PCNSE Troubleshoot Practice Question
A company is using GlobalProtect for remote access. Users report that they can connect but cannot access internal resources. The firewall logs show successful GlobalProtect tunnel establishment. What is the most likely issue?
⚠ Common exam trap
Watch out — candidates often assume a successful tunnel establishment means all traffic is allowed, overlooking that security policy rules, especially geolocation-based ones, are evaluated after tunnel establishment and can still block traffic based on the source IP's geographic location.
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
✓
A security policy rule with a geolocation-based deny is blocking the traffic
Even though the GlobalProtect tunnel is established successfully, a security policy rule with a geolocation-based deny can block traffic from the user's source IP address. Since the user is connecting remotely, their IP address may fall into a denied geolocation region, preventing access to internal resources while the tunnel itself remains up. This matches the symptom of successful tunnel establishment but inability to access internal resources.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
A security policy rule with a geolocation-based deny is blocking the traffic
Why this is correct
Geolocation-based rules can block traffic if the user's public IP is in a denied country.
- ✗
Split tunneling is disabled, causing all traffic to go through the firewall and saturate bandwidth
Why it's wrong here
Bandwidth saturation would cause slow performance but not total lack of access.
- ✗
The GlobalProtect gateway is not configured with the correct client settings
Why it's wrong here
Client settings affect the tunnel parameters but not post-connection access.
- ✗
The DNS proxy setting is misconfigured
Why it's wrong here
DNS proxy issues would affect name resolution but not IP connectivity.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This PCNSE 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 PCNSE exam.