SSE-Engineer Prisma Access Troubleshooting Practice Question
An administrator has deployed Prisma Access Remote Networks, but traffic from a branch office is failing to pass through the IPsec tunnel to Prisma Access. The IKE phase 1 negotiation is failing. Which Prisma Access operational command should the administrator run via the CLI to check the IPsec tunnel status and IKE SA parameters?
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
✓
show vpn ike-sa gateway <gateway-name>
To troubleshoot IPsec VPN tunnels and IKE negotiations on Prisma Access remote networks or service connections, administrators use the CLI command 'show vpn ike-sa' or 'show vpn flow'.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
show globalprotect-gateway current-users
Why it's wrong here
This lists connected remote users, not IPsec site-to-site tunnels.
- ✓
show vpn ike-sa gateway <gateway-name>
Why this is correct
This command displays the status of the IKE Security Associations, helping identify phase 1 mismatch issues.
- ✗
show system info
Why it's wrong here
This displays general system uptime, PAN-OS version, and serial number.
- ✗
show running resource-monitor
Why it's wrong here
This monitors CPU, memory, and plane utilization.
Quick reference
VPN Protocol Comparison
| Protocol | Port | Encryption | Authentication | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IKEv2 / IPsec | UDP 500 / 4500 | AES-256 | Certificates / PSK | Site-to-site & remote access |
| SSL / TLS VPN | TCP 443 | TLS 1.3 | Certificates / MFA | Clientless remote access |
| L2TP / IPsec | UDP 1701 | AES (IPsec) | PSK / Certificates | Legacy remote access |
| WireGuard | UDP 51820 | ChaCha20 | Public keys | Modern high-performance VPN |
| PPTP | TCP 1723 | MPPE (weak) | MS-CHAPv2 | Legacy — avoid in production |
PPTP is considered insecure. IKEv2/IPsec and SSL VPN are the current recommended options.
About these practice questions
Courseiva writes every SSE-Engineer question from scratch — 203 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 August 2026 · checked against the official Palo Alto Networks exam blueprint
This SSE-Engineer practice question is part of Courseiva's free Palo Alto Networks 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 SSE-Engineer exam.