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NSE4 · Question #466

Which of the following statements is true regarding the differences between route-based and policy-based IPsec VPNs? (Choose two.)

The correct answer is A. The firewall policies for policy-based are bidirectional. The firewall policies for route- based are C. The action for firewall policies for route-based VPNs may be Accept or Deny, for policy- based. Policy-based IPsec VPNs use bidirectional firewall policies with an explicit 'IPsec' action, whereas route-based VPNs use separate unidirectional policies that simply 'Accept' traffic routed to a virtual IPsec interface.

Submitted by joshua94· Apr 18, 2026VPN and Routing

Question

Which of the following statements is true regarding the differences between route-based and policy-based IPsec VPNs? (Choose two.)

Options

  • AThe firewall policies for policy-based are bidirectional. The firewall policies for route- based are
  • BIn policy-based VPNs the traffic crossing the tunnel must be routed to the virtual IPsec
  • CThe action for firewall policies for route-based VPNs may be Accept or Deny, for policy- based
  • DPolicy-based VPN uses an IPsec interface, route-based does not.

How the community answered

(25 responses)
  • A
    96% (24)
  • D
    4% (1)

Why each option

Policy-based IPsec VPNs use bidirectional firewall policies with an explicit 'IPsec' action, whereas route-based VPNs use separate unidirectional policies that simply 'Accept' traffic routed to a virtual IPsec interface.

AThe firewall policies for policy-based are bidirectional. The firewall policies for route- based areCorrect

Firewall policies for policy-based VPNs are bidirectional, meaning a single policy defines traffic in both directions over the tunnel. In contrast, route-based VPNs typically require two separate, unidirectional firewall policies (one for each direction) to allow traffic in and out of the virtual IPsec interface.

BIn policy-based VPNs the traffic crossing the tunnel must be routed to the virtual IPsec

In policy-based VPNs, traffic is *not* routed to a virtual IPsec interface; instead, the policy itself specifies which traffic should be encrypted and sent over the tunnel. Routing to a virtual IPsec interface is characteristic of *route-based* VPNs.

CThe action for firewall policies for route-based VPNs may be Accept or Deny, for policy- basedCorrect

For route-based VPNs, the firewall policy action is typically 'Accept' (or 'Deny') as traffic is simply allowed or denied to the virtual IPsec interface, with the routing table determining the tunnel. For policy-based VPNs, the firewall policy explicitly has an 'IPsec' action that binds the traffic to a specific Phase 2 selector and initiates the tunnel.

DPolicy-based VPN uses an IPsec interface, route-based does not.

Route-based VPNs *do* use a virtual IPsec interface (e.g., a 'vpn-tunnel' interface) to which routes are added, whereas policy-based VPNs rely solely on the firewall policy to define the encrypted traffic without a dedicated virtual interface for routing.

Concept tested: Route-based vs. Policy-based IPsec VPN characteristics

Source: https://docs.fortinet.com/document/fortigate/7.4.0/administration-guide/99440/comparing-route-based-and-policy-based-ipsec-vpns

Topics

#IPsec VPN#Route-based VPN#Policy-based VPN#Firewall Policies

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