Fortinet FCX key terms

An integrated architecture in which FortiGate, FortiSwitch, FortiAP, FortiAnalyzer, FortiManager, and endpoint tools share topology, telemetry, and policy so administrators see and control the whole network from one console.

The operating system running on FortiGate appliances and virtual machines, providing firewall, routing, VPN, IPS, application control, and SD-WAN functions through a single policy and CLI structure.

A virtual domain that partitions one FortiGate into independent logical firewalls, each with its own interfaces, routing table, policies, and administrators, commonly used for multi-tenant or separated-department deployments.

A grouping of FortiGate devices managed centrally by FortiManager, letting an enterprise delegate policy and object management to regional or business-unit teams while retaining global oversight.

A FortiGate interface or logical link configured to join a device into the Security Fabric, enabling topology discovery and exchange of telemetry with the root FortiGate.

The protocol FortiOS uses to share device, user, and threat information between Fabric members, allowing downstream devices to learn endpoint identity and upstream devices to receive security events.

A dedicated management interface mode that lets a FortiGate directly manage FortiSwitch and FortiAP devices, pushing VLANs, policies, and wireless profiles without a separate controller.

A firewall rule set that combines classic five-tuple matching with inspection profiles such as IPS, application control, antivirus, web filtering, and SSL inspection to enforce layered security in one pass.

A reusable bundle of inspection settings, for example antivirus, IPS, web filter, DNS filter, and application control, attached to a firewall policy to define how matching traffic is scanned.

Decrypting TLS traffic at the firewall so inspection engines can examine encrypted payloads, then re-encrypting it toward the destination, with exceptions for privacy or certificate-pinned applications.

Identifying and governing traffic by the application that generates it, regardless of port or protocol, so peer-to-peer, proxy, or evasive apps can be allowed, blocked, or shaped by policy.

A logical grouping of WAN member interfaces on FortiGate that share performance-based rules, letting the device steer traffic across links by latency, jitter, or packet loss.

A configured threshold, such as maximum latency or jitter, that FortiGate SD-WAN health checks compare against to decide whether a WAN member is usable for a given traffic rule.

A health-check definition in FortiOS SD-WAN that probes configured servers over each WAN link and reports reachability plus latency, jitter, and loss used by SD-WAN rules.

The control and provisioning protocol FortiAP access points use to register with and receive configuration from a wireless controller, here typically a FortiGate managing them over FortiLink.

Fortinet's wireless access point line, which can be managed by a FortiGate over FortiLink or by FortiLAN Cloud, supporting tunnel and local-bridge SSID modes.

A wireless network name broadcast by an access point, mapped on FortiGate to a wireless interface with its own VLAN, security mode, and firewall policy.

A converged cloud-delivered service combining secure web gateway, cloud access security broker, zero-trust network access, and branch connectivity under one policy and management plane.

Zero Trust Network Access grants users access to individual applications rather than the whole network, verifying identity and device posture continuously before each connection is allowed.

Secure Web Gateway inspects and filters user web traffic, enforcing URL categories, malware scanning, and data-loss rules for users both on and off the corporate network.

Cloud Access Security Broker sits between users and cloud services to discover sanctioned and shadow applications, enforce data policies, and detect risky cloud usage.

A set of checks on an endpoint, such as OS patch level, disk encryption, or antivirus status, used by zero-trust policy to decide whether access should be granted.

Fortinet's endpoint agent providing VPN, zero-trust application access, endpoint protection, and telemetry to FortiGate and EMS, serving as the client side of secure access.

Endpoint Management Server centrally configures FortiClient profiles, deploys software, and collects endpoint telemetry, acting as the management hub for endpoint and zero-trust clients.

A Fortinet point of presence in the cloud that terminates tunnels from branches or endpoints and applies SASE security services close to users instead of backhauling traffic to a data center.

A connection method that steers branch or remote traffic into a cloud security service, often using IPsec or SD-WAN tunnels from FortiGate to a SASE edge.

Deploying FortiGate virtual appliances and related Fortinet products inside cloud providers, managed from FortiManager, to protect workloads and connect cloud networks to on-premises.

A cloud-native protection product that scans cloud workloads and configurations for misconfigurations, vulnerabilities, and sensitive data, feeding findings into broader security operations.

Cloud Security Posture Management continuously checks cloud accounts against benchmarks and policy, flagging exposed storage, permissive identity roles, and other configuration risks.

A centralized logging and analytics appliance that stores FortiGate and Fabric logs, correlates events, and produces reports and compliance views for the security team.

Fortinet's SIEM platform that collects logs and flows from multi-vendor sources, normalizes them, correlates events, and drives alerting and incident investigation.

Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response connects tools and runs playbooks that automatically enrich alerts, contain threats, and standardize analyst workflows.

Fortinet's orchestration and automation platform where analysts build playbooks, integrate third-party tools through connectors, and manage incident cases in a single workspace.

An endpoint detection and response product that monitors process behavior, blocks malicious actions pre-execution, and supports automated response such as isolating an infected host.

Endpoint Detection and Response continuously records endpoint activity, detects suspicious behavior beyond signature matching, and gives analysts tools to investigate and contain compromised devices.

Network Detection and Response analyzes network traffic and flow metadata to spot intrusions, lateral movement, and anomalous behavior that host-based tools may miss.

User and Entity Behavior Analytics baselines normal activity for users and devices, then scores deviations to surface compromised accounts or insider threats.

Protecting industrial control systems and operational technology networks, where availability and safety dominate and many devices cannot run agents or tolerate active scanning.

A reference architecture that layers industrial networks from physical process up to enterprise IT, guiding where segmentation, firewalls, and monitoring are placed between zones.

Dividing an OT environment into security zones with controlled conduits between them, limiting how far an attacker or accidental fault can spread across the plant network.

A hardened FortiGate appliance family built for harsh industrial environments, offering ruggedized hardware and OT-friendly features for protecting plant-floor networks.

An IPS signature that blocks exploitation of a known vulnerability in software that cannot yet be updated, buying time until the vendor patch can be deployed.