NSE7 Advanced VPN and Zero Trust Practice Question
An administrator is configuring a new branch office VPN using IKEv2 with PKI certificates. Which TWO steps are essential to ensure the VPN tunnel establishes successfully?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently confuse 'essential for establishment' with 'recommended for security or reliability,' leading them to select DPD or a specific encryption algorithm as required steps, when in fact only certificate trust and local certificate assignment are mandatory for PKI-based IKEv2 authentication.
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
✓
Import the remote peer's certificate into the FortiGate's trusted CA list
For IKEv2 with PKI certificates, the remote peer's certificate must be validated against a trusted CA. Importing the CA certificate that signed the remote peer's certificate into the FortiGate's trusted CA list allows the FortiGate to build a valid certificate chain and authenticate the remote peer during IKEv2 phase 1. Without this, the certificate validation fails and the tunnel cannot establish.
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 phase 1 proposal to use AES-256-GCM only
Why it's wrong here
Any valid proposal works; specific encryption is not mandatory.
- ✓
Import the remote peer's certificate into the FortiGate's trusted CA list
Why this is correct
The FortiGate must trust the CA that signed the remote peer's certificate for validation.
- ✓
Assign the local certificate to the phase 1 interface
Why this is correct
The local certificate is used to prove the FortiGate's identity to the remote peer.
- ✗
Enable DPD on the phase 1 interface
Why it's wrong here
DPD is optional for tunnel maintenance, not required for establishment.
- ✗
Configure the phase 2 selector to include all traffic (0.0.0.0/0)
Why it's wrong here
Phase 2 selectors define interesting traffic, not required for phase 1 establishment.
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.
Go deeper
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JA
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.