easyMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
PCNSA Practice Question: A company has a single Palo Alto Networks…
A company has a single Palo Alto Networks firewall protecting its internet connection. The IT team wants to allow remote employees to access internal resources using GlobalProtect. They have already configured the portal and gateway on the firewall, and users can successfully connect and obtain an IP address from the IP pool assigned to the gateway. However, remote users report that they cannot access any internal servers after connecting. The firewall has security policies that allow traffic from the GlobalProtect gateway's IP pool to the internal servers. Which additional configuration step is most likely required?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates assume that because the firewall has security policies allowing traffic from the IP pool, the traffic will automatically flow, forgetting that routing is bidirectional and the internal network must know how to reach the virtual IP addresses assigned to remote users.
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
✓
Configure a static route on the internal router pointing the GlobalProtect IP pool subnet back to the firewall's internal interface.
The remote users can connect and obtain an IP address from the GlobalProtect gateway's IP pool, but the internal servers do not have a route back to that IP pool subnet. Without a static route on the internal router pointing the GlobalProtect IP pool subnet to the firewall's internal interface, return traffic from the internal servers is sent to the default gateway (the firewall's internal interface) only if the firewall is the default gateway for those servers; if not, the traffic is dropped or misrouted. This is the most common missing step when remote users can authenticate and get an IP but cannot reach internal resources.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Increase the GlobalProtect gateway's session timeout value.
Why it's wrong here
Session timeout affects the duration of the connection, not the ability to reach internal resources.
- ✗
Enable NAT on the GlobalProtect gateway to translate the remote user IP to the firewall's internal interface IP.
Why it's wrong here
NAT is not required by default; GlobalProtect can route traffic without NAT if the return route exists.
- ✓
Configure a static route on the internal router pointing the GlobalProtect IP pool subnet back to the firewall's internal interface.
Why this is correct
Without this route, the internal servers send response packets to their default gateway, which does not know how to reach the GlobalProtect pool, causing asymmetric routing and dropped traffic.
- ✗
Install a client certificate on each remote user's device for authentication.
Why it's wrong here
Certificate authentication is optional and not required for basic connectivity; the issue is routing.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This PCNSA 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 PCNSA exam.