FortiADC
FortiADC enhances the scalability, performance, and security of your applications whether they are hosted on premises or in the cloud.
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Article Id 191387
Description
This article describes how to reset the FortiADC admin password.

Solution
Unlike FortiOS which have a maintainer account, if the FortiADC admin password is lost it won't be possible to reset the password via the Console connection. This article presents a workaround on how to reset the password via the FortiADC configuration file.
Before proceeding further on this documentation, it is necessary to have a FortiADC backup configuration file. If not, the redeployment of the FortiADC is the only solution.

Here are the steps to reset the FortiADC password:


a) Open the FortiADC backup configuration file. Copy the “XXXX.conf” file out and open it with WordPad or NotePad++.


b) Search for the word “system admin” and remove the row with “set password XXXXXX”. Then save this file.



c) Browse to the ZIP file again, and replace the edited “OLDXXXX.conf” by “EDITEDXXXX.conf”.


d) Access the Fortinet account and download the same firmware according to the FortiADC backup configuration file and perform a reimaging on the FortiADC.
For more information, refer to the admin guide (Restoring firmware – page 586) here.

Important Note:
The image which used for reimage process must be the same as the backup configuration file. Otherwise it might be possible to face issues when trying to restore the configuration later. It is possible to cross-check the build number on the firmware image with the configuration file.


e) Once the reimaging is done, log in to the FortiADC via GUI. Default login account will be username “admin” with a blank password.



f) Restore the configuration file by browsing the ZIP file that had been previously edited. The restore feature is located under System -> Settings -> Backup & Restore -> Restore

Important Note:
A reboot is required after the restoration and this will cause the services running on the FortiADC to be unavailable during that moment. Please arrange a downtime if required.
Once the restoration is done, it will be possible to login to the FortiADC with a blank password.



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