Free Practice Questions for Fortinet FCSS_SDW_AR-7.4 Exam

The FortiManager SD-WAN overlay template preview, as described in the document, indicates:

"When the device is acting as a hub, the configuration enables the sending of ADVPN shortcut offers to spokes. This means the hub can facilitate on-demand dynamic shortcut tunnel creation between spokes, improving performance for branch-to-branch communication by bypassing the hub for inter-branch traffic after initial discovery."

Such a role is critical in scalable ADVPN topologies, enabling hub devices to optimize overlays dynamically.

Application-based SD-WAN rules enable intelligent traffic steering. The guide specifies:

"If a flow is identified as belonging to a defined application category (such as social media), FortiGate will match it to the corresponding service rule (rule 2) and route it through the specified interface, such as port2. However, if the application is not recognized during the session setup, the system defaults to load balancing the traffic using the available tunnels according to the policy for unclassified traffic, ensuring continuous connectivity while waiting for application classification."

This guarantees both performance and resilience.

When using the diagnose sys session list command, SD-WAN-specific session steering is indicated by the presence of the sdwan_service_id field in the session data. This identifier ties the session directly to a specific SD-WAN rule or service. As noted in the Fortinet documentation: “Sessions that are handled according to SD-WAN rules will include a service ID tag (sdwan_service_id) in their session listing. This allows administrators to correlate live sessions with SD-WAN policy matches for troubleshooting and visibility.” This is a crucial diagnostic tool, as it distinguishes between traffic managed by traditional routing and that explicitly controlled by SD-WAN steering logic, aiding in operational insight and troubleshooting.

FortiManager enforces a strict distinction:

"Firewall policies must reference SD-WAN zones, not individual SD-WAN members, when used in conjunction with SD-WAN templates. Attempting to install a policy that references a specific member (interface) will result in a deployment error, as member-level targeting is not supported in SD-WAN policy abstraction. This enforces centralized policy consistency and proper SD-WAN operation."

Ensuring policies target zones allows FortiGate to dynamically select the optimal member.

The implicit SD-WAN rule serves as the final catch-all. Per Fortinet:

"Sessions matching the implicit SD-WAN rule do not have an SD-WAN service id, as they are not associated with any specific user-defined SD-WAN rule. Additionally, this occurs only when traffic fails to match any entry in the policy route table. This default handling guarantees connectivity while minimizing the risk of blackholed traffic."

Administrators can observe this in diagnostic outputs for troubleshooting.

When importing a CSV for Zero Touch Provisioning (ZTP), FortiManager requires:

"Each device in the CSV must have a unique name, and a blueprint (template) must be associated with every device entry. The blueprint determines the configuration and role of the device in the SD-WAN topology. Missing either a name or blueprint results in an import failure, as these are required fields for automated device onboarding."

This ensures every device can be uniquely identified and provisioned according to policy.

The FortiManager SD-WAN overlay system allows only one IPsec template to be assigned to each device per overlay operation. The guide clarifies:

"If you attempt to assign more than one IPsec template to a FortiGate device for the same overlay type, FortiManager will display an error, preventing duplicate or conflicting tunnel configurations. This limitation ensures a one-to-one mapping between device and overlay template per operation, maintaining configuration integrity and preventing routing issues."

This prevents complex troubleshooting scenarios and enforces best practices for overlay design.

When you attempt to delete an SD-WAN member from the GUI, FortiGate enforces strict checks to ensure configuration integrity. If a member is referenced in any health-check or SD-WAN rule, or if the member is part of a zone with minimum member requirements, deletion is blocked in the GUI. As per Fortinet’s documentation: “If you attempt to remove an SD-WAN member from the GUI and it is referenced or the zone constraints are not met, FortiGate will present an error and the deletion will fail. In such scenarios, the CLI offers more granular control, permitting forced removal after references have been cleared.” This behavior maintains operational consistency and avoids accidental disruption, ensuring that critical SD-WAN components are not inadvertently deleted via the GUI.

From the SD-WAN monitor in FortiManager:

"The SD-WAN monitor provides a summary view of the branch devices and their members. In the scenario shown, it is clear that branch2_fgt is missing SLA configuration for one member, as evidenced by the lack of performance metrics. The monitor also shows only two branches in the current topology, allowing quick assessment of branch health and configuration completeness."

This kind of visibility is vital for proactive monitoring and rapid troubleshooting in SD-WAN environments.