FortiGate 50G and 51G fast path architecture

The FortiGate 50G and 51G includes the SOC5 (also called the SP5) and uses the SOC5 CPU, NP7Lite processor, and CP10 content processor. The SOC5 ISF connects all of the FortiGate 50G and 51G front panel interfaces to the NP7Lite processor.

The FortiGate 50G and 51G features the following rear panel interfaces:

• Five 10/100/1000BASE-T RJ45 (1-3, A, and WAN) connected to the SOC5 integrated switch fabric. A is a FortiLink interface.

The SOC5 includes an integrated switch fabric (ISF) that connects all of the front panel network interfaces to the NP7Lite processor. The SOC5 ISF allows sessions passing between any FortiGate front panel interface pair to be offloaded by the NP7Lite processor. The SOC5 ISF also allows you to use the command config system virtual-switch to create a virtual hardware switch that can include any front panel interface connected to the SOC5.

To add an interface to a hardware switch, its mode must be set to static and the interface can't be used in any other configuration. For example, you can't have a firewall policy that references the interface.

You can use the command diagnose npu np7lite port-list to display the FortiGate 50G or 51G NP7Lite configuration.

diagnose npu np7lite port-list
Front Panel Port:
 
Name     Max_speed(Mbps) Dflt_speed(Mbps) NP_lane PHY_address
-------- --------------- ---------------- ------- -----------
wan      1000            1000             4       0x0
lan1     1000            1000             3       0x7
lan2     1000            1000             2       0x6
lan3     1000            1000             1       0x5
a        1000            1000             0       0x4
-------- --------------- ---------------- ------- -----------

The command output also shows the maximum speeds of each interface.