PCNSA Device Management and Services Practice Question
A firewall administrator notices that after a power outage, the firewall boots up but fails to load the last committed configuration. What should the administrator do to recover the configuration?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse the 'load config from' command with a factory reset or OS reinstall, assuming a corrupted boot requires a full system restore, when in fact the configuration files are often still accessible and can be reloaded via CLI.
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
✓
Use the 'load config from' command via CLI to restore from the most recent saved config
The 'load config from' CLI command allows the administrator to load a previously saved configuration file (e.g., from the most recent backup) into the running configuration without affecting the startup configuration. After loading, the administrator must commit the configuration to make it persistent. This is the standard recovery method when the last committed configuration fails to load after a reboot, as the firewall retains saved configuration files in its filesystem.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Perform a factory reset
Why it's wrong here
Would erase all configuration.
- ✗
Load a config file from the previous backup
Why it's wrong here
Might load an older backup, not necessarily the last committed config.
- ✗
Reinstall the PAN-OS image
Why it's wrong here
Too extreme; configuration may be recovered without reinstall.
- ✓
Use the 'load config from' command via CLI to restore from the most recent saved config
Why this is correct
Direct method to load a saved configuration file.
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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.