NSE7 Advanced Networking and SD-WAN Practice Question
A network administrator configures an SD-WAN zone with two members (port1 and port2) and sets the load balancing algorithm to 'spillover'. The spillover threshold is set to 100 Mbps on port1. If traffic reaches 120 Mbps on port1, what happens to new sessions?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often confuse spillover with load balancing algorithms like 'lowest latency' or 'round-robin', incorrectly assuming that traffic is dropped, queued, or evenly distributed when the threshold is exceeded, rather than understanding that spillover is a failover-like mechanism that shifts new sessions to the next available member.
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
✓
New sessions are sent to port2 until port1 drops below the threshold
When the spillover algorithm is configured with a threshold of 100 Mbps on port1 and traffic reaches 120 Mbps, port1 is considered saturated. The SD-WAN zone then directs all new sessions to port2 until the traffic on port1 drops below the threshold. This is the defined behavior of spillover load balancing in Fortinet SD-WAN, where traffic is shifted away from an overloaded member to maintain performance.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
All traffic is dropped because the threshold exceeded
Why it's wrong here
Spillover does not drop traffic; it moves new sessions to other members.
- ✓
New sessions are sent to port2 until port1 drops below the threshold
Why this is correct
Correct spillover behavior.
- ✗
Port1 continues to receive all new sessions but packets are queued
Why it's wrong here
Spillover does not queue; it redirects new sessions.
- ✗
New sessions are distributed equally between port1 and port2
Why it's wrong here
Equal distribution is not spillover behavior.
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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.