NSE7 Advanced Networking and SD-WAN Practice Question
An administrator has an SD-WAN deployment with two members, port1 (primary, low latency) and port2 (secondary, high latency). A performance SLA is configured using a ping probe to 8.8.8.8 with a 100 ms latency threshold. The SLA status for port1 is 'alive' and for port2 is 'dead'. The administrator creates an SD-WAN rule with the 'SLA' strategy that includes both members. They expect traffic to use port1 and, if it fails, port2. However, after applying the rule, all traffic is still going out port1 and never uses port2. What is the cause of this behavior?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is assuming that the 'SLA' strategy will use a member with a 'dead' SLA status as a backup even when another member is alive.
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 SD-WAN rule's 'SLA' strategy only uses members that meet the SLA; since port2 is 'dead', it is excluded, and port1 is used exclusively as long as it meets SLA.
The 'SLA' strategy in an SD-WAN rule prioritizes members that meet the performance SLA. When at least one member meets the SLA, only those members are used. A member with a 'dead' SLA status is excluded from selection unless all members are dead, in which case the rule falls back to the best available member. In this scenario, port1 meets the SLA, so it is used exclusively, and port2 is not used. The administrator's expectation of immediate fallback is a misunderstanding of the strategy's 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.
- ✗
The performance SLA probe target 8.8.8.8 is unreachable from port2, causing the SLA to be 'dead' and thus port2 is excluded from the rule.
Why it's wrong here
If the probe target were unreachable from port2, the SLA would be 'dead', but the rule with 'SLA' strategy would still include port2 as a candidate only if no member meets SLA. However, the probe target is the same for both members; if it were unreachable from port2, it would likely also be unreachable from port1 unless there is an asymmetric routing issue. The scenario states the SLA for port1 is 'alive', so the probe is reachable from port1. The problem is not the probe target but the rule configuration and expected behavior.
- ✗
The SD-WAN rule is missing the 'load-balance' setting; by default, it uses only the first member in the list.
Why it's wrong here
The 'SLA' strategy does not require a separate 'load-balance' setting. The strategy itself determines member selection based on SLA status. The default behavior when using 'SLA' strategy is to select the member with the best SLA metrics. If multiple members meet SLA, it may load-balance among them. The issue is not a missing load-balance setting but the fact that port1 meets SLA and is preferred. The administrator's expectation of fallback only when port1 fails is correct, but they are observing no fallback because port1 is alive.
- ✗
The SD-WAN rule must include a manual order of members; the 'SLA' strategy does not automatically fall back to a member with 'dead' SLA status.
Why it's wrong here
The 'SLA' strategy does allow fallback to members that are not meeting SLA if no member meets the SLA. However, the behavior described is that port2 is never used even when port1 is alive. The issue is not about manual order but about the link quality threshold. The 'SLA' strategy selects the best member based on SLA, but if port1 is alive, it will be preferred. The rule will only use port2 if port1 fails to meet SLA, but here port1 is alive, so port2 is not used. The administrator's expectation of immediate fallback is incorrect; fallback occurs only when no member meets SLA.
- ✓
The SD-WAN rule's 'SLA' strategy only uses members that meet the SLA; since port2 is 'dead', it is excluded, and port1 is used exclusively as long as it meets SLA.
Why this is correct
The 'SLA' strategy selects members that meet the configured SLA targets. If a member's SLA status is 'dead', it is not used unless all members are dead, in which case the rule may fall back to the best available member based on other criteria. In this scenario, port1 is alive, so it is used exclusively. Port2 is not used because it does not meet the SLA. This matches the observed behavior. The administrator's expectation of fallback to port2 while port1 is alive is incorrect; fallback occurs only when no member meets SLA.
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Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Fortinet exam blueprint
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.