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Fortinet certification track

Fortinet certifications,
NSE 4 to NSE 8

Four courses, each preparing for a named Fortinet exam - from administering a FortiGate firewall to the expert-level practical exams. Taught in Hebrew, on Fortinet equipment in the academy lab in Shoham.

Where the track
comes from

The academy draws on SpotNet's vendor partnerships. SpotNet has been a Fortinet Select Partner since November 26, 2024, and the engineers who deploy and operate Fortinet estates for its customers are the ones teaching here. That gives the track direct escalation channels to the vendor, instructors who hold the certifications they teach towards, and courses written to the exam topics Fortinet publishes.

Each course here is preparation for an NSE exam, written to the exam topics Fortinet publishes. The exam itself is booked through Pearson VUE, and the certification is awarded by Fortinet.

Select Partner

SpotNet has held Fortinet Select Partner status since November 26, 2024 - one of the four levels of Fortinet's Engage partner program.

Instructors from the field

Engineers from the group's own teams, who hold the certifications and run Fortinet estates day to day.

Real equipment

FortiGate firewalls in the academy rack in Shoham, and hands-on lab environments on Fortinet products.

Written to the exam

Every course is preparation for one named NSE exam and follows the topics and weights Fortinet publishes for it. Exams are in English, through Pearson VUE.

The Fortinet ladder
and where we teach

On July 15, 2026 Fortinet returned to the NSE 1-8 names. NSE 1-3 are free self-paced courses from the Fortinet Training Institute; NSE 4 is one proctored exam; NSE 5 and NSE 6 are one further exam each on an active NSE 4; NSE 7 is one architect exam; NSE 8 is two practical exams. Every certification is valid for two years.

  1. NSE 1-3 Cybersecurity fundamentals - free self-paced courses
  2. NSE 4 FortiOS Administrator Preparation at the academy
  3. NSE 5 Specialisation in a range of subjects, at Professional level Preparation at the academy
  4. NSE 6 Specialisation in a range of subjects, at Professional level Preparation at the academy
  5. NSE 7 Specialisation in a range of subjects, at an advanced level Preparation at the academy
  6. NSE 8 Cybersecurity Expert Preparation at the academy

Four courses
on the track

In the order the certifications are earned. Three are open to individuals and to teams; the NSE 8 preparation runs in small groups, for organisations and by application.

Fortinet Professional Registering now

FortiGate firewall administration (NSE 4)

Preparation for the NSE 4 certification - configuring, operating and troubleshooting a FortiGate firewall on real appliances in the lab. Participants leave able to run a FortiGate firewall on their own: policies, NAT, user authentication, content inspection, routing, IPsec VPN and a high-availability cluster.

65 hoursShohamAlso for teams
Explore Fortinet Professional Opening soon

Fortinet security operations (NSE 5-6)

Preparation for the NSE 5 and NSE 6 certifications in Security Operations, on the three platforms a Fortinet SOC runs on - the FortiAnalyzer, FortiSIEM and FortiSOAR platforms. Participants leave able to collect and analyse the logs, work an incident from event to closure, and build the playbooks that run the routine automatically.

48 hoursShohamAlso for teams
Explore Fortinet Specialist Opening soon

Fortinet secure networking architect (NSE 7)

Preparation for the NSE 7 certification in Secure Networking - the enterprise-scale deployment of FortiGate, FortiManager and FortiAnalyzer platforms, along the five sections of the published exam. Participants leave able to design and run a multi-site Fortinet estate: SD-WAN with zero-touch branches, central management, dynamic routing and advanced IPsec.

52 hoursShohamAlso for teams
Explore Fortinet Expert Opening soon

NSE 8 expert preparation

A preparation program, by application and in small groups, for engineers who already run Fortinet estates and hold NSE 7 in their track. Participants leave with their own experience mapped against the two NSE 8 practical exams, and with timed practice behind them on the platforms of their track.

60 hoursSmall groupsFor organisations, by application
Explore

Why take Fortinet
here

Preparation for a named exam

Each course maps to one NSE exam and its published topics and weights, so lab time goes where the exam puts its questions.

Hebrew in the room, English on the exam

Sessions are in Hebrew. The course materials and the exam are in English, and the terms are used the way the exam uses them.

From NSE 4 onwards

NSE 4 opens NSE 5 and NSE 6; those open NSE 7; all three open NSE 8. The courses are ordered the same way, so the next step is on the same track.

Fortinet, the questions that come up

How are the exams taken?
Through Pearson VUE, in English. NSE 4, NSE 5 and NSE 6 exams are sat at a test centre or online with OnVUE proctoring; NSE 7 exams are sat at a test centre only from September 21, 2026. A failed exam can be retaken after 15 days. NSE 8 is different: two practical exams, the Core on-site at selected Fortinet offices and events and the elective on-site or online, proctored by ProctorU.
How long is a certification valid, and what does it depend on?
Two years, for every Fortinet certification. NSE 5 and NSE 6 require an active NSE 4, and passing them does not renew NSE 4 by itself; NSE 7 requires NSE 4 plus NSE 5 or NSE 6 in the same track, and passing it renews all of them. NSE 4 can also be renewed with the next exam version or with a recertification assessment - a paid online course and test from the certification dashboard. NSE 8 is kept with 200 activity points every two years while the prerequisites stay active.
What happened to FCP, FCSS and FCX?
They are the former names. Between 2023 and 2026 Fortinet called its certifications FCF, FCA, FCP, FCSS and FCX; on July 15, 2026 it returned to the NSE 1-8 names, and active certifications moved across - FCF to NSE 1 and 2, FCA to NSE 3, FCP to NSE 4, 5 or 6, FCSS to NSE 6 or 7, FCX to NSE 8. So NSE 4 is the current name of the FortiOS Administrator certification, and the course pages name it that way.
Whose certification is it?
Fortinet's. The courses here are preparation for the NSE exams - written to the exam topics Fortinet publishes, taught in Hebrew by engineers from the group's teams who hold the certifications, on equipment in the academy lab. The certification you earn is Fortinet's; the exam is booked with Pearson VUE.

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