user wants a long article about FortiGate VM sizing on Azure. I need to provide comprehensive information. I'll follow the search plan provided in the hints. The plan has three rounds. I'll start with Round One. search results from Round One have provided some initial information. Now, I need to proceed to Round Two for deeper dives into specific topics. The plan includes opening specific relevant pages. I'll start opening those pages. search results provide a good amount of official documentation. Now I need to proceed to Round Two. The plan includes specific searches for troubleshooting, sizing calculators, community discussions, and Azure-specific networking considerations. I'll execute these searches now. have gathered a substantial amount of information from the search results. Now I need to synthesize this into a comprehensive article. The article will cover key sections such as introduction, licensing models, VM types and sizing, network interface considerations, high availability and autoscaling, cost optimization, common pitfalls, and a checklist. I'll structure the article to be informative and practical.izing a FortiGate virtual machine on Microsoft Azure isn't just a technical decision—it's a strategic one that sits at the heart of your cloud's security and performance. A properly sized deployment ensures you're not overpaying for idle capacity or, worse, discovering a throughput bottleneck during a critical traffic spike.
FortiGate-VM is the industry standard for Azure network security, but sizing is significantly more complex than on-premises hardware. Unlike a physical appliance where hardware is fixed, Azure requires you to balance Compute Power (vCPU/RAM) against Network Throughput limits imposed by Azure, not Fortinet.
A minimum of is recommended for basic routing.
Running low on memory forces FortiGate into , a protective state where the firewall drops new sessions or bypasses security inspection to prevent a system crash. 2. Choosing the Right Azure VM Size and Family fortigate vm sizing azure
You purchase a perpetual or subscription license from Fortinet tied to a specific number of vCPUs (e.g., VM-04 limits FortiOS to utilizing 4 cores). If you scale up the Azure VM size to an 8-core instance without upgrading the Fortinet license, 4 cores will sit completely idle.
If you want, I can produce a one-page table mapping specific Azure VM SKUs to recommended FortiGate VM sizes and expected throughput using Fortinet datasheet figures — I’ll assume typical NGFW with IPS enabled and moderate SSL inspection unless you want a different profile.
These are designed for high CPU and network performance, which is typical for DMZ architectures, data center deployments, or environments with high throughput. user wants a long article about FortiGate VM sizing on Azure
How to Change Azure VM Size — And What You Must Think About First
Before selecting a FortiGate VM license (01, 02, 04, etc.), you must analyze your Azure environment's traffic requirements.
The FortiGate-VM will boot and function normally. It will only use the number of vCPUs specified in your license for traffic processing. The remaining vCPUs in the Azure VM remain idle, but Azure continues to bill you for the full VM size . Properly right-sizing your Azure VM to match your licensed vCPU count is essential for cost efficiency. The plan has three rounds
Often bundled with specific instance sizes in the Azure Marketplace. 2. Selecting the Right Azure VM Family
| License Tier | vCPUs (Azure) | Typical Raw Throughput* | Use Case | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | 2 | ~1 Gbps | Dev/Test, branch office | | FG-VM04 | 4 | ~2-4 Gbps | Small production, DMZ | | FG-VM08 | 8 | ~4-8 Gbps | Mid-size enterprise | | FG-VM16 | 16 | ~8-16 Gbps | Large hub, heavy inspection |