NSE7 Advanced VPN and Zero Trust Practice Question
You run the following command on a FortiGate: 'diagnose vpn ike gateway list' and see that the DPD status for a VPN peer is 'dead'. What does this indicate?
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 VPN peer has been detected as unreachable and the tunnel is considered down
DPD (Dead Peer Detection) is used to check the liveness of a VPN peer. 'Dead' means the peer is not responding to DPD messages, indicating the tunnel is down.
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 remote peer has been manually disconnected from the network
Why it's wrong here
While possible, DPD status does not indicate the reason; it only indicates unreachability.
- ✗
The VPN tunnel is still up but the peer is not responding to DPD messages
Why it's wrong here
If the peer is not responding, the tunnel is considered down.
- ✗
The IKE SA is still active but the IPsec SA has expired
Why it's wrong here
DPD operates at the IKE SA level; 'dead' refers to the peer, not just the IPsec SA.
- ✓
The VPN peer has been detected as unreachable and the tunnel is considered down
Why this is correct
DPD status 'dead' means the peer is not responding, so FortiGate marks the tunnel as down.
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Same concept, more angles
1 more way this is tested on NSE7
These questions test the same concept from different angles. Work through them to make sure you can recognise it however the exam phrases it.
Variation 1. What is the primary purpose of Dead Peer Detection (DPD) in an IPsec VPN configuration?
easy- A.To establish a backup tunnel in case the primary tunnel fails.
- ✓ B.To detect if a VPN peer is alive by sending periodic probes and bringing down the tunnel if no response is received.
- C.To automatically renegotiate IKE phase1 keys before they expire.
- D.To verify the integrity of encrypted packets using HMAC authentication.
Why B: DPD sends keepalive messages to detect peer reachability. If the peer does not respond, the tunnel is marked down, allowing failover. Key renegotiation is handled by IKE lifetime settings, not DPD.
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.