NSE7 Advanced Networking and SD-WAN Practice Question
A FortiGate is configured with SD-WAN using BGP. The administrator wants to influence outbound traffic to prefer one SD-WAN member over another based on BGP attributes. Which BGP attribute, when modified on the FortiGate, can achieve this for outbound traffic?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often confuse outbound and inbound traffic influence, mistakenly selecting AS-Path prepending or MED, which are designed to affect how other ASes route traffic toward the local network, not how the local FortiGate chooses its outbound path.
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
✓
Local-preference
Local-preference is a well-known mandatory BGP attribute that is propagated within an AS to influence outbound traffic by indicating the preferred exit point. When modified on the FortiGate, a higher local-preference value makes the route more preferred for outbound traffic, allowing the administrator to steer traffic toward a specific SD-WAN member without affecting inbound routing.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Local-preference
Why this is correct
Local-preference is used to influence outbound traffic within the local AS. Higher local-preference makes a route more preferred for outbound traffic.
- ✗
Weight
Why it's wrong here
Weight is Cisco-specific; FortiGate uses local-preference.
- ✗
AS-Path prepending
Why it's wrong here
AS-Path prepending influences inbound traffic by making a route less preferred to external neighbors.
- ✗
MED
Why it's wrong here
MED is used to influence inbound traffic from neighboring ASes.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
One of 940 original NSE7 practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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.