156-315.81.20 ClusterXL and VRRP High Availability Practice Question
A security administrator has a two-member ClusterXL High Availability cluster running R81.20. After a power failure at the primary site, the secondary member becomes active. When the primary member reboots, the administrator wants it to automatically resume the active role. Which ClusterXL setting should be configured to achieve this behavior?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers confuse Load Sharing mode with High Availability mode, or assuming that VRRP is required within a ClusterXL HA deployment.
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
✓
Set the cluster member priority to a higher value on the primary member and verify that the cluster is in High Availability mode.
In ClusterXL High Availability mode, the active member is elected based on priority. The member with the highest priority becomes active when it is available. Therefore, setting a higher priority on the primary member ensures it reclaims the active role after recovery. Load Sharing and VRRP are not appropriate here because they change the cluster mode or protocol and do not provide the desired automatic active-role restoration.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Enable Load Sharing mode and assign the primary member a higher priority.
Why it's wrong here
Load Sharing mode distributes traffic across multiple members rather than providing a single active and standby pair. The concept of a primary member automatically resuming the active role does not apply in the same way, so enabling Load Sharing does not satisfy the requirement. It changes the cluster behavior entirely and is not the correct setting for this scenario.
- ✗
Set the cluster to use VRRP and assign the primary member a higher priority.
Why it's wrong here
VRRP is a different high availability protocol and is not the native ClusterXL mechanism. While VRRP can provide failover, the scenario specifies a ClusterXL High Availability cluster, and mixing protocols is unnecessary and unsupported. The correct approach within ClusterXL HA is to use member priority, not VRRP.
- ✓
Set the cluster member priority to a higher value on the primary member and verify that the cluster is in High Availability mode.
Why this is correct
In ClusterXL High Availability mode, member priority determines which gateway becomes active when multiple members are available. Assigning a higher priority to the primary member causes it to reclaim the active role after it recovers, provided the cluster is in HA mode and the priority values are properly configured. This matches the requirement to automatically resume the active role.
- ✗
Configure the primary member as a standby member and the secondary member as active, then rely on failover.
Why it's wrong here
This configuration inverts the intended roles and does not ensure the primary member automatically becomes active after recovery. It would require manual intervention or a failover event, which is not the desired automatic behavior. The administrator wants the primary member to resume the active role, not remain standby.
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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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