Why is it critical to maintain NTP synchronization between FortiGate and FortiSwitch when FortiLink is...

FortiGate and FortiSwitchmust share synchronized timewhen operating in FortiLink mode.

Documented reasons in FortiOS:

Accurate time synchronization is required for logs, authentication events, and fabric correlations.

Why it’s critical:

802.1X EAP and RADIUS timestamp validation

NAC policy enforcement timestamps

Certificate validation

Log correlation in Security Fabric / FortiAnalyzer

Incorrect options:

A: Firmware synchronization does NOT require NTP.

B: Switch-to-switch communication does not depend on NTP.

D: Standalone mode is unrelated to time sync.