FCSS_EFW_AD-7.6 Fortinet NSE 7 - Enterprise Firewall 7.6 Administrator Free Practice Exam Questions (2026 Updated)

The output of the get router info ospf status command provides key information about the OSPF (Open Shortest Path First) configuration on the FortiGate device.

The FortiGate device is connected to multiple areas

● The output states: "This router is an ABR"

● ABR (Area Border Router) means the device is connected to multiple OSPF areas and maintains routing information between them.

● This confirms that the FortiGate is not just in one area, but at least one backbone area (Area 0) and another OSPF area.

The FortiGate device injects external routing information

● The output states: "Supports opaque LSA"

● Opaque LSAs (Type 9, 10, and 11) are used in OSPF extensions, including those that support external route injection.

● Typically, ABRs or ASBRs (Autonomous System Boundary Routers) inject external routes, allowing routes from other routing protocols (such as BGP or static routes) to be advertised into OSPF.

The set tcp-mss-sender and set tcp-mss-receiver commands in a firewall policy allow an administrator to adjust the Maximum Segment Size (MSS) of TCP packets.

This setting controls the largest payload size that a device can handle in a single TCP segment, ensuring that packets do not exceed the allowed MTU (Maximum Transmission Unit) along the network path.

● set tcp-mss-sender adjusts the MSS value for outgoing TCP traffic.

● set tcp-mss-receiver adjusts the MSS value for incoming TCP traffic.

This helps prevent issues with fragmentation and MTU mismatches, improving network performance and avoiding retransmissions.

According to the FortiOS 7.6 Infrastructure study guide and High Availability (HA) documentation, FortiGate units in an HA cluster use a virtual MAC address to ensure seamless failover. The structure of this virtual MAC address is strictly defined by the Fortinet HA protocol.

For a standard HA cluster, the virtual MAC address format is 00:09:0f:09::. However, when VDOMs are enabled, the virtual MAC address prefix changes to e0:23:ff to accommodate the additional complexity of multiple virtual domains. Therefore, the prefix e0:23:ff in the suspicious MAC address e0:23:ff:fc:00:86 confirms that the packet originated from a cluster with VDOMs enabled (Option A).

Regarding the interface identification, the last byte (86) is calculated as follows:

The 0x80 bit indicates virtual-cluster 2 (vcluster 2). Since $0x86 = 0x80 + 0x06$, we know the packet is from vcluster 2.

The remaining value 0x06 represents the interface index. In FortiOS, the index starts at 0 (port1 = 0, port2 = 1, port3 = 2, port4 = 3, port5 = 4, port6 = 5, port7 = 6). Therefore, the index 6 corresponds exactly to port 7 (Option D).

The fourth byte (fc) represents the HA Group ID (252 in decimal). While this is indeed lower than 255, the specific logic of the virtual MAC composition in a VDOM-enabled environment points specifically to the port identification and vcluster status as the primary diagnostic conclusions.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract of Enterprise Firewall 7.6 Administrator documents:

Based on the FortiOS 7.6 Administration Guide and the HA Virtual Clustering documentation, the exhibit demonstrates a Virtual Clustering environment where multiple VDOMs are distributed across an HA cluster.

In a virtual cluster setup, VDOMs are assigned to either virtual cluster 1 (vcluster 1) or virtual cluster 2 (vcluster 2). Each virtual cluster has its own independent primary unit selection process. The primary unit for a virtual cluster is determined based on the standard HA selection criteria: Monitored Interfaces > HA Uptime > Priority > Serial Number.

According to the exhibit:

Virtual Cluster 1 (edit 1) contains VDOMs "Core1" and "root".

Virtual Cluster 2 (edit 2) contains VDOM "Core2".

The HA uptime is stated to be the same for both devices.

For edit 2 (Core2), HQ-NGFW-1 has a priority of 150, while HQ-NGFW-2 has a priority of 120.

In both units, override is disabled (default).

Since the uptime is equal and no monitored interfaces are down, the cluster uses the Priority value to select the primary unit for each vcluster. Currently, HQ-NGFW-1 is the primary for Core2 because its priority (150) is higher than HQ-NGFW-2's (120). To ensure HQ-NGFW-2 handles the Core2 traffic, its priority for virtual cluster 2 must be increased to a value higher than 150. Option C (changing the priority from 120 to 200) achieves this.

Comprehensive and Detailed 150 to 200 words of Explanation From Exact Extract of Enterprise Firewall 7.6 Administrator documents:

Based on the FortiOS 7.6 Infrastructure study guide and official documentation regarding OSPF monitoring, the command output get router info ospf status provides critical details about the OSPF process.

