VPN only installation and setup

  • Updated on May 22, 2026
  • Published on May 13, 2026
  • 2 minute(s) read
Prev Next

Downloading the free version of FortiClient

Head to the following site to download the free version of FortiClient:

https://www.fortinet.com/support/product-downloads#download-vpn-only

You will need to select to download for the appropriate OS version you are on, as per the screenshot below:

Installing the FortiClient on your operating system

Once you have downloaded the FortiClient installer to your computer, you can proceed with the following steps:

  1. Navigate to the installer file, and double-click it to start the installation process.

  2. Accept the License Agreement and click “Next”.

  3. Select your installation directory, or leave this as default, and click “Next”.

  4. Click “Install” to proceed:

  5. Once the installation is completed, click “Finish”.

Configuring your FortiClient

Required information

These settings will either be configured by you during the VPN setup on the firewall, or provided to you by Servers Australia in your support case if we have configured the VPN on your behalf. If you require assistance, reach out to our Support Team!

  • Remote gateway IP - In most circumstances, this will be the public IP of your FortiGate firewall.

  • PSK (Pre-Shared Key)

  • Your Phase 1 and 2 Encryption and hashing settings

  • Username and password configured to log in to the VPN.

  1. Open FortiClient by double-clicking the icon in your system tray.

  2. When the GUI opens up, you want to select “Add New VPN”.

Connection configuration

A configuration box will open when completing the previous step.
We’ll need to enter your configuration here:

  • Connection Name: This is purely cosmetic and can be anything you choose.

  • Remote Gateway: This will, in most circumstances (unless there is some special configuration), be the public IP of your FortiGate firewall.

  • Authentication Method: Leave this as “Pre-shared key” and paste the PSK (pre-shared key) into the field below the drop-down box. The PSK would have been put in place when the IPSEC configuration was actioned.

  • Authentication: This can be set to “Prompt on login” or “Save Login”, depending on your use case.

    An example of this first section is below, with the IP redacted for reference:

VPN Settings

We now move on to the VPN settings section, which only has two changes we need to make here:

  1. Set this connection to use “IPsec over TCP”

  2. Change the “IKE TCP Port” to 4500.

Refer to the screenshot below to see how yours should look:


Phase 1

For the Phase 1 settings, make the following changes:

  1. On the first IKE proposal, we want to change the “Authentication” to match what was configured on the FortiGate firewall during setup; in this case, it is SHA256.

  2. Ensure that the DH group is correct. This would have been configured in your original FortiGate firewall configuration. In this example DH Group 21 is selected.

Phase 2

For the Phase 2 settings, make the following changes:

  1. Set the first “Authentication” drop-down to match what has been configured to match what was configured on the FortiGate firewall during setup. In this example, SHA256.

  2. Ensure that the correct DH group has been selected to match what was configured on the FortiGate firewall during setup. In this example DH Group 21 is selected.

Press “Save” when your configuration matches the screenshot.

Connecting to your VPN

Now that the VPN tunnel has been configured on the FortiClient endpoint, we can connect by clicking the associated “Connect” button.
You will be prompted for the Username and Password of the FortiGate user you created during the IPSEC configuration on the FortiGate firewall..

You should now be connected to your IPsec tunnel!