If your Firebox hardware fails during the warranty period, WatchGuard might replace it with an RMA (Return Merchandise Authorization) unit of the same model. When you exchange a Firebox for an RMA replacement, WatchGuard Customer Care transfers the licenses from the original device serial number to the new device serial number. All the features that were licensed to the original device are transferred to the replacement device.
This topic describes options to configure a replacement for a locally-managed Firebox. For information about other RMA scenarios, go to:
- Configure a Replacement (RMA) FireCluster Member
- Configure an RMA Replacement for a Cloud-Managed Firebox
Get the Configuration from the Original Firebox
For a locally-managed Firebox, you can use the configuration from the original Firebox as the configuration of the RMA replacement device. To do this, you must have the configuration file for the original Firebox.
Try to locate a saved configuration file from your original Firebox on your management computer. By default, Policy Manager saves the configuration file to the My Documents\My WatchGuard\configs directory.
If you do not have a saved configuration file and your original Firebox is still functional, you can save the configuration to a file.
For instructions to use Policy Manager to save the configuration to a local file, go to Save the Configuration File.
For instructions to use Fireware Web UI to save the configuration file, go to Manage the Firebox Configuration File.
Use the Configuration File to Configure the Replacement Firebox
Use one of these methods to use the configuration file from the original Firebox to configure the replacement Firebox.
Use RapidDeploy
To use RapidDeploy to automatically configure the replacement Firebox with the same settings as the original Firebox, upload the original Firebox's saved configuration file as the RapidDeploy configuration file for the replacement Firebox. When you power on the replacement Firebox and it has a DHCP internet connection on eth0, it automatically downloads the RapidDeploy configuration file and the device feature key from WatchGuard.
For information about how to use RapidDeploy from the WatchGuard website, go to Configure an RMA Replacement with RapidDeploy from the Website.
For information about how to use RapidDeploy in WatchGuard Cloud, go to RapidDeploy from WatchGuard Cloud.
You can also use RapidDeploy from the Management Server to configure your replacement Firebox. For more information, go to Configure an RMA Replacement with RapidDeploy from the Management Server.
Use Policy Manager or Fireware Web UI
You can also use Policy Manager or Fireware Web UI to migrate the configuration file to the replacement Firebox. For more information, go to Move a Configuration to a New Firebox.
The replacement Firebox has a different MAC address than the original Firebox. Devices in your network might fail to communicate with the replacement Firebox until their old ARP entries for the Firebox IP address expire. This can take up to sixty minutes or require you to reboot the affected devices. If a device in your network has a static ARP entry configured for the Firebox IP address, you must change it.
Configure a Replacement (RMA) FireCluster Member
Configure an RMA Replacement with RapidDeploy from the Website
Configure an RMA Replacement with RapidDeploy from the Management Server