NSE7 Advanced Networking and SD-WAN Practice Question
Which SD-WAN load balancing algorithm is best for ensuring that all traffic from a specific source-destination pair uses the same WAN link?
⚠ Common exam trap
Test-takers frequently confuse 'Spillover' with a load-balancing algorithm, but Spillover is actually a bandwidth-based failover or overflow mechanism, not a deterministic per-flow hashing method.
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
✓
Source-dest IP
Source-dest IP (B) is the correct algorithm because it uses a hash of both the source and destination IP addresses to deterministically select a WAN link. This ensures that all packets belonging to the same flow (same source-destination pair) are consistently forwarded over the same link, preserving packet order and avoiding reordering issues.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Spillover
Why it's wrong here
Spillover does not guarantee same link for same pair.
- ✓
Source-dest IP
Why this is correct
Source-dest IP hashes both IPs, ensuring same pair goes to same link.
- ✗
Volume
Why it's wrong here
Volume balances by traffic volume.
- ✗
Lowest-cost
Why it's wrong here
Lowest-cost selects based on SLA metrics.
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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.