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PCNSA Practice Question: Which TWO of the following are valid dataplane…
Which TWO of the following are valid dataplane components in a Palo Alto Networks firewall?
⚠ Common exam trap
A common mix-up: candidates confuse architectural planes (management, control, data) with specific components, leading candidates to mistakenly select the routing table (control plane) or Panorama (management plane) as dataplane components.
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
✓
Session table
The session table is a core dataplane component because it stores the state of active sessions, enabling the firewall to perform stateful inspection and apply security policies at wire speed. The flow accelerator (FPGA) is a hardware-based dataplane component that offloads packet processing from the CPU, accelerating throughput for established sessions.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Management Plane
Why it's wrong here
Management plane handles CLI, GUI, and log collection, not dataplane.
- ✗
Routing table
Why it's wrong here
The routing table is part of the control plane.
- ✗
Panorama
Why it's wrong here
Panorama is an external management system.
- ✓
Session table
Why this is correct
The session table is part of the dataplane for tracking connections.
- ✓
Flow accelerator (FPGA)
Why this is correct
The flow accelerator offloads packet processing to hardware.
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About these practice questions
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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.