CCSM Advanced VPN Troubleshooting Practice Question
Which TWO logs or diagnostic outputs are most effective when troubleshooting Phase 1 VPN negotiation failures? (Choose TWO)
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often suggest using 'fw ctl debug' for everything, failing to realize that IKE negotiation issues are best captured specifically by the 'vpnd' daemon and standard packet captures.
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
✓
vpnd.elg log file filtered for IKE negotiation errors and proposal mismatches.
Phase 1 failures involve IKE negotiation issues, making vpnd daemon logs and packet captures indispensable. Analyzing these sources reveals exact proposal mismatches, dead peer detection issues, or authentication rejections before encryption even starts. This speeds up root-cause identification in complex enterprise environments.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
vpnd.elg log file filtered for IKE negotiation errors and proposal mismatches.
Why this is correct
vpnd.elg records IKE daemon activity, including Phase 1 proposal mismatches, encryption or hash algorithm disagreements, and pre-shared key failures. Filtering it for IKE negotiation errors isolates the exact reason the tunnel's Phase 1 cannot complete, which is the diagnostic output the stem requires.
- ✓
fw monitor output capturing UDP port 500 packet exchanges between peers.
Why this is correct
Packet captures using fw monitor on UDP port 500 verify whether initial IKE packets leave the local gateway and whether responses arrive from the remote peer. This confirms physical reachability and identifies routing or firewall drop issues.
- ✗
cplic print output displaying active software license expiration dates.
Why it's wrong here
cplic print lists licence expiry dates, which have no bearing on IKE Phase 1 negotiation exchanges between peers. It is tempting because licensing failures can block VPN functionality, but it is the right output only when a licence has actually expired or is missing.
- ✗
cpstat os command displaying active CPU and memory utilization statistics.
Why it's wrong here
CPU and memory statistics reveal host resource pressure, not IKE packet exchanges, proposals, or phase 1 attribute mismatches. It is tempting because cpstat os genuinely diagnoses performance degradation and capacity issues on Security Gateways, which would be the right choice when negotiation succeeds but throughput or stability suffers.
- ✗
fw tab -t VPN_timers -s command displaying active VPN timeout tables.
Why it's wrong here
The VPN_timers table holds IKE and IPsec rekey/expiry timers, not the Phase 1 negotiation exchange details needed to diagnose proposal or authentication mismatches. It is useful for confirming timer values once a tunnel is up, not for troubleshooting failed Phase 1 negotiation.
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every CCSM question from scratch — 219 in total, each with an explanation and a wrong-answer breakdown. None are copied from real exams or dumps. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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
This CCSM practice question is part of Courseiva's free Check Point certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the CCSM exam.