NSE7 Troubleshooting and Diagnostics Practice Question
An administrator notices high CPU usage on a FortiGate. To identify which process is consuming the most CPU, which command should be used?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse high-level performance commands like 'get system performance status' with process-level diagnostics, but only 'diagnose sys top' provides per-process CPU breakdown.
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
✓
diagnose sys top
The 'diagnose sys top' command displays a real-time list of running processes on the FortiGate, sorted by CPU usage, allowing the administrator to identify which process is consuming the most CPU. This is the standard diagnostic tool for process-level CPU troubleshooting in FortiOS.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
diagnose sys top
Why this is correct
This displays a list of processes sorted by CPU usage.
- ✗
diagnose sys session stat
Why it's wrong here
This shows session statistics, not CPU usage by process.
- ✗
get system performance status
Why it's wrong here
This shows overall CPU and memory usage but not per-process breakdown.
- ✗
diagnose hardware sysinfo
Why it's wrong here
This shows hardware status, not per-process CPU.
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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.