NSE7 Advanced VPN and Zero Trust Practice Question
A network administrator is configuring a hub-and-spoke ADVPN with BGP over the VPN tunnels. Which TWO conditions are necessary for the spokes to establish direct shortcut tunnels between each other?
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
✓
BGP must be configured on all FortiGates (hub and spokes) to exchange routing information
Shortcut tunnels require that the hub propagates routes without setting itself as next-hop (next-hop-self disabled), and that spokes have overlapping routing information so they know the other spoke's subnet via BGP. Options B and D are correct: BGP must be configured on all spokes to exchange routes, and the hub must not set next-hop-self so that the next-hop remains the remote spoke's tunnel IP.
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 spokes must have identical phase2 proposals
Why it's wrong here
Phase2 proposals between spokes are negotiated during shortcut establishment; they don't need to be pre-configured identically.
- ✓
BGP must be configured on all FortiGates (hub and spokes) to exchange routing information
Why this is correct
BGP is used to propagate routes. Each spoke learns the other spoke's subnets via BGP from the hub.
- ✗
The spokes must use the same IKE version
Why it's wrong here
IKE version is independent of ADVPN shortcut establishment.
- ✓
The hub must be configured with 'set next-hop-self disable' for the spoke BGP neighbors
Why this is correct
To allow spokes to reach each other directly, the hub must not change the next-hop attribute to itself. The next-hop should remain the originating spoke's IP.
- ✗
The hub must have static routes for each spoke's LAN subnet
Why it's wrong here
Static routes would prevent shortcut establishment; BGP is used instead.
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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.