Fortinet 5003 User Manual

The FortiGate-5140 chassis has two fabric backplane Ethernet channels that can 
operate at 1 Gbps or 10 Gbps. Available connections to these channels vary by 
chassis hub/switch slot number.

• Hub/switch slot 1 can connect to the first fabric backplane channel (channel 1), 

and thereby all other chassis slots, except hub/switch slot 2.

• Hub/switch Slot 2 can connect the to the second fabric backplane channel 

(channel 2), and thereby all other chassis slots, except hub/switch slot 1.

• Other slots can connect to either or both channels, but only directly reach 

hub/switch slot 1 or hub/switch slot 2. Connections to other slots through the 
fabric backplane channels must pass through hub/switch slot 1 or hub/switch 
slot 2.

Because of the fabric backplane dual star topology, connecting to or through the 
fabric backplane requires FortiSwitch-5003A boards installed in hub/switch slot 1, 
hub/switch slot 2, or both. FortiSwitch-5003A front panel fabric interfaces can also 
connect the chassis fabric backplane channels to external devices, such as a 
management computer, the network, or the fabric backplane of another chassis.

FortiGate-5001A boards and FortiGate-5005FA2 boards can connect to the fabric 
backplane at 1 Gbps. With the addition of a FortiGate-RTM-XB2 modules, 
FortiSwitch-5001A boards can also connect to the fabric backplane at 10 Gbps. 
The FortiGate-5001SX board and FortiGate-5001FA2 board do not include fabric 
backplane interfaces.

Note: For more information on chassis architecture, see ATCA (Advanced Telecom 
Computing Architecture) specifications.

Note: FortiSwitch-5003 boards do not support fabric backplane switching. 

FortiGate-5001A

fabric1

fabric2

FortiGate-5005FA2

fabric1

fabric2

FortiGate-5001FA2

N/A

N/A

FortiGate-5001SX N/A

N/A