Monitoring, Troubleshooting, and Maintenance
Core concepts
Use SmartView Monitor and Logs & Monitor for real-time status, alerts, and traffic. Know the HealthCheck and cpview tools for live performance, and CLI commands like cpstat, fw stat, and fw monitor for diagnostics. Understand backup/restore and snapshot for maintenance, and how to upgrade management and gateways.
Troubleshooting flow
Start with the log: was the connection accepted or dropped, and by which rule? Then verify policy installation status, SIC, and routing. Use fw monitor to capture packets at multiple inspection points to see where traffic is dropped. Check cpview for CPU, memory, and connections.
Traps in questions
- Jumping to rule changes before confirming the log shows a drop and which rule caused it.
- Forgetting that fw monitor captures at kernel inspection points, not just the interface.
- Confusing backup (config, same version) with snapshot (full image, same appliance/version).
- Assuming a gateway is up because the GUI shows it - verify with cpstat/HealthCheck.
Rule of thumb
Follow the evidence: log → rule → install status → SIC → routing → packet capture. Change one thing at a time and re-test.