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> Chapter 13 - High Availability > An introduction to the FGCP > Device failover, link failover, and session failover

Device failover, link failover, and session failover

The FGCP provides transparent device and link failover. You can also enable session pickup to provide session failover. A failover can be caused by a hardware failure, a software failure, or something as simple as a network cable being disconnected causing a link failover. When a failover occurs, the cluster detects and recognizes the failure and takes steps to respond so that the network can continue to operate without interruption. The internal operation of the cluster changes, but network components outside of the cluster notice little or no change.

If a failover occurs, the cluster also records log messages about the event and can be configured to send log messages to a syslog server and to a FortiAnalyzer unit. The cluster can also send SNMP traps and alert email messages. These alerts can notify network administrators of the failover and may contain information that the network administrators can use to find and fix the problem that caused the failure.

For a complete description of device failover, link failover, and session failover, how clusters support these types of failover, and how FortiGate HA clusters compensate for a failure to maintain network traffic flow see HA and failover protection.