Introduction

This section aims to Introduce the purpose of this guide.

Executive Summary

This deployment guide is intended to cover the key configuration needs of Fortinet Wi-Fi deployments at single or multiple locations of FortiAPs using FortiLAN Cloud management. As a Cloud Management Service hosted by Fortinet in Fortinet datacenters, FortiLAN cloud has an enormous scalability range, and is well suited to everything from a single FortiAP at a single site to tens of thousands of FortiAPs over thousands of locations.

Fortinet has a large portfolio of products and corresponding Cloud Services to manage those products. Some clarifications are warranted. The FortiLAN Cloud Service is also a management system for FortiSwitches. It is a complete LAN solution, both wired and wireless. However, this document is specifically focused on Wi-Fi deployment of FortiAPs. Although Fortinet Switches are an excellent choice and there are advantages to an all-Fortinet network, this guide is written with the assumption of generic switches from any vendor.

Another important clarification is that FortiLAN Cloud is typically for sites that do NOT use a FortiGate. A FortiGate includes a Wifi & Switch Controller that manages local FortiSwitches and FortiAPs, and the FortiGate can be cloud-managed via the FortiGate Cloud portal. FortiLAN Cloud is specifically for FortiSwtiches and FortiAPs that are not under FortiGate management, thus they are typically described as stand alone.

This guide is specifically focused on deployment of FortiAPs in standalone mode as managed by the FortiLAN Cloud Service.

FortiLAN Cloud Licensing Tiers

FortiLAN cloud supports 3 licensing tiers for customers of various sizes and needs.

• Free Tier – Management of up to 30 FortiAPs, 3 FortiSwitches, 3 sites and 7 days of log storage. If you have a small organization or want to pilot FortiLAN Cloud, you can simply start using the service immediately.
• Licensed Tiers - Scale with number of sites, hold one year of logs, and introduce advanced wireless and switch features. For larger organizations with greater IT needs.
• Multi-Tenancy License - Designed for managed security service providers (MSSPs). A multi-tenancy account allows creation and management of multiple sub-accounts. Devices can be added or moved between sub-accounts and each account can have its own administrators and users.

See FortiGate Cloud WLAN Architecture Guide for planning details

Intended Audience

This guide is intended for an audience who is interested in deploying a FortiAP wireless solution that will be managed via the FortiLAN Cloud Service. Readers should have a basic understanding of networking, wireless and security concepts before they begin. Interested audience may include the following.

• Network, Wireless and Security architects
• Network, Wireless and Security engineers

About this Guide

After reading the FortiGate Cloud WLAN Architecture Guide, you should have an understanding of the components, features and design that are offered by Fortinet’s Wireless FortiLAN Cloud solution. It is advisable for readers to evaluate their environment to determine whether this architecture and design is suitable for them before proceeding.

This deployment guide presents one of many possible ways to deploy the Fortinet solutions. It may also omit specific steps where readers must make design decisions to further configure their devices. It is recommended that readers also review supplementary material found in product admin guides, example guides, cookbooks, release notes and other documents where appropriate.