You can see it againUnder pressure people bring back shapes and positions long after the wording has gone.
Picture superiority · Shepard 1967, Standing 1973
FORTINETFortinet NSE 5 - FortiSwitch Administrator
The Fortinet NSE 5 - FortiSwitch Administrator certification validates your ability to deploy, configure, and manage FortiSwitch devices in a network security infrastructure. It covers FortiLink provisioning, standalone mode, VLANs, STP, port security, and troubleshooting. This certification is for network and security professionals who want to prove their hands-on expertise with FortiSwitch in real-world environments.
Exam formatMultiple choice and performance-based
DeliveryPearson VUE
Free questions246
Content last reviewed 30 July 2026 · Up to date
The certification
What NSE5-FORTISWITCH-ADMINISTRATOR proves, and what it asks of you
What this certification covers, who it is written for, and what the exam itself looks like on the day.
4domains
15objectives
78concepts
What it is
What this certification is
What it validates, who it is written for, and the experience it assumes.
About this certification
The Fortinet NSE 5 - FortiSwitch Administrator certification validates the applied knowledge and skills required to deploy, configure, and manage FortiSwitch devices as part of a secure network infrastructure. The exam covers FortiSwitch management modes, provisioning over FortiLink, configuration, operation, and day-to-day administration, including supported deployment topologies, operational scenarios, configuration extracts, and troubleshooting captures. It also tests knowledge of FortiSwitch deployed in standalone mode.
Earning this certification demonstrates that you can effectively integrate FortiSwitch into a Fortinet security fabric, manage switching and routing, implement layer 2 security controls, and troubleshoot network issues. The certification is designed for network and security professionals responsible for the deployment and management of FortiSwitch devices, and it is a key step in the Fortinet NSE 5 Professional-level certification track.
Who it’s for
This certification is intended for network and security professionals responsible for the deployment, configuration, and management of FortiSwitch devices in a network security infrastructure. Typical roles include network administrators, security engineers, and IT professionals who work with Fortinet solutions. Candidates should have hands-on experience with FortiSwitch devices and a solid understanding of networking concepts such as VLANs, STP, and switching. The exam is designed for those who are ready to validate their practical skills in real-world FortiSwitch deployment and management scenarios.
Recommended experience
Fortinet recommends a minimum of six months of hands-on experience with FortiSwitch devices deployed in a network. Hands-on experience with FortiSwitch devices in a production network; Understanding of FortiLink provisioning and standalone mode; Familiarity with VLANs, STP, and switching concepts; Experience with FortiOS and FortiSwitchOS
The syllabus
What you’ll learn
Every domain and objective Fortinet measures, with the weight they carry on the exam.
The official Fortinet exam outline · checked 30 July 2026 · See the source
FortiSwitch Concepts
- Configure VLANs using FortiSwitch
- Use QoS and LLDP-MED on FortiSwitch
- Configure ports required for stack deployment
- Configure switching and routing on FortiSwitch
- Configure STP to prevent network loops
- Configure switch ports, split port, and available transceivers
Deployment and Management
- Configure and provision FortiSwitch
- Deploy FortiSwitch supported deployment topologies
- Deploy and configure FortiSwitch in multi-tenancy environment
Layer 2 Control and Security
- Use port security options on FortiSwitch
- Use filtering and antispoofing techniques on FortiSwitch
- Use ACLs, security profiles, and VLAN security mechanisms
Monitoring and Troubleshooting
- Use packet capturing methods to monitor and troubleshoot traffic issues
- Troubleshoot FortiLink issues
- Use tools to view and extract network information from FortiSwitch
On the day
The exam itself
Everything Fortinet publishes about sitting it, and nothing we inferred.
Prerequisites
No mandatory prerequisites — this certification has no required predecessor exam or credential.
Exam codeNSE5-FORTISWITCH-ADMINISTRATOR
CertificationFortinet NSE 5 - FortiSwitch Administrator
Exam formatMultiple choice and performance-based
Questions35–40 questions
DeliveryPearson VUE
LanguagesEnglish, Japanese
After you pass
Where this credential goes next
The path Fortinet lays out, how the credential is kept, and where to book.
Step-by-step path to Fortinet NSE 5 - FortiSwitch Administrator
Credential earnedFortinet NSE 5 - FortiSwitch Administrator Certification Lifecycle status
This certification is currently active and available. Fortinet maintains this certification to validate current skills and industry relevance.
Exam status: ActiveMaintained by Fortinet
Exam registration
Register for the exam through Pearson VUE, Fortinet’s authorized testing partner.
Schedule your examVisit the official Fortinet certification page for exam policies and requirements.
View the official pageYour coach
And when you are serious, your coach Pip takes over
Your coach in the app reads what you have answered with the book closed and tells you one thing to do tonight. It will not count an answer you gave with the page open, and it will tell you when you are not ready.
See how the coach worksBefore you book
Questions people ask
How does the FortiSwitch 7.6 Administrator exam relate to the previous 7.2 version?
The 7.6 exam updates the product version to FortiSwitchOS 7.6 and FortiOS 7.6, and the exam topics have been reorganized. The 7.2 exam remains available until November 30, 2025.
Do I need to pass a lower-level NSE certification before taking this exam?
No, Fortinet does not require a lower-level NSE certification as a prerequisite for this exam. However, it is part of the NSE 5 Professional level track.
How do I schedule the exam?
You can book the exam through Pearson VUE either at a test center or online via OnVUE. You need a Pearson VUE account and can pay by credit card or exam voucher.
