FortiADC: Application Delivery Controller
Application Delivery Without Limits
FortiGSLB Quickly and Securely Delivers Applications Anywhere
FortiADC Overview
FortiADC enhances the scalability, performance, and security of your applications whether they are hosted on premises or in the cloud. FortiADC is an advanced application delivery controller that optimizes application performance and availability while securing the application both with its own native security tools and by integrating application delivery into the Fortinet Security Fabric.
FortiADC provides unmatched application acceleration, load balancing, and web security, regardless of whether it is used for applications within a single data center or serves multiple applications for millions of users around the globe. FortiADC includes application acceleration, WAF, IPS, SSLi, link load balancing, and user authentication in one solution to deliver availability, performance, and security in a single, all-inclusive license.
FortiGSLB Cloud is a DNS-based service that helps ensure business continuity by keeping an application online and available when a local area experiences unexpected traffic spikes or network downtime. FortiGSLB enables organizations to deploy redundant resources around the globe to maintain the availability of mission-critical applications.
FortiADC is available as a high-performance hardware appliance, as a virtual appliance, or on-demand through cloud marketplaces in AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and Oracle Cloud.
Features and Benefits
Enterprise-class layer 4-7 ADC
High performance physical and virtual ADC and reverse proxy. Includes advanced functions like intelligent traffic management and acceleration, server and application health monitoring, SSL acceleration and offloading, caching/compression, TCP multiplexing, an automation-enabled API, Link Load Balancing and WAN Optimization, sophisticated scripting and more.
Disaster recovery with global server load balancing
Available as a Service or as a FortiADC feature, FortiGSLB is a DNS-based solution that enables you to deploy redundant resources around the globe with near instant fail-over when one resource experiences unexpected traffic spikes or downtime. FortiGSLB provides comprehensive DNS services including Domain Name System Security Extensions, and rate limiting.
Secure applications with a full-featured web application firewall
FortiADC Web Application Firewall can detect a zero day attack and protect from OWASP top-10 and many other threats with multi-vector protection such as SQLi and XSS Protection, Web Scraping, Brute Force, Web Defacement, Protocol Validation (HTTP RFC) and Web Attack Signature using FortiGuard WAF Security Services for layer 7 attacks (subscription required). Also, FortiADC WAF provides full Web Vulnerability Scanning to detect website configuration and coding errors that may lead to data breaches.
DDoS application, web filtering, IPS, Geo-IP and IP reputation for enhanced security
FortiGuard Web Filtering works with FortiADC’s SSL Forward Proxy feature to simplify secure traffic inspection. FortiADC also supports FortiGuard services including: IPS, virus protection, and IP Reputation service (subscription required).
Deep Integration into the Fortinet Security Fabric
FortiADC’s deep integration into the Fortinet Security Fabric allows security and traffic data to be shared, allowing identification and analysis of multi-pronged security threats. Automation stiches allow threats identified by FortiADC to be remediated by FortiGate. And FortiADC’s SSLi capability along with antivirus and integration with FortiSandbox allow files to be decrypted, scanned, and re-encrypted before they reach the end user – detecting both known and unknown threats.
FortiADC Models and Specifications
FortiADC application delivery controllers are available as hardware appliances, virtual machines and public cloud VMs.
FortiADC application delivery controllers are available as hardware appliances, virtual machines and public cloud VMs.
Throughput |
1.5 Gbps |
Ports |
6x GE RJ45 |
Throughput |
3 Gbps |
Ports |
4x GE RJ45, 2x GE SFP |
Throughput |
8 Gbps |
Ports |
4x GE RJ45, 4x GE SFP |
Throughput |
15 Gbps |
Ports |
2x 10 GE SFP+ slots ,4x GE SFP ports, 4x GE ports |
Throughput |
40 Gbps |
Ports |
8x RJ45 GE port, 8x SFP GE port, 8x SFP+ 10G Ports |
Throughput |
60 Gbps |
Ports |
8x SFP ports, 12x 10GbE SFP+ ports |
Throughput |
100 Gbps |
Ports |
4x 40GbE QSFP, 4x 10G SFP+ |
Throughput |
200 Gbps |
Ports |
4x 100 GE QSFP28, 8x 40 GE QSFP |
VMware, Microsoft Hyper-V, Citrix XenServer, Open Source Xen, KVM, Oracle Cloud. Please see FortiADC VM Installation Guide for versions supported
Throughput |
1 Gbps |
vCPU |
1 |
Throughput |
2 Gbps |
vCPU |
2 |
Throughput |
4 Gbps |
vCPU |
4 |
Throughput |
10 Gbps |
vCPU |
8 |
Throughput |
16 Gbps |
vCPU |
16 |
Throughput |
24 Gbps |
vCPU |
32 |
Actual performance values may vary depending on the network traffic and system configuration. Performance results were observed using an appliance with an Intel CPU E5-1650 v2 @ 3.50 GHz running VMware ESXi 5.5.
