License Trial | Fortigate Vm

The FortiGate VM trial is a robust offering that provides full visibility into the Fortinet ecosystem.

Pros:

Cons:

Recommendation: If you are using this for a long-term home lab or studying, keep in mind that you can redeploy a new VM and request a new trial license once the initial period expires, though Fortinet’s terms of service regarding repeated trials should be reviewed. For production use, purchasing a "BYOL" (Bring Your Own License) license is required to unlock the throughput capabilities of the VM.

Fortinet offers a free trial license for FortiGate VMs primarily for lab and evaluation purposes. The license model and features vary significantly depending on the FortiOS version you are using. Trial License Types

Permanent Trial (FortiOS 7.2.1+): A "permanent" evaluation mode that does not expire. It requires a valid FortiCloud/FortiCare account and is bound to a single serial number per account.

15-Day Trial (Pre-7.2.1): Older versions (6.4 to 7.2.0) typically offer a 15-day trial period with full functionality but no FortiGuard server connectivity.

60-Day Full Trial: Sometimes available through Fortinet sales representatives or SEs for specific partner/enterprise evaluations. Key Limitations & Specifications

The trial license is highly restricted to prevent production use: Hardware Caps: Limited to 1 vCPU and 2GB of RAM.

Networking: Maximum of 3 interfaces, 3 firewall policies, and 3 routes. fortigate vm license trial

Security: Supports only low encryption levels (no high-strength SSL/VPN features in some versions).

Support: No access to technical support (FortiCare) or advanced FortiGuard signature updates.

Evaluation License vs. 60-day Full Trial Licen... - Fortinet Community

I find the free trial license anyone can get to be restrictive to the point of being useless. 3 interfaces? Can't do mgmt, inside, Best way to Eval Fortigate - Fortinet Community

I'm a network guy, familiar with Juniper SRX and Palo a bit. I've installed FortiGate in Eve-NG but the licences have now expired. Fortinet Community

Fortinet provides a Permanent Trial Mode for FortiGate-VM, allowing you to test core features without an initial paid license. Unlike older time-limited versions, this "forever" trial has specific capacity limits rather than a 15 or 30-day expiration. Key Features and Limitations

The trial license is designed for testing and learning environments. According to the FortiGate VM License Guide, it includes:

Capacity Limits: Typically limited to 1 CPU and 2 GB of RAM.

Security Features: Low-encryption strength (No "High Encryption" support) and no access to FortiGuard updates (IPS, Antivirus, or Web Filtering signatures). The FortiGate VM trial is a robust offering

Core Networking: Full access to stateful firewalling, routing, and VPN features. VDOMs: Limited to a maximum of 10 Virtual Domains. How to Activate the Trial License To set up your evaluation, follow these steps:

Deploy the VM: Download the FortiGate-VM image (KVM, VMware, Hyper-V, etc.) from the Fortinet Support Portal.

Access the GUI: Power on the VM and log in via your browser using the default IP address.

Select Evaluation: On the license activation screen, choose Evaluation License.

Bind to FortiCloud: Enter your FortiCloud/FortiCare credentials. You must have a registered account to activate the trial. Restart: The VM will reboot to apply the trial parameters. Management and Troubleshooting

Status Check: You can verify your license status at any time by navigating to Dashboard > Status and checking the Virtual Machine widget.

Connectivity: The VM must have internet access to reach FortiGuard servers for initial validation, even in trial mode.

Upgrading: If you decide to purchase a license, you can upload the .lic file directly to the same VM instance via the FortiGate VM License page to remove trial restrictions. Permanent trial mode for FortiGate-VM

If you are looking for a "how-to" paper that explains the practical experience of getting a license, this is a highly respected industry blog. Recommendation: If you are using this for a

Ready to try FortiGate VM? This guide walks you through getting a trial license, deploying the VM, and doing a quick test drive — with practical tips and lively notes so you don’t get bored while firewalling the planet.

A FortiGate VM license is a software entitlement that activates a virtual instance of Fortinet’s FortiOS operating system. Unlike a physical FortiGate appliance (like the 100F or 600E series), the VM runs on top of hypervisors such as VMware ESXi, Microsoft Hyper-V, KVM, or in public clouds like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud.

The license determines:

Without a license, the FortiGate VM runs in a restricted "evaluation mode" or fails to pass traffic. This is where the trial license becomes invaluable.

The trial license is designed to be feature-rich to encourage adoption, but it has specific constraints compared to paid enterprise licenses.

What is Included:

The Limitations:

Limited Interfaces: While you can add more virtual NICs in your hypervisor, the FortiGate VM trial license historically restricts the OS from recognizing more than 3 interfaces.

Duration: The evaluation period is typically 15 to 30 days depending on the specific registration path. After expiry, the firewall continues to operate, but FortiGuard services (AV/IPS updates) will cease to function, and the device may lose licensing features.

To help you justify the trial, consider a brief comparison:

Fortinet’s trial is unique because it does not artificially cap throughput to 1 Mbps or 10 Mbps. If you give the VM 8 vCPUs and 16GB RAM, it will push traffic as fast as your hypervisor allows.