PCNSA Device Management and Services Practice Question
An administrator is configuring a Palo Alto Networks firewall to use an external LDAP server for administrator authentication. The administrator wants to ensure that only members of the 'NetworkAdmins' group can log in with read-write privileges. Which configuration steps are required?
⚠ Common exam trap
The trap here is overlooking the need for an authorization profile to map groups to roles, and instead assuming that authentication alone can enforce group-based access.
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
✓
Create an LDAP server profile, an authentication profile, and an authorization profile that maps the 'NetworkAdmins' group to a read-write admin role.
Configuring LDAP administrator authentication requires three components: an LDAP server profile to define the server connection, an authentication profile to specify how users authenticate, and an authorization profile to map LDAP groups to administrative roles. By mapping only the 'NetworkAdmins' group to a read-write role, you ensure that only members of that group receive the appropriate privileges.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Create an LDAP server profile and an authorization profile that maps the 'NetworkAdmins' group to a read-write admin role. No authentication profile is needed.
Why it's wrong here
An authentication profile is required to define how the firewall connects to the LDAP server for authentication. Without it, the firewall cannot validate user credentials against LDAP. The authorization profile only maps groups to roles after authentication. Thus, omitting the authentication profile is incorrect.
- ✗
Create an authentication profile and an authorization profile. The authorization profile should map all LDAP users to a read-write role, and then use a security policy to restrict access to the 'NetworkAdmins' group.
Why it's wrong here
Security policies do not apply to management plane authentication. Mapping all LDAP users to a read-write role would grant excessive privileges to everyone, violating the requirement. The correct approach is to map only the specific group to the role in the authorization profile. Therefore, this option is incorrect.
- ✗
Create an LDAP server profile and an authentication profile. Assign the authentication profile directly to the admin role 'superuser'.
Why it's wrong here
Assigning an authentication profile to a role does not restrict access based on group membership. The authentication profile only verifies credentials; it does not map groups to roles. Without an authorization profile, any authenticated user would receive the default role, which is not the desired outcome. Therefore, this option is incorrect.
- ✓
Create an LDAP server profile, an authentication profile, and an authorization profile that maps the 'NetworkAdmins' group to a read-write admin role.
Why this is correct
To authenticate administrators via LDAP, you need an LDAP server profile, an authentication profile that references it, and an authorization profile that maps LDAP groups to admin roles. This ensures that only members of the specified group receive the read-write role. This is the correct and complete configuration.
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JA
Written and reviewed by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
Last reviewed September 2026 · checked against the official Palo Alto Networks exam blueprint
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.