hardMultiple ChoiceObjective-mapped
PCNSA Practice Question: Is experiencing performance degradation on their…
An organization is experiencing performance degradation on their PA-5250 firewall after enabling SSL decryption for all traffic. The firewall's CPU usage is consistently above 80%. The decision is made to offload SSL decryption to a dedicated appliance. Which deployment architecture allows the Palo Alto firewall to inspect decrypted traffic while the decryption occurs elsewhere?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many exam-takers confuse a decryption broker (option C) with an external SSL decryptor, but a decryption broker is used for service chaining and does not offload decryption from the firewall—it simply redirects traffic to multiple inline services.
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
✓
Configure the firewall to receive decrypted traffic from an external SSL decryptor on a specific zone.
It describes a deployment where an external SSL decryptor handles the decryption, and the Palo Alto firewall receives the already-decrypted traffic on a dedicated zone. This offloads the CPU-intensive decryption process from the firewall, allowing it to inspect the decrypted payload using its security policies without performing SSL/TLS termination itself.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Enable SSL proxy with certificate chaining to reduce CPU.
Why it's wrong here
This does not offload decryption; it still uses firewall resources.
- ✓
Configure the firewall to receive decrypted traffic from an external SSL decryptor on a specific zone.
Why this is correct
Receiving decrypted traffic from an external device allows inspection without performing decryption, offloading CPU.
- ✗
Use a decryption broker that sends decrypted traffic to the firewall via a virtual wire.
Why it's wrong here
Palo Alto does not have a decryption broker; virtual wire is for transparent inline.
- ✗
Deploy a forward proxy where the firewall decrypts and then re-encrypts.
Why it's wrong here
This still requires the firewall to perform decryption, increasing load.
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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.