NSE7 Troubleshooting and Diagnostics Practice Question
A network administrator runs 'diagnose sys top' and sees that the 'ipsengine' process is consistently using 99% CPU. What is the BEST immediate action to reduce CPU load?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates assume a reboot or mode change (flow-based) will immediately solve high CPU, but the NSE7 exam tests the understanding that unnecessary inspection is the primary culprit and that targeted policy adjustment is the best immediate action.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Disable IPS inspection on policies that don't require it
The 'ipsengine' process consuming 99% CPU indicates that IPS inspection is being applied to traffic that may not require it, causing excessive processing overhead. Disabling IPS on policies that do not need it (Option C) directly reduces the workload on the IPS engine without affecting other security functions or requiring a reboot. This is the most immediate and targeted action to alleviate CPU pressure.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Reboot the FortiGate
Why it's wrong here
Rebooting is a temporary fix and not best practice.
- ✗
Increase the session limit
Why it's wrong here
Increasing session limit may worsen CPU load.
- ✓
Disable IPS inspection on policies that don't require it
Why this is correct
Disabling IPS reduces CPU usage by the ipsengine process.
- ✗
Change IPS engine to flow-based mode
Why it's wrong here
Flow-based mode may reduce CPU but not as immediate as disabling IPS.
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About these practice questions
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This NSE7 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Fortinet certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the NSE7 exam.