NSE7 Troubleshooting and Diagnostics Practice Question
An HA cluster of two FortiGates is experiencing split-brain. Which command should the administrator use to check the current HA status and identify which unit is the primary?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse FortiGate CLI syntax with Cisco IOS, where 'show' is used for operational status, but FortiGate uses 'get' for such queries, and they may also mistake debug commands (like 'diagnose debug application had 0') for status-checking commands.
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
✓
get system ha status
The correct command to check the current HA status and identify the primary unit is 'get system ha status'. This command displays the HA mode, cluster state, role (primary/secondary), and peer status in a clear, human-readable format. In a split-brain scenario, the administrator needs to quickly confirm which unit believes it is the primary, and this command provides that information directly without debug-level verbosity.
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 debug application had 0
Why it's wrong here
This enables verbose HA daemon debugging output, which floods the console rather than presenting a clean summary of cluster state. It is tempting because debug output does reveal election activity, and it would be the correct choice when diagnosing why the HA daemon is failing to form a cluster.
- ✗
diagnose sys ha dump
Why it's wrong here
This command dumps HA configuration and synchronisation detail, but it is not the documented way to read live cluster state and primary election. It is tempting because it does report HA internals, and it would be the right choice when verifying configuration consistency between the two members.
- ✓
get system ha status
Why this is correct
get system ha status reports each cluster member's role, priority, and synchronisation state, letting the administrator identify the primary and diagnose the split-brain condition. It queries live HA runtime information rather than configuration, which is what the scenario requires.
- ✗
show system ha
Why it's wrong here
show system ha displays HA configuration settings such as mode, priority and override, not live cluster state or which unit currently holds primary. get system status or diagnose sys ha status shows the active unit and split-brain condition. The command is tempting because it names HA, but it reports configuration rather than status.
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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.