Supporting leading enterprises, service providers, small mid-sized businesses, and government organizations internationally, Fortinet continues to develop and deliver solutions for the cybersecurity domain. This multinational company touches a diverse range of areas, including networking, cloud, Zero Trust, and Threat Intelligence.

Fortinet Certification Program

Fortinet is more than just developing cybersecurity solutions for businesses, organizations, and government bodies. They also cater to a wide array of specialists who want to improve their cybersecurity knowledge to provide a credible impact to today’s network and into the future. Through the Fortinet NSE Certification Program, you can highlight your skills in network security and demonstrate your expertise in more complex security functions. This 8-level designation track provides you with a solid understanding of the Fortinet features. However, do take note that some of their certifications come with different exam requirements, so be sure to evaluate the options properly. In a nutshell, the vendor offers varied certificates belonging to the following levels:

• Associate (1-3);
• Professional (4);
• Analyst (5);
• Specialist (6);
• Architect (7);
• Expert (8).

Outline of Designations on Offer

If you want to further comprehend the certification track, don’t worry because we will be underlining some prominent Fortinet validations. This way, you’ll get a thorough grasp of the specific certifications and assess if there’s something that fits your needs. First on our list is the Network Security Professional or NSE 4, which is a designation provided to specialists who have the talent in configuring, installing, and managing FortiGate devices. Moving forward, the Network Security Analyst or NSE 5 is created to determine your ability in handling and implementing network security analytics and management via Fortinet security devices. And lastly, we have the Network Security Expert or NSE 8, the final stage of the Fortinet NSE Certification Program. This one gauges your expertise in network security design, configuration, and troubleshooting ― but for more complex networks.

Target Candidates for These Certifications

Generally, Fortinet qualifications are designed for network and security professionals with a background in FortiGate devices. But to fully comprehend the certifications, let’s expound on the suitable audience for each endorsement. Starting with the NSE 4, this caters to those who work on the administration and implementation of security infrastructures via FortiGate solutions. The NSE 5, on the other hand, concentrates on individuals who want to become experts in managing, analyzing, and reporting Fortinet security technologies. And if you plan for the NSE 8, it’s a must that you already have in-depth industry experience as well as the completion of lower-level Fortinet training courses, particularly Professional, Analyst, Specialist, and Architect.

Overview of Related Certification Exams

As mentioned earlier, some of their certifications come with various exam options. Each of these is tailored to a particular product version. To give you a glimpse of the tests offered, here’s a list of the current Fortinet exams that you may want to pursue later on.

• NSE 4 Evaluation

  The Fortinet NSE 4 - FortiOS 6.4 exam, which is NSE4_FGT-6.4 by code, establishes your expertise in the configuration, operation, and administration functions of FortiGate devices, as well as the operational scenarios, troubleshooting captures, and configuration issues that may arise on a daily basis. More so, it gives emphasis on FortiGate deployment, particularly on the process of performing initial configuration, operating log settings, diagnosing problems, organization VDOMs, identifying different FGCP HA cluster operation modes, and detecting connectivity problems. In addition, it covers the core networking areas such as firewall, authentication, content inspection, routing, Layer 2 switching, and VPN. When taking the NSE4_FGT-6.4 exam, you need to answer all 60 multiple-choice and multiple-select questions within 105 minutes. It also follows the “pass or fail” format, wherein your score report is provided through your Pearson VUE account. Currently, this is the only exam offered for the NSE 4 endorsement.

• NSE 5 Tests

  Overall, there are a lot of exam options for the NSE 5 validation. Thus, these are NSE5_FAZ-6.4, NSE5_FCT-6.2, NSE5_EDR-4.2, NSE5_FSM-5.2, and NSE5_FMG-6.4. To secure the certification, you must pass any two of the listed exams. To help you out, we will focus on the FortiAnalyzer 6.4 or NSE5_FAZ-6.4 test and the FortiManager 6.4 or NSE5_FMG-6.4 evaluation. The first one takes on how well you understand the features surrounding FortiAnalyzer such as HA, ADOMs, RAID, logs, and reports. Here, you will also demonstrate your capabilities in dealing with day-to-day aspects of FortiAnalyzer, from system configuration to device registration to basic administration. To add more, the actual exam consists of 30 questions to be completed within 60 minutes. On the other hand, the NSE5_FMG-6.4 test runs for 70 minutes with a total number of 35 items, and its main coverage underlines the relevant areas of FortiManager, including its administration, configuration, and troubleshooting. It also expounds on topics like device manager, policy packages, workspace mode, administrative access, and central management.

• NSE 8 Exams

  Now, we’re down to our last recommendation, which is the NSE 8. Surprisingly, even if this is the final phase of the Fortinet certification track, this one does not have prerequisites, though the completion of the designated courses from the NSE 4 to the NSE 7 is highly recommended. To earn the NSE 8 certification, you are required to pass both the written and practical exams. The NSE 8 - Network Security Expert 8 written exam by code NSE8_811 consists of 60 items to be accomplished within 120 minutes. The topics associated with such an exam include the key design scenarios, along with the configuration and troubleshooting aspects of Fortinet solutions and security networking. On the contrary, the NSE 8 practical test requires you to complete 38 tasks in a span of 2 days under the proctored conditions.

Career Opportunities Offered

As a rule, Fortinet supports a lot of job roles. These can be of great help to network engineers, network security specialists, technical project managers, IT compliance managers, and more. Most of these positions get better wages compared to typical employees. For example, network security specialists have an average salary of $72,156, according to PayScale. But if you have your own Fortinet certification, then your rate may drastically increase. And along with the extensive career prospects and salary improvement, having a Fortinet designation on your profile is already a testament to your character.

Career Path to Follow

If you want a more practical certification path, it’s best that you track the Fortinet Certification Program one by one. In particular, you may commence with the NSE 1, 2, and 3 Associate, and then continue with the NSE 4 Professional, NSE 5 Analyst, NSE 6 Specialist, and NSE 7 Architect. And for the last stage of your Fortinet certification journey, cap it off with the NSE 8 Expert. Following the comprehensive outline makes it easier for you to prepare for each exam and also increases your chances of securing the endorsement on your first attempt.