NSE7 Advanced VPN and Zero Trust Practice Question
An administrator configures a hub-and-spoke ADVPN with FortiGate at the hub and multiple remote sites. After setup, spokes establish shortcuts directly. However, traffic between two spokes consistently goes through the hub even though shortcuts should exist. Running 'diagnose npu np6 ipsec peercache' shows no shortcut entries. What is the MOST likely reason?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to assume shortcut tunnels are automatically established once ADVPN is configured, overlooking the critical requirement of a dynamic routing protocol (BGP) to exchange tunnel endpoint addresses between spokes.
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
✓
The spokes are not running BGP over the ADVPN tunnels.
In a hub-and-spoke ADVPN, BGP is required to propagate the spoke's private IP addresses (used as tunnel endpoints) across the overlay network. Without BGP, spokes do not learn each other's tunnel IPs, so they cannot initiate shortcut tunnels. The 'diagnose npu np6 ipsec peercache' command shows no shortcut entries because the shortcut negotiation never starts.
Quick reference
VPN Protocol Comparison
| Protocol | Port | Encryption | Authentication | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IKEv2 / IPsec | UDP 500 / 4500 | AES-256 | Certificates / PSK | Site-to-site & remote access |
| SSL / TLS VPN | TCP 443 | TLS 1.3 | Certificates / MFA | Clientless remote access |
| L2TP / IPsec | UDP 1701 | AES (IPsec) | PSK / Certificates | Legacy remote access |
| WireGuard | UDP 51820 | ChaCha20 | Public keys | Modern high-performance VPN |
| PPTP | TCP 1723 | MPPE (weak) | MS-CHAPv2 | Legacy — avoid in production |
PPTP is considered insecure. IKEv2/IPsec and SSL VPN are the current recommended options.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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