NSE7 Advanced VPN and Zero Trust Practice Question
You run 'diagnose vpn ike gateway list' and see the following: gateway name: HUB_GW version: IKEv2 state: UP mode: main local: 10.0.0.1:500 remote: 203.0.113.5:500 auth: psk dpd: on rekey: 86400 num_peers: 2 total_tunnels: 2 auto-discovery: enabled What does the 'auto-discovery: enabled' indicate about this VPN gateway?
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
✓
The gateway is acting as an ADVPN hub and will advertise routes to spokes for shortcut tunnel creation
In an ADVPN setup, enabling auto-discovery on the hub allows it to send shortcut route advertisements to spokes, which then can establish direct tunnels. The output confirms the gateway is configured to participate in ADVPN as a hub or as a spoke that can initiate shortcuts.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The gateway will automatically create new phase2 selectors for any remote subnet
Why it's wrong here
Auto-discovery is not about automatic phase2 selectors; it is a feature of ADVPN to enable dynamic shortcut tunnels.
- ✓
The gateway is acting as an ADVPN hub and will advertise routes to spokes for shortcut tunnel creation
Why this is correct
When auto-discovery is enabled on a gateway, it can act as an ADVPN hub, sending route information to spokes to allow direct spoke-to-spoke tunnels.
- ✗
The gateway will automatically renegotiate IKEv2 keys before expiration
Why it's wrong here
Key renegotiation is controlled by the 'rekey' timer, not the auto-discovery setting.
- ✗
The gateway will discover other VPN gateways on the same network and form peer relationships
Why it's wrong here
Auto-discovery in FortiGate VPN is specifically for ADVPN shortcut tunnels, not for discovering new peers automatically.
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.
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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.