NSE7 Advanced VPN and Zero Trust Practice Question
A FortiGate administrator wants to use PKI certificates for IPsec VPN authentication instead of pre-shared keys. Which phase1 parameter must be set to 'signature' to enable certificate-based authentication?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
set authmethod signature
The IKE peer authentication method is controlled by the 'authmethod' parameter. Setting it to 'signature' enables RSA signature-based authentication using certificates.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
set authmethod signature
Why this is correct
This configures the IKE phase1 to use certificate authentication.
- ✗
set cert-validation enable
Why it's wrong here
This enables certificate validation but is not the parameter that selects the authentication method.
- ✗
set ike-version 2
Why it's wrong here
IKEv2 supports certificates, but the setting itself doesn't enable certificate authentication.
- ✗
set peer-id certificate
Why it's wrong here
Peer ID is used for identification, not authentication method.
Quick reference
VPN Protocol Comparison
| Protocol | Port | Encryption | Authentication | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IKEv2 / IPsec | UDP 500 / 4500 | AES-256 | Certificates / PSK | Site-to-site & remote access |
| SSL / TLS VPN | TCP 443 | TLS 1.3 | Certificates / MFA | Clientless remote access |
| L2TP / IPsec | UDP 1701 | AES (IPsec) | PSK / Certificates | Legacy remote access |
| WireGuard | UDP 51820 | ChaCha20 | Public keys | Modern high-performance VPN |
| PPTP | TCP 1723 | MPPE (weak) | MS-CHAPv2 | Legacy — avoid in production |
PPTP is considered insecure. IKEv2/IPsec and SSL VPN are the current recommended options.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This NSE7 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 NSE7 exam.