PCNSA Managing Objects Practice Question
A small business uses a Palo Alto Networks PA-220 firewall. The administrator needs to create a security policy to allow inbound VPN connections from remote employees using IPsec. The remote employees connect using dynamic IP addresses. The administrator creates an address object "Remote-VPN-Users" of type "IP Range" but that doesn't work because the IPs are not known. What address object type should be used instead?
⚠ Common exam trap
Candidates often think an IP range or netmask can be used to cover a broad set of dynamic IPs, but they fail to recognize that dynamic IPs are unpredictable and cannot be enumerated, making 'Any' the only viable option for source address in remote access VPN policies.
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
✓
Any (0.0.0.0/0)
When remote employees connect using dynamic IP addresses, the source IP is unknown and cannot be defined by a static address object. Using 'Any' (0.0.0.0/0) as the source address in the security policy allows the firewall to accept IPsec VPN traffic from any source IP, which is necessary for clients with dynamic addresses. This is a common practice for remote access VPN configurations where the peer IP is not predetermined.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
IP Netmask
Why it's wrong here
IP Netmask requires a known subnet, which is not possible with dynamic IPs.
- ✓
Any (0.0.0.0/0)
Why this is correct
Using 'Any' as source allows all IP addresses, which is the only way to accommodate dynamic remote users.
- ✗
FQDN
Why it's wrong here
FQDN can resolve to multiple IPs but may not include all dynamic IPs; not suitable for this scenario.
- ✗
IP Wildcard Mask
Why it's wrong here
Wildcard masks also require known addresses; not suitable for unknown dynamic IPs.
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.
Go deeper
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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.