What is the retake policy if I fail the exam?
If you fail your first attempt, you must wait a specified period before retaking. Fortinet's retake policy is detailed on the Pearson VUE website.
Are there any hands-on labs in the exam?
The exam includes performance-based questions that may involve configuration extracts and troubleshooting captures, but there is no separate hands-on lab component.
What job roles does this certification map to?
This certification is for network and security professionals responsible for deploying, configuring, and managing FortiSwitch devices in a network security infrastructure.
Can I recertify by passing a different Fortinet exam?
Fortinet certifications must be renewed periodically. Passing a higher-level NSE exam may renew lower-level certifications, but specific details are not published on this page.
Information freshness · Content last reviewed on 2026-07-30 Up to date
Practice free questions 246 questions, free, no account needed.
The curriculum
The whole exam, mapped and written
Every domain, every objective, and every concept Fortinet measures — each one written out.
4domains
15objectives
78concepts
55free pages
The domains, and what sits inside them
Every objective below is a page you can open and practise now, without an account.
The official Fortinet exam outline · checked 30 July 2026 · See the source
1FortiSwitch Concepts111 questions
Configure VLANs using FortiSwitch4 concepts · 2 pagesOpen →Use QoS and LLDP-MED on FortiSwitch5 concepts · 4 pagesOpen →Configure ports required for stack deployment2 concepts · 3 pagesOpen →Configure switching and routing on FortiSwitch8 concepts · 6 pagesOpen →Configure STP to prevent network loops7 concepts · 5 pagesOpen →Configure switch ports, split port, and available transceivers9 concepts · 5 pagesOpen →
2Deployment and Management55 questions
3Layer 2 Control and Security44 questions
Not a table of contents
Every line on this map already opens
In front of every objective the practice pages are already there, free and without an account. This is one objective, opened.
Configure VLANs using FortiSwitch2 pagesOpen →
Free in front of it
8 questions on this objective, five to a page. Every range above is a real page, open now, with no account.
Reading the map is not the same as knowing the ground
The curriculum tells you what is on the exam. Proving you know it is a different job — and it is the one the closed-book run does.
Free questions
246 questions. No account, no card.
The whole bank is open. 5 questions to a page, every answer explained, and a discussion thread on each one.
246questions
55pages
15objectives
Freealways
Browse by domain
Every objective, and every page range, is a link — so you can pick up exactly where you left off.
1FortiSwitch Concepts111 questions
2Deployment and Management55 questions
3Layer 2 Control and Security44 questions
4Monitoring and Troubleshooting36 questions
What a practice page gives you
1Five to a page
Short enough to finish, long enough to matter.
2Every answer explained
Not only which one is right — why the others are wrong.
3A discussion on each
Ask, answer, and vote. Every question has its own thread.
A question, and the idea behind it
Every question comes from a concept
These are not trivia. Each one is written against a concept in the book, so when you get one wrong there is somewhere to go and find out why.
The visual book
See it once. Carry it into the exam.
The pages shown here come from our AI-900 book — an example of how each concept is written in plain language and, where the idea needs one, drawn as a full page you can take in at a glance.
78concepts
246free questions
Why a picture, and not another paragraph
Three reasons, and each one is a real finding rather than a slogan.
You can see it againThe whole idea at onceWhere it starts, what happens in the middle, what comes out, and the mistake to avoid.
Multimedia principle · MayerThe look-alikes sit togetherThe pairs the exam tests are drawn side by side, so the difference is seen, not told.
Dual coding · PaivioWhat one page is made of
You are never asked to read a poster here — only to see how one is built. After that, every other page is legible at a glance.
1A numbered strip on top
The idea as a sequence, followed with a finger before a word is read.
2Panels for the parts
What it is, how the machine learns it, when it is the right tool.
3The trap, framed
The distinction the exam tests, given its own box instead of buried in prose.
4One line at the bottom
The sentence to carry into the exam room.
Open book, on purpose
Answer it with the picture beside you
This is the part that teaches. The illustration and the written explanation stay where they are while you work, so a scenario stops being a memory test and becomes something you can simply look at.
It teaches · it does not count
A smartphone uses AI to unlock when the owner looks at the camera. Which AI capability is being used?
AImage classification
BFacial recognition
COptical character recognition
DObject detection
Look at the five steps. Detect finds a face, align straightens it, encode turns it into numbers, search compares it with a stored face, and decide answers one question: is this the same person? Classification would only say “a face”. Detection would only draw a box. Neither decides whose.
Then the page shuts, and it starts counting
The same questions come back with the book closed — that run is the one that counts. After it, your coach picks one thing for tonight, sized to the time you have, and brings pages back before you lose them.
Testing effect · Roediger & Karpicke 2006 · spacing effect · Cepeda et al. 2006
Official resources
Straight from Fortinet
Where the exam is defined, scheduled and scored.
3official links
78concepts mapped
The source
Fortinet’s own pages
We link to them rather than repeat them, so nothing here goes stale behind them.
Checked against the source
Every objective on the official Fortinet outline already has questions here
We build from the official skills outline, not from a summary of it — 15 objectives, 78 concepts written under them, and free questions against every one. When Fortinet changes the outline, this page changes with it.
15objectives on the outline→78concepts written→246free questions
An official page tells you what will be asked. It cannot tell you what you will get right.
That is the only question worth answering the night before, and no link answers it. You answer it by taking the questions with the book closed, and seeing what comes back.