Injecting External Information (Option D): The last line of the exhibit explicitly states, "This router is an ASBR" (Autonomous System Boundary Router). By definition in the OSPF protocol, an ASBR is a router that connects the OSPF network to another routing domain (such as BGP, Static, or Connected routes) and is responsible for injecting external routing information into the OSPF domain.

OSPF ECMP Support (Option B): The output indicates that the OSPF process "Conforms to RFC2328". RFC 2328 is the standard for OSPFv2, which includes the capability for Equal-Cost Multi-Path (ECMP). In FortiOS, the OSPF engine supports multi-path routing by default, allowing the device to utilize multiple paths to the same destination if they share the same cost.

Option A is incorrect because the output does not indicate the router's DR/BDR election status on a specific segment. Option C is incorrect because "ID 0.0.0.5" refers to the Router ID, not the OSPF Area ID.

FortiGate's IPS protocol decoders analyze network transmission patterns and application signatures to identify and block malicious traffic. Application Control is the feature that allows FortiGate to detect, classify, and block applications based on their behavior and signatures, even when they do not rely on traditional URLs.

● Application Control works alongside IPS protocol decoders to inspect packet payloads and enforce security policies based on recognized application behaviors.

● It enables granular control over non-URL-based applications such as P2P traffic, VoIP, messaging apps, and other non-web-based protocols that IPS can identify through protocol decoders.

● IPS and Application Control together can detect evasive or encrypted applications that might bypass traditional firewall rules.

ADVPN (Auto-Discovery VPN) 2.0 is the optimal solution for enabling direct spoke-to-spoke communication without passing through the hub, while also allowing automatic link selection based on quality metrics.

● Dynamic Direct Tunnels:

● ADVPN 2.0 allows spokes to establish direct IPsec tunnels dynamically based on traffic patterns, reducing latency and improving performance.

● Unlike static VPNs, spokes do not need to pre-configure tunnels for each other.

● Automatic Link Optimization:

● ADVPN 2.0 monitors the quality of multiple internet connections on each spoke.

● It automatically switches to the best available connection when the primary link degrades or fails.

● This is achieved by dynamically adjusting BGP-based routing or leveraging SD-WAN integration.

Zero phase selectors in IPsec Phase 2 mean that no specific traffic selectors (subnets) are defined, allowing any traffic to be encrypted through the VPN tunnel. This can cause unintended traffic forwarding issues and disrupt network operations.

To prevent this from happening during future migrations:

● Using routing protocols ensures that only specific subnets are advertised over the tunnel. Dynamic routing (such as OSPF or BGP) helps define which networks should use the tunnel, preventing unintended traffic from being encrypted.

● Clearly defining phase 2 selectors avoids the problem of encrypting all traffic by explicitly stating the allowed source and destination subnets. This prevents the tunnel from affecting unrelated network traffic.

To minimize CPU and RAM usage while still enforcing security features like web filtering and application control, SSL certificate inspection mode is the best choice.

● SSL certificate inspection allows FortiGate to inspect only the SSL/TLS handshake, including the Server Name Indication (SNI) and certificate details, without decrypting the full encrypted payload.

● This enables features like web filtering and application control because FortiGate can determine the destination website or application based on SNI and certificate information.

● It significantly reduces system load compared to full SSL inspection, which requires full decryption and re-encryption of traffic.

In an IBGP (Internal BGP) network, all routers must be fully meshed, meaning every router must establish a BGP session with every other router in the same autonomous system (AS). This does not scale well in large networks due to the exponential increase in BGP sessions.

To optimize and scale IBGP, Route Reflectors (RRs) are used. A Route Reflector (RR) reduces the number of IBGP peer connections by allowing a centralized router (RR) to redistribute IBGP routes to other IBGP peers (called clients). This eliminates the need for a full mesh, significantly reducing BGP session overhead.

By configuring the route-reflector-client setting on IBGP peers, an administrator can:

● Scale IBGP sessions by reducing the number of direct BGP peer connections.

● Optimize the routing table by ensuring routes are efficiently propagated within the IBGP network.

● Eliminate the need for full mesh topology, making IBGP more manageable.

Comprehensive and Detailed 150 to 200 words of Explanation From Exact Extract of Enterprise Firewall 7.6 Administrator documents:

Based on the FortiOS 7.6 Infrastructure study guide and official documentation regarding OSPF monitoring, the command output get router info ospf status provides critical details about the OSPF process.

Multiple Areas (Option D): The last line of the exhibit explicitly states, "This router is an ABR" (Area Border Router). By definition in the OSPF protocol, an ABR is a router that is connected to multiple OSPF areas, typically Area 0 (the backbone) and at least one other non-backbone area.

