Fortinet NSE 4-FortiOS 7.6 Administrator Training Part 1/2

Install the latest eve ng community edition on VMware Workstation Pro by downloading the ISO and configuring a Linux VM with 16 GB RAM and 4 CPUs.

Upload FortiGate lab images to EVE-NG and configure supporting OS images via FTP. Build the lab with a clear IP schema and proper directory structure.

Learn to add a FortiAnalyzer image to EVE-NG from scratch, including downloading the 40 analyzer KVM image (version 7.63 build), preparing two virtual drives, and configuring permissions for lab use.

Learn how to add Kali Linux 2025 to eve-ng by downloading qcow2 image, extracting with seven zip, renaming, uploading, creating a directory, and booting as Kali.

Configure lab PCs with IPv4 addresses, DNS and gateway 10.0.1.254, and subnet 255.255.255.0 across PC1–PC4, remote PCs, and external PC; verify connectivity with ping and adjust firewall and time zone.

Configure server one and server two in the lab by assigning static IP addresses, gateways, and hostnames. Update the web configuration by editing var/www/html/index.html to reflect the new settings.

Configure the initial active directory on Windows Server 2019 by setting a static IP, DNS, and remote desktop, disabling firewall and real-time protection, and renaming the server.

Create user and group accounts in Active Directory using the Active Directory Users tool, forming HR, IT support, sales, and admin groups, and add test users with a common password.

Configure Windows Server 2019 as ntp server by enabling global config, setting announce flag to 5, enabling windows time and ntp, then verify stratum 1 with an ntp tool.

Discover FortiGate factory default settings for FortiOS 7.6, including management port access, variant IP ranges and admin with no password, webgui/cli access, and factory reset via CLI or GUI.

Learn four access methods for FortiGate firewall: gui, cli, api, and FortiManager, enabling easy configuration, scripting, automation, and centralized multi-device management.

Reset and switch Fortigate dashboard templates, selecting optimal for quick health checks or comprehensive for deep monitoring. Use the monitor menu and three-dot options to apply the template.

Metric selects the best path in routing protocols, with Fortigate preferring lower values; administrative distance compares protocols, while ospf uses cost, rip uses hop count, and bgp uses path count.

Configure a primary and backup path for internet redundancy using static routes, administrative distance, and priority; monitor link health to fail over seamlessly in routing table, enabling ECMP and SD-WAN.

Configure primary and backup routes on a Fortigate firewall with different administrative distances or priorities. Verify that the lower distance or priority route is active and test failover.

Explain equal cost multi-path in FortiGate, where traffic uses multiple next-hops with destination and distance, and explore source ip base, weight base, usage base, and source-destination ip base methods.

Configure equal-cost multipath on FortiOS Fortigate by aligning administrative distance and priority, test with traceroute, adjust ECMP mode from source IP to source and destination, and verify automatic switching.

Explore ecmp load balancing methods in Fortinet FortiOS 7.6, including source IP base, weight base, usage base, and source-destination IP base, in a two-WAN lab.

Explore NAT types in Fortigate firewall, including source net and destination net, with static/dynamic NAT, central source net, and virtual IP with port forwarding for inbound and outbound traffic.

Configure a source fixed port range net by creating an IP pool with an internal IP range and start/end ports, then apply it to a firewall policy with log verification.

Configure destination net on a Fortigate firewall using virtual IP or static net to expose internal server 10.0.2.1 in the dmz to external http and https traffic.

Configure destination net with port forwarding, mapping external port 8080 to internal port 80 for server two, using a DMZ virtual IP and firewall policy, then verify.

Explore per-policy inspection modes in Fortigate firewall: flow-based delivers real-time, high-throughput inspection with no buffering, while proxy-based offers deeper content scanning at the cost of resources and latency.

Enable the multiple interface policy and any policy in system feature visibility, apply changes, then configure firewall policies for multiple interfaces and any in the policy editor.

Explore the Fortigate policy table to view and configure firewall rules, including IDs, policy names, sources, destinations, services, actions, NAT, and security profiles with logging.

Enable firewall policy logging to record security events or all sessions; security events save storage and CPU, while all sessions provide full traffic visibility, with optional session start logs.

Create a local user and group, apply a user-based firewall policy on FortiGate to require authentication for internet access, and verify access via logs and dashboards.

Create a custom full ssl inspection profile, attach it to the firewall policy, and test browser warnings until the root CA is installed, with PayPal and finance sites exempt.