FCSS_NST_SE-7.6 Sample Questions Answers

The get router info bgp summary output lists BGP neighbor status:

Prefix Reception: The "State/PfxRcd" column shows the number of prefixes received from the neighbor—neighbor 100.64.1.254 has "1", confirming option A.

Received Message Count: Under "MsgRcvd", 18 packets have been received from neighbor 100.64.1.254. This matches option C.

The second neighbor 100.64.2.254 is in "Active" state and has received/sent 0 packets, indicating that its TCP connection is NOT established, disproving option B.

There is no indication anywhere that the router is "still calculating" prefixes; "Active" just means no session is established, so option D is incorrect.

According to RFC 7296 (IKEv2) and Fortinet's official documentation, the IKE_SA_INIT exchange is responsible for negotiating cryptographic parameters, performing the initial Diffie-Hellman exchange, and implementing the cookie challenge mechanism for DoS protection. When the responder suspects a DoS attack (such as mass requests by the same source), it includes a cookie in the IKE_SA_INIT response. The initiator must return the cookie in its next request to prove that it truly exists at the IP address it claims, thereby mitigating resource exhaustion attacks.

This two-step exchange ensures the responder only allocates resources after successful proof of address, aligning with best security practices. Fortinet documentation confirms that this process occurs strictly in the IKE_SA_INIT phase, not in subsequent IKE_Auth or CHILD_SA exchanges.

When FortiGate performs SSL certificate inspection with default settings, it checks if the Server Name Indication (SNI) matches either the Common Name (CN) or any Subject Alternative Name (SAN) in the server certificate. If there is no match, FortiGate does not block the connection; instead, it uses the CN value from the certificate's subject field to continue web filtering and categorization.

This behavior is described in the official Fortinet 7.6.4 Administration Guide:

“Check the SNI in the hello message with the CN or SAN field in the returned server certificate: Enable: If it is mismatched, use the CN in the server certificate.” This is the default (Enable) mode, which differs from the Strict mode that would block the mismatched connection.

By default, this policy ensures service continuity and prevents disruptions due to certificate mismatches, allowing FortiGate to log and inspect based on the CN even when the requested SNI does not match. It provides a balance between connection reliability and the accuracy of filtering by certificate identity, allowing security policies to remain functional without unnecessary blocks. This approach is recommended by Fortinet to maintain usability for end-users while still supporting granular inspection.

Parallel Path Processing (PPP) in FortiOS refers to the system’s ability to evaluate and select among multiple processing paths—often involving dedicated network processors, content processors, or CPU-based workflows—to optimally process packets. The official documentation highlights that the PPP engine dynamically selects which hardware or software path to use for each session based on session characteristics, policy configuration, and traffic type. This dynamic selection results in optimal throughput and resource utilization.

The document specifies that PPP assesses several processing paths in parallel, using decision logic to determine whether a session should be offloaded to specialist hardware (like NP6, CP9, etc.) or stay in the CPU path, ensuring that each packet is handled by the most efficient available method under current load and policy. Hardware and software configurations both influence this outcome, but it is the PPP engine's decision-making that defines the optimal path per session.

The command on this slide shows a summary of the statuses of all the OSPF neighbors. For each neighbor, it displays the adjacency state and if it is a DR, a BDR, or neither (DROther) Pagina 362 Enterprise_Firewall_7.2_Study. - Point-to-point networks contain only two peers, one at each end of a point-to-point link - Broadcast networks (multi-access) support more than two attached routers. They also support sending messages to multiple recipients (broadcasting). Pagina 365 Enterprise_Firewall_7.2_Study. In any multi-access network there is one DR and one BDR. Pagina 439 Network_Security_Support_Engineer_7.4_Study FULL/- This represents a point-to-point network

https://community.fortinet.com/t5/FortiGate/Troubleshooting-Tip-How-to-troubleshoot-FSSO-agentless-polling/ta-p/214349

From the snippet we can see that FortiGate (via the fssod daemon) is directly detecting the user logon rather than relying on a separate “collector” or “DC agent.” This indicates agentless polling—FortiGate polls the DC’s event logs over TCP 445 to discover logons. So: - FSSO is using agentless polling mode to detect logon events - In agentless mode, FortiGate will periodically poll the same IP (the DC) on port 445 to see if the user is still logged on

The exhibit displays the output from the diagnose debug rating command on a FortiGate device. This command is used to display information about FortiGuard Web Filtering or other security-related queries performed by FortiGate to FortiGuard servers. Official Fortinet documentation outlines the meaning of each field in the server list. The FortiGate maintains a list of available FortiGuard servers, selecting the optimal server based on factors such as weight, round-trip time (RTT), and regional settings.

The very first entry in the server list after "Server List" is the server FortiGate initially uses, prioritized by factors such as proximity and RTT. Here, 64.26.151.37 is listed first, and the FortiGuard-requests value confirms that this server handled the highest number of requests.

The IPs, weights, and lost/failed counters are monitored for server performance and selection over time. FortiGate's default operational logic is to try the first entry for contract validation and use the next in the list if the first is unavailable or has high latency or packet loss.

There is no direct correlation between the Weight and the number of FortiGuard-requests. The servers with higher or lower weights may still handle different request volumes based on availability and performance.

The TZ (time zone) value's sign (positive or negative) does not affect server preference; it is informational, showing the server's location relative to UTC, not a rating metric.

DNS query results for FortiGuard servers are not shown here, and the provided servers are not returned in DNS query order.

This command and interpretation are detailed in the FortiOS Administration Guide’s section describing FortiGuard server selection and contract validation processes.

According to the official Fortinet documentation (Technical Tip: Useful FSSO Commands), heartbeat messages play a crucial role in communication between the FSSO Collector Agent and FortiGate. These messages are regularly sent from the Collector Agent to verify its status, maintain session awareness, and confirm connectivity between the authentication infrastructure and FortiGate appliances.

Option B is confirmed by Fortinet, as the collector agent logs on Windows or its management console will specifically note heartbeat events, connection status, and any issues maintaining contact with FortiGate units.

Option C is validated by both official CLI documentation and the technical tip linked. On FortiGate, heartbeat messages from the collector agent are visible using real-time debug tools such as diagnose debug application authd or FSSO-specific commands. These enable administrators to monitor live logon states, session status, and connection health directly from the FortiGate CLI. The debug stream shows heartbeats received and their effect on active logons, associating health monitoring with active sessions.

Heartbeat operation is fully automated once FSSO is set up—there is no requirement for manual enablement or configuration, aligning with Fortinet’s philosophy of seamless integration and centralized management across the Security Fabric. This ensures that both FortiGate and the collector agent can quickly and reliably detect any miscommunication or outage, addressing authentication issues proactively.