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FortiGate-7000 Handbook

FIM-7901E interface module

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FIM-7901E interface module

The FIM-7901E interface module is a hot swappable module that provides data, management and session sync/heartbeat interfaces, base backplane switching and fabric backplane session-aware load balancing for a FortiGate-7000 chassis. The FIM-7901E includes an integrated switch fabric and DP2 processors to load balance millions of data sessions over the chassis fabric backplane to FPM processor modules.

The FIM-7901E can be installed in any FortiGate-7000 series chassis in hub/switch slots 1 and 2. The FIM-7901E provides thirty-two 10GigE small form-factor pluggable plus (SPF+) interfaces for a FortiGate-7000 chassis.

You can also install FIM-7901Es in a second chassis and operate the chassis in HA mode with another set of processor modules to provide chassis failover protection.

FIM-7901E front panel

The FIM-7901E includes the following hardware features:

  • Thirty-two front panel 10GigE SFP+ fabric channel interfaces (A1 to A32). These interfaces are connected to 10Gbps networks to distribute sessions to the FPM processor modules installed in chassis slots 3 and up. These interfaces can also be configured to operate as Gigabit Ethernet interfaces using SFP transceivers. These interfaces also support creating link aggregation groups (LAGs) that can include interfaces from both FIM-7901Es.
  • Two front panel 10GigE SFP+ interfaces (M1 and M2) that connect to the base backplane channel. These interfaces are used for heartbeat, session sync, and management communication between FIM-7901Es in different chassis. These interfaces can also be configured to operate as Gigabit Ethernet interfaces using SFP transceivers, but should not normally be changed. If you use switches to connect these interfaces, the switch ports should be able to accept packets with a maximum frame size of at least 1526. The M1 and M2 interfaces need to be on different broadcast domains. If M1 and M2 are connected to the same switch, Q-in-Q must be enabled on the switch.
  • Four 10/100/1000BASE-T out of band management Ethernet interfaces (MGMT1 to MGMT4).
  • One 80Gbps fabric backplane channel for traffic distribution with each FPM installed in the same chassis as the FIM-7901E.
  • One 1Gbps base backplane channel for base backplane with each FPM installed in the same chassis as the FIM-7901E.
  • One 40Gbps fabric backplane channel for fabric backplane communication with the other FIM-7901E in the chassis.
  • One 1Gbps base backplane channel for base backplane communication with the other FIM-7901E in the chassis.
  • On-board DP2 processors and an integrated switch fabric to provide high-capacity session-aware load balancing.
  • One front panel USB port.
  • Power button.
  • NMI switch (for troubleshooting as recommended by Fortinet Support).
  • Mounting hardware.
  • LED status indicators.

FIM-7901E schematic

The FIM-7901E includes an integrated switch fabric (ISF) that connects the FIM front panel interfaces to the DP2 session-aware load balancers and to the chassis fabric and base backplanes. The ISF also allows the DP2 processors to distribute sessions among all NP6 processors on the FortiGate Processor Modules (FPM) in the FortiGate-7000 chassis.

FIM-7901E schematic

FIM-7901E interface module

The FIM-7901E interface module is a hot swappable module that provides data, management and session sync/heartbeat interfaces, base backplane switching and fabric backplane session-aware load balancing for a FortiGate-7000 chassis. The FIM-7901E includes an integrated switch fabric and DP2 processors to load balance millions of data sessions over the chassis fabric backplane to FPM processor modules.

The FIM-7901E can be installed in any FortiGate-7000 series chassis in hub/switch slots 1 and 2. The FIM-7901E provides thirty-two 10GigE small form-factor pluggable plus (SPF+) interfaces for a FortiGate-7000 chassis.

You can also install FIM-7901Es in a second chassis and operate the chassis in HA mode with another set of processor modules to provide chassis failover protection.

FIM-7901E front panel

The FIM-7901E includes the following hardware features:

  • Thirty-two front panel 10GigE SFP+ fabric channel interfaces (A1 to A32). These interfaces are connected to 10Gbps networks to distribute sessions to the FPM processor modules installed in chassis slots 3 and up. These interfaces can also be configured to operate as Gigabit Ethernet interfaces using SFP transceivers. These interfaces also support creating link aggregation groups (LAGs) that can include interfaces from both FIM-7901Es.
  • Two front panel 10GigE SFP+ interfaces (M1 and M2) that connect to the base backplane channel. These interfaces are used for heartbeat, session sync, and management communication between FIM-7901Es in different chassis. These interfaces can also be configured to operate as Gigabit Ethernet interfaces using SFP transceivers, but should not normally be changed. If you use switches to connect these interfaces, the switch ports should be able to accept packets with a maximum frame size of at least 1526. The M1 and M2 interfaces need to be on different broadcast domains. If M1 and M2 are connected to the same switch, Q-in-Q must be enabled on the switch.
  • Four 10/100/1000BASE-T out of band management Ethernet interfaces (MGMT1 to MGMT4).
  • One 80Gbps fabric backplane channel for traffic distribution with each FPM installed in the same chassis as the FIM-7901E.
  • One 1Gbps base backplane channel for base backplane with each FPM installed in the same chassis as the FIM-7901E.
  • One 40Gbps fabric backplane channel for fabric backplane communication with the other FIM-7901E in the chassis.
  • One 1Gbps base backplane channel for base backplane communication with the other FIM-7901E in the chassis.
  • On-board DP2 processors and an integrated switch fabric to provide high-capacity session-aware load balancing.
  • One front panel USB port.
  • Power button.
  • NMI switch (for troubleshooting as recommended by Fortinet Support).
  • Mounting hardware.
  • LED status indicators.

FIM-7901E schematic

The FIM-7901E includes an integrated switch fabric (ISF) that connects the FIM front panel interfaces to the DP2 session-aware load balancers and to the chassis fabric and base backplanes. The ISF also allows the DP2 processors to distribute sessions among all NP6 processors on the FortiGate Processor Modules (FPM) in the FortiGate-7000 chassis.

FIM-7901E schematic