Pass the Fortinet Network Security Expert NSE5_SSE_AD-7.6 Questions and answers with Dumpstech

In theSD-WAN 7.6 Core Administratorcurriculum, steering "local-out" traffic (traffic generated by the FortiGate itself, such as DNS queries, FortiGuard updates, or diagnostic pings) requires specific configuration because this traffic follows a different path than "forward" traffic.

Individual Configuration (Option A): By default, local-out traffic bypasses the SD-WAN engine and uses the standard system routing table (RIB/FIB). To use SD-WAN rules for specific features like DNS or RADIUS, you must individually enable the sdwan interface-select-method within that feature's configuration (e.g., config system dns or config user radius).

Default Steerable Traffic (Option B): In FortiOS 7.6, while most local-out traffic is excluded from SD-WAN by default, the system is designed so that when SD-WAN is active, it primarily considers SD-WAN rules for specific diagnostic local-out traffic—specificallypingandtraceroute—to allow administrators to verify path quality using the same logic as user traffic.

Why other options are incorrect:

Option C: Local-out traffic can be steered using any SD-WAN strategy (Manual, Best Quality, etc.), provided the interface-selection-method is set to sdwan.

According to theFortiSASE 7.6 Feature Administration Guideand the latest updates to theNSE 5 SASEcurriculum, FortiSASE has introduced native lifecycle management for FortiClient agents to reduce the operational burden on IT teams who previously relied solely on third-party MDM (Mobile Device Management) or GPO (Group Policy Objects) for every update.

TheEndpoint Upgradefeature, found underSystem > Endpoint Upgradein the FortiSASE portal, allows administrators to perform the following:

Centralized Version Control: Administrators can see which versions are currently deployed and which "Recommended" versions are available from FortiGuard.

Scheduled Rollouts: You can choose to upgrade all endpoints or specific endpoint groups at a designated time, ensuring that upgrades do not disrupt business operations.

Status Monitoring: The portal provides a real-time dashboard showing the progress of the upgrade (e.g.,Downloading,Installing,Reboot Pending, orSuccess).

Manual vs. Managed: While MDM is still highly recommended for theinitial onboarding(the first time FortiClient is installed and connected to the SASE cloud), all subsequent upgrades can be handled natively by the FortiSASE portal.

Why other options are incorrect:

Option B: Manual upgrades are inefficient for large-scale deployments (~400 users in this scenario) and are not the intended "feature-rich" solution provided by FortiSASE.

Option C: "Onboarding" refers to the initial setup. Re-onboarding every time a version changes would be redundant and counterproductive.

Option D: While the system canmanagethe upgrade, it is not "auto-upgraded on demand" by the client itself without administrative configuration in the portal. The administrator must still define the target version and schedule.

In theSD-WAN 7.6 Core Administratorcurriculum, the "Prefer Passive" probe mode is a hybrid monitoring strategy designed to minimize the overhead of synthetic traffic (probes) while maintaining link health visibility. According to theFortiOS 7.6 Administration Guideand theSD-WAN Study Guide, the behavior and impacts are as follows:

TCP Traffic Requirement (Option E):Passive monitoring relies on the FortiGate’s ability to inspect actual user traffic to calculate health metrics such as Latency, Jitter, and Packet Loss. Specifically, it usesTCP traffic(by analyzing TCP sequence numbers and timestamps to calculate Round Trip Time - RTT). If user traffic is flowing through the member interface, the FortiGate uses those real-world sessions for SLA calculations instead of sending its own probes.

Inability to Detect Dead Members (Option C):A significant limitation of passive monitoring is that it cannot distinguish between a "dead" link and an "idle" link. If there is no traffic, the passive monitor has no data to analyze. Consequently, while in passive mode, the SD-WAN enginecannot detect a dead member. To mitigate this, "Prefer Passive" includes a fail-safe: if no traffic is detected for a specific period (typically3 minutes), the FortiGate will automatically switch toActive mode(sending ICMP/TCP pings) to verify if the link is actually alive.

