156-215.81.20 Identity Awareness Practice Question
An administrator is troubleshooting an Identity Awareness deployment where some users are intermittently shown as unidentified on the Security Gateway. The environment uses AD Query. Which TWO conditions would cause AD Query to fail to identify a logged-in user? (Choose two.)
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is attributing AD Query gaps to endpoint agent or portal issues, which belong to entirely different acquisition methods.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
The Security Gateway cannot reach the domain controller on the required ports for event log retrieval.
AD Query relies on reaching domain controllers to read security event logs, and it only sees logons generated after monitoring is enabled for those controllers. Blocked connectivity or logons predating configuration both leave users unidentified. Endpoint agent state, portal certificates, and session timeout length do not govern whether AD Query can read domain login events.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
The Security Gateway cannot reach the domain controller on the required ports for event log retrieval.
Why this is correct
AD Query depends on connecting to domain controllers to read security event logs. If the required ports, such as those for WMI/DCOM or the event log service, are blocked between the gateway and the DC, the gateway cannot retrieve logon events. Users then remain unidentified even though they successfully logged into the domain, making connectivity a direct cause of the symptom.
- ✗
The Captive Portal certificate has expired on the gateway.
Why it's wrong here
A Captive Portal certificate affects browser-based authentication flows when the portal method is in use. In an AD Query-only deployment, users are not redirected to a portal, so an expired portal certificate does not impede identification. This condition would matter for portal users, but it does not cause AD Query to miss domain logon events, making it unrelated to the reported symptom.
- ✓
The user logged in before the Security Gateway was configured as a monitored source in the AD Query settings.
Why this is correct
AD Query reads login events generated after the gateway begins monitoring the domain controllers. Logons that occurred before monitoring was enabled, or before the relevant domain controllers were added, are not replayed. Those users can appear unidentified until they log on again, which explains intermittent gaps tied to when monitoring started or which DC handled the logon.
- ✗
The gateway's identity session timeout is shorter than the users' typical work session.
Why it's wrong here
A short session timeout causes identity records to expire and users to be re-evaluated, but AD Query would still re-identify them on subsequent detected activity. It does not prevent AD Query from reading logon events in the first place. The symptom here is failure to identify, not premature expiration, so the timeout value is not a root cause of unidentified AD Query users.
- ✗
The endpoint has the Identity Agent installed but the service is set to manual start.
Why it's wrong here
This environment uses AD Query, not Identity Agent, as the acquisition method. Whether an endpoint agent service is running has no bearing on AD Query's ability to read domain controller events. Although a stopped agent could affect agent-based identification, it is irrelevant to the AD Query path described, so it cannot explain the AD Query failures in this scenario.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Check Point exam blueprint
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