FortiADC is available in all major public cloud providers as a BYOL or PAYG, including Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform (GCP) and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI). Please see the cloud Marketplace listings for more information:
FortiGSLB Cloud™
Global Server Load Balancing Solution - Application Anywhere

Horizontal scalability is a key factor in the design of Internet services and solutions for enterprise and carrier networks. In what can often be an unstable Internet environment, the ability to easily add new network resources and applications is crucial for many business processes, policies, and procedures, such as those for disaster recovery and business continuity.
Without this flexibility, business demands often force enterprises to upgrade to bigger and more powerful devices. These upgrades can be costly and add significantly to total cost of ownership (TCO) without addressing the issues of failover and service availability.
FortiGSLB (Global Server Load Balancing) Cloud service allows users to extend this model beyond the data center, enabling customers to create new types of multi-tenant architectures and engage in big-picture thinking for delivery of network applications and services.
With a built-in setup, FortiGSLB Cloud can roll out within minutes, removing the usual complexity. More advanced users can easily enable additional policies if needed, free of charge. Learn more about FortiGSLB Cloud.
FortiGSLB Cloud Benefits
- Advanced DNS Services and Global Server Load Balancing
- Improve application server resource utilization
- Rolls out in minutes (no migration/coding necessary)
- Easy to deploy and proven use-cases
- Integration with Fortinet Family products
Intelligent Traffic Management
FortiGSLB helps optimize end client requests for a specific domain by dynamically distributing workload across virtual servers, data centers and locations. You can route traffic to your network resources based on geography, server performance (CPU/Memory) and load, measured client and network performance, weighted distributions, consistent (sticky) routing, and more.
Advanced Health Check
FortiGSLB Cloud monitors your application end points or your cloud services based on configurable health checks. All of your resources are monitored in real-time, all the time. Customizable health checks let you choose your protocol and parameters, from simple ping to an Application layer-7 response content match.
Seamless failover to second closest service
- Zero software/hardware needed
- No hardware performance bottleneck
- Entirely actionable/configurable via Web Interface
- Integrated API with Fortinet Family
- “One-Click-GSLB” – automate on-premises FortiADC configuration to FortiGSLB (via API).
Flexible purchasing options
Allow stackable license to meet customer business needs and traffic growth. FortiGSLB provide the most suitable option for customers’ business priorities and budgetary considerations.
To Test drive, please contact local sales team - Test drive a live demo and try FortiGSLB Cloud
Case Studies
Solution Guides
Videos and Webinars
Fuse Community
FortiGuard Security Services for FortiADC
FortiADC employs multiple FortiGuard security services. These annual subscriptions can be purchased a la carte or as part of a bundle with your FortiADC solution.
Web Application Security
FortiGuard Web Application Security uses information based on the latest application vulnerabilities, bots, suspicious URL patterns and data-type patterns, and specialized heuristic detection engines, to ensure your web applications remain safe from application-layer threats.
IP Reputation & Anti-botnet Security
The FortiGuard IP Reputation Service aggregates malicious source IP data from the Fortinet distributed network of threat sensors, CERTs, MITRE, cooperative competitors, and other global sources that collaborate to provide up-to-date threat intelligence about hostile sources. Near real-time intelligence from distributed network gateways combined with world-class research from FortiGuard Labs helps organizations stay safer and proactively block attacks.
Antivirus
FortiGuard Antivirus protects against the latest viruses, spyware, and other content-level threats. It uses industry-leading advanced detection engines to prevent both new and evolving threats from gaining a foothold inside your network and accessing its invaluable content.
Web Filtering
Protects your organization by blocking access to malicious, hacked, or inappropriate websites.
Service Bundles
Standard
Protection that provides the core services that includes Web Application Security and IP Reputation.
Product Demo
In this full working product demo of FortiADC you’ll be able to explore the easy-to-use and intuitive GUI, how to set up and manage servers, and get a feel for how a FortiADC operates. Also try out FortiADC’s alerts, reporting, and logging tools.
FortiADC FAQs
Can’t FortiGate or another Fortinet product load balance application traffic?
Other Fortinet products offer server load balancing features and some ADC functionality, however these are basic compared to a dedicated ADC appliance such as FortiADC. In addition, a dedicated appliance is able to handle significantly more throughput without affecting overall system performance.
How should I determine which FortiADC model is best for my organization?
There are many factors that determine ADC sizing ranging from throughput, numbers of users, and application complexity. We strongly recommend discussing your requirements with a Fortinet Partner and sales engineer to find the best option to meet your needs.
Do I have to use a FortiGate and/or other Fortinet equipment with FortiADC or will it work with other vendors?
FortiADC is a completely independent application delivery controller. It can operate in nearly any data center environment. However, it is optimized to work with Fortinet via the Fortinet Security Fabric for threat intelligence sharing and advanced threat detection that other vendors cannot offer.