Adding VDOMs with FortiGate v-series

Each FortiGate-VM base license type allows a default number of virtual domains (VDOM). This topic provides sample procedures to add VDOMs beyond the default number using separately purchased VDOM licenses.

This topic consists of the following steps:

1. Activate the FortiGate-VM with the base license.
2. Add more VDOMs to the FortiGate-VM.

To activate the FortiGate-VM with the base license:

1. Purchase and register the FortiGate-VM base license in FortiCloud:
   1. Purchase the FortiGate-VM base license from Fortinet or a Fortinet reseller.
   2. You receive a license certification with a registration code. Open the certification.
   3. Log in to Fortinet Customer Service & Support.
   4. Go to Register Now and enter the provided registration code.
   5. Follow the registration process. The serial number generates and displays on the Registration Completion page.
   6. Go to Asset > Manage/View Products. Click the serial number to download the license file.
2. Upload the FortiGate-VM base license file to FortiOS:
   1. Log in to the FortiGate-VM GUI.
   2. In Dashboard > Status, in the Virtual Machine widget, click FortiGate VM License.
   3. Click the Upload button.
   4. Select the FortiGate-VM base license file, then click OK. The FortiGate-VM reboots after applying the base license.
3. Verify the FortiGate-VM base license status and VDOM information:
   1. Log in to the FortiGate-VM GUI.
   2. In Dashboard > Status, in the Virtual Machine widget, ensure that there is a checkmark in front of the FortiGate-VM base license name. The checkmark indicates that the base license is valid.
   3. You can check VDOM information using the CLI. Run get system status and look for the Max number of virtual domains line in the output. In this example, since the FortiGate-VM base license only supports the default root VDOM that the system uses, the value of Max number of virtual domains should be 1.

To add more VDOMs to the FortiGate-VM:

You can repeat this procedure multiple times to stack multiple VDOM licenses on the same FortiGate-VM.

1. Purchase and register the FortiGate-VM upgrade license in FortiCare. This example adds 15 VDOMs:
   1. Purchase the FortiGate-VM upgrade license from Fortinet or a Fortinet reseller.
   2. You receive a license certification with a registration code. Open the certification.
   3. Log in to Fortinet Customer Service & Support.
   4. Go to Asset > Register/Activate and enter the provided registration code.
   5. On the Specify License Confirmation Information screen, enter the FortiGate-VM serial number to apply the VDOM upgrade license to the FortiGate-VM. In this example, the FortiGate-VM serial number is FGVM4VTM19000476.

      

   6. Follow the registration process.
   7. Go to Asset > Manage/View Products > . Select the desired product, then click License & Key. The VDOM upgrade license displays under Registered License(s), and a key for adding 15 VDOMs (in this example M6JSD-8EE32-VHIJB-N) displays under Available Key(s).

      

2. Apply the FortiGate-VM upgrade license key to FortiOS:
   1. Log in to the FortiGate-VM CLI in the local console or using SSH.
   2. Apply the VDOM upgrade license key:

      FGVM4VTM19000476 # execute upd-vd-license M6JSD-8EE32-VHIJB-N

      update vdom license succeeded

3. Verify the FortiGate-VM VDOM information:
   1. Log in to the FortiGate-VM CLI in the local console or using SSH.
   2. Check VDOM information using the CLI. The following output shows that the maximum number of VDOMs is currently 15. When you add VDOMs for the first time on a FortiGate-VM v-series instance, FortiOS does not count the default VDOM, as the default VDOM is the so-called root VDOM that the system uses and FortiOS does not treat it as a countable VDOM in terms of VDOM addition. Therefore, as in this example, if your FortiGate-VM had the default VDOM configuration, then you add 15 VDOMs, FortiOS displays the maximum VDOM number as 15, not 16.

      # get system status
      Version: FortiGate-VM64-KVM v7.2.7,buildXXXX,201209 (GA)
      Virus-DB: 82.00644(2020-12-18 12:20)
      Extended DB: 82.00644(2020-12-18 12:20)
      Extreme DB: 1.00000(2018-04-09 18:07)
      IPS-DB: 16.00982(2020-12-17 01:04)
      IPS-ETDB: 0.00000(2001-01-01 00:00)
      APP-DB: 16.00982(2020-12-17 01:04)
      INDUSTRIAL-DB: 6.00741(2015-12-01 02:30)
      Serial-Number: FGVM02TM20000000
      IPS Malicious URL Database: 2.00862(2020-12-18 06:12)
      License Status: Invalid Copy
      License Expiration Date: 2024-10-02
      VM Resources: 2 CPU/2 allowed, 2010 MB RAM
      Log hard disk: Available
      Hostname: FGDocs
      Private Encryption: Disable
      Operation Mode: NAT
      Current virtual domain: root
      Max number of virtual domains: 1
      Virtual domains status: 1 in NAT mode, 0 in TP mode
      Virtual domain configuration: disable
      FIPS-CC mode: disable
      Current HA mode: standalone
      Branch point: 1803
      Release Version Information: GA
      FortiOS x86-64: Yes
      System time: Mon Dec 25 13:24:20 2023