Fortinet NSE4 certification is also known as the Network Security Professional designation. It is designed to assess candidate’s skills to support specific corporate network security policies by setting up and managing daily configuration, monitoring & operation of a FortiGate device. This certification is intended for security professionals who deal with daily implementation, management, and administration of a security infrastructure with the help of FortiGate devices. You can obtain this accreditation only by passing the certification exam, and here you can choose between the exam versions available currently, either Fortinet NSE 4 - FortiOS 6.4 or Fortinet NSE 4 - FortiOS 7.0.
So, the new exam version you can take is known as the Fortinet NSE 4 - FortiOS 7.0 evaluation, coded as NSE4_FGT-7.0. It’s a 105-minute test that includes 60 questions. The exam checks how knowledgeable you are to work with FortiGate configuration, operation, and daily administration, along with configuration extracts, operational scenarios, and troubleshooting captures. The exam covers 5 topics as follows:
- FortiGate deployment: checks how well you are able to provide initial configuration, apply the Fortinet Security Fabric, configure log settings and diagnose problems with the help of logs. In addition, in this section, you should demonstrate your skills to configure VDOMs, diagnose connectivity and resource problems.
- Firewall and authentication topic is intended to assess your skills to configure different methods of firewall authentication, deal with firewall policy NAT & central NAT, and work with FSSO deployment.
- Content inspection is the third topic you need to be prepared for. In this part, you should be able to describe encrypted traffic with the help of certificates, control and monitor network apps by configuring app control, and implement web and DNS filtering. In addition, you should be skilled to secure network from DDoS attacks and hacking by using IPS, WAF, and DoS. It’s also important for you to be able to neutralize malware threats.
- Routing and Layer2 switching is the fourth topic you need to cover. It checks how proficient you are in configuring VDOMs or FortiGate interfaces in order to work as Layer 2 devices and in SD-WAN to load balance traffic between numerous WAN links effectively. Besides, your skills to configure route packets with the help of policy-based as well as static routes, will be checked.
- VPN is the fifth topic in the NSE4_FGT-7.0 exam. This part is dedicated to applying different SSL-VPN modes to provide safe access to the private network and use a partially redundant or meshed IPsec VPN.
As for the requirements, it’s advisable that exam-takers have at least 6 months of practical experience with FortiGate and be knowledgeable of the exam topics and objectives tested. In addition, they are strongly recommended to enroll in the FortiGate Infrastructure and FortiGate Security courses.
The exam is taken at the Pearson VUE test centers.
Speaking of the salary you can earn annually, according to the ZipRecruiter website, Fortinet NSE4 certified professionals can earn about $103,034 per annum. And getting more and more experience, these figures can be changed by $171,500 per year.