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11. Fortinet Getting Started v6.0. Licensing



Greetings! Welcome to the eleventh, final lesson of the Fortinet Getting Started course . In the last lesson, we examined the main points related to device administration. Now, to complete the course, I want to introduce you to the licensing scheme of FortiGate and FortiAnalyzer products - usually these schemes raise quite a few questions.
As usual, the lesson will be presented in two versions - in text form, as well as in the format of the video lesson, which is located at the bottom of the article.

Let's start with a variation of technical support. In Fortinet terminology, technical support is referred to as FortiCare. There are three technical support options:



8x5 is one of the standard technical support options. By purchasing this type of technical support, you get access to the technical support portal, from where you can download images for updates, as well as additional software. There is an opportunity to leave tickets - applications for solving technical problems. But in this case, the response time to your request depends not only on a specific SLA, but also on the operating mode of engineers (and, accordingly, on the time zone). It is worth noting that Fortinet is gradually moving away from this type of technical support.
The second option - 24x7 - the second standard version of technical support. It has the same parameters as 8x5, but with some differences - SLA ceases to depend on the mode of operation of engineers and the difference in time zones. It is also possible to purchase an extended equipment replacement program, but more on that later.
And the third option — Advanced Services Engineering or ASE — also implies 24-by-7 support, but with a special, reduced SLA. In the case of ASE, tickets are processed by a specialized team of engineers. This type of technical support is currently available only for FortiGate devices.

Now go through the subscriptions. There are many separate subscriptions, as well as packages that contain several subscriptions. The package also includes some technical support. You can see a list of existing FortiGate subscriptions in the image below.



All of the above subscriptions can be included in the following packages:
360 Protection, Enterprise Protection, UTM Protection, Advanced Threat Protection. At this stage, it is important to remember that the technical support of the ASE type is always included in the 360 ​​Protection package, the 24/7 support is always included in the Enterprise package, for the UTM package there are two variations so far - the package with technical support 8/5 enabled and technical support 24 / 7.
And the latest package - Advanced Threat Protection - always includes 24/7 support.

Technical support also includes warranty replacement of equipment. But support types 24x7 and ASE support the acquisition of Premium RMA, which helps reduce equipment replacement time and get additional benefits. There are 4 types of Premium RMA:

  • Next Day Delivery - spare equipment will be delivered the next day after confirmation of the incident with the current equipment.
  • 4 Hours On-Site Parts Delivery - spare equipment will be delivered by courier within 4 hours after confirmation of the incident.
  • 4 Hours On-Site Engineer - spare equipment will be delivered by courier within 4 hours after confirmation of the incident. An engineer will also be involved to assist in equipment replacement.
  • Secure RMA — . -, . -, , , .

But this is all “on paper”; in reality, it all depends on many circumstances, for example, geographical location. Therefore, when purchasing, I advise you to consult with a partner and clarify possible details.

We have taken apart all the Fortinet offers that relate specifically to FortiGate. Now it's time to put it all together. Let's start with the subscription packages. The figure below shows the individual subscriptions that I listed earlier. It shows which packages include each subscription. Also, do not forget about the compliance of technical support for each package. Using this data, you can choose a subscription package that suits your tasks.



Here we come almost to the most important thing. What can be the purchase options? There are several options to choose from:

  • A single position in the form of a physical device and a specific subscription package (you can also choose the validity period of the package - 1 year, 3 years, 5 years)
  • A separate item in the form of a physical device, as well as a separate item in the form of a subscription package (you can also select the duration of the package)
  • A separate item in the form of a physical device, as well as specific subscriptions in the form of separate items. In this case, the type of technical support also needs to be selected separately - it will also be submitted as a separate item

There are two options for virtual machines:

  • A separate line item for a virtual machine license and a separate subscription package with appropriate technical support
  • A separate position for a license for a virtual machine, separate necessary subscriptions and separate technical support.

Premium RMA services are not included in any package and are purchased as a separate subscription.

The licensing scheme is as follows. That is, FortiGate licensed does not limit either the number of users (both regular and VPN users), or the number of connections, nothing. Here everything rests only on the performance of the device itself.

The cost of renewal or the cost of annual ownership is determined as follows:
Either this is the cost of the selected package, or the cost of individual subscriptions and separate technical support. This cost does not include anything else.

FortiAnalyzer is a little easier. In the case of buying a physical device, you buy the device itself, as well as separately technical support, a subscription to the service of indicators of compromise and RMA services. In this case, the annual cost of ownership will be considered the amount of services purchased annually - the figure is marked in green.



With a virtual machine about the same. You buy a license for a basic virtual machine; if necessary, you buy parameter extensions for this virtual machine. The remaining services are similar to the services provided to the physical device. The annual cost of ownership is calculated in the same way as for a physical device - the services included in it are also marked in green on the slide.

As promised, I am also attaching a video lesson on this topic. It is suitable for those who are closer to the video format, because it contains exactly the information that was presented above.


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