PCNSA Device Management and Services Practice Question
A security analyst wants to send firewall logs to an external syslog server for long-term storage. Which three configuration steps are necessary?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates assume TCP port 514 is the default or required for syslog, but Palo Alto firewalls use UDP 514 by default, and changing to TCP is an optional optimization, not a necessary step.
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
✓
Apply the log forwarding profile to a security policy rule.
A log forwarding profile must be applied to a security policy rule to specify which traffic logs should be forwarded to the external syslog server. Without this association, the firewall will not send the logs generated by that rule to the syslog destination.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Apply the log forwarding profile to a security policy rule.
Why this is correct
The profile must be applied to a rule to generate logs.
- ✓
Enable the syslog server in the Device > Server Profiles menu.
Why this is correct
The syslog server must be defined as a server profile.
- ✗
Set the syslog server to use TCP port 514.
Why it's wrong here
Port and protocol are optional; default is UDP 514.
- ✓
Configure a log forwarding profile with syslog as the destination.
Why this is correct
The log forwarding profile defines where to send logs.
- ✗
Specify the syslog facility code in the log forwarding profile.
Why it's wrong here
Facility code is optional and defaults to a standard value.
Go deeper
Related to this question
About these practice questions
One of 516 original PCNSA practice questions on Courseiva, each with a full explanation and wrong-answer analysis — not exam dumps or protected exam content. Learn why practice questions differ from exam dumps →
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.