NSE7 Advanced Networking and SD-WAN Practice Question
Which routing technique allows a FortiGate to forward packets based on source IP address, destination IP address, or other criteria, in addition to the destination IP alone?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to confuse Policy-Based Routing with ECMP, assuming ECMP can also use source IP for path selection, but ECMP only balances traffic based on destination IP and does not support criteria like source IP or application without additional configuration like PBR or SD-WAN rules.
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
✓
Policy-Based Routing (PBR)
Policy-Based Routing (PBR) allows a FortiGate to forward packets based on criteria beyond the destination IP address, such as source IP, destination port, protocol, or application. This is achieved by configuring policy routes that override the default routing table lookup, enabling granular traffic steering for advanced networking scenarios like SD-WAN.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Policy-Based Routing (PBR)
Why this is correct
Policy-Based Routing evaluates configured criteria such as source address, destination address, protocol, or port before consulting the routing table, letting the FortiGate forward on more than destination IP alone. Standard destination-based routing cannot match source or service attributes.
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RIP
Why it's wrong here
RIP selects paths by hop count to a destination network; it cannot match source addresses or other attributes. It tempts as a simple distance-vector routing protocol, but policy routes provide the criteria-based forwarding beyond destination IP that the scenario requires.
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OSPF route redistribution
Why it's wrong here
OSPF redistribution imports routes from other protocols into OSPF, altering route availability rather than the forwarding decision criteria. It tempts in multi-protocol environments, but policy routes are what let a FortiGate forward based on source IP or other attributes.
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ECMP
Why it's wrong here
ECMP load-balances traffic across multiple equal-cost next hops using hashing, but all paths still share the same destination-based lookup. It tempts for path diversity, yet policy routes are the technique that forwards on source address or other criteria beyond destination IP.
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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.