Connecting to the CLI

You can use a direct console connection or SSH to connect to the FortiManager CLI.

Connecting to the FortiManager console

To connect to the FortiManager console, you need:

• a computer with an available communications port
• a console cable, provided with your FortiManager unit, to connect the FortiManager console port and a communications port on your computer
• terminal emulation software, such as HyperTerminal for Windows.

The following procedure describes how to connect to the FortiManager CLI using Windows HyperTerminal software. You can use any terminal emulation program.

To connect to the CLI:

1. Connect the FortiManager console port to the available communications port on your computer.
2. Make sure the FortiManager unit is powered on.
3. Start HyperTerminal, enter a name for the connection, and select OK.
4. Configure HyperTerminal to connect directly to the communications port on the computer to which you have connected the FortiManager console port.
5. Select OK.
6. Select the following port settings and select OK.

   COM port	COM1
   Bits per second	115200
   Data bits	8
   Parity	None
   Stop bits	1
   Flow control	None

7. Press Enter to connect to the FortiManager CLI.

   The login prompt appears.

8. Enter a valid administrator name and press Enter.
9. Enter the password for this administrator and press Enter.

   You have connected to the FortiManager CLI, and you can enter CLI commands.

Setting administrative access on an interface

To perform administrative functions through a FortiManager network interface, you must enable the required types of administrative access on the interface to which your management computer connects. Access to the CLI requires Secure Shell (SSH) access. If you want to use the GUI, you need HTTPS access.

To use the GUI to configure FortiManager interfaces for SSH access, see the FortiManager Administration Guide.

To use the CLI to configure SSH access:

1. Connect and log into the CLI using the FortiManager console port and your terminal emulation software.
2. Use the following command to configure an interface to accept SSH connections:

   config system interface

   edit <interface_name>

   set allowaccess <access_types>

   end

   Where <interface_name> is the name of the FortiManager interface to be configured to allow administrative access, and <access_types> is a whitespace-separated list of access types to enable.

   For example, to configure port1 to accept HTTPS and SSH connections, enter:

   config system interface

   edit port1

   set allowaccess https ssh

   end

   Remember to press Enter at the end of each line in the command example. Also, type end and press Enter to commit the changes to the FortiManager configuration.

3. To confirm that you have configured SSH access correctly, enter the following command to view the access settings for the interface:

   get system interface <interface_name>

   The CLI displays the settings, including the management access settings, for the named interface.

Connecting to the FortiManager CLI using SSH

SSH provides strong secure authentication and secure communications to the FortiManager CLI from your internal network or the internet. Once the FortiManager unit is configured to accept SSH connections, you can run an SSH client on your management computer and use this client to connect to the FortiManager CLI.

A maximum of 5 SSH connections can be open at the same time.

To connect to the CLI using SSH:

1. Install and start an SSH client.
2. Connect to a FortiManager interface that is configured for SSH connections.
3. Enter a valid administrator name and press Enter.
4. Enter the password for this administrator and press Enter.

   The FortiManager model name followed by a # is displayed.

   You have connected to the FortiManager CLI, and you can enter CLI commands.

Connecting to the FortiManager CLI using the GUI

The GUI also provides a CLI console window.

To connect to the CLI using the GUI:

1. Connect to the GUI and log in.

   For information about how to do this, see the FortiManager Administration Guide.

2. Go to System Settings > Dashboard
3. Click inside the CLI Console widget. If the widget is not available, select Add Widget to add the widget to the dashboard.