NSE7 Troubleshooting and Diagnostics Practice Question
Which FortiGate command is used to view the current CPU usage of individual processes in real time?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates confuse 'get system performance status' (which shows overall CPU usage) with the per-process view needed for granular troubleshooting, leading them to select option B instead of the correct 'diagnose sys top'.
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 on FortiGate provides a real-time, top-like display of CPU and memory usage for individual processes, allowing administrators to identify which specific daemons or tasks are consuming resources. This command is essential for troubleshooting performance issues at the process level, unlike other commands that show aggregate or different diagnostic data.
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 session stat
Why it's wrong here
This command displays session table statistics such as session counts and protocol breakdowns, not per-process CPU consumption. It is tempting because it is a real-time diagnostic, but its subject is sessions. Viewing individual process CPU usage requires the command that lists running processes with their CPU and memory figures.
- ✗
get system performance status
Why it's wrong here
This command returns a summary snapshot of overall system health, including aggregate CPU, memory and uptime figures, but it does not break CPU usage down per process. It is tempting because it reports CPU, yet only as a single total. Per-process real-time CPU usage requires the process-listing diagnostic command instead.
- ✓
diagnose sys top
Why this is correct
`diagnose sys top` refreshes process-level CPU and memory statistics live, satisfying the real-time per-process requirement. Unlike `get system performance status`, which reports only aggregate CPU averages, it lists each running process individually, letting you identify the specific daemon consuming resources.
- ✗
diagnose hardware sysinfo memory
Why it's wrong here
This command reports hardware memory information such as total, used and free RAM, and never shows CPU consumption. It is tempting because it is a hardware diagnostic in the same command family, but its subject is memory. Per-process real-time CPU usage requires the process-listing diagnostic command instead.
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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.