NSE7 Advanced Networking and SD-WAN Practice Question
A network administrator is configuring SD-WAN on a FortiGate with three WAN links: MPLS (10 Mbps), Broadband (50 Mbps), and LTE (20 Mbps). They want to load balance traffic based on link bandwidth, with the option to manually steer critical traffic to the MPLS link. Which TWO steps must be taken to achieve this?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse 'Spillover' with bandwidth-based load balancing, or assume ECMP is required for SD-WAN load balancing, when in fact FortiGate SD-WAN uses policy-based routing with its own load-balancing algorithms independent of ECMP.
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 the SD-WAN rule strategy to 'Maximize Bandwidth' with volume algorithm for general traffic.
Setting the SD-WAN rule strategy to 'Maximize Bandwidth' with the volume algorithm distributes traffic proportionally based on link bandwidth (10:50:20 ratio), achieving load balancing. Option B is correct because creating a separate SD-WAN rule with strategy 'Manual' and selecting MPLS as the preferred member allows manual steering of critical traffic to the MPLS link, overriding the load-balancing behavior for that traffic.
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 the SD-WAN rule strategy to 'Maximize Bandwidth' with volume algorithm for general traffic.
Why this is correct
This enables bandwidth-based load balancing.
- ✓
Create a separate SD-WAN rule for critical traffic with strategy 'Manual' and select MPLS as the preferred member.
Why this is correct
This allows manual steering of critical traffic to MPLS.
- ✗
Set the load balancing algorithm to 'Spillover' on all rules.
Why it's wrong here
Spillover would not load balance based on bandwidth and does not allow manual steering.
- ✗
Enable ECMP on the FortiGate.
Why it's wrong here
ECMP is for equal-cost routes, not SD-WAN load balancing.
- ✗
Configure a performance SLA for each link.
Why it's wrong here
Performance SLAs are for monitoring link quality, not for bandwidth-based load balancing.
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