PCNSE PCNSE Firewall Technology and Architecture 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the maximum number of virtual systems (vsys) supported on the Palo Alto Networks PA-7080 platform?
- 25
- 50
- 125 (Correct answer)
- 256
Correct answer: 125
The PA-7080 supports up to 125 virtual systems, making it suitable for large multi-tenant deployments.
Question 2: In Palo Alto Networks NGFW, what does 'positive enforcement model' mean?
- Only explicitly allowed traffic is permitted; all else is denied (Correct answer)
- Traffic is allowed by default unless explicitly blocked
- Positive traffic gets higher QoS priority
- All traffic is inspected but nothing is blocked
Correct answer: Only explicitly allowed traffic is permitted; all else is denied
The positive enforcement model means the firewall denies all traffic by default and only permits traffic that matches an explicit allow rule.
Question 3: Which Palo Alto Networks feature provides Layer 2 segmentation by forwarding traffic based on MAC addresses without routing?
- Virtual Wire mode
- Layer 2 deployment mode (Correct answer)
- Tap mode
- Layer 3 deployment mode
Correct answer: Layer 2 deployment mode
Layer 2 deployment mode enables the firewall to act as a transparent bridge, forwarding traffic based on MAC addresses within the same broadcast domain.
Question 4: When configuring High Availability (HA) on Palo Alto Networks firewalls, what is the purpose of the HA2 link?
- Heartbeat and hello messages between peers
- Session state and table synchronization (Correct answer)
- Management plane communication
- Panorama management traffic
Correct answer: Session state and table synchronization
The HA2 link synchronizes session tables, forwarding tables, and IPsec SA information between active and passive peers to enable seamless failover.
Question 5: Which Palo Alto Networks NGFW feature uses machine learning to create behavioral models for detecting unknown malware?
- WildFire (Correct answer)
- Threat Prevention
- DNS Security
- Advanced URL Filtering
Correct answer: WildFire
WildFire uses machine learning and dynamic analysis in a cloud-based sandbox to detect and generate protections for previously unknown malware.
Question 6: In a Palo Alto Networks Active/Passive HA pair, which peer processes and forwards traffic during normal operation?
- Both peers share the load equally
- Only the passive peer
- Only the active peer (Correct answer)
- The peer with the lower priority value
Correct answer: Only the active peer
In Active/Passive HA, only the active peer processes and forwards traffic; the passive peer stays synchronized and ready to take over if the active peer fails.
Question 7: What is the role of the Network Processing Card (NPC) in Palo Alto Networks chassis-based firewalls like the PA-7000 series?
- It manages the Panorama connection
- It handles all management plane functions
- It performs network I/O and initial packet processing (Correct answer)
- It stores the configuration and log database
Correct answer: It performs network I/O and initial packet processing
NPCs in chassis-based firewalls handle network I/O, perform initial packet classification, and distribute traffic to Security Processing Cards (SPCs).
PCNSE PCNSE Firewall Technology and Architecture 3
What is the maximum number of virtual systems (vsys) supported on the Palo Alto Networks PA-7080 platform?