Technical Tip: How to fix malformed device database when pragma integrity_check fails

Symptoms:

Running the following command reports a failure in the device database integrity check:

FMG # diagnose pm2 check-integrity all

Example output:

--- pragma integrity_check adom db ---
--- total: 18 ok.
--- pragma integrity_check device db ---

pragma integrity_check fails: /var/pm2/devdb195 -- Page 1811: never used

>>> total: 19 failed: 1
--- pragma integrity_check global db ---
--- total: 2 ok.
--- pragma integrity_check ips db ---
--- total: 10 ok.
--- pragma integrity_check task db ---
--- total: 1 ok.
--- pragma integrity_check ncmdb db ---
--- total: 21 ok.

This indicates corruption in the device database associated with a specific device ID (for example, 195).

Cause:

The device database file (/var/pm2/devdb<ID>) is malformed or corrupted, typically due to synchronization or configuration inconsistencies between FortiManager and the managed device.

Solution:

There are a few supported options to resolve device database corruption.
Proceed in order. Option 1 is recommended and sufficient in most cases.

Option 1: Reload device configuration (recommended).

Reloading the device configuration rebuilds the device database without requiring device removal.

Steps:

1. Identify the device ID from the error output.

Example: /var/pm2/devdb195 → Device ID = 195.

2. Reload the device configuration:

FMG # diagnose test deploymanager reloadconf <device_id>

Example:

FMG # diagnose test deploymanager reloadconf 195

3. Verify database integrity:

FMG # diagnose pm2 check-integrity all

Result:

If no errors are reported, the device DB has been successfully repaired.

No further action is required.
The device does not need to be deleted and re-added.

Option 2: Delete and re-add the device (last resort).

Note: Use this option only if the above Options do not resolve the issue.

Steps:

1. Identify the affected device using:

FMG # diagnose dvm device list

2. In Device Manager, delete the affected device.

3. Re-add the same device to FortiManager.

4. Allow synchronization to complete.

5. Verify database integrity:

    

FMG # diagnose pm2 check-integrity

Result:

The device database is recreated during re-addition, resolving the corruption.

Verification.

Run the following command to confirm all databases are healthy:

FMG # diagnose pm2 check-integrity

Expected result:

• All pragma integrity_check entries report OK.
• No failures are present.

Notes:

• Reloading the device configuration is the preferred and least disruptive method.
• Deleting and re-adding the device should only be used as a last resort.
• Always confirm FortiManager is running a supported firmware version before proceeding.