OSPF ECMP (Option A): The output indicates that the OSPF process "Conforms to RFC2328". RFC 2328 is the standard for OSPFv2, which includes the capability for Equal-Cost Multi-Path (ECMP). In FortiOS, when OSPF is enabled and multiple routes to the same destination have the same cost, ECMP is supported by default unless specifically limited by the maximum-paths configuration. The mention of this RFC compliance in the status output confirms the engine's capability and support for multi-path routing.

Option C is incorrect because the output does not label the device as an ASBR (Autonomous System Boundary Router), which would be required to inject external routing information. Option B is incorrect because "ABR" refers to area hierarchy, not the election status (DR/BDR) on a specific network segment.

FortiGate_A and FortiGate_B are in the same autonomous system (AS), and FortiGate_A does not currently have route 172.16.1.248/30 in its routing table. However, FortiGate_B has this route as a connected route.

To dynamically advertise only 172.16.1.248/30 from FortiGate_B to FortiGate_A, the administrator must configure a BGP route map out on FortiGate_B that specifically permits only this prefix.

A BGP route map out on FortiGate_B controls which routes FortiGate_B advertises to FortiGate_A. If no filtering is applied, FortiGate_B might advertise all BGP-learned and connected routes, which is not what the administrator wants. The route map should include a prefix-list that explicitly allows only 172.16.1.248/30 and denies everything else.

VXLAN (Virtual Extensible LAN) is an overlay network technology that extends Layer 2 networks over Layer 3 infrastructure. When VXLAN is used extensively on FortiGate, hardware acceleration is crucial for maintaining performance.

● NP7 (Network Processor 7) is Fortinet’s latest network processor designed to accelerate high-performance networking features, including:

● VXLAN encapsulation/decapsulation

● IPsec VPN offloading

● Firewall policy enforcement

● Advanced threat protection at wire speed

NP7 significantly reduces latency and improves throughput when handling VXLAN traffic, making it the best choice for large-scale VXLAN deployments.

The Configuration Revision History window in FortiManager shows that the most recent configuration change (ID 10) was created by script_manager with the action Retrieved.

Since script_manager is a system-level script execution user, the IT team needs to find who actually triggered this script. This can be done by:

● Checking the FortiManager system logs for script execution events.

● Using the type=script filter to locate the administrator associated with the script execution.

Use metadata variables to dynamically assign values according to each FortiGate device:

Metadata variables in FortiManager allow device-specific configurations to be dynamically assigned without manually configuring each FortiGate. This is especially useful when deploying multiple devices with similar base configurations.

Use provisioning templates and install configuration settings at the device layer:

Provisioning templates in FortiManager provide a structured way to configure FortiGate devices. These templates can define interfaces, policies, and settings, ensuring that each device is correctly configured upon deployment.

Add FortiGate devices on FortiManager as model devices, and use ZTP or LTP to connect to FortiGate devices:

Zero-Touch Provisioning (ZTP) and Local Touch Provisioning (LTP) help automate the deployment of FortiGate devices. By adding devices as model devices in FortiManager, configurations can be pushed automatically when devices connect for the first time, reducing manual effort.

The Fortinet FGSP (FortiGate Session Life Support Protocol) cluster allows session synchronization between two FortiGate devices to provide seamless failover. However, ICMP (ping) is a connectionless protocol, and by default, FortiGate does not synchronize connectionless sessions unless explicitly enabled.

In the exhibit:

● The command get system session list | grep icmp on FortiGate_B returns no output, meaning that ICMP sessions are not being synchronized from FortiGate_A.

● If session-pickup-connectionless is disabled, FortiGate_B will not receive ICMP sessions, causing packet loss during failover.

The best way to block outdated SSL/TLS versions is to configure the SSL/SSH inspection profile to enforce a minimum SSL/TLS version and disable weak SSL versions.

By setting the minimum allowed SSL version in the HTTPS settings of the SSL/SSH inspection profile, FortiGate will:

● Block any connection using outdated SSL/TLS versions (such as SSLv3, TLS 1.0, or TLS 1.1).

● Enforce secure communication using only strong SSL/TLS versions (such as TLS 1.2 or TLS 1.3).

● Protect users from man-in-the-middle (MITM) and downgrade attacks that exploit weak encryption.

The exhibit shows an active-passive HA (high availability) cluster with two virtual clusters, where FortiGate_A is the primary device for both Core1 and Core2. If the goal is to have FortiGate_B take over Core2 traffic, its priority must be higher than FortiGate_A for Virtual Cluster 2.

Currently, FortiGate_A has a priority of 150 for Core2, while FortiGate_B has 128. Increasing FortiGate_B’s priority to 200 ensures it becomes the primary for Virtual Cluster 2, taking over the Core2 VDOM traffic while keeping Core1 traffic on FortiGate_A.

Disabling override would prevent forced failovers but wouldn’t change the role distribution. Adjusting the load-balancing method is irrelevant in an active-passive setup, as it only applies to active-active configurations.