Connecting to the GUI or CLI

To configure and maintain the FortiMail unit, you can connect to it using either the:

GUI, a graphical user interface (GUI), from within a current web browser (see Connecting to the FortiMail GUI for the first time)
command line interface (CLI), a command line interface similar to DOS or UNIX commands, from a Secure Shell (SSH) or Telnet terminal (see Connecting to the FortiMail CLI for the first time)
front panel’s LCD display and control buttons available on some models (see Using the front panel’s control buttons and LCD display).

Connecting to the FortiMail GUI for the first time

To use the GUI for the initial setup, you must have:

a computer with an Ethernet port
a supported web browser. For information about supported browser versions, see the FortiMail Release Notes.
monitor resolution of at least 1280 x 1024 pixels (smaller screens may not be able to properly view all of the GUI)
a crossover Ethernet cable

Default settings for connecting to the GUI

Network Interface	port1
URL	https://192.168.1.99/admin
Administrator Account	admin
Password	(none)

To connect to the GUI

Configure the management computer to be on the same subnet as the port1 interface of the FortiMail unit.

For example, in Microsoft Windows 10, from the Windows Start menu, go to Settings > Network & Internet > Change adapter options > Local Area Connection Properties > Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) Properties and change the management computer IP address to 192.168.1.2 and the netmask to 255.255.255.0.
Using the Ethernet cable, connect your computer’s Ethernet port to the FortiMail unit’s port1.

Start your web browser and enter the URL:

https://192.168.1.99/admin

(Remember to include the “s” in https://, and /admin at the end of the URL.)

If you are connecting to FortiMail-VM with a trial license or to a LENC version of FortiMail, you may not be able to see the logon page due to an SSL/TLS cipher error during the connection. In this case, you must configure your web browser to accept low encryption.
For example, in Mozilla Firefox, if you receive this error message:

ssl_error_no_cypher_overlap

then you may need to enter:

about:config

in the URL bar, and then set one of the security.ssl3 settings for a low encryption cipher suite to true.

To support HTTPS authentication, the FortiMail unit ships with a self-signed security certificate, which it presents to clients whenever they initiate an HTTPS connection to the FortiMail unit. When you connect, depending on your web browser and prior access of the FortiMail unit, your browser might display two security warnings related to this certificate:

The certificate is not automatically trusted because it is self-signed, rather than being signed by a valid certificate authority (CA). Self-signed certificates cannot be verified with a proper CA, and therefore might be fraudulent. You must manually indicate whether or not to trust the certificate
The certificate might belong to another web site. The common name (CN) field in the certificate, which usually contains the host name of the web site, does not exactly match the URL you requested. This could indicate server identity theft, but could also simply indicate that the certificate contains a domain name while you have entered an IP address. You must manually indicate whether this mismatch is normal or not.

Both warnings are normal for the default certificate.

Verify and accept the certificate, either permanently (the web browser will not display the self-signing warning again) or temporarily. You cannot log in until you accept the certificate.

For details on accepting the certificate, see the documentation for your web browser.

The login dialog appears.
In the Name field, type admin, then select Login (in its default state, there is no password for this account).

Login credentials entered are encrypted before they are sent to the FortiMail unit. If your login is successful, the GUI appears.

Choosing a GUI view

FortiMail administrative GUI has multiple views:

Simple View: Default view for the first time login. Displays only the most commonly used menu options.
Advanced View: Displays all the menu options.
Microsoft 365 & Google Workspace View: Available if you have the Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace API feature license.

To change to a different view, from the eye icon dropdown list on the upper right corner, select a different view. Your view setting will be saved.

Connecting to the FortiMail CLI for the first time

For the initial configuration, you can access the CLI from your management computer either:

Locally — Connect your computer, terminal server, or console directly to the FortiMail unit’s console port. To do this, start with Connecting to the CLI using a local console.
Through the network— Connect your computer through any network attached to one of the FortiMail unit’s network ports. To do this, start with Enabling network connections (SSH or Telnet) to the CLI.

Local access is required in some cases.

If you are installing your FortiMail unit for the first time and it is not yet configured to connect to your network, unless you reconfigure your computer’s network settings for a peer connection, you may only be able to connect to the CLI using a local serial console connection.
Restoring the firmware utilizes a boot interrupt. Network access to the CLI is not available until after the boot process has completed, and therefore local CLI access is the only viable option.

