time Setting dialog box appears.




3. Configure the following settings to either manually configure the system time, or to automatically synchronize the FortiAuthenticator unit’s clock with a NTP server:

   Change Time Zone
   	Time zone	Select a timezone from the dropdown menu.
   Change Date and Time
   	Set date/time	Select Today or the calendar icon to specify the date, and Now or the clock icon to specify the time.
   	NTP enabled	Enable this option to set an NTP server. Note that, if you configure both NTP servers, you can select Prefer to make NTP server 1 the preferred server. The NTP server 1 is set to ntp1.fortinet.net by default. In addition, you can select Enable authentication for each NTP server configured and enter a key number, type, and the key value.

4. Select OK to apply your changes.

Backing up and restoring the configuration

Fortinet recommends that you back up your FortiAuthenticator configuration to your management computer on a regular basis to ensure that, should the system fail, you can quickly get the system back to its original state with minimal effect to the network. You should also perform a back up after making any changes to the FortiAuthenticator configuration.

The backup file is encrypted to prevent tampering. This configuration file includes both the CLI and GUI configurations of FortiAuthenticator, including users, user groups, FortiToken device list, authentication client list, LDAP directory tree, FSSO settings, remote LDAP, and certificates.

The date and time that the FortiAuthenticator was last backed up is displayed in the System Information widget.

You can perform backups manually. Fortinet recommends backing up all configuration settings from your FortiAuthenticator unit before upgrading the FortiAuthenticator firmware.

Your FortiAuthenticator configuration can also be restored from a backup file on your management computer.

To backup or restore the FortiAuthenticator configuration:

1. In the user dropdown menu, select Restore/Backup. The Configuration Backup and Restore page opens.
2. Select from the following settings:
   

   Backup	Enable Encryption to use a dynamic encryption key, and specify the encryption password. By default, Encryption is disabled. Select Download backup file to save a backup file onto the management computer.
   Restore	Select Upload a file to find the backup file on your management computer, enter the encryption password in Password, then select Restore to restore the selected backup configuration to the device. By default, decryption is disabled. You are prompted to confirm the restore action, and FortiAuthenticator will reboot.

3. Select Cancel to return to the dashboard page.

When you restore the configuration from a backup file, any information changed since the backup will be lost. Any active sessions will be ended and must be restarted. You will have to log back in when the system reboots.

Restoring a configuration is only possible from a backup file made on the same model running the same version of the operating system.

If you are restoring a configuration on the primary device in an HA cluster, shutdown the secondary device until the primary device is back online to ensure that the configuration synchronization occurs correctly.