Unlike a hardware FortiGate, fortios.qcow2 requires a or a BYOL (Bring Your Own License) model from Fortinet.
If -i fails, mount manually:
While a .qcow2 file might appear as just another disk image, fortios.qcow2 is a sophisticated, bootable appliance containing a hardened Linux kernel, a purpose-built network data plane, and Fortinet’s proprietary Security Processing Unit (SPU) emulation logic. This article explores what this file truly is, its internal architecture, performance implications, and its role in modern "as-code" security deployments. fortios.qcow2
Here’s a properly structured technical description for fortios.qcow2 : Unlike a hardware FortiGate, fortios
The FortiGate qcow2 image can be run in (permanent trial) with limitations: Unlike a hardware FortiGate