The answer is the route with a distance of 10, because FortiGate uses administrative distance as the primary metric for route selection. When multiple static routes exist to the same destination, the route with the lower administrative distance is always preferred, regardless of the priority value or the order in which the routes were added. Priority only acts as a tie-breaker when the administrative distances are equal, so a priority of 0 on both routes has no bearing here. On the Fortinet NSE 4 exam, this concept frequently appears in questions testing your understanding of the route selection hierarchy, often with a trap where candidates mistakenly think priority or route order decides the winner. Remember the memory tip: "Distance decides first, priority only plays when distances are tied."
NSE4 System and Network Administration Practice Question
This NSE4 practice question tests your understanding of system and network administration. 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 network administrator has configured a static route on a FortiGate with a distance of 10 and a priority of 0. Later, they add another static route to the same destination with a distance of 15 and priority of 0. Which route will be used for traffic forwarding?
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The route with distance 10 because it has a lower administrative distance
The correct answer is D because the FortiGate uses administrative distance as the primary metric for route selection when multiple static routes exist to the same destination. A lower administrative distance (10) is preferred over a higher one (15), regardless of the order in which the routes were added. Priority (0 in both cases) is a tie-breaker only when distances are equal, so it does not affect this decision.
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.
✗
The route with distance 15 because it has a higher priority
Why it's wrong here
Distance is the primary metric; lower distance is preferred. Priority is not considered here.
✗
Both routes will be used for ECMP load balancing
Why it's wrong here
ECMP requires equal distances; here distances differ (10 vs 15).
✗
The route with distance 15 will be used because it was added last
Why it's wrong here
The order of addition does not affect route selection; distance determines preference.
✓
The route with distance 10 because it has a lower administrative distance
Why this is correct
Correct. FortiGate selects the route with the lowest administrative distance. If distances are equal, then priority is used as a tiebreaker.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
Common exam traps
Common exam trap: answer the scenario, not the keyword
The trap here is that candidates often confuse administrative distance with priority or assume that the most recently added route takes precedence, but FortiGate strictly follows the lower administrative distance rule for route selection.
Detailed technical explanation
How to think about this question
Administrative distance is a Cisco-originated concept adopted by FortiGate to rate the trustworthiness of route sources; for static routes, the default distance is 10, but it can be manually set from 1 to 255. When two static routes have the same distance, the priority value (0–4294967295) is used as a tie-breaker, with lower priority preferred. In real-world scenarios, adjusting administrative distance allows for floating static routes that serve as backups, activating only when the primary route (with lower distance) fails.
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.
TExam Day Tips
→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 small business has 20 workstations on the 192.168.1.0/24 network and one public IP from its ISP. The router uses PAT (NAT overload) so all 20 devices share one public address using different source ports. NAT questions test whether you understand the four address terms and which direction each translation applies.
What to study next
Got this wrong? Here's your next step.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
System and Network Administration — This question tests System and Network Administration — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
What is the correct answer to this question?
The correct answer is: The route with distance 10 because it has a lower administrative distance — The correct answer is D because the FortiGate uses administrative distance as the primary metric for route selection when multiple static routes exist to the same destination. A lower administrative distance (10) is preferred over a higher one (15), regardless of the order in which the routes were added. Priority (0 in both cases) is a tie-breaker only when distances are equal, so it does not affect this decision.
What should I do if I get this NSE4 question wrong?
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
What is the key concept behind this question?
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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This NSE4 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Fortinet certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the NSE4 exam.
Question Discussion
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