Inter-VDOM routing configuration example: Internet access

This example shows how to configure a FortiGate unit to use inter-VDOM routing to route outgoing traffic from individual VDOMs to a root VDOM with Internet access. See Inter-VDOM routing for more information.

Two departments of a company, Accounting and Sales, are connected to one FortiGate. The company uses a single ISP to connect to the Internet. This is an example of the Internet access configuration. See Topologies for details.

This example assumes that the interfaces of the FortiGate have already been configured with the IP addresses depicted in the preceding diagram.

General steps for this example

This example includes the following general steps. We recommend following the steps in the order below:

1. Enable multi-VDOM mode and create the VDOMs

2. Assign interfaces to VDOMs

3. Configure the VDOM links

4. Configure inter-VDOM routing

5. Configure the firewall policies

6. Test the configuration

This example demonstrates how to configure these steps first using the GUI and then, at the end of the section, using the CLI. See Configuration with the CLI for details.

Enable multi-VDOM mode and create the VDOMs

Create the Accounting and Sales VDOMs.

To enable VDOMs in the GUI:

1. Go to System > Settings.

2. In the System Operation Settings section, enable Virtual Domains.

3. Click OK.

On FortiGate 90 series models and lower, VDOMs can only be enabled using the CLI.

To create the Sales and Accounting VDOMs in the GUI:

1. In the Global VDOM, go to System > VDOM.

2. Click Create New.

3. In the Virtual Domain field, enter Sales.

   

4. If required, set the NGFW Mode. If the NGFW Mode is Profile-based, Central SNAT can be enabled.

5. Click OK to create the VDOM.

6. Repeat the above steps for Accounting.

Assign interfaces to VDOMs

This example uses three interfaces on the FortiGate unit: port2 (AccountingLocal), port3 (SalesLocal), and port1 (WAN). Port2 and port3 interfaces each have a department’s network connected. Port1 is for all traffic to and from the Internet and uses DHCP to configure its IP address, which is common with many ISPs.

To assign interfaces to VDOMs in the GUI:

1. In the Global VDOM, go to Network > Interfaces.

2. Select port2 and click Edit.

3. From the Virtual domain list, select Accounting.

   

4. Click OK.

5. Repeat the preceding steps to assign port3 to the Sales VDOM.

6. Repeat the preceding steps to assign port1 to the root VDOM.

Configure the VDOM links

To complete the connection between each VDOM and the management VDOM, add the two VDOM links. One pair is the Accounting – management link and the other is the Sales – management link. Each side of these links will be assigned IP addresses since they will be handy in configuring inter-VDOM routing in the next step.

To configure the Accounting and management VDOM link in the GUI:

1. In the Global VDOM, go to Network > Interfaces.

2. Select Create New > VDOM Link.

3. Enter the following information:

   Name		AccountVlnk
   Interface 0
   	Virtual Domain	Accounting
   	IP/Netmask	11.11.11.2/255.255.255.252
   	Administrative Access	HTTPS, PING, SSH
   	Comment	Accounting side of the VDOM link
   Interface 1
   	Virtual Domain	root
   	IP/Netmask	11.11.11.1/255.255.255.252
   	Administrative Access	HTTPS, PING, SSH
   	Comment	Management side of the VDOM link

4. Click OK.

To configure the Sales and management VDOM link in the GUI:

1. In the Global VDOM, go to Network > Interfaces.

2. Select Create New > VDOM link.

3. Enter the following information:

   Name		SalesVlnk
   Interface 0
   	Virtual Domain	Sales
   	IP/Netmask	12.12.12.2/255.255.255.252
   	Administrative Access	HTTPS, PING, SSH
   	Comment	Accounting side of the VDOM link
   Interface 1
   	Virtual Domain	root
   	IP/Netmask	12.12.12.1/255.255.255.252
   	Administrative Access	HTTPS, PING, SSH
   	Comment	Management side of the VDOM link

4. Click OK.

Configure inter-VDOM routing

A default static route can be configured on each VDOM to provide Internet access. In other words, this static route would provide inter-VDOM routing between each department VDOM and the root VDOM.

For this static route, these settings are used:

• Default Gateway: IP address of the management side of the VDOM link

  • Accounting VDOM: 11.11.11.1

  • Sales VDOM: 12.12.12.1

• Interface: Interface on the department VDOM side of the VDOM link

  • Accounting VDOM: AccountVlnk0

  • Sales VDOM: SalesVlnk0

• IP address: 0.0.0.0/0.0.0.0 (default)

To configure the default static route to the Internet in the Accounting VDOM:

1. In the Accounting VDOM, go to Network > Static Routes.

2. Click on Create New and select the version you need.

3. Enter the following information:

   Destination	Subnet
   IP address	0.0.0.0/0.0.0.0
   Gateway	11.11.11.1
   Interface	AccountVlink0
   Administrative Distance	10

4. Click OK.

To configure the default static route to the Internet in the Sales VDOM:

1. In the Sales VDOM, go to Network > Static Routes.

2. Click on Create New and select the version you need.

3. Enter the following information:

   Destination	Subnet
   IP address	0.0.0.0/0.0.0.0
   Gateway	12.12.12.1
   Interface	SalesVlink0
   Administrative Distance	10

4. Click OK.

Configure the firewall policies

With the VDOMs, physical interfaces, VDOM links, and static routes configured, the firewall must now be configured to allow the proper traffic. Firewalls are configured per-VDOM, and firewall objects and routes must be created for each VDOM separately.

