#FortiGate Replacement Case Study: Gov Project_Fortigate Replacement
  

TrirongBub Lv1Posted Dec-31-2025 14:39


I. Project Background: Educational Network Upgrade and Performance Challenges
The client's primary requirement was to ensure that the firewall replacement strictly adhered to the existing network architecture while minimizing operational disruption during the transition. However, the legacy FortiGate firewall contained a massive volume of objects and policies, and the project faced a tight implementation deadline. To address this, the team leveraged the FortiGate configuration conversion tool to accelerate the process. Whereas a manual migration of data to the Sangfor firewall was projected to take 2–3 days, the use of the conversion tool successfully compressed the policy migration timeline to approximately 1–2 days.


II. Core Challenges and Technical Solutions
During the migration, we faced three main challenges, which were successfully overcome though the following methods:

Challenge 1:Handling Physical Interface Conversion Limitations
The Automation Tool cannot directly convert hardware-level settings (Physical Interfaces), Link Aggregation (LACP), or the unique "Interface Group" feature from FortiGate.

Solution:
Manual Configuration is required for physical interfaces on the Sangfor device first. Subsequently, L2 Access VLANs are created to replicate the logical structure of the original FortiGate Interface Groups.

Challenge 2: Resolving Routing and Zone Naming Discrepancies
Post-conversion, static routes may point to incorrect interfaces or have mismatched priorities. Additionally, slight variations in Zone names can cause related policies (NAT/ACL) to fail.

Solution:
The team must perform a Manual Route Calibration to adjust static routes. Crucially, new Zones must be renamed to match the original FortiGate names exactly to ensure that related policies are automatically and correctly linked.
Challenge 3: Time-Saving Strategy (Hybrid Approach)
The volume of Policies, ACLs, and NAT rules was massive. A purely manual migration would take up to 3 days, posing a high risk of human error and potential deadline slippage.

Solution:
The Sangfor Configuration Conversion Tool was utilized for a Bulk Import of policies, reducing the timeline to just 1.2 days. This was followed by a Manual Review by engineers for sensitive configurations, such as SSL VPN settings and Security Policy sequencing.


III. Final Value and Project Achievements
This migration project not only successfully replaced the aging hardware but also restored critical security defenses and streamlined the deployment process through automation.

1. Greatly Improved Efficiency and Accuracy: The use of the Sangfor Configuration Conversion Tool boosted configuration migration efficiency by approximately 60%, compressing the manual workload from 3 man-days to just 1.2 man-days. This significantly accelerated the deployment timeline while ensuring that the complex logic of existing ACLs and NAT policies was accurately preserved.

2. Seamless Core Feature Takeover: The compatibility challenge posed by legacy "Interface Groups" and physical link aggregation was successfully resolved using L2 Access VLANs and manual interface mapping. This achieved an unobtrusive replacement, strictly adhering to the client’s existing architecture without forcing network redesigns.

3. Enhanced Security and Business Continuity: The solution immediately restored real-time threat prevention and security logging capabilities that were lost due to expired licenses. Furthermore, the smooth transition ensured zero disruption to the agency's critical administrative operations and livestock export certification services.

GOV Case study Fortigate Replacement.pdf

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Sangfor Jojo Lv5Posted Jan-04-2026 09:56
  


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