PCNSA App-ID and Content-ID Practice Question
An administrator is troubleshooting why an application is being identified as 'incomplete' in the traffic log. What does this indicate?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers confuse 'incomplete' with 'unknown' or 'not-applicable', where candidates incorrectly think the firewall simply cannot identify the application, rather than understanding that the session ended before App-ID finished processing.
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
✓
The session was terminated before App-ID could complete.
When App-ID cannot complete its analysis before the session terminates, the traffic log marks the application as 'incomplete'. This typically happens with short-lived sessions or when the firewall receives insufficient data packets to match a signature or decode the protocol. The correct answer is B because App-ID requires multiple packets or a full handshake to definitively identify the application.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
The application is using a non-standard port.
Why it's wrong here
Non-standard ports can still be identified with custom signatures.
- ✓
The session was terminated before App-ID could complete.
Why this is correct
Short-lived sessions may end before App-ID finishes analysis.
- ✗
The firewall could not determine the application.
Why it's wrong here
'Incomplete' means the firewall started identification but could not finish.
- ✗
The application is unknown to the firewall.
Why it's wrong here
Unknown applications are shown as 'unknown-tcp' or 'unknown-udp'.
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About these practice questions
This PCNSA question is part of Courseiva's 516-question bank — original exam-style content with full explanations and wrong-answer analysis, never real exam questions or exam dumps. 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.