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.

To cause endpoints to exchange PoE information and negotiate power with the managed FortiSwitch via LLDP, you should configure the LLDP profile to include power management in the advertised LLDP-MED TLVs. Here are the steps:
* Access the LLDP Profile Configuration:Start by entering the LLDP profile configuration mode with the command:
config switch-controller lldp-profile
edit "LLDP-PROFILE"
* Enable MED-TLVs:Ensure that MED-TLVs (Media Endpoint Discovery TLVs) are enabled. These TLVs are used for extended discovery relating to network policies, including PoE, and are essential for PoE negotiation. They include power management which is crucial for the negotiation of PoE parameters between devices. The command to ensure network policies are set might look like:
set med-tlvs network-policy
* Add Power Management TLV:Specifically add or ensure the power management TLV is part of the configuration. This will advertise the PoE capabilities and requirements, enabling dynamic power allocation between the FortiSwitch and the connected devices (like VoIP phones or wireless access points). This can typically be done within the network-policy settings:
config med-network-policy
edit <policy_index>
set poe-capability
next
end
* Save and Apply Changes:Exit the configuration blocks properly ensuring changes are saved:
End
* Verify Configuration:It's always good practice to verify that your configurations have been applied correctly. Use the appropriateshoworgetcommands to review the LLDP profile settings.
By adding the power management as part of LLDP-MED TLVs, the FortiSwitch will be able to communicate its power requirements and capabilities to the endpoints, thereby facilitating a dynamic power negotiation that is crucial for efficient PoE utilization.
References:For more detailed information and additional configurations, you can refer to the FortiSwitch Managed Switches documentation available on Fortinet's official documentation site:Fortinet Product Documentation

According to theFortiSwitchOS 7.6 Administration Guideand theFortiSwitch 7.6 Study Guide, the auto- network setting (configured via config switch auto-network) is a global feature introduced to simplify the initial deployment of switches. Starting inFortiSwitchOS 7.2.0and continuing through7.6, this feature is enabled by defaulton all new and factory-reset units.1 The primary function of theauto-networksetting is to facilitate theautomatic discovery of the FortiGate and the establishment of the FortiLink interface (Option B). When enabled, the switch automatically scans its physical ports to detect a management entity, such as a FortiGate controller. This "zero-touch" discovery mechanism allows the switch to identify the correct uplink ports and automatically configure them as members of theFortiLinkfabric without manual CLI or GUI intervention.
Furthermore, the documentation notes that auto-network also managesauto-topology, which allows two switches to automatically form anInter-Switch Link (ISL)trunk between them.2This includes setting the management VLAN (typically VLAN 4094) and ensuring that DHCP snooping is trusted on these discovered links.3If an administrator intends to use the switch in a strictly standalone mode without any auto-discovery or FortiLink features, the documentation specifies that they must manually disable the auto-network status and the auto-fortilink-discovery global settings to prevent the switch from attempting to join a managed fabric.
4
Regarding other options:Option Arefers to Dynamic Port Policy or NAC features.Option Cis a standard STP configuration unrelated to the auto-network discovery suite.Option Dis a broader management capability that depends on successful network discovery but is not the specific control point for the auto-network setting.

According to theFortiSwitchOS 7.6 Administration Guideand theFortiSwitch 7.6 Study Guide, the interaction between a managed switch and a connected endpoint depends on whether the endpoint can participate in the 802.1X authentication process. When a security policy is applied to a port, the switch sends EAP (Extensible Authentication Protocol) requests to the device to initiate the login.
The FortiSwitch handles two primary failure scenarios differently:
* Non-supplicant (No 802.1X Support):If a device, such as a legacy PC or a basic printer, does not have an 802.1X supplicant, it will not respond to the switch's EAP requests. In this case, the switch waits for the duration specified in theGuest authentication delayfield (30 seconds in the exhibit). Once this timer expires without a response, the switch places the device into theGuest VLAN. As shown in the exhibit, the Guest VLAN is explicitly set to"onboarding.fortilink (onboarding)".
* Authentication Failure:If a devicedoessupport 802.1X but the user provides incorrect credentials, the RADIUS server returns an Access-Reject message. In this scenario, the device is moved to the Authentication fail VLAN, which the exhibit identifies as"quarantine.fortilink (quarantine)".
Note:BecauseMAC authentication bypass (MAB)is disabled in the exhibit, the switch will not attempt to authenticate the device's MAC address against the RADIUS server before defaulting to the Guest VLAN.
Therefore, for any device lacking an 802.1X supplicant, the result is placement into theonboardingVLAN.