Troubleshooting Tip: Display system time up to milliseconds format

[wchangjie_FTNT]

Description	This article describes how to validate the FortiGate system time up to milliseconds timestamp.
Scope	FortiOS.
Solution	Background: In events where the timestamp needs to be precise (for example, during packet captures), it is recommended to validate the system time before capture begins. The output of FortiOS CLI execute time will display system time up to seconds format. Here is an example when a FortiGate is insync with an NTP server: LAB-FGT-01 # diagnose sys ntp status synchronized: yes, ntpsync: enabled, server-mode: enabled ipv4 server(ntp2.fortiguard.com) 208.91.112.62 -- reachable(0xff) S:2 T:162 server-version=4, stratum=2 reference time is ec734b0d.8e67c21f -- UTC Tue Sep 16 02:33:49 2025 clock offset is 0.005415 sec, root delay is 0.141129 sec root dispersion is 0.010300 sec, peer dispersion is 819 msec <snip> LAB-FGT-01 # execute time current time is: 10:28:33 << Up to second format last ntp sync:Tue Sep 16 10:16:16 2025 Recommendation: The fnsysctl command can be used with date parameters to display system time up to milliseconds. Example of issuing fnsysctl date +"%Y%m%d.%H%M%S.%3M". LAB-FGT-01 # fnsysctl date +"%Y%m%d.%H%M%S.%3M" "20250916.102504.025" << Translates to Sep 16 2025 10:25:04.025hrs (milliseconds format) <After 20 minutes later> LAB-FGT-01 # fnsysctl date +"%Y%m%d.%H%M%S.%3M" "20250916.104517.045" << Translates to Sep 16 2025 10:45:17.045hrs (milliseconds format)