This NSE7 practice question tests your understanding of enterprise firewall and vdoms. Examine the command output carefully: the correct answer depends on what the output actually shows, not on general recall alone. After answering, compare your reasoning against the explanation and wrong-answer breakdown below. Once you have made your selection, read the full explanation to reinforce the concept and understand why each distractor is designed to mislead on exam day.
An administrator runs 'diagnose sys session filter dport 443' and sees 'proto=6 proto_state=01 duration=3600 expire=3599'. What does this indicate?
The session is a UDP flow
Why wrong: proto=6 indicates TCP.
The session is in TCP SYN_SENT state
proto_state=01 is TCP SYN_SENT.
The session will expire in 3599 milliseconds
Why wrong: Expire is in seconds.
The session has been idle for 3600 seconds
Why wrong: duration is the total lifetime, not idle time.
Answer choices
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
The session is in TCP SYN_SENT state
The output shows 'proto=6', which is TCP (protocol 6), and 'proto_state=01', which in FortiGate's session table indicates the TCP SYN_SENT state (the first step of the three-way handshake). The 'duration=3600' means the session has been alive for 3600 seconds, and 'expire=3599' means it will expire in 3599 seconds if no further packets are seen. Therefore, the session is in the TCP SYN_SENT state, making option B correct.
Key principle: Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Answer analysis
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
The session is a UDP flow
Why it's wrong here
proto=6 indicates TCP.
The session is in TCP SYN_SENT state
Why this is correct
proto_state=01 is TCP SYN_SENT.
Related concept
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
The session will expire in 3599 milliseconds
Why it's wrong here
Expire is in seconds.
The session has been idle for 3600 seconds
Why it's wrong here
duration is the total lifetime, not idle time.
Common exam traps
The trap here is that candidates confuse 'duration' with idle time or misinterpret 'expire' as milliseconds, when in fact FortiGate uses seconds for both and 'proto_state=01' is a direct indicator of the TCP SYN_SENT state.
Detailed technical explanation
In FortiGate's session table, 'proto_state' uses a two-digit hexadecimal code: '01' corresponds to TCP state SYN_SENT (the client has sent a SYN, awaiting SYN-ACK). The 'expire' timer is a countdown from the session's time-to-live (TTL), which for TCP SYN_SENT is typically 60 seconds by default, but here the session has been extended due to retransmissions or configuration. Understanding these state codes is critical for troubleshooting incomplete TCP handshakes, such as when a firewall drops SYN-ACK packets due to policy misconfiguration.
Key takeaway
Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option.
Real-world example
A practitioner preparing for the NSE7 exam encounters this exact type of scenario on the job. The correct answer here is not the most general option — it is the best answer for the specific constraint described. Answer the scenario, not the keyword: identify the specific constraint before choosing the most familiar-sounding option. Real exam questions reward reading the full scenario before eliminating options, because the constraint defines which answer fits.
What to study next
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FAQ
Enterprise Firewall and VDOMs — This question tests Enterprise Firewall and VDOMs — Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer..
The correct answer is: The session is in TCP SYN_SENT state — The output shows 'proto=6', which is TCP (protocol 6), and 'proto_state=01', which in FortiGate's session table indicates the TCP SYN_SENT state (the first step of the three-way handshake). The 'duration=3600' means the session has been alive for 3600 seconds, and 'expire=3599' means it will expire in 3599 seconds if no further packets are seen. Therefore, the session is in the TCP SYN_SENT state, making option B correct.
Identify which exam domain this question belongs to, review the core concept, then practise similar questions from the same domain.
Read the scenario before looking for a memorised answer.
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Last reviewed: Jun 24, 2026
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