Implementation of FortiGate firewall with HA

Project Overview:

This project aimed at bolstering network security and enhanced operation efficiency; I led a strategic initiative to implement a FortiGate firewall solution in a High Availability (Active/Passive) setup within our AWS ecosystem. The project encompassed the migration of critical cloud-based resources to a new security architecture and establishing fortified site-to-site connectivity between our AWS environment and the company’s headquarters.

Roles and Responsibilities:

  • Collaborated with the network team to design and deploy FortiGate firewall solutions in an HA Active/Passive setup.
  • Conducted a thorough analysis of existing cloud resources to plan for migration to the new security architecture.
  • Managed the migration on ingress and egress traffic through the FortiGate firewall without service disruption.
  • Configured and managed AWS Transit Gateway to centralize network connectivity.
  • Established a secure IPsec VPN Tunnel over AWS Direct connect for reliable and consistent connectivity between AWS and the company headquarters.
  • Performed network architecture reviews and implemented security best practices.
  • Coordinated with stakeholders to ensure compliance with corporate and industry standards.
  • Monitored and Optimized firewall performance post-implementation to guarantee efficient traffic flow and security.
  • Documented the entire process to facilitate knowledge transfer and ensure business continuity.

Technologies Used:

  • AWS Services: EC2, VPC, Transit Gateway, Route Tables, Direct connect, Route 53, CloudWatch and IAM
  • FortiGate Next-Generation firewall
  • IPsec VPN
  • High Availability (Active/Passive) Configurations.

Project Achievements:

  • Successfully migrated all cloud resources traffic to the FortiGate Firewall without any service interruptions, enhancing network security posture.
  • Implemented a centralized transit gateway, simplifying network management and reducing operational costs.

 

  • Established a robust site-to-site connectivity solution that provided secure, low latency communication between cloud resources and the corporate headquarters
  • Designed and executed a resilient HA Active/Passive firewall setup, ensuring business continuity and minimizing downtime.
  • Improved overall network performance and security by leveraging FortiGate’s advanced threat protection features.

Architecture Diagram.

These paired FortiGate instances act as a single logical instance and share interface IP addressing. The main benefits of this solution are:

  • Fast failover of FortiOS and AWS SDN without external automation/services
  • Automatic AWS SDN updates to elastic IP addresses (EIP) and route targets
  • Native FortiOS configuration synchronization
  • Ease of use as the cluster is treated as single logical FortiGate

The following depicts the network topology for this sample deployment:

 

 

Challenges and Solutions:

  • One of the main challenges was ensuring zero downtime during the migration of traffic to the new firewall setup. This was achieved by careful planning, executing changes during low traffic periods, and performing extensive pre-migration testing.
  • Another challenge was integrating the FortiGate solution with the existing cloud infrastructure while maintaining compliance with security policies. This required meticulous configuration of firewall rules and extensive collaboration with security teams to align with industry best practices.

Feedback and Results:

  • Post-implementation feedback from the IT and network teams was overwhelming positive, citing the seamless migration and enhanced security capabilities as major success of the project.
  • The project delivered a significant reduction in security incidents related to network intrusion and unauthorized access attempts.
  • The Direct connect IPsec tunnel configuration resulted in a 30% improvement in data transfer reliability between the AWS cloud environment and the corporate headquarters.

Portfolio Reflection.

This project was an invaluable opportunity to showcase my expertise as an AWS Solution Architect and to further develop my skills in network security. It also highlighted the importance of cross-team collaboration and the ability to adapt to and resolve unforeseen challenges during the implementation of complex cloud-based solutions.