PCNSE Securing Traffic and App-ID Practice Question
A network administrator notices that web-browsing traffic is being classified as 'incomplete' in the App-ID table. What is the most likely cause?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to assume 'incomplete' means a policy or signature issue, when in fact it specifically indicates that App-ID could not gather enough data from the encrypted session to complete identification, pointing directly to SSL decryption as the root cause.
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
✓
SSL decryption is not enabled for the traffic.
When SSL decryption is not enabled, the firewall cannot inspect encrypted HTTPS traffic payloads. As a result, App-ID may classify the traffic as 'incomplete' because it cannot match the encrypted payload to the web-browsing application signature. Enabling SSL decryption allows the firewall to decrypt the traffic, inspect the payload, and correctly 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The App-ID signature database is outdated.
Why it's wrong here
Outdated signatures cause misidentification, not 'incomplete' classification.
- ✗
The security policy does not have an allow rule for web-browsing.
Why it's wrong here
Lack of allow rule would drop traffic, not classify as incomplete.
- ✗
The firewall is experiencing asymmetric routing.
Why it's wrong here
Asymmetric routing can cause incomplete but is less common for web traffic.
- ✓
SSL decryption is not enabled for the traffic.
Why this is correct
Without SSL decryption, encrypted traffic cannot be fully inspected, leading to 'incomplete' App-ID.
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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.