PCNSE Troubleshoot Practice Question
A network engineer needs to verify that a specific security rule is being hit by traffic. Which firewall log should be examined?
⚠ Common exam trap
Many candidates confuse the Traffic log with the Threat log, thinking that only malicious traffic generates logs, but the Traffic log records all allowed and denied sessions regardless of threat status.
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
✓
Traffic log
The Traffic log records every session that matches a security rule, including the rule ID, source/destination IPs, ports, and action (allow/deny). To verify that a specific security rule is being hit, you must examine the Traffic log, as it shows which rule processed each session. Configuration, Threat, and System logs do not contain per-session rule match data.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✗
Configuration log
Why it's wrong here
Configuration logs show changes to the firewall configuration.
- ✓
Traffic log
Why this is correct
Traffic logs show session details including the security rule that matched.
- ✗
Threat log
Why it's wrong here
Threat logs record blocked threats, not all traffic matches.
- ✗
System log
Why it's wrong here
System logs record administrative and system events, not traffic rule hits.
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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.