To configure the firewall policies from AccountingLocal to Internet in the GUI:

1. In the Accounting VDOM, go to Policy & Objects > Firewall Policy.

2. Click Create New.

3. Enter the following information:

   Name	Account-Local-to-Management
   Incoming Interface	port2
   Outgoing Interface	AccountVlnk0
   Source	All
   Destination	All
   Schedule	always
   Service	ALL
   Action	ACCEPT
   NAT	enabled

4. Click OK.

5. In the root VDOM, go to Policy & Objects > Firewall Policy.

6. Click Create New.

7. Enter the following information:

   Name	Account-VDOM-to-Internet
   Incoming Interface	AccountVlnk1
   Outgoing Interface	port1
   Source	All
   Destination	All
   Schedule	always
   Service	ALL
   Action	ACCEPT
   NAT	enabled

8. Click OK.

To configure the firewall policies from SalesLocal to Internet in the GUI:

1. In the Sales VDOM, go to Policy & Objects > Firewall Policy.

2. Click Create New.

3. Enter the following information:

   Name	Sales-Local-to-Management
   Incoming Interface	port3
   Outgoing Interface	SalesVlnk0
   Source	All
   Destination	All
   Schedule	always
   Service	ALL
   Action	ACCEPT
   NAT	enabled

4. Click OK.

5. In the root VDOM, go to Policy & Objects > Firewall Policy.

6. Click Create New.

7. Enter the following information:

   Name	Sales-VDOM-to-Internet
   Incoming Interface	SalesVlnk1
   Outgoing Interface	port1
   Source	All
   Destination	All
   Schedule	always
   Service	ALL
   Action	ACCEPT
   NAT	enabled

8. Click OK.

Test the configuration

When the inter-VDOM routing has been configured, test the configuration to confirm proper operation. Testing connectivity ensures that physical networking connections, FortiGate unit interface configurations, and firewall policies are properly configured.

The easiest way to test connectivity is to use the ping and traceroute commands on hosts in the Accounting and Sales networks, respectively, to confirm the connectivity of different routes on the network. Test connectivity with hosts connected to port2 (AccountingLocal) in the Accounting VDOM to the internet and hosts connected to port3 (SalesLocal) in the Sales VDOM to the internet.

Configuration with the CLI

The example can also be configured in the CLI.

To configure inter-VDOM routing in the CLI:

1. Enable multi-VDOM mode:

   config system global
       set vdom-mode multi-vdom
   end

   You will be logged out of the device when VDOM mode is enabled.

2. Create the Sales and Accounting VDOMs:

   config vdom
       edit Accounting
       next
       edit Sales
       next
   end

3. Assign interfaces to the VDOMs:

   config global
       config system interface
           edit port2
               set vdom Accounting
           next
           edit port3
               set vdom Sales
           next
           edit port1
               set vdom root
           next
       end
   end
   

4. Configure the Accounting and management VDOM link:

   config global
       config system vdom-link
           edit AccountVlnk
           next
       end
       config system interface
           edit AccountVlnk0
               set vdom Accounting
               set ip 11.11.11.2 255.255.255.252
               set allowaccess https ping ssh
               set description "Accounting side of the VDOM link"
           next
           edit AccountVlnk1
               set vdom root
               set ip 11.11.11.1 255.255.255.252
               set allowaccess https ping ssh
               set description "Management side of the VDOM link"
           next
       end
   end

5. Configure the Sales and management VDOM link:

   config global
       config system vdom-link
           edit SalesVlnk
           next
       end
       config system interface
           edit SalesVlnk0
               set vdom Sales
               set ip 12.12.12.2 255.255.255.252
               set allowaccess https ping ssh
               set description "Sales side of the VDOM link"
           next
           edit SalesVlnk1
               set vdom root
               set ip 12.12.12.1 255.255.255.252
               set allowaccess https ping ssh
               set description "Management side of the VDOM link"
           next
       end
   end

6. Configure the default static route to the Internet in the Accounting VDOM:

   config vdom
       edit Accounting
       config router static
           edit 1
               set gateway 11.11.11.1
               set device "AccountVlnk0"
           next
       end
   end
   

7. Configure the default statis route to the Internet in the Sales VDOM:

   config vdom
       edit Sales
       config router static
           edit 1
               set gateway 12.12.12.1
               set device "SalesVlnk0"
           next
       end
   end

8. Configure the firewall policies from AccountingLocal to the Internet:

   config vdom
       edit Accounting
           config firewall policy
               edit 1
                   set name "Accounting-Local-to-Management"
                   set srcintf port2
                   set dstintf AccountVlnk0
                   set srcaddr all
                   set dstaddr all
                   set action accept
                   set schedule always
                   set service ALL
                   set nat enable
               next
           end
       next
       edit root
           config firewall policy
               edit 2
                   set name "Accounting-VDOM-to-Internet"
                   set srcintf AccountVlnk1
                   set dstintf port1
                   set srcaddr all
                   set dstaddr all
                   set action accept
                   set schedule always
                   set service ALL
                   set nat enable
               next
           end
       next
   end

9. Configure the firewall policies from SalesLocal to the Internet:

   config vdom
       edit Sales
           config firewall policy
               edit 3
                   set name "Sales-local-to-Management"
                   set srcintf port3
                   set dstintf SalesVlnk0
                   set srcaddr all
                   set dstaddr all
                   set action accept
                   set schedule always
                   set service ALL
                   set nat enable
               next
           end
       next
       edit root
           config firewall policy
               edit 4
                   set name "Sales-VDOM-to-Internet"
                   set srcintf SalesVlnk1
                   set dstintf port1
                   set srcaddr all
                   set dstaddr all
                   set action accept
                   set schedule always
                   set service ALL
                   set nat enable
               next
           end
       next
   end