You'll learn to read device status values, retrieve a FortiGate's configuration, compare revisions and decide what to do about local changes.
Technical definition
Configuration status compares FortiManager's device database with what the FortiGate reported last. It tells you whether FortiManager and the device agree.
Is the firewall doing what the manager thinks?
A colleague logs in to FGT1 and changes a policy during an incident. FortiManager does not know, and the next install may undo the fix. Status columns and revisions exist so you notice this before it happens.
Where the configuration lives, and what status compares
On small screens, swipe sideways or focus the diagram and use the arrow keys.
Config status compares FortiManager's device database with what the FortiGate last reported. Modified means FortiManager has changes not yet installed.
Three kinds of status
Three status columns, three different questions
On small screens, swipe sideways or focus the diagram and use the arrow keys.
A device can be connected and still out of sync, or in sync and carrying a modified package. Read all three before you install anything.
Three kinds of status
On small screens, swipe sideways or focus the diagram and use the arrow keys.
Read each row across: the left box names the item, the others describe it.
The CLI summary shows the same flags in one line per device.
Example output · based on Fortinet documentation; exact format varies by model and FortiOS version
FMG1 # diagnose dvm device list
NAME: FGT1 ADOM: root IP: 10.0.1.1
|- STATUS: dev-db: modified; conf: in sync; cond: pending; dm: installed; conn: up
The status line shows the device database as modified (changes waiting), the configuration in sync, and the connection up. Exact columns and wording differ by release.
Retrieve and revisions
Retrieve and install move configuration in opposite directions
On small screens, swipe sideways or focus the diagram and use the arrow keys.
Decide which copy is right before you move anything. If someone made a deliberate local fix on the FortiGate, retrieve it first. Installing over it removes it.
Retrieve configuration copies the FortiGate's current configuration into FortiManager's device database. Use it to accept a deliberate local change.
Revision history lists each saved version of the device configuration with a time and an installation note. Compare two to see what changed, and revert if needed.
Install does the opposite: it sends FortiManager's copy to the FortiGate.
Decide who is right before you install
If a status shows the device was changed locally, decide whether the local change should be kept. If it should, retrieve it first. If not, install and say so in the change record. Installing blindly can remove an emergency fix.
Check your understanding
Predict · scenario 1
Someone changed FGT1 locally. FortiManager shows Out of Sync. You want to keep their change. What do you do?
Predict · scenario 2
Which status tells you whether FortiManager can reach the device?
Predict · scenario 3
What does Modified configuration status mean?
Further reading in Fortinet's documentation
Links open the named page in Fortinet's documentation (checked 19 October 2026). RouteLearn is an independent educational resource, not affiliated with or endorsed by Fortinet. Fortinet, FortiGate, FortiOS, FortiManager and FortiGuard are trademarks of Fortinet, Inc. Example output on this page is illustrative.
FAQ
What does Modified mean?
FortiManager has device settings that have not been installed yet. The FortiGate may still run an older configuration until you install.
What does Out of Sync mean?
The FortiGate was changed outside FortiManager, so the two copies differ. Retrieve the configuration to accept the device's version, or install to replace it with FortiManager's.
Can I go back to an earlier configuration?
Revision history keeps versions of a device's configuration, so you can compare them and revert. Use the install preview before reinstalling an old revision.