Configuring the HA mode and group
The Configuration tab in the System > High Availability submenu lets you configure the high availability (HA) options, including:
• enabling HA
• selecting whether the HA group is active-passive or config-only in style (for information on the differences, see
Table 19)
• whether this individual FortiMail unit will act as a primary unit or a secondary unit in the cluster
• network interfaces that will be used for heartbeat and synchronization
• service monitor
For an explanation of active-passive and config-only, see
“About high availability”.
HA settings, with the exception of Virtual IP Address settings, are not synchronized and must be configured separately on each primary and secondary unit.
You must maintain the physical link between the heartbeat and synchronization network interfaces. These connections enable cluster members to detect the responsiveness of other members, and to synchronize data. If they are interrupted, normal operation will be interrupted and, for active-passive HA groups, a failover will occur. For more information on heartbeat and synchronization, see
“About the heartbeat and synchronization”.
For an active-passive HA group, or a config-only HA group consisting of only two FortiMail units, directly connect the heartbeat network interfaces using a crossover Ethernet cable. For a config-only HA group consisting of more than two FortiMail units, connect the heartbeat network interfaces through a switch, and do not connect this switch to your overall network.
To access this part of the web UI, your administrator account’s:
• Domain must be System
• access profile must have Read or Read-Write permission to the Others category
To configure HA options
1. Go to System > High Availability > Configuration.
The appearance of sections and the options in them options vary greatly with your choice in the Mode of operation drop-down-list.
2. Configure the following sections, as applicable:
3. Click Apply.