The answer is Policy B, because Policy A’s schedule is inactive at 8:00 AM on Saturday. A FortiGate firewall evaluates policies sequentially, and a policy only matches if its schedule is currently active; since the ‘WorkHours’ schedule (Mon-Fri 9-17) is not active on a Saturday morning, Policy A is skipped entirely, and the traffic falls through to Policy B with its ‘Always’ schedule, which permits the traffic. On the Fortinet NSE 4 exam, this scenario tests your understanding of how firewall policy schedule inactive fallback logic works—a common trap is assuming a more specific policy will match regardless of time, but the schedule must be valid for the policy to be considered. Remember the memory tip: “If the schedule door is locked, the policy can’t open it—traffic moves to the next rule.”
NSE4 Firewall Policies and NAT Practice Question
This NSE4 practice question tests your understanding of firewall policies and nat. This is a configuration task: choose the command set that satisfies every stated requirement. Small differences — like 'secret' vs 'password' or 'transport input ssh' vs 'all' — change whether the answer is correct. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
A FortiGate is configured with two policies: Policy A allows traffic from trust to untrust with schedule 'WorkHours' (Mon-Fri 9-17). Policy B allows traffic from trust to untrust with schedule 'Always'. A user sends traffic at 8:00 AM on Saturday. Which policy matches?
Clue words in this question
Noticing these words before you look at the options changes how you read each choice.
Clue: "always"
Why it matters: Absolute qualifier. An answer using 'always' is only correct if there are genuinely no exceptions — absolute statements are often wrong in networking.
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Policy B because Policy A's schedule is not active
Policy A's schedule 'WorkHours' is not active (Saturday 8 AM is outside Mon-Fri 9-17). Policy B's schedule 'Always' is always active. Since Policy A does not match due to schedule, Policy B matches and allows the traffic. Option B is correct.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
✓
Policy B because Policy A's schedule is not active
Why this is correct
Policy A's schedule is inactive at that time, so it is skipped.
Clue confirmation
The clue word "always" in the question point toward this answer.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
✗
Policy A because schedules are evaluated after policy order
Why it's wrong here
Schedule is part of the matching criteria; if schedule is not active, the policy does not match.
✗
Both policies match and the first one in order is used
Why it's wrong here
Only one policy matches if schedule is considered.
✗
No policy matches because Policy A is first but schedule inactive
Why it's wrong here
Policy B is still evaluated and matches.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
Many certification questions include familiar terms but test a specific constraint. Read the exact wording before choosing an answer that is generally true but wrong for this case.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
This question should be treated as a scenario, not a definition check. Identify the problem, the constraint and the best action. Then compare each option against those facts.
KKey Concepts to Remember
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Find the constraint that changes the correct option.
Eliminate answers that are true in general but not in this case.
Use explanations to understand the rule behind the answer.
TExam Day Tips
→Underline the problem statement mentally.
→Watch for words such as best, first, most likely and least administrative effort.
→Review why wrong options are wrong, not only why the correct option is correct.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
How this comes up in practice
A practitioner preparing for the NSE4 exam encounters this exact type of scenario on the job. The correct answer here is not the most general option — it is the best answer for the specific constraint described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Real exam questions reward reading the full scenario before eliminating options, because the constraint defines which answer fits.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which NSE4 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Firewall Policies and NAT — This question tests Firewall Policies and NAT — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: Policy B because Policy A's schedule is not active — Policy A's schedule 'WorkHours' is not active (Saturday 8 AM is outside Mon-Fri 9-17). Policy B's schedule 'Always' is always active. Since Policy A does not match due to schedule, Policy B matches and allows the traffic. Option B is correct.
What should I do if I get this NSE4 question wrong?
Identify which NSE4 exam domain this question belongs to, then review the specific concept being tested. Practise related questions in that domain and focus on understanding why each wrong answer is tempting — not just why the correct answer is right.
Are there clue words in this question I should notice?
Yes — watch for: "always". Absolute qualifier. An answer using 'always' is only correct if there are genuinely no exceptions — absolute statements are often wrong in networking.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Question Discussion
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