NSE7 Advanced Networking and SD-WAN Practice Question
An administrator is configuring an SD-WAN rule to route VoIP traffic (identified by application 'VoIP') over the best available link. The SD-WAN zone 'virtual-wan-link' contains three members: port1 (cost 10), port2 (cost 20), and port3 (cost 30). A performance SLA named 'VoIP-SLA' is applied to the rule, monitoring latency, jitter, and packet loss. The administrator wants the rule to select the member with the lowest latency that meets the SLA. Which SD-WAN algorithm should be used?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers confuse lowest cost with lowest latency; cost is a static value, while latency is dynamically measured by the SLA.
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
✓
Lowest Latency (SLA)
The Lowest Latency (SLA) algorithm is designed to select the member with the lowest measured latency among those that meet the SLA. This is ideal for latency-sensitive applications like VoIP. Other algorithms focus on cost, bandwidth, or static assignment, none of which prioritize latency as the selection metric.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Maximize Bandwidth (SLA)
Why it's wrong here
Maximize Bandwidth (SLA) selects the member with the highest available bandwidth among those that meet the SLA. It does not consider latency. This algorithm is suitable for bandwidth-intensive applications like file transfers, not for latency-sensitive VoIP traffic. The administrator specifically wants to select the link with the lowest latency, so this algorithm is inappropriate.
- ✗
Source IP
Why it's wrong here
Source IP selects a member based on the source IP address of the traffic. It does not consider latency or SLA status. This algorithm is used for policy-based routing where specific sources should always use specific links. It does not dynamically adapt to network performance, so it cannot ensure that VoIP traffic uses the lowest-latency link.
- ✓
Lowest Latency (SLA)
Why this is correct
Lowest Latency (SLA) selects the member with the lowest measured latency among those that meet the SLA. This directly matches the administrator's requirement to route VoIP traffic over the link with the lowest latency. The SLA ensures that only links meeting the latency, jitter, and packet loss thresholds are considered, and then the one with the lowest latency is chosen.
- ✗
Lowest Cost (SLA)
Why it's wrong here
Lowest Cost (SLA) selects the member with the lowest configured cost among those that meet the SLA. It does not consider latency as the primary metric; it uses the cost value. In this scenario, the administrator wants to select based on lowest latency, not cost. While cost could be manually set to reflect latency, that is not dynamic and would not adapt to changing network conditions.
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JA
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.