In a multi-tenancy setup on FortiGate, you can assign a FortiSwitch port to a VDOM in two primary ways:

Switch the FortiLink Interface to the Target VDOM (A): This method involves configuring the FortiLink interface, which is the dedicated interface used to manage FortiSwitch units from FortiGate, to operate within a specific VDOM. This effectively assigns all ports on the FortiSwitch, managed through that FortiLink interface, to the designated VDOM.

Create a Virtual Port Pool on the FortiGate CLI (C): Virtual port pools are created on FortiGate and allow ports from FortiSwitch to be grouped and assigned to a VDOM. This method is more granular and flexible, as it allows specific ports on the FortiSwitch to be dedicated to different VDOMs without requiring the entire switch or FortiLink interface to be dedicated to a single VDOM.

According to theFortiSwitchOS 7.6 Administration Guideand theFortiSwitch 7.6 Study Guide, understanding how VLANs are processed on a switch port is fundamental to network segmentation. A FortiSwitch port behaves differently depending on whether traffic is entering (ingress) or leaving (egress) the interface.

First,you can assign only one native VLAN on a port (Option C). The Native VLAN (often called the PVID or Port VLAN ID) is the default internal ID assigned to any untagged frames arriving at the port. In a managed environment, this is typically set via the FortiGate ' s switch controller. By design, a single physical interface can only belong to one primary broadcast domain for untagged ingress traffic to ensure there is no ambiguity in the switch ' s internal forwarding logic.

Second, theuntagged VLAN setting applies to egress traffic only (Option B). While the " Allowed VLANs " list defines which tagged traffic can pass through the port, the " Untagged VLANs " list specifies which of those VLAN tags should beremovedby the switch before the frame is transmitted out of the physical port. This is crucial for connecting devices that do not support 802.1Q tagging, such as standard PCs or printers.

Regarding the incorrect options:Option Ais incorrect because the " Untagged " list does not define ingress rules; ingress is governed by the Native VLAN for untagged packets and the Allowed list for tagged packets.Option Dis incorrect because, in a managed FortiLink environment, all VLAN assignments should be performed through theFortiGate ' s Switch Controllerto ensure centralized management and consistency.

Fortinet’s recommended approach for simplified management and full Security Fabric integration is to manage FortiSwitch devices directly from a FortiGate using FortiLink. According to the FortiOS 7.6 and FortiSwitchOS 7.6 documentation, FortiLink enables FortiGate to act as the centralized controller for all connected FortiSwitch units, providing seamless integration between switching, routing, and security services.

When FortiSwitch is managed through FortiGate with FortiLink, the switches become native members of the Security Fabric. This allows FortiGate to centrally define VLANs, enforce Layer 2 and Layer 3 security policies, control inter-VLAN routing, apply NAC and quarantine actions, and provide end-to-end visibility across users, devices, and applications. Inter-VLAN traffic is routed and inspected by FortiGate, ensuring consistent policy enforcement and logging.

FortiLink management significantly reduces operational complexity by eliminating the need for separate switch management platforms. Configuration, firmware upgrades, monitoring, troubleshooting, and topology visualization are all performed from the FortiGate GUI or CLI. This tightly integrated model is specifically designed for branch, campus, and mid-sized enterprise deployments that prioritize simplicity, security consistency, and operational efficiency.

The other options do not meet the stated objective. FortiSwitch-Manager is not a current management solution, FortiManager is intended for large-scale multi-device orchestration rather than direct Security Fabric integration, and FortiEdge Cloud focuses on cloud-based management without native FortiGate security enforcement.

Therefore, to simplify management and ensure full Security Fabric integration, the correct and fully verified choice is D. Manage FortiSwitch on FortiGate using FortiLink.

All hosts behind an authenticated port are allowed access after a successful authentication (A): Once a device on a port successfully authenticates using 802.1X, all other devices connected behind that port also gain network access. This is typical in scenarios where a switch is behind an authenticated port and not each device individually authenticates.

All devices connecting to FortiSwitch must support 802.1X authentication (D): For a network secured with 802.1X, all devices attempting to connect through the FortiSwitch must support and participate in 802.1X authentication to gain access. This ensures that all devices on the network are authenticated before they are allowed to communicate on the network.