What is meant by “Port Forwarding” in the context of FortiGate?

Port forwarding in the context of FortiGate refers to the practice of redirecting traffic from one port to another, typically designed for allowing external devices to access services hosted on a private network. This is essential for scenarios where specific services (like web servers, FTP servers, or other applications) operate on different internal ports than those typically used by external clients.

By configuring port forwarding, an administrator can set up the FortiGate firewall to listen on a designated external port and then forward incoming requests on that port to the appropriate internal IP address and port where the service is running. This enables secure access to services without exposing the internal network directly to the internet, thereby maintaining security posture while providing necessary access.

The other options describe functionalities that do not align with the purpose of port forwarding. For instance, blocking incoming connections describes a security measure rather than a method to allow access. Similarly, transferring data from an external server to local clients does not encapsulate the essence of port forwarding, which is primarily about traffic redirection for service access. Lastly, enhancing the speed of network applications pertains to performance optimization rather than the fundamental redirecting of traffic associated with port forwarding.