This section includes:

Connecting to the CLI using a local console
Enabling network connections (SSH or Telnet) to the CLI
Connecting to the CLI using SSH
Connecting to the CLI using Telnet
Logging out from the CLI console

Connecting to the CLI using a local console

Local console connections to the CLI are formed by directly connecting either a:

terminal server, management computer, or console

terminal server
management computer
console

to the FortiMail unit, using its DB-9 or RJ-45 console port. The following procedure shows a connection to your computer.

Requirements

a computer with an available serial communications (COM) port
an RJ-45-to-DB-9 (null modem) console cable
a terminal emulation software such as PuTTY

The following procedure describes connection using PuTTY software; steps may vary with other terminal emulators.

To connect to the CLI using a local serial console connection

Using the console cable, connect the FortiMail unit’s console port to the serial communications (COM) port on your management computer.
On your management computer, start PuTTY.

In the Category tree on the left, go to Connection > Serial and configure the following:

Serial line to connect to	COM1 (or, if your computer has multiple serial ports, the name of the connected serial port)
Speed (baud)	9600
Data bits	8
Stop bits	1
Parity	None
Flow control	None

In the Category tree on the left, go to Session (not the sub-node, Logging) and from Connection type, select Serial.
Click Open.
Press the Enter key to initiate a connection.

The login prompt appears.
Type a valid administrator account name (such as admin) and press Enter.
Type the password for that administrator account then press Enter (in its default state, there is no password for the admin account).

The CLI displays a command line prompt.

Enabling network connections (SSH or Telnet) to the CLI

SSH, Telnet, or CLI Console widget (via the GUI) access to the CLI requires that you connect your computer to the FortiMail unit using one of its RJ-45 network ports. You can connect either:

Directly, with a peer connection or switch between the two
Indirectly, through any local network or the Internet

Before you can use the network connection, you must enable the physical network port's network interface to accept SSH and/or Telnet.

If your computer is connected indirectly, then you must also configure network settings so that a router that can forward packets through the network, from the FortiMail unit to your computer.

This procedure shows how to enable both direct and indirect network connections.

If you do not want to use an SSH/Telnet client and you have access to the GUI, you can alternatively access the CLI through the network using the CLI Console widget in the GUI. For details, see the FortiMail CLI Reference.

Requirements

a computer with an available serial communications (COM) port and RJ-45 port
terminal emulation software such as PuTTY
the console cable included in your FortiMail package
a crossover or straight-through network cable (autosensing ports)

To enable SSH or Telnet access to the CLI

Using the network cable, connect the FortiMail unit’s network port either:
- directly to your computer’s network port
- to a network through which your computer can reach the FortiMail unit indirectly
Note the number of the physical network port, such as port1.
Using a local console connection, connect and log into the CLI. For details, see Connecting to the CLI using a local console.

Enter the following commands in sequential order:

config system admin

edit "admin"

set password "<new-password_str>"

end

config system global

set operation-mode {gateway | server | transparent}

end

config system interface

edit <interface_name>

set ip {<interface_ipv4> | <interface_ipv6>}

set allowaccess {http https ping snmp ssh telnet}

end

config system route

edit 0

set destination {<subnet_ipv4mask> | <subnet_ipv6mask>}

set gateway {<router_ipv4> | <router_ipv6>}

set interface <interface_name>

end

config system dns

set primary <dns1_ipv4>

set secondary <dns2_ipv4>

end

config system time ntp

set ntpsync enable

set ntpserver {<ntp_ipv4 | <ntp_fqdn>}

end

where:

<new-password_str> is your new password for the administrator account named admin
{gateway | server | transparent} is your choice of FortiMail operation mode
<interface_name> is the network interface, such as port1, associated with the physical network port
{<interface_ipv4> | <interface_ipv6>} is the IP address of the network interface; omit this command to use the existing IP address
{http https ping snmp ssh telnet} is the space-delimited list of administrative access protocols that you want to permit, such as https ssh; omit administrative access protocols that you do not want to permit
{<subnet_ipv4mask> | <subnet_ipv6mask>} is which outgoing traffic, such as 0.0.0.0/0 for all traffic, that FortiMail should send to the router to be forwarded to destination IP addresses such as your computer; omit route settings if you are using a direct connection
{<router_ipv4> | <router_ipv6>} is the next hop (gateway) router or firewall
<dns1_ipv4> and <dns2_ipv4> are DNS servers; DNS is required by secure connections and many other features
{<ntp_ipv4 | <ntp_fqdn>} is an NTP (time) server, in either IP address or domain name format; accurate time is required by secure connections and many other features