Why other options are incorrect:

Option A:Passive monitoring generallydisables hardware offloading (ASIC)for the monitored traffic. This is because the CPU must inspect every packet header to calculate performance metrics; if the traffic were offloaded to the Network Processor (NP), the CPU would not see the packets, rendering passive monitoring impossible.

Option B:While active probes often use ICMP,passive monitoringis specifically designed forTCP trafficbecause the TCP protocol's ACK structure allows for accurate RTT and loss calculation without synthetic packets.

Option D:The "3-minute" timer is actually the trigger to switchfrom passive to activewhen traffic is absent, not the fallback timer to return to passive. The fallback to passive happens as soon as valid TCP traffic is detected again.

According to theFortiSASE 7.6 Administration Guideand theFCP - FortiSASE 24/25 Administratorstudy materials, FortiSASE supports three primary external (remote) authentication sources to verify the identity of remote users (SIA and SPA users). These sources allow organizations to leverage their existing identity infrastructure for seamless onboarding and policy enforcement:

Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) (Option A):This is the most common and recommended method for modern SASE deployments. FortiSASE acts as aSAML Service Provider (SP)and integrates withIdentity Providers (IdP)such as Microsoft Entra ID (formerly Azure AD), Okta, or FortiAuthenticator. This enables Single Sign-On (SSO) and Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA).

Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) (Option C):FortiSASE can connect to on-premises or cloud-based LDAP servers (such as Windows Active Directory). This allows the administrator to map existing AD groups to FortiSASE user groups for granular security policy application.

Remote Authentication Dial-in User Service (RADIUS) (Option E):RADIUS is supported for organizations that use centralized authentication servers or traditional MFA solutions (like RSA SecurID). FortiSASE can query a RADIUS server to validate user credentials before granting access to the SASE tunnel.

Why other options are incorrect:

OpenID Connect (OIDC) (Option B):While OIDC is a modern authentication protocol similar to SAML, FortiSASE's primary integration for external Identity Providers is currently standardized onSAML 2.0.

TACACS+ (Option D):Terminal Access Controller Access-Control System Plus is primarily used foradministrative access(AAA) to network devices (like logging into a FortiGate CLI or FortiManager). It is not used for end-user VPN or SASE authentication in the Fortinet ecosystem.

According to theFortiSASE 7.6 Administration Guideand theFCP - FortiSASE 24/25 Administratortraining materials, the security dashboard is a centralized hub for monitoring and remediating security risks across the entire fleet of managed endpoints.

Vulnerability Summary: The dashboard includes a dedicatedVulnerability summary widgetthat categorizes risks by severity (Critical, High, Medium, Low) and by application type (OS, Web Client, etc.).

Identifying Affected Endpoints: The dashboard is fully interactive; an administrator candrill downinto specific vulnerability categories to view a detailed list ofCVE dataand, most importantly, identify the specificaffected endpointsthat require attention.

Automatic Patching: FortiSASE supportsautomatic patching for eligible vulnerabilities(such as common third-party applications and supported OS updates). This feature is configured within theEndpoint Profile, allowing the FortiClient agent to remediate risks without requiring the user to manually run updates.

Why other options are incorrect:

Option A: While it supports automatic patching, it does not do so forallvulnerabilities (only eligible/supported ones), and it specificallydoescategorize them by severity.

Option B: The dashboard shows vulnerabilities for theOperating Systemas well as applications, and it allows theadministratorto identify affected endpoints rather than requiring the end-user to check.

Option C: The dashboard displaysall levels of severity(not just critical) and explicitly allows the viewing of affected endpoints.

Based on theFortiSASE 7.6 (and later 2025 versions)curriculum and administration guides, the Vulnerability summary dashboard is a key component of the endpoint security posture management.

