NSE7 Advanced Networking and SD-WAN Practice Question
A network administrator is configuring SD-WAN rules with load balancing. They want to distribute HTTP traffic evenly across two WAN links based on the number of sessions. Which TWO settings should they use? (Choose two.)
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates confuse 'session' with 'volume' or assuming that performance SLA monitoring is required for any SD-WAN rule, when in fact load balancing algorithms are independent of SLA-based path selection.
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
✓
Ensure the SD-WAN rule matches HTTP traffic (e.g., using protocol or port criteria).
Option A is correct because the SD-WAN rule must first identify the traffic to be balanced, so it needs to match HTTP traffic using protocol or port criteria (e.g., TCP port 80/443) before any load-balancing algorithm can be applied to it. Option E is correct because the scenario explicitly requires distributing traffic based on the number of sessions, and the 'session' load-balancing algorithm in FortiGate SD-WAN distributes sessions across the member links to achieve a per-session balance. Option B is incorrect because the 'volume' algorithm balances based on traffic volume (bytes) rather than session count, which does not meet the stated requirement. Option C is incorrect because a performance SLA monitors link health and quality (latency, jitter, packet loss) and is not the mechanism that distributes HTTP sessions evenly. Option D is incorrect because 'set update-static-route' controls whether the SD-WAN rule updates the static route for the selected interface and does not affect load-balancing behavior.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Ensure the SD-WAN rule matches HTTP traffic (e.g., using protocol or port criteria).
Why this is correct
The rule must first identify HTTP flows, so matching protocol or port criteria isolates that traffic. Without this match, session-based balancing would apply to all traffic rather than the HTTP sessions the administrator intends to spread across both links.
- ✗
Set the load balancing algorithm to 'volume'.
Why it's wrong here
Volume balances by measured throughput rather than session count, so it cannot distribute HTTP traffic evenly by number of sessions. It is tempting because volume is a genuine SD-WAN load-balancing algorithm, but the session-based algorithm is the one matching the stated requirement.
- ✗
Create a performance SLA to monitor the links.
Why it's wrong here
A performance SLA measures link health such as latency and jitter for failover decisions; it does not distribute sessions across links. It is tempting because SLA monitoring accompanies SD-WAN rules, but session-count load balancing requires the source-IP or session-based algorithm setting, not health checking.
- ✗
Enable 'set update-static-route' on the SD-WAN rule.
Why it's wrong here
Updating static routes concerns advertising or withdrawing routes when an SD-WAN rule's link state changes; it does not influence per-session distribution. It is tempting because it is a real SD-WAN rule setting, but session-count balancing is achieved through the algorithm choice, not route propagation.
- ✓
Set the load balancing algorithm to 'session'.
Why this is correct
Setting the algorithm to 'session' makes the SD-WAN rule distribute flows according to active session counts, directly satisfying the stem's requirement to balance HTTP traffic by number of sessions rather than by volume, spillover or source-destination hashing.
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