Telnet is not a secure access method. SSH should be used to access the CLI from the Internet or any other untrusted network.
Default administrator passwords should be replaced before you allow any network connections to FortiMail. Security can be compromised if the Internet or other untrusted connections can reach a FortiMail unit that still has a default password.
If you change the operation mode later, most settings will be reset and must be reconfigured.

You can alternatively log in using an SSH key instead of a password. For details, see config system admin in the FortiMail CLI Reference.

To test your network settings, enter the command:

exec ping fortinet.com

Results should show 0% packet loss. Otherwise verify your settings and (for indirect connections) router/firewall.
To connect to the CLI through the network interface, see Connecting to the CLI using SSH or Connecting to the CLI using Telnet.

Connecting to the CLI using SSH

Once the FortiMail unit is configured to accept SSH connections, you can use an SSH client on your management computer to connect to the CLI.

SSH provides both secure authentication and secure communications to the CLI. Supported SSH protocol versions, ciphers, and bit strengths vary by whether or not you have enabled FIPS-CC mode. FortiMail does not support SSH connections with plain-text password authentication. Instead, challenge/response should be used.

Requirements

a FortiMail network interface configured to accept SSH connections (see Enabling network connections (SSH or Telnet) to the CLI)
terminal emulation software such as PuTTY

To connect to the CLI using SSH

On your management computer, start PuTTY.
In Host Name (or IP Address), type the IP address of a network interface on which you have enabled SSH administrative access.
In Port, type 22.
From Connection type, select SSH.
Click Open.

The SSH client connects to the FortiMail unit.

The SSH client may display a warning if this is the first time you are connecting to the FortiMail unit and its SSH key is not yet recognized by your SSH client, or if you have previously connected to the FortiMail unit but it used a different IP address or SSH key. If your management computer is directly connected to the FortiMail unit with no network hosts between them, this is normal.
Click Yes to verify the fingerprint and accept the FortiMail unit’s SSH key. You will not be able to log in until you have accepted the key.

The CLI displays a login prompt.

If four incorrect login or password attempts occur in a row, you will be disconnected. Wait one minute, then reconnect to attempt the login again.

The CLI displays a command line prompt (by default, its host name followed by a #). You can now enter CLI commands.

Connecting to the CLI using Telnet

Once the FortiMail unit is configured to accept Telnet connections, you can use a Telnet client on your management computer to connect to the CLI.

Telnet is not a secure access method. SSH should be used to access the CLI from the Internet or any other untrusted network.

Requirements

a FortiMail network interface configured to accept Telnet connections (see Enabling network connections (SSH or Telnet) to the CLI)
terminal emulation software such as PuTTY

To connect to the CLI using Telnet

On your management computer, start PuTTY.
In Host Name (or IP Address), type the IP address of a network interface on which you have enabled Telnet administrative access.
In Port, type 23.
From Connection type, select Telnet.
Click Open.

The CLI displays a login prompt.

If three incorrect login or password attempts occur in a row, you will be disconnected. Wait one minute, then reconnect to attempt the login again.

The CLI displays a command line prompt (by default, its host name followed by a #). You can now enter CLI commands.

Logging out from the CLI console

Regardless of how you connect to the FortiMail CLI console (direct console connection, SSH, Telnet, or the CLI Console in the GUI) , to log out of the console, enter the exit command.

Using the front panel’s control buttons and LCD display

On some FortiMail models, you can use the front panel’s control buttons and LCD display to configure the:

IP addresses and netmasks for each of the network interfaces
default route/gateway
operating mode

You can also use the front panel to reset the FortiMail unit to the default settings for its firmware version.

After using the front panel to configure these basic settings, you must still connect to the GUI to complete additional setup. To continue, see Connecting to the FortiMail GUI for the first time.