VPN client-based authentication

Chapter 3 Authentication for FortiOS 5.0 : Introduction to authentication : User’s view of authentication : VPN client-based authentication

A VPN provides remote clients with access to a private network for a variety of services that include web browsing, email, and file sharing. A client program such as FortiClient negotiates the connection to the VPN and manages the user authentication challenge from the FortiGate unit.

FortiClient can store the username and password for a VPN as part of the configuration for the VPN connection and pass them to the FortiGate unit as needed. Or, FortiClient can request the username and password from the user when the FortiGate unit requests them.

SSL VPN is a form of VPN that can be used with a standard Web browser. There are two modes of SSL VPN operation (supported in NAT/Route mode only):

• web-only mode, for remote clients equipped with a web-browser only

• tunnel mode, for remote computers that run a variety of client and server applications.


	After a defined period of user inactivity on the VPN connection (the idle timeout, defined by the FortiGate administrator), the user’s access expires. The default is 30 minutes. To access the resource, the user will have to authenticate again.