Drill Down Capability (Option C): According to theFortiSASE Administration Guide, the Vulnerability summary widget on the Security dashboard is interactive. An administrator can click on specific risk categories (e.g., Critical, High) or application types (e.g., Operating System, Web Client) todrill down. This action opens a detailed pane showing the specific affected endpoints, associatedCVE identifiers, and severity classifications based on the CVSS standard.

Automatic Vulnerability Patching (Option D): In theFortiSASE 7.6/2025feature sets, the endpoint profile configuration (underEndpoint > Configuration > Profiles) includes an "Automatic Patching" section. This feature allows the system to automatically install security updates for supported third-party applications and the underlying operating system (Windows/macOS) when vulnerabilities are detected. Furthermore, administrators can schedule these patches directly from theVulnerability Summarywidget by selecting specific vulnerabilities.

Why other options are incorrect:

Option A: The dashboard categories (Operating System, Web Client, Microsoft Office, etc.) are based on known software signatures. While there is an "Other" category, the dashboard primarily provides scores for recognized applications where CVE data is available.

Option B: The exhibit shows active data (157 total vulnerabilities), which indicates that thevulnerability scan is enabledand currently reporting data from the endpoints. If it were disabled, the widget would be empty or show zeros.

According to theSD-WAN 7.6 Core Administratorcurriculum and the diagnostic outputs shown in the exhibit, the reason traffic is steered toHUB1-VPN3instead of the expectedHUB1-VPN1(defined in SD-WAN rule ID 1) can be explained by two core routing principles in FortiOS:

Valid Route Requirement (Option A): In thediagnose sys sdwan service 4output (which corresponds to Rule ID 1), it shows the rule has membersHUB1-VPN1,HUB1-VPN2, andHUB1-VPN3. A key principle of SD-WAN steering is that for a member to be "selectable" by a rule, itmust have a valid route to the destinationin the routing table (RIB/FIB). If the routing table output (the third section of the exhibit) shows a route to 10.0.0.0/8 viaHUB1-VPN3butnotthroughHUB1-VPN1, the SD-WAN engine will skip HUB1-VPN1 entirely because it is considered a "non-reachable" path for that specific destination.

Policy Route Precedence (Option D): In the FortiOS route lookup hierarchy,Regular Policy Routes (PBR)are evaluatedbeforeSD-WAN rules. If an administrator has configured a traditional Policy Route (found underNetwork > Policy Routes) that matches traffic destined for 10.0.0.0/8 and specifiesHUB1-VPN3as the outgoing interface, the FortiGate will forward the packet based on that policy route and willnever evaluate the SD-WAN rulesfor that session. This "bypass" occurs regardless of whether the SD-WAN rule would have chosen a "better" link.

Why other options are incorrect:

Option B: While member configuration priority (cfg_order) is a tie-breaker in some strategies, the SD-WAN rule logic is only applied if the routing table allows it or if a higher-priority policy route doesn't intercept the traffic first.

Option C: Lower route priority (which means higher preference in the RIB) affects theImplicit Rule(standard routing). However, SD-WAN rules are designed tooverrideRIB priority for matching traffic. If HUB1-VPN1 was a valid candidate and no Policy Route existed, the SD-WAN rule would typically ignore RIB priority to enforce its own steering strategy.

According to theSD-WAN 7.6 Core Administratorstudy guide and theFortiOS 7.6 Administration Guide, when you are migrating a production FortiGate to use SD-WAN, the most critical step involves reconfiguring how traffic is permitted and routed.

Reference Removal Requirement: Before an interface (such as wan1 or wan2) can be added as anSD-WAN member, it must be "unreferenced" in most parts of the FortiGate configuration. Specifically, if an interface is currently being used in an activeFirewall Policy, the system will prevent you from adding it to the SD-WAN bundle.

Firewall Policy Migration (Option A): In a production environment, you mustreplace the references to the physical interfacesin your firewall policies with the newSD-WAN virtual interface(or an SD-WAN Zone). For example, if your previous policy allowed traffic from internal to wan1, you must update that policy so theOutgoing Interfaceis now SD-WAN. This allows the SD-WAN engine to take over the traffic and apply its steering rules.

Modern Tools: While this used to be a purely manual process, FortiOS 7.x includes anInterface Migration Wizard(found underNetwork > Interfaces). This tool automates the "search and replace" function, moving all existing policy and routing references from the physical port to the SD-WAN object to ensure minimal downtime.

Why other options are incorrect:

Option B: While you do need to update your routing (e.g., creating a static route for 0.0.0.0/0 pointing to the SD-WAN interface), the curriculum specifically emphasizes the replacement of references infirewall policiesas the primary administrative hurdle, as policies are often more numerous and complex than the single static route required for SD-WAN.

Option C: You donotneed to disable the interface. It must be up and configured, just removed from other configuration references so it can be "absorbed" into the SD-WAN bundle.

Option D: SD-WAN is abase featureof FortiOS and doesnot require a separate licenseor a reboot to enable.

According to theSD-WAN 7.6 Core Administratorcurriculum, to implement an SD-WAN solution that ensures high network availability for business-critical applications while managing costs, the administrator mustconfigure at least two WAN links.

SD-WAN Fundamentals: SD-WAN operates by creating a virtual overlay across multiple physical or logical transport links (e.g., broadband, LTE, MPLS). Without at least two links, the SD-WAN engine has no alternative path to steer traffic toward if the primary link fails or degrades.

Cost Management: By using multiple links, administrators can implement theLowest Cost (SLA)orMaximize Bandwidthstrategies. This allows the site to use a low-cost broadband connection for primary traffic and only failover to a "pay-per-use" backup (like LTE) when the primary link's quality falls below the defined SLA target.

High Availability (Link Level): While a "High Availability (HA) cluster" (Option C) provides device redundancy (protecting against a hardware failure of the FortiGate itself), it does not address link redundancy or steering, which are the core functions of SD-WAN for application uptime.

Why other options are incorrect:

Option A: Using a mid-range device refers to hardware capacity but does not solve the requirement for link-level redundancy and cost-steering logic.

Option B: Dynamic routing (like BGP or OSPF) is often usedwithSD-WAN in large topologies, but for a small site, the primary mechanism for meeting availability and cost goals is the configuration of the SD-WAN member links and rules themselves.

Option C: HA clusters protect against hardware failure, but the question specifically asks about ensuring availability forapplicationswhile limitingbackup link costs, which is a traffic-steering (SD-WAN) requirement rather than a hardware-redundancy requirement.

According to theSD-WAN 7.6 Core Administratorstudy guide andFortiOS 7.6 Administration Guide, no configuration change is required to simplymeasurejitter.

Implicit Measurement: In FortiOS, once a Performance SLA (Health Check) is configured with anActiveprobe mode (as seen in the exhibit with Ping selected), the FortiGate automatically begins calculating three key quality metrics for every member interface:Latency,Jitter, andPacket Loss.

Visibility: Even without an SLA Target defined, these real-time measurements are visible in theSD-WAN Monitorand via the CLI command diagnose sys virtual-wan-link health-check .

Active Probes: Because the probe mode is set toActiveusing thePingprotocol, the FortiGate sends synthetic packets at the definedCheck interval(500ms in the exhibit). It calculates jitter by measuring the variation in the round-trip time (RTT) between these consecutive probes.

Why other options are incorrect:

Option B: Adding anSLA targetand defining a jitter threshold is only necessary if you want the SD-WAN engine to makesteering decisionsbased on that metric (e.g., "remove this link from the pool if jitter exceeds 50ms"). It is not required just tomeasurethe jitter.

Option C: While you can specify participants, the current setting is "All SD-WAN Members," which means it is already measuring jitter for every member.

Option D:HTTPis an alternative probe protocol, butPing (ICMP)is perfectly capable of measuring jitter and is often preferred